Arbor Age

www.greenmediaonline.com Green Media / August 2014 11 A business management system will help you: • Improve effi ciency and productivity. • Get organized and get things done. • Achieve goals with better results. • Stop procrastination and reduce stress. • Increase profi ts. • Do the right things at the right time. Investing in a BMS is an investment in your dealership and your employees. When considering the purchase of a business management system, make sure the provider has a reputable track record producing these systems. Check the fi nancial sta- bility of the BMS provider and fi nd out how long they have been in business. Then, how well do they know the outdoor power equipment industry? And what about their personnel; do they have experience in the industry? When you purchase a business management system, you are buying more than just a product, it is a long-term relationship. Make sure the com- pany is able to meet your specifi c needs, now and in the future. GREG CARRADUS DIRECTOR OF SALES IDEAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. (CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA) 1) What is the latest OPE industry-related news about your company? Greg Carradus: We have continued to make signifi - cant strides on our industry-leading mobile app. Last fall, we launched the inventory functions, which provide OPE dealers with the ability to take inventory counts from their Apple or Android device and easily adjust and upload quantities into the Ideal system. In April, we added service functionality to the app, which allows dealers to take pictures and attach them to a work order, view all open work orders and the details of the service straight from their mobile device. In just the short amount of time it's been available to our customers, they've already seen benefi ts in the amount of time they've been able to save and the service they are able to provide to their customer base. This is a continuation in a growing set of mobile capabilities Ideal is developing to help its dealers reduce errors, access important data away from their workstation, and improve overall effi ciency. 2) What are the latest trends and technological advances when it comes to business management software systems for the OPE industry? Greg Carradus: Mobile Technology The whole world is relying on mobile functionality, which carries over to our everyday operations in the OPE industry. I think we'll continue to see trends in the mobile capabilities of business management systems so dealers can conduct their business from anywhere at any time. B2B Communications The OPE industry's continued development of streamlined communication between dealer and vendor also continues to be a trend. We currently have over 75 dealer-to-manufacturer/ supplier integrations with our system, and those numbers con- tinue to grow. 3) Why should OPE dealers invest in a business man- agement software system, and what should be their key considerations when shopping for one? Greg Carradus: • The level of support provided from the software vendor. • The software vendor's track record of performance in the OPE Industry. • The software's ease of use. • The software's ability to fi t your OPE business and work- fl ows. • The software vendor's long-term product strategy for OPE. ANNE SALEMO PRESIDENT CHARTER SOFTWARE INC. (LITTLETON, COLO.) 1) What is the latest OPE industry-related news about your company? Anne Salemo: Early last year, we offi cially announced the availability of ASPEN Lite, a streamlined and affordable version of our ASPEN business management system suitable for smaller, single-location enterprises like OPE dealers. ASPEN Lite has many of the same tools featured in our ASPEN system to man- age parts, work orders, rentals, customers and sales, but it allows dealers to retain their existing bookkeeping software. Because many smaller dealers don't manage their accounting in-house or prefer to use QuickBooks, we included integration with Quick- Books. Dealers can also opt to export their accounting data to use externally to other programs. There is no initial hardware investment for ASPEN Lite because it is hosted on Charter's web servers, making it affordable for dealers who either don't have the staff to manage a server or the budget to purchase one. Like ASPEN, ASPEN Lite also interfaces with popular OPE suppliers' online programs for parts ordering, parts price updates and product registrations, and OPE electronic parts catalogs, all of which save OPE dealers large amounts of time due to the number of manufacturer lines they carry. Also in the last year, we added some product registration integration to ASPEN and ASPEN Lite for Toro, Exmark and Lawnboy dealers through EZ-Link, as well as PSP Product Registration integration, which currently supports Stihl prod- ucts. The integration allows dealers to register their customers' purchases at the point of sale directly through the ASPEN

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• From the Editor
• Tree Care
• Special Feature
• Business Management
• Fleet Management
• Product Round-up
• Ad Index
• Turfgrass Management