5 Tips To Spring Clean Your Small Business

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5 Ways To Spring Clean
Your Small Business

"Spring cleaning doesn't have to be a dreaded list of chores. It can be a rewarding experience that helps provide some structure and organization in your life." – Peter Walsh

Spring is here (finally)! No matter how harsh, damaging, or cold this past winter may have seemed, spring always resurfaces with new life and energy. While most take this time to spring clean their home, why can’t the same be applied to businesses? Business owners can also take advantage of this wonderful time of the year to get organized and make improvements by spring cleaning their business. By doing so, you can see what certain processes need improvement, it can help you streamline your everyday operations, and give your business a fresh start. Not sure where to start? Here are 5 easy tips to help start spring cleaning your business today!


1. Tidy Up Your Website

Chances are your business has grown and changed during the last year, and if it hasn’t, you are one of the lucky ones. However, when was the last time you took a look at your website? It’s no secret that websites can help businesses grow and evolve. Maybe your company has revised its mission, or completely changed its logo and color schemes, or maybe there is some content on your website that needs to be rewritten to better reflect your services or target market. No matter what, taking the time to truly scour through your website for things that no longer line up with your current brand can make all the difference.

2. Reevaluate Your Business Goals

Sure, you know what goals you want to accomplish for your business, but how specific are they? Are you pacing towards them, or do you find yourself starting to fall behind? Whether you’ve realized it or not, if your business’ goals are not specific enough, they will inevitably lead to chaos. Why not take this time to reexamine your overall goals and make the necessary adjustments to help your business excel! A great place to start is determining whether or not your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, and Time-bound). SMART goals can help your business develop a clear vision and focus. Not only do they outline a specific path to success, but they also help you stay on course in a timely fashion and make vague goal tracking feel antiquated.

3. Tackle Your Inbox

We’ve all been there. When you’re so occupied by your business, it’s easy to quickly become disorganized. Emails are constantly coming into your inbox, and before you know it, your inbox becomes a complete mess. There’s a good chance your inbox is full of things you don’t need, or there may be something important that’s hidden. While semi-painful and time-consuming, you’ll feel invigorated and definitely organized after you clear your inbox out. Try to create folders to sort certain emails, whether they’re based on who sent them, or if they are related to a specific project, and delete the ones you don’t need. While cleaning out your inbox, you can do additional digital spring cleaning by going through old files on your computer and deleting any unnecessary documents and folders. The breath of fresh air you’ll feel when you finish this process will be well worth it. I promise.

4. Freshen Up Your Marketing Strategies

Just like your business, marketing tactics are ever growing and constantly developing. Spring is a great time to examine and evaluate all of your business’ current marketing strategies. Ask yourself questions like, “Which advertising mediums do we think are performing the best?”, “Which mediums allow us to accurately measure ROI and are proving to be performing the best?”, or “Is our creative campaign still captivating our audience?”. From there, you can freshen up by researching new marketing trends, investing in social media and email marketing and analyzing last year’s data. Marketing is a powerful way to reach your customers, but your efforts won’t be effective if your strategies are old or left on the back-burner.

5. Deep Clean Your Space

Whether you’re working at home or in the office, a clear space equals a clear mind. What would a spring-cleaning article be without touching upon literally cleaning your workspace! A recent report from a survey by retailer OfficeMax found that 90% of Americans believe clutter has a negative impact on their lives and work. Additionally, more than half of the respondents said disorganization impairs their state of mind and motivation levels. Clear your desk and wipe away any dust or grime, clean your computer screen, get rid of the random business cards and receipts you’ve been hoarding (we’ve all been there too), and as a bonus, add a new office plant or flowers.

 

The Bottom-Line

Cleaning and de-cluttering your business doesn’t have to be a herculean task. While these tips are good to incorporate throughout the year, there’s nothing like a deep clean at the beginning of spring. A fresh and clean business can give new life to your business operations and put you in the right mindset to lead your small business to success.

