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Consider putting together an office procedure
manual to ensure best business practices are followed. If you
find a useful policy in this website, highlight and copy by using
Ctrl + C then paste into your word document using
Ctrl + V
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Business owners
toolkit |
Ready-to-use business tools to help you get the job done faster and
easier, including: A definite must for all owners & bookkeepers,
information about must do's and must nots! Take the time
to look at everything but pay special attention to:
Business Finance- Sample Collection
Letters -(Compare to the collection letters in QuickBooks) Unsecured
Promissory Note.
Compensation & Benefits- Overtime
Guidance, Time off policies, Simplified Employee Pensions,
Time-off Policies, Workers Comp Policies
Employee Management- Employee
Work Rules, Long Distance Call Log, Non-compete Agreement,
Sexual Harassment Policy, Smoking Policy
Firing & Termination Policy-
Termination Checklist
Starting Your Business Business
Selection , Start-up Checklist
Vehicle & Equipment- Equipment
Inventory List
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Business Forms |
Get the legal ease that is right for your business
at
FindLegalForms.com
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Calculators- for any purpose |
Over 12,000 calculators
(free)
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Are you prepared for when disaster strikes? |
Its not just about backing up
your data, what happens if a key employee passes away? What happens
if a natural disaster (tornado) were to strike? Article on
developing a disaster recovery plan will help you prepare your own
plan.
Think about keeping a
backup of your QuickBooks Offsite . Speed up and maximize your loss recovery from the insurance company
by
Reading the complete disaster recovery guide. ( nice do's and don'ts
list). This is a .pdf file you will need adobe reader to
view. It is a 70 page document so it takes a minute to upload
to the browser. Its worth being patient for.
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Dictionary and Thesaurus |
Webster online |
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Zip Codes |
Look up a zip code or check with the
Post Office
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Templates for Microsoft Office |
A great resource for ready to go word documents including
resignation letter, employee reference letter, letters to customers describing problematic situations?
Spend a few minutes surfing this Microsoft site, you will find solutions plus
many handy templates including Excel & Access tools.
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Share your outlook folders
among co-workers
A great approach to improved communication! |
 WorkgroupShare-
a software for as low as $306
for 5 users lets the people in your organization share
their Outlook data, such as calendar, contact, task and notes
information, without the expense or expertise required by Microsoft
Exchange Server.
Learn More |
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Insurance |
American Express provides descriptions about various types of
business insurance.
MostChoice.com is a place to learn about your business
insurance choices and how to get the best values.
Insurance information institute is a non-profit agency whose
goal is to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does
and how it works. They answer over 50,000 questions per year about
insurance.
Are you new to
health insurance shopping? This site will provide information to help you to find
out how to choose a health insurance plan that best meets your needs
at the lowest possible cost.
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Guide to Grammar and Style |
Miscellaneous notes of
grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and
suggestions on usage Top |
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Paypal |
Easy to set-up, low fees,
receive credit card payments and cash from your web customers
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E-Mail- read yours from any
location |
Read your e-mail from any
computer. Don't let e-mail go unanswered, easily read e-mail
from anywhere without any set-up or sign-up.
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Yellow pages |
Search for US business phone numbers
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White pages |
Find an email or telephone number of an individual
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Maps |
Get driving directions
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How long should you keep business records? |
The IRS says
you must keep your records as long as they may be
needed to prove the income or deductions on a tax return. See
our
table
for length of time based on business status quo rather than on
authority, so use your best judgment and consult with your CPA.
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Anti-Virus Software |
A sound office procedure from Dummies.com
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Other resources you may want to visit |
Human Resources
Payroll Taxes |
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Make PDF files for free |
Online conversions:
5 free documents from
Adobe. Unlimited conversions under 500 KB files
from
BCL
Download PDF conversion software:
for a low cost simple alternative for $35
Win2pdf
Free all the time - requires downloading 2 files
www.cutepdf.com |
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Computing tips for the office |
A collection of tips and links for the non-techy
that will help you identify what you need to know to make you an
valuable asset to any office |
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QuickBooks Office procedure tips |
Backup tips, filing tips, computing tips. |
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Collect more Accounts Receivable |
Start accepting credit cards. Its cheaper
than you think. If you use QuickBooks, the cost runs about 2.6-3%
and you do not need to purchase a terminal. Sign up from this
link and pay $60 less per year than signing up through your
QuickBooks software. Same great company, just a special offer! |
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Overtime compliance rules |
Who qualifies for paid overtime, who is exempt -
new rules 8/2004 |
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Payroll issues |
Everything about payroll |
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Management E-newsletters |
The Institute of Management and Administration
publishes these free e-Newsletters to help you keep abreast of
fast-moving changes in today's management practices.
