I recently updated the phone system for my business. We’re a small company with just a handful of employees in an office about the size of a two car garage. We do a lot of business over the phone and although we could handle the call volume with our old system, I still felt (and was informed many times) that it was antiquated and hard to use. I knew it needed to be brought up to speed so I consulted my employees and asked them to list the features that they felt would improve productivity and make their jobs easier. I then looked for phones and equipment that would meet our needs. I was somewhat in shock over the price of a new phone system.

I didn’t realize it could cost so much. Disheartened but not defeated, I kept searching until I found a vendor who offered the phone system we were looking for at a great price. It was substantially cheaper than the next closest competitor, which made me look a little closer. As it turns out, these phones were used. They weren’t refurbished phones, and came with the same warranty as a new phone, but there was something in my psyche that turned me away from the idea of buying used electronics. Still, money is money and if they were going to give me the same warranty as a new phone system had, what did I have to lose. After talking to the vendor and voicing my concerns, I purchased nine phones and the line equipment we needed for a lot less than what it would have been brand new.

The new system has been in place for several months now and everyone is quite happy with the improvement. The phones are reliable and we have never had a problem with them. If you decide at some point to update your business phone system but don’t think you can afford what you really need, look into buying used phones. You can save quite a bit of money and, as I’ve found out, they are a product that holds up well to daily use. I’m afraid that if I hadn’t stumbled onto them in my search for the best deal, I might have never found the system I have now, and never even considered purchasing used equipment. If you find a reputable company to deal with that will back up their products, new or used, you can make a little money go a long way.

I recently updated the phone system for my business. We’re a small company with just a handful of employees in an office about the size of a two car garage. We do a lot of business over the phone and although we could handle the call volume with our old system, I still felt (and was informed many times) that it was antiquated and hard to use. I knew it needed to be brought up to speed so I consulted my employees and asked them to list the features that they felt would improve productivity and make their jobs easier. I then looked for phones and equipment that would meet our needs. I was somewhat in shock over the price of a new phone system.

I didn’t realize it could cost so much. Disheartened but not defeated, I kept searching until I found a vendor who offered the phone system we were looking for at a great price. It was substantially cheaper than the next closest competitor, which made me look a little closer. As it turns out, these phones were used. They weren’t refurbished phones, and came with the same warranty as a new phone, but there was something in my psyche that turned me away from the idea of buying used electronics. Still, money is money and if they were going to give me the same warranty as a new phone system had, what did I have to lose. After talking to the vendor and voicing my concerns, I purchased nine phones and the line equipment we needed for a lot less than what it would have been brand new.

The new system has been in place for several months now and everyone is quite happy with the improvement. The phones are reliable and we have never had a problem with them. If you decide at some point to update your business phone system but don’t think you can afford what you really need, look into buying used phones. You can save quite a bit of money and, as I’ve found out, they are a product that holds up well to daily use. I’m afraid that if I hadn’t stumbled onto them in my search for the best deal, I might have never found the system I have now, and never even considered purchasing used equipment. If you find a reputable company to deal with that will back up their products, new or used, you can make a little money go a long way.

1) Intuit QuickBooks Accounting Software
Quickbooks is a popular full featured accounting and payroll program designed for small businesses – or, I should say, a small business accounting software series. QuickBooks is available in Basic, Online, Pro, and Premier editions; the Pro Edition of this accounting program includes management tools such as a Vehicle Mileage Tracker and a Cash Flow Projector
2) Simply Accounting Accounting Software
Full featured accounting and payroll package with all the features and reports any small business needs, including Internet and e-commerce features. This small business accounting software’s data entry screens resemble their paper counterparts, and the screen tips and drag and drop functionality make the accounting program easy to learn. Professional versions include a time and billing module. Comes multi-user ready.
3) MYOB Plus Accounting Software
A double entry small business accounting software system with a user-friendly interface and over 100 financial and management reports. Includes a Professional Time Billing Module that is ideal for service businesses and the Officelink feature allows direct one click access to MS Word and Excel. Comes multi-user ready; just purchase an additional workstation license for each additional accounting program user.
4) Peachtree Complete Accounting Software
The Complete version of this small business accounting software program includes over 125 reports and features such as in-depth inventory, time and billing and job costing. The accounting program comes multi-user ready and “value packs” for 3 or more users are available. Peachtree accounting software is also available in Premium and First Accounting versions
5) Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting
The big selling feature of this small business accounting software is integration and thats a pretty big selling feature if youre already using Microsoft Office. Being able to reuse data already entered into Excel or Outlook is a really useful feature and the integration with the Business Contact Manager makes it easy to stay on top of accounts. A slate of add-
on services ranges from online payroll through PayPal invoicing

I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. This is by no means a definitive list, but I’d be willing to bet that if you don’t have at least a majority of these traits, your chances of business success will be greatly diminished.

