In the latest issue of the Peachtree Insider (find the pdf version here), Sage continues to provide some pretty useful information about the software. In this issue, they also step outside the typical boundries and write just a bit about LinkedIn (find my profile here). They do a fair job at outlining LinkedIn, but I’ve always thought the best way to explain a concept is through an example and the folks at Common Craft have nailed it with their unique style which is clever in its own way. Take a look here.

Sage still provides some helpful information about modifying your printed forms to show your company’s image. One of the most useful items is down in the Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How can I get a detailed purchase and sales history for specific inventory items?

A: Try printing the Item Costing Report found in the Inventory report group. Click the Options button for this
report to report on a range or specific inventory items.

Let us know how you use LinkedIn, what you think about Common Craft or what FAQ you would like to have answered by leaving a comment.

In the latest issue of ACT! eNews, Kristi Smith provides good, tactile instruction for some advice you might have heard from this office before: let the machine do the work. What that means, of course, is there are tools like ACT! which have undergone years of development, not to mention the money we as users have paid and the time we as users have spent implementing and learning. Let’s let the tools do their job. The first step as Kristi phrases it is “to dispel the idea that ACT! is a database program. ACT! is a powerful sales management tool that happens to run on a computer.”

Question: As a Sales Manager, where do you want your staff to apply their time and resources?

1. Preparing reports for review at the next sales meeting
2. Developing leads, presenting to opportunities and fulfilling orders

Clearly the answer is b. and because you have a sales management tool, you are prepared to allow your staff to do just that. Kristi provides instruction on how to use dashboards, a group of graphical representations of key indicators so you can see how your business is doing.

Kristi suggests using the dashboard for:

Pipeline coaching: see how your team members move through the sales cycle and where they need help moving opportunities to the next stage

Goal monitoring: see how close individuals or groups are to reaching their targets

Focusing on key opportunities: review the top ten opportunities to see where you can make the biggest impact

Dashboard accountability: your dashboard can be customized to show the indicators you follow; print copies of the dashboard to share with your staff so they can see where your focus is

If you aren’t a Sales Manager, your dashboard will be different, but play around and find the details you are looking for and then tell ACT! you want to see your dashboard any time you log on to the system.

In this same issue of ACT! eNews, Xavier Musy shares more information about custom dashboards.

If you are already using dashboards, let us hear how in the comments section. If you are thinking about how you might use them, let us hear your ideas.

There has been a lot of talk about the improvements included with release of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP version 4.3. I’m not complaining, because I wrote about here. However, I am interested in taking a look back at a tool that was included in a similar enhancement release. The Advanced Lookup Engine (ALE) was included in the version 3.5 release nearly eight years ago. The tool has undergone some development of its own, but in talking with different users, it seems that not many people are taking full advantage of everything it offers.

ALE is available throughout all of the MAS 90 and MAS 200 modules everywhere the familiar magnifying glass is found (or the F2 hotkey is available). ALE is the gizmo that allows users to sort or search any of the columns displayed. The columns can also be resized. The data can be searched by using any of the common operands (begins with, ends with, contains, etc.). The filters allow users to search using multiple criteria simultaneously. If that weren’t enough, users can also add standard columns to the display or calculate new fields to include. The custom search feature also allows users to build and save different searches.

With the ability to custom searches and the capability to export search results directly into Excel, the ALE is a de facto report writer. I have seen users write reports and mail merges for anniversary cards using the ALE. Another useful option is to create a call list for collections by including the following fields: Company, Phone, Contact, and Balance. In the image here, I have found a very specific list of customers: only customers with a zip code beginning 926 and area code 714.

The Library Master module includes a tool allowing supervisors to create, share and secure the customizations for individual users or groups of users.

Let us know how you are using the Advanced Lookup Engine in the comments.

I recently reviewed the ACT! Link for use with Quickbooks tour. The first six slides with content referred to eliminating duplicate entry and centalizing information. Without a doubt, these are both worthwhile goals. However, it is on the final three slides that the good stuff shows up. These slides are each titled: Take Action Using Real-time Data and Be Productive. That sure is a mouthful but it really says something. Let’s not just cut down on duplication because we think we should. Let’s not just integrate our systems because we’ve heard that’s the best thing to do. Let’s get something done; let’s be productive; let’s accomplish something for a reason.

So in which ways does the ACT and Quickbooks integration improve productivity? With Quickbooks Scheduling, users can create activities and schedule reminders to take action on Quickbooks transactions like completing follow up calls for sales or collecting on past due invoices. The sales staff that spends most of their time working in ACT can use Quickbooks item lists and tax tables to create estimates. After those estimates are generated, they can either be modified or if they are approved, they can be converted to invoices.

There you have it: two seemingly honorable goals with several reasons to justify why they ought to be.

By taking a common-sense and tactful approach, technology can be applied effectively by small businesses. Let us hear about your approach to technology for your business in the comments.

Two of the sales strategies mentioned in the document recommend prioritizing both your sales prospects and your existing customers. We can all agree that we should exert our effort where we will realize the biggest return; after all, how many references to the Pareto Principle can you recall from prior sales training?

ACT! by Sage ships with some pretty terrific reports for prioritizing your efforts that might work for you right out of the box. By following the Reports Menu to Edit Template, you can even modify the existing reports to meet your needs or click New Template to start from scratch. By using these tools to analyze where you need to focus your sales and marketing energy, you will also be working within another of the included strategies: optimizing operations.

• The inclusion of the most popular Paperless Office enhancements

• Integrating the Fixed Assets module with Accounts Payable and Purchase Order

• The expansion of Business Insights Explorer to include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Inventory Management and Purchase Order views

However, there is another less talked about (but maybe more anticipated) enhancement included: the simplification of report selection criteria.

No longer are users required to move to a second tab to define the criteria, but better yet is that users now have the option to keep the selection criteria window open after printing or previewing a report. That means you no longer have to navigate through the menus to run multiple iterations of a single report. It has been a long time coming.

Considering that and the fact that we’ve had some time to do our best to break the new release so it doesn’t break at the customer’s site, we’re getting excited about moving ahead with the upgrades. It’s also important to note that Sage has not yet had to release a service update for version 4.3.

Let’s hear what is exciting you about the upgrade to version 4.3 in the comments.

While the short list included is a fine start, it hardly scratches the surface on ways you can keep your productivity up by keeping your fingers on the keyboard. Going beyond mere keyboard shortcuts, other tools are available to help with text substitution. Text substitution is a system in which a user creates a hotstring (specific characters) that when typed are automatically replaced with a longer string of text. For example, rather than typing the entire name of our company, I can simply type A-S-L to get Acuity Solutions, LLC.

I recommend Texter from the folks at Lifehacker.com which works across all Windows applications so you can use it in Peachtree, Word, Excel, Outlook…you get the idea. Texter allow users to include date and time variables in text replacement and punctuation can be used in hotstrings. By the way, it’s free.

If you’re using text substitution, let us know how it works for you. We also want to hear any others ways you avoid the mouse.