Simply select the customer and click the button to bring up this report window :

By default, the report gives you the last month’s sales but you can quickly change the settings to give you a date range to report on, letting you look back over years of history. Once you have specified your settings you can print to screen or print a paper copy. The main Monthly Sales report in the tree menu also allows you to view this information but has a selection of 13 different reports with various settings.

If you have any problems of queries about this or any other parts of your software package, give support a call on +44 (0)1458 444014.

A new add-on module being developed by Benchmark may go some way to solving this problem by making it easy to send targeted emails to your customers. Using Benchmark’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Cream software, you will be able to link to the same software used to create and send this newsletter.

This means that you will be able to choose the customers you want to contact based on criteria such as location and what they’ve bought in the past. You can then use the emails stored against your customer records to email newsletters, sales promotions etc. You are then able to directly measure the response to the emails and work out what revenue it generated.

 Such closely targeted low-cost marketing would have delighted Lord Leverhulme and makes a lot of sense in the “current economic climate”.

If you’d like to find out how integrated email marketing, CRM and accounting software could benefit your business, email or call +44 (0) 1458 444010

Once the newsletter template has been created, the cost of sending out each newsletter is £10 plus £0.01 per email! So you can send out 1000 emails to your customers for £20!!

Simply email your content to us in any format before 10th November and we’ll do the rest!

To find out more, call Simon on +44 (0)1458 444010

Terms and conditions apply.

It can be networked and we can import all your customer and supplier records from Snip or Chancellor. You can literally have a CRM system up and running with your data in a matter of minutes.

Cream Contact completely free-of-charge. There’s no catch, no conditions of use and it is not a demo product. It is a fully functional package that offers a risk-free introduction to a professional CRM system. We’re also happy to put you in touch with some of our existing CRM customers so they can tell you themselves how valuable it is to their business.

The installation file is included on all Chancellor, SNiP and PY2 CDs.

If you have any questions about how the software can help your business, or how to install it, give software support a call on +44 (0)1458 444014.

Benchmark has developed a new module for our accounting software that allows you to automatically back-up your accounts data on a regularly scheduled basis to a memory stick, removable Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or computer.

This software is specifically aimed at backing up your accounts data and is very simple to use. It allows you to back-up more than one company and gives a complete log of all activity. Should the back-up fail in any way (if someone stays logged in overnight or the server crashes, for instance) the software informs you of the problem – no more assuming the back-up has successfully completed, only to discover later that it hasn’t!

Click on the image below to see a screen shot:

As a special introductory offer, this add-on is available at £99 + VAT so call now on +44 (0)1458 444010 or email to get your copy at this special price!

This offer ends on 30th November 2011

The letter is shown below and this is the link:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/20/business-must-show-green-leadership

Business must show green leadership

The Guardian, Thursday 20 January 2011
Article history

The prime minister is right to make economic growth his priority for 2011. However, the UK will enjoy a healthy, long-term recovery only if business leaders put the environment at the heart of corporate strategies. In the past, UK plc has too often regarded “sustainability” as an optional add-on, rather than an essential element of corporate and national economic success. We have been changing. During the recession, costs worth hundreds of millions of pounds have been cut through improved energy efficiency.

However, unless “green” business practices are taken to a new, higher level, Britain’s recovery could be compromised, as the economy is choked by rising energy costs and out-of-date thinking. Globally, the low-carbon economy is already worth some £3,000bn annually and is forecast to grow by at least 4% a year over the next five years.

According to worrying new research by the Carbon Trust, which this week has launched a campaign to highlight the importance of low-carbon growth, only a third of business leaders say they are currently working on greener products and services. We must do better. The coalition government can help by removing regulatory barriers and by providing the right incentive but, ultimately, it now is up to business to show leadership.

Marc Bolland Chief executive, Marks & Spencer, Richard Evans President, PepsiCo UK & Ireland, Dalton Philips Chief executive, Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, Jeremy Darroch Chief executive, British Sky Broadcasting Ltd , Colin Sharman Chairman, Aviva, Ronan Dunne Chief executive, O2, Ian Cheshire Group chief executive, Kingfisher, Mark Elborne National executive for North Europe, GE, Don Jordison Managing director, Threadneedle Property Investments, Mark Fairweather CEO, Allied Bakeries, David Camp Chief executive, Stanhope plc, Terry Last Chief executive, Tarmac, Adam Fowle Chief executive, Mitchells & Butlers, Gonzalo Galindo President, UK operations for CEMEX UK, Paul Kelly, External affairs and corporate social responsibility director, Asda, Paul Lazarevic Managing director, RLtec, Simon Harvey Managing director, Benchmark Software, Chris Kirkby Managing director, Magnomatics, Chris Smith Managing director, G-volution, Mark Boocock Managing director, Econotherm, Herbert Piereder Chief executive officer, Applied Superconductor, Peter Bance Chief executive, Ceres Power, Jonathan Luke Chief executive, Senselogix, David Palmer-Jones Chief executive, SITA UK, Martin McAdam Chief executive, Aquamarine Power, Patrick Dempsey Managing director, Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, Martin Wright Managing director, Marine Current Turbines, Des Crampton Chief executive, Checkmate SeaEnergy, SB Cha Chief executive, ACAL Energy, Kevin Hurst Marketing and communications director, Veolia Environmental Services, Jochen Weilepp CEO, Voith Hydro Ocean Current Technologies

• In your article (The population explosion, G2, 14 January) you say “the so-called ‘green revolution’ in agriculture enabled a much more productive global grain harvest than [the professor of population studies Paul Ehrlich] ever imagined. Could technical innovations facilitate our continued expansion?”

