This month, the Notes from the President portion of the newsletter is being written by a guest writer. Please be assured that the Notes from the President will continue next month with the words of Red Wing Software President, Ken Hilton.

By Stephanie Elsen, Red Wing Software Marketing Manager

I still remember when my dad brought home a Commodore VIC-20 computer. He set it up in the basement and told us to figure out how to use it. I was around 11 years old, and I thought we were certainly a high-tech family! I followed the instructions and created a little game. It was crazy how you could just push those little buttons and create your very own game.

I also remember the Macintosh computers in the school library where we played the Oregon Trail. There again, just push a few buttons, and take a (fairly slow and choppy) journey across the United States as the pioneers did. Technology grew, and soon I was in college where they expected me to use a computer, along with a Norton Textra Writer program, to write and print up my papers. WHAT? Isn’t writing the paper hard enough? I really struggled with that back then! But before long, it became much easier than using a typewriter, or writing it by hand.

I am sure you can remember as I can all the new technology that came along over those years. I don’t know about you, but I found each and every one a little scary and intimidating at first, but after learning to use it, I wondered how I ever got along without it! Thankfully, now that I’m older and technology moves faster, I am used to learning new things. Windows® 10, the newest iPhone® update, Facebook’s™ new interface…all new technology I’ve gotten used to fairly recently.

I love working for Red Wing Software - a company that is constantly striving to provide new technology for our customers. It is great to hear from customers who can now complete processes faster, access information more easily, and become more efficient because of using our products. We now have CenterPoint available in a cloud (hosted) environment, which can help so many of our customers. Sometimes we have to sunset our older products in order to make way for the newer technology. If you are still using a legacy product, I strongly urge you to have a look at CenterPoint, whether it’s the installed or cloud version. It is an amazing product, and we hear from customers often that they wish they had made the switch sooner.

September may seem like a strange time to talk about budgeting for your business, but actually, any time of year is a good time to review how your business is tracking against your projections. Whether it’s planning for next year, or comparing this year’s results to what you were planning, looking at your actual numbers compared to your business plan for the year should be something that happens on a regular basis.

To illustrate, I’ll use a couple Red Wing Software examples of why this is important. Each manager of their respective department is responsible for creating their budget for the coming year. Of course, not only expenses are projected, but revenue is also part of the budget. For example, each salesperson puts together the sales goals that they expect to achieve on a monthly basis, and how they expect to achieve those goals. Sales numbers are then measured throughout the year on a daily basis so we are aware of how we are performing compared to our projections. If sales numbers are not what we expected, (either lower or higher), it is important to know the reasons and react quickly to any discrepancy. Of course if sales numbers are higher than we expected, we want to know why, and keep making decisions that ensure continued success.

On the expense side, you obviously want to make sure you are not spending money that was not budgeted without a serious look as to why these expenses were increased. Also, and this may sound strange at first, you want to make sure you are spending all the money that is budgeted unless there is a good reason for not spending it. For instance, our Marketing Manager budgets to spend a certain amount on very specific items. Whether it’s advertising, trade shows, web presence, travel, or any number of other things, it is important to stick to this plan. If marketing dollars are not spent as planned, the result could very well be a decrease in revenue. It can be a delicate balancing act.

We are fortunate at Red Wing Software to have seasoned, experienced managers and staff that are very good at planning for their respective departments, and our revenue and expense numbers are typically within two percent of their projections. I believe with practice, discipline, and timely analysis, most businesses can be equally accurate in their planning process.

- Ken Hilton, President

This month, I want to share some observances made on a recent business trip. First, it’s a long drive from Red Wing, MN to Sheridan, WY, but the landscape and sites along the way are something everyone should experience at some point, and the destination is breathtaking.

Several speakers shared their experiences on how their businesses are structured and how they use financial information to manage decision-making processes in their operations. It was refreshing to see so many Red Wing Software users, and users of other software, take advantage of the capabilities in their choice of products to really analyze their situation and make sound decisions to improve profitability.

It was clear our hosts for the meeting held everyone that worked at the company to a very high standard, and likewise treated everyone in the organization like family. We should all strive to live up to the standards that were exhibited by their management team.

Finally, as part of the meeting, we attended a rodeo. When I see the physical condition that these cowboys and cowgirls must be in to execute their chosen profession, and the danger they put themselves in, it makes me feel fortunate to be in the software business. About the only time someone at Red Wing Software gets hurt is if they slip on the ice between their car and the office.

I want to congratulate Chad in our sales department on the arrival of their newest addition to their family. A beautiful baby girl.

- Ken Hilton, President

With the relatively recent heavy rain storms and flooding in the southern and eastern United States, and the wildfires in the west, it is a reminder of how important it is to be prepared for a disaster. I sincerely hope all of our customers are getting through the unexpected events and/or recovering from the effects safely.

I have previously mentioned the importance of having your business information protected by storing data backups off-site and in places the data would be available to restore if the need arises. In the event of a disaster, Red Wing Software will do everything we can to help get your business back up and running by helping reload programs, etc., but we can’t help recover your financial information if you don’t have access to a good backup. Please don’t hesitate to call on us when you need disaster recovery assistance. One way to eliminate worrying about storing data backups off-site is to use the Red Wing Cloud Service which gives you access to your CenterPoint program and financial information in the cloud so it can be accessed anytime from anywhere.

I’ve heard the recent “Brexit” vote described as an “Independence Day”. As we enjoy Independence Day in the United States, and Canada Day in Canada, we wish the best of outcomes for our friends and allies in Europe. Please celebrate safely.

- Ken Hilton, President

This month I had a number of topics for this newsletter floating around in my head, but, after this weekend, only one seemed important.

On behalf of myself and the entire staff at Red Wing Software, I have a short and sincere message to all the men and women who have served, do serve, or will serve their country in the defense of freedom: Thank You.

- Ken Hilton, President