Monthly Archives: January 2015

7 Ways to Beat the Flu This Season

You can take all of the precautions in the world, but sometimes you just can’t avoid getting the flu. Maybe it started with a cough or a sneeze, or maybe one day you woke up with body aches. You may have thought it was just a bad case of allergies, or maybe you just shrugged it off as the cold. Achy muscles, respiratory symptoms and sudden fever all point to one thing: the flu.

There’s no cure for the flu, but there are some ways that you can help to ease flu symptoms. With flu season in full swing, it’s important to know what to do if you think you may have the flu. Here are seven tips to help you beat the flu this season:

Get the flu shot

One of the best ways to beat the flu this season is to avoid getting it altogether. Every flu season is different, and the flu affects people very differently. The flu vaccine causes antibodies to develop in the body, and these antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine. Although getting the flu shot doesn’t eliminate your chances of getting the flu, it certainly does decrease your odds of getting sick.

Stay at home to rest

If you’re a workaholic, it can be tempting to try to push through your symptoms and go into work. It’s important that you stay home from work or school, especially because you’re very contagious during your first few days with the flu. Take advantage of your time off and let your body have some much-needed rest.

Drink plenty of fluids

When you’re at home in bed, it can be easy to forget to eat and drink. However, it’s important that you remember to increase your fluid intake and drink plenty of water, sports drinks and clear soups. Fluids help keep your respiratory system hydrated and can help thin mucus that can build up and cause infections.

Use a humidifier

If the air is dry, a humidifier or vaporizer can help add moisture to the air and help ease congestion and coughing. If you’re using a humidifier, make sure you keep it clean in order to prevent bacteria and mold from growing.

Sit in a steamy bathroom

If you don’t own a humidifier, try sitting in a steamy bathroom instead. Sit in your bathroom with the door closed and allow your shower to run hot water until the room fills with steam. Inhaling the moisture can help to open your airways and can help with congestion.

Try over-the-counter medication

If you’re experiencing aches and pains due to a fever, try over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen to treat your symptoms. If you don’t know which one you should be taking, call your doctor to get recommendations.

Call a teledoctor

Doctors are flooded this time of year with patients, especially if you live in an area with a high population of seasonal residents. When it comes to the flu, the sooner you go to the doctor to get antiviral flu medication, the sooner you’ll feel better.

With traditional doctor’s visits, you could wait hours, or even days, for an appointment. One of the benefits of a telehealth provider is that you get a call back within minutes. Additionally, teledoctors have the ability prescribe medications for the flu, and they can send those prescriptions to your pharmacy.

4 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Debt Collection

As a business owner, there are few things that are more frustrating than a customer not paying their bills on time. With all of your other responsibilities, making time for the debt collection process can be stressful. This is one of the many reasons why so many small businesses turn to collections agencies to help them collect on past due accounts.

When it comes to debt collection, both business owners and customers often have many questions and concerns. A common concern among business owners is that their customers will be harassed during the debt collection process or that using a debt collector will ruin a relationship between you and your customers. The debt collection industry is largely misunderstood, and chances are, there are many things you may not know about debt collection and how it affects your customers. Here are four things you probably didn’t know about debt collection:

You don’t have to use a debt collector

Many business owners are under the impression that the only way to collect debt is to hire a debt collector. Although this is an easier, less stressful route, it’s not the only way. If you’re worried that a debt collector could strain strong customer relationships, you can try handling debt collection yourself. As a business owner, you’re allowed to write
debt collection letters and make phone calls in order to collect on past due accounts – as long as you follow all of the laws and regulations surrounding debt collection.

Customers can work with you directly to settle their debts

Even if you enlist the help of a debt collector, your customers are still able to work with you directly to settle their existing debt. Maybe they experienced some sort of financial hardship that prevented them from paying on time, or maybe they simply forgot to pay their bill. Sometimes, it’s easier to let them pay you than to send their bill to collections. If you’re worried about straining a relationship between you and an existing customer, this may be a better option for you.

Debt collectors cannot call your customers at work if they’re asked to stop

You may be concerned that if you hire a debt collector, your customers will be harassed in the middle of the night or at work. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) states that once someone tells a debt collector their employer doesn’t allow them to take personal calls while at work, the debt collector must stop calling. In the 2011 annual report to Congress about FDCPA complaints, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 17,000 complaints related to debt collection calls at work. Although some debt collectors hope that you don’t know this law, most reputable debt collectors will stop calling at work once they’re asked to stop.

