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Learn how you can manage your business in a single, powerful solution. Our biweekly webinars take you through real-world workflows, offering the chance to ask questions in real-time of our knowledgeable presenters. Last month, we covered topics ranging from sales leads and orders to cost of goods sold and system administration. Here's what we have on tap for October:

October 1st – Shipping and the aACE Pick App

Your customers depend on you to get them the right products at the right time. Learn how aACE streamlines the pick, pack, and ship process with our Pick App and shipping integrations, and take a sneak peek by checking out our feature highlight.

October 6th – aACE Basics

If you’re brand-new to aACE, this is the webinar for you! Learn how aACE’s system-wide conventions make it easy for new users to interact with the solution. Check out our video before the presentation to get a sneak peek at aACE’s user-friendly design.

October 8th – Templates, Campaigns, and Rate Cards

Learn how to save time and prevent errors related to duplicate data entry with standardized orders, purchase orders, pricing, and more. Before the webinar, check out our feature highlight on Rate Cards.

October 13th – Managing Transactions

aACE makes it easy to track each step of a transaction, giving you the peace of mind that comes from having one solution manage every aspect of a sale or purchase. We’ll explore how users manage transactions in aACE using the Purchase Orders module as our example.

October 15th – Production and the aACE Job Shop App

Your production process has a lot of moving parts, and your business depends on keeping them all running smoothly. Learn how aACE can help save time and reduce data entry errors with our robust production tools, including the aACE Job Shop app. Before the webinar, check out our feature highlight and demo video to get an advance look at the app.

October 20th – Guest Webinar: aACE+ The BPR

Learn how The BPR can help you quickly, easily, and accurately document your company's unique workflows and customized features in this guest presentation from our friends at Optimum Output.

October 22nd – Commissions

Discover how aACE's comprehensive commissions tools can help you incentivize your sales team and reward your affiliates for referring new business.

October 27th – Sales Leads and the aACE CRM App

Your sales team is moving fast to keep your customers and prospects engaged, and they need a solution that can keep up – even when they're on the go. See our CRM App in action and learn more about how sales leads move through aACE. Check out our sales leads and CRM App feature highlights for a sneak peek before the presentation.

October 29th – Inventory Replenishment Management

Ensure you always have the right number of products at the right time with aACE's smart inventory reorder management tools. And to get a sneak peek at this powerful feature, check out our feature highlight.

We look forward to seeing you in our webinars! Register now to save your seat.

Technology and software play integral roles in modern businesses, especially for core operational processes like accounting. As businesses of all sizes around the globe adopt new solutions to make day-to-day operations easier, security remains crucial. Sensitive company data must be kept secure from prying eyes while remaining readily accessible to those who need it.

One of the first lines of defense for keeping your data safe is ensuring that the operating system you’re running is up to date. But what happens when critical software — for instance, your accounting system — doesn’t keep up with the times?

That’s what happened recently to Mac-based companies relying on AccountEdge, whose parent company, Priority Software, announced earlier this year that their on-premise solution would not be compatible with Mac OS Catalina or any future Mac operating systems. Now AccountEdge customers on Mac OS must weigh the risks of their suggested workarounds against the costs and benefits of adopting a new accounting package.

Updates, Updates, Updates

No matter what kind of tech your business runs on, you’re likely familiar with periodic notifications alerting you that it’s time to update your OS or software because the developer has made enhancements, corrected bugs, fixed vulnerabilities, or other issues. While these updates can sometimes seem like a hassle, they’re often important for ensuring stability and security.

When a major operating system like Windows or Mac has an update, you’ll probably need to plan for some downtime. Once the system update is complete, you may find that any software you have now needs to be updated as well. It can be frustrating waiting for your tech to bring itself up to date when you have other important business to attend to, but remember: While some software updates correct minor issues, often updates repair critical security gaps that could put your organization at risk. Here’s an example that affected millions of people:

In 2017, attackers targeted Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, by successfully finding a vulnerability within the company’s dispute portal. The hackers moved through Equifax’s systems for more than two months before they were discovered in late July. The result? More than 143 million Americans had their personal information like Social Security numbers, addresses, and birth dates publicly exposed.

