When you first set up Business Administrator it will do nothing. This is because Business Administrator is one of those pieces of software that is heavily data driven. For it to be of any use, you have to start using it.
Job list
There are several tasks to perform in order to get Business Administrator up and running and delivering for your business;
- Get staff details on the system
- Get close contacts on - people you work closely with, e.g., customers, suppliers, accountants, solicitors, delivery operators, etc. Don't include marketing contacts until you've set up projects to manage them
- Set up marketing projects and load marketable contacts
- Start marketing
- Start financial systems (consider the correct timing)
- Register customers and suppliers as such
- Get existing stock on
- Start trading
Business Administrator's mandate is to help you run your business efficiently, but it can't do this until it starts to learn about the business, which, in turn, it can't do until it starts to get data. You should start getting data onto it, and the best way to do this is to start using it.
Start by entering raw factual data. Enter details about your staff (so that they can use it), your customers and suppliers, and then any contacts with whom you regularly liaise. Over time, build up the contact base with contacts to whom you want to market to, or manage relationships with.
To enter contacts quickly, you can receive electronic lists (use Names Import), paper lists (use Fast Track Data Entry), to build up your contact base or enter contacts on the fly (use Add Company or Add person from Contact manager). To use the first two of these systems you must create a project for them first. Marketing initiatives are performed through Project Manager, so you add your new projects there, and come back to Contact Manager.
Getting contact information onto the system
The most important people in your business are your staff, if only because they are the ones using your Business Administrator. Start by going to Contact Manager and enter their details in People mode. Note that whoever installed and registered Business Administrator will already be there, as will the name of your business. Be sure to mark them as personnel as you enter them.
Doing business is all about working with people. So you're next job is to get those companies and people (contacts) that you regularly deal with - particularly customers and suppliers - on to the system. Again, do this with Contact Manager. Consider whether or not a contact works for another business. If so, use company mode, and see if the company's name is listed. If it is, double-click it, else click on Add Company. Click on View Employees and enter details of the contact.
If you want to create a contact list of staff, make a project with that name (see below), then use of Fast Track Data Entry would be most appropriate.
If the contact does not work for a company, or you don't know the name of the company, click on People Management, click Add Person and add the relevant details (or if the contacts name is listed, double-click it to edit the details).
Three ways to enter contacts
If you have bought electronic lists of contact information you can use the Names Import system (the list must be in an Excel file - see Names Import under Contact Manager in this manual).
If you have a paper list of contact information, use Fast Track Data Entry to type them in quickly (either of the above require that you have created a project).
If you don't have either of these, want to enter just one contact at a time, or enter additional information about the contact, go to Contact Manager and Add a Company or Add a Person.
It's important to note that Finance Manager, Trade Manager and Supply Chain Manager won't be available until you start the financial systems. Before you start them read the overview on Starting the Financial Systems - whilst you should get on with it, it may not be wise to do it today.
Nearly everything you do in Business Administrator hinges around the use of projects, frequently so when you work with contact lists. So, do consider adding projects. Go to Project Manager and click on Add Project. Before you do this, you would be well advised to read about Project Manager in this manual, as well as the online overviews and help, to gain a better understanding on what projects do in Business Administrator. Essentially, they drive the business initiative.