How to Do Taxes for Your Crypto Gains

Cryptocurrencies are an attractive investment market. The constant variation of the values assets in the crypto markets undergo can lead to huge profits over short periods of time. For example, bitcoin value was at $6,493 in October 2018 and at the time of this writing is valued at over $9,394 per coin. This resulted in considerable capital gains for traders and investors which always leads to the dreaded tax question. 

Unfortunately, cryptocurrency taxes are an altogether less attractive subject, and can seem complicated and convoluted to those with less experience in the field. Misunderstanding the concepts and process of correctly calculating and reporting your gains taxes can lead to endless headaches from the IRS, and potentially subject you to costly suits. To save you that sort of hassle, and so that you can have a better understanding of the commodities you’re trading, we’ve gone through the most important bits down below.

How Are Cryptocurrencies Taxed?

While many other regions of the world classify cryptocurrencies different, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States views cryptocurrencies as property. This means crypto is an investment like stocks or bonds, at least in regards to the method under which they are taxed. When selling off cryptocurrency, as with selling off stocks, a certain type of tax is assessed by the government. This special tax is called a capital gains tax.

What Are Capital Gains?

Capital gains are the value an asset has gained while you’ve owned it. For cryptocurrencies the tax on these gains is assessed when you trade or sell the coin, just like what happens when sell a stock that has increased in value over the time you’ve held it.

The amount you’ll have to pay in tax changes based on a various number of factors, primarily the length of time you’ve held the investment. The government’s goal with these capital gains tax brackets is to encourage long term investments, keeping markets somewhat more stable. We can put the brackets in two basic levels, investments owned for less than one year, short term investments, and investments owned for more than one year, long term investments. The capital gains tax on short term gains can amount to a rate of 37%, far greater than the maximum rate of 20% you’d be dealing with for long term gains.

When Are You Required to Report?

You become liable to report capital gains whenever a taxable event occurs. What exactly counts as a taxable event is determined by the IRS. As of 2014, they count the following acts as taxable events:

• Utilizing blockchain currencies as payment for goods and services. This gives you the added responsibility of noting the value of each of the exchanged assets at the time of the trade.
• Receiving cryptocurrency as income, either as an accepted payment for goods and services, or income stemming from mining.
• Selling cryptocurrencies in exchange for native fiat currency, specifically the US dollar.
• Exchanging between two types of cryptocurrency (e.g. Ethereum to Bitcoin). Like with using them for payment, this gives you the added responsibility of accounting for each asset’s value as it was when the trade actually occurred.

When Do You Not Have to Report?

Not every action you take with your cryptocurrency is subject to capital gains tax, even though it may really begin to feel like it when browsing through the above list. The following acts will not be counted as a taxable event by the IRS:

• Exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency, just like when a stock is actually bought. Since the initial transaction of purchasing the coin doesn’t confer any gains upon the buyer, the government has nothing to tax.
• Keeping cryptocurrency, often referred to as ‘hodling’ in the crypto community. Gains taxes are only assessed when you do something to the asset. While you allow your assets to gain value you don’t need to worry about the government trying to take a slice.
• Transfering cryptocurrency between exchanges or your own wallets. Since nothing is changing hands, no tax is assessed.
• If you actually want the cryptocurrency to change hands without having a tax assessed, you’ll have to give it as a gift. Note that there is a limit on the value of non-taxable gifts, meaning you can’t give cryptocurrency totaling in worth greater than $15,000 in US fiat currency. Though this isn’t likely a limit the average gift giving trader would have to worry about.

How Do You File a Report?

Chances are your crypto activity has triggered a taxable event, so you’ll need to report it in your crypto taxes. 

To do this, you’ll need two forms in particular, namely IRS Form 8949 and 1040 Schedule D. Form 8949 needs to be filled with notations of all of the trades and sell offs that you’ve made, consisting of the date of transaction, the fair market value of your proceeds, the gain (or loss) incurred, and the cost basis of the assets involved. Once all trades are listed, they need to be totaled on the bottom of the form. This number is then transferred onto your 1040 Schedule D form. Ensure both of these forms are properly completed and filed with your yearly tax return to prevent tax headaches later on.

Tax Reports From Crypto Exchanges

You might think that the exchanges themselves would be able to provide their users with usable tax reports, but that isn’t the case. Despite the fact that some of the biggest crypto exchanges provide these reports, they won’t have all the needed information to be considered accurate. 

This is because most users are trading on multiple exchanges. Whenever you transfer crypto out of one exchange and into another, neither exchange remains able to give you an accurate report of the market value or cost basis of your coins. 

If you want to use the reports from your favored exchange, you’ll need to use it exclusively.

Concluding Thoughts

Without prior understanding of the many confusing concepts relating to crypto tax law, the who process can be hard to push yourself through. But by taking the time to learn the basics, and by ensuring all your transaction records are properly kept, you can save yourself and your wallet from pain down the line.

This article is not financial advice. The content above is strictly the opinion of the author. Do thorough research before investing in any asset.