Not all debts are collectible

Every state has a statute of limitations that makes debt of a certain age not collectible. In most states, the statute of limitations is somewhere between four to six years from the date you last made a payment. If debts are older than that, they may not be collectible. As a business owner, it’s important that you hire a debt collection agency sooner rather than later if customers aren’t paying their bills on time. Four to six years may seem like a long time, but time can easily get away from you.

Although there are many horror stories about debt collectors harassing customers, most debt collectors are reputable and play by the rules. Utilizing a debt collection agency can be incredibly beneficial to your business. It gives you the ability to focus on other business operations while someone else helps you recover your money faster.

5 Myths and Misconceptions About Mobile Credit Card Processing

Mobile credit card processing is a relatively new technology that has many benefits for both businesses and consumers. If you’re a small business owner looking for ways to better serve your customers and make the shopping experience more enjoyable, mobile credit card processing may be for you. Even though mobile credit card processing is fairly new, there are still many myths floating around about mobile processing technology. As a business owner, it’s important that you educate yourself about this technology and learn the truths surrounding mobile credit card processing. Here are five of the most common myths and misconceptions about mobile credit card processing and the truth behind them:

I don’t need mobile credit card processing if I already have a POS system

Even if you already have a standard point of sale system for your business, mobile credit card processing offers a more flexible shopping experience for your customers. With mobile credit card processing, your sales team is no longer tied to a cash register or counter to finish a sale. This increased flexibility can mean the difference between an additional sale and a lost sale. With mobile credit card processing, you can also track sales, log revenue, fight chargebacks, analyze performance and more.

Setup is difficult and complicated

Setting up mobile credit card processing is much easier than it seems. Set up usually involves downloading an app and following the necessary steps to get the hardware and software up and running. The beauty of today’s technology is that apps are built to be user-friendly and intuitive, meaning setup should be fairly simple. Most mobile payment providers offer customer support as well, so if you’re struggling to get your new system setup, you can give them a call to help finish the setup.

Customer credit card information isn’t safe

A reputable mobile credit card processing company won’t store any critical customer information on your device. Sensitive customer information is transferred through an encrypted service between the application and the credit card processor. If you encounter a company that says credit card information will be stored on your device, you should avoid using them. Your first priority should always be your customers, and a reputable mobile credit card processor will also do everything they can to make sure your customer data is safe.

Mobile credit card processing increases the risk of fraud

Fraud is always a concern for businesses that accept credit card payments. Customers trust businesses with their credit card information, and the last thing you want is for a customer’s credit card to be compromised in your store. However, since credit card information isn’t stored on your device, the risk of fraud is lessened. For example, you don’t need to worry about one of your employees walking out of the store with your tablet and downloading all of your customers’ credit card information.

Mobile credit card processing has high fees

As with other types of credit card transactions, there are fees involved with accepting credit card payments via a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Although mobile transactions are generally more expensive than the cost of a traditional credit card transaction, the difference is very small. For most businesses, the additional charge associated with mobile transactions is typically made up by the extra sales gained through accepting mobile transactions.

4 Ways Telehealth Can Improve the Healthcare Industry

Telehealth, also known as telemedicine, isn’t a new field, but it has surged in popularity over the past several years. Telehealth means using technology to monitor a patient’s physiological status and health remotely. Telehealth helps reduce the need for costly doctor’s visits, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for face-to-face doctor’s visits altogether. Telehealth simply gives physicians new ways to enhance and expand the healthcare industry. In fact, some insurance companies are even beginning to cover teledoctor visits.

Over the past couple of years, you may have found yourself expecting more from your insurance company, primary care physician and other healthcare providers you interact with. Why? The healthcare industry is changing, and you expect that everyone involved is keeping up with the changes. More and more insurance companies and physicians are embracing telehealth because they realize the positive impact it can have on the healthcare industry. Here are four ways telehealth can – and is – improving the healthcare industry:

Improved access to healthcare

Many patients find it difficult to travel to walk-in clinics, doctor’s office and hospitals. Maybe they live in a remote area and the closest medical care facility is over an hour away or they’re elderly and rely on other people to drive them places. Telemedicine is a great option for people with unique challenges that may have kept them from receiving traditional healthcare in the past. With telemedicine, all you need is access to a phone or computer, and then you can take advantage of remote healthcare and monitoring.

