Billzone Blog

Six Pitfalls to Watch for When Starting that Excel Project

Spreadsheets are one of the most useful tools that businesses have today. Some people have become so proficient at using them that, as a result they use them all the time, for all kinds of things. This often leads into people using spreadsheets for purposes they weren't designed for. You would not use a spreadsheet when:

It needs to be shared concurrently.

When many others need to have access to view and update it, you need another tool. Excel allows one user at a time. This often leads to many people taking a copy of their own, which leads to a real mess when it all has to come back together.

You are continuously collecting data.

An engineer who has 50,000 rows and growing in an Excel sheet will soon hit the worksheet row limit of 65,536 rows. At that point she would have to figure out a way to continue.

The data needs to be secure.

Excel does not have data security in the same way an enterprise application does, and so can only protect data using some simple mechanisms.

The data needs to validated on entry.

Though it is possible to set up some data entry validation in excel, in practice, most people just pull up a sheet and start punching data into it. This can lead to errors in data-entry, making the data less accurate, and harder to run statistics on.

There is obviously another tool that would do it better.

There are examples of users creating letter templates, trying to maintain multi-user mission critical manufacturing schedules, trying to create graphics files with it, and more.

You're building a "database".

Many IT support staff find this to be one of the biggest misuses of Excel. Usually users spend a lot of time designing and entering data before they find their solution does not work. At this point the sheet is mission critical, so they ask their IT support staff to help them. It takes more time to analyze it, so time is wasted on both sides.

Ask for Help

If you find yourself in a position where you're considering using Excel for a project, consider some of the points above. If you fall into any of these categories, you may want to have a chat with your IT support staff or an IT specialist before continuing. You might find that a small amount of time invested with them up front will save you a large amount of grievance in the long run.

For example, they might be able to set up a simple SQL Server/MS Access database that everyone can use, has unlimited data entry, is more secure, and validates data on entry. As an added bonus, an MS Access front-end could spit out reports in Excel for analysis, a purpose Excel is more suited for.

Many thanks to people who contributed to a discussion on this topic at http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/information-technology/computers-software/TCH_ITS_CMP/625070-2600475

3 Reasons Why Continued Support for VBA in Microsoft Office is Good for SME Businesses

Microsoft discontinued support and enhancement of its Visual Basic 6 platform years ago, instead moving to its new .Net platform for enterprise applications. However, what many people don't know is that a flavour of VB called Visual Basic for Applications, or VBA as it is known, continued on in the Microsoft Office suite as the primary language for things like Excel and Word macros, and automation of Access database applications. It appears that, in spite of the relentless move toward .Net at Microsoft for many years, this technology will continue on and will be supported in Office 2010 (Office 14), and for SME business owners this is a very good thing.

1. Most businesses over 20 employees have invested in VBA-automated things for people "in the trenches", from simple mail merge applications in Word, to data extractions for analysis in Excel, to multi-user MS Access databases. Continuing support for these means that these companies will be able to extend the life of their investment.

2. Support for VBA also means that related technologies like the Jet database engine and Data Access Objects, or DAO can be supported by providers for years to come, on newer, more advanced platforms like Office 2010. For the large number of businesses who wrote entire systems around the MS Access/DAO/ODBC/SQL Server platform, this means they can stay current and be sure to be supported for years to come.

3. VBA with MS Access is regarded by many as the quickest way to prototype a working application for SME businesses due to a data access technology (DAO) tightly knit with the VBA language, a powerful design environment, and the best integration with other technologies in the office environment, like Word and Excel.

Ongoing VBA support means SME businesses can still get the best bang for their buck for years to come.

Five Tips to Get Your Invoicing Ready for a New Tax

Changing over to a new tax scheme can be daunting for small to medium sized business owners, but there are some things you can do in advance that can help.

Update Your Accounting System

Ensure your accounting system can handle the change. If it can't, make sure to plan a changeover to a new system that can, or design a workaround so you can accommodate the new tax.

Double-Check Invoicing

Check over your invoicing thoroughly at the time of changeover to make sure that you have applied the tax correctly for each product or service.

Get the Team Involved

If you have a larger business, make sure to involve all the different divisions in a discussion about the change. There will often be some expertise unique to different departments that can help your transition.

