Business

If you’re about to start your own business, you’ll need to make sure you have the right legal documents. While this may seem like a bit of a bind, having the right documents to hand can help your business succeed.

Below you will find details of some of the most important legal documents every business needs:

A Business Plan

One of the first documents you’ll need is a business plan. A business plan can help you to get the funding you need. This is because it outlines the products or services you’ll provide, your sales and marketing strategy, and your target market, among other things.

Banks and other financial institutions will not lend you any money or invest in your business if you do not have a business plan. Make sure you have a full and complete business plan that you can show to anyone who needs to see it. Having a plan to hand will also help you to have a clear vision of your business.

A Buy/Sell Agreement

Many small businesses and startups fail to set up a buy/sell agreement. However, this is a crucial piece of documentation that can help your business no end. This type of agreement sets up a lot of arrangements in advance. It can help you to understand what will happen to your business if a partner was to leave or pass away. It can also help to understand whether you will need to sell their half of the business or if someone else will take their place.

Business Insurance

No matter what type of business you plan to set up you will need business insurance. You’ll need to insure your premises and all of the tools (Computers, machines, etc) that you use. You’ll need to make sure you have enough cover so that if something should go wrong you will be compensated for it.

Please note, that some prospective financial institutions will not touch you unless you have the right insurance. The good news is there are many different types of business insurance out there so you should find some that are right for you.

An Employment Agreement

While you might not have any employees just yet, there’s always a chance you’ll need someone soon. When someone works for you they will need to have an employment agreement or contract. If you would prefer not to have an agreement or contract please note, there can be some misunderstanding as to what their role is.

A written agreement can help to protect you and your employee against future conflict. It can detail their salary, any benefits, working hours, their position, their responsibilities, and a termination agreement or notice period. It’s worth setting up an agreement even if you’re hiring someone you’ve worked with before. You both need to know where you stand and what is expected of you.

Having the above legal agreements to hand can help you to move forward with your business, stay protected, and even get the funding you need.

 

Take your point of sale system to the next level with the innovative Clover 2. When you’re looking for a dynamic way to improve your business model from the ground up, the Clover 2 is a cost-effective way to streamline your business model and improve your customer satisfaction and employee retention. Learn more about the benefits of this dream solution for business owners today.

Cutting-Edge Payment Options

When you choose a high-end POS system, or point of sale system, you’ll receive the latest payment options. The Clover 2 is capable of using these payment processing options:

• EMV cards
• Contactless payment
• Mobile payment apps
• Cash
• Credit card
• Debit card

Without the best payment options for your customers, you may lose sales or miss the chance to upsell your products. Convenient payment options not only cater to your customers’ wishes, they also allow you to streamline your payment processing time and reduce lines.

Not only does the Clover software accept these various payment options, it provides secure processing to protect you and your customers. Processing is faster than many other, outdated POS systems as well, so you can speed through lines and enjoy satisfied customers day in and day out.

Stylish Countertop POS

The Clover 2 is a modern blend of minimal design and sleek, refined lines. The touchscreen, cash drawer and receipt printer blend together with a balance of white and silver for a stylish look. There’s nothing worse than an outdated look on your countertop to make your restaurant, retail store or other business feel old and out of touch.

If you don’t have countertop space suitable for the Clover 2, consider more mobile versions, like the CloverFlex. Mobile POS solutions are becoming more affordable and popular as the technology continues to develop.

Convenient Payroll Options

If you’ve ever struggled to keep your employees’ payroll information up to date and accurate, you’re not alone. Separate payroll tracking devices and software can be difficult to learn, frustrating to understand and time-consuming to teach.

Choose a payroll system that’s integrated into your POS. With Clover software, your employees can easily clock in and out for streamlined tracking. It’s easy to edit time cards or view them from the comfort of your own computer or mobile phone.

Detailed Reporting Options

At the end of the day, week or quarter, you need responsive and detailed reporting software to keep your finances on track. Create reports, monitor stock and compile comprehensive tables and other documents to accurately display your current financial situation.

This intuitive system not only helps you track your expenses and inventory, but it’s a great way to provide financial statements and projections for loan applications. Don’t let an unorganized financing situation prevent your business from succeeding, but choose a system that’s easy to learn, easy to apply and easy to track.

Dynamic Software and Hardware for Your Business

While it may seem too good to be true, the Clover 2 is the dream solution you need for your business. Compare this POS merchant account with other options to discover how you can save time and money by making the switch. Enjoy accurate reporting, streamlined processing and rapid retraining for a convenient way to outpace the competition.

