pWeve all used them, spreadsheets, whether its to do a simple list of items, or whether you are looking to create advanced sums for business forecasts. Even though they are not really advanced enough for some of our requirements, we still use them. This is mainly because the majority of people would put up with a free one that comes bundled in when you buy your pc, rather than forking out the cash for a decent package.!–more–/pp/ppDespite having their problems, spreadsheets do have some features that come in handy. The major ones are that they are able to create simple calculations, create graphics and manage your business forecasts. They all prove to be useful at some point in time. However, due to the number of problems they are, they simply arent good enough for tracking youra href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk target=_blankUK fixed assets/a./pp/ppAlthough it may sound appropriate for storing information about your company assets, its simply not as advanced as ana href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_tracking.php target=_blankasset tracking software UK/a package./pp/ppUp until a point, asset management can live with a spreadsheet, however, once you wish to start storing more assets and keeping more data about each item, the spreadsheet quickly becomes useless./pp/ppHere are some handy features that you should look out for in your asset management software./pp/pulliThey are required to store enough in-depth data about your items. Although a standard spreadsheet has the ability to store vasts amount of data, in some cases it may not be sufficient. The information stored might not be in enough detail as required./libr /liIt must be able to reflect the structure of the company, no matter how complex. If the particular asset can be located in a number of sectors within a company, a basic spreadsheet cannot reflect this complex formation./li/ulp/pulliThey should be very flexible and be able to restructure very easily. Once a spreadsheet becomes very complex, its difficult to try and modify the data and especially the structure./libr /liIt must be able to cope with calculating several different depreciation levels on different assets. If a number of assets has been purchased all at different points in time, but they are linked together, like a computer, keyboard, mouse and monitor. The software should be advanced enough to calculate a range of price depreciation factors./libr /liMust be able to handle re-lifeing of assets. If one of your assets is assessed and found to be no longer useless, the levels of depreciation on the item should be changed./libr /liMust be able to create structured reports. Its not easy to create a structured data report using a spreadsheet./li/ulp/ppThose are just a few features that should be contained within any software package designed for asset management. Also, its the primary reason why a bog standard spreadsheet package is no good for storing asset data and managing it within aa href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_accounting/fixed_asset_management.php target=_blankfixed asset register/a./p
Your Guide To The Sarbanes Oxley Act
pIf you are a company with connections to the US, you might be required to know about the Sarbanes Oxley act. If youre an American company and havent heard of it previously, you have already learned something about the act. Its a United States act.!–more–/ppSarbanes Oxley is an act that was signed into the US law in 2002. The act was designed to try and stop companies doing what Enron and Worldcom did. Both of these companies were found to have been working using fraud deals for a number of years. In that year, it wasnt required for any companies to present their finance records./ppWhat the act does is it ensures that how businesses are run is legitimate and if they are not, it holds the key players responsible for the problems./ppThe act means that CEOs and CFOs are required to sign the books for the company. They have to sign the books to gaurentee they are not misrepresented and they match the earnings of the company./ppIf it turns out the records are incorrect, there are a number of punishments available for the Chief Officers that signed the records./ppLike I said at the beginning, you may not have to abide by the act. You only need to abide by the act if your company is based in either the US, UK or Europe and they have listings on the US stock exchange. You would also have to abide by the act if the company is based in the UK or Europe by its a subsidiary of an US company./ppThe Sarbanes Oxley act can be annoying for some US companies. Because companies are required to release all their transactions, even the sale and purchase of new assets. This is where people have the problem because all the companys a href=http://www.realassetmgt.com target=_blankfixed assets/a must before recorded./ppThe process of a href=http://www.realassetmgt.com/asset_accounting.htm target=_blankfixed asset accounting/a can be expensive and take time. If you attempt to do the job yourself, based on the size of your company, it can take a number of months and just cause more problems. The best way to make sure you have listed all your assets is by hiring an external company to do the job for you./pp/pp/pp/ppUnfortunately, its definately not a cheap act to abide by. However, a number of asset management companies offer features to make the next time you do an asset audit alot easier and cheaper. Many of the companies also offer a href=http://www.realassetmgt.com/asset_accounting/sox.htm target=_blankSarbanes Oxley compliance software/awhich will make the job even easier for you./ppHopefully that helped you understand what the Sarbanes Oxley act is and what you have to do to abide by it. You most likely wont like the act, but you can blame it on Enron and Worldcom./p
