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Author: Rosy King

5 Awesome Excel Tips That Will Make You Look Like a Pro

Written by Rosy King on . Posted in Tech & Tools.

Microsoft Excel can do anything from managing your office accounts to managing the data required for running a whole county, you just need to know how to use it.

Improving your Excel skills is a great way to save time on projects, especially because it’s a tool used by most of us on a regular basis. Even one little tip can help to save you time, every day.

Time Magazine writer John Patrick Pullen walks us through a few tips to make sure our Excel game is ‘on point’.

1. Navigate Like a Pro

Sure, mice and trackpads are tools of the trade. But if you want to rock Excel like an electric guitar, you’ve got to do your finger picking with the keyboard.

For instance,

– hold down control while tapping an arrow button to select every cell all the way to the end of the sheet.

– Flip through worksheets by holding control while pressing either page down or page up.

– Turn a range of numbers into currency, complete with a dollar sign and two decimal places, by pressing control, shift, and $ at the same time.

– Similarly, you can turn a number into a date (day, month, and year) by pressing control, shift, and # simultaneously.

These are just a few of the hundreds of keyboard shortcuts available in Excel. But don’t trash your mouse yet—it will come in handy for scrolling through all those navigational tips.

2. Flash Fill Your Data

Data entry is the worst. Cutting and pasting is fine; importing is great; but manually keying in values can crush the soul. Thankfully, the Flash Fill feature has helped ease this pain by examining the information you’re inputting and suggesting values in subsequent boxes. That might sound like magic, but it’s really just logic.

For instance,

– if you’re entering a column full of dates, Flash Fill will detect that and help Excel cells make that cognitive leap.

– Or, say you’re creating a contact sheet and have just filled a column full of email addresses, and you start a new column for last names. Once Flash Fill catches on, it can examine the email addresses and suggest the names for you.

3. Think Fast with Quick Analysis

For the experienced and uninitiated alike, Excel is a deep program with a variety of capabilities. But finding those tools can be one of the bigger challenges of using the program.

Quick Analysis is a small menu located at the bottom right hand corner of a table or list in Excel 2013 and onward, that pulls together the basic things that most users do with similar data sets.

So instead of having to go back to the ribbon and find the feature, you just click on to the corner of the table. And because it’s in such close proximity to your data, your mind won’t start wandering through all the other features of Excel, or to your web browser where you’re searching for help, or to Facebook because you just opened your web browser.

In addition, the contextual tools that Quick Analysis brings up can add great visuals and depth to your spreadsheet, making you look like much more of an Excel pro.

4. Show Off with New Charts

Excel 2016 is serving up several refreshing new data visualizations to make your spreadsheets burst with flavour.

The first two are hierarchical charts: the treemap and the sunburst.

The treemap is a giant square (that represents 100% of the values) full of rectangles (that represent smaller portions of the whole).

The sunburst functions similarly, though its round and the inside portions are like chunks of onion, rather than pie slices.

These two charts are great for showing how categories can add up to a whole, and even how smaller bits within those categories can contribute as well.

And a third new chart, the waterfall, is something that master spreadsheet artists have been laboriously building on their own for some time, but now can do with with just a click from the Insert>Charts menu.

5. Look Ahead with One-Click Forecasting

“Forecasting” is one of those terms that’s thrown around a lot in the age of Big Data, but even small spreadsheets have the ability to look ahead and make solid projections.

A new feature in Excel 2016, users can select columns on a table and have the spreadsheet make a few different projections as to how the results will play out in the future.

Displaying the information as either a line or bar chart, Excel will even calculate lower and upper confidence bounds (based on a programmable confidence interval) to show the possible margin of error. You can also fine tune the tool to better meet your needs, calculating for seasonality, for instance.

CTO offers training course that can be specifically tailored to meet your needs and requirements. If you’d like to find out more about our customised Excel courses, please click here or call us now on 1300 667 660.

You Use To Call Me On My Cell Phone

Written by Rosy King on . Posted in Customer Service.