Prepare Your Suppliers

Prepare your suppliers to expect the change. For example, BillZone allows your subcontractors to generate their own invoice to you, which speeds up Accounts Payable (they get their bills in on time) and Accounts Receivable (you immediately generate invoices immediately from the same data). They might be surprised if the tax rate changed on their invoice and they were not expecting it, or forgot to implement it themselves.

Confirm the Date, and Find Out When You're Affected

Be sure of the changeover date, and check to see if you will be affected in advance. For example, you might be required to self-assess for goods or services sold in advance of the changeover date but delivered after. Also, this could affect the timing of invoicing for certain aspects of your business.

Why Basic Project Management Tools Are Good

Ok, you own a small business with several projects on the go at any one time. Why bother with keeping project records? I mean, you've got it all organized in your head, right? Besides, you looked at project management programs and found that they were overkill and wasted a huge amount of your time. Well, there are some very good reasons to use at least some basic project management tools in your business.

Try answering these questions:

- If your customer calls you and asks how much time you've burned to date on her project items, can you tell her right then and there? Or do you have to compile a bunch of information (and phone people) before you can tell her?

- Is your business relatively free from costly bookkeeping mistakes?

- Do all of your bills go out on time, all the time?

- Can you measure your success over the past few years? Can you see how often you've been on time for delivery of your projects?

If you answered no to any of these, you need some basic project management tools. Forget complex project plans, you just need to set up your project with a good list of deliverables on it. Make sure your people can access it and update it in real time, so that you or your bookkeeper don't have to spend as much time on it. You'll know how much you've burned and what the item completion status is at any one time, for all your projects, across your whole business.

How Mobile Apps Are Changing Small Business

These days everything is mobile, and mobile device technologies are changing small businesses because it enables them to extend their data capture into the field like never before.

Forget about just sending emails or making calls while in the field. Whether it is consultants, home care workers, electricians, or architects, they are entering time, expenses, distance to the job, and product sales on their mobile devices while at the site instead of waiting to use a computer.

Most people have a mobile device, and in many cases they use a mobile device more than they use a computer because they are always in the field. Contractors and installers are receiving workorders and instructions on their mobile devices while sitting in their truck, and no longer have to wait for phone authorizations, printed instructions, or other things that waste time. Technology project managers are running quick reports and receiving automatic notifications while at the airport.

On the other side of things, small business owners or project team leaders are getting the benefit of real-time oversight of their billings and resource usage, when they need it.

Bookkeeping Success in Managing Resource Time-Entry

Say you're a bookkeeper; why would you want to change your small or medium sized business over to an automated time entry or time-tracking system? Well, you're going to get some of the biggest gains when it is switched over.

How many timesheets do you manage in a month? Do you use paper timesheets? An excel sheet; maybe one with a macro? How much time does it take to finish it each month?

The amount of time saved in automation grows as you handle more and more people. Say you have a company with 25 employees and contractors working for you. A short month might have 21 workdays in it, so if you are doing a manual sheet every day, you might have 525 sheets to process, plus comments and dozens of expense entries. Even if people only fill in a sheet one time per week, it is over 100 timesheets to process.

Feedback from our customers tells us that, even for a company with only 25 people, this manual process can take over a week when you include processing the invoices. Customers with the best success in converting time entry have seen their time committment go from 5 or more days to 1 day (80%+ reduction in effort and cost). Numerous other benefits, like the speeding up of receivables, have also followed successful implementations.

So, we ask you: Are you a bookkeeper in a small or medium size business? How many timesheets do you process? How long does it take you?

Categorize Your Billing

Making a Good Set of Categories

One of the most important things you can do when setting up your business on any kind of project management, expensing, or time-tracking software is to make sure you categorize your billing and expenses.

If you create a good set of categories in the beginning, your small business will really benefit down the road.  You will be able to see important trends on how you ran your business in the past, and these will help you plan for the future.  They will also help to simplify management of your general ledger (GL) and accounts receivable (AR).

Business Items

The first set of categories you create should include a set of items for the overall operation of your small business.  These will not be related to projects you are working on, but generally account for "everything that is not a project".  Usually, these will include some major categories such as Marketing, Finance, or Accounting.  Within these areas, you might split the category into a few more, but generally that is where you would stop.

