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I recently had a conference call with one of my partners and an engineering client of his. They were curious about whether QuickBooks could handle their requirements for invoicing. QuickBooks has a very rich set of functionality which allows a company to charge their clients for billable activity of their employees and track those costs to the customer and produce great Job Profitability reports. This article describes how this is accomplished.

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In the course of working with my clients I am often asked to help with personnel issues ranging from hiring, to termination, to rehabilitation and everything in between. In the markets we serve, which are the owners of SMBs, it is more likely than not there will be no HR department, or anyone in the company with the experience and skills to handle the variety of people issues which arise. Because my experience includes over 25 years in corporations, most of those in management positions overseeing staff from entry level to director level I am able to help my clients with even the stickiest employee related issues. And in the event a situation requires greater expertise my large network allows me to locate the right resource to help.

A common phenomenon I see in the SMBs I work with  is that many times employees are family and/or friends, or the owners feel an obligation to keep long time employees on when it is no longer in the best interest of the business. Family and friends as employees present its’ own challenges as we can all imagine.

Once I have been with a business owner long enough to establish the “trusted advisor” relationship they will almost always ask my advice in personnel related issues. Most commonly it is either an issue of under-performance or attitude. Under-performance issues are very straightforward to address. We can document the acceptable level of performance, clearly communicate that to the employee, put measurements in place to track improvement, and give the employee access to any training necessary to be successful. They will either be successful or not, in which case the decision is apparent.

Attitude issues are much more harmful to a business. Owners often ignore the issue because they don’t want to confront an employee, or they will make excuses for the behavior. In every case I advise the owner too promptly and very directly address the issue otherwise the situation will get worse the disgruntled employee will poison the environment. And by addressing the issues I mean replace the employee.

When recruiting to fill a position it is always important to try to find someone with the right skills to do the job, but are skills the most important thing to assess? NO! The most important aspect to assess is attitude. Virtually any skill in an SMB can be trained in fairly short order if the employees have good education and attitude.  You can’t train someone to have a good attitude.

As a business owner, imagine that every single employee loved and appreciated their job, got along well with every other employee, and never complained about work, co-workers, customers, the hours, weekend work, etc. A situation like that would be wonderful. And, it’s easy. Just make sure that all employees in your business have good attitudes. Of course the business owner has the responsibility to create a safe, challenging, and appealing workplace.

I love working with business owners to make their businesses stronger. I can be reached at 404-787-5835, or rdaigle@b2bcfo.com.

Improving Productivity and Cash Flow in Field Service Businesses

In the service businesses which require technicians to travel to customer locations to respond to customer calls and generate revenue there are unique requirements and challenges to be met in order to be successful. At a high level there must be good processes in place to:

• Take customer service calls and dispatch technicians
• Dispatch a technician with the right skills to the job
• Capture the actual service work done
• Invoice customer for service work done
• Collect payment
• Schedule (Sell) new work or preventative maintenance work onsite
• Capture accurate job time to accurately pay technicians

When there are not good systems and processes in place to support these activities the results are:

• Reduced Cash availability due to slow cash flow
• Lost revenue, wasted administrative time, poor quality of service
• Unbilled revenue due to paperwork loss
• Fewer customers served each week – unrealized revenue
• Inaccurate time records – payroll errors . . . . often overpaying technicians
• Lost sales opportunities – more unrealized revenue
• Technicians driving too much – more lost opportunity

Although there are many tools and technologies available to address these problems many of these solutions were outside the means of most SMBs. That is no longer the case! Intuit , one of the worlds’ most trusted companies to small/mid-size businesses, has added Intuit® Field Service Management ES powered by Corrigo to its family of products and services.

Field Service Management ES offers these 3 promises:

• Get More Work Done
• Get Paid Faster
• Get Payroll right
• Get More Business

Here’s how!

Get More Work Done

Replace paper work orders and clipboards with web-based and wireless services. Work orders are dispatched wirelessly and managed by workers using handheld devices. Real-time data flows from the field into your Intuit system, eliminating unnecessary travel, double data entry and endless stacks of paperwork.