Faster diagnosis of certain conditions

It can take days, and even weeks, to get an appointment with a doctor. Sometimes, a situation is urgent enough to need immediate attention but not serious enough for a trip to the emergency room. In these situations, a telehealth provider is incredibly beneficial. Telemedicine can provide a faster diagnosis of certain conditions such as the flu, a cold, skin conditions and more. For example, instead of making a trip to the doctor for the rash on your arms, you take a picture of the rash and send it to an online doctor who can diagnose the situation and provide treatment. Telehealth providers also have the ability to prescribe medication when needed.

Reduced healthcare costs

If you can’t get an appointment with your primary care physician, you’ll likely turn to urgent care or the emergency room. The average cost of an emergency room visit is around $1,200, but people with an insurance plan with a high deductible often find themselves paying more. Although urgent care is much cheaper than a trip to the emergency room, you’ll still probably spend more than necessary on treatment for your non-emergency medical situation. Telehealth providers cost far less than urgent care or the emergency room, and you’ll have access to a doctor within minutes as opposed to having to wait hours or even days.

Easier management of existing health conditions

Telehealth providers can also help with managing existing health conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. These conditions often require repeated visits to a doctor, and over time, the costs add up. Telehealth providers can help you better manage these conditions and reduce the amount of times you need to make a trip to your doctor’s office by reviewing blood work, prescribing medications and giving you a plan of action for keeping your health condition under control.

What is the Difference Between Hourly and Salaried Employees?

If you’re a small business owner, deciding on a compensation method for different positions can be tricky. There are a number of important factors to take into consideration when deciding how you’re going to pay your employees. Obviously, you want to minimize paying overtime when possible, but in some instances, it’s better to pay your employees hourly rather than a salary. Read on to learn more about the differences between hourly and salaried pay and the benefits of each:

Exempt vs. non-exempt

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, a non-exempt employee must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay for any time worked over 40 hours a week. Under FLSA rules, non-exempt employees are entitled to time and a half of their regular pay for each hour of overtime they work. Non-exempt employees are usually paid hourly, although there are cases in which non-exempt employees are paid a salary.

Exempt employees, on the other hand, are not entitled to overtime pay. Some types of jobs are considered exempt by law, such as outside sales staff and airline employees. For most professions, however, an individual is an exempt employee if he or she meets the following three criteria:

  • He or she is paid at least $23,600 per year (or $455 per week)
  • He or she is paid on a salary basis
  • He or she performs exempt job duties

Exempt job duties include any tasks that are relatively high level with respect to the company’s overall operations, regardless of job title. The FLSA breaks this into three main categories: executive, professional and administrative.

Hourly employees

An hourly employee’s pay is based on an hourly amount. Hourly employees typically don’t have a contract and are only paid for the hours they actually work. The employer determines the hours for an hourly employee each week. Hourly employees are required to document their work each week by tracking the number of hours they worked on a time sheet that will then be verified by a supervisor.

There’s no requirement for how many hours an hourly employee must work during a full week. Employees who work less than 35-40 hours per week are considered part-time and may have different pay rates, benefits and paid time off than full-time hourly employees.

Salaried employees

A salaried employee is paid based on a set annual amount, known as a salary. This salary is divided into pay periods throughout the year, and the employer determines the frequency of the pay periods. Salaries are based on a 2,080-hour year. Salaried employees are often given an employment contract. Although salaried employees aren’t required to document their time on a time sheet, some companies still require that employees still track their time. However, this time tracking cannot be used to alter a salaried employee’s pay. Salaried employees get paid not for the hours they work but on their salary, regardless of whether they work more or less than a normal 40-hour work week.

What is standard in your industry?

If you’re not sure if you should pay your employees hourly or salaried, look at how other companies in your industry pay their employees. Some industries have typical methods of compensation for certain job classifications. For example, managers are often salaried because they are not performing labor but rather taking on a role to help manage the direction of the company. On the other hand, IT technicians are often hourly because they work based on need and perform physical labor.

