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Accounts payable audit to raise your bottom line

Sophie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:28:47 +0000

An accounts payable audit is a process that seeks to uncover any errors that happen within your accounts payable department. These can arise for a variety of reasons, but the nature of them is that they typically go unnoticed. The larger your company and the higher the number of supplier invoices you process, the worse the problem is likely to be. Duplicate payments – just one kind of common overpayment – can typically cost your organisation 0.1 percent of turnover, for example. That can represent a significant proportion of your profit margin. Recovery audit software will help to locate where you are making unnecessary payments, and will help you to claw back the money wasted – effectively given away – through error or, sometimes, fraud.

Generally speaking, it doesn’t matter how good your accounts systems are. They are good at doing what they are designed to do: paying suppliers. They may have basic controls in place to show up problems, but usually they are not so good at uncovering human error, or malicious false claims. This is where specialist software can make a real difference. It combs through your accounts department and invoices, identifying discrepancies and suspect invoices. These could have been created by some kind of accident. Alternatively, they may arise when a supplier deliberately tries to defraud your company by sending invoices for work or goods that have never been provided. These can slip through the net, especially when they look like other invoices and seem genuine, or are one of thousands of invoices.

The scale of duplicate payments and other errors can be large. One estimate suggests that between 0.1 and 0.5 percent of invoice payments are duplicates. Because there are more than 30 reasons why such duplicates happen, recovery audit software is needed to catch all the different variations, and other issues. The typical invoice has perhaps a dozen different data fields, giving huge scope for error. The extent of the problem is such that an accounts payable audit can pay for itself the first time you try it. If you are examining several years of historical accounts records, savings can easily run into five or six figures. Acting swiftly is necessary, since money can be reclaimed – so long as the originator of the invoice is still in business. If they are not, the chance is lost. That could mean thousands of pounds you’ll never get back.

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

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Bacs payments made with outstanding levels of efficiency

Anna — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:45:25 +0000

It doesn’t matter what kind or what size of business you are in, it is inevitable that it has in common with all businesses the need to make and receive payments. Indeed, the very definition of the word business infers the practice of buying or selling goods or services. The most commercially successful businesses tend to be those that make the most exchanges; for those with their sights set on topping the market, buying and selling the right things at the right price becomes an art to be repeated as frequently as possible. With an increased number of exchanges comes an increased level of responsibility, however, clients will expect to pay for and receive their goods quickly and without encountering mistakes or delays. bacs software can help meet these clients’ demands by minimizing errors and time lapses because, quite simply, BACS payments are both efficient and almost infallible. There was once a time when BACS were synonymous with slowness – sometimes taking over three days to clear. Now it is a different story; these automated payments represent one of the fastest and surest methods of exchanging money.

The improved service offered by BACS means that increasing numbers of businesses are using this payment method to effect the transactions they are involved in. The fact that one improvement has been in security has been a key factor in this increase: high levels of security really are paramount in business because not only do they keep businesses’ secrets confidential and their revenue protected against fraud, they also safeguard the banking and personal details of clients.

Customers who feel respected by the businesses they deal with are much more likely to use a company’s services or invest in their goods again. Indeed, in the inverse situation clients who feel badly treated are likely to complain and damage the reputation of a business. Altogether, businesses and their clients are advised to use BACS software to make and receive their BACS payments. Anything other than bacs has simply not stood the test of time and proved itself to be efficient.

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

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The benefits of audio visual conferencing

Jeff — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:17:35 +0000

As websites and the internet have hastened the speed of communication, it seems that the ability to be in several places at once without leaving your office will be the key to succeeding in business. Video conferencing allows us to do precisely that. audio visual conferencing is an excellent driver for productivity, allowing us to keep in closer contact with business associates. The new closeness brought by telepresence video conferencing often leads to new ideas on how to speed up the development of new products and services.

During a videoconference call, all participants actually see the facial expressions and body language of all the other participants. These important aspects of communication are lost with a regular telephone call. In addition, if this technology is used for customer service and sales, it has significant implications for improving customer relations. If customers with a query or an issue can effectively meet internal employees by using telepresence video conferencing, your business relationship with customers could be significantly improved.

Furthermore, video conferencing offers a fantastic opportunity to reduce travel expenses – a real winner in today’s economy. While many individuals still like to get out of the office and see clients and associates in person, there are many situations where it is possible to save significant amounts of money on airfare and hotel costs, as well as the loss of productivity that results from being out of the office. Although shaking hands with somebody can never really be replaced, video conferencing allows us to ask ourselves whether the cost of that handshake is really justified in every scenario.

