Mac Business Software

If you're a "Mac" and a business owner you've probably been excited to see us expanding our range of business software for the Mac with the recent Mac releases of Copper Point of Sale Software and Inventoria Inventory Management Software. Our business team has been busy porting our popular business software to the Mac so that businesses have more quality and economical software solutions available to them no matter which operating system they choose to use.

The really great news is that there is more to come. We are continuing to work on Mac versions of our business products that don't have them yet, so be sure to take a look at our full range of business software to see how you can design a system to best suit the needs of your business, and keep your eyes peeled for still more Mac programs in the future.

And for more advice on business software solutions that could help your business see:

• Accounting and Invoicing Software
  
• VoIP Telephone System Software
  
• Phone System Enhancements to Help You Sound Professional
  
• How Telephone On-Hold Messaging Can Help Your Business
  
• Other Software to Help Make Business Run Smoother
  

Voice Command Dictation

Did you know that you can set up custom voice commands to control dictation recording in Express Dictate? Express Dictate works with your computer's speech recognition engine so you can have hands-free control while dictating to write notes, flip through files, or to just relax a little.

To set up this feature you first need to configure your computer's speech recognition engine. Express Dictate requires a SAPI 5 compatible speech engine—but don’t worry if you don't know what this means—if you have either Windows Vista or Windows 7 you already have a speech engine that meets this requirement. To configure your speech engine, go to your system’s control panel (found from the Windows Start menu) and click Ease of Access, then Speech Recognition Options, then Start Speech Recognition. You’ll go through guided steps that will teach your computer to recognize your voice and accent.

Once you have finished that, Express Dictate will also be able to recognize your voice. To set up your custom dictation commands, open the Voice Commands tab in the Options dialog of Express Dictate and make sure the Enable voice commands box is checked. Click the Add button to create a new command, type in the spoken phrase you want Express Dictate to recognize and select the command it should trigger from the pull-down list by clicking in the Command column. Try to select voice commands that you aren't likely to use while dictating to avoid any unwanted program activity, yet specific enough that you will remember what they refer to. Once you're done, starting to record can be as easy as simply saying "Record."

To try out the new speech commands for yourself, download Express Dictate dictation software today and enjoy the added freedom of having hands-free control.

Free Timesheet Tracking Software

From freelancers to lawyers, keeping track of the amount of time spent on different projects can be a necessary evil for many in the working world. So if you bill by the hour an easy-to-use program like HourGuard Timesheet Software to make this chore easier could be just what the doctor ordered. Reviewers at CNET have even called HourGuard among the best time-tracking programs available.

"We liked that HourGuard Timesheet Software lets you create base tasks and subtasks, making it easy to record what you're working on in detail. The program even has an intelligent tracking feature that stops the timer when it detects that you're no longer working, ensuring that you don't waste time making corrections after realizing that you've left the meter running."

– CNET

You can read the complete review or learn more and download your free copy of HourGuard timesheet recorder software from our website today.

Inventory Management from a Mac or PC

A new addition to our Mac business software is Inventoria inventory management software. Inventoria has already proven itself to be a useful application for helping businesses manage and track their stock as evidenced in the Salem Health Case Study on Inventory Software Freeing Up Time for Other Tasks, and by being named a top inventory software program by TopTenReviews. Now the flexible and efficient tools Inventoria provides are available to businesses no matter which operating system they prefer.

Other business software available for both Windows and Mac platforms include Express Accounts accounting software and Express Invoice invoicing software, providing all the utilities businesses need to design a customized software solution to tailor fit their individual needs.

Make Employees Happy with Flexibility and FlexiServer

I recently read a study on BNet looking at What makes people happy at work. The first thing on the list? Flexible work schedules. When I think about it this seems like an obvious answer. Being able to easily accommodate appointments, or working around class schedules or kids activities; I can quickly come up with a long list of reasons why a rigid 9-5 schedule just isn't the best solution for many employees out there.

