Typically CRM is used for sales activities. But there are also great applications for customer service, technical support, and for the companies marketing efforts. Any company that wants to find, entice, and get new clients, then cultivate and retain those clients, should consider a CRM software system for a small business. And if you have former clients who are unsatisfied or just drifted away, a CRM system will help you come up with a plan to bring them back through the doors.

Small businesses today are utilizing customer relationship management software as the visible face of their company-wide business strategy. Owners will implement CRM as a critical part of their overall approach. CRM will also allow all departments within the organization to log their experiences and plans to interface with the customer or potential customer.

What Can CRM Software Do For Your Business?

Basically CRM software is used to gather and organize information. It will allow your business and all the employees to view all customer interactions and the results of those actions. If problems arise, for instance, customer service will see all the customer’s product orders and any communication concerning those orders. This allows the service rep to respond faster, and in a knowledgeable manner. The same with technical support, the tech would know what the customer bought, would see if there had been any earlier complaints or attempts at solution, so they wouldn’t have to cover old ground.

The sales staff would know if there had been any shipping or service issues before they attempted to make another sale. This would allow them to ask first if the issue had been resolved successfully and to clear up any concerns before they asked for more business. Hopefully preventing an upset customer that the sales person didn’t even know they’d had a problem. The sales person would know the customer’s history, and be better able to know what the client might need and the approach to take with the sale.

The CRM software will also provide data to be analyzed, flagging specific opportunities and warnings. For instance if all eighty percent of the customers who bought widget A, came back to buy attachment C, then you should be calling the twenty percent of widget A purchasers who hadn’t yet purchased attachment C. You might also consider bundling widget A with attachment C for the next promotion.

Owners will be able to see what marketing strategies are working, and which should be discarded. They can offer more training to unproductive employees, and warn departments when they might be receiving more calls about a common service issue.

CRM Software and Small Businesses

Often small businesses make the mistake of thinking they aren’t big enough for Customer Relationship Management Software, when this is the perfect time to implement and start using it. Small businesses need every customer the can get and keep. There is CRM software perfect for small businesses, in fact small businesses can often better utilize this software as the information input into the system and the resulting analysis is less complex than it would be for a larger company.

In a small business CRM software is typically easier to implement throughout the organization, instead of just concentrating on the sales group. There are even online CRM options that would allow very small companies to take advantage of the software’s insights, even if you work at home. Some simple contact managements systems are offered free, or free for a specified trial period. Contact Management software is like a light version of Customer Relationship Management Software.

Summary

Customer Relationship Management Software or CRM can help not only your sales force, but the rest of your business, in focusing their efforts on the customer. Small business owners can device a company-wide strategy that will allow all departments to focus their efforts on understanding the customer, knowing the history of sales and contacts before they try to help, and in treating the customer as if he is your company’s number one priority.

The sales force can prepare for each call, knowing that if the customer had had service or technical issues it would be in the CRM system, and he could call to check to see if the issues were resolved before he tried to sell the customer something else. The CRM software will also allow owners to gather information that could result in more sales or help the companies marketing efforts.

Finding the Right Credit Card Processing Company for Your Business

There are big differences in what Credit card processing companies charge for monthly fees, transaction fees, and statement fees. Some of the fees are flat, per charge or per month rates, and some of the fees are a percentage of the sale.

You need to compare not only the fees of the credit card processing providers, but what cards they accept, and what type of service they provide. Your business may not be open 24 hours, but if you have questions or problems, you may want to contact the processing company after your business hours.

Then you need to access where and how you will be taking the credit card numbers from customers. If you have a physical store front or presence, and an online store, then you need to make sure the credit card processing company offers merchant accounts that give you the flexibility to do both. You may even want to use your cell phone to process a credit card if you ever go out to client’s homes or businesses.

One problem in finding the right credit card processor is that banks will often refuse to offer merchant accounts to the small business without having a third party handle the transactions.

