About 10 years ago I had some discussions with the owner of a company interested in learning more about Proforma. After a few conversations, he decided to maintain the status quo and not move forward. Fast forward 10 years. I get an email from a consultant telling me that the owner of that company has…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: Can I save changes to field widths that I have made to screens in QuickBooks Premier? Answer: Yes! Make the changes to the field widths on your screen. Leave the screen open, and go to: Edit > Preferences > Desktop View > Click “Save Current Desktop.” That should save your field…
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Recently I had a great conversation with a very successful distributor owner. He is only in his 50s, but is ready to sell his business. He has made great money in his years in the business. No doubt he could make much more. When I asked why he does not keep growing the business and…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: How do I see a list of entries in QuickBooks? Answer: You didn’t say which QuickBooks you use, but these reports are available in both QB Desktop (Pro, Premier, and Enterprise) and QuickBooks Online (QBO). In QBO, go to “Reports” (on left side of screen), select the “Standard” Tab, scroll down…
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As a distributor, you are looking to be a problem-solver for your clients. If you can come up with a solution, you become the hero and deepen your relationship with the account. Since we know that a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to 25% to 95% increase in profitability (Bain & Co.), these…
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We have all heard the saying that “experience is the best teacher.” While sometimes it may be true, I believe that far more often experience is not the best teacher. First, I’ve met thousands of distributors and sales reps whose sales are very low. Sometimes they will tell me that they have been in the…
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In our previous post, we looked at reasons for distributors to sell industrial labels. Unlike many other products, industrial labels are highly repeatable. They offer recurring revenue (“print annuities”), they are sticky, and more. But what exactly are industrial labels? How do they differ from prime labels that most distributors are familiar with? Industrial labels…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: How can I see what the total amount of sales I have made to a customer last year? Answer: QuickBooks has a great deal of information available to you in report form if you just know where to look. In QB Premier, go to: “Reports” (at top) > “Sales” > “Sales…
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We’ve all heard folks say, “Thank goodness it’s Friday” (TGIF). We can all relate. We’ve all have had rough weeks when we really need the rest of the weekend to recover and recharge. Let me ask, how many times do you say or think, “Thank goodness it’s Monday” (TGIM)? Do you love your career enough…
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Some days, when we are in the thick of the battle of growing our business, we just want to get to a brighter future. I understand. For the first several years of starting and growing Proforma, I had more than my fair share of worries. After 45 years of growing a business, here are a…
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