 

Have you found during your spring cleaning that you may need a new technology or management solution? Be sure to reach out to our team of business consultants today.

Clutch Recognizes Aciron Among Top Software Developers in 2022

Clutch Recognizes Aciron Consulting Among Massachusetts’ Top Software Developers for 2022

At Aciron Consulting, our goal is to help our clients achieve greater efficiencies through our innovative management and technology consulting services. We are a boutique, full-service management, and technology consulting firm based in Cambridge, MA.

We believe technology offers substantial opportunities to leverage resources and sustain growth- especially in today’s business landscape. This is why we work with an international network of state-of-the-art technology professionals that produce only the highest quality results, all while keeping cost and time in mind.

We proudly announce another milestone achieved for Aciron Consulting. In Clutch’s latest announcement of their Leaders Awards, we were recognized for being among Massachusetts’ top software developers in 2022. For context, Clutch is an established platform in Washington, DC. It is committed to helping small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses identify and connect with service providers they need to achieve their goals.

To be eligible for a Clutch Leader Award, companies must exhibit an unusually high ability to deliver top-tier work to their clients. Receiving this award is no small feat, and we appreciate this recognition.

"We are honored to be recognized as a Clutch leader once again. This award validates Aciron's true dedication toward customer service to help our clients achieve greater efficiencies through our innovative management and technology consulting services.”
Puneet Gangal, CEO


This award isn’t possible without our clients and partners. Their trust and support have motivated us to deliver top-tier work and services throughout the years. We are thankful to those who took the time to evaluate our services and left us a review. Here’s what they had to say about working with us:

"I’ve been very satisfied with the program they’ve developed. The CEO adds value to our business by bringing new ideas and suggestions to the table.”
President and CEO, Specialty Construction Company


Let's chat about your project! Please complete the contact form and tell us your needs so we can schedule a call together to get started.

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Clutch Awards Aciron as a Top Development Company in Massachusetts

Aciron Consulting, Inc. was Recently Recognized as a Top Development Company in Massachusetts by Clutch

Founded in 2006, Aciron Consulting, Inc. is a business management and technology consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We’ve been supporting companies and businesses with their development efforts and today, we are reaping the benefits of our hard work and determination.

Our team is thrilled to announce that we have recently won a Clutch award for our incredible development services over the last year. As a 2021 Clutch leader, we are very honored and privileged to join the ranks of other B2B companies on their platform to represent our state of Massachusetts especially after such a difficult year.

"Aciron is incredibly humbled and excited to be recognized for this award once again. This award demonstrates one of our core values being a small business: customer relationships and satisfaction.

 We pride ourselves on recognizing each customer’s specific project needs first and maintaining great, long-lasting relationships."


Again, we are very thankful to Clutch and their team for this incredible opportunity to share our story with a wider audience.

Furthermore, we would like to express our appreciation to our clients and partners for supporting us since day 1! You have been instrumental in our success and truthfully, this award wouldn’t be possible without your help. We dedicate this incredible milestone to each and every one of you.

If this is the first time you are hearing about Clutch, well, they are one of the best ratings and reviews platforms in the B2B industry. Their organization publishes the most extensive and referenced client reviews in the B2B services market.

Are you interested in working with us? Fill out this contact form so our team can reach out to you and we can start to chat about your project. You can also book a discovery session where our team helps you figure out your business inefficiencies.

Aciron Consulting, Inc. Tops Clutch’s Business Strategy Consulting Firms

Aciron Top Business Strategy Consulting Firm Clutch Award 2021

Clutch Names Aciron as Top Business Strategy Consulting Firm in Boston

Here at Aciron Consulting, Inc., we combine technical and industry expertise with our dedication to creating meaningful, collaborative relationships with clients. Their satisfaction is our main priority, which is why we aim to provide efficiency to our customers.

