 |
Newsletter – July 2008
Editorial
The year has turned and we are
slowly moving towards Spring again. Just to be exciting, we are upgrading to
QuickBooks Premier 2008. This has some very new approaches to VAT filing
and it is challenging to work through them. Sorry, it won't affect our
invoicing!
The flow of new work into the
company is good and we are very grateful to all our customers for their support.
With the growing levels of the petrol price, rising interest rates and rising
inflation, we see that we'll have to adopt very different ways of working in the
future.
Judith will be in Natal between
the 2nd and 14th of July for both business and very special pleasure. The
latter is meeting her grandson of 6 weeks. E-mail contact and cell phone
contact will be maintained during that period.
Green Tips
There is a competition for green-solution
companies being run by the Dept of Trade and Industry with a prize of R50 000.
Let's put on our thinking caps and come up with some bright ideas.
After a visit to our local dump with stuff to
recycle, we see a crying need for really effective recycling companies!
Ours has had its factory burn down, and Pikitup is no substitute!
An Equipment Costing Database for Industry
Archer Mining in
collaboration with Software Africa has for several years been developing a
database to handle the running cost of
mobile earthmoving
equipment.
EquipCost
is
applicable to equipment in general and therefore the earthmoving and material
handling industries. This would include construction, mining, industrialised
agriculture, forestry, materials handling and plant hire, and probably the
on-highway transport industry.
Each order
for parts is allocated to a machine and tracked through to payment.
Likewise, we record fuel and oil issued per machine. These
costs can then be viewed or graphed, individually or in total, on a
monthly basis, projected into the future, and compared to budget.
Capital costs and interest can be included. Non-performing
machines, or classes of machine, can be identified and replaced.
Monthly
financial statements can be compiled easily.
EquipCost is easy to learn to use and quickly becomes a reliable and
user-friendly source of information for management on the shop floor.
It provides an easy-to-get answer to the burning question “how are we doing?”, rather than a
store of complex engineering data that requires high level analysis before
it can produce information that the shop floor can relate to.
The system has been tested on mines at Delmas,
Sishen, and Mamatwan, where it has produced significant cost savings. It
can now be licensed to other
companies
on a monthly or annual basis. Need More Details?
Click Here to go to the EquipCost
page on the Web. Please
e-mail us about EquipCost, or call Rick at 011 802-2685.
Excel Tips #55 – The Microsoft Office 2003 "Save My Settings" Wizard
A
short tip this time, but it may be a lifesaver! It applies to the
whole of Office 2003, not just to Excel.
Over the course of time we tend to set up the various Office
programs to suit ourselves, customise toolbars, set Template folders, collect Templates (Excel and
Word) and Signatures (Outlook), all of which we stand to lose if we reinstall
Office or move to a new PC.
If
you need to reinstall Microsoft Office 2003, or want to transfer your settings
from your old PC to a new one, this might be a time to bless Microsoft for
its foresight. Click Start > Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft
Office Tools > Microsoft Office 2003 Save My Settings Wizard. Step
through the options and choose a suitable place to store the output file (no,
not on a hard drive you are about to reformat!), and Finish.
After the Wizard has completed, do your uninstall/reinstall or go
to the new PC, then run the Wizard again and restore your settings.
Maximizer 10
Maximizer 10 offers
mobility for the sales force, strong customer tracking and marketing facilities.
Please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za
Maximizer Tip
The change in "Group Edition"
This is particularly useful when
synchronising laptops. Once the database has synchronised,
users will need to do a Search | Company and mark Contacts as
well as Companies and Individuals to retrieve the newly entered
contacts. Then repeat the Search with contacts unticked to
remove them from the main address book. Otherwise the contacts do not refresh correctly after synchronising.
Parthian Shot: South African Murder Stats
There is a
point in the recently-released crime statistics for April 2007 to March 2008
that has not had much coverage.