With video conferencing, you can quickly hold a meeting of various people from different locations, to discuss whatever it is that unites them. Whether they are at different ends of the same county or opposite sides of the globe, communication is just as easy. Many of us feel we can express more through facial expressions than through the tired clichés of business speak, which is why a live video call is often much more effective than a telephone call. In addition, if anything technical needs to be explained, the visual element is extremely valuable in facilitating an easily understandable demonstration.

Video conferencing is not just a new technology that might be worth getting used to, it is the future of communication. With telepresence video conferencing, participants genuinely feel as if they are sharing a room with fellow conference participants. audio visual conferencing is there to make our lives easier – we would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

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

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Powerpoint presentations that really make an impression

Jeff — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:26:03 +0000

powerpoint presentations have become such an ubiquitous part of the business landscape that it’s hard to remember how we managed without them. From short sales presentations to professional development days, a flip chart is never going to cut it in the 21st century. The problem is that we have all seen some really poor uses of these electronic presentations, and it is not just down to the Powerpoint design.

The main reason Powerpoint is used so badly is because few people are trained in how to use it well. The software itself is easy enough to pick up and staff may even be sent on a short course to learn how to create slide presentations, but this does not produce great public speakers able to use Powerpoint effectively to support rather than detract from their message.

The first mistake many users make is to put their whole presentation onto the slides, right down to the last detail. We have all sat through excruciatingly boring presentations where the speaker has effectively rendered themselves obsolete. If they are in addition foolish enough to hand out copies of said slides as they begin to present, they will have lost their audience in the time it takes to skim read the pages. Far better is to lead the audience through with a few key points on screen and maybe some relevant graphics such as graphs where a visual support really can be helpful, or to raise the questions which you are about to address.

The other main Powerpoint crime is to add in every bell, whistle and gadget available without discrimination, distracting the audience from the core message and often annoying them to boot. A fancy presentation does not make a good or effective speaker.

Thankfully, seeing a gap in the market, several companies have been set up to help companies both to create great presentations and to train their staff to use them well. A company such as Eyeful Presentations might simply help a company tweak their sales presentations, or they might go from basic principles to create an entirely new approach to presentations within an organisation.

These professionals are about far more than simply making a few slides look pretty. They recognise that the very foundation of a great presentation is to identify and understand the core message to be conveyed before creating an underlying structure to the presentation. Only then is it worth thinking about visual design, brand compliance and the possible inclusion of elements such as interactive PDFs, video or moving graphics. They will also, if required, train staff in giving the presentations they create.

In the end, the best users of powerpoint presentations are those who are already good communicators and who let their Powerpoint design work for them rather than against them. There is no point in going to the trouble and expense of sending good employees to make sales presentations, for example, if you may as well have sent the presentation as an attachment to an e-mail. The key is that, like fire, Powerpoint can be a good servant, but a very poor master.

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

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Duplicate payments can stealthily eat into your company’s profits

Jeff — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:46:44 +0000

Any accounts manager will recognise that things don’t always add up as neatly as they should. It ought to be simple in principle: incomings, outgoings, profit, loss – the columns should balance. When they don’t, you can be nearly certain of the reason why: human error. duplicate payments are easy to make when people are disorganised and don’t keep track of invoices. An accounts payable audit is likely to turn up a number of similar mistakes and issues, highlighting just how dear this can be for a company. Recovery audit software is one way of locating and tracking the discrepancies in your accounts system, gaining back the money you have unnecessarily paid out and stopping the same thing from happening again in the future.

Whilst IT systems are reliable and straightforward, people often don’t work the same way. Duplicate payments can occur when invoices are submitted twice, perhaps mistakenly due to miscommunication, or perhaps because the client has posted it to two different departments in the belief that it will get dealt with more quickly. If clients are disorganised, this can be even worse – you could be dealing with a backlog as they try to get up to date, and be expected to sort out the mess of their own accounting system. Then there are the rarer cases of fraud, where people deliberately try to take advantage of loopholes in your accounts department. Naturally, you will want to be aware of these, since this represents a deliberate and dishonest attempt to siphon money off from your company – rarer than simple error, but by no means unheard of.

Estimates differ about the extent of the fact of duplicate payments and other unnecessary payouts, and clearly it will depend on the scope and size of your firm, as well as how organised and qualified your accounts department is. However, an accounts payable audit on the average business might typically uncover a one percent over-payment – a deceptively small figure which can nevertheless add up to a significant amount of money, especially if a company is very large or perhaps close to the edge to begin with. For a one-off outlay, recovery audit software can avoid such problems occurring again in the future – and help you to recoup any past losses at the same time: a nice bonus that might pay for the investment at a stroke. Put in those terms, there’s no downside to putting that kind of protection in place.

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

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Accounts payable audit to raise your bottom line An accounts payable audit is a process that seeks to...
Bacs payments made with outstanding levels of efficiency It doesn’t matter what kind or what size of business...

