Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR for short, is the idea of integrating social and environmental ideas into your company, daily operations and interactions with all stakeholders. One of the more common CSR practices adopted by companies of all sizes is the idea of 'going green', or helping the environment. This is a great idea, not only does it make the Earth a better place, it makes your company look more caring; human even. The thing is, it can be hard to actually go green, but there are some apps that can help.

Here are four great apps that can help you and your employees make your company a little more green.

1. GoodGuide

GoodGuide is an app that can help you find out more about products. Utilizing a barcode scanner, it can provide you with information like where the product comes from, whether it's safe and if it's green.

With over 170,000 ranked products in the app's database, it's a great way to start learning about sustainable and environmentally friendly products. The only downside of this app is that it currently focuses on the US only, and there is no word as to when, or if, service will expand. You can download it to your Apple and Android device for free.

2. PaperKarma

While we are currently living in a digital age, we still get a lot of paper-based junk mail. This is incredibly wasteful, as most people just throw it away. PaperKarma is an app that aims to reduce or eliminate waste paper.

How it works is you take a picture of unwanted mail, the developers will then contact the distributor and ask that they stop sending mail to you. This app could go a long way in helping reduce the amount of paper your office uses, which will mean lower costs for you and less trees felled. It's really a win-win. You can download it to your iPhone or Android device for free.

3. iRecycle

An important part of any green initiative is recycling. The problem is, it can be hard to find out what, how and where to recycle. iRecycle is an app that aims to set this straight. It provides information on how to recycle almost everything and the nearest recycle points to you.

The app also provides you with recycling centric updates, news and tips to help encourage you to do more. It's available for Apple (iPhone and iPad) and Android devices for free.

4. greenMeter

If your company has a fleet of vehicles, you are probably always on the lookout for ways to make them more efficient. Whether it be switching tires used, driving at slower speeds to conserve gas or carpooling, finding a way to cut costs is important. greenMeter is an app that could help. What it does is use your iPhone's accelerometer and manually entered data to assess your vehicle's power and gas usage.

While driving, this app provides real-time feedback on how efficient your driving is and how much gas you are using. This will help you conserve fuel (as you can see when you are burning more than usual) which will reduce operating costs and negative environmental impact. It's available for the iPhone and costs USD$5.99.

These are just four apps that can help your company go green. What other CSR initiatives do you take in your company? Let us know! And if you would like more tips on how technology can help you reduce your environmental impact, let us know, we can help.

Running a business is often a fine balance between profit and expense. Any hidden expenses can see profits evaporate, and may put your business at risk. One potential problem area that could have drastic impact on your bottom line is technology. It's essential and can be very costly if it breaks down. That's why it would be a good idea to take measures to control your IT costs.

Here are five ways you can reduce IT spending.

Backup everything If your business is like most other small to medium companies, the majority of your important files are located on one server or maybe a couple of computers. Technology doesn't last forever and the machine where you have your data stored on will eventually stop working.

When it does, you will have to replace it, and your files that were on it could be lost. The cost to recover them will be high. To minimize this risk, you should invest in a solid backup platform that runs on a regular basis.

Yes, this will cost money now, but would you rather have a copy of your systems and data from Yesterday which can be easily implemented when you have a problem, or would you like to pay to maybe recover year's worth of data? Backups will save you costs in the long-run, not to mention the stress they will help you avoid.

Have a strict anti virus policy The idea that your employees won't download programs or browser extensions simply because you tell them not to is like telling a child not to eat candy; they are still going to do it. By simply having computers and devices accessing the Internet through your network, you are at risk. If your systems are hacked or infected, you can face lost data, high recovery costs or worse.

How do you minimize the chance of malware infections and the risk of being hacked? Antivirus software and security solutions installed on every computer that can be run from one machine are your answer. This makes it easier for you or your IT partner to ensure all of your systems' antivirus software is up to date and scanning when it should be. This will minimize the chance of infection and keep costs down.

