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Date: 13 Nov 2008 With the pre-Budget report due on the 24th of November, there are rumours of tax cutting measures to help stimulate the consumer economy. Anything that puts more disposable income in the pockets of consumers — that's you, me and everyone else — can only be a good thing for anyone selling to the public. Now that we're officially in a downturn, one way out is to trade our way out of difficulties. Merchants and distributors are no different to anyone else, they need the trade and should benefit from any general rise in spending. There is a view that the banks, having helped get us into the mess have been 'rewarded' by their bale-out packages. Interest rate cuts, whilst broadly welcomed, are taking time to filter through to the rest of us in the form of lower mortgage payments (if at all in the case of some lenders). The general public could be forgiven for thinking 'what about us?'. People want something tangible, that affects them directly in their pockets. An increase in personal tax allowances has been suggested. Another possibility is a National Insurance payments holiday for new workers, to encourage employers to take on staff. Most interestingly would be a cut, permanent or otherwise, in VAT rates. A 5% cut to 12.5% has been suggested. Asked about rumours that VAT may be cut Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We're looking at everything we can to see how we can help people and we will make announcements very soon about what we are going to do." More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7719017.stm
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Testimonials
"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
“A member of our buying group told us about bisTrack, although we looked at four or five other software packages. Key factors in the eventual selection of bisTrack were its SQL platform and our confidence in the people we dealt with.”
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merch)"We have a responsibility to the environment. That’s why we’re trying to lower our carbon footprint. We introduced e-commerce, cut down on paper receipts & are introducing electronic billing for customers."
Director, building materials supplier"One reason we chose Progressive was because their team was so approachable. It wasn’t just because the software was better. We really felt we could work with them.”
Director, Ridgeons"bisTrack is a terrific system and its potential is incredibly exciting. I have absolutely no regrets over choosing bisTrack and great confidence that we have something we can build on."
David Bryan, Director, Ridgeons"Implementation was achieved with absolutely no disruption to day-to-day trading. It was a joy! I'm working proactively with the system and having bisTrack doing much of our admin for us."
Scott Anderson, FD, Woodbridge Timber"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"Inventory accuracy is higher because everyone is more focused and our staff can see the benefit of getting it right."
Ian Murchie, Operations Director, Howie Forest Products"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon"bisTrack is a terrific system and its potential is incredibly exciting. I have absolutely no regrets over choosing bisTrack and great confidence that we have something we can build on."
David Bryan, Director, Ridgeons"Implementation was achieved with absolutely no disruption to day-to-day trading. It was a joy! I'm working proactively with the system and having bisTrack doing much of our admin for us."
Scott Anderson, FD, Woodbridge Timber"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"We helped ourselves by getting bisTrack on board quickly and painlessly while business was slow, so we won't have disruption as we start to implement a very aggressive three year strategic plan."
Neil Fuller, Managing Director, Alsford Timber"Our real differential is not in software features, it's in our relationships with customers. How we work with them and how we can make an effective difference. You need the staff and the expertise to be able to do that."
Arthur Duffy, managing director, Progressive Solutions"There’s no doubt that bisTrack is a good tool. We’ve a fantastic record for growth and we’re getting a lot out of bisTrack now, particularly over the control of our business."
Mike MacLellan, MD, GPH Builders Merchant"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"Performance across the system is continuously enhanced too. Since our last release, finding products is now significantly faster ...by up to 30%."
Gary Brookshaw, Product Director, Progressive Solutions"Good customer service is easier to achieve with good IT to back up our staff. bisTrack gives provides an efficient system for dealing with customers. Good management tools enable us to concentrate our efforts in the right direction."
David Dunmow, Group FD, James Latham plc"Our real differential is not in software features, it's in our relationships with customers. How we work with them and how we can make an effective difference. You need the staff and the expertise to be able to do that."
Arthur Duffy, managing director, Progressive Solutions"Our relationship with PSI has been transformed this year. This is due almost entirely to having an Account Manager as a single point of contact, who knows our system and our business."
Eric Jones, IT Manager, Alsford Timber"We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2 million, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."
David Biddle, MD, Huntingdon Timber & Roofing"Performance across the system is continuously enhanced too. Since our last release, finding products is now significantly faster ...by up to 30%."
Gary Brookshaw, Product Director, Progressive Solutions"I was working with 2.7 in our test environment and looking at all the work you have done. Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all you do to make this a great technology partnership."
Brian King, Lumber USA"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon“A member of our buying group told us about bisTrack, although we looked at four or five other software packages. Key factors in the eventual selection of bisTrack were its SQL platform and our confidence in the people we dealt with.”
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merch)"We improved net margin by 3% within 6 weeks of going live on bisTrack."
Payne Timber"I'm convinced there's no other system that can deliver better what we need. Apart from its Windows architecture and its powerful functionality, it now has ten years of development behind it."
Peter Buttle, Buttle plc
