Microsoft Small Business Manager

Northern Documents—a small, startup company—used as many as five different software packages to keep track of finances, customer data, cost estimates, and other data. By implementing Microsoft Small Business Manager, the company now has a consolidated system that will easily scale up as they continue to grow.

Northern Documents manufactures custom label products for a wide variety of industries. Whether it’s a retail pharmacy store that needs prescription labels or a food packaging company requiring food container labels, Northern Documents has the right solution. Located in West Fargo, North Dakota, the company has an ambitious business plan to grow by as much as 40 percent every year and Microsoft Business Solutions is helping them realize that goal.

“There’s got to be an easier way”

Darrell C. Wallette, owner and president of Northern Documents, realized that even though he’s in the manufacturing business, collecting and controlling data at every step of the process was vitally important. His disparate system—consisting of QuickBooks, Goldmine, FileMaker Pro, and more—wasn’t integrated which made it difficult to track customers and their orders throughout the entire sales and manufacturing process. “Sometimes you look out the window and think, ‘I’ve got all these quotes, job orders, bills, invoices, and prospects—there’s got to be an easier way to do this,’” Wallette says.

Wallette implemented the Print Management Services solution by Microsoft Business Solutions partner Computer Production Services, Inc. and that company suggested he consider Microsoft Small Business Manager as a financial solution. He contacted Microsoft Business Solutions and soon local partner DFC Consultants was implementing Microsoft Small Business Manager at Northern Documents.

An Information-Rich Solution

“Its simplicity is a big selling point. I don’t have the time or the expertise to dissect something that’s really complex,” Wallette says of Microsoft Small Business Manager. With minimal training and expert support from Microsoft Business Solutions and DFC Consultants he has a fully integrated system easily up and running.

Because all of the company’s data is now located in one central location instead of several disparate solutions, Wallette no longer needs to enter the same data several times which saves him time every day. The new solution also allows the shop workers access to vendor and inventory information. “The guys ask ‘Darrell where’s this?’ and if I punch the info into the system correctly, it should eliminate 98 percent of those follow-up questions,” he says.

Wallette saves up to an hour and a half each day in data entry and answering questions—time he can use towards finding more customers. He estimates this added time should generate up to 25 new customers per year with an additional $100,000 in revenue.

Increased Access Means Increased Productivity

The ability to give the workers access to customer, vendor, and inventory information on the production floor increases productivity and empowers Wallette’s employees. “The guys were basically helpless if I wasn’t around (to answer questions),” he says. Now, instead of waiting for Wallette to make orders, production personnel can order materials themselves which should save two full workdays on order completion. “It empowers them to really make them feel like a part of the process,” he adds. “It was hard on them to not have access to this information.”

Northern Documents inventory system is also improved. Now Wallette is able to utilize either the last-in-first-out (LIFO) or first-in-first-out (FIFO) methods of inventory management—another area where QuickBooks fell short.

Northern Documents is looking to the future too, Wallette says. The company will soon implement Microsoft Business Solutions CRM allowing them to eliminate GoldMine and have an entirely Microsoft Business Solutions business solution.

Return on Investment

Microsoft Small Business Manager benefits Northern Documents in many ways, including:

·  Simplicity—Readily available training and award-winning support make the solution easy to learn and use.

·  Inventory—The company has greater control over inventory stocks and a better view of true costs.

·  Time Savings—The new solution saves Wallette time every day which enables him to concentrate on growing the business.

·  Increased Productivity—Increased employee access to customer, vendor, and inventory data reduces order completion by two workdays.