The post How to Do Taxes for Your Crypto Gains appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/global/legal/crypto-gains-tax

5 Reasons That Every Business Owner Needs A Smart Phone

When you’re a business owner, you understand that instant communication is so important. In an increasingly digital world, business owners must always be contactable, in order to secure deals, communicate with customers and staff, and even share snaps for social media marketing. Therefore, smartphones are so important for business owners, and even sometimes their workforce. An excellent option for a communicative workforce (without too much of an expense for the business owner) is a BYOD solution. When a workforce implements a BYOD solution, workers supply their own mobile phones and install a smartphone app where business contacts are securely stored, and a centralized bill for all work calls is paid by the employer. For more information on the importance of smartphones for businesses, keep reading.

1. Smartphones Mean You Can Market Your Business On The Go

Many smartphones nowadays have incredible camera quality – even rivaling ‘real’ cameras in some cases. Utilize this incredible feature by snapping wherever you go – and then utilize the content to market your business. As a business owner, you should be taking advantage of every possibility to market your business for free, and social media is the answer. Snap, update and upload wherever possible to get your business’ name ‘out there’ and post consistently to keep your organization’s fans and customers engaged and entertained; all from one phone.

2. Instantly Network Using Smartphones

Forget out-dated business cards, you can use your smartphone to network on the go. As business cards can easily be thrown away or discarded, it’s much more effective to make a ‘virtual stamp’ on your target; once you’ve shared your details digitally, it’s less likely they’ll be misplaced or forgotten. There are many inbuilt features to smartphones that make contact and detail sharing easy, such as cloud-based sharing liked AirDrop. Additionally, networking applications mean you can network on the go, simply research and download common networking applications, such as LinkedIn, and VoIP, video call apps, like Skype.

3. Smartphones Keep Your Workforce Connected

Smartphones help keep your workforce connected, even when on the go. Various free networking and text applications that can be downloaded on personal smartphones mean that your employees and staff can keep interconnected with yourself and with each other, meaning fewer missed opportunities, and more communication – which is useful to make sure mistakes and human errors occur less frequently. 

4. Smartphones Allow for Working On The Go

Downtime is important, but in a digital world where everyone can be connected at all hours of the day (no need to wait for letters to be delivered anymore!), the ability to connect is important. With this in mind, many businesses operate a flexible working policy, and some are even entirely remote businesses. As businesses develop and the workforce becomes more and more used to flexible hours, smartphones allow employees and business owners to work from wherever, whenever.

5. Smartphones Can Actually Improve Productivity 

You might associate smartphones with virtual games and fun applications, smartphones can be used as tools to increase productivity. As a smartphone is always in your hand, bag or pocket, you tend to use it during ‘dead’ times – such as sitting on the bus, or train. From here, you can catch up with emails, make notes, sort out annoying ‘life admin’, or even make important calls. Having an all-in-one tool available to you (such as a smartphone) allows business owners and employees to productively fill the time that otherwise would be wasted.

Smartphone – DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/technology/mobile-technology/business-owner-importance

7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a VPN

When running a business, whether a start-up or a large enterprise, you have to prioritize safety, and most importantly, user experience. Virtual Private Networks have evolved from being a feature for a select few to be one of the most sought after add ons for many modern businesses. So what is a private proxy? And what value does it add to your business? 

Here is a list of reasons why your business needs a Virtual Private Network, and why it should be high up on your list of investments.

Cost Efficiency

What better way to ensure the safety and overall effectiveness of your company than by getting a VPN that increases your output and enhances your ability to better serve your customers. This is all thanks to the variety of top-class options you get from Internet Service Providers who allow you to choose a network that works for you. The idea is improved performance, and the fact that VPNs are safer, more reliable, and pocket-friendly make them a value investment, regardless of the size of your business. 

Secure Network Access

Losses for multinational enterprises, identify theft, and basically, all sorts of cyber-based crimes cost billions of dollars in losses every year. Unfortunately, most business owners are under the impression that they are not vulnerable to cybercrime. The fact is, anyone is susceptible to a data breach, and the less prepared you are the more you will lose. 

An effective VPN tightens your business network, secures it, and creates a communication system that operates on a secure platform. This means that all your business data is secure, and you can run your business without the fear of losing sensitive data. VPNs aren’t just limited to large networks, small enterprises, and even individuals can secure their data effectively on such systems.

Access Management

Virtual Private Networks come attached to an authentication system that dictates who gets access to what network. Now what this does, in essence, is to ensure that the people accessing your business data have the proper verification to do so. This locks out unauthorized entry, and ensures everywhere within the network has the proper access to get the job done. 

VPNs also allow you to create levels. This means that no one gets any access above their pay grade, and safeguards the network’s safety. With these kinds of precautions, access is limited to the right people at the right time. Without this kind of access management, it becomes fairly simple for hackers to gain access to your network and tear it apart.

Remote Access

Outsourcing has become a very cost-effective way to get more done in modern enterprises. Hiring in-house personnel can sometimes be a little costly, especially for tasks that require specialized skills. The problem with outsourcing is the fact that it exposes you to off-site networks that are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Having a VPN reduces this risk by ensuring you have remote access to your office network, where remote access can be granted to remote employees. 

