Category: Business

An accounts payable audit might throw up surprising results

Accounts departments, just like any other department in a business, are subject to human error. Even if your computer networks are infallible, or at least remove the most obvious problems, there are still the weak links in the chain: the people who enter the numbers and send the invoices in the first place. And unfortunately, more so than other departments, accounts are more likely to be exploited for financial gain. This is where an accounts payable audit can come in extremely handy, and might turn up some surprising results. Errors such as duplicate payments, and deliberate fraud in accounting, can cost your business large amounts of cash that you may not have. Of course, you may be able to discover the discrepancies and solve them yourself, but this takes time and, therefore, money; there is also the reality that if you did not see them the first time, you’re unlikely to come up with much new the second or third time through. The law of diminishing returns states that the more time you spend on the problem, the less efficient you will be. That’s where recovery audit software can be worth its weight in gold.

No one wants to think that their business is inefficient – or, worse, that con-artists are exploiting it. However, the reality is that if you own a business, there are almost certainly problems in the accounts system. In an ideal world, for many reasons, these would not exist. Some ballpark figures suggest that error rates equal roughly 1 percent of turnover on average; others maybe a little more or less. That money could be better spent on paying staff and suppliers, or paying down debt. Errors may be unavoidable, but allowing them to go unchecked is not.

If you’re in any doubt about the upside of recovery audit software, then check with the suppliers. If they are worth your money, then they should be able to guarantee that the cost of the package will pay for itself – perhaps even straight away. Plus, if having those procedures in place means that you will avoid duplicate payments and other overpayment errors in the future, you will only continue to profit on your investment. An accounts payable audit is a straightforward way of recouping past losses and preventing future ones. At a time of uncertainty, no-risk ways of doing that can only be a good thing.

Please visit http://www.fiscaltechnologies.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.fiscaltechnologies.com/

4d7681a250135

Document processing makes life a lot easier

Document management systems are an answer to a problem that has only really existed since the rise of the desktop computer and its use in offices and businesses around the world. Thirty years ago, the majority of commerce was carried out the old fashioned way: with pens and paper, typewriters and filing cabinets. Documents were physical objects that could be held in the hand, read and altered manually, and then left in a filing cabinet. Then along came the PC, and some people preferred to use that, with its versatile word-processing programs and spreadsheets. The problem was that even the most computer literate person would from time to time doodle a note on a piece of paper, and many forms require filling out with a pen. It’s going to be a long time before we see the back of physical documents in offices. Enter document processing, the means by which physical pieces of paper – letters, forms, invoices and other documents essential to the running of a business – are made into e-versions, so that they can be stored in the same file systems as the docs that were created on the computer in the first place. Invoice processing does the same for the accounts department, meaning that none of your clients are treated differently – either because you are primarily set up to prioritise physical invoices, or virtual ones.

The fact is that all offices have this problem. It’s a rare business that is genuinely paperless, although some claim this. Even if they are, their clients may not be – in which case, how do you deal with one of the many pieces of paper they send you? Answer: process it and turn it into a computer file. This may be a straightforward scan to pdf, but more sophisticated systems actually use advanced character recognition to turn handwriting into a word-processed file – invaluable for someone who still prefers jotting notes with a biro, but needs them to be legible to everyone (especially if that ‘everyone’ includes co-workers on the other side of the world).

So document management systems are a must for significant companies who have to find a way of somehow fusing their modern IT systems and online ethos with the realities of pen and paper, and the physical documents customers and suppliers may prefer. document processing means that everything can be stored the same way, and nothing is left behind just because it happens to be printed, rather than stored electronically. Invoice processing applies this to the bills and payments your company has to make – again, invaluable for a modern firm with a reputation to keep.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

4d7670f462594

Video conferencing technology has progressed beyond recognition

The future of video conferencing is here. Audio visual conferencing has developed in leaps and bounds since its inception, which arguably dates back to the late 1930s, when the German Post Office (Reich Postzentralamt) successfully set up a network in several cities. These connections were made of closed circuit television systems, which were connected by cables. Since then a technique was developed, chiefly by NASA on the first manned space flights, to link televisual information via radio frequency links. This is the sort of link, still used today, by news teams to transmit reports from faraway locations. This kind of communication is all very well and good for high profile media presenters, or space expeditions, but it can hardly be viable for businesses, educational purposes, or telemedicine practices: it is simply far too expensive. Telepresence video conferencing, as we think of it today, uses much more economical technology, and so it is much more accessible to businesses and individuals around the world.

A good visual link enables you to communicate remotely to the fullest extent possible – visually and verbally. But the road to having the sufficient level of technology to achieve this has not been simple, since there have been a number of issues that have made things tricky. In the 1980s a breakthrough was made when developers used Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) digital telephony transmission networks to support compressed audio and visual transmissions, with some degree of success. In the 1990s, however, video conferencing founded on Internet Protocol (IP) became available, which represented a revolution in the industry. This is because among the implications was the fact that televisual communications on personal computers was now feasible, and the race to realise a widely available software solution had commenced.

Nowadays, audio visual conferencing solutions are available left, right and centre, from the free, albeit relatively low quality, Skype and iChat webcam plugin services to high-end telepresence video conferencing firms supplying large multi-national companies. A huge range of solutions are available, and can be catered to the individual needs of any business. video conferencing is said to be the way forward for remote communications in the future, so some communications companies are competing to stay on top of the game as far as the technology is concerned. In an age where almost everybody in the western world already seems to have mobile telephones, it seems only a matter of time before we are all communicating with mobile video technology as well.