3 Credit Card Processing Tips for Small Businesses

Credit card processing is quickly becoming essential for small businesses. As more and more customers are beginning to rely on debit and credit cards to make purchases, it’s important that your business is ready to accept cards. Many consumers have switched almost entirely to making payments with credit cards, and they may only carry around a small amount of cash at any given time. Finding the right credit card processing company for your small business can be difficult because you have so much on your plate. Or maybe you’re not tech savvy and don’t really know what you should be looking for. Instead of getting discouraged, follow these three credit card processing tips that will help you choose a credit card processor:

Embrace credit card purchases

“Cash only” is on its way out. In fact, according to Bankrate.com, 78 percent of Americans now carry less than $50 in cash at any given time. When a customer is in a store and finds out that the company doesn’t accept credit cards, it may be difficult to close the sale. Instead of reaching into their wallets to pay with a credit card, they’re forced to leave the store and find the closest ATM to withdraw cash. Or, even worse, they may decide to take their money elsewhere.

Small business owners are often hesitant to accept credit cards because they believe that credit card processing is expensive and difficult. However, it’s not nearly as expensive as losing sales. Start doing some research into different credit card processors and find one that’s best for you. Once you’ve signed up for a merchant account, you’ll get decals from the major credit cards such as Visa, Discover, American Express and MasterCard. Put these decals on your store window or registers to let customers know which credit cards you accept.

Find a reputable company

Before choosing a credit card processing company, make sure you do your research and find one that’s known for treating their merchants well. When you’re searching for a reputable company, here are a few questions to ask:

  • Is there a cancellation or early termination fee?
  • What fees will I be charged aside from the cost of each transaction?
  • What happens if I’m seen as a “high risk” business?
  • What encryption and security services are offered?
  • What customer service support is available?

Do your research before negotiating

Before you can negotiate the best credit card processing fees, you need to know what’s feasible for your business. Know where your money is going and how much you can actually afford to pay in credit card processing fees. Additionally, you can negotiate better deals when you understand what fees are negotiable and which ones aren’t. There are two areas of cost that your credit card processor won’t be able to change: interchange and assessments.

Interchange is the rate that card-issuing banks charge the processing banks to accept their credit cards. Interchange fees are the same for all credit card processors, and you can view the actual interchange fees for different credit cards by visiting their websites. Assessments are a series of rates and fees charged by credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard. Like interchange fees, assessments are the same for all processors. The area of a credit card processing fee that is negotiable is the credit card processor’s markup over interchange and assessments. This is the area you want to negotiate.

6 Myths About Debt Collection Your Business Needs to Know

If you’ve never used a debt collection service for your business, you may have many preconceived notions or questions about what a debt collection agency does. Debt collection agencies have a negative stigma attached to them, and this is mostly due to the many myths that surround debt collection. Many businesses are afraid to use debt collection agencies to help collect on past due accounts because they’re afraid that it will negatively impact their business. However, using a debt collection agency can be incredibly beneficial for small businesses and allows you to focus on your business while someone else handles the debt collection process. Here are the six most popular debt collection myths and the truth about them:

Debt collection services are something only large corporations use

Although large corporations frequently turn to debt collection agencies, thousands of small businesses benefit from outsourced debt collection services every year. Whether your business is looking to recover debts that are a few hundred dollars or tens of thousands of dollars, a debt collection agency can help. Debt collection agencies understand the laws surrounding debt collection and can help you collect your business’ debt faster.

Debt collectors can call people whenever they want

Debt collection agencies are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which dictates when a debt collection agency is legally allowed to contact someone about their debt. The FDCPA states that debt collectors cannot call someone before 8am or after 9pm. Additionally, if someone requests that they not be contacted at work, a debt collector must stop calling them at work. To learn more about collection laws and regulations, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

If a customer doesn’t pay, they’ll go to jail

Your customers won’t go to jail if they don’t pay back their debt. Any debt collector who threatens a customer with criminal charges or jail time is doing so illegally. There is a process that someone will go through if they don’t pay back their debt, but going to jail is not part of that process.

Debt collectors are expensive

Every collection agency has their own payment structure, but collection agencies earn most of their revenue from commissions on the debt they collect from your customers. You’ll only pay an agency if they collect on the debt, and their commission is only a small fraction of the debt collected. This means that a majority of the money will still end up in your business’ pocket. Paying a debt collection agency is still less expensive than not getting paid at all.

I’ll lose customers if I used a debt collection agency

Utilizing a reputable debt collection agency should never cost you business, and it should also never harm your business’ reputation. Most customers understand that if they don’t pay their bills on time that it will go through the collections process. It’s important to choose a debt collection agency that conducts business legally and ethically. Businesses only lose customers when they use a debt collection agency that doesn’t follow the laws and harasses their customers. Doing your research prior to choosing a debt collection agency will help ensure that you choose a reputable debt collection agency that will follow the laws dictated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

I shouldn’t use a debt collection agency until invoices are extremely delinquent

The truth is, the sooner you refer the debt to a third-party debt collector, the higher the chance that it will be collected. Debts that are referred to collection agencies at 30+ days overdue are far more likely to be collected than those referred at 90+ days overdue.

