Take Control of Your Inventory with These 5 Tips

Take Control of Your Inventory with These 5 Tips

If you aren’t careful, inventory control can easily slip into disarray. Every organization should have the right system in place to optimize its merchandising process. This can help you keep track of your products, better organize your inventory, provide accurate data and reports, and improve your warehouse efficiency. Best of all, inventory control does all that while increasing your revenue!

But inventory control only works if you put it to proper use. Let’s dig in on some best practices to help you optimize your warehouse.

What Does Inventory Control Do?

Inventory control tells you what’s currently in stock. It operates as part of your inventory management system. Inventory management handles things like purchasing, production, sales, and reporting while inventory control maintains and manages your stock.

Inventory control will tell you the condition and location of your products and determine when they arrive and leave the warehouse. Your inventory control system will detail not only how much of an item is available, but also when supplies are coming in or going out. This monitors and controls every item that comes in and out of your warehouse.

Inventory control, therefore:

  • Improves loss prevention
  • Optimizes inventory spaces
  • Creates less over- or under-stocking

Now that you know the purpose inventory control serves, let’s take a look at some best practices.

1. Organize Your Floor Plan

You need to organize your warehouse in a way that makes sense. Place your most popular items near the shipping area to maximize efficiency and productivity. As supply and demand change over time, make sure to modify your floor plan accordingly.

2. Improve Your Efficiency With Clear Labels & Signage

When you have labels that clearly state where things are, your warehouse team will be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. This creates more efficient fulfillment. Clearly (and concisely) label all of your racks, bins, and products. You can even use tools like labeling software, RFID systems, barcodes, inventory tags, scanners, and more that assist with real-time inventory control.

3. Utilize Cycle Counting

Counting everything all at once is an overwhelming task. Instead, use cycle counting where you count items in small sections according to a set cycle. This helps you effectively maintain inventory control and find mistakes quickly.

4. Implement A Warehouse Management System

A big cause of issues in the warehouse is human error. With warehouse management and an inventory control system, your team can easily track all of your items, reducing the potential for mistakes. These systems will include barcode scanners, tags, apps, and other tools that provide real-time tracking of your inventory. Your inventory will always be easily accessible within the systems you put in place.

5. Automate Your Inventory Control

When you automate your inventory control, you will greatly reduce the potential for human error and gain greater oversight into your stock. You’ll have more complete data, which leads to more productivity and revenue potential.

aACE can help you take full control of your inventory by giving you the means to track your products from the moment they enter the warehouse until they go out for shipment. You’ll get tools like barcode scanning, label making, reporting, data management, and other features to help you operate a more efficient warehouse.

Not only that — but automated inventory control will free up your staff for other projects, like landing new business. When things run more efficiently in the warehouse, more product can move out the door, and you’ll never run out of inventory.

Implement Inventory Management Software To Reduce Costs and Control Your Business

aACE business management software helps you manage your entire warehouse process from beginning to end. You’ll be able to plan more productively and accurately, which helps eliminate costly mistakes and reduces the need for excess inventory. Of course, inventory control is seamlessly integrated into the platform.

If you’re not yet convinced you need inventory control, consider the following:

  • Without an organized warehouse and clear labeling, staff will spend more time searching for items, leading to more man-hours and expenses.
  • When you aren’t consistently up-to-date on your stocks and what products or supplies you need to order, you’ll run into shortages or overstock issues.
  • When your data isn’t reliable, you can’t accurately forecast your inventory.
  • If there is a break in your supply chain, you won’t have a backup plan in place and your items may not go out on time.

All of these issues cause your operating costs to go up. Plus, your customers will notice the mistakes and will take their business elsewhere. But with efficient inventory control in place, you’ll have a backup plan for when problems arise, and will always be on top of your inventory.

Check out our feature highlights to see how aACE can streamline your business today!

Does An ERP Make Sense For Your Small Business?

Does An ERP Make Sense For Your Small Business?

It seems like every day there’s a new solution that will change the way you run your small business.

It’s hard to know which are legit, what partners you can trust, and what you need versus what would be nice to have. Not to mention what you can squeeze into your budget!

You already have enough on your plate running your business — and that’s exactly what you should be spending your time doing: running the actual business.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can help. Let’s take a quick look at how.