Document everything As your company grows, you will start to use more technology. Over time, it will need to be replaced, and you likely won't be able to afford replacing all your systems at once. This means that you will have to track down the systems, software, etc. that need to be replaced; which will take time and cost you money.

If you take steps to document all of your systems, computers, software, etc.; where it's located; when it was implemented; who is in charge of it, etc., you will be able to track things down quickly when needed, thus managing your systems better. This time saving measure will cut your costs.

Look into a CRM/ERP/HRM solution There are so many software solutions out there that can help you plan and run your operations. If you've been tracking employee data or planning using a simple spreadsheet, you could be getting more out of a tailored solution.

Solutions like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or even Human Resources Management (HRM) can help you spot hidden costs or even plan more efficiently, which will reduce costs well into the future.

Look for fixed-price solutions A major problem with all technology related systems is that predicting costs is nearly impossible. You simply don't know when/if an important piece of hardware will fail. This becomes even harder if you don't have expertise in tech.

One of the best ways to save money on IT costs is to outsource. Almost every IT provider offers flat-rate services that cover your systems and can ensure you maximize your IT investment. This makes budgeting for IT easier, as you know what your monthly costs will be. You can then focus on your business, and over time will see a decrease in IT costs.

If you are looking to cut your IT expenses, why not contact us. We may have a solution that will ease the budget burden.

When it comes to running a small to medium business, you are likely operating on razor-thin margins and are constantly looking for ways to optimize business functions or save money. Many managers and business owners prefer to take on these tasks in-house, as they feel that they are better able to control the outcomes. When it comes to IT though, many business owners lack the time and knowledge needed to focus on tech, making it the perfect candidate for outsourcing.

Outsourcing IT is a bit different than the usual outsourcing you get in factories, or support services. Instead of going overseas, you can partner with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) in your local area. MSPs provide comprehensive IT management services which usually cover everything tech related.

Working with an MSP often has a direct impact on your bottom line, and can help make your company even more successful than it already is, or at least increase profits to get you there. However, there are many more reasons companies outsource. Below are our Top Five:

5 reasons why you should outsource IT

1. Increased control of operational costs - Most MSPs group their services together into monthly plans, meaning you have one cost associated with the IT department. Overhead expenses such as staffing, overtime hours, and operational costs, as well as software licenses, etc., are all included in a flat monthly fee. This makes it easier for you to control IT related costs, while also saving money.
2. Take focus away from IT, refocus on business functions - Technology is great and a necessity of running most modern businesses but it does break and become either worn out or outdated. Seemingly endless tech issues can take your focus away from key business functions. MSPs take care of all this, allowing you to re-focus your efforts and energies into running your business.
3. Access to better resources – The best and newest tech is often pricey; well beyond the budget of a vast majority of small and medium sized businesses. This is further compounded by the fact that you likely can’t afford to hire the new employees needed to to run these systems either. MSPs can provide the latest tech along with the experience to support it, allowing you to get more for less.
4. IT functions are beyond current abilities – If you are like most small to medium companies, you have a few staff who are designated as computer experts, even though that may not be their main role or responsibility. Or it could be the case that you and your colleagues simply lack the knowledge and experience required to run increasingly complex technical systems. The employees at MSPs eat, sleep and breathe tech, and can provide enterprise level IT support and knowledge.
5. Reduced risk from IT failure - Technical systems are built to be robust. However, they aren’t perfect and will eventually fail. This could mean lengthy downtime, increased costs and lost data. Managed Service Providers reduce this risk by actively monitoring your systems and offering back-up services which will reduce productivity loss and lost business.

3 things you can expect from an MSP
There are a wide variety of MSPs, serving many industries, but there are three things you should expect from any MSP.

