If your business reimburses employees for out-of-pocket expenses (yourself included), you need a process to track and record those costs and make timely, accurate payments. But for many people, expense report filing ranks somewhere between going to the dentist and doing your taxes.   

Several web-based services are out to ease the pain with easy-to-use, low-cost systems that make the expense reporting process as quick and easy as possible for small business owners. Choices include Expensify, Concur Breeze and ExpensePoint. Read the full entry

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“Organic growth” – or building a business with your own internal resources – makes especially good sense in today’s tough economy.  For many small firms that sell business-to-business (B2B), growing through debt financing just isn’t an option anymore. But if you’re like most small firms that sell B2B, you may be making predictable mistakes that are inhibiting your ability to compete. Read the full entry

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Many businesses have quality products and services, a realistic strategy, well-defined mission and skilled people.  Yet they can’t seem to gain traction, deliver consistent results or grow.

So what’s up?  In most cases, the problem comes down to this: Execution. Some businesses are structured for results, and the people who run them know how to execute.  “If an organization can’t execute, nothing else matters — not the smartest strategy, not the most innovative business model, not even game-changing technology,” says Rick Lepsinger, president of OnPoint Consulting and someone who’s studied business execution for years.

So how can you make your business the “git-er-done” type rather than the “can’t quite git-er-done” variety? Try these six steps:   Read the full entry

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Those of you looking for new B2B lead generation avenues will want to read this case study from Business.com’s B2B Online Marketing blog:

Priceless Imprinters Finds New Revenue in Online Q&A

It’s the best kind of success story. Priceless Imprinters, a promotional products supplier in New Jersey, started responding to questions from small businesses on Business.com Answers a few months ago, and they’re already seeing tangible results: $5,000 in revenue from new clients who found them through their posted answers.

Is online Q&A a good source for new B2B leads? Priceless Imprinters certainly thinks so. Read the case study for details. You might also like this article: How to get B2B leads through online Q&A.

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It took Lisa Zawacki 58 seconds to earn her Atlanta-based small business a complete ecommerce site makeover and other services worth $20,000.  That’s the running time of the video she produced in an ecommerce makeover contest that asked entrepreneurs to describe why they needed help selling online.

 Zawacki is founder of Gorilla Sacks, a company that makes a line of tote bags, slings, handbags, laundry bags and more from the recycled vinyl of defunct billboards. She says her old ecommerce platform calculated shipping charges incorrectly, costing her money.  Paypal integration never worked, and she couldn’t make changes to the site herself.  In short, it was a mess. Read the full entry

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Smartphone applications that can help you boost sales, manage customer relationships and practically run your business are getting better and more plentiful by the day.  And business owners are embracing these apps with gusto. Mobile payments – just one of the many functions your phone can perform – are expected to grow 50 percent annually over the next five years. 

In this and future columns I’ll profile smartphone business apps that can help you: Complete credit card transactions; Manage customer information; Access documents; Complete and send business forms; Track your time; Capture and manage voice recording; Manage and track assets, inventory and employees; Track sales and assign tasks; Manage schedules and projects; Monitor patient care and services.

This post profiles three mobile apps for processing credit card payments on your smartphone. Read the full entry

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While it’s still early to project the financial consequences of health care reform on small business, a few emerging themes make it possible for business owners to head off some costs and taxes, says Rick Kahler, a certified financial planner who heads the Kahler Financial Group in South Dakota.

Here are five ways health reform could impact your finances, and what you can do about it: Read the full entry

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Amex is absolutely intent on being much more to small business than a credit card company.  And to prove it the company just launched SearchManager, the latest in its fast-growing suite of both free and fee-based small business tools that already includes online invoicing(AcceptPay), insurance shopping(InsuranceEdge) and international money transfer(FX International Payments).  SearchManager is an online tool that lets you manage your entire search marketing (paid search) effort in one place, thus taking a complex task spread among multiple websites and putting it all in one simple place.

Amex has aligned the new offerings as part of something the company has dubbed “Booming,” which it defines as “using a system of cards and digital tools from American Express OPEN to help your business realize its full potential.”

Search engines are an increasingly influential resource for customers looking for products and services, and small businesses are spending more every year to advertise online. According to the latest Forrester Research Interactive Marketing Forecast, search advertising leads the pack among interactive marketing tactics and will grow 15 percent annually. Read the full entry

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Roadside billboards are expensive and impractical for many small businesses.  But you can turn any business or personal vehicle into a rolling billboard – seen by thousands of people daily – with attractive and affordable vehicle magnets.  Think of it as a way to “go mobile” with your marketing that doesn’t involve smart phones or other pricey technology.

For what amounts to pennies a day, low-cost, highly flexible magnetic signs will give you more bang for your advertising buck than just about anything else out there. Vehicle ads are great for all kinds of small businesses, from contractors, realtors and pet groomers, to computer repair services, catering companies, landscapers and painters, among hundreds more.   Read the full entry

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I love my MiFi device.  In a few minutes it solved several sticky web connection problems that have been bugging me, and will save me money at the same time.  For one thing, I’ll never pay a hotel, airport or coffee chain for internet access again. This cool little device, launched in 2009, is the world’s smallest mobile WiFi hotspot; weighing just 2 ounces, and about the thickness of six credit cards.

MiFi, which is made by Novatel Wireless, is a personal WiFi hotspot you carry in your pocket. It’s fast, easy, simple to set up and provides high-speed data access for up to five devices simultaneously, including laptops, netbooks, iPads, cameras or any other device you need to get online.  It is, without a doubt, the fastest, easiest way to get online, on-the-go for multiple users.   Share it with clients, co-workers, business partners or family and friends.  All they have to do is logon with the password printed on the back of your MiFi unit.  It’s ideal for the mobile professional and creates a virtual office wherever you go. Read the full entry

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