SME Blog

What do you want?

What if SME's used large company technology like FedEX and Amazon to provide better customer service?  I got thinking about this after reading a post at AccMan Pro.

Recently I bought a great table from a SME.  It's a fantastic bit of furniture and one of my favourite parts of the week is sitting at it at the weekend and eating "cakies" with the twins.  The only problem was when we ordered it we only had a vague idea when it would arrive.  With my book from Amazon I can track it on the internet and watch its progress.  I'm not too bothered about the book, but I really wanted to know when the table would arrive.

So my thought was SME's should provide large company customer service using the inexpensive second generation internet technology (see phenomenon ).  Add this to the small company personal touch and that looks like a winning formula to me.

It then struck me that as an SME we could do something similar at my firm.  Accountants are often getting criticised by clients for not knowing when the accounts they prepare will be delivered.  If we had a secure web based system then you could look to see what status the accounts were at and when they were expected to be due.  We could also have an area where you leave messages or answer queries. 

Anyone out there think that's it's a good idea for Chartered Accountants to use Amazon like technology?  Or would you prefer the more formal walnut walls in boardrooms type traditional approach?  As far as I'm concerned you can have whatever you like.

Philip Woodgate

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P.S. Dennis, if you are having a break from AccMan Pro and reading this then give me a break and stop coming up with great ideas.  Even my other non-techie partners now want a Wiki and they want it the same time as the new website and online accounting.  Damn-it Dennis, you are too good for my own good.

Think about your loved ones

Sometimes in all the rush we forget to do a few simple things that would save our loved ones some serious aggravation in the future.

Yesterday my firm and Turner & Debenhams gave a joint seminar on Inheritance Tax (IHT), the present name for UK death duties and it raised a few pointers for us all.

Make a will

If you die without making a will then the rules of intestacy made by Parliament govern who will inherit your estate (money, property and possessions). 

In real terms this means you do not get to choose who your assets are given to on your death. Do you really want to have your loved ones deal with this?

Create a power of attorney

A power of attorney allows another specially appointed person (the Attorney) to take actions on your behalf especially if you are incapacitated through illness.

We all have to face up to the prospect of going gaga at some stage, but by creating a power of attorney beforehand, we can at least save our loved ones some serious aggravation (and legal costs).

Nil band discretionary trust

If your joint estate with your spouse is valued above £275,000 and you would like to pay Gordon Brown a potential extra £110,00 in tax (and not your loved ones) then don't bother with a nil band discretionary trust.  If you are less keen for Gordon Brown to have your money then speak to your Accountant or Solicitor about the nil band discretionary trust.

Business owner

Do you ever wonder why the super rich never seem to pay Inheritance Tax.  The answer is that they have clever Accountants and Solicitors who can work within the legal rules and minimise their tax liabilities.  If you are a business owner (especially if you are nearing retirement) then you can also benefit from tax planning to minimise your tax liabilities. 

The above really is an area where you need good advice.  You certainly need more advice than a short article in a blog, but it will pay dividends for your loved ones.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Dress the part

I've been away this week at our firms annual conference and although the conference was a great success, I definitely feel in need of some light relief.

Luckily for me Business Week have obliged and put together a presentation on how to dress the part.  Perfect for a light lunchtime read.

Ride the currents

"Companies that ride the currents succeed;  those that swim against them usually struggle."

It's a good statement.  It's simple, easy to understand and provides some good advice.  Why then is it that time and time again we see both SME's and large companies fall foul of it?  I think the reason is that sometimes companies keep on swimming through habit without actually realising that they are actually heading in the wrong direction.  The trick is to keep an eye out for future trends and understand how they can help your company to ride the currents.

The above statement comes from the McKinsey Quarterly and I'm grateful to Egils Milbergs for making me aware of it.  It's a cracking report on future trends. There is little jargon, it's to the point and raises some thought provoking issues.

On technology the report states that:

"Technological connectivity will transform the way people live and interact.  The technology revolution has been just that.  Yet we are at the early, not mature, stage of this revolution."

and

"We are forming communities and relationships in new ways (indeed, 12 percent of US newlyweds last year met online)...

....For perhaps the first time in history, geography is not the primary constraint on the limits of social and economic organization"

On the global economy:

"Centers of economic activity will shift profoundly, not just globally, but also regionally...

....the world has embarked on a massive realignment of economic activity.

On access to information and knowledge particularly via the internet:

"Companies will need to learn how to leverage this new knowledge universe - or risk drowning in a flood of too much information"

So what's all this mean to the SME?  It reinforces the current view that the use of technology will become increasingly important to help give SME's a competitive edge.  The use of the internet for marketing and trading purposes will be particularly useful for niche SME's.  In addition, there will be a demand for customers and suppliers to collaborate, particularly coming from large companies and internet savy customers.  One example of this will be system to system exchange of accounting information such as orders and sales invoices.

