If you are running a nonprofit then it is absolutely essential that you are using software in order to manage the donation process. There are many of them out there which can help you to better manage your donors, communicate with them and gain important metrics on where you are going right, and where you are going wrong. Anyone in this industry will have trouble picking the very best donation software, which is why we are going to run down a quick list for you here, as to where you should be looking to spend your time and money.
Without further ado then, here is the best donation software for nonprofits.
A Quick Note
Once you have decided which donation software option you are going to use, you may be worried about how you can get your information from where it is now, into the new software. For this you can easily use MoveData, who make it absolutely simple to perform this task.
Donorbox
Donorbox is one of the world’s most commonly used software packages for this type of thing and they are very much the world leaders right now. This software uses some seriously incredible technology to easily integrate into your current setup. Thanks to the way that this software has been put together, it is easy to use and it helps nonprofits to boost the amount of donations which they receive, using smart metrics.
Qgiv
This software is the best all-rounder on the list and it can help nonprofits to really drive their fundraising campaigns. Donation pages can be customized and there are several options which the nonprofit can use to actually show donors where their money is going. Another great feature which we love here is that it is mobile ready so that donors can send money straight from their mobile device.
NeonCRM
The specialty of this particular piece of software is that they offer cloud-based solutions for easier management of your donor list. We love the focus on marketing which this particular suite gives too. Integration with QuickBooks and MailChimp is super easy with this too, and you won’t need any help or guidance in getting yourself set up and ready to go.
Fundly
If you are currently relying on a lot of crowdfunding tools then this is the best choice for you without a doubt. Fundly has donation pages which are simple to customize and they also have the nice addition of a blog which can help you to stay in touch with your donors. Donation pages on this particular software suite are also mobile-friendly so that you have every option available to get that money in for each fundraising campaign.
The choice as to which software you will use is based around the focus of your particular nonprofit and what exactly you are looking to offer your donors. Each donation software for nonprofits option is a great one and they are all much easier to use than you may imagine.
Top Donation Software Apps that help Nonprofits was last modified: January 10th, 2023 by Will Bail
Construction scheduling software is offered by vendors and refers to various programs that professionals utilize to organize, assign, and even forecast tasks on construction projects. These programs have been around for years and can come in many forms. Some of these forms can be free and simple tools to highly and sophisticated multi-user systems.
They can also vary significantly in the functionalities. For instance, large construction companies may need solutions that include a construction scheduling software element. Because construction scheduling software provides precise planning and increases the pace of projects, there are usually cost savings and shorter completion times. This article explains how you can pick the proper construction scheduling software.
Understanding a construction scheduling software
If you decide to work on anything that appears to be a complex construction project, then you can benefit from using a construction scheduling software. Regardless of whether you intend to do a simple construction project or a large one, you can suffer if the project doesn’t go as planned.
The schedule and cost overruns usually happen in many construction projects. These miscalculations can increase and even lead to lawsuits, disputes, or arbitration. Unfortunately, the cost of settling these disputes can cost your company tons of money.
There are various causes that contribute to the inaccuracies like scope creep, change orders, and weather. The big culprit is perhaps the slow adoption of digital technology. As a result, project planning that happens between the office and the field can be uncoordinated and people use paper to do it.
You need to know that behind-schedule projects can create problems for the owners of the construction companies. Worse still, ahead of schedule can also sometimes create some problems since the funds set aside for these projects may not be invested in other projects. This is the reason why you need to use construction scheduling software to manage the timing and sequencing of the work.
Increasing scheduling demands for residential and commercial projects
Building projects are usually categorized as either commercial or residential. In most cases, commercial construction projects are usually larger than residential projects. These projects can also need many code requirements like wheelchair access and some fire safety measures. These commercial projects include government facilities, office buildings, factories, and retail complexes.
When it comes to residential projects, these can include development of multi-family residences, such as apartments, individual homes, and single-family homes. Therefore, builders can construct commercial projects utilizing steel and concrete while residential projects can usually have wood frames.
Commercial projects have a more complex and sophisticated infrastructure. They may need escalators, elevators, parking, and many more. As such, there is also a high level of redundancy build into their internal systems.
Hence, commercial construction projects need more expensive equipment and specialized construction professionals. Commercial contractors can subcontract the work more than residential contractors do.
There is also an inter-dependency in construction, so a delay in one task can affect all subsequent tasks. This is why you need to buy a construction scheduling software that can be useful to you as a project manager or scheduler.
Why you should pick the proper construction scheduling software was last modified: May 9th, 2021 by Roz Malaca
The tax season increases IRS scrutiny on your payroll and timesheets to curtail fraud. Mistakes in compiling employee wages and work time can result in serious legal consequences such as tax audits and lawsuits. This post focuses on federal regulations for non-exempt workers as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). You’ll also gain tips on how your business can comply by using time tracking systems. Although states have varying requirements on employee records, the FLSA provides a reasonable starting point.
Practical Time Tracking Tips That Improve Business Compliance
The following ideas will help you reduce the hassle of keeping timesheets and ensure your company payroll is legal:
1. Pick a suitable time tracking system
The FLSA isn’t specific about how businesses record wages paid and hours worked. However, its main requirement is accurate record keeping. Small organizations may prefer physical timesheets, but they’ll require additional effort for calculation and storage. Accuracy is crucial for peace of mind and legal compliance. Online time tracker tools offer comprehensive ways of achieving these objectives.
2. It’s permissible to round off time
You may round hours to the closest 15 minutes. However, the Department of Labor recommends rounding down employee hours as much as you round them up. This precaution ensures compliance with its Wage and Hour Division. Although a meticulous HR manager can perform manual computation, digital tracking apps are more precise.
3. Make timesheet submission easy
State and federal laws require employers to pay employees by the stipulated time on payday, even if they haven’t availed a timesheet. The HR department should estimate compensation for those who don’t submit these details on time. This option can result in payroll complications such as over or underpayment.
Digital time tracking systems allow your business to streamline and simplify operations by making automatic updates. Your workers clock in and out electronically, which means they don’t have to make manual submissions for payroll purposes.
4. Only pay for productive hours
The law doesn’t require a business to offer rest or meal breaks to its workforce. However, most companies provide them, so they must comply with regulations regarding break time compensation. According to federal law, you must pay workers for non-meal breaks of up to 20 minutes. Most states recommend one break every four hours.
If your meal breaks are more than 30 minutes long and your employees are free to utilize their time as they wish, you don’t have to pay them. However, federal regulations might require wage payment and overtime if they work during lunch break for longer than 40 hours per week. It’s advisableto contact your employment lawyers for a clear interpretation of these laws.
You can eliminate the risk of excessive payments for breaks if your employees utilize time tracking software. These systems can also determine whether remuneration is necessary for particular intervals. Another benefit is allowing the HR department to monitor hourly workers to prevent them from doing overtime.
5. Keep detailed employee records
According to FLSA rules, you must maintain payroll, timesheet, and other employee records for up to three years after retirement, resignation, or termination. However, it’s advisable to do so for up to five years as protection against potential lawsuits. These details include the beginning of the workweek, daily pay rate and hours worked, total weekly output, and overtime compensation. Time clock software like TimeCamp can help you with tracking your work hours.
