James D. Peros C.A. C.P.A

Burnout Overly stressed employees can negatively affect productivity and profitability. The flatness of modern management structures has reduced the administrative and even the social distance between managers and employees, especially in small, owner-managed companies. As a result, owner-managers can be more aware of employees who are discontent or exhibiting behaviour that indicates something is wrong. Stress at home combined with stress at work can lead to a combination of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that affects employee productivity and ultimately your profitability. Recognize the Signs Learn to recognize the indicators that something is wrong. Signs that an employee may be suffering burnout include:   constant criticism of other employees or work situations   lateness in getting to work or completing a task or project   impatience with fellow workers or clients  taking too many Monday “sick days”   appear...

Metamorphosis “A change would do you good.” — Sheryl Crow The software industry is in the midst of a revolutionary change. Change is sometimes considered a constant in the world of IT; however, the model of the industry itself has only shifted a few times and each shift has changed the way people work with technology. Early programmable computers were huge and expensive – what we may now think of as mainframes. By modern standards, these early machines were difficult to use and their resources were not easily shared by large numbers of people. The next major era in computing was the transition to stand-alone, personal computers (PCs); everyone could have one on their desk for productivity-boosting applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. The ability to network PCs together led to the client-server era; computing work was split between the PC as client and centralized servers. Email, the “killer app” of the networked PC, revolutionized the way people communic...

Improve the Bottom Line Increasing revenue is not the only way to improve the bottom line. Businesses are constantly trying to improve the bottom line. Better profits usually reflect good cash-flow management, cost control, incentivized employees and loyal, hard-working management. Profit growth also enables the business to build cash reserves for future expansion, investment, or the proverbial rainy-day fund. Little Things Mean a Lot When trying to pare costs, management usually looks first at the big-ticket items such as labour and machinery because they create more visible and measurable dollar amounts. There are, however, a number of other areas where small savings can add up to large savings and an improved bottom line over time. Insurance Coverage Automatic renewal for office, equipment or fleet ensures you will always pay more than you need. Brokers have little incentive to find the lowest rates if they know you will accept the yearly invoice. Travel Fr...