The New Year’s Resolution Business Owners Should Make – and Keep

LEVI KING | December 27, 2016 | 234 views

Well, that went by fast. 2016 is taking a bow, with 2017 waiting impatiently in the wings. Small business owners across the country are scrambling to prepare for the last hurrah of the holiday season.And then it’s time to start the whole thing over again.Research tells us that less than 10% of people who make New Year’s resolutions succeed in achieving them. That’s not exactly surprising—most of us are creatures of habit, bad as well as good.But if you’re like me, and you can’t quite bring yourself to start thinking about exercise right now, consider setting one of the healthiest goals possible for your small business instead.Firmly decide that 2017 will forever be known as the year you established a good business credit score. You can do it in four proven steps.1. Separate Your Business and Personal Finances;If you haven’t yet incorporated your business, consider doing so. Not only will you receive tax benefits, you’ll help protect your personal assets from business debts and losses. Sole proprietors should get an employer identification number (EIN) and register their business with state and/or local agencies, and obtain proper business licenses.

Spotlight

Maris Interiors LLP

At Maris Interiors LLP we create award winning workplaces and have grown to become the UK's leading specialist in workplace optimisation, office design, office fit-out, office refurbishment and office furniture.Founded in 1977, we have successfully completed over 10,000 office design, fit-out and refurbishment projects, ranging in size from 1,500 to 120,000 sq ft, with values from £50k to £20 million.We believe that intelligently designed and fitted out offices significantly improve every aspect of a business, enhancing brand identity and resulting in better staff attraction, staff retention, productivity and morale, ultimately leading to a more profitable business. We call this workplace optimisation.

OTHER ARTICLES
FINANCE

5 Tax-Related Resolutions for Smarter Small Business Accounting in 2020

Article | November 15, 2022

Accountants working with small businesses often play the role of business advisors, especially when it comes to educating their clients about tax regulations and reducing their tax bill by taking all legitimate factors into account. We’ve gathered four tips that accounting professionals can use as a check-list to give to their small and mid-size business owner clients looking to make better financial decisions this year.

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TECHNOLOGY

7 BIGGEST ENTREPRENEURIAL MISTAKES

Article | September 30, 2022

This is the first post in a seven-part-series detailing the biggest entrepreneurial mistakes business owners make. The series will run over the next few weeks so check back to learn more. These are the 7 Biggest Mistakes I have seen entrepreneurs and companies make that can devalue their Intellectual Property (“IP”) portfolio, damage their brand, or sink a deal. If you are considering turning your idea into a business, read this carefully first. There are other mistakes you can make, but these are the deal-breakers. Any one of these can cost you big bucks, credibility in the eyes of investors and potential partners, and ultimately lead to evaporation of the value of your idea.

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TECHNOLOGY, SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE

How to Report Revenue on a Small-Business Credit Card Application

Article | July 20, 2022

When filling out the “revenue” portion of a small-business credit card application, you want to make your small business or side hustle look its very best without stretching the truth. But revenue can swing dramatically from year to year, and credit card applications often don’t spell out what you should or shouldn’t include when reporting it. So what counts as an honest, just-the-facts answer? Generally, in credit card applications, issuers want to know your verifiable gross revenue from the previous year.

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Simple Security for Every Small Business

Article | February 10, 2020

If you’re a business owner you really have your hands full, every day, with the minutiae of running your business, balancing your books, orders, employees, scheduling, inventory, servicing customers, payroll, taxes well, you get the idea as you’re living it every day. You might read that and think that I’m crazy, and that you do take security into account, and your office and systems are secure. Frequently, it’s not in the day to day operation of your business which is why we have statistics like this: In the first 6 months of 2019 alone, over 3,800 data breaches were reported, with over 4 billion records being exposed as a result. If you broke it down evenly, that would be over 20 million records stolen every single day this year.

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Spotlight

Maris Interiors LLP

At Maris Interiors LLP we create award winning workplaces and have grown to become the UK's leading specialist in workplace optimisation, office design, office fit-out, office refurbishment and office furniture.Founded in 1977, we have successfully completed over 10,000 office design, fit-out and refurbishment projects, ranging in size from 1,500 to 120,000 sq ft, with values from £50k to £20 million.We believe that intelligently designed and fitted out offices significantly improve every aspect of a business, enhancing brand identity and resulting in better staff attraction, staff retention, productivity and morale, ultimately leading to a more profitable business. We call this workplace optimisation.

