5 Reasons To Get Add-Ons For QuickBooks

With the accelerating growth of an accounting firm, the requirements and demands also increase. QuickBooks is a software that sits fit through all these phases of growth. QuickBooks hosting on the cloud caters to all the accounting needs. However complex or easy the accounting process be, QuickBooks is the right answer to all of it.

When an application or a software is hosted to the cloud, it’s horizons expand and so does it’s functionality. This is where the add-ons come into play. Add-ons are third-party applications, which when integrated with QuickBooks, help in accomplishing an array of tasks like cash and inventory management.

Let’s know how integrating Add-ons with QuickBooks would help in ameliorating your accounting experience:

1. Payment Methods

Its only fair to say that we live in the age of partial payments and attractive EMIs, no one really wants to pay full price upfront or is willing to commit to one single plan for a long duration. Periodic payments are preferred by clients as it helps them budget better and strategize their plans. If you have such clients, then QuickBooks add-ons such as Bill & Pay is the perfect fit for you, it gives you an automated payment feature. It helps in regulating the frequency, fees of the payments being made and also helps out by updating the balance of the invoice in QuickBooks.

2. Stock Management

When we say that QuickBooks is a meticulous software known for its business relativity, we stand by it. But what we also identify is the fact that a little help in the area of inventory management would complement QuickBooks even better. QuickBooks add-ons like Fishbowl Inventory prove to be a game-changer when it comes to inventory management. It provides useful features such as stock tracking by using the serial number, providing worldwide inventory support, along with the pricing history of specific items.

3. Paperless Documentation

As every business in the world is quickly moving towards paperless and electronic methods to save the environment and go green, QuickBooks add-ons act as a catalyst, a pro-support in this entire process while increasing work efficiency. It becomes very easy to store the files and documents when using QuickBooks add-ons. A number of these add-on applications let you complete your task by just having to scan and attach the data with invoices, bills. Going the electronic way of documentation with these QuickBooks add-ons, lets you store all the data in one place, thus making auditing and examining files, an easy task.

4. Employee Management

The team, the employees form the base of any organization. They are the molding pillars for the success of a business. With QuickBooks add-ons, you get the facility of managing the employees with efficient time tracking. From assigning tasks to managing work schedules all of this can be done in a jiffy with add-on apps like Count Me, which makes it very easy to clock the time of the employees. It comes with the added benefit of tracking time even without an internet connection and provides the updates when the system regains connectivity and is online again.

5. Cashflow Forecasting

Having QuickBooks add-ons lets you keep the company’s finances in order. It enables CPAs to be on top of their number and finance game, letting them spear ahead. These add-on apps allow streamlining all the invoices and bills generated from QuickBooks. Integrating add-ons with the QuickBooks, eliminates vestigial hand-operated tasks such as data entry, which in turn increases accuracy in lesser time.

To Sum it Up

QuickBooks is undoubtedly the most exceptional and useful software when it comes to Small and medium businesses. It is brimmed with features and helps in easing out a number of accounting chores. But with sporadic growth of a business, new needs and a lot of changes arise, to accomplice all this, getting Add-ons almost becomes a mandate. QuickBooks Add-ons make an already excellent software, even better. Features like easy expense management, stock tracking, and paperless documentation are features that this rapid pace industry is bound to appreciate.

The Best Advertising Banners for Businesses

Advertisements do not have any drawbacks unless they happen to be offensive, crude, and tasteless. Companies and businesses can receive negative attention if this is the case. However, the main challenge that faces advertising is the expenses that are involved as well as the resulting uncertainty.

There is a wide range of options to choose from today and some happen to be better priced than others, allowing businesses of all kinds to choose the most suitable option according to their budget. You are also not certain whether you will get positive or negative feedback once the advertisement goes live.

Banners

This is one of the options that have been gaining a lot of attention from businesses. The fact that they are easy to set up and are not highly priced makes them one of the ideal options that anyone can try regardless of their budget.

Banners come in all shapes and sizes. However, the best are made using a digital dye that does not fade fast. In addition, the best are made using UV resistant inks. This is a great thing because some of the banners have to be set up outdoors where they can be affected by different elements. When the best dyes are used, they are able to attract attention to the location where you are thereby increasing your revenue.

When choosing a banner, you need to pay attention to the design and the shape. This is because people are attracted to the things that stand out and something that is visible regardless of the kind of environment it is set up in. When durable materials are used, a banner can withstand very strong winds. This is an important thing because the banner will end up lasting for a much longer time period than you would have thought.

Why use them?

When a banner is used, it helps in generating awareness for the product that you may have in hand. The product will also be made more visible where you are in a store or during an event. When people are aware of a product or service and how it can help them, they may take interest and probably end up spending money on it.

When banners are used, then advertising your brand, your service, your location, or even event becomes very simple. This is because they are made using the most prominent designs that will capture all that come across it. Sometimes a banner can be created in a way that it flaps in the wind. This makes it attract more attention to anyone passing by. The motion can also capture the attention of people within long distances.

