Categories
How-To Guides

Calculating A Running Total In Excel

Learn to create cumulative sums in Microsoft Excel with these step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

  • Also known as a cumulative sum, a running total is a commonly used function within the educational and business world.
  • The process of creating a running total in Excel involves three simple steps.
  • Running totals are used in retail stores, for sales and at sporting events, to name a few applications.
  • This article is for business owners and professionals who want to learn how to create a running total in Microsoft Excel. 

Creating a running total (or cumulative sum, as it is known in Excel) is easy once you get the hang of it. Many business owners use cumulative sums to keep track of expenses and revenue, employee hours and inventory management.

The idea behind a running total is to take a column of numbers and, next to it, show the running total of those numbers. You can use both positive and negative numbers in a running total, so you can put your sales and withdrawals together if you like.

What is a running total?

A running total, or cumulative sum, is a sequence of partial sums of any given data set. A running total is used to display a summary of data as it grows over time. This very common technique is used daily by students and professionals tasked with using Excel to compute and calculate an array of complex data and equations. Additionally, having a running total can save you from taking the time to record the sequence itself if it’s not vital to know the individual numbers being used.

How to create a running total in Excel

1. Start with =SUM. Click on the cell where you want your running total to begin. Next, select the SUM function on that cell. But instead of highlighting cells within the parentheses (by dragging the cursor over the cells you want to include in the equation) as you would if you were adding a column of numbers, you need to create what’s called an “absolute reference,” followed by a “relative reference.” Don’t worry; it’s not as complicated as it sounds. The next step covers how to do it.

2. Create a running total formula. You must use the dollar sign in this formula, even if the numbers you’re tallying are not dollar amounts. In our sample Excel workbook, let’s say you want a cumulative total posted in column C. In cell C1, you would type =SUM($B$2:B2). This creates the necessary relative reference point (B2) and absolute reference point ($B$2) for your running tally.

What are these references? Relative reference points can change when you copy and paste a formula from one place to another. For instance, if you copy a formula two rows to the right, the relative reference point will shift two rows to the right. Absolute reference points don’t change when copied.

3. Click the bottom-right corner of the cell with the formula in it. Then drag down as far as you want the running total to apply. When the formula is dragged down, the absolute reference point, $B$2 stays the same. The relative reference point B2 changes as far as you drag your cursor down to B3, B4, B5, etc.

For example, if you have a March sales value of $500, an April sales value of $650 and a May sales value of $700, you’ll enter these values under a “sales” column. To gain the running total, you’ll enter $500 in the top right column and use the formula above to calculate the running total. Next, you’ll drag your cursor down to encompass April, May and June sales. The running total will then display $500, $1,150 and $1,850, respectively. Then you’ll have a running total you can add more monthly sales values over time. That’s all there is to it.

What are some uses for a running total?

While this calculation may sound a tad complex, it is actually a rather common concept that many of us come into contact with regularly, regardless of whether we are the ones using it. Here are some of the uses for a running total:

Cash register operations. 

One of the most common examples of running totals that you are regularly exposed to involves the use of cash registers. In particular, cash registers display a running total of various products as they are scanned into the system. Additionally, they typically keep a running total of all transactions being made throughout the day.

A cash register can house a reporting function that shows running totals of everyday functions in the store, including the number of customers at certain times of the day and the most popular items either of the day or all time, depending on the category. Using a running total allows retail stores the chance to identify trends among customers and better their operations.

Game scoreboards. 

Another common application of running totals is the scoreboards at sporting events. Although you see every point as it hits the board to understand how the end score is calculated, in the end, the final score is the only number that matters. Additionally, the game of cricket, in particular, is a great example of a running total. Each time a player scores a run, it is added to the total. Therefore, the total score is simply a running total or summation of the runs.

Sales positions

If you work in the sales sector, you are likely exposed to various running totals. For instance, if you have a quota, you may be using a running total to keep track of your progress until your quota has been reached. This is also true in other industries such as telecommunications or banking, where the number of sales, new clients, and products sold can relate to job performance.

Managers can use these running totals to evaluate this performance monthly, quarterly or yearly. These running totals can also determine real performance against targets over time. This data can then be used to troubleshoot what is required to change when targets are not met.

Year-to-date calculations

One of the top uses of running totals is year-to-date calculations. A year-to-date (YTD) calculation is used to record a certain function or activity (usually financial) from a certain date to the end of the year.

