Do you need a better solution for managing your manufacturing business? Looking for better manufacturing software or accounting software?Take a look at the recent webinar with Wally Tonra on the manufacturing functionality in xTuple.In this webinar, we took a closer look at the powerful tools available to manage your inventory, manufacturing, and distribution operations. This presentation is especially

Do you have a mobile business? Do you sell trinkets and do-dads out of your car, your suitcase or have a little roadside stand?Or are you a roadie for a rock band selling t-shirts and CD's- which is where I saw my first Square in action.? If you don't know anything about how to process credit cards and need to start taking credit cards in person or over the phone, then the Square is the way to

Wondering if its finally time to move your business to the next level? Time to replace Quickbooks?Here are 3 top reasons to switch to a true enterprise class business management solution:  1. Collaboration - Growing companies reach a point where multiple people have to collaborate on financial processes, often from multiple business locations as well as from home and on the road. As multiple people

Is your company is currently using MAS 90 or MAS 200 as its business system, and it‘s not going well? Does it may take many hours of effort to get the information you need to run the business – using spreadsheets, hand-written notes, and lots of digging? Do you have other outside applications that aren‘t tied into your main system and it can be difficult to coordinate the two?If your

Just a short post for this video on using xTuple's open source ERP solution for managing time and expense for services.xTuple's robust business management solution will let you use Mac OS X for you accounting and invoicing requirements. This cross-platform accounting software solution is great solution to put in a cloud computing environment where all your business colleagues and co-workers can access

The number one reason for starting your own small business is because you simply need a job! You looked for a job, you wanted a job - but a job was no where to be found. This is when the resourceful, independent entrepreneur launches into what they hope will be a successful enterprise. Maybe it works, but you keep a eye out just in case that job finally shows up.A close second is the job you have

Thymly Products, Inc., a major dry mix manufacturer on the East Coast, provides specialized food ingredients to the food and pharmaceutical industries, ranging from enzymes to phosphates.With a rigid, legacy accounting software vendor that continued to lock down the source code of its aging product, Thymly didn’t have the control over its operations it needed to take its business to the next level.

If you are running your business on an AS/400 IBM iSeries and wondering how much longer you can wait - then consider the following:6. Data Availability - High availability and point-of-time data requirements for audit purposes have become the norm in this stringent regulatory climate. This is easily possible with today's RDBMS systems like open source PostgreSQL. With AS/400 this feature is available

For years, there has been a need for teaching students about business process integration. The use of ERP systems has been proposed as a mechanism to meet this need. Yet, in the midst of a recent economic crisis, it is difficult to find funding for the acquisition and implementation of an ERP system for teaching purpose. While it is recognized that the use of ERP systems might provide a variety of benefits in a business school curriculum, how could business schools overcome the limited resources in order to bring in and integrate ERP systems into their business core classes?

Let's discuss enterprise software and why it should be important to a family business looking to insure that the business can successfully transition from one generation to the next.

Simply put, an organized, well run business following a consistent set of business rules is easier to hand off to the next generation. Business management software is an integrated systemic approach to managing all the data about a business, its finances, sales, inventory, etc.; resulting in an operational culture that shares information, eliminates silos and promotes best practices across the organization. The successful implementation of a first rate enterprise system, one that allows for the flexibility of your unique business, can be that key ingredient to a successful transition of a family business from one generation to the next.

First, what exactly is enterprise software, also known as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)? Basically it is an integrated business management system that connects users and information, enhances communication, identifies bottlenecks and standardizes business practices. A good ERP system, properly implemented, can bring about massive improvements to operational efficiency, shine a bright light on hidden organizational costs, and strengthen relationships with customers and suppliers. All of that translates into real growth - often exponential growth - even in a challenging economic climate.There are many different forms and types of ERP, but for purposes of this discussion it is those solutions that include functionality for accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, supply chain management, production planning and CRM. Additionally, the system should utilizes an accessible relational database and custom report writer.

Stumbled upon a blog post where the author was making the case that open source ERP is "free", implementation is "simple" and user training is somehow "optional". The author also seemed to think that all the documentation was available that would make customizations a "snap". Okay that's not exactly what was said, but the  implication was that open source ERP implementation and training was somehow easier and cheaper.

Open source ERP solutions are certainly less costly than proprietary solutions. Open source means that there is a "free" version available, but in general the "free" version will not have the functionality that a business of any substance would require. Licensed versions (like all software, functionality varies by product) of open source software are still considerably less expensive (25 - 50%) than proprietary solutions of the same functionality and scope.