What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software?

An ERP is a software solution that collects information from all of your departments into a single, centralized database. Depending on what your business does, this may include critical business functions like finance, inventory, manufacturing, sales and marketing, order management, scheduling and more.

With an ERP in place, your team has access to real-time information that covers the entire scope of your small business. This data is available through your ERP's reporting and analytics, which will help your business make smarter, data-driven decisions.

An ERP solution provides enhanced visibility into your business operations and can help improve inefficiencies. You’ll also be able to highlight growth opportunities and use real data to get there.

When you have an ERP in place, your organization can use the program to keep track of your moving parts. All of your data will be in one safe, organized, accessible central database. You won’t ever lose anything to a spreadsheet again.

With an ERP, you have a complete picture of your business’s daily operations. It’s a transparent solution to manage your departments and work together to achieve your goals.

Benefits of ERPs for Small Businesses

We’ve already discussed the benefits of ERPs for businesses, but they’re a bit different when we’re talking specifically about small businesses.

Beyond providing complete visibility into your daily operations, your ERP will make your organization more efficient in these key ways:

Increase Productivity & Reduce Costs

The biggest benefit of an ERP is the ability to identify inefficiencies without having to hire additional IT or staff. The information you capture can help you learn about your business and gain a competitive edge. Using this data, you and your team can become more efficient and productive while reducing your operating costs.

It’s a smarter way to manage your small business.

Gain Agility

The small business environment is challenging and ever-changing. The success of your business depends on how well, and how fast, you are able to respond to that change.

When you have a flexible and scalable ERP, you will be knowledgeable about changing market dynamics. You’ll also have insights into your customer needs and be able to see a shift coming. You can then make decisions to respond to these changes and/or be ready for bigger movements. Staying agile means you’re ready and adaptable. These are the types of businesses that grow and survive.

Enhanced Analytics

ERPs are also incredibly powerful analytical tools. Since all of your information will be collected into one central database, you’ll be able to put that data to good use.

You can see where your business stands and use real data to determine what changes need to be made to meet your goals. You’ll be flexible and scalable and able to respond to shifting market demand. The ability to not just have a collection of data, but to understand and use its power helps your business stay a step ahead.

Become More Productive

Small business ERPs will automate tedious tasks that normally take up too much of your time. Things like manual data entry, inventory monitoring, creating reports, timesheets, invoicing, and more, can all be automated through your ERP. This frees up your team to work on more important tasks for your business.

Summary

Now that you see the value, the next step is to find the best ERP for your small business. With the right partner, your ERP software will keep costs down, improve the efficiency and productivity of your office, and help you scale and grow. Check out our free white paper to learn what kinds of questions you should be asking as you search for the right ERP for your SMB.

5 Ways CRM Software Will Change Your Business For The Better

5 Ways CRM Software Will Change Your Business For The Better

Today’s business world has shifted from an in-person experience to the convenience of shopping online. You can find everything on the web — any product and service you need is there on the Internet.

This means your business needs to be prepared. Are you providing a user-friendly web experience that boosts your business profile, or do you have a bare-bones website that only serves to make you look illegitimate?

You can’t afford not to give your online presence proper attention any longer. Thankfully, it’s not such a daunting task when you have customer relationship management (CRM) software in place. In this post, we’re going to cover why your business needs CRM software and give you five powerful reasons why it will change your business for the better.

But first…

What Is CRM Software?

Keeping your customers happy is a basic principle of good business, no matter your industry. A long-held belief in business is that if you provide high-quality customer service, you will build customer loyalty.

This is where CRM software can help. CRM software can help you run your business more efficiently by managing your customer relationships. You can build connections, attract new clients, and retain your current customers in a much more personal, impactful way.

CRM software is able to provide enhanced service and convenience through automation. You’ll be able to streamline your business operations and organize your customer interactions in one central platform. Here, you can store all of your customer and prospect data to leverage to increase satisfaction and sales, in addition to boosting your staff or team's productivity.

CRM software is highly customizable and can be tailored to fit any business, large or small.

So how can it change your business? Let’s take a deeper look.

1. Improved Customer Relationships & Service

Good customer relations is about much more than just a friendly hello when your customers come in.