For instance, you may see an array of year-to-date calculations on your pay stubs. This is an example of a running total because it keeps track of the various payments made and taxes collected to give you a final total at the end of each year. These final totals are then transferred onto W-2 forms and used for tax purposes. Year-to-date calculations are also used to calculate rental income, the financial standing of a business or a stock return.

Inventory totals

Another common use of running totals is the method a company uses to keep track of inventory. Companies must record the number of items sold and compare that number to how many items they have in stock, so this is an example of a running total. For instance, if you have  1,000 cookies in stock at the beginning of the week, every sale would be subtracted from the overall stock and result in a new total after each transaction.

Balance sheets. 

If you have a job that uses balance sheets, this can also be an example of a running total. Balance sheets can also show you a clear picture of any assets and liabilities at one point in time. Balance sheets allow you to keep an itemized list of things such as expenses. After new items are added, you get a new total.

Bank balances

Your bank statement gives you an itemized list of what is being deposited and paid out every month. After each transaction, you get a new total. When you go online to view your account, you will see your running total.

Gas mileage

Ride-sharing companies and delivery services also employ running totals. Given that drivers are often paid by the mile, a running total keeps track of how much a person should be paid. This is also true when creating expense spreadsheets if you have to travel multiple days for work.

Calorie counts

Running totals can also be used to count your calories throughout the day or week. People who use a caloric count to lose weight can use an app or create a spreadsheet that allows them to input the calorie count of each meal to calculate days’ or weeks’ worth of calories ultimately. The app or spreadsheet will start with zero calories and create the running total dependent on what they eat.

How to Calculate a Running Total in Excel [Businessnewsdaily]

 

About Our GE Network Expert - Min Tang

Categories
Planning & Management

Small Business Insurance

When making financial decisions for your small business or startup, it can be tempting to cut costs by only signing up for the business insurance you’re legally required to have. However, just one uninsured accident can cost more than your monthly premium – it can cost you your business. With many types of business insurance available, it can be tough to know just which kinds you need. Small business owners should analyze their needs to make strategic decisions about which plans are right for them.

What is business insurance, and why do you need it?

When accidents happen, you want to be protected. Business insurance protects your business from financial loss during times of crisis or unforeseen events. There is no one-size-fits-all business insurance; instead, there are several types of insurance that can protect your business, and the exact combination of policies you need depends on your unique circumstances.

“[Business insurance] assists in legal payment, claims, employees’ issues and business property in case anything goes wrong because of your business activities,” Phil Crippen, business advisor at John Adams IT, told Business News Daily. “It can help towards the cost of compensation claims and legal fees, as well as damage to your property or employee-related issues.”

The benefits of insurance are often related to financial and legal protection. Insurance can protect you from a variety of losses – for example, if an employee is injured, your office building burns down, a client tries to sue you, or your business partner passes away. The right business insurance can help you recover and continue operating your business.

“As a business owner, you define what the right insurance is going to be,” said Seth Morton, MBA, licensed insurance agent and owner of Morton Insurance. “Insurance itself is simply an agreement by an insurance company to pay the insured for business losses. To determine what should be insured, a business owner needs to analyze his risk. Once the scope has been established, the owner can evaluate the cost of insurance versus the risk of loss.”

Key takeaway: Business insurance gives you financial and legal protection in a crisis or unforeseen event.

What does business insurance cover?

Business insurance can cover a litany of things, depending on the type. It ranges from basic to comprehensive, so you will want to choose coverage that adequately protects your property, people and business processes.

Morton listed 10 common aspects of a business that insurance can cover and protect:

  • Lives of the business principals
  • Lives of key employees
  • Lives of an employee group
  • Long- and short-term disability of owners and employees
  • Liability for injury to owners and employees
  • Property and casualty coverage for buildings and machinery
  • Liability for and damage to business transportation assets
  • Product liability
  • Employee health insurance for sickness and injury
  • Workers’ compensation for earnings lost due to injury

Key takeaway: Business insurance can financially and legally protect the main elements of your business, including your property, people and business processes.

How much does business insurance cost?

The type of business insurance you purchase dictates your monthly costs. According to Progressive, the average cost of business insurance is $53 per month for general liability and $85 for workers’ compensation. Some business owners purchase a business owner’s policy, which combines liability and property coverage in one policy. The average cost for a business owner’s policy is $80 per month.