What Number to Choose for Your Business
pHaving a normal land line for your business in this day and age will just not be sufficient. It will make your company look unprofessional and people will steer clear. There are a huge selection of different numbers around these days, so let us take a glance at a few and what they mean to your business.!–more–/pp/pp0800 Numbers/ppFreephone 0800 numbers offer the utter most respect for your business. You are literally telling your clients that they can freely call you at anytime. You are literally telling them that you want to pay for their phone bill and that you are a trustworthy company. Just make sure that you have enough staff on the end of the line so that you do not let people hold on for hours on end./pp/ppNational Rate Numbers/ppA national rate number is all very well and good as long as you again do not keep people ready and waiting on the end of the telephone. Although it may not have an expensive minute rate, it all adds up in the end especially when you are waiting for ages for a customer service representative to answer./pp/ppPremium rate numbers/ppIf your business is solely using the premium rate number as a revenue stream, then it can be acceptable. But if you are using it as a customer service number then you are emphatically doing the awry thing. People will not purchase your merchandise simply because you have terrible customer service. There is no way that someone will want to pay up to ?1.50 per minute just to stay on hold and listen to music. Can you imagine if they were on hold for thirty minutes or so, it would literally cost them a fortune./ppbr /For greata href=http://www.callagenix.com/ target=_blank0800 number/a, a href=http://www.callagenix.com/phoneservices/faxtoemail.html target=_blankfax to email/a and a href=http://www.callagenix.com/phonenumbers/international_numbers.html target=_blankInternational phone numbers/a services/p
Reduce Your Business Spendings With Asset Tracking
pNobody likes to spend money that they dont need to, particularly in a business and especially during a global recession. Having to fork out cash for items that you dont need can cost you anywhere from a few hundred to a few million pounds based on your business size./pp/ppHere are some examples of where you business might over spend: buying equipment and tools you already own, paying insurance on items you dont have, losing equipment due to poor security.!–more– They are just 3 ways your business could be over spending and there are alot more I could list./pp/ppFor the majority of over spending reasons, the reason why the money is being spent is poor asset management. Asset management basically means that you know where all of your companies assets are and what they are being used for.a href=http://www.realassetmgt.com target=_blankAsset tracking/a means tracking down all your company assets./ppMany companies find that they really have no idea how many assets their company has. Even when you conduct an audit, because they can take months to do, the amount of assets you own can change while youre doing it. The most efficient way to know what assets you have is by outsourcing the task to a asset management company./pp/ppAsset management companies will help your business track all the items using speciala href=http://www.realassetmgt.com/asset_tracking.htm target=_blankasset tracking software/a which will record all the information and keep it for future reference. Many asset management companies will add features to make auditing your assets easier next time.a href=http://www.realassetmgt.com/asset_tracking/radio_frequency_identification_software_RFID.htm target=_blankRFID asset tracking/a is just an example of how auditing can be simplified for the future./pp/ppOnce you have your master list of assets, you can now use it to save time and money. There is a huge number of advantages that can be taken from having complete knowledge of your company assets. All the ways to benefit from the assets knowledge all drill down to 2 things, saving money and making more money./pp/ppAs a business, you should be able to use your master assets list for the following uses, if you dont think you can, maybe you should ask for a more detailed list./pp/pulliYou should be able to improve your company sales. By knowing exactly where and if your assets are being used, you dont waste time searching for a piece of equipment that is already in use. You can also avoid spending money on a new piece of equipment that you already have./liliYou should also be able to drive down your insurance costs. By knowing what you own, you can show the insurance company and avoid paying for assets that you previously thought you had./liliFinally, you might be able to improve your company security. By knowing where your most expensive assets are store, you can make sure that those locations are kept locked down. Also, as you know exactly what assets you have, youll be aware if any of them disappear./li/ul
Dont Do Your Own Asset Management, Outsource It
