Inside this Issue

• Message from Doug Sleeter
• Consultant's Corner - Hidden Benefits of Application Hosting
• 2008 Sleeter Group Conference Update
• Sleeter Group Webinars - Summer Sale!
• QuickBooks Trial Software Free with Sleeter Group Textbooks
• Improved QBSS Seminar System for 2008
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Alterity Inc.
• The Sleeter Group Conference Goes Green!
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Wellspring Software
• Chuck Vigeant's Reporting Corner
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Office Tools Professional
• Value Added Reseller Update - Fishbowl Inventory
• Value Added Reseller Update - BillQuick
• Value Added Reseller Update - MISys
• Tricks of the Trade
• The Sleeter Group's Consultants Network
• QuickBooks Software Sale

 

Message from Doug Sleeter

This is quite a busy summer. I hope you’re finding the type of success in your business that we see throughout our network of consultants.

Congratulations to Mario Nowogrodzki, a member of the Sleeter Group Network and one of our webinar instructors who was featured as one of the "Killer VARs" in an article in the Accounting Technology magazine. The foundation of Mario’s business is QuickBooks Consulting, but he has turned his foundational skills into a very successful VAR business as well. Read the article about Mario and how he’s found success by educating his clients.

I look forward to seeing you at our annual Accounting Software Consulting Conference, held this year in Phoenix. See below for details.

Consultant's Corner - Hidden Benefits of Application Hosting

The desktop application hosting model offers a variety of IT management and administrative benefits. The potential gains for the subscriber include lower acquisition and operating costs for technology. While a business owner knows that there are costs associated with the equipment, software and other tangible elements, he or she may not consider the ongoing costs of maintaining and managing the system. End-user support, backups and data management, network security and virus protection, content filtering and lost productivity are all areas where the business spends time and money, but few businesses totally recognize these soft costs as being directly attached to their IT budget.

In this month’s article, Joanie Mann investigates the hidden benefits of application hosting.

2008 Sleeter Group Conference Update

The Sleeter Group’s 5th annual Conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona November 10-13 at the Renaissance Glendale hotel.  The conference is for accounting professionals, bookkeepers, CPAs, and small business technology consultants.

Sample Air Fares To Phoenix During Conference Week
Our Conference elves have been busy researching flight costs for November’s conference. Here are just a few round trip air fares to Phoenix November 9-13, 2008:

	Atlanta	$385
	Boston	$416
	Chicago	$322
	Dallas	$400
	Denver	$225
	Los Angeles	$200
	Minneapolis	$325
	Orlando	$460
	San Francisco	$275
	Seattle	$320

REGISTER by August 31st and enter To WIN a one year Sleeter Group Consultant Network Membership and receive a 25% Discount on the Conference! (All members of The Sleeter Group Consultant Network receive a 25% discount on conference registration fees in 2008). Already registered? You have been automatically entered in the contest. Congratulations to our July contest winner Diana Turner of Turner and Cleveland in San Antonio, Texas. Diana won three nights’ accommodations at the Renaissance Glendale hotel during conference week.

New Raffle Prizes Posted!
Many of our 2008 Exhibitors will be offering some fantastic raffle prizes from a Nintendo Wii to a Margarita Maker! Check it out here!

2008 FREE Conference Exhibitor Webinars

Join Doug Sleeter as he hosts our 2008 Platinum and Gold Conference Exhibitors in a series of free webinars demonstrating some fantastic accounting software solutions. Visit www.sleeter.com/webinars. Many of our Exhibitor Webinars are recorded and available now.

Questions about the conference? Please visit our conference web page or give us a call at 888-484-5484.

Sleeter Group Webinars - Summer Sale!

The Sleeter Group’s Summer Webinar Series is on sale for 20% discount The series includes several new webinars, repeats of some of our most popular webinars,  as well as FREE "Conference Exhibitor" webinars covering some great solutions from a few of our Conference Exhibitors.

Summer Series – On Sale!
File Conversion In-Depth (8/20)
Case Studies in Networking QuickBooks (8/21)
Working with Mid-sized Businesses (8/26)
Avoid Pitfalls in Data File Conversion (8/27)
Case Studies in Data File Conversion (9/3)
Many more – view the entire series here

Conference Exhibitor Webinars (Free)
Migrating from Retail Systems to Sage MAS 90 (8/13)
Easy Profitable Payroll Online (8/14)
Peachtree 2009 (9/23)

Additional recorded Exhibitor Webinars available at www.sleeter.com/webinars

QuickBooks Trial Software Free with Sleeter Group Textbooks

The Sleeter Group’s 2008 college textbooks now include free 140-day QuickBooks Trial Software. These textbooks are filled with in-depth step-by-step exercises that walk students through learning QuickBooks. Access to the free trial will give students more options for completing the exercises and problems. Students with no previous accounting or QuickBooks experience can learn what they need to be successful at their business or in the workplace.

Instructors who use our textbooks have access to our companion PowerPoint slides, Test Banks and Instructors Manual to make preparing for class easy. Click here to request an exam copy.

