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Records management tends to differ from company to company. Sometimes this can be an admin department dealing with client documents, or it can be an entire company on which documents and correspondence is everything. Either way the efficiency and productivity within that can be improved.

You might think that at a time of economic downturns and credit crunches that it might not be the best use of your resources to focus on improving your records management, but it could actually be a pivotal piece of the puzzle. With somewhat antiquated systems, efficiency can be a lot lower than if the system was modernised which can make a big difference to the way that staff work with the documents you have, as well as how much money you can potentially have coming in.

It’s a big cliche but time really is money and the time spent on handling, processing and generally dealing with records and documents can all add up. On the upside with this, comes the chance to improve.

These days there are a lot of companies that can help you improve your records management by making your system digital. This can be daunting for a lot of people who think that it’s going to be a major change to the way the business works as well as having to teach the staff new techniques and computer skills, so in effect it may not seem worth the hassle. However this isn’t the case. Going digital with your records management doesn’t need to cost the earth. Some companies charge pennies for scanning documents to make them digital, so the cost is probably lower than you imagined. On top of that, digital document management systems are designed with everyone in mind usually so the transition should be a relatively painless one.

What you get with an improvement to your records management is a whole lot of improvements elsewhere too. For example you can expect better efficiency. This is down to staff being able to access documents from their computer rather than having to work their way through filing cabinets of papers in the hope that it’s been put back in the correct place. By going digital, the files are always available in the same place, can be printed, shared via email, edited and much more.

On top of this if you decide you would no longer require the documents which have been converted digitally they can be recycled meaning that you will have much more space around the office for other things. Many companies actually store their documents in storage facilities that cost them on a monthly basis and document scanning and digital records management is actually known to completely wipe out the need for these ongoing bills thus making it an even better service to use.

Other acknowledged positives with digital records management are a boost in staff morale, better environmental credentials and considerable time saving.

However you look at it, going digital can only make your record management systems better and when it’s as low prices as it is there’s no reason not to.

Each month you balance your cheque book to the penny. You meticulously keep track of all of your expenses and follow the budget you have created on a spread sheet. These attributes give you enough confidence to apply for a part-time Book Keeping position that would fit nicely into your day-to-day schedule.

Whether you get the job or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is that you understand that your ability to balance your cheque book and stick to a budget does not necessarily mean you would be a good corporate Book Keeper. However, without experience or formal training, having an aptitude for numbers and detail combined with a willingness to learn and be taught might be all that is needed for this new career to be within your reach.

One of the first things you will discover is that your thought process as to what has been a debit and a credit will be thrown out the window. Balancing your personal cheque book identifies the debits as money you take out of your bank account and credits are the cash or pay cheques you put into your account. In the corporate world, debits are the cheques being paid out and credits are the receivables being paid to the company.

The next hurdle may be the transition from the pencil and paper of your cheque book to a computer program used by the company that has hires you.

Since most people have the ability to work on computers using various forms of software, catching on to an accounting program should be a piece of cake. The icing for this piece of cake will come with an understanding of the Financial Statement. Basic knowledge is better than none when it comes to an Income Statement, sometimes known as a P & L or Profit and Loss Statement. In addition to this, comprehending what the Balance Sheet is and especially where the Assets, Liabilities, Revenue and Expenses belong is essential to keeping a set of books. In conjunction with this know-how, it is important to be aware that the Revenue and Expenses that appear on the Income Statement will eventually end up on the Balance Sheet along with the Account Payable, Account Receivable, Shareholder Loan and Retained Earnings.

Accounting software will spiral down to all of these areas and levels once the initial entry is made; however, it is in everyone’s best interest if you know how they got there and why. Old school Book Keepers that have the ability to post to and balance a complete set of books manually are a dying breed. They are however to be considered experts in their field as they have the tools to understand how the accounting world of a Book Keeper works without the dependency of modern technology. These people are often versed in accounting software as well, making them even more valuable.

Take the initiative to find a mentor who is willing to teach some of the old school systems to you. Through this, experience, you will gain some of their insight into a career that regardless of whether you keep track of the numbers with paper and pencil or using a software program, it is still Book Keeping.

Is Social Business Your Business?

When I mention social business, I am not talking about an entirely new idea. As we discuss social business today, we tend to refer to a couple of unique characteristics that describe a business enterprise.

• A social business promotes some worthy social cause as part of its business model.
• A social business may help bring individuals together in order to perform business transactions. These are also called peer to peer businesses.

Note that social business is not the same as non-profit businesses. Sometimes they may seem quite similar, but a social business does also exist to make a profit. In general, some of the profit is also used to further the social causes. In other cases, overhead is kept low so business patrons may be able to enjoy a service at a lower cost than they would pay at a more traditional business which provided the same service or product.