All the necessary resources are in your office network, so once your remote employees get their login details, they can gain access to your secure network without compromising any safety measures you have in place.

Online Autonomy

As an extension to the point on remote access, VPNs, depending on how effective your network provider is, can grant you access to key organizational information even in areas with restrictions. In some countries, you may be unable to get access to crucial industry information on the cloud because of international censorship. This means a loss of network capabilities, which impedes your ability to share crucial data effectively. 

You will, however, be able to gain access to this information if your VPN services work in these regions, which means that you will be able to get the necessary information to get the job done. Some countries have rules that are a bit strict, which complicates remote access, so a well set up a Virtual Private Network is a key resource.

Safe Data Transfer

If you run a business, then you know how crucial it is to be able to securely transfer industry and trade secrets. What a secure VPN network does is to encrypt your entire network, remote access and all, ensuring access to these trade secrets is limited to people with authorization. There is nothing as tragic as sensitive company information getting into the wrong hands!

It is worth noting that most cyberattacks target trade secrets, so preventing a data breach is the one main problem you prioritize when trying to secure your network. 

Client Security

This advantage ties in on two main fronts. The first one is the fact that you may be overseas looking to share sensitive information with a client, or you may be dealing with a customer who resides in a different country. In each scenario, as a business, you have information on valuable assets as well as bank details of all your clients, which means, if someone were to tap into your network, they would have all this information at their fingertips! Now that’s a scary thought. 

What VPN does is to ensure that all your clients’ details are safe, secure and not vulnerable at any point. It also gives your clients the satisfaction that they can reach you at any time, on a secure network, without the fear of censorship or a data breach. There is nothing quite as valuable as a customer’s trust in you and your business, which is why a VPN should be every enterprise owner’s top priority. 

Lastly, there are many avenues for hackers to attack information on the cloud, anywhere from public hotel WiFi hotspots to airports. This is why, as a business, you need to ensure you have a secure network as a failsafe. 

Bottom Line

Cybercriminals are an ever-evolving species, coming up with new ways to breach data and even steal identities. Although VPNs aren’t the ultimate solution to all your problems, they are the first step towards ensuring your data is secure. So whether you are running a million-dollar enterprise or a start-up SME, now is the time to consider taking that step. 

The post 7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a VPN appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/business-vpn

Why Big Data Is the To Drive Innovative Advertising

Since the advent of big data, brands have begun to collect customer behavior data – albeit cautiously. Advertising companies however lack the resources that have the necessary skills to harness the information received from this amount of data, which is often in the scale of petabytes.

This is where big data services and solutions providers step in. They help advertising companies or marketing departments of brands to derive actionable intelligence from various channels that they are using to gather customer data.

In other words, they help advertising firms address the marketing issues by providing them with analytics on the online activity of the customers and point of sale transactions. This leads to real-time identification of dynamic trends, which can be leveraged to create marketing campaigns on the fly.

Role of Big Data in Advertising

Create targeted and personalized ad campaigns

Big data is gathered through as many channels as the brand sees viable to analyze customer behavior. This is then run through specialized analytics tools that display information in a visual format that shows customer behavioral patterns. Through this, the advertising companies can quantify the retention costs, average transaction values per customer, and average customer satisfaction ratio.

All these factors help boards formulate campaigns that are tailored to customers within a certain segment based on their geographical location, buying pattern, and other such interdependent criteria. For example, if a user likes a smartphone post on Facebook or searches Google for specifications of the smartphone, then (s) he will see targeted ads on her/his feed offering personalized discounts.

How to Use Big Data to Leverage Social Media Analytics

Even in the case of dynamic social media trends, big data can identify catchphrases that can be used to create marketing campaigns immediately. For example, during a power failure in a Super Bowl match, Oreo floated a social media campaign that told customers that they can still dunk in the dark!

These kinds of campaigns whether targeted towards a particular customer segment or personalized for a particular user, strike an emotional chord that serves the purpose of both – resulting purchase and customer retention. This is possible only because of big data ‘analytics’ and not just big data.

Identify customer motivations

Another important aspect of advertising is identifying what drives the brand’s customers’ buying patterns.

Do they buy around the holidays? Do they buy when they are bored? Do they buy things only once or twice a year or they’re regular buyers? Do they spend huge sums in one-off instances or relatively small sums on a regular basis? Is their buying pattern influenced by the latest trends and celebrity endorsements or they are independent in their choice of merchandise?

Big data analytics equips your marketing team with just the right information to determine all such factors that were a distant dream a decade ago.

Generate predictive analytics to counter the ad fraud problem

In measuring impressions and customer behavior, there is a major glitch of gathering false information, as most of the ads are liable to be viewed by bots these days. This means that a large portion of the budget allocated to creating the advertising videos may not actually be reaching its intended audience.

