How to Plan a Super-Productive Schedule

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Jeff Blaylock

It is hard to deny that planning is the key to success. A strict plan is something that helps managers and employees avoid numerous problems and know how to cope with those that were not predicted. Managing your time smartly is crucial for project completion. When talking about small businesses, one should admit that the number of occurring planning challenges is enormous. As a rule, developing companies have fewer resources than large ones. However, they still need to pull things up.

The necessity to plan the day cannot be overestimated – whenever you decide to let things slide, problems become unavoidable. In this article, we will discuss some productivity hacks and efficient ways to plan a project within a small business. Hopefully, these tips will help you follow the right direction!

Plan Smooth Coordination Between Employees

Make sure not to overload the employees – stress ruins productivity. Start by defining roles and positions in a team. You need people to work on particular parts of the project as well as managers to control the process.

As a rule, small companies have small staff, so some members will have to execute numerous responsibilities. The number of people in a team will depend on the amount of work and deadlines. If the project is large and time-consuming, you may need to hire more experts, management consultants, and testers. Consider finding a sponsor if your budget is too tight.

Plan Meetings

It’s crucial to meet with employees, team members, customers, and sponsors to check the progress and solve current issues. Even insignificant and small meetings should be planned. When people have a strict schedule at hand, they know how to arrange their everyday activities. Set the same day and time for regular conversations with the team members to check the progress. Sometimes, such events will take no more than a couple of minutes. However, this will help you correct all minor mistakes and problems at their very source. If you neglect this opportunity, the issues will grow and take hours to be solved.

Plan for a Week/Month

Indeed, you won’t get too far without thinking about the future. While a daily schedule maker can help you with short-term planning, you need to look at the larger picture. When students fail to plan their learning hours, they end up looking to get essay help online.

However, when employees and managers rely on short-term planning, they end up missing an important deadline. For assistance in structuring your weekly plans, consider utilizing the schedule planner app. Know what you will do each day of the week! Make Monday a planning day. Check your inbox, take a look at the task list, plan meetings, and think about the main priorities.

Routine Needs Scheduling

How to organize your life and schedule around it? Well, all of us have routine tasks to do every day. Even if this activity is repetitive, there is always a room for surprises. If you set a schedule for your most routine tasks, you will know how to approach them. Checking your inbox, calling your customers, making deliveries, or whatever you do – make sure to keep these things in order. For efficient planning and organization, consider utilizing a Digital planner for iPad. Leave some blank hours in the day, and you won’t get the jitters if something unexpected happens.

Image source: inc.com

Don’t Make Your Schedule Too Tight

Include free hours into your plan because clear space is a lifebuoy ring. Extra time will help you deal with surprises efficiently, and you won’t feel like being on a sinking ship. Let’s be honest – building an ideal schedule is impossible, and even if you do, distractions and unplanned things can happen. Sometimes, your tasks can take more time than you thought. The other tasks can depend on your colleagues, and you cannot predict if they do everything timely. Free time will help you catch up with everything. If everything goes as planned and no unexpected events ruin your schedule, these extra hours can become a pleasing time for rest, YouTube videos, or a walk.

Some Additional Tips

Get an online planner and share it with your colleagues to manage group projects
Don’t hesitate to revise the calendar
Have free spots in your schedule and use them wisely
Plan in advance
Try to improve your scheduling methods all the time

Conclusion

The better you manage your time, the more work you complete. Productivity is all about smart planning, not working till the late evening. When planning your projects at a small company, there are so many things to consider. It’s crucial to schedule as many daily and weekly activities as you can, including even the most routine tasks. Share tasks with your employees and colleagues, plan meetings and don’t forget that free space in your schedule can save your day and even an entire project. However, if you will follow these simple tips, you will be prepared for unexpected situations much better. Use them for yourself and share with your teammates!

6 Tips for Writing a To-Do List That Will Boost Your Productivity

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Jeff Blaylock

Nothing sounds quite as easy as writing a to-do list…after all, isn’t it all about putting down everything you ought to be doing on the next day and boom-let the productivity begin! Nonetheless, if you have tried writing a to-do list before and found it to be anything but easy, then you may need one or several of the following techniques to make your to-do list much more effective. This is especially if you are running a small business as efficiency is necessary to boost overall productivity and success of the company.

To guide you through, here are several tips which help you write a better to-do list and subsequently make an essential difference for your overall productivity.

1. Start with a paper and pen

Yes, as hard as it is to believe, a paper usually holds you more accountable compared to an app. A written piece of paper containing your to-do list provides you with physical proof of an item/project you have skipped through the day. Essentially, whether you dispose of the paper or even cross it out, it will still be there.

What’s more, a paper and pen is not anything that we routinely make use of anymore and is typically something different from what we are used to. It is this newness that will not only psych your brain and prepare it to meet your business targets.

2. Make it appealing

Back to the earlier point, when it comes to pen and paper, not just any typical pen or paper will do. Usually, when writing our to-do lists, it is not uncommon to use some old, basic notebook. However, this never really ends well as we end up not ever using it. Why? It is not inspiring, and opening the boring notebook only invites boredom.

Alternatively, you can purchase a bunch of colorful pens and a nice-looking planner. This way, anytime you are looking to start your activities, you will feel excited to open it. Use different stickers, drawings, colors-but always ensure its pleasing to you!

3. Be practical

Just like with your business goals, if you are looking to boost your productivity, you must be realistic. While it would be amazing to accomplish all your tasks at once and take the extra days off, it would definitely be better both for your health and mental state to practically decide on what to do the next day and what you cannot do.

For instance, if you are trying to beat the deadlines for the submission of your college essays, rather than attempt to finish all of them at once, you can enquire about online freelance writing by typing something like ‘how to find someone to write my essay for me’ on your webpage and hire professional assistance. This way, you can realistically accomplish all your assignments and still guarantee quality work.