You’ve probably heard some talk about modern POS systems, but what are they really? What can they actually do for your business, and are they affordable? Here, we’ll cover everything a beginner needs to know about these impressive and versatile tools, including some of their best features and why you should consider upgrading to one. Keep reading to learn all about POS software!

Not Your Typical Checkout

With outdated checkout machinery and registers, you can often run into slow checkout times; whether you’re operating a brick-and-mortar or online store. The fact remains that whichever medium you’re selling in, a slow checkout time can mean problems. Customers don’t want to wait in long lines, or for slow webpages to load, and will often disengage if they have to wait too long. That’s right; your old register is actually costing you money.

A POS isn’t your typical checkout system. While it will ring up transactions, accept payments, and collect cash in a drawer (unless you’re online, of course), the system is much more than just a register. Loaded with extra tools, backed by 24/7 support, and designed with efficiency in mind, these versatile tools can do a lot for businesses of any size.

It’s time to ditch the old cash register you’ve been using since you opened. It might have served you well in the beginning, but as retail and the business world, in general, continue to evolve, you don’t want to be left behind because you’re held up on an old register.

Seamless Integration

One of the best features that POS software has to offer is the ability to integrate with other programs and even your own hardware. Some POS companies don’t actually offer any hardware like receipt printers and registers, so you’ll only be able to purchase the software. Luckily, POS software is designed to work with many brands and models, so yours will likely be supported.

If you find that your hardware isn’t compatible with the software you want, you can always opt for the company’s own hardware. This is usually the best route since the hardware is designed specifically to work with the POS software; meaning fewer errors and reboots.

Additionally, many POS systems have software that integrates with other programs like Quickbooks or your stock-ordering software. Your daily revenue will be automatically updated, and when you run low on stock, you can set up auto-ordering so you never run out. This hands-off approach means you’ll spend less time with such tedious tasks and more time interacting with customers and growing your business.

Inventory Management

Are you tired of inventory counts never being accurate? Tired of recounts, mistakes, and lost time? POS software will manage your inventory for you, automatically updating in real-time, so your numbers are always as accurate as possible. Leave the stress and worry of manual counts behind with a modern POS system!

Counting inventory can be costly as well, especially if the counts are wrong and someone on the clock has to recount everything, or you accidentally order more product when you had some in the back of the warehouse all along. While standalone inventory management software is available, why not unify all of your operations into one software program? This eliminates the need to spend money on extra software and makes everything accessible from one interface.

Expanded Payment Methods

The way people pay for goods and services is always changing. From cash to credit cards to touchless payments, the options for consumers are pretty limitless and continue to evolve as new technology comes about. It’s important that your business remains up to date with the trends and has software that can meet the needs of any customer.

Expanding your accepted payment methods can open up your business to new horizons, attracting customers you’d otherwise have never appealed to.

Better Marketing

POS software can also help you improve your business’s marketing efforts. You’ll be able to create detailed customer profiles, complete with names, addresses, and purchase history. What better way to market to your customers than by knowing exactly what they like to buy? With this information, you’ll be able to craft more customized marketing campaigns and increase the chances your customers will respond to your call to action.

Many POS systems allow you to send out emails and promotions directly from the interface as well, so everything you need to stay in touch with your customer base is centralized in one convenient place. Marketing has never been more easy or simple than with a modern POS system!

A Must for Modern Businesses

Let’s be honest here; a POS system is a must for the modern business. No other software offers such versatility or usability or combines so many tools in one interface. Take control of your marketing, inventory, and payment methods with modern POS software and learn why so many businesses have made the switch.

 

When you own a company, numerous risks threaten to put you out of business or limit your ability to grow. Business managers must be smart about focusing on business risk and put in place tools, products, and strategies that minimise or eliminate risk. Some areas of business risk are obvious. Others not so much, but are just as risky.

Here are two that often get overlooked but can mean real danger for your company if not addressed.

Not Having the Right Insurance Coverage

Protecting your business is something you should take very seriously from day one. All kinds of risks can come to affect your company in unexpected ways. With a business insurance policy it is vital that you have it in place early and that the policy is comprehensive. This key word means that coverage will be provided in nearly all instances.

Too often, businesses will overlook key coverage or only get minimal coverage thinking that the risk is worth it. The truth, however, is that in the event of a catastrophe, the financial liability to your company will far outweigh whatever insurance premium costs you are paying. Carefully examine how you can make your business more successful and discuss insurance options with a reputable broker. Take that person’s advice about what your company and employees need. This process will not only get you covered properly, it will also make you feel safe and secure.

