Posts Tagged ‘Managing’
Effectively Managing Software Licenses
Posted by admin in Financial Management on January 21st, 2010
Did you know that many companies are still using a spreadsheet to keep track of their software licenses? Whether you are a 10 person company or a large enterprise, software licenses are a business asset (and a rather under-utilized one) and deserves better care.
Like many other business assets, software licenses can and should be optimized to extract more value to your business.
Optimizing software licenses can help you reduce your software costs by only renewing the licenses you use, and better prepare for license renewal negotiations. It can help you stay compliant with license agreements by making sure you have sufficient licenses for all the software that is used across your company.
To effectively optimize software licenses, a company has to align its financial records (software licenses) with its inventory (what software is used). This can become a challenge in today’s modern IT world, when your software inventory is rapidly changing as new computers are purchased and more software gets installed. It becomes an even bigger challenge when you want to optimize software licenses as part of your ongoing business process, and not as a one-time event.
Certain IT Asset Management services can help you optimize your software licenses as part of your IT Asset Management strategy. These tools help you organize your software licenses in one place, remind you when renewals are due, and easily correlate licenses to your inventory at any time, so you know what you have and what you need. Other benefits include:
Organize your software licenses in a centralized repository, keep track of proof-of-purchase, resellers and purchase records.
Monitor renewal dates and notify you when license renewals are due, so you could better prepare for an upcoming negotiation, and only renew what you need . You can even use the service to plan and consolidate multiple licenses into a single agreement as part of your renewal.
Reconcile software licenses against current inventory, to detect any under or over license situations. You need a tool that can help you reconcile your data when your inventory changes, so you know your status at any time, and could incorporate this process into your IT Asset Management plan.
Using an IT Asset Management tool will help you eliminate the “license spreadsheet” and better manage your software licenses as a business asset.
Managing Finances After a Job Loss or Redundancy
Posted by admin in Financial Management on January 7th, 2010
Managing finances after a job loss or redundancy
Gaining control over your finances is of paramount importance when the future is a little uncertain. There are many ways to combat this challenge and of course there can be unique aspects to each person’s situation. As experts in change management, we have years of experience helping people come to terms with a job loss and the financial strains that can come with this experience. Below we have listed the most important steps to assisting you cushion yourself thus allowing you take the necessary steps to securing your future.
Though this article deals with the financial aspects of a job loss, I would like to say that the first step in a job loss situation is to:
· Not take it personally. The job loss has nothing to do with you. The job is redundant you are not. The decision to make redundancies was more than likely done in a boardroom thousands of miles away by people who have never met you and due to market conditions that have nothing to do with you.
· See this time as an opportunity for positive change and a chance to develop a challenging and rewarding career for the future.
Taking this as a given, it is important that if such a time arises, or has arisen, that you are able to sustain yourself during that period when you are not working so that you can concentrate on your job search and not worry about bills and expenses.
Step 1: Stay calm. Running around tearing your hair out will not help you in any shape of form. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, losing a job takes a lot out of a person and if you have not given yourself time to get over it, you will find it more difficult to get re-hired. So, allow yourself the time to come to terms with the change. Remember, concentrating your energy on solving this new job search challenge is far more productive than wasting energy on worrying about the cash side. So focus on the right things.
Step 2: Plan ahead. It is not everyone who gets advanced warning that their job is being made redundant so be prepared for this. Make sure that you have saved enough to get your by for at least three months should the worst happen. This may sound ridiculous, however having enough for several month means that you will not have to take the first job that comes along. It also gives you some free time to collect and recharge yourself.
Step 3: Know what your company will be giving you. You may be eligible for a redundancy payout. Ask HR and see what the company can provide for you. Also, look into social welfare payments and ask your local office what payments or allowances you can avail of.
Step 4: Add up all the essential bills, rent, utilities, food etc. Know exactly what you need to cover your basic costs. This will allow you to easily budget for the monthly essentials.
