Solutions that Work for You
What’s your comfort level with technology?
This is one of the most important questions we ask.The reason is simple.If you’re not comfortable with technology then it’s likely that you’ll struggle with it again and again. This can get in the way of running your business. On the other hand, if you’re comfortable with technology, odds are that you’ll embrace it and find new and more efficient ways to use it.
You know there’s more to running a business than hanging a sign and assuming that customers will beat a path to your door. You may have a wonderful product or service but first, potential customers need to find you. The Internet opens up the entire world as your customer base; but your message must be heard above the background noise. Many small business owners aren’t able to devote the time to fully use the Internet and other technology to attract and retain customers. You need an ally, and this is where Tekpals can help you.
At Tekpals, we take the time to get to know you and your comfort level with technology. Then we match solutions with your comfort level. For example, if you’re new to technology we can help train you on Quickbooks and show you how this accounting program can help you understand your business finances. On the other hand, if you’re an Excel wizard, we can show you how to link your Quickbooks data to Excel to create custom views and reports from your Quickbooks data.
We’re familiar with both PC’s and Mac’s. Contrary to all the hype, they’re both just tools. We can show you the real differences and similarities with both types of computers. We can help you sort through all the noise and point out the real advantages and disadvantages of both systems. We’re also familiar with the back office technology infrastructure that supports your systems.
Technology Strategy
Once we know how you feel about technology we begin to look at your business. We can show you ways to use technology to automate tasks, find new customers, communicate with customers, and track and measure your business. We’ll show you how a well thought out strategy can simplify your work without breaking you in the process.
The technology strategy gives you options. You’re in control. You decide what makes sense to you. With input from Tekpals, you decide which technology you want to use yourself and which tasks you may want to let someone else do for you. We can develop infrastructure so that you can access services entirely through a web browser or even a mobile phone.
As part of our services, we can help you backup your data so that you’ll still able to access it even if your computer crashes. We’ll set up security so that your data stays private. We can show you how to connect computers to share data – not only within your office but anywhere in the world!
The first step in developing a strategy is a needs assessment. The needs assessment reviews all of your business, management and marketing requirements. We prioritize these requirements based on impact, urgency and cost so you know what should come first. Our specialties include:
- Making recommendations on optimal use of the Internet, including website development and support, to attract, engage and retain customers.
- Problem solving and troubleshooting of existing technology, including recommendations on where it makes sense to bring technology in house and where it makes sense to outsource.
- Reviewing existing technology to better leverage your present investments.
- Reviewing new technology solutions to identify and prioritize investment opportunities.
- Developing infrastructure to ensure the security, reliability and ongoing availability of business systems.
- Improving your workflow by securely sharing information across the Internet.
The Needs Assessment documents your objectives, the strengths and weaknesses of current systems and processes, and required functionality. It guides you through the process of prioritizing your needs, and recommends technological, operational, and organizational improvements.
Set-Up and Training
We can take care of everything needed to get you up and running quickly. We’re pros at setting up computers, getting everything and everyone working together and getting you safely connected to the net. We’ll set you up and educate you and your staff on how to use the technologies to make your business run more efficiently. We can show you how to use the software you already have to reduce data entry and remove manual workarounds.
When we want someone to learn something new we often think that we need to train someone. We believe that we need to change the approach taken and look at it not as training but as education. If we can educate someone on the why’s in addition to the how’s we can go to a deeper level of understanding. The result is a smarter, more capable staff! We start with the big picture, what the desired results are. Our objective is to enable someone on your staff to be the go to person and your in house expert!