As such, if you have a massive ongoing business project, divide it into several sub-tasks, and then work them out one after the other. By doing this, you not only simplify your task, but you will also feel way better to see four crossed out tasks rather than a massive one still waiting to be done.

4. Plan for your breaks

Typically, like with our bodies, our brains function better when well-rested and refreshed. Imagine what would happen if you decided to jog endlessly without stopping, wouldn’t you certainly wind up in a hospital? If so, then why give your brain a different treatment?

In the current era, our attention and focus have been significantly shortened by our reliance on modern technologies. And even if this were not the case, we wouldn’t expect them to continue forever! As such, carefully plan your rests also, but be practical.

You understand yourself better, and you are, therefore, aware of precisely how long your focus lasts before you start to slow down or even make mistakes. Nonetheless, don’t force it, either. Plan your rest time in accordance with how long you have been working. For instance, if you work for an hour, you can set aside a break of 20 minutes.

5. Write both the task and the time

One other factor that hinders productivity when writing to-do lists is failing to write down when every job starts and ends. It encourages procrastination. To boost productivity, it is essential that you also write down time frames for your to-do tasks. This inspires you to try and beat the deadlines for all your tasks, subsequently making your business more productive.

If you are uncertain about the amount of time you need to accomplish a task, afford it several more minutes, but ensure you will not get stressed for lacking adequate time. Moreover, once you achieve it in advance, jot down the duration it took and allocate a similar amount of time for the next day.

With the extra time, utilize it for more rest or to begin your next task in advance. This way, you can cross your whole to-do list faster than you anticipated.

6. Start small

Lastly, no matter how busy your business is, your day’s first task need not be a long project that takes a lot of time to complete. If you can complete several tasks, notwithstanding how little, you will be feeling more motivated and energized to cross out the rest of your tasks.

Nonetheless, be sure not to go overboard! All the breaks and tasks need to be approximately equal. Be sure to include both in your planner.

Conclusion

For such a simple item, there are numerous ways a to-do list can be complicated. However, if writing down your business tasks every morning isn’t really getting you to achieve your goals, be sure to try any of these few techniques to not only refocus your business task list but also boost your productivity.

Author’s Bio

Jeff Blaylock is a freelance writer who knows that time management and planning is everything. He is also a personal development coach. Now he continues his research to learn more about productivity strategies and share his knowledge with the audience.

Phone Apps for Small Business, From Convenient to Essential

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Ashish Barthwal

Whether you like it, hate it, your mobile phone is definitely crucial—and, if you load up that phone with some of the best business apps, you can change it into a toolbox that will help you run your business in a good way. But, as you already know, there are millions of productivity and business apps—plus lots of software out in today’s digital marketplace. So, to narrow down that seemingly lot of store, we made a list of the best business apps that only have the highest user reviews—and really make a huge change in workflow, according to research.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a mobile accounting app that furnish to small businesses. The app grant business owners to work on the go: invoicing clients, documentation expenses and tracking time. According to business websites assignment help Australia and buy argumentative essay, the app is fast, accessible and very handy to use on any device. Its smooth user interface is created keeping in mind of easy usage by millions of small business owners each day. Other effective features include the ability to track and construct expenses from anywhere and build customizable business reports, such as profit and loss statements. FreshBooks works on PCs, iOS and Android devices.

Bear

Bear is a clean, flexible way to write anything you want—from half-formed sentences to big essays—on your iOS devices. This app isn’t made definitely for businesses, but you can use Bear to jot down and construct your particular thoughts, ideas, recipes, dreams, poem , to-buys, to-reads, and everything else that’s cluttering your brain so you can be at your most extremely functional when you step into the office and home. Presently, you can export a text note as HTML, DOCX, RTF, PDF, Markdown, and even JPG.

More Good features of the Bear app include:

Markup and editing tools
Varius conversion options, as well as PDF and Word docs
Syncs with the cloud

Asana

If your business is looking to enhance its communication and association, look no further than Asana. The web-based and mobile app lets you view all your tasks and projects and follow improvement on the Asana board, and you can share notes and files , upload files and communicate without having to rely on email. Asana also coordinate with Google Drive and Dropbox to attach files, and with Slack for communication to post updates to a your messaging app. The app has various appearance including task assignment and organize, task updating, and reminder sending. Asana is available for both iOS and Android to enable devices. While the app is free for unit with up to 15 users .

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a fabulously application for controlling social media network channels. Often specify to as a social media management system or tool, it facilitates you to view multiple streams at once and check what customers are saying. You can post updates, read feedback, schedule and view messages to anyone, view statistics, and much more. Many global brands—including Coca-Cola apply this timesaving approach to social media marketing.

Business experts working with python programming assignment help and do my statistics homework say, The social media management platform grant you to schedule and share your posts all social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and many more. Hootsuite also has an analytics tool that helps you see the impact of your campaigns. As you automate all your social media posts, you free up time to engage with your valuable followers and boost your marketing strategy.

Workable

Whether or not you have a devoted recruiter at your small business, using a particular recruiting app makes the process of finding capable employees much faster and smooth. Although LinkedIn is possibly the world’s most prominent recruiting tool, the Workable app gets near-perfect user reviews for its “secured, streamlined, and smart” effectiveness to source, research, and connect with selecting candidates.

A few very useful and key features of the Workable app are below:

Build a branded careers page
Quickly research candidate profiles
Customizable pre-screen question template
Conduct hiring pipelines and track and view applicant status
Schedule interviews when it will done
Email and calendar integration
Back onboarding process

Skype

You might already be using Skype to have in touch with long-distance loved ones, but this video-conferencing app is a must-have business app if you and your team work casually from one another. Skype is possibly the first app that comes in many people’s minds when they need a free video call. Today, Skype has over million of users globally and still serve as the best video calling app. Skype is great for small businesses. Not only it allows one-to-one clear-cut video talks, it also lets to have a video conference with up to 25 users for free. Also, it’s very useful for chats, file sharing, screen sharing and many more. Skype can also be used on Amazon Alexa devices.

