Professional Services Marketing | Archive

Choosing the “Best” Accounting Software

Posted on 15. Mar, 2008 by Biz Coach in Top Management Tools

Accounting and sound financial management are fundamental components in all small business success. Financial reporting should play a role in every management and marketing decision you make.

But accounting and finance may well be a mystery to you. Your eyes may glaze over when you just start thinking about determining which type of accounting software to use. If you’re like most people, you lack an extensive background in accounting. So where do you begin? Fortunately, Today’s accounting software options offer great solutions—providing you with the tools and the information you need to keep your financial records accurate and current, while supporting you in making the most of your company’s cash flow.

You’ve probably already found that there are about as many accounting software packages as there are types and sizes of small businesses. So determining which ones best meet the needs of your firm can be a tricky undertaking.

Of course, you’ll want to consider the special needs of you and your firm and you’ll also want to be certain that whatever product you select is compatible with your CPA’s systems.

Unless you have a full time bookeeper, look for ease of use and intuitive interfaces for each of the most frequently modules e.g., accounts payable.

Which ones are “best”? Of course, the answer is very situational.

We’ve been using QUICKBOOKS PRO www.quickbooks.intuit.com/ for several years and are quite satisfied. You’ll pay less than $150 (street price). But this is an important decision for you. Once you pick a program, you’ll be unlikely to switch soon to another. Compare several of the most popular programs. Two other popular programs you’ll want to look into are Peachtree Complete and MYOB Business Essentials.

Best Email Marketing Software

Posted on 15. Mar, 2008 by Biz Coach in Client Communications, Newsletter, Referrals Jump Start

A great way to educate, influence and impress your clients and potential customers is the use of newsletters. Email marketing services make it easy for you to quickly begin using professional, effective bulk email campaigns that bring results.

You won’t need a graphic designer to create an attractive email or newsletter. Nearly all good services have various email development features to guide you every step of the way. You can import an HTML page and/or use one of the many templates provided by the service. You’ll soon be adding attachments, pictures, sound files, and more.

You’ll finding managing your e-mail list is a cinch.

A huge advantage to using an online email marketing service is the tracking capabilities. You’ll have access to reports on bounced, forwarded, delivered/undeliverable and sent emails; as well as conversions, click-throughs and more.

We haven’t used them all. But we have used the ones we believe to be the top two. And we’ve scoured the internet and chatted with scores of users to determine the real opinions of people who have used the others.

We’re now using iContact www.icontact.com and we’ve also used Constant Contact www.constantcontact.com . You’d probably be happy with either. Both do about the same things.

iContact seems is bit more intuitive. But both ARE intutive and both have a very short learning curve with very ample on-line training, support, forums, etc.