There were 18,487 murders (4.7% down on last year), but 82% of these were
"social crimes". This gave me a good chuckle because I thought all murder
was anti-social, until I found out that it means that the people involved were
known to each other. So instead of being fearful of being killed during
a hijacking or house robbery, you should rather pay close attention
to your spouse when she or he is sharpening that kitchen knife, and at work make
sure that you never sit with your back to the door!
Remember: We can Help you with:―
-
Automating
your processes with a custom program or database.
-
Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word,
Visual Basic, and even Lotus 123 problems.
-
Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows
(all
levels from beginners to Programming).
-
Software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
-
Your corporate image
with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Directors, Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd t/a Software Africa
PO Box 987, Gallo Manor, 2052
South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685. Fax: 011 802-4576. Cell: 082 389-3481/2. E-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is
Copyright© 2008
Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left
intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, Click here and SEND the resulting e-mail. Your data will not be
provided to a third party without your permission.
Back to top
Newsletter
–
August 2008
Editorial
A break in the clouds as the
petrol price drops for the first time in months. Meanwhile everything else
is rising and the Monetary Policy Committee is due to meet again this month.
However, that has not daunted the birds, who are all preparing for the Spring.
Addition - Funiwe gave birth to a
son in early July and mother and child are doing well. Another addition:
six new Labrador puppies for SA Guide Dogs for the Blind, one of whom we will "puppy
train".
Green Tips
Great news here - Resolution Recycling, our
favourite recycling company, is back recycling with a passion again! They remove
paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and tins, and do the separation themselves: 011
618-2246 or
info@resolutionrecycling.co.za.
Now to find one that does electronics, old ovens
and washing machines, garden furniture and such as well.
We are re-covering an old duvet with an old duvet
cover to extend its life. This means that we will avoid suffocating in
loose down.
What Will the Cash Flows be on my Equipment?
Are you involved in
budgeting, setting up future cash flows, or working out the viability of a business
that uses plant and
mobile
equipment? Then you know how complicated it can get, and how
difficult to quantify.
The Archer Mining Equipment Costing and Cash Flow
Forecast System ("EquipBudget"
for short) may be
your solution. The system starts with a list of your equipment. Each
machine will have a maintenance and repair cycle designed by the manufacturer,
possibly modified in the light of experience. This will specify when each
part of the machine must be replaced, and the costs of replacement: For example,
a Cat 992 front-end loader needs its engine replaced every 15,000 hours at a
present-day cost of R770,000. We also specify fuel
consumption, Oils, and Lubrication Life Cycle Costs per 1000 hours.
For a given operation,
we set up the running hours expected of each piece of equipment per month based
on the production plans. This is linked to the costs specified above to
give a consolidated cash flow over time..
Now the capital cost,
replacements costs, and rates of interest and depreciation can be brought into
play. Finally, the series of cash flows is consolidated and can be
graphed.
EquipBudget
will allow you to do "what if" scenarios with different combinations of
equipment, different rates or production, interest rates, and financing options.
It has been invaluable in proving the viability of several mining operations,
and is now being made available for licensing by Archer Mining.
The program compliments
the
EquipCost
system mentioned last month.
EquipCost
records historical data and is a useful check on the input to
EquipBudget,
which looks at future cash flows . Need More Details? Please
e-mail us about EquipBudget, or call Rick at 011 802-2685.
Excel Tips #56 – Array Formulas I (MINVERSE)
We
all know about Excel functions like =SUM(range), where a formula can use a
range of cells. This formula is entered into a single cell.
However, did you know that there is a whole class of formulas that are entered
into a group of cells at the same time? They are called Array
Formulas or Array Functions.
Why would anyone want to do this, I hear you ask? Not with SUM, certainly.
However, consider matrix manipulations, such as matrix multiplication and matrix
inversion. You might want this, say, to solve a set of simultaneous
equations.
In
the case of a matrix, the position of the element in the matrix is of vital
importance. So the formula is entered into a range of cells in one
operation. The magic key combination is Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Let's do a demonstration with the matrix inversion formula,
MINVERSE(range).
