The IO Blog

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Track Your Inventory…Really, Really Well

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
2 min

Track Your Inventory…Really, Really Well

Track Your Inventory…Really, Really Well Follow These 5 Tips for Increasing Profitability in 2019,” which suggests ways for companies to prepare for a more challenging economy that may be looming on the horizon. The article recommends several ways for AV companies to increase profitability, including adding services revenue, effectively tracking time, finding upsell opportunities and embracing convergence. These practices can be applied to many different industries. Shrinkage

Warranty Management and Why it’s Important

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
2 min

Warranty Management and Why it’s Important

Warranty Management Initially a customer support initiative, warranty management’s role is expanding. As businesses reap increased benefits from warranty management gained through product traceability, it is now an essential part of an organization’s revenue policy. More than that, it can potentially improve product quality and enhance business value through cost reduction. Let’s take a look at this critical business function. What is warranty management? At a granular level,

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
1 min

Excite 2015 Award winning software

Technology Integrator is honored to present its annual EXC!TE Awards to the best products available to the industry this year. Each year, Technology Integrator invites nominations of products that stand out for being innovative, high-performing and solutions-oriented for the custom installation professional. TRXio stood out as particularly impressive, considering the unique challenges custom installers face every day on the job. The impact winning products have on the industr

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
1 min

“Best In Show” Award at CEDIA

CEDIA’s Best in Show Award We are very excited to announce the CEDIA 2015 best in show award recipient by NewBay Media’s Residential Systems and TWICE. The 2015 Best of Show Awards for CEDIA 2015, honoring outstanding products exhibited at the show. Manufacturers submitted products for nomination prior to arriving in Dallas, then a panel of anonymous professional integrator and journalist judges evaluated the entries based on written submissions and visual inspections on CED

Data-Driven Decisions Tend to be Better Decisions

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Data-Driven Decisions Tend to be Better Decisions

Big data. There’s much wisdom in that saying, which has been attributed to both W. Edwards Deming and Peter Drucker, and it explains why the recent explosion of digital data is so important. Simply put, because of big data, managers can measure, and hence know, radically more about their businesses, and directly translate that knowledge into improved decision making and performance. Consider retailing. Booksellers in physical stores could always track which books sold and whi

The Cost of Scope Creep and How to Avoid it

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
2 min

The Cost of Scope Creep and How to Avoid it

As a project manager, you have likely experienced the daunting task of interacting with unfocused customers, unable to see the risks involved in a project. Problems like these are prime catalysts for scope creep. What is Cost Creep? Every project is defined by a specific framework, known as the scope of work, which outlines several aspects. These include resources, technologies, duration and cost. While, it is ideal to be able to control the scope, the changing needs and want

Three Tips for Better Inventory Management

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Three Tips for Better Inventory Management

Inventory Management Inventory management can make or break your business. Even though many business owners and managers find it complicated and confusing, following the fundamental principles of good inventory management can result in significant bottom-line savings. There are two fundamental principles of inventory management: You must have enough stock to meet market demands It must not tie up too much of your capital Despite its importance, many businesses fail to integra

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Advantages of Cycle Counting

Cycle Counting Small entrepreneurs faced with limited resources can find various aspects of running a business challenging. Managing inventory manually and checking for inaccuracies can be an extremely time consuming task. While there are technology tools to help you manage inventory, including TRXio, it is also important to implement an in-house system of manual inventory count. An ongoing cycle count is a good option as an inventory auditing process, especially for small, p

AV Inventory Management Software – Do You Need it?

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

AV Inventory Management Software – Do You Need it?

Do You Need AV Inventory Management Software? Any AV business, or any small business that has inventory, should carefully consider its value, how it is managed, and what impact it has on their bottom line. This requires strict monitoring and control of what comes in and goes out on a weekly or even a daily basis. In addition, it requires solid process management, software and accountability. However, this is often much easier said than done, especially now, when businesses ar

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

What is Inventory Control?

Inventory Control In a service driven world, not every business has inventory. However, in the integration space, where we deal with products and equipment, most do. Inventory control is much easier for those who are only selling a few products. For those with a larger number of items to sell, manual inventory is simply out of question. Before we delve deeper into that topic, let’s consider why a good inventory control system is absolutely vital. Here are just a few key reaso

Choosing A Data Driven Business = Profitability

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Choosing A Data Driven Business = Profitability

Data sets, both big and small, are vital for answering critical questions and developing business strategies. Data offers the insights which help organizations analyze the market, and their position within it, to form better and more informed strategies and run profitably. For many small businesses, turning a blind eye to the details is much easier and sometimes less expensive than manually tracking them. Spending a few extra dollars here, or taking a discount for early payme

Why Mobile Friendly Applications are Key for Integrators

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Why Mobile Friendly Applications are Key for Integrators

commercial integration space, company teams are often lean and mean. Working smart is always the goal. When trying to maximize resources, the last thing you want is for employees to have to hunker down with their laptops, or worse, head to the office to do basic work that could be done on the fly. Mobile friendly apps that manage projects, productivity, and sales are critical for businesses that want to maximize their return on resources and drive better business outcomes. Bu

Every Percentage Can Impact Your Bottom Line

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Every Percentage Can Impact Your Bottom Line

Small Things that Matter the Most Let’s begin with an example: If a company buys 1,000,000 dollars a year in inventory and decreases shrinkage (on purpose or by accident) by just 2%, it is adding 20k back to their bottom line. That’s a huge number. If a company spends 500k in labor each year and increases labor utilization by 1%, they are decreasing their bottom line by 5K. If companies start looking at every part of their business with the big picture in mind, it presents a

Is QuickBooks Good for Inventory Management?

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Is QuickBooks Good for Inventory Management?

Does QuickBooks Track Inventory? Every business is looking for the perfect CRM, ERP, Project, and Accounting tool rolled into one easy solution that will meet their needs and the needs of their customers. Is there a product on the market today that will fulfill all of their requirements? For many, the answer has been QuickBooks, an accounting software in the residential integration space that is used by AV integrators for project management and inventory management as well. B

The Details in the Data and What You Cannot See

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

The Details in the Data and What You Cannot See

Many small businesses try to run their organizations via email, text, or (worse) paper notes, leaving them open to failure, not to mention, project disasters. Success is in the details, and most often it’s the small details that make the biggest difference. For any given project, there are so many pieces to coordinate that it takes time, effort, and the right management solution to tie them all together. Businesses, small or big, need to begin relying on technology to streaml

Reid Hanson

Jun 29, 2022
3 min

Building a Culture of Accountability

Gaps in accountability Accountability is one of the key contributors in converting business strategies into practicality, which is why it plays a pivotal role in determining the success of a project. In the course of a project, it’s all too common to experience disagreements and stressful situations where differences in ideas and points of view could lead to one person being side-lined or someone else being burdened will all the work. Clearly, these are gaps in accountability