When working to convert PDF data into Excel, you can be swamped with the repetitive task of converting the same data everyday.
For handling large groups of PDFs, there’s the batch conversion feature in Able2Extract. Yet, this option is only ideal for full and automatic conversions.
What about multiple PDF to Excel conversions that need a bit of customization or scanned PDFs that can’t be converted in batch mode, but have the same layout per page?
You’ve graduated. You’ve secured a job. Now what? As the reality sinks in, you’ll realize that getting that coveted position was only half the battle. Making the leap from a full time student to a full time professional is the other, much tougher, half.
By far, the biggest challenge is finding the right balance as you adjust to your new position. It calls for a shift in your daily habits, your lifestyle, and your productivity. And effective tech habits are part of that. They’re crucial to how we work. If they can’t be efficiently put to use, neither will your time.
Obviously, we all have our own ways of working with tech. Yet what habits you had in business school might not work in your new position. Fortunately, it’s possible to make a smooth transition with a few productivity tech tips that will keep you on track and well-adjusted.
To start, make sure your computer is set up to complement the way you need to work. Put your everyday files within one or two clicks by optimizing your desktop station with Dropbox. A simple cloud service like Dropbox can keep you constantly connected and highly organized.
If you’ve used this as an MBA student then you know how well it can back up your documents across mobile and desktop platforms. And as a business pro, it can bump up your productivity by using it to create an effective file folder and labeling system.
Labeling your folders is key. When working with documents, we usually work with them as a part of an on-going process.
So name your folders according to stages in your work: Working Drafts, Documents To Review, Finalized Documents, and so on. Then create subfolders for different categories—Clients, Office documents, Monthly reports, and the like.
This system lets you instantly dig up and locate a file according to where it is in the workflow rather than having to sift through broad categories first.
Make sure you set up a good daily routine that includes a task list. Setting up goals safeguards your time and keep you from multitasking because the amount of time spent on different things doesn’t always equate to productivity.
An app like To-Doist is simple yet powerful enough to keep you on task. It has both a web and free app that are easy to use.
To work effectively, sort your tasks by priority and length of completion time. Tasks of high priority with short deadlines go to the top of the list. Low priority tasks with longer deadlines go at the bottom.
For on-going jobs, break them down. Schedule them in for the next day at the end. This way you’re constantly working on them bit by bit until completed.
Also, reserve blocks of time for emails, phone calls, lunch, and frequent breaks to prevent you from getting side tracked and ensuring that you have a well balanced routine.
Scheduling your day is important during the first weeks when you’ll naturally be working slower than usual. Setting up your task list like this allows you to focus and give you time to accomplish one task at a time.
For the first week, you will probably be shown around the company as part of your orientation. Remembering everything from procedures to document processing is key.
Simplify this by getting an app that can raise your mobile productivity. For instance, an app like Evernote is a popular utility that will let you take notes right on the spot.
Create a New Note for every reminder you need and categorize them into Notebooks for different aspects of your orientation: Procedures, Team Members & Roles, Clientele, and so on.
The best part is that you aren’t limited to typing your notes. You can record voice memos when you don’t have time to type and take snapshots of examples you may need for reference later on.
With the many services and apps you can use, Evernote becomes a powerful cheatsheet tool that can make the first few weeks a breeze.
As the new kid on the block, you’ll want to be prepared for any project that comes your way. Whether this means turning to an image editing tool for custom graphics and media projects or YouTube videos for MS Office how-to’s, you should have the right resources at your fingertips.
For times when you need guidance and advice, you should join Quora, one of the top Q & A sites where you can connect with experts.
If you follow top business influencers in your field, you can gain valuable insight based on real life experience.
The advantage of this site is that you can get in touch directly with professionals. First, you can visit their profiles and send them a simple message introducing yourself.
Or second and more effectively, you can use the network’s Ask to Answer feature. This allows you to have your question sent to a professional of your choice directly. So the more active you are the better a resource Quora can become!
You’ve worked hard to earn your position, so don’t let a few snags affect your performance. There are many ways to improve your technical game. Use what works for you. Give these tips a test run and let us know how you plan on making the transition easier.
Every business has to face at least one tricky challenge in common: to keep its books organized. That might seem like an easy task if you are an accountant or a bookkeeper, but that’s not always the case.
