BUSINESS INFORMATION
Money Group Pros
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BUSINESS AD
A point of sale (POS) system can have a dramatic impact on the way you run your business -- and on your bottom line. Choosing the right one requires careful planning.
Here are some of the things you need to think through to make a good decision when selecting POS equipment and systems for your business. Use this list as a starting point for your planning process.
* First of all, price should not be the main consideration when buying a POS system. The improved efficiency, greater flexibility and better reporting should pay for the investment in a reasonable period of time.
* Don’t start off by calling for lists of features of various POS systems. Instead, start with a comprehensive analysis of what your business requires.
* Do you have operations spread over multiple locations? What are the implications?
If you run a restaurant, for example, you may need to keep some parameters common across locations while varying others. For instance, your menu may be identical at all locations, but prices of some items may vary from one outlet to another. The system you choose must be capable of implementing such differences.
* How easily can you make changes to the system? You can be sure that your business will keep changing in many respects -- employees join and leave, prices go up or down, your product range expands, locations get added or deleted and so on.
Ask yourself if the programming interface will easily allow your employees to execute such changes.
* Will it be possible to make changes ahead of time? For example, if you’re beginning a special promotion on November 15, can you input the price changes well in advance and set the system to automatically effect the changes on that date?
This as well as other types of flexibility are essential for many retail operations.
* To what extent will the POS system need to integrate with your accounting system? Does it have to be real time? Or is it enough to have an export of entries at day-end?
* If you are running a bar, does the POS system need to work with liquor control devices? A liquor control device tracks pours from bottles. This makes billing easier and reduces shrinkage.
* Will the credit / debit card processing system in the POS equipment work well with your merchant account?
* Will the system allow you to implement special deals for frequent shoppers? For instance, each purchase could have points associated with them and these points could eventually translate into lower prices or free gifts.
* What reporting capabilities will you need? If you work across multiple locations, will the system give you an online real-time report of transactions completed?
Most dealers will have sample reports available. Ask to see them so that you can compare better.
* In most cases, the POS system will have to be upgraded as your needs evolve and expand. How quickly can the dealer respond to your needs?
Also, most dealers put out regular software upgrades. Are they included in the contract or does the dealer charge extra for them?
For the sake of avoiding compatibility problems, plan to purchase new hardware of the same kind as the original. That way you’ll ensure everything works well together -- and even if there are problems, you can get the dealer to handle it.
* Support is a critical consideration. What happens if your POS system goes down? This can have a serious impact on the business. You need to get a detailed written agreement on how the dealer is going to handle breakdowns.
The dealer may try to diagnose and solve the problem over phone initially. If that doesn’t work, they may send support staff to your location. And if the problem can’t be solved quickly, you may need to get equipment on loan till your system is repaired.
POS system downtime can have serious implications. Make sure you get the support you need.
The above list should help trigger ideas about the kind of issues you need to look at. Do your planning well before deciding on a POS system for your business.
About the author:
Mark Henry is a featured author on TAB Money Group. He is a systems consultant and has written extensively on POS systems. His articles at http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/and at http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/choosing-pos-systems.htmloffer tips for choosing the right point of sale equipment, how point of sale systems need to fit in with the business environment and more.
©2008 TAB Money Group - All Rights Reserved Money Group Pros
Friday, August 29, 2008
Great Payoffs From A Workflow Software by: Trevor Marshall / TAB Money Group
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Money Group Pros
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BUSINESS ADS
When it comes to the terms, “Streamline Operations” or “Reduce Operating Expenses” and “Cut Labor Costs”, do you really have any idea what these terms actually mean? How much money does the company actually want to save? And how does workflow software help the company to achieve this seemingly insurmountable goal?
When it comes to workflow software, every company definitely has their own sets of procedures as well as methods that they implement when it comes to handling all sorts of day-to-day operations in and out of their companies such as the following: invoicing, time sheets, status reports, new account setup and you might as well include everything else that will be able to make your business tick. The term workflow in workflow software actually refers to the tasks, personnel, procedural steps, required information as well as the various tools that are needed for the steps that the business has to take in order for it to become successful.
