In my last column I made the argument that spreadsheet systems such as Microsoft Excel are often inadequate for tracking and manipulating data of a logging business. This time I'll consider options other than spreadsheets for handling things like loadticket tracking and compilation of business management reports, such as tract-specific production and profitability. A number of software programs have been developed specifically for the logging industry. In general, they bridge gaps between Excel worksheets and standard accounting packages and are designed to handle specialized business rules that apply to logging contractors, such as multiple payments per load ticket, complex stumpage rate schedules and production tracking in different units of measure. Virtually all these applications are designed around a core database, such as Microsoft Access or SQL Server.
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