It is also important to appreciate that the banners have quality categories. There are also styles and sizes too. These are some of the factors that will affect how much the banner will cost you at the end of the day. Regardless of your budget, you can come up with a model that can be used outdoors or indoors and still get the best results.

Tips for a Worthwhile Business Travel

When you are traveling for business, it is best to iron out the basics-such as packing, hotel reservations, car services, plane tickets and what not-so that it is not another task that you have to do on top of the business that you have to take care of. If business plans are important, then planning your trip merits planning as well.

 

If all these are mapped out smoothly, not only will you be able to have a worry free business trip, but it is also possible for you to have a fun time during your trip.

  1. Research about the place beforehand. Knowing more about the city you are visiting could help you manage your time or maximize the vacant time that you have while you are there. Let’s say you are going to a convention. Knowing about the other events that will take place will help you go to as much events or conferences as you can during your stay there.
  2. Packing light in a carry-on bag gives you one thing less to worry about. Not having to fret about your luggage check in does not just make your trip less worry-some, but it also saves you time both upon your arrival and departure. This gives you more time to prepare for your trip’s agenda, or some last-minute shopping before your departure.
  3. Be nice to the locals. This rule is not exclusive to business travels only, but it will do you a great favor if you are nice to everyone, especially the locals, or pretty much everyone else. If you exude camaraderie, people tend to become more helpful to you. The front desk staff will be more forgiving if you lose your hotel key, you’ll breeze through security easily, and you can event gets a few tips from the locus about the best places to visit for leisure if you are on a tight schedule.
  4. Meet with people you have connections with through social media. These days, meet ups, (or to use a term that is more localized on social media) are very common. This serves as a mini-convention for people who share the same interest of line of business. Sometimes, new business ideas come up during these meet ups. It helps you know more about the industry, widen your network, or simply make new friends.

If you are frequently our for business, whether it’s for a business plan, a convention, or a simple meet and greet with clients, make sure that you make it worthwhile, and you take home more than what the original agenda is.

How To Understand China In One Word

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

Excerpts from A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens

If you are asked to use one word to describe China, what word will you use? “Undemocratic” because both Facebook and YouTube are blocked in China? “Prosperous” because you have seen the towering skyscrapers and flying high-speed trains in China? “Inhuman” because you have seen the report of Yuling Dog Meat Festival? “Rich” because you have seen crazy Chinese shoppers of luxury goods in world major cities? None of the above could generalize China so easily, but one safe and sure way to describe China is, everything in China is under transformation, which means, nothing in China is completed or perfected yet, nor anything has never started yet.

1. From lack of creativity to full of creativity/From uniformity to diversity

Suppose there are ten phones made-in-China with same inch yet different brands on the table, you can find it easy to think they are just different models under one single brand, because they have almost completely same looks, functions and specifications. Almost every single new change in a new iPhone can invite numerous copied designs in Chinese phone industry, Chinese manufacturers do not even have to think but simply copy their industry leader. The origin of Chinese people’s lack of creativity actually can be traced back to ancient Chinese imperial examinations in which essays were formulated around a rigid, artificial structure. This kind of unnecessarily uniform education system has far-reaching effect on the present Gaokao (Chinese National Higher Education Entrance Examination) which leads to lack of focus on teaching critical thinking and ignoring students’ emotions, values and personalities. As a result, Chinese students or suppliers tend to focus only on how best they can take after their counterparts, so they can achieve same high grades or profit. However, with the rapid development of Chinese economy and society, Chinese people are shifting their attention to the awakening of people’s individuality and personality, for example, people are praised for being who they are, expressing what they think and doing what they like rather than merely according to common expectations. So are Chinese products, the world witnesses waves after waves of technological innovation in Chinese industry, that is why Chinese companies including tech giants like Huawei are paying more and more importance to intellectual property.

2. From money-driven to ideal-driven

Chinese people is more or less regarded as a nation with no faith, as generation after generation of people are being taught to believe in socialism and Marxism and regard the religious beliefs as superstitious. But do Chinese really have no faith and have nothing in mind to rely on? Not exactly, Chinese people do root their actions and words in money, family ties and human connection (Guanxi). Though these concepts are not written on the country’s textbooks, every Chinese is consciously or unconsciously enacting these essentials in their life. The first a few questions that come to people’s mind when talking about a certain profession are: Does that earn you a lot of money? Do you have any relatives or friends of high stature taking care of that line of work? The answers to these questions usually determine how much likely someone can earn respect and achieve success. People care less about what contribution that certain profession does to the other people and focus on more what that profession can earn for the family and themselves financially and respectfully. However, despite everything to the contrary, Chinese people are also changing, more and more people dedicate themselves to solving virtual problems and creating something really revolutionary for the mankind. Examples include Jack Ma who completely changed the way people do business and shopping, Pony Ma who changed the way Chinese people are connected with one another, etc. Chinese people find out they are too much focused on the material gains and begin the shift their attention to the betterment of environment, science, ways of doing things, and social well-being.

