At SedonaOffice, one of the biggest challenges we face is how to best manage the growing list of software enhancement requests.    As our business has grown, so too have the needs of our clients to expand the footprint of SedonaOffice within their organizations.  Determining the course of action on where to focus our resources has always been a bit of a balancing act. 

There are a few ways decisions have been made on how to put development resources to work.  We like to look at SedonaOffice as a whole and see which enhancement requests will better the product both in the daily use of the system and also in the marketplace for future sales.  At times, the "squeaky wheel" approach would come in to play and we would make changes to the software to solve an immediate crisis.  Also, as many of you know, we offer custom development services at an hourly rate and will put resources to task on requests that are so critical to your needs that you are willing to pay for those costs.

In August of 2013, we will be introducing a whole new way that will allow direct involvement from you, the users of SedonaOffice, to get involved in our decision making process.

SedonaEnhancement is a brand new web based system that will tie directly into our web-based support system.  As you submit your support tickets as enhancement requests, they will be reviewed and transferred to SedonaEnhancements and put up for vote by all SedonaOffice customers.  You will not only be able to see YOUR requests, but also view ALL requests that have been submitted by other clients.  If you are looking to see if your idea already exists, there is a keyword search available.

Each SedonaOffice customer will be allocated a voting bank.  A typical voting bank will consist of 100 votes.  You choose how your company wishes to allocate those votes.  You could place a vote on 100 different requests, or place all 100 on a single request if that is your most critical need.  The winning request will be selected and implemented by SedonaOffice.  At the time of selection, all customers who voted on that request will be reset and ready to vote on a new request.

Look for an announcement in the next few weeks as to when SedonaEnhancement will be ready.  We are excited to get this new process in place and look forward to your participation in helping us choose where to put our development resources.  Your ideas have helped make SedonaOffice what it is today, the #1 Financial Software for Security Companies.

Don Faybrick

Co-Founder

SedonaOffice  

Washington Alarm, Inc. is a full service alarm company with their own Central Station specializing in commercial fire.  Shannon Woodman, COO is the third generation of the Woodman family ownership.

OF NOTE

Washington Alarm moved to their new business location on April 2nd of this year.  Although the move was only 2 miles away, their team spent many hours planning the logistics of the Central Station move and thanks to that team, the transition was seamless to customers.  They are very proud of the new facility which doubles office space and provides much needed parking for both employees and visitors.

REFLECTION ON THEIR FIRST YEAR

'We are very happy with SedonaOffice.  As a relatively new user, we are constantly discovering new ways to use SedonaOffice to manipulate our data.   We attended the Users Conference for the first time in January and felt that it was very helpful in understanding each module.'

As an owner or a manager of a security company, you have probably developed a plan with various strategies and numerous assumptions to move your company forward. However, preparing a budget encapsulates those plans into a documented financial forecast that can be beneficial in many ways.

• The act of preparing a budget requires that you think more deeply about your strategies and assumptions and usually forces you to be more realistic. The ramifications of inaccurate or ill-advised assumptions can be costly.

• Budgeting gives you the opportunity to get your key people involved in the execution of the company plan and vested in the company's best interests.

• Budgeting opens the door for bonus plans based on overall company performance. If the company does well, employees do well.

• Projecting your company's cash flow is a benefit of the budgeting process. If your budget were to show that cash will be tight, you would have advance warning to revise operations to reduce cash requirements and bolster working capital. Or, you may take steps to raise additional cash.

• The value and benefits of budgeting increase significantly if you are able to compare actual results to budget. By tracking and investigating variances, you can take timely action to avoid or mitigate problems, reduce costs or capitalize on opportunities.

Now is the time to prepare a budget for your company, because benefits like the ones listed here are just a few of many.  For assistance with budgeting contact Jim Lee, President, Astute Financial (970) 223-2382 or jim@astutefinancial.biz.

Customer Snapshot Report

While in customer explorer, you can create a quick snapshot report of important customer information by selecting File - Print Preview.

 "Knowing what we know now, I wonder what took us so long," said President of Wayne Alarm Systems, Ralph W. Sevinor as he recalled when Wayne Alarm handled the printing and mailing of their monthly billing in-house.  Mr. Sevinor went on to detail why the previous billing process had such a detrimental impact on business: 

Once the bills were audited, they were fed through the folding machine, and they were manually inserted into an envelope with a return envelope and a marketing piece. This process could take up to several days and would divert our energies and resources from taking care of more pertinent issues - like our customers!  

In May, after a long period of due diligence, Wayne Alarm Systems decided to move their billing process to Bridgestone.  Mr. Sevinor reflects on the process, "We have spent hundreds of hours researching, calling other alarm companies, testing and adjusting to ensure a billing product we can all be proud of." 

Sevinor continues, "The key factor is seeing measurable substantial savings in time at Wayne Alarm Systems and the best utilization of this time saved was on more productive areas to support the customer and increase the profitability overall."

Bridgestone's integration into the SedonaOffice suite makes the billing process simple and quick.  Mr. Sevinor went on to note some other advantages of using the Bridgestone's integrated solution:

* Speed - "By getting the bills out timely and all at once, we can expect to get paid much quicker, potentially resulting in less collection calls and outstanding collections."

* Address Correction - "Bridgestone has sophisticated software which is run on every billing batch that corrects and standardizes mailing addresses."

* Security - "Bridgestone services take place in a data center.  In addition to data center level security for your data, Bridgestone also has: 24x7 guards, role based physical key card access, dual power feeds and a full building generator."

* Easier for Customer - "By deploying the Bridgestone process, we have the flexibility to reformat the invoices / bills into a more understandable format.  The new bills even have a color-coded legend... to help the customer before they have to reach out to call us."

* Payment Coupon - "A great amount of customer feedback from customers has been that our current invoices / statements do not have an actual serrated dotted line which customers can easily separate without using a scissors or straight edge."  

Perhaps one of the most telling items about the Bridgestone solution came when Wayne Alarm Systems posed the question "When NOT to use the Bridgestone protocol?"  Mr. Sevinor responded, "The team decided to print/ create the Bridgestone file for every invoice going forward, freeing up resources and time on a daily basis."

Make your move today and contact Bridgestone to start saving time and money, while improving your customer experience.   For more information contact Dino Tianello at (330) 379-7540 or TianelloDino@bfusa.com.