Database Books

There are many types of computerized organizing products that claim to save us time. We can choose between information or contact management software such as Outlook, Act!, Goldmine, InfoSelect, Now Up-To-Date (for the MAC), and many more. Then there are the PDAs (personal digital assistants), which fall into 2 categories: those that run on the Palm operating system, and Microsoft’s Pocket PC. But when I observe how people use these products, I see that many are just scratching the surface. They’re getting only a fraction of the time-saving benefits because they don’t know how to choose and use these products.

Importance of Realistic Expectations

Stephen Covey observed that many people seek a “Magic Tool” which they hope will magically, effortlessly, get them organized. But in reality it’s not that simple: In addition to choosing the right tool and using it properly, we must manage paper and phone calls, set priorities, deal with crises, juggle multiple projects, and plan for the future. Many people have a To-Do list dozens of items long, including tasks that have been waiting for months. Is such a list more effective just because it’s “in the computer“? Obviously not!

Choose Carefully, Then Learn to Use It

Don’t get me wrong — I’m no Luddite. I love computers. I’m totally dependent on my contact management and scheduling software — it literally saves me hours each week. (In case you’re curious, I use Goldmine). Yet few people seem to get the full benefit of the technology they’re using. For some users, these products even waste as much time as they save — although the victim is too close to the situation to see it. Perhaps they never really learned to use it, so they’re only using a fraction of its potential. Or they’re using the wrong software for their needs. Many people even use two or three software packages that do basically the same thing — so the time wasted switching back and forth (not to mention the confusion that results!) outweighs any benefits. Last but not least is a problem that’s completely self-inflicted and easy to prevent - I refer to data loss due to failure to back up your data and guard against battery failure.

It’s Still Up To You

Truth is, calling such software or handheld computers “organizers” is a misnomer. They’re really just places to store information. In themselves, they do not organize anything. WE do –through a comprehensive system of time, paper, task, and information management. So, if you’re tempted to buy an electronic “Magic Tool,” choose very carefully. Then, once you’ve bought it, take the time to find out all it can do — and then use it to the max!

Copyright Jan Jasper 2005

Jan Jasper has been helping busy people to work smarter, not harder since 1988. She is the author of “Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information, & Technology” (St. Martin’s Press). Jan has helped thousands of people juggle multiple projects, survive information overload, and get the most from office technology. She also does configuration and training for software such as Goldmine & Microsoft Outlook. Call 212.465.7472 or visit http://www.janjasper.com

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You’ve finally created databases that you can actually use to
store and manipulate all your critical data. That’s great news
and quite an accomplishment. But in your rush to get your
employees to start entering information into these databases, you
skipped the training process and let them go at it alone.

That was not such a good decision, but one you did not care about
until you decided to tackle your first mail merge. Instead of
getting what you expected to get, you got all variations of
address and telephone number formats, an incredible and
astounding assortment of confusingly mixed usage of upper and
lower case characters and fields with unusual amounts of white
space that you’ve finally figured out is due to excessive use of
the space bar. The data looks cluttered, inconsistent, and worst
of all, unprofessional.

You don’t have time to go back into every record and manually fix
these annoying inconsistencies, nor do you want to pay your staff
to do this when they have so many other things to do. But you’ve
got to get your promotion going so money can start arriving in
your business checking account. Now what do you do?

There is a way you can go in and clean up these types of data
messes and it won’t involve firing the employees who caused the
problems in the first place! Nor will you have to become
proficient at database programming. As with any good business
problem, there’s a software solution available that you can use
instead.

It’s called DataPipe and it will clean up these and other types
of database errors faster and less expensively than you can do it
manually or by using other software tools. It does not matter
which standard ODBC or OLE DB you are using. Just use its drivers
to connect to DataPipe. From there, it’s a matter of selecting
the database and query or table you need to work on. Then sit
back and watch as it works its magic in record time.

Even if you use packaged customer relationship management
software at your business - products like Goldmine, ACT!,
Epiphany and others - you still can use DataPipe.

DataPipe uses basic search and replace functions to tweak the
text that is stored in your databases. Whether you know exactly
the text you want modified, want to modify text that sounds like
something specific, want to search for wildcards or particular
patterns, or want to use fuzzy logic to help find typos, your
data will benefit when you use DataPipe.

And best of all, you won’t have to contact your programmer and
negotiate a costly change order when you need to use a different
format for your date fields, or when you need to swap the order
of last and first names. But you can if this is what you need.
You or your programmer can create custom filters using industry
standard scripting languages.

DataPipe requires Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP or 2003, a
hard disk with 15 MB free disk space and 64 MB RAM. It also
requires SQL Server, Access, Informix, Sybase, DB2, Oracle,
MySQL, DBF, FoxPro, FileMaker Pro, Excel Spreadsheets or any OLE
DB/ODBC compliant database.

Isn’t it time your data look and feel more consistent, more
professional, and perhaps even more impressive? When you run a
business, you need all the help you can get. And in today’s
competitive business climate, first impressions make the biggest
impression. And unfortunately, sometimes first impressions are
the key “make or break” determining factor. So make sure your
first impressions count.

Copyright © 2005 Cavyl Stewart. Get the most out of the software
you use everyday. Check out the add-in software directory for
more information on DataPipe and other great time saving
add-in tools. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/addins_general_software.php - Also, be sure to check out my Exclusive, 100% free, 100% original content ecourses.

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Jewelry store software isn’t just something used exclusively in chain stores. In fact, anyone dealing in fine jewelry and gems should have a jewelry store software program to help them run their business. However, many small and private establishments forgo looking into computer software with dire consequences. While they might have a computer and a database of some sort, they fail to look into jewelry store software for fear the cost would be too great or the programming too complicated.

Today, using software to organize your business is much easier, than in years past. With more businesses competing in the jewelry market, it’s important to stay a step ahead of the competition. This is where jewelry store software comes to the rescue. Software programs that use to cost tens of thousands of dollars to install, now cost less than five thousand, in many cases.

Increasing Sales with Jewelry Store Software

Unlike the older MS-DOS databases, jewelry store software with its integration of POS, inventory and accounting functions offers owners a turnkey solution to these three major areas. As an example, the software can simultaneously compute a sales transaction, update your inventory and the general ledger; all at the same time! In addition, it tracks customer contact information, returns, and repairs.

Another function of the software one should consider is the time saved when determining the current mix of products in stock. Much of the owners’ valuable time is wasted when done by hand. However, with jewelry store software reporting features, analyzing the inventory is a snap. Now, the jeweler can use the time saved and focus on moving aging inventory, making room for the more popular items.

Don’t Let Opportunities Pass You By

When companies do their inventory the old-fashion way, they lack the solid answers to three important questions they should know about their retail business in order to compete:

• Current value of inventory
• Inventory turnover
• Product profit margins

This information is invaluable when an opportunity presents itself and a quick decision is a must!

Bottom Line

The knowledge that jewelry store software will provide, and the time it will save you, will more than make up for the investment. Jewelry store software will level out the playing field, allowing smaller companies to compete effectively and efficiently with larger corporations.

Cheree Dohmann is an internet marketing consultant that works with individual companies to build branding, search engine visibility and create online advertising opportunity for small businesses. Cheree has worked with IBIS for the past 2 years to promote their jewelry store software. To learn more about IBIS, please visit http://www.ibis-net.com.

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