Others are the employee’s address, social security number, wage additions and deductions, a birth date if under 19, sex, and occupation. Absence management software helps employers track the attendance and absence of their employees. Although you can compile this information manually, online time tracking apps are significantly more convenient. They save time and energy by automatically capturing, sorting, and updating this data. They also store it in the cloud, where it’s easily accessible for years.
Time Tracking Mistakes to Avoid
Your timekeeping system will be more efficient if you avoid three vital mistakes. The first is failing to collect enough employee details. Apart from punching in and out, track their breaks and work hours. This coherence not only guarantees overtime pay for workers but also reduces your overtime expenses.
The second mistake is failing to make the most of your time tracking software’s features. Examples are: knowing all employees working in real-time and their location. Some apps also allow you to geofence jobs and receive alerts for crucial issues.
Finally, avoid monitoring timesheets, worker’s compensation, and payroll on different platforms. Your business will realize improved efficiency and productivity by tracking all these variables using one system.
Conclusion
Time tracking apps offer several benefits to your business. In addition to ensuring compliance with tax and labor laws, they help you achieve your overall objectives. You can identify the most productive employees and reward them accordingly for the organization’s long-term benefit. Their automatic features also eliminate payment disputes and other problems that could arise if you depend on manual computation. Please consult your employment lawyers for advice on how state and federal laws affect your professional relationship with employees.
Prevent Legal Mistakes with Employee Time-Tracking Apps was last modified: March 1st, 2023 by Angela Martin
People who invest in commercial real estate are all about increasing productivity and profits. With technology today, commercial real estate investors have many Android and iPhone apps available to make them more successful. The apps highlighted below can make investors more money and get more done.
And if you want to get more done after that, consider bringing in a skilled property management team to take you out of the day-to-day running of your properties.
LoopNet Commercial Real Estate Search
If you are shopping for a commercial property to enhance your portfolio or seeking tenants, this app is essential for your cell phone.
LoopNet boasts more than 800,000 property listings and special search filter tools. You’ll find it simple to locate a building that meets your requirements and needs.
What other app allows you to see mortgage lender details, property tax history, and tenant information? Also, this app is perfect for listing your property for sale when the time comes.
DealCheck
This app analyzes investment properties for investors. Just enter the information about a real estate transaction, such as financing expenses or purchase price, and you get a detailed financial projection and analysis.
Many investors use DealCheck to review comps and calculate what offers cost.
Visual Lease
Commercial real estate buyers know that managing leases can be tedious, even when things are running smoothly. When they aren’t, leases can be terrible to manage. But this robust app with an elegant interface lets you manage and organize leases.
You can reduce your operating costs and see a tidy snapshot of how each lease affects your profits. Visual Lease is helpful for all team members, from assistant to the CEO.
Yardki CRM Mobile
This is an accounting and property management app for small and medium-sized commercial property investors. It offers many convenient features, including managing property records, sending letters, and posting rents.
Some find the tool isn’t as intuitive as they want, but if you have the time to learn, you can use this app to manage your properties more efficiently.
Property Capsule
This is a popular leasing app that is more appropriate for retail properties. Unlike other apps, Property Capsule boasts marketing automation tools.
You can upload real estate photography for listings, plans, property details, and documents in one location. When the information is put into the app, it can be used for marketing documents and email blasts.
Commercial Site Inspector
This app is both a mobile application and a web-based commercial project management tool. It lets the investor review, perform, and report on property inspections intuitively and efficiently.
You can upload maps and pictures and send PDF reports to your team and clients. All data on the website is pulled from a CSI database that you can access on your account.
Verdigris Energy
Do you know what the energy costs are for your building? Do you possess strategies to lower your costs for each property?
Verdigris Energy uses intelligent sensors to help investors track how much energy their buildings use. You also get real-time data that can be used to pinpoint waste that could be affecting profits.
The best thing is forecasting tools allow you to plan your needs and strategies to prepare for the more expensive summer and winter periods.
These commercial investor apps let you manage your time and money more efficiently with each property so that you can make more money and get more done. Whenever you want to use technology to enhance your business, these apps can help you do the job.
7 Commercial Real Estate Apps that are Transforming the Industry was last modified: September 11th, 2024 by Alex Sanders
The IT department for any company and industry is an important part of it. These services increase efficiency in business and help an enterprise go with the flow and keep up with technology trends. For this reason, it’s highly important to have a skilled team and professionals that are competent enough to provide your firm all that it needs to have a strong tech front in the competitive world. This why IT recruitment agencies exist.
The work of these agencies is to assess and provide a top-notch workforce to help out any company that needs talent fast. A lot of your time is saved with the help of such an agency, and you are able to focus on the implementation of the process with your swiftly put-together IT team to start getting tech authorized.
However, you have to be careful in choosing an IT recruitment agency that can be up to par for your needs. Here are some things to implement in your search for the best recruits in your IT team by the following tips:
Get Recommendations
The best way to reach out to the most reliable and dependable IT recruitment services is through recommendations. You can ask your friends or business partners to recommend these to you before you start doing your own research. This way, you won’t have to be doubtful and understand the working of an agency from personal experience. If there aren’t any recommendations, you can check out online reviews on different agencies that are also dependable.
Dig Deep
Once you select a few agencies to choose from, ensure to dig deeper into their work and history on completing recruitment assignments. Conduct a thorough background check on all the agencies that feel authentic to you and know from their past clients about their working style. This digging can give you valuable information you may not be able to achieve through reviews and ratings alone.
Propose an Interview
Always ask the right questions you would ask an employee before hiring them to a recruitment hiring manager. It’s important that you understand the terms they provide and find out the hidden information. Understand the recruitment process thoroughly and ask about your involvement in the procedure, if any. Ask about the company’s standards for hiring and supplying a workforce in the IT field that can help lead your firm better. Like this, create a list of important questions to ask and make sure to get all your answers before agreeing to anything and signing up the contract.
Know Your Needs
When choosing the right IT recruitment agency for your business, you need to understand and write down your needs. This list of needs can help the recruiting firm out tons in supplying you with an efficient workforce. For this reason, choose the IT expertise and positions you’re looking to hire in the company. Come up with the number of employees you need to hire and their employment terms. If you’re looking to hire long-term reliable staff members for your team, explain these requirements to the agency explicitly. Check out the specialty of the firm and its footing in the IT industry before hiring.
Negotiate Costs
Recruitment agencies are reliable in the essence that they make the recruitment tasks easier for you. They save costs and time spent in interviewing, training, and testing employees. But are they affordable? Different IT recruiters offer varied charges for their services which can depend on the number of facilities you procure.
However, even if you hire an employee or two, some agencies ought to rip you off for it when there can be found the same expertise of skills in another agency. For this reason, look at the talent before the price tag. Don’t worry about an IT recruiter offering low prices if the talent is worthwhile. It’s best to stick to your budget as well to keep the process as cost-efficient as possible.
How to Choose Competent IT Recruitment Services for Your Business was last modified: May 9th, 2021 by Austin Dease
Back in the days, software was supplied to customers in CD-ROMs and floppy disks. One had to get hold of either of these storage devices from the manufacturer and then install the software on their personal computers. But times have changed! Today, all you need is a good internet connection, and you’re good to go. Even the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) applications can now be downloaded from a server, installed, and activated using a unique key.