1.      Schedule and assign work in real time with GPS to maximize tech productivity and increase customer satisfaction

2.      Automation maximizes office and field productivity so your technicians get more jobs done

3.      Wireless work orders and back office integration eliminate double data entry, reducing errors

Get Paid Faster

Let your field service teams create invoices at the job site, take or process payments immediately—then sync with Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0. Save days or even weeks off your time-to-invoice, so you get paid faster.

1.      Create invoices on site at the time of service

2.      Accept and process credit card payments on site to speed-up cash flow, reduce fees and eliminate bad debt

3.      Synchronize with Enterprise Solutions 9.0 to reconcile payments

Get Payroll Right

Capture workers’ time in the field automatically and get your technicians focused on billable work instead of paperwork.

1.      Record time in the field with GPS verification for accurate payroll

2.      Review consolidated timesheets and approve with less effort

3.      Inputs data into your payroll system, so you don’t have to

Get More Business

Service agreements can be sold or renewed in the field at time of service. Preventative maintenance work orders (PMs) are auto-created, then assigned based on technician location and skills. Prepare and schedule PM visits proactively—so even slower times can be profitable.

1.      Sell more service agreements

2.      PM work orders are auto-created and easy to schedule

3.      Proactively prepare for PMs for efficient dispatch and prompt  completion

The answer to who’s doing what and where!

Intuit Field Service Management ES is built to help service businesses spend less time on paperwork and more time making money.

B2B CFO^®  is an Intuit Solution Provider and can offer all Intuit solutions to our clients at great discounts.

If you want to know more about Field Service Management you can contact Rick Daigle at rdaigle@b2bcfo.com or 404-787-5835. Rick is a QuickBooks Advanced Certified ProAdvisor and is also certified in Field Service Management ES.

It is pretty common knowledge that SMBs are the victims of workplace fraud 9 times more frequently that larger  businesses.  The main reason is that there is no separation of duties because the lone accountant/bookkeeper handles all accounting transactions. Often the only control in place is that the business owner signs all outgoing checks. Clearly this is inadequate.

I recently completed a thorough review of the financial accounting operations for a client. What follows is the detailed recommendations I presented.  These recommendations can easliy be implemented anywhere. The accounting system in use is QuickBooks.

The main elements of Internal Accounting Controls are:

1. Competent and trustworthy personnel with clearly defined lines of authority and responsibility.
2. Adequate separation of duties. In a small/midsized businesses this is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. This makes it critically important to set and communicate the “tone from the top” and implement a system of controls which allow proper oversight into the financial aspects of the business.
3. Proper procedures for the authorization of transactions. Again, this is difficult to implement in a small/midsized business. Two things that are in place which mitigate this risk are you sign all checks and customers never pay in cash. Additionally you should review the reconciliation of checking and credit card statements each month.
4. Adequate records and documents. You should require:
   1. A bill for every vendor payment
   2. A receipt for every credit card transaction
   3. A signed expense report for Reimbursements, with receipts
   4. An approval for any Invoice amount changes
5. Proper physical control over both assets and records. The main assets to protect are the company physical documents and computer records. You should have adequate fire protection and regular backup of your computerized records. These backups should reside offsite in a secure location.
6. Proper procedures for adequate recordkeeping. This is an area which needs improvement. You might consider hiring a temporary “Professional Organizer” to organize the paper documents. I can refer a couple who would do a good job.
7. A resource to provide independent verifications. That could be a B2B CFO or another trusted professional resource with the appropriate skills.

