While there are many keys to success for a small business, one of the most important keys is your employees. Employees need to be able to work together while fulfilling different roles. If they can’t quickly and easily access necessary information, productivity can be affected. One way to enhance collaboration is by employing a system like Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint was launched by Microsoft in 2001 as a document and content management program to be used on an intranet – a closed network within a company. Over the past 11 years, SharePoint has added a ton of useful, new capabilities and features that make it an integral part of the IT infrastructure for many businesses. One of the biggest advantages of SharePoint is that it closely integrates with Microsoft Office and Office 365. Here are five things you can do with SharePoint to help make your company and employees more productive.

• Centralize essential documents. A common problem many small businesses face is that important files are spread out, perhaps kept locally on an employee’s computer, which makes sharing difficult. SharePoint allows you to organize your files in a central location while allowing employees or other parties to access and share these documents.
• Collaboration. With centralized document management, your employees can collaborate easier. No more having to email another employee to request a document, then struggle with compiling different versions into one document. With Sharepoint, employees have access to the same document with changes made clearly visible.
• Solidify goals and roles. Employees in small businesses often complain that they don’t know what their roles are and what exactly the company is doing. With SharePoint you can create lists with your goals and document your expectations of employees, and place them in areas they can access. Clearly defined goals and roles will go a long way in keeping employees productive because they will be able to see exactly what they should be doing.
• Project management. Project management can be one of the toughest things to keep on top of. One team may be using a separate calendar and documents that other teams don’t have access to, causing productivity bottlenecks. With SharePoint, you can create calendars and workflows that are shared on the network, so you know exactly who is working on what, when it’s due, and what’s left to be done.
• Stage-gate implementation. With the combination of calendars, workflow, and shared documents, you can establish clearly defined stage-gates. Stage-gates are set points where document drafts, workflow processes, and any other project work must be approved before it moves on to the next step. This creates an element of control that keeps projects on track, and necessary parties informed at all times.

Through clever use of SharePoint and the different available add-ons, you can rein in uncontrolled projects, keep better track of projects in process, and ensure your employees know where their efforts should be directed, and when. Employees that are organized and that have easy access to data and collaboration tools will help your business see an increase in productivity. To learn more about how you can use SharePoint for your business, please contact us.

There is a lot of truth to the saying “presentation is everything.” Think back to the last time you read a poorly presented report or longer document. Did it make you want to trust the company or writer? Probably not.

It’s important to present documents that are properly formatted. One way to do this is through the use of headline styles and a generated Table of Contents (TOC), both of which can be done with ease on Microsoft Word.

Here’s how you can use Word to add and modify headings and create a Table of Contents for your document.

Assign headings
Many users will just bold titles and change the size of each heading to denote different levels of heading i.e., main headings are bold with a 16 point font, subheadings are bold with 14 point font and text is 12 point font. It’s recommended that you do this while writing the report so you can keep track of what’s what in your report.

When you’ve finished the report and have your headings and subheadings in place, it’s time to apply a heading style to them. First highlight your top level headings (not the main title of the report, but the headings for the main sections). On the Home tab, locate Styles and select Heading 1.

For second level headings, or subheadings, highlight and apply Heading 2. Subheadings thereafter follow the same structure. The reason for doing this is that it will help Word create a TOC that’s properly structured and has links that will take a user to the section when clicked.

If the headline styles Word applies don’t appeal to you, you can change it by going to the Styles group, pressing the grey arrow so the drop down menu opens. Right-click on the heading style you’d like to change and select Modify. You can also hit Ctrl-Shift-S. A window will open which allows you to customize the heading. Press Ok and Word will automatically change all headings that have that style. Note: changes made to a heading style will be saved.

Build a Table of Contents
Once you’ve assigned styles to headlines and modified them to meet your needs, you can get Word to insert/build a TOC. First select where you’d like it to go, and make a little space – one blank line above and below should be enough. Click References from the menu at the top of the window, and select Table of Contents. Pick the format you’d like and Word will create the TOC for you.

It’s generally a good idea to apply the heading styles and Table of Contents after you’ve finished the document. If you do need to make changes to the document, you’ll need to update the TOC by right-clicking anywhere on it and selecting Update.

A consistently formatted document goes a long way in impressing external investors or parties, in fact, many now expect a readable document. If your company produces sloppily formatted documents that are hard to read, you could risk losing business. If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Word or other Microsoft Office products, please contact us.