1. Flexibility - IT companies have access to a wide variety of vendors, tech and resources. This means they should be able to develop scalable solutions that meet your companies needs as you grow.
2. Product experts - The main business objective of an MSP is to provide IT services.To do this they need employees who know their stuff. To get the best, most hire staff with specific qualifications and certifications and experience with the systems offered.
3. Long-run cost savings - In the short-term it is entirely plausible that internal staff are cheaper than a monthly MSP. Factor in the cost of purchasing technology, maintaining it, plus the cost of recovery, and the cost of retaining an internal IT team will skyrocket. Most companies you outsource to offer a flat rate monthly fee, and will be able to maintain your systems longer. This means lower replacement costs and increased uptime, which in the long run make outsourcing a viable, cost-efficient option.

If you are tired of IT problems and cost overruns, contact us today to see what we can do for you.

One common business term thrown around with relish is overhead. In business this is usually known as ongoing expenses incurred in operating a business. This operating expense is something all companies have, and in tight economic situations it's often one of the first costs managers try to decrease. One form of overhead not often looked at is printing costs. These can be extraordinarily high, but are also easy to decrease.

Here's six ways to cut printing costs.

1. Print double sided - While printer paper isn't overly expensive - an average of USD$8 per ream (for 500 sheets of non-recycled, multipurpose paper) - many companies only print on one side. This really adds up over a year, especially if you have more than one printer or print large documents on a regular basis. To save money, set your printers to print on both sides of the page. This will cut down the amount of paper used and waste generated. Just be sure to put page numbers on the documents so readers know it's double sided.
2. Lower print quality - Most printers can print at various quality levels. Higher quality means it's easier to read, but uses more ink. If you are printing out memos or other inter office documents, you probably don't need high, or even medium quality. Low quality is still readable and will save you on ink costs.
3. Print in black - Ink is by far the highest cost of any printing job, and supplies always seems to deplete quickly. To save money set up your printers to only print using black ink, which is about 30% cheaper than color ink.
4. Implement print quotas - Nothing makes an environmentalist cringe more than seeing a 100-page PDF freshly printed, and lying in the recycle bin because someone accidentally printed the whole document instead of just one page. Not only is this bad for the environment, it's also bad for your costs. One way around this is to use quotas. Many new printers allow you to assign computers or people IDs which you can set limits on. This will encourage employees to think twice before printing.
5. Go paperless - With the introduction of cheap cloud storage and collaboration services, the paperless office has become mostly viable. Granted there are some aspects of business, like shipping waybills, receipts, payslips, etc., that must legally be printed, but you could move non-essential documents onto cloud storage. This is a great way to reduce printing costs, while simultaneously fostering a sharing and collaborative office environment.
6. Work with managed print services - If you find that printing costs are skyrocketing, why not work with a managed print services provider? The vast majority often charge a flat fee and will take care of your printers and often your ink too.

Unless you adopt massive changes e,g., completely getting rid of all printers, you won't see huge savings from reducing printing costs. However, every little bit counts towards the bottom line. If you're looking for a managed print services company or for more ways to reduce your IT costs, please contact us today.

Last week we showcased part two of our three part article on how to save money and maximize IT resources in your company. The article covered ways you can save money or maximize resources within your business and included tips on: Using VoIP and other digital solutions, investing in the cloud and working with an MSP. This week, we look into ways you can save money on your outward/customer facing aspects of IT.

Here are three ways you can save money or get the most out of your outward/customer facing IT resources.

Invest in a new website The website is the new hub of your business and customers look to it for information and often expect it to be there. If you don't have a functional website that provides your customers/future customers with what they need and want to know, there's a high chance that you will be losing sales.

You don't need a fancy website, just one that looks professional and represents your business. If you have a good website that is also optimized for search results, you can and will see your business show up higher in search results which means more exposure for your business.

This does seem a bit counter-intuitive - why spend money when you want to save it? However, having a website that appeals to your customers will increase the chances of both attracting and keeping new customers. If done in the right way, more eyes on your name means higher brand recognition. This in turn will lead to more enquires and potentially higher sales.

Get advertising social If you have a presence on any social media platform, it could pay to invest in social advertising. The reason advertising on social media platforms has become so popular is that you can target the most relevant people for your product or service.

