It is widely known that our education doesn’t end when we get our high school or college diploma. We need to continue to increase our knowledge as we progress through our professional and personal lives. This holds especially true for small business owners who often work on their own or with a small handful of others. Luckily the advent of online education, with it huge wealth of material has created the opportunity for small business owners to learn the dos and don’ts of running a business through online courses, which emphasize the importance of financial planning, risk management, marketing, and new computer technology. If you haven’t already considered it, enrolling in an online course provides you with the incredible opportunity to take a step back and analyze your business from an educational perspective. By doing so, one is able to stay up-to-date on the latest advances in technology and efficient business strategies.

The best part about online courses is that they are convenient and relatively low-cost. Online business programs understand that many of their students are working business owners with limited resources and time. According to education-portal.com (link), online small business diploma programs can take as little as five months to one year to complete. If you are more interested in taking just a few courses rather than earning a diploma, you can just as easily do so. Business owners are able to partake in an educational experience without spending so much time that they might jeopardize their business. Online classes provide a sense of convenience, flexibility and assurance – perfect for the busy business owner!

These web sites offer several online programs for those interested in small business management and entrepreneurship:

EducationPortal

Online Business Degree

Also, you can check out your local colleges and universities for online course availability.

In today’s connected world, the Internet and social media are playing an increasingly important business-marketing role. Companies from sole props to megacorps are using all manner of sites to market and grow their business; Facebook in particular seems to be a highly popular tool in achieving many businesses’ marketing goals. It goes without saying that as a small business owner, you too should use taking full advantage of these social media marketing opportunities! (more…)

After much debate and uncertainty, the Affordable Care Act was finally upheld. The Supreme Courts decision means that millions of uninsured americans will now qualify for government-subsidized care. This is great news for many, but what are the ramifications for your small business? The Wall Street Journal does an excellent job of outlining how the decision will affect your business.  (more…)

Hello Everyone,

We are really excited to announce the release of a hotly requested feature, User Permissions. You can now assign roles to individuals within (or outside) your organization that will further limit user access based upon your needs. There are five  new roles we have added in addition to the existing Admin and User roles: roles: Sales, Purchasing, Marketing, Accounting and Accountant. Here are some ways you might consider using a few of the new roles:

• Accountant – This is a great role to assign your accountant or CPA. This role will give them access to financial and tax reports and allow them to enter in adjusting journal entries using General Journal for end of period and closing adjustments. They will also have access to the Accounts List to review transactions so they can make helpful categorizing direction and give them the ability to create new accounts that will help you track your business activity in the most useful way.
• Accounting – You might be wondering how this role is different from the Accountant role. While the Accountant role is great for your financial advisor, the Accounting role user has access to all of the accounting feature and it is great for the member of your team that actually records your day-to-day business accounting activity, including invoices, bills, purchase orders, items and contacts for entering new vendors if needed. They have access to the accounts and financial and tax reports so they can run reports for you on a regular basis and even enter accountant-provided journal entries. This user can do most things but not they cannot edit system settings  or view sales or marketing related reports or widgets.
• Marketing – You might consider assigning this role to marketing team members so they can more easily target products to promote – using the Top Sellers widgets and Items Sales report – and customers you want to market to – using the Top customers report. Once products and customers have been identified, they can export the Contacts List so you can import into your direct email marketing provider – like our partner Vertical Response!
• Purchasing – If you have staff that purchase inventory for your company; who track costs and inventory levels and create and send purchase orders to your vendors, this role allows them to easily access items, purchase orders, contacts and bills and item reports so they can see what is selling which in turn allows them to know what to have on hand so they can place an order with an existing vendor or create a new vendor to buy from, and check to see if there are any unpaid bills for the vendor before placing an order.

You can continue to utilize only the Admin and User roles, but by assigning users access to your account based on their role, you empower them to do their jobs while limiting access to your important business and financial information that they may not need to see.

Thanks and as always we LOVE feedback so feel free to drop us a line.

-The WorkingPoint Team

How adopting eco-friendly practices can attract customers and cut costs…

It’s often perceived that “greening” your business can cost more than it’s worth. The truth is, taking a few simple steps towards making your small business eco-friendly can not only help the environment, but help your bottom line.

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Another great infographic for those thinking of starting a small business (or who already have but still need a little help!). Once your business is up and running the next step is to get a good service to manage your finances, guess what company is the best for that 😉

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If you’re a freelancer or running your own business, there is an upside and downside to working from home. It allows you a certain amount of freedom, but doesn’t always guarantee maximal productivity. And what if you’re traveling, or have to meet with a client or partner? The solution might be to avoid Starbucks and check out a co-working space.

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As a follow on from the last post, we were included in an infographic for some of the best small business apps created by the guys at PremierLine Direct. Cool!!! (more…)

Back in 2010, we highlighted ten great apps used by the WorkingPoint team. By now, the world of apps is larger than ever, with new and better tools being built everyday. So, we thought we’d update our list, and share with you a few new apps that every business could, and should be using today.  (more…)

The Internet is a powerful equalizer for small businesses. Having a website to showcase your small business and attract new customers can often be the best way to ensure your inevitability. But how does it all work? (more…)