Archive for October, 2008

Here are a few of the enhancements designed to make your work in QuickBooks easier, faster, and more accurate:

1.        There’s a new button up on the toolbar called “Company Snapshot”.  On one screen, you can see an income and expense graph, customer, vendor, and account balances, plus your reminders.  Pick either this or the “Home” page as your default view each time you open the program.

2.       The online banking feature has been simplified to make it easier and quicker to match or enter downloaded transactions.  Automated routines and naming logic help make sure that transactions are properly categorized.

3.       Multi-user enhancements include the ability of one user to run a report while another creates an invoice.  They have also enabled back-up in multi-user mode so users  won’t have to switch to single-user mode to back-up files.

Visit my website and click on the button, “Order QuickBooks” for a chart detailing all of the upgrades in QuickBooks 2009.

As Election Day approaches, politics inevitably seeps into the workplace. What if employees become disruptive, argumentative, annoying, or just plain unproductive on account of politics in the workplace? Does an employer have the right to limit political activities of employees in the workplace?

The answer is: “It depends.” In the private sector, in some jurisdictions, it is unlawful for employers to prevent employees from engaging in political activities or affiliations. But that does not mean employees are free to engage in any kind political activity on the clock, in the workplace.

In California, for example, Labor Code Section 1101 makes it unlawful for an employer to make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy: (a) Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office. (b) Controlling or directing, or tending to control or direct the political activities or affiliations of employees.  Labor Code Section 1102 makes it unlawful to coerce or influence or attempt to coerce or influence his employees through or by means of threat of discharge or loss of employment to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or following any particular course or line of political action or political activity. continue

In my last issue, I shared information on the advisor we have who talks to us about others. Today I’m covering the one who talks to us about ourselves. It’s called the Self-Esteem advisor.

This is all about the type of advice you give yourself…about yourself. From some of the assessments I have conducted, sometimes this advice is not very kind. In fact, it can be quite unforgiving towards us. So I frequently ask, who’s in charge? You or your advisor?

To be consumed by self-criticism, fear, and doubt about yourself crates negative thoughts that prevent you from using your greatest talents and climbing to your highest peaks.

Did you know that 95% of the people in the western world strives to be ‘perfect’? It’s an unrealistic expectation that many people struggle to achieve. An equally high percentage of people feel their ideas are tied to their self worth which can cause us to try to impress others, pretend things are different than they really are, and experience shame because perhaps you failed at something. It advises you not to try again. For example, you hear ‘I knew I wouldn’t get that sale. I’m a loser.’

These types of feelings are based in fear. How would you feel if you were able to stop these thoughts and replace them with new, more self-encouraging ones? continue

You know. Those 18,000 pieces of paper stuffed in that file cabinet in your office. Yup, that’s how many are in there. And it’s growing. The ‘paperless society’ has been discussed since the early 1970’s yet we now produce more paper today than ever before in the history of mankind.

Here are your productivity tips for this month:

1.      7 broad categories. Category names like Financials, HR, Clients, Suppliers, etc. No more than 7. You can have as many sub-categories as you want, but the original decision should be based on no more than 7 categories.

2.      Is it Financial or legal? If so, it lives under a different set of rules. Check with your CPA, attorney or insurance professional to learn more about retention schedules and before throwing anything out.

3.      Learn to let go. If the file does not have financial or legal ramifications or it doesn’t bring value, let it go. Throw it out. Shred it. Then save a tree by not printing everything you read on the internet. Less is more!