When it comes to marketing and advertising: If you can target people who are already interested in your service or product, you are more likely to see higher conversions and sales. With other mediums, like paper, tv, etc. the audience is too wide and the cost too great to make it worthwhile for most small businesses. Social advertising is vastly more economical and often more powerful.

We're not saying you should stop all other forms of advertising, but you can scale them back, save costs, and invest in more targeted social advertising. If you pitch this just right you should see lower advertising costs coupled with higher real conversions.

Be a bigger part of the environment Being environmentally conscious is a big deal these days. Customers like to see that the company they are doing business with takes steps to reduce their waste/carbon footprint. Looking at the numbers though, 'going green' can be quite costly, especially if you have a larger office.

The key to remember is that when it comes to greening IT related processes you should start with conservation. One of the easiest ways to conserve starts with reducing the amount of paper you use. Instead of printing out bills or receipts, why not email them to your customers? If you send faxes or print lots, why not look into a virtual solution. Who knows, you may even be able to get rid of that expensive printer.

Striving to reduce waste is only half of the battle. Environmentally positive actions are a perfect thing to brag about on social media. Saved 300 sheets of paper this week? Tweet it. Customers who are environmentally conscious will look favourably upon this and are more likely to remember you when they next need a service you offer.

There are many things you can do to cut costs and maximize your IT resources. What is your company doing? If you're not sure, you should contact us. We can help ensure you get the best bang for your buck when it comes to IT.

Last week we posted part one of our three part article on how to save money on IT in the coming year. That article covered ways you can maximize the resources you already have by being an outside thinker, always looking around and using facts to help determine your actions. This week, we take a look at inward facing or internal costs.

Here's how you can maximize your internal IT costs.

Use VoIP and similar digital solutions Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been around for a number of years and many companies, large and small, have integrated it into their offices. Because VoIP uses an Internet connection to send and receive phone calls, there's no need for expensive cabling and switchboards. Aside from lower overheads, many VoIP providers offer calling rates at a fraction of what most telephone providers charge. So, companies that make lots of long-distance calls can really benefit with VoIP.

While many businesses have integrated VoIP solutions, most don't go beyond that. If you use a fax machine, did you know that you can either digitize that and ditch the fax machine, integrate it with most modern email programs or use your VoIP connection to transmit fax data.

If you have a sales force who is constantly on the road or giving presentations, why not look into a Web conferencing system. Many systems, like Microsoft's Lync, allow users to hold conferences and share documents or presentations without having to leave the office.

Invest in the cloud One of the hottest current trends is the cloud. Currently there are two major types of cloud operations: Cloud storage and cloud based applications. All companies need to store documents. If they go with physical solutions like hard drives, backup tapes etc., it can get very expensive, very quickly. Cloud storage allows you to store all your documents off site, often at a fraction of the cost of physical storage solutions. Beyond that, you will have access to your documents as long as you have an Internet connection.

Cloud based applications come in many varieties, with the most popular being based around the office suite, or a hybrid of storage and application. Solutions like Google Drive which takes Google's office suite and combines it with a storage and sharing solution, is completely based in the cloud. The goal of Google Drive and other solutions, like Microsoft Office, is largely to provide a platform that enables easy collaboration and sharing at a fraction of the cost of more traditional solutions.

Integrating cloud based solutions can often times save you a ton of money, not only in operating costs but also long-term maintenance. As these services depend on a data connection and not sheer computing power, you won't have to replace your machines in order to upgrade to new software. This means lower costs all round.

Work with an MSP While this may seem counter-intuitive - why would a company want to pay to save money? Managed Service Providers (MSP) usually charge a monthly fee and offer a full service solution that aims to keep your systems running. Through preventative monitoring and ensuring systems are running, IT costs are often reduced in the long run. Beyond that, the chances of a major service outage are drastically reduced. Should anything happen to your business MSPs can have you up and running more quickly. allowing you to minimize potential downtime losses.

