Matt Hilton is a software sales consultant here at Red Wing Software. If you purchased a product from us, you have probably spoken with him! He is extremely well-versed in Red Wing Software products, and has been working here for 12 years! But did you know that Matt is also a huge fan of all types of music? I checked in with Matt this month to learn more about his musical interest.

1. Music is your passion – how did your appreciation for music start?

   My music passion began at a very young age and was mostly influenced by my parents. My father was a musician and played in several bands when he was younger, and both of my parents always encouraged my sister and me to explore many different musical genres.

2. What kind of music do you enjoy, and which instrument do you play?

   I listen to and enjoy about every genre of music that exists. My musical tastes range anywhere from country to classical. I do not limit my musical preference to any specific genre. I primarily listen to rockabilly and jazz at the moment, but it does vary quite a bit from day to day. I grew up playing trumpet but don’t play as much anymore, but still enjoy the instrument.

3. How have you been able to keep music in your life over the years?

   Although, I do not play much anymore, I do enjoy teaching. I have spent many summers over the last few years teaching drum and bugle corps, as well as private lessons. I very much enjoy watching young musicians develop into very talented adults. I believe that teaching helps me personally and professionally by giving me the opportunity to evaluate situations from different angles to come to a solid solution.

Let’s get real about processing payroll. If you search around a bit on the internet, you will see a huge variety of payroll software vendors and payroll service providers. Each one of them is different, with their own set of features, services, and pricing. Some of the companies you read about or speak to will make claims about how you should be processing your payroll. The truth is that nobody knows what is best for your company and its specific payroll need, unless they get to know you first. There is no ‘one size fits all’ alternative to payroll processing. Payroll has many facets, and no two companies handle it in the same way. Here are some of the commonly found myths about payroll processing, and why they are not true.

1. You will save money by switching to a payroll service or to payroll software.

   Sure, one of them might be true. But be skeptical if somebody tells you that you can save money with their system, before they understand your specific needs. Many factors impact the money you spend on payroll processing, just a few of which are your number of employees, method of entering and calculating time, and tax filing method. Making sure your company’s payroll needs are met is more important than saving a few bucks, so make your needs the first priority, and then you can start looking at pricing.

2. When it comes to payroll tax filing, you should (insert method here).

   Growing technology has brought us a variety of choices where payroll tax filing is concerned. You can still purchase the forms and mail them (unless your state requires you to file online), but you can now file online or even have the whole process outsourced. How you choose to do this will depend on your state requirements because states are continually lowering the employee threshold where you must e-file or do online forms. Minnesota, for example, requires all employers to e-file or do online reporting when filing quarterly unemployment wages.

3. You should be paying your employees via (insert method here).

   I once heard a story about a company who decided to pay their employees via direct deposit, eliminating the printing of payroll checks. Most employees were excited about the change, but one man stated he was extremely angry about it and really wanted to keep getting his printed check. Then the switch was made and, well, it turned out he loved skipping the trips to the bank. (Hey, change can be hard!) You can still print checks, or you can use direct deposit or even pay employees with a debit card. Only you and your employees know which method is best. For instance, you may want to use debit cards for those without bank accounts, and direct deposit for the others. Analyze what works best for your company and your employees, and make the decision based on that analysis.

There are lots of vendors out there providing payroll software and payroll services. Just be sure that before jumping ship on your current method, you look out for your own company’s needs first. Don’t fall prey to the sales rep who uses one of the above blanket generalizations without first understanding your business.

While you can be pretty sure your small business accounting software won’t magically balance your checkbook for you or get you better pricing, it can make those two functions (and many more) much easier! Using your accounting software as simply a place to store your data is like buying a car and only driving it around the block. Accounting software can do so much more than just store your data. And while no two businesses are alike, there are certain basic functions you should expect from your software.

Understand profitability

Somehow, some way within your small business accounting software, you should be able to get information about the profitability of your business, and be able to extract a report that tells you which of your items or services are most profitable.

Manage transactions

You enter information into your small business accounting software. Why not take it a step further and use reports to gain more information about those transactions? Reports can give you a quick glance at who owes you money, when it’s due, who you owe, and even which customer ordered the most of any given product. Knowledge is power. Knowing this kind of information can help you receive payment faster, help you get more sales, and much more.

Pull data for those who need it.

Eventually, you will be requested to provide financial information about your business to a third party, such as a financial institution. How easy will it be for you to get the information they are requesting? Will you or your staff spend hours tallying information by hand and submit it to them in a spreadsheet? Or will you run one report, export it to .PDF format, and e-mail it to them? The latter is a much more professional option, and you should be able to pull this directly from your accounting system.

The above are crucial functions, and using them can help you make the most of your small business accounting software. Don’t let your software investment go to waste! Use these functions and others available, to be sure you stay profitable and keep your business running smoothly.

A Purchase Order module is now available for CenterPoint Fund Accounting Software. This feature can be a great help in managing purchases and requisitions! Read the full news release by clicking on this link.

If you just read the title of this blog post and felt a huge sigh of relief, it may mean you've been trying to manage all your sign-in information and passwords on your own for far too long! Techrepublic.com has come up with a list of five free and secure password storage applications, so there is now help available to keep that information where you can find it, in a secure place. See their full blog post in this link!

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-free-and-secure-password-management-apps/1381?tag=content;siu-container