So why aren't more offices allowing their employees a flexible work schedule? There are some where it might be difficult, like at a bank, a teller really can only work banking hours when the doors are open for customers to come in. But in an office environment it is more likely that there is resistance from management because having everyone at their desks at the same time makes it easier to ensure that work is getting done and everyone is putting in their hours. If that is the only thing holding managers back from letting someone work, say, Sunday through Thursday instead on the typical Monday through Friday, then there is an easy solution. Using a software program like FlexiServer attendance software for logging information about computer activity and monitoring hours worked based on computer logon and logoff times, managers can more confidently allow employees to work flexible schedules or from remote locations. FlexiServer also provides reports to help management gauge productivity without needing to be a first hand witness to an employee's time spent at their desk. So why not let a software program monitor employee hours for you instead of watching the clock and filling out timesheets?

Express Invoice Super Options: New Invoice Customization

Our goal in developing an invoicing program has always been to produce professional documents that any business can use. To obtain a professional looking invoice we know it's important to do the following:

• keep the clutter to a minimum
  
• line up edges and blocks of text to keep the invoice looking clean
  
• be organized
  
• above all, value simplicity over flashy elements
  

One of the most requested features for Express Invoice is for complete customization of the final look of the invoice. One way to go about this would be to let the customer drag and drop the various pieces they need onto a template and generate the invoice from their vision, but we strongly feel that by giving more options we would violate the criteria laid out above. So, we compromised. While we want your business's invoices to stand out from the crowd, we don't want you to get carried away with colors, clip art, borders, fonts and kittens (you'd be surprised at what we've seen out there).

On the Invoice tab of the program Options, you will now find a button for more invoice options, giving you the choice to add certain design elements and invoice options such as including a remittance slip, shading every other line behind the items list, or whether to show the discount column on the invoice. The options make Express Invoice even more versatile than before, making it a perfect fit for an small business, freelancer, or contractor needing an invoicing solution.

Need more small business solutions, such as accounting software, employee management software, or an automatic telephone attendant? Be sure to check out our other business software, all of which comes with a full, free 14-day trial.

New Mac Point of Sale Software

Our business team has been working to bring our popular business software to the Mac in addition to Windows, so that businesses have more quality and economical software solutions available to them. The Mac release of Copper Point of Sale Software is just one more step in that direction, providing an easy streamlined retail checkout software application to make the checkout process quicker and more accurate for both your customers and your records, no matter which platform you prefer.

The Copper POS system works a like a cash register. You enter in the products you carry as well as any coupons or promotions that can easily be selected and applied to a purchase by the cashier at the time of check out. Using Copper will help eliminate errors in product pricing and tax calculation, and will generate customizable receipts for your customers. So if you run a retail store and you are a Mac user (or even a Windows user), you will want to take a look at how Copper Point of Sale Software can help you record your sales transactions.

Home Business: More Software to Help Business Run Smoother

Software for Getting Your Home Office Running (Part 5 of 5)

Once you have your accounting software in place and your telephone system set up, it is time to think about the other types of software that might help with your specific type of business.

For instance, if charging by the hour, you might benefit from HourGuard timesheet software to log the time you spend on projects for each customer for easier billing.

Use Reflect customer database to save, organize, and cross-reference information about your clients, and set reminders for yourself on events you should follow up on.

Another work-from-home profession is transcription, where Express Scribe digital transcription playback software, FastFox text expansion software and TexTally word counter can all be extremely useful in improving your efficiency.

Those examples are just the beginning of possible business applications that can help you run your home office more efficiently. Your time is a valuable commodity when you are getting a business off the ground, so it makes sense to find ways to streamline as many processes as you can. Some other software programs you may want to consider are:

• CardWorks business card designer
  
• Express Invoice invoicing Software
  
• HourGuard timesheet recorder
  
• Express Scribe transcription playback software
  
• FastFox text expander software
  
• Inventoria inventory management software
  
• Copper point of sale software
  
• Barillo barcode software
  
• Reflect CRM software
  
• FileFort data backup software
  
• MEO file encryption software
  
• Bolt PDF Printer
  
• Doxillion document converter
  
• Express Zip file compression software
  
• FTP client software
  

Home Business: Phone System Enhancements

Software for Getting Your Home Office Running (Part 4 of 5)

You’re home office is coming along very well. You have your accounting system and VoIP phone number. Now it's time to think about the additional features you might need to complete your phone system and give your business a professional sound. For example, you can add a voicemail system to answer calls for you, or maybe an on-hold message player for that added level of credibility if you need to put someone on hold while you look something up or take another call.

