By Stephanie Elsen

Sometimes things happen so gradually that we hardly realize they are happening. Life happens, and one day we realize we’ve gained a few pounds, our house needs to be painted, and the car needs a tune-up... A similar thing can happen in business with your accounting software system!

Freeze-ups and lock-outs

If your current accounting program keeps on locking you out or freezing up, it may be because you are outgrowing its data limitations. It could be the number of inventory items, transactions, and years of history or a combination of things. Once you have outgrown your system’s capacity, it’s hard to keep it working efficiently and it may be time to search for something new.

Workarounds are the norm

When your needs become more than your accounting system can handle, you may start to use workarounds to accommodate your system needs. The more workarounds you create and use, the more manual work you create for yourself. After a while your workarounds become your norm, and you may not even realize how much time is spent on them. A new system that is more suited to the way you need to handle your accounting could really shave some manual work out of your day.

Like the purchase of your vehicle, no accounting system lasts forever. An upgrade to your current system or a completely new system will eventually be needed to keep up with your growing business. Though a transition may be difficult, it is worth it in the end.

Here is a handy calculator by MSN Money you can use to review your company's financial ratios. Use ratios to compare financial information to that of your peers to see your strengths and weaknesses. By the way, there is also an entire ratio module available for CenterPoint Accounting Software!

http://money.msn.com/small-business-smarts/business-financial-ratios-calculator.aspx

By Stephanie Elsen

As a business, you work with plenty of different companies. When you submit feedback to vendors, what happens with your ideas and comments? Are they considered or thrown to the side?

Red Wing Software records ideas and suggestions given to us by customers. Each one is entered into a database and sorted by subject. We read every one of the comments when we create the updates for Red Wing Software accounting software and payroll software products.

When it comes time to improve our software, we prioritize customer feedback by the most requested and impactful. Customer comments are what we use to shape and improve our products. 100%.

So if you are a Red Wing Software customer wondering whether your opinion counts, please be aware that your opinion is what matters most to us and the future of Red Wing Software products.

Rob Richards, General Manager of Indy Family Farms shares the story of a delayed spring planting.

13 WTHR Indianapolis

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It can be hard keeping track of everything you need to when you are self-employed. MSN gives some tips on how to stay organized.

http://money.msn.com/tax-tips/post.aspx?post=b0d4e8f4-0768-4057-9fe3-3c676bd0466f