Since
1992,
NSPG has been providing the tools that allow contractors to
increase profits and minimize business hassles. With our
simple-to-use-tools, you can make being a business owner
what you always wanted to it be -
successful, profitable and rewarding.
 Difficult
Times
We spend a lot of time on the phone here at NSPG.
We talk with prospective NSPG software users, current
users, and business colleagues. We talk to people
about their business as we answer their flat rate
questions, and we especially hear about what's going on
around the country as we do our Numbers Cruncher phone
reviews.
 What
we are hearing these days reflects the big story in the
news - the business slow down. Many areas of the
country are really suffering from a general reduction in
calls, and more. The credit crunch and mortgage
scandals are stopping new construction completely in
some areas, and seriously reducing remodels, and service
calls. Both businesses and consumers are cutting
back on spending.
In the past, that usually meant that our prospects and
users cut back their plans for business expenditures
including NSPG products and services. But this
time is different. Many companies are being
proactive in their efforts to maintain their sales and
profit levels. We're getting calls to reprint flat
rate books, for upgrades to Numbers Cruncher, and
questions about our performance measurement products.
People realize that they can either hunker down and hope
to survive the downturn, or they can improve how they do
things and work their way through it. So, what
basic business things can you do to cope with the
changing economic times?
First, you need to review your costs so that every
dollar you earn is used wisely. No matter what
tools you use to manage your expenses, it's time to take
a look at where the money goes. Start by seeing
what your largest cost items are.
 In
the latest version of Numbers Cruncher, you can use the
Company Cost Analysis report to see where most of
your money is going. This simple interactive
listing shows all of your budget items sorted from
highest to lowest cost. Click on the Budget
Category, and the Sub-category breakdown pops up to chow
the details of where the money goes.
Knowing where the biggest expenditures are will tell you
where the biggest savings could be. Remember that
every dollar you can reduce your expenditures could be
like earning an extra five dollars. With a 20%
profit target, a five dollar sale yields a dollar of
profit. So, saving $2,000 in expenses on your
annual budget is equivalent to increasing your sales by
$10,000 without the effort and cost of making the sale.
Since most business people are more financially
sophisticated today, their responses to a business slow
down are more sophisticated. They're looking to
update their software and business processes as ways to
weather the looming financial slow down.
Another response that we are hearing on the phones is
the drive to make their flat rate systems work better.
No matter if you're suing NSPG Flat Rate products, are
T&M, or you're a combination of the two, keeping your
prices accurate is even more important in tough times.
A good way to do this is to update your prices every
time you receive an invoice from the supply house.
This way your prices always reflect your actual current
cost. You can do this with any software that you
use to track your parts pricing. The NSPG Price
Guide software includes a
report that you can
 print
out that shows your in-house price with a blank space
for the new supplier price. You can quickly note
the new prices on the paper form, and then quickly enter
a batch of prices into the program all at once.
This way you don't have to wrestle with a pile of
invoices trying to update your software prices.
This brings up a frequent reason that people resist
going flat rate. They are willing to buy a quality
system like our National Standard Price Guide, but they
are unwilling to take a few minutes each week
maintaining their current prices or adding in their own
Tasks. We often hear that a business would rather
create its own flat rate book system using a spreadsheet
since they will need to keep their prices up to date any
way. They want to reinvent the flat rate wheel
instead of doing some maintenance on the data.
 The
NSPG flat rate system is like a new truck. It has
everything you need to get started down the road, but
you eventually need to change the oil and do a tune up.
To keep it running well, it needs a few minutes each
week updating Tasks and Parts to keep it going.
Our entire software system is designed to let you
automate as much of the process as possible. Many
suppliers will give you a file with your price updates
that can be imported into your Flat Rate system. A
little bit of effort entering your suppliers part
numbers can make the entire price update process
automatic. Enter a few items each week, and your
system becomes more accurate and more efficient all the
time.
 This
too contributes to your ability to prosper in difficult
times. If your company works more efficiently than
others, you have an advantage that can translate into
higher sales and profits no matter what the economy is
doing. Take full advantage of whatever tools you
have to carry your business through.
T he
choice is yours. You can hunker down and hope you
make it through any slow down in your area, or you can
take advantage of the work you've been doing all along
to improve your business. Working smarter could be
just what you need to keep your business on track.
You can give Mike Conroy a call to discuss your
business strategy, your
numbers, or your flat rate books even if you do not use
NSPG products.
He always enjoys talking to business owners who are
willing to work their way to success..
Measure Monthly, Adjust Quarterly
& Achieve Annual Profit Goals
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