Those extra audio queues really can help you sound like a larger more professional organization right out of the gate. When callers are on hold, even for just 30 seconds, it is a perfect opportunity to make an impression, create interest, and strengthen your brand image. Every entrepreneur can appreciate the importance of building their brand and strengthening business relationships. IMS telephone on hold software lets you easily play those custom messages to anyone who is put on hold.

There’s only one piece of software you need to put it all together. IVM Voicemail Software can be used to create a custom answering solution, and will work with your standard telephone lines, VoIP services, or both. You can use IVM to play a menu to callers, redirect incoming calls outside of office hours, or as an answer machine. Recorded messages can be played at any time, forwarded to an email address, or accessed remotely. Even if you are on the road you can still easily access your messages, making it easier to stay in touch with all your business contacts.

IVM not only handles voicemail but can also be used as a more sophisticated automated attendant and interactive voice response system (IVR). This means it will easily grow with your small business by providing an answering machine today, and help you direct and transfer calls through a larger PBX phone system when you have several employees tomorrow.

Home Business: VoIP Phone System

Software for Getting Your Home Office Running
(Part 3 of 5)

Another key component to setting up your home office, after your accounting system is in place, is the phone system. You've likely heard about VoIP, which has been growing in popularity, and with good cause. As an entrepreneur the important thing to know is that VoIP can save you a lot of money on phone bills.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and what that means is that the call information travels over the Internet instead of through traditional telephone landlines. Essentially, the only cost for sending information over the Internet is the Internet connection; the transmission itself costs nothing. That means calls between VoIP users will frequently be free.

The only cost associated with VoIP calls come from connecting to other telephone networks that service cell phones and landlines. Even in this case, there are significant cost savings because the VoIP phone providers can use the Internet to travel long distance, and then switch the call to a standard phone line in the local area of the destination, and you pay only for the local call, eliminating long-distance charges. The benefit to this is that you can increase the reach of your business, because you won’t be worried about your long-distance phone call budget.You business can potentially be more functional—providing new opportunities to increase your productivity and responsiveness.

With that in mind, here’s an example of the cost savings. For your home office, the telephone line and long-distance charges using a traditional landline phone system can cost upward of $100 per month. Compare that to the cost of using a VoIP system, where the total cost can be as low as $3.25 to $4.30 per month, a savings of more than 90%! With those savings, the initial cost of a business-oriented softphone will be paid for in less than a month.

A VoIP phone, or softphone like the Express Talk softphone only takes a few minutes to set up and will work with any VoIP provider. Express Talk is designed for professionals and has all the features you expect from a business telephone including do not disturb, conference calling, and even the ability to record conversations. It can be used with a USB phone to give the feel of a traditional phone, or with a headset, or microphone and speaker setup—which you may already have—making the cost of setting up your office with VoIP only a matter of buying the software.

Next: Phone System Enhancements

Home Business: Accounting and Invoicing Software

Software for Getting Your Home Office Running (Part 2 of 5)

You've got the idea for your business and are swarming with ideas about how to get started. You may think that bookkeeping and accounting is getting ahead of the game at this point—first you need clients. But that's not true. You need to keep track of all your expenses and payments right from the start. Setting up accounting software to manage your accounts out of the gate can save headaches caused by trying to find these details later.

One of the advantages of running a business out of a home office is the tax deductions you can take. But to take advantage of those deductions, your records must be in order. Deductions are retroactive once you have paying clients, so accurately tracking the expenses leading up to that first client is extremely important.

You need a flexible, easy-to-use accounting program or you won't use it. Ideally, it will also handle your invoicing to making record keeping even easier, which is one of the things that Express Accounts accounting software offers. Express Accounts is available for Mac and PC, can be installed and ready to use in less than 5 minutes.

