Business Debt Relief – 3 Reasons To Think About Debt Scoring

In today’s challenging and difficult economy, organizations of all sizes are facing ever-growing delinquencies in their accounts receivable and expanding debt portfolios. Whereas any organization’s internal collection processes serve an essential role in collecting on past due delinquent accounts, many companies simply don’t have the resources, time and expertise necessary to recover consistently and effectively on these unpaid accounts.

In addition, most organizations squander precious money, time and assets, not having a well thought out plan when it comes to collecting their outstanding, past due debts. Most organizations don’t know, for example, that about 90% of successful collections occurs with about 50% of any given debt portfolio. The fact is, many organizations waste precious time going after accounts that aren’t apt to pay at all. The dilemma is which 50% to go after?

Debt scoring is more becoming an effective and cost beneficial tool for companies to better speak to the problem of collecting on their delinquent receivables.

What is debt scoring? Debt scoring is essentially a probabilities forecasting model. By employing mathematical algorithms and formulas, scoring has the ability to take your business debt portfolio, and forecast, with precision, a debtor’s probability of paying their debts, which accounts are liable to go into default, which are likely to be written off, and which ones to outsource to a collection agency. Debt scoring uses information, such as your own company’s internal accounts receivable and collection performance data, along with other key important information. This can predict, with reasonable accuracy, a customer’s payment pattern and behavior.

Equipped with this central information, businesses can make decisions earlier and map out an effective debt collection strategy and course of action. These decisions can be made on a customer-specific basis.

Here are 3 reasons why your business should think about debt scoring for your delinquent receivables:

You can direct your internal debt collection efforts on the accounts that are more likely to pay you. This will reduce staffing costs and save time. You can concentrate on the accounts that will pay sooner, and outsource the more “problem” accounts to a debt collection agency.

Debt scoring can help save accounts before they go into default. For example, banks and credit unions can better monitor the state of their loans, checking and share draft accounts. They can then better predict which accounts to direct more attention on, before they go into default. Again, the more problem accounts can be siphoned off to a collection agency.

With debt scoring, you can execute more tailored collection strategies, specific to the particular customer, based on the level of difficulty. This again, saves time, money and staffing obligations.

