Every Farm Business, No Matter How Small, Needs PC-Based Record Keeping & Accounts Automation

The Reasons Some Business Owners Givemissed or if there was a wrong input or incorrect
Against Adopting Computers ACTUALLY Providecalculation method employed. Instead you would
Perfect Justifications For Them To Do So!be able to focus MORE on thinking about the
The irony about most of the excuses thesecomputed performance indicators against the
business owners give for not wanting to adoptbackground of farm management decisions
computers, is that those reasons in themselvesactions you took over the course of the period
provide GREAT JUSTIFICATION for the ownersfor which they were estimated.
to employ computer-aided monitoring of theirWhat you learn as a result will guide you in taking
business' performance. Among other benefits,future decisions - and over time you will be able
such as time saving and increased humanto ensure MORE consistency in your farm
resources productivity, doing so facilitates betterbusiness operations - leading to consistency in
informed and timely decision making! This isoutput, and by implication, income.
because the use of computers (via softwareBut You Do NOT Even Need To Own A
automation) enhances more COMPREHENSIVEComputer To Automate Your Farm Business
analysis.Records Keeping/Accounts
With proper planning, including use of standardYES - that's right, you don't! Let me explain why :
manual data recording formats which1. Not everyone who visits/uses cyber cafes and
subsequently serve as "source" documents forbusiness centers owns a PC at home - especially
making computer entries, the perception ofhere in Nigeria/Africa.
"difficulty" in the use of computer automation can2. Yet most users of cafes and business centers
be removed from the minds of many.will often produce letters, reports and other
The use of computers DOES NOT have to costdocuments while in those places, which they will
you an arm and a leg. You do not for instanceprint for use in their work and/or businesses.
have to go about it in the manner a multinationalSometimes they email the finished documents to
would ! I do ALL my work on a computer that Iassociates via the Internet. These are everyday
have now owned for four years. With a 256MBpeople just like you and I. You probably do the
RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, and other standardsame thing from time to time too!
features, it cost me less than N70,000(N135 naira3. In order to do the above ALL they need to
= $1.00 US Dollar approx as at time of writinghave is MONEY as little as N150 to N200 (N135 =
this) to get it, and today would cost round about$1.00 US Dollar approx) to gain about ONE hour of
the same amount or possibly less, what with allaccess to an Internet connected PC or - one not
the competition. Many business owners out hereonline which they would use for typing/preparing
will probably find that THIS type of computertheir documents.
system specification I use will be just right for4. The only other thing they would want to own
them.is some removable storage device(like a floppy
So what does N70,000 over a four year perioddisk or better still a flash drive etc) on which
come to? Very little, when you think about whatcopies of the documents they produce at the end
you will be able to do. Consider also that I STILLof their stay in the cafe or Business center can
have no plans to replace the computer any timebe stored - for retrieval at a later date.
soon because I know I can get it upgraded toGoing by the above therefore, if you don't feel
deliver higher performance, at a fraction of theconvinced enough to invest in a computer for
cost of purchase.your business today, it is obvious that THAT
Aside from the computer, you need nothing moredoes not stop you from using computer-based
than your hands (for typing your records); asoftware to automate your farm records keeping
spreadsheet application like MS Excel(to post youranalyses and accounts preparation.
data into, for subsequent analysis); or you couldI have seen people sit for upwards of four(4)
use a custom spreadsheet software I can buildhours at a stretch in a cyber cafe, typing
for you to make posting your data for analysishandwritten data from a paper based
and accounts preparation EVEN easier.spreadsheet source containing various tables into
What we are talking about here is a LONG TERMa computer-based Excel spreadsheet - adding
solution that will pay for itself many times overformula generated totals and other summaries
by SAVING you hundreds of hours of effort/timebefore emailing the completed document to a
PLUS it will eliminate the pain of having to worrywaiting party in some other geographical locations!
about making sense of what's happening in yourHopefully those who choose to work this way
farm business.would have done the maths and can justify
For instance, some farm owners cannot even behaving to work that way. It is however
sure if they are making profits or running at aDEFINITELY better than having to depend on
loss, because the thought of sitting down to domanual, paper-based and/or calculator-aided
ALL the needed calculations is just toopreparation of business records/accounts!
DAUNTING. That's a problem you are not likely toSummary - There Really Is No Justifiable Reason
have if you adopt the SIMPLE computer basedNOT To Automate Your Farm Business' Records
automation I have described above for YOUR& Accounts
farm business.You stand to gain MUCH more than you could
Computation Of Your Farm KPIs Will Take MUCHpossibly lose - both in the short and long term by
LESS Time & Effort When Automatedadopting computer-based automation for your
In order to really get maximum value fromfarm (and any other) business.
computing the five(5) Key indicators we describeAnd when we talk about the "long run", even the
as essential for monitoring your business'person visiting cafes and business centers to
performance, the use of computer basedwork, will eventually be forced to weigh the
automation cannot be over-emphasised.inconvenience of doing so, PLUS the attendant
If you really want to operate your business in acosts over time, against the many benefits
manner that ensures you don't get overwhelmedderivable from working on his/her own computer
by the day to day requirements, you MUST as awithout being under psychological pressure to
matter of priority incorporate computer basedfinish on time so as to avoid having to pay for an
automation into your routine data recording,extra hour!
analysis and accounts preparation.In the long run therefore, owning a PC for your
Just imagine how useful it would be, to be able tobusiness - even if just ONE - will do you, and your
click your mouse and have displayed on yourbusiness a whole lot of good.
computer screen ALL the important financial data,BUT, you can always start by working from a
especially the five(5) KPIs described here!cafe or business center - where using a custom
You would spend LESS of your time punching asoftware built for you can even help you work
calculator (or asking your operatives/manager toFASTER so you can finish in less time, and
do it), LESS time wondering if ANY data wastherefore PAY LESS to the cafe owner!