Besides having different fees, these processing companies can also have slightly different rules governing the use and handling of credit card transactions. There are other steps involved if you have online credit card purchases. You shopping cart will have to interface with an online gateway system. So the shopping card you have or choose has to work with the online gateway system of the credit card processing company that you select.

Applying for a Merchant Account

To get an account with a credit card processing company you will have to apply. You may have to accept an in person visit to your primary place of business, whether that is your home, a retail store, restaurant, or any other type of business location. This representative of the credit card processing company may take a picture of your office to prove you are located at the address you have given them. Some companies will allow you to send them this picture instead of taking it in person.

Other things you may need to provide include:

• A copy of your business license or the DBA (doing business as) certificate
• Profit and loss statements
• A copy of your previous years’ tax return

All processing companies require both deposit and withdrawal access to your bank account once you are approved. This will allow them to make the deposits of all transactions and if there is a chargeback, it will allow them to withdraw the funds.

Credit Card Processing Machines

There are portable machines, wired machines, dedicated machines and dial up machines. There are apps and physical options you can add to your cell phone to process credit cards. You need to figure out when and where you will want to process credit card transactions. Then a quick look at processing offers will show that there are many companies that offer a free Terminal, free set up, discounted or free applications fees, and other options that include online reporting of the day’s transactions.

Summary

Finding the right credit card machine or terminal, means you have to first find the right credit card processing company to meet your business needs. There are many options available and understanding your business requirements will help you make the best choice. The credit card processing companies vary greatly in their rules, the fees, and their offered services. Besides comparing the pricing, the terminals or credit card processing machines, and the services, you should also look for reviews on the processing company to see what others say about the service they provide.

Once you have picked a processing company, you can see what type of machines they provide, if they offer any free or through a promotional discount. Some companies will allow you to purchase your own machine, but then they will not service the machine. The credit card terminal will go hand in hand with choosing a processing company.

You should not buy a business if you have no prior knowledge of how it works, or it is something you aren’t familiar with. You don’t need to know everything, the current owner or franchise company can provide specific training. But you should understand the primary aspects of the business. For instance if you know nothing about toxic waste disposal, and don’t even have a working knowledge of what toxic waste is, this probably isn’t a good fit for you.

The current owner of a business or the franchise company will probably make running their business sound very easy. It is up to you to ask the right questions and understand your own limitations.

If you’re close to buying a small business, see here for a checklist to ensure you are asking the right questions and that you examine the right items and documents within the business.

The Transfer of Knowledge

If you are buying a business that is seasonal, in other words it has a specific few months during the year to make a profit, then you should contract for at least a full year of time and support from the current owner. If the business isn’t seasonal, then a minimum of three months support should be part of the contract to buy the business.

Make sure you specify in writing what type of support you are buying. Is it a monthly phone call, a couple of hours a week at the store, a set number of hours per month? If you don’t specify, they could take off for a month in Hawaii and call you at the end of your trip. If you can, arrange the contract so that you hold some portion of your down payment until the current owner has fulfilled the contracted support. This way if they don’t provide what they promise, you would have some money to seek a consultant if needed.

Know Your Limits

Before you start looking for a business to buy, certainly before you start negotiating for a business, you need to know what your limit is. Have a high end price in your head that takes into account what the business is worth, and what you can afford to pay. You don’t want to go into the business with no money to buy product, advertise, or make any needed upgrades or changes. It isn’t the buying of the business that is important, it’s making a viable income once you have the business.

Know What You Are Buying

Often when you buy a business you get the leases, the inventory, any open invoices that the company is liable for, as well as any lawsuits, tax liabilities, and more. This can be debts that the company has proof of, and any that might show up after you close on the deal. There are also ways to purchase only the assets and the owner’s shares in the company with out being responsible for liabilities.

If you purchase the business in this manner, then you can still be required to address and pay for any current or future lawsuits. Even if the current owner states in the purchase contract that he will be responsible for anything that happened before you bought the business, if something happens to him or he doesn’t have the means or money to address these lawsuits, then it still will come back to being your responsibility.

