Dynamic Business

If you are suffering from information overload, and looking for a way to organise your reams of data, a simple database can go a long way in reducing manual administration, whilst increasing productivity.

Perhaps the bigger questions are how can you put all this data to work and use the data you produce to become more organised, more productive and better able to share information of importance?

Your business probably has information scattered about everywhere: in spreadsheets, files, folders, documents and on paper. The secret to bringing this information together in a central location is the humble database. Now, don’t start snoring, I promise databases are not boring! They are the simple key to unlocking hidden productivity and reducing manual administration.

Running a business presents common challenges, especially when it comes to things like tracking your customers’ invoices and payments, maintaining up-to-date employee records and measuring business outcomes. There are however solutions for companies of all sizes to assist them with all of the above.
For some, databases may still seem intimidating and the exclusive domain of big business, but the truth is that easy-to-use, inexpensive database software does exist. And it is these systems that can free up the time business operators spend managing a business and allow them to get on with what they do best, grow the business!

Whether you’re managing a team or self-employed, database programs provide ready-to-use administration solutions for every type and size of business.  A well-designed database program offers businesses management solutions that include:

• Managing contact and customer lists
• Tracking projects and tasks
• Coordinating group activities
• Creating quick and easy reports
• Tracking employee information
• Printing invoices, letters and mailing labels
• Connecting data, people and teams
• Storing digital assets and their descriptions
• Create inventories with photos
• Organising events and managing invite lists

A database is simply a big stack of cards with several bits of information on each card from text, numbers and dates to images, and web links. The database is what allows you to sort the ‘cards’ into lists (or ‘tables’ to use database terms) which in turn means you can store, sort and search lists of customers, projects you are working on, and items or images however you wish.

The main advantage to storing data in a database—as opposed to spreadsheets and documents—is that databases are designed to be easily searched. For example, you can’t ask Microsoft Excel to find which customer purchased product X. Databases allow businesses to centralise all information without having to jump from place to place and look for hundreds of files and folders. But they are not just about maintaining client records and contact lists. They provide the tools that small and medium businesses need to easily manage people, projects and assets, giving them the opportunity to compete with big business because their processes are equally streamlined, efficient and productive, if not more so.

While many companies utilise applications that have database-like functions—such as address books, calendars and photo management programs—and find them extremely useful, these programs cannot store all your different data in one central location nor can they use the different data from different locations to perform as many functions. But a genuine database can. For instance, you might have a list of customers, and a list of items you have sold, by ‘relating’ these lists you will see all the items a particular customer purchased. Try doing that with a spreadsheet! By linking all the records together you can improve the search functionality which in turn makes your data more meaningful and add value to managing your business.