pAsset management can be the toughest thing youll have to do as part of your business. Although everyone hates doing it because it takes time and can lose your business money if not done correctly, its still a vital part of any business. Keeping the latest records of your company information is a very tough task to do on your own.!–more– Even if you already done an audit within the last month, it may not be up to date because in the time taken to do the audit, your assets might have been altered.br / br / So keeping track of all your a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk target=_blankfixed assets/a is tough, if its done correctly it can make you money, but if done wrong, you can lose out. So why should you have to do it yourself? Managing your assets can be a costly job and can take up alot of time when you should be concentrating on your business, have you ever considered outsourcing./pp/ppOutsourcing is the act of hiring an external company to do the job that your need done. A large number of companies, possibly yours, already outsources some jobs. The main reason why companies outsource is because it generally works out cheaper to hire an external company. If you think about how you would do the job yourself, you would have to buy the latest technology for doing the job and then hire trained workers to use the equipment. Instead you can pass the job over to an external company that does the job for you.br / br / Outsourcing jobs is good in many areas of business, but for asset management its particularly useful. Having to manage your assets is a tough task. An audit would normally involve you having to tick off all your assets against the books, however, while you are doing that, your companies assets might have altered. This means that normally you never have a clear picture of all you companies assets.br / br / By outsourcing this task they will take care of all the a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_accounting.php target=_blankasset accounting/a and you will be able to get all the benefits from asset management, without the drawbacks. You will benefit from the technology that a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_tracking.php target=_blankasset tracking/a companies use to make a audit quick and painless, plus in a small amount of time. This allows you to make sure your full attention is on your business and then you will be able to make more informed decisions based on the information gathered from your assets audit.br / br / Outsourcing your asset management may be the best thing you do for your business./p
SEO Tips for Small Businesses
pTo increase the number of visits and traffic to your small business website, you will have to use the help of some effective small business SEO tips in your website./pp/ppTo the internet, there is no difference between small businesses and giants of the trade, making it possible for anyone to compete with anyone.There is nothing like big or small business on the internet; only factor differentiating businesses is the number of visitors your site attracts.This factor is based on using the right SEO techniques to create your online presence./pp/ppThe most common, and well known small business SEO tactic to use on your site is to add the right keywords and tags to your website.Websites reach the top ten page rankings of search engines through optimization, with which it is possible to attract the attention of search engines.!–more–br /br /An additional SEO strategy you can use on your website is to submit it to social media like blogs.Sites like I Net Giant and Craigslist are great for using for SEO because of their classified ad campaigns./pp/ppYou can let people who are interested in your products or topics that are connected to your business by submitting your site to social media./pp/ppYou will see an increase in the number of customers and clients visiting your site after implementing all these SEO techniques in your small business. It is however better to simultaneously use these SEO techniques in your website, over a span of perhaps a few weeks or months and not all at once.If you try out all these SEO techniques in your site overnight, it will look unnatural on your website, and may lead to the penalization of your website. Last, but not least, if you are not well versed with SEO techniques, it is better to hire an efficient a href=http://www.seotops.com/ target=_blankSearch Engine Optimisation/a services to do it for you instead of doing it yourself./pp/p
More Companies Are Finding Asset Management Vital
pThe current recession is hitting companies all around the world, so managing your a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/ target=_blankfixed assets UK/a and pulling the most money from them is being more vital than ever. The majority of companies with lots of assets are finding how effectively managing your assets to a competitive edge over other companies as the need to get the most out of your assets is becoming more important./pp/ppThis requirement for more efficient a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_tracking.php target=_blankasset tracking UK/a has resulted in many companies choosing to buy into real time asset tracking to get the latets data.!