Claudia experience, share & review » 24seven

The Number Game

claudia — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:26:46 +0000

No thanks to my lack of discipline and time to keep my accounting books in order, my entire financial system is in total mess. With more and more invoices, payments and receipts flying my way monthly, the accounting workflow I used last year can no longer help support the needs of my company and me. So the search for the right accounting system began. And after a week of research and trying I’ve finally decided.

What I’m looking out for when trying the various accounting system?

System UI and simplicity of workflow.
Web-based so that I can access anywhere and not worry my MBP will die one day with all my accounts gone.
Multi-user and level access.
Project management or costing feature.
Easy creation and converting of quotations and proposals to invoices.
Flexibility of templates for quotes, proposals and invoices.
And of course, the cost.

Here in this post, I’m sharing and giving a brief review of the accounting systems which I’ve evaluated and tested.

Xero – http://xero.com
“Simple. Smart. Secure.”

This was the first system I tried. The 180-day trial was one big draw at first. But it took me more than an hour to set it up just so that I can see it working. Blame myself for spending so much time as I didn’t have proper trial balance from last year ready so I had to search through my books for each account’s numbers.

The UI is clean but find it still very much accounting focus. The plus point for Xero is the ability to check accounts and balances from their iPhone app. It however didn’t have quite a few of my requirements.

LessAccounting – http://lessaccounting.com
“Bookkeeping Sucks. We make it suck less.”

This I tried it concurrently with FreeAgent. Setting it up, trying it with the same steps and creating the same quotes and invoices etc. And I was almost convinced that this is the one for 24seven since @misseley is using it and recommended too.

But it lacks the Project management portion and the template for quotes and invoices was less attractive when compared to FreeAgent’s template gallery. Their use of pop-up overlay when entering new transaction irritates me a little.

FreeAgent – http://freeagentcentral.com

Got to learn about FreeAgent from @andycroll and then @IntegreatMedia came into the picture with some assistance. This is by far closes to my list of requirements and has great templates for my quotes and invoices. Best part is that its charging a flat rate of USD20/month for unlimited users. AND they’ve got different tiers of user access level that’s great for me to create accounts for my team to enter their claims and for my accountant who can access it from home.

Loves also how it allows linking of expenses and timeline to projects. This gives a whole new dimension on how I can better manage quotations and provide more cost effective services for my clients. I think they’ll love it.

From the sound of it, you would have guessed which accounting system I’m going to subscribe to already don’t you?

Well, since I’ve got 30-days to try FreeAgent out, I’ll give it a few more spin before I submit my payment details.

Are you in search of a suitable accounting software too? Which have you shortlisted? Any of the above you’ve tried? OR any which you think I should try too? Share your research and experience with me! Accounting software is one important system in all businesses. So I hope all of us can benefit and get the best out of our research.

29 and still growing

claudia — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:32:22 +0000

成长成长我以成长！

On my birthday cake from my dear sis today had 2 big candles and 1 tiny one. (The work of Derek and Brian.) Really, there’s no need to hide my age. And thanks Kris for the try-to-make-it-a-surprise-still-even-if-she-enters-the-office-at-the-wrong-timing-birthday-song.

I’m proud to say that I’m 29 and still growing! Growing stronger and better in mind, knowledge and experience. Body wise, I hope to grow smaller and steadier. The long hours of work is not good for my health. But I’ve been trying my best to keep a balance life. Just need to take more time to get used to the life pattern.

So today being my bird-day, I’m going to reward myself with DEAR C. That is, Drop Everything And Rest Claudia! It’ll just be me, my Abang and my 7D~~~ day! No emails, no work, no answering of business related calls! I need my DEAR C!

Happy Birthday Me!

What I learnt from Chris Ling

claudia — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:10:46 +0000

Recently we had an intimate sharing with Chris Ling, one of the pioneers in the local (and international) wedding photography scene. Though it was a photography sharing session, I walked away learning more than that. His words inspired me.

Quoting one phrase he shared which left deep impression in my mind and will be using it for future hire for 24seven…

If you’re working for me, you don’t come.
If you’re working for yourself, you’re welcome.