Equifax agreed to pay $700 million as part of the settlement related to the breach. If your company inadvertently exposes customer data due to outdated software or operating systems, the consequences may be similarly significant.

Catalina Update is a ‘Bit’ Too Modern for Some Older Software

Given how important it is to keep up with operating system updates, why would AccountEdge stop supporting the latest and greatest Mac OS?

The problem resides within AccountEdge’s code, which is more than 30 years old, according to Apple Insider.

Starting with Catalina, Apple now requires all programs that run on their OS to be 64-bit and will no longer support any 32-bit applications. AccountEdge is 32-bit.

This shift isn’t entirely out of left field. Apple has supported 64-bit applications for about the last 10 years. Just shy of two years ago, the company alerted users that the Catalina OS would not support 32-bit applications.

Priority chose not to invest in upgrading AccountEdge’s code to be compatible with the new 64-bit requirements, leaving some of their customers scrambling. While they have recently announced that they are working on a single-user version of AccountEdge Pro that would be compatible with Mac OS in the future, they still cannot commit to doing the same for a full-featured, multi-user version of AccountEdge likely due to either the cost involved or to encourage users to switch to the subscription-based version of the solution.

A New Solution or a Workaround?

When AccountEdge developers decided that they weren’t going to upgrade their code to meet Apple’s 64-bit requirement, they offered users a few different ways to continue using the software.

Workaround #1 – Don’t Update to Catalina

Priority Software announced that AccountEdge 2020 is available and indicated plans to continue supporting the software on Macs that are running a system prior to Catalina.

In general, it’s good practice for companies to discuss acceptable levels of risk. This raises the question: Is the risk of running an out-of-date OS acceptable? Especially when there are accounting software solutions on the market that give you the full support you need without limiting your ability to protect your systems?

Before choosing this workaround, ask yourself, “Is ignoring the update worth the potential risk an older OS brings to our company? Would we be better served by using software that is compatible with current operating systems, knowing that current operating systems offer better security?”

Workaround #2 – Switch to the Hosted Version of AccountEdge

Another option AccountEdge offered its Mac users was to switch to the new AccountEdge hosted subscription service. This browser-based option allows users to access their data from any device, including Macs running Catalina OS.

As more companies move critical operations to cloud-hosted solutions, on the surface, this might seem like a great alternative. But is it right for you?

Let’s look at some drawbacks:

First, if you have a lot of users who need to access your accounting data, costs for this option can quickly add up. If you have a large accounting team, how do monthly, per-user costs compare to purchasing desktop software for your team?

Second, just because your data is in the cloud doesn’t mean it’s always available to you. Because this is a subscription-based service, what happens to your data when you stop paying the subscription fee? Or, what happens if you stop using the service, and then later need access to that data for an audit? AccountEdge customers initially selected desktop software for good reasons. Have those reasons changed?

Ask yourself, “How important is long-term access for our accounting data, especially for audits and compliance standards? Would our company be better served to switch to another software solution that provides extended access to our valuable data?”

Workaround #3 – Run AccountEdge Using Parallels

Another way to continue using AccountEdge is to run the Windows version on your Mac, using a virtual Windows environment called Parallels.

This option allows you to upgrade your Mac to Catalina. However, there are some drawbacks.

Expect to incur some potentially hefty software expenses from Parallels right out the gate; as of July 2020, a single license for Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition costs $99.99 per year. If you have a large team, that can add up fast.

A virtual environment will also pull additional time and resources from your IT team. The team will need to set up servers and maintain virtual machines over time. For some teams, this system of rules and virtual area networks will be overly complicated. The virtual environment may also create additional security risks your team will have to monitor and mitigate.

Many companies that adopt virtual environments also discover that while they may initially set up a few servers, over time their usage grows, requiring more. This ultimately creates more work for your IT professionals.

Think about inefficiencies if your team has to alternate between two OS environments to handle day-to-day tasks. Employees who are used to Mac environments may not be happy about switching to a Windows app to begin with, even if they retain their Apple products for everything else. That can become more complicated (and more frustrating for your team) because of the impression of “slower” functioning systems due to the large RAM consumption often required for virtual machines.