Here are some of the key features of Express Accounts:

• Create journal entries for payments, purchases, receipts and deposits
  
• Create and send invoices from inside the application
  
• Set up alerts to track unpaid invoices and make sure nothing falls through the cracks
  
• Standard reports including Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet
  
• Email or fax reports and invoices directly from the program
  

Express Accounts is particularly ideal for your start up business because it allows you to track expenses without having to pay extra bookkeeping costs or for expensive software with features you'll never use. Express Accounts will also grow with your business; it can track all the business expenses of multiple businesses with your original software license, and across several locations. Setting up your home office with Express Accounts ensures you'll have software that is easy to use, and that you can use for years to come without any additional investment.

Next: VoIP Phone System

Software for Getting Your Home Office Running

Have you recently decided to take the plunge and become the entrepreneur you’ve always wanted to be, or are in the beginning stages of a new business venture? No doubt you are worried about startup costs. There’s a fine line to walk when it comes to using the highest quality tools to start your business with a solid foundation while searching for cost savings, and it's possible the threat of spending too much money is holding you back. Setting up your business office can be done efficiently—spatially, time-wise, and monetarily.

It may be hard to imagine, but you might be surprised by how good it feels to be running your own venture once your office is up and running. So, whether you’re a sales person, a lawyer, a teacher, a healthcare professional, a carpenter, or a builder—any profession at all—let’s get started setting up a home office.

The essentials for an office space are a desk, a phone, and a computer. After that, it’s all about the software, and finding the right tools for your needs. One of the beautiful things about software is that it can do a lot of work for you, helping you not only start out on the right foot, but also to project a very professional front for your small business that can help you compete with larger, more established organizations. Plus, if you do your homework, it can cost a lot less than you might think.

There are two major aspects of running a business that you need in place at the start: a bookkeeping system and a good phone system. Both sound expensive, but they don’t have to be. In fact, you could actually save money on a phone system and still have more features than your current setup.

For the next few weeks, we’ll be running a series of blogs about the software you need for setting up your home office:

• Accounting and Invoicing Software
  
• VoIP Telephone System Software
  
• Phone System Enhancements to Help You Sound Professional
  
• Other Software to Help Make Business Run Smoother
  

In the meantime, take a few moments to peruse our business software. There are a wide variety of tools for helping you in all aspects of your business, all designed to get your business off to the strong start you’re looking for.

Inventoria Named Top Inventory Software

Any business that has an inventory, including retail stores large and small, distributors and manufacturers, can benefit from using inventory software. As TopTenReviews points out in their recent review of inventory software, Inventoria inventory management software can not only help better organize your business, but the added efficiency, tools and reports it gives you access to can help you improve your bottom line. With all that said, we are thrilled that Inventoria has earned the Silver Award for TopTenReviews’ newly added inventory software category.

"The versatility of Inventoria inventory management software is an excellent reason to purchase this product. It offers numerous helpful features such as the ability to add notes and photographs to each item in your inventory. In addition, you have the opportunity to allow more users to access your inventory management program, which can increase productivity and ultimately enhance your bottom line."

– TopTenReviews

You can read the complete review of Inventoria inventory software on the TopTenReviews website. Or, as is the case with all our software, download a free 14-day trial from our website to see firsthand what Inventoria can do for your business.

Software You Didn't Even Know You Needed

Technology has become a huge part of our daily lives, and I am sure you could pretty easily come up with a list of devices or applications that you simply couldn't live without. But with so much technology out there, I'll bet there are programs out there that can make your life easier or more efficient that you never even thought to go searching for. The software surprises listed below will quickly climb to you must have list once you give them a try.

Shorthand Text Expander Software

Ever find yourself typing the same words, phrases or paragraphs repeatedly? Stop typing things over and over again with text expansion software. You might not think much about what you type out all the time, but if you really stop to think about it, I'm sure you could find multiple ways to use keyboard shortcuts that would save you time. Anything from inserting signatures in emails, filling out online forms, and writing long responses to customer questions don't need to be more than a few keystrokes away, instantly improving your typing speed and productivity.