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TECHNOLOGY, IDEAS

Unlocking growth for Small and Medium Businesses: Analytix Solutions Launches Business Transformation Division

Analytix | March 17, 2023

Analytix Solutions has recently launched Business Transformation Services for small to mid-market sized companies. The new Business Transformation Services division will focus on offering Strategic Business Consulting, Operational Consulting, and Automation Services. Each of these services is meticulously designed to help SMBs create a scalable business model, boost profits, drive innovation and stay ahead of the competition. Led by Alok Bhatt – Senior Vice President of Analytix, Business Transformation division will help clients with their strategic objectives, optimize processes and automate systems to achieve operational excellence. Alok has 17+ years of experience being a trusted transformation partner to both SMB and Fortune 500 clients. He holds a Six Sigma Black Belt, an MBA and has an engineering degree. "Our clients have expressed an interest in optimizing their cost of operations and modernizing their business through digital transformation. Analytix now offers our SMB clients Business Transformation services, which were previously only available to large companies. A strong team of consultants and automation experts will be set up to provide this high value and high impact service to our clients." Alok said. Analytix Business Transformation division is poised to help SMBs scale their businesses by providing access to affordable consulting and automation services. The Business Transformation team possesses extensive experience in business consulting along with a deep understanding of industry specific processes and relevant technology offerings. Our Strategic Business Consulting Services offer solutions to specific business problems and initiatives. We specialize in Business Process Management, where we help our clients define and document their processes along with building the right controls to drive performance and compliance. We also review the technology landscape of our clients to create a roadmap for digital transformation. We help our clients reduce their customer churn by improving their customer experience. Our risk advisory services help with compliance to industry process standards like ISO, data privacy, SOC2, HIPAA, and management of financial, operational, information security, and regulatory risks. Our Business Transformation Team also offers Operational Consulting Services that focus on cost optimization by improving operational efficiencies. We implement a three-pronged solution: restructuring the organizational design based on capability vs capacity including leveraging of offshoring solutions, streamlining processes with LEAN and Six Sigma, and automating manual, and repetitive tasks. This helps clients achieve cost optimization while driving higher innovation. Third and the most interesting part of our services is the Automation. Analytix provides a unique approach by offering Automation-As-A-Service, where clients pay a minimal upfront fee for process assessment and then the benefits of automation are shared between the client and Analytix. This "gain-share" model is a win-win for both parties as the client pays only a share of the total effort saving benefits that Analytix has delivered. Our automation team has developed various tools and integrations that deliver quick results for clients. We offer process-based and dataflow based automations through the latest platforms available today. Our cloud-based automation tools require zero-code change in the client tech-eco system and provide web-based orchestrator controls to start, stop or schedule automations. John Matthew, COO of Analytix explains, "Transforming business processes to make operations more efficient can help businesses realize exponential results to both productivity and profitability. Mid-market sized businesses can often benefit the most from business transformation. Adding Business Transformation to our offerings as a single-source solutions provider is a natural progression in our business strategy, as we identify ways to support our clients' business growth. This is an area where we can really, positively impact our clients and partners, implementing innovative measures to increase their business's profitability while reducing overall costs." About Analytix Analytix Solutions is a single source solutions provider, dedicated to providing core business services to clients across a range of industries since more than 15 years. Our experienced team of professionals deliver services and solutions that empower small and midsize companies to make informed business decisions that lead to long-term growth and profitability. We provide finance, accounting, IT, data management, virtual assistant, healthcare, and audiovisual (AV) solutions to a range of industries. Deep, cross disciplinary expertise, coupled with our ability to integrate technology and automation into our solutions uniquely position us to help our clients thrive and grow in a competitive market.

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS

BILL Extends Its Commitment to SVB-affected SMBs

BILL | March 15, 2023

On March 14, 2023, BILL, a leading financial automation solutions provider for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), announced new offerings for businesses impacted by the recent events involving Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). These new programs are aimed at helping SMBs remain fully operational during this challenging time. BILL's new offerings include programs to enable business continuity for existing customers who are also SVB customers. The first program is BILL balance, a secure and convenient way for customers to store and move funds in order to make quicker payments to vendors to any bank in the US with no additional fees. The second program is pre-approval for a Divvy line of credit, which allows small businesses to quickly pay bills using an existing or new Divvy corporate card. The third program is the ability to connect SVB debit cards to BILL Pay By Card, allowing customers to access their funds immediately and use them to pay vendors. For the next 30 days beginning March 14, BILL will reimburse all pay-by-card transaction fees made with SVB debit cards. In addition to the above three programs, BILL is also offering a new three-month free trial of the BILL platform for any businesses looking to improve control, efficiency and visibility of their financial operations. BILL's core products and services can also assist SMBs in streamlining financial processes, improving financial controls and visibility, and providing users with access to capital. On the BILL platform, SMBs can automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out with an array of quick and safe payment offerings, and access business credit and control expenses with Divvy's Spend and Expense Management Platform. All of these offerings are part of BILL's ongoing commitment to automating the future of finance so that businesses can thrive, particularly during challenging times like those facing SVB customers. About BILL BILL is a financial automation software company that provides solutions to small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to streamline their financial operations. The company's mission is to automate the future of finance, so businesses can thrive by providing a platform that simplifies and automates financial processes.It offers a suite of products and services that enable SMBs to automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out, access business credit and control expenses. These services include ACH, card, and international transfers, as well as the ability to store and move funds securely and conveniently using BILL balance. In addition, it integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, making it easy for businesses to manage their financial operations in one place.