Here’s a snippet of Chris Ling sharing on his journey towards his career…

More about this sharing session on Blogpress.sg soon! With photography tips learned that night of course! :)

Paying for more time

claudia — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:28:50 +0000

We often complain that 24-hr a day isn’t sufficient. We want more time so that we can do more things in a day. With only a pair of hands, eyes and legs, there’s just so much one can accomplish in 24-hr. With the increase in awareness of what 24seven is capable of producing, my team and I often see ourselves running and chasing for time. We can never get enough time to do the things that are required of us. When we think tasks were completed for the day, clients and partners flood our inboxes with emails again.

We aren’t complaining of course! This is good sign isn’t it? Being the chief of the team, I need to ensure that my team gets a balance of work and play. So how then can I do more with the same amount of time within a day? I pay.

A friend keeps reminding me that one can never buy back lost time. But one can always pay for more time. So true right?

I may soon have to do just that after I formulate an appropriate equation for the things to be done vs the amount of spare cash that I can put aside to buy my team more time.

If you have spare time to sell, let me know. Maybe your time is just what my team and I need. :)

I’ll be at Downtown East this Saturday! Join me!

claudia — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:31:49 +0000

The craziness will be taking a short break soon before the other wave of craze starts again! And I’m very happy to share that we (24seven) will be running the very first roadshow this Saturday! No! Not a 24seven roadshow! Its for our business partner! (Huh? What’s 24seven the social media agency doing this for? You’re not an event company wor!)

Hear me! Hear me! Because… a part of this roadshow is to spread the awareness on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogging! Now it links up ya?

So if you’re free this Saturday, 22 May 2010, head over to D’Tent at Downtown East anytime from 10am to 6pm! What’s more! There’ll be great prizes to be won! Details below in the poster…

You can RSVP too if you want at the event page on Facebook. If you’re coming, don’t forget to say hi ya! Maybe I’ll buy you an ice-cream or two! :P

Bring along your great grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncle, aunties, friends and everyone! I want to see you there!

Note: This roadshow is held as part of NTUC May Day Family Fiesta 2010. Many activities and happenings that day at Downtown East, for NTUC Union members with official coupons only. BUT!!! The New Infocomm & U roadshow is FREE for all (Everyone!) to participate! So pop by ok?

Claudia the “Social Media Expert”

claudia — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:51:13 +0000

Couple of questions that keeps popping up in my mind, Why are people around me telling me that I inspire them? and Why do they tell me that I’m more than an expert in the field than I think I am?. These kept me thinking. I never want to see myself as a social media expert. I do things because I want to, because I am interested in doing it, and because I believe I can do better. No one moment I’ll think I’m an expert in anything. More often, I’ll tell someone that I’m a “jane-of-most-trades“.

Then I chanced upon “The 12 Types Of “Social Media Experts” – Which One Are You?” by Rohit Bhargava, then I discovered why I’m known as who I am today. Let me break it down…

According to the post, there are 12 types of social media experts. So which am I?

The Pretender – Nope.
The Trainer/ Teacher – Yes, I was a teacher and I love sharing about my experiences and knowledge, I’ve done training for NDP09 and NDP10 new media team/blogging and I’ve also done some sharing at workshops/ camps. So I guess I’m 30% “the trainer”.
The Professional Speaker – I can’t speak like a pro! You know me! I’ve got terrible stage fright. So nope, 0%.
The Content Curator – I’ve been keeping bookmarks of my readings on tumblr, and used to try run some other blogs to consolidate interesting posts of certain topics, but those got killed after I started my journey as an entrepreneur. In progress is something which I hope to launch in couple months time, but till that happens, I shall not reveal. So hmm… I’m 15% a content curator.
The Event Organiser – This I think I’m 50% of! Having ran gigs with TDM, SMB|SG, Tweet Tuesday, Barcamps etc etc, I think I’m playing a huge role as the organiser for social media gigs here. Agree?
The Community Manager – I used to be one, and I’ve always wanted to build my own community of folks with similar passion and interests, but aren’t buying enough time to do it. But I do help few clients manage theirs, so guess besides work, I’m 10% still an active community manager in my own personal way I guess.
The Content Creator – Only have got 5% of me for this blog where I create my own content, so yes, I’m one still. Cannot stop creating content imo. If I’ve more time and energy, I would love to create lots of content! Anyone wants to volunteer to help? We can talk!
The Marketing Strategist – That’s what my team and I are doing right now isn’t it? Can I give 100% to it? Hmm… personally I think I’m 20% to 35% of this?
The Designer/ Builder – 0.5%
The Networker/ Connector – I keep having folks SMS-ing/ emailing me to ask for so-and-so hp/email etc, and I love meeting people and connecting with them in paths that we crossed. So I’m 14%?
The Evangelist – Hmm… I organise events because I believe in the objectives and purposes in driving more awareness of the topics, I create content so that I can promote and create more believers… so does that makes me an evangelist? Guess I deserve to be 10% of this.
The Entrepreneur – *Ahem!* 101%.