Ask yourself, “Is our company better off switching to new software to avoid the additional costs and IT headaches created by using virtual environments?”

Workaround #4 – Switch from Mac to Windows

Switching from Mac-supported AccountEdge to a Windows-based version is another solution available to existing Mac licensees.

If your company has built its critical functions within a Mac environment, switching over to Windows is a big undertaking. In order to keep the change minimal, you could consider having only the accounting department switch to Windows. However, would doing that silo your accounting data from the rest of your company’s data?

Just think about the expense of making that transition, including new computers and new Windows-based software for all your current applications that are handled in a Mac environment. What about training for your team to help them transition from the world of Mac to a new PC environment? Can you take on the risk of downtime and mistakes during the learning curve?

Also, what about timing? Because costs can quickly add up, most new technology purchases and upgrades are included in company budgeting processes. Is there room in this year’s budget for an overhaul of your company’s tech? Or will you have to wait until the next fiscal year, meaning you have to figure out a solution to get you through the rest of the current one?

Ask yourself, “Is my company willing to take on the additional expense and resource depletion to move our accounting functions from a Mac environment to a new PC environment? Would it be more cost efficient and faster to adopt a new accounting software solution that works in our existing Mac environment?”

A Pandemic and a Changing Mindset

Companies are sometimes hesitant to purchase new software solutions for several reasons:

• The selection process can be tedious.
• New software can be expensive.
• Implementation often takes longer than expected.
• Budgets can be significantly underestimated.
• Adoption rates can be low.

Even when companies manage these risks well, they can struggle to get team buy-in. It can be difficult to convince employees that a new software package will improve the way they do their work.

However, one positive outcome of the coronavirus pandemic may be that employees feel more open to trying new software and new ways of working. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines required many organizations around the globe to switch suddenly to remote workforces. This forced teams to give up some of the bureaucracy that often impedes technological innovation.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, many organizations were forced to significantly increase their technology spending to adapt to the new social distancing guidelines. One study by TrustRadius indicates that more than 70% of organizations surveyed anticipated increasing technology spending due to the outbreak.

While some forecasters anticipate a drop in tech spending throughout the remainder of the year, due in large part to a decrease in the overall economy, the pandemic may have been a catalyst for more open-mindedness when it comes to the adoption of new software. Essentially, for many organizations it has fueled a new way of thinking about how teams can — and should — operate.

For example, if your organization had manual accounting processes that required team members to meet face-to-face to exchange knowledge and share spreadsheets and other documents, remote working may have highlighted significant gaps and inefficiencies in those processes.

Did you know that almost 70% of chief financial officers (CFOs) still use spreadsheets to build reports?

AccountEdge “social distancing” from Mac Catalina may provide the perfect opportunity for existing users to consider a new way of handling accounting processes.

The Solution is a New Solution

While there are a number of accounting software solutions on the market, few address the core difficulties for the AccountEdge/Catalina issue as efficiently as aACE accounting software.

Let’s recap the suggested workarounds:

1. Don’t upgrade to Catalina.
2. Switch to AccountEdge Hosted
3. Use Parallels to run a virtual Windows environment on your Mac
4. Switch to Windows

After considering each of these options, you may find that switching to aACE accounting is a better option for your company. Here’s why:

1. You can upgrade to Mac Catalina with no issues. Because aACE is built in Claris FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple, it will always be compatible with the latest Mac operating system.
2. You’re not limited in hosting options. You can choose a cloud-hosted option for aACE accounting software or, if you prefer, host aACE on-premise.
3. Since you can run aACE accounting software in both Mac and Windows environments, there’s no need to take on the additional expense and hassle of creating virtual environments for your accounting solution. And since the software can run smoothly on your existing OS, you won’t have to worry about problems created by RAM issues and connectivity struggles.
4. With aACE accounting software, you can work in the operating system environment of your choice. You don’t have to fear that your accounting data will be siloed from other operational functions, even if your accounting department uses an OS that’s different from the rest of your team.