Make sure you take the time and effort to find out about potential problems before you close on the business. Check with the better business bureau, the owner’s liability insurance company, and even take the time to check if there are currently any liens on the business.

Know what you are buying may belong to the employees, especially if you are buying a service company. It is important to get a feel for who plans to stay, who plans to retire or take the customers and start their own business as your competitor. Often buying a service company can be just a bit risky. If customers hated the prior owner, it will take them some time to warm up to you. If they liked the prior owner, they may not be happy with the way you do things, and if you try to change something…your customers may all jump ship. It is really important to do your homework when you are buying a small business.

While this seems like such a basic statement, how many times have you gone to a company’s website and couldn’t find the telephone number or address of the business without a lot of searching, and sometimes never?

Where Are You?

The point of having a small business website is to get business. Don’t make a potential client or customer search for your contact information, you phone number and email should be highly visible on every page of your website. If your small business has a store front, or any physical location where you want customers to come in, then this address should also be posted along with the phone number and email.

Put the contact information in the header, footer, and on the sidebar of each web page. There is nothing more frustrating for a potential customer than trying to figure out how to get a hold of you. Having easily available contact information also helps the customer feel as if you are a real business.

Who Are You?

Provide a little personality to your website. Pictures and videos can help you do this. If you have a store front or office, take a picture of it and clearly label it as your business. If you have employees, do a good group photo and post that too. If it is just you, you may want to consider having a professional head-shot done, and get the digital rights to the picture so you can post it on line. Make sure the pictures are clear, and are good shots. You don’t want to project a sloppy, out of focus corporate personality!

Often a short video will allow your customers or clients to meet you before they buy something or hire you to do something. For instance, if you are a handy-man, do a short video on a home maintenance topic…say changing the furnace filter…then make sure to give the phone number or email if they have any questions.

If an instructional video won’t work for your business, why not try a video showcasing a few happy customers? The inexpensive digital video cameras available today make this an inexpensive tool for highlighting your personality, and your business.

What Are You Selling?

Your home page should not be your blog. Blogs are great, but they don’t often highlight exactly what it is you are trying to sell. Your main web page should be a static page or something like the WP-Sticky plugin offered by WordPress found here.

This takes your blog users first to a static page that you can use to describe the business, and or your product or services, with, of course, your phone number, email, and possibly your address. Then they can click on your latest blog post.

As a small business owner you want your homepage to let people know who you are and what you are selling or the service you are offering.

Less is Very Often More

Unless your small business is promoting other companies or people, you will find that putting up two high quality articles or posts per month will get you more than Tweeting or blogging every day. This can be sales or service reminders, or articles written about something that relates to your business that customers might enjoy or get knowledge from.

Do you want your tax account to Tweet you a couple times a day, or would you rather he worked on your taxes and published a few hints or guides each month on how to save receipts or what items might be tax deductible.

Predictable is Better

Don’t get cute or creative with your website navigation. Make it easy on your customers and put the navigation where they expect to find it, at the top of the page or in a left sidebar. And home means Home, and Contact or Contact Us is much better than some clever tab labeled Ravyn’s Nest that no one understands meant this is where your contact information is located.

Keep it predictable so that clients won’t have to search for information and get frustrated with your creative mind.

Links Are Important

You obviously don’t want to advertise the competition, but a small business you know and use or that compliment your offerings is a great tool. Ask these businesses to share links, which means that you put a link and description on your site for their business, and they put one on their website for your business.

Ask For Business

So you’ve got all this information about your business or product on your website, now you need to ask the customer to click here for more information, click for contact information and ask them to contact you, or to click here to buy. You have to be clear in your own mind on what you want each customer to do once they visit your website, and then include several “calls to action” inviting them to do just that.

If you are selling something, sell it. Ask the customer to buy and provide the means for them to do so. If you are providing a service, tell the customer to call or email now for a free quote, or to set up an appointment. Invite them to contact you and they will be more inclined to do so.