In practice I recommend we implement these elements of accounting controls in the following manner:

• Set up a unique QB user account for ALL users and start using that immediately for entering accounting transactions.
• Change the QB admin account password. Do not tell the password to any staff. Do not use the admin account for entering accounting transactions.
• Set closing dates. When reviewing the past months reports close the date 2 months prior. For example, when reviewing May set the closing date to 3/31/2010.
• Review the previous weeks’ activities by looking at the memorized “Weekly” reports with your bookkeeper:
  • Bill Credits for all Vendors – ask why we received this credit
  • Checks & Bill Payments – so you know what cash left the business last week
  • Credit Memos for All Customers – ask why these were issued
  • Deposit Detail – so you know what cash came into the business last week
  • Missing Checks from Last Week – numerical sequence is a great control. Ask why checks are missing.
  • Refunds for All Customers – ask why these were issued
• Review the previous months’ activities by looking at the memorized “Monthly” reports with your bookkeeper:
  • Profit & Loss Last 5 Months – look at the trends in Income and major expense areas. Investigate unusual trends.
  • Balance Sheet Last 5 Months – look at the balance trends in Bank accounts (including Undeposited funds), A/R, A/P. Credit Cards, and current liabilities. Investigate unusual trends.
  • A/P Aging Summary – discuss those over 60 days.
  • A/R Aging Summary – discuss those over 60 days
  • Audit Trail Invoice Modifications – review for amount changes and ask why
  • Expenses not assigned to Jobs -  job profitability is a critical success factor so you want to make sure all job related costs are properly assigned.
  • Uncleared Bank Transactions – you should not see transactions past the last reconciliations. If you do ask why.
  • Voided/Deleted Transactions Detail – you should know why transactions are being voided.
  • Journal Entries – I’m always curious why journal entries are used rather than normal QB transactions.

Finally, a monthly review of your financial statements by your B2B CFO is recommended.

To learn more about mitigating the risk of workplace fraud in an SMB contact Rick Daigle, rdaigle@b2bcfo.com, or 404-787-5835

How QuickBooks can be used to support the implementation of a PCI DSS Compliance program

In late 2008 the Payment Card Industry released the Data Security Standard Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures (PCI DSS). This security requirement now applies to all businesses, regardless of size, which take payment from customers in the form of Credit Cards. Generally speaking, the PCI DSS requires businesses to take reasonable and appropriate measures to safeguard customer credit card information.

Most, if not all, B2B CFO Partners work with clients who are required to implement a compliance program. And many of these clients use QuickBooks as their accounting solution. Because QuickBooks is the most commonly used business accounting application, and Intuit is a company committed to customers, there are features within the QuickBooks application which allow a business to cover most of the PCI DSS requirements.

The high level requirements of the PCI DSS are:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

o Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data

o Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data

o Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data

o Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

o Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software

o Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

o Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know

o Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access

o Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

o Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data

o Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy

o Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security

I’ll now explain how the security features within QuickBooks help with implementing a compliance program.

 
       ·         Enabling Customer Credit Card Protection supports satisfying Requirements 2, 3, 4, & 8.

o        Requirement 2 is supported when Credit Card Protection is enabled because the admin user and any user with access to credit card data must create a complex password which is required to be changed every 90 days.

o        Requirement 3 is supported when Credit Card Protection is enabled because credit card numbers are not visible to users who have not been given access, and QuickBooks does not store card validation or PIN codes.

o        Requirement 4 is supported when Credit Card Protection is enabled and the client used Intuit Merchant Services to process the Credit Card Payment because the transmission of that transaction is encrypted.

o        Requirement 8 is supported when Credit Card Protection is enabled because, again, any user with access to credit card data must create a complex password which is required to be changed every 90 days.

·         Other Requirements are satisfied in these ways:

o        Requirement 6 is supported when Automatic Update is enabled because the QuickBooks application will be updated with any critical updates required to maintain security over credit card data.

o        Requirement 7 & 8 are supported when security is properly implemented. QuickBooks allows for each user to be given a unique username/password, for each user to be granted or denied access to specific functional areas and or sensitive data, and whether that can see credit card data or not.

o        Requirement 9 is supported because QuickBooks provides only one place to store credit card information and that data is encrypted for users who have not been granted access.

To turn on Customer Credit Card Protection, as the Admin user select this option from the Company drop down menu, then click the Enable Protection button. You will then be required to create a complex password which must be changed every 90 days. You will then be instructed to change the security setting for all users to allow or disallow access to credit card data.

The setting to allow access to Customer Credit Card data in on the Sales and Accounts Receivable area screen. At the bottom of the screen is a check box for "View complete customer credit card numbers". Uncheck the box if the user is not to have access.

