This video contains information about Purchasing series, Payables Management, Purchase Order Processing and Requisition Management.

It covers these topics:

1. Payables Management

2. Purchase Order Processing

3. eRequisition

The video reviews some of the powerful features of FRx, making you a better user to use FRx.

It covers these topics:

1. Using Frx Drill down viewer
2. Ways to incorporate Microsoft Excel in FRx
3. Walkthrough the steps of using the FRx Reports Wizard
4. Different source of data on which FRx reports
5. The Who, What and Where’s of Backups
6. Distributing Reports via email
7. Frx Report Launcher
8. FRx Reports Manager
9. FRx Web Port
10. The Future of FRx

Analytics by Definition:
Data analysis involving the review of historical data to research trends, to evaluate the effects of events and decisions or to evaluate performance. The analytics objective is business improvement by gaining insight to make necessary changes.

– OR –

How organizations gather and interpret data in order to make better business decisions and to optimize business processes. Analytics are defined as the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive modeling, and fact-based decision-making. In businesses, analytics (alongside data access and reporting) represents a subset of business intelligence (BI).

No matter how you choose to define it, Analytics is the secret to unlocking the gold mine that exists in your company data.

Too Much Data!
There’s no shortage of data. It comes at you from every department and every angle. In fact, it’s easy to drown in all the data that’s at your disposal. The problem is no longer finding data; it’s making sense of all the data you’ve got in order to make better decisions and make them quickly. Many times, you’re too close to the information to see the evolving trends – trends that need action to either avoid loss or leverage evolving opportunities.
Analytics can help you:
* Create measurements for your strategies to manage desired results
* Unlock hidden but useful information
* Reveal performing/non-performing offerings and producers
* Assess resource allocation
* Measure key performance indicators
* Improve efficiency
* Evaluate marketing effectiveness

Impact Areas
You need to answer questions about every facet of your enterprise in order to make the right decisions:
Financial:
* Which customers are over 60 days for AR?
* Which vendors are over 60 days for AP?
* How much is paid in discounts?
* To whom?
Sales:
* Who is your most profitable customer?
* Who is your least profitable customer?
* How about your sales staff: Best performer? Worst performer?
Inventory:
* What’s the average turn time of any given SKU?
* Is there “stale” inventory?
* Which items are consistently understocked?
Marketing Activities:
* Do you know the return on investment for you marketing activities?
* Do you know what advertising works best for each of your markets?
* What is your most profitable target audience?

Your Biggest Asset
Like it or not, your employees are your greatest asset. As with every other facet of your enterprise, you cannot improve what you do not measure. According to The Society of Human Resource Management, there are ten key efficiency ratios, and these provide the ideal starting point for measuring and managing your human capital.
1. Revenue Factor = Revenue / Total Full-Time Employees
2. Voluntary Separation Rate = Voluntary Separations / Headcount
3. Human Capital Value Added = (Revenue – Operating Expense – Compensation & Benefit Cost) / Total Full-Time Employees
4. Human Capital Return on Investment = (Revenue – Operating Expenses – Compensation & Benefit Cost) / Compensation & Benefit Cost
5. Total Compensation Revenue Ratio = Compensation & Benefit Cost / Revenue
6. Labor Cost Revenue Ratio = (Compensation & Benefit Cost + Other Personnel Cost) / Revenue
7. Training Investment Factor = Total Training Cost / Headcount
8. Cost per Hire = (Advertising + Agency Fees + Recruiter’s Salary/Benefits + Relocation + Other Expenses) / Operating Expenses
9. Health Care Costs per Employee = Total Health Care Costs / Total Employees
10. Turnover Costs = Termination Costs + Hiring Costs + Training Costs + Other Costs

Putting It All Together
To get the clearest picture, you must combine data gathered from your financials along with information from your CRM, manufacturing systems, and every other database you maintain. In most of today’s networks, data can be pulled from many types of data sources including SQL Server, Excel, Oracle, and Quickbooks. Plus you need to get the information in time to take action. It can all seem very daunting, but there’s good news: It’s easy to create reports and dashboards to get the intelligence you crave. Contact us to learn best practices for capturing popular analytics in easy-to-use reports and dashboards.

Even with the growing use of intranets for central archiving, I still see a number of paper forms in use in many different organizations. If there’s been an acquisition (or two or three), the problem is compounded. There are usually disparate forms… and procedures! Depending on who trained whom, your staff may all perform tasks differently with varying results. It’s a risky way to operate the department. Continuity is key, and forms are the easiest place to gain or re-gain control.

First, you need to be digital if you aren’t already, and you need a central repository for all forms. The days of using paper documentation are numbered, so the first step is to get your forms into an electronic format if you’re still working with paper. Here’s a minimal list of forms to consider:
* Requisitions
* Purchase Orders
* Expense Reports
* Checklists
* Meeting Agendas
* New Project Template
* Backup Log (see “Don’t Plan to Fail”)

Once you’ve got your forms under control, the next step is to include written procedures, work flow, your Chart of Accounts reference guide (more on that in an upcoming article) and your project management book of knowledge. If you don’t have written procedures or a charted work flow, both are well worth your time and effort to create them.
With documented procedures, you’ll find training new staff members is quicker and easier. Storing your procedures in electronic form and in a central repository makes updating them simpler and more cost-effective than it’s ever been. All employees have a single reference point.