Ran across a bit on the web, while doing one thing or another - its not called the Web for nothing!! Kind of sucks you in and then you've lost 2 hours of your life. But sometimes you stumble across something that is just delightful and needs to be shared, which is what happened to me.

I found an outfit in Austria called Seven Lakes Software that developed a single user inventory application for the Mac. They have a page on their website called CO-ERP course, which they describe as "how to sell overpriced, crappy ERP software that doesn't fit in a prospect's business". This is a clever, funny and uncomfortable accurate account of the ERP sales process.

Please do go here to read the entire post, but I'm going to borrow a snippet to illustrate how open source xTuple ERP is different from other solutions - who shall remain unnamed. Here's the snippet from Lesson 1 Hide your Product:

xTuple is in the process of publishing training videos to YouTube. Just another example of how xTuple differentiates itself from the traditional ERP company.

One of the challenges in the open source ERP world is demonstrating that ongoing commitment to the user community. xTuple supports a world-wide user group through its xtuple.org website, where users can post questions, search archives and get all the documentation on xTuple. Licensed users of xTuple ERP can also post and track bugs and fixes to the software.

With so many ERP solutions on the market, how does the busy business owner, CEO, CFO or senior executive find the time to evaluate them all? The Accounting Software Expo in Atlanta, GA on May 20th is an excellent way to get introduced to the leading ERP solutions for midsize business.

This one-of-a kind expo brings together financial management and business technology gurus for your benefit.  Talk to experts who actually handle implementations, tech support, and end-user training.  See live demos, ask questions and compare features within each accounting software. xTuple and OpenSurge Group will be there along with five of our better known competitors.

Want some great reasons for attending the Expo:

As an open source xTuple ERP Development Partner, I'm starting to see more acceptance for an open source ERP solution. xTuple is a robust ERP, with 100% of the functionality an inventory centric manufacturing or distribution would need. And more times than not all the requirements of other types of enterprises. Because of the open source approach - changes, modifications and extensions can be easily

The integrated Corporate/Customer Relationship Management functionality is core to the xTuple application.  xTuple's CRM can help you organize, synchronize and manage ALL of your business contacts and communications. Join this upcoming webinar to learn more about how xTuple's CRM can help your business nurture and retain your existing customers, attain new customers and reduce costs.Interested

Wally Tonra, the VP of Sales at xTuple, is hosting a free webinar to introduce new users to xTuple ERP. This is a great way for anyone that is interested in ERP in general or specifically xTuple's ERP suite of products.Interested in learning more about xTuple open source ERP, accounting, and CRM?Then partcipate in this web event on Wednesday December 2nd.  This is not a sales promotion but information

1. Negligible Investment and Maintenance CostsOf course, this is the biggest advantage of open source ERP packages – you get everything totally free of cost! It hardly matters if you use the package on 10 computers or 1000, you don’t need to spend even a single penny out of your pocket!There are no hidden costs involved and there’s minimal dependency on the ERP vendor.2. Training is EasyOpen

OpenSurge has launched its latest innovation for the small business owner. Using open source xTuple ERP in a hosted environment, enabling the small business the advantages of a robust and scaleable ERP solution at a price that makes ecomomic sense. Many small and emerging businesses that are working to get their business off the ground focus on sales and marketing, getting the products manufactured

Kicking off a marketing campaign to let small and midsized business know that there is a enterprise solution that has all the functionality they need.The promo is here.

You started your business with an idea, a concept, a product or a service that you believed in - then you went out and made it happen. You called on customers, built products, performed services and worked your tail off to make your customers happy. You hired associates, built factories and invested time and sweat, worked nights and weekends - because you knew you could do it better than your competitors.

Interesting developement that the Thai goverment is funding open source ERP for the midsize business.FYI - 1MM baht is roughly $30KFrom the Bangkok Post - to get the full story go here"Paitoon Butri, Software Industry Promotion Agency's open-source software manager, said this Government fiscal year which started in September, the agency will get a 35 million baht budget to promote open source - up

xTuple is a global leader in the emerging field of open source ERP.What does that mean? Our mission is to leverage the exciting and dynamic world of open source software to bring the benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to companies of all sizes.And, frankly, we're also bringing the discipline of a real ERP product company to open source. This is no starter kit, or collection of piece-parts.