More Benefits. Better Business.

Here are a few other key benefits of switching moving from AccountEdge to aACE accounting software:

1. It’s budget friendly. aACE has a number of licensing options to best fit your needs including the cloud-hosted Complete Edition and the on-site and cloud-hosted Enterprise Edition. Both versions offer all-inclusive licenses and affordable maintenance fees.

2. It’s a full-featured accounting system that allows you to quickly drill down and around so you can follow a transaction all the way from the lead to the balance sheet. By eliminating the need for duplicate data entry across multiple solutions, aACE saves time and greatly reduces the potential for human error. And with aACE’s user-friendly general ledger, it’s easy to see those savings reflected in your bottom line.

3. Budgeting is a breeze. You can use aACE to create a variety of budget options configured for your company’s unique needs across multiple departments or offices and for any time range.

4. aACE is a single solution that encompasses your entire company. If you have multiple office locations and many departments, you can manage all of them in aACE, including the ability to create reports reflecting multiple departments and/or locations within your company. You can even manage multiple businesses in a single aACE solution.

5. aACE supports a growing number of third-party integrations, including integrated payment processing, sales tax automation with Avalara AvaTax, ecommerce integration with WooCommerce and other leading ecommerce solutions, shipping integrations, EDI integrations, and more.

6. Set it and forget it (for now). If you have recurring transactions, you can automatically generate orders, invoices, and more. You set the schedule to run as long as you need it and aACE will do the work for you.

7. Reduce organizational risk. Not only are you reducing risk by keeping your software up-to-date, you can also reduce your audit and fraud risks with unprecedented insight into all of your accounting operations.

8. So long to siloed data. Say goodbye to spreadsheets, manual data entries, and repetitive data imports and exports. aACE’s accounting modules are part of a comprehensive business management software solution that integrates all your core operational functions in a single system to make running your business that much easier.

If you’re a Mac user looking for an alternative to AccountEdge (and you want to avoid the risks associated with the related workarounds), contact an aACE advisor today. We’ll be happy to help.

"The aACE accounting system was extremely easy to use and setup. I quickly found myself capable of doing things like setting up GL accounts, sub accounts, and so on to make sure our reporting flowed the way we wanted to see it in our financials. Keeping track of receivables and payables is so easy and straightforward in aACE. While I still have a lot to learn on the accounting side, aACE has made setting up and running our business so easy, even for someone with very little accounting experience such as myself." - Clay Waterman, Co-Founder, Southwest Auto Accessories

Schools are now in session, and you too can get back to learning with our September aACE webinars. Last month, we covered topics ranging from the basics of accounting to deep-dives into commissions and recurring transactions. Here's what we have in store next:

September 8th – Tax Profiles and aACE+ AvaTax

Tax season isn’t anyone’s favorite time of year. Fortunately, aACE has you covered through our out-of-the-box tax management infrastructure as well as the aACE+ Avalara AvaTax integration. Check out our feature highlight before the presentation to get a preview of how aACE takes the guesswork out of tax time.

September 10th – Managing Transactions

aACE makes it easy to track each step of a transaction, giving you the peace of mind that comes from having one solution manage every aspect of a sale or purchase. We’ll explore how users manage transactions in aACE using the Purchase Orders module as our example.

September 15th – Cost of Goods Sold

Demystify your cost of goods sold with aACE's advanced tools for COGS reconciliation. Learn about estimated vs. actual cost, how aACE handles products with multiple vendors, when and how to run the COGS process, and more.

September 17th – Sales Leads and the aACE CRM App

Your sales team is moving fast to keep your customers and prospects engaged, and they need a solution that can keep up – even when they're on the go. See our CRM App in action and learn more about how sales leads move through aACE. Check out our sales leads and CRM App feature highlights for a sneak peek before the presentation.

September 22nd – Expenses and Credit Card Purchasing

For many companies, tracking expenses can be a nightmare – whether you're reimbursing employees or reconciling charges on the company card. Learn how aACE makes it easy to accurately record business expenses and use credit cards for purchasing and see our Expenses App in action.