You must be self motivated.

If you don’t have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don’t have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.

You can’t be afraid of hard work.

If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster and then some. You will have to work long hours and be on call 247, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, maybe you should just keep your cushy day job.

You should have experience in the type of business you plan to start.

If you can’t locate your car’s engine you have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time for a year before jumping in with both feet.

You must be able to climb back on the horse.

I always say: “If business was easy, everybody would do it.” Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse and get back on a few times without giving up.

You need the support of your family.

When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you

You must have a thick skin.

If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without taking it personally.

You must interact well with others.

Being an entrepreneur requires interacting with a variety of people, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (at least not on the outside).

The deeper your pockets the better.

The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have access to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain itself.

You must be able to delegate.

Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it’s foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can’t dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business growth will be limited.

Previous business ownership is a plus.

Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can’t hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses rattling around in their closet.

Another of my sayings:

Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot from the first one that may come in handy the second or third time around.

With that kind of advice you can see why I didn’t go into marriage counseling.

Here’s to your success!

Practically every small business has receivables that it cannot obtain from clients. If your small business doesn’t have any such receivables, consider yourself lucky. For those small businesses that suffer from uncollected receivables, solace can be taken from the fact you can claim a tax deduction.

Bad Debt Tax Deduction

A small business can write-off bad debt losses if it meets nominal requirements. To claim such a tax deduction, the following must be shown:

A. The existence of a legal relationship between the small business and debtor;

B. The receivables are worthless; and

C. The small business suffered an actual loss.

Proving there is a legal relationship between the small business and debtor is fairly simple. You must simply show that the debtor has a legal obligation to make a payment. Most businesses issue invoices or sign contracts with debtors and these documents suffice to prove the legal relationship. If you are not putting your business relationships in writing, you should begin doing so immediately.

Proving receivables are worthless is slightly more complex. A small business is required to show that the debt has become both worthless and will remain so. You must also show that you took reasonable steps to collect the receivables, but you are not necessarily required to go to court to meet this requirement. A clear example where you would meet this requirement is if the debtor filed bankruptcy.

While proving that you suffered a loss may sound like the easiest requirement to meet, the issue is a bit more complicated. The Tax Code defines the loss as an amount that is included in your books as income, but is never collected. A classic example of such a situation would be a manufacturer that provides products to retailers on credit. The manufacturer can show a real loss if the retailer files bankruptcy. Unfortunately, there is almost no way to claim a loss if you provide hourly services and use a cash accounting method. The IRS does not consider the expenditure of time and effort to be a sustained economic loss.

Small businesses suffer all to often from uncollected receivables. If you failed to claim such losses as a tax deduction during your last three tax filing years, you should file amended tax returns to get a refund.

Managing and owning a small business can be very stimulating for the ADD adult. Many ADD entrepreneurs thrive on the fact that they can work on growing their business without all of the structure of being employed by someone else. While the structure of a 9 to 5 job might not be ideal for an ADD adult, an ADD entrepreneur should establish some structure and boundaries in order to be successful with their business opportunities and their personal lives. Here are just a couple of examples of structure and boundaries that an ADD entrepreneur should establish:

1. Keeping your personal finances and your business finances separate.

The larger your business is, the more important it is to separate your finances. Not only is it important for tax purposes, but recording all of your business transactions will give you or someone else all of the information necessary to analyze how well you are doing, and what you need to do to expand your business.

2. Set aside a regular time to pay your bills and to bill your customers.

I find that a lot of ADD entrepreneurs are more reluctant to bill their customers on a regular basis. The main reason is that they are so focused on pleasing the customer, that they don’t focus on actually getting paid for a job. In order to develop a habit, you should decide on a regular set time that you are going to focus on sending out your invoice and paying the bills.

3. Schedule time andor days each week where you not allowed to do anything related to your business.

In order to be a successful entrepreneur you need to spend a lot of time on your business. It is easy for an ADD entrepreneur to completely focus on their business and not focus on their other needs like eating properly, sleeping, physical activity, and spending time with friends and family. Without spending a little time on the other areas of your life your will burnout or breakdown.

Should you be in the early stages of a business start-up then there are elements to your personal business banking service which you should be looking for and if you havent yet set up an account now is the time to take a deep breath and go shopping!

Its a competitive market, and its often hard to be sure which services you should be looking for to provide the best service for your small business. Certainly the basics such as a business current account, savings account, and loan facilities should be there, but nowadays the upcoming business manager should be looking for more from their financial provider.

Often you are looking for support from your financial services outside of traditional office hours and its for this reason that todays small business owners should look for online access as a vital service for the building of their company. Not only does this provide true 24 hour banking support, but it enables complete transparency and allows you to pull up your small businesss financial details whenever you need them.