Every company has a unique and different process as compared with other companies in the business, this is why a lot of growing companies usually end up with a highly unorganized business process when it comes to email templates, spreadsheets, shared documents, paper forms and even trivial knowledge which the employees should know in order to be able to handle the day-to-day business.
Majority of the time, such chaos and disorganization often leads to various frustrations and problems for the small company, such every day hassles include: missing paper work, missed deadlines, lost as well as incorrect information as well as extending heavily on working hours in order to complete a certain task. This is what usually happens to unorganized offices and is often referred to as “red tape.” The bottom line is that when the red tape starts getting on your customers nerves, it would soon be a downward spiral for your company as well.
So to your company’s rescue comes workflow software automation. But what exactly is a workflow software? And how can it help you out in this company crisis? Workflow software is actually still relatively new to the corporate setting wherein it is a combination of a to-do list as well as project management tool, only set on a different scale.
When it comes to workflow software just think of having a simple to-do list at your hands wherein through the workflow software, that to-do list can now also be accessible by other employees from your company through the company network. This simple to-do list can actually, on its own, keep track of all the items that need to be addressed by everyone in the company. Also, through the workflow software, once certain tasks are completed by the assigned company employees, the workflow software will actually automatically send off other to-do tasks to the appropriate company employees.
The workflow software is actually smart enough to also pass whichever documents or data that are needed to be able to perform whichever tasks that it sends out to the employees. And lastly, if the workflow software’s features are not exciting enough then there are other great features that this automation software has in store for its users. The workflow software can also do some visual status tracking of the tasks at hand, due data monitoring (which ensures every member of your team that a deadline has been set and has to be especially met by the employees, business rules). The workflow software will always make sure that the employees continuously adhere to the company’s rules and regulations, e-mail and database capabilities.
About The Author: Trevor Marshall is a featured author on TAB Money Group.
It is incredibly important for a company to have a well sorted out database in order to prevent people from panicking once a certain file has mysteriously disappeared most especially during the time that their boss needs it. All these are jam-packed in the workflow software automation wherein it will certainly be able to help you and your company, and most especially the employees to have a simplified working environment which is highly geared towards being able to produce the best results at any given time. The workflow software will actually enable employees to be able do their job well since they would not be scrambling for lost files anymore as well as all sorts of other hassles that may erupt when you are in a highly disorganized company. It is also equally important that the employees are highly skilled but their skills will not be a match to the cluttered chaos that will be caused by disorganization.
©2008 TAB Money Group - All Rights Reserved Money Group Pros
Money Group Pros
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BUSINESS ADS
When it comes to the terms, “Streamline Operations” or “Reduce Operating Expenses” and “Cut Labor Costs”, do you really have any idea what these terms actually mean? How much money does the company actually want to save? And how does workflow software help the company to achieve this seemingly insurmountable goal?
When it comes to workflow software, every company definitely has their own sets of procedures as well as methods that they implement when it comes to handling all sorts of day-to-day operations in and out of their companies such as the following: invoicing, time sheets, status reports, new account setup and you might as well include everything else that will be able to make your business tick. The term workflow in workflow software actually refers to the tasks, personnel, procedural steps, required information as well as the various tools that are needed for the steps that the business has to take in order for it to become successful.
Every company has a unique and different process as compared with other companies in the business, this is why a lot of growing companies usually end up with a highly unorganized business process when it comes to email templates, spreadsheets, shared documents, paper forms and even trivial knowledge which the employees should know in order to be able to handle the day-to-day business.
Majority of the time, such chaos and disorganization often leads to various frustrations and problems for the small company, such every day hassles include: missing paper work, missed deadlines, lost as well as incorrect information as well as extending heavily on working hours in order to complete a certain task. This is what usually happens to unorganized offices and is often referred to as “red tape.” The bottom line is that when the red tape starts getting on your customers nerves, it would soon be a downward spiral for your company as well.
