As I write this, we have over 30 customers in our training room at our headquarters in Red Wing, MN, attending a seminar on our CenterPoint Accounting and CenterPoint Payroll software. They traveled from as far away as Texas, Ontario, California and Maryland, and as close as an hour away. Some are just getting started with CenterPoint and some have been using our products for close to 30 years.

While their intent is to learn better and more efficient ways to use our software, they also educate our staff on how their businesses operate, which helps us provide better tools for their use. I’ve talked to several people over the years that say they learn a lot from the others that attend the seminars, in addition to the formal instruction that takes place over the three days of the seminar.

In my experience from attending these types of educational sessions over the years, sponsored by other organizations, I have to admit I learn as much from interacting with other attendees as I do in the classes. I’ve mentioned before our belief in the value of continuing education for all our employees, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of the knowledge of all the people they come in contact with.

If you haven’t recently attended this sort of educational opportunity, I encourage you to do so. Whether it’s a Red Wing Software Training Seminar, or some other offering in your line of work, I’m confident you will learn some valuable information that will help make your business more successful.

- Ken Hilton, President

My name is Tim Bergeson and I have been with Red Wing Software for 20 years. I’ve been in the Technical Support department the entire time, and since April of 2013 I have taken over in the position of Support Manager.

My previous accounting experience working with businesses and farms helped tremendously when I came to work for Red Wing Software, and combining that with the great accounting software Red Wing Software offers has made this a great position for me.

I’m married and have two children. My wife is Nicole, son Justin (27), and daughter Britney (13).

In my time off I enjoy hunting, fishing, ATVs and anything dealing with classic cars.

By Stephanie Elsen

Red Wing Software provides accounting software for businesses, so the user can be in complete control of their own finances. CenterPoint Accounting Software is Red Wing Software’s accounting application that can fit for many types of businesses, ranging from distribution companies to service-based businesses, manufacturers, and many more

Because of their wide-appeal, basic, mass-marketed accounting systems get a lot of press and have a massive number of users. These products are top-of-mind for many people in search of accounting software. Many people ask us to compare CenterPoint against those products. Well, without doing a feature-by-feature comparison of the two products, here are some of the main differences between CenterPoint and basic accounting programs. To summarize the reason: many CenterPoint users come from basic programs and are seeking features that can help them manage their business better.

Improve Financial Management.

Businesses outgrowing basic accounting systems typically need better financial tools. After all what good is a system you plug information into if you are unable to pull it out in a meaningful way for your business. Here are some of the ways CenterPoint is an improvement on a basic system’s financial management.

• Audit Trail

  A good audit trail can help prevent and detect fraud. It also enables you to provide necessary documentation for third party organizations that require it. Also, a good audit trail can help reconstruct events, once an issue is detected. CenterPoint has an excellent audit trail and makes it easy to determine who entered a transaction, created date and time, how many times edited, who voided, and much more. How’s your audit trail?

• Information Tracking

  Get a better picture of your financials by setting up and tracking income and expenses by project, department, or custom parameters that you set up. You are then only a report away from knowing how much a project costs, the income for a specific department, or much more.

• Reporting

  A standard report is a great starting point, but what happens if you or someone else would like fields of information changed, added, or removed from a financial report? CenterPoint allows complete custom editing of reports, and you can save reports as you like for ongoing use. Don’t get stuck with templates that were made for the masses! Get the information you need, in a way that is useful to you and your business.

Expand Limited to Unlimited.

Some programs limit the amount of data you can have in your system. When you reach these limits, which you were likely unaware of at the start, you will need to move on to something new. Here are some of the ways CenterPoint compares to typical basic systems when it comes to limits:

Beef Up Security.

One person might start out running the whole accounting system, but eventually tasks will be divided up. At that point, you will likely want to limit what employees can do and see in the accounting system, based on their job. CenterPoint has menu level security, so users can see only the screens they are given access to within the system.

Not all programs are created equal. Any accounting system has its positive and negative points. Just because something is used and known by the masses does not mean it’s the best product available. Basic programs do a great job for many businesses, for many years. But when your business starts to outgrow its accounting software feature set, it might just be time to contact Red Wing Software. 800-732-9464, info@redwingsoftware.com.

By Stephanie Elsen

Red Wing Software provides payroll software that streamlines the payroll process, and makes tax filing and paying employees easier. For businesses just starting out, basic payroll programs may work fine. As a business grows, payroll management needs can quickly outgrow a basic payroll system.

Basic, mass-marketed payroll systems get a lot of press and have a massive number of users. These products are top-of-mind for many people in search of a payroll system. Many people ask us to compare Red Wing Software's payroll solution, CenterPoint Payroll, against those products. Well, without doing a feature-by-feature comparison of the two products, here are some of the main differences between CenterPoint and more basic programs. To summarize : Many CenterPoint Payroll users come from basic programs and are seeking features that can help them manage their payroll better.

Flexible Calculations

Where your basic payroll system stops short, CenterPoint can take over and allow you to perform calculations the way you need to for your business payroll. Ditch the spreadsheets and keep all your calculations within one system for more streamlined payroll management.

• Track Pay to Multiple Variables:

  Get more information from your payroll system. Track information the way you need to, and run reports to quickly see labor expenses by department, location, and any way that is meaningful to you. Many basic systems allow for limited methods of payroll information tracking.

• Tax Filing Options

  File taxes manually if you prefer, or upgrade any time to online tax filing or ‘eFiling’. To streamline even further, have the whole process of tax filing completed for you.

• Custom Earning and Deduction Codes

  As a business grows, earning (pay) and deduction (benefit) codes become more complex, and a standard earning or deduction may not handle the calculation as necessary. CenterPoint allows you to set up as many custom earning and deduction codes as you need, with the correct calculation method. Don’t limit yourself to a limited set of codes that often drives people to complete calculations on paper or on a separate spreadsheet.

• Variety of Time Entry Methods

  Choose to enter pay for hourly and salaried employees separately, copy pay from a previous pay run, or pull hours directly from a time clock. You can even enter different pay rates for different jobs done in the same day. There is rarely a pay scenario that can’t be handled in CenterPoint, unlike more basic systems that limit time entry methods.

• Employee Pay Options

  Employees are happier when they have fast and easy access to their pay. This might mean some employees get paper checks, others get direct deposit, and still others receive pay via prepaid debit cards. Does your payroll system offer all these choices?

Expand Limited to Unlimited.

Some payroll systems limit the amount of data you can have in your system. When you reach these limits, which you may not have known about when you started it, you will need to move on to a new system . Here is a chart that shows some of the ways CenterPoint Payroll compares to typical basic systems when it comes to limits:

Beef Up Security.

One person might start out running the whole payroll software system, but eventually tasks will be divided up. At that point, you will likely want to limit what employees can do and see in the payroll system, based on their job function. CenterPoint has menu level security, so users can see only the screens they are given access to within the system.

No two payroll systems are created equal, and some will excel where others fail. Just because something is used and known by the masses does not mean it’s the best product available. Basic programs do a great job for many businesses to start out. But when your business outgrows its payroll software feature set, it might just be time to contact Red Wing Software. 800-732-9464, info@redwingsoftware.com.

CenterPoint Accounting customer Dan Osborn, was featured in the Summer 2013 edition of Financial Partner from Farm Credit East. In the article, “On The Record,” Dan discusses the importance of timely reports and reliable record-keeping in his strategic decision making.