I had an interesting experience the other day…

I sent a text message to a new contact of mine, and the next thing I knew my phone was ringing! I don’t know about you but in this day and age of modern technology and text/online messaging along with emailing, I feel that actually having a conversation with someone on the phone, even a friend, is a rare occurrence. As a result of this, the new generation has really lost touch with the pleasantry of phone calls. There are a growing amount of online businesses who do everything over the internet, but for most businesses using the phone is still a necessity. So herein lies the problem: some people aren’t confident with telephone courtesy and customer service.

Here are the 4 Golden Rules of Great Telephone Etiquette

Answer the Phone as Quickly as Possible

If you don’t answer the phone after five or six rings, some people may hang up. However, if they don’t and you answer on the twentieth ring, you can be sure they will not be in a good mood on the other side of that phone. It should never take more than three or four rings to answer the phone. In any industry it’s all about being fast-paced and people don’t want to wait for service.

Rehearse Your Lines

You can’t wing it. You need to practice or at least know what you are going to say when someone calls. There should be a standardised greeting that you use, that is polite and informative. Give a welcome greeting and let the customer know who they are speaking with. What you’re going to say isn’t the only thing to think about, you also need to consider how you are going to say it. Having a polite tone of voice is very important while practicing good telephone etiquette. Practicing your tone of voice will help you when you need it the most, especially if you’ve had a busy day and politeness is the last thing on your mind. Always keep it calm and friendly. And try to talk with a smile on your face!

Listen Actively to the Customer

This is one of the most important techniques in telephone etiquette. When someone calls, listen for the content as well as the intent, usually the customer will tell you both in their opening comments. Once you have actively listened to the customer, you can then respond with a statement that assures the customer that you heard them. When addressing them, be sure to use their name to make the experience more personalised.

Make Time for a Proper Ending

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been able to help a customer or not, ending your call needs to be done the right way. It’s all about being polite and warm to your caller. Don’t rush it, and make sure that there is nothing else that you can assist them with. Thank them for calling and wish them a pleasant day. Always remember that is is proper phone etiquette that the customer hangs up the phone first.

So how would you rate your company’s telephone courtesy and customer service?

CTO offers a one-day Telephone Courtesy and Customer Service Training course to help your employees professionally manage complex customer telephone calls.

Remember, investing in employee training gives employees a feeling of value, and when employees feel valued, they value their customers.

Accounting In The Cloud with MYOB AccountRight

Written by Rosy King on . Posted in Tech & Tools. Leave a Comment

Today we had a call from one of our trainers just 15 minutes after they arrived at a client site for an MYOB training course. They told us that they had just started to get set up for the course when they realised that the client had never reconciled their accounting software… ever. Our trainer was baffled! What should I do? What should I say?

We said, start fresh! It’s a new financial year, so why not get the client up and running and start the new year from scratch.

Regardless of the current state of your business accounts, we can help! That’s what’s great about CTO’s onsite training services. We are able to come to your office and offer a solution which we can then help you to implement.

At the end of the financial year, you might be thinking about moving to a cloud based accounting software solution. And it’s a great idea, because it just makes working on your books that little bit more accessible and easier.

Enter MYOB’s online software, AccountRight. If you have been using MYOB on your desktop, and are considering moving to the online accounts solution, here’s some food for thought.

So why should your business move to AccountRight?

Well to put it simply, because it will save you time and money.

  • There’s no limit to the number of users, so everyone you want to work on the accounts can, at no extra cost.
  • Easy collaboration with your team, accountant and bookkeeper allows you to work together on the accounts in real time, from any location.
  • You can save up to 10 hours a month on data entry by securely linking your bank accounts to your online MYOB software.
  • Easy software updates mean peace of mind knowing that every compliance update and new innovation will be delivered directly to the software.
  • Secure online storage means that your data is kept safe and secure and is automatically saved in your online data file.
  • You can invoice, check debtors, take payments and automatically update your cash position while you are on the go, with the free mobile app.

We can also help you if you are upgrading from a classic version of AccountRight, to teach you about the new changes and the great new features.

Let us help you make the end of financial year just that little bit less stressful, or help you to completely start fresh in the new financial year. If you would like to learn more about our MYOB training courses, click here or call us now on 1300 667 660.