Another factor that impacts how much you pay each month is your business type. For instance, builders pay a lot more for business insurance than accountants. The reason for the increase is related to the hazards associated with the job – there is a greater inherent risk of injury and potential damage if you operate a construction firm versus if you run a small accounting firm.

Business size, or the number of employees your company has, is also a cost consideration. Each employee poses a potential risk for your business, which raises your monthly premium.

Finally, coverage amounts influence cost. The higher the coverage, the more you will pay. One way to offset the cost if you choose a higher coverage is to have a higher deductible (which is the amount of money you pay out of pocket before the insurer will pay for a covered loss). Assuming greater risk can lower your monthly premiums. Many insurance companies offer you a choice of the deductible. The amounts can range from a few hundred dollars ($250) to thousands of dollars ($2,500).

In the event of a claim, business insurance is normally payable directly to the company. As an example, if your business is damaged during a fire, you would file a claim. An adjuster assesses the damage and decides on the cost to repair or replace the damaged property or items. Once you pay your policy’s deductible, the insurance company cuts a check to the business based on the parameters of the policy.

Types of business insurance

There are numerous types of business insurance available, and you will likely need a combination of multiple policies to protect your business. It is highly recommended that you speak to an insurance expert to identify the specific policies necessary for your company. However, these are some primary types of insurance that most small businesses will need.

  • Business owners policy: A BOP is usually a combination of general liability coverage (e.g., bodily injury, property damage, personal or advertising injury, medical payments, products-completed operations, and damages to premises rented) and property insurance. You can also add an employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policy to your BOP to cover your employees.
  • Business interruption insurance: Also known as business income insurance, this is one of the most common types of business insurance. It helps you recover lost income and pay operating expenses (e.g., mortgage, rent, payroll, loan payments, taxes) if your business is forced to shut down because of disasters like a fire, flood, theft or collapsed building. It can sometimes be bundled with your BOP.
  • Management liability insurance: Another comprehensive insurance package you may need is management liability insurance. This often combines insurance coverage like employment practices liability (essential protection for businesses with employees), fiduciary liability, and directors and officers (D&O) liability (essential protection for businesses with a board of directors).
  • Workers’ compensation insurance: If an employee is injured at work, workers’ comp can cover their medical costs or lost wages. Workers’ comp and disability insurance are often required by law.
  • Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance: If you offer professional services, you will want to acquire E&O insurance, also known as professional liability insurance. This type of coverage protects you in the event that a customer or client claims your services caused them financial distress. This is especially important for consultants and financial advisors.
  • Product liability insurance: Small businesses often need product liability insurance to protect themselves against product-related claims. If your product causes damage or injury to a third party, or your business faces a product-related lawsuit, product liability insurance can help cover your protection and security.
  • Auto insurance: If you or your employees use vehicles for business purposes, you will need some form of vehicle insurance. Whether you need personal or commercial auto insurance depends on the type of vehicles you use, what you use them for, and how much coverage you need.
  • Cyber insurance: Every small business owner should protect their data and technology with cyber insurance. If your business technology is hacked or data is leaked, cyber insurance (data breach insurance or cyber liability insurance) can help cover the costs of the damage.

These are just a few of the common types of insurance small business owners should consider. You should seek professional assistance to find the coverage that best protects your specific business.

Key takeaway: The types of insurance coverage you need depend on your specific business, as well as the laws regulating your state and industry.

How to determine what types of insurance your business needs

The best insurance for your business depends on your unique needs. To determine what types of insurance you need, you will have to undergo a careful analysis of your business. It is always advisable to speak with an insurance expert to find the right combination of coverage to keep your business legally compliant and financially protected.

Follow these four steps to determine what insurance your business needs.

1. Analyze your legal responsibilities and business assets.

First and foremost, you should do a careful evaluation of your business and assets to determine what you want to insure. What insurance are you legally required to have, and where do your additional liabilities lie?

For example, Morton said a machine shop might want to insure employees for injury, whereas a jeweler might want protection against theft. Owners of a large distribution company would insure inventory as well as employees, as required by law.

“Each state has different requirements, and business owners should consult with professionals in the state where they operate to determine what to insure,” said Morton.

2. Analyze your risk.

Analyze your additional risk and liability. This will help you determine which insurance will offer the right type of protection. For example, if your business is situated on the bottom floor of an office building in a region prone to floods, you will likely want comprehensive flood insurance, whereas a business operating in a dangerous industry will likely want insurance to cover the risk of its employees getting injured.

