Thinking about ways to improve your payroll processes? In this post we have uncovered some ‘hidden gems’, features within CenterPoint Payroll Software that you may not currently be using, but that can help you and your business. These are features that our customers and the Red Wing Software support team have described as valuable, yet you may not be aware they are available. They are actually not at all hidden, but readily available within the program for you to use!

1. Reminders Set up reminders in CenterPoint Payroll to help keep you organized and on time! Set up a reminder to pay your taxes when they are due, change the status of an employee’s benefits after a certain time period, and much more.
2. Electronic Publish Pay Advice The publish pay advice function provides a secure Web site where employees who receive pay via direct deposit can view an electronic version of their pay check. Employees can quickly access their current and previous pay advice information from any computer that has a connection to the Web. Employers save time, reduce paper waste and decrease the costs associated with mailing pay checks and direct deposit pay advices. (The Publish Pay Advice module is available for purchase as an additional option for CenterPoint Payroll.)
3. Customizable Transaction Entry Make transaction entry much easier by only stopping on fields where you enter data often. CenterPoint also allows you to add, remove and sort columns on the transaction entry screen for quicker and easier entry.
4. Customizable reports You have the ability to pull out the information you need, whether requested by auditors, management, or others. CenterPoint Payroll makes it easy with the ability to modify reports, or even create a custom report from scratch. No need to be a programmer; the custom report tools are built for all users!
5. Time Import If you are storing your time information in one place, and re-entering that data into CenterPoint Payroll, you may want to check out the Time Import function. You can map out exactly which fields of information you want to import, save it as a custom import for just your needs, and then use it every time you want to import pay information. This is a huge time saver! (The Time Import feature is available for purchase as an additional option for CenterPoint Payroll.)

Wondering how to get started using these hidden gems? Call today and we will be happy to help you! 800-732-9464.

The Campbell Family (Total Seed Production, Inc.) has been a family business since 1936 – formally Campbell Seed, Inc.). Campbell Seed sold the retail portion of the business in 2006 and started Total Seed Production at the same facility. Total Seed Production is still owned by Scott Campbell, CEO; daughter Christy Conaway and husband Aaron Conaway, President and son Ryan Campbell, Vice President. The farm (place of business) has been in the family since 1850. The Campbell Family was the proud recipient of the Sesquicentennial Award at the 2012 Indiana State Fair.

Homestead Award Program Info:

In honor of Indiana's rich agricultural heritage, the Hoosier Homestead Award Program recognizes families with farms that have been owned by the same family for 100 years or more. Indiana family farms may qualify for the following:

• Centennial Award - 100 years of ownership
• Sesquicentennial Award - 150 years of ownership
• Bicentennial Award - 200 years of ownership

The program was instituted in 1976 and recognizes the contributions these family farms have made to the economic, cultural and social advancements of Indiana. In the past 30 years, more than 5,000 farms have received the honor.

(In the photo: Ryan, Andrea & Charlie Campbell; Carrie, Lucky, Dallas & Parker Capshaw; Christy, Aaron, Maverick & Oliver (not pictured son Raleigh) Conaway; along with employee Matt Cline.

Visit their Web site at www.totalseedproduction.com.

In this post we have uncovered some ‘hidden gems’, features within CenterPoint Accounting that you may not currently be using, but that can help you and your business. These are features that our customers and the Red Wing Software support team have described as valuable, yet you may not be aware they are available. They are actually not at all hidden, but readily available within the program for you to use!

1. Split Expenses

   CenterPoint allows you the option of splitting expenses by profit center, location, project and more. You can set up expenses to be split by a percentage to the office, a percentage to the sales department, etc. This is a huge time saver and helps you distribute expenses accurately.

2. Reminders

   Set up reminders in CenterPoint Accounting to help keep you organized and on time! Reminders can be set up as “Conditional Balance Reminders” that tell you when you checking balance goes below a certain number, ”Payable Reminders” that remind you to pay your accounts payable invoices, “Scheduled Reminders” that let you setup any kind of a reminder for a certain day to pay rent, maintain your equipment, and more.

3. Amortization Schedule

   Use the CenterPoint Amortization Schedule to calculate interest and principal amounts when planning for loans.

4. Audit Trail Worksheet

   Use CenterPoint Accounting’s audit trail worksheet within transaction entry to easily determine who entered a transaction, creation date and time, modified date and time, how many times edited, who voided, and much more.

5. Drill Down from Reports

   Wondering where a number on a report came from? Simply click on that number and you can drill down the source entry.

6. Customizable Transaction Entry

   Make transaction entry much easier by only stopping on fields where you enter data often. CenterPoint also allows you to add, remove and sort columns on the transaction entry screen for quicker and easier entry.

7. Customizable reports

   You have the ability to pull out the information you need, whether requested by auditors, management, or others. CenterPoint makes it easy with the ability to modify reports, or even create a custom report from scratch. No need to be a programmer; the custom report tools are built for all users!

Wondering how to get started using these hidden gems? Call today and we will be happy to help you! 800-732-9464.

Did you know that September is “International Strategic Thinking Month”? There are a few things you can do with your accounting software to promote strategic thinking in your business.

Create a budget.

Creating a budget can result in increased confidence in decision making! A budget also helps you stay on track and create a profitable plan for the future.

Run an ABC Analysis.

ABC analysis within an inventory management software system is a practical report that can show you which items are most profitable. And, knowing which of your items are most profitable can help you make better decisions.

Run a Suggested Purchases report.

The Suggested Purchases process looks at the inventory information and determines which items need to be ordered based on current on-hand quantities and/or past sales demand (history). Purchase quantities are created from the sales item purchase information such as preferred vendor, minimum quantity, maximum quantity, normal order quantity, and vendor's minimum order quantity. This is a time-saving process that can automate purchase order creation.

Red Wing Software customer Carol Peck from EL-VI Farms LLC in Newark, New Jersey had some great things to say! Thanks so much Carol!

“We upgraded from Red Wing Payroll and AgCHEK Accounting software to CenterPoint Accounting and integrated Payroll in January 2012. At first, it seemed difficult to adapt to the different types of menus, and new terminology.

But now it is July, and I am so glad that we made the switch. It now takes only about 1 to 1.5 hours to process the payroll from start to finish, not counting downloading the hours from the time clocks. The post and print procedure in the payroll program works so smoothly in transitioning from employee paper checks to direct deposit pay advices. No longer do I have to process two complete pay runs like I did before purchasing the Direct Deposit module, and the pay run report has all the net pay amounts broken down by the amount and the bank account in which they are deposited. After a few glitches at first, it runs without any problems.

Also, being able to have multiple screens open at the same time allows me to retrieve information when needed, or to look up an account setup if I need clarification. I am constantly being interrupted at work with questions or requests, and it is so easy to switch to another screen to retrieve the information requested, and then return to the work in progress.

My heartfelt thanks to all the support staff at Red Wing Software. They are a very knowledgeable group of people, willing to help you through most any problem. I know that I can count on them to help when time is of the essence.”