Today, it mainly refers to the service you provide before a customer ever sets foot in your business – if they ever will at all. That means you need to provide an incredible user experience online.

A CRM helps you manage your online presence by analyzing and interacting with those who visit your pages. You can keep your prospects and customers engaged by using their data to nurture stronger relationships and provide them with what they are looking for.

A good CRM gives you a 360-degree view of your customer and can manage business tools like document signing, accounting, billing, and more. Identify new leads quickly and turn them into conversions through the power of data and automation.

2. Harness The Power Of Automation

When you have an automated CRM, you can save your team valuable time often spent on repetitive administrative work. A CRM takes care of these tasks and improves your overall productivity and efficiency.

A good CRM puts your entire team on the same page and gives them access to the same information. Everyone has access to the central network and can make informed decisions for marketing campaigns. Your CRM will make it easier for you to convert a lead into a customer by handling the tedious tasks along the way and helping you build stronger customer relationships.

When time-consuming tasks are automated and addressed properly, your team can collectively use its time more wisely and focus on more important tasks while your CRM handles the busy work.

3. Smarter Reporting & Analytics

Generating reports is one of many time-consuming tasks that your CRM can handle for you in seconds. You can easily track how your campaigns are performing, segment audiences, and determine if you are meeting your goals or if changes need to be made.

CRM reporting and accurate revenue forecasts help you make informed decisions to grow your business. You can customize the settings in your CRM to generate reports for only the most important information. This enhanced reporting keeps you up to date on the health of your business and the success of your campaigns, so you can learn what works and what doesn’t, where and when to meet your target customers, and more.

You can even keep track of your team members to see how each are performing, learn what products are selling best (or worst), and what marketing strategies are delivering the most or least ROI. Then, you can keep optimizing to find the best course of action to stay on target to meet your goals.

4. Enhanced Collaboration

Having all of your data and marketing efforts stored on one central system allows for enhanced collaboration across your team and with your clients and customers.

When you have a CRM in place, all of your team members have access to the same information in real-time. This allows your team to work together on campaigns, chat with each other, provide instant feedback, and get things done faster.

With a good CRM, your team can collaborate on documents, share important data and insights, and automate tasks and communications that would otherwise need to be done manually. This streamlines your processes and allows for higher productivity, freeing your staff to work on bigger picture tasks, all while building better customer retention.

Likewise, when working on a client campaign, you can keep them up to date with the progress of your project and allow them to provide feedback and suggest changes along the way, rather than waiting for a final product. This transparency builds trust with your clients and assures them that the project is being done to their preferences.

5. Targeted Marketing Practices

You know your marketing efforts are key to the success of your business, but a CRM helps you and your team work smarter so you can make better choices.

Your team can use your CRM to access your prospect’s data and give them customized marketing content. You can use data gathered in your CRM to tailor your customer experience, meeting your target customers at the perfect time with exactly what they’re looking for. You can modify calls to action, alter product details, and more.

Your CRM can also segment your customers to get the most out of your campaigns. Divide your customers into groups based on things like age, location, gender, preferences, and other categories. Then, you can give them detailed information that is geared specifically for that target group.

Doesn’t that sound like a better marketing plan?

Summary

With detailed insights provided by a robust and reliable CRM, you’ll never miss an opportunity to build a new customer relationship again.

Despite the shift in today’s business moving mostly online, people still value content that feels personal. A CRM allows you to do just that and will strengthen your relationships with customers, vendors, partners, and more.

Check out our customer success story below to learn how aACE’s CRM can streamline your operations and manage your business relationships today.

aACE Earns 5-Star Ratings from Satisfied Customers

aACE Earns 5-Star Ratings from Satisfied Customers

aACE helps SMBs efficiently run sophisticated operations in a single, comprehensive, easy-to-use business management solution – but don't just take our word for it. We've recently moved our reviews platform to G2 and invited real aACE customers to share their experiences. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