“In general, careful analysis of business operations, including human resources and facilities, helps determine where the risks are and what should be insured,” said Morton. “Beyond what could be called insurance for the operation of the business, there is the question of succession planning. What is the plan if an owner dies or is incapacitated, and how is it funded? It is an area often overlooked by business owners and requires professional help to set it up correctly.”

3. Determine how comprehensive you want your insurance to be.

Depending on what you are insuring, you may need a basic level of insurance or comprehensive insurance that covers all aspects of the potential loss. You will have to factor in how costly the loss would be and assess the probability of it happening. This will minimize the risk of overpaying for coverage you don’t need, or skimping on coverage that is imperative for your protection.

4. Pick a provider.

Insurance providers aren’t all the same. Policies, premiums and coverage vary, so do some research to find the best one to protect your business. Choose a few top providers, and compare them by policy coverage, cost, reliability, customer service and how they handle claims. This will help you find the best insurance provider for your business.

Key takeaway: To determine what business insurance you need, you’ll need to analyze your operations, assets, risks and liabilities. Then, determine how comprehensive you want your policies to be and compare providers.

Editor’s note: The contents of this article do not offer legal, business or insurance advice related to the needs of any specific individual business. Please consult your attorney and/or small business insurer to discuss your situation and coverage.

Your Guide to Choosing Small Business Insurance [Businessnewsdaily]

About Our GE Network Expert - Min Tang

Categories
Social Marketing

Creating A Market Research Plan

Having a solid market research plan is a critical first step in starting, buying, or growing a successful business.

You may think you have the best idea ever for a business or product, but without laying the proper groundwork, it could easily go the way of the Edsel. Not only do you need to size up the competition, but you also need to identify who will buy your product, how much it will cost, the best approach to selling it and how many people will demand it.

To get answers to these questions, you’ll need a market research plan, which you can create yourself or pay a specialist to create for you. Market research plans define an existing problem and/or outline an opportunity. From there, the marketing strategy is broken down task by task. Your plan should include objectives and the methods that you’ll use to achieve those objectives, along with a time frame for completing the work.

A market research plan should provide a thorough examination of how your product or service will fare in a defined area. It should include:

  1. An examination of the current marketplace and an analysis of the need for your product or service
  2. An assessment of the competition
  3. Data about customers
  4. The direction for your marketing in the upcoming year
  5. Goals to be met

How to create your market research plan

Doing business without having a marketing plan is like driving without directions. You may eventually reach your destination, but there will be many costly and time-consuming mistakes made along the way.

Many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe there is a big demand for their service or product, but, in reality, there may not be, or your prices may be too high or too low, or you may be going into a business with so many restrictions that it’s almost impossible to be successful. A market research plan will help you uncover significant issues or roadblocks.

Step 1. Conduct a comprehensive situation analysis.

One of the first steps in creating your marketing plan is to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), which is used to identify your competition, to know how they operate, and then to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2: Develop clear marketing objectives.

In this section, describe the desired outcome for your marketing plan with realistic and attainable objectives, the targets, and a clear and concise time frame. The most common way to approach this is with marketing objectives, which may include the total number of customers and the retention rate, the average volume of purchases, total market share, and the proportion of your potential market that makes purchases.

Step 3: Make a financial plan.

A financial plan is essential for creating a solid marketing plan. The financial plan answers a range of questions that are critical components of your business, such as how much you intend to sell, what will you charge, how much will it cost to deliver your services or produce your products, how much will it cost for your basic operating expenses and how much financing will you need to operate your business.

In your business plan, be sure to clearly describe who you are, what your business will be about, business goals, and what your inspiration was to buy, begin or grow your business.

Step 4: Determine your target audience.

Once you know what makes you stand out from your competitors and how you’ll market yourself, you should decide who to target with all this information. That’s why your market research plan should clearly delineate your target audience. What are their demographics and how will these qualities affect your plan? How do your company’s current products and services affect which consumers you can realistically make customers? Will that change in the future? All of these questions should be answered in your plan.

Step 5: List your research methods.

Rarely does one research avenue make for a comprehensive market research plan. Instead, your plan should indicate several methods that will be used to determine the market share you can realistically obtain.  This way, you get as much information as possible from as many sources as possible. The result is a more robust path toward establishing the exact footprint you desire for your company.

Step 6: Establish a timeline.

