Balmori Software Inc.

• You've computer-enabled your accounting; now what about your operating departments?

Does having computer-empowered accounting improve your speed and quality of service to those outside entities that determine your success in the marketplace? Not likely.

By introducing software solutions to accounting, you've made a decent start, but the truth is, you've just computer-empowered the scorekeepers, not the players... <read full article>


• Attention users: inputting data into SURE! DMS follows a certain unavoidable logic

"...Step back a minute and reflect on the fundamental business process. You'll realize that, logically, certain transactions should not be inputted or posted until a prerequisite transaction is first inputted and posted in the database, or until a prerequisite condition is first met. (It's like, you shouldn't tie your shoelaces until after you've put on the shoes.)..." <read full article>


• The inventory control tightrope: yet another area where you have to perform flawlessly to survive

If you are in retailing, you have to deal with dozens, perhaps hundreds, or even thousands of SKUs (stock-keeping units). In this line of work, inventory control can quickly... <read full article>

• R.A. 9504 (tax relief law for minimum wage earners) - One year after its promulgation, still discombobulating payroll preparers

Since October 2008, SURE! PayMaster Ver. 7.3 has been fully compliant with R.A. 9504. Many of our clients have upgraded to Version 7.3 since then... <read full article>


• New circular from PhilHealth affects payroll preparation anew

In a circular dated 15 May 2008, PhilHealth announced that henceforth it is requiring employers to submit the RF-1 report monthly, instead of quarterly. This new reporting frequency takes effect starting August 15, covering July 2008 remittances. <read full article>


• The tax relief Republic Act No. 9504 is about to affect how you compute your payroll

By now lots of people have had their little shiver of pleasurable anticipation upon learning that a new tax relief law has been signed. This new law amends RA 8424 - the National Internal Revenue Code of... <read full article>


• BIR requires employers to submit Alphalists electronically

"...As everybody who does not work with a carabao knows, each incidence of manual data-encoding is one more opportunity for mistakes to creep into a database, whether it's keyed in by the BIR, by Ms. Moneypenny, or by you and me. The whole world is full of flawed data, but one sure way to minimize data errors is to eliminate incidences of manual data-encoding..." <read full article>


• Payroll and the calendar year are like horse and carriage; plus: the easiest, most comforting time to computerize payroll

"...Some payroll clerks think that their payroll should start and end in consonance with their company fiscal year. This is not correct; the BIR requires payroll and corresponding taxes, and therefore also the required reports, to be done on a calendar year basis..." <read full article>


• Biometric data capture devices: where they're helpful, where they're not

"...Even to someone without a criminal mind, it’s obvious that a dishonest employee can simply ask a willing co-employee (or anyone for that matter) to time in or out for the real owner of the ID card. It’s a trick older than the Bundy clock. Or Mr. James Bond could steal your swipe card, slip into your workplace, and - dump 50 pounds of siling labuyo into your Dunkin Donuts production run!...." <read full article>


• Case Study for SURE! PayMaster Users: Resigned Employees and the Tax Adjustment Process
  

You processed the last pay period (December 16 to December 31, 2005), but couldn't proceed to the next calendar year’s (2006) first pay period. Instead, SURE! PayMaster pops up a message that “there are payroll records for the immediately past calendar year (2005) that have not been finalized/posted.... <read full article>


• Three different animals: learn how to tell them apart (and save wear and tear on your career)
  

Are you being courted by a vendor of computerized timekeeping devices (aka computerized bundy clocks)? Avoid later disappointment and feelings of betrayal by... <read full article>

• Understand and serve your customers better, even if you have 500,000 of them
  
  Retailing is hard. You're dealing with numerous not-very-loyal customers, doing lots of low-value transactions, with workers who aren't threatening to win any Nobel prizes anytime soon. To make your profits, you have to be very disciplined, very alert, an very customer- focused. And you also need a cast-iron... <read full article>
  
  
• E-Vat practical implications for right now
  
  "...Changing the VAT rate DOES NOT INCREASE (or DECREASE) the selling price of an item. It simply means that the the government’s share..." <read full article>
  
  
• 7 rules for choosing a point-of-sale (POS) system
  
  A point-of-sale (POS) system is indispensable in a retail business. It makes sales analysis a breeze, and can save you the salaries cost of a platoon of clerks. The following rules may help you make an informed decision and help you attain the benefits and improvements you envisioned when you started.... <read full article>
  
  
• Retailer, should you track lot numbers and expiry dates by computer?
  Some realistic thinking on an old question.
  
