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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, retail and foodservices sales rose 0.8 percent in March 2012 from February 2012 and 6.5 percent from March of 2011, which is good news for small to medium businesses as retail and food services makes up at least 70 percent of the economy. Furthermore, another report has shown that companies were "restocked" at a consistent clip in February, suggesting that businesses expect consumer bases to grow in the spring and summer.

According to Bloomberg, the improving job market has given households spending confidence despite rising gasoline prices and a declining housing market. Sales in major consumer product chains such as Gap and Target soared. Even the automotive industry has seen record sales for fuel efficient vehicles in March 2012.

"The industry and consumers have been very resilient in the face of higher pump prices," said Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales at General Motors. "The steadily improving economy is playing a role and so is pent-up demand and an improved credit market."

Furthermore, a healing job market is helping increase annual incomes. The job market has increased by 635,000 positions since December 2011 and unemployment fell from 8.5 percent to 8.2 percent. This is also compounded by data showing March of 2012 as the warmest it has been in the past 117 years.

With the weather improving and the job market slowly increasing, many experts believe that the increase in sales will continue. If companies wish to take advantage of the progressing economy they may want to invest a database software to help keep track of inventories and sales may want to consider seeking a FileMaker consultant to implement the increasingly popular business software. 

Despite a pending lawsuit from the Department of Justice on the price of ebooks, Apple – and its keystone product, the iPad – is doing remarkably well, especially in the small business market. It's almost no wonder that when FileMaker, a business database software application, released the latest edition of its software that it was downloaded over 100,000 times in its first week alone.

FileMaker announced that the combined downloads of FileMaker Go 12 for iPad, FileMaker Go 12 for iPhone and FileMaker Pro 12 have breached the 100,000 download milestone. The software assists businesses with the management of nearly every asset from payroll to inventory.

"The rapid adoption of FileMaker Go 12 strengthens FileMaker's position as a leading platform for creating custom iOS business apps," said Ryan Rosenberg, the vice president of marketing and services at FileMaker. "Businesses are using FileMaker Pro to create apps to manage everything from their inventory to contacts to salespersons' routes, and deploying these on their iPads and iPhones with FileMaker Go."

By being able to use FileMaker on both personal computers as well as mobile devices such as iPhones or iPads allows businesses to have access to important documents and information no matter where they are. Furthermore, the mobile versions are free from Apple's app store, helping businesses save on IT costs by only needing to invest in the FileMaker Pro version.

As more businesses start to see customer interactions and transactions being done online rather than in person, having a database software like FileMaker to assist with whatever workflow streamlining and management business owners may need is imperative. In order to fully reap the benefits of FileMaker Pro 12, companies should consult a FileMaker developer to assist with the integration. 

The debate of brick-and-mortar versus click-and-mortar stores continues with a new study by Local Corporation – an online local media company – that showed brick-and-mortar stores are still largely important to consumers, despite the rising use of online resources.

The study showed 90 percent of respondents claiming that a physical store is important to them as most transactions are still done in stores. Rather than purchasing items online, consumers will use those avenues as a means of research with nearly two out of three shoppers using at least one different device to research.

Furthermore, over 60 percent of shoppers will research a product or service several times in one month by using some type of mobile device, be it a personal computer, tablet or smartphone. This research may also be part of the 47 percent of consumers that use a smartphone to look up local information, including directions to the brick-and-mortar store they want to visit.

Although most consumers tend to make the purchases at the actual store, that’s not to say that mobile purchasing still hasn’t gone up. Best Buy’s fiscal year results showed that their physical store sales went down 1.5 percent while their online transactions jumped up 18 percent. Furthermore, many small businesses are conducting virtual pop-ups to help drive sales.

By printing their merchandise against physical backdrops and walls with QR codes below each “product”, consumers can use smartphones to scan these items that will bring them to a virtual cart where they can check out or shop more. Many brick-and-mortar stores are using this method as well, to help combine their online and physical presence.

Whether or not a small business is a brick-and-mortar store or a click-and-mortar merchant, using a FileMaker developer to create a custom database software to keep track of sales and transactions being conducted through pop-up sales or more conventional techniques can help a small business stay more streamlined and efficient when processing this important data.

On April 4, software developing company, FileMaker released its newest line in database software, the FileMaker 12.

This update on the already excellent database solutions system offers numerous advantages for small- to medium-sized businesses. The latest update includes 16 different "Starter Solutions" that are pre-made templates that allow business to manage tasks such as content management and invoicing.

FileMaker 12 also includes 40 "themes" that allow users to update the way their databases look and feel. These include multiple "touch" oriented themes that were designed to comply with the increasingly popular iPad and iPhone. Although the mobile themes cannot be customized, users can create their own custom database software.