3. From unprofessional to professional

Business lies are not lies. But sometimes Chinese business people tend to abuse this way of communication in business, they are inclined to think they can do everything possible to achieve great business, because they believe whatever that can be done is not wrong, so long as they do not get criminalized easily. Some are looked up to by many others because they can make huge fortunes even if by scamming their buyers or shirking taxation in some “clever” manner. They believe the person who makes the most money is the real winner. Sure enough, their way of doing business certainly will not fit the world outside China, that is one of the reasons why many world giant companies find China a very difficult market to fit in, such as Amazon, eBay, Yahoo or even Google. Fortunately, as noted in the beginning of this analysis, nothing in China is perfect yet, but China is also experiencing significant changes in the way of business, more and more companies find out the long term advantages of ensuring transparency, professionalism, good quality, good service and integrity. Take Alibaba for example, Jack Ma’s team is vigorously striving to eliminate faked goods out of Taobao, although the effectiveness is another matter to discuss.

How To Qualify Prospects

Whether you sell on a showroom floor to mum and dads or work the corporate B2B sector this editorial will give you the basics to put in place a follow-up system that will take the pain out of qualifying a prospect.

What I learned about qualifying prospects

First tip – It is better to have a system than wait until you have the perfect system.

For every opinion you will get a different perspective. For example when I shared the following system I recently put together I got so many ideas thrown at me as to how to improve it that I finally had to close off the channel of comments and go with what I had.

My OLD Approach To Qualifying Prospects

Years ago, I was taught when I first got into sales that having completed a presentation I should ask the prospect when I should follow them up. That way when I telephoned several days later I was doing so with their permission.

Recently I contacted and did a sales presentation to two prospects, one based in the city and the other in a major rural town.

In each case I followed up at the agreed time that the prospect had agreed to. In each case I made five follow-up calls based on the timetable agreed to by each of these prospects.

What was the outcome qualifying these prospects?

I was the only person who actually delivered on what I promised (surprise, surprise). Each prospect said that they would either review my emails or speak to one of my references, but in each case they kept apologizing saying that they would get around to reviewing my material eventually. Which they didn’t.

The first prospect is still very keen, he tells me. He also feels that his business needs my service and he will eventually get around to making a decision. As he affirmed with me on each call, “Ken, we need your service to grow our business.”

At this rate I am expecting a call when I retire, at least we will be old friends by then.

The second prospect got really annoyed. Having sought agreement each time as to when I should follow-up with him, he finally got back to me with a decision. “I can’t work with you – you phone too much and are extremely pushy.” So much for our agreement.

What did I learn about qualifying these prospects?

As several of my successful real estate agent clients tell me, ” buyers are liars!”

The real truth is that everybody is maxed out with their time and I don’t believe any one approach is the right approach. Some people hate the thought of rejection, so not wanting to hurt your feelings or have to confront a situation they simply won’t say NO, hoping you will get the idea by their inaction and finally stop following them up.

Then there are those people who can’t make a decision for whatever reason and you reminding them of this forces them into a corner where they attack you for their lack of backbone.

Then there is the rest of the business community who differ so much on this subject that you will never understand or meet each everyone idea of when they should be followed up. For the most part, they don’t understand themselves – good luck dealing with these guys.

My NEW Approach To Qualifying Prospects

First tip – Don’t try and work out whether the prospect is a ‘maybe’ or ‘hot’ for what you are offering, you will find yourself knocking on the door of the funny farm.

Having had these recent experiences, I now have in place a follow-up system utilising e-mail software that tells me the following:

When and how many times a person has opened my e-mail.

Embedded in each e-mail is a series of links to information that an interested prospect would want to read. The e-mail software tells me how many times they clicked on each of these links.

If they forwarded my e-mail to somebody else in their own organization and the number of times they clicked through the various links in my e-mail.

With this system in place, I no longer need to second guess whether a prospect is interested or not. As you know, when someone is interested in buying your product or service they tend to read through all the material you send them.

With this e-mail system in place it tells me their level of interaction and gives me a list of hot to cold prospects.

I do not telephone these prospects until they have been through the five-day process. Out of these prospects I only follow-up the ones who have interacted a great deal with my e-mail system.

How has this helped me qualify prospects?

It has freed me up to contact more prospects. I no longer need to second-guess these people and my time is being used more effectively by only working with people who have shown an actual interest, which is judged by their interaction with my five-part email series. The more emails they open and links they click suggests a heightened level of interest.

As I said to one friend recently, why would you bother speaking to people who couldn’t be bothered opening up and reading the valuable material you have sent them.

It is a known fact that people who are serious about buying want as much information as they can get their hands on and will happily interact with your email follow-up sequence when you send them another information packed e-mail that is designed to educate them on improving their situation through the use of your product or service.

The lesson I have learned about qualifying prospects

There are more than enough potential clients in any market that you do not need to waste your time on people you think are prospects, when in fact they just don’t know how to say ‘NO’ and were never really interested in buying from you in the first place.

You are better off investing your time by qualifying prospects that have the means and desire to go ahead.