Key features of the SKYPE app are below

Whole Meeting recording
Up to 250 people can join meetings from any device.
Collaborate in real time with PowerPoint upload and Whiteboard, If your small startup doesn’t need Skype for Business’ supercharged features, you’ll perhaps find the very basic version of Skype suitable, which enables up to 25 people to join calls.

Affiliate Opportunities with DejaOffice PC CRM

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

DejaOffice PC CRM is a unique opportunity. Released in 2019, it can capture a new market customer who are looking for a fast, secure, on-premise CRM program.

It is ideally suited for customers who are a single-person business, and small companies up to 25 sales people. DejaOffice is PC based, the database is local on your hard disk. This makes it unique in the modern CRM marketplace which is almost entirely cloud based.

Affiliate Sales for Business CRM Customers

We offer an Affiliate program that will pay 20% back for every recommendation you make for Business CRM Customers. A Business license generally runs $99 for the Outlook version, $129 for the “Express” CRM and $199 for the 5-User license. So the Affiliate payment is $20, $25 and $40 respectively. You get this in the month following your customer’s purchase. You need do nothing more than promote the program with your link and you get credit for every purchase.

Service business for Localized CRM Customers

DejaOffice is fully Unicode compliant and currently localized with 12 languages. We will work with vendors to produce more localized versions. This allows you to promote DejaOffice for your own community in your own language. You can then become the support representative for your area, deriving sales and revenue by providing technical assistance.

For instance, a Latvian business may wish to set up a Latvian website to promote and sell DejaOffice in the Latvian language. We will assist in working with you to build your language into DejaOffice PC CRM, and Android and iPhone CRM products. Once built, we will maintain these languages in our product releases.

In addition to Affiliate sales, you will find that customers readily need assistance with technical issues, moving databases, and connecting the DejaOffice data to their other business systems. You can easily set up a fee based service business handling this type of service.

To Sign up as an affiliate partner click here. Please write to us about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

. Please write to us about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

Top 10 Study Apps for College Students

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Pauline Emerson

The burden of college life is hard. Students barely have time for anything else except studying and often get exhausted with an extensive academic load. Luckily, today, scholars have plenty of tools that can simplify their lives while making them more productive.

Using various mobile applications for a simpler life and higher productivity is a smart solution for a modern student. This way, you can have all the needed materials and tools right at your fingertips. Most importantly, the majority of helpful software and applications are free of charge or, at least, affordable. Thus, everyone can get needed help without going bankrupt.

In this article, we have compiled the most convenient and handy apps that students need to have in their toolkit. Let’s dive in!

Colorful notebooks and felt-tip pens with cellphone and laptop on cream background Free Photo

Top Apps College Students Need

If you are looking for simple ways to study easier and get more progress, some of the best solutions are right in your pocket! Today, there are plenty of applications that make learning convenient, fun, and much more effective.

What are the best tools to use? We have picked some of the best options for you.

EssayPro

One of the biggest challenges of a modern scholar is coping with tons of different assignments and papers. Sometimes, students just can’t handle a large academic load satisfactorily, so they start seeking help. That’s when Essay Pro comes in handy. This is an online service where scholars of all academic levels can obtain assistance from professional writers.

Here, you can order papers on all topics and subjects. Besides, the service often offers nice discounts on purchase essays, so if you ever feel like you aren’t cutting it yourself, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help!

Alarmy

Most students struggle with the problem of getting out of bad on time. Young people tend to study (or party) all night long and then oversleep their classes.

To get rid of this issue once and forever, use Alarmy! This is a free application available for iOS and Android devices. The app is fully customizable. For example, you can set a math problem that has to be solved to turn off the alarm. It is one of the best options a student can find!

iTunes U

If you own an iOS device, then you must download iTunes U! This is a great application that stores thousands of free lessons, learning materials, videos, audio files, lectures, and much more!

One of the most significant benefits of this app is that teachers can integrate their classrooms into iTunes U. This will give students the possibility to access all materials right from their phones.

Brainscape

Looking for an effective way to study for your exams? Then Brainscape is your best bet! The application uses a unique flashcard technology to make studying simple and more effective.

This tool is free, and it contains lots of pre-installed sets of flashcards for different subjects. Also, every user can create one’s cards.

Brainscape also has some extra handy features like progress tracker and collaboration mode. It is available for iOS and Android users.

Scholly

Are you seeking suitable scholarships? It becomes almost effortless with the help of the free Scholly app developed for Android and iOS devices. This tool helps students find scholarships they are eligible for faster. You can track the applications sent, manage deadlines, and even access helpful resources that share tips on how to win money for college.

Chegg

What is one of the biggest concerns of every college student? We bet finances are. Quite many young people don’t have any sources of income, which is why they have to grab every money-saving opportunity that comes along.

If this is something you are interested in, try Chegg – a free app that allows you to rent and buy textbooks, get help with homework, hire a tutor, and more!

BenchPrep Companion

Getting ready for important exams and tests is always a challenging and stressful process. However, with the help of BenchPrep Companion, test preparation becomes simple, fun, and, most importantly, effective! The application is available for iOS and Android.

Duolingo

Knowing foreign languages always looks good on a resume, and there is no better time for learning a few than the college years. One of the best assistants in learning a foreign language is Duolingo – a free application for iOS and Android.

This app helps users learn how to write, read, and speak other languages. The main reason why we love it is that it is very user-friendly and turns learning into a fun game.

Khan Academy

Self-learning is vital for every student, and there is no better tool for effective learning than Khan Academy. This is a free application that offers lots of tuition-free courses, lectures, study materials, and much more! Definitely a must-have app for everyone.

CliffsNotes

Our last app on this list is very handy for college students! This is a free application that allows users to access plenty of study guides right from their smartphones. With the help of CliffsNotes Study Guides, learners of all fields can discover lots of quizzes, study materials, cram plans, summaries, and more!