"The iPad is really influencing people's view of what design should be," said Filemaker vice president Ryan Rosenberg, in an interview with InformationWeek. "People think that you should tap to an icon and this get beautiful app that's really easy to use. Those same requirements are drifting over to Windows and Mac desktops."

Users don't have to be software development and coding wizards to enjoy custom apps and databases through FileMaker 12, though. "We have this entire platform that helps create these custom iOS apps and then deploy and manage them," said Rosenberg. "It's a great alternative to programming environments."

Although FileMaker has excellent design and capabilities in desktop computers, the product's performance does not suffer when being used on more mobile oriented operating systems. The FileMaker Go applications for iPads and iPhones have actually become free with the update. Before, FileMaker 12, the iPad app cost $40 with the iPhone version around $20. This can mean big savings for small- to medium-sized businesses if employees add these apps to their mobile devices.

If business owners want to see a streamlined workflow and increased productivity, they should consider seeking FileMaker consultants to help implement and kick-start FileMaker software in their business. 

FM Academy, a consortium of leading FileMaker development companies in the United States, will be hosting the “12 Days of FileMaker 12” a free webinar series to help FileMaker users get up to speed quickly on the many new features of FileMaker 12. As a founding member of FM Academy, Kyo Logic is pleased to participate in presenting this important training series.

FileMaker 12 brings big changes to this already powerful database platform currently licensed to over 18 million users worldwide. The “12 days of FileMaker 12” series will expose the many important new capabilities of this platform.

The series will begin on April 10th at 2pm Eastern (11am Pacific). Chuck Melton of Anvil Dataworks will present the new Layout Design Surface in FileMaker Pro 12. Chuck is a FileMaker Certified Developer and experienced presenter. Future topics will include Charting, FileMaker Go 12, Container Fields, FileMaker Server 12 and the Execute SQL function.

Click here to register:

Webinar Schedule and Details:

April 10, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 1: Layout Design Surface

April 12, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 2: Charting Enhancements

April 17, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 3: Layout Mode Enhancements

April 19, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 4: FileMaker Go Enhancements

April 24, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 5: Quick Table View

April 26, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 6: Container Field Enhancements

May 1, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 7: Design Surface Behavior Changes

May 3, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 8: Server File Management

May 8, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 9: New Calculation Functions

May 10, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 10: ExecuteSQL Function

May 15, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 11: Script Trigger Enhancements

May 17, 2012 2:00 pm
Webinar 12: Moving to FileMaker 12

About FM Academy FM Academy is a consortium of seven FileMaker Business Alliance Platinum companies. Our goal is to educate FileMaker users and developers, encourage best practices, and foster adoption of the FileMaker platform. The members of FM Academy are 360Works, Anvil Dataworks, Fiddlehead Software, IT Solutions, KyoLogic, MightyData and Skeleton Key. Contact information: http://www.filemakeracademy.com

The SIIA CODiE Awards' – an annual business software, digital content and education technologies competition – has announced the finalists in each category for its 2012 competition. The finalists in each category will go through an intensive review from industry peers with the winners of each category being announced on May 10, 2012.

LIvePerson, Inc. – a New York City based software development firm – was selected as a finalist for the 2012 CODiE Awards in Business Software for its product, LP Marketer, in the Best Content Management Solution category. Also nominated as finalists for the peer-reviewed, business software and custom application development competition were Actiance's Socialite Engage, Adobe Systems' Web Experience Management solution, iAPPS' Bridgeline Digital, Ingeniux's CMS 7.5 and Percussion Software's CM1 Version 2.

According to a press release by LivePeople, the Best Content Management Solution category recognizes "the best software or platform that enables the creation, management and modification of information on the web, intranet or other information resources."

Although LivePerson – with offices in Tel Aviv, Osaka, San Francisco and its headquarters in New York City – may be a standout example of a finalist, there are multiple nominees in a plethora of categories. CODiE Awards are given out under the three main categories of Business Software, Digital Content and Education Technology. Those main heads are broken up into many subcategories, that will all be judged based on a criteria consisting, mostly, of ease of use, speed and capabilities.

In today's changing markets, small businesses that are looking to improve their practices with custom application development should not only pay attention to the CODiE Awards on May 10, but also consider consulting Filemaker developers to invest in dynamic business software and database solutions. 

With the recent Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act passing through Congress and landing on President Barack Obama's desk, it may become easier for small businesses to procure new capital as the bill allows many crowdfunding limitations to be lifted.

That being said, since most crowdfunding is done through the internet, a website is a major resource for small businesses and an investment that should not be taken lightly. The way in which companies markets themselves through their website can determine the rise and fall of startups and other small businesses. Forbes' March 27 article, "Top 7 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make" outlines the red flags that these small businesses need to watch out for.