Now what’s my total percentage so far? LOL!

Claudia is doing too many things and wanting to achieve too much. She needs to cut down and focus. But can she do it? She’s a jane-of-many-trades remember?

What about you? Which type of social media experts are you?

Huat Ah! with Yu Sheng from Sakae Sushi

claudia — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:13:43 +0000

Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and the traditional auntie inside me is shouting reminders of all the must-do things. One of which is to do a “Huat ah!” on the 4th day of Lunar New Year with my team in the office. And according to Mum, the auspicious hours to do it is between 11am to 3pm. So we’ve decided to gather and have our CNY lunch at the office.

The nearest place with decent Yu Sheng for that day for me is Sakae Sushi at Heartland Mall. So today, I placed my orders for our CNY lunch from Sakae Sushi.

Ordered the medium “Rong” Yusheng with extra serving of Salmon Sashimi

For lunch that day, we’ll also be having Gouka Set and Salmon Sashimi platter. Team 24seven is going to have an overdose of salmon that day! Hohoho!

Besides ordering the Yusheng and sushi platters for our CNY lunch, I’d my dinner there too. Thanks to Sakae Sushi, I’ve got my Sakae VIP card! (Disclaimer: the CNY lunch was paid from my own pocket.)

Thanks for this Sakae!

(Yap! Yours truly is selected as one of the Sakae e-Journalists!) So expect to see regular postings of my mini-adventure with all the various Sakae outlets.

So for dinner, we started with our usual orders…

Kani Chawanmushi @ $2.29

Salmon Karaage @ $2.29

Salmon Sashimi @ $5.59

And then we tried something new (to us)…

Sazae Yaki @ $5.59

Sazae is a kind of snail, which I presume is a similar kind as the escargot. I’ve never tried any form of Sazae before, so I don’t know how it should taste. This one was a tad too hard to chew.

Dragon Roll @ $8.99

This I’ve been eyeing for long time, but never the thought of giving it a try. Cos I’m cheapo! Wahahahahaha! Tempura prawn (super long if its a whole piece of prawn in this roll) wrapped with sushi rice and avocado. This one roll is good to fill my tummy (its shrinking!), good thing I’ve got Abang to share it with. Taste is not bad, feels good to eat with avocado goodness.

To end off a hearty dinner, we’ve got our favorite Lychee Mochi!

Lychee Mochi @ $2.29

Next stop with Sakae? Perhaps I’ll go try their Teppanyaki! Diana went, and it looks not bad!

Life in Cubes #10

claudia — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:52:20 +0000

When you see this, you know I’ve got too many things to blog but have no time! Hahahaha! Hope I’ll be able to catch up on blogging during CNY break! (If there’s one!)

I heart my job!

First Team Retreat and BBQ

claudia — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:58:29 +0000

Last week, my lovely team at 24seven had our first team retreat at Aloha Loyang. The 3 days spent together was a fruitful and rejuvenating experience. We’ve got quite a lot of stuff ironed out and planned. 2010 is looking very exciting!

We’ve also invited fellow bloggers and friends for a BBQ on Wednesday night. It was a simple affair and everyone had fun (right?). I love gatherings like this. Fuss-free and casual.

As the team was occupied with “tasks” on hand that night – Kris and me at the BBQ pits, Eevon the bartender and Diana ensuring everyone gets food to eat, we didn’t have extra pair of hands for photo taking. Thanks to those who came and brought home happy photos from that night!

My best shot from that night thanks Chin for this!

More of his photos can be found on flickr.