In today’s business landscape, technology can offer many opportunities to leverage resources and sustain growth. There are numerous business management and technology consulting firms that can do that, but only a few could deliver innovative services and solutions that meet clients’ most complex business and technical needs. We are technology consultants with business mindsets with in-depth technical and industry experience. Our priority is to make sure we establish a collaborative relationship with our clients.

One of our main objectives is to work intimately with every client to improve practical and groundbreaking recommendations through definition, development, implementation, and beyond. To deliver this, we engage with leading technology platforms combined with our own expertise to generate the highest quality results while keeping cost and time in mind. We strive to provide the best business processes and technology consultation on various platforms and develop custom software and database-driven web applications that suit our clients needs. Because of this, we landed #1 on Clutch’s list of their Top Business Strategy Consulting Firms in Boston!

Aciron Top Business Strategy Consulting Firm Clutch Award 2021

Our Consultants Value Honesty and Quality

A B2B ratings and reviews firm in the heart of Washington, D.C., Clutch connects businesses with the best-fit agencies or consultants they need to tackle their next big business challenge. Clutch’s list of leaders shows hundreds of different companies across various industries.

From IT to advertising and marketing, their team of analysts carefully identifies and ranks service providers based on a range of factors including past clients and experience, verified client reviews, and market presence.

Last week, Clutch released their list of the highest-ranking business strategy consulting firms in Boston for 2021. Having first heard of this news, our CEO, Puneet Gangal was thrilled to be acknowledged by such an renowned company.

"The Aciron team is honored to receive this award of a top business strategy consulting firm in Boston by Clutch. As a small and minority-owned business, this award truly speaks to the importance and high level of effort and honesty we put into delivering our client's specific needs. Thank you to our clients who have made this happen!"
Puneet Gangal, CEO


Last but not the least, we would like to thank our dear clients who offered kind and honest words. Because of this, we are extremely motivated to keep delivering high-quality business strategy consulting services. We promise to continue improving on what we do.

To check what our clients think about us, check us out on Clutch. Need help with your business processes? Let’s talk and see how we can help!

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Software Trends to Watch in 2021

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Infographic 4 software trends for 2021

4 Software Trends To Watch In 2021

Every year, software development brings new surprises to developers. Nevertheless of the pandemic, 2020 has been a year of rapid growth and success for some software companies around the world. Give your business the edge it needs this year by learning about these four trends!

If you're looking to leverage your technology strategy to help your business innovate, evolve, and grow, Aciron can help!

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4 Small Business Trends for 2021

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4 Small Business Trends For 2021

"If you can capture the element of surprise, you're way ahead of the game." — Jay Maisel

If 2020 was the year of disruption and transition for everyday life, 2021 will be a year of continued evolution. An aspect that hasn’t changed this year is competition. This especially rings true for small businesses. Paying attention to the latest small business trends can put you ahead of your competition. With 30 million small businesses in the United States, the competition is fierce. Mastering these trends makes it easier to grow company sales, offer better customer service and operate more effectively, resulting in finally building that loyal customer chain you’ve always wanted. To help you prepare for the coming new year, here are some trends to expect:


1. Increased Reliance On User Reviews

You already know that today’s consumer is highly informed about the products and services they purchase. One of the most powerful tools you can use to influence their decision is the online customer review. Users feel much more comfortable purchasing something that another individual has bought and tried. According to Fan & Fuel, 92% of people are less likely to complete a purchase when there are absolutely no reviews available. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t have the deep pockets when it comes to marketing efforts, so it is crucial to focus on these customer reviews. When real people can advocate your brand online, your business and product become more trustworthy, which will lead to increased sales. 