With your plan in place, you’ll need to figure out how long your market research process will take. Project management charts are often helpful in this regard, as they clearly divide tasks and personnel over a timeframe that you have set. No matter which type of project management chart you use, try to build some flexibility into your timeframe. A two-week buffer toward the home stretch comes in handy when a process scheduled for one week takes two – that buffer will keep you on deadline.

Step 7: Acknowledge ethical concerns.

Market research always presents opportunities for ethical missteps. After all, you’ll need to obtain competitor information and sensitive financial data that may not always be readily available. Your market research plan should thus encourage your team to not take any dicey steps to obtain this information. It may be better to state “we could not obtain this competitor information” than to spy on the competitor or pressure their current employees for knowledge. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with simply feeling better about the final state of your plan and how you got it there.

Outsourcing the work

If the thought of trying to create your own market research plan seems daunting or too time-consuming, there are plenty of other people willing to do the work for you.

How to Create a Market Research Plan [Business]

About Our GE Network Expert - Min Tang

Categories
Human Resource

What is Recruitment

Learn what the recruitment process is and how to implement one for your business.

Hiring an employee may seem like a simple job that anyone can do: Post a job opening online, interview a candidate, and then hire them, right? Recruiting new employees should be treated just as any other important business function would, with experienced professionals taking the reins.

Your employees are your company’s most significant asset; a bad hire can cost your business up to 30% of their first-year earnings, so it is important to choose employees wisely.

“Your employees are the difference between success and failure, yet the [recruitment] process that is used is generally ad hoc, rushed, and has little strategy beyond a post-and-pray approach,” Joe Mullings, founder and CEO of The Mullings Group, told business.com.

Put yourself in the best position to recruit and hire top talent by understanding what recruitment is and how it works.

What is recruitment?

Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, interviewing, and selecting candidates for an open role in an organization; it can also include hiring and onboarding the chosen candidates.

Businesses recruit new employees because they are either growing and need to fill a new open role, or someone is leaving the company and they need to refill their position. Companies can use recruitment software to find qualified new employees, or they can seek assistance from external agencies.

What are the different types of recruitment?

There are two types of recruitment you can administer: internal and external. Internal recruitment is conducted by looking to your company’s internal network as a source of potential candidates. You can ask current employees for professional referrals, or you can promote an internal employee. If you have more than one business location, you may consider transferring an employee from one location to another.

External recruitment can involve various strategies such as advertising on job boards, posting the open position on your company website and social media accounts, and connecting with educational institutions. Most employers find it beneficial to perform a combination of these recruitment strategies. 

“If your company doesn’t have the bandwidth to support all of their open recommendations, a recruitment technique they can adopt is to work with an agency to fill roles more efficiently,” said Sarah Dewey, recruiter and career expert at Jobscan.

Who handles recruiting?

The person(s) who recruits for your organization will vary depending on factors such as your company size and available resources. For example, a small business might delegate recruiting and hiring to the employee who will manage the new hire – also known as the hiring manager. If a company has an in-house human resources (HR) department or HR manager, these professionals will screen the candidates and then consult with the hiring manager before making any final selections.

Companies with internal recruiters or partnerships with recruitment agencies are in the best position, as they can entrust recruiting responsibilities to these experts. A recruiter may consult with an HR manager or hiring manager during the recruiting process, but they do the bulk of the work, such as posting the job, sourcing and screening candidates, negotiating salaries, and placing employees.

What does recruitment involve?

The recruitment process for your company may vary based on the business or individual role you are hiring for. The full recruitment cycle generally, however, includes six steps: defining the open position, sourcing job applicants, screening potential candidates, interviewing qualified candidates, selecting a candidate and extending an offer, and onboarding new hires.

1. Defining the open position

Before you can search for qualified candidates, you need to define the role you are seeking to fill. Identify the key needs the position will fulfill, outline job specifics (e.g., qualification requirements, anticipated start date, pay range, reporting structure, etc.), write a clear job description, and create a standard set of interview questions. Having this information defined ahead of time streamlines the hiring process.

2. Sourcing job applicants

Seeking job applicants is the next step in the recruitment process. You can have a recruiter or recruitment agency handle sourcing; you can ask employees or trusted colleagues for referrals; or you can source candidates through various means, like posting the open position on your company website, job boards, and social media accounts.

There are two types of applicants: active candidates (those who apply to the job directly) and passive candidates (those who are qualified but haven’t expressed direct interest). If you are reaching out to a passive candidate, you will need to tailor your recruiting strategy based on their current level of engagement with your brand.