Because of this connection between the manufacturer and the user, the software can be updated continuously. This creates what the industry has dubbed as a software supply chain. Since the product being delivered is the program free to download, and the good is the code, which is used to activate the product, the supply process should be comparatively easy. The fact that there are no warehouses involved or even transportation headaches make many people think that the whole process is a walk in the park, but it’s not!
A software supply chain can be very complicated, especially for beginners. As such, you need to find ways to learn the ins and outs of your software supply security and every other-related aspect. Still not convinced? Continue reading to learn some more reasons why this knowledge is significant for developing both your business and as an individual.
1. There is More Than Meets the Eye
One reason why you’ll need to learn and understand your software supply chain is that it involves more than what you just see from the outside. Apart from its unique set of tools, procedures, and workforce, many activities still need to be managed. The fact is that most of these things are easily forgotten by business owners, perhaps because only experts can trace them.
However, it’s pretty essential to have an understanding of what’s going on beyond the obvious. Having insights into the details gives you an upper hand in your business’s management process. You’ll be able to make decisions knowing the consequences rather than just relying on what your employees suggest. Therefore, if you haven’t done it yet, make sure you sit down with one of the employed experts and let them take you through the whole of your software supply chain.
2. Individual Decisions Have a Wide Impact
What’s open-source software (OSS)? This is an application that a developer chooses to distribute with “read and write” codes. That means anyone who has access to this software can modify it to meet specific needs. Most applications usually have one or more open-source components.
Some of the rules set by the OSS community are that such applications must be freely available, include a modifiable source code, and have no restrictions for redistribution. How does the developer benefit? Most people opt to distribute their software in such a format to allow for quicker repairs and the development of high-quality applications.
Of course, it may seem straightforward, but the issue of OSS is sometimes complicated. Remember the source code you distribute may contain some crucial information. Therefore, a decision by a programmer or a group of developers can easily pose considerable risks to your business. The courts understand that a breach of the OSS license may lead to IP infringement, but it’s not clear whether it can be categorized as a breach of contract.
There are many cases where a company has faced software-related risks after distributing its source codes. Learning about your software supply chain will help you understand your specific scenario and handle any legal issues that may arise in the future. It’s worth noting that every OSS component should have a license attached to make things easier in case you find yourself in a legal fight.
3. Free but Chargeable
Free but chargeable; quite confusing, right? Well, that’s one more reason why you should get hold of an expert and learn the ins and outs of your software supply chain. A company may provide a set of source codes that you can edit and modify to fit your needs. However, the original developer may attach financial restrictions to go with their software applications.
For one, they may decide that the OSS is only free if not commercialized, and if one decides to sell, then they must adhere to the provided rules. For example, if you’re planning to redistribute such software, you might be compelled to send a percentage of your sales to the source code owner. This is a common occurrence among companies that have already rolled out another version of this software as a commercial product.
4. You’ll Have an Idea of Related Implications
As already seen, different developers have the opportunity to incorporate their ideas into your source code. But as the owner, you ought to understand all the implications of such actions. You can only have an idea in this area if you’ve studied and understood your software supply chain.
Some of the things you need to focus on are the third-party tools used by the developers and how they’ll affect the customers. Will such actions affect the company in the future?
Once you’ve assessed the obligations and risks, it’s also recommended that you carefully go through the open-source licenses and their implications. Who will be responsible for the risks posed or any breach of license? For instance, take the KODI media player; it’s legal open-source software, but the addons you install on it can compromise its legality and safety.
Conclusion
The software supply chain is thought to be a simple and straightforward system, but it involves many economic and legal regulations. Whether you’re a developer of open-source or commercial software, you ought to adhere to the respective laws of the industry. Understanding your software supply chain will help you decide on the best actions to take at any given time. It gives you an idea of how the consumers should use your software, especially if it’s an OSS. Remember, the distribution of your source code can make or break your business; so, be sure to revise all the relevant open-source licenses before embarking on the distribution process.
4 Reasons To Understand Your Software Supply Chain was last modified: May 9th, 2021 by Nora Sbalckiero
The cycle of innovation that started from a mere wheel has reached its peak right now as we see advancement in nearly every field. Technology has made such a huge impact in today’s world that it has become entirely impossible to live without it. One of the major gifts of technology is the internet of things (IoT), which is everywhere today.
Simply, put IoT is a network of objects that works through the internet. There are some applications on this network that prove to be more useful than others, which is exactly what we are going to discuss today. If you are running a business, you need to manage every aspect in the best way, which is what IoT lets you do. In this article, I am going to highlight six business benefits of using IoT applications so that you can improve your business operations.
Supply Chain Management and Inventory Tracking
The very first and one of the biggest reasons why businesses need to employ the use of IoT applications is to optimize their supply chain. If you belong to the manufacturing or production business, you might already be facing a lot of challenges in regards to your inventory and supply chain. With the help of IoT sensors, you can easily track your product as they are shipped across the world so that you can notify your customers in real-time.
Safer Workspace
IoT sensors aren’t only great for keeping an eye on your products, but they also work very well when it comes to creating a safer workplace for your employees. IoT sensors can be installed in your machines to watch if it is operating correctly or not. These sensors can reduce workplace accidents and make sure that your employees get an early warning sign in case something goes wrong. Moreover, you can also use different IoT features to prevent any data breaches in your workplace. You can make sure that your company secrets don’t get into the wrong hand so that you can continue doing your business without any worries.
New Business Opportunities
IoT enables you to extract data, which in itself is one of the greatest assets a business can mine these days. In a world that is full of information, the ability to collect data and analyze it gives you a much-needed edge and helps you oversee any mistakes that you are making. You can easily get in contact with a proper agency to help you build an IoT dashboard through which you can monitor everything. You can then use it to sample all the data, bread down your services, and use it to create new opportunities and revenue streams to grow your business.
Tune Services and Products
It doesn’t matter which industry you belong to, the services you are offering, and the products you make are your biggest assets. If you want to grow your business, you have to invest in these two things, which is exactly what you can do through IoT applications. Today’s market has become so competitive that customers demand a lot for business. For example, if you belong to the electronics business, you have to bring innovation to your products. A simple implementation of IoT in the electronic business is a light sensor build that automatically turns on when someone enters the use. You can use a similar concept to tune most of your products and provide your customers with something unique.
Enhanced Customer Dialog
Making good products and launching efficient services is one thing, but if your customers don’t know about what you are offering them, you will never be able to reach your sales target. Due to this exact reason, customer dialog is one of the most important aspects of running a business so that your customers know exactly what you have in store for them. You can use IoT applications to improve the level of dialog and interaction with your customers by enhancing your marketing efforts. You can use important data to see what IOT applications your customers want and then work on that aspect of your business to make them happier.
Better Predictions
Last but not least, one of the hardest parts of running a business is to identify and act in accordance with market trends. If you keep on following decade-old practices, your competitors are eventually going to take you over, which is why you must make accurate predictions about the future. You can easily use the data insights gathered from IoT applications to predict opportunities even before they arise. By analyzing the collected data, you can build on historical trends and repetitiveness in the market to put you ahead of your competitor. It can add a lot of value to your business, and you can act on the changing market scenarios faster than anybody else, which is going to earn you more customers.