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Rugged transport PC for working on the move

Jeff — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:23:25 +0000

A rugged PC is basically a computer that is made to work in challenging environments – i.e., environments that provide unsteady conditions, extreme temperatures or other problems not encountered in everyday computer operating environments. Within this remit, there is a range of various specifications, and these can be designed, of course, to equip the PC for operation in the unique environment in which it needs to be deployed. It could be that a buyer needs a rugged embedded PC, which is made to function to a high level on a small range of specified jobs. Or they could wish to use their PC in transit on roads, sea or air – providing bumpy or otherwise unstable conditions – in which case they would want a rugged transport pc.

The desired specifications will depend not only on the environments in which the machine is deployed, but also, clearly, on the purpose for which it is to be used. This could be anything from military reconnaissance to editing sequences for documentary film-making for dispatch. There is a range of areas that rugged computers can be designed to specialise in:

custom algorithms for real-time vision applications;
targeting devices for Ballistics;
target recognition and video tracking;
training systems and embedded simulation;
imager integration and sensor control;
stabilized mechanisms, positioning and pointing systems;
image stability and Fusion hardware and software

But how does the technology operate? Or, in other words, how are the objectives obtained? IT has often had difficulty with practical deployment in circumstances where the user can ill-afford instability or an uncertain machine. Practical solutions have been innovated by many rugged PC suppliers to satisfy this need. For instance, computing hardware can be deployed in a hard, shock-proof chassis with conduction cooling. The basic point of most rugged and embedded computers is that the electronics installed within them function in a controlled environment. Their actual components can be used based on their ability to function well in extreme temperatures as well as unstable environments. In addition to this, computer systems can be designed specifically to counteract wet or extremely dusty conditions or work environments.

So the type of rugged PC you opt to buy is determined by the environment in which you wish to deploy it. Think about a rugged embedded PC for highly specific usage, or, for example, a rugged transport pc for use when regularly on the road in unstable conditions.

Please visit http://www.vision4ce.com/ for further information about this topic.

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Powerpoint design - a crucial tool in the modern corporate world

Anna — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:53:18 +0000

Powerpoint presentations as we know them have not always existed. Dennis Austin and Thomas Rudkin of the company Forethought, Inc created the prototype version of Powerpoint as an aid for sales presentations, among other things. Their creation was called ‘Presenter’, but the name was changed to ‘PowerPoint’ in 1987 because of copyright related issues. Microsoft purchased the software for millions of dollars in the same year. One of the most noteworthy changes in powerpoint design was introduced in the late 1990s with PowerPoint 97. Previously to this, presentations had used to the same linear format, moving from one slide to the next. Powerpoint 97 allowed customers to use effects in a non-linear, film like style without using any programming knowledge. Powerpoint 2000 featured a clipboard that could hold several objects at a time. It also diminished the role of Office Assistant, which many customers had found more intrusive than informative, to a more minor role.

Powerpoint presentations tend to form the substance of most sales pitches, and because of this, many companies devote a not unimportant amount of time to the way their Powerpoint presentations are created. The Microsoft presentation program has become so crucial to sales presentations that an entire industry has appeared around Powerpoint design. Although Powerpoint is not used exclusively by business people, its rebranding as Microsoft Office Suite was intended to highlight its important role within the office environment.

There are all sorts of reasons for using Powerpoint over other presentation aids. The usability of its presentation software can be a highly useful time-saver for presenters who would have otherwise chosen less effective visual aids, such the traditional flipcharts or overhead projectors. Its ease of use probably even encourages people to make presentations, or encourages presenters to use visual aids when they might not otherwise have done, therefore making the average sales pitch much more engaging for the audience. Some people, though, seem to assume that their presentation will be of a certain quality just because they use Powerpoint in delivering their message. In fact, many audiences are so accustomed to the programme that if it is not used with some thought, it might dull the message rather than animating it.

If sales presentations are to be well executed, powerpoint design needs to be carefully thought through. Presenters have the advantage of using software that has been continuously developed over the last two decades in order to help them make their presentation clearer and more interesting. With so many tools at your disposal, there are no excuses for the existence of dull Powerpoint presentations that leave audiences glancing at their watches.

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

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What are the reasons for joining a contractor umbrella company?