When the Android OS was first introduced, it had a lot of catching up to do and faced some seriously stiff competition in the smartphone market. Fast forward a few years and it’s now the most popular OS, due at least in part to the availability of some truly excellent tablets. Many businesses and organizations are adopting Android tablets in ever greater numbers, but are still faced with one glaring problem: Microsoft Office doesn’t have an Android app.

No need to worry though. Here are four apps that have stepped up as alternatives for Microsoft Office on your Android Tablet.

Kingsoft Office – FREE
Kingsoft Office allows you to open, edit, and create Word and Excel documents. You can only view PowerPoint and PDF files though. There are three versions of the app on the Google Play store: an English only version, an international version with support for 13 languages, and a simplified Chinese version called WPS. If you can read simplified Chinese, go for the WPS version, as it has a few extra features. If not, go for the normal version.

Quickoffice Pro HD – USD 14.99
This app is quick, hence the name. With it you can use your tablet to create, edit and share Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDF files. You can also access and upload documents to major cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Beyond that, you can send files to other users via SMS, email, Bluetooth and social media. Note that there are two versions of this program on the Google Play store. The HD version is for tablets only.

Google Drive – FREE with 5GB storage
Google Drive is Google’s cloud storage/collaboration tool. When it was released, Google Docs was rolled into this service. While this app can read Office documents, it does have problems with Office related formatting. If your company uses Google Apps, then Google Drive is the app you should be using. If you’re expecting a full featured document editor, it’s a better idea to look at the other options.

Documents To Go – FREE to USD 14.99
Documents To Go is a free app that allows you to view Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and Google Doc/Drive files. If you download the Full Version, you can create and edit Office files and PDFs. You’ll also be able to download and save Google Drive documents. There are two features that set this app apart. The first is that you can sync files from and to your Windows PC, and the second is that it has a layout that’s simple to use.

These four apps each offer something different, and between them they should meet your needs. If you need help choosing one that’s a perfect fit for you, please get in touch with us.

Any company that can command a market share of 94% is obviously doing something right. Microsoft has attained this percentage in the word processing market with its many versions of Microsoft Office. The word processor, commonly referred to as Word, is used by nearly all involved in business. To make things more efficient, Microsoft has included a number of keyboard shortcuts.

Here are 20 handy keyboard shortcuts for Word that can help improve your productivity, or make navigating easier.

General
These shortcuts will do the same thing in all Microsoft programs.

• Ctrl + P: prints the document, spreadsheet or presentation. If you have more than one window open, the item you’re currently looking at will be printed.
• Ctrl + W: closes the window you have open.
• Ctrl + O: brings up the Open document window.
• F12: opens the Save As window.
• Ctrl + S: will save the document.
• Ctrl + C: copies what you’ve selected.
• Ctrl + X: cuts what you’ve selected.
• Ctrl + V: pastes what you’ve copied or cut.
• Ctrl + A: selects everything.

Word specific
These shortcuts can be used in nearly any version of Word. Note: Ctrl may be Control on some keyboards.

• Ctrl + F: will allow you to search the document for a word or sentence. If you press Replace in the window that opens, you’ll be able to find and replace words.
• Ctrl + Up arrow: moves up one paragraph from where the cursor – black, blinking line – is.
• Ctrl + Down arrow: moves down one paragraph from where the cursor is.
• Ctrl + Page Up: switches to the top of the previous page.
• Ctrl + Page Down: switches to the top of the next page.
• Ctrl + Shift + E: turns on track changes which will show any changes made to the document, convenient for editing. Pressing it again will turn track changes off.
• Ctrl + Shift + C: will copy the format of the selected text.
• Ctrl + Shift + V: pastes the previously copied format. Note: you need to select text to apply the copied format to.
• Ctrl + B/I/U: applies bold, italic or underlined formatting to selected text. If no text is selected, the respective formatting will be enabled.
• Tab: will move to the next selection. If you have a list with numbers or bullets, pressing Tab will indent the number or bullet in once, and change it to a subheading under the previous point. i.e., 2. will be indented and changed to a. as a subheading under 1.
• Shift + Tab: moves back, or moves one indent back (to the right). For lists, this will move the point up the hierarchy i.e., a. will be moved back to 2.

These are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for Word. For a full list of shortcuts you can go to the Microsoft Help and How-to page. If you’re interested in learning more about Word’s features and how they can be implemented, please contact us.

A good presentation can be the difference between success and failure. The key questions while creating presentations are: do they reach the target audience, and are they effective? Unfortunately, the majority of the time the answer is no.

Here are a few tips that can help anyone improve their presentations.