Finally, when Customer Credit Card Protection is enabled you will have access to the new "Customer Credit Card Audit Trail" report. This report details every access to or use of a customer credit card. This report is accessed via the Accountant & Taxes report.

To discuss how to implement a complete PCI DSS Compliance program contact Rick Daigle, rdaigle@b2bcfo.com, or 404-787-5835

I thought I would share this article with my partners. Feel free to share with your contacts. This article was published by Ruthann P. Lacey. Ms. Lacey is a client and an attorney specializing in the legal needs of the elderly and those with special needs. Ms. Lacey is nationally recognized as an expert in these areas.

Legal Foundations for the Future

You’ve planned, budgeted, saved. You’re insured, and you may be debt free. But what would become of all this diligence if you suddenly became unable to continue to manage your affairs personally due to physical and/or mental infirmity?

In an abundance of caution, these three documents should be cornerstones in every

prudent adult’s legal and financial foundation:

1. Last Will and Testament. It is startling that as many as half of all adults do not have this most fundamental document in place when they die. Perhaps they don’t realize that if they die without a Will (intestate), the laws of the state — not they or their heirs — will determine who gets their property and is named guardian of their minor children. For instance, many Georgians might be surprised to learn that under current Georgia law, the estate of an intestate person is divided between the spouse and each child, with the spouse potentially receiving as little as one-third! In the alternative, by establishing a “Will,” you retain control by conveying your will, attitude and beliefs toward your family and assets. In it you can:

·        Designate the person whom you want to be the executor of your estate and give him the power to act without posting bond and filing reports with the probate court, if desired;

·        Specify the persons or charities you want to receive your real and personal property;

·        Name your children’s guardian and provide financially for their future. For example, parents oftentimes establish a Trust in their Wills to provide for minor children, grandchildren or those with special medical needs; and

·        Establish a Trust to provide for a spouse who is or may become incapacitated.

When drafting a Will, it is typically prudent to consult an attorney to ensure that it addresses your specific personal circumstances and any necessary legal issues. For example, a properly drafted Will can minimize or possibly even eliminate estate taxes, or can maintain Medicaid qualification for a spouse who is in a health care facility. Also, an attorney can ensure that the resulting document fully complies with prevailing state laws and takes advantage of special considerations that may be contemplated by the law. For example, in Georgia be aware that absent a provision to the contrary, even an existing Will is revoked by events such as marriage or the birth of a child. Also, like a number of other states, Georgia law recognizes “selfproving” Wills. Making yours self-proving will save time and money when the Will is probated. After it is drafted, your Will must be properly signed and witnessed or it won’t be valid. The original signed Will should then be kept in a safe place where it will be found when it is needed. Finally, it should be reviewed periodically to ensure that it continues to represent your wishes and comply with the law, which is subject to change in each legislative session.

2. Durable Financial Power of Attorney (DFPOA). While a Will determines what will happen to your estate after your death, this document controls how your business and finances are to be handled while you are alive but incapacitated. In it you name someone whom you trust to act as your “agent” in making financial and property decisions for you in the event that you become unable to do so. The term “Durable” pertains to specific essential language which enables your agent to act on your behalf if, and especially when, you become temporarily or permanently incompetent.

Does an attorney need to draft this document? Well, maybe not . . . unless you have a bank account, own real property, own investment assets, own a business, or wish to make gifts to family or charities. Although forms and computer programs provide the basics, they are basic; generic one-size-fits-all approaches cannot be sufficiently refined to thoroughly address each individual’s circumstances. Thus, it may well be beneficial to consult an attorney who is knowledgeable in this area to ensure that your circumstances are thoroughly and specifically addressed.

For example, particular language is necessary for your agent to accept your income, continue your business, or make gifts of money or property to friends or charity. Also, many financial institutions do not accept the basic document. Instead, they require that specific language be included to empower your agent with respect to your accounts held at their institution. In addition, real estate and investment assets should always be specifically described in the document. And it is recommended that you name at least one back-up agent, in case the first-named agent becomes unable to serve for any reason.