If you don’t choose to use the web hosting company’s software, you or your web developer can upload your web design to the hosting company’s servers by following the hosting company’s guidelines, policies, and accepted software. Once the uploaded files have been submitted online to the web host, the website or webpage is available on the Internet for your customers and clients to see.

The tools provided by the web hosting company, and even web building software packages make it easy for anyone to design and build web pages and load them on the Internet. These easy to use web builders allow you to customize pre-made pages, so you don’t need to understand HTML or how to do complicated programming. You can also hire a web designer to design the artwork and technical aspects of your website, which would provide a completely individualized look for your website.

Choosing the Best Small Business Web Hosting Company for Your Needs

There are web hosting companies that will charge just a few dollars per month for your website, and some that will charge much more. Generally the cost of the hosting is dependent on a number of things. Some hosting companies charge very little, but they will add banner ads to your web site, which might be okay if you are doing a personal site, but probably not the best choice for a business. Typically these banner ads would advertise similar businesses to yours, so basically you would be providing space to the competition.

Think about your company’s goals and what you need to accomplish. Will your site have just a few pages, explaining who you are and what you do? Or will you have hundreds of pages detailing product or services and need a shopping cart and some sort of payment method? Often the web hosting pricing is dependent on how much space you will use on their server. (A server is the computer that will hold all your web pages.)

It is also important for you to realize that if you choose a hosting company for your small business and determine after a period of time that you don’t like the hosting company, you can move your domain name and your website to a new company fairly easily.

As you are looking at the different web hosts, make sure you look at comparisons sites. If you plan to build your own website, look at the reviews and see how easy it it’s to use the hosting companies website builder. Some are much easier than others. The reviewers will make statements like the best thing about X company is that it offers unlimited email accounts, if don’t plan on using the email services or only need three email accounts, than this isn’t important.

Decide if you will need 24/7 tech support. If your website is critical to your business, you may not only want tech support, but may also want server redundancy (which means there is more than one server that your website will be stored on, if one goes down, the website is still up.) and other technical and customer support options. If the website isn’t critical, than you may be able to choose a hosting company that has great stats when it comes to up time, (meaning their servers are rarely down) but that don’t provide round the clock service or redundancy.

If you need shopping cart, or a way for the customers that go to your website to buy things, make sure the hosting company allows or supports that option. This includes anything you specifically require for your website.

Summary

The best small business web hosting company is one that will meet your needs, not only for designing and implementing your website, but for making simple and complex changes, as well as for reporting and getting the website listed in search engines.

As you are choosing a web hosting company for your business, look at the types of reports the hosting company will provide. You may want to check at what point browsers are leaving the site, if some pages get more hits than others, and more. Also check what guidelines the hosting company gives you for getting your website noticed by the search engines. This is an important part of driving traffic to your small business website.

In order to select the best small business phone system for you organization you need to consider and evaluate several items.

What You Need

Spend a few minutes to determine what functionality your users require. You want the phone system to make them more efficient, walking the line between technology and confusion. Small business phone systems can offer video and audio conferencing tools, the ability to use a computer as a phone (sometimes called mobile soft phones), automated attendants, paging, intercom, wireless IP phones, integration with customer relationship management, and the ability to notify employees by phone, text, or email.

There are even options like presence technology, which would allow users of the business telephone system to see who is available, and the best way to reach them.

Change and Training

Whatever type of small business system you get, you need to understand how to use it. Typically the users of any new telephone system will use about 10% of its capability unless they are trained and encouraged to use its functions. Most will learn how to dial, put a call on hold, transfer a call, and maybe program a few speed dial numbers.

With consistent training and encouragement to learn the system, users will become more efficient and the small business system will be a true asset to your company. It can change the way you do business. For instance an IP system with a wireless phone will allow sales staff to check warehouse stock from anywhere on the premise.

You can hold meetings with clients, who are in different states, with the use of video conferencing. Or hold weekly training meetings with the voice conference feature. There are many features in the small business telephone systems that are typically seen in larger, more expensive systems.

