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

By Tayo Solagbade

An essential requirement for success of any farm that wishes to adopt best practice/continuous improvement techniques to achieve optimal performance, is the integration of software automation into its operations - especially farm records keeping and accounting. Sadly however, some biz owners give the excuse that they cannot adopt computer based automation because their businesses are still too small; making too little money; suffering erratic power supply which make generator expenses excessive etc.In this short article, I provide graphic illustrations based on real-life occurrences to show that simple computer-based automation is quite inexpensive when done intelligently - with "common sense".

The Reasons Some Business Owners Give Against Adopting Computers ACTUALLY Provide Perfect Justifications For Them To Do So!

The irony about most of the excuses these business owners give for not wanting to adopt computers, is that those reasons in themselves provide GREAT JUSTIFICATION for the owners to employ computer-aided monitoring of their business' performance. Among other benefits, such as time saving and increased human resources productivity, doing so facilitates better informed and timely decision making! This is because the use of computers (via software automation) enhances more COMPREHENSIVE analysis.

With proper planning, including use of standard manual data recording formats which subsequently serve as "source" documents for making computer entries, the perception of "difficulty" in the use of computer automation can be removed from the minds of many.

The use of computers DOES NOT have to cost you an arm and a leg. You do not for instance have to go about it in the manner a multinational would ! I do ALL my work on a computer that I have now owned for four years. With a 256MB RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, and other standard features, it cost me less than N70,000(N135 naira = $1.00 US Dollar approx as at time of writing this) to get it, and today would cost round about the same amount or possibly less, what with all the competition. Many business owners out here will probably find that THIS type of computer system specification I use will be just right for them.

So what does N70,000 over a four year period come to? Very little, when you think about what you will be able to do. Consider also that I STILL have no plans to replace the computer any time soon because I know I can get it upgraded to deliver higher performance, at a fraction of the cost of purchase.

Aside from the computer, you need nothing more than your hands (for typing your records); a spreadsheet application like MS Excel(to post your data into, for subsequent analysis); or you could use a custom spreadsheet software I can build for you to make posting your data for analysis and accounts preparation EVEN easier.

What we are talking about here is a LONG TERM solution that will pay for itself many times over by SAVING you hundreds of hours of effort/time PLUS it will eliminate the pain of having to worry about making sense of what's happening in your farm business.

For instance, some farm owners cannot even be sure if they are making profits or running at a loss, because the thought of sitting down to do ALL the needed calculations is just too DAUNTING. That's a problem you are not likely to have if you adopt the SIMPLE computer based automation I have described above for YOUR farm business.

Computation Of Your Farm KPIs Will Take MUCH LESS Time & Effort When Automated

In order to really get maximum value from computing the five(5) Key indicators we describe as essential for monitoring your business' performance, the use of computer based automation cannot be over-emphasised.

If you really want to operate your business in a manner that ensures you don't get overwhelmed by the day to day requirements, you MUST as a matter of priority incorporate computer based automation into your routine data recording, analysis and accounts preparation.

Just imagine how useful it would be, to be able to click your mouse and have displayed on your computer screen ALL the important financial data, especially the five(5) KPIs described here!

You would spend LESS of your time punching a calculator (or asking your operatives/manager to do it), LESS time wondering if ANY data was missed or if there was a wrong input or incorrect calculation method employed. Instead you would be able to focus MORE on thinking about the computed performance indicators against the background of farm management decisions/actions you took over the course of the period for which they were estimated.

What you learn as a result will guide you in taking future decisions - and over time you will be able to ensure MORE consistency in your farm business operations - leading to consistency in output, and by implication, income.

But You Do NOT Even Need To Own A Computer To Automate Your Farm Business Records Keeping/Accounts

YES - that's right, you don't! Let me explain why :

1. Not everyone who visits/uses cyber cafes and business centers owns a PC at home - especially here in Nigeria/Africa.

2. Yet most users of cafes and business centers will often produce letters, reports and other documents while in those places, which they will print for use in their work and/or businesses. Sometimes they email the finished documents to associates via the the Internet. These are everyday people just like you and I. You probably do the same thing from time to time too!

3. In order to do the above ALL they need to have is MONEY as little as N150 to N200 (N135 = $1.00 US Dollar approx) to gain about ONE hour of access to an Internet connected PC or - one not online which they would use for typing/preparing their documents.

4. The only other thing they would want to own is some removable storage device(like a floppy disk or better still a flash drive etc) on which copies of the documents they produce at the end of their stay in the cafe or Business center can be stored - for retrieval at a later date.

Going by the above therefore, if you don't feel convinced enough to invest in a computer for your business today, it is obvious that THAT does not stop you from using computer-based software to automate your farm records keeping/analyses and accounts preparation.

I have seen people sit for upwards of four(4) hours at a stretch in a cyber cafe, typing handwritten data from a paper based spreadsheet source containing various tables into a computer-based Excel spreadsheet - adding formula generated totals and other summaries before emailing the completed document to a waiting party in some other geographical locations.

Hopefully those who choose to work this way would have done the maths and can justify having to work that way. It is however DEFINITELY better than having to depend on manual, paper-based and/or calculator-aided preparation of business records/accounts!

Summary - There Really Is No Justifiable Reason NOT To Automate Your Farm Business' Records & Accounts

You stand to gain MUCH more than you could possibly lose - both in the short and long term by adopting computer-based automation for your farm (and any other) business.

And when we talk about the "long run", even the person visiting cafes and business centers to work, will eventually be forced to weigh the inconvenience of doing so, PLUS the attendant costs over time, against the many benefits derivable from working on his/her own computer without being under psychological pressure to finish on time so as to avoid having to pay for an extra hour!

In the long run therefore, owning a PC for your business - even if just ONE - will do you, and your business a whole lot of good.

BUT, you can always start by working from a cafe or business center - where using a custom software built for you can even help you work FASTER so you can finish in less time, and therefore PAY LESS to the cafe owner!

Or BETTER STIL, you could do your work in a friend's place (where you may be able to use a computer for FREE!). Any approach you adopt, so long as it helps you get started with using computer-based automation for your farm business records keeping/accounts, WILL work better than if you continued with manual/calculator-aided methods!

This article is an educational commercial about an aspect of the Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS™) that SDAc's CB Solutions can help you setup for your farm business.

In the BOPMS™, major emphasis is placed on the need to streamline operations(via best practice initiatives) in a manner that allows easy integration of PC automation to reduce time, effort and resources needed PLUS increase output and accuracy in the entire farming process,so that the business becomes MORE profitable. Click here to learn more.