6 Business Benefits of Using IoT Applications was last modified: April 21st, 2023 by Austin Dease
The cyberattack on Microsoft Exchange email servers has impacted thousands of small businesses, government organizations, enterprises, educational institutions, etc. This led Microsoft to scramble quickly to patch those vulnerabilities that hackers have exploited. As of now, Microsoft was able to patch all the zero-day flaws that caused the Hafnium Exchange breach, but it is beyond the capabilities of small businesses to secure their compromised systems. In this blog, we will shed light on the Microsoft Exchange breach and then related it to the challenges that small businesses have to face for the next few months.
Hafnium Microsoft Exchange Breach
Analysts from Volexity first detected the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities of Microsoft Exchange in March 2021. Those vulnerabilities helped hacking group so-called Hafnium, a Chinese state-sponsored group, to get access to email accounts associated with Microsoft Exchange without requiring any authentication credentials. As per Microsoft, the attacks were conducted in three steps, as follow:
Hackers started with getting access to the Microsoft Exchange server by either account credentials they had stolen or utilizing the vulnerabilities to present themselves as a person who has the right to access.
By developing a web shell, the hackers then remotely controlled the breached server and all additional backdoors to set up more access points.
Using remote access, the hackers then stole the sensitive data from the corporation server, mostly email addresses and passwords, because they are stored unencrypted by Microsoft Exchange.
Hafnium’s main objective was to extract sensitive data from thousands of Exchange associated corporations, such as educational institutes, law firms, non-governmental organizations, defense contractors, and other small and medium businesses.
Microsoft Response
In response to the hacks, Microsoft released multiple security patches for Exchange Server to overcome the zero-day vulnerabilities. Microsoft also urged all Exchange users working with Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019 versions to patch the servers on priority. Despite the patch release, Censys a cybersecurity company, says that above 50% of those versions of Exchange Servers left unpatched and vulnerable to potential threats. Besides that, many other hackers have also come up to use this loophole and make an impact.
Exchange Breach Impacts
As of now, around 30,000 U.S. organizations are hit by the breach. Mostly the victims were U.S. organizations, but Germany, UK, Netherlands, and few others were also the target. Although all kinds of organizations, whether large enterprises or small businesses, are the victims, the larger enterprises are still in a better place to investigate their systems and remove all malware, web shells, and other vulnerabilities in minimal time. Because patching the vulnerabilities is just one stage for recovery, but clearing all the after-effects of hacking is another crucial stage. This second stage is quite challenging for small businesses to meet due to the lack of resources and expertise.
Effects on Small Businesses
Thousands of small businesses have also been the victim of the Hafnium Exchange breach, and most of those businesses by now have installed the security patches from Microsoft. But when it comes to investigating the system to avoid further infections, such as ransomware or destructive malware, small businesses clearly lag there. Mostly, small businesses outsource their technical support to IT providers, but such IT providers are just experienced in setting and managing IT systems. For addressing cyber-attacks, such providers cannot be trusted.
Restricted budgets and no serious plans of cybersecurity are making small businesses’ systems further vulnerable to threats for many months to come. And since many other hacking groups are also taking advantage of the situation, it is the worst situation for small businesses. As per ESET, at minimum ten other hacking groups are using the same server flaws to breach through organizations systems.
IT Department Tasks
For small businesses, removing initial web shells is easy with their IT administration’s help and following the Microsoft guidelines, but doing the next investigation demands dedicated skills. The world is already seeing high demand for cybersecurity experts, and the present cybersecurity experts also present a significant skills gap. Therefore, it is also quite difficult for small businesses to find highly trained experts and willing to be part of such an organization when they can easily score a high position in big enterprises.
There is also a possibility that small businesses don’t even know that they are hit, and in case they know about it, they still need proper guidance to know how to proceed next. Seeing the gap of expertise from small businesses and the potential of Exchange Server hack, Microsoft has provided detailed guidance for helping IT staff what to do. CISA has also provided a tool and advice to look for server logs to get evidence of a compromise. So, small businesses have multiple approaches and resources they can utilize in order to get out of the victim-zone in minimal time. But all such measures do not guarantee complete system recovery and protection, owing to the fact that other hacking groups have also used their own approaches to exploit Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities.
Patch Problems
Many sites that are not hit with the Hafnium intrusion have been put offline for another problem. The process of applying Microsoft Exchange Server patches often leads to network disruption. To apply the Hafnium patch requires an Exchange Site must update all prior patches. This process of updating has been a disaster for many sites, as their systems are taken offline and do not recover. No one is able to contact Microsoft for a fix.
Conclusion
Hafnium Microsoft Exchange breach is one of 2021 biggest attacks seen by now. It is far more invasive than the recent SolarWinds Breach, which affected mostly Government organizations. and the worst part is the after-effects of these breaches. Suppose 30,000 U.S. organizations are hit by this hack, then despite the Microsoft patches. In that case, there will be many organizations that are going to be exploited by Hafnium and other hacking groups due to hidden backdoors, etc. Compared to all such organizations, small businesses are the most vulnerable ones. Therefore, it is a need of time that Microsoft and other cybersecurity firms play a helping hand in making those victim businesses get rid of possible malware by facilitating in thorough investigations. Besides that, opting for cloud servers and migrating workloads to the cloud can also facilitate small businesses to avoid getting a victim of such breaches in the future.
How are Small Businesses affected by Hafnium Microsoft Exchange Breach? was last modified: March 28th, 2021 by Hamza Razzaq
There are many reasons why you might want to set up a business abroad. You may have a fantastic idea or business that you want to introduce to the rest of the world. You may decide that locating part or all of your operations abroad is more cost effective for you. It may be that you have plans to emigrate at a later date and want to set up a successful business first with a view to moving once you have established your income abroad. Whatever the reason, here are some things to consider first.
Research the Area
Researching the local area is important. An idea might work incredibly well in the USA, but it may not work abroad at all. You will need to consider the local customs, traditions, workforce, and the best way of marketing your product locally. Spend some time in the country and get to know it well. Learn the language if you can’t already speak it. This will help you to overcome communication barriers. Enlist the help of local people to set up and run your business and listen to the advice they give you about the region. After all, they know it better than you do.
Politics
Check the political stability of the country you want to set up your business in. It has been known for businesses to lose money following a coup as the new government can reappropriate their funds. Make sure that this doesn’t happen to you by watching the news to make sure the country of your choice has good political stability.
Legal Issues
The law is different in every country. Make sure you research everything, from employment law, to buying or renting workspace, and business law. Seek the advice of an independent lawyer who speaks English and has a fantastic knowledge of everything relating to business law. Makes sure they are in the area in which you are setting up the business, and they will help ensure you stay on the right side of the local law.
Financing
Whether you are trying to raise money to finance your venture or simply need to pay for the day to day running of your business, the financial side is crucial to the success of your scheme. Make sure that you have set this up before you sign any legal paperwork, or you could find yourself in trouble. You might want to consider using the Ria Money Transfer App to have money sent overseas and make sure that your running expenses are covered and always paid on time.
Taxation Laws
Tax laws can change depending on the country you are receiving income from. It may be that it is necessary for you to submit tax returns for the USA and the country where your business is located. Make sure you know what you are supposed to do and by which date, as failure to do so could result in hefty fines or the closure of your business.
