Over the last couple of weeks I wrote about larger ways to think about your business. Although I love this type of thought exercise, and how it can force me to confront issues in different ways, we cannot always only consider grand ideas. To make those ideas happen, action steps need to be taken.

So let this be a spot for a little public service announcement that may require action: If any of you are currently running QuickBooks 2013, know that this version will ‘sunset’ on May 31. Although that term makes it feel beautiful, peaceful and natural, this means that technical support and some features of the software will no longer work. If you need some help moving on from your older version, and want to do it before June 1, when things could start to feel much more difficult, let us know.

If you are in that spot, an easy solution could be to upgrade to the latest version of your software. There will be a slight learning curve as you incorporate some of QB’s quirks into you workflow, but it wouldn’t be too long until it feels like business as usual.

But is business as usual the best thing for your operation?

Much of traditional accounting occurred pretty much “as needed.” Depending upon the business and/or task, this could mean being done weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even annually. Pushing all that work into a small timeframe obviously isn’t the most efficient way to operate, but when the work involved pencil and paper, compiling spreadsheets and shoeboxes full or receipts, it was a necessary format.

As technology has continued to advance, though, this no longer has to be the case. Even those of you using a QuickBooks version that is about to lose the aforementioned support are enjoying some of the ways the software integrates with bank feeds, payroll, etc., (which are some of the services you could be losing).

Then maybe it is time to think of an online solution. If you feel too avid a fan of Intuit and its QuickBooks products and can’t imagine leaving, there is a QuickBooks online platform that gives small businesses much of the same bookkeeping power, with a continually updated software that ensures these sunset moments will not occur. This also means that you (and those who help you with your accounting work) have constant access to your books. Those old timeframes melt away.

Another benefit of the online format is the ability to have apps that work along with the program. Want to have employee’s timesheets inputted directly into your books? That can happen. Want expense reports sent there as well? That can happen. And who wouldn’t like a little extra power to send out invoices to customers and get paid faster.

There are also options to reduce (and eliminate) that storied shoebox full of receipts. There are multiple programs out there that make it as easy as taking a picture of a receipt with your phone to then having it saved forever.

Business as usual can be inviting, because it is the way that things have been working and succeeding. But if there are ways out there that can let you do the same business in less time – thus opening you up to be able to do more business – aren’t those good things?

Just what technology answers can help a business will very on a case-by-case basis, but chances are there are some changes everyone can implement to make things easier. If you want to explore some, please contact us and we will be happy to help. Next week I’ll be back in your space to give a little more detail on how some of these innovations could work in practice. 

Last post I wrote a little about Zappos, not so much as a company that we can hold up as a mirror to our small businesses, but as a larger company that still has things to teach small businesses.  Hopefully you agree that that is that case, for I want to continue looking at CEO Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness and look at a couple things the company did that are good lessons.

 

1. “Never outsource your core competency”
    

This is an idea that Hsieh returns to a few times throughout the book. Zappos hit one of its biggest early snags when it signed up with a warehousing company that did not live up to its promises. For a company whose service was shipping products to customers, this was an obvious huge issue.

No matter what your company does, you should be committed to doing something better than anyone else. Even if it isn’t a service for which you are the only provider, you can aim to be the best provider.

When you are the best, your company should grow to the point where you hire and/or contract help to take care of certain segments of your business. This is a good thing, but can quickly become a bad thing if the areas you loosen up on are the ones that are most important to your core services.

 

1. Open communication with employees
    

The warehouse issue wasn’t the only obstacle that Zappos overcame as a growing company. It went through many financial difficulties early as it needed a large amount of inventory to offer the services and goods it wanted; although the company was experiencing steady growth in its early years, it was not quite enough to lead to steady positive cash flow.

A line of credit alleviated those issues and got the company to where it wanted to be, but not before becoming a touch-and-go situation. It must have been a disconcerting time to work for Zappos, but the company was always open with its employees about what was going on. Hsieh includes multiple emails in his book that went out to Zappos’ workers, and they struck me as very open and gave those employees a level of knowledge that seems rare in big business.

Like many companies, there was also a time when Zappos had to let go of some employees. More open emails followed, as Hsieh believed that “rather than trying to spin the story as a ‘strategic restructuring’ as many other corporations were doing, we stuck by our core values and remained open and honest, not only with our employees, but with the press as well.”

This continued through to when Zappos was sold in an all-stock deal to Amazon. SEC rules required that the company couldn’t be completely open through the whole process, but it was as soon as it could. If you are open with your employees, it is easier for them to believe that you have their best interests in mind.

  

Most out there are probably aware of Zappos as a website that sells shoes and clothing. Many are probably also aware of the company’s commitment to customer service. Some may even be aware that it makes frequent appearances on lists of the best places to work and is often lauded for its charitable work.

Granted, this is a company that was purchased by Amazon in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion. I understand that if you are reading this, Zappos is a company operating on a different level. As I often like to stress, however, we can learn from those who are in different situations than our own.

After all, if we only ever listened to those in similar positions, we would never break beyond that spot.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has written a book entitled Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, that is a story of how his company grew and came to encapsulate some qualities that have not always been associated with successful businesses.

First, though, let it be noted that in the title of the book Hsieh notes that one cannot completely drop old business models. Profits are the first of the three Ps mentioned there, and a business needs a plan, and the discipline to follow it, that will result in profits even if it has other goals of branching into more unorthodox areas.

Zappos may be seen as a company that does things differently, but I think it largely meets the same goals that most business owners have when they begin a venture. Zappos’ differences seem to come more from the fact that it held onto those ideals as it grew to a giant.

Embracing a culture that gives us a comfortable (and dare I say sometimes fun) place to work? Being surrounding by co-workers who also thrive in that environment and love what they do, too?

I think we all want that. Many of us have also experienced the misery that can result from working in a place that does not embrace it.

To succeed so much that we can afford to give customers an unexpectedly high level of service? Being a part of a company that makes a commitment through charity to being a positive influe in our community?

Just how much one wants to stretch out in these areas can vary, and maybe I am too endlessly optimistic, but I think that even the greediest among us want to get to places where their finances allow them to give to others (and I bet even feel good while doing it).

Profits, Passion, Purpose … when broken down it seems a pretty simple and obvious way to go about running a company.

In the book, Hsieh says it adds up to “We have the opportunity to be one of those companies while having the time of our lives.”

And again, maybe this is more of that optimism (or I am still a little loopy coming off the end of tax season), but don’t those of us in business want to love being in business?

So consider that a simple takeaway, but a very important one, for this week. If you are reading this, you are much more likely a small-business owner than some higher-up at a massive company, but doesn’t that give you more power to effect change? Think about the power you have to make your workplace somewhere enjoyably thrilling and next week I’ll look a couple ways that Zappos has held onto that ideal that can be beneficial for everyone.