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/* Calculate the position, lower right hand corner by default */ var position=new LeoHighlightsPosition(0,0); position.x=scrolledPos.x+centerDim.width-iFrameDim.width-LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_ADJUSTMENT.x; position.y=scrolledPos.y+centerDim.height-iFrameDim.height-LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_ADJUSTMENT.y; if(anchor!=null) { //centerDim in relation to the anchor element if available var topOrBottom = false; var anchorPos=_leoHighlightsGetLocation(document.body, anchor); var anchorScreenPos = new LeoHighlightsPosition(anchorPos.x-scrolledPos.x,anchorPos.y-scrolledPos.y); var anchorDim=new LeoHighlightsDimension(anchor.offsetWidth,anchor.offsetHeight) if (anchorDim.width <= 0) anchorDim.width = anchor.style.width.substring(0, anchor.style.width.indexOf(‘px’)); if (anchorDim.height <= 0) anchorDim.height = anchor.style.height.substring(0, anchor.style.height.indexOf(‘px’)); // Check if the popup can be shown above or below the element if (centerDim.height – anchorDim.height – iFrameDim.height – anchorScreenPos.y > 0) { // Show below, formula above calculates space below open iFrame position.y = anchorPos.y + anchorDim.height; 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else // default to below position.y = anchorPos.y + anchorDim.height; _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“_leoHighlightsUpdatePopupPos() – sideBottom: “+position); } } /* Make sure that we don’t go passed the right hand border */ if(position.x+iFrameDim.width>centerDim.width-20) position.x=centerDim.width-(iFrameDim.width+20); // Make sure that we didn’t go passed the start if(position.x<0) position.x=0; if(position.y<0) position.y=0; _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“Popup info id: ” +iFrame.id+” – “+anchor.id + “\nscrolled ” + scrolledPos + “\ncenter/visible ” + centerDim + “\nanchor (absolute) ” + anchorPos + “\nanchor (screen) ” + anchorScreenPos + “\nSize (anchor) ” + anchorDim + “\nSize (popup) ” + iFrameDim + “\nResult pos ” + position); // Set the popup location iFrame.style.left = position.x + “px”; iFrame.style.top = position.y + “px”; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“_leoHighlightsUpdatePopupPos()”,e); }
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function _leoHighlightsGetRoverUrl(url)
{ var rover=LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_ROVER_TAG; var roverUrl=”http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/”+rover+”/4?&mpre;=”+encodeURI(url); return roverUrl;
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} /** * Class for a Popup * * @param anchorId * @param size * * @return */
function LeoHighlightsPopup(anchorId,size)
{ try { _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“LeoHighlightsPopup() “); this.anchorId=anchorId; this.anchor=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(this.anchorId); this.topIframe=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_TOP_ID); this.bottomIframe=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_BOTTOM_ID); this.iFrameDiv=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_DIV_ID); this.topIframe.src=unescape(this.anchor.getAttribute(‘leoHighlights_url_top’));; this.bottomIframe.src=unescape(this.anchor.getAttribute(‘leoHighlights_url_bottom’));; _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“1) LeoHighlightsPopup() (“+this.topIframe.style.top+”, “+this.topIframe.style.left+”)”); _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“2) LeoHighlightsPopup() (“+this.bottomIframe.style.top+”, “+this.bottomIframe.style.left+”)”); leoHighlightsSetSize(size); this.updatePos=function() { _leoHighlightsUpdatePopupPos(this.iFrameDiv,this.anchor)}; this.show=function() { this.updatePos(); this.iFrameDiv.style.visibility = “visible”; this.iFrameDiv.style.display = “block”; this.updatePos(); _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“3) LeoHighlightsPopup() (“+this.topIframe.style.top+”, “+this.topIframe.style.left+”)”); _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“4) LeoHighlightsPopup() (“+this.bottomIframe.style.top+”, “+this.bottomIframe.style.left+”)”); } this.scroll=function() { this.updatePos();}; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“new LeoHighlightsPopup()”,e); }
} /** * updates the url for the iFrame * * @param iFrame * @param size * @param clickId * @return */
function leoHighlightsUpdateUrl(iFrame,size,clickId,destUrl)
{ try { _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“leoHighlightsUpdateUrl() “+destUrl); var url=iFrame.src; var idx=url.indexOf(“&size;=”); if(idx>=0) url=url.substring(0,idx); // size=1; _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“leoHighlightsUpdateUrl() size=”+size+” “+url); if(size!=null) url+=(“&size;=”+size); if(clickId!=null) url+=(“&clickId;=”+clickId); if(destUrl!=null) url+=(“&url;=”+destUrl); _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“leoHighlightsUpdateUrl() “+url); iFrame.src=url; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsUpdateUrl()”,e); }
} /**
*
* This can be used to close an iframe
*
* @param id
* @return
*/
function leoHighlightsSetSize(size,clickId)
{ try { /* Get the element */ var iFrameTop=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_TOP_ID); /* Figure out the correct sizes */ var iFrameTopSize=LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_TOP_SIZE; /* Refresh the iFrame’s url, by removing the size arg and adding it again */ leoHighlightsUpdateUrl(iFrameTop,size,clickId); _leoHighlightsSetSize(iFrameTop,iFrameTopSize); _leoHighlightsSetBottomSize(size,clickId); /* Clear the hover flag, if the user shows this at full size */ if(size==1&&_leoHighlightsPrevElem) _leoHighlightsPrevElem.hover=false; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsSetSize()”,e); }
} /** * Start the popup a little bit delayed. * Somehow IE needs some time to find the element by id. * * @param anchorId * @param size * * @return */
function leoHighlightsShowPopup(anchorId,size)
{ try { var elem=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(anchorId); if(_leoHighlightsPrevElem&&(_leoHighlightsPrevElem!=elem)) _leoHighlightsPrevElem.shown=false; elem.shown=true; _leoHighlightsPrevElem=elem; _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“leoHighlightsShowPopup() “+_leoHighlightsPrevElem); /* FF needs to find the element first */ _leoHighlightsFindElementById(anchorId); setTimeout(“_leoHighlightsShowPopup(\’”+anchorId+”\’,\’”+size+”\’);”,10); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsShowPopup()”,e); } } /**
*
* This can be used to close an iframe
*
* @param id
* @return
*/
function leoHighlightsHideElem(id)
{ try { /* Get the appropriate sizes */ var elem=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(id); if(elem) elem.style.visibility=”hidden”; /* Clear the page for the next run through */ var iFrame=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_TOP_ID); if(iFrame) iFrame.src=”about:blank”; var iFrame=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_BOTTOM_ID); if(iFrame) iFrame.src=”about:blank”; if(_leoHighlightsPrevElem) { _leoHighlightsPrevElem.shown=false; _leoHighlightsPrevElem=null; } } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHideElem()”,e); }
} /**
*
* This can be used to close an iframe.