Having the information to hand is one thing, of course, but its also useful to have a dedicated team at the end of a phone line to run through the figure with you. Shopping around shows there are a few businesses who offer this service, Barclays (http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self ) being one of them. Typically you are looking for most of the services also available online, such as account checking and money transfer services, allied with the opportunity to chat with a living, breathing, business manager who is local to your branch.

Interestingly, some companies also offer specialised software designed to integrate with their services and make your time management more efficient. This is surely a good sign, and indicative of the pro-active approach many banks now take to integrate online services with more traditional hands-on approaches.

Of course yours might not be a start-up waiting to happen, but instead a small business with a good track record and the ambition to grow your business within your market. Maybe you are unhappy with your current financial provider perhaps the service is good but limited, or you feel you could get a better financial package more suited to your small business. In either case you should be seriously thinking of switching your business account to a provider who can cover all your needs as a unique, small business. Additionally, and this might seem a minor point but it is surprisingly important, you should be looking for a banking service that will handle the transfer of your business account details with the minimum of fuss.

So there is plenty to consider when shopping for your financial provider but, assuming you are looking for a long term financial partner, perhaps the most important element is scalability: after all, you are looking for a financial provider that can grow with your business. Arent you?

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Additional Information
http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

As a small business owner, you are a risk taker. There is excitement and challenge in such a venture, but to succeed you need good management information, an ability to be a good manager of people and the intelligence and inner strength to make the right decisions. From unnecessary risk taking, thousands of workers die each year and many suffer injury or illness from conditions at work.

How often does an owner or manager actually see work-related deaths, serious injuries or illnesses in the workplace? In some small businesses, the answer is rarely. For this reason, many owners or managers do not understand why there is controversy about the government having occupational safety and health agencies with enforceable laws. But others have learned why; unfortunately, they have experienced a loss. These ownermanagers will tell you that it is too late to do anything once a serious accident happens. They have learned that prevention is the only real way to avoid this loss and unnecessary risk taking.

Reducing losses and risks are goals that you as an owner or manager must set in assuring the safety and well being of all in the business. Small business owners and managers place a high value on the well-being of your employees. Family members and personal acquaintances may be part of the business and even hired employees will become almost like family as time goes by.
Investing in safety and health activity now will better enable you to avoid possible losses in the future.

Nobody wants accidents to happen in the workplace. A serious fire, a permanent injury, or the death of an employee or owner can cause the loss of profit or even an entire business. To prevent such losses, you dont have to turn your business upside down. You may not have to spend a lot of money, either. You do need to use good business sense and apply safety prevention policies. There are reasons why accidents happen. An accident always has a cause and a reason why. Once you know why an accident happened, it is possible to prevent future incidents.

The business needs a plan to prevent accidents. Not all dangers at the workplace depend on an accident to cause harm, of course. Worker exposure to toxic chemicals or harmful levels of noise or even radiation may cause gradual illness over a long period of time. There needs to be a plan that includes prevention of these unseen health hazard exposures. There needs to have a safety and health management system. It is not difficult to develop such a plan. Basically, the plan should address the types of accidents and health hazard exposures that could happen in the workplace. Because each workplace is different, the program should address the specific needs and requirements for the business.

There are four basic elements to all good safety and health programs. These are as follows:

1) The manager needs to lead the way, by setting policy, assigning and supporting responsibility, setting an example and involving employees.
2) The workplace needs to be continually analyzed to identify all existing and potential hazards.
3) Methods to prevent or control existing or potential hazards are put in place, maintained, and updated.
4) Managers, supervisors and employees need to be trained to understand and deal with worksite hazards.

Regardless of the size of the business, the plan should use each of these points to prevent workplace accidents and possible injuries and illnesses. Developing a workplace program following these four points is a key step in protecting you and your workers safety and health. If you already have a program, reviewing it in relation to these points should help you improve what you have.

Following this four-point approach to safety and health in your business may also improve efficiency. It may help you reduce insurance claims and other costs. The plan will certainly give you a way to express and document your good faith and commitment to protecting your workers health and safety.

This approach usually does not involve large costs. Developing a health and safety protection plan does not have to be expensive and generally does not require additional employees, especially in smaller businesses. Safety and health can be integrated into your other business functions with modest effort on your part and will become part of the daily routine.

The key to the success of a safety and health plan and program is to see it as a part of the business operation and to see it reflected in the day-to-day operations. Once implemented, the safety program will become second natured to the owner as well as the employees.

If your small business is growing rapidly, you might consider incorporating the business to help it reach its full potential. To incorporate business is not difficult, but there is a process to follow. This step-by-step guide will help you get on the right track.