Why You Should Switch On And Make The Switch To Xero

Written by Rosy King on . Posted in Tech & Tools.

Xero is fast emerging as the global leader in online accounting software, which manages to provide business owners real time visibility of their financial position.

So why should your business make the switch?

Xero is simple, secure and efficient. And it works a lot better than its competitors.

A key factor for any business to consider is that planning ahead, and real-time monitoring of financial performance, is a must for any form of success and level of organisation to be achieved. As a cloud-based accounting software, Xero connects you with the right numbers, anytime, anywhere, on any device. From cash flow, to invoicing, to payments and even payroll, Xero gives you everything you need right at your fingertips.

With an easy, yet professional invoicing system Xero allows you to create invoices, create and manage quotes and set reminders to prompt customers that an invoice is due and remind them if they are over due.

Payments have never been easier in regards to claiming and handling expenses; you can take a photo of your receipts on your mobile and save them online. Bills can be entered very simply in Xero, and you can then schedule payments directly from your bank account to your suppliers.

Want to set up your payroll on Xero? It’s a simple process, which then allows you to easily pay your employees; track and pay superannuation; file employee tax file number declarations and lodge your payments summary annual report directly to the ATO.

If you’re worried about security, fear not. Xero’s servers are kept under around-the-clock physical security plus have multiple layers of firewalls, and intrusion protection systems and routers guard any external access. The benefit of software being in the cloud means that your data is not being stored on your own computers. If you accidently lose your laptop, or it gets stolen, or corrupted, you won’t lose your data because its stored online, and backed up in several locations.

If you want to learn how to run your business better with Xero, don’t stay in the dark. Switch on and book one of our Xero training courses to make the switch and get on board with this great business accounting software.

10 Ways Your Business Benefits From Using Social Media

Written by Rosy King on . Posted in Sales & Marketing.

Social networks can bring a whole new dimension to your business. Used effectively, social media can provide benefits to your business that you just can’t get any other way. Using social media means you can:

1 Differentiate your brand

How does one small business stand out from all the others? Use social networks to emphasis the areas you specialise in. Explain what makes you different from the rest.

2 Build your reputation

Show your knowledge by posting regularly on relevant topics. Prove your efficiency by responding to clients queries quickly. Happy customers are more willing to give referrals. And well-handled enquiries can generate new clients for your business.

3 Create trust with customers and prospects

Be transparent and open on your social channels. Customers need to trust you before they’re ready to buy. Social networks can help you build a relationship with them.

4 Compete with larger companies

Your business might be small and you may lack the advertising budget of larger businesses. But social media can be a great leveler. It allows you to compete on equal footing with much larger companies. You can even use it to make a virtue of your size. Emphasize your focused, agile, responsive approach to doing business.

5 Attract new visitors to your website

Your website is one of your key marketing tools. It will contain information about your full range of services. Use social networks to draw people there – and increase your sales.

6 Keep informed about trends and news

By following other organisations in your area of business, you can keep up to date with trends, news and key information.

7 Have your ear to the ground

Two-way platforms like Twitter and Facebook let you interact directly with customers and prospects. Use these platforms to understand the services they need, and to research new ideas.

8 Increase customer engagement

Ask your customers for suggestions and improvements. Ask them what they like and dislike. They will be happy to tell you.

9 Manage your reputation

Social media allows you to respond to comments or complaints swiftly. When you demonstrate a high level of customer service, it has a powerful effect on your reputation.

10 Market on a low-cost budget

You can market your products or services directly to customers without a huge budget. But be aware that you will need to spend time doing this – so make sure you have the resources available.

Some companies dive in without thinking about their strategy, or doing enough background work. This approach won’t give you the best results. Instead, put in some groundwork before opening new accounts. And make sure you evaluate your plans as time goes on.

If your social media account isn’t building followers or conversation in the numbers you’d hoped for, ask yourself why not. Perhaps you were too ambitious, perhaps your approach isn’t quite right.

Consider taking one of our social media marketing courses to help to find out where you’re going wrong – and how to put it right.