Losing Track of Expenses

Too many businesses have an incorrect idea of how they spend their money every month and rely on their bookkeeper or accounting firm to tell them long after the money has been spent. This is a recipe for waste. They certainly understand their structured items like rent, phone bills, salaries, and electricity. These bills are easy to determine because they either come to your business every month on in the case of salaries they are consistent.

But other items are not as clearly defined and often get underreported or misreported. One great example of this is expenses at your organisation. They get reported and are typically input at different times, and only when they are totalled do you realise what has been already spent. At that point there is no chance to dispute a bill or find ways to lower those costs. Without a strategy for containing these costs before they occur, you could be losing large sums of money each month.

If you have not done so, immediately implement strict company policies around expense spending. Set limits for everyone, tall them that they must utilise approved services only, which might include restaurants, hotels, airlines and rental cars where you have established discounts, and that there is a no-tolerance policy for expense mistakes.

You can decide the penalty but let everyone know there is one. Being loose with expense policies are notorious money waters. Getting control of them can mean the equivalent of finding a new income stream for your company.

Money for Things You Really Want

When you have a personal savings allowance, you put money aside for things that you really want. This might include a new car if the one you drive is constantly in the shop or even a danger to drive. It might mean attending an event that you really want to go to. It may be for a vacation that you have been dreaming of.

Or you might want to simply splurge on something because of your new good spending habits. The key is having the money in savings allows you to do something nice and special for yourself or someone else close to you.

Managing risk seems difficult, but a little focus on the topic and you will understand why it is important, and appreciate the step to dealing with it.

 

Although every employee would love to get a promotion, not all will. The reasons why some will move up while others will not, is most often based on their behavior and performance. Employees who get promoted do things differently. With competition being so tough, and the labor market so tight these days, business managers and owners are always looking for good employees. When they find them, they want to hold onto them and to hold on to them they will reward them. One primary reward is a job promotion which should come with a grander title, more responsibility, and a pay raise.

Here is a short list of the things they do to get promoted.

They are Punctual

When an employee comes to work on time, they are showing respect for the company and management. You may not punch a time clock or have your time in scrutinized closely, but it is something that will definitely be talked about when it is time for promotions. It might be difficult for you to get to work on time and you might think that a few minutes here and there is not a big deal but understand that a promotion means giving you more responsibility, and part of this involves being punctual. So, go to bed earlier and set your alarm clock earlier as well and get to work on time every day.

They also do all they can to keep themselves healthy so they can be at work every day. This means that they exercise, don’t drink too much alcohol on work nights and make sure that they take steps to avoid too much stress. Too much stress can cause all sorts of negative consequences on the body, resulting in days missed from work. Making sure you have proper family cover will also mean that if you do get ill, you and your family will get the treatment you need, when you need it, helping avoid too much time off.

They Act Like Owners

Acting like an owner means that they are always focusing on the little things. This means making sure that everyone is in sync when a new project, product or service is introduced. The person listens and look for others who may not have the necessary information and brings that person up to speed on how to win for the company. The person also looks for areas of waste that can be eliminated. Companies become more profitable not just from making more sales, but also by reducing wastage.

When management sees an employee concerned about areas of the company that does not concern them, and offering assistance on how to improve that area, that employee is likely to get promoted. Businesses focus on giving promotions to those employees who are conscientious, and who will constantly look for ways to improve things at the business. Their suggestions may not always be right, but the fact that they are trying goes a long way toward showing how interested they are in the success of the business.

They Always Have a Positive Attitude

Every job is challenging in some respects and there are times when we feel overwhelmed or like we will not meet our objectives. The last thing most of us want is someone with a negative attitude adding insult to injury when things don’t go our way. Companies want people who have a winning attitude moving up their ranks. This means someone who can see the bright side of things and focus on ways to turn a defeat into a win. Be that person and you will likely get promoted more.

 

Closing the deal is not only exciting but can be quite intimidating as well. Sometimes, you get so close that you can taste the end, and then a client backs out at the last minute, leaving you wondering what happened and what you did wrong. Closing the deal isn’t rocket science, and boils down to a few simple tips that you can follow to maximize your closing potential. Here’s how to ensure you close the deal every time.

