D_Blackwell - 4:56 am on Dec 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

Have to agree that if you are only offering PayPal and Google that a lot of business is probably going somewhere else. A lot of people will want to just work straight through your site/cart and not be detoured. You're probably paying a lot more to process a sale unless your monthly dollar volume or average ticket is very low. We take PayPal for most sites because too many people love it, but we certainly don't promote it as 'first choice' payment method.

We use QB Pro and my people can copy/paste shipping address, billing address, phone number, alternate phone number, email, and miscellaneous notes in the blink of an eye. Another minute and the shipping label has been printed. Not an issue at all, IMO, until entering data at a rate of at least 100+ orders per day. Then worth popping for a high-end automated system. Our order intake and shipping desk is setup as full-out office with large dual monitors which makes transferring data and switching between applications a lot easier for my people. Even got a cam that I can control from here. Too cool - although they like to put up little notes that they know I'll see:)) I've got good people and manage from another location. But, I am only about a four hour drive if a crisis requires that I be on-site. Otherwise, I just visit as needed and get a complete eyes-on view of standards and procedures.

QB not good for inventory management IMO, but I like it for simple and easy database.

If having growing pains at 15 orders per day - efficiency, procedures and management are at root. Data entry, packing, billing, shipping, everything... should take take, what, 10 minutes? (Depends what you are selling to some extent.) Still, one person can ship 40 - 50 orders a day easy. Two people that work well together nearly triple efficiency. People first. Fancy software second. When they need more, they get more - and only the best.

The most productive day of my life was the day that I turned over personal handling of data entry, shipping, product handling, et cetera, and brought in family as first employees.

About to a point where I need to look at some more sophisticated options that will ease our own growth. In the meantime, we pay top-dollar for top people. Nobody leaves by choice. They could not afford to go anywhere else and wouldn't be treated as well. Helps that it is a family business, and all members are professionals - so no 'family issues' because it is understood that business is always first 'on the job', and that also gives us a lot of extra protection in hiring and building good people for future growth. (A family member that 'coasts' will get whacked before a hired hand that might do the same thing - a standard is expected and it is simply understood.)