Small Business Phone System Features

Telephone systems for small businesses will have caller ID with the capability of at least four business telephone lines. You can place calls on hold, transfer calls to a mobile phone, home office, or remote location. There may be additional or optional features such as:

• Paging
• Music on hold
• Cordless handsets
• Cordless headsets
• Automated Attendant
• Voice Mailboxes
• Audio/Video Conferencing
• And More

Selection of the Best Small Business Phone System

The systems listed below are some of the best small business phone systems. They cost between $500 and $3000. Most can be installed by simply plugging them in. All the systems listed offer complete mobility with wireless solutions for handsets and headsets. These phone systems also offer standard features that include call forwarding, transferring, intercom, conferencing, paging, voice mail, and music-on-hold.

The Panasonic KX-TG4500B can handle up to four business lines, a desk phone, and eight cordless extensions. Once the phone lines are installed you can just plug the main base or desk unit into the lines and an electrical outlet. The cordless bases can then be set wherever you want, plugged into an electrical outlet for charging.

The AT&T SynJ also offers four lines. You can mix and match a total of ten cordless handsets or desk phones. This small business phone system is recommended for retail outlets, restaurants, schools and daycares, small offices, locations with warehouses, and large home office applications.

The AT&T Synapse will provide up to thirty-nine business lines, with a capacity of hundred desk extensions and five cordless phones. The system self-configures once it is plugged into the phone lines and an Ethernet data network.

One of the largest of the best small business phone systems, the Panasonic KX-TDA50G or KX-NCP500 can be configures with as many as 128 lines. It will handle a total of 156 desk sets and 64 cordless sets. The systems are typically installed in law or medical offices, technology companies, and even for hotels or motels.

Summary

The best small business phone system is one that meets your company’s needs. It is important for any small business to figure out how the phone system can be used to allow staff to be more efficient in dealing with customers and clients. These small systems come in all sizes from just four lines through over a hundred. Some can be configured to work with Internet Protocol. Some small business phone systems also have voice mail, email, and paging capabilities. Check the list of what is standard on the phone system and what comes at an optional cost.

Once the decision has been made if the business credit card requires a personal guarantee or not, then you can check out options as to percentage rate, promotions, or reward programs that are offered by different banks, in order to get the best small business credit card for your organization.

No Personal Guarantee

A personal guarantee means that the owner of the business guarantees that the business credit card payments will be made. This card is attached to and based on the owner’s credit history. If payments aren’t made, the owner promises to make the payments personally. If payments are late, then the owner’s credit history will take the hit.

Without a personal guarantee the credit card is based on and reported to the business credit history. The business is responsible for the payments and the bank can’t come back on the owner’s financials.

In order for a small business to get a credit card without a personal guarantee, there are several steps to take. Some of these steps you may have already completed, but many small businesses skipped straight to opening without actually setting up a business. This is especially true of home-based businesses or those who are freelancing.

It is important to note that the steps will take some time, often as much as a year to complete. You may need to get an interim small business credit card with a personal guarantee while you work towards completing these steps. To get a small business credit card without a guarantee you have to legally establish a business, and then establish some form of business credit before you apply for a credit card.

You can start this process long before you open a business or if you are already in business and have completed a few of the steps then just finish the process. If you don’t need a business card right now, then you might consider starting the process so that the card is available if you ever need it.

Here are the steps to separating your business from your personal financials so that you can get a business credit card without a personal guarantee:

• Incorporate Your Business – the business needs to be incorporated or your need to form an LLC. To view the options for incorporation or why you would form an LLC you can check online sites or speak to a lawyer. Without incorporating or an LLC, the business and personal finances are one and the same. This means any business loss or profit is reported on personal tax returns.
• Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) – Once you have legally filed as a business, get an employer identification number in the business name. The EIN comes from the IRS. It makes it possible for you to file business tax returns that are separate from the owner’s personal tax return. An EIN is like having a social security number for your company. It proves to vendors and lenders that you are an established business and is an important step in getting a small business credit card without a guarantee.
• Get A Business Bank Account – Now that you have a legal name, and an EIN, open a bank account in the business name just as it appears on the corporate paperwork. Use the bank account to pay for business items and to deposit company monies.
• Get five merchant or trade accounts – by asking for small levels of credit, even $100, at local stationary stores for business cards, brochures, or even signs, at office supply stores, or other sources. You may be able to get the business cards cheaper online, but an online store probably won’t give you a credit account. Make sure you verify that the merchant reports payment history to credit bureaus. The whole point of doing this is to get a credit history built up under the business name.
• Check with Credit Bureaus – a few months after you established the vendor credit accounts, call and check with Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet to ensure that they have your business listed and that the vendors have reported your payment history. The credit bureaus should be able to find you by business name or by your EIN. Track the credit reporting for a couple months. Make sure you pay the vendors early or on time.

Apply for a small business credit card after four or five months of credit reporting. You should be able to apply for and receive a business credit card under the business name. Check the bank where you have a business checking account and see what their requirements and options are for a business credit card.

The first step is to make a detailed list of what you need the accounting software to do. Start with the most important function, and move down the list for the one that is least important for your accounting needs. Make sure you understand your hardware, for instance that you know how much memory you have available and what operating system you run.

Know What You Need

If you have some specific requirements, say for a type of report, it is better to find a business account software package that does the needed report as a standard item, as customizing will typically cost more. If there are accounting software programs specifically tailored for your industry, they may provide the best fit. While industry-specific software may be more expensive than generic options in the beginning, this type of small business software may save you time and money in the long run.

Once you have created your list of needed functions, you can use it to compare the accounting software that you are interested in buying. Make sure you also compare the cost of training, maintenance and upgrades, as well as if there is a charge for customer support. Once you’ve compared pricing you will know how much to budget for the first year based on what you can afford.

At the low end of the scale will be the generic small business accounting packages like QuickBooks  or Peachtree. At the mid range you will find small business accounting packages such as Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) which also offers some business management options.

Often the small business accounting package that you need will be dictated by how many employees that you have. Some of the programs will handle tax reporting, payroll, supply chain management, project management, and more.

The more functionality the small business accounting program has, the more it will cost. But if it handles 90% of the items on your list versus 50%, it may be worth buying one that you don’t have to customize or that will force you to do many of the reports or activities by hand.

Some software has to be downloaded to your computer, and some accounting programs are available in online versions, that you need use of the internet to access. Think how this might affect the business in either way. The online version can be accessed at home, while one loaded on a computer requires access to that one machine or the network. But the online variety means you need an internet connection to get to it.

Online Comparisons

Compare small business accounting software online. Check out reviews on accounting society websites or industry specific professional associations. If you have questions about the software you can also post those in these locations.

There are also websites like PC Magazine or CNet that will also have comparisons. Check several websites to make sure you have an unbiased overview.

Typically accounting software will offer a free trial of their online program for a month or more. This will give you a chance to compare and play with several programs that you are interested in. You can check out how easy the accounting program is to use, and count and compare the steps to perform each function on different programs. Pay the bills and get samples of reports during your trial period to see if this software works for you.

Tips for Selecting the Best Small Business Accounting Software

Invariably you will have questions, so buy something well known and from a reputable, known firm. Otherwise you may not be able to find help when the time comes. It will also make it easier to find a bookkeeper or accountant who already knows the program.

You may want to hire an accountant for the first month or so to set up your business accounting system. Or set it up yourself and have an accountant review what you’ve done.

Learn to Use the Accounting Software

Once you’ve made the choice, make sure you learn how the program works and all its capabilities. Make sure you take the time to get trained, taking an online class, going to a training held by the store you bought it from, or see if the community college has a class you can take. The more you know, the more the best small business accounting software will do for your business.

It’s also a good idea to join an online or local users group that will give you an opportunity to ask questions and learn new applications and different ways of doing things.