Invoicing Software

Managing invoices is a never-ending process, and if you're doing them all by hand or in Excel you might be spending more time on invoicing than you need to. Invoicing software like Express Invoice allows you to set up automatically recurring invoices, where invoices can be automatically generated and sent as e-mails or faxes from the program. Express Invoice has other time saving features including mobile access, reminders for payments past due and storing item information to eliminate repeat data entry.

Timesheet Software

Another way to make invoicing easier for freelancers and other businesses that charge by the hour is using timesheet software to not only create a timesheet but track the amount of time spent on individual projects or clients.

Automatic FTP Uploading Client

Every web designer already knows that an FTP client is a must, but not all FTP clients are created equal. I personally couldn't live without Fling Automatic FTP Software, which can be used to automatically detect and upload changed files to keep files synchronized. Fling can also be used to upload files from your right click menu, so you can upload a change live without needing to open and browse through your files in the FTP client separately.

File Converter Software

If you've ever had trouble opening up an audio or video file, then you already know how helpful it can be to have a file converter on hand. With Switch Audio Converter, you can convert and compress sound files within minutes of downloading. For video files there is Prism Video Converter, plus Pixillion Image Converter, for images and Doxillion Document Converter to convert document types. Combined these software converters can help you get out of just about any file format compatibility problem.

FlexiServer Creates a More Efficient Work Environment

The Center for Pain Control business manager Peter Graf was having difficulty managing his employees’ computer usage. The Center, which makes it possible for patients to avoid a hospital stay for surgical procedures while helping them to manage pain, has just over twenty employees. Graf wanted to ensure that each employee was using their computer systems efficiently. This is a very real concern for businesses considering how much money businesses are losing due to non-work related internet browsing.

Graf immediately turned to NCH Software, since he had successfully used products of theirs in the past. He came across FlexiServer employee computer usage monitoring software, which he now uses to double-check hours worked, view application use by staff, and to restrict programs and internet sites on necessary computers. “FlexiServer is easy to use and set up,” said Graf.

Using FlexiServer to monitor employees has finally given him the opportunity to get some real work done. “I run a report once a month to see where employees spend most of their time. This freed up more time for actual work,” said Graf. Before FlexiServer, Graf manually entered the hours of every employee into an Excel spreadsheet.

Graf’s favorite feature is the ability to prohibit employees from using programs and internet sites that they shouldn’t be using during work hours. He can also pinpoint which sites viruses were picked up on, and generate reports on employees’ start and end times.

FlexiServer software automatically logs employee time and attendance. It features tools for quality assurance monitoring and reporting, and works with home or remote employees. FlexiServer gives managers the confidence they need to know that work is getting done without needing to micro-manage. The monitoring features are non-invasive and respect the employees' need for privacy, allowing them to enter private mode when necessary, while creating a paper trail that can be referenced if needed.

New Barillo Barcode Generation Software

One of our most rapidly growing software areas is our business software suite. In the last year, we not only made significant improvements to our existing business software but also introduced several new business applications including Reflect CRM Software and Copper Point of Software. Now we're starting 2011 in the vein with our first new product of the year: Barillo Barcode Software.

Barillo is a free barcode generator that allows you to create graphic files for EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-E barcodes. Barillo makes creating labels even easier by allowing users to set the image size needed and export to a variety of different graphic file formats.

The first barcodes were created to label railroad cars but after being introduced to grocery stores to use in the automatic checkout process, they became almost universal and are now being used by businesses everywhere to satisfy the need to accurately identify and track items. With barcodes being so widely used, we are excited to add Barillo to our range of business software utilities to help customers using products such as Inventoria Inventory Management Software since barcodes are so key to maintaining a successful inventory tracking system.

In the future we’ll be adding additional barcode types to Barillo, as well as directly integrating the Barillo Barcode Generator into related software including Inventoria and Copper for easy access to this vital feature when and where you need it.

Inventory Software Frees Up Time for Other Tasks

Hospitals and pharmacies are required by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to maintain a detailed and accurate inventory of all the drugs and medication that they stock. Keeping track of their entire inventory can be a very time consuming task, especially if the pharmacy is not up to date with the latest technology. Peter McNulty, Pharmacy Operations Manager at Salem Health, has had a significant reduction in the time spent maintaining and tracking inventory by transitioning from a manual system to Inventoria Professional Inventory Management Software.