Friends having fun at their graduation Free Photo

Final Words

It is customary to think that the only way to reach real progress in learning is to work as hard, and as much as you can. Most people believe that such enormous efforts pay off with success. This is true to a certain extent. However, to reach real results, you should work smarter, not harder!

Therefore, if there is any chance to simplify your life and studying process – be sure not to miss this opportunity! Hopefully, this list of student apps will help each of you create your own college first aid kit!

How To Protect Your Laptop While Traveling

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Steve Jones

There are multiple aspects to keeping a laptop safe. It does you little good to encrypt your laptop against malware if you conduct actions which leave it wide open to thieves, and vice versa. Here are a few tips to help keep your device safe and your trip relaxed.

Your laptop is probably the most expensive thing on you when you are traveling, and yet it is incredibly fragile. Few things can ruin a vacation faster than losing your laptop to theft, viruses, or other threats, especially if you are in an area on the globe where you may be unable to easily obtain a new one.

Get a New, Padded Laptop Backpack

A good laptop backpack is a major first step towards protecting your laptop from bumps, falls, water, and other damaging things. PC Magazine has a list of good backpacks, though you can check Amazon or any office or electronics store in the area.

When you are selecting a backpack, prioritize checking its padding above anything else. The backpack should have a rigid frame, and if it does not you can add backpack armor to make it sturdy. Also look for multiple compartments so that you can store just the laptop in a single compartment instead of squishing it alongside clothes and wires and other things. Go for functionality over style, as the only people you will end up attracting with a cool backpack are thieves.

Note that you should try to get a backpack instead of a briefcase or messenger bag. A briefcase is a clear sign to unsavory individuals that something valuable is inside, and is easier to rip away from you than a properly secured backpack. It is also easy to carry a backpack on a long hike instead of awkwardly shifting a messenger bag from shoulder to shoulder.

Stay Alert

If you leave your laptop unattended in a public space for a minute or two to use the bathroom, you may as well kiss it goodbye. Laptops are prime candidates for thieves, whether it is for the value of the data in the laptop or for the device itself. And while you can lock your computer or even put a cable lock around it to deter thieves, your best weapon against them is constant vigilance.

Take your laptop with you wherever you go, instead of leaving it in the hotel. But also keep it out of sight when you can. Keep it in a backpack, or cover it with a jacket. The less people know where your laptop, the less likely anything bad will happen to it.

Backup your Data

You should be regularly backing up your data already, but it is important to do a full backup right before you go on a trip. Store all of your important data on an external hard drive or in the cloud so that you do not lose any critical data on top of losing your computer. Create a log of passwords outside the computer so that anyone who gains access cannot access personal records.

Also consider backing up your data while you are on the trip itself. If you have created any documents or files on the trip, store them on a CD or USB drive in your hotel at the end of the day and put those things in a secure place.

Use a VPN instead of public Wi-Fi

Sitting in a café in some foreign land and connecting to the Internet may seem like the epitome of how globalization brings us together, but doing anything on a public Wi-Fi can be extremely dangerous. The problem is that as CSO Online describes, hackers can easily position themselves between yourself and the connection point. This gives them access to any data you send out, such as your email passwords, business data, and credit card data. Even if you are just logging into some internet forum or checking sports scores, they can use any information to deduce personal information about you. Furthermore, hackers can also send data back and infect your computer with malware.

Consequently, you should be looking to connect online as little as possible. If you are in a situation where you absolutely must connect, use a trustworthy VPN which will encrypt your data. If you are not sure what a VPN is, cooltechzone has an excellent guide on what they are and how to set one up.

A VPN enables you to create a secure and safe pathway for you to send and also receive data. This is encrypted and allows you to unblock restricted sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer etc. The team at VPN Geeks has a nice article explaining exactly how a VPN works.

Note that a VPN will not make your data completely hackproof. But the hacker will likely not want to make the effort when there are other computers sending unencrypted data. Your company should provide you with a VPN you can use when traveling abroad. Also make sure to turn wi-fi off when not using it, as the computer is still transmitting data when it is on.

Should You Leave Your Laptop at Home?

Your laptop will face numerous threats when traveling that it will never have to deal with if you leave it at home. So maybe you should not take your laptop at all.

This is especially true if you are on vacation. You are traveling to see the world and explore new sights, not stay hooked to the Internet like you are on most days. And even if you want to stay connected to some degree, Trip Savvy points out that a tablet or phone can serve just as well for someone just on vacation. The only major reason to bring a laptop along is if you may have to work when traveling.

If you really, truly, absolutely must bring a computer along, consider bringing in a cheaper laptop. Do you still have that old, slow, dying laptop lying around which you replaced with your brand new device? Take the old one instead. You may be frustrated with longer loading times, but you will not have to be looking over your shoulder all the time out of fear of losing or damaging it.

Best Phone Tracking Apps to Save Your Business

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Jessica Davison

A company has to conduct audits, regular inventory checks, and reconcile cash regularly to prevent frauds. The Owner of the company should personally review the financial statements each month. You are responsible for protecting your business from theft and fraud of employees. With a phone tracker, you can track the activities of your employees. Here are some best GPS tracking apps for your business:

With the right App you can track your phone effortlessly!

Hubstaff (for Android and iOS)

Time tracking app of Hubstaff comes with GPS location service for businesses of all sizes. It is a powerful management tool for remote companies, sales teams, and mobile fleets. Productivity monitoring, payroll integrations, and automated reporting are some highlights of Hubstaff.

After collecting location and time with this app, you will be able to make good decisions for your business. The free Android and iOS apps can give you an accurate picture of team works. With its geofencing feature, you can easily track the performance of your teams.

ezClocker (Android and iOS)

ezClocker is a highly rated time tracking and scheduling app for small businesses. Ideal for small teams who need a simple to use app that works within their budget. One of the reason’s ezClocker is highly rated on the AppStore is it’s simple design where even a non-tech person can figure out how to use it.

