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2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year for BizNet Software!  With new ERP integrations, product enhancements, a new monthly e-newsletter, and BizNet’s 1^st Annual User Conference, the year will be full of specific information and insight.

Here is a look at what is on the horizon:

• New ERP Integrations:
  • Expanding further into Microsoft product lines
    • Solomon – look for more details at Convergence in March
    • Axapta
  • Go deeper into Sage product lines
    • PFW GL
    • AccPac AP & AR, AccPac Project Management
    • Mas90 AP & Inventory
    • Mas500 Inventory

• BizInsight Version 6.0: Coming in JUNE!
  • Inclusion of BizIntegrate:  An efficient way you can create your own BizNet integrations
  • BizNet Server:  Cloud-enable your business data with single cache shared among hundreds of users

• New Enhancements to BizBroadcast:
  • From a single report template, you now have the ability to auto-generate additional management reports for each division, region, store, etc.
  • Reduction in spreadsheet management
  • Desktop Scheduling – Schedule weekly, daily, or monthly
  • Support for all output formats – PDF, XPS, HTML, CSV, Output to Printer
  • More advanced control of report generation – Ability to “hide” or “unhide” worksheet

• Excelapalooza: BizNet Software’s 1^st Annual User Conference
  • Oct. 28-31^st, 2012
  • Four Seasons Resort and Club – Las Colinas, TX
  • Become An Excel Star With Training Sessions From Excel MVPs! (Only 45 worldwide)
  • Fun Events including a Golf Tournament at TPC Four Seasons, spectacular entertainment, exciting contests and prizes!

• Where to Catch Us This Year:
  • Microsoft Convergence, March 18-21^st, 2012, Houston, TX
  • Epicor Perspectives, May 6-9^th, 2012, Las Vegas, NV
  • Sage Summit 2012, August 12-16^th, 2012, Nashville, TN
  • Plus 16 Other Major Trade Shows!

• Watch for BizNews – A *new* monthly e-newsletter beginning in February

• New Webinars:
  • Customer/Reseller: Once a month, BizNet will host an educational webinar updating its current users and resellers on product tips and strategies, Excel “Tip of the Month”, new product launches, and what’s coming up next.
  • Prospective Customers:  Twice a month, BizNet will host a webinar for prospective customers looking to learn more about BizNet and its products.

Are you looking to take your business to a new level this year? BizNet can help.  Founded in 1996, BizNet takes the mystery out of databases with programs to make Excel reporting more accessible and productive.  To keep up with all of the exciting things BizNet Software has in store this year, join our communities on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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Did you know that second only to email, Excel is the tool business users use the most every single day? With over 500 million users, Excel is the #1 reporting and analysis tool used globally. But, many business utilize Excel to analyze data and use other solutions to produce executive dashboards – why waste your time copying and pasting? Just by taking a few additional steps, anyone in your organization could be producing meaningful, real-time executive dashboards within the reporting solution they use every day – Excel.

For more information, visit our website or check out another post about executive dashboards.

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Excel is the standard in business reporting primarily because of its many different reporting capabilities.  Excel offers not only visual aids such as charts and graphs, but also the capacity for operating with real time data.  This is an advantage no matter what type of report you are using, but we will look at a few other top options:

• Financial: Companies can use Excel to produce yearly, monthly, and daily financial reports in order to present the company’s earnings. This is an efficient way of communicating with executives and investors, particularly when combined with the use of real time data.  Excel also provides financial analysis to help companies track their financial progress.
• Accounting: Excel helps businesses track income and expenditures in an orderly fashion.  From yearly sales to employee expenses, there are reports for every accounting need.
• Sales: Excel is extremely useful in keeping track of inventory, sales, and payroll.
• Education:  Teachers and administrators can use Excel for tracking grades, extracurricular activities, disciplinary issues, and awards received.  This helps schools better meet their students’ needs overall.

The scope of Excel’s audience is broad because the program is so versatile and works with a wide range of business types.  Every business such as a dry cleaner, restaurant, school, retail shop, and insurance agency can benefit from Excel.  From the smallest “mom and pop shop” to the largest corporation – everyone can benefit from Excel.

Need more understanding on how different types of Excel reporting can help you manage your business?  Visit the BizNet Software website for links to helpful videos and blogs detailing the company’s vast knowledge of the software industry.  Alternatively, for more information, you may visit BizNet on Facebook and Twitter to connect with other users and find out how BizNet can help your business grow.

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People have been using Excel for business reporting since the late 1980s, and, in fact, it has become the standard for the industry. New software is released on a regular basis and yet Excel holds its ground as the second most commonly used software for businesses next to email.  At over twenty-five years old, Excel is a grandfather among reporting tools, so why do we still use it for business reporting?