Having a DFPOA crafted especially for your circumstances will make it easier and less costly for your agent to act on your behalf. It also provides two significant benefits:

·        It enables decision making to be kept within the family unit – where you want it to be; and

·        It can eliminate the need for Conservatorship.

Avoiding Conservatorship is recommended for several reasons. First, conservatorship proceedings can be emotionally difficult for the family and the prospective “ward” to endure. At the hearing, evidence is provided to the probate court judge to demonstrate that the ward is no longer competent to make his own decisions. If satisfied, the judge then removes the ward’s legal rights to make his own financial or business decisions or engage in any financial transactions.

Second, the appointed conservator must be bonded and must file an inventory, a budget, and annual financial reports with the court. This can be expensive and very time consuming.

Third, conservatorships are cumbersome because court permission is required before the conservator can undertake action with regard to the ward’s property. For example, the conservator must always seek permission from the court to spend any principal of the ward’s estate, to sell stock, to make gifts, to enter into a contract on behalf of the ward, to continue the ward’s business, or to sell or lease the ward’s property. While this oversight may decrease the likelihood of malfeasance, it also dramatically decreases familial control at considerable emotional and financial expense.

Whether common prudence, sound legal advice or specific issues such as Conservatorship influence the decision to pursue a DFPOA it would, of course, be

wise to discuss your wishes and desires with your named agents. And as with your Will, once drafted it is critical that the document be properly signed and witnessed as required by state law. It should then be retained in a readily accessible location in the event that it is ever needed.

3. Durable Advance Directive for Health Care (DADHC). This document is conceptually similar to the DFPOA in purpose, but its focus is health care decision making. In fact, we used to call it a Durable Medical Power of Attorney.

In your DADHC you appoint and empower someone whom you trust to act as your agent in making your medical and health care decisions in the event that you become unable to do so. These include such decisions as the hiring and firing of physicians, admitting you to health care facilities, consenting to surgery, antibiotics, experimental treatment and making end-of-life decisions. Since a statutory DADHC form is readily available in Georgia, an attorney is not necessarily required in order to draft this document. However, a number of hospital situations have occurred both within and outside of Georgia in which this form was not accepted. This was a result of the failure of the “short form” to specifically enumerate the powers and authorities given to the agent.

In April 2003 a new federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) went into effect. The implementation and interpretation of this law by doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers has made it more difficult for family members to obtain information or medical records unless the provider has in hand a signed consent from the patient. As such, with affairs this critical — quite literally the possibility of life and death — you would be well advised to consider engaging an attorney who is knowledgeable in this area. Adequate legal counsel and proper drafting will ensure that your document enables your stated wishes to be carried out without obstacle. Counsel is particularly recommended if you have a unique medical condition and wish to indicate specific types of treatment that you do or do not desire.

As with the DFPOA and Conservatorship, the DADHC also has probate court implications. With this document in place, Guardianship can be avoided — which is strongly recommended for many of the same reasons that Conservatorship is discouraged. As with Conservatorship, it may be necessary for the guardian to obtain Court approval for certain personal and medical decision to be made on behalf of the ward, and annual reports must be filed with the Court. In the alternative, a well drafted DADHC enables personal and medical decision-making to be kept within the family and can make the task of the agent much easier in ensuring that you receive the type of treatment you desire.

As with the DFPOA, it is wise to name at least one backup agent in case the first-named agent is or becomes unable to serve. And it is strongly recommended that you discuss your wishes and desires with your agents so that they will have a full understanding of the treatment that you would want in any given medical situation.

Finally, it is equally critical that the DADHC be properly signed and witnessed as required by state law. A copy should then be given to each of your physicians and each person named as an agent or back-up agent for use if and when required.

Rounding out your planning process with each of these three essential documents enables you to rest assured that your will will be carried out no matter what your future may hold.

One Last Thing about Medical Decision Making. Making these important decisions and committing them to writing are important. However, just as important will be the conversation you should have with the agents you have named under your DADHC regarding your specific wishes for medical and personal decision making.