Graph by Fan & Fuel about customer reviews

Graph by Fan & Fuel

2. Remote Work Is The Future

This comes as no surprise. With the COVID-19 pandemic still rampant, businesses are assessing the need to return to an office. While remote work can present challenges when it comes to collaboration and communication, the majority of those working from home appreciate the flexibility it provides. In addition, remote work means fewer overhead costs. Real estate does not come cheap and small businesses must grow. By eliminating an office to pay for, you could build your company’s savings, or reinvest this money back into your business by upgrading your software or increasing your digital marketing efforts. Overall, staying remote could result in a win-win for you and your business.

3. Mobile-First Communication Will Become The Standard

Cartoon People Collaborating

With a steady increase in remote work, communication has become centered around mobile technologies. Apps for videoconferencing and sending messages will continue to be popular in 2021. Currently, Millennials represent 50% of the workforce. Driven by mobile technology, organizations will need to adapt their communication efforts to keep these employees focused and engaged. This however can affect small business owners in a few ways. To start, your website must be responsive, meaning it needs to change to fit the screen on which it is being viewed on adequately. Second, many job applicants will most likely be applying from their smartphone or computer. If your application process does not accommodate this trend, you may end up losing key candidates to your competitors, and nobody likes the feeling of defeat.

4. Go Green

If you haven’t noticed by now, sustainability has become an important trend within the last few years. Customer pressure to increase global sustainability from reducing single use plastics and cutting carbon emissions is higher than ever before. This has become a result in response to the pandemic. A recent survey by Boston Consulting Group showed that 90% of customers said that they were equally or more concerned about environmental issues after the pandemic than before. With that, rethink your operations and products and their environmental impact. Make these changes now, publicize your efforts, and you’ll be sure to reap the benefits in 2021.


Preparing Your Business For 2021

2020 has been an extraordinary year, no doubt. Regardless of how your business fared this year, it is critical to begin preparing for 2021. To set yourself up for success, always keep an eye out for these trends. In addition, set aside time to evaluate what worked well, and what didn’t. By leading the way and adapting to viable trends early, your business will have the edge to stay ahead of the competition.

 

 

Need help getting started? Be sure to reach out to our team of business consultants today.

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How to Collaborate Successfully​

Infographic how to collaborate successfully

How to Collaborate Successfully

Success does not come from a one person team. Your manager might ask you how to collaborate successfully. What are the common challenges to teamwork in an office or online? Our infographic covers a few tips that might help get your project off the ground.

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Clutch Awards Aciron as a Top Developer in Massachusetts

Aciron Top B2B Company Clutch Award 2020

Clutch Awards Aciron as a Top B2B Company in Massachusetts

Here at Aciron Consulting, Inc., we combine technical and industry expertise with our dedication to creating meaningful, collaborative relationships with clients. Their satisfaction is our main priority, which is why we aim to provide efficiency to our customers.

Through the growth of technology and the rise of the many opportunities that it offers, we have managed to expand our expertise to a variety of services over the years. Some of the areas that we excel at include custom software development, custom database development, Microsoft SharePoint consulting, IT strategy, gathering and documentation of business requirements, project management, and website design and development.

With these services, we can ensure that our clients receive the best advisory services possible, allowing us to get to the top rank in our industry. We’re slowly getting there with the support of our developers in Noida and our fantastic business consultants.

Recently, Clutch named us as one of the top custom software development companies in Massachusetts! This is exciting news for us because it serves as a manifestation that we’re headed in the right direction.

Aciron Top B2B Company Clutch Award 2020

Our Consultants Value Honesty and Quality

A B2B ratings and reviews firm in the heart of Washington, D.C., Clutch connects businesses with the best-fit agencies or consultants they need to tackle their next big business challenge. Clutch’s list of leaders shows hundreds of different companies across various industries.

From IT to advertising and marketing, their team of analysts carefully identifies and ranks service providers based on a range of factors including past clients and experience, verified client reviews, and market presence.

Last week, Clutch released their list of the highest-ranking service providers in Massachusetts for 2020. Having first heard of this news, our CEO, Puneet Gangal was thrilled to be acknowledged by such an renowned company.