* Since the iFrame is reused the frame only gets hidden
*
* @return
*/
function leoHighlightsIFrameClose()
{ try { _leoHighlightsSimpleGwCallBack(“LeoHighlightsHideIFrame”); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsIFrameClose()”,e); }
} /** * This should handle the click events * * @param anchorId * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleClick(anchorId)
{ try { if(_leoHighlightsIsFrame()) return false; var anchor=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(anchorId); anchor.hover=false; if(anchor.startTimer) clearTimeout(anchor.startTimer); /* Report the click event */ leoHighlightsReportEvent(“clicked”, window.document.domain, _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_keywords’),null, _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_accept’), _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_reject’)); leoHighlightsShowPopup(anchorId,1); return false; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleClick()”,e); } } /** * This should handle the hover events * * @param anchorId * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleHover(anchorId)
{ try { if(_leoHighlightsIsFrame()) return false; var anchor=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(anchorId); anchor.hover=true; /* Report the hover event */ leoHighlightsReportEvent(“hovered”, window.document.domain, _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_keywords’),null, _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_accept’), _leoHighlightsGetAttrib(anchor,’leohighlights_reject’)); leoHighlightsShowPopup(anchorId,0); return false; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleHover()”,e); } } /** * This will handle the mouse over setup timers for the appropriate timers * * @param id * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleMouseOver(id)
{ try { if(_leoHighlightsIsFrame()) return; var anchor=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(id); /* Clear the end timer if required */ if(anchor.endTimer) clearTimeout(anchor.endTimer); anchor.endTimer=null; anchor.style.background=LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_BACKGROUND_STYLE_HOVER; /* The element is already showing we are done */ if(anchor.shown) return; /* Setup the start timer if required */ anchor.startTimer=setTimeout(function(){ leoHighlightsHandleHover(anchor.id); anchor.hover=true; }, LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_SHOW_DELAY_MS); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleMouseOver()”,e); }
} /** * This will handle the mouse over setup timers for the appropriate timers * * @param id * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleMouseOut(id)
{ try { var anchor=_leoHighlightsFindElementById(id); /* Clear the start timer if required */ if(anchor.startTimer) clearTimeout(anchor.startTimer); anchor.startTimer=null; anchor.style.background=LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_BACKGROUND_STYLE_DEFAULT; if(!anchor.shown||!anchor.hover) return; /* Setup the start timer if required */ anchor.endTimer=setTimeout(function(){ leoHighlightsHideElem(LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_DIV_ID); anchor.shown=false; _leoHighlightsPrevElem=null; },LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_HIDE_DELAY_MS); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleMouseOut()”,e); }
} /** * This handles the mouse movement into the currently opened window. * Just clear the close timer * * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOver()
{ try { if(_leoHighlightsPrevElem&&_leoHighlightsPrevElem.endTimer) clearTimeout(_leoHighlightsPrevElem.endTimer); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOver()”,e); }
} /** * This handles the mouse movement into the currently opened window. * Just clear the close timer * * @param id * @return */
function leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOut()
{ try { if(_leoHighlightsPrevElem) leoHighlightsHandleMouseOut(_leoHighlightsPrevElem.id); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOut()”,e); }
}
/** * This is a method is used to make the javascript within IE runnable */
var leoHighlightsRanUpdateDivs=false;
function leoHighlightsUpdateDivs()
{ try { /* Check if this is an IE browser and if divs have been updated already */ if(document.all&&!leoHighlightsRanUpdateDivs&&!_leoHighlightsIsFrame()) { leoHighlightsRanUpdateDivs=true; // Set early to prevent running twice for(var i=0;i0) url=url.substring(0,idx); /* Append the text to the end */ url+=”#”+encodeURI(txt); /* Set the iframe with the new url that contains the hash tag */ topIFrame.src=url; } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHighlightsSetExpandTxt()”,e); }
} /*———————————————————————-*/
/* Methods provided to the highlight providers… */
/*———————————————————————-*/ /** * This will set the expand text for the Top window */
function leoHL_SetExpandTxt(txt)
{ try { _leoHighlightsDebugLog(“leoHL_SetExpandTxt() “+txt); _leoHighlightsSimpleGwCallBack(“LeoHighlightsSetExpandTxt”,”expandTxt”,txt); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHL_SetExpandTxt()”,e); }
} /** * This will redirect the top window to the passed in url * * @param url * @param parentId * @return */
function leoHL_RedirectTop(url,parentId)
{ try { try{ var domain=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”domain”) var keywords=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”keywords”) var vendorId=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”vendorId”) leoHighlightsReportEvent(“clickthrough”, domain,keywords, vendorId); }catch(e){ _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHL_RedirectTop()”,e); } _leoHighlightsRedirectTop(url); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHL_RedirectTop()”,e); }
} /** * This will redirect the top window to the passed in url * * @param url * @param parentId * @return */
function LeoHL_RedirectTop(url,parentId)
{ leoHL_RedirectTop(url,parentId);
} /** * This will redirect the top window to the passed in url * * @param url * @param parentId * @return */
function leoHL_RedirectTopAd(url,parentId)
{ try { try{ var domain=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”domain”) var keywords=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”keywords”) var vendorId=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg(window.document.URL,”vendorId”) leoHighlightsReportEvent(“advertisement.click”, domain,keywords, vendorId); }catch(e){ _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHL_RedirectTopAd()”,e); } _leoHighlightsRedirectTop(url); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHL_RedirectTopAd()”,e); }
} /** * This will set the size of the iframe * * @param url * @param parentId * * @return */
function leoHl_setSize(size,url)
{ try { /* Get the clickId */ var clickId=_leoHighlightsGetUrlArg( url,”clickId”) var gwObj = new Gateway(); gwObj.addParam(“size”,size); if(clickId) gwObj.addParam(“clickId”,clickId+”_blah”); gwObj.callName(“LeoHighlightsSetSize”); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHl_setSize()”,e); }
} /** * This will toggle the size of the window * * @return */
function leoHl_ToggleSize()
{ try { var gwObj = new Gateway(); gwObj.callName(“LeoHighlightsToggleSize”); } catch(e) { _leoHighlightsReportExeception(“leoHl_ToggleSize()”,e); }
} “);
]]>[removed]

