14 Mar 2008 02:21:36 | Lee Asher
There's almost no-one nowadays who doesn't have a computer --
it's more-or-less a given that you've got a computer in your
home office, and that you use it almost every day. But are you
getting as much out of it as you could be? Here are some things
your computer can do that you might not have thought of.
As a provider of professional services working from home, you
know that "time is money", and anything that will save you time
for your work at home business is worth your consideration. As
computer technology changes, youWork piling up? Tips on home
office organization help. Home based business requires support.
face a constant struggle to keep up your skills. The computer
software and equipment that you have invested in has many more
features than you are able to learn to utilize without a
substantial commitment of time and energy.
Keep Track of Customers in a Database
Once you start to get some customers, you'll need to keep track
of their contact details, as well as making sure you know who
they are in case you forget. You have a choice: you can keep a
file for each customer in your filing cabinet, or you could
enter their details into a computerised database.
The good news is that if you have some office software, then you
should already have a database package. Starting a database of
your customers isn't too difficult to figure out, and lets you
do all sorts of things -- you can sort them by the area where
they live, or list everyone who's bought one of your products
but not another, for example.
Graph Your Sales
Once you've got your database telling you what you've sold to
who and when, you can use it to produce all sorts of graphs and
other reports that could help you to spot trends and see what
works and what doesn't.
Do Your Accounting and Tax
With inexpensive accounting software, it's not hard to use your
computer to keep track of all your incomings and outgoings -- it
can even be integrated with your customer database. Since you'll
have all your sales data electronically already, it'll be a snap
to do your taxes at the end of the year, where for people who
have it all on paper it can be a complete nightmare.
Design Your Own Marketing Materials
Modern desktop publishing software makes it dead easy to design
your own logo, leaflets, brochures, and anything else you might
want. With a little practise, you can produce things as good as
any graphic designer a home business could afford, and save the
money for distribution. Make sure you run your design by a few
people first, though, to check that it's readable and there
aren't any mistakes or flaws that you've been staring at it for
too long to see.
Follow Market Trends
With Internet access, you can read articles from the specialist
press of the whole world, and keep up to date with all the
latest technologies and trends in your industry. It's worth
picking out the top five or so most important sites to your
business and spending a few minutes each day checking them.
After all, you don't want to get left behind.
Accept Credit Cards
Many people don't realise, but Internet merchant accounts aren't
just for accepting card payments over the web. You can also open
one to use as part of your home business over the phone or by
post, with you simply entering the card numbers and amounts into
a website to process the payments. This is a powerful way of
giving your customers more alternatives when it comes to paying
you.
Promote Your Business
Don't underestimate the effectiveness of the web as a tool for
promotion. You should definitely take the time to list your
business on every directory listing people in your industry --
make sure that someone searching for your profession and the
town where you live would be able to find you listed easily.
Pay Your Staff
When your business gets big enough to employ staff, you'll find
your computer is a useful tool for keeping track of how many
hours each person has worked, how much they should be paid, and
how much of that amount needs to be kept behind as tax. Trying
to do payroll manually is a big headache.
Keep Backups!
There's one thing, though, that it's important to always
remember: when you use your computer to store any data that you
can't afford to lose, make regular backups and keep them in a
safe place. It's really not that much trouble, and if you don't
do i then a simple computer failure can devastate your business.
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