Learn AIMsi

Learn key accounting & financial strategies specific to music product retailing from music industry CPAs and experts, Friedman, Kannenberg & Co., P.C. Members of Tri-Technical Systems, Inc. will then show you how to implement and integrate these financial concepts and strategies into your daily music store operations using your AIMsi accounting software system.





Musictech Course Descriptions

Inventory Purchasing

Every music retailer seems to be suffering from the same inventory problems: an abundance of guitars and amps, too few of the fast-moving accessories in stock, the wrong mix of print music, and too many unrented band & orchestral instruments sitting on the shelves. How does this happen? In this session, you'll learn how to buy the right musical product, quantity and mix, at the right cost and vendor terms. You'll also gain the critical knowledge to improve your overall inventory management skills. Lastly, you'll learn how to use the inventory buying and reporting functionality of AIMsi to provide you with the right inventory data to and access the correct data reports to give you the timely data needed to preserve cash, improve overall cash flow and minimize costly buying mistakes. Specifically, you will learn...

  • The problems and challenges in buying musical instrument & product inventory
  • The numerous costs incurred in carrying too much inventory
  • How to combat the five (5) critical mistakes in typically made in buying inventory
  • Music industry-specific "rules of thumb" that can be followed in buying inventory
  • Which AIMsi routines and reports will help you improve your inventory buying skills


Inventory Management

With newly acquired inventory buying skills under your belt, you're able to identify what your customers want and you've acquired that inventory at the best prices and terms from your product suppliers. With all of the sales, cost and gross profit reporting provided by your AIMsi software, you've even implemented a "new & improved" commission plan for your sales staff. But cash is still tight, and we all know why…too much inventory. How can you stop this dangerous trend? In a follow-up to the "Inventory Buying" session, this "Inventory Management" session will teach you how to identify where you went wrong and how to fix it…quickly. You'll learn how to use the inventory management reporting functionality of AIMsi to provide you with the right data to determine where you have an inventory problem and whether it's profit margin or inventory turnover (or both) related. You'll learn how to acquire the timely data from AIMsi needed to preserve cash, generate greater returns on your inventory investment and improve your store's overall profitability. Specifically, you will learn...

  • The problems and challenges in managing musical instrument & product inventory
  • The cost to a typical music store for not timely managing its inventory
  • The three (3) key analytical tools to effectively managing inventory
  • How to identify which store departments are under or over-inventoried, and which store departments are yielding an appropriate return on your investment in inventory
  • How to use the AIMsi Inventory Module to more effectively manage your inventory
  • Which AIMsi reports will help you improve your inventory management skills


Rental Instrument Tracking

It's a widely-held belief that music instrument rental programs are one of the last few highly profitable facets of music retailing. They provide most school music retailers (and now even keyboard and Combo/MI dealers) with a steady stream of cash flow throughout the year and huge profits over many years. But if not accounted for, taxed and financed correctly, rental pools can get you into big trouble – you'd be surprised how many dealers are currently in violation of these rules. This session will explore the benefits and costs of a well-run rental program, as well as the dangerous pitfalls found in many misguided rental programs. You'll discover new ways to make your rental program more profitable and learn the right way to accurately account for, tax, depreciate, finance and report your instrument rental activities. You'll also learn how to use AIMsi to track and report instrument rental pools and learn to how to exploit this most profitable activity into huge annual cash returns without falling into the hidden pitfalls that poorly managed rental programs can create. Specifically, you will learn...

  • The benefits, costs and challenges in managing a rental instrument pool
  • How to accurately record rental instrument transactions, and accurately report revenues & expenses from a rental instrument program
  • How to tax, finance and grow rental instrument pools
  • The metrics to determine if your rental pools are truly profitable and by how much
  • How to use the AIMsi Rental Module to set-up your rentals so you can report them correctly and access critical rental data
  • Which AIMsi reports will help you manage several pools of rental instruments
  • How to generate more rental opportunities and rental income using AIMsi "Active-e" Online Commerce Module

Year-End AIMsi Proceedures

Like most music retailers, you have a handle on what you need to do each day to run your store. You know how to staff your store for the peak selling seasons, you know how to stock your store with the right mix and amount of inventory, and you know which types of advertising to use to effectively get the word out about your store. But do you know the same kind of routines to perform to effectively use your AIMsi accounting software system? In this session, you will learn which year-end tasks will provide you, your bookkeeper and your accountant the appropriate data to accurately report your annual business activity. You'll also discover what AIMsi annual "tune-ups" will help keep your system running efficiently. Specifically, you will learn...

  • Which AIMsi modules should be periodically reviewed to adjust data, assuring accurate interim and year-end financial reporting
  • How to update these modules to correctly remove unsuitable or unneeded data
  • The reports that should be run to accurately report your store's year-end financial results
  • How to streamline your system's performance by running specific software utilities on a regular and consistent basis

AIMsi Updates and New Technologies

AIMsi version 10 has over one-hundred new enhancements and features. This session will go into depth on some of the more important features and you will learn how to implement them in your store. We will also introduce you to a completely new Lesson Scheduling Module. This session will provide an overview of this newly designed scheduling system with its Outlook-style-calendar user interface. Specifically, you will learn...

  • How the changes to the email system allow you to capture more email addresses and manage emails effectively
  • Examples on how to use the new File Attachment feature
  • How to save time printing reports by using Report Favorites and Report Preferences
  • How to generate additional sales by utilizing the expanded Add-On Sales feature
  • How to print informative and elegant product information hang tags
  • How the new Lesson Scheduling system works

AIMsi Active-E Online Retailing

If you are not updating your inventory when vendors issue price increases, your true profit margins will surely be shrinking. Learn how to keep your inventory database updated with the latest product and pricing utilizing the Active-e "B2B" system. This session will also cover the new changes that streamline the Active-e online rental signup and introduce the Active-e online lesson scheduling signup. Specifically, you will learn...

  • How to save countless hours using B2B to keep your inventory updated with new items and price changes
  • How the new streamlined online rental signup can help you expand your rental program
  • How to accept new lesson appointments online

AIMsi Tips and Tricks

Most AIMsi users are always looking for ways to use AIMsi to help them become more efficient with their daily tasks. Since it's hard to find the "AIMsi for Dummies" book at your local bookstore, we've assembled a list of helpful "Tips & Tricks" to help add some efficiency to your daily routines. Specifically, you will learn...

  • Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Report Shortcuts
  • Useful Daily, Weekly and Monthly Routines
  • How to record payroll data
  • And others…see below!

    • NOTE: We know all seasoned AIMsi users have discovered their own tips and/or tricks over the years of using AIMsi. If you have some tip or trick of your own that you'd like to share with other AIMsi users, please email us a description of that tip or trick at [email protected]. An esteemed panel of AIMsi experts will be selecting their "Top Suggestion" and rewarding the submitter with a special prize of picking up the tab for their two-day MusicTech Workshop.

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