Employees can clock in with a touch of a button, view their schedule, and total hours worked. Employers use ezClocker to view timesheets, create schedules, view overtime and export time entries to process payroll.

Timesheet Mobile (Good for Android and iOS)

With Timesheet mobile app, you can track locations and work time of your employee. Real-time synchronization with this portal can be a good idea for employers. It is easy to track the timing of incoming and outgoing schedules of your employees. The timesheet helps you to capture mileage for expenditure reports.

Labor Sync (For Android and iOS)

Use this multilingual cloud-based application to track your workers from your comfort zone. It will be easy for you to check the location of your team. Labor Sync comes with a map (interactive) to observe their workday. With this app, you can decrease the use of paper timesheets.

You will get modified and filtered reports by timeframe, job, and employee. Labor Sync allows you to see the exact time spend on every project. Feel free to track multiple employees with one device. With its messaging feature, employees can get notifications for schedule changes and meetings.

HoursTracker (Android and iOS)

With its powerful features and easy to use interface, you can easily track your earnings and time. Clock out, and clock in is adjustable as per your convenience. It can group your entries by month, week, or day. HoursTracker can automatically calculate the pay period, such as net pay estimates and overtime.

HoursTrackers allow you to track location for easy editing and entry. With its automatic location awareness, overtime, filters, tags, and time reached alerts; you can keep an eye on the performance of your workers. This app will give you notifications of someone’s departure and arrival. It can send necessary notifications to users.

TSheets (Android and iOS)

Do you need a flexible app to track time? TSheets can be a reliable solution. You will get intuitive experience with changing job codes, clocking function and management, and monitoring actions. With its GPS functionality and background harmonization technology, it can provide you with necessary information without draining your battery. You can get a map of daily activities to increase your visualization.

Timr (Windows, BlackBerry, Android, and iOS)

Timr helps you to track working time on your project. It is necessary to track your remote employees. This app emphasis on time tracking. The mobile apps allow you to handle GPS tracking. Mobile and web apps can sync consistently to provide users with updated data.

Gleeo (Good for Android)

For efficient time tracking, Gleeo can be a reliable app. The reliable interface and touchscreens make it a user-friendly app. Time tracking is easy with Gleeo. You can easily access reports and export them via Bluetooth or email. Gleeo offers unlimited projects along with an animated timeline. It is available in light themes and different colors.

Google Calendar Down – How to sync Outlook without Google

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Google Calendar and G-Suite Calendar is experiencing a worldwide outage.

This is a great time to remind people that “big data” has a problem. Google, Microsoft and Apple want to tie you into their corporate cloud ecosystem. The flaw is that it will put your business down if you depend on them.

There is an alternative.

CompanionLink is a vendor of non cloud-based tools. We have a cloud sync system, but it’s only role is to transport your data. With our tools your data is entirely contained on your PC, your Android Phone, your iPhone and your iPad. So when the data network is down, or when your internet is connected, you can continue to add, schedule, complete and make notes. When your phone connects later, the sync will “catch up” to all your devices.

DejaOffice for Android features Android Widgets that give a great preview of your day today.

DejaOffice for iPhone has a highly secure data model and lets you store hidden data in your database. This is great for password or other confidential information.

DejaOffice for PC offers an array of multi-user and secure options, as well as Live Windows Widgets that let you add events and notes without opening any App.

When you need to move data from Outlook to your Phone, keep in mind that CompanionLink and DejaOffice can do this without sharing your data with Google, Microsoft or Apple.

CompanionLink for Outlook

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How Adware Affects Your Computer

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Shawn Abraham

While on your Computer or mobile device, you notice an annoying pop-up advertisement, and regardless of how often you close it, it keeps reappearing. Chances are its Adware.

Adware is short for advertisement and Software. It is an advertising-supported Software. It is the name given to programs that are designed to display advertisements on your Computer, redirect your search to advertising websites, and collect data about you. For example, it receives a history of sites the user visits, and this sends this information back to the ad company. The information collected is often used to deliver custom advertisements to you.

Adware is a financially supported Software, and most times, developers bundle them with other files that you’ve downloaded. They might be malicious in nature so you must run a scan using Adware Removal tool. Sometimes they are not harmful, but they have the potential to be, and users see them as an invasion of privacy and distraction.

How Adware is Installed

Are you in a situation where specific advertisements keep showing up on your Computer, whether in any of your browsers or sites you’ve never seen ads before? If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, your system might be affected by Adware that injects ads into websites as you browse.

Aside from getting rid of Adware; a big question you might be asking is how did it get there initially?

Adware overtime has been responsible for many successful and prevalent programs including AOL instant messenger, Endora and many more. A method in which Adware can get into your system is when you download a free program. Other times, producers of software bundler pay for ads to appear when you search for specific Software. These adverts lead you to download a software bundler instead of the free, neat Software you were hoping for, leaving you with many ad injections.

Another method which is as well insidious occurs when you’re visiting a website. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trusted site or a sketchy one. Whichever way, your device can be infected with Adware. This way takes advantage of the vulnerability of your browser. The Adware burrows in, start collecting information, redirects you to malicious sites and pop up more advertisement.

How Adware affects your Computer

Sometimes, adware fall under the category of malicious software ‘malware.’ Adware is often harmless, but are now used in bad manners to exploit your system. Below are ways Adware can affect your Computer.

Slows down your Computer

The first warning of malicious Adware is the deterioration in your Computer’s performance. Adware has a reputation of engaging resources and in turn, hurting performance and speed. Adware runs continuously in the background without your knowledge and uses valuable resources such as memory processor speed.

Increase Bandwidth Usage

Adware does this by downloading unwanted stuff. When you authorize the download of Software, new Software is downloaded and installed simultaneously. Many adware programs enter into your Computer unknowingly. These programs invade your Computer and run in your Computer’s background, eating up bandwidth. If you notice a constant use of your internet, but you can’t find any program regularly using this bandwidth on your Computer. It is likely Adware.