Follow these guidelines to make sure that setting up your empire abroad is a smooth process and continues to work well in the longer term too.
How to Set Up a Business Abroad was last modified: June 14th, 2021 by Boris Dzhingarov
If you own or work in a medium enterprise business or a company similar to many around the world, there’s a big chance you have a fleet of vehicles. These could include the personal cars used by employees, staff transportation vehicles, or vehicles used to transport goods. It could also include vehicles used in the delivery of services. Whichever the case, these vehicles need someone to operate them and take care of them. They will need fuel, regular maintenance, and mileage accounting to avoid losses. These are just some of the reasons fleet managers are employed in the first place.
If you are a fleet manager or intend to become one, here are some creative solutions that can help you do your duties better.
1. Integrate Technology into Your Job
We are in the 21st century, where one way to become better at anything you do is by integrating technology into it. Well, this is even more essential when it comes to business, with every industry having relevant technology that can be utilized to improve operational efficiency and profitability.
Now, it so appears that fleet managers need to incorporate technology even more, especially in industries involving shipping and receiving goods. Fleet management involves several things, which include tracking the movement of the vehicles in your fleet, ensuring the vehicles undergo maintenance, as well as ensuring they are compliant with all legal requirements. These are things that need you to integrate technology into your job for effective performance. Thanks to technology, asset tracking has revolutionized fleet management and made it easier for managers. This is achieved through technologies like GPS tracking, which allows you to monitor the whereabouts of all units in your fleet in real-time. Among other things, fleet management software can also help you monitor the following:
Where a vehicle is headed
Fuel consumption
When the next maintenance for a particular vehicle is due
How a particular diver is performing
Vehicle costs related to fuel and maintenance
Vehicle performance
Route efficiency
Enforce driver accountability based on location and route
2. Use Appropriate Management Tools
A fleet manager has several tasks in their job description that have to be performed simultaneously. They include management of the vehicles, HR management, development and management of the mobility plan, and parking lot management. Simultaneous management of these tasks requires you to integrate more than one tool, so you are sure to do all of them in time and perfectly. Make sure that the tools you utilize have a defined working scope. That way, you will know how they are helping you with the tasks, making it easy to determine if they are effective. Use tools that evolve with the evolving needs.
3. Stay Informed About Innovative Solutions
In the past few years, you probably have noticed that the globe has been doing several updates on motors, so they are more eco-friendly. This is a move to curb the effect that old motor models had on the environment. Every year, there is something new that comes up to solve challenges that have been faced previously. As a fleet manager, it is important to stay informed on new solutions, such as fleet safety solutions like CameraMatics, so you can integrate them into your job and let your business enjoy the benefits.For example, most companies have integrated car-pooling, parking management, and soft mobility to ensure sustainable development. If you do not keep yourself informed, such information will not be known to your business.
4. Build on Your Communication Skills
Fleet management bounces between logistics, HR, and operations. The smooth of these three factors depends largely on how effectively you can communicate to the people under your management. It is not uncommon to offer the company’s parking lots and vehicles to the employees as part of their benefits. However, these benefits should never at any time be the reason anything in the company that needs to be mobile isn’t. You as the fleet manager need to communicate efficiently to other employees on how their benefits are going to be given to them without injuring the company’s operations. If you foresee a problem in your job, communicate it to your superiors so you have it addressed before it becomes a real issue.
5. Keep Track of the Taxes
There are several taxing points that you need to keep track of for effective fleet management. When it comes to taxes, you can only minimize the costs of business by paying up early or making sure your superiors know what to expect before the due date. Just for a recap, there are several taxing points in fleet management. Some of these include CO2 emissions, parking lot taxes, and state taxes. They will vary from state to state or region to region. When you know the taxation rates, you can create a plan that makes sure you pay as little as possible while ensuring compliance. This also helps keep lawsuits against your company at bay.
Are some of your employees stealing work hours or engaging in non-company activities/jobs? Are the fuel costs and maintenance fees skyrocketing lately? Have you experienced an increase in late delivery complaints from customers? Well, you could put an end to all these and more using tips from this article.
Fleet management is an aspect that any company will want to make sure is well handled. It plays quite a crucial role in the eventual success of the company. As a fleet manager, the above are just a few tips you could borrow to ensure excellence in delivering your mandate.
Creative Solutions That Will Help Fleet Managers Do Their Duties Better was last modified: April 3rd, 2023 by Charlene Brown
Jungle Scout is an Amazon research tool that is designed to help businesses reach success in an easy and efficient way when selling or buying products. Small businesses, in particular, can benefit from this tool to find suitable equipment and supplies with a huge bang for their buck. In other words, Jungle Scout helps entrepreneurs get their businesses up and running. On that note, here’s exactly how Jungle Scout can make your Amazon shopping easier.
Helps You Research Keywords
No business or startup can survive without the essentials. Having products on hand that helps you get organized and get to work with ease will allow you to progress. For instance, the latest office equipment can prevent a lot of hindrances; however, searching through the many products Amazon offers can be overwhelming. With Jungle Scout, you’ll be able to research keywords that are relevant to your needs, saving you the hassle of having to do extensive research about a product’s quality yourself. Shopping is much easier when you can immediately find what you specifically need for your office or small business.
Allows You to Estimate Sales
Small businesses don’t have the resources that big enterprises have. For this reason, it can be quite overwhelming for small businesses to manually search products and create spreadsheets to analyze all the data. Moreover, most startups and entrepreneurs cannot afford to hire a big IT company to handle the analytics for them. That’s where Jungle Scout comes in. Since product research is crucial to your business’s success, you can’t overlook it. Therefore, Jungle Scout will help you estimate your sales which helps you evaluate your finances and marketing strategies better.
Allows You to Spy on Competitors
Another major part of a business’s success is being able to stay ahead of the competition. Small businesses don’t have the budget to put towards standing out and getting their brand out there. As such, use Jungle Scout to stay up to date on what is and isn’t working for competitors, and adjust your strategies accordingly. In other words, it makes competitive analysis much easier for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners alike. Amazon Agency will show you how to stand out among your competitors and effectively promote your listings.
Offers the Best Products to Grow Your Business
It’s one thing to make a list of all the products you need to shop for to grow your business; it’s another thing to ensure you’re actually getting quality products. Shopping on Amazon becomes much easier when you can turn to Jungle Scout to provide you with the best products that will benefit your business.
The competition is growing exponentially in the e-commerce market, so staying on top of the latest trends and conducting regular market research is vital. Amazon has a lot to offer, and most small businesses just don’t have the resources to ensure that they don’t miss any valuable products or information. So, refer back to this guide the next time you are shopping on Amazon to grow your business. With Jungle Scout at your service, you have the perfect business partner you could ask for.
How Jungle Scout Can Make Your Amazon Shopping Easier was last modified: July 12th, 2022 by Allen Brown
There are several forward-thinking, in-demand, and high-paying career paths in custom software development. Custom software programming is a lucrative and rewarding job field in today’s highly-technical, competitive market. In fact, it is often ranked as one of the top technology careers to pursue in the United States. With the demand for software developers currently so high, there is ample opportunity for your to work in a number of diverse sectors. If you are interested in following a career path in software development, there has never been a better time to get started. This way, you can access a comfortable work environment, unleash your creativity, and challenge yourself with a constant learning curve. To help you find your next calling, read on to learn about the top high-paying software development career paths.
