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Winning the Numbers Game
Published March 2007
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BUY A REPRINTPrice: $3,500 a year, plus $750 per user per year. There is a 30-day free trial. An open-source edition is available for free but requires technical skills to install and maintain.
Best for… Collaborating
Team and Concepts' EditGrid
What it is: A secure collaborative spreadsheet that allows multiple people to work on the same document at the same time.
What's cool: Because multiple people can work on the spreadsheet simultaneously, employees no longer will have to wait for others to finish their work before beginning their own--a common gripe about spreadsheet software. To avoid confusion, a locking feature prevents two people from working on the same part of the spreadsheet at the same time. The software also can pull live data from the Web.
Drawbacks: EditGrid does not offer all the features of Excel or other spreadsheets, especially customization. Also, you cannot transfer your old macros to it, so getting it up and running can take some work.
Price: The basic version is free. A subscription version costs $5 per user per month.
Best for… Managing payroll
PayCycle Plus
What it is: An online payroll service that automates the payroll process.
What's cool: Payroll is typically a company's largest expense. PayCycle handles basic processing and its to-do list feature helps makes sure that all tax payments and form filings will be sent on time. Excel-compatible reporting tools let you analyze payroll outlays. And the software easily integrates with accounting programs like QuickBooks or Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Money, which makes it easier to account for taxes and payroll.
Drawbacks: The service is not meant for businesses with more than 20 employees. Customer service is somewhat limited; it's offered five days a week, 12 hours a day.
Price: $42.99 per month for five employees; additional employees cost another $1.50 a month.
Best for… Feedback on your finances
Sageworks' ProfitCents
What it is: Financial analysis software. Enter your financials, and ProfitCents' Web-based software generates a detailed assessment of your business's strengths and weaknesses, delivered in plain English.
What's cool: ProfitCents looks at six different metrics (such as liquidity, asset management, sales performance) and gives you a report card on how you're doing on each, as well as overall.
Drawbacks: Currently, ProfitCents has about 6,000 subscribers, so its database may not have much data about companies in your particular industry.
Price: $789 a year for a single user (including free consulting and training). Larger companies are charged according to the number of users; a 10- to 15-person finance department would pay about $4,000 a year.
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