September 24th – Sales Orders

See aACE's sales order, drop shipping, and special order workflows in action and learn how aACE makes each of those workflows a breeze. Before the webinar, check out our feature highlight for a preview of some of these topics.

September 28th – System Administration and Document Management

Take an advanced look at aACE system administration and document management. Learn how aACE makes it easy to manage system preferences, user access privileges, and system notices. Our powerful segregation-of-duties tools gives you full control over what your users can see and do, while aACE's document management system allows you to attach files directly to records in aACE, ensuring that you always have the information you need right at your fingertips. Check out our feature highlight and demo video for a sneak peek.

We look forward to seeing you in our webinars! Sign up now to reserve your spot.

"aACE was a critical component to the success of our company's future." - Derek Navratil, IT Administrator, Essential Water Solutions, Inc.

Ahh, remember the good ol’ days where you could walk across the office and chat with your favorite work pal while refilling coffee? Or when your clients filled your reception area waiting appointments with your staff?

Because of COVID-19 and social distancing, it may be many weeks, months — or longer — before we have those days again. These changes have forced business professionals across all industries to look for creative and innovative ways to adapt.

While many companies think of retail and related industries being hard-hit by the pandemic, it has also created unique challenges for business-to-business (B2B) services, especially related to B2B payments. According to a study by PYMNTS.com, about 64% of B2B payments are still made by check. If you compare that to the business-to-consumer (B2C) industry, you’ll see that B2B lags far behind, with almost 70% of B2C payments made electronically.

Time to Make the Digital Push

If you’re still relying heavily on paper checks and other paper-based and manual processes for B2B payments, now is the time to consider dropping it all into the shredder and moving toward electronic payments.

Here are 4 ways moving to electronic payments can improve your operations:

1. Fewer Touchpoints

In this pandemic, it’s a good idea to decrease touchpoints in daily activities. By eliminating paper checks, you can help decrease the number of physical touches needed to get payments into your systems. Think about eliminating the mailroom shuffle across departments and the hand-offs around your office before a physical check finally gets sent off to the bank.

2. Systems That Talk to Each Other

If you’re using disparate software or paper processes and spreadsheets to manage everything related to payments (sales, billing, invoicing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.), consider adopting a business management software solution that unifies your core systems and makes data sharing and visibility easier.

Don’t look for workarounds to tie your existing piecemeal systems together. Instead, consider a business management solution that includes integrations for your existing systems or one that’s so easy to use for all of your critical functions, you’ll never look back.

3. Less Repetition, Fewer Errors

A business management software platform can also help you eliminate a lot of those repetitive tasks related to the touchpoints mentioned earlier. It can also decrease the chance of human errors caused by manual inputs and tedious data imports and exports.

4. Long-term Costs Savings

While there will be upfront and recurring fees for your business management software, you’ll likely find over time you’ll actually save money. If you pay by check, you can save expenses on check ordering, envelopes, and postage, not to mention staff resources you tie up with these manual, repetitive paper-based tasks.

Push Through the Pushback

Moving to electronic B2B payments won’t come without its hiccups. While many may be grateful for the nudge, some clients may insist on still using paper checks. You don’t want to miss out on those payments, so consider having a system in place that allows you to process both electronic and physical payments seamlessly – and without duplicate data entry.

Moving forward, adopt a digital payment expectation with new clients. Explain the benefits — not just for your business but your customer, too. Make sure your sales team understands why “the old way” needs to become a thing of the past and provide them with the resources they need to adequately explain your processes and payment expectations for all new customers.

To learn more about how integrated payment processing can streamline your business's operations, check out our aACE+ Payments feature highlight. And to see aACE in action, register for an upcoming webinar today.

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is a great way to integrate your core business processes into a single platform that gives your unparalleled visibility into all of your critical functions in near real time.

But choosing an ERP isn’t as simple as clicking an online ad and swiping your credit card.

There are a lot of ERP solutions on the market, all with a variety of functions and integrations. So how do you know which is the right ERP for your organization? How can you avoid getting lured in by the shiny bells and whistles and actually select an ERP that meets your unique business needs?