The vast majority of small business owners end up having to organize the financial/documental part of the business by themselves to save some money or just to keep a close eye on them. Organization is a crucial part for every business’ success, and here are some valuable ways to start improving your operations today.
The first action you can take to integrate and organize your company’s books is to digitalize every single piece of document you might have. That’s right, even that small parking receipt from two months ago or that hotel bill that you paid during the last conference you attended–digitalize it! Documents that are stored in digital format (e.g., PDF, Docx, XLS) are much easier to handle and to access, which can be a huge time-saver. Or if you want to customize and convert the format of the documents you are storing you can use simple and extremely efficient tools such as Able2Extract to get the job done for you.
Also on the same line of digitalizing documents, a crucial measure to increase your books data security is to upload it to the cloud. This allows companies to store all the information they need in the cloud, which means that the data will be saved in external servers that can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Plus, some cloud service providers such as Welcome Networks presents the users with military-grade security for Virtual Desktops so they can have peace of mind about any hacking attempts.
Another highly necessary and important point to optimize books is to utilize online accounting software instead of the old fashioned offline desktop systems. Since these web-based applications allow you to send invoices, pay bills, do bank reconciliations, and to obtain reports of the most variables types, these web apps operate in the cloud and are the latest trend in the market.
An excellent example is SlickPie cloud accounting, a free software that even offers a source file attachment feature for companies to upload financial documents that are related to their transactions directly to their accounts, which can also be used in combination with Able2Extract to generate double the optimization value.
These software programs will drastically improve your business overall productivity since it will basically show you a financial x-ray of all your transactions through cash flow statements, balance sheets, and all other pertinent records registered in the system. And the best part is – it will all be just one click away to be accessed from any desktop or mobile device.
All these solutions need to be integrated and applied to increase the effectiveness in the company’s books. This will strengthen the business with top trend tactics that are being used by the main players in every industry, and it will grant your company with advantage points over your competitors’ procedures.
By putting these practices into action, your company will save time, money, and it will be much more secure to provide any financial documents whenever they are needed, regardless of environmental conditions.
If you were still waiting for the right time to come to embrace digital innovations to fully optimize your company’s books, now is the time!
When remote teams are becoming more and more common, it isn’t surprising to see project managers struggling to stay on top of things. One project involving a number of tasks with just as many people working on it can spin out of control. You’re not only working with people, but you’re also working against time and resources.
And this is where a Gantt chart steps in. If you aren’t using one as a budding project manager, you may want to. Gantt charts are an essential tool to project management. They keep a detailed track record of a project’s critical path at any given moment.
It keeps you up to speed on important factors like the progress or status of a task. Interdependent tasks and resources can be allocated, visualized, and coordinated. And with the internet and your everyday computer, Gantt charts can be updated as needed.
But technology needs and personal preferences are diverse. We know there are many other simpler, quick fix tools that can be used to manage projects to varying degrees. Looking to step things up? Need more complex features?
Whether you’re stepping into a project mid-stream or need to consolidate your project calendar with an existing one, there are ways you can integrate existing tracking sheet and schedule data into a Gantt chart.
Now Google Calendar, Base Camp or Trello are probably the most popular free tools online. They’re easy to set up, offer the basic project tracking essentials and can quickly get you started.
Google Calendar, as a project planning tool, needs no explanation. Basecamp, known for its highly collaborative nature and tracking features, is a popular go to option for managing teams. And Trello is a web app that uses individual (and collaborative) task cards grouped into boards in lieu of a To-do list.
So if you need to suddenly create professional-looking tracking reports or share your calendar with others, great news is that you can create a Gantt chart from all 3 tools using Ganttify.
Ganttify is a webtool that does what it sounds—it takes your data and “Ganttif-ies” it without having to do much but log into your accounts (note that with Trello, though, your task cards need to have a start and end date included).
If you’re just starting out on managing your first project, chances are you’ll turn to familiar tools like Excel where you’ll construct your own tracking sheet with basic formatting and formulas. However, don’t be afraid to get a little more complex and use Excel to create a Gantt chart.
Officetimeline.com, for instance, offers up a detailed, step-by-step tutorial manual on how to create a Gantt chart Microsoft Excel users can set up. Note, that creating one from the beginning can be time consuming, but as your projects become more complex, you’ll be glad you invested the time.
