This week we helped a client recover from a data loss.  However, it was not without some pain.  The data was not being backed up correctly so we had to restore from a really old backup copy. Responding to another question regarding data restoration, someone asked if deleted records could be recovered. The answer was yes but with a caveat.  There had to be a good working backup that contained the data that was deleted.  If the data had not been backed up then it could not be

You have probably been hearing quite a bit about GDPR - the European General Data Protection Regulation. What you may not realize is if you have European contacts that you interact with and store their data, you need to understand how that can potentially impact you via heavy fines. The biggest point of GDPR is protection of personal data - at a much deeper level than is practiced in the US. An individual is in control of their data - not the other way around, even to the point where they should

Today’s blog post is the first “official” entry for my Reese’s Southern Wisdom series.  During my conversations with Reese he kept referring to maximizing his strengths and “strategizing” his weaknesses.  This phrasing is a bit different than you will typically see when you research this concept. And that is on purpose for Reese. It's classic "Reese Speak." Reese spent many years studying sales and personal improvement techniques. He is particularly fond of Stephen Covey

We have a great tool that I had my programmer write years ago. It's called Duplicate Remover Expert for Act. We sell a lot of this nifty product. I had a client call me recently, told me they loved the program, but were very frustrated that they always seemed to have duplicates. He also wanted some tips on finding those duplicates that the normal internal process didn't detect. After giving him my answers, I realized they needed to be in a blog post and this is that article. First off, there

Every week I try to have a social media "theme" and this week it's Tips and Tricks. Last week we helped a client who couldn’t get Act to open after Windows did an update without him asking. Nothing appeared to be wrong. I asked him if he had rebooted and he said yes, multiple times. Then, I did my normal “call in the guru” (that being my husband) and he said have him do a RESTART and not a reboot. I’ve been working with PC’s forever and I “thought” reboot and restart were the

We’ve all heard the saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”  Maybe you can’t MAKE him drink, but... you can ENTICE him to drink. You can provide beautiful, convenient and tasty water so that he WANTS to drink.  Let’s apply this analogy to software UI (screen layout) design. Designing a user interface that is attractive, intuitive and efficient is key for user adoption and ultimately, imperative to the success of your software implementation

Last week, during my 3rd Act! Deep Dive, I talked about finding "gems" of data in your database and then taking actions on them.  It reminded me that I had written an article years ago about this topic. When I went and found it I realized it's still relevant and I've resurrected for a blog post today. This is the article with a few modifications to bring it current. In the past I have written articles and blog posts talking about drilling down into your customer data.  No matter

It seems that the practice of sending cards to customers may be coming back into the norm. I know the holidays are upon us when I start getting calls and emails asking how to print labels or envelopes for holiday cards. The calls often start with the question like, “I want to send out cards, but I don’t want to have to type the labels/envelopes individually. Is there an easier way to create the labels?” So I thought this might be a perfect time to revisit the process.