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Get
Paid Fast using PayPal |
It is easy for your customers
to pay you when you are a Paypal merchant Paypal is a tool to
receive payment from anyone with an email address.
Common uses for Paypal: Pay for an auction item, Split a restaurant
bill or rent, Pay for an online purchase (or send money to your
family or friends), Pay bills online. Just enter the recipient's
email address and the amount you wish to send. You can pay with a
credit card or checking account.
Consider using the add-in software from
Big Red Consulting to import the Paypal transactions into
QuickBooks Top |
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Lease vs Buy |
Understand what issues must be considered before
making a decision. This site works for auto or equipment leases.
See
tools and calculators when its time to do some number crunching.
Step No. 1:
Negotiate the Lowest Purchase Price on the Asset. Several
dealers may have to be interviewed and quotes obtained to get the
lowest price.
Step No. 2:
Notify the Dealer of Any Trade-in Asset. The trade-in value
sought should be based on current market.
Step No. 3: Inform the Dealer of the Wish to Lease the Asset.
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Depreciation guidelines for vehicles used in business
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Delegating to employees |
Quick tips to remember before passing on responsibility
Common
management mistakes |
Employee self-evaluation
Employee's can self evaluate and contribute their input to the
annual review process by completing this questionnaire about
performance, cost effectiveness, attitude, responsibility, ideas,
image, teamwork, attendance and personal development: |
Rate the quality of your work and the information
that is produced?
Are you putting forth your best?
Do you carry out your job in a cost-effective manner?
Do you do all that you can to work smarter?
Do you attempt to be more productive with fewer errors?
Do you go all out to complete job-functions in a timely
manner?
Do you have a positive mindset toward personal, department,
and company goals, and does it show in your actions, feelings, and
thoughts?
Do you enjoy coming to work?
Are you thoughtful and considerate toward co-workers?
Do you work to encourage better attitudes?
Do you display company loyalty?
To what extent do you take responsibility for you job?
Do you take on challenge and look for additional responsibilities?
Do you work well on your own and under supervision?
To what extent have you offered original ideas and recommendations
for improvement?
Do you recommend better ways of doing things?
How have you contributed to solving or preventing problems,
what do you do to try to avoid problems?
Do you keep an open line of communication?
To what extent have you displayed a high-quality image in my
appearance, language, personal hygiene, and working environment?
How do you rate your contribution to groups/company performance?
Are you aware of department goals?
Do you add value to your team and communicate with team members
effectively?
To what extent do you keep others informed to prevent problems from
occurring?
Do you promote lines of communication between accounting and other
departments?
Do you share information?
Do you speak up at meetings and let your opinions be known?
How willingly do you jump in to share the responsibility of getting
the work done?
Do you voluntarily assist others to achieve results?
Do you complete work accurately and thoroughly and work toward a
smooth flow of information throughout the company?
Are you present and on time for work?
Does your attitude show you recognize that your absence or tardiness
causes inconvenience and hardship for co-workers?
Do you take classes to expand your knowledge?
Do you improve your job performance by applying what I have
learned?
Do you seek out information about our industry? |
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Learn what
works for others |
Articles about running a business written by successful business owners.
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CIO.com |
Recommendations, suggestions, information to make
a manager harness the intellectual assets the business produces. including Daily News , Discussion Forums, Events Calendar, Exec.
