Software packages for cleaning businesses

If you're running your own cleaning business, then buying cleaning business software is a good way to organise the business.

There are a number of software packages available that are specifically designed for cleaning businesses. The software has a range of functions, which normally include features such as:

• Appointment tracking so that cleaning personnel know where to visit on a daily basis.


• Client contact management facilities.


• Customer history.


• Customer billing capabilities including the ability to take credit card payments.


• Customer feedback on the quality of their cleaning service, which can help to improve customer service.


• Charting and data analysis capabilities.


• Data backup.


• Financial forecasting.

Read more about cleaning business software packages here.

How to Create or Buy Promotional Cardboard Standees

Looking for a cool idea for endorsing your small business? Many organisations already know the marketing power of lifesized cardboard cutouts. If you happen to go into any record or film store, the odds are they could have one or two promotional cardboard standees of celebs to endorse the latest record or film.

Cardboard cutouts are beneficial marketing devices for trade exhibits, in-store promotions, new shop openings (less expensive than hiring a real superstar!) and office parties.

There are a couple of ways of making a cardboard standup for use for a promotion. The initial way is to get a specialist art company to make a cardboard standup for you. Yes there are really organizations which will make available this service on your behalf!

The benefit of getting a company to supply your cardboard standup for you is that they will use premium materials and you'll be assured of receiving a top quality cardboard cutout to utilise to advertise your corporation. Unfortunately it may be expensive to get a cardboard cutout professionally created. The fee is gonna be especially high if you just want a single figure produced.

A neat choice is to create your own cardboard standup. This is actually quite easy to accomplish. There's a great software program that will help you create your own personal lifesized cardboard standees. The great thing about this is that the cardboard cutout creator software actually works with any photo! You can start using your photograph of your chosen personality, work colleague or model, then make as many cardboard standees as you require. While the quality may not be as high as obtaining a cardboard cutout figure professionally created, the actual fact is that many cardboard standees are simply required for trade displays or one off promotional events, so it's not always worth spending lots of cash on producing your cardboard cutout.

The computer software for creating your own personal personalised cardboard standee contains everything you'll want to know so that you can create cutouts using a standard printer. It guides you through the process of selecting the right materials for printing. There's advice about weatherproofing your standup should they have to stand outdoors for long time periods. There's also details about how to choose a photograph that might produce a really good standee. If you are in need of photograph ideas then there's also some cool information about where to obtain particularly good photos of celebs.

How to Make Your Own Cardboard People

If you're looking for an original gift for someone then it's hard to do better than making cardboard people. Making a cardboard cutout of a person is a great gift whether it's for a birthday, retirement party, important anniversary or some other occasion.

As well as being a great gift idea, cardboard people can be a great business promotional tool. For years cinemas as well as music and entertainment stores have used cardboard celebrities to promote new films, albums, books and other merchandise. Getting a celebrity to endorse your product is one of the oldest promotional marketing tools in the book. Unfortunately it's really expensive to get an A or B list celebrity to promote your business. The next best thing is a cardboard cutout of that person.

Cardboard people can be bought online from a number of retailers. They will often have special deals on cardboard people who are in the news (such as the hottest celebrities and newsworthy people). A lot of art supply companies will also custom build you a cardboard person of your choice.

A cheaper option is to make your own cardboard person. Here's some great software for doing this yourself. All of the materials you need to make your cardboard person are easy to obtain, and you can use any printer to print out your cardboard person.

Time Tracking Software Products

Professional services organisations typically charge clients for the time taken on projects. Consequently it is important to have a high quality time tracking software product. A good quality time tracking tool can dramatically improve business efficiency as well as ensuring that clients are correctly charged for the time taken on various projects.

• This article describes the various time tracking software applications on offer.

For smaller enterprises a desktop based tool such as HourGuard might be sufficient. For larger organisations there is the choice of desktop PC or Internet based solutions. Many of these larger packages integrate with billing and project management software such as Microsoft Project.

There are also specialist software packages available such as PT billing software for private physiotherapy practices.

MicroFiche and MicroFilm Scanning Services

Before computer technology became widely introduced into offices, one of the most popular data storage solutions was through the use of microfilms and microfiches. Both data storage mediums are designed to be inexpensive long term archival formats. Unfortunately they are slow and inefficient means of data storage compared to today's computer based systems.

As this article shows, it's now easy to scan and convert archived data stored on aperture cards, microfilm and microniche. Data can be converted to a range of digital file formats, then used in other data processes such as document tracking and management. Microfiche scanning can either be carried out in house using specialised hardware, or it can be outsourced to one of the many scanning service companies.