Accounting and Accountants for Business Start-Ups and Small Business

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Aug 21, ’07 2:04 PM

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Do you want to:Do you just want to collect your receipts and other documents and than hand it over to someone else?Are you happy to fill in a simple online forms and have the double entry done by an bookkeeper or accountant?Or do you want to do the accounting yourself and have the accountant prepare your tax-returns for you?Each of these options is OK, as long as you do not relinquish all your responsibility to the other party when you outsource.... then their are products on the market that can help you, one of them is our AccountsOffice- Lite Edition ( currently still called CashBook), for a full tri-ledger accounting system you can use our AccountsOffice Standard Edition, both of the single user versions are free BTW.For small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business, the only way to go is online - I'm sure you think I would say that - but consider this.

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Competitive Edge for Small Business

Aug 21, ’07 9:49 AM

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So if you need reassurance that it's good to be a small start-up business - here are some of my thoughts - and I'm sure you could add to these:Low overheads - especially if you use bootstrapping techniques your value proposition to your customers is unbeatable for big business, who have to factor in a much higher cost infrastructure.People - contracting a big company is not easy, one person will make the deal with you as the client and other will come and do the work. With small business you often talk to the person who also does the work - you can see how he or she works before you spend any money.Flexibility and mobility - small business is not hampered by infrastructure and paper pushing, short decision processes combined with more mobility is key to keep customers happy.Talk to the boss - with a small business you can always talk to the boss - try to talk to the Chairman of BT!

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Small Business Checklists: Size Matters

Aug 21, ’07 8:30 AM

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Here are some pointers to help you to look bigger, more professional and efficient: Business address - "19, Rose Gardens" may not be the best small business address, a PO Box number is not really the way to instill confidence either - use a business address service, which will forward all mail to you.Phone answering - have your phone answered, no matter what, use a virtual assistant or an answering service.... If you work with on virtual assistant they have usually a network of expertise around them, that creates a one stop shop for professional skills for you.Be proactive - use Key Account Management Techniques to deal with your customer, remember the 80/20 rule.Branding - even if you outsource insist on your own branding, it builds your brand and is less confusing for your customers.Share technology and facilities - see if you can find other businesses that let you share equipment, storage, office and anything else you can think of.Think big - the way you talk about your business, products and services will tell others a lot about you and your business.

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Marketing for Small Business and Business Start-Up

Aug 21, ’07 7:39 AM

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Starting, owning and growing a small business calls for many skills sets to be used by the owner, financial planning, people management, having a vision and development of a strategy, operational skills, technical, sales and marketing skills.... A fundamental marketing concept is Customer Value Proposition (CVP) - to succeed with your small business your must: Offer the right product or serviceTo your targeted clients and customersAt the right priceCreating the perception of valueIn a profitable mannerConsider these points when developing your marketing plan - a CVP should be part of your strategic plan and be inline with your efficiency efforts for your small business.If you have more than one customer/client segments your small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business, is active in than you need to have more than one CVP, but most of the time small business will focus on one customer group and develop into a niche:the newspaper shop - to provide newspapers and a small selection of consumer goods in a local (convenient) community with convenient opening hours and a good customer service (friendly) which can demand a slightly higher priceorthe online business - to provide a complete range of products within a market segment, which is available to purchase 24 hrs a day, every day at the lowest possible price with fast delivery using user-friendly online shopping technologyCreate your own CVP - Customer Value Proposition for your own small business - again it will help you to focus on what is important (core) and what can be outsourced (non-core).

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