  When a retail business gets to a certain size, transaction volumes start becoming a challenge to cope with, for sheer quantity. At this point, the retail businessman starts thinking of computerization. He starts thinking about...  <read full article>
  
  

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• Superstitions
  
  For more than two decades now, we've watched many entrepreneurs and companies struggling with computerization. None of them needed to be persuaded of the benefits; but too many were hobbled by misconceptions and mistaken beliefs. These made their computerizing experience more difficult and...  <read full article>
  
  
• How to improve your chances of a successful software roll-out (Part 1)
  
  Battle-scarred software professionals, company owners, and hands-on users who've been through the experience agree that after the selection process, the set-up stage is the most dangerous part of computerization.  <read full article>
  
  
• How to improve your chances of a successful software roll-out (Part 2)
  
  Everyone needs to adjust their mental model. Computerization efforts are more likely to succeed if their implementers recognize and address a quite subtle problem, which is, that it's really hard to escape the clutches of an obsolete mental model.  <>;read full article>
  
  
• Being audit-trail-conscious clears up a lot of back-room inefficiencies
  
  A user of our SURE! AR/ AP/ DMS solution recently questioned what she considered a procedurally cumbersome aspect of the software.  <read full article>
  
  
• What really makes the world go 'round: love, money... and technical support
  
  It's been said that six months after you roll out a business application software, the data that's been encoded into it is already more valuable than the application itself.  <read full article>
  
  
• A common problem leads to a process re-engineering opportunity
  
  In an old, made-for-TV movie from the '80s, Oscar winner Lou Gossett plays the overzealous head of security at a New York City condominium. He's obsessed with creating a perfectly safe environment for all his condo residents. He patrols the building constantly. He imposes a curfew on residents. He berates them when they're careless locking up. The guy is sincere and conscientious. Determined to ensure his tenants' safety, he goes as far as to stage a terrifying....  <read full article>
  
  

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• To Vista or not to Vista?
  A user's first encounter with Microsoft Vista OS
  
  (For what it’s worth, we’d like to share with you an internal memo from one of our technical people who couldn’t wait to try the new Microsoft Vista operating system.)
  

  Last Friday, I got my Vista Home Basic OS via Fedex. I spent the weekend installing Vista in my home computer. Good news: All Balmori Software solutions run under Vista. Plus, all the programming tools, libraries and objects we use for our software work under Bill Gates' new OS.

  The other news...  <read full article>
  
  
• Understand the lifetime ownership cost of a software solution, not just its purchase price,
  
  "...Most people evaluating a software package just look at its explicit price tag. Don't make the mistake at ending your scrutiny here, because there is also...
  

  Part Two of the price: THE HIDDEN COSTS. Whether you're talking of a package costing a few thousand pesos or a few million, the hidden costs are typically far larger than the initial purchase price...."  <read full article>
  
  

• Peer-to-Peer Network vs. Client/Server Network
  
  "...A CLIENT/SERVER network is the way to go for larger organizations and for any organization where the integrity and security of data are of high importance. In addition, a client/server network provides you with more flexibility...."  <read full article>
  
  
• Purpose-built applications vs. spreadsheet models: what's the difference and why should you care?
  
  "...By trapping errors, well-designed applications save you tons of time you used to spend tracking down, and then remedying, mistakes that were very avoidable to begin with. If you can be guaranteed that you never again have to squander these vast unrecoverable swathes of wasted time, you can imagine how much more productive your organization will be...."  <read full article>
  
  
• Running an enterprise application in single-user vs. multi-user mode: as different as night and day
  
  ...The phrase 'one database' is significant. Having all your data in one integrated database means that you have one source of truth in your organization. All your data are synchronized and mutually consistent across the enterprise..."  <read full article>
  
  
• Evaluating computerized solutions? Three things you need to know before they jump out and bite you in the you-know-what.
  
  When evaluating a software application, it’s helpful to keep in mind the following mental model: Always maintain a careful distinction between (a) the user interface, and (b) the underlying algorithms.  <read full article>
  
  
• Packaged vs. tailor-made software: pros and cons
  
  Many business people continue to be confused about a fundamental choice that computerization always presents: whether to use an off-the- shelf package or to commission a tailor-made application. The choice is made more difficult when money is no object. Below, we present what we hope is an objective listing of the pros and cons of both options, gleaned from our two decades in systems development.  <read full article>
  
  
• Death by a thousand cuts (or how not to handle local area network maintenance)
  
  Evermostful Corp. (real company, fictitious name) is an upper-medium-sized enterprise that considers itself fairly decently computerized. It has an office LAN, on which it runs an accounting application, an inventory control, a/r, and a/p application, and a payroll application. Everyone at Evermostful is happy...  <read full article>
  
  
• Causes of data corruption (and how to protect yourself).
  
  In our 20 years as a software developer, by far the single leading reason why our customers come to us for technical support has been data corruption. Your data can get corrupted ...  <read full article>
  
  
• Backing up: the most basic things you should know
  
  Why should I back up my data? You want to back up your data because you need to have a spare copy when these files become corrupted...  <read full article>
  
  

• Attention exporters and EPZ locators: Comply with PAS 21 without having to tangle with dual-currency software
  
  "...It's the insistence on journalizing very single transaction into the GL that makes it seem necessary to convert each and every transaction to another currency, which in turn makes it appear that the PAS 21 rules can only be dealt with by a multi-currency software. This is a fallacy trap..."  <read full article>
  
  

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