Most of Forbes' advice is based on the website's layout – which, as previously reported, is extremely important, especially within the first seconds that a potential customer is on the website. Forbes states that if a website has been rushed and doesn't visually adhere to the demographic than the site may fall flat. It also recommends that companies keep sites simple – not too flashy or busy – that websites have a clear call to action, fresh and relevant content and the site only tries to target the main demographic rather than trying to please everyone.

Forbes also suggests that small business owners don't go it alone when it comes to the complexities of designing a website, asking the question, "If you don't have design experience, do you really think you can do it justice?"

By consulting software developing companies to assist in the creation of dynamic websites and even some custom application development, small businesses stand a much better chance at creating a visually appealing and highly functional website than by themselves. This could be a great investment for the potential capital the JOBS Act may help create. 

Communication is crucial when it comes to operating a small to medium sized business. Whether it be about how many products are in the warehouse compared to what's on the floor, or when a budget report is due to a senior analyst, knowing the when, where and what of daily tasks is essential for all employees.

Often times, businesses will cover this information gap by holding multiple meetings a day. Although most meetings are productive when it comes to assessing progress on certain projects and assigning workloads for others, some meetings can not only be pointless but also expensive and inefficient. Forbes' March 26 article, "We've Got to Stop Meeting Like This: 7 Reasons to Cancel Your Next Meeting" outlines why companies should cut down on meetings and increase effective communications through other lines.

Forbes' greatest reasoning for limiting the amount of meetings a company conducts in a day is how expensive one can be. When hourly wages, transportation costs and catering are all taken into account, oftentimes the meeting isn't nearly worth how much it's costing the company. Further exacerbating this is that most meetings don't have a specific point and direction, they often end up with workers searching for something to meet about rather than solving a particular issue which means they are also unproductive – another reason cited as not to meet.

Rather than quickly slimming down on meetings per day, a company can increase the effectiveness and productivity of its employees and cut down on meetings through more fluid intra-company communications by seeking a custom software developer or a Filemaker consultant to develop a customized database software that will allow employees to store and access vital information. This will allow workers to increase productivity and also cut down on costly meetings by encouraging better communication throughout the organization. 

On March 22, the United States Senate passed a bill known as the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) that allows small business to acquire capital and go public with more ease than before.

As the economy starts to climb out of the recession and the technology industry experiences an unprecedented red shift in growth and innovation, this new legislation comes in support of that, hoping to generate more job growth for small businesses as it demystifies the processes of gaining private funding.

The JOBS Act, essentially, does three things.

First, through a relatively new concept called "crowdfunding", it increases the opportunity for equity investment. The small internet investments of crowdfunding used to be very limited, according to Reuters, but the JOBS Act removes those limitations – mostly involving the ability to crowdfund equity investments.

The Act also eases up on public disclosures. Before the JOBS Act – which still needs to go through the House of Representatives and get signed by President Obama – the SEC stated that companies with over 500 shareholders and $10 million in assets are required to follow public disclosure rules. Under the JOBS Act those numbers are increased to 2,000 shareholders.

Furthermore, the JOBS Act states that "emerging growth companies" – companies with less than $1 billion in revenue that wish to go public – are exempt from some of the Dodd-Frank rules and are required to file fewer financial reporting statements to acquire an IPO.

Across the board, the JOBS Act is being considered an excellent way for small to medium sized businesses to save money while also expanding and growing. The revenue saved by companies through the JOBS Act can be used to consult software developing companies to create a stellar website to enhance online presence for crowdfunding, or to create customized database software for better business practices. 

E-commerce is a major facet of modern markets. If a business – especially a small one – wishes to be competitive in their respective industry, it's absolutely critical that they maintain an excellent online presence through the use of a well-designed homepage.

Hubspot – a Boston-based online marketing company – published an infographic on the 12 critical elements every homepage needs. Hubspot also stated that one company saw a 105.9 percent increase in online conversions from moving just a few key elements higher up on their homepage. According to Hubspot, to increase the potential for considerable profit gains, companies homepages should have:

1. A headline that informs the viewer exactly what the website is offering
2. A sub headline to offer a brief, colloquial description of the service or product
3. Benefits of using the company's product should be prominently displayed
4. A primary call-to action that will convert traffic into leads
5. Some key features of the product or service along with the benefits of using it
6. A couple short quotes from customers to prove the quality of the product
7. Success indicators like awards and recognitions
8. A clear navigation display so viewers can easily click their way through the site
9. A supporting image or video that clearly displays what the site is offering
10. Some kind of content – like a white paper or a News or Blog page
11. A link to a resource where customers can learn more before making a decision, since 96 percent of visitors are normally not ready to buy
12. A secondary call to action placed at the bottom of a page to remind a viewer what the company has to offer.

By seeking improved database software and consulting software developing companies to assist with the remodeling of their website, a business stands an excellent chance at capitalizing on the same profit increases.