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As technology advances, the ways in which many businesses operate change as well. In fact, more individuals now have the option to work remotely rather than in the office than ever before and even more wish they could. Recent survey results may prompt some business owners to allow working from home more often.

According to a survey by Citrix, a Florida-based software company, many employees desire more freedom when it comes to where they actually work. While 64 percent of respondents say they've never worked remotely, 32 percent said they would give up lunch breaks to be able to.

Working remotely is becoming a main fixture in the American workplace. In fact, the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) is beginning an initiative to allow its employees to work more effectively out of the office.

"This strategy seeks to create an experience by the use of mobile technology allowing them to function more efficiently or effectively from wherever they are and whatever device they are using," wrote Linda Cuerton, NASA's CIO, in the organization's blog.

BusinessWeek claims that in order for companies to effectively operate remotely, they will need a central database where everyone can access and upload key documents and projects. FileMaker – as well the mobile version, FileMaker Go – easily creates this solution. Also, database software can allow employees to access project task lists that they may not have been able to remember if they weren't in the office, which can also aid in productivity away from the workplace.

If other managers or business owners wish to allow their employees to work from home and, potentially, boost morale and workforce satisfaction, they may want to invest in custom database software such as FileMaker Pro. 

With technology evolving and improving at an unprecedented rate, businesses must evolve with it, oftentimes changing to meet customers demands or to save off of improved technologies. One such change has been the adoption of the subscription business model by many small businesses. The use of a custom database software can help all companies interested in becoming a subscription service make that change with efficiency.

According to BusinessWeek, more than 40 percent of media and digital-products companies worldwide will use subscription services for their fulfillment, billing and renewals by 2015. However, there are challenges that come with using a subscription model, including controlling customer churn, managing credit-card charge backs and delinquent payments and ensuring the security of customers’ financial data.

While these obstacles may appear daunting at first, the use of a custom database software can allow these media and digital-products companies to maintain accurate records of customer payment information as well as monitor access to guarantee the safety of sensitive financial information.

“In e-commerce, you typically see a 2 percent conversion rate for everyone who visits your site. We can afford to see a much lower conversion rate, as long as the person continues with us each month,” says Millie Tadewaldt, the managing director of Sandbox Industries, a Chicago-based incubator, to the source. “It doesn’t take very many sign-ups off a blog post to cover our cost.”

Despite its rising popularity and healthy numbers, many companies are still hesitant to adopt a subscription service model due to notorious customer complaints. According to BusinessWeek, the key is to make sure that it’s convenient to customers. Allowing customers to cancel orders last minute or rush deliveries may, at first, seem like a headache to companies, but using a custom database software that maintains and displays customer requests in an accurate and easily accessible manner makes providing these advantages much easier for businesses.

Over the past ten years more advances in communication and business technology have occurred than ever before. One such innovation has been the advent of the smartphone, as well as the development of apps and software programs that allow these devices to be such a useful tool. In a June Entrepreneur article, the magazine says that using a smartphone can inherently increase a company's productivity, which can be directly enhanced from using a mobile custom database software.

According to the source, one of the best ways smartphones can help employees remain productive, regardless of location, is by helping them manage tasks. A custom database software that is both available for standard personal computers as well as in a mobile version such as FileMaker GO is an excellent application for a business oriented smartphone.

Because FileMaker GO syncs with the FileMaker database in the office computer, users gain full access to all of their documents, projects and tasks. This allows them greater visibility into what needs to be done and by when.

While task and project management may be one of the best ways companies can utilize mobile devices, the number of capabilities doesn't end there especially with a custom database software. Entrepreneur gives another example of using a smartphone to scan business cards or receipts that may be accrued on business trips or at recruiting events. Using FileMaker GO, workers can directly upload these critical documents into the database either through scanning them or taking a picture.

In addition, the obvious communication advantages are also available through using smartphones. Having access to emails as well as any updated spreadsheets, analytical data or presentation documents makes a smartphone, when coupled with a custom database software such as FileMaker GO, an incredibly productive business tool. 

In today’s world of mobile media and social networking, if companies aren’t using these avenues as a means of advertisement and marketing they may not be able to reach key demographics that could help propel their business. But, oftentimes, companies are not aware of how to properly measure the usefulness of their campaigns despite how critical these platforms may be. This conundrum can be solved with the use of a custom database software to help store key analytics about the use of these burgeoning media sources.

