I’m no Computer Geek

A friend of mine hired me to help her try to make sense of the stacks of paperwork she had piled up on her desk. She had been keeping her husband’s books for his landscaping company the old-fashioned way. She was way behind on billing as she would hand write invoices and mail them out. I’m no computer whiz but she needed some help. The first thing I did was purchase the best accounting software I could find. This was going to get her payroll and invoicing under control where she could see what needed to be done.

The next thing was to start utilizing some of the small business tools that she had at her disposal. Organizing the office was a major endeavor but within a week we had it running smoothly. I started in-putting data concerning clients, how much they owe, and when payment was due. I set up the Quickbooks organizer to send her reminders a few days before payments were due so she knew to print the invoices and mail them out.

It was a difficult task but we finally got her home office looking and running great. I helped her so much she didn’t need my assistance anymore; I worked myself out of a perfectly good job. Actually it was just a temporary position until we could get the accounting software up and running. It really is such an easy program to work with that even non-computer literate people can understand it completely. It really made cleaning up her big mess a whole lot less stressful.

One of the really cool aspects of this software was that it included payroll software as well. Her husband's employees five work hands and in the past my friend was just writing them a personal check without taking any taxes out. This software is easy to use by just putting in the information and the calculations are done automatically. Things are running smoothly now and she’s handling everything just fine.

ACT! Software Training Maximizes Your ROI

Purchasing ACT! software by Sage will prove to be one of your best business decisions. But did you know that ACT! software training by a certified trainer is an even smarter decision? Let's look at how taking the time to learn how to use ACT! more fully will maximize your software ROI.

Training Equals Better CRM
As with any CRM application, it's possible to purchase, install and use ACT! and never understand its full potential. That's unfortunate, because the robust features ACT! offers are designed to significantly enhance Customer Relationship Management for your business.

To maximize your return on investment, plan to attend at least a basic ACT training course. Learn how ACT! can become the foundation of your successful CRM strategy. Find out how to automate all customer contacts and personalize all customer communications.

By attending ACT! training taught by a Sage certified trainer, you'll learn to use many features of the software that self-trained users miss. Don't just invest in ACT sales software; learn to use it to its maximum potential to get the highest return possible.

Training Equals Better Administration
If you're in charge of administering your CRM application, receiving training specifically for ACT! administrators is essential. In a well-designed course, you'll learn, for example, how to install ACT! on workstations, set up security roles and administer databases.

Managing the use of ACT! at your firm goes beyond answering user questions. It involves establishing set protocols and expanding the application as your company grows.

You could, of course, muddle along learning one step at a time as you go, but a good, comprehensive ACT! administration course taught by a certified trainer is a much more productive use of your time. Just as you require ACT software support to assist you in doing your job, increase the benefits of ACT with administrator training.

Training Equals a Customized Application
ACT!, straight out of the box, is one of the best CRM packages available, and it becomes even more valuable when customized to your firm's requirements. Ask your software vendor for information on ACT! customization training.

To individualize this powerful program for your organization, learn how to modify layouts, customize fields and manage drop down lists to make them more user-friendly.

A good customization course will also teach you how to create and modify reports at the request of management. Imagine being able to report key indicators easily, in ways that fit your company's needs.

ACT! has a proven track record as a flexible, easy-to-use CRM application. That's probably why you purchased it in the first place. Capitalize on that purchase with basic ACT! software training, as well as training for administration and customization of the software. By doing so, you'll have not only a great CRM application in place, but the ability to make the product work overtime to meet your needs.

System Requirements for Peachtree Premium

Peachtree Premium is the product used by more Sage accounting software users than any other. It has specialized industry-specific editions, such as for construction firms, nonprofits, manufacturing plants and distribution centers. It is also incredibly cost effective, given the functionality of the program. After you've got your accounting software training, check that your computer system and network meet the following criteria for installing Peachtree Premium.

System Requirements

The recommended system configuration for Peachtree Premium is a 1GH Pentium processor (or other brand equivalent) for a single user. Upgrade that to 1.8Ghz for multiple users. You'll need 512MB of RAM for a single user and 1G for multiple users, and if you're running yourPeachtree software product it is recommended that you don't concurrently run other memory-hungry resources -- design and layout programs, audio or video editing programs, and even iTunes can cause problems sometimes.

However, at a minimum, you need:

• 1 GHz Pentium III for either single or multiple users
• 256 MB of Ram for a single user, 512 MB for multiple
• Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed, or any later version of Windows
• 1GB of disk space
• Internet Explorer 7 or later
• The Microsoft .net framework, which can be downloaded from the Microsoft website or installed from the CD which comes with Peachtree Premium. You'll need this for multiple users.
• A CD Rom drive
• Internet access to use online features like bank reconciliation, etc

Software on computer

You'll want to download Adobe reader for free to see product manuals, and to use the demo features you'll need Flash Player. Both of these can be obtained for free from the Adobe website.

Integration with existing data sources

You can sync Peachtree Premium with Microsoft Excel, Outlook and Word to save you double handling data (and therefore save money!).