By Stephanie Elsen

Customer Care Membership with Red Wing Software gives customers a comprehensive package of benefits for using its accounting and payroll software products. Included in Customer Care Membership are unlimited phone and e-mail support, product version updates and enhancements, and of course tax table updates. Once customers try Customer Care Membership, a large percentage of them see the value and renew each year. (January 2013 renewal rate=89.75 %.)

Here are some interesting facts about Red Wing Software Customer Care Membership.

• Support team members have an average of 13 years of experience at Red Wing Software.
• 100% of product updates come from customer suggestions.
• Customer Care Members are provided with a toll-free number to call, which rings directly into the team supporting the product they are using.
• Support is 100% U.S. based.
• Product updates can be done online via the internet, or customers can receive updates on a CD via mail.
• Detailed training videos and documents by subject are available to Customer Care Members.

My name is Mike Zielski. I am the Quality Assurance Manager here at Red Wing Software. Red Wing Software has been my home away from home for the past 12 years. I am responsible for delivering quality software releases to our customers.

My daily commute to Red Wing Software involves a 30 mile trek from River Falls, WI, where I am originally from, and continue to live with my wife Kathryn and 8-year-old daughter Kadence.

When I am not stressing over a product release, I love to travel and cheer on my Wisconsin Badger sports teams. Some of our most recent trips have been to New York City, Washington D.C., Mexico and Pasadena, California for the past three Rose Bowl football games.

My last trip to the Rose Bowl was a hectic one, but as a big Badger fan, it was worth it!

My summarized itinerary…

December 31st:

• Took a flight at 5:00 p.m. (CST) from Minneapolis to Las Vegas.
• Rented a car and drove from Las Vegas to a hotel in East Los Angeles (about a 3.5 hour drive). I arrived about 11:30 p.m. (PST).

January 1st:

• Drove to the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California and parked my car at 5:30 a.m. (PST).
• Walked about two miles up to the Rose Bowl Parade and claimed my spot for the 8:00 a.m. Rose Parade.
• Watched the parade until 10:00 a.m. and walked back down to the Rose Bowl Stadium.
• Watched the football game.
• Left the game about 6:00 p.m. and drove down to San Diego (about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive) to stay overnight at my brother-in-law’s apartment.

January 2nd:

• Caught a flight back home from San Diego at 9:30 a.m. (PST) with a layover in Denver.

…whew…

Our next big adventure is a trip to Disney World in Florida in March. Wish us luck!

CenterPoint Payroll Software customer, M.A. & Sons, was featured in the December issue of Successful Farming. In the article, “Growing Chiles the Garay Way”, Mary Alice Garay and her sons discuss the challenges, as well as their successes competing in New Mexico’s Hatch Valley, the Chile Capital of the World.

Red Wing Software CenterPoint Accounting and Payroll customer Dick Wittman was featured in the December issue of Farm Futures. In the article, “Beyond Basic Bookkeeping”, Dick discusses how the benefits of professional, financial management, can add value to your business.

Lambert VanderMade, a CenterPoint Accounting and Payroll customer, is featured monthly in the Dairy Today publication in the section, Dollars and Sense.

Red Wing Software CenterPoint Accounting and Payroll customer Sunburst Dairy, was featured in the January 1, issue of Progressive Dairyman, as a panel member in a roundtable discussion on A.I. & Breeding.

By Stephanie Elsen

You know the answer if you are responsible for payroll at your organization. An earning code represents the calculation used to calculate an employee’s pay, such as hourly, salaried, bonus, etc. A deduction code does the same for an employee’s deductions, such as 401K, wage garnishment, etc.

Most payroll software programs include a standard set of earning and deduction codes for you to choose from. If your needs become more complex than your payroll system can handle with the standard codes, be sure that your system includes the ability to customize the codes so you can calculate earnings and deductions correctly. If your system doesn’t allow you to customize the codes, you will need to figure out a way to do the calculations outside the payroll system, and enter them into the system by hand. This is inconvenient and inefficient.

A good example of this is a wage garnishment deduction. An employee’s garnishment calculation must be done correctly, and wage garnishments can vary greatly by employee. You need to ensure garnishments are calculated and deducted correctly from employee pay checks. If the system will not allow you to create the code to meet your needs, you will need to calculate it elsewhere and enter by hand.

CenterPoint Payroll Software has a set of standard earning and deduction codes available. And you can also customize as many codes as you need to, so you won’t have to be using spreadsheets or entering data by hand.

By Stephanie Elsen

So, you made the decision to upgrade from an older Red Wing Software accounting or payroll program to a newer one. Congratulations. That’s a big decision, and one that can put you on your way to smoother processes and better financial management. Still haven’t gotten around to making the transfer from your older system to the newer one? There’s no need to feel bad. Rest assured knowing we are here to help you when you are ready. There are many different ways we offer to help you make the transition from one program to another. Use every option you can! Knowledge is power, and most of the options we offer come at no additional charge.

1. Data Transfer.

   There are documents to help you transfer or “migrate” the data from your old program into the new one. Many customers choose to do the data transfer on their own, with the assistance of help documents and in program help. If you would rather not do that, we would be glad to do it for you, for a nominal fee. Pricing depends on the amount and condition of your data.

2. Online Training Videos.

   Red Wing Software offers videos that were created specifically with the purpose of teaching new customers the essentials they need to be successful. Even if you’ve already been using the system, you can learn something from the videos! What’s more, you can view them at no additional charge, as long as your Customer Care Membership is current.

3. Phone Support.

   No matter which step you are at along the way, Red Wing Software’s support team can help with issues or questions that arise during the upgrade process. Simply pick up the phone and give us a call with the toll free number you are provided when you upgrade. The number is specific to your product, so you will be directly connected to the right team. Customers with current Customer Care Membership have unlimited support available to them.

4. Classroom Training.

   Many customers feel comfortable starting out with online training and support. For those who prefer training in person, Red Wing Software offers classroom training.

Don’t forget that your software will help you for years to come, and the time you invest at the start will pay off in efficiency as time goes on. It’s an investment worth making!