CROPSHOP.2005:  PARTICIPANTS ENCOUNTER NEW "ENABLING" TECHNOLOGIES AND ANALYSIS OPPORTUNITIES

Bernard Peterson points to a cost center comparison from his Kentucky operation.	Ohio grower Dave Lepley discusses his management accounting process.

CROPSHOP.2005, held on February 15^th in Louisville, KY, brought together crop producers eager to take the next step in their information management practices with experts in the fields of data collection, communications and analysis.

The seminar began with case studies from four producers at various stages of adopting management accounting.

Kentucky grower Bernard Peterson has completed his second season using FBS's e.CLIPSE system and is able to compare production costs and practices across five crops, forty-six farms and nineteen activity cost centers.

Northern Ohio growers Dave and Craig Lepley are still closing 2004, but are beginning to derive their first real managerial accounting reports from their six crops, cattle and trucking profit centers, thirty-eight farms and twenty-one activity cost centers.

FBS president Norm Brown presented Year Two from the Farm Financial Standard Council's Crop Case study plus four years of machinery costs center activity in his own Northwestern Illinois operation.

Bill Stangel, AgCompass, describes the benefits of integrating web-hosted software with professional consultants.	Ev Chambers presents a live demo of AgCompass's server connected to clients running FBS software.

The key to adopting better and more meaningful on-farm records like e.CLIPSE believes AgCompass founders Ev Chanbers and Bill Stangel is a cost-effective communications system to support clients in the field.  Their firm's server hosts a full line of FBS integrated software accessible anywhere in the world via the Internet.  While their clients don't need to maintain their own copies of FBS systems, the benefits from the AgCompass system extend much further than immediate cost savings.  Professionals associated with AgCompass including Chambers, Stangel and South Dakota consultant Daryl Ellis can review client data from anywhere as well as share screens and desktops for training and support purposes.  (For more information on AgCompass, e-mail kalmia@centurytel.net.).

Data collection solution #1:  Critereon's Phil Neff demonstrates "digital paper."	Data collection solution #2:  Bernard Peterson tests FBS's new PDA-based Field e.CLIPSE.

A second bottleneck for many producers is getting data transferred from the field to the computer.

•	There's the wasted time of duplicate data entry–everything must be recorded once in the field on paper, then re-keyed into the office computer.
•	The possibility for errors and omissions increases each time data is recorded and transcribed.
•	Without current information, management is operating in a vacuum.

Phil Neff from Critereon demonstrated a very novel solution to this bottleneck:  "digital paper."  His company (www.critereon.com ) provides process verification for the food industry and has licensed a technology from Europe that permits forms printed on special paper to be electronically stored in a pen as they are being written.  The pen then uploads that data to Critereon's web server or to a local computer.  Although FBS has not yet linked to Critereon, applications like scale tickets appear promising.

The second solution, already being tested by FBS clients, is called "Field e.CLIPSE" and uses a Pocket PC device to capture field records and synchronize back with the office computer.  Its advantage is the ability to minimize field data entry steps and errors by creating pre-defined work orders and product pick lists tied to accounting inventories.  Full commercial release is expected later this year.

New Contract module links with FBS accounting entries and inventory reports.	Dr. Howard Doster explains the basis for Purdue's Top Farmer crop production benchmarks.

Crop growers and livestock producers who use futures and cash marketing contracts now have a new tool that integrates that marketing function into FBS software.  Norm Brown demonstrated the beta version of that software to the group.  Users interested in evaluating the "Market Contract" module should call 800-437-7638 or e-mail sales@fbssystems.com.

Finally, Cropshop perennial favorite, Dr. Howard Doster, described the methodology used by Purdue to predict input and machinery costs from Top Farmer data.  Participants discussed if and how those data points could be used as either starting points or benchmarks for producers with managerial accounting systems.  Howard shared his vision of a "Life Cycle Budget" that would constantly project forward from all available information.

Cropshop participants went home inspired and challenged to "reach for the top."

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Much of what is happening in crop managerial accounting is based on practices already perfected in the pork industry.  You'll have an opportunity to explore the latest innovations in data collection, budgeting and analysis at PORKSHOP.2005, scheduled for June 8^th in Des Moines, Iowa (one day prior to the World Pork Expo).  This year's PORKSHIP.2005 is jointly sponsored by FBS and the CPA and consulting firm of Latta, Harris, Hanon & Penningroth L.L.P. Watch this newsletter and your mail / e-mail for more information.

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We're at the peak training season—the time of the year when everyone wants help closing, installing, converting, configuring or optimizing their software.  Daryl Ellis, Doug Ball, Curt Christianson, John McNutt and Norm Brown are ready and willing to come on-site and deliver answers and solutions tailored to your needs.  While we can sometimes accommodate a last-minute request, the most effective use of our time and your money is to coordinate training for users within the same locale.  That requires some advanced notice and planning!

So, if you anticipate needing help any time in the next six weeks, contact us now at 800-437-7638 or sales@fbssystems.com.

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SOFTWARE Q&A – WITH Q'S FROM YOU, OUR CLIENTS! Send us your questions/problems–be they short, long, simple or downright frustratin'!–about SeRVware and we'll handle them right "on the air" for the benefit of all. Q. My bank balance in TransAction Plus didn't roll over correctly from the previous year.  What is wrong and how can I correct it? a. I would be curious as to why your bank balance didn't roll over correctly from the previous year.     1.    Run a User Defined report for undefined entries for the previous year. (Reports | Accounting Detail Reports | User Defined Report).  Check the box in the upper right corner for undefined entries.  Run the report for 1/1/previous year through 12/31/previous year.  Leave all other fields on the default settings.  The report should be blank.  If it isn't you should edit the entries correcting whatever field has "**not used**" in its description.  Ledger accounts should never be deleted; you can make unused ones "Inactive".  The same is true with cost/profit centers.     2.    Run a check register for 1/1/previous year through 12/31/previous year.  Look for "Out of Balance" entries.  The report will read:  "**entry out of balance**" in the detail of the problem entry or it will have an error message at the bottom of the screen that says "Balance Errors Exist."     3.    Also be sure your balance sheet and trial balance are in balance.  Click on one of these links to solve problems with the balance sheet or trial balance out of balance. The beginning bank balance should roll over correctly. If you absolutely can't find the error in the previous year the beginning balance can be edited.  The rolled over beginning balance is a calculated balance.  The program takes the beginning balance of the previous year, adds and subtracts all checks and deposits in the previous year and calculates the beginning balance for the current year.     1.    Run a check register for 1/1/current year to 1/1/current year and make note of the beginning balance.     2.    Run a bank account summary for 1/1/current year to 1/1/current year. The beginning balances on each report should match.  The check register's beginning balance is a calculated balance.  The bank account summary's beginning balance is the "stored" rolled over balance.  It can be edited through Input | General | Search for 1/1/current year to 1/1/current year and the ledger account of the bank account.  There may be more than one "Beginning Balance" entry for the bank account as the beginning balances are rolled over by ledger account/profit center/division combinations.  There needs to be only one "Beginning Balance" for the bank account.  You can delete all but one and edit it to match the beginning balance on the check register.  However this beginning balance will be overwritten if you "recreate beginning balances" for the current year. Call in your questions (800.437.7638) or e-mail them to support@fbssystems.com.     Top of Page