Prepare for Incorporation

To prepare for incorporation, first choose your primary business location. If your business operates in only one state, you will need to incorporate in that state. If your business operates in multiple states, then you have the option to choose which state to incorporate in, usually the state that’s more business friendly when it comes to taxes and laws pertaining to business.

Next, select a name for your corporation. Check with your Secretary of State to make sure the name you choose is not already taken by another company. Also, do research online to be sure the name is not taken by another business and doesn’t have a patent by another company or individual. Once you’re sure the name is free to use, you can register your company name. The name will likely need to be registered as “Doing Business As” or “DBA.”

Choose a Filing Agent

The next step is to decide who will register your corporation, receive forms for incorporation, and file your paperwork. The least expensive route is to do all paperwork yourself, but if you’re completely new to incorporation, you’ll benefit tremendously by hiring an agent. The agent must live in the state where you will incorporate the business. The agent may be an attorney who provides incorporation services or the agent can be a service that specializes in incorporation. Hiring a service is usually far less expensive than hiring an attorney.

Develop a Corporate Structure

Whether you’re the only member or shareholder of your company or you already have multiple shareholders, you should determine a corporate structure before registering the corporation. To structure the company means to determine how the stock will be spread among shareholders along with other rights such as voting rights and finances. Be sure everyone is in agreement with the structure and put everything in writing before filing your paperwork to incorporate the company.

Next, put together your corporate by-laws, or a set of rules that determine how board members will be elected, their duties, how and when board meetings are to be held, and other important details of how the corporation will be operated.

Ready to File
Now you’re ready to obtain an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and select a board of directors for your company. Once these two tasks are accomplished, check to be sure you have all necessary paperwork and check the company name availability once again to be on the safe side. Now, you’re ready to file your corporate paperwork for registration.

Forming an LLC – Know the Difference

Keep in mind that forming a corporation differs from forming an LLC (Limited-Liability Company). When you form an LLC, your business will be treated as a sole proprietorship or partnership under federal and state tax laws. You will be required to report profits and losses, income, credits, and deductions on your individual tax return.

Corporations, on the other hand, pay taxes on the company’s profits. The shareholders are treated as individual employees, and each receive their own salaries and file their personal tax returns separately. LLC formation requires less paperwork and has fewer legal issues than a corporation.

If you’re pressed for time and want to get things moving quickly with your company’s incorporation, there are websites available to help you incorporate online. These sites provide printable paperwork, state-by-state instructions, and other helpful items to make it easier than ever to incorporate your business.

Many people have what they think is a great idea and would love to set up their own small business. The problem many of these people face is how to fund this idea, to get the business off the ground. Unfortunately many of these ideas never come to fruition because of these lack of funds, where in reality there are many avenues people could take to find this initial start-up capital.

I run a small business and have been doing so for about ten years. I remember at the outset worrying about how I would be able to afford to advertise the services that I offer. I would also need a certain amount of money to pay for marketing, such as producing brochures and leaflets, money to have a prescence online via a website and many other initial costs.

I would also need to be able to pay my bills and to basically live while the business was in its infancy, as I realised business would be slow to start with.

I have to say that I am extremely lucky as I have a superb family who are in a position, and are happy to back me financially from time to time. This was my first port of call. I did not just go to see my parents looking for a hand-out, I also went to tell them about what I thought was a brilliant idea.

I discussed with them my plans and about where I believed the business could get to within a few years. They both seemed impressed with not only my idea but also in the belief that I had in it. I also spoke about my short term fear of not having enough money to start the business and to pay the rent etc.

I asked them if they would like to invest in the idea by giving me a short term loan. I planned to pay this loan back in the future when the business would be in a position to make a profit. Luckily for myself, my parents agreed to do this and I have never looked back since. They also gave me the loan interest free, which was a real bonus.

My father also suggested that I might benefit by having a partner. This person could not only bear half of the initial start-up costs but could also help with even more ideas. He stated that he knew somebody who might well be interested. The person in question had been in business a long time and could also teach me a thing or two.

I agreed that the idea was a good one and my father then approached his friend who eventually agreed to become my business partner.

I am aware that I was extremely lucky and that not everyone is as fortunate as myself. There are other areas people can try to get funding however. One of these is to go to the bank to attempt to obtain a business loan, this would probably be a better idea than loading up debt on things such as your credit cards.

Approaching friends could be the next place to look. I have a couple of friends who are not my business partners but are in a way a form of shareholder.

If you have any investments you could dip into these to fund the business at the outset. In my eyes this is the whole point of investing in the first place and the business is also another form of investment.

These are a few of many avenues which people can try. Give it a go you may be surprised at the response people give you. At the end of the day if you do not attempt these avenues you will always be left thinking of what might have been.

If you try all of the options that are available to you but are still not successful in obtaining help, at least you gave it your best shot. Good luck.