Small Business Owners

[Anonymous]

It may not be what ou are looking for, but I use almost religiously a program called “remember the milk”. It basically permits you to log tasks to do, with due dates, notes, priority and in different folders. Sends email notifications for appointments and daily taks lists ahead of time etc..you can use it on a smart phone app or through the website and it is instantly up to date

I use it with some principals from “getting things done” by David Allen. The hardest part is taking the time to update it daily and reviewing the task for the following day.

It’S not perfect, but it sure helps me stay somewhat organized.

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[Wgreen]

There are quite a few of custom software packages that are on the market for different kinds of businesses. If you can find a good package that has been written for your type of business—complete with numerous modules that all dovetail together—it can make life much easier. These packages will be more expensive than, say, QBPro, but for many entrepreneurs, they are well worth the premium. Check a trade magazine to see if there are any advertised, then get some recommendations.

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

I have found a written agenda much better for me than anything online. Writing slows my brain down and I have been told that because writing is a far more complex process, with many more hand movements required than typing, that it uses more of the brain and makes things stick more.

It was pointed out to me that the heads of companies and most leaders write by hand.

Typing stuff into a computer or my I-phone doesn’t have it stick the way a one-page-per-day calendar does.

After trying out many different commercially available pages, I actually created my own.

I’ll blog about it soon.

In the meantime, try writing. The most powerful people I know refuse to give up their Day Timers and other paper agendas.

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[billd]

That’s a fact, Bill – er, uh, I mean Rick! (too much Red Green)

Being a computer nut – IT admin for since about 1990 now, I do a lot of research on such things, and wondered why I hate PDF files and online documentation so much.

It’s not only the “writing it down” that helps, but studies show that we retain MORE of what we read, and “get it” easier if it’s on a printed page that we can hold.

I’ve for years printed every single PDF document as far as instruction manuals, software manuals, etc.

I’ve got many notebooks on the shelf with printed versions of PDF files, Word documents, etc..

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

I have tried a number of online planners and virtual agendas for my cell phone, and I have to say, I still prefer paper. I still prefer a calendar where I can write it out, see the day laid out, check things off, add notes quickly, and at the end of the day write out what I’ve learned, what worked, what didn’t and so on. Writing by hand activates far more of the brain that typing does. I find it makes things stick much more.

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[Anonymous]

I agree, writing is the best way for me to get it out of my head and in front of me (more portable since I don’t have a smartphone). I never thought about the fact that it’s a complex process too.

Back to the original post – for inventory and accounting, software is pretty much a necessity if you have a lot to keep track of and it’s especially important for tax reporting. I remember one accounting colleague telling me that she made sure her students and subsequent accounting techs could do corporate tax returns by hand because it’s pretty easy to screw up a tax return with a computer (although the latest ones are good at hand-holding you through a basic personal return). Some people just do the basic entries for sales and receipts on their software and then get their accountant to do other more complicated entries (you just have to watch for conflict of interest – the same accountant who does your bookkeeping for you can’t audit or review your financial statements since they’d be auditing their own work and that violates auditor independence).

Someone posted earlier on this thread that Quickbooks doesn’t have GL accounts and codes, but it does, it’s a preference selection. I’m a designated accountant and I use it, have done so for years (also used Simply Accounting). Unless you’re a big company, you probably don’t need anything more sophisticated. I’ve used more sophisticated programs too, but they tend to be more specialized depending on the company, more expensive, and require more training and support (several manufacturing companies I worked for had designed their own software to handle all their needs – quite a risk if the original programmer dies or goes to another company). QB has a good community forum of users, some are QB experts, and it’s easy to get quick answers if you have problems.

I love checking things off as done! There’s something quite satisfying about it. Also planning a day and doing at least SOMETHING on the list.

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