Prior to using Inventoria, McNulty was manually recording his inventory in a log book, which was a huge drain on his time, requiring several hours daily to keep records accurate and up to date. Inventoria greatly simplified the way McNulty runs his business, "I estimate we save two hours per day in staff time that can now be used in providing direct patient care."

McNulty has found not only significant reductions in the time required to record and maintain DEA records, but greater control over the distribution processes in real time making Inventoria an ideal solution for tracking inventory movement of Controlled Substance Drug Distribution in an acute care Hospital setting.

"Setup was very easy, it required about eight hours of staff time to load items, record beginning inventory count, add customers and give user access," noted McNulty. "I especially like how quickly reports are generated and the ease of saving the report on a daily basis which makes it easy to comply with DEA record-keeping regulations. Inventoria is easy-to-use, requires minimal maintenance and has a high value in comparison to most other programs in this category."

Inventoria stock management software allows businesses of all types and sizes to track and manage inventory at a single location or across several locations. With this complete inventory management system you can manage stock levels by category, location and supplier, transfer stock between locations, set low level alerts, even generate and send purchase orders to vendors directly from within the program.

NCH Software Now in Canadian Retail Stores

Today is the first day that two of our essential business software programs are available across Canada in Staples business supply retail stores. As bundled French and English versions of Express Invoice Invoicing Software and Inventoria Professional Inventory Software hit the shelves today, it marks not only the first time NCH Software products are being sold in retail stores outside the US Market, but also as the first time localized versions of our software are being sold in a retail store environment.

NCH first entered retail stores across the United States early this year. WavePad, VideoPad, PhotoStage, FlexiServer, and Golden Records are just some of the software titles that can now be found at stores including Office Depot, CompUSA, Micro Center, and Fry’s. Seeing our software on the shelves at retail stores in the US has been incredibly exciting and we hope our success here will help us continue to branch out to still more retail stores both here and in other countries, including Australia where we are based, in the future.

Employee, Interruped - Internet use in Today's Workplace

Are you reading this blog at work? It's a fair question when you look at the statistics of how many "cyberslackers" there are out there: a new breed of employees who use company internet connections for personal use.

The internet has completely changed the business landscape over the last 10 years, and with it, the day-to-day roles of employees. As more and more of us have begun engaging with the internet’s information playground on a daily basis, there is the increasing temptation to get your Facebook fix before you hit those spreadsheets. With all the benefits the internet affords businesses, the trade-off is a loss in employee productivity which, in turn, can result in a loss of company profit. To combat this potential downturn, many businesses are taking measures to keep tabs of their employees on the clock, monitoring computer usage, emails, phone calls, and even keystrokes, all in the name of retaining employee productivity. When you think about the potential losses (upwards of $350,00 per business), it begins to make sense, even though if you listen closely enough, you can hear George Orwell crying somewhere far, far away.

In the interest of putting employee internet usage into perspective, we've put together the above infographic. If you're interested in the potential benefits of monitoring your employee's computer use, then take a look at FlexiServer attendance software and download the free trial to test drive the computer-use monitoring features.

Now get back to work!

Announcing Copper Point of Sale Software

Our Business Team has been busy expanding the range of products that we have to help small businesses. We had Reflect CRM Software join the ranks in June, and now we have just complete and released Copper, a point of sale software system perfect for retail stores.

Copper works a like a cash register. You can input the different products you carry into the system as well as coupons and promotions that can then be easily added to a purchase by the cashier when someone is checking out. Copper will help eliminate errors in product pricing, calculate subtotals and tax, and generate receipts. You can even customize your printed receipt, all to help improve the entire checkout process and customer relationship.

If you run a retail store, Copper allows you to have multiple cashiers cashiers logging in, making it easy it easy to standardize your product pricing and discounts as well as reducing errors. Whether you are looking for a better a better way to record sales transactions or print out receipts for customers, we hope you will give Copper point of sales software a try along with other some of our other business software solutions for a complete and integrated solution.