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FarmSMART                   
February 2018

Dear Friend,

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I T ' S     S H O W T I M E !

We're wrapping up our winter show season this week at the Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California.  Please drop by booth #2925 to see a demo of "cost accounting from the cab." Also in this month's FarmSmart:

  • Farm Software Success Through Integration.
  • Cost Accounting from the Cab.
  • Beware Of Being Shortsighted With Your Budget.
  • 24/7 Webinars.
  • What Does Data Recovery Do?                                                                                                                                        SDG

 

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This month we continue a new series on the most important factors that contribute to successful farm software implemenation and results.

Reason #2: Save time/create knowledge through integration. Stopwatch.jpg
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If you’re like many growing, progressive producers, your scale and complexity are working against you because this vital information is housed in separate “silos,” consisting of unconnected accounting and production software supplemented by countless spreadsheets.

These information silos exist to accomplish specific information goals:

  • Cash accounting for taxes.
  • Accrual accounting to accurately measure true profitability.
  • Production records for insurance compliance and to evaluate best management practices.
  • Inventory control to verify what’s available to sell and what’s been used.
  • Cost accounting to determine your farm’s internal costs and margins.
  • Budgeting to financially project your operation into the future.
  • Benchmarking to standardize and compare your performance with industry leaders.
  • And ownership accounting to automate and consolidate your complex business relationships.
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What if those information silos could all be
connected and functioning as a cohesive central information system?

Consider what these “dis-integrated” management systems are already costing you.

  • First, there’s the precious time you or your employees are wasting “hand-scooping” data from one application to another and then tracking down the inevitable errors.
  • But there are also the lost opportunities because information is not current, complete or accessible when real-time decisions need to be made.
  • When you do make critical marketing or expansion decisions they may be grounded in “plugged” industry-wide assumptions rather your own internal competitive structure.
  • Or your decisions can be based on isolated production performance measurements without understanding the true economic effects throughout your entire
  • And in the long-run you’ll restrict your ability to safely control an expanding enterprise that will only get more complex and sophisticated.

The solution?  Information integration—through Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), a proven system widely used by successful manufacturing, retail and supply chain businesses and already adopted by progressive agricultural producers.

By combining your production, accounting, and inventory control into a comprehensive database you’ll simplify and automate data entry while making better-informed and timely decisions.

For more information watch our integration video, contact sales@fbssystems.com or call 800.437.7638.



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"Cost Accounting from the Cab" Announced at Commodity Classic

Are you headed to Anaheim for the Commodity Classic this week?  Then don't miss the newest technology that updates  FBS Management Accounting with as-applied field data through Conservis Farm Management System.

New this year:
  Integration with the John Deere Operations Center and Climate Fieldview(TM) that will get you real-time insight direct from the field--no manual entry.  No USBs needed.

Click here for more details or call 800.437.7638.


know_before_you_grow.jpgBeware Of Being Shortsighted With Your Budget 

Farm Journal Top Producer columnist Chris Barron began a timely series on budgeting in the January 2018 issue.  His recommendations include:
  • Fine-tuning your budget is more important than ever. An accurate budget will help you discover a margin target instead of just a price target.
  • Separate out each line-item expense into its own category including land, seed, fertilizer and equipment. 
  • With that process in place, scenario planning becomes easier.
Editor's note:  The LifeCycle Budget database builds from prior years, models scenarios and monitors with actual accounting performance.  Email sales@fbssytems.com or call 800.437.7638.
 
Next month we'll link to Chris's February article:  Budget Beware:  Manage Overhead Costs.
 

 


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We've switched to 100% recorded webinars so you can learn how to use your FBS Software 24 hours a day. 

Our first webinar is on installing the new Version 11.2.  You can view it from the Notification Window in your FBS Home Screen or by clicking here.

Catch up on the webinars you've missed by watching them on the Webinar page of our website.

 


Q&A: When to Recover Bad Data

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Sarah Dixon, FBS Sales and Support Coordinator

Q.  What does Recover Bad Data option do?

A. Database files can grow quickly as you use them, sometimes impeding performance. They can also occasionally become corrupted or damaged.  FBS uses the Microsoft Jet 4.0 database engine which is compatible with Microsoft Access.  FBS has a built-in function named Recover Bad Data that performs the same functions as Access's Compact and Repair command

Use this option 1) when you receive a database error message in FBS or 2) are experiencing performance issues in reports.

To run Recover Bad Data:

1.  Log into the FBS calendar year you want to fix.

2.  Make a backup of the year's data under Utilities>Save Data. 

3.  Select Utilities>Recover Bad Data.

4.  Check the box of the module you wish to repair.

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The process should only take a few seconds.  

Click here for more information on the Microsoft Compact and Repair command.

Schedule a Demo