me and andrew playing on a custom race track map on foundry. andrews new to halo since he doesnt have it so give him a chance

Technorati Tags: About, Business, Debt, Reasons, Relief, Scoring, Think

Top 10 Ways to Market Your Web Hosting Business

Congratulations! You are the proud owner of a web hosting business. You’ve got a great website, you’ve got great products and the only thing you’re missing is customers. There are so many businesses competing for consumer eyeballs these days that it can feel pretty overwhelming. But fear not! With a few simple techniques, and a little persistence, you can get your web hosting business the traffic it deserves.

1) Social Networks

You are probably familiar with social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. What you may not realize is that these social networks can be powerful marketing tools, when they’re used wisely. Start by setting up an account for your business on each of the major social networks. Before you start adding friends or soliciting followers, make sure you populate your profile with information about your company, images, and links to your website. As a general rule, don’t start posting promotions right away. Establish yourself as an interesting person to follow. Post links to relevant industry news articles and build a following in the tech community. This takes time but, once you’ve got loyal followers, you’d be surprised how many of them turn into customers.

2) Search Engine Optimization

SEO is a term that is bandied about all over the place these days, and for good reason. The higher up your site appears in searches, the more customers you’ll get. It’s a one-to-one ratio. If you’re not familiar with SEO, head over to one of the many SEO forums and start reading up. It’s not complicated, but improving your SEO is a skill. A good way to start is by using a tool like Google Analytics to see what search terms people are using to find your site. Once you know what people are looking for you can start seeding your site with those terms to boost your relevance in searches. You can also boost your SEO by earning backlinks from other websites in your industry.

3) Backlinks

A backlink is just what it sounds like: a link back to your site from another site. Backlinks are heavily indexed by Google and a few high-profile backlinks can send you right up the search result list, fast. The more popular the site is that links back to you, the better. Consider soliciting backlinks by offering products or services, or by reviewing other providers. Backlinks grow naturally as you grow your business, so the real grunt work comes at the beginning. Don’t despair if you don’t see immediate results. Chances are, when you do start seeing results, they will snowball quickly.

