5 Time Keeping Apps To Increase Efficiency: A Must have For Small Business Owner

January 26, 2012 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Michael Evans. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Do you remember the old saying – Time is Money. This rings true when you are at the helm of a small business. Being a small business owner means you will have to be exceptional at multi tasking, and this is where time management gets its share of attention. To keep employees as well as yourself accountable for the growth of the business, you need to get your hands on some time keeping apps that will keep you informed while on the move. Here we are going to share 5 time keeping apps that will let you keep track on all the tasks, their starting time and ending time to help your team becoming more efficient than ever.

Time Master: As the name suggest, this app is going to help you keep things under control no matter what. However, this is not a freebie, and you cannot expect it to be given its innumerable benefits. You need to shell out $9.99 to get your hands on this app. It is easy to use and comes loaded with innumerable features. Time Master helps you start and stop or sort and arrange tasks individually or else you can group the task for a specific client so that there is no issue related to timely delivery of service or product. And there is a decent search box to help you wade through the muddle of tasks quite easily.

Harvest: This is a power house of performance and this app runs on iOS and Android. This app looks convincing and its features are powerful enough to make you say wow while using it for managing your daily tasks. Apart from the basic features, Harvest has the ability to create and track expenses, reports and online invoicing like never before. Its interface is so simple that even a nerd can get used to it without facing any hassle along the way. So, this is a good for both casual and power users. If you need unlimited access to this powerful app, you need to pay a small amount $12 a month and there you go. However, for testing purpose, you can use its free version but this is limited to one user, four clients and two projects. So, it is now up to you.

FreshBooks: This app is more about managing and tracking logged hours and less about tracking and managing individual projects. You can use this app for free and there are good many number of options to create a secure and awesome login page for your website. A must have application for all small business owners.

Timesheet: Those of you who are unwilling or unable to fork out money for time keeping app, Timesheet is their way to salvation. This app comes free and as expected, you cannot make it work like a pro version of the same clan. However, this app looks quite convincing and lets you manages simple time keeping tasks with meticulous efficiency. Options are there to track all projects easily, add breaks and notes against each task and you are sure to love its bright and user friendly interface.

And the best thing about this free app is that projects can be exported into different formats to be used later. Though Timesheet may not be the ideal time keeping solution for small business, it is perfect for individual who are looking for a simple, easy to use and intuitive interface to manage his all tasks.

Toggl: With simple interface and useful features, this app is a good alternative of Harvest. This app runs smoothly on desktop, android and iOS. It comes packed with a suite of features that can be expected only in those apps, which are meant for top-tier users with enough money to splurge. The best feature of this app is that, it is compatible with programs like Basecamp, Quickbooks and more that gives it a definite edge over other apps of similar category. It scores high on the graphical front. It lets you generate graphic reports quite convincingly and you have a visual presentation of how you and your team have been performing. This app is available at just $5 per user and that means, there is no apparent reason why you should not try this app.

Michael Evans loves blogging on different subjects and he is a regular writer at Webhostingdeals.org. He has written articles on the topic of host alligator .

Credit Card Processing Savings for Small Business Owners

January 25, 2012 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Eric Stauffer. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Speak with most small business owners about their merchant service account and they probably will not have great things to say. This is understandable because the industry as a whole is ripe with excess fees, long-term contracts and an overall lack of information being passed on to the merchants.

One of the most difficult aspects of credit card processing to understand as a business owner is how the transaction rates for each card is calculated. Most processing firms have capitalized on this by keeping merchants in the dark and providing them with what are called “tiered pricing tables.” Here is a breakdown of how they work:

The typical tiered contract is broken into three categories.

Qualified – This is the cheapest tier a card can be processed at and typically is the rate which was advertised to the merchant. A card must be present and swiped through a reader to get this rate.

Mid-Qualified – The second tier is more expensive than the qualified rate and is often reserved for reward cards and certain business cards. Those cards have higher processing costs so they pass that on to the business.

Non-Qualified – This is the most expensive tier and in some cases can run in excess of 3-5% of the entire transaction amount. Keyed-in cards, business cards and other expensive processing cards usually land here.