I recommend talking with all of the potential decision makers at one time, describing your wishes, and drawing on situations you are personally familiar with or those you have heard about in the media. What would you want if your health situation were the same as that of Terri Schiavo? Or President Reagan? Or Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? It is this conversation that will give the agents the knowledge, the strength, and ultimately the peace of mind to make decisions as you wish them to be made. The documentation and the conversation are your gift to your agents.

LAW OFFICE

RUTHANN P. LACEY, P.C.

Concentrating in Elder and Special Needs Law

—

3541-E Habersham at Northlake

Tucker, Georgia 30084

Telephone: (770) 939-4616 • Facsimile: (770) 939-1758

www.elderlaw-lacey.com

Implementing FishBowl Inventory in a Manufacturing Business

In November 2009 I was hired to select and implement a business application in a Paint Manufacturing business. For the prior 15 years the company had used QuickBooks but had never gotten the training or consulting help to set up their inventory items correctly. They had tracked their COGS via countless spreadsheets and did manual Inventory Adjustments and Journal Entries each month to get to their COGS and Inventory Asset values. As you can imagine the accuracy of their financials was very suspect.

This company had enjoyed $3M to $4M in revenue the past few years with most of the sales coming from craft paints. They have a new product line called RESTORE which is a deck, dock, and concrete resurfacing paint which is fantastic. Two coats of this paint and your back deck or boat dock has lifetime protection from the elements. They expect to do $6M in 2010 on this product alone.

The owner and I shared a mutual friend who is an investment banker. The IB was discussing possible funding for the growth but was concerned about the accuracy of the financials as the company started this important phase. I was called in to determine if they could use the latest version of QB Enterprise to run their manufacturing operations, track inventory, and capture costs accurately through the manufacturing process.

At a high level they mix large batches of intermediate paint, then mix those with colorants and other chemicals in separate batches, and finally package the paint in 2oz, 8oz, 12oz, or gallon size products. The challenge was to get the final COGS of any individual product to include the costs of raw materials, paint, bottles, caps, boxes, shrink wrap, etc. Every cost along the manufacturing process had to be included in the finished good.

It didn’t take long to realize that QB was not going to handle this. So I then began a search process to find an application which would meet the demands of a SMB manufacturing operations. I identified FishBowl Inventory as a likely candidate and executed the evaluation and determined that it would indeed fit our needs.

During the month of December we extracted data from legacy applications to create Import files for:

6,000 Parts (raw materials, packaging, etc.)

1,000 Finished Products

4,000 Bill of Materials (Paint recipes and Finished Goods)

800 Customers

200 Vendors

We spent a month testing, training, and preparing for physical inventory and go-live on January 3, 2010.

We were very successful with this implementation. In the 5 weeks we have been running the business on Fishbowl Inventory we have completed over 500 work orders. There are 3 deliverables which are invaluable to this company:

1. They now know the exact cost of every single bottle/can of paint they package to 5 decimal places.
2. They know exactly which raw materials to purchase and when to purchase.
3. They know exactly which finished products to make and when to make them based on sales data.

Look for the RESTORE product in your area this spring/summer at the nearest Home Depot, Lowe’s, or ACE Hardware stores.

And, if you are looking for a Fishbowl Inventory expert . . . . call Rick Daigle, 404-787-5835, or email to rdaigle@b2bcfo.com.

Entrepreneurship Tested:  National CFO Services Firm’s Founder, Jerry L. Mills, Discusses Lessons Learned Regarding Copyright Infringements  

B2B CFO’s founder and CEO, Jerry L. Mills, shares how he handles and leads his company through difficult cases of theft, plagiarism and infringements on intellectual property rights

PHOENIX (Nov. 12, 2009) –    Some believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Phoenix based entrepreneur and business expert Jerry L. Mills is not flattered and not amused by  others replicating his firm’s propriety materials.  In fact, this CEO of the nation’s fastest growing CFO services firm has a strong message to other business owners:  protect your intellectual property, or prepare to have it stolen.  