"The Aciron team is honored to be chosen as a top B2B company in the United States. As a minority-owned business, this award truly speaks to the level of effort and honesty we put into our projects. Thank you to our clients who have been with us since day one!"
Puneet Gangal, CEO


Last but not the least, we would like to thank our dear clients who offered kind and honest words. Because of this, we are extremely motivated to keep delivering high-quality consulting services. We promise to continue improving on what we do.

To check what our clients think about us, check us out on Clutch. Need help with your business processes? Let’s talk and see how we can help!

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SharePoint File Management: 5 Best Practices

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SharePoint File Management: 5 Best Practices

SharePoint is a fantastic web-based platform to store and manage your company files. It offers functionality to build a complex document management system to meet the needs of businesses large and small. Between storage sizes, convenience, customization, collaboration, and organization features, SharePoint sounds like the perfect tool to manage your files. However, many users have a hard time using it due to its highly configurable nature. Often, if left unattended, SharePoint as a document management platform can become a headache, causing users to lose time searching for files and stuck at a dead end.


5 SharePoint Document Management Tips

To help save time and optimize file management, here are some of the best practices to make your experience using SharePoint much smoother. These tips are especially helpful if you're dealing with a large number of files and user permissions.

1. Name Your Documents And Files Properly

One of the best things you can do in terms of SharePoint document management is to have proper naming conventions. Why is this important? By not naming your documents logically and in a set pattern, you can create two issues for yourself and your coworkers:

  1. Navigation stops being intuitive and makes it difficult to find uploaded content in the correct location. Logical naming for a file or folder will save you and others from confusion.
  2. It messes with the URLs of the documents. In terms of internal library naming, there are three things to remember: First, including spaces will be encoded as “%20” in a URL. Second, keep the name short and sweet. And third, do not use special characters or numbers.

 

Following these simple rules will greatly improve the usability and convenience of your SharePoint landscape.

2. Make Your Search Easier By Filtering Information Using SharePoint Views

For those who feel overloaded with inbound information, having SharePoint views can help sort files by size, when it was last modified, who created it, etc. You can learn more about SharePoint views and how to create one here.

3. Set Up Alerts

This function can be extremely useful in case you want to get notified when someone makes a change within a SharePoint library. That way, you will not need to constantly refresh your SharePoint page to check if someone added a new file or made changes to a past one. 


How to set up an alert:

  1. Go to your documents library or lists
  2. Click on the three dots “…” that mean “more” above the list of documents
  3. From the dropdown menu, select “Alert me”
  4. The alert window will open. Here, you can choose when and how you would like to receive your alerts. This includes a specific email, what type of changes you want to be notified about, and whether you want to be notified after every change, daily, or weekly. 
SharePoint screenshot of Form Templates
SharePoint screenshot of Alert Page preferences


By doing this, you can set up alerts for specific documents or folders. You can easily manage your alerts by clicking on the same “…” button and selecting “Manage my alerts”.

4. Control Version History

As you know, all changes that happen within a document on the web are saved automatically, but what if you don't like those changes? SharePoint version control can help restore the previous version of a document; all you need is to have your documents versioning on.


How to see a document's history:

  1. Go to your documents library
  2. Choose the file
  3. Click on the “…” button and select “Version history”
  4. Here, you will be presented past versions of the document from which you can choose.
  5. By right clicking the particular version of your choice, there will be a drop-down menu with the options View, Restore, or Delete. Select the option you need.

5. Use The Check Out Feature

In case you have an important document that you do not want others modifying, the Check Out feature is a great option that prevents any alterations by other users. Furthermore, it prevents possible conflicts surrounding unapproved document changes.

SharePoint screenshot of Form Templates List

 

How to turn on the Check Out feature:

  1. Go to your documents library
  2. Select the desired document and right-click it
  3. From the dropdown menu, hover over “More” and click “Checkout”. Now, you are the only one who can make changes to the document, other users can only read it.

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