4 Tips for Creating an Office Space Your Employees Will Love

You take your employees out for boat days. You order them pizza for those long lunch meetings. You give them tablets to use in the office and at conferences. All of these extra perks are things that will make your employees love you, but they don’t mean much if they aren’t happy with their day-to-day workspace.

Small business owners often struggle with creating an office environment that their employees will love because they feel that they can’t compete with larger businesses such as Google, Facebook, and Zappos who are known for their perks and office environments. However, there are still things you can do to create a space that your employees will love. Here are four tips for creating a workspace that will make your employees love coming into work every day:

Keep it organized

All of your employees have a lot going on each day. Whether it’s writing blogs, keeping track of new customers, generating new business or even answering phone calls, there’s a lot of information to keep track of. Office supplies, electronics, business cards and mugs can easily clutter an office space if you’re not careful. As an entrepreneur, you have many managerial tasks on your plate, and creating a tidy workspace isn’t always high on your priority list. However, you know better than anybody that productivity and motivation can suffer when your workspace is disorganized. So, what can you do to keep the office organized? Try giving everything it’s own space, and make sure that both you and your employees are utilizing those spaces. The five most important areas to look at are paper, general (office supplies, miscellaneous, etc.), furniture layout, electronic information and time management.

Consider both open and private spaces

The open office layout trend isn’t going anywhere. Open office spaces promote and encourage collaboration, but they can also be distracting for your employees who need a quieter environment to focus. If your office has an open floor plan, find ways to create more private spaces for employees who may need a quiet space throughout the day. If your office is compromised of individual offices, try to create some open spaces where employees can work together when it’s needed. There’s no way to create an office layout that everyone will love, but your employees will appreciate it when there are spaces throughout the office that can accommodate just about everyone.

Make education a priority

As an entrepreneur, you know that no matter how long you’ve been in the business, there’s always more to learn. Even though you probably want your employees to spend most of their day doing actual work-related tasks, it’s important that you allow your employees to dedicate a little bit of time each week towards education. In fact, you should even encourage it. It’s important for your employees to keep up with the latest industry trends. It not only benefits your business, but it will make them better professionals as well.

Encourage employee feedback

There’s no way to make your office the perfect environment for every employee, but encouraging and allowing employee feedback can be incredibly beneficial. Even though you may like a certain layout, it may not work well for your employees. For example, if your desks are in rows, your employees may find that it’s hard to collaborate with their team. Instead, they may suggest that you put the desks into groups so they can work with their team more efficiently without shouting over other employees. You don’t always have to take their suggestions if you don’t think it will work well with your office, but at least take them into consideration. Some of the ideas may be ones you never thought of and may actually work well for your office environment and culture.

How Your Office Environment Can Affect Employee Productivity

If you own your own business, you’re probably always looking for ways to increase employee productivity in order to increase revenue. In the highly competitive business world, business owners often find themselves asking, “how is my office space impacting employee productivity, and what can I do about it?”

It’s no secret that you lose money when your employees aren’t productive. Many employers believe that employee productivity is the sole responsibility of the employee. While there are many things that an employee can do to help increase their productivity in the workplace – such as getting more sleep, eating breakfast, etc. – there are things you can do to help as well.

In the workplace, the way your office is set up plays an important part in how productive your employees are. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for all businesses, but understanding your employees and the way they work can help you create an office layout and environment that will foster productivity.

What factors affect employee performance?

There are many different factors that can impact an employee’s performance and productivity in the workplace. Some of those factors include workplace clutter, lighting, temperature, and noise. But what is it specifically that makes your employees more or less productive?

The American Society of Interior Designers found that physical workplace design is one of the top three factors that affects an employee’s performance and job satisfaction. Additionally, a study by the Journal of Public Affairs, Administration and Management discovered that:

  • lighting is the primary factor that affects an employee’s productivity
  • temperature has a greater effect on female employees than on male employees
  • male employees are highly affected by office furniture
  • both natural and artificial light are necessary to maximize employee productivity
  • spatial arrangement of office furniture is important to productivity

How to increase employee productivity and performance in your office

Studies have shown that noise, light, temperature and furniture layout are important factors that influence employee productivity. As an employer, you may be wondering, “how can I use that information to help increase productivity in my office?”