  • "aACE is easy to use, works across any platform, is extremely customizable, and is a complete/powerful ERP."
  • "You should really consider aACE before dumping five times the amount into 'leading' softwares by Oracle, Microsoft, Sage, etc. At the end of the day, almost all accounting packages will get you to where you need to go. But if you want to do it cheaply and without the nightmare-level of conversion effort and correction, aACE is the journey you want to take."
  • "aACE’s flexible and critical approach to our business’ needs have earned them high praise throughout our team. Throughout the implementation process we found ourselves thinking along with the aACE team to utilize this software to mirror and improve our operations during a critical time in our industry. This collaboration has yielded a platform that will not only support our current operations but will help our business grow for years to come."
  • "We have not run into anything that aACE cannot handle and frankly, handle much better than alternatives."
  • "aACE handles backorders better than any system we have found. It's easy to use and learn."

aACE customers have called our solution “the best in everything,” “a major improvement over QuickBooks,” and “a critical component to the success of our company’s future.” We’re constantly hearing from our customers that their day-to-day operations have improved since implementing aACE. To learn more, check out our 5-star reviews on G2 and Capterra, then browse our success stories for a more in-depth look at what aACE has done for small-to-midsize businesses like yours.

Lifeline Gets Vital PPE to Healthcare Workers with Support From aACE

Lifeline Gets Vital PPE to Healthcare Workers with Support From aACE

“We have so many moving pieces, just being able to coordinate it all together has really helped.” – Tushar Shah, Founder and President, Lifeline Medical Inc.

Lifeline Medical Inc. provides high-quality medical supplies to hospitals, clinics, and doctors, filling this need for over 25 years. They also operate Skin for Life, a separate division focused on their performance skin care line. Running two thriving product lines was demanding, but running them on a patchwork of solutions that didn’t communicate with each other was an even bigger challenge. That’s why Lifeline turned to aACE Complete in 2017 – and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck 3 years later, they were glad they did.

Challenges & aACE Solutions

Managing Communications Between Disparate Solutions

Before switching to aACE Complete, Lifeline relied on QuickBooks alongside an inventory management solution called Acctivate. The two solutions were intended to work together, but managing the data was still difficult.

“Using two different programs was cumbersome,” says Tushar Shah, Founder and President of Lifeline Medical Inc. “We had to waste time trying to figure out what the issues were every time they didn’t sync right. aACE has definitely saved time because everything’s in one system.”

As Tushar noted, aACE provides a seamless integration of sales, operations, and accounting. By putting everything into one system, Lifeline was able to reduce time spent on duplicate data entry, as well as the time lost in trying to troubleshoot communication breakdowns. Thanks to aACE’s unified approach, Tushar estimates that Lifeline has seen time savings of 10 to 15%.

Two Divisions, One Shipping Solution

Lifeline not only wanted to handle both of their divisions in one business management solution, they also wanted to ship products from both divisions from a single shipping solution. aACE+ ShipStation made this easy.

Since 95% of their orders go through their shipping solution, a seamless integration is a must-have – and they’re very happy they found one. “ShipStation’s been really good,” says Tushar. “We are probably shipping about 300 packages a week, and we’re able to manage both divisions together in a way that works really well.” And the integration with aACE means that the staff members taking in orders, those sending out product, and those managing inventory levels are all on the same page.

Increased Visibility into Inventory

Lifeline deals with medical and skincare products, so it’s vital to be able to track inventory by lot numbers. aACE supports this critical need with comprehensive inventory management tools that offer the traceability required for such commodities.

With aACE, Lifeline can easily manage all the moving parts of their fulfillment process. aACE’s inventory engine is fully integrated with its order management, production, and shipping tools, so Lifeline’s staff members always have accurate insight into their products. And as business returns to normal, Tushar is looking forward to taking advantage of even more of aACE’s features in the near term, such as EDI and additional mobile apps.

Results

As a medical supply company, Lifeline saw the spike in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) when the pandemic hit and knew they had to pivot. Fortunately aACE was already in place to help them supply that life-saving equipment to the healthcare workers who needed it most.

“Initially we weren’t getting many online orders, but when the PPE thing went crazy, we were getting a hundred orders or more a day,” Tushar explains. They implemented the aACE+ WooCommerce integration, which enabled them to scale their operations to meet the growing demand.

Lifeline has three separate ecommerce stores – Lifeline Medical, Skin for Life, and the newly-launched Skin for Life Canada – and aACE+ WooCommerce ensures that all of their online orders flow seamlessly into a single aACE solution.