Simplify and minimize
The best presentations are simple and minimal, often shifting focus from the presentation to the presenter. Minimal presentations follow the 6-6-6 rule. There should be no more than: 6 bullet points per slide, 6 words per bullet and 6 slides full of words in a row. Being visual creatures, you should encourage your employees to create slides with engaging and related visuals. A caveat: be sure that you have the rights to use the images.

A great rule taught in business schools across the country is: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Refrain from using confusing words, jargon, uncommon acronyms and irrelevant information. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Following these rules will help engage the audience and hold their attention for a longer period of time.

Be consistent
“Consistency is key” – a saying often used but rarely followed in the creation of PowerPoint presentations. You should ensure that grammar and spelling are all consistent, and errors are minimal, if existent at all. Have another employee or manager review it for errors and inconsistencies.

For the slides, use the same background and font throughout. The easiest way to ensure this is by using a template. A word of warning: don’t use templates that are heavily animated because they can cause significant distractions, and don’t choose backgrounds that are similar in color to your font. The best slides have a light color for a background with a darker font for your text.

Summarize
The goal of most presentations is to build interest and inform or update the audience. In fact, the majority of audiences just want a short summary so they can develop their own questions to ask after the presentation, or at a later meeting.

When creating the presentation, be sure to keep the audience in mind. If a presentation is being made to IT managers, chances are it does not need to have advanced financial spreadsheets. If you are presenting on a topic that has lots of graphs, extra information, or appendices, put the most important information in the presentation and the rest in a handout. This will keep the audience’s attention on the presenter, not the slides.

Practice, preview, review
Practice makes perfect. In an ideal world there would be hours and hours to practice and tweak a presentation. Normally, that’s not true. Schedule at least a comparable amount of time the day before a presentation for a dry run. Always review the presentation with your team and ask them for feedback. This will help encourage employees to keep improving and developing themselves.

For more tips and tricks on giving presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint and other Microsoft products, please contact us.

Microsoft Excel has become a critical tool for business. It’s safe to say that we all know the basics of Excel and are comfortable with what Excel can do. However, one thing that makes people uncomfortable with Excel is the confusing error messages.

While most of us are comfortable with Excel, there are many times when we have had an error pop up that is more or less confusing. Let’s face it, when we see “!#%&” characters many of us are at a loss. Here are some of the most common errors you come across in Excel, what they mean, and how to fix them.

#######
This is one of the most common errors, with the # sign filling the cell. This error means that you have entered data in the cell that is longer than the cell’s size. For example, 1234567890 will show up as ##### if that column is not wide enough to fit all those numbers. This error will also show up when you have formatted a negative number as a date.

To fix this error, simply re-size the column (A, B, C, etc.) by clicking the edge of the column and dragging to the right to make larger. Or check to see if you have a negative number that is formatted as a date, and if so format the cell as a negative number instead..

?Name#
This error means you have have an error in the formula or range. For example, =counif(!6:B99, “Y”) In this case, “counif” should be “countif”. Also, the “!6” should be a column letter and 6 (i.e., B6).

To fix this error, click on the cell with the error, and look at the formula in the formula bar, usually located above the spreadsheet, and correct the formula like this: =COUNTIF(A6:B99, “Y”)

#REF!
If you have a formula that refers to other cells in the spreadsheet, and then you change one of those cells to data that does not compute in your formula, you will get the #REF! error. For example, if your formula for C6 is: =SUM(A1:A5, B1:B5, C1:C5) and you delete B1, you will get #REF! in C6.

The easiest fix to this is to hit: CTRL+Z, or Undo under Edit. If you made the error a long time ago and Undo does not work, then make sure all cells referenced in the formula contain valid information.

Circular Reference
You get this error when you have entered a formula that includes the cell where you have entered the formula. For example, the formula =SUM(A2:A5) is entered into A5. Excel is essentially telling you that it is chasing its own tail, and can’t catch it.

The easiest way to fix this error is to simply click on the original cell, and remove the reference to the cell that the formula is entered in.

The Little Green Triangle in the Cell
If you see a little green triangle in the top left corner of a cell, Excel is telling you there is an error with the formula. This is useful if you aren’t sure about what the error means. If you click on the arrow, you will get an ! with Trace Error. Click this, and Excel will give you a drop-down menu with options.

What if I Can’t Find the Error?
If you are having trouble locating the error, or do not want to spend time searching for the error in a long formula, click the Formula tab and the arrow beside Error Checking. You can click either Trace Error or Circular Reference and Excel will point out the error, or provide the cell name with the error. From there, select the cell and look at the formula or data entered to determine the problem.