Dim lighting lowers productivity, and fluorescent lighting has been known to cause headaches. Try incorporating both natural and artificial light. Employees find that being near windows helps them feel more focused and relaxed. Keeping your office bright helps to create a more cheerful mood and helps facilitate productivity. Additionally, if your office is too hot or too cold, your employees will find themselves distracted. There isn’t a perfect temperature for everyone, but try to find a temperature that most of your team is comfortable with.

Noise is one of the biggest distractions in the workplace, and it can also be one of the biggest reasons why your employees aren’t productive. Some people work better when there’s background noise while other employees work better when it’s completely silent. If you have an open office layout, try creating a space in your office where employees can go when they need a quiet place to work. Also, make sure your office furniture is comfortable, especially if you have employees that sit for long periods of time. Few things are worse than a chair that becomes uncomfortable or painful after a few hours. Try spacing out your furniture so it’s not too close together so the office doesn’t look cluttered or unorganized. Doing this can help to make your employees feel more relaxed and less stressed, thus helping them to be more productive.

By creating an inviting atmosphere, your employees will feel more engaged, which ultimately leads to increased productivity. Some of the changes are easier to make than others, but making an effort not only makes your employees happier, but it can also help to increase your bottom line.

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Payroll

[fusion_text]Your employees are one of the most valuable assets when it comes to growing your business. They’re the ones who interact with your customers, execute daily tasks and help bring in new business. With your employees doing so much for you and your business, it’s important that they get compensated for their time and effort. It’s easy to believe that payroll is simply cutting a few checks and making sure your employees get paid on time. Once you take on the responsibility of processing payroll, you’ll quickly realize that payroll is much more complicated than it seems.

This is one of the biggest reasons that so many small businesses choose to outsource their payroll to a third-party provider. Payroll service providers generally provide their services from afar, giving you the freedom to focus on your business while someone else handles your payroll. So, what does payroll really entail? Here are the top 5 things you need to know about payroll:

New hire procedures

When you hire a new employee, you’re required to perform new hire reporting with a designated state agency shortly after they’re hired. The agency will verify that your employees are legally allowed to work in the country and give them the necessary tax forms to complete, such as a W-4 for federal income tax withholding. Without this form, you won’t be able to accurately withhold your employees’ taxes.

Wage payments

Understanding federal and state minimum wage laws is an important part of payroll processing. Some states have a higher minimum wage than federal law requires. If this is the case, the higher rate will apply. It’s important to remember that minimum wage laws also apply to tipped and exempt workers. Additionally, some states require paid rest breaks and have laws that require you to pay employees by a certain time.

Payroll taxes

Employment takes are broken up into two categories: employer and employee liabilities. As an employer, you’re responsible for withholding and paying federal, state and local employee taxes along with your own portion. You must also report your taxes with the respective agency. If you fail to comply with tax regulations, civil and criminal penalties may apply.

Record keeping

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that you maintain certain records for both exempt and nonexempt employees. The FLSA also mandates how long records must be kept and where they need to be maintained. The documents you’re required to keep include: employment contracts, time cards and records that show deductions from and additions to wages. You also need to check with your state to see if they have record-keeping requirements as well.

Proper classification of employees

The FLSA sets federal requirements for exempt employees, meaning they’re excluded from the act’s overtime pay provisions. Employee’s who are not excluded are labeled as nonexempt, and they qualify for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. If you improperly classify exempt and nonexempt employees, you may accidentally cause a misclassified employee to not receive the overtime pay he or she is entitled to. Typically, salaried employees are exempt while hourly employees are nonexempt.

It’s also important that you understand the differences between an employee and independent contractor. According to the IRS, an independent contractor is a self-employed person. An employee is paid through payroll, while an independent contractor is not. Incorrectly classifying an employee as an independent contractor can cause the employee to not receive certain benefits that they’re entitled to such as overtime, family/medical leave and unemployment insurance.

Payroll is much more complicated and detail-oriented than it may seem, and many small businesses find it more cost-efficient to outsource their payroll services to a third-party provider. Windfall has partnered with ADP to bring your business exclusive savings on payroll services. Not a Windfall member? Learn more and sign up!