Cloud Development
Cloud development is a fairly new area of custom software engineering, but rapidly growing with job opportunities. Essentially, cloud development involves planning, designing, and implementing structural architecture using cloud delivery models. Simply, it refers to the development and deployment of cloud-native applications. If you are interested in following career paths in cloud engineering, it is important that you are proficient in coding, database maintenance, and network management. Similarly, you may need to be well-versed in managing an integrated software environment, as well as cloud-based cybersecurity. Pursuing job opportunities in this area, you will be able to access diverse job opportunities with high-paying salaries. Of course, these careers often provide valuable workplace environment benefits, as well as flexibility. Certainly, cloud development is an excellent career path for high-tech software developers to follow.
Custom Software Development
Next, custom software development is one of the fastest-growing, highest-paying career paths in the current job marketplace. Principally, custom software programming involves the creation, design, and deployment of solutions configured specifically for a set of users, features, or alternative needs. Working in this innovative field, you will get the opportunity to work with a number of innovative resources, such as code servers. Using a C++ websocket server, you can accelerate build times, promote efficiency, and improve overall productivity across your pipeline. If you are interested in these job opportunities, you will need to have a working knowledge of data structures, operation systems, and coding algorithms. On the other hand, you will need specific soft skills such as organization, the ability to multitask, as well as strong communication. Indeed, custom software development is another high-paying career path to follow this year.
Full-Stack Development
In addition, full stack development is one of the most in-demand job categories by recent software employers. Full stack developers are capable of working with both front and back end application interfaces. This means that they can manage projects involving database configuration, front-end application construction, as well as user experience (UX) design management. If you are interested in these high-paying job opportunities, you will need to be skilled in web architecture, database storage, and interface design. Simultaneously, it is important to have mastered popular coding languages like HTML, C++, as well as CSS. Use one of these top apps to learn coding skills so you benefit from your career choice. After all, coding is one of the most important skills for the future. In addition, you may need to possess key soft skills such as resilience, creativity, and attention to detail. Surely, full stack development is an excellent career path to follow this year.
Software Integration
Of course, many tech enthusiasts have explored career paths as software integration engineer. As an integration specialist, you will be tasked with defining system specification, performing branch integration, and performing subset design analyses. At the same time, you may be commissioned with integrating software interfaces, developing change validation, and monitoring software performance. If you are interested in these professions, you must be seasoned in quality assurance (QA) inspection, vulnerability analysis, and software engineering principles. Additionally, it may be important to be skilled in deciphering technical data, self-management, as well as workload prioritization. Absolutely, software integration is a high-paying career to explore in the programming market.
Operating Systems Development
Then there are career opportunities in operating systems development. As a systems engineer, you will be responsible for writing documentation, drafting operating manuals, and identifying stakeholder client requirements. Then, you will be entrusted with building, code testing, and modifying these solutions to ensure they operate properly. To further inspect OS performance, you may be required to conduct routine tests and continuously monitor output. Working in this sector, you can access growing career demand, ultimate satisfaction, and a comfortable, fast-paced working environment. Simultaneously, these jobs offer you the opportunity to work abroad in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Indubitably, operating systems development is a great job opportunity to explore in software programming.
DevOps Software Development
Also, there are a plethora of job opportunities in DevOps software development. DevOps involves the strategic combination of development and IT operations departments meant to accelerate build times, bolster communication, and enhance agility. Working in this field, you will be responsible for configuring software solutions, implementing reusable components, and managing technical requirements. Additionally, you will be entrusted with developing user interface (UI) simulators, conducting script maintenance, and planning secure software updates. If you wish to pursue these opportunities, it is important to clearly understand software security, threat investigation, and source code inspection. Simultaneously, it will help to be proficient in change management and automated build technologies. Unquestionably, there are dozens of in-demand, high-paying job opportunities in DevOps programming.
Video Game Development
Further, many professionals have followed high-paying jobs in video game development. Broadly, video game developers manage the full process of programming a custom video game. Working in this field, you are typically responsible for planning game concept, generating storylines, and creating custom visual graphics. Simultaneously, you will be required to write a functional game code, which often involves coding it’s base engine. If you want to pursue these careers, you will need to have strong skills for storytelling, critical thinking, and time management. Simultaneously, you will need to be well-versed in software programming and multimedia development software. Definitely, video game development careers are a high paying opportunity to explore this year.
WordPress Theme Development
Undeniably, WordPress theme development is another high-paying branch of software programming with ample job opportunities. Principally, theme developers are tasked with planning, designing, and publishing top-quality WordPress themes. Essentially, these themes operate as file folders that work together to create a website design. Often, this involves building stylesheets, template files, and potentially even JavaScript code files. Following these career opportunities, you will find job security, career flexibility, and tangible results. Simultaneously, you will get the opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects for a number of website clients. Certainly, consider exploring career opportunities in WordPress theme development.
Software Security Engineering
Similarly, there are plenty of high-paying technical jobs in software security engineering. As a security specialist, you will be commissioned with implementing, testing, and monitoring software protection techniques in compliance with your technical infrastructure. At the same time, you may be entrusted with conducting routine security testing and static code analyses. Other important responsibilities include troubleshooting, investigating, and debugging any potential issues that arise. If you are interested in following these career paths, it is important to have mastered basic cybersecurity principles, technical aptitude, and computer forensic science. Of course, it is important to have a desire to learn, strong problem solving skills, an extensive understanding of hacking and data breaches. Surely, software security engineering is a great career path to follow in software development.
Embedded Systems Development
With the continuous rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), embedded systems development is an excellent, high-paying career path to explore. Working in this profession, you will be required to plan, design, program, and inspect embedded software systems. In addition, you will be tasked with supporting quality assurance (QA), conducting static code reviews, and delivering post-production support. Unlike traditional software programming, embedded systems engineering additionally requires you to manage hardware design and development. If you are interested in these opportunities, you will need to be talented in operating system programming techniques, IP protocols, as well as hardware interfaces. Of course, exploring these career opportunities allows you to participate in a rapidly growing, in-demand job field. Indeed, there are plenty of high-paying careers in the field of embedded systems development.
There are plenty of high paying job paths for custom software developers. First off, cloud development is a recently emerging, rapidly growing field of software programming. In addition, look for opportunities in full-stack development. Next, research job opportunities in custom software development. Of course, you may want to consider becoming a software integration engineer. Then, many professionals have followed careers in operating systems development. Also, consider exploring jobs in DevOps programming. Further, consider software careers in video game development. Undeniably, there are plenty of incredibly high paying jobs in WordPress theme programming. Similarly, consider high-paying careers in software security engineering. Moreover, you can consider the latest jobs in embedded systems development. This way, you can enter a job market with high salaries and explosive growth. Follow the points highlighted above to learn about the top high-paying software development career paths.
10 High-Paying Software Development Career Paths was last modified: March 22nd, 2023 by Scott Fluent
There are a lot of benefits to having a paperless office or business. These can include:
When you go paperless, it saves time. Your employees aren’t spending their time searching for and organizing paper documents, and instead, they can focus on more strategic tasks. Everyone can access a central repository for documents quickly and easily, and then, with the extra time they have, do tasks that generate revenue.