The idea of charting work flow makes some folks shudder. It can be a daunting task; however, it always leads to more streamlined operations. As soon as you begin committing your work flow to paper, you’ll see exactly where extraneous steps exist, and a good work flow map shows you where you can eliminate wasted efforts.

There are a number of online sources to share and store documents. Google Docs® (www.google.com) is one of my favorites, and we use it all the time. Documents can be shared for real-time collaboration or simply shared for viewing. You can use Google Docs® for text, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings. Existing MicroSoft® documents can be uploaded and are converted for easy viewing and alterations. The best thing about Google Docs® is that it’s free! MicroSoft® Sharepoint Server is another cost-effective solution that I often recommend.

Creating a reference guide and central repository for procedures and forms is as important to your business success as getting the debits and credits correct! Set aside time every week to work toward your efforts. Once it’s in place, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

Tapes:
Tapes (or other re-writable media) are cost effective. Be certain you’ve got several sets. There’s no point in backing up today’s files over yesterday’s, or you’ll be restoring exactly the same problems. Ideally, have two weeks’ worth of tapes.
Online:
There are many web-based backup services including Carbonite®, Mozy® and Dropbox®. I personally use Carbonite® for the online backup of my notebook. It’s inexpensive and easy. I also use Dropbox® to sync files between my notebook, desktop and phone.
External Hard Drives:
Using external hard drives is another option. I’ve been very pleased with the ones from Western Digital. (www.westerndigital.com) My current one is extremely large (3 TB) and fast with USB 3.0
Server Image:
Your server image file will include all of your system’s information including the operating system, programs and updates, patches, settings and configurations. Restoring an image of your entire drive is the fastest way to become operational again after a failure. It’s a far better choice than reinstalling everything from scratch which is costly in both dollars and downtime. This should be done every time you change the configuration of your operating system or installed applications (including service packs and hot fixes). Unless it’s scheduled, it’s not being done automatically, and it can be done overnight to minimize interruption.

Backup Storage
Properly storing your backups is as important as testing your restorations. At the very least, take your backups home with you each night. Off-site storage is critical. Some companies have duplicate backups. One stays on premises for easy access for restoration in case of a localized problem (a hard drive failure) and the other is stored off-site in case of a catastrophic problem (the building burns down).
Several companies are available to pickup your backups daily and take them to a secure, off-site location. These companies will return a specific tape upon request.

Caution: Remember that whoever has your backups also has all of your data, some of which is probably very confidential. Backups must be secured! How easy would it be for someone to pick up one tape and have every piece of sensitive data for your company? You data may even include credit card numbers. The liability could be huge. Remember: security first when selecting backup storage.

In your company, someone’s most important job of the day must be to confirm that the previous night’s backups were completed and securely stored.

Once you know you can restore your files, you should also prepare a plan for completing a full recovery before you need it. Here are the steps you should take:

1. Create a spreadsheet with all of your software license information, and include everything from Windows OS to your least expensive utility. You will need quick access to this information to get your PCs or servers back up and running as fast as possible.

2. Document the location of all of your installation software. Remember you are only backing up data, not your programs. You should always maintain software license documentation.

3. Determine how long you can be without your server. That answer will indicate how many spare parts you need to have on-hand for repairs.

4. Test the restoration of your backups frequently. We recommend once per quarter or after you’ve made significant changes to your server environment.

By taking time now to build your restoration plan, you’ll save a lot of headaches and stress when it comes time to actually restore your backup. And with all that can go wrong (hard drive crashes, viruses, human error), the question is not “if” you’ll need to restore your backup, but rather it’s “when you need to restore your backup.”

Integrated business management software that aligns with your strategic goals… and helps you meet them.

Our mission is truly that simple and that straightforward… and it’s been in place and provided our direction for over twenty years.

We’re passionate about software. We realize it is merely a tool to advance our clients’ businesses, but it’s a tool that unlocks potential like nothing else can. In turn, those successful businesses advance their employees, their partners and their clients.

We believe our dedication to service not only sets us apart from our competition but creates positive, personal relationships with all of our stakeholders. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Selection and implementation of business management software is the key to streamlined and efficient operations. Numerous organizations have relied on Smith and Allen Consulting, Inc. to provide this solution.

For nearly twenty years, SACI has been helping companies regain control of their financial reporting with efficiency and pinpoint accuracy. When a hedge fund company ended up with a half dozen different accounting packages as a result of acquisitions, it turned to us for help. Despite numerous branches and a global reach, SACI consolidated its Sage, Peachtree, Simply, Excel and Dynamics programs into a unified program with project accounting, multi-currency adaptations and advanced reporting. The result was a standardized system used in all branches that now provides actionable business intelligence.

With SACI’s expertise, a bond rating agency was able to reduce the time it took to prepare financial statements from weeks to days, and they’re now able to prepare them with greater accuracy and security.

Success and profitability come from accurate budgeting and forecasting. Using Microsoft Forecaster, SACI provided a solution that allowed a medical device research firm to manage 22 departmental budgets. In addition to increased efficiency, accuracy and security, the CFO was able to acquire status reporting and department heads could be fully invested in the budgeting process.

Find out how SACI can help you regain control of your financials and make the most out of your business intelligence.