According to Mullings, candidates will fall into one of these three categories for engagement:

  • The individual knows you, will take your call and will engage with you because of an existing relationship in the marketplace.
  • The candidate may not know you or your company, but they have been referred to you by someone else or may be familiar with your company and/or hiring brand.
  • The individual is not familiar with your company and will require further education about your company and its brand.

3. Screening potential candidates

Once applications start rolling in, you need to filter them to find qualified applicants. Evaluate resumes and cover letters, and then conduct a phone screening for candidates who appear to be a good match. This screening should be brief. Ask each candidate the same set of screening questions to determine if they are qualified for the role. Choose the most qualified candidates to advance to the interview process.

For applicants who did not meet your expectations, thank them for their time, and inform them that you are not continuing the recruitment process with them. Job applicants would rather hear a no than radio silence.

“Be responsive, and don’t burn bridges,” Dewey said. “If you have candidates that aren’t a fit for anything you’re currently hiring for, it does not mean you should ignore them. They may be a perfect fit for something down the road.”

4. Interviewing qualified candidates

The next phase of the recruitment process involves the hiring manager interviewing prospective candidates. They should ask competency-based interview questions, as well as evaluate whether the candidate would be a good fit for the team and company culture. This stage may consist of one or more rounds of interviews. It is during this phase that you will want to contact the candidate’s references.

5. Selecting a candidate and extending an offer

After interviewing and evaluating each candidate, select the one you think would be the best fit. Draft an offer letter and extend it to the potential employee.

During this time, you may want to conduct a background check. In your offer letter, you should state that the job offer is contingent on the results of the background check. Be sure to comply with federal and state laws as you conduct the background check.

For applicants whom you did not select, inform them that you have selected another candidate and thank them for their time. End on a high note, as you never know if you may want to reconsider hiring this candidate if your primary candidate doesn’t accept your offer or at any point in the future.

6. Hiring and onboarding

When the candidate accepts your job offer, the final step is the hiring and onboarding process. This step is usually handled by your company’s HR professionals to ensure the new employee signs all the necessary employment paperwork and is integrated into your business in accordance with labor and employment laws.

Recruitment best practices

The experts we spoke with for this article identified three best practices that can help your business successfully recruit top talent.

Communication

It is important to foster clear communication between recruiters, HR professionals, hiring managers and job applicants throughout the entire recruitment process. Good communication entails posting accurate job descriptions, quickly responding to job applicants (whether it is a yes, a no, or a simple update), and informing all hiring parties about the status of each candidate.

Hum, Sing, Shout

Employee recruitment is a continuous process – it occurs several times throughout the lifecycle of a company. As such, an employer should brand their hiring process to attract and hire top talent when needed.

Mullings suggests companies use the Hum, Sing, Shout Method to stand out from other companies that are recruiting and to attract the type of candidates they have in mind:

  • Hum: Your hiring brand should have a low “hum” in the marketplace. What this means is that your company is “always on.” That is, you are advertising, networking, and are using appropriate branding strategies for your company on social media platforms that are best suited for your company and industry.
  • Sing: During this stage, your company and your efforts to find qualified talent are visible to job seekers. You’re not looking to immediately fill the position, rather, you’re perusing a broader and deeper volume of candidates.
  • Shout: You are ready to hire. You are leveraging social media, job boards and your network to quickly fill the open position. Be sure in the communication platforms you’re using that you are explaining why someone would want to join your team and how they benefit by working with your organization.

Tracking candidates

It is important to track candidates during the entire talent acquisition process. Whether you’re using HR software, an applicant tracking system, or other means, it is important to have a standardized approach so that no one is overlooked and no detail remains unnoticed.

Below is a list of our top choices for HR software that include recruiting and onboarding capabilities:

Paychex Flex review: With Paychex Flex you can publish all of your job openings to top career sites and social media platforms simply through the dashboard. They can even connect you with background check services to screen your applicants before hiring them.

Bamboo HR review: From recruitment to offboarding, Bamboo HR helps you manage all stages of the employee life cycle. You can post and track job openings and distribute them via social media. The software also allows you to review and rate candidates and send offer letters and new hire documents with electronic signature capabilities.

Rippling review: Rippling is our choice for the easiest HR software to implement. Additionally, they claim users can onboard new hires within 90 seconds. With this solution, you can completely customize and automate the onboarding process. It can also run candidates through background checks and e-verification.