The U.S. ERP market continues to grow and is expected to reach almost $50 billion in the next five years.

If you’re in the market for an ERP and are ready to compare products, here are 6 factors you should consider:

1. Understand What You Need From Your ERP

Before beginning your ERP journey, it’s important to understand that while there are a lot of similarities between ERP products, there are also many differences. A good sales person can convince you that his or her product is what you want, but before engaging in these conversations, you should understand what your company actually needs.

A great place to start is by doing a business impact analysis (BIA).

• What are your most critical business systems, processes, and key vendors?
• What would happen if one or more of those stopped functioning?
• How would it affect your abilities to operate?
• What are the pros and cons for ERP adoption based on your current operational processes?
• How could an ERP help your critical operations perform more effectively and with more confidence?

Also consider doing a risk assessment for an ERP in general at the beginning of the process, and then again for each of the solutions that make your short list.

• What risks does an ERP introduce for your business?
• What is your organization’s acceptable level of risk?
• What steps can you take to mitigate risks introduced by an ERP?
• What risks are too high for your organization to accept?

Next, from your BIA and list of critical functions, determine which of those can be handled or supplemented by an ERP. Your ERP should be able to handle all of those core operations to support your success.

In a recent survey of companies considering an ERP solution, here are the top functions they wanted their ERP to handle:

• Accounting
• General ledger
• Accounts receivable
• Accounts payable
• Budgeting
• Financial reports
• Inventory
• Distribution
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Sales
• Technology, including integrations and reporting

2. Integration is Key

If you’re an established business, it’s likely you have some core systems and technologies that work well for your company. In such instances, you likely don’t want to reinvent the wheel and adopt a new system, let’s say for eCommerce, just so it will work with your ERP.

Take a deep dive into the ERP vendors you’re considering to see if their products support integrations with the existing software and solutions you want to keep. How does it handle the data and information from those systems? Does it automatically digest (a true integration) that core data or do you have to still manually import and export data from one product into your ERP?

One of the things that makes an ERP a great win for your company is by improving data access and usability across your organization — without having to manually re-enter data from one system to another. Make a list of your existing systems and ask your potential vendors about specific integrations (and support) for those products.

An important thing to note here: some ERP solutions offer these integrations as part of the core product. Others offer them as bolt-on modules, with each new module coming with additional fees for adoption and usage. Be sure to ask your vendor what’s included with the ERP solution and what’s considered an additional module that will require further expense and implementation processes.

3. Consider Scalability

While your ERP solution should meet your current operational needs, it’s also important that your solution can scale and change as your organization grows and your needs change over time.

• How often does the solution do updates and upgrades?
• Does it offer customer support and education for new features and functionality?
• How does the solution’s team handle customer support?
• Is the company open to feedback about product improvements and additional features?
• Does the company use that feedback to help improve the product?
• Does the product work across a variety of work environments including on-site and cloud options?
• What fees are associated with licensing as you add more users over time?
• What are the related maintenance and support costs and are they clearly outlined by the vendor?
• How complicated is it to scale with the vendor? Does it offer APIs to help your team can tackle future integrations and data resources or is it something the vendor has to do for you?

4. Pay Now, Pay Later

When talking about scalability, we touched on licensing fees and maintenance costs. While these are definitely key to consider as your company grows, it’s also important to talk with your potential vendors about actual expected expense both during purchase and implementation and as you maintain the solution over time, not just as your company scales.

• How does the vendor handle consultation and implementation fees?
• What’s the licensing structure and anticipated expense?
• Are there fees related to migrating data for implementation?
• How does the vendor handle maintenance and upgrade fees?
• What other expenses should your company expect upfront and then annually over time?

5. Customer Support for Success

While an ERP should be simple enough to use that you can knock it out of the park once it’s implemented, the reality is any new technology implementation comes with unforeseen issues, so it’s important to know upfront how the vendor handles customer support.

