Accounting Tips

Archive for July, 2010

Selling wholesale merchandise on the internet is a very popular way to make money. The reason is you do not need a brick and mortar store to go into business. With an online store, you only need to source out your products as cheaply as possible. Online selling is a very competitive, price-driven enterprise so you need to keep your prices low and attract customers in order to succeed. Online marketing is a tremendously effective way to increase traffic to your website and get more customers.

Millions of people use the internet everyday. They are potential customers but you have to find a way to steer them to your website and get their contact information. You need a contact name and email address to put together your customer database. When you have the information, you can start marketing your products.

Once you have a great product to sell, you will need a landing page for your website as well as an autoresponder. In online marketing, the landing page is the page that appears onscreen when a potential buyer clicks on an ad or a link from a search engine result.

The landing page is essential for you to build your customer list. It must be visually attractive, dynamic and informative enough to pique the visitor's curiosity. Your autoresponder box on the landing page allows visitors to enter their names and email addresses before leading them to another site that will give them more information. Free autoresponders are available but there are paid services such as Aweber which offers flexibility and stability.

The primary purpose of an autoresponder is to feed messages to your new contacts at preset time intervals. This is to establish a bond with them so that they will be more likely to buy from you. You can set up the messages in the autoresponder and your contacts will automatically receive emails from you over a period of time. You can email prospective customers about your products and price list as well as other information.

A good way to get started with your online selling is by using SaleHoo. It provides a listing of legitimate suppliers and brings buyers and sellers together so each member can find what he or she needs. SaleHoo can help promote your business so that customers will easily find you. With the help of online marketing, you will soon be able to increase your profits tremendously.

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I'm wondering what the most widely used business accounting software is? Or which programs would be the best to know. After speaking to others on the web, I found the answer. QuickBooks and Peachtree are the biggies for small businesses. You should also be familiar with Word and Excel. Most others a company will train you on if necessary.

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When starting a business, questions come up about insurance – Do you need any? How much do you need? What should you insure? Where should you get insurance?

There are several different types of coverage, some of which apply to certain businesses, while others do not. For example, a bookkeeper will want to get errors and omissions insurance, where a delivery or moving company will need commercial auto insurance or a building contractor would get workers' compensation to insure their workers against on-the-job injuries.

The coverage needed for your business will depend on the type of business you run, where you are located, how you run your company, if you have employees, have vehicles, etc.

And do not assume things like, for example, that a home-based business does not need to be insured. Most homeowners' policies do not cover losses for home based businesses. You may be able to add on coverage to your homeowners' policy to include property losses to your business. However, this will not include liability coverage, which your business may still need.

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When choosing insurance, it is a good idea to get advice from an insurance professional. If you do not already know an insurance agent, you can use the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America to locate a professional agent in your local area. You can also use free resources online to learn about business insurance that your company may need.

Here is a basic summary of the different types of business insurance available:

General Liability
This type of insurance covers expenses caused by accidents, injuries and claims of negligence.

Product Liability
Product manufacturers, distributors or retailers can be liable for a products' safety, and this insurance covers losses due to defective products or related problems.

Professional Liability
Sometimes known as errors and omissions insurance, professional liability insurance is generally carried by service providers to protect themselves against problems caused by malpractice, errors or negligence.

Commercial Property
Not only does commercial property insurance cover loss to buildings, but also equipment, documents and lost income.

Commercial Auto Insurance
If your company uses vehicles for business, you will likely need commercial auto insurance to cover those vehicles in case of damage.

Workers' Compensation
To insure employees against on-the-job injuries, some companies are required to provide workers' compensation. Requirements vary by state.

There are also other types of coverage, such as business and individual health insurance, surety bonds, business interruption, travel insurance, etc. . . Before you spend money to insure your company, compare policies and prices from several different insurers to make sure that you get the best deal and most value for your business. You may also be able to save money by purchasing a policy that includes multiple types of insurance bundled together.

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