Traditional views of where business is conducted will change.  We are already seeing this with home working and call centres in India, but the change will become more pronounced.  There will be video conferencing on huge screens with better IT to share and categorize all the documents and files we use.  It therefore will become less and less important to the SME that everyone is in the same office.  For example, just moving part of the workforce out of a large city whilst retaining a central city presence could reduce costs without changing the nature of the service or product supplied.

These will be the first wave changes of a much larger global reorganization.

Finally, we are all going to have to find ways to deal with the information overload.  Let me know when you have crack this one.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Look me up

There is only one numerical software package I see practically all SME's use. It's everywhere. What's it called? Click here to find out and come back and let me know if you agree. If you do then you may   find the below video useful. It's on an amazingly useful function called Vlookup. The Vlookup function has saved me a lot of work over the years

In the Excel help screen it explains it as "Searches for a value in the leftmost column of a table, and then returns a value in the same row from a column you specify in the table."  That may make perfect sense to you, but watch the video to understand how it actually works in practice.

Click here to download Microsoft Media version (1mb) 

This works with Windows Media player version 10.

Click here to download Real Player version (2mb)

You can download a free Real player here (right-hand side download screen).

Click here to download Quicktime version (20mb) 

You can download a free Quicktime player here.

Click here to download the Excel Vlookup example spreadsheet

Philip Woodgate

Excel is a registered trademark of the Microsoft® Corporation.

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Press play to view the small screen version as below:

After the large company

There is quite a buzz about SME's at the moment.  We've got the emerging second generation internet technologies helping SME's,  we've some rather excited bloggers and we've got large companies trying hard to get the SME market.  Still it's in the depths of the internet you often find the most interesting things.

I found this article by John Harrison CEO of Maxsi.  Maxsi is a company based in the North East of England and has been very successful it selling it's website analaysis products to large companies.

John Harrison gives some very good practical tips on winning business from a large company whilst taking on a large competitor as follows:

1. Be confident in your abilities to take on a large competitor (especially true in the case of presentations and meetings).

2. Be flexible (it's the area that most large companies struggle with - especially when added with being adaptive and giving a personal touch).

3. Reduce the large company's risk of taking you (the SME) on as a supplier (e.g. short term contracts, pay as you go (Salesforce.com's method), trial periods etc...)

4. Build up a track record of selling to large companies.

Congratulations when you win that large company contact, but just make sure that you get paid on time.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Phenomenon

There is an article in the New York Times that is well worth a read on technology and SME's.  It's based on a phenomenon that is being discussed in various media sources, but Steve Lohr in his article has done a good job in removing the jargon and providing real life examples. 

The phenomenon is based on the emerging second-generation Internet technologies and Steve Lohr explains it as follows:

The phenomenon is a big step in the democratization of information technology. Its imprint is evident well beyond business, in the social and cultural impact of everything from blogs to online role-playing games. Still, it seems that small businesses, and the marketplace they represent, will be affected the most in the overall economy. Long-held assumptions are suddenly under assault.

The potential is that the future will see technology working for the SME's making it easier for them to compete.  This is particularly evident in two areas:

1. Using the web as a marketing tool to get to far-flung customers that are interested in a company's products.  This works particularly well for specialist or niche suppliers and allows a worldwide marketing campaign to be created for relatively little cost. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2. Renting web based software monthly instead of paying upfront capital costs.  The SME takes little risk and if the software does not deliver stops using and renting the software.  The software supplier takes away the risk of upfront capital costs and support contracts from the SME.  Obviously, the software supplier can also benefit greatly. If it delivers an attractive service then, using a web based approach, it can achieve dynamic growth. 

If you are involved with a SME and reading this article then I expect you are already ahead of the game when it comes to technology.  I'll tell you what why don't we just keep this as our secret.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

They want your money

If you are a recent start up then you should take a look at a list of common scams in operation as published in Times Online.  If you are not a start up then hopefully you know them all, but just in case I suggest a quick read.

I was particularly struck by the one on fraudulent billing.  In this scam you actually receive a cheque to bank by the company trying to commit the fraud.  It's a genuine cheque and it will clear, but in reality it's a sprat to catch a mackeral.  Cash the cheque and bills arrive.  In accordance with terms, undoubtedly in very small print, sent with the cheque.

So nothing has changed then and the old cliche "If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is" still holds as one of the best methods to spot a scam.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Now that's what I call innovation

Over at AccMan Pro there is some real innovation going on.  To find out more check out this and this.  It's all gone Web 2.0.

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants

Pitching? Beginners apply here.

Need to pitch?  Using PowerPoint?  Want to keep it simple?  Then read these two articles and you should see a significant improvement:

The 10 Worst Presentation Habits in BusinessWeek.

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint by Guy Kawasaki (pointed out to me by Business Two Zero).

All you pro-pitchers out there probably already know about Presentation Zen.  My advice to beginners is to crack the two above before you go there.  It could be hours before you return. 

Philip Woodgate

Technorati Tags: small business  medium sized business  sme  smb  blogging accountants