4) Press Releases

Press releases will get you immediate attention, and they can be great for marketing specific products or promotions. There are many websites where you can post press releases for free, and some where you can pay for your release to be indexed faster and more comprehensively. If your release is particularly newsworthy, you can submit it to local papers and radio and television stations.

5) Email Newsletters

Email newsletters get your message out to the people who care to hear it: your opted-in subscribers. There are many email newsletter platforms you can use to manage your contacts and automate your messages. Most of these cost under /month and include widgets for your website. Start sending out a monthly newsletter about happenings in your company along with special promotions just for newsletter readers.

6) Ad Buys

Ad buys are a classic, tried-and-true advertising tactic that work best in conjunction with other forms of online advertising for grabbing consumer attention and driving sales. Ad buys work best on forums or magazine websites, where readers are spending a lot of time. Ad buys can be expensive, so, in order to maximize your ROI, you should wait until you have a special promotion or a new product line before purchasing them.

7) Classifieds

Classifieds are free, there are a ton of them out there, and they are thoroughly searched by consumers on a daily basis. You probably won’t be able to post a straight-up ad without getting flagged, but free giveaways, free trials and contests are all fair game for most classified sites. Work classified posting into your weekly schedule and the benefits will accumulate over time.

Articles

Well written, well researched articles may not be easy to write, but the results can be exponential. If you write something people want to read (and include a link back to your website) people will follow it just to learn more about you, the esteemed author. There are tons of free article-submission websites where you can build a following fast. A single article can continue to drive traffic for months, and it gets you noticed, both good things for your business. Writing one really good article that impresses readers is infinitely more powerful than twenty mediocre articles nobody wants to read. Take your time. Think it out. It’ll pay off.

9) Forum Participation

Forums are communities and, as such, participating in the discussion and making friends is just like networking in person. Build trust with the people you meet. Contribute interesting or helpful information. Establish yourself as an expert in your field and be sure to include a link to your website in your signature. Many no-follow forums may not get indexed directly, but if you do your job, they will get followed.

10) Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a critical part of any established business. Reviews allow current customers to express themselves and share their experiences and they allow new customers to learn about your business. As a business, you can learn a lot from the experiences of your customers. If you strive to deliver top-notch customer service, you will see it reflected in your reviews. You may want to consider partnering with a third-party review service. This lends authenticity to your reviews, so your customers know they are real and unbiased.

Technorati Tags: Business, Hosting, Market, Ways

SAP Business One Consultant Newsflash: Crystal Reports for SB1

SAP B1 is popular small and mid-size business Accounting, ERP and MRP application.  Typical configuration is on Microsoft Windows and MS SQL Server, and these two facts make SAP BO open for various generic reporting tools: Crystal Reports, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, MS Access, or generic .Net web HTML and XML development with web reports.  CR seems to be the trend for current SB1 2007A/B versions as well as for the future releases.  In this small publication we would like to give you Crystal Reports design orientation session: 1. SAP B1 tables structure.  It is described in SAP Business One SDK, however you can easily identify the table in menu by checking Show System Information.  Then, open SB1 form, associated with your targeted object, for example Business Partner – the table name will be shown on the left bottom cornet of the application 2. Early Watch and adding objects to SB1 company database.  We believe that Early Watch, that reports direct access to SB1 tables through SQL custom stored procedures or updates should be respected.  This is why we recommend you to create separate database – something like SB1Customizations and then place Crystal Reports basing SQL Views or Stored Procedures there 3. Crystal Reports SQL side.  If you are new to Crystal Reports design, you should probably play with new report building wizard, and if your report is really simple, something like showing all Business Partners with specific flag, then CR wizard should do the job.  However, if you are looking for professional SB1 CR, you should consider basing it on either SQL Stored Procedure (the most powerful way, as it allows you to deploy temporary tables for intermediary data aggregation) or SQL Views.  Plus SQL abstraction opens the door for you to base Crystal Report on Heterogeneous or Cross-platform data pulling, when you are pulling data from SB1 and legacy CRM or Business Management Application, hosted in ODBC compliant or SQL drive compliant non MS SQL Server DB: Oracle, DBII, MS Access, Excel, Sybase, Ingress, MySQL/PHP, or other Linux or Unix database, deploying such drivers as Java JDBC-ODBC Bridge, etc. 4. If you have specific technology challenging question about SAP Business One reporting, Software Implementation, Customization, Data Conversion question, please give us a call: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