Your employees are one of the most valuable assets when it comes to growing your business. They’re the ones who interact with your customers, execute daily tasks and help bring in new business. With your employees doing so much for you and your business, it’s important that they get compensated for their time and effort. It’s easy to believe that payroll is simply cutting a few checks and making sure your employees get paid on time. Once you take on the responsibility of processing payroll, you’ll quickly realize that payroll is much more complicated than it seems.

This is one of the biggest reasons that so many small businesses choose to outsource their payroll to a third-party provider. Payroll service providers generally provide their services from afar, giving you the freedom to focus on your business while someone else handles your payroll. So, what does payroll really entail? Here are the top 5 things you need to know about payroll:

New hire procedures

When you hire a new employee, you’re required to perform new hire reporting with a designated state agency shortly after they’re hired. The agency will verify that your employees are legally allowed to work in the country and give them the necessary tax forms to complete, such as a W-4 for federal income tax withholding. Without this form, you won’t be able to accurately withhold your employees’ taxes.

Wage payments

Understanding federal and state minimum wage laws is an important part of payroll processing. Some states have a higher minimum wage than federal law requires. If this is the case, the higher rate will apply. It’s important to remember that minimum wage laws also apply to tipped and exempt workers. Additionally, some states require paid rest breaks and have laws that require you to pay employees by a certain time.

Payroll taxes

Employment takes are broken up into two categories: employer and employee liabilities. As an employer, you’re responsible for withholding and paying federal, state and local employee taxes along with your own portion. You must also report your taxes with the respective agency. If you fail to comply with tax regulations, civil and criminal penalties may apply.

Record keeping

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that you maintain certain records for both exempt and nonexempt employees. The FLSA also mandates how long records must be kept and where they need to be maintained. The documents you’re required to keep include: employment contracts, time cards and records that show deductions from and additions to wages. You also need to check with your state to see if they have record-keeping requirements as well.

Proper classification of employees

The FLSA sets federal requirements for exempt employees, meaning they’re excluded from the act’s overtime pay provisions. Employee’s who are not excluded are labeled as nonexempt, and they qualify for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. If you improperly classify exempt and nonexempt employees, you may accidentally cause a misclassified employee to not receive the overtime pay he or she is entitled to. Typically, salaried employees are exempt while hourly employees are nonexempt.

It’s also important that you understand the differences between an employee and independent contractor. According to the IRS, an independent contractor is a self-employed person. An employee is paid through payroll, while an independent contractor is not. Incorrectly classifying an employee as an independent contractor can cause the employee to not receive certain benefits that they’re entitled to such as overtime, family/medical leave and unemployment insurance.

Payroll is much more complicated and detail-oriented than it may seem, and many small businesses find it more cost-efficient to outsource their payroll services to a third-party provider.

5 Tips for Creating Effective Presentation Handouts

If you’re giving a presentation at an industry organization luncheon, a community event or even to your entire team, handouts are a great way to enhance your presentation. There’s much debate as to whether handouts are a helpful tool or just a distraction, but when done correctly, handouts have the ability to serve as a valuable reference tool for your audience members.

It’s common practice for presenters to simply print out their slides and distribute them to their audience. However, this practice makes handouts pretty much useless. If you’re looking for ways to create effective and helpful presentation handouts, here are five tips:

Prepare your handouts in advance

Don’t wait until last minute to create your handout. We’ve all been in a situation where we’re spending so much time making sure our presentation is perfect that we forget about the handout and rush to put it together. Even though it’s tempting to put off the creation of your handouts, try to give yourself plenty of time to put them together. The more time you spend creating the handout, the more effective they’ll be. Handouts are too important to simply be neglected.

Avoid just printing out your slides

Printing out a copy of your slides isn’t just lazy; it’s also ineffective. If your slides are compromised of bullet points and partial sentences to help guide you through your presentation, there’s a good chance that your slides won’t make sense to your audience after your presentation. Additionally, if your slides are full of pictures, they won’t make sense to your audience without additional supporting text. If you’re set on using your slides as handouts, use the “notes” section at the bottom to give supporting details and useful information that will give context to your slides. When you print out your slides, make sure the “notes” section is included.

Ensure your handouts reflect your presentation

After an audience member leaves your presentation, you want them to be able to use your handouts to relate the handout to the presentation. If you use the “notes” section of PowerPoint, this should happen naturally as the notes you created will directly reflect your presentation. Make sure your handout has the same title as your presentation, and make sure you follow the same structure so your audience can easily find the information they want.