So to your company’s rescue comes workflow software automation. But what exactly is a workflow software? And how can it help you out in this company crisis? Workflow software is actually still relatively new to the corporate setting wherein it is a combination of a to-do list as well as project management tool, only set on a different scale.
When it comes to workflow software just think of having a simple to-do list at your hands wherein through the workflow software, that to-do list can now also be accessible by other employees from your company through the company network. This simple to-do list can actually, on its own, keep track of all the items that need to be addressed by everyone in the company. Also, through the workflow software, once certain tasks are completed by the assigned company employees, the workflow software will actually automatically send off other to-do tasks to the appropriate company employees.
The workflow software is actually smart enough to also pass whichever documents or data that are needed to be able to perform whichever tasks that it sends out to the employees. And lastly, if the workflow software’s features are not exciting enough then there are other great features that this automation software has in store for its users. The workflow software can also do some visual status tracking of the tasks at hand, due data monitoring (which ensures every member of your team that a deadline has been set and has to be especially met by the employees, business rules). The workflow software will always make sure that the employees continuously adhere to the company’s rules and regulations, e-mail and database capabilities.
About The Author: Trevor Marshall is a featured author on TAB Money Group.
It is incredibly important for a company to have a well sorted out database in order to prevent people from panicking once a certain file has mysteriously disappeared most especially during the time that their boss needs it. All these are jam-packed in the workflow software automation wherein it will certainly be able to help you and your company, and most especially the employees to have a simplified working environment which is highly geared towards being able to produce the best results at any given time. The workflow software will actually enable employees to be able do their job well since they would not be scrambling for lost files anymore as well as all sorts of other hassles that may erupt when you are in a highly disorganized company. It is also equally important that the employees are highly skilled but their skills will not be a match to the cluttered chaos that will be caused by disorganization.
©2008 TAB Money Group - All Rights Reserved Money Group Pros
For Entrepreneurs A SIMPLE Plan May Be Best by: Tim Knox / TAB Money Group
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Money Group Pros
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BUSINESS ADS
Q: I own a small decorating business and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know anything about taxes or retirement plans. I’d like to set up a 401(k) or an IRA or some other kind of retirement plan for me and my three employees. What are the various retirement plan options available for a small business owner and in your opinion, which would work best for me?
-- Wanda S.
A: Wanda, I appreciate your confidence in my humble opinion, but asking me for financial advice is like asking Donald Trump for a recommendation on hair care products. I can tell you what works best for me and my business, but you’ll need to do your homework and seek professional advice to figure out what would work best for you. As a side note, I hear that Donald Trump is coming out with his own line of hair care product soon to be called “Big Head.” The formula is 1% mousse, 1% liquid nails, and 98% hot air. It should be a big seller among the high brow, comb-over crowd.
Here’s my best advice on retirement plans: find yourself a financial advisor (or financial planner) who is has experience working with small businesses and have him or her explain the options available and make a recommendation as to the type of plan best suited for you and your business. When I say “financial advisor” I’m not talking about your know-it-all brother-in-law or your accountant. I’m talking about a broker or financial planner (or other licensed professional) who has a proven track record of making his clients money and is an expert on IRAs, 401(k)s, mutual funds, etc.
The best way to find a good financial advisor is to ask for referrals from your most successful friends and associates. Find the richest, stingiest man in town and ask who his advisor is. Meet with several advisors, explain your situation, and ask for their recommendations. You should also make sure the advisor is a good fit for your personality and your business. If all goes well you will be doing business with this person for many years to come, so make sure the relationship feels comfortable to you and that you are confident in the advisor’s ability to manage your money.
Let me give you a quick overview of a few of the retirement plans available to small businesses so you at least have an idea of what’s out there before you start your search for a good financial advisor.
