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Recent News with K2 & Technology

The Benefits Of Workflow Automation

August 9, 2019in Articles

The following post was written by Valerie Silvani, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Gravity Software. Valerie was kind enough to allow us to share it with our readers. So, what is a business workflow engine? In the simplest terms, it’s a system that automates business processes. Workflow engines allow me to be more creative and focus on more important tasks. For instance, I get an email notification when a client adds new accounting users and it sends a thank you for me. Workflow automation allows me to be proactive instead of reactive. It can be amazing! How is this possible?…

Using Power Query To Combine Excel Workbooks

August 8, 2019in Tech Tips

The more we dig into Excel’s Power Query feature, the more we find out just what a powerful tool it really is. For example, Power Query includes tools to ease the process of linking data into Excel from external data sources and applying transformations to make that data more useful. But it also facilitates quick-and-easy data transformations to make our data more usable and useful. And, as you will learn in this tip, you can use Power Query’s Combine Queries feature to quickly merge data from multiple worksheets or workbooks. Merge And Append Queries In Power Query The Merge Query…

Technology Tools-Change With The Times

August 7, 2019in Articles Tech Tips

Are you doing things the same old way? Do you wish there were an easier way? Have you noticed how rapidly our technology tools are changing? Continuous updates via the internet has become the standard for technology on our mobile phones, for Software as a Service (SaaS), and applications like Microsoft Office. Addressing security needs, new features and evolving the product can’t be a once a year process releasing all the changes at one time using the waterfall approach. Developers are using short sprints spanning just a few weeks to add features and repair bugs while following scrum methodology. So,…

Microsoft Adding Two New Features To Teams

August 7, 2019in News

During July, Microsoft announced that two new features will become available in Microsoft Teams – 1) Focus Time and 2) Private Channels. Both these features will be rolled-out worldwide to users by the end of September 2019. Focus Time With Focus Time, users will be able to change their status to Focusing – instead of other options such as Available, Busy, Do Not Disturb, etc. When you set your status to Focusing, Teams will silence inbound notifications, based on your priority access settings. More specifically, even if you set your status to Focusing, you can establish access settings that will…

Does Your Version of Excel Contain Power Pivot?

August 1, 2019in News

Over the years, knowing whether you have access to the Power Pivot feature in Excel has been challenging at times to say the least. First introduced as an add-in for Excel 2010, availability of the tool has varied, depending upon which version of Excel you utilized. Fortunately, Microsoft simplified access to Power Pivot with the release of Excel 2019 and now, more people than ever have access to the feature. which versions of Office/Excel provide access to power Pivot? As of January 8, 2019, you have access to Power Pivot if you are running any of the following versions of…

Five Technologies We Gained From The Space Race

July 22, 2019in Articles

With all the headlines surrounding the 50th anniversary of “man on the moon,” I’ve been intrigued by some of the technologies that were associated with the Space Race and how they permeate our culture today. Clearly, developing a rocket that could carry man to the moon and back necessitated developing some extraordinary technologies. Of course, many of these technologies we now use daily without realizing that they are spinoffs of the space program. In fact, NASA reports that approximately 2,000 spinoff technologies have evolved into commercially successful products. Global Positioning System One of the most commonly used spinoff technologies is…

Snap a Picture to Import Data into Excel

July 22, 2019in Tech Tips

Last fall, Microsoft announced forthcoming capabilities to take a picture of a data set using your Android-based or iOS-based device and import that data in Excel. That feature has now been fully rolled-out to both the Android and iOS platforms. In this tip, you will see just how easy it can be to get data into Excel by simply snapping a picture. A Prerequisite – You Must Use the App! To take advantage of this feature, you must use the Excel app for your mobile device. Fortunately, if have not already acquired the app, you simply visit your app store…

Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing Accounting Software

July 20, 2019in Articles

The following post was written by Valerie Silvani, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Gravity Software. Valerie was kind enough to allow us to share it with our readers. In the past, companies would keep their accounting system for about seven years. However, as these businesses began to grow, gaps would emerge, causing more and more manual work by employees. What was once a great accounting solution is now patched up with additional applications, many that don’t even speak to each other. Think of all those databases that you must manage and additional people to hire! There’s no resemblance…

Major Changes Now Available In Power BI

July 12, 2019in Articles

Microsoft’s June 2019 update to Power BI was a significant one in many regards. Not only did Microsoft radically overhaul the user interface, they added many new usability and performance features, too. In this article, we will explore some of the biggest changes made available in the June 2019 update to Power BI. Updated Pane Design No doubt, the most striking change in Power BI is the new, lighter-colored user interface shown in Figure 1. This stands in stark contrast to the darker working environment previously found in Power BI. According to Microsoft, the updated user interface exists to make…

Do We Overuse Excel?

July 8, 2019in Articles

“Do accounting and financial professionals overuse Excel?” It’s a fair question and one that should be considered. The presence of the ubiquitous spreadsheet cannot go unnoticed in virtually all organizations. We use – and overuse – Excel to summarize and analyze data, prepare reports, maintain inventory, and even track to-do lists. But, let’s step away from the keyboard for a moment and examine whether other tools might be better for certain purposes. Then we can make a more informed decision about how much we should be using Excel. Why Is Excel So Popular In Business Circles? Like the one asked…