Make Computing Experience Worse

Adware is an annoyance to most computer users. For the majority of people, the primary problem with Adware is its ability to display advertisements in a pop-up form whenever it wants. These adverts grab your attention, and if you click on them, they install Software on your system without your permission. These installed Software keeps displaying adverts related to whatever you have clicked before. This pop up over a user’s work can plague the user.

Costs Money

Shopping is now a lot easier with the availability of online stores. The idea that one can buy anything from the comfort of their home is soothing. Right products, reasonable prices, and new offers/discounts are some of those things that make online shopping attractive. However, there are dangers associated with online shopping. Adware throws fake advertisements for an online store at a user. These ads are illegitimate, and most times, they offer a ridiculously low price of an item or a service that is hard to pass up on. Once a user clicks on it, a malicious user can steal their info (credit card info, for example).

Invades Privacy

Another negative side is an invasion of privacy. Some adware programs can download and install spyware. These programs can capture user personal information, and they send confidential information to advertisers or criminals. Additionally, they can collect browsing history and send it to ad managers.

How to Get Rid of Adware

Look out for suspicious/unknown name in installed programs and remove it.

As discussed earlier, most pop-up ads install a program on your Computer. Though not as a general rule, you’ll need to check for malicious programs to remove it.

Navigate your way to the programs screen and scroll through the list of currently installed programs. Look for recently installed unknown programs, any other unwanted or unknown program and uninstall from your Computer.

Depending on what application has installed the adware infection, the program may have a different name on your Computer. If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your Computer, then you can proceed with this next step.

Look out for suspicious/unknown name in installed browser extensions and remove it.

Adware generally bombards web browsers with ads. An important step is to look out for unknown extension and uninstall it.

Besides, you can reset Internet Explorer settings or other browsers to return them to the state they were in on the first installation on your PC. This reset feature fixes many issues while saving essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history, and open tabs.

Install MalwareFox

As easy as the above steps look like, things are not completely easy in most cases. There are situations in which these programs might be hiding deep in system setting and prove challenging to remove.

In cases like this, it is reasonable to scan the system with adware removal tool like MalwareFox. MalwareFox performs deep cleaning, detects, and cleans Adware; removing annoying ads, toolbar, and search in a click.

Additionally, MalwareFox restores performance by deleting adware infections which engages resources. With this method, there’s a gain of lost power of the computer system.

FaceTime Stuck On Connecting: What To Do To Troubleshoot Issues?

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Michael Jones

Since its first launch, FaceTime has proven to be a convenient and simple way to stay in touch with your family and friends. It is one of the top-rated tools for communication used by millions of people all over the globe.

Unfortunately, despite its popularity, sometimes the app fails. Such issues often catch users by surprise, leaving them without connection. This situation can be rather frustrating. What to do in this case? Our article will give you the answer!

Simple Ways To Deal With The Problem

If you have found the application not responding or stuck on connecting or your iPhone 13 stuck on screens, chances are it is an internal failure of the app itself. Thus, your main task is to define the causes of the issues you’ve faced and find possible solutions. In the guide below, we will tell you about the main steps you could undertake to find the reason behind the problem and fix it. The solutions are offered in a special sequence from the simplest to the most complex ones, so make sure you try them in the same order!

1. Restart

Whenever you face any sort of issues, the first thing to try is to restart your computer or another device. If it’s only the application itself that is not responding, you can reboot your device the traditional way. Otherwise, you may need to use special tools.

You can try doing a force restart, otherwise known as a hard reset.

In any case, this is the first step to take. After the reboot is complete, go back to the application to see if the issue is solved and if not, go on to the next step.

2. Make sure you haven’t missed an OS update

Since FaceTime is one of the default apps on iOS devices, it may work improperly when your OS version becomes too outdated. This means that if you find FaceTime stuck on connecting screen, you might want to upgrade to the newest OS. This will likely solve the problem. In fact, this tip can apply to all the other system or app failures.

3. Reactivate the application

Sometimes, connection failures can be resolved by reactivating the app. To do this, go to your Settings and find FaceTime tab. Open it and turn it off. Then turn it back off and wait until the activation is completed. Once you do this, go back to the home screen and try launching the app now to check if it works.

4. Check your settings

Sometimes, you may be unable to make or receive calls when you are using FaceTime not with Wi-Fi, but with a cellular connection. Why does this happen? Most often, the reason for such failure is just the wrong settings. To check if it is the case, go to your device’s settings and find the section that manages Cellular connection settings. Then, find a tab called Use Cellular Data For and make sure that you allow the app to work when you are not connected to Wi-Fi.

5. Reset settings

One more effective method requires you to resetting all network settings. This action will not remove your files from the device, so you shouldn’t be worried about that. It will only delete all the previous network settings including VPN, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

To try this method, go to your phone’s settings and navigate to the General tab. Next, find the Reset section and pick an option that resets only network settings. Wait for the process to be completed, connect to Wi-Fi again and see if FaceTime works now.

6. Try a VPN

Planet VPN is a completely free VPN service that ensures unrestricted traffic and connection speed. A VPN will allow access to music streaming websites, sport events, games, social media, messengers, and more, while having a safe connection.

Completely free VPN service that provides unlimited traffic and connection speeds; Improves online security and privacy for everyone; The product has received excellent reviews in all app stores and works with all popular devices.

7. The Last Option

What if any of these steps help you? It may be worth your time to check out the best platform to stream on for new options that will work for you.

In this case, it might be a problem with the device itself. It may be worth your time to check out the best platform to stream on or contact the iPhone repair center in your neighborhood. Your last option would be to take your device for a repair.