Promote A Social Cause
I can think of many examples of companies the help promote social causes as part of their business model. Even many traditional businesses will advertise that they donate a portion of profits or use recycled materials when they can. However a true social business centers their work around these aims.

For example, one company may offer to donate a product for each product that consumers purchase. Another company may only produce their product with recycled materials. Yet another company may employ some disadvantaged group of people.

Peer To Peer

Peer to peer businesses help connect individuals with low overhead from the middle man. This helps expand the network of the individuals who use the service. Advantages may be cost savings, or even increased returns for investors.

Some common examples are peer to peer lending and car sharing. There are a few online companies that have been growing these types of business.

Social Lending

Social lending is hardly a new idea. The first cave men probably borrowed stone tools from their clan members, promising to return the tools with some cut firewood a few days later. Many people turn to their network of family and friends when they need a loan.

Peer to peer, or social lending sites match potential investors with potential buyers. These social lending sites expand the network of potential investors and borrowers. The company, as a middle man, does provide a platform for these interactions to take place. They may also provide some information about the borrowers. But they can manage to do this without all of the overhead of traditional financial institutions. Their aim is to allow borrowers to find lower rate loans, and to help lenders get better returns on their money.

Risks Of Social Lending

Yes, there is still some risk because some lenders do pay late or default. But many investors prefer the higher level of control and potential to earn higher returns. Some lenders just like the idea of helping out people instead of handing their money over the large financial institutions.

Most of the lenders seem to spread out their risk by contributing smaller amounts to several lenders instead of providing the whole bankroll for one lender. So loans may be financed by several lenders. Lenders may have shares in several loans.

Car Sharing

Car sharing sites match vehicle owners with borrowers. Borrowers may be people who do not need to own a car, but just need to use one once in awhile. Sometimes the borrowers are just people, with cars, but who need to use a particular type of vehicle for a short time.

The sites match people who are willing to give up use of their vehicle at different times when that vehicle is not in use. The big car sharing sites also check out driving records and provide insurance coverage so the owners and borrowers are protected.

This gives the borrowers the convenience of local, affordable borrowing rates. It allows the owners to earn a little money for giving up the use of their vehicle for a short time. Since the car sharing company does not actually have to own the vehicles, they can keep their overhead lower.

Why Should Social Business Be Your Business?

Social businesses enjoy a lot of advantages. They may allow some consumers to enjoy lower prices, more convenience, or the ability to promote a social cause. This can provide a loyal and enthusiastic customer base for many of these companies. Social business may help improve your business!

There are definite trends I have been noticing in the direction the government contracting and proposal world has taken as of late. Here are a few recent occurrences I have observed that may be common:

• One small business contractor had three DOD contracts cancelled, and it is now on life support struggling to survive.
• A few other contractors spent precious resources on proposals only to have the opportunities cancelled 7-10 days before submission.
• Others have seen most of the opportunities they were tracking slip to the right.
• Most who have been busy writing proposals at the end of this fiscal year are working to preserve their existing work.

I have been talking to government employees about it, and here is what they report:

• Many agencies had to self-cut their budgets.
• Most everything that is not absolute core mission work has been removed. Existing projects are the ones that are being rebid.
• Most of these projects are moving to IDIQs or GSA and VA schedules.

In a nutshell, the government is trying to award faster, with fewer headaches because they don’t have much time to dilly-dally with extended procurements and a higher possibility of protest. In response, companies are working diligently to move their existing work to IDIQs where they prime, while their competitors play a tug-of-war looking to move them to other vehicles. Procurements that were once stand-alone are now task orders, with some exceeding $800 million.

Industry-wise, my personal crystal ball is telling me that the most stable areas are going to be security, cyber, and intel, as the world is not getting much safer and some areas (lifecycle logistics, or operations and maintenance) just cannot be eliminated very easily.

While all of this is from personal conversations, here is some data to show that this multiple award trend is real.

As of August, there was roughly a $132 billion ceiling for IDIQ contracts in the soon-to-be-ending 2011 fiscal year (FY) according to a quick ballpark in Centurion Research’s pipeline tool. This represents a 27% increase from FY 2010. It would be interesting to see how many task orders are issued under this ceiling come the end of this fiscal year. USASpending.gov stated over a year ago that more than 50% of government procurement is now moving to multiple award contracts. Once bidders are qualified for the IDIQ vehicle, the award could take just a couple months instead of the normal 6-18 months. It streamlines competition, reduces protests, and provides the government with better buying power and greater efficiencies.

The government itself doesn’t know how many IDIQs it has across all the agencies, but it has been trying to keep the number down. There are rumors on the street that some large ones that people already have bid on might be cancelled, with the work moved to the existing vehicles.