• Does the vendor pair you with an advisor who serves as your core point of contact for questions?
• Does the vendor provide any customer training and education, like onboarding and ongoing updates about product improvements and new features?
• What are the customer support hours? Is the vendor always available or will you have limited customer support times?
• What types of customer support does the vendor offer? Email? Calls? Chat? Videos?

If you’re using an ERP to drive your core business operations, a vendor with a great customer support track record is key. You want to move forward with confidence that if you have any roadblocks — or if the software has a temporary failure or issue — you can resolve it quickly with minimal impact on your business.

6. Get the Inside Scoop

When evaluating ERP solutions, don’t just take the vendor’s word that they successfully deliver what they promise, go to the source — customers. Take the time to seek out product reviews across a variety of websites and sources. Ask your advisor to provide you with contact information of similar customers so you can talk with them about how they use the product, any issues they’ve had, and what their impressions are of whether the product stands up to its claims. Reputable vendors should feel comfortable in helping you access this important information.

Even with these suggestions, narrowing the field to a hit list of ERP solutions for your company won’t always be easy. You might find it helpful to work directly with an advisor who can brainstorm with you, help determine exactly what you need from your ERP, and then clearly define how that product should be implemented today – and then matured in the future — to support your overall successes.

Need help? Connect with an aACE advisor for more information or join us for one of our upcoming webinars to learn how aACE’s ERP solution can work for you.

"After having worked with SAP, Oracle, Great Plains, Navision, and a couple of other smaller solutions, I have never seen a software that can be modified as quickly and yet as cost effectively as aACE in the ERP space." - Bryan Anderson, Managing Member, AS360

The coronavirus pandemic may have forever altered the modern workforce, pushing sudden adoption of work-from-home opportunities at unprecedented levels.

According to one study recently shared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least 37% of U.S. jobs can be performed entirely remotely. That’s good news for many businesses still grappling with mandated social distancing requirements and the “new normal” of doing business with fewer people close together at most on-site locations.

With an increasing number of remote work teams, and some teams adopting a hodge-podge approach that blends work-from-home and on-site work groups, how do you help your employees stay productive and improve efficiencies in this blended environment?

Here are 5 ways you can boost employee productivity at home or in the office:

1. Acknowledge That It’s More than Slacking Off and Zooming Around

When it comes to working from home or blended remote and on-site teams, you may get laser focused on adopting new software and related technologies that replace some of the key functions in your normal on-site operations.

For example, if you need to talk with someone, instead of walking across the hall for a chat, you might use an app like Slack for instant communication. Or, if you manage tasks with daily brainstorming sessions and meetings, you may replace those with tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday. And of course, if you want to still meet to stay connected, you might adopt tools like Google Meet or Zoom.

Those are all great tools, but what about your critical business functions? Does your accounting software work independently of your invoicing solution? In a typical day, does someone on your sales team create invoices and hand them off to your accounting team for collection and reconciliation? Do your team members manually input or import and export data from one system to another to handle key tasks? That might work okay (albeit inefficiently) for on-site operations, but how can you do that successfully with a fully- or partially-remote team?

This is where you should consider adopting a business management software solution. One that facilitates integration of all your critical business operations and enables quick and easy access to data to stop those manual imports and exports or repetitive keying-in of core operational data.

2. Choose a Solution That Works for You

Before selecting a business management software solution, evaluate your existing critical operational systems and functions. Here are some core questions to consider:

• What are our most critical business systems?
• What are our most critical business functions?
• Who is responsible for these functions?
• What is the impact on business if we can’t do these functions or they don’t operate efficiently?
• What are our existing processes?
• Where are these processes the strongest?
• What are our existing issues with these processes?
• Do we have any duplicated workflows in our processes? If yes, why? Can we eliminate them?
• What gaps and improvements can be addressed with a business management solution?
• How well do these existing functions operate in a fully remote or partially remote work environment?
• How can we improve these processes with business management software to make them work optimally in this environment?

When it comes to adopting new technologies, many have shiny features that look great in the ads, but aren’t functions you may actually ever use in your daily operations. Don’t just choose the shiniest solution on the market. Choose the one that best meets your unique business needs and helps you improve your daily efficiencies today and can scale with you in the future.