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SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE

IRIS Software Group Acquire Apex HCM to Expands its US Business

IRIS Software Group | March 02, 2023

IRIS Software Group (IRIS), a leading global provider of accountancy and payroll solutions, recently announced the acquisition of a leading provider of cloud-based HCM enterprise software for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms and payroll service bureaus (PSBs), Apex HCM. Apex's software, which was founded in 2008, is utilized by over 250 CPA firms and PSBs across the America to provide payroll services to more than 40,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its comprehensive HCM suite allows CPAs and PSBs to provide their SME clients with recruiting, onboarding, time and attendance, and benefits administration software through a cloud-native platform. The acquisition of Apex is a significant step in IRIS' international expansion. The combined business provides payroll services to more than one million employees and 130,000 SMBs in the United States and Canada. "We are delighted to welcome Apex to the IRIS family. This acquisition continues our successful journey providing leading software to PSBs and CPA firms – a market which IRIS has been serving for decades in the UK and we are rapidly expanding in the Americas region," said Elona Mortimer-Zhika, CEO of IRIS. (Source – Business Wire) The announcement follows a prosperous year of expansion for IRIS across the Americas. IRIS achieved a 28 percent increase in sales in 2022 as it successfully executed its ambition to supercharge the company's operations in the U.S. through mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and senior hiring. AccountantsWorld, myPay Solutions, Conarc, and Doc.it are among recent strategic acquisitions. About IRIS Software Group Headquartered in Slough, Berkshire, IRIS Software Group is one of the largest privately held software organizations in the United Kingdom and a global provider of mission-critical software. IRIS provides finance, HR, and payroll teams, educational institutions, and accounting firms with software solutions and services that streamline operations and allow professionals to focus on their passions. By streamlining, automating, and offering insights on routine mission-critical processes for businesses of all sizes, IRIS ensures that its customers can look to the future with clarity and confidence.

Read More

TECHNOLOGY, IDEAS

Unlocking growth for Small and Medium Businesses: Analytix Solutions Launches Business Transformation Division

Analytix | March 17, 2023

Analytix Solutions has recently launched Business Transformation Services for small to mid-market sized companies. The new Business Transformation Services division will focus on offering Strategic Business Consulting, Operational Consulting, and Automation Services. Each of these services is meticulously designed to help SMBs create a scalable business model, boost profits, drive innovation and stay ahead of the competition. Led by Alok Bhatt – Senior Vice President of Analytix, Business Transformation division will help clients with their strategic objectives, optimize processes and automate systems to achieve operational excellence. Alok has 17+ years of experience being a trusted transformation partner to both SMB and Fortune 500 clients. He holds a Six Sigma Black Belt, an MBA and has an engineering degree. "Our clients have expressed an interest in optimizing their cost of operations and modernizing their business through digital transformation. Analytix now offers our SMB clients Business Transformation services, which were previously only available to large companies. A strong team of consultants and automation experts will be set up to provide this high value and high impact service to our clients." Alok said. Analytix Business Transformation division is poised to help SMBs scale their businesses by providing access to affordable consulting and automation services. The Business Transformation team possesses extensive experience in business consulting along with a deep understanding of industry specific processes and relevant technology offerings. Our Strategic Business Consulting Services offer solutions to specific business problems and initiatives. We specialize in Business Process Management, where we help our clients define and document their processes along with building the right controls to drive performance and compliance. We also review the technology landscape of our clients to create a roadmap for digital transformation. We help our clients reduce their customer churn by improving their customer experience. Our risk advisory services help with compliance to industry process standards like ISO, data privacy, SOC2, HIPAA, and management of financial, operational, information security, and regulatory risks. Our Business Transformation Team also offers Operational Consulting Services that focus on cost optimization by improving operational efficiencies. We implement a three-pronged solution: restructuring the organizational design based on capability vs capacity including leveraging of offshoring solutions, streamlining processes with LEAN and Six Sigma, and automating manual, and repetitive tasks. This helps clients achieve cost optimization while driving higher innovation. Third and the most interesting part of our services is the Automation. Analytix provides a unique approach by offering Automation-As-A-Service, where clients pay a minimal upfront fee for process assessment and then the benefits of automation are shared between the client and Analytix. This "gain-share" model is a win-win for both parties as the client pays only a share of the total effort saving benefits that Analytix has delivered. Our automation team has developed various tools and integrations that deliver quick results for clients. We offer process-based and dataflow based automations through the latest platforms available today. Our cloud-based automation tools require zero-code change in the client tech-eco system and provide web-based orchestrator controls to start, stop or schedule automations. John Matthew, COO of Analytix explains, "Transforming business processes to make operations more efficient can help businesses realize exponential results to both productivity and profitability. Mid-market sized businesses can often benefit the most from business transformation. Adding Business Transformation to our offerings as a single-source solutions provider is a natural progression in our business strategy, as we identify ways to support our clients' business growth. This is an area where we can really, positively impact our clients and partners, implementing innovative measures to increase their business's profitability while reducing overall costs." About Analytix Analytix Solutions is a single source solutions provider, dedicated to providing core business services to clients across a range of industries since more than 15 years. Our experienced team of professionals deliver services and solutions that empower small and midsize companies to make informed business decisions that lead to long-term growth and profitability. We provide finance, accounting, IT, data management, virtual assistant, healthcare, and audiovisual (AV) solutions to a range of industries. Deep, cross disciplinary expertise, coupled with our ability to integrate technology and automation into our solutions uniquely position us to help our clients thrive and grow in a competitive market.

