Notes from the President

02 February 2021 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

I am certain you’ve heard more about viruses recently than you care to admit, but I want to remind you about a different type of virus.
Recently a long-time customer contacted us about an issue they had with ransomware. Ransomware is a malicious program that infects a computer when the user opens a file or clicks on a link in an email that comes from an unrecognized source or may have even been forwarded by someone you know. Ransomware typically prevents access to information on the machine until you pay a ransom to the individual that created the virus. The alternative to paying the ransom is to restore a backup from a time before the computer was infected.
I bring this up to point out the importance of regularly backing up your data and keeping your antivirus software and operating system up to date with current versions. As older versions of operating systems and software are phased out and not supported by the authors, updates that include code that attempts to prevent these attacks are no longer available. The cost of keeping your technology (hardware and software) up to date is far lower than the price of recovering from malicious activity. Another possible solution to protecting your accounting and payroll programs and data is to move them to the cloud. Hosted environments offer some added security and protection from viruses and malicious activity.
As you create your budget for the year (which should be complete for 2021 by now), in addition to the normal budgeted items, you should include a line item for keeping your technology current.

Notes from the President

06 January 2021 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

I hope everyone had a safe holiday season and are starting the new year on the right foot. Now is a great time to look back at 2020 and evaluate what we learned about how we do business. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I am a strong believer in zero-based budgeting, only using history as a guide. Budgeting for 2021 is a perfect example of why you would not necessarily want to use the previous year as a benchmark. The same process can be used for other aspects of the business.
We all probably made some unexpected changes in the way we operate our business and hopefully learned some important lessons. I will share a few of the lessons we learned at Red Wing Software, and maybe you can relate them to your own business.
We learned: while our team enjoys working together in an office environment, they can be at least as productive working from home. In fact, a few commented how they did not miss the commute through the little city of Red Wing to get to the office on the other side of town, especially our folks crossing over the river from Wisconsin.
We learned: meetings can be very productive using video conferencing, and it was surprisingly easy to get everyone up and running with that technology. Thanks to Larry, our awesome IT Manager.
We learned: we can get by with considerably less office space, but still need a place for shared resources like copy machines and postage equipment.
We learned: we can bring a new employee up to speed without being face-to-face in the same office, but it is much easier to transfer knowledge in a shared environment.
While we hope 2021 does not mirror the previous year, we will be starting with a blank page as we move forward, taking advantage of the lessons we learned in 2020.

Notes from the President

09 December 2020 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

One of the things we enjoy at Red Wing Software is the extremely low turnover of team members. To illustrate that point, the average tenure of our entire staff is slightly over 20 years. I attribute this longevity to the fact that we have an amazing group of people working together focusing on “Creating the Best Management Software Experience” for our customers. The downside to all of this is when someone reaches the point they want to retire; they take with them a vast amount of institutional knowledge.
One such retirement will take place at the end of the year. Jim Long, our CEO/CFO, has decided it is time to move on to other passions. Jim started with the company in September of 1990, so he has over 30 years of guiding Red Wing Software and making it the company it is today.
I have always learned a lot from everyone I have ever worked with, and in Jim’s case, I could write a book on the knowledge he has shared with me. Anytime I was at the point of jumping off a cliff, I could count on Jim to talk me off the ledge and help keep me grounded.
In addition to Jim’s high-level leadership of the company, as CFO and a CPA, he was a valuable resource for anything financial. He also helped determine the direction for new software products and enhancements to existing programs. While he has done a great job of transferring knowledge to the next generation of team members, they will greatly miss his leadership.
We wish Jim the best in his new stage of life, playing golf, enjoying his grandkids, and doing whatever he likes in his newly found free time. When the country gets back to normal, and travel becomes a little easier, we hope to see Jim and his wife back in Red Wing for some golf and comradery. Please join me in thanking Jim for his leadership over the last 30 years.
With the holidays in full swing, now is a good time to remember all the important people in our lives. On behalf of Red Wing Software, I want to wish a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and prosperous New Year to our families, customers, co-workers, partners, vendors, friends, and especially all the people that help keep us safe and free.

Behind the Scenes - October 2020

16 November 2020 roxie-thoner Notes from the President
• Matt (Sales Consultant) and his wife Lizz spent a week visiting friends in Long Beach, MS.
• Carole (Staff Accountant) enjoyed a beautiful fall ride with friends.
• Ashley (Accounting Software Support Specialist) had an opportunity to try out her new snowblower earlier than expected and enjoyed a birthday manicure with daughter Paytin.
• Katrina (Customer Service Representative) surprised her friend Sheila in Arizona after not seeing each other for five years! She then went to a wedding in Las Vegas for her friends.

Notes from the President

13 October 2020 khilton Notes from the President

Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

Every day, we all make important decisions that affect how our business will operate, and those decisions determine the path we want the business to follow. The same holds true for our local, state, and national elections. You get to determine your community, region, and country’s direction by exercising your right and responsibility to vote.
These decisions can be difficult because of all the confusing messages we hear, but we need to sift through the noise and try to get to the facts. We must look past the bumper sticker messages and look at the underlying philosophy of the candidates. What direction do they want to take the community, country, and world? We need to ignore the pundits that try to tell us what a candidate means from their perspective. After an interview, speech, or debate, one way to do this is, change the channel to something non-political, and decide for yourself whether the candidate is the kind of leader you would like to see guiding their respective geographic area.
Remember, whether your candidate wins his/her race, or the opposition comes out victorious, know that you will get another chance to vote in two more years. However things turn out, there is not a better place in the world to call home.