The green revolution was instigated as a result of the efforts of Norman Borlaug, who, while accepting the Nobel peace prize in 1970, said: “The green revolution has won a temporary success in man’s war against hunger and deprivation; it has given man a breathing space. If fully implemented, the revolution can provide sufficient food for sustenance during the next three decades. But the frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed; otherwise the success of the green revolution will be ephemeral only.”

No notice was taken of his prediction, and here we are four decades later in the same situation. All that a technical innovation will do is to let the population grow to a new level, then we will have to cope with the problem all over again.

Roger Plenty

Stroud, Gloucestershire

Financial Times; 2 October 2010

The Carbon Trust Standard Company has launched an online assessment and certification service for small businesses with energy bills below £50,000 a year, to help them cut their carbon footprint and boost profitability.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, smaller firms account for 45 per cent of all UK business energy use – much of which is wasted.

Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust, parent company of the CTSC, said it was critical that smaller businesses act now: “Energy prices are only likely to rise as the economy starts to recover and supply constraints start to kick in.”

September 30 marked the deadline for larger firms to become accredited under the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. However, Morrison warned that smaller firms would soon come under closer scrutiny, not only from government but also from other companies within their supply chains seeking to lessen their own carbon footprints.

David Whitelegg, director at Triquetra EHS Consultancy, said larger companies were now expecting their suppliers to play a part in managing overall environmental impact. He added: “If you want to be part of their supply chain, it is becoming more essential to have external evidence of carbon management.”

Simon Harvey, managing director at Benchmark Software, an accounting software specialist, said the benefits of becoming more carbon aware were clear over the long term. He said: “It is not just about getting a return on investment over the next two years; we are going to be a leaner and more efficient company over the next 5-10 years.”

But why isn’t there a USB stick?

A different perspective on the cloud from an accounting software developer

As an established business software developer, including accounts packages, we are keeping a close eye on the cloud accounting software market and wanted to make some comments from a developer’s viewpoint that wasn’t based on trying to sell our cloud application.

There are obvious benefits to cloud-delivered software, but for most established businesses and accountants, the benefits aren’t significant enough and there is not enough pain being experienced with existing systems to make them jump over to cloud applications. Yet. No doubt this will change but not at the speed interested parties say it will and maybe not for all markets. Accountsportal’s estimate of 5-10 years seems realistic. Getting some decent Broadband speeds might be a start.

Talking to our customers, mostly established businesses, many aren’t bothered about cloud computing even if they know what it really is. And I’m not talking about people who don’t know much about IT.  Accounting software is a tool at the core of their business. It works and they aren’t going to change just because they can access the software from home if there’s a rail strike or someone can’t get a child minder? They deal with these things already. (VPN’s aren’t that expensive or difficult to set up, and remote access software is child’s play.) The view is often that the cloud model is too new and unproven, security is not adequate (even if theirs is worse!) and broadband is too slow and unreliable. This will change, but it will take time.
 
There are early adopters in all markets and there are clearly benefits to cloud accounting software for many businesses, particularly sole traders and start-ups. However, I wonder how many of them will end up moving to more established desktop applications as their business grows? Ridiculous? Well, that depends on many factors including new operating systems and how quickly the functionality of cloud accounts packages develops.
 
From what we’ve seen, there isn’t anywhere near the level of functionality in cloud accounting software that you can get with desktop applications. We feel one reason for this is that the development tools for developing cloud applications are not as advanced or mature as those for local applications. What is available is fine for basic book-keeping, CRM, document management systems etc, but not for more advanced accounting. Looking at Microsoft’s Silverlight last year it was clear it just wasn’t up to the task. With the latest version, a lot, but not all, of these issues have been addressed.
 
One comment was that this discussion wasn’t about technology. Of course it is. People don’t trust new technology and IT firms very much where their business is concerned. Unfortunately this is based on experience. They aren’t bothered about getting cloud software just because it’s new. In fact that’s more likely to put them off. Keeping their business functioning is too important and many are sensibly cautious.
 
There are also issues about broadband speeds and data centres being able to deliver the reliability and access people need. I saw a message recently: “Twitter is over capacity.Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again.”! How is a business going to feel if that starts happening to them when they’re trying to allocate 5,000 order lines?  Admittedly, they already experience down-time with existing systems, but at least they know what demands are going to be put on their IT systems and they are in control of dealing with it.
 
Another advantage to Cloud-based applications is the developer being able to update the software version at a single point and not having to upgrade each customer individually. True, but is this a benefit to the customer or the developer? One customer of ours doesn’t install the latest version of their CAD software until they see the first Service Pack. If the developer is in charge on when the cloud-based application is upgraded, how much hassle could a ‘buggy’ release cause businesses who have no control about when they start to use a new version?
 
Are cloud applications the future? Certainly in some markets, but maybe not in others.  Cloud-based Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) software is ideal for global organizations, but that is completely different to accounting software for UK SME’s. We are developing cloud applications, but our customers tell us it will be some time before they’re interested in a cloud alternative to accounting software. As we’ve said, it’s a naturally cautious market. Are accountant’s who don’t embrace cloud accounting software right now going to disappear? I’m sure any accountant who has survived the technology changes of the last ten years will adapt to cloud computing as and when they feel it is appropriate and what their clients want and need.
 
We think we’re being realistic about what our customers’ needs and expectations are. Others may disagree, but experience tells us that it’s going to happen when businesses feel that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and this will take longer than people think.