Enter into Excel, or copy from here, the following data:
|
|
A |
B |
C |
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
|
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Some rules apply to inverting matrices: The matrix must be square and
filled with numbers, and the inverted matrix must be the same size. Some
matrices can not be inverted due to division by zero (producing a #NUM! error).
To invert the matrix: Select cells A5:C7 (also a 3 x 3 range). Type
=MINVERSE(A1:C3) and press, NOT just Enter, but
Ctrl+Shift+Enter together. In each of the cells you will see
{=MINVERSE(A1:C3)}, the braces a subtle hint that this is an array formula, and in the
spreadsheet the inverted matrix:
|
|
A |
B |
C |
|
5 |
2.5 |
-0.5 |
-1.5 |
|
6 |
-1.5 |
0.5 |
1 |
|
7 |
1.5 |
-0.5 |
-0.5 |
We will look at more array functions next time, and see how we might use
them.
Maximizer 10
Maximizer 10 offers
mobility for the sales force, strong customer tracking and marketing facilities.
Please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za
Maximizer Tip
Planning
When embarking on a Maximizer
installation and rollout, remember that there are two key areas
to concentrate on. The first is the structure of the
database. Make a clear list of what you want it to
achieve, as the power of Maximizer lies in its searches.
With Maximizer's able assistance, I stay in contact with a
number of NGOs. Mailing them is simplified by the searches
that I have set up.
The second area is user training.
Users adopt if they are trained well and formally. Include
them in your planning!
Rick's "Did you know"?
It's amazing what one can learn from
talk radio. This week on the business news I
discovered that there is an "Overall Mining Index". And to think that I've
always believed that overalls come from the textile industry!
(pity they
didn't mention which mines have the richest seams of overalls...)
Remember: We can Help you with:―
-
Automating
your processes with a custom program or database.
-
Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word,
Visual Basic, and even Lotus 123 problems.
-
Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows
(all
levels from beginners to Programming).
-
Software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
-
Your corporate image
with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Directors, Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd t/a Software Africa
PO Box 987, Gallo Manor, 2052
South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685. Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3. Cell: 082 389-3481/2. E-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is
Copyright© 2008
Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left
intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, Click here and SEND the resulting e-mail. Your data will not be
provided to a third party without your permission.
Back to top
Newsletter – September 2008
Editorial
This month we welcome Funiwe back
from maternity leave and Mzamo Nkosi as our junior programmer. Khanya is
now fulltime on telesales. September has come in with a rush and a drop in
temperature! We are now moving forward to make sure that all our projects
are in hand and we are building up our sales funnel for the end of the year.
It is amazing how quickly 3rd
quarter turns into 4th before you notice if there is no focus!
Green Tips
Now is the time to put leaves into the beds to
provide mulch or onto the compost heap. Both improve the quality of the
soil and the former retains water, decreasing watering requirements.
"Your Internet Access is Going to Get Suspended!"
We were surprised to get an e-mail with the
above Subject, saying:
The Internet Service Provider Consorcium was made to protect the rights of software authors, artists. We conduct regular wiretapping on our networks, to monitor criminal acts.
We are aware of your illegal activities on the internet which were originating from
You can check the report of your activities in the past 6 months that we have attached. We strongly advise you to stop your activities regarding the illegal downloading of copyrighted material or your internet access will be suspended.
Sincerely
ISC monitoring team
You will have spotted the miss-spelling and
the awkward English. The
Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.(www.isc.org)
confirms that this is a
fraudulent communication using their logo and website. After the "originating from"
is a web address that looks up your IP address –rather cute. The
attachment is a ZIP file containing an EXE file that is a Trojan virus.
If you get one, do not open it!
A variation of this
comes headed "Your illegal internet activities are being logged" with a list of
web sites and the message "We have attached a report about the copyrighted movies, music, softwares
(sic) you downloaded or searched on these webpages. We strongly advise you to stop any future activities regarding the downloading of illegal content or you can expect prosecution by 17 U.S.C. §§ 512, 1201§1205, 1301§1332; 28 U.S.C.