There are over 600 different types of transactions that can be processed, and to simplify the experience processors group all of them into the above-mentioned three tiers. Then they assign each tier with the highest transaction rate of any one card within that tier. That means the vast majority of transactions run within each bucket are being processed at a cost that exceeds the actual price that should be associated with a card. This method does reduce the clutter and simplifies the billing process, however, the business ends up paying a premium for most cards processed.

Interchange Plus

Until recently, merchants that were doing a sizeable amount of processing every month were offered what is called interchange plus pricing. Interchange plus is sort of a wholesale pricing structure, which adds a small markup to the actual processing cost of each individual card or transaction. So instead of having three tiers, theoretically there are hundreds, since each card is run at its wholesale price.

The problem with interchange plus pricing is that is usually nets the processing company less money so their sales agents are less likely to offer it. In fact, many agents (especially independent agents) are never even taught the ins and outs of interchange plus at all.

For business owners looking to reduce their processing costs, it is important to find a processor that is willing to offer this pricing structure. For years, interchange plus was only offered to merchants doing a lot of processing, but new regulations have opened it up to all merchants (if credit approved.) If your current processor is unwilling to play ball, find one that is. The result can be hundreds or thousands of dollars back in your company bottom line.

Eric Stauffer is a credit card industry watchdog and entrepreneur. His organization reviews and rates some of the biggest processing companies in the United States, such as Pay Anywhere. Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricStauffer.

Tips for Writing a Great Online Press Release

September 21, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Charles Mburugu. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

A press release is a news item release by a company. Whether the release is announcing a company, product or an event, it is vital that it is detailed and effective. Many times, people exclude crucial information and end up missing great opportunities.

Traditionally, press releases were distributed in print and sent to media via fax or mail. With the advancement of technology, online press release has become an effective way of communicating with the virtual world. It is a vital element of website marketing. Frequent generation of news shows that a website is being constantly updated.

Online press releases are made to be distributed on the internet and not for print media. Usually, they are written to promote online services or websites. Though the format for an online press release is generally the same as a print press release, the online version usually includes a link to the website being promoted.

An online press release is usually a document of about 350 words. It is always advisable to keep online content short and concise so as to retain the attention of your online audience. Keep in mind that many people are looking for summarized information. Make sure every word of your online press release counts.

Give your press release a catchy headline to grab the attention of readers. Begin with a paragraph outlining the relevance of the product/service/site. Find a way of tying the item being promoted to any major, current news story. Alternatively, you could connect it to any major problem that has been featured in the news in the recent past. For instance, a health product can be linked to current medicals stories.

After including the newsworthy element, you should then talk about the item being promoted in more detail. Make sure you have at least two links leading back to your site. These links will enable prospective customers to reach your site fast, and will also boost your site’s page rank. Online press release back links have been effective in directing traffic to my blog which features register.com coupons and webhostingpad discounts.

Using SEO tactics is vital for online press releases. You can use one of the free keyword tools available online to find the most appropriate keyword to use. If your press release is optimized and newsworthy, it will greatly interest media outlets and will be easily found by those looking for that information.

An effective online press release should include the following information.

Contact information for media inquiries. Include the name, email and number of your contact.
The date for release of the information, for example July 13, 2011
The location where the event is taking place, for example July 13, 2011 – Dallas, Texas

A writer with a particular interest in sharing blogging tips, Charles Mburugu also writes about special coupon and discount offers such as webhostingpad discounts and register.com coupons. He currently writes for a coupon blog that offers webhostingpad promotional code and register.com discount codes.

Two Approaches to Deal with Content Scraping that Actually Work

March 15, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Rahil. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

With the continuous surge in the popularity of blogging (especially the notion that it is some easy, money spinning formula), content scrapping is fast becoming one of the most annoying issues for original bloggers, thanks to the mushrooming growth in auto blogs or splogs. Even though, recent update in Google algorithm will finally bring it down, it’s going to take some time before these sploggers decide to pack up.

Content scraping is a procedure through which automated software scans through a huge number of blogs on daily bases and copies content, which is related to the theme of the blog. The idea is to scrap and post that content on a series of blogs/sites having paid advertisements and make money through it. If you are a blog owner and your content is being scraped, you might not even get to know unless you are constantly checking for plagiarism.

