Notes from the President

06 June 2024 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

This month marks our 45th business anniversary. I credit this longevity to many things, and the ones that stand out are:
• Our amazing staff and the service they provide our customers. Whether it’s the people who answer the phone, provide front-line sales and support, or work behind the scenes to provide great products, documentation, and marketing materials, they live our mission: “Creating the Best Management Software Experience.” With our average tenure of over 22 years, we have very experienced talent who typically stays with us until retirement.
• Our business partners help us support our customers and provide insight into making our products even more valuable to the companies that rely on the best information to help manage their business.
• And, of course, our customers. We would be nowhere without our loyal customers, who have helped us thrive for so many years. Many have been with us since the early eighties, supporting us as we have grown. We value all our customers, especially those who challenge us to be better at what we do.
Since 1979, technology and the markets we serve have undergone myriad changes. Many software companies have come and gone, but we pride ourselves on continuing to take the best possible care of our team members, partners, and customers. Thank you all for being there for us.

Notes from President

03 April 2024 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

Recently, the company that provides our hosting service for using CenterPoint in the cloud implemented Multi-Factor-Authentication (MFA). MFA provides an additional level of security for accessing information stored outside the walls of your operation.
In some cases, the website you are accessing requires this authentication every time you log in to your account. In the case of Red Wing® Cloud Services (CenterPoint in the cloud), this authorization will occur each month when you log in for the first time at each unique location. People that use Cloud Services will receive an email with a code that must be entered to gain access to their program.
When websites I use started requiring this new level of security, I became somewhat frustrated with the process. Now that many websites require authentication, I feel more comfortable with it, and I am changing some of my logins to require MFA when I access my accounts on their websites.
There are far too many bad actors trying to access personal information for me not to be as careful as possible.

Notes from the President

08 March 2024 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

While thinking about a subject for this month’s message, a friend stepped into my office and said I should write an article about AI. I’m sure he meant Artificial Intelligence, but since it seems everyone is writing about that, and I’m certainly no expert on it, I thought a better topic might be Accounting Information (AI).
There are several ways to capture and store financial data. It can be kept on paper, in a spreadsheet, in a database, or in any number of accounting systems. In my opinion, data has little value until it is turned into useful information. Information can help you make informed decisions, while data is just a bunch of numbers.
At Red Wing Software, our goal is to give you the tools to get good information out of your data by first asking: “What do our customers need to make good management decisions?” We then attempt to find the best way to get data into the software so you have the tools to get the good information you need for useful reports. To help get this accomplished, we have a knowledgeable team of support people to answer your questions about using your software.
With all this Accounting Information (AI), we continuously live our vision: Creating the Best Management Software Experience.

Notes from the President

07 February 2024 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

January 2024 is now in the books. All W-2s, 1099s, and many other forms should be completed, and the reports for the fourth quarter of 2023 should be completed and filed. Many companies were required to file electronically this year for the first time, as the threshold for electronic filing was reduced from 250 to 10 forms.
The end of any year and into the first of the following year is always an exciting time for Red Wing Software as we scramble to change tax tables and forms in our products so our customers are assured of having the most up-to-date information for their calculations.
January is the busiest time for our support team, and many other staff members step in to help with the increased call load. I’m happy to say our dedicated team maintained an exceptional rate of over 95% of calls being taken as they come in with very short hold times for the few that didn’t get picked up in real-time.
I hope everyone had a great start to the new year.

Notes from the President

10 January 2024 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

I have just three short notes for you this month:
First, I hope everyone had a joyous holiday season.
Second, January has historically been the busiest month here at Red Wing Software. With everyone closing their 2023 books, beginning 2024, and ensuring their payroll information is up to date, our support lines light up. We have prepared internally for this by getting everyone ready to answer your calls. You can ensure that you have a smooth transition to the new year by reviewing the documents available in the online help, and in this newsletter, that answer frequently asked questions about your software. You can also get additional information by visiting the Help section on our website. Please take advantage of the great documents our Technical Writer, Connie, provides to help make using your software easier.
Finally, I thank our dedicated Red Wing Software team members, our loyal customers, and our hard-working partners and vendors for a successful 2023. I wish everyone a happy, safe, and successful New Year.