Periodically throughout the day, aACE checks WooCommerce for any new orders that have been placed through any of Lifeline’s online storefronts. New orders are pulled into aACE’s fulfilment engine, where they are processed and pushed to ShipStation. In the warehouse, a Lifeline employee logs into ShipStation, sees the order in his queue, and packages it to be sent out. This step is the only time a member of Lifeline’s staff needs to interact with the order – otherwise, the data travels from WooCommerce to aACE to ShipStation and back automatically. Once an order is shipped, aACE automatically updates the WooCommerce storefront with tracking information from ShipStation so customers always know when to expect their products.

“It was crazy,” Tushar says, recounting the early days of the pandemic when Lifeline realized they needed to ramp up their PPE production. “But it went well once we got the aACE+ WooCommerce integration up and running. It ended up being really good.”

Since 2017, Lifeline has leveraged aACE Complete’s comprehensive out-of-the-box feature set to increase their business’ productivity – including integrations with best-of-breed solutions. With aACE acting as their company’s central nervous system, Lifeline can rest assured that their business is as healthy as their products.

Interested in learning how aACE can help you scale your business? Contact us today to be matched with an aACE Partner.

Using Automation to Modernize Inventory Management

Using Automation to Modernize Inventory Management

Brick and mortar retailers and ecommerce retailers alike lean on inventory management processes to manage fulfillment, orders, and supply chain management. The demand for accurate inventory counts is ever-tightening — an inaccurate and inefficient inventory management process can end up affecting the entire business, from accounting to sales.

In a matter of time, poor inventory management can and will affect customer experience. For example, a customer is on your site and decides to purchase an item. Despite being readily available in the online marketplace, the item is actually out of stock. One of two things has to happen: you need to spend extra resources, time, and money in order to fulfill that order or you have to disappoint the customer with a long wait time, risking your customer relationship and your reputation.

The risks involved with poor inventory management have only heightened during the global pandemic. A change in dramatic consumerism has caused many challenges including imbalance, scarcity, shortages, and overstocking. According to a study by the IHL Group, the estimated value of out-of-stock items in 2020 was $1.14 trillion.

An automated inventory system, or the use of software that tracks current inventory levels without manual intervention can help your business scale while saving money. An automated inventory management system represents an end-to-end improvement in business functions. Not only can automation help you streamline workflows, it can generate actionable documentation and analytics, and streamline supply chain operations. Here are some other ways your automated inventory management can benefit your business:

Increase Visibility

Inventory is constantly shifting. Just minutes after a manual inventory count, a sale comes in, and inventory numbers shift – leaving your inventory spreadsheet inaccurate. With automated management, as soon as a sale comes in, real-time counts of active inventory update, even while the item is still in the warehouse. Once the item has shipped, the numbers are updated again to reflect the current on-hand inventory.

With new stock orders, inventory is added to your availability as soon as it arrives. This not only reduces the need for manual inventory checks, it minimizes the time between order and customer availability, ultimately saving you time and money. This visibility is crucial and decreases the risk of over-selling or under-selling your products.

Decrease Human Error

In manual inventory management, there is always the potential for human error. When updating spreadsheets, mistakes can be made and data can be distorted. There are a number of ways human error can have a negative effect on inventory management. One, counting errors can occur if an employee misses a product or mistakenly counts a product twice. Fatigue can also set in and mistakes can happen while writing and recording data. Finally, human error can cause workers to forget to save valuable data, distorting information for many users

A decrease in human error has trickle-down effects for the whole order process. According to EasyPost, an integrated order processing system can increase productivity by 25% and lead to a 30% improvement in stock use efficiency. Wireless barcode technologies are an easy and cost-effective way to improve accuracy, rather than error-prone counting by hand. Barcodes create an intuitive way to use numbers and letters to transmit inventory data in real-time.

Organize Processes & Integrate Disparate Systems

As a business leader, you are always looking for ways to save time and reduce labor costs. Extra time spent manually counting inventory or pulling data from siloed systems and multiple locations is not a good use of time and does not contribute to the well-being of your employees or the business as a whole. An inventory management system can operate as a single hub for inventory and warehouse operations.