He does not say this with a light heart; his firm has dedicated tremendous resources this year to fight off blatant plagiarism of copyrighted content as well as cases of intellectual property rights infringement and theft.  

In June of 2009, searches for key phrases unique to B2B CFO’s Web site content resulted in a stunning discovery of dozens other businesses plagiarizing the company’s content word-for-word on their Web sites.  The problem was so widespread that this year alone B2B CFO has encountered more than 40 separate cases of plagiarism, including several competitors using B2B CFO’s registered trademark. 

As the nation’s largest CFO firm dedicated exclusively to serving small and mid-size businesses, B2B CFO works diligently on its online branding – constantly building fresh blog content, improving its Web site and investing in strategic Search Engine Optimization.  Now,  Mills and his company have set up procedures to handle most of the issues related to the plagiarism of the company’s Web site.  Mills  designated Rick Daigle, an Atlanta partner with an extensive I.T. background, as the company’s Website Plagiarism Specialist.  Daigle recommends using the website Copyscape and Google Alerts to help find offenders.

According to Daigle, when an offender is first identified, all relative evidence of the infringement is collected and saved.  Next, Mills and Daigle send a “cease and desist” letter notifying the offender of the laws against copyright infringement as a direct violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and International Law. They give the offender 72 hours to correct the issue before turning the violators over to the firm’s law firm. 

  
In an economy where online commerce is crucial, protecting oneself against Web site plagiarism is absolutely essential to the small and mid-sized business owner.

  
But B2B CFO’s challenges with eager copycats did not end online.   The company has recently uncovered a case of another business using B2B CFO copyrighted materials offline as well.   To properly handle this case and to ensure that a proper precedent is set for any future theft of intellectual property, B2B CFO has filed a lawsuit against Kenneth Kaufman and CFO Wise citing infringement of copyrighted materials.

Mills advises copyright owners to consult with an attorney to see if the laws related to RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) might help them in protecting their copyrighted assets by filing criminal copyright infringement, as well as asking for treble damages in a lawsuit.  

The ongoing theft and plagiarism have left Mills and his Partners in B2B CFO committed to continuous monitoring and protecting the company’s intellectual property.   

“We all have a vested interest in our company’s future,” said Mills. “And it is great to see the entire company united in our goal to eliminate cases of theft and plagiarism.”

Mills advises fellow business owners to take proper measures to protect the intellectual property of their Companies.   “Protect your rights by filing for trademarks, copyrights, and patents, and by having strict confidentiality agreements,” said Mills. “But know that regardless of your efforts, some will disregard these rights and steal your intellectual property.   Having proper documentation and protection upfront might help your employees and legal team with the tools to protect your intellectual property.”

ABOUT B2B CFO^®

B2B CFO^® is the nation’s largest CFO firm serving entrepreneurial, growth and mid-market companies with sales up to $75 million.  Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and operating in 39 States, the firm was founded in 1987 by Jerry L. Mills.  The firm’s partners have an average of 25 years of experience and each partner is a senior level executive with a broad range of expertise.   For more information on the company, please visit www.b2bcfo.com

Jerry L. Mills, founder and CEO of the company, is a small business expert and a national speaker.  Mills is the author of “The Danger Zone – Lost in the Growth Transition” and “Avoiding The Danger Zone – Business Illusions” – non-fiction business books aimed at entrepreneurs.   To purchase a copy, please visit online at www.dangerzonebook.com.

MUST READ - QuickBooks Backups – a Primer and Disaster Story

I was recently contacted by the office manager of a property management company. They had recently experienced a disk drive crash on the computer used by the office manager. This drive also contained the active QuickBooks Company file. Their IT people had a backup process in place so initially there was no major concern.

It was only after the IT folks repaired the PC and restored data from backup media did they discover there was a problem with the QuickBooks company file. That’s when I was called in to help. What I found was a situation I routinely find when I first visit a new client or potential client. The IT people treat the QuickBooks company file as any other file when it comes to their backup methodology. Meaning, they simply include a Windows file copy of the QuickBooks company file onto the backup media.

THAT IS NOT SUFFICIENT and can result in data loss if the backup has to be restored!