Paperless offices need less space. You may even find that you could potentially downsize to a cheaper space if you go paperless. Take a look around your office and see how much space you currently have dedicated to paper, including file cabinets, shelves, and drawers.
You’ll save money. You’ll pay for fewer resources if you have a paperless office.
You’re going to be more efficient overall without dealing with paper documents.
You can be more eco-friendly and reduce your environmental impact when you don’t use paper. You’re not just keeping paper from ending up in the landfill. You’re also reducing your use of things like ink and toners that have volatile compounds and materials that damage the environment.
You can be a more secure office. You don’t have to worry about documents being lost, destroyed, or even taken.
With those benefits in mind, how can you transform into a paperless business?
Automate Your Workflows
There are software tools you can use, such as AP automation platforms, that will allow you to automate your workflows and reduce the need for paper documents. AP software in particular is a good example because your invoice process can become touchless.
This helps you not only work toward your goal of being a paperless office, but it also helps improve your employee productivity and reduce human errors.
Another place where you can go electric and use automation is payroll processing.
Before you start choosing platforms that will allow you to automate your workflows, it’s a good idea to do a thorough audit and see where you need to start.
Take on your piles of paperwork, organize them, and identify your priorities as you move toward being paperless.
Use Google Apps
While the more complex workflow management may require software and automation, there are also simpler technology tools that you can use as part of your goal of going paperless.
Google Apps are an excellent option.
You can collaborate via Google Docs, for example.
That not only makes it easier to work together, but you’re cutting down your need for paper documents.
You can share files through Google Drive and use Google Mail for communication internally and externally.
If you don’t want to use Google’s applications for any reason, there are other options. For example, Basecamp lets you collaborate and share documents, although two people can’t edit a document at the same time as they can with Google.
If you need to store and move very large files, you can use Dropbox or something like YouSendIt.
Paperless Bill and Statements
Your business should move to paperless bills and statements. It actually also makes it easier to track your payments too.
For your customers, rather than printing their receipts, email them.
Digitize Handouts
If you have to hand things out to your employees during meetings or training, you can digitize that as well.
One tool that can help is called TeamViewer, and your employees can have remote access to office computers any time through their smartphone or home computer. You can also share files, videos, and whiteboards.
When you digitize your meeting handouts and content, then your employees can have access to it after the meeting ends, which is helpful.
Go Digital with Your Marketing
If you’re still using paper-based marketing materials, such as mailers or printed flyers, now could be the time to stop. Not only is this kind of advertising relatively ineffective at this point, but it’s more expensive than digital marketing.
You can also cut down on how much junk mail gets sent to your business. You can use the website DirectMail that lets you sign up for a National Do Not Mail List. Include your business address on the form that you’re asked to fill out.
Faxing and Scanning
Despite the fact that we have so many digital solutions available, a lot of businesses still use faxing and scanning.
You can use your camera as a scanner, and then that allows you to quickly capture documents, turn them into images and then convert those into PDFs so you can email instead of faxing.
Involve Your Employees
Going paperless is a big undertaking. You need your customers to be on board, and you need them to be accountable for their own contributions to being a paperless office.
It can be a lot for employees to take on because they’re going to have to learn to use new software and systems.
You can provide training and development on any new technology you use, and you should also encourage your employees to provide feedback as you make the transition.
You don’t need to do the full transition overnight. Do it gradually. Set goals for your business—like a 10% reduction in the first month and then go from there.
Make sure your employees know the benefits of going paperless and the positive impacts it will have on their day-to-day work. For example, in a paperless office with automation, there’s less busy work and less room for error.
Once you do transition to being a paperless office, you’re likely to see that your entire organization becomes more productive and efficient. You’re going to be spending time on creating strategies to meet larger business objectives instead of on busywork.
How to Be a Paperless Business was last modified: January 16th, 2023 by Susan Melony
Before sending your electronics to computer recycling services, you should back up all of your files. SanDisk is a household name in the file storage business, but their lesser-known data recovery software is helpful to users who have lost or destroyed files. Luckily, this tool is included with a purchase of any SanDisk hard drives and SD cards. Unfortunately, this will only work on physical data, such as hard drives or SSDs, and not internet-based cloud services. These function separately.
Online Storage
Apple is a perfect example of a company that strong-arms you into purchasing digital storage space. When you get a new phone, their settings directory pesters you to set up your iCloud subscriptions. These offers are made especially tempting once you, very quickly, realize the cloud’s storage cap. Every week or so, you’ll be prompted to update your cloud, which has room for a measly five gigabytes of data. When this inevitably fills up, you’ll get constant notifications that your iCloud backup has failed, and you need to delete data from your 32gb+ device or purchase more space. Guess which one is more convenient. What’s worse is the way your information is handled.
You might be alarmed to learn what cloud services actually do with your data. All of your content is password-protected, and most commonly locked behind two-factor authentication. Most services also offer local or end-to-end encryption. However, your data is still sensitive to hacks and leaks. This is because all of it still exists on physical servers. This system of servers is built to ensure ease of access from the web, but that isn’t always the case. These machines are generally well-guarded in the real world, but these are far beyond the average user’s control, and nothing is guaranteed.
To ensure online security, services will occasionally drop in on user accounts to make sure your information is safe. These services claim the best way to know if they’ve been breached is to take a look at user accounts. Take Dropbox for example. Their TOS states, “Like most major online services, Dropbox employees have access to your data but will only use it in the most extreme circumstances.”
For the average user, with two free gigabytes of storage on Dropbox, or even fifteen on Google Drive, this is totally fine. But for a customer paying $10 a month for extra storage, these vulnerabilities might be a complete deal-breaker. If not, Google Drive is the best value for you; where $10 gets you one hundred gigabytes on Dropbox, it nets you a full terabyte of storage on Drive. Of note is Adobe Creative Cloud’s storage, which is free with any subscription valued at $20 or over.
Physical Storage
Physical storage is much better for the environment if you allow it to be. Physical storage like hard drives, SD cards and SSDs can be wiped and reused to your heart’s content. By recycling materials, like you’re hopefully doing with your discarded device, physical uploads can be eco-friendly. The average computer only uses 200 watts of power, per hour, while the average data center can burn up to a hundred times that. A reliably decent two terabyte hard drive will only set you back around $60 and can be easily transferred to another owner. This also leaves you in complete control of where your hard drive goes, removing the enigma from your physical data. Just be sure to remember where you put it!
You should organize your information into folders so it can be easily dragged and dropped into your next device. Organization and spatial awareness are the most important aspects of any storage setup. You need to know where to find every file in your library, and whether you have space to download more. It’s also important to make sure every executable file is in the same data drive as its assets; exe’s can’t function without them.
Delete your Data
Another option to deal with your old data is to simply delete it. Letting go of old files can be liberating, a metaphorical clean slate for your new device. Obviously, if your files are important, back them up. If they’re not important, let them go. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that you’ll always remember where you put your hard drive, or always have internet access to reach your files. Your hard drive may get corrupted, even destroyed, or Google’s servers may temporarily go down. There are many ways storing data can go wrong, but hopefully as technology advances, storage will too.