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS

BILL Extends Its Commitment to SVB-affected SMBs

BILL | March 15, 2023

On March 14, 2023, BILL, a leading financial automation solutions provider for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), announced new offerings for businesses impacted by the recent events involving Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). These new programs are aimed at helping SMBs remain fully operational during this challenging time. BILL's new offerings include programs to enable business continuity for existing customers who are also SVB customers. The first program is BILL balance, a secure and convenient way for customers to store and move funds in order to make quicker payments to vendors to any bank in the US with no additional fees. The second program is pre-approval for a Divvy line of credit, which allows small businesses to quickly pay bills using an existing or new Divvy corporate card. The third program is the ability to connect SVB debit cards to BILL Pay By Card, allowing customers to access their funds immediately and use them to pay vendors. For the next 30 days beginning March 14, BILL will reimburse all pay-by-card transaction fees made with SVB debit cards. In addition to the above three programs, BILL is also offering a new three-month free trial of the BILL platform for any businesses looking to improve control, efficiency and visibility of their financial operations. BILL's core products and services can also assist SMBs in streamlining financial processes, improving financial controls and visibility, and providing users with access to capital. On the BILL platform, SMBs can automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out with an array of quick and safe payment offerings, and access business credit and control expenses with Divvy's Spend and Expense Management Platform. All of these offerings are part of BILL's ongoing commitment to automating the future of finance so that businesses can thrive, particularly during challenging times like those facing SVB customers. About BILL BILL is a financial automation software company that provides solutions to small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to streamline their financial operations. The company's mission is to automate the future of finance, so businesses can thrive by providing a platform that simplifies and automates financial processes.It offers a suite of products and services that enable SMBs to automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out, access business credit and control expenses. These services include ACH, card, and international transfers, as well as the ability to store and move funds securely and conveniently using BILL balance. In addition, it integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, making it easy for businesses to manage their financial operations in one place.

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE

IRIS Software Group Acquire Apex HCM to Expands its US Business

IRIS Software Group | March 02, 2023

IRIS Software Group (IRIS), a leading global provider of accountancy and payroll solutions, recently announced the acquisition of a leading provider of cloud-based HCM enterprise software for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms and payroll service bureaus (PSBs), Apex HCM. Apex's software, which was founded in 2008, is utilized by over 250 CPA firms and PSBs across the America to provide payroll services to more than 40,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its comprehensive HCM suite allows CPAs and PSBs to provide their SME clients with recruiting, onboarding, time and attendance, and benefits administration software through a cloud-native platform. The acquisition of Apex is a significant step in IRIS' international expansion. The combined business provides payroll services to more than one million employees and 130,000 SMBs in the United States and Canada. "We are delighted to welcome Apex to the IRIS family. This acquisition continues our successful journey providing leading software to PSBs and CPA firms – a market which IRIS has been serving for decades in the UK and we are rapidly expanding in the Americas region," said Elona Mortimer-Zhika, CEO of IRIS. (Source – Business Wire) The announcement follows a prosperous year of expansion for IRIS across the Americas. IRIS achieved a 28 percent increase in sales in 2022 as it successfully executed its ambition to supercharge the company's operations in the U.S. through mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and senior hiring. AccountantsWorld, myPay Solutions, Conarc, and Doc.it are among recent strategic acquisitions. About IRIS Software Group Headquartered in Slough, Berkshire, IRIS Software Group is one of the largest privately held software organizations in the United Kingdom and a global provider of mission-critical software. IRIS provides finance, HR, and payroll teams, educational institutions, and accounting firms with software solutions and services that streamline operations and allow professionals to focus on their passions. By streamlining, automating, and offering insights on routine mission-critical processes for businesses of all sizes, IRIS ensures that its customers can look to the future with clarity and confidence.

Read More

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