Why is that? Because the QuickBooks data file is very much like a relational database (in the case of Enterprise it actually is a SQL Server) and has internal links and relationships which must have “referential integrity”. I won’t go into definition of that term but trust me when I tell you it is important!

These internal links and relationships can sometimes get broken over the course of time if there is an unstable IT environment. PC crashes, network disconnections, power failures, etc., are events which can cause a problem with referential integrity of the QuickBooks data.

So, how would you know if something caused an internal QuickBooks data problem? Simple! QuickBooks has its own Backup utility which will do a data verification every time the company file is backed up. In the event a data corruption occurs an error will appear and prompts you to Rebuild the data. At that time the Rebuild utility will run through the entire QuickBooks company file and repair any problems.

When the QuickBooks Backup utility is not used internal data corruption can continue to degrade the viability of the accounting data until the company file cannot be opened. Having the IT people restore a company file backed up with the Windows backup utility will only restore a corrupt company file. At that point you will experience data loss because the IT people will have to keep going back in time to find a viable backup file which QuickBooks can open.

In the case of the Property Management firm that called me in September, they had lost all 2009 data. As a last resort I sent the company file to Intuits Data Recovery team. The data was unrecoverable even by this team of experts.

A message to all B2B CFO Partners whose clients are using QuickBooks . . . . . please make sure they are regularly backing up their QuickBooks company file with the QuickBooks Backup utility. Do NOT take the word of the IT people that they are backing up the data. Make them show you!

If there are any doubt that the QuickBooks company file is properly protected feel free to call me at 404-787-5835.

Using TimeSlips to Create DashBoards for Professionals

As I continue to work with a law firm client we are developing better reports & dashboard for tracking the performance of the entire staff. We are now at the point where we want to implement a bonus plan which will drive the behaviors we want to increase revenue and profit. In order to implement that we must have the tracking mechanism in place.

Using the standard reports delivered in TimeSlips and changing a few filters to get the applicable data I am now able to produce a report like this for each staff member:

The data is extracted in the following manner:

This represents the Total Hours recorded in TimeSlips  this data is from the “Productivity by Period” report. Open this report, add a filter for the Slip Transaction Date, and a Sort by Professional. This will produce the month by month numbers for this line. You have to add Billable and Unbillable hours to get this line.

This represents the Hours recorded working on Client Files – this data is from the same report with another filter added to eliminate time not spent on client files. In our case we have non-client activities like marketing and vacation recorded to a “Non-Billable” client. For this line I filter “Non Billable” client activity out.

This represents the Billable Hours recorded  - this data comes from the report you just ran. For this line select only the Billable hours.

This represents the Fees Billed – this data comes from the Profitability by Period report. Like the previous reports you add a filter for the Slip Transaction Date, and a Sort by Professional. In the Report Options you want to check “Include Totals” and “Billed values reduced by credits”. The data for this line is labeled “Billed Total”.

The Effective Hourly Rate for Billable Activity -  this is calculated as Fees Billed / Billable Hours recorded.

The Effective Hourly Rate for All Client related Activity – this is calculated as Fees Billed / Hours working on Client Files.

The Effective Hourly Rate for All Activity – this is calculated as Fees Billed / Total Hours.

The Effective Hourly Payroll rate – this is calculated by taking the Gross Payroll expense for this professional / Totals Hours.

Hourly Contribution to Revenue – this is calculated as Effective Hourly Rate for All Activity minus Effective Hourly Payroll rate.

Contribution To Revenue – this is calculated by multiplying the Hourly Contribution to Revenue by Total Hours.

The metric you want to see trend up over time is Billable Hours recorded. If this goes up then all the other metrics will trend up. To influence this metric you must put all the workplace tools and processes in place to enable the revenue generating staff to spend as much time as possible on billable activity. Revenue generators should not spend time on administrative tasks. All staff should have a workplace and tools which allow them to be as efficient as possible.

If you enable professional staff to be efficient, to improve their workplace performance, and provide incentives to improve you will drive the behavior you want and end up with more cash!