With one centralized hub, you can standardize systems from order processing to shipping procedures. A future-proof system will allow you to integrate existing systems to achieve an omnichannel sales and supply system. A unified system will allow you to not only have one source of truth for inventory and quantity, but also all of the data stored about each of the products in your inventory. Within the system, workers will be able to find valuable info about the products, including SKU, weight, dimensions, supplier information, add-ons and alternatives, and more.

Features to Look for in an Inventory Management System

When it comes to inventory management systems, the market offers a few different types. What system is best for your business depends on who it is for. Two of the most common types are standalone inventory management software and an inventory management system within an ERP system.

Standalone IMS is sold as specialized software. This software can have advanced features that typically suit huge enterprises such as a wide array of warehouse options and cycle counts. Despite some integration ability, these systems can be siloed and not integrate properly with other factions of your business such as Accounting and Sales. Because the systems are inherently disconnected, there can also be a lag in real-time analytics. Finally, these systems are more expensive and therefore suited for complex and specific needs.

Integrated IMS is a solution included in your existing ERP. Because of the existing integration, the inventory management function shares the same database as all your orders, accounting, CRM, and reporting. This centralized data will empower your teams with the same real-time data, accuracy, and consistency. Your workflows will also be simplified because of their ability to all live in the same system. Finally, your overall technology spend will be lower compared to purchasing, implementing, and onboarding multiple systems.

Wrapping it Up

Inefficient and ineffective inventory management strategies could be costing your business valuable time, resources, and money. An automated inventory management could improve the workflow of your team and reduce the propensity for human error. The aACE Inventory module seamlessly integrates with other core business functions like accounting and CRM. To learn more about aACE's inventory management engine, check out our success story on Restylers' Choice.

Online Selling and Taxes in 2021: What to Know Now

Online Selling and Taxes in 2021: What to Know Now

COVID-19 has changed our daily lives in many ways. More than ever, consumers around the world are relying on online shopping and ecommerce businesses to safely shop from home. This has led many sellers to embrace ecommerce or expand their online presence. According to Signifyd, ecommerce sales were up 104% in June 2020 over June 2019, and 99firms reports that 80% of Internet users in the US have made at least one purchase online in 2020.

While some of the world’s changes during 2020 will prove to only be temporary, the rapid increase in ecommerce will have a lasting impact on businesses around the world. As a result, governments around the world are implementing new tax policies for 2021. Although taxes can be overwhelming, they are a necessary aspect of running a successful business. In this article, you'll get a quick rundown of ecommerce sales tax and compliance and regulations to be aware of in 2021.

What is eCommerce Sales Tax?

Sales tax is calculated by tacking on a small percentage of a sale by an online retailer. There is no national sales tax in the United States, but 45 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have a sales tax. Additionally, many cities and local areas are allowed to tack on a special sales tax. Online realtors will need to be aware of different sales tax laws and rules when calculating sales tax for consumers across the country.

Online retailers are responsible for charging the correct amount of sales tax and remit the taxes collected back to the appropriate state. To know if you owe taxes in a certain state, there are two concrete rules: your business has sales tax nexus in the same state as your customer and the product you are selling is taxable in that state.

If you are an online retailer with some connection to a particular state (nexus), you are on the hook for paying sales tax. However, there are certain exceptions for some states. Additionally, you’ll always have nexus in your home state. Here are some factors that determine whether you have nexus in other states:

  • Physical location: office, warehouse, branch, etc.
  • Inventory: storing inventory in a state will cause nexus (even if you have no physical presence of personnel there)
  • Personnel: employees, sales people, distributors, or any other person doing work in a state for your business will qualify you for nexus
  • Economic nexus: you exceed a mandated amount of sales in a state or you make over a certain amount of transactions
  • Affiliates: If someone who advertises your product in exchange for cut of the profits lives in a certain state, you qualify for nexus in that state

For more specific information about sales tax nexus by state, check out the Economic Nexus State Guide.

Stricter Enforcement in 2021

Economic nexus laws (as described above) and marketplace facilitator laws were originally implemented in 2018 to drive revenue for tax authorities through the collection of taxes owed on online sales. However, enforcement of these laws has been minimal because authorities wanted to give sellers and marketplaces time to understand and comply with the new regulations.