Where to Dump Data Before Selling your Device was last modified: June 14th, 2021 by Scott Fluent
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, throughout 2020, millions of people across the globe were forced to comply with strict quarantine measures. Many of us, regardless of the country of origin, age, social status, and other characteristics were locked up in our own homes. We had to get used to studying and even working remotely.
What did it teach us? After the global pandemic, many people understand the benefits of work-from-home jobs. At the same time, we know that such activities come along with many challenges. And the main issue is productivity.
Trying to concentrate on work or studying in your own house can be tough. Not only is this place full of distractions but, on the subconscious level, it also feels like a place where you are supposed to get rest, which only complicates matters.
So, is there a solution? The situation is more favorable to students who don’t have jobs. Even if they can’t focus on their homework, they can always get professional help at EssayWritingService and delegate all their tasks. But, what if there is no way for you to give up your duties? Then, you need to create a better office space!
How Does Your Office Space Influence Productivity?
It’s no longer a secret that everything that surrounds us has a huge effect on our well-being, mood, and even levels of stress. This rule applies to large environments as a country or city where you live, as well as to small ones, such as a room where you work or study.
Thus, if you are constantly finding yourself not able to concentrate and get your tasks done, it might be a poorly organized space to blame. Think out of the box. Office equipment like vertical monitors can be great for various tasks while helping you keep a healthy posture and attitude.
Ideally, your office should have positive and creative vibes to set you in the right mood. On the contrary, if it is full of distractions or has a too relaxing atmosphere, most likely, your efficiency in such an environment will be close to zero.
What are the main issues that can get in the way of your productivity? There are plenty of them, but the key ones include
uncomfortable furniture;
bad equipment;
lack of light or too much light;
lack of fresh air;
background noise;
uncomfortable temperature;
desk clutter.
These are only a few of the many issues that can hold you back. What can you do about it? Of course, you could give up. You could postpone your work or delegate your papers to the pros from Essay Writing Service Canada to free more time for other duties. Yet, if you want to find a long-term solution, you will have to optimize your workspace.
Best Tips for Creating a Perfect Office Space
Now that you are aware of the connection between your productivity and office space, you might be wondering how to organize an effective environment. If so, you’ve come to the right place!
In the list below, we have gathered some of the most simple and yet practical tips for setting a perfect workspace at home. They will come in handy to students, freelancers, remote employees, and everyone else who is interested.
Get Rid of Clutter
We don’t need to explain this one. The more cluttered your environment is, the less productive and focused it will make you. So, our first tip is to get rid of the clutter and keep your space clean.
Invest in Comfy Furniture
One of the first things you should do is ensure that you have all the necessary furniture.
When choosing it, the most important thing to think about is ergonomics, especially when it comes to the chair. A wisely-chosen chair should reduce the damage long sitting can cause to your body. If you don’t consider this factor, you may face a variety of health issues in the future. So, spare no expense and choose wisely.
Apart from that, there is no one-fits-all recommendation we could give. Ideally, you should have a comfy office chair and a desk. But, if you feel like a bean bag chair is a better fit for you, then go for it. In other words, always consider your preferences.
Make Sure You Have All the Gadgets You Need
To make your days productive, you should have all the necessary tech. The basics are a desktop computer or laptop plus additional accessories such as a mouse, keyboard, webcam, and monitor.
You may also acquire other gadgets suitable to your needs. For example, get a tablet, headphones, printer, and anything else that will help you perform your daily tasks.
Also, make sure you have a stable and fast Internet connection.
Buy Some Plants
The quality of air has a large impact on our mood and well-being. Adding some green plants to your surroundings is the easiest way to improve the quality of air. Besides, it has been proven that just a couple of plants can make you 15% more productive and, at the same time, reduce stress and boost happiness.
Take Care of the Lighting and Temperature
Ensure you have plenty of daylight in your environment. According to studies, people who work in offices with lots of daylight are 3%-40% more productive, and they sleep better.
As for the temperature, you should decide what feels comfortable to you. However, according to the World Health Organization, the perfect temperature to maintain in the room is 64 °F (18 °C). This is the recommendation for adults with no health issues and dressed appropriately.
Minimize Distractions
Finally, the last and most important tip is to cut down on distractions. But how to do it? Here are a few things to consider when creating your work environment:
segregate it from the living area;
get a second computer to leave your personal laptop away during work hours;
get dressed even though you are at home;
follow a specific daily schedule;
reduce noises;
use special software to block distractions.
Wrapping Up
Organizing a favorable office space at home takes time and effort. However, you will see the long-term benefits of establishing an appropriate atmosphere. The outlined tips will help you create an environment where you can do your best every day!
6 Tips on How to Create a Great Office Space was last modified: June 11th, 2021 by Elizabeth Shirley
It is tempting to rush into designing a website so your business has an online presence, especially with web builders available. However, taking the time to understand exactly what your needs are will ensure your site serves its purpose. Before you jump into the development stage, Nicada Digital suggests you consider these questions to keep your team focused.
Q1 – What are Your Business Goals?
You or a developer cannot create the perfect website without knowing your business plan. Without knowing what your goals are, analyzing the effectiveness of your site is impossible. Therefore, create an outline of what you want from your site and what the budget is. Professional designers use your brand identity and combine it with your goals to create effective webpages.
Q2 – What Function Does the Website Have?
Your business plan should cover every aspect of your company, including what role your site plays. Different functions include:
Generating leads
eCommerce pages
Classes or courses
Provide information
Connect to social media
Q3 – What is Your Target Audience?
The type of website you create varies based on the target audience. Consider your good/service and who you expect to purchase it. Developers use analytic software to watch demographics to ensure the site is effective in reaching potential customers. Webpages from ten to 15 years ago required extensive coding knowledge but still looked very similar. Now, content management software (CMS) allows a designer to make sites that are: easy to navigate, versatile and accommodating.
Q4 – How Do You Plan to Measure Success?
From the very beginning of your company creation, you will be setting milestones to reach goals. The same is true with your website. Developers want to know your long- and short-term goals so they can assist with adjustments to your site. This area ties back into the function your site will have. If you are looking to generate leads, how many a week/month are you expecting.
Q5 – What Research Have You Done?
When you decided to start a business, you likely performed in-depth research of the industry. Building a website requires studying how features affect your traffic. You want a site that is unique but competes with other companies in your trade. Visitors should visit your webpage and find the answers they need without feeling overwhelmed. Before you talk to a developer, analyze your competition, and take notes about what aspects you like.
Q6 – Who Will Manage the Site?
The complexity of your site is dependent on who will be managing the project. If you are planning to hire a development team to handle every aspect of your webpage, a complex site is no problem. However, if you prefer to handle the maintenance, then you want something you understand.
Q7 – What is Your Budget?
Finally, you will need to set a budget for your website. It is easy to lose focus on the project and incur extra expenses quickly. Set a budget for the development team to stay under. Consider the following aspects that incur costs:
Web Host
CMS
Domain Registration
Specialty themes/plugins
Development team
Any software (newsletters, social interaction, accept payments, etc.)
Site security
Once you have the answers to these seven questions, you are finally ready to begin the project.
Crucial Questions to Consider Before Designing a Website was last modified: March 12th, 2021 by Roz Malaca
