Tim Tips Thursdays - An Introduction

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Do you like the new article banner? You are probably asking, “who is Tim” or “what is Murph doing writing an article under a banner titled ‘Tim Tips’ even if it is Thursday”?

Well the Tim associated with this new banner is ‘Tim Grant’, and in the future he will be writing this new feature for Insightful Accountant, but I will get to the specifics of that a little later in this article.

First, I want to tell you a little about why this new feature is being offered for our readers. The answer is simple, we want to always be your resource for helping you do more with your practice, expand your expertise, and be a better ‘trusted advisor’ for your clients no matter what ‘vertical’ you choose for your specialization.

Second, we think the timing is right for more ‘trusted advisors’ to become ‘trusted inventory and/or manufacturing advisors.’ Whether you associate it with politics, timing of the markets, the effects of the internet, or whatever, the reality is that our economy is not only ‘going again’ but ‘booming’ in many sectors. Two of those sectors are manufacturing and inventory where growth is at some the highest levels since the industrial revolution.

Manufacturing jobs are not only returning to once down-sized factories, but new production plants are under construction, and manufacturers are seeking more highly qualified people than ever before. 

The entire dynamics of manufacturing is more of a blend of blue-collar and white-collar positions, let’s just say ‘gray collar’ as manufacturing personnel must not work within the confines of a highly automated and mechanized environment but also be willing both get your hands dirty when needed. Leading the way are a lot of smart machines and automation that puts every task into the proper perspective from a production, efficiency and financial standpoint. These are systems that measure job completion, time on task and cost down to the smallest component.

And wherever there is manufacturing there is inventory. You might say that inventory is the very ‘life blood’ of manufacturing because it pulses around from the receiving dock to the warehouse to different staging areas or production locations within the plant and ultimately sees its way out the door as part of finished goods. 

Of course, inventory is also the life blood of retail, wholesale and much of construction, not just manufacturing. And that means that a ‘trusted inventory advisor’ needs to know the specifics of inventory for all these business sectors.

The reality is that inventory methodologies are not consistent across all businesses, ‘what is good for the Goose is not necessarily good for the Gander’ when it comes to inventory. An abundance of inventory for your eCommerce retail store is one thing, but lean manufacturing principles based upon ‘just-in-time’ inventory for your production facility may be the best solution for your client. 

Because of both the economic up-turn and the sophistication of manufacturing and inventory-centric business dynamics, now is the perfect time to consider ‘manufacturing’ and/or ‘inventory’ as great specialization alternatives if you are currently a business consultant or ProAdvisor with a ‘generalist’ emphasis. It really doesn’t matter whether you presently work with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online or some other accounting technology, there are solutions already onboard or emerging to provide you with the specialization tools you need to migrate your practice from the typical mom-n-pop small business to big-time manufacturing or inventory-based businesses.

When is the last time (or first time) you automated a 35,000 square foot inventory warehouse, or 80,000 square foot manufacturing facility? Well, as the ‘old chili advertisement’ use to say, “that’s too long.”  It can be a lot of fun, as well as a lot of work, and very rewarding in terms of ‘I did it’ as well as the ‘big bucks’ it brings in.

Now you know why Insightful Accountant has sought out the assistance of Tim Grant, a leading expert in inventory and manufacturing solutions for small to medium businesses, to provide you with valuable insights into these career paths. In his new series Tim will be taking you through key aspects of consulting for your chosen (or potential) vertical path to success which you will find especially beneficial if you are working with QuickBooks or another small business accounting software.

We hope in the weeks to come (about once every week or two) that you find these Tim Tips Thursday features just the tips you need to put you in the driver’s seat of your own inventory or manufacturing consulting practice.