Be Honest With Clients

People are smarter than you may think and can tell when you’re bluffing or stretching the truth. Some salespeople like to stretch the truth a bit to make products or companies sound more appealing, and clients can sense this type of behavior. If you don’t come off as a genuine, trustworthy individual, you’re already hurting your sales potential.

Being honest is the key to any successful interaction or relationship, and the relationship you share with clients is no different. Honesty can take you a lot farther than just the initial sale as well; it can help foster loyalty among clients by building trust from the get-go. Have you ever had an experience with a brand or person that claimed to have more attributes than it/they did? It’s incredibly frustrating once you learn you’ve been deceived.

The bottom line is that honesty is the best policy. Whether you’re meeting clients via web conferencing or in person, display yourself and your brand as honestly and genuinely as possible; and you’ll find that potential clients are more apt to listen to what you’re saying and consider closing a deal with you. We’ve all seen the cliches about the shady businessman; don’t be that guy.

Know the Competition

Part of your market research should include information about the competition. What are their prices like? What do their similar products have to offer? Who are their demographics? Where are they marketing? These should all be questions you perform research to answer, as knowing your competition can actually help you close the sale.

Let’s say you’re pitching your brand to a potential customer and they bring up that X brand has this feature or that feature that your brand doesn’t offer. If you know absolutely nothing about X brand, you won’t be able to point out why your brand is still superior; which can potentially cost you the sale altogether.

Don’t take the risk of not knowing. Knowledge is the ultimate tool in sales! The more you know, the better you can market your products and steer customers away from the competition.

Know Your Products/Services In and Out

What’s worse than a salesperson who knows nothing about the competition? One who doesn’t know his own brand very well! You should know your brand, products, and services in and out. Every detail about them should be in your mind and ready to pull out at a moment’s notice. Customers and potential clients will ask some of the most random questions about your brand; be prepared to answer them!

There’s no surer way to lose a potential sale than by not knowing enough about what you’re selling. Clients come to you as the expert in your field and want to be sure that you know everything there is to know about the brand and what it has to offer. Don’t disappoint them!

Watch Your Words

Putting your own foot in your mouth by saying the wrong thing can be all too easy in a sales deal. You may get nervous and say the wrong thing, or perhaps you thought the client had the same sense of humor as you (but they actually don’t have one at all). You’ll want to be personable, but retaining your professional dignity is absolutely essential.

Try to stay focused on the task at hand. Don’t blurt out jokes just for the sake of filling space; if it seems appropriate, then you may joke a bit with your clients, but tread lightly. Not everyone shares the same sense of humor, and offensive jokes are generally just considered in poor taste (avoid them altogether).

There’s a fine line between being personable and trying to be buddy-buddy with a client. They don’t know you or your brand, and they didn’t come to be your friend; they simply want to know the details of what you have to offer and how it can benefit them. Approach the information carefully and professionally, and try to refrain from joking too much.

Treat Clients With Respect and Dignity

Overall, your best tactic is to treat your clients with respect and dignity. Don’t approach the situation as if you’re speaking with just another number in the books. You’re going to talk to people, not numbers.

There are people with cares, worries, jobs, families, all of the things that you value are also valuable to them. Keep that in mind when you’re trying to close the deal; it makes for a more personable and relatable salesperson.

 

If you are running a business or have a blog or anything that is offering services to people in today’s world of cutthroat competition, then you would know it is no easy feat to make a mark. It is all about being noticed and having a consistent presence. It is more of a challenge to achieve this in the online world. There is too much of everything; therefore, you have to up your game and be ready for improvement all the time. It is especially essential if you wish to increase your customer base or traffic for your brand.

You cannot rely on word of mouth and conventional marketing alone to have a presence in the business world. It is especially difficult to attract more traffic towards your brand with the advent of e-commerce and social media. These are as much a challenge as a great tool to increase brand traffic. If you are thinking up of some ideas that can help you attract more audience, then read on. Below are eight ideas to attract more traffic for your brand.

Keyword Identification

When you enter your query in the search box to look for a specific product/service, you receive several search results. Do you go through all of them or a few of them? According to analytics, the first three results get the most traffic. What makes some websites rank higher than others? It is most often the addition of long-tail keywords that help websites get a hit on the search results. So, one thing you can do to increase traffic to your site/brand is to get a keyword identification tool that will help you find the keywords that get the most hits. You can use those keywords on your site to get a better search engine ranking and thus improve the chances of increased traffic.