• Versatility: Excel can be used for many different types of reporting, including financial, accounting, sales and much more.  Because it is not only a spreadsheet program, but also involves the creation of graphs and charts, it is an excellent program for building professional looking presentations with ease.  Excel can be used for simple items such as names, addresses, pivot tables, and database source files, and is sturdy enough to grow along with your business.
• Ease of Use: Excel is an intuitive program, which even a novice can learn to use with ease. Catching on to the use of formulas is simple, and with hands on training, a person can learn to use the program within a few days just by playing around with it and creating his or her own spreadsheets.
• Excellent resources: Many libraries offer classes on Excel now, or you may choose to purchase a book such as Excel for Dummies and teach yourself.  In addition, the Microsoft support team is ready to walk you through any difficulties you may have.
• Compatibility with aftermarket programs: Because Excel is so widely used, software companies like BizNet have come up with products that boost Excel’s already impressive capabilities.  For example, real time reporting keeps businesses a step ahead of the crowd at all times.

When you use Excel for business reporting, do you find that you need help with faster reporting?  BizNet Software has the solutions you need.  Visit BizNet on Facebook and Twitter to connect with other users and learn more.

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There are those who think Excel is outdated, but they are clearly unaware of all the different uses for reporting with Excel. From sales, to trends, to accounting, to personal use, the possibilities are nearly endless. Here are a few of our favorite Excel uses:

• Keeping track of sales: By tracking sales, you can see patterns within your company. Even better, sales professionals can track their individual sales to see where they can improve their performance. With helpful charts and graphs, as well as spreadsheets, Excel is an extremely useful tool.
• Managing inventory: With a rudimentary understanding of Excel, you can create an inventory management system for your business that tracks stock in hand, while projecting sales and delivery times. This will give you better control over the reordering process, and make your inventory more efficient.
• Watching the trends: By tracking your own company’s sales, you can better plan for the future. By watching the market trends, you can stay ahead of the curve. BizNet offers software that allows you to utilize real time data in your Excel reporting, giving you a competitive edge.
• Managing your accounting: By learning to use Excel formulas, you can make the process of accounting much easier. Additionally, because so many people use Excel, it is easy to share information, or give multiple users access to documents, in order to keep records that are more accurate.
• Managing your life: Many people become so comfortable with Excel at work that they begin to apply it at home as well! From planning a family budget, to keeping track of your insurance information, to meal planning, there are a multitude of ways Excel can work for you personally as well as professionally.

Do you want to know even more about utilizing Excel reports for your business? BizNet Software helps you create and manage reports using real-time Excel data. Want to know more about reporting with Excel? Or do you have some of your own uses you’d like to share? Join BizNet Software on LinkedIn and let us know!

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Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about the cloud – what is it? What does it mean? But, more importantly, how can it help my business? Here are some key benefits of the cloud and how you can utilize it with Excel to make it even more powerful for your business. To find out how we use the cloud and Excel, visit our website.

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BizNet Software, Inc., a leading provider of Microsoft Excel® based  reporting and analytics solutions,  won K2 Enterprises’ 2011 Quality Award  for Financial Reporting for a second straight year.

K2 Enterprises is the premier provider of technology continuing professional education (CPE) in both the United States and Canada. With seminars in over 46 states in 2010, 1,000+ presentations, special events, they are the largest provider of technology CPE in North America.

2011 represents the 10th year for the K2 awards and the second year Financial Reporting has been included as a category. Awards are determined by a poll of K2 Enterprises’ nine instructors, drawing on end-user feedback and their own consulting and teaching experience in ranking competing providers in each of 20 categories.

BizNet had earned previous recognition from K2′s executive VP, Randy Johnson. In the April/May 2010 issue of The CPA Technology Advisor, he named BizNet a “company to watch in 2010 and beyond.”  In an article entitled, “How to Get Great Reporting”, Johnson wrote, “The vision and roadmap of [BizNet] is brilliant, and the product can solve many problems of the market. This offering is certainly a viable alternative for FRx users and shows the promise of being a general reporting tool beyond the financial reporting that it already does well.”

“We are extremely honored to have won this award for a second straight year,” said BizNet president & CEO, George McMann. “K2 is one of the most respected and knowledgeable names in technology CPE, so earning their experts’ continued recognition is validation of our ongoing commitment to delivering the best in Excel®-based financial reporting and analysis tools. BizNet Software, Inc., leading provider of Microsoft Excel® based reporting and analytics solutions, announced today that is has won K2 Enterprises’ 2011 Quality Award for Financial Reporting for a second straight year.

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The business world moves at a rapid pace, and today’s companies need faster business reporting in order to stay ahead of the curve. Along with business intelligence and analysis, your company needs real-time information, especially when reporting with Excel, in order to stay competitive. BizNet can help, with an easy to use analytic and reporting platform that enhances your Excel capabilities, in order to give your company a competitive edge.

• BizNet delivers real-time Excel data to your Excel reports. You can draw directly from different databases and systems to create a customized report. For example, you can combine information from your ERP system and sales system.
• Cutting and pasting is outdated. Using existing Excel reports and skills, your team can integrate real-time data into current reports by populating current Excel sheets with live data connections. This means less time wasted with cutting and pasting stale information.
• BizNet can be fully implemented within a day. Existing skill sets and familiar platforms are utilized in training your team, so your company can be building live Excel reports within hours. You can also connect with BizNet in many ways for any assistance you need along the way.
• The live data enables you to drill down directly in Excel. You can examine individual transactions or changes without looking through mounds of data. With on-the-fly drill down, you gain the ability to get the detail behind the numbers with a simple mouse click.
• Lightning-fast performance with in-memory analytics means better intelligence. If you are given a report that is due in a timely manner, you will be able to provide decision-makers with detailed business intelligence without the stress of crunching numbers in a rush.
• The point-and-click menu makes it easy to generate customized reports. A single Excel template can be utilized to generate multiple reports. This ensures that all of your reports are streamlined.