All three of our books are now shipping with the trial software. Our QuickBooks Fundamentals Version 2008 covers accounting basics, tracking revenue and expenses, bank reconciliation, file setup and more. QuickBooks Intermediate Version 2008 covers inventory, sales tax, payroll, estimates, budgets and more. QuickBooks Complete Version 2008 covers the material in the Fundamentals and Intermediate book combined.

In addition to working in the classroom, all three books make excellent self-study material for clients. Click here to order.

For more about the Trial Software, read the article below.

Improved QBSS Seminar System for 2008

Putting on a high quality QuickBooks seminar just got easier. Our Learning QuickBooks Step-by-Step Seminar System (QBSS) now includes two streamlined seminar books for the 2008 version. And the price of each of these workbooks has been reduced to as low as $29 each.

Previously, this system included our extensive, 400-plus page college textbooks. We have heard from many of you that you wanted a condensed version designed specifically for one-day seminars. The 2008 QBSS will include two new condensed workbooks, QuickBooks: Seminar I and QuickBooks: Seminar II. Each are approximately 250 pages and these books are designed with your clients and your practice in mind.

QuickBooks Seminar I workbook covers accounting basics, tracking revenue and expenses, bank reconciliation and file setup. The Seminar II workbook covers inventory, sales tax, payroll, budgets and estimates. These books are only available to those who purchase our seminar system and members of Sleeter Group Consultants Network.

The QBSS also includes everything you need to offer seminars, from marketing materials to planning checklists. Our Seminar Planning Guide includes helpful advice for getting started including securing a venue, advertising and using seminars to market your practice. There is also a new chapter on webinars.

This product will begin shipping the week of August 18th. Owners of the 2007 QBSS will receive a 40% discount on the 2008 version. For more information, contact our office at 1-888-484-5484.

Note the QBSS workbooks do not include a trial version of QuickBooks. For book with a trial version, see our article (above) on our college textbooks.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Alterity Inc.

The Sleeter Group Conference Goes Green!

The 2008 Accounting Software Consultants Conference is going green!

We are eliminating the use of heavy binders as well as disposable USB drives. All the handouts for the conference sessions will be made available to registered attendees one week prior to the conference via a web link. 

A Cyber station with four computers and two printers will be accessible on site so you can easily print any of the presentations you want to take notes on. Less paper means nothing weighing you down as you explore the conference sessions and vendors. And lighter luggage means no surprise fees for your return flight.

More Going Green Methods:

• Water stations will be provided throughout the conference, cutting down on use of plastic water bottles.
• We are reducing our paper signage by using electronic signs provided by the hotel. This also cuts the gasoline usage since the signs won’t need to be shipped to the event.
• Many of our 2008 Exhibitors are joining in on the effort, choosing green vendors for their tote inserts.
• Each attendee will receive a tote made out of 51% recycled materials.

To find out more about our 2008 Accounting Software Consultants Conference, visit our conference webpage.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Wellspring Software

Chuck Vigeant's Reporting Corner

This is the first of two articles that Chuck will devote to using Excel and QODBC to extract and report on QuickBooks data. There are many Excel gems that users either don’t know about or think it is too difficult. In this first article, Chuck discusses the Excel Query Wizard and Using Excel Query to generate existing QuickBooks reports. Both of these operations should be within the capabilities of the novice user.

To read the full article, click the link below.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Office Tools Professional

Value Added Reseller Update - Fishbowl Inventory

Members of The Sleeter Group Consultant’s Network have the ability to obtain training and VAR status with a variety of business solutions to help you build your practice and provide higher levels of service to your clients.  There are exciting things happening in the reseller programs.  Don’t miss your opportunity to participate and expand your skill set while earning more in your business.

Fishbowl Inventory resellers are having great success, and this is clearly reflected in the volume of activity surrounding the product.  Fishbowl has even implemented a dedicated support resource exclusively for Sleeter Fishbowl Value Added Resellers, ensuring that the pace and quality of service delivery meets with the high demands of resellers working with these more advanced product lines.

Expanding the scope of consulting services from pure accounting to more operational systems, like inventory management and controls, can be a daunting task.  Working together with The Sleeter Group and our Solution Partners like Fishbowl Inventory, consultants get the training, technical service, and community support it takes to be successful in branching out into new areas of business.

Reseller opportunity:  Test Fishbowl Inventory 5.3
Fishbowl Inventory 5.3 helps businesses take control of their inventory with ease and accuracy. Version 5.3 offers new user access rights options, customizable “Today Module” gadgets, and parts accounting as just a few of the new features in this release. The addition of these features makes Fishbowl Inventory an even more powerful and cost-effective tool for users of QuickBooks.