On-Page SEO

Adding relevant keywords is only one step towards improving search engine rankings. Another way to boost your search engine ranking is to optimize your content according to current SEO practices. Work on your internal links periodically checks your site for spamming or poor-links that can cause your site to drop out of search results, and add meta description relevant to your content and brand. You can use On-Page SEO Checker to ensure that your website is optimized. In case anything is lacking or some improvements are needed, you can remedy it to improve your search engine ranking and consequently improve the chances of your site’s traffic increase.

Fast Loading Speed

If everything related to site optimization is on-point and the loading speed of your site is not up to the mark, you can bid goodbye to chances of increased traffic to your site. Search engines will demote a website that takes more than 2 seconds to load, and even if it passes all other criteria to gain traction on search engine ranking, it will not come in top results. The loading speed of the page that houses your brand must be optimized; otherwise, even the regular user engagement will drop too. You should regularly run a page loading speed test or website speed test to make sure that your brand does not plummet in search engine ranking due to a factor that can fix quickly. Once your page loading speed has is optimized, Google algorithms will put it back on the search engine ranking based on-site optimization. Once you get your site in the top results, it automatically improves traffic to your brand.

Social Media

As mentioned earlier, as much as it is a challenge, social media is also a great tool to improve your brand traffic. It is a challenge because of the intense competition. Social media is neither local nor national; it is a global phenomenon. Therefore, to be noticed and to compel the audience to interact with your brand, you have to create innovative and authentic content consistently. Social media has changed the marketing dynamics. Whoever gets the hang of social media marketing, that brand can get on top. Create a presence on all the prominent social media platforms, so that the access to your brand becomes even more accessible. Include relevant images and organize giveaways to engage the audience.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is an understated yet handy tool to increase a brand’s traffic. If you have a target audience for your brand, you can carry out a comprehensive email marketing campaign to reach your target audience throughout the world. The key to such an attack lies in not spamming a user with your marketing emails. If you keep sending out emails every other day, you harm the chances of increasing traffic to your brand. Roll out well-timed emails of compelling content or services so that the targeted user takes the time to check out the link to your brand. If you have an online book blog, then adding links in your email with an epub creator will help you to reach more people who prefer book formats over the HTML version.

Online Influencers

Another way to increase your brand traffic is to collaborate with an online influencer. Online influencers have a huge following, both on and off social media. If they post about your brand, host you on their show, or include links to your site in their marketing emails, it can add an instant boost to your brand traffic. However, to ensure that the relationship thrives, try to make it a mutually beneficial campaign.

Guest Blogging

If you appear as a guest blogger on a popular blog or news addition, it can be a golden chance to promote your brand. However, instead of marketing it overtly, try to add a reference to your brand in your guest blog subtly. Be creative and compel the reader with your words to check out your content. You can also request a prominent social figure to write for your blog as a guest blogger. As long as they can make the blog content relevant to your brand, it is an excellent way to increase traffic to your brand as people tend to pay attention to prominent figures. When it comes to blogs, it is all about engaging and comprehensive content. Therefore, if you want an increased audience, keep this fact in mind.

Customer Service Portal

AI is a great thing, and it is less strenuous to assign your customer service to an AI system, but it is in your brand’s best interest to keep it real and human. Invest time, money, and effort in making your brand’s customer service portal all about handling customer’s concerns in an understanding manner. Research has proven that customer service has a significant role in brand loyalty. Make your brand all about making connections, and it will pave the way not only for your brand’s traffic but also for its longevity.

 

Working remotely is quickly gaining acceptance as a means to decrease overhead and increase efficiency. Success in remote work requires more than just skills and experience, it takes the right tools to stay organized and keep track of time and tasks. Luckily there are numerous helpful tools to choose from for all of your business needs. A cloud-based storage system is a popular tool that allows all team members anytime access to crucial files and documents. Flawlessly connect with clients and colleagues with a custom Video Chat SDK. Collaborative editing and role-based permissions are some advanced features of many software applications.

Recent advances in technology have made it easier to hire employees from around the world. For essential tasks like communications, security, and file storage, choose programs that you can trust and that can be easily accessed by all members of the team, no matter where in the world they are located. Companies like Agora offer complete software suites that are designed to suit your specific needs, so everyone can dedicate more time to creating meaningful work.

Remote working cannot be effective without the appropriate tools, and off-site workers often report higher morale and productivity than when working on-site. It is important to determine what works best in your remote workspace, and which tools will make managing your workload effortless. Choose systems and software that integrate easily to decrease incompatibilities and keep productivity high. With the right technology supporting your team, you may be surprised at what can be accomplished!