In fact, according to a survey by Prosper Mobile Insights, 74 percent of mobile users say they pay full attention to mobile ads while browsing the internet. Also, 35 percent of respondents say they do this on a regular basis and 38 percent on an occasional basis..

Furthermore, 59 percent of smartphone and tablet users surveyed say they regularly pay full attention to advertisements while visiting top social media websites, which has come into its own as far as digital marketing and advertising goes.

“Social media continues to emerge as an important marketing channel and major brand marketers are devoting more time and attention to understanding its impact on consumers,” said Andrew Lipsman, the VP of industry analysis at comScore, a digital analytics company. “While marketers understand the importance of a channel that now accounts for one 1 in every 7 minutes spent online, many are challenged to quantify its effectiveness.”

By consulting a FileMaker developer to create a custom database software that can hold the necessary analytics and tracking numbers of social media and mobile marketing, companies can quantify the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. These numbers can help them push the strategies that created a positive reaction and scale back ones that may have left consumers less responsive.

Customer satisfaction should be at the head of every business’ priority list. But, oftentimes, most companies don’t exactly have the means to judge whether their customers are truly satisfied or not. One way to combat this is by using a custom database software to store customer complaints or suggestions, and also maintain customer information that will allow them to cater towards each customer differently. In fact, FastCompany states that being able to not only maintain customer happiness, but also employee satisfaction is incredibly important.

According to the source, companies should take the time to remind customers on certain “housecleaning” issues. For example, informing a customer when a warranty or guarantee period is about to expire, warning them before renewing a subscription of charging them for an extended service agreement. Or on the other hand, informing customers when they’re eligible for a free upgrade or benefit. All of this data can be tracked using a custom database software

Furthermore, this technology can help track employee benefits as many experts consider keeping talent happy just as important as keeping customers happy. By letting workers know when they’re eligible for paid time off or a commission on a certain sale can help increase morale and confidence. In addition, when these perks are aligned with customer satisfaction goals, both parties benefit.

In addition, being able to track customer analytics is hugely important for all businesses, especially those attempting to enhance customer satisfaction. If companies don’t know what their customers want, how can they give it to them? A custom database software much like FileMaker can help businesses differentiate certain customers by their needs and not just by their overall business value, allowing the company to adjust how it services each customer to benefit them the most.

When it comes to competing in the modern business world, it’s imperative that companies not only utilize the internet but do so to its fullest extent. Oftentimes, in order to make the most out of a website and what it can do for businesses, managers and owners must track the statistics and behaviors of the site’s viewers. One way to do this is by using Google Analytics, another way is through a custom database software that can retain all this data.

Google Analytics is a program from the major search engine and technology giant that allows companies to access important statistics that give an image of the overall effectiveness of their website. One of the major components of Google Analytics is its ability to track audience behaviors and information.

According to an article from Inc. Magazine, companies that use Google Analytics should be sure to keep track of the language, location, mobile and visitor flow statistics under the audience feature. These key metrics allow companies to get a very clear picture of exactly what demographic is being driven to their website. This is hugely important as it can reveal whether a website is attracting the appropriate customers for what the business has to offer.

But, with these four metrics constantly being updated, maintaining their relevancy can be a feat too large for an Excel spreadsheet. By using a custom database software much like FileMaker, owners and managers will not only be able to recall previous analytics figures but also graph and sort them. Without being able to recall these statistics through a custom database, businesses won’t get the perspective that can be crucial to understanding whether any changes that may have been made are actually beneficial to the website.

With the economy slowly recover from the recession, many small businesses across the United States are starting to see an increase in demand. In order for these businesses to capitalize on this demand, they must be able to create the supply.

Therefore, productivity is, obviously, a major component to running a small business and supplying that consumer demand. Being able to get orders out on time, adhering to customer service requests and even the simple act of sending emails are imperative to maintaining a successful business.

According to a new survey from SurePayroll, Inc., small businesses showed 64 percent of owners were optimistic about the economy while hiring and paycheck distribution barely changed (in fact, both went down 0.1 percent over the month of May). Showing remarkable productivity, often through the use of technology.

“We’re seeing small businesses circling the runway right now. They’re not sure when and where to land,” said SurePayroll CEO Michael Alter. “Small businesses have made themselves more efficient through technology during this recovery, which is a good thing for them. However, it creates a holding pattern situation for the economy where increased hiring is not yet necessary.”