Obviously, all of this has implications for your bid and proposal strategy. Most players in the federal contracting arena see IDIQ contracts as a main strategic element of their revenue growth, even in this shrinking market. Those who are nimble enough to adapt will navigate through this environment successfully. Those who fail to adapt may be beyond life support shortly.

The first reaction may be to bid on more IDIQs. “Collecting” IDIQs is only half the battle, and it won’t help you much, especially if you are not the prime on a vehicle. It certainly adds flexibility and portability for different contracts, but doesn’t guarantee revenues.

The secret is not only to have enough IDIQ and schedule vehicles (or all the right vehicles in your industry), but also to leverage them to the maximum extent possible. Although the ceiling value of each IDIQ often reaches hundreds of millions or a few billion, you need to “crack the code” of each vehicle to make actual money.

Every IDIQ is different. It has its own personality, patterns, and ways of getting ahead. It takes thorough preparation with a passionate and well-calculated approach to each task order. Unfortunately, many companies fail to crack this code.

Here are some of the mistakes many companies make:

Mistake: No task order response manual and processes created prior to, or after award; no single belly button responsible for IDIQ capture management; and no tools to implement anything consistent.

Result: Lack of organization and leadership after IDIQ award – no one knows how to prepare for the task orders, how to react quickly in order to bid, and how to go about winning, leading to the loss of momentum, skepticism, and lack of support from the team.

Mistake: Responses barely make the deadline because business developers learn about majority of Task Order Requests only when they are released.

• Result: Lack of planning and preparation in submitting a winning proposal by the deadline that leads to throwing a hastily written document “over the wall” and hoping to win on price (and “hope” is not a strategy).

Mistake: Difficulties in getting the team to follow a task order response process- many think task order proposals should be inexpensive and easy because of time and page limitations.

• Result: Lack of discipline or structure to meet the submittal deadline, and as a result, pasting general boilerplate and marketing text that won’t win, instead of presenting a condensed, hard-hitting approach to how the job will be done.

What have you observed as trends? Do you agree with my assessment? Have you experienced any of these pitfalls at your own company?

The president of OST Global Solutions, Olessia Smotrova-Taylor, has 16 years of experience in business development, communications, and marketing, including 9 years in capture and proposal management. She makes it her goal to stay current with the best practices in winning proposals, and collaboration tools and techniques that help build fully integrated proposal teams. She also serves as a board member for the Association of Proposal Management Professionals – National Capital Area Chapter (APMP-NCA) and is the APMP-NCA Executive Summary Newsletter Chair. Prior to supporting a number of Fortune 500 companies and small businesses as a proposal consultant, she worked as a business developer for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and wrote for the Financial Times of London.

How do you currently handle quality control in your business? If you offer products to clients, you must have some system in place to make sure every product delivered to every client is of high quality. If this is neglected, you will lose your customers and gain a reputation for producing products that do not live up to their hype. This is bad for business and one low quality product could stick with your business in a negative light for many years to come. This is why you may consider working with a quality management system designed by a professional ISO consultant.

There are four main benefits to moving beyond your own system to a quality management system that can be ISO certified:

1. Longevity and growth for your business.

When you work with an ISO consultant to improve the quality of your products, you ensure that your business will be around for a long time to come. When your products become more valuable and are consistent over time, you start to gain the trust of the consumer. Your excellent quality is talked about in communities and word of mouth spreads. You become one of the most trust brands in your market because you care enough to work with a quality management system that keeps your products at the top of the market.

2. Increased prestige and enhanced reputation.

Along with increased quality comes prestige and a positive reputation in your industry. As your customers note your exceptional and consistent quality, so will your competitors. So will others who may be looking for someone in your industry to do business with. A lot of great things can happen for your reputation as you start to implement a quality management system.

3. Greater opportunity to sell in markets around the world.

There are untapped markets that you cannot get into today without being ISO certified. The only way to get ISO certified is to work with an ISO consultant who knows all about quality control and the standards for certification. They can help you implement a quality management system that passes for certification and that you can afford to continue implementing in the future. In order to remain a competitor in these worldwide markets, you will need to be very consistent with implementing and documenting your system as it pertains to quality.

4. Peace of mind that you are delivering what you promised your customers.

Finally, you have your own peace of mind that you are doing the right thing for your customers and the market when you implement an efficient quality management system. Whether you are interested in ISO certification right now or just might be open to it in the future, you will feel good knowing that the products you sell are of high quality.

All product lines require high quality today. Whether you are baking donuts and cakes or selling swing sets or baby cribs, you have to make sure the products stamped with your brand name represent your name very well. Your reputation and the future of your business is on the line!