Productivity | Schulz Consulting

Stop Tedious Business Card Data Entry – Use QR Codes Instead

June 22, 2011 by Wayne Schulz

Does this sound familiar?

You rush around at conferences collecting business cards from exhibitors and your peers. In the back of your mind you promise that just as soon as you get back to the office you’ll key in all those contacts to your computer.

Did you know there’s an easier way to enter in that contact information?

Some business cards and advertisements now contain a tiny bar code symbol called a QR code. This is Quick Response code. They bar codes can embed more than what they’ve been traditionally used for — either inventory item numbers or tracking numbers.

Using a free web site like ZXing you can input your own contact data and create a free bar code.

Here’s my contact information that I’ve created using the site above.

Now all you need is free scanning software for your smartphone. On Android I use Bar Code Scanner and on iPhone Red Laser is good (both are free).

Once you start the scanning application on your smartphone you simply hold it over the QR image and within seconds if the QR code contains address and contact information that data will display on your phone.

There are obviously some challenges to this concept of doing away with re-keying business cards – mainly that people need to use the QR codes on their cards and your smartphone (assuming you have one) needs free third party scanner software.

Gradually we (hopefully?) ‘ll see more widespread adoption of QR codes – and less re-keying.

Via: Sage Summit 2011 Diary

Charlie Don’t Surf. The IRS Doesn’t Email.

December 10, 2010 by Wayne Schulz

Have you (or someone you know) recently received an urgent email claiming to be from the IRS. Sometimes the email asks for personal information. In other cases it directs you to call an 800 number. In the most scary situations there’s an attachment known as the “Zeus Banking Trojan” that the scammers hope you’ll download.

Well don’t fall for it.

According to Connecticut CPA Thomas Scanlon – a widespread scam preys on the belief that if someone does not respond to an official looking email that there could be penalties.

Thomas’s recommendation – discard emails claiming to be from the IRS unopened.

Why the IRS does not send email and IRS Site FAQ

Paperless Office file list for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200

June 2, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

Here’s a great summary that shows the names of the system files which hold “behind the scenes” information about MAS 90 and MAS 200 Paperless Office.

This information can be useful in diagnosing system level problems or in restoring data files from a backup should you experience problems with Paperless Office.

WARNING: Do not make any changes to these files unless you know what you are doing. Consult a qualified Sage Business Partner for assistance. This information is believed accurate at the time of publication. Use at your own risk. Schulz Consulting takes no responsibility for damage that you may do to your data files.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu consulting wayne schulz

Seesmic updates their Twitter client to include Facebook integration

May 2, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

It can be confusing enough to understand exactly how Twitter and Facebook work without also having to use their sometimes painfully slow web interface.

Thankfully there are a number of third party software programs available that let you manage your Twitter and Facebook accounts (view, post) from the desktop without ever having to log into the web.

Seesmic Desktop is one such standalone program and the developers have just added Facebook integration to what is already a great desktop Twitter client. I love Seesmic because it runs on Adobe Air which means the same program can be used on either Windows or Mac. The interface is nice and clean and free of a lot of icons that perform features I might never use.

The real power of Twitter is in search. And the Seesmic Desktop allows you to create as many searches as you like and save all of them off to the side. You can optionally open separate windows for each search and view the results as they update in real time. This type of monitoring is helpful for when you might want to monitor Twitter feeds for your company name, product or other important topics.

Sadly missing from Seesmic is any type of Twitscoop integration. This handy site shows the top trending topics in Twitter and is remarkably accurate at picking up on breaking news. While you can “Like” friends Facebook posts – you’ll have to wait for a future release to comment on them.

Seesmic Desktop is still a preview which means that it’s undergoing further testing before full release. To download a copy, follow the link below.

Seesmic Desktop Preview

Bloggers wanted – no pay, lousy hours, invaluable experience

March 27, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

First, I’m hopeful my competition is too lazy to find this post. You may not believe me when you read this – but it’s my secret marketing weapon. And it can become yours too – with just a little effort.

This really is a job posting. It’s a non-paying job — but it’s a job.

The only blog that I write for every morning from 4:30 to 7:30am (and often during the day) is looking for some volunteer writers.

What the hell does this have to do with Sage or accounting software?

How many of you have web sites?
How many of you update them every day?
How many of you publish email newsletters?

Uh-oh — I don’t see many hands up on the last two questions….

If you’re in marketing, sales or just technical support — trust me when I tell you that the ability to write and publish online is THE skill for the coming years.

You don’t even have to write WELL – you just have to DO IT.

A huge (almost 100%) of your competition doesn’t do this because they never get started…..well, they get started — with excuses….lame stuff like – I don’t know how or what to write.. .or. I can’t spell/type/compose a sentence.

I was a “C student” at best in English. It was the subject I hated with a passion. Still do. Now it’s my most useful marketing tool ever.

If you’re thinking about how to get started writing/blogging — the web site I write for has an excellent opportunity to get your feet wet and learn how it all happens.

YOU have to make the effort though.

You’ll learn how to write stories, use WordPress, edit yourself, come up with interesting topics (if you think writing “how to select accounting software” twice a month is an interesting topic to most customers – you’re dead wrong)

Sure, the economy sucks and clients suck and business sucks and employees suck.

Perfect time for you to learn a new skill

Interested? Read more at the following:

http://www.geardiary.com/2009/03/27/help-wanted-gear-diary-contributors/

Uh-oh — I don’t see many hands up on the last two questions….

You don’t even have to write WELL – you just have to DO IT.

I was a “C student” at best in English. It was the subject I hated with a passion. Still do. Now it’s my most useful marketing tool ever.

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