FaceTime

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How to Securely Sync Your Phone Calendar and Contacts

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Amit Chauhan

Smartphones: Indispensable tools but beware of data loss

Our phones have become more like e-wallets or, let’s say, e-storage devices, akin to a vault where we have an ocean of all our important as well as ‘not-so-important’ data stored. In face of such a scenario, could you imagine losing either your phone or your data? That would be nothing short of a nightmare, wouldn’t it? Well, not anymore! With the option to synchronize all your data across devices, the potential loss of valuable data is increasingly becoming a prospect least likely. But wait, that’s not reason enough to snub the possibility of losing your precious data because syncing usually requires a third-party tool and that’s what the catch is. Not all third-party tools and software available out there for syncing your phone data and contacts do what they claim to. What you therefore need is a reliable tool that can sync your data across devices with entirety.

Sync Android with Outlook without sharing your data with Google, iCloud or Microsoft.

CompanionLink: Providing trusted syncing solutions for a range of devices

With a swarm of third-party tools available for syncing data, finding out the best one could be a major hassle. The hassle magnifies if you are looking to sync your outlook data and contacts wherein you need to use Exchange in order to send your valuable contacts’ data and calendar data securely to your phone. What then is the solution? Well, CompanionLink Software Inc. is a US based software firm that aims to bridge all gaps that exist between third-party sync tools and a seamless data syncing experience. CompanionLink’s Android sync software is perhaps the best tool out there to sync outlook contacts with android and the best part of the story is that with CompanionLink’s software, you do not have to use Exchange when you sync outlook contacts with android; just USB or WiFi or Bluetooth or DejaCloud is all that you need as CompanionLink offers direct sync using these options. Now that’s what is called ‘delivering what is promised’.

Secure syncing: That’s what CompanionLink stands for

Whether you are an iPhone an Android lover, what ought to concern you is the fact that you are constantly sharing your data with either Apple or Google or Microsoft. Does that ring a bell in your mind regarding the security of your data? If it does, you have another strong reason to try CompanionLink as it offers fast and secure sync from your PC to your Phone. Another problem faced by users of licensed tools for effectively syncing data over devices is that the license of the tool belongs to the PC. When one buys a new computer, a new license of the tool needs to be purchased. Thankfully, that’s not the case with CompanionLink. The license for any of CompanionLink’s tools is for you and not for your PC. CompanionLink uses your email address to register the software on a new computer. Now that’s pretty smart, isn’t it?

So, that brings us to the conclusion that in order to do away with a multitude of hassles associated with third party sync software, CompanionLink is the answer. With CompanionLink and the seamless experience it offers, you no longer have to depend on just any untrusted application to sync outlook contacts with android.

CompanionLink for Outlook

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What Your Remote Employees Can do to Protect Your Network

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Alex Mitchell

6 Tips for Remote Employees

Thanks to increased use of technology in work, it has enabled a lot of persons to work less and less from the office. What this means is that we now have more persons working from the comfort of their homes, a coffee shop, hotel or some other remote location of their choosing.

Despite the many advantages of having employees work remotely, these advantages come at a cost, usually, in the form of data security. Normally, having your employees work in a traditional office space means you can monitor what comes in and goes out of your company’s network – the IT team can catch viruses early, password changes can be forced upon employees using auto-reminders, and regular security checks means you catch issues early and deal with them.

This ability to work from anywhere gives employees the needed flexibility, and for the employers, it means they can enjoy the services of talents from around the world without having to worry about the overhead occasioned from staffing.

However, with remote employees, you lose all of this control, and it leaves your network open to virus attacks, cyber leaks and all other forms of cyber threats. When things like this happen, financial, legal and reputational problems may result. Therefore, you need to have a system in place to protect your network when you have employees working remotely. You employees should follow the things below to protect your network.

• PROTECT THEIR DEVICES AT ALL TIMES

Often, most data-stealing malware that affects devices arrive via the web or email and to reduce the chances of a security breach you have to restrict access to personal web browsing and email. However, enforcing this is costly and can be difficult. Therefore, to protect your network, you have to ensure your employees use the latest versions of all applications and install security patches as soon as they are released. You can also manage things from your end by activating automatic updates from software makers.

• LIMIT THE USE OF PUBLIC WI-FI

Internet on public Wi-Fi is provided from unknown servers, and this means security is not guaranteed. This makes the network susceptible to hackers since anyone can access it; therefore, you should have a standing order which forbids your employees from sending or receiving sensitive information over public Wi-Fi. As with public Wi-Fi, so too is cyber café, your employees should not conduct company business with them.

• EMPLOY CLOUD SERVICES

By employing cloud-based applications in your office tasks, it allows your employees to work from any location and transfers the burden of managing data security to the cloud service providers who usually are more equipped to handle it.

The cloud-based service provider gives you safe virtual storage and working space while your employees manage passwords. You should ensure your employees use strong passwords as this helps keep data secure. In fact, you can employ cloud applications to secure employees access to the web, and there are quite a number of companies which offer these services.

• LIMIT THE USE OF EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICES

External storage devices like USBs can easily be misplaced so your remote employees should restrict their use and if they must be used to house only non-sensitive information.

Beyond this, USB devices can be used by hackers to install malware on your computer so your remote employees should avoid using a friend or stranger’s USB on their laptop.

• GET EDUCATION ON SECURITY TRAINING

Some companies may be tempted to give employees the benefit of the doubt by assuming they know how to manage security. However, this should not be the case as employees should be mandated to take up basic security courses which would teach them how to handle suspicious emails and links and to understand what a secure password should be like. It is important employees understand that work computers are for the company and not for personal use, therefore, should be treated as such.

• INSTALL ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE

Lost and stolen devices can pose a source of danger in the wrong hands, but you can lessen this risk with encryption software which bars unauthorized users from accessing the device.

Also, you can install remote wipes on your devices so data on them can be erased in case they go missing.

In conclusion, although remote workers can save the company money in terms of expenditure on overhead, they can also pose a risk to the firm especially if they use office devices for personal use. Therefore as a company, you have to put measures in place to handle staff remotely while remote workers should do their bit in adhering with safety measures.

Case Study: Android Outlook USB Sync causing Windows Sockets Error

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

A customer contacted us this week who had been using a competing Android Outlook Sync product. A Windows Update caused the sync to fail with a Windows Sockets error.