Step 5: Prioritise your bills. Some bills are paid monthly, other have a longer line of credit. Use this to your advantage. If the rent is due this week but the phone bill does not need to be paid until next month do not waste your money on the phone bill now. However do remember that the phone bill does need to be paid at some point.
Step 6: Cut out all other expenses. Examples of ways to do this are:
· Walk rather than take the bus/car
· Use Skype to Skype rather than your mobile phone
· Re-look at where you are doing your grocery shopping
· Substitute your shopping items to for the generic brand (its all the same produce in a different package)
· Invite your friends to your house rather than meet them in a café, or bar
Be strict with your spending and watch out for those impulsive buys that can really add up.
Step 7: Keep a diary of all your expenses for a month. Write down everything that you spend and what it was for. When you review this list you will see where you have been wasting your money. This is where you find the few extra shillings to put aside.
Step 8: Be very careful when using credit, especially credit cards. They are very expensive to run with extremely high interest rates and having a bad line of credit may hurt you down the line when you need a loan for something else. However if you really need a loan, shop around with the banks and credit unions to get the best deal on repayments. Also, while asking about loans, ask your bank manager if you can put current expenses on hold. Sometimes you can freeze mortgage payments or extend the time of an existing loan to decrease monthly payments.
Step 9: If things are getting tight and there is no new job in site then take a temporary role. It makes no difference what the job is. Just make sure that you leave enough time in the day to continue your job search.
Step 10: If all of that is not working well for you then consider explaining your situation to your family. They may have some ideas on how you can cut your costs further or come up with a favourable, repayable, finance plan to get you by for the short term.
Experiencing a job loss can be unnerving. But such situations can be effectively solved by carefully devising a plan on how to get past the unemployment period. Remember that you are not the only one who is going through this. The majority of people come out of it unscathed and ready to do battle again, as will you.
If you have just suffered a job loss and you are having difficulty dealing with it please seek help. There is plenty available and you should never face a situation like this alone.
If you know someone else who is faced with the above problem then please pass this article on to them. They will appreciate it. The link is www.jobsmanager.eu/job-search-articles.html
This article had been written and brought to you by Jobs Manager.
Jobs Manager is a specialist consultancy organisation operating with the UK and Ireland. We also provide confidential and sensitive services to individuals facing career change, redundancy or a new job search. We assist you discover your true career vocation and we ensure that you embrace change and think positively about the future. We will assist you develop your Job Marketing tools to ensure you get a new job and are ahead of the other candidates.
We also provide tailor made outsource solutions for organisations requiring help with HR, Recruitment or Redundancy programmes. We provide expert experience and expertise at a fraction of the cost of an In-house HR Department
Please visit us at www.jobsmanager.eu
Managing Personal Finance is Key for Long Term Financial Health
Posted by admin in Personal Finance on December 31st, 2009
The ability to manage your personal finance is key for successful long term financial health and stability. Regardless of how much you earn, being able to make your income work for you is essential. Not everyone requires a large salary and an expensive home and car to be happy, but they do need to be comfortable in terms of being able to eat and sleep in a healthy environment, and provide adequate clothing and shelter for their families as well. This can only be achieved through sensible personal financial management, that is, only spending what you can afford, not borrowing money over and above what you can realistically afford to pay back, and ensuring you and your family will be comfortable and able to maintain the standard of living when you retire.
Banks are often very willing to give credit to customers, which is where you need to be careful – they are not so easy going when it comes to paying the money back. Overdraft interest can be very expensive, and you end up paying back much more than you originally borrowed. On top of that, they charge high prices for going over the agreed amount, whether by accident or not, so customers need to be extra vigilant when approaching their limit. On the other hand, when the need is only short term, an overdraft is a very viable option. If you know in advance one month you will be caught short, then having an overdraft facility can be a big help. Similarly, simply setting up and overdraft but not using it until/unless there is an emergency will give you piece of mind that you will not struggle to suddenly raise any money unexpectedly.
Credit cards can be very useful, especially when using them as opposed to debit cards purely to take advantage of any spending bonus points/offers gained by regular use – which will only happen if the balance is paid off fully at the end of every month. Having a credit card for emergencies is again a sensible idea, especially for larger, unexpected bills such as car repairs. Many credit cards offer a 0% interest on the balance for a set period, often 6 months, and this can be manipulated so that you change company every six months to avoid paying any interest. Of course, this just keeps the interest rate down; it does nothing to shave the amount of what you owe. It is a common mistake to see credit as an extension of your wages – nothing could be further from the truth, it is not your money. You will have to pay it back at some point, and the sooner the better. Therefore, the best advice is again to only borrow what you can afford to pay back.
Finally, to secure your future when you eventually settle down and retire, it is an extremely advisable idea to set up some form of pension scheme, whether that is with your bank, or your employers. Pension schemes can move from company to company in the event of job changing, and your employers simply take a percentage of your wage each month and put it aside, to be given to you in a lump sum as and when you are retired, so you can maintain a good living standard when you are no longer working.
Managing Personal Finance Has Never Been Easier
Posted by admin in Personal Finance on November 21st, 2009
Managing personal finance may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially for those who have no experience in business and management. An accurate financial plan will ease your work and guarantee a successful completion of your financial goals. Here, on our website, we provide helpful information for an accurate finance comparison that will obviously make your work easier.
Managing personal finance may not be the easiest job. If you are one of those who manage their finances themselves, you will surely not find this activity as being the most enjoyable in the whole world. It requires a lot of time and attention, but it is indispensable to your or your family’s financial well being. You can find a helping hand here, on our website, where you have the updated information you need in order to do a realistic finance comparison.
A key component for efficient management of your personal finance is financial planning. This dynamic process requires regular monitoring and reevaluation. Otherwise, you risk missing points of evaluation and this could damage your finance control. You should keep under control this circular process by repeated verifications and intelligent manipulation. The following five steps should organize and make your planning easier.
The first step is an assessment of one’s personal financial situation. You will do it by compiling, onto a piece of paper, all the personal assets, income and outcome. You should use a simplified balance sheet for listing the values of personal assets (for instance, car, house, stocks and bank account) along with the values of liabilities (such as credit card debt, bank loan and mortgage). Moreover, you should make sure you list personal income and expenses, on a personal cash flow statement form.
The second and most enjoyable step is setting the goals. With this stage, one should formulate his or her material desires in a financial language. You can set long-term goals can such as retiring at 65 years old with a significant personal net worth. You can also make short-term plans, for example: buying a house or a car by paying a monthly mortgage for 3 years but no more than 25% of monthly income. You can also establish several goals both long and short-term, in the limit of your financial resources.
After setting the goals, you must develop an efficient plan in order to accomplish them. The plan should detail the exact actions that you need to undertake. This is the third and most difficult part of your personal finance management as it asks for thorough research for the most convenient loan, investment or mortgage deals. An easy way to approach this matter is by using the services we offer here, on our site, where you will find thousands of updated offers available for adequate finance comparison. In this manner, you can avoid or diminish planned financial sacrifices such as reducing expenses or increasing your employment income.
Execution of one’s personal financial plan, monitoring and reassessment are the fourth and, correspondingly, fifth steps in efficient personal finance management. Discipline and perseverance are necessary for accomplishing this part of the plan. As time passes, conscious fulfillment of every action included in the financial plan must associate with continuous monitoring and reassessment until the fulfillment of the financial plan.
Managing your personal finance has never been easier. With access to all the pieces of information you need, you can do a realistic finance comparison and you can develop a more efficient personal financial plan. Here, we offer you the possibility to compare thousands of offers on credit card, loans, insurance and investment deals in UK and not only.
Here, on our website, you will find accurate information on all credit card, loans, insurance and investment deals you can use for an efficient finance comparison. Personal finance management has never been so accessible.