Custom database software is an incredible resource for small businesses to use as a means to not only measure but increase productivity and performance. As the survey found 50 percent of respondents are experiencing an increased revenue and growth while productivity is out pacing hiring, the use of a custom database software like FileMaker can help the companies that have not experienced this type of success reach these goals. Furthermore, FileMaker Go is an excellent resource for businesses who utilize a mobile strategy to help with productivity outside the workplace.

When it comes to running a successful small business, it’s paramount for you to maintain a custom database software that holds crucial information and documents. If businesses happen to find themselves in the midst of a lawsuit, having access to this database can be the difference between showing the necessary documents and information for litigation and conducting what is known as an electronic discovery, or e-Discovery.

According to Inc. Magazine, e-Discovery is the process in which analysts are able to extract data from the internet to be exchanged and analyzed during litigation, or as part of an investigation by government bodies. It’s time consuming, exhausting and very expensive.

“E-Discovery is a complicated, messy process,” said Andrew Sieja, founder and CEO of kCura, a major Chicago data and analytics software company, to Inc. “The collection phase involves the snatching of data from, say, the laptops of 50 different people. It requires experts to really understand where to pull data from the network.”

The expertise needed to pull off a competent e-Discovery has sparked an entire industry. The market has grown by an annual rate of 14 percent over the past few years and is predicted to reach a $1.7 billion worth by 2014.

While the major industry tycoons in tech, oil, finance and energy were the first to issue the use of e-Discovery experts, small to medium sized businesses have started to catch on despite its costs, as all it takes is one lawsuit to significantly harm a company. E-discovery is becoming one of the best ways you can defend yourself in court as it provides a massive amount of data from a very complicated medium.

To help protect against data loss and the costliness of e-Discovery, you should utilize a custom database software much like FileMaker that will allow you to store and access these necessary materials in the chance they are needed for legal issues.

An integral part of maintaining a successful small business is the ability to keep an accurate tally of all the company's finances and the effectiveness of these expenses. One way businesses can accomplish this is by using a custom database software much like FileMaker 12 as a means to manage necessary business expenses such as payroll, accounting services and even travel expenses with a higher level of clarity.

In fact, according to a survey by Sun National Bank, 75 percent of small business owners cite rising gas prices as directly affecting their business. While business owners that require the use of a fleet of vehicles may not be able to control the price of gas, they can control many other expenses they may be spending too much on.

For example, online banking is an excellent way for small businesses to save. Rather than driving to a bank, owners can access their accounts from a computer. Furthermore, by maintaining their finances online or in a custom database software, owners will cut down on unnecessary workplace clutter by eliminating the need for paper financial records.

Another way small businesses can save is by utilizing televideo or video conferencing services that allow communication with clients or other important entities without having to spend on travel. In addition, by providing employees time to work from home, employers can not only stimulate workplace energy savings by requiring fewer employees to use electricity and other utilities, but also help boost employee morale.

While these practices are all excellent ways for small businesses to save on the little expenses that add up, without maintaining an accurate record of these savings in a custom database, business owners may never know exactly how much they're saving. 

Payroll can be a complex undertaking for most small businesses. While calculating hours and wages may not be the most exhausting duty, understanding and adhering to tax laws, regulations and deductions can be a hard task itself. In order to maintain these essential statistics, small businesses should use a custom database software to store all its payroll records while also paying close attention to the tax incentives recently proposed by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

According to the New York Times, a new bill proposed by President Barack Obama would allow a company to get up to a 10 percent income tax credit against the amount of wages it expands by. This means that if a business increases its payroll by $4 million, it could potentially receive a $400,000 income tax credit. Subsequently, this credit is capped at $500,000 making it more valuable for small to medium sized businesses. Furthermore, the proposal is limited to the top wage that is subject to Social Security tax – $110,100.

According to the news source, many experts believe this new bill may be more of a distinction from the GOP rather than a genuine initiative. The Republican party recently proposed a tax incentive bill that would allow companies with less than 500 employees to deduct 20 percent of their income in 2012. But, this deduction is limited to half of the cash wages that were paid to employees.

Whether any of the bills come to fruition or not, companies will still benefit from maintaining accurate payroll records with use of a custom database software that allow for higher clarity into what can be a complicated process.