There are literally thousands of ways you can save money on IT and maximize your resources, and often experts like us can help you extend savings even further. So, why not give us a call and see what we can do. Also, stay tuned for part three of this article, covering how to save money on tech systems that your customers interact with.

One of the constant struggles business owners and managers face is achieving a point of minimized costs and maximized profits. This strive has led to many to look at technology as one of the keys of reaching this, but they have no idea how to go about it. That's why we have developed a three part article on ways you can maximize your tech resources.

The first part of the article focuses on maximizing the IT resources you already have.

1. Be the outside thinker The problem with many managers and business owners is that they tend to focus too closely on one or two key business elements. When it comes to technology this often means using only small parts of the technology available, while other parts are underutilized.

Therefore, it's important that you take a step back every now and then and really look at the tech you currently use. This can be hard to do, especially when you are so invested in a business. It's a good idea to consult with an advisor like a Managed Service Provider who knows how to get the most out of existing technology.

A lot of times outside help can really pinpoint areas where you can improve efficiency or reduce operating costs. In turn, this helps improve, or at the very least stabilize, your bottom line.

2. Always be looking around What we mean by this is: Be proactive. Technology and related systems are always changing and advancing. Managers and owners who aren't aware of the technological changes around them might see lower profits. This doesn't mean just looking at your physical technology, it pays to look at systems related to the Internet too.

Take for example social media. It's not going away and has been proven to be an effective marketing tool. The only problem is the service that's popular today may not be so next year. To get the most out of a system like social media, you need to understand and be aware of it.

If you keep your finger on the pulse, you'll be more informed about what's going on, what's coming up and what to do about it. If you spot something that you think will benefit your company, take the steps to integrate it. The interesting thing about most new technical advancements is that they are focused on making existing systems more efficient.

Don't just be looking externally either, it pays to look at what tech your employees are using the most and why. If you encourage them to be open and showcase their ideas you'll be surprised at what they come up with.

It's being aware of both internal and external trends that can help you identify the next big opportunity to further your bottom line.

3. Facts should determine actions This can be a tough thing to do, but facing the facts and current situation is incredibly important. If you don't know where your company is at in terms of what technology is used, then any decisions you make won't be effective and could end up harming your company. It's a good idea to conduct an audit of your current systems.

What to audit:

1. How many computers you have vs employees.
2. What software each employee uses.
3. How and what staff use the computers for.
4. Level of technical integration of current technology.
5. What systems and programs are used most often.
6. Operating costs of technology.

There are many different aspects you can look into. You are basically looking to get a picture of where your company currently stands and if there are any systems/processes you could be doing better, or getting rid of. If you find problems you can take steps to fix them, or if you need help, contact us.

Many countries' economies are facing uncertain times. Growth in China has slowed, the US is facing a fiscal cliff that could ruin the US economy and any relient economies associated with it. It's in these uncertain times that many companies are doing more with less and when it comes to IT, this means budget cuts. When these need to be made, many companies will look at cutting service contracts, something that may come back to haunt them in the future.

Below are five of the more common issues businesses face when they decide to allow IT service contracts to lapse.

1. Increased response and resolution time - The way almost every company works is they provide support to paying customers before they provide support to others. If your systems bought from a vendor three years ago crash, and you didn't renew the support contract, you will be facing prolonged downtime and potentially high replacement costs which could be detrimental to your business.
2. Poor implementation of updates - One of the main jobs of the IT provider is to ensure that all systems are up-to-date, or at the very least are running the same version of software as other systems. Without this valuable service, it is almost guaranteed that users will be running different software versions which could pose security and integration risks.
3. Lack of diagnostic and analysis tools - IT providers often utilize robust diagnostic and analysis tools that can help determine what issues are causing problems. On the other end, many IT service companies are set up to be proactive, and will usually look for and fix potential problems. This business model minimizes downtime, which can be hard to do without a costly internal IT department.
4. Reactive support - The proactive nature of many IT service providers really helps, but when you don't renew contracts, your service will likely go from proactive to reactive. Meaning you likely won't know anything's wrong until it really goes wrong. So instead of systems being down for an hour for monthly maintenance, they could be down up to a week or longer. This is something no business wants.
5. Increased hardware overhead - With a good service provider, your systems will last longer. This equates to lower hardware overhead over a longer period. Without them, companies will often see higher overhead due to having to replace equipment more often.