For those who don’t want to create things from scratch, though, you can still get the job done by using a Gantt chart template. You can find a variety of them online. Here are a few to start you off:
For a more specialized project management tool, Microsoft created MS Project. While part of the popular MS Office suite, the project management software program isn’t included with the desktop suite.
This program offers the high end features that are needed for more multi-level complex projects that need high level monitoring and workflow analysis, cost calculations, in-depth planning, enterprise-wide access and more.
However, if you started tracking your project with MS Excel and are switching over to MS Project, there’s good news. You can simply import Excel into Microsoft Project. When you create a new project, choose to create one from Excel. From there, the MS Project import wizard will guide you through the rest.
Online project management is common nowadays. And with cloud storage and remote teams, being able to take and keep things online is essential.
It isn’t any wonder that you can create Gantt charts online free from the very beginning, making it easily accessible from wherever you or your team are. Though you get what you get with online versions, the essential features are there.
Ganttic.com is an online resource planning, scheduling and management tool. While paid accounts will provide you with more features, for project managers that are bootstrapping it, there’s a limited free account available. It allows you only 10 resources to track. but despite the limitation, Ganttic.com has features that are streamlined and simplified.
Second is Gantter.com which is a free cloud-based project management tool. This one sticks out because it works tightly with Google Apps and Google Drive, which, if you’re working with a Google based team, is perfect.
Its features leverage the power of Google’s cloud services, including real time editing, chat, and Google Drive access. You can even import and export files from Microsoft Project. Not a Google user, though? Don’t worry. Gantter.com offers a smartapp.com edition that ties in other cloud drives you may be using.
How are you keeping track of your project and your team? If you know of any other Gantt Chart tips to expand on this list, let us know in the comments.
In this day and age, the success of a company relies heavily on efficiency and productivity. As such, systems and services have been developed in order to cut down on waste and reduce the effort in managing workflows and document management. When reassessing the effectiveness of their workflows, companies across all industries use systems like Strength-based Lean Six Sigma.
With the level of data finance and compensation service companies handle, Strength-Based Lean and Six Sigma can work to improve the business process and records management.
What is Strength-Based Lean Six Sigma?
Strength-Based Lean Six Sigma is a system that focuses on assessing and identifying practices used within a company in order to improve it through methodical and active modifications. After best practices (and problems) are identified, steps are then taken to start restructuring the workflow according to the company’s goals and ideals. Companies are then evaluated periodically to ensure the changes made are consistently effective.
This on-going process can show business owners where there are weaknesses, bottlenecks, and wasted effort in their system. As you can imagine, workflows that handle high volumes of documents daily require such evaluation to ensure data processing keeps going smoothly, accurately, and efficiently. If not, business owners can then make adjustments accordingly in regards to both time and activity.
But working to apply that system to clientele data requires more than just a records management system. Companies like CM Global Partners specialize in applying Strength based LEAN and Six Sigma to sales compensation (Lean Sales Compensation). As a consulting company, they assist in strategically planning and creating accurate sales compensation plans for their clients.
The Only Setback In The Workflow
However, in order to create customized Lean compensation plans for companies, they need to deal with the client’s information that comes in the PDF format, a locked down file format that prevents editing of any kind.
Consequently, they would extract the data manually by retyping scanned PDFs into Excel. They had used different software in the past, but needed accuracy. In addition, they needed a way of exporting their clients’ PDF data into Excel that would work with their system, Compensation Master. Their process always required the data to be audited and identical to data in the PDF file.
“We had an industry leading service,” says David Cocks, CEO of CM Global Partners, “Now we just needed a more efficient way to extract the data.”
Creating the most effective plans possible is CM Global Partners’ priority. So the company decided to invest in Able2Extract to help speed up the data extraction process.
Using Data Extraction To Help With Strength-Based Lean Six Sigma
A case study was done to get a closer look at how and where Able2Extract fit in with their goals and workflow. Some of the benefits that resulted from their move to Able2Extract include:
Efficient workflows need efficient systems. However, as CM Global Partners knows, these systems alone aren’t enough if they can’t bridge the gap between their system and their clients’ data.
Read the full CM Global Partners case study to learn how the company successfully integrated Able2Extract with their Lean Six Sigma methodology.