As a small business you basically have three types of retirement plans that you can take advantage of: the Self-Employed 401(k); the Simplified Employee Pension Plan or SEP IRA, and the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees or SIMPLE IRA. Each allows you to make pre-tax contributions to the plan, which lets you save for retirement and lessen your taxable income by the amount of the contribution. Your investments also grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
A Self-Employed 401(k) is an option for self-employed individuals or business owners with no employees other than a spouse. The business can be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation, including S corps. You can make salary deferrals to this type of plan of up to $14,000 for 2005.
Next is the Simplified Employee Pension Plan or SEP IRA. A SEP is an option if you earn a self-employed income from a full or part time business, even if you are covered by a retirement plan at your fulltime job. A SEP allows you to contribute up to 25% of earned income, up to $41,000 for 2004 and $42,000 for 2005.
My preferred type of retirement plan is the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees or SIMPLE IRA. The SIMPLE IRA was created to make it easier for small businesses with 100 or fewer employees to offer a tax-advantaged, company sponsored retirement plan.
With a SIMPLE IRA you and your eligible employees may contribute up to 3% of earned income (with a maximum contribution of $10,000) on a pre-tax basis to individual SIMPLE IRAs. You must deduct Social Security and Medicaid from your gross income, but you can then make your SIMPLE IRA contribution before other taxes are levied, effectively lowering your taxable income.
As the employer you must make “matching” or “non-elective” contributions into your employees’ SIMPLE IRA accounts. Matching contributions means that the business matches the elective deferral contributions made by employees. For example, if the employee opts to contribute 3% of his salary to the plan, the employer must match the 3% contribution.
At first you might cringe at matching your employees’ contributions, but as the business owner and an employee yourself this can be great news. As an employee of your own business you can contribute up to $10,000 to your SIMPLE IRA and the business can then match your contribution dollar-for-dollar, which means that you can put up to $20,000 in tax free dollars into the plan per year. The cost of the contributions is also deductible as a business expense.
The non-elective contribution option requires that the company contribute 2% of every employee’s earned income to the plan on the employee’s behalf regardless of whether or not the employee contributes to the plan himself. For 2005 the maximum contribution you would be required to make is $4,200.
Like a traditional IRA, you can withdraw money from a SIMPLE IRA at any time; however distributions within the first two years of participation are subject to higher early withdrawal penalties than traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs. Withdrawals within the first two years are subject to a 25% early withdrawal penalty. Withdrawals taken after the first two years are subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
As the employer, the advantages of a SIMPLE IRA include: company contributions to the plan are tax deductible as a business expense; plan documents are simple and easy to administer; administration costs are low; and there is no government reporting required by the employer.
The advantages of a SIMPLE IRA for your employees include: contributions are immediately 100% vested; contributions and earnings are tax-deferred until withdrawal; employees can contribute 100% of earned income up to $10,000 for 2005; and employees can direct their own investments within the IRA.
This is a complex topic and I’ve just tipped the iceberg here, but hopefully this will give you enough information to get the investment ball rolling.
Here’s to your success!
About the author:
Tim Knox is a featured author on TAB Money Group. He serves as the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.
©2008 TAB Money Group - All Rights Reserved Money Group Pros
Money Group Pros
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BUSINESS ADS
Q: I own a small decorating business and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know anything about taxes or retirement plans. I’d like to set up a 401(k) or an IRA or some other kind of retirement plan for me and my three employees. What are the various retirement plan options available for a small business owner and in your opinion, which would work best for me?
-- Wanda S.
A: Wanda, I appreciate your confidence in my humble opinion, but asking me for financial advice is like asking Donald Trump for a recommendation on hair care products. I can tell you what works best for me and my business, but you’ll need to do your homework and seek professional advice to figure out what would work best for you. As a side note, I hear that Donald Trump is coming out with his own line of hair care product soon to be called “Big Head.” The formula is 1% mousse, 1% liquid nails, and 98% hot air. It should be a big seller among the high brow, comb-over crowd.