–more– By knowing the latest information about your assets, you can make informed decisions to avoid making poor deals. It has also led to more companies using asset management services like reliability centered maintenance (RCM) or condition based maintenance (CBM)./pp/ppRCM is a way of assessing your assets and trying to ensure that equipment failure that could damage the business does not happen. RCM looks at what and how the item is used within the company. It then looks at how a failure of that equipment occurs and how it effects the business. Finally, it finds ways to avoid the equipment failing./pp/ppThe Aberdeen Group conducted a study called Asset Performance Management: Driving Excellence Though a Reliability Approach in Real Time. The study looked at companies and ranked them based on 3 different factors, overall equipment effectiveness, unscheduled asset downtime, and complete and on time shipments. The study found that the best companies managed a 89% equipment effectiveness, 97% complete and on time shipments, and finally only 2% unscheduled asset downtime./pp/ppThe study also found that the top performing companies are more likely to use a range of techniques to ensure that they can retrieve the best possible data about their assets. There were a number of technologies that were popular within the best performing companies. It was found that many companies would invest in more advanced managing techniques like remote monitoring./pp/ppThese different technologies help companies to keep active information regarding their assets for their employees. This now means that informed decisions can be made based on the information retrieved about their assets. It also allows the companies to see how the impact that their assets have on their company earnings./pp/ppThe worldwide need for asset tracking has resulted in a number of companies offering different types of a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_accounting.php target=_blankasset accounting UK/a software to help you manage the data that you obtained from your company assets./p
Tracking Your Assets Has Never Been Easier with RFID
pThe past 10 years has seen the development of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) rocket, making it easier for all companies to track and manage their a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/ target=_blankfixed assets UK/a. However, RFID is still not completly optimised for use. Currently the technology is too expensive and is only really used at the manufacturer level or on more expensive products.!–more– The best and most ideal use of RFID tech would be for tracking items off shop shelves./pp/ppRFID is a form of tracking, very similar to barcodes. A barcode is a visible tagging system, used to store product information, and is then read by a scanner tool. An RFID tag is a type of chip thats attached to the asset and store data about the item, this tag is then activated and read by an RFID reader device. The reader uses radio waves to activate the chip which then sends the data about the item./pp/ppHowever, a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_tracking.php target=_blankasset tracking UK/a hasnt really reached this sort of level, however a large number of industries in the US have already started using the technology. New passports, public transport, museums and libraries are just some of the many services that use RFID technology. A large number of the users are government run./pp/ppAlthough many companies havent invested in RFID, they understand why its so important. In recent years the important of tracking all your company assets has become ever more important. However, the majority of companies will find auditing timely and costly. Many also find that after auditing, they have missed some of their assets./pp/ppImplementing RFID tagging chips to your items, you are able to remotely track hundreds of your assets all at the same time. This helps you to manage your assets more simply./pp/ppJust one company that is using RFID tech is Unilever. They have taken over 20,000 items on their production line and added the RFID tags. The tagging system allows Unilever to audit their items from a remote location, whereas if they had to do this manually, it would result in shutting down the production line./pp/ppThis is just one example of where RFID can help your business save money. There is a huge amount of examples out there. Another example is in the fire service, they can track equipment to save vital time. It also helps to make sure that any vehicles being sent out on an emergency are equipped with the correct tools./pp/ppUnfortunately, RFID tracking comes at a hige price. Generally the advanced tags cost around $50, definately not making it cheap to track your companies assets. Hopefully as the development fees for the tags comes down, so will the costs to buy the tags. Once more industries adopt this method of asset tracking, a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_accounting/fixed_asset_management.php target=_blankfixed asset register UK/a programs will become more widely used./p
Why you need an Answering Service