Distribute your handouts after the presentation

There is a long-standing debate as to whether you should distribute handouts before or after a presentation. There are many benefits to giving out handouts after your presentation rather than before. When you pass out handouts before a presentation, your audience will likely spend more time reading through your handout than actually listening to your presentation. When you distribute your handouts at the end, it serves as a summary of your presentation and won’t accidentally ruin any surprises or exciting moments you have planned. To ensure that your audience doesn’t leave without your handout, let them know at the beginning of your presentation that you’ll be distributing your handouts at the end.

Make sure your handouts look professional

Your handout is meant to serve as a summary of your presentation. There’s also a chance that it will be passed on to other people who couldn’t make it to your presentation. You want your handouts to enhance the perception people have of you and your business. To do this, make sure you always have someone proofread your handouts to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Also, try to create a look and feel that is consistent with your brand. Put your business’ logo at the top, use the same fonts and colors, use the same tone, etc. Your handouts will be a direct reflection of your company, so make sure that they look professional and represent your brand well.

3 Tips for Giving an Awesome Presentation

Some business owners live for giving presentations while others consider it to be their worst nightmare. Many people are afraid of public speaking, and Jerry Seinfeld even has a skit where he talks about studies that have shown that people are more afraid of public speaking than of death. If you’re one of those people – it’s okay. However, as a business owner, you’ll probably need to give a presentation or two at some point during your career. Instead of shrugging it off and worrying about it when the time comes, the best thing you can do is to educate yourself on what makes a good presentation. Then, you can apply those tips to your own presentations.

You’ve likely sat through dozens of presentations throughout your life. And there’s a good chance that you can spot a good presentation from a bad one. But what is it about those good presentations that make them so good? What is it that the speaker does that has you sitting at the edge of your chair hanging onto every word they say? If you’re looking for ways to give awesome presentations, here are three tips:

Tell a story

You can’t give a good presentation unless you have something worth talking about. Maybe you’re presenting about a recent trip you took that changed your life, or you’re trying to persuade people to donate to your cause, or maybe you’re trying to motivate people to take action. Regardless of what you’re talking about, people most likely won’t take action just because you tell them to. You need to connect with people on an emotional level and inspire them to take action. Stories are one of the most powerful tools for making connections with people because, as humans, we’re wired to listen to stories. Even if you’re just presenting to your employees about new policies in the workplace, telling a story can help motivate people and make them excited (or even just content) about the upcoming changes. The more personal and authentic the stories are, the more powerful the responses will be.

Plan your delivery

There are three common ways to deliver a presentation: (1) reading it directly off a script, note cards or teleprompter, (2) developing a set of bullet points and map out what you’re going to say in each section or (3) memorizing your speech. Our advice: Don’t read from a script, note cards or teleprompter. When you do that, you’re not really connecting with your audience. Once people sense that you’re reading directly from a script, you’ll lose any connection that you had with your audience. Memorizing your presentation is a popular tactic for speakers who give large presentations frequently, such as people who give TED talks. But if you’re just giving a presentation to your employees or colleagues, mapping out your speaking points is usually a better route. It allows you to “go with the flow” a little more, but you’ll still have the structure and comfort of a set of talking points. Ultimately, you have to do what’s best for you, but make sure you take your audience into consideration when planning your delivery.

Use media to enhance, not distract

PowerPoint presentations, visuals, and videos can be powerful presentation tools when used correctly, but they can also be huge distractions when misused. Media should be used only to enhance your presentation. If your visual aids are overly wordy or aren’t relevant, they immediately become distractions. You never want your audience to leave feeling like they would’ve been better off if you just emailed them the presentation slides. Keep the text in your PowerPoint short, and use the words on the slides to remind you of what speaking point is next. Remember: slides don’t deliver the message; you do.

When creating a PowerPoint or other slideshow, follow the 10-20-30 rule by Guy Kawasaki. Here’s a breakdown of what the 10-20-30 rule means:

  • 10: The optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because most people can’t comprehend more than 10 concepts per meeting or presentation.
  • 20: The ideal length of a presentation. Even if you have an hour to give your presentation, try to keep it to 20 minutes. That way there’s enough time to get set up at the beginning and to have a question and answer session at the end.
  • 30: The minimum size of the font on your slides. Although it may be tempting to cram as much information as possible onto one slide, slides full of text are distracting to your audience. Instead of listening to you, they’ll read the slides instead. Using 30-point font or larger will make your presentations better because you’re forced to find the most significant points that you want to convey.