Jeff — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:53:00 +0000

As contracting has really taken off in recent years, and especially since IR35 became law in 2000, there has been a surge in the number of contractor umbrella companies. These companies offer the opportunity to be on the CIS payroll, working for a number of different companies at once. You can then take advantage of the payroll services offered by the contractor company, who will handle your timesheets themselves and send invoices to clients on your behalf.
Joining a CIS payroll has a number of benefits. It gives you the autonomy and flexibility that comes with being a self employed construction industry professional, and enables you to be subcontracted to most UK construction companies. Being self employed boasts advantages in itself. You will pay a reduced National Insurance contribution, and will be able to offset certain expenses against your tax liability on your Self Assessment tax return. There is also the bonus of being eligible to work for companies who will not necessarily contract you directly.
It is fairly straightforward to start working for a commercial contracting company like Liquid Friday, which provides services within the commercial and public sector. You will need to discuss the paperwork that needs to be completed with the company in question. The first step is to register online or download the registration forms. This is necessary so that you can be verified with the Inland Revenue. As long as you are eligible to work in the UK, the process should be able to get started. If you are self employed you will need to send a timesheet, usually fairly early in the working week, so that the appropriate client can be invoiced. When the client approves the invoice, your timesheet will be processed and the funds will be transferred into your account. It is important to check what the insurance policy of the company is, as this is obviously particularly relevant to the construction industry. As a general rule of thumb, you should make sure you are covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance and Combined Liability Insurance.
The benefits, then, of belonging to a contractor umbrella company are surely obvious. One of the most time consuming things about being self employed is dealing with your invoices and liaising with clients, and being on the CIS payroll will immediately eliminate all these tasks. The payroll services these companies offer will almost certainly make it worth your while filling out the small amount of paperwork that is needed to sign up.

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

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Sales presentation training for a better pitching strategy

Jeff — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:32:32 +0000

Business proposal writing does not come easily to everyone, even those with a natural gift for pitching. Composing a complex bid for a contract is such a vital part of modern corporate life, that companies are increasingly deciding to employ consultants to ensure that their proposals are as effective as can be. Moreover, many people are surprised at how useful sales presentation training can be. A professional with lots of experience providing bid support to different companies will really have the insight to help you identify the ways in which you can adapt your style to surpass the competition in your field.

Many sales teams find that they are stuck in a rut, having been writing business proposals in the same way for a long time, with varying degrees of success. If you are pitching to similar clients year after year, then it is often a good idea to surprise them with the kind of proposal they may not expect from your business, so that they look at you as a firm with the capacity to grow and change; after all, the client is likely to want to work with a firm that is able to think creatively about its own projects. This is where an outside opinion can be invaluable; it can be almost impossible for those in a business to challenge old ways of thinking that have been ingrained in a company for years.

Indeed, winning an important contract is not necessarily a matter of changing your approach to constructing the proposal itself, but about how you present it in the short meeting you have with the client. It may be a sad thing, but these days, presentation is vital. People seem to have less and less time on their hands, and will not do you the service of listening properly to every word of your carefully constructed bid. This is why it is important to make sure you can get across the key points in the first minute – something which is easy to do once you think about it, but some teams need a little help to make sure this is achieved.

There is no reason to feel inadequate for asking for bid support or some professional help with your business proposal writing. Rather, your boss is likely to be impressed that you are so keen to improve your skills. He or she may decide that your entire team could do with some sales presentation training, and you might be the one who takes the credit for the business success that it creates.

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

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Sales presentations for starters

Jeff — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:08:05 +0000

PowerPoint design is a skill which only practice can improve. As you become more experienced with which techniques work and which do not, your PowerPoint presentations will become more engaging and stimulating to watch. Your ability at closing out a sales pitch may be second to none, but if your sales presentations are always marred by inadequate PowerPoint skills then you are unlikely to ever reach a stage where those abilities can shine.

PowerPoint is a tool, and as with a chisel or a hammer, we must be careful how we use it. In the wrong hands, PowerPoint can do a lot of damage to your business. Even if your presentation or sales pitch is well-researched and compelling, if the audience’s concentration is distracted by a poor PowerPoint presentation going on beside you, the talk will end up as a disappointment. A PowerPoint presentation should emphasise interesting details from your talk and can be useful for displaying pictures or information graphically. What PowerPoint is not intended to be used for is to display big blocks of text. This type of presentation is a real turn-off for spectators. Think about it – if you wanted your audience to read your presentation then you wouldn’t be standing up in front of them in the first place. If you are attempting to secure business for your firm, then a well-thought through presentation will give your clients belief in your talents.

A PowerPoint presentation done well can be a thing of joy for some people in the business world, but it should not overshadow you as a speaker. It is best used judiciously to support your central messages. When putting together a presentation, it is always to be recommended that you do a few versions (if time allows). It is also a sensible idea to show your final draft to a respected colleague and to practice your presentation in front of them so that you get constructive feedback on it.

One advantage of developing good ability doing PowerPoint presentations is that the program allows you to create and save a template which can then be used by colleagues. This also means that the brand identity of your company can be easily maintained. This is useful, say, at a networking event where many brands might be competing to be recognised. Networking events and sales presentations are important parts of business development. Excellent PowerPoint design skills will help your company to stand out from the crowd.

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

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