Please visit http://www.edgevision.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.edgevision.co.uk/

4cfcf385f418f

Bacs has been widely used for in excess of forty years

Finance officers working for companies of all sizes in the United Kingdom rely on Bacs payments to make their working lives more straightforward. Storing cash, making regular and time-consuming trips to the bank, and keeping track of the many pieces of important paper required to transfer money is a stressful and needlessly difficult job. Most businesses now use Bacs to pay invoices, salaries, expenses and to transfer funds from one account to another for many other reasons. bacs software has, over the years, made the transfer of money significantly easier and is often considered indispensable by accounts departments.

Bacs was invented in the United Kingdom by Denis Gladwell in the late 1960s. The name is in fact an acronym, standing for Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services. It was meant to reduce the number of paper documents that were needed when transferring money from one account to another. Since its invention it has been very handy. In the twenty-first century where you can use touch-screen computers in bank branches and manage your account online from the comfort of your own home it is easy to neglect the enormous success of Denis Gladwell’s idea.

Software which helps to make Bacs payments from one account to another is tremendously important for many companies. Not only is it secure and straightforward, but it can also greatly aid finance departments in dealing with their auditing requirements. Bacs software makes the financial work of many businesses more efficient and more straightforward. This frees up staff time to get on with more important tasks to grow the business.

Bacs also helps invoices to be paid regularly and speedily. A typical Bacs payment will normally take three working days to clear. This means that finance officers have to make allowances for weekends and bank holidays. Fortunately, now that so much of the banking and accounting process is computerised it is very rare that a finance department will miss a payment deadline. Online calendars can be used to give reminders and past payments can easily be viewed and collated.

bacs software helps to streamline financial processes at the same time as making them more secure. Accounting and finance management are key parts of a business (enabling it to run smoothly and helping bosses to plan for the future). Bacs has become an integral part of most businesses over the last forty years and Bacs payments remain one of the most popular ways of transferring money between accounts.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

4cfd166f36800

CIS payroll requirements have to be adhered to in construction

If you desire to continue to work as a self employed or freelance contractor, it is a good idea, if you have not done so already, liaising with a contractor umbrella company to make use of the payroll services provided by these companies. Not only will you get cis payroll benefits (if you work in construction), but you will have a higher level of stability this way, which is especially valuable at present. Even in hard times it is still desirable to be self employed, provided that there is enough work available.

One reason for this is that self employed traders are often required to pay a smaller amount in national insurance contributions to HM Revenue & Customs. Another is that by being self employed you can to offset your work-related expenditure against the income tax that you owe on your earnings. As well as that, of course, you have the final say over what contracts you take on, or decline to take on, which can be important, especially to freelancers with more than one profession: if times are going well in a contractor’s main profession, he or she might reject contracts in his or her secondary profession until there is a dip in trade in the first. In other words, self employment is a fine way to attach new strings to your bow.

Freelancers and sole traders from a whole range of different industries use the services offered by contractor umbrella companies. Whether you work in logistics, construction, teaching, Information Technology Services, or even social care, making use of payroll services can increase your earning potential and save you money at the same time. In addition, it can simplify the complex procedure of ensuring that you are CIS compliant, according to the rules and regulations of HM Revenue & Customs.

A contractor umbrella company can provide experienced freelance contractors to its clients at short notice, enabling these clients to temporarily increase their staff numbers in order to complete projects, without all of the associated hassles that they get with fixed term employees, such as sick pay, NI, maternity or paternity leave, and so on. In the construction industry, however, all transfers made to sub contractors must be made in compliance with the Construction Industry Scheme regulations (cis payroll). Umbrella companies can provide payroll services to sole traders, pending a successful registration process, verifying, among other things, the sub contractor’s eligibility to work in the UK. They will have a system in place to process payments between themselves, their clients, and their sub contractors.

Please visit http://www.liquidfriday.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

Home

4cd73d427befe

Using Powerpoint to support sales presentations

Powerpoint presentations can make or break a sales pitch, and because of this, many companies devote a decent amount of time to the way their Powerpoint presentations are created.  The Microsoft presentation program has become so important to sales presentations that an entire industry has appeared around Powerpoint design.  Although Powerpoint is not used exclusively by business people, it was rebranded as Microsoft Office PowerPoint to highlight its role within the office suite.  The program has come a long way since its inception in the 1980s, as this article details.

The initial version of what we now know as Powerpoint was created by Dennis Austin and Thomas Rudkin of the company Forethought, Inc. The initial product was called ‘Presenter’, but was renamed to ‘PowerPoint’ in 1987 because of trademark related issues.  Microsoft purchased the product for $14 million dollars in the same year.  Perhaps the most noteworthy change in the product came with PowerPoint 97.  Before this, presentations were always linear, moving from one slide to the next.  Powerpoint 97 allowed users to use transitions and effects in a non-linear, film like style without needing any programming knowledge.  Powerpoint 2000 introduced a clipboard that could hold many objects at a time, and relegated Office Assistant, which some users had found more intrusive than useful, to a more minor role.

Powerpoint presentations provide a number of advantages over more traditional ways of relaying information.  The ease of use of its presentation software can save a great deal of time for those who might have otherwise used other visual aids, such as blackboards or overhead projectors.  Its accessibility may even encourage people to make presentations, or encourage presenters to incorporate visual aids into their work, therefore making the average sales pitch somewhat more interesting for the audience.  Still, making the most of this software does depend on effective use, and it is important not to assume that, just by using the program, a presenter can make his address more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

Indeed, careful thought should be given to Powerpoint design if sales presentations are to be effective.  The technology behind Powerpoint presentations has been continuously developed over the last 20 years to enable users to communicate their message in the clearest and most effective way possible, so all they need to do is to make sure they understand how to get the best out of the program, and then get presenting!

Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/

4cd73349ad259