Posted by Roberta Lee on Fri, Sep 19, 2008
This lyric from Foreigners 1978 Double Vision release took on a whole new meaning for me recently.
Working with a laptop for many years, I was content with my 15" LCD screen until recently... A few months ago when I started work at Bean Services I was introduced to a new epoch of web surfing and electronic efficiency. One morning in my first week at Bean, Jarrod walked in the door with 22" Samsung. He placed it on my desk told me to use it as an extended desktop from my notebook computer, that I would need it. Being a tech enthusiast, it made me giddy to receive such grandeur. Although at the time it seemed like an unnecessary luxury (although, I wasn't going to ask him to take it back), it soon became a necessity.
Having 2 monitors allows me to easily work on two programs in full screen mode... and cut down on the amount of time alt-tabbing between programs. When I'm writing application documentation, I can have beanbills open in one window and my document editor open on the other. I can cut and paste without having to find and open the next screen. The time savings and productivity gains are quantifiable, not to mention my frustration level has decreased. No longer do I get as distracted or lose my train of thought by swapping programs. Work flow is paperless and virtually seamless since I don't have to spend time looking for where I was in the original document as well as recalling what I was thinking about and why I wanted that bit of text anyway!
If you are still on a single screen setup, it might be time to consider the benefits of getting a second screen. The price of LCDs has dropped dramatically and the cost of adding screen real estate to your desk is nominal. It's easier than you might think as most notebook computers are equipped with decent dual video cards that start working as soon as you plug the 2nd monitor in. Even if you have to purchase a dual card for your desktop, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
It's hard to imagine going back to just a single monitor. Having 2 has been a great for increasing my productivity of my work.
nytimes.com - "Survey after survey shows that whether you measure your productivity in facts researched, alien spaceships vaporized, or articles written, adding an extra monitor will give your output a considerable boost - 20 percent to 30 percent", according to a survey by Jon Peddie Research. http://www.jonpeddie.com/special/MultDisp.shtml
♫"Ooh, double vision, I need my double vision"♫...
Posted by Jarrod Levitan on Wed, Sep 10, 2008
This is our very first Blog post. Thought I'd kick it off with why Bean was founded.
Before starting this business I was the CFO of a medium sized business for 5 years. I spent a lot of time dealing first hand with processing bills in accounts payable. Many hours wasted in front of a copy machine and having a hard time finding invoices in filing cabinets that had taken control of our office space. Even worse the pain of pulling them from long term storage. Plus the time we spent doing data entry or fixing mistakes when we could have been doing something more important.
I thought to myself ‘there has to be a better way'. After some research I found that unless your company had a budget of hundreds of thousands and internal IT knowledge there was nothing out there to help automate your AP. Worse there was zero available to help with rebilling or compiling client reimbursables. And our company had tons.
It just seemed with all the technology out there this problem would have been solved by now. But it wasn't. The opportunity was clear as day. Create a system from start to finish that manages the AP process, makes it quicker, easier, add controls with immediate access to records like google. The benefits are obvious and vast. Cost savings being first, especially people's time. Then all the office costs like storage and copies. Then add up all the other benefits like improved accuracy, control, process management and less errors. Combined it all makes a strong value proposition.
Beanbills technology was created to focus on the combined strengths of people and technology. Ultimately, why are we still doing tasks computers can do better? There will always be a place for both so why not make the best of both. Use technology to rid ourselves of all those manual paper based problems, free up our office time for more valuable work.
And why the name Bean Services? There are so many boring systems and companies out there in accounting. We wanted to break the mold with something fresh, fun and friendly. So Bean was born.
Posted by Jarrod Levitan on Wed, Sep 10, 2008
If you're thinking of scanning all your documents and getting more paperless, and looking for a scanner, read this. We recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap to all our customers who are now big fans and can't live without them.
Here's why;
• They're small and compact and fit neatly on a desk. No more time wasted walking to the central copier to scan.
• Scans straight to pdf, even if adobe acrobat the application isn't open.
• Software included is easy to setup and use. You can save scanning profiles for particular projects and decide where all the files should be saved, ie on a network drive on a directory. There's even a direct to email profile which will open an email with a pdf attached, with one scan button push.
• It does a great job with color as well as black and white.
• It scans both sides, with a high resolution at a speedy 18 pages per minute. Auto-deletes blank pages for you. Great for docs that have info on both sides.
• It auto-detects different size pages. Does good job with those pesky little restaurant or retail receipts.
• They have models for both mac and pc.
• They're reliable and not too costly, two models approx:
o 310 - $275
o 510 - $400
• The only real difference between the models is scan speed and their size. All the software is the same. All said it's worth the extra buying the 510.
• It includes the latest version of adobe acrobat free ($200+ in value).
A few negatives are;
• The scanner needs a dedicated pc or mac. So if it's shared you need to either connect it to a computer no one is using, or hardly using, or the person doesn't mind their machine being used to scan once in a while.
• They're not widely available at the big box stores, Staples or Office depot, Best Buy... Best bet is to buy one online.
• Finally, I'd say it's what to do with the scans after you scan them that's challenging, but that's for another blog.
Lets us know if you have one, or bought one and like it, or have something to say. If there's another scanner out there that rumbles your hamburger, we want to know about it.