Summaries, Metrics, Reading Room, Research Centers, Budgeting, CIO Executive, CRM, Cyber Behavior, Data Storage/Mining, E-Business,
Emerging Tech, ERP, Future CIO, Globalization, Gov't & IT Policy,
Infrastructure, Intranet/Extranet, IT Professional, IT Value,
Knowledge Mgmt, Leadership & Mgmt, Learning, Legal, Outsourcing,
Security & Privacy, Staffing & Retention, Supply Chain Mgmt, Web
Professional, Wireless |
| Knowledge Management |
Knowledge Management Magazine
Knowledge
Management World
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| Presentation Resources |
Alynn &
Bacon Public Speaking Website.
Presentations Online |
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The Negotiation Academy |
Learn how to become successful at negotiation.
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Business terms
and what they mean to you |
QuickMBA is an online knowledge resource for business administration. Our
goal is to help you to quickly find the business knowledge you need,
when you need it, wherever you may be. Offers short essays on
subjects such as accounting, finance, business law, marketing
management & strategy
Accounting Terms, accounting dictionary , accounting glossary
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Understanding why business experiences
cash gaps when business is growing |
A very simple graphic that explains why your business
is growing and you are still short on cash.
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| Accounting Methods |
Cash or Accrual - which to choose |
| Accounting Books |
QuickBooks Training Guides |
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Journal Entries and accounting basics |
What do I Debit and what do I Credit? What is a
balance sheet. What are chart of accounts. |
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Free Bookkeeping test |
American institute of Professional Bookkeepers |
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AICPA |
American Institute of Certified Public Accounts
has begun developing a section of their website dedicated to fraud
articles. Bookmark this page to keep abreast of new ideas in
internal controls
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Internal controls |
A few summary procedures you can do to protect your
company against internal theft |
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Small Business Internal Controls |
More detailed view of internal controls. Includes
a quiz to see if you are vulnerable to fraud and theft.
At the website, scroll down to the Fraud article. |
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Association of fraud
examiners
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ACFE Fraud Prevention Checkup
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Copywriting
Basics |
The U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress,
offers the information about copywriting. It covers the basics
as what works are and aren't protected, how to secure a copyright,
the position of the notice and registration procedures. |
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Building Dynamic Groups |
Striving for excellence in building or enhancing
the groups you work with to help them function in a dynamic, viable,
cutting-edge manner. This is a word document that requires you
to open in word or save to your hard drive.
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Personalities tests
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Learn more about yourself and coworkers
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Financial Management |
American Express Open small business network has
published some well written, brief articles for business owners to
help them gain a greater understanding of cash flow management,
interpreting financials and more |
Employee Business
expenses
|
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners,
claims corporate fraud represents a growing cost and is up 50% in
the period from 1996 to 2002. They also claims that expense
reporting fraud is now 12% of all corporate fraud cases, up from 7%
in 1996.
Put procedures in place that will discourage employees and
control costs. Establish spending Limits and distribute to the
employees. Spending limits are the maximum travel expense amounts
the company will reimburse. Set up a policy not to reimburse
expenses in excess of these limits. A disadvantage is the tendency
for employees to spend the maximum amount allowed therefore the
reports should be monitored. Set a separate limit for each type of
expense (meal, lodging, miscellaneous) and geographic area The
company should have a policy manual that describes what expenses
will not be reimbursed. Examples of items to include in this
policy may be expenses such as:
- Mini-bar snacks and liquor.
- In-room movies.
- Valet service because someone forgot to do it at home.
- Baby-sitting or child care while away from home.
- Elegant livery services.
- 50-yard-line seats.
Search for ways that will reduce time spent completing expense
reports because employees generally do their expense reports on
company time. On-line software is becoming very cost
efficient and provides a means to import data in the form that
your accounting software requires. It also will limit the type of
expenses that are allowable as reimbursable expenses.
Control Telephone expenses: Have your long distance
carrier to require account codes. An employee enter an account
code before dialing to assign that call to the employee. The
telephone companies bill would list each code and calls placed
With a validated codes, your company can provide the telephone
company with a list of account codes and authorized names. The call
will not be placed unless a valid account is entered. This
service is provided at a fee by the phone company.
With unvalidated codes, the company does not provide the phone
company with any account codes. The call will be placed
without a code. But assigning each employee an account code
and requiring employees to enter them may be all that is
necessary. The phone bill will sort the calls by account code
for no additional fee.
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