Eevon and Kenneth, shot taken by Amanda

Leshane and Kris, shot taken by Amanda

More photos by Amanda can be found on facebook.

Group shot by Chin

Group shot by Geng Hui

Thank you all once again for coming by that night! We’ve got to do it again soon!

It was a blast! Hat-py Party a success!

claudia — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:44:36 +0000

30th December came and go in a flash. It was one of the biggest gathering of bloggers 24seven has hosted since its birth in Dec 2008. Yes, technically speaking, that party could also be seen as to mark the first year anniversary for 24seven. Happy Birthday 24seven! LOL!

The door bitches of that night. Molemole, me and Eevon.

Ok, I’m not really at the door, I was all over the place that night! Wished I could have been more organised so that I can get to meet more new bloggers that night! Sorry I didn’t get to say hi! I promise I’ll do that the next time we meet ok!

SAM have got a cool hat on too!

While we were hunting for suitable location for the party, friends from National Heritage Board came along and offered their venues for the party. And that’s how we got ourselves the lovely Glass Hall for the party. The courtyards beside the glass hall was a nice place to chill and have the food that night right? Thank god for the nice weather that night.

This party wouldn’t have been successful without the help of the following people…

Benjamin aka Decade78

Thanks for coordinating with SAM, OAC and BDN! And million thanks for volunteering as our emcee for that night! Stop saying that you’re cheap ok! Someone told me that you’re pretty good that night wor! Thank you ah for your help! Looking forward to more working opportunities with you!

Black Diamond Ninjas in the house!

Thanks to from Mark (blocked by balloon in pic), Fabian, Kiyoko, Adam and Benjamin Black Diamond Ninjas for their great performance that night!

Only After Coffee at Hat-py Party too!

Photo credit to Amanda.

Thanks to Wan Ting, Justin Chan, John, Justin Lu, Nina, Ben and Chao Yuan from the band Only After Coffee. They rocked the glass hall with the gig that night too!

Kelvin aka @darkholme

Thank you Kelvin for coming by our office to help with the transporting of goodie bags and our team to SAM! And for snapping polaroids of almost everyone present that night! I’m sure you’re loving your Xmas present for your Diana Mini! (If you’ve got a shot taken by Kelvin that night, do snap a picture of it and email to party (at) 24seven (dot) sg! It’ll be uploaded and shared in our flickr album.)

My dearest Abang aka Yuzree

Thanks Abang for helping me that night! You’re the unsung hero behind the known unsung heroine (me). Really appreciate your support and help! Love ya lots!

And of course, thanks to my team for the great effort and hard work put into planning, organising, managing and pulling a great party for everyone that night! Can’t help but fall deeper in love with my lovely teammates!

Diana aka Molemole

Eevon (with her fiance)

Photo credit to Geng Hui.

The man behind the camera the entire night, Kris aka Krisandro

Photo credit to Geng Hui.

Am very grateful to be blessed with such amazing friends, supporters and team! 2010 will be an even better year for all of us! Thanks to every one of you who came to the party that night! Here’s to all those who were still around at end of the party…

It was a Hat-py Party with Bloggers and Friends!

Ending off with some tidbits that you may or may not be interested to know…

The theme was initially planned along the line of “Princess and the Frog”, “Heroes and Villains”, “Barbie and Ken” and a lot more other cheesy and too-cute-for-us theme. After long debate, weighing of pros and cons, and keeping in mind to keep it simple, Eevon came up with a “Crazy Hat” party! So there we have it! Hat-py Party!.
The party was planned and executed within 3 weeks. With most of the team gone oversea during the week before the party, it was quite a crazy act to pull through. We’re glad we managed to carry out most of the planned stuff on that day.
We’d wanted 24seven T-shirts, Tote Bags and a whole lot more stuff for that night. But there’s just aren’t enough time to get everything pulled through within the 3 weeks. Will keep those in our KIV list for future events.
The badges that were given out that night, the one with 24seven logo, those are made and flew all the way from Bangkok!
Big thank you to all our sponsors for coming onboard despite the short notice! National Heritage Board, SAM, Samsung Mobile, Sentosa, SingTel, The Lens Men, Megazip, Wavehouse, Cineblast and Sentosa 4D Magix.
Here’s the slideshow of all the photos taken by Kris at the party from our flickr album…