SAP B1 is popular small and mid-size business Accounting, ERP and MRP application.  Typical configuration is on Microsoft Windows and MS SQL Server, and these two facts make SAP BO open for various generic reporting tools: Crystal Reports, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, MS Access, or generic .Net web HTML and XML development with web reports.  CR seems to be the trend for current SB1 2007A/B versions as well as for the future releases.  In this small publication we would like to give you Crystal Reports design orientation session:

1. SAP B1 tables structure.  It is described in SAP Business One SDK, however you can easily identify the table in menu by checking Show System Information.  Then, open SB1 form, associated with your targeted object, for example Business Partner – the table name will be shown on the left bottom cornet of the application

2. Early Watch and adding objects to SB1 company database.  We believe that Early Watch, that reports direct access to SB1 tables through SQL custom stored procedures or updates should be respected.  This is why we recommend you to create separate database – something like SB1Customizations and then place Crystal Reports basing SQL Views or Stored Procedures there

3. Crystal Reports SQL side.  If you are new to Crystal Reports design, you should probably play with new report building wizard, and if your report is really simple, something like showing all Business Partners with specific flag, then CR wizard should do the job.  However, if you are looking for professional SB1 CR, you should consider basing it on either SQL Stored Procedure (the most powerful way, as it allows you to deploy temporary tables for intermediary data aggregation) or SQL Views.  Plus SQL abstraction opens the door for you to base Crystal Report on Heterogeneous or Cross-platform data pulling, when you are pulling data from SB1 and legacy CRM or Business Management Application, hosted in ODBC compliant or SQL drive compliant non MS SQL Server DB: Oracle, DBII, MS Access, Excel, Sybase, Ingress, MySQL/PHP, or other Linux or Unix database, deploying such drivers as Java JDBC-ODBC Bridge, etc.

4. If you have specific technology challenging question about SAP Business One reporting, Software Implementation, Customization, Data Conversion question, please give us a call: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Related Custom Flag, Articles

Technorati Tags: Business, Consultant, Crystal, Newsflash, Reports

7 Ideas On Using Your Home To Promote Your Business

When it comes to Direct Sales, one of the most valuable tools you have to market your Direct Sales business is your own home.

There are many creative things you can do to market your business out of your home. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Hold a joint Direct Sales Vendor Party in your home. Invite other Direct Sales Consultants in your community to participate. In order for this idea to work, each of the Direct Sales Vendors need to invite a minimum of 20 customers to the event. Each vendor then sets up a table display with their products and business information. Guests and customers arrive and can browse the table displays to see what interests them. This works best with only 5-10 vendors unless you have a very large house or hold the event off-site.

2. Host a Community Block Party for your neighborhood. These work best during the summer months and if held on a Saturday. You can invite 1-2 other Direct Sales Consultants to participate to keep costs down. You will want to hang up flyers and pass out invitations to all of your neighbors. Serve some refreshments or hold an outdoor barbecue.

3. Invest in an all-weather yard sign. You can find some really affordable ones online that you can have custom printed with your business information. Find a good area in your front yard to place your sign so that everyone who walks or drives by can see it.

4. Neighborhood Children’s Shopping Party. This idea works best in November (to promote holiday shopping) and again in April (right before Mother’s Day). You will want to invite the children from your neighborhood that you personally know and with the parents permission. Children love to shop without their parents, especially when it comes to purchasing gifts for their parents. Parents love this idea as it gives them an hour or two break from the children. If you are expecting 7 or more kids to attend, then please do yourself a favor and get a volunteer helper.

5. Co-Sponsoring A Home Party. Find another Direct Sales consultant in your area who is with a non-competing business. Hold a joint home party together in your home. You both invite your customers to the joint home party which in turns put you in touch with customers you might not of ever met. This is a great way to move beyond your circle of friends.

6. Vinyl Window Cling: I recommend getting a vinyl cling business sign that measures approximately 4 inches by 6 inches in size. Get your company name printed on it and place it on your front door window. You are now advertising your business to everyone who enters your home or who might be there delivery packages. Keep the size close to those proportions so that its not to obtrusive.

7. Business Banner or Flag: You can find some custom printers online by doing a keyword search through a major search engine. You will also need to invest in either a flagpole or a banner holder. Get your business name printed onto a banner or flag and hang it up in your front yard.

I hope these 7 ideas have inspired you into using your own home to help promote your Direct Sales Business.

Technorati Tags: Business, Home, Ideas, Promote, Using