We recommended CompanionLink for Outlook, which can synchronize directly from Outlook to Android using a USB Cable. There are a number of Outlook Android sync products, but only a few companies will handle it like old Palm Hotsync from PC to Phone using a USB cable.

The customer was in a hurry, having already spent hours on the problem. So we recommended our RunStart service. With this service a technician logs into the computer to set up the software. The sync needs to match up the Contacts and Calendar items that are already on the phone, so it is helpful for an experienced technician to watch for any problems with duplicate data.

It is not uncommon to see duplicate data when switching from one sync product to another. The reason is that your data is already on both sides of the sync. So if there is any formatting changes, a computer product may not recognize similar contact and calendar data. CompanionLink 8 contains a dedupe utility that can quickly clear duplicates from Outlook and your Phone. There is no extra charge for this function.

CompanionLink offers a competitive upgrade for anyone who has purchased a product from one of our competitors. You can purchase the “Upgrade” price, even if you are buying from CompanionLink for the first time. Here is a link for a Competitive Upgrade to CompanionLink for Outlook.

Here is a link with added RunStart service, and an additional $10 off your purchase – total $78.95. With this service, you will be on a fresh new solution in just a few minutes, and ready to carry on your normal day’s business.

CompanionLink for Outlook

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WSJ Shockingly Good Phone article features Nokia 7.1

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

The Wall Street Journal published a great article this week called: Shockingly Good Smartphones You Can Get for $350 or Less (WSJ -Paywall).

It makes a point that we tend to think of first-run phones as being $1000. But that there is a variety of Mid-Priced phones that are pretty effective.

The main recommendation is Nokia 7.1 which happens to be one of my favorite phones. As the Article points out, it is a good modern phone running Android Oreo 8.1, with a nice screen, good camera and is pretty free of the bloatware that comes on Android devices.

The other featured phones in the article are the Lenovo Moto G7, and the Xiaomi Pocophone F1.

For all the mid-range phones, you can download DejaOffice from the Android App Store, and easily set up CompanionLink for Outlook to synchronize Outlook to the phone. DejaOffice for Android features widgets for the Android home screen to show your calendar, Category colors on Calendar, and integrated Tasks and Contacts so your whole work desktop is in one place on your phone.

It’s great to see Nokia is back to making great main stream phones again!

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Fabulous Ways to Make Money from Your Smartphone

Posted on April 11, 2019 by James Hunt

These days people are looking for more convenience as well as plenty more choice when it comes to improving their financial situation. A lot of people are utilising technology in a bid to make money, and there are plenty of side gigs that can be enjoyed in this sense as well. Making money from your smartphone is something that is becoming more and more a reality, and you need to look at what you can do to embrace this.

It is essential that you look at the different avenues available in this regard, and this is something that you need to make sure you get right immediately. There are a lot of different ways in which you can make money using your smartphone, and this is something you need to keep in mind right now – check out these examples to help get you started today.

Day Trading

If you feel like you have a good understanding of the stock market, you might like to consider something like day trading. This is an option that is readily accessible from your phone, but you need to be careful because this can be very volatile, and there is a chance you could lose a lot of money. If you are a skilled day trader, and you set yourself limits, then this is a good way for you to make money using your smartphone.

Business Apps

There are plenty of business apps you can use for your smartphone that will help you to run your company more effectively. In the modern world, running a business has become a popular choice, and this is something you should look into. What better way to make money than by running your own business right now? Make use of the right apps in order to help you make the best possible choice when it comes to making money using your phone.

Surveys

Surveys rank among the best money making apps out there, and they are a great way of generating some extra cash without having to spend a lot of money or work very hard. Sure, you’re not going to earn megabucks by doing this, but you will be able to supplement your earnings with a bit of additional cash, and it’s a pretty easy way of making money as well.

Gaming

There are plenty of things you can do with your smartphone that will help you to earn more money, and gaming is one of the best. Make sure you do as much as possible to understand what it takes to make money from gaming. If you can get this right, you should have no problems being able to earn while you play, and do so on the move as well.

These are just a few of the fabulous tips you need to consider when you are looking at the best ways of making extra money when you use your smartphone. There is a lot that you can do in this regard, and it makes sense to embrace this wherever you can. Have a look at the different ideas and try to use them to get the best out of your phone, and start making more casin in the process.

Case Study: Migrate from Microsoft BCM to DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Recently we were approached by a customer who used to use BCM, and wanted a solution that worked with Office 365.

The customer had used Microsoft Business Contact Manager from 2013 to 2018. They had Contacts, Accounts and Communication History. This customer had tried a migration tool to move BCM contacts to Office 365 contacts. This tool was not successful. (CompanionLink Professional can move BCM Contacts to Outlook contacts using a folder-to-folder sync.)

At the time the customer contacted us, they had not used BCM for many months. So the BCM database was out of date.

Our new product DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook adds certain CRM functions to Office 365 Outlook (Outlook 2019). Among these functions are History Also, DejaOffice can import from older CRM systems like Microsoft BCM which was discontinued in 2016.

The customer also purchased Premium Support, which is a service where our technician could log into his computer and set everything up.

What we did was Sync the old BCM database to DejaCloud. We moved the Accounts, Contacts and Communication History. Then on the new computer, the customer installed DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook. In addition, the customer uses a Mobile Phone and DejaOffice has the complete database there also.

The entire operation of moving the old database to DejaCloud, and sync to the new PC took our technician about 30 minutes. Most of this time was checking the data each step of the way. The actual sync time was about five minutes for both sync phases.

Now, the customer can make a new contact from an Outlook email. When they look up a Contacts, they an see the communications history imported from the old PC. And they have Caller ID and History on their Phone.

Here is a link to order this same service – DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook along with Premium installation and one year of support. Give us a call at (503)243-3400 to schedule an installation or talk about your needs.

DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone

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