Fishbowl would greatly appreciate input from the VAR community, concerning the new features and any evaluation of the software you can provide.  The link below will allow you to download version 5.3 and join a list of beta testers.  The Fishbowl Inventory support staff is trained on the new features, so please do not hesitate to contact them with any questions.  Fishbowl is offering current customers and resellers an incentive for participating in the beta, so register today and see what’s new in Fishbowl Inventory 5.3. http://www.fishbowlinventory.com/products/beta.php

Value Added Reseller Update - BillQuick

The growing BillQuick Advisor Network, value added resellers of BillQuick software and solutions, is also making great progress. Certified BillQuick Advisor training is underway: The last training module is being tested now, and additional knowledge-building resources are in development. Getting trained on BillQuick now is critical; the third and fourth quarters are the traditionally busiest time for BillQuick implementations.

The BillQuick Advisor Blog is almost ready, too.  Advisors will receive syndicated blog posts automatically via email. The blog is a repository of advisor marketing and “how-to” resources. Advisors can obtain a wide variety of BQE marketing materials here, including an updated price list and a new BillQuick brochure.  The brochure can be branded with the consultant’s company logo, so clients know who to turn to for service.  And be sure to get a copy of the Top 25 Reasons Why QuickBooks Users Need BillQuick.

A monthly webinar series for BillQuick Advisors is in the planning stages now.  The first webinar will be held in the first half of September.  While the topics are not yet final, the goal is to kick off the first webinar with actionable information. The best part of the webinar planning is there is no shortage of outstanding topics. The worst part is there is no shortage of outstanding topics.

Value Added Reseller Update - MISys

MISys Small Business Manufacturing is coming on strong in the VAR community.  With the tremendous resource planning capabilities of this system, resellers are learning that there is quite a bit to offer manufacturers in terms of raw materials planning, payables management, and more.  Appropriate for most manufacturers, MISys offers features for build-to-order manufacturers and custom job shops as well as for those who manufacture for stock.

The first webinar for MISys resellers in July provided a great deal of information for consultants and potential resellers who work with or wish to work with small manufacturers.  The follow-up to this seminar, slated for August 11, will provide in-depth information on how the MISys SBM solution address the specific challenges faced by manufacturers, and how you can bring this tremendous resource to bear for your clients. 

Tricks of the Trade

Every day, members of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network tackle the day-to-day problems of their clients in the real world. The following is an example problem and solution that surfaced this month on our Sleeter Group Consultants Network E-Mail Group.

Question: Our accounting firm has a server that holds numerous QuickBooks files for different clients. Recently, the Database Manager Server began to stop periodically. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this problem and if you had figured out a solution.

Pat Carson responded: Yes, this was a huge problem for our office. We had to restart the computer every week. It went away completely when we gave QuickBooks its own server. Seems Microsoft Exchange Server and QuickBooks don’t like each other much when they are housed together.

Stuart McClain added: A support rep told me that that QuickBooks Point of Sale was not compatible on Windows Server with Exchange installed – I don’t know if this helps.

Mario Nowogrodzki contributed: QuickBooks Point of Sale is generally not supported on Windows Server, regardless of other applications installed. In practice, it might work, but it isn’t recommended or supported by Intuit. We have many clients running QuickBooks Database Manager on the same server running Small Business Server, which includes Microsoft Exchange. No problems to report.

Pat Carson continued: Enterprise ProAdvisor Support told me that Microsoft Exchange uses too many resources. Our problem occurred when more than two people opened QuickBooks at the same time – and it did not have to be the same data file or even the same version of QuickBooks. It was great to see the problems disappear – a rather expensive solution, but cheaper than having 3 or 4 people standing around while we rebooted the server.

Editor’s note: Mario Nowogrodzki will be giving three webinars during our Summer Webinar series. Topics include Case Studies in Networking QuickBooks and Working with Mid-sized Businesses. To see our complete webinar schedule visit www.sleeter.com/webinars. All upcoming summer webinars are 20% off.

To learn more about the Sleeter Group Consultant Network and our email list visit our website.

The Sleeter Group's Consultants Network

The Sleeter Group Consultants Network is the nation’s premier accounting software consultant’s network. With over 600 members located throughout the US and Canada, our members serve over 150,000 small businesses. We provide expert QuickBooks consulting, add-on integration services, business process workflow consulting, outsourced bookkeeping services, and financial statement preparation.

In addition to client consulting, many of our consultants provide consulting services to software developers who seek advice on the best practices for integrating their applications with QuickBooks and other accounting software products. To locate one of our certified consultants visit our Find a Consultant page. To learn more about becoming a consultant visit our Become a Consultant page or call our office at 888-484-5484. Members of the network receive a substantial discount on our resource products as well as our annual Accounting Software Consulting Conference.

QuickBooks Software Sale

SALE – Receive 20% off your purchase of the QuickBooks Pro Edition!

Now through September 1^st buy QuickBooks Pro through The Sleeter Group to receive 20% on the software. For the CD or downloadable version, receive 20%, plus FREE shipping! QuickBooks Pro Edition 2008 makes accounting easy with tools to organize your finances all in one place. Complete tasks like payroll, invoicing, bill tracking and check writing. Track sales and expenses, and easily share this data with MS Word and Excel. With QuickBooks Pro, you’ll spend less time on routine tasks and more time on business. Visit www.sleeterstore.com for more information.