For any small business that works in the medical arena and deals with patients on a regular basis or runs any kind of company that is very detailed oriented for that matter, having the right record system in place is crucial to providing quality service and avoiding untimely errors.

Not only is having the right records system in place important for your customer’s well-being, but it is also a necessity given medical ethics if you’re in the medical industry. It is a physician’s duty to keep strict confidentiality regarding any medical information revealed by a patient or discovered by a physician tied to the treatment given a patient.

According to the American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Medical Ethics, the information given to a doctor over time in a patient-doctor relationship is confidential. By doing this, the patient is more inclined to provide a physician with full disclosure regarding their health concerns and needs. Read the full entry

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In a day and age when one’s small business is battling a shaky economy to say the least, it behooves business owners to make the right forecast for their company.

Making things a little easier in that department is having the right business forecasting plan in place. With budgets and forecasts, you can formulate a business model, review your critical assumptions, and tab resource and capital needs.

Budgets and forecasts can also be put in play to locate funding, along with being put to work as a management tool. The key for many small business owners, however, is finding the right business and forecasting model and software. Read the full entry

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For the majority of offices, having the right printer in place and/or locating the right commercial printing company for any big-ticket items can save them from major headaches. If your business is just starting out or has been around for some time but needs improved printing capabilities, here are some tips to make the job much easier.

First, factor in the price so that you get the best deal for your money. This holds true whether you are buying a printer for the office or will be sending out a project such as business cards, flyers, etc. Read the full entry

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As a business owner, a phone system plays an integral role in your ability to conduct business.

That being the case, locating the right business phone system is important in order to allow the business to run smoothly and without too many hitches.

As a business owner, what are the keys to finding the right business phone system?

Keep in mind that maintaining the ability to stay in touch with your customers is more important than ever in today’s fast-paced business world. More than just a dial tone, today’s phone systems prove key in offering telecommuting possibilities along with audio and web availability. Read the full entry

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Sure, I know what you’re thinking: Yet another annoying web acronym I’m supposed to master. Just when small business owners were gaining confidence and traction with search engine optimization, or SEO, along comes this explosive social media “thing” that’s making it all even more complicated than it was before.

Do small businesses really need to know about this stuff?  Can social media help me attract customers, keep the ones I have and make more money? Will social media be even more important in the future? Read the full entry

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Selling cars takes more than a handshake and a smile. It takes data. That’s why Alan Fink, Internet sales manager at Freeman Toyota in Santa Rosa, CA, built a FileMaker Pro database. “I needed a way to keep track of my customers, inventory, commissions, taxes, payroll – everything to do with sales here at the dealership,” says Fink. “Now it’s an integral part of my job and it’s used in the dealership every day.”

Fink can also access the database wherever he is with a mobile version of the software called FileMaker Go. “This job is really seven days a week,” he says. “If I get an inquiry from a customer on my day off, I need to respond right away. With FileMaker Go, I have all the information I need on my iPad and I can answer immediately.” Read the full entry

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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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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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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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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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