3. Break Down the Silos

Silos are often the biggest obstacle to efficient business. Whether those silos are caused by geography, departmental autonomy, technology, or specific knowledge retained by key employees, disparate workflows slow down operational efficiencies.

In many organizations, especially those that have experienced rapid growth, this is most evident when it comes to data and information sharing. The culprit is often technology that’s been grandfathered along as the organization has grown, trapping critical business data in software that either doesn’t communicate with other systems or can only be operated effectively by a limited number of people on your team.

To break through these silos and improve worker efficiency, consider adopting a business management software solution that enables your critical business operations to communicate with one another, freely share data between departments and locations, and ensure everyone on your team has access to the most current, accurate data and information when they need it—no matter where they are working from.

A business management software solution can unite many of your key business functions, from accounting to customer relationship management (CRM). You can even integrate enterprise resource planning (ERP) to get a full picture of your operations like purchase orders, inventory, and shipping, all in one single solution.

4. Empower Your Staff

While improving productivity begins with making sure your employees have the tools and resources they need to be successful, it’s only as effective as your training and education. You can put the tools in your employees hands, but if they don’t know how to use them — and don’t understand how learning will make their jobs easier — they may become more inefficient.

When planning for a new business management software solution, including your awareness and education strategies in that process is critical. If your employees don’t understand what the software is intended to do — and how it can make them do their jobs better with less time and frustration — adoption and usage can be low.

A great success starter includes involving key team members — those whose day-to-day functions will be supplemented by your business management platform — in your planning strategies when reviewing and selecting your solution.

Empower them to be a part of the team that makes your platform selection. Involve them in the implementation phases where appropriate, and solicit and respond to their feedback about what works and what needs improvement throughout the process. These team members can become internal champions to help get employee buy in across your organization. The more employees who understand what your solution is intended to do, and understand how to use it, the more likely you’ll see improvements in both employee productivity and efficiency.

5. Keep a Pulse on Your Team

Pandemic fatigue is real. Not only are your employees dealing with the added pressures of job performance in a new environment, they’re also carrying the weight of a changing world around them. Whether that’s spousal or familial job losses, family illnesses or loss of life, financial pressures, or children now home-schooled, employee mental health is just as important as ensuring they have all the tools and resources they need to be successful at work.

As your team adopts new strategies and technologies to help them be more productive and efficient at their daily tasks, don’t forget about the value of routine check-ins just to see how they’re doing. What challenges are they facing? Are their resources your company can provide to help?

And don’t forget about the value of recognition. As your employees journey into this new normal, acknowledge them for outstanding work and helping your company accomplish your goals. A business management software solution helps you have complete visibility into your operational successes and challenges so make sure to routinely review your efficiencies and acknowledge your team members for improvements and exceeding expectations.

Want to know more about how aACE can help you boost your team's efficiency? Register now to save your seat in our upcoming webinars.

Learn how aACE can help you take your business to the next level in this month's exciting webinars! From exploring the basics of aACE Accounting to a special guest presentation on how to better manage your operations, here are our topics for August:

August 4th – Commissions

Discover how aACE's comprehensive commissions tools can help you incentivize your sales team and reward your affiliates for referring new business.

August 11th – Accounting Basics

Explore aACE’s GL Accounts module and learn how aACE makes it easy to print financial statements, navigate the general ledger, reconcile bank statements, and more. This webinar is very audience-driven, so come early and bring questions!

August 18th – Beyond the Chaos Guest Webinar: 3 Ways to Remove Chaos from Your Business

Join special guest presenter Susan Fennema, Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO) of Beyond the Chaos, as she walks us through three ways to manage the many moving parts of your business. From creating basic policies, processes, and procedures; to gracefully managing demanding client projects; to optimizing your project management software, this webinar will help you take back control during this chaotic time.

August 25th – Recurring Transactions

Take an in-depth look at how aACE automates recurring transactions, allowing you to set up automated payments for bills you know are coming regularly. Check out our feature highlight on the subject for a sneak peek before the presentation.

We look forward to seeing you in our presentations! Register now to save your seat.