However, in 2021, the grace period has ended. The increased consumer interest in ecommerce and the economic impact of the global pandemic has catalyzed enforcement for 2021. Many states have utilized AI and data mining techniques to efficiently pinpoint non-compliant businesses and remote sellers.

Get Compliant

Before applying for a sales tax permit, determine that you have a nexus in a state and that you’re selling taxable items there. Now it is time to get compliant and register for a permit. To do this, contact your state’s taxing authority. Next, set up a system to start collecting sales tax online. Determine whether you should collect “origins-based” or “destination-based” taxes. Finally report and file sales tax according to a predetermined schedule (monthly, quarterly, or annually).

Wrapping it Up

Taxes are an essential part of any business. If you are selling a significant amount of products or services online, it is worth it to invest in software that automatically calculates sales tax for transactions. aACE enables you to easily set up tax profiles for every state and individual jurisdiction where you do business. And for more complex requirements, our integration with Avalara AvaTax uses geolocation for precise, up-to-date tax rates every time you make a sale. To learn more about the aACE+ AvaTax integration, check out our feature highlight.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Everything You Should Know About ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning: Everything You Should Know About ERP

At the crux of innovation, you’ll find technology. Powerful tools have allowed us to communicate easier, work more efficiently, and solve problems that plague our professional and personal lives. Since the dawn of the internet age, software has shifted from an expensive luxury to an essential part of any enterprise.

Early on, many companies had to adopt separate solutions for each aspect of their business: purchasing, accounting, engineering, sales, and more. With so many siloed systems, enterprises struggled to see their businesses as a whole – which made it impossible to scale. Organizations quickly began looking for a way to integrate the various aspects of their business and allow their teams to operate from a holistic set of data. That's where ERP came in.

What is ERP?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software integrates, standardizes, and helps streamline business processes across a swath of departments. ERP software allows for the automation of certain focused business tasks, reducing manual labor and creating a shared database.

ERP solutions allow employees from separate departments, like accounting and engineering, to rely on the same set of data and pull any relevant information they need to do their jobs more effectively. This not only allows for easier collaboration, it also ensures that resources are used more efficiently and that the entire customer journey is more transparent to employees.

History: MRP Systems to ERP Systems

In the 1960s, the concept of ERP originated in the manufacturing industry. Product-based organizations used centralized computer systems to automate inventory. These were usually internally created systems and existed to track the amount of products made versus quota. With the goal of furthering software’s ability to optimize production and distribution, IBM partnered with a manufacturer of construction machinery: J.I Case.

IBM and J.I Case created Machine Requirements Planning (MRP) software. This software, simplistic by today’s standards, would require rooms of computers and processors that were used to leverage arithmetic to help manufacturers answer questions like: How much of a certain material should I order? The first iteration of the MRP, MRP I, focused primarily on inventory control. In the 1980s, MRP I was expanded on and evolved into the MRP II, which provided additional features including finances, general accounting, demand forecasting, and quality assurance.

It wasn’t until the 90s that Gartner coined the term Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to differentiate from MRP-only solutions. Gartner defined ERP as “an integrated suite of business applications.” The first ERP system was implemented in the 90s and expanded on the basic inventory control and manufacturing processes of previous iterations.

How Does an ERP System Work?

In order to understand how an ERP system works, you have to understand its main goal: to improve organizational efficiency by improving the use of a company’s resources.

ERP takes all of the functions essential to a growing business and integrates them into one complete system. More specifically, ERP takes data from various departments and assimilates it into a common database, enabling leaders to monitor the pulse of a company using a single vision of reality.

ERP systems have various modules, each addressing a specific business requirement. These modules are separated for ease-of-use, but they all push information into a central database. For example, companies focused on the efficient creation of products will have a module for accounting, inventory, order management, and customer relationship management (CRM).

Who Uses ERP?

Today’s versions of ERP systems can be used by companies across every industry; flexible and integrated systems can be customized to fit a wide variety of organizations and requirements. ERP software systems are very diverse and are essential parts of many industries, including but not limited to:

Wrapping it Up

ERP software solutions allow for the better utilization of resources and project management that helps accurately report on an organization’s financial health and processes. The key to an ERP’s ability to increase organizational efficiency? A centralized database that acts as one source of truth for an enterprise. Although ERPs systems have their roots in the manufacturing industry, today almost any industry can benefit from an ERP system. To learn more about the benefits of ERP, check out some of our aACE Success Stories.

