This afternoon, Scott Huston from my office, told me about how in his previous job as a Manager of a Woolworths Liquor Store, he and his team would regularly act as customers and walk the aisles of their stores and stand in front, rather than behind the sales counters.
Why did they do that exercise? To change their perspective and wake up from "Shop Blindness" where you become oblivious to problems in your environment such as signage mistakes and inefficient stock positioning.
Could you be suffering from Shop Blindness in your business? Very likely.
Another way to look at this is to accept that there are aspects of your business you could easily improve but only if you knew there was a problem to fix.
At Axsapt we come across this whenever we run training courses for our customers. We're amazed at the inefficient processes people use in their businesses when their current software can often automate complex processes.
On some occassions our customers ask us to review their systems and without fail we are able to recommend improvements to their processes that can save them money in some cases and nearly always time.
More information: Axsapt
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Human Resources
Without any doubt, your most important business asset is your personnel and it goes without saying you should look after your team.
Most businesses use a Payroll System but in our experience very few small to medium businesses use a Human Resources system.
What does a HR system typically record?
- Aspirations
- Credit Cards
- Disciplinary Actions
- Grievances and potential hazards
- Staff Groups such as Profit Sharing, First Aid, Social Club, OH&S Committees
- Medical Details such as Blood Groups, Allegies and Dietary Requirements
- Languages spoken
- Licenses held
- Locations
- Occupational Health and Safety (details of injuries)
- Performance Reviews
- Positions held by each employee since commencement
- Motor vehicles, Notebooks, clothing, phones and other property held
- Qualifications and Skills
- Training Courses available and attended
There are some good dedicated HR systems but the best option is to use one that is fully integrated with the Payroll system to avoid having to re key employee details in twice.
More information: Axsapt
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Looking after your assets
Probably the most neglected accounting aspect of small to medium sized businesses is the recording of fixed assets such as Manufacturing Plant, Office Furniture and Equipment, Motor Vehicles, Fixtures and Fittings, Leasehold Improvements and Buildings.
Typically a business relies on their external accountant to maintain their depreciation schedules for them on an annual basis. Not that there is anything wrong with that, except that with minimal investment in a good Fixed Assets system, the business can produce meaningful reports on demand and reduce the risk of losing valuable assets.
A good fixed assets system will link into the base accounting system to minimise rekeying of data, such as monthly depreciation entries and profit and losses arising from disposals/sales of assets. The system should also track both Accounting and Tax depreciation rates and calculations on the basis of Prime Cost or Straight Line and Diminishing Values.
When selecting a fixed assets system, ensure that it supports Asset Pooling, where low value assets are often allowed to be depreciated as a group using the diminishing value method.
Some fixed asset systems go even further and track service history and scheduled maintenance requirements.
More information: Axsapt
Typically a business relies on their external accountant to maintain their depreciation schedules for them on an annual basis. Not that there is anything wrong with that, except that with minimal investment in a good Fixed Assets system, the business can produce meaningful reports on demand and reduce the risk of losing valuable assets.
A good fixed assets system will link into the base accounting system to minimise rekeying of data, such as monthly depreciation entries and profit and losses arising from disposals/sales of assets. The system should also track both Accounting and Tax depreciation rates and calculations on the basis of Prime Cost or Straight Line and Diminishing Values.
When selecting a fixed assets system, ensure that it supports Asset Pooling, where low value assets are often allowed to be depreciated as a group using the diminishing value method.
Some fixed asset systems go even further and track service history and scheduled maintenance requirements.
More information: Axsapt
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Branch and Activity Accounting
One area entry-level accounting systems don't handle particularly well is a segmented General/Nominal Ledger.
Most larger businesses operate over a number of regions, branches or departments and within these are multiple activities. Accounting for these sorts of businesses is usually handled within one legal entity's accounts by segmenting each general ledger account as follows:
The Chart of Accounts represents the standard representation of the summary ledger accounts that form the basis of the company's Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet.
The Branch is typically a distinct business owned by the company with a similar business model as other branches in the group.
Activities are business units within each branch, such as Sales and Marketing, Administration and Finance.
Where there are business expenses incurred that relate to multiple branches and activities, some accounting systems have the automatic capability of allocating these expenses to each branch and activity on the basis of a pre-defined proportion.
Reporting is another area that is handled better by segmented accounting systems. For example, you can usually produce a Profit and Loss Report and Balance Sheet for
More information: Axsapt
Most larger businesses operate over a number of regions, branches or departments and within these are multiple activities. Accounting for these sorts of businesses is usually handled within one legal entity's accounts by segmenting each general ledger account as follows:
CCCCCC-BB-AA
where CCCCCC is the Chart of Accounts, BB is the Branch and AA is the Activity.The Chart of Accounts represents the standard representation of the summary ledger accounts that form the basis of the company's Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet.
The Branch is typically a distinct business owned by the company with a similar business model as other branches in the group.
Activities are business units within each branch, such as Sales and Marketing, Administration and Finance.
Where there are business expenses incurred that relate to multiple branches and activities, some accounting systems have the automatic capability of allocating these expenses to each branch and activity on the basis of a pre-defined proportion.
Reporting is another area that is handled better by segmented accounting systems. For example, you can usually produce a Profit and Loss Report and Balance Sheet for
- Specific Branches for all Activities
- Specific Branches for Specific Activities
- All Branches for All Activities
- All Branches for Specific Activities
More information: Axsapt
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