Here’s my best advice on retirement plans: find yourself a financial advisor (or financial planner) who is has experience working with small businesses and have him or her explain the options available and make a recommendation as to the type of plan best suited for you and your business. When I say “financial advisor” I’m not talking about your know-it-all brother-in-law or your accountant. I’m talking about a broker or financial planner (or other licensed professional) who has a proven track record of making his clients money and is an expert on IRAs, 401(k)s, mutual funds, etc.
The best way to find a good financial advisor is to ask for referrals from your most successful friends and associates. Find the richest, stingiest man in town and ask who his advisor is. Meet with several advisors, explain your situation, and ask for their recommendations. You should also make sure the advisor is a good fit for your personality and your business. If all goes well you will be doing business with this person for many years to come, so make sure the relationship feels comfortable to you and that you are confident in the advisor’s ability to manage your money.
Let me give you a quick overview of a few of the retirement plans available to small businesses so you at least have an idea of what’s out there before you start your search for a good financial advisor.
As a small business you basically have three types of retirement plans that you can take advantage of: the Self-Employed 401(k); the Simplified Employee Pension Plan or SEP IRA, and the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees or SIMPLE IRA. Each allows you to make pre-tax contributions to the plan, which lets you save for retirement and lessen your taxable income by the amount of the contribution. Your investments also grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
A Self-Employed 401(k) is an option for self-employed individuals or business owners with no employees other than a spouse. The business can be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation, including S corps. You can make salary deferrals to this type of plan of up to $14,000 for 2005.
Next is the Simplified Employee Pension Plan or SEP IRA. A SEP is an option if you earn a self-employed income from a full or part time business, even if you are covered by a retirement plan at your fulltime job. A SEP allows you to contribute up to 25% of earned income, up to $41,000 for 2004 and $42,000 for 2005.
My preferred type of retirement plan is the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees or SIMPLE IRA. The SIMPLE IRA was created to make it easier for small businesses with 100 or fewer employees to offer a tax-advantaged, company sponsored retirement plan.
With a SIMPLE IRA you and your eligible employees may contribute up to 3% of earned income (with a maximum contribution of $10,000) on a pre-tax basis to individual SIMPLE IRAs. You must deduct Social Security and Medicaid from your gross income, but you can then make your SIMPLE IRA contribution before other taxes are levied, effectively lowering your taxable income.
As the employer you must make “matching” or “non-elective” contributions into your employees’ SIMPLE IRA accounts. Matching contributions means that the business matches the elective deferral contributions made by employees. For example, if the employee opts to contribute 3% of his salary to the plan, the employer must match the 3% contribution.
At first you might cringe at matching your employees’ contributions, but as the business owner and an employee yourself this can be great news. As an employee of your own business you can contribute up to $10,000 to your SIMPLE IRA and the business can then match your contribution dollar-for-dollar, which means that you can put up to $20,000 in tax free dollars into the plan per year. The cost of the contributions is also deductible as a business expense.
The non-elective contribution option requires that the company contribute 2% of every employee’s earned income to the plan on the employee’s behalf regardless of whether or not the employee contributes to the plan himself. For 2005 the maximum contribution you would be required to make is $4,200.
Like a traditional IRA, you can withdraw money from a SIMPLE IRA at any time; however distributions within the first two years of participation are subject to higher early withdrawal penalties than traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs. Withdrawals within the first two years are subject to a 25% early withdrawal penalty. Withdrawals taken after the first two years are subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
As the employer, the advantages of a SIMPLE IRA include: company contributions to the plan are tax deductible as a business expense; plan documents are simple and easy to administer; administration costs are low; and there is no government reporting required by the employer.
The advantages of a SIMPLE IRA for your employees include: contributions are immediately 100% vested; contributions and earnings are tax-deferred until withdrawal; employees can contribute 100% of earned income up to $10,000 for 2005; and employees can direct their own investments within the IRA.
This is a complex topic and I’ve just tipped the iceberg here, but hopefully this will give you enough information to get the investment ball rolling.
Here’s to your success!
About the author:
Tim Knox is a featured author on TAB Money Group. He serves as the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.
©2008 TAB Money Group - All Rights Reserved Money Group Pros
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