§ 4001 laws" purportedly from MediaDefender Inc.
and with the virus attachment. Snopes and TruthOrFiction.com don't have these
listed, but they are mentioned at
https://blog.trendmicro.com/spammers-masquerade-as-internet-copyright-police/.
All those in favour of the death penalty for virus writers, raise your machine
gun... .
Excel Tips #57 – Array Functions II (TREND)
Last
time we started looking at Array
Formulas (also called Array Functions), which you enter into a
range using Ctrl+Shift+Enter,
and demonstrated the matrix inversion formula,
MINVERSE(range). Now we will look at TREND.
You probably know that when you plot an X-Y (scatter) graph in Excel, you can
get the program to draw a best-fit straight line (a "Trendline") through the points. The
trick is, how do you get hold of the equation of that line or, better still,
look up values on it? Here TREND comes to the rescue!
The syntax is =TREND( Known Y-values, Known X-values, New X-values) –note
that Y comes first here!
Let's demonstrate with an example: Say that you want to predict the
petrol price for the next three months –something even economists can't do!
Enter into Excel, or copy from here, columns A and B of the following data:
|
|
A |
B |
C |
|
1 |
Month |
R/litre |
Line Fit |
|
2 |
4 |
R9.22 |
R9.05 |
|
3 |
5 |
R9.33 |
R9.38 |
|
4 |
6 |
R9.33 |
R9.72 |
|
5 |
7 |
R10.40 |
R10.05 |
|
6 |
8 |
R10.20 |
R10.38 |
|
7 |
9 |
R10.81 |
R10.71 |
|
8 |
10 |
|
R11.04 |
|
9 |
11 |
|
R11.38 |
|
10 |
12 |
|
R11.71 |
To fit a straight line to the data, select cells C2:C7 (remember, we are going
to enter the formula into a range of cells). Type the formula
=TREND(B2:B7,A2:A7)
and press
Ctrl+Shift+Enter together. In each of the cells you will see
the formula in braces {}, and the values that Excel calculates on the Trendline
(shown in blue above).
For our prediction, we need to add the range of New X-values: Select cells
C8:C10. Type the formula =TREND(B2:B7,A2:A7,A8:A10) and press
Ctrl+Shift+Enter together. You now have your predicted values
(shown in red above), and I hope you trust them!
Maximizer 10
Maximizer 10 offers
mobility for the sales force, strong customer tracking and marketing facilities.
Please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za
Maximizer Tip
Using it to build your business
This lesson came home for me today!
Maximizer's hot list is your most powerful tool for staying on
top of your sales pipeline. I have had a customer
interested in a product since the end of June 2007.
Through utilising the hot list and setting up a follow up after
each call, the business has finally materialised. This is
not the only business to come in as a result of keeping an
active hot list. Constant scheduled customer contact in
this way keeps me aware of who is likely to require upgrades,
licence renewals, new products and services.
I also use the hot list to remind me
of birthdays etc so that I can send greetings to my customers.
Police Humour (for a Change)
Our Reservists arrested two kids yesterday.
One was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one
and let the other one off.
Remember: We can Help you with:―
-
Automating
your processes with a custom program or database.
-
Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word,
Visual Basic, and even Lotus 123 problems.
-
Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows
(all
levels from beginners to Programming).
-
Software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
-
Your corporate image
with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Directors, Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd t/a Software Africa
PO Box 987, Gallo Manor, 2052
South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685. Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3. Cell: 082 389-3481/2. E-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is
Copyright© 2008
Communication in Action (Pty) Ltd.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left
intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, Click here and SEND the resulting e-mail. Your data will not be
provided to a third party without your permission.
To
unsubscribe, Click here
and SEND the resulting e-mail from the address to which this newsletter was sent.
|
 |