The software BizNet offers gives you a business reporting and analysis platform that provides real-time Excel data. Need more help with faster business reporting when reporting with Excel? Visit BizNet Software on Facebook and Twitter to connect and learn more!

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In 2009, Microsoft announced that the popular FRx Financial Reporter software was going into “sunset” status.  In other words, the software will have limited support and the product will not be updated to work with new operating systems.  For tens of thousands of accounting department, this was crushing news as, for many of them,  FRx Reporter was the only accounting software they had ever used.   One constant among accountants is that they are resistant to change, so as companies begin the search for an FRx replacement, it is important to keep five key points in mind before choosing an FRx alternative.

Excel Compatibility

Excel currently has well over 500 million users and has become the standard in accounting reporting.  Excel offers the ability to report financial data in multiple languages, customize reports to make data more readable, and the ability to use various tools to highlight important information for non-accounting staff.  Financial reporting software should allow users to design reports in Excel due to the versatility and global recognition that the software offers.

Global Economy Means More Complex Financial Reporting

Businesses need a financial reporting solution that addresses the evolving financial reports required in today’s global economy.   Growing companies require an ever-changing list of reports in order to meet federal reporting standards and to keep company officials informed about the businesses financial picture.  Quality financial reporting software should be able to generate consolidated financials, virtual roll-ups, multi-currency, cash flow analysis and a host of other reports.  For this reason, it is important to keep in mind the reports your company will need before choosing an FRx replacement.

Easy to Learn

One complaint many companies had about FRx was that it was difficult to learn.  In fact, the program required a 2-day training class to learn the product thoroughly. When evaluating your options, make sure the solution is initiative and requires little or no training. Employees should be able to use the system easily no matter how seldom they needed to do so.  Therefore, the FRx alternative you choose should not require you to hire special programmers or reporting specialists in order to create reports.

Real-Time Information

Many financial solutions require data to be updated in multiple databases before reports are run to get the information needed.  In other cases, users are required to continually rerun reports in order to get current information.  In the financial world, current data and information is critical to adequately analyze a company’s financial well-being.  When choosing an FRx replacement, be sure that the program can provide interactive real-time data, from multiple systems, if needed.  Getting information in real-time is critical for decision-making.

Plan for the Future

Good financial reporting software should not only deal with a company’s financial picture today, but should be able to handle any reporting requirements the company will require in the future.  In addition, FRx replacement software should be able to handle large volumes of data as well as the complex needs that may occur as your business grows.

Despite the popularity of FRx Reporter, the program did have shortcomings.  For this reason, the fact that the software is being retired gives your company the ability to not only update your financial reporting process but to evaluate what was working with FRx and what could be improved.  This evaluation could lead you to an upgrade of your software rather than just a replacement.  For a more extensive list of items to consider in replacing FRx, download a free copy of our whitepaper at www.biznetsoftware.com.  To share what you’re looking for in an FRx replacement, join us on LinkedIn!

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With over 500 million users worldwide, Excel is the number one reporting and analysis software and is second only to email in daily use by companies worldwide.  However, many companies do not use this program for anything other than reports and analysis; they choose other solutions for business tools, such as executive dashboards.   By implementing a few simple ideas, you can begin creating interactive executive dashboards in Excel.

Interactive Executive Dashboards in a Familiar Format

Even advanced users are unaware of the many robust functionalities Excel offers.  By learning a few new steps within Excel, anyone in your company can create real-time executive dashboards in Excel, a program they are familiar with and understand.

Real-Time Data

Executives and managers need the most up-to-date information in order to make informed decisions.  By creating a dashboard in Excel, you eliminate the potential for lost data due to copying and exporting information between applications.  When you create a dashboard in Excel, you eliminate redundancy and speed up the transfer of data between parties.

Reading between the Lines

When a problem is being addressed, business decision makers need to know more than just the surface data.  True, they need to see the bottom line numbers, but they also need to see the data used to arrive at those bottom line numbers.  For this reason, reporting and analysis software must be able to “drill down” into the information in order for executives to make an informed decision.  Using a dashboard in Excel allows company officials to “drill down” into the data without leaving the application.

New Features in Excel

Microsoft has added many new features making it much easier to create an executive dashboard in Excel.  With better graphing, formatting and data visualization capabilities, the program provides more than just reporting features.  In addition, data bars, color scales, arrow indicators, spark lines, data slicers and other visually appealing features have been added to increase the aesthetic appearance of the program and make it easier to create an appealing dashboard in Excel.

Creating an executive dashboard in Excel is the best way to reduce the possibility of errors and provide real-time data to the company decision makers using a program that is familiar to almost every business person in the world.  Do you need more help with utilizing Excel reports for your business?  Visit BizNet Software to learn how!