pThe integral role played by the telephone as a business communication tool accounts for the growing importance of answering service businesses. All businesses, whether a physicians private practice, a small construction company, or a conglomerate, rely on the telephone as one of the fastest and most reliable communication tool in their businesses.br / br / If your business has a busy schedule and you have a telephone – Then what you need is an answering service.!–more– Maybe you dont already know, but an answering service can be a real lifesaver from a small business perspective. A lot of small businesses dont have the time to accept calls during business hours when theyre busy on jobs – Yet these calls are very important to a business! They cannot afford an office; much less a secretary, but they certainly need those phone calls. Unless they can find a reliable and affordable answering service, they will probably have to do without (or ask people to call them only after 7 PM) or use an answering machine (which has a whole set of disadvantages). br / br / Yes, you indeed can use an answering machine but the fact is that people really do not like to talk to machines, if they are unable to reach a human voice easily, they will go somewhere else its a lost business opportunity.br / br / Luckily, people have noticed the problem and solutions have been made – Contracting people out to answer the phones. The personal touch you can offer by contracting Customer Support representatives is the difference between keeping a Client or not. Hiring a professional answering service business assures that you can take messages, deliver specific messages to callers, provide basic information, clarify the intent of calls and even arrange meetings with customers. br / br / Its always in the best interest of small companies to hire an answering service provider to work for the company during the extended business workday, say from 8.00 AM to 8.00 PM or may be even for the rest of the day if your business needs it. Now it doesnt costs an arm or a leg to hire an answering service. Generally, in a competitive market you can get it for as cheap as $30-$50 per month on the lowest slab! Now you need to go and hire someone to provide Call Center Services so that you wont lose anymore customers!/pp/ppa href=http://www.ramshyam.com target=_blankCall Center Services/a/p
Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel Important
pEveryone has Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a large firm, you have Customers. These are the people you provide work and produce to.!–more– And second, dont be put off by the term Customer. Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read that word every time you read Customer.br /br /We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important.br /br /Customers are people first.br /br /Your customers arent just numbers on your system – They are people that want to feel important. It a universal truth – we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way.br /br /Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing.br /br /Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more important, written from the Customers perspective:br /br /Please use my name – I know that I probably have a Customer number that I might need to give to you. But I also know that once you put that number in the system, you know my name. Use it. If I give you my credit card, you know my name too. Please use my name.br /br /I want to be a part of the in crowd – I love to be invited into Frequent Flyer clubs and other clubs which give me discounts and special services. If you have this kind of club, invite me to join. If you havent yet created one, you really should think about starting one.br /br /Ask me for my advice – Since I am a person, I do have an opinion so if you care about the answer, Ill give you the advice. Opinion cards may be OK, but I would love to be asked personally. If you give me the chance to tell you what I think on a personal level, Ill reward you with more business. I dont often get asked for my opinion and it feels good. You might even get a good business idea because of me!br /br /Acknowledge me – I know that youre busy – I can see the queue. I even understand that your system might be down, or that you have five people in the phone queue. Ive been there, I work too. But when I go to visit you, at least acknowledge that Im there and show appreciation that I am there. A smile and a hello, or a Well be with you shortly will go a long way. Acknowledge me and Ill understand. Ignore me, and well, how do you feel when youve been ignored?br /br /Surprise me – It would be great to receive something extra with my order. A special discount just because or a free sample of dessert. It doesnt have to be a big thing, and it doesnt have to be every time. If you get a good surprise, do you want to share it with others? Me too. br /br /Apologize – I hate it when people try to prove they were right, or dont mention that fact that the order is three days late, or the surcharge cant be removed, or the item is out of stock. But again, I know things do happen. When theres a problem, a simple apology would be great. Heres the funniest thing. When you make a mistake, and then apologize (perhaps even including a surprise of some sort) Ill love you more than ever. Apologies and good service recoveries are so rare that you can take my dissatisfaction and turn it into loyalty, if you will do this right.br /br /Listen – Most all of the other things Ive told you require you to listen. I can tell when you are really listening to me and that makes me feel very good because true listening is rare, sometimes even at home. You need to listen to my concerns. Listen to my ideas. Listen to my order, so we dont have any misunderstandings. When you actually listen to me, it feels much better.br /br /All business men can do most of these things everyday. When we do we will make our work more enjoyable, easier, and quite likely will begin creating legions of loyal Customers immediately.br /br /And before you go, read these seven things again, with the voice of one of your Customers in your head, as a reminder of how you can make each of your Customers feel more important./pp/ppa href=http://www.ramshyam.com target=_blankCall Center Services/a/p