“Do your due diligence, and make sure you’re keeping track of what’s going on in your pipeline,” said Dewey. “This helps being able to see your own progress and areas of opportunities. Keeping track of all your candidates and the stages they’re in (along with your data) will save a lot of sanity when hiring managers ask for reports.”

How to Recruit New Employees [Business]

About Our GE Network Expert - Min Tang

Categories
Technology

Benefits of Digitising Documents

Learn about the benefits of digitizing your documents and how to do it.

As your business progresses from a startup to an established business, the volume of paper documents grows exponentially, and that stockpiled paperwork wastes space and is difficult to manage. One solution is to digitize everything; you can use digital conversion techniques to convert all of your business’s paper documents to electronic versions that are stored either on your own server or in the cloud. This allows you to manage documents more efficiently, without losing critical documents, thereby avoiding damage to your business’s credibility.

What is document scanning?

Document scanning, also called document imaging, is the process of capturing digital images of paper documents. The images of the physical documents are then transformed into a digital format using OCR conversion software. OCR, or optical character recognition, scans document images and turns them into text documents. This intelligent conversion allows documents to be searched with relevant keywords.

Editor’s note: Looking for the right document management system for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

What is document scanning for small businesses?

As a small business owner operating on a shoestring budget, you need to slash redundant costs. Having to search through a vast volume of paper documents could result in lost productivity, as well as require additional space to safely archive it all, and those recurring costs add up.

Document scanning can help small businesses avoid those challenges and, in turn, save money in the long run. You can entrust a document scanning service provider to have paper documents, microfilms, plans, maps, blueprints and other media converted to a digital format. In addition to saving space, converting documents to digital formats makes your documents more secure because you can save them as read-only files, decide who can access each file and encrypt the data.

Digitized files are also easier to access and navigate, leading to improved customer service quality, increased productivity, quicker retrieval of relevant information and alleviation of fear about damaging critical physical documents.

If you have sensitive documents, such as those with financial information, you can use a redaction service to remove sensitive data from the digital files after the paper documents have been scanned.

A data keying service may also be useful after your documents are scanned. This type of service verifies the accuracy of scanned documents and manually inputs information, assuring minimal errors. Data keying allows you to conform to digital data retention stipulations. You just need to specify your preferred layout or format for the data. Digital files can then be incorporated seamlessly into your company’s database.

After all of your paper documents have been scanned and rendered editable, the paper versions can be destroyed, with the exception of documents required for statutory compliance and other legal purposes. The service provider can shred sensitive documents in bulk.

What are the advantages of having scanned documents?

There are many advantages of digitizing your documents. Here are some of the benefits:

  • Share documents easily. It’s faster to share scanned documents digitally than to mail, fax or hand-deliver paper documents. Digitizing also streamlines the document-sharing process, which enhances efficiency and productivity. Digitizing allows many people and multiple departments to access the same document simultaneously, thereby improving collaboration.
  • Store information safely. Scanned documents allow for the safe digital storage of records. Digital files can be safely stored or backed up on remote servers that have high-security protocols in place. In addition, unlike with paper documents, there is virtually no risk of losing or misplacing digital documents, and you can archive and manage digital documents in a structured way.
  • Incorporate digital elements. Scanning allows information to be captured from paper files, films, tapes and other media. Information can be read from barcodes, RFID chips, QR codes and other inputs that can be scanned. The scanned information can be transformed for use with document management systems, enterprise resource planning software, management information system software, customer relationship management toolsand other business applications.
  • Save money and time. You can access and use all scanned documents with just a few clicks, meaning you no longer need to search through heaps of paper files or have a warehouse dedicated to storing papers. According to a 2015 report from eFileCabinet, the average organization spends $20 to file a document, $120 to search for a lost document and $220 to re-create a lost document.
  • Improve customer service. Digitized documents can be indexed with different metadata, which makes it easier and faster for you and your staff to find information and provide it to your customers.
  • Minimize storage space. You no longer need to maintain a separate office space for storing documents. Expenses related to storing paper files can be eliminated.
  • Meet compliance regulations. Some industries have statutory compliance norms mandating that certain documents be maintained in a digital format. With scanning, you can achieve this quickly and inexpensively.
  • Reduce paper waste. As documents are scanned, paper waste is drastically eliminated, thereby discouraging deforestation and saving money. You also save money that would be spent on paper for printing and shredders for proper paper disposal.
  • Increase file accessibility. All scanned files can be uploaded to the cloud or shared. That means anyone with the right credentials can access them from on-site or remote locations, and any information can be searched within editable files in a moment.

