Making Moves, Doing Deals, Screening the News
Three CEOs each review a new software package.
New software packages help you relocate, negotiate, and cogitate. Our CEO reviewers put them to the test
Software
ReloSmart from Right Choice Inc., Hamilton, MA (800-872-2294, http://magnet.mwci.net/mall/relosmrt; $79.99), a program that calculates the financial impact of moving to a different city
Reviewer
Jordan E. Ayan (jordan@create-it.com), president of Create-It! Inc., a technology-consulting firm based in Naperville, IL
Requirements
286 or higher IBM-compatible with DOS 3.0, 640 K RAM, and 2 MB hard-disk space; or Mac 7.1 or later with 4 MB RAM and 2 MB hard-disk space
If you've ever been offered a job that would require you to move to another city, you know the decision can be agonizing. For example, with the cost of living varying so much from one place to another, how do you know whether the salary you're being offered is enough? A new software program called ReloSmart can help reduce the stress of relocation decisions by providing the data and calculation tools to do an apples-to-apples comparison between your current situation and the option you're considering.
ReloSmart begins with a series of questions about your finances and where you're planning to move from and to. The program then accesses its database of local and state income taxes, real estate sales and tax information, energy costs, and other statistics for both the new and old locations to calculate the impact of a move. The results are presented on the Analysis screen, which leads you to four categories: Salary (how much you need to maintain the same standard of living in the new city), Detail (the financial effects of the move projected into the future), Quality of Life (how the weather, crime, median income, and average level of education differ in the new location), and Future (future cash-flow calculations). With those data you're in a much better position to determine your financial health after the move -- and you have the ammunition you need to negotiate your new salary.
For example, suppose a family living in the Chicago suburbs is considering relocating to Darien, Conn. Into the program goes basic financial information -- the family's annual gross income (say, $120,000), number of dependents (four), and tax filing status (married filing jointly). The family lives in a 2,500-square-foot home worth $180,000; the balance on the mortgage is $150,000. The software also asks questions about car insurance, real estate taxes, and monthly electricity costs.
ReloSmart analyzes the information and, on the Analysis screen, points out that if the family earns the same annual income and buys a comparable house in Darien, it's going to lose $35,886 in the first year in housing, energy, auto insurance, sales tax, and miscellaneous expenses. State and local taxes would increase the shortfall to $55,684. The Quality of Life category shows that the median income in Darien is $89,395 and that there's about a foot more precipitation each year there than in the Chicago suburbs.
One drawback to ReloSmart is that it can tell you only about a city or town as a whole, not about a specific neighborhood. Another is the somewhat clunky design -- it's not easy to jump from one topic to another. ReloSmart is currently available only in DOS and Mac versions, although the company says a Windows version is in the works for release this fall.
The real value of this nicheware, however, lies in its database and algorithms. The statistics on nearly 600 U.S. cities are updated annually. The calculations, formulated by James Angelini, a Right Choice co-owner who's also a CPA with a Ph.D. in tax accounting, are complex. For example, you can examine the relative costs of living in one city or state and working in another, or of renting versus buying a home.
Deciding whether to move to a new city can cause stress and sleepless nights. With ReloSmart, at least you'll have some hard data to clarify your choices and ease your insomnia.
* * * Software
Negotiator Pro from Negotiator Pro Co., Brookline, MA (800-448-3308, http://www.getnet.com/mba/npro; $189, special pricing for networks and training), a how-to guide for negotiating
Reviewer
Pamela Kelley (france@goweb.com), president of $5-million Rue de France, a 30-employee manufacturer and mail-order-catalog distributor of home furnishings, and a lawyer in the firm of Miller, Scott, Howe & Kelley, both in Newport, RI
Requirements
386 or higher IBM-compatible with Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 and 4 MB RAM and 5.5 MB hard-disk space; or Mac OS 6.7 or later with 2 MB RAM and 1.6 MB hard-disk space
Negotiator Pro bills itself as a "software mentor to help you become a more powerful negotiator." Because my usual approach to negotiating is to blurt out exactly what I want and then either cave in or stomp off in a huff, it promised to be just the mentor I needed.
Using a question-and-answer format, the software takes you through the steps of a formal negotiation and provides advice from experts in the field. The user answers questions about his or her strengths, weaknesses, and objectives, and then profiles the person and the issues on the other side of the table. Then Negotiator Pro describes how you and your fellow negotiator are likely to interact, based on your negotiating personalities, and suggests strategies for reaching an agreement. Next you go to work. The software helps you write a negotiating plan -- templates for common situations, like letting an employee go, are included -- and update it as the negotiation proceeds.