For example, you might add a few sub-categories like Market Research or Ad Design to the Marketing category.

Project Items

The second set of billing areas you can create will include your projects that you are working on for customers over time.  Each project should have its own set of items and sub-items or categories.  Your billing system should allow for projects to have multiple versions over time.  

For example, you might write a small piece of software one year and then two years later do development to enhance the same software.  If you do many versions over time, it is much easier to see statistics over the long run.

You should determine the kind of billing your project will need before you set it up.  While some projects may have a standard set of items, others may need to have specific defined items created before you put your time and expenses against them.  Make sure your system can do both.

A general contractor might simply put all his time against general items like Carpentry and Electrical, and this may be enough for his reporting purposes.  Another contractor might need to specify exact items to bill against, like Breaker Box F, Switch Setup.  A lawyer might set up project items for each contract or set of meetings they have been asked to do.

Get Advice

It may seem overly cautious to ask advice about which categories to set up, but it is also a good idea to talk with your accountant when setting up categories the first time. They will have good advice on how to set things up the first time, for both Business Items and Project Items.

Get Your SME Ready to Implement Time-Tracking & Invoicing Software

So, you decided to organize your business around a time-tracking solution.  You did your cost-benefit analysis and found that there would be big gains for your small or medium-sized business.  What now?  Well, there are some proven ways to help you succeed that aren't related to the software itself, but are more focussed on getting your people ready.

Designate a champion

Think about the person in your company that knows your projects and your business.  Someone tech-savvy.  Someone who is a good teacher.  Have this person become the go-to person for the new system in your company.  They will be key to your transition, and the main liaison with your staff and the software company's own implementation team.

Manage expectations

Moving an organization onto any new computerized system can be daunting.  Raise the expectation in advance that there will be disruption to normal operations and procedures while the system is implemented.  If you help staff to expect this in advance, then the actual stress on the team is reduced during the transition. Give people a good timeline and stick to it.  If people know what to expect then they are less likely to be stressed when changes occur.  Involve them in planning.

Communicate effectively

Tell everyone the benefits of the system and how it will help to make the whole company more efficient.  Let them know that a time-tracking, billing, and invoicing system will actually help with every role in the company, be it accounting, project management, contractors, employees, customers and more.

Provide good training

Make sure that everyone has a good chance to train on putting their entries into the system, and to get questions answered by a trainer.  Even after the initial training is completed, have the champion follow up with tips and tricks every once in a while.

Create supportive business rules

Think about the cycles in your small business and how a new system will affect them.  If you create some business rules around the use of the system, it will help you get buy-in.  For example, you might have a policy to support timely invoicing that says all contractors must have their time in by the 7th day of the month for work done in the previous month.  If the business rule is that invoices go out immediately following this, then contractors have incentive to make sure they put their time in or risk having to wait for payment until the following invoice cycle.

Listen

During the transition onto a time-tracking solution, listen to those who bring up concerns or objections.  Their input is extremely important because it can show things that may have been missed, or opportunities to use the technology in places to get further benefits.  For example, you may have purchased your time tracker software simply to automate billing but then find that it can also replace a spreadsheet based project management system used by your team because of built-in project management functionality.

Keep a log

This will help you to see recurring issues with your invoicing, billing, user problems, training issues, and business rules.

Follow up

Whenever there are issues, make sure to follow up with users, first immediately following their issue or complaint resolution, then after some time passes.  This gives ample opportunity to expose any unresolved or recurring issues.

Promote best practices

Overall, you'll get the best results from an online time entry system if you provide some best practices for users to follow.  Keep in mind that because the system is new, people won't have experience in organizing their work around it.  Some companies may encourage daily or weekly reporting from individuals, or may have practices around how long or short comments have to be for each entry if descriptions are required.  Project managers may need a consistent way to set up each project in order for resource usage reports to meet certain guidelines.  If you think of your company's practices in advance and tailor the use of your system to them, you can really get the most out of it.

In the end

In the end, the new system will benefit everyone.  End-users who just put in their time every day will benefit from accurate and timely pay.  Customers benefit from accurate, timely reporting and invoicing.  The accounting side of the business benefits by slashing the time required to do billing, and the management side of things get a good view of everything that happens in the business.  If you organize and help your team through the transition, everyone benefits!