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Good Question
"In a recession, should I stop spending on IT?"
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NO HEAD-SCRATCHING REQUIRED
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"In a recession, should I stop spending on IT?" We hear that question a lot these days and
our three-part answer is always the same.
No, no and no.
We admit, it would be easy to say yes - what with the spyro-gyro of the stock market and the
wild wrangling of the automakers every night on TV.
But the easy thing to do is not always the wise thing to do.
Here's three big reasons wholesale food distributors should say yes to IT
spending - especially during a recession:
- You can save on hiring costs.
It certainly doesn't qualify as a magic trick, but when the click of a key on the computer saves
a company huge amounts of money in staffing costs, it just might feel like a few supernatural powers are at work. For instance, instead of paying
an employee to verify and file returned and signed customer invoices that are used for future reference purposes, the right wholesale food
software package will enable you to automatically scan them into a computer. Voila! Maybe it is magic, after all. By the way, no one at Edible
Software is suggesting you eliminate jobs held by valuable employees. Still, let's be realistic. When a computer can perform a job more
efficiently and more accurately -- and at a fraction of the cost of an employee -- it's time to reevaluate the situation. The answer is simple:
Just reassign that hard-working staffer to another department, thus eliminating the need to hire another person.
- Profits count now more than ever. Folks in our industry measure profits in
pennies per item, not in tens of dollars. So, if fewer sales come through the front door, it stands to reason that it's more important than ever
to control what's going out the back door. Industry-specific accounting software provides a precise knowledge of inventory, costs,and revenues
associated with each item and each customer.
- You can buy it cheaper now. Everyone is hungry during a recession and that
includes software companies. No doubt about it, high-quality, industry-specific inventory control software will never be cheap - regardless of the
economy - but you will never find a better time to invest in an accounting system than now.
Remarkable opportunities abound in
times of trouble. Beef up your company's accounting software today and your chance of enjoying 2009 increase dramatically.
by
Henri Morris, CPA
CEO, Edible Software
(read
Henri's complete article on how industry-specifc accounting software can help recession-proof your company.)
ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS GOT YOU DOWN? Take two aspirin and go to bed -- or better yet, call the guys at
Edible Software for quick relief.
Email Charles or call him at (832) 200-8000.
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Cal-Tex and Edible --
A 10-Year Software Success Story
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CAL-TEX TEAM GREETS HENRI MORRIS -- From left, Gary Van Liew, Cal-Tex president and CEO,
Debbie Snyder, accounts receivable representative, Carol Bailey, secretary/treasurer and Henri Morris, president and CEO of Edible Software.
Back in 1999, when Cal-Tex secretary/treasurer Carol Bailey
began researching food accounting software, Edible Software made her short list.
After assessing her company's needs with Edible president and CEO Henri
Morris, Carol put an end to her search.
She says she could see where Edible Software technology would be able to
address a host of major accounting hurdles Cal-Tex was facing every day.
The company needed an accounting software system that could keep up with its
galloping growth says Cal-Tex president and CEO Gary Van Liew, whose father established the family company in 1952.
Cal-Tex Citrus Juice, LP -- located in
Houston's historic Heights neighborhood -- is among the country's top portion juice specialists. The company's products are sold under three brands:
Vita-Fresh®, Citrus Pride® and Vita-Most®.
Cal-Tex products are sold mostly to schools, hospitals and assisted living
facilities. All products are 100 percent juice, including orange, apple and prune juice. Cal-Tex operates under continuous USDA inspection as an
additional layer of quality assurance.
Carol smiles when she remembers the way Cal-Tex's 500-plus checks used to be
processed in her accounting office every month. "We did every one of them manually -- on a typewriter."
Gary also has accounting memories. "Before Edible," he says, "we had to wait
30 days to see a month-end report. Now, I have a report whenever I need it."
Gary says Edible Software has accommodated his company's growth through the
years "without the need to hire additional employees." Edible puts us in a position to react quickly to market changes."
For more information about Cal-Tex Citrus Juice, LP, visit the company
website at www.cal-texjuice.com.
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***You'll never guess
how our December Smack Down star (pictured above) volunteers his time . . . see below.
PHONE SECRETS
Two Reasons Our Phones Keep Ringing at Edible Software
What prompts a wholesale food distributor to pick up the phone and call Edible Software?
You might be surprised - then again, you might not.
- A new family member takes over the business -- Different generations do different
things differently. For instance, Dad builds a successful wholesale food distribution business - most of it in pre-computer days. The time comes when Dad
retires and turns the reins over to Son. Son, who is completely comfortable with computers, takes a close look at the company's accounting software and
notices right-off that something is missing, something Dad never thought about. That's when the phone starts ringing over at Edible Software's Houston
offices. "Can you guys help us upgrade our accounting software?" Son asks. "I know we're missing valuable data that could be making us money."
As far as we're concerned, this is just another case of a smart Dad who built a business and made it hum -- and a smart Son who sees the 21st century
possibilities of industry-specific accounting software.
- Somebody notices something is missing -- Inventory shortages? Cash shortages?
Hardly a day passes that we at Edible aren't contacted by someone who has just made a discovery they're not at all happy about.Their profits are sinking and
they don't know why. Many of these callers begin by confessing how they honestly believed their
companies were safely in the black until a minor crisis popped up which revealed a problem that ended up revealing another problem that ended up revealing one
more problem that ended up blowing the lid off a bundle of nasty accounting surprises that required immediate action. The core issue is often that old
bug-a-boo in our business -- one-size-fits-all accounting software. Better known as generic accounting software, (and often known by brand names like
Quickbooks and Peachtree) these accounting systems are not up to the job of providing detailed information such as actual amounts, units-of-measure and
turnover speed.
Of course, these are only two of the many reasons our phones ring (another is when our kids forget their lunch
money and beg us to drop everything and drive to school with rescue resources). Give us a call the next time you see faulty accounting standing in the way of the
profits you've earned and you deserve. Charles can help.
**December Smackdown Star
Shawn Michaels our "Smack Down"
star for December is pictured above as he literally smacks the daylights out of his opponent, 'Razor' Ramon. Shawn has been a World Wrestling
Entertainment champion four times running and is well-known for such wily wrestling maneuvers as the Arm Trap Crossface, Inverted Atomic Drop and Flying
Forearm Smash. His soul mate in life is another wrestler, Nitro Girl. The couple married in 1999, during a quiet ceremony (thank goodness) in Las Vegas.
They reside in San Antonio, Texas, where both volunteer on Sundays as Bible teachers.
ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS GOT YOU DOWN? Take two aspirin and go to
bed -- or better yet, call the guys at Edible
Software for quick relief. Email Charles or contact him at (832) 200-8000.
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