Yes, we agree, it can be hard to justify paying what seems like a high monthly fee to keep your systems running, especially in this difficult financial climate. However, the potential of both lost revenue from crashed systems and replacement costs often make IT service providers an integral and valuable part of your technical systems.

If you're facing budget cuts, why not talk to us, we may be able to work with you to develop a plan that meets both your needs and budget.

One of the most important computer programs, aside from the operating system, is the productivity suite, or more specifically: Microsoft Office or Office 365. Of the Office programs, Word is likely the most popular. While it is useful, it's not perfect, especially when formatting documents. Have you ever struggled to get a numbered list to start over, or continue from a previous list?

Below is an overview of how you can set up ordered lists to either continue numbered lists from where you last left off, or start at #1 with new lists.

Set up numbering for all future lists

1. Open a new Word document.
2. Go to the Home tab (Press Home at the top of the window)
3. Press the downward-facing arrow beside the numbered list button in the Paragraph group. (it's located on the right of the bullet point button)
4. Select Set Numbered Value... from the drop-down menu.
5. Click the numbering option you want from the pop-up window.
6. Press Ok.

When setting numbered values, you have three options to choose from:

• Start new list - If you select this option, new lists will automatically start at one.
• Continue from previous list - Selecting this option will continue numbering from previous lists in the same document. For example: If you have a paragraph and then a numbered list with three points, and type another paragraph then enter a new list, the list will start from four.
• Set value to: - Lets you set what number lists will start at.

Change the number value of individual lists If you have a document with numbered lists already in it, and want to change the number values of one list, you can do so by right-clicking on the first number of a list and selecting either Restart at 1 or Continue numbering.

Note that if you have a document with a continuous list that is separated by paragraphs and choose to reset one list to start at one, all subsequent lists will be changed to reflect the new ordering.

Stories about ERP implementations that take months and even years are enough to make any business owner avoid even thinking about a change. But in today’s competitive world, most businesses can’t meet customer expectations with a starter accounting system. An ERP system is a requirement to grow.

With smart planning, an ERP implementation doesn’t have to disrupt your business or take months to complete. Especially with cloud and hosting options, ERP can be up and running quickly to provide returns on your investment almost immediately.

Implement in phases

To set the stage for ERP project success, decide on the most important issues and tackle those first. In most systems, you don’t have to implement all the ERP modules at one time. If billing and collections are causing cash flow issues, make Invoicing and Accounts Receivables the first module you bring online. Phase in the rest of the modules as you are ready.

You probably have multiple systems, including Line of Business applications that keep your business running. You don’t have to replace all those systems with an ERP. There are many data integration options that you can investigate with an experienced technology partner. Either as a temporary or permanent solution, there is no reason you can’t design a system that suits you perfectly.

Change management

Make sure your team is ready for the change before you get started. Training and user adoption are usually the most time intensive parts of an ERP implementation. Help employees buy into the change so they won’t avoid training and slow down the project.

Plan to use your own data during training. Employees will understand the new system better if they see familiar terms and names that they can put in context.

Keep employees informed every step of the way. With open communication, you will help employees overcome resistance to change.

The right vendor selection

With clear priorities and change management processes in place, you can find the vendor that best matches your needs. Service partners should propose solutions that directly support your requirements and objectives.

Your customers expect a lot these days. Deliver on the promise with a modern ERP system. You can reap the benefits of an ERP system without disrupting your business.  Let’s talk about your priorities and get started.