What are the different types of document scanning services?

Scanning usually involves using a scanner lens to capture digital images of physical documents. However, basic scans of papers aren’t very useful; because they’re just digital images, all you can do is view them. A reputable scanning service can help you build on the basic functionality of these files by adding the following features:

  • The ability to edit and mark up scanned papers
  • High-resolution images in both color and black and white
  • Different formats for storing at large or small scales

Here are the different types of document scanning services:

  1. Bulk scanning. With this type of document scanning service, high-quality devices scan large numbers of documents in one go. There is no need to handle each paper individually, so the time span of scanning is short.
  2. Large-format scanning. When the physical document is large, such as 54 x 72 inches, a large scanner captures superior-quality images. You can specify the color, size, resolution and file type of the scanned documents. Examples of such files include posters, maps and architectural plans.
  3. OCR scanning. You can get editable scanned files with support for edits using OCR scanning. The scanned file is not in an image format, so you can search for keywords. You can also edit text easily without affecting the original font style.
  4. Microfiche and microfilm scanning.This type of service converts data stored on tapes and microfilms to indexable digital files, making it easier to share, store, access and retrieve digital files.
  5. Off-site and on-site scanning. In off-site scanning, a service provider scans documents at its own location. However, if the documents are classified and sensitive, you need to choose a service that can complete the work on-site so that your documents do not get misplaced or lost during transportation. An authorized person can watch the entire process to prevent any information theft. However, on-site scanning can be slower and more expensive than off-site scanning.

What types of documents can you have scanned?

There is really no limit to the types of documents you can digitize. If you are starting from scratch to convert all of your paper documents to electronic versions, it’s best to prioritize the following types of documents:

  • Official correspondences
  • Financial papers
  • Contractual agreements
  • Medical records
  • HR files
  • Bills and invoices
  • Survey maps
  • Other large documents

After you digitize the documents with a high-quality scanner, the next step is to enter the descriptive information needed to identify files. Using intelligent OCR, you can transform scanned images into readable text, and retrieve, read and share them using different apps.

What are some document digitization and management services?

There are hundreds of document digitization services you can choose from based on your business needs. At business.com, we researched document management services to find the best options for small businesses. To do so, we examined several important factors, such as cost, ease of use and storage capacity. Here are the document digitization and management services we selected as our best picks:

  • Microsoft SharePoint. We chose Microsoft SharePoint as the best document management software because of its familiar interface and tools, including team site, which allows users to organize documents by department. It also encourages collaboration, because with authorization, users from other teams can view or edit documents within other team sites.
  • M-Files. We chose M-Files as the easiest-to-use document management software because it has a very neat and familiar layout, similar to the Windows File Explorer interface. It allows users to do most tasks from a central dashboard and has offline access. Its workflow automation tools also help you organize and assign tasks to the appropriate users.
  • Dokmee. We selected Dokmee as the best secured-document management software because of its impressive safeguards, including audit log features and round-the-clock data monitoring. All user accounts are encrypted and password protected.
  • FileHold Express. We picked FileHold Express as the best scalable document management program because it’s designed for growing teams. It can accommodate between five and 20 users, as well as larger companies through its FileHold Enterprise subscription tiers. Making the switch to these options is quick and inexpensive.

Here are some other popular document management systems:

  • eFileCabinet
  • Zoho
  • Templafy
  • DocuWare
  • Xait
  • Hightail
  • MasterControl

How to choose document management software

Before choosing a document management system, consider your business’s requirements for storage space, sorting and search tools, and security.

Also, think about where you want the system hosted. Do you want an on-site solution or a cloud-based document service that’s managed by a third party?

Look for a service that allows you to set permission restrictions on certain files, because this lets you control which employees have access to certain documents. Additionally, a system that stores your documents in the cloud is ideal because users can access files from any device with an internet connection – an especially important functionality for businesses with remote employees.

The best document management software allows your team to work and collaborate seamlessly. You shouldn’t have to use multiple programs to manage your paperless documents. Make sure your application has imaging tools that work with your scanner, customizable document-creation templates and tools that automatically format scanned files to match office or industry standards. Having a range of workflow automation tools is helpful, as these tools allow you to create, edit, review and approve all scanned documents for your business. You also want a system that lets you import a variety of digital documents, like PDFs, word processing files, spreadsheets and image files.

Why Small Businesses Need to Digitize Documents [Business]

About Our GE Network Expert - Min Tang