Big data helps formulate the tactics to counter this through predictive analytics. Brands can define the type of customers that should be shown the ads, making it more probable that a human click on it and views it as it is aligned with his/her interests.

Predictive analysis also does away with the traditional method of running a campaign by various departments before launching it, since it already provides the marketing teams with the possible customer behavior that will be triggered by the campaign. Only those campaigns that predict successful customer conversion/retention that will result in purchases will pass as viable campaigns, thus sparing the team members the work of manual analysis.

More Big Data Tools for Small Entities

Small companies have typically been unable to apply this highly technical strategy to analyze the audience in the past. But as AI and machine learning becomes an integral part of modern digital marketing, on a smaller scale, many companies are starting to offer big data.

For practically any part of their social media and marketing campaigns, there are many digital platforms and resources that small businesses can use. Business Intelligence solutions also provide customizable pricing plans based on the size of your business and the number of employees that need access to the data. Even some of the modern most popular CRM and marketing solutions are beginning to integrate AI capabilities, such as Einstein from Salesforce and AI-supported extensions from HubSpot.

AI and Big Data have the power to change the world the focus on social media marketing of a small business. Efficient pricing solutions allow businesses to make full use of this technology without having to select and choose only the features that fit into their budget. This contributes to making this type of technology even more available to businesses of all sizes by providing the resources on platforms that many larger companies are already using.

Big Data for Everyone

Maybe the greatest change people will understand is that big data is no longer the arena of big business with large amounts of resources. With companies like Nextiva offering tools for a small subscription fee per year, or a one-time fee, big data can even be used by small businesses.

This will make use of information not just an advantage, but a requirement. If you haven’t brought your company into the big data field yet, you’re missing out and it’s time to change that if you remain ahead of the competition.

In conclusion

The above points conclusively determine that using big data is significantly helpful to advertising companies. Big data solution providers can effectively boost their turnover by helping them turn their big data into actionable intelligence through the right analytics, tools, and dashboards.

What are your views on the role of data in business?

The post Why Big Data Is the To Drive Innovative Advertising appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/market-research/big-data-2

Top 5 Tips to Handle Anxiety at Work

Anxiety is a natural and normal part of life. Everyone experiences it once in a while, and that’s okay. However, when anxiety becomes persistent, it can become a dreadful experience that will bring us down every time it arises.

Some people experience anxiety more than others. The tricky part about these feelings is that they could be generated by a lot of factors. Nevertheless, anxiety becomes a truly sabotaging element when it stops us from accomplishing our personal and professional goals.

There are a lot of workers who are fighting anxiety in the workplace. Kate Cummins, a famous clinical psychologist that works at Stanford University suggests that “Most workers operate with certain degrees of anxiety at all times in order to achieve success”.

When you have to ask your boss for a raise, hold a public speech, or tell your employees that you have to let them go while knowing that their families depend on your paycheck, anxiety often kicks in.

Nevertheless, there’s a huge difference between occasional anxiety and ongoing, intense anxiety. If anxiety is an everyday factor while you’re at work, your motivation, self-confidence, and focus will be significantly affected. Not to mention the huge amounts of stress that are putting both your physical and mental health at risk.

So, what can you do?

First of all, acknowledge the fact that anxiety is definitely treatable. Secondly, understand that even though your experience with it might be already seen as a vicious circle, there are ways to breakthrough. Lastly, remember that everything is temporary and that you hold the power to change every aspect of your life if you put your heart and mind on it.

In today’s article, I’m going to share 5 insightful tips that should help you handle anxiety at work. Keep in mind that there’s no magic pill that you can swallow to instantly make things better. You have to become a fighter, a fighter that never quits until the objective is met.

Acknowledge the Cause

The first step to treating your anxiety in the workplace is to acknowledge what causes you to feel that way. Here are some of the most common factors that may trigger anxiety:

• Stress (of any kind): too much workload, meeting expectations, personal problems, etc.
• Emotional traumas such as losing someone close
• Side effects of medications
• Your thoughts (negative thoughts)
• Lack of self-esteem and lack of self-confidence
• Doing a job that you can hardly stand (sacrificing your precious time for something that you hate)
• Lack of sleep (sleep deprivation)
• Poor nutrition (lacking the necessary nutrients, which stops your brain from functioning properly)
• Confronting coworkers

Every time you start experiencing anxiety, stop what you’re doing and disconnect for a bit. Ask yourself – “How am I feeling right now” and “What are the causes?”

The worst thing you can do is ignore or suppress your anxiety symptoms (sweaty palms, accelerated heartbeat, a flood of negative thoughts, deep fear). “

“Treating anxiety is a process, and the first step is to become self-aware of its triggers. If you have a hard time defining what makes you anxious at work, try journaling and meditation.”- John Grunt, CEO at SuperiorPapers.

Don’t Fight It – Embrace It

When I told you to become a fighter, I wasn’t talking about fighting your feelings. Feelings are mostly the effects of your thoughts. Therefore, as I said, the first step is to become self-aware of the causes. The second step is to accept and embrace your anxiety. It may sound odd, but giving in is the best way to give yourself a break and gain the strength to eventually face those unwanted feelings.