4 Ways to Streamline Operations and Delight Customers in 2021

4 Ways to Streamline Operations and Delight Customers in 2021

For companies across every industry and function, 2020 will forever be a defining year – and as we transition to a new normal, 2021 is shaping up to be just as pivotal. Although some businesses have struggled to meet changing customer expectations, it’s safe to say that some behaviors prompted by COVID-19 are here to stay. According to a recent study by Blake Morgan, post-pandemic, consumers will care even more about customer experience.

Companies that are stuck in a routine and fail to adapt to new demands will be left behind. One critical way to modernize operations and enhance customer satisfaction is to simplify processes and pinpoint redundancies that need to be eliminated. Minimizing the amount of steps to accomplish tasks allows businesses to save time, costs, and focus on high-quality products and services, with fewer errors and delays.

An efficient and automated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution can help streamline multiple disparate systems into a single easy-to-use platform. Now more than ever, ERP solutions are critical for enterprises who are looking to improve efficiency and better serve customers. Here are a few ways to use an ERP solution to streamline operations, save time, and delight your customers:

Deploy an Advanced CRM

Strengthening the relationships with your customers requires an understanding of who they are and what they want. However, your relationship and understanding of your customers can not be separate from the rest of your business — you risk data duplication, decreased visibility, limited cross-departmental collaboration and more.

With data aggregated and key business functions collaborating on the same platform, customer service can significantly improve. While an ERP and CRM solution can offer benefits on their own, an integration allows you to take advantage of what both have to offer. Seamlessly move customers from lead to conversion within a frictionless environment — track customer journeys, manage communications, and get insights on behaviors that will help you better meet their needs.

Optimize Customer Facing Workflows

By integrating your sales and service data with marketing and finance, you’ll be able to identify pre- and post-sales processes that need attention and improvements. A strategically implemented ERP can help you eliminate the pain of waiting for updated sales figures and inventory schedules. Instead, real-time reporting will allow you to reduce bottlenecks and adopt a flow. According to a study forecasting the growth of ERP software through 2026, the primary factor driving the growth of the ERP software market is the rise in need for operational efficiency and transparency in business processes.

One of the best ways to optimize workflows and boost performance is to standardize processes. Standardized workflows enable automation, reducing the need for manual labor and the possibility of human error. It’s important to remember that standardization requires careful thought and must be balanced by customization. Once properly implemented, however, your business can grow sustainably and meet customer expectations.

Get Your Time Back

A recent study found that small businesses with ERP systems can make decisions in 36% less time than businesses without these vital solutions. By centralizing previously siloed systems, time becomes a readily-available resource. A well-designed and strategically implemented ERP will centralize essential business functions, automate processes, and make daily operations more efficient. This newfound time and freedom isn’t reserved for one department — sales, operations, finance, IT, production, marketing, and more will all benefit. With less time spent on manual and routine tasks, your team can focus on the most important objective: the customer.

Create a Seamless Path to Purchase

Loyal customers are created during an efficient, transparent, and automated order fulfillment process. By centralizing operations in an ERP solution, enterprises can utilize data to create an expedient, cost-efficient, and frictionless order process. A smart ERP will enable comprehensive automation capabilities, modernizing the order capture process and accelerating order fulfillment. This enhanced efficiency helps to delight new customers and retain existing ones.

Looking Forward

In order to maintain the momentum we built in 2020 and grow in 2021, businesses need to look for software and tools that can help them build more efficient processes and prioritize servicing the growing expectations of their customers. In order to streamline processes, siloed systems have to begin to talk to each other and a business flow needs to be uncovered and maintained. A sound ERP solution can help your business grow sustainably, decrease bottlenecks, and foster meaningful relationships with customers.

Choosing the right ERP system starts with evaluating the goals of your business. At aACE software, our mission is to help small-to-midsize business owners increase their efficiency and improve their bottom line. Our single, comprehensive business management solution is easy-to-use and is meant to compliment your long-term vision. For more information, contact us to be connect with an aACE partner.