Because these blogs are using advanced software and automated programs to do the job, one might feel that there is no way to totally ward off content scrapers. However, there are a number of options that you can use in order to keep content scrapers at bay, two of them are discussed below:

DMCA Complaints:

The most effective method is to make use of the DMCA that stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the good thing is … you can file a complaint at Google to invoke this act; however you’ll need to have sufficient proofs and a good case before going through this procedure.

First of all, you need to write a DMCA Infringement notification and C & D letter to the guilty party, once you have determined that a website or blog is illegally using the material from your website, without your permission.

At times, contacting the scraper directly will get the job done, because no one would like to face a DMCA complaint and risk their website penalized by the Big “G”. The purpose is to get the scraped material removed, and stop the webmaster from doing so in future, which can be achieved by warning the scraper and notifying that you may as well file a DMCA complaint with Google, in case they go on with the practice.

In case the formal warning gets no response from the scraper, the Cease and Desist demand along with the notification letter should be submitted to the Big G (Google), with adequate proofs to prove your point. You can find an online form at Google to submit DMCA complaint; don’t fill it out like any other form on the internet. Bear in mind that you are invoking a legal act; therefore you need to be absolutely sure and careful when filling in details.

.htaccess:

The aforementioned method will not always work, or you might find it a little tedious to go through the entire procedure and fill out details. Another relatively “quick fix” is using your .htaccess file to block scrapers. Remember that content scrapping is not only limited to articles and blog posts, another form of content stealth is hot-linking, which is normally carried out for stealing images. You can prevent hot-linking by updating your .htaccess file. You can find some nifty codes on web that you will be adding to your .htaccess file, to fend off scrapers and their programs.

At times new bloggers tend to ignore scraping; because they are taking it (mistakenly) as a kind of positive reception of their expertise or writing skills, or they are glad that they are getting some free backlinks, however allowing these leechers to go on, is going to hurt your blog in the longer run.

Rahil is a veteran at Internet Marketing, but these tips are not the only thing that he can offer. You may find norton symantec coupon code and go daddy promo at his website.

Coming Up with Customer Retention Strategies to Become a Successful Wholesale Supplier

February 21, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Catherine Turner. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Every wholesale supplier wants to generate greater sales and become successful in the industry but not all of them succeed in doing so. The only answer to this issue is coming up with attractive customer retention strategies. Before implementing customer retention strategies one must try to perform well in the market. No matter how hard you try to retain customers if you don’t improve the quality of your work the customers will never come back to you. So try to improve the quality of your business and products first and then come up with customer retention strategies if you don’t do so all your efforts would be wasted.

To retain your customers you should first build employee retention and satisfaction strategies. You might be thinking that how employees and customers are linked together? The answer is really simple; the employees are the front liners of your business and represent you and your business. Let me give you a day to day example which will clear the things further. Whenever you go to a restaurant for having a burger but the waiter (employee) of that restaurant shows you bad and rude behaviour. The first and last thought in your mind would be to never go to that restaurant again only because of ill behaviour of the employee. So, in order to retain customers develop and nurture your own employees and give them awards for showing good behaviour.

The other strategies for customer retention are to communicate with clients with kind and pleasing attitude and always entertain them on their arrival or phone call. The owner should also remain available for customers in order to solve problems faced by them. Try to follow the saying that “the customers are always right”, never argue with your customers and solve their problem as soon as possible.

Besides this, wholesalers can also provide other services which will further entice the customers. A Wholesaler can perform physical distribution activities more effectively and can offer quick and frequent services as customers always try to avoid the risks associated with holding large inventories. Wholesaler can also keep customers up to date on market conditions. They can also conduct different workshops on selling techniques, dealing with clients, social manners, etc. They can offer discounts and giveaways to the clients and they can also provide financial support to old clients and retailers for advertising and provide assistance in management, etc.

Apart from all these techniques, maintaining strong relationships with clients on e-mails and social networking websites are also useful ways of retaining them. One can send useful updates about latest products and can help resolve a lot of problems of clients online through emails and social networking portals. Therefore, wholesalers should come up with customer retention strategies because they are the key to success for them.

Catherine Turner is a Wholesale expert and has a good understanding of supply chain management. She writes frequently on the topics related to wholesalers, distributors, dropshippers and trade suppliers.

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