Rather than trying to push your anxiety away, become aware of it, and accept it as it manifests. After you’ve embraced it, try your best to act differently by seeking quick solutions.

For example, if your coworkers treat you badly and you’re used to accepting their behavior as it is, try to act differently the next time a bad event happens. Answer back and establish boundaries. Let them know that you’re no longer going to accept that type of behavior. Break the cycle.

Confront Your Anxiety

After spending some time analyzing your anxiety, you should make the courage to confront it. For example, if anxiety overwhelms you when only thinking about public speaking, you should develop a smart plan on how to overcome that.

If you’re afraid to speak to your coworkers, simply go for it and see what happens. You have to understand that your continuous anxiety is much worse than any result that will happen once you confront it.

Many children are afraid of the dark. If they’re home alone and they’re hungry, they will have to enter the kitchen and get something to eat. Many would rather starve. However, when they decide to confront their fears and go for it, they’ll notice that nothing bad happens.

They do it once, twice, and so on, up until they realize that heading into the “dark kitchen” isn’t something dangerous. In the end, they’ll be able to walk in every room without light because their mental constructs have changed. Fear is gone, so they’ll perceive darkness as a normality.

Take Care of Yourself Outside of Work

Regular exercise, enough sleep, healthy nutrition, socializing with good friends, practicing hobbies, setting and working on personal goals, reading something you truly enjoy, learning new things – these are some of the most important factors that can significantly reduce your anxiety. The more complete your life outside of work is the stronger you’ll feel when facing anxiety.

Remember That You Are Not Your Thoughts and Emotions

You are a human being. You have thoughts and emotions, but you are not your thoughts and emotions. Thoughts come and go, just like emotions. Everything is temporary, and nothing stays fixed.

Of course, vicious cycles exist. Anxiety is not a persistent state of mind – it gets triggered, it fades, it gets triggered again, and so on.

You can try perceiving your anxiety as passing dark clouds. Every time they appear, acknowledge the fact that they’re temporary. They will keep coming until you figure out the solutions to your triggers. Keep in mind that one day, after you’ve faced everything that there is to face, those clouds are never coming back.

Use breathing to remind yourself of the temporary nature of feelings. Change your breathing – take deep breaths and relax. Stop thinking for a second and disconnect. Then think again…think about the temporary nature of everything in this world, and let your overwhelming anxiety crisis pass. When you’re feeling better, at home, start assessing the causes and create a plan on how to react differently when anxiety kicks in.

Takeaways

Avoiding anxiety is one of the worst things that employees can ever do. Avoided feelings do not disappear. They keep coming back until they’re accepted, acknowledged, and faced. As I have mentioned above, you need to fight to prevail. Treating anxiety should be your number one goal, and you should stick to it no matter what. Leverage today’s tips and tricks and stay strong and persistent!

 

Anxiety – DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/workplace-relationships/workplace-anxiety-tips

Key Ingredient for Business Success

The Important Ingredients for Business Success

When you own your business, it is tempting to do all the tasks yourself both to save money and to give yourself the sense that you have oversight over everything. However, this can be a big mistake and can leave you swimming in inaccurate bookkeeping and restrict you from getting the most out of your business. That’s why an accountant is an essential necessity for any business. This blog will take you through why investing in a UK accountant is a sound business choice and how the best Accountants in London can take your business to the next level of success.

“Behind every good business is a great accountant”

How an Accountant can be the key ingredient for your Business Success?

First off, to give you an idea of how an accountant can help save you time and give your business a boost let’s look at what an accountant does. Depending on what your business does you can use an accountant in different ways, however, the key job of an accountant is to manage money and to ensure this is done in the best possible way.

Various UK accountants, Accountants in London and London accountancy firms will have different specialisms, so you can select this according to your need. It is even possible to have a virtual online accountant if your work is remote and getting into the city is tricky.

In general, accountants specialise in the following areas:

• Tax: Tax can be complicated. Fortunately, there are numerous UK accountants and Accountants in London that specialise in sorting out your tax forms for you. Give your brain a rest and let the best accountants in London take your tax worries away.
• Forecasting: Specialist management accountants can work on projections, budgets, and forecasting to ensure that your business can undertake effective planning for the future and come up with achievable goals.
• Financial management: Keeping accurate records, preparing statements for shareholders, and analysing progress to provide appropriate financial actions for your business are all tasks that an accountant can assist your business with.

How an accountant can save you time

Looking after the books yourself can be incredibly time-consuming and can lead to working hours that are well over the normal working week. What’s more, it’s unlikely that you have the expertise to do it properly so the potential for mistakes and miscalculations is high. Doing your accounts, yourself can be complex and there can be hurdles that you come up against that you do not have the financial expertise to handle. With an accountant on board, you can not only give yourself a break, but it can also help to prevent time-consuming mistakes that need to be rectified. (Financial Times confirms how 2018 saw a record rise in bad debt at Listed Companies)

With so much on your plate, it is easy to enter data incorrectly and you can easily fall behind with chasing payments and invoices from clients. An accountant can do all of this for you, ensuring that your documentation is up to date, useful and works in a way that benefits your business. With so many experienced accountants in London, you will be able to find one that can bring your business into the 21^st century and get you set up with online software that can record and monitor payments, invoices, and expenses.

How an accountant can save you money

One of the biggest nightmares of any company is the tax. With a complicated tax system, it can be easy to miss deadlines, miscalculate your tax bill and fill out your tax documentation incorrectly. All the above can incur heavy fines and many businesses fall down this trap, losing much-needed money. This could all be avoided with a personal tax accountant on board.

Having your own personal tax accountant for your business will go a long way to save you both time and potentially money. They can keep your books in order, sort out your tax bill and help you to identify tax relief opportunities. Many businesses miss out on costs which can be claimed as expenses against your tax bill, a personal tax accountant can help you to identify these and potentially reduce that dreaded tax bill releasing money for other business opportunities.

Personal tax accountants aren’t the sole reserve of business owners, if you are self-employed or have a complicated tax arrangement it can be a wise choice to take on a personal tax accountant to look after your affairs. A personal tax accountant is responsible for helping you fill out your tax return, ensuring you are making the most of any tax relief and to get all of this done to meet HMRC deadlines. With a personal tax accountant on board, you can rest assured that your tax return is filled in correctly and you can avoid any fines for late or incorrect submissions.

Another innovative way an Accountant in London can help your business is by making sure that your invoicing system is efficient and effective. Many businesses struggle with cash-flow issues as invoices aren’t paid on time, or they don’t have the capacity to chase unpaid bills. Experienced and tech-savvy accountants in London can help set up an invoicing system which automates the process, so the monitoring is done for you and payments can be received in a variety of ways.

How an accountant can improve your growth

Financial planning is the backbone of any successful business, and we’re sure you’ve all heard the stats about the number of businesses that fail in their first year, due to failure to draw up accurate projections, poor business plans and a lack of record-keeping. Don’t let this be you by taking all the important step of finding and communicating with the best London accountancy firms and getting experienced accountants in London on your team.

In the UK, accountants not only help businesses with bookkeeping and tax bills, but they can also be a core player in developing your business. Whether it be an online accountant or a face to face meeting with accountants in London, a UK accountant brings financial expertise to your business planning. Let’s explore how an experienced online accountant or accountants in London can improve your growth in more detail.

• 360-degree financial view of your business

With a team of accountants in London on board, you will have someone with complete oversight of the finances of your business. As an individual business owner, this can be a hard thing to do, and it can be easy to get lost in the numbers. With a 360-degree view of your finances, and with up to date financial information, an accountant will be able to give well-informed advice on financial decisions, planning and opportunities for growth.

• Your cash flow will be in good shape

Healthy cash flow can be overlooked in business, and when it falls short it can be disastrous. Proactive accountants in London can provide excellent cash flow solutions for your business and put steps in place to ensure you don’t run into cash flow problems. From having an overhaul of your expenses to sorting out your credit control system, an accountant can get your processes into good shape and make those cash flow issues a thing of the past.

• KPIs can be put in place

Business Intelligence savvy firm of accountants in London will be able to identify what is working in your business, and what brings in the most profits. In this way, an accountant can be pivotal in developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business to enable you to make realistic and smart decisions for the future of the company.

• Identify funding opportunities

Being linked with a team of accountants in London can open a world of opportunity for your business. They will know about potential investment decisions that could be of interest to you or have knowledge about short-term business loans and funding grants that could be available to your business. With expert financial advice from an accountant, you can be confident that potential funding opportunities will be identified that could lead to the future growth of your business.

• Contribute to business planning

Investing in an accountant can have some excellent positive effects on your business planning and development. With their financial expertise, they can identify growth solutions such as identifying new markets for your business, benchmarking against competitors and helping you to effectively budget and forecast for the future. Skilled accountants in London can bring a breadth of knowledge to your company, as well as a fresh vision to stagnant business plans.

• Gives you more time

Inevitably, with the bookkeeping and accounts are taken care of and effective systems put in place for managing your finances, selecting a skilled firm of accountants in London will free up your time. As a business owner, the workload can sometimes be overwhelming, and by just keeping things afloat you can often miss out on identifying areas for growth and developing your business. With time on your side, you can take the time to reflect on what’s working and what’s not in your business, as well as being able to put your skills to best use in developing your business ideas.

• Support through business changes

If you are planning any changes in your business, such as a restructuring of the company, a merger or potential expansion, having the expertise of a team of accountants in London on your side is essential to ensure that these decisions are financially viable. An accountant can also support with advising on any changes in financial structures that go along with a potential change in the running of your business.

Top 10 reasons you need an accountant for your business

To summarise, here are the top 10 reasons why investing in an accountant is a sound business decision:

1. Tax relief – tax-saving opportunities will be identified, and it is highly likely your tax bill will be reduced.
2. Taxes filed correctly – an accountant will be able to work out your taxes accurately so no need to worry about incorrect calculations that could result in a fine.
3. Tax deadlines will be met – fear of missing the tax deadline can become a thing of the past – an accountant will have that all underhand, so you don’t incur any unnecessary fines.
4. Books in order – your books will be in order, data correctly entered, and documentation filed where it needs to be, no need to waste time on mistakes made from negligence or lack of capacity.
5. Effective systems in place – an accountant can make sure systems for invoicing and expenses are efficient and easy to manage to save you time and ensuring payments both in and out are effectively monitored.
6. Healthy cash flow – with a financial expert on board steps will be put in place to make sure your cash flow is kept in a healthy state, ensuring your business avoids difficult monetary situations.
7. Financial expertise – an accountant doesn’t just keep the books in order and sort out the taxes, they can also bring sound financial advice to the table and input this into business planning and decisions.
8. Identify areas for growth – by having a complete view of the business and how it is doing financially your accountant can identify areas that are working well and could be developed further.
9. Identify funding opportunities – with contacts and experience an accountant can help identify potential funding opportunities for your business.
10. Gives you more time – perhaps most importantly, with an accountant on board you are free to do what you do best and make sure your skills are put to optimum use in supporting and developing your business.

General FAQ’s

 

How do Accountants charge?

Accountants are of different types, some have built their internal processes which requires them to charge an hourly fee, others have built fixed fee or monthly billing packages. Who you go with depends on your needs, however, do keep in mind that hourly billing can get quite expensive and needs to be kept an eye on.

What is a qualified Accountant?

Qualified Accountants are members of professional bodies in the UK which have been granted the queens charter to practice. The members have to go through extensive exams and practical experience to become eligible voting members.

What is ACCA or ICAEW?

ACCA stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and ICAEW stands for Institute of Chartered Accountants in Englands and Wales. These are both professional bodies in the UK which have been given a charter by the queen which allows their members to practice under their strict guidelines.

Key things to look for before hiring an Accountant

The key things to look out for are as follows:
1- They should be good with technology
2- They should have customisable price packages
3- They should be qualified
4- They should have a strong partner network
5- They should be able to help you grow through their business advisory and tax planning services.

Accountant – DepositPhotos

The post Key Ingredient for Business Success appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/accountancy/business-success-ingredients

SMS Marketing Tips & Benefits

Whether or not you have already got an SMS strategy that’s lagging or you haven’t started with SMS, we’ve some prime tips about a way to craft your best SMS Marketing program.

Ask Permission

The very first thing you would like to do is to get permission from your shoppers to text them. This is often known as opt-in. SMS is an effective marketing maneuver, however, sending messages to someone’s number without their permission will be seen as invasive. Instead of earning a client’s loyalty, you may earn their distrust. Focus your attention on shoppers who want to hear from you, and your efforts will be better spent.

SMS Marketing doesn’t need a Web Connection

Can’t acquire a Wi-Fi signal? No problem. SMS marketing doesn’t need web access, thus even if you’re out of range, you’ll be able to still receive a text.

Craft Quality Messages

It’s not tough to put in writing a top quality SMS marketing message, however, there are some common best practices you ought to follow to form the most effective messages:

• Put the name of your business 1st. This makes it simple for shoppers to separate you from spam.
• Use a call to action. An effective call to action is necessary when it involves marketing. If you can get a shopper to click, you are more likely to get them to convert. If you are hosting an event, an easy RSVP “Yes” button can enable them to verify their intent to attend. If you are offering purchase or promotion, you can provide a link to a map showing where it is and the way to get there.
• Be specific. Do not simply announce a purchase. Tell them what is on sale and what kind of discount is being offered. If you are promoting an event, embody a link to a video or an internet site so that they can find out additional info. Do not expect shoppers to pay time and cash to participate in a very sale or event after you haven’t given them enough info to know if it’s worth their time.
• Use easy language. Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations that not everybody can understand. Use caps sparingly for keywords like OFFER, SALE, DISCOUNT, or EVENT. Do not use excessive exclamation points or emoticons. Do not attempt to be clever, funny, cute, or cool. Remember, your main goal is to offer info to your clients that are simple for them to understand. Thus be friendly, professional, and to-the-point in your messages.

Use Timeliness to Your Advantage

Unlike email, Ninety percent of SMS messages are opened within three minutes of being sent. If you are planning an occasion or sale, send the message out to SMS clients either the night before or the day of the event. SMS lives in the here and now. Do not waste time promoting one thing a week early. You may lose out on the unpunctual nature of SMS.

SMS Marketing is Download-free

Text messaging doesn’t need a smartphone and there’s no need to transfer anything. For example, all messaging apps nowadays.

Thinking about QR codes? Think again. rather than searching around for a barcode scanner, you only need to text a keyword to a shared shortcode (like 52354) to get an automatic text reply with a link to your web site, transfer page, menu, form – where you wish traffic to land.

Capitalize on Exclusivity

One of the best benefits for your SMS subscribers is exclusivity. You want to make sure that what you supply clients through your SMS program is exclusive and not on the market through different promotional mediums — like your web site, newsletter, or Facebook page.

If clients are aware that a proposal is only on the market through SMS, they will be more likely to sign-up, pay attention to your messages, and take action.

Find the correct Frequency

You need to find the area between spamming your shoppers and neglecting them. A message every day is way too much for any brands and retailers. Eventually, shoppers stop opening your messages or opt-out altogether.

The same is true if you start with consistent messages, then again, hit a slump where you stop communication then start again. A general rule that most businesses follow is 1 to 2 messages every week or, 4 to 6 messages every month. A marketing professional will help verify the acceptable range of messages for your particular trade.

In the case of Happy Dog coaching, they adopted a follow-up program via text where they check-in with shoppers 3 months after the initial coaching, then every six months later on. Their campaign led to repeat business, increased clientele, and referrals from customers.

Before you start your SMS campaign, decide how often you may send messages, and plan out a few months in advance to get you started. Do not let your message campaign path off. Make it a priority to supply consistent, valuable texts to maintain your clients’ loyalty and increase business.

Analyze Your Results

It’s necessary to possess a system in place to trace the success of your SMS marketing campaign. Experiment with timing and message designs. Keep an eye fixed on open rates and track clicks on any links enclosed. Compare outcomes and adopt the ways that bring the most results to your business.

SMS Marketing is Personal and Everyplace

Many people nowadays have their mobile device within reach 24/7. Over 2 out of 5 of you have even slept along with your phone! And, most mobile phones nowadays are SMS-enabled, which implies most will receive text messages.

SMS Messages get Read

Average open rates for email hover within the 15-22% range and email is more likely to hit the spam folder before anyone ever even sees it. On the opposite hand, open rates for text messaging towers over email at ninety-eight – and most are read within minutes of receiving them.

Start Texting

With the correct focus, an SMS marketing campaign will bring your business great success. Apply the above tips to craft or tweak your current strategy, and you’ll be bringing in the sales.

SMS – DepositPhotos

The post SMS Marketing Tips & Benefits appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/sms-marketing/strategy-tips

7 Things To Know About .NET

A framework released by Microsoft in 2002, .NET has been used by countless developers around the world to build thousands of projects, both mobile- and web-based. With a library with plenty of pre-written code, an object-oriented programming (OOP) model, and a wide range of applications — from games to the Internet of Things (IoT) — .NET is the framework of choice for many programmers.

Are you considering using .NET development services to help you create your next product? Here’s what you should know about this important tool. 

1. .NET has a huge library

The main feature of the framework is its enormous class library, called the Framework Class Library (FCL). FCL includes a vast collection of libraries with code and features dealing with security, data access, cryptography, algorithms, encryption, and more. This means .NET developers can use pieces of prewritten code to integrate features with their own code, allowing them to execute projects much more quickly. 

2. It’s now open source

Originally, .NET was not open source, but that changed in recent years. Free access offers plenty of advantages to .NET development companies and their clients. Businesses can expect lower prices for their projects in general, not just because they don’t have to pay for use of the framework but also because their developers will be able to view previous .NET development projects and modify code for their own use. This also means a faster turnaround time since they’re not starting from scratch — they can integrate prewritten code with their own.

3. Many different companies use .NET

.NET is the framework of choice for small and large companies alike. Some of the top brands that have executed .NET development projects include:

• Accenture

• CHEEZburger

• Dell

• GoDaddy

• Quicken Loans

• Samsung

• Telefonica

There are countless other businesses that have used .NET, too. What does that mean? That .NET is a reliable alternative that enjoys the support of some of the biggest names in different industries. 

4. It’s cross-platform

With the release of .NET Core in 2016, the framework could now run on multiple computer platforms, not just Windows. Today, .NET developers can create programs that run on Linux, Mac OS X, and others. This expands opportunities and access to products, including when they’re still in the development phase and require collaboration. It also increases the volume of .NET development uses and applications. 

5. Security is a priority

.NET offers a number of strong security features. One of them is code access security (CAS). Through this feature, the framework prevents unauthorized and potentially harmful code from affecting systems running with .NET. It does so by restricting operations from different users’ code, thus safeguarding the system from bugs and other attacks. 

This process is executed by Common Language Runtime (CLR), an important feature of .NET. CLR is also responsible for memory management, type-safety, and exception handling. 

6. It’s language-neutral

Thanks to its Common Language Infrastructure (CLI), .NET development services can use a wide variety of languages, including ones not developed by Microsoft, to create projects using the framework. CLI essentially offers a platform that accommodates this range of languages. While many .NET developers use C#, which depends on the framework, others can use VB.NET, F#, IronPython, IronRuby, C++, and more. 

Still, it’s useful for .NET developers to know C# since the language was originally developed to be compatible with .NET.

7. .NET is currently in version 4.8

.NET has come a long way since its initial development in the late 1990s and the release of version 1.0 in 2002. The current installment is 4.8 and was released in 2019. Microsoft notes that features from previous versions are retained with every release, and new features are continually added. 

Along with security, performance