Are you wondering whether it's OK to continue using Windows XP after April 8? This video by Fox News helps explain the ramifications of continuing to use Windows XP after today, when support is being discontinued for the product.

Is it still safe to use Windows XP after April 8?

Mark Machtemes has a long history working at Red Wing Software, so if you are a Red Wing Software customer, there is a pretty good chance you have talked to Mark. During his time at Red Wing Software, Mark has worked in many different sales positions and is currently the Business Development Manager. In this position, he works with the Red Wing Software partner channel, corporate accounts and third party software companies.

Here’s what Mark has to say about his time at Red Wing Software so far! “Having worked in the software industry since the early 1980s, I’ve been involved with many challenging and exciting changes to the industry. We’ve experienced computer changes from floppy drives to hard drives, DOS to Windows® software changes, the birth of the internet, and computer capabilities that are amazing. As we look into the future, who knows the possibilities that will follow. I enjoy talking with our customers about their goals and needs, along with working with great customers. We also have an amazing group of talented staff and management that makes it a great place to work.”

Outside of work, Mark enjoys golfing, fishing, traveling with his wife Pam and spending time with the family at their lake cabin and other activities.

You may not be able to tell by looking out the window, but the calendar says spring is here. This would be a good time to do some spring cleaning of your financial data.

Do you have some customers or vendors in the list of names in your database that no longer exist? Maybe you have some accounts that just don’t apply to your business anymore. These items are just making lists longer and harder to filter through to get to the information that you may be looking for.

Here are a few things you can do to spruce up you data. First, before you do anything that you haven’t done before, or may be uncomfortable with, make a backup of your data.

Depending on the software you are using, you may be able to mark unused list items as “inactive”. This could significantly reduce the size of these lists, and make finding useful information easier. It is often not possible to just “delete” these items, as they may have been used in transactions and they need to be available for historical reports.

You also may be able to “combine” items in a list. For instance, it is easy to accidently create two different names in a list just because you didn’t think the item was there. Combining the two names will make your reports more accurate and concise.

How long has it been since you checked to make sure your inventory is up-to-date? Several minor mistakes in inventory quantities or values can make a big difference, and your financial statements may not be accurate because of these issues.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to make sure all of your systems are providing you with the most valuable information for the management of your business, but if you haven’t spent a little time keeping up with these tasks, it might be a good time for some spring cleaning.

By Stephanie Elsen

Here's an article that gives some great tips on evaluating a payroll software demo.

Evaluating a Payroll Software Demo

Some things never change; the sky is blue, the world is round, and it’s cold in Minnesota. However, some things are always changing, like the technology you use to keep your business running and profitable.

Have you recently checked how current the hardware and software you are using to manage your business is? I know, it’s running fine, and if it works, why fix it? Well, if you ask any of our knowledgeable support staff, they can recite from memory some real horror stories of people that felt that same way and wound up losing valuable information. Maybe the computer crashed and the backup wouldn’t restore on the new computer because the operating system couldn’t read the old format, or there wasn’t even a device in the new computer to insert the backup into. Or, the old software couldn’t transfer the data into the new program.

Red Wing Software is continuously updating our products with new technology to ensure that our customers don’t fall into the trap of losing information because of system crashes or outdated hardware. However, this requires users of our software to stay current with their Red Wing Software products, and transfer their data to new programs when they are available. We occasionally “sunset” a product, which means we stop updating and supporting that program. When we do that, we always provide a way to get most, and usually all, of your historical data into the new, replacement product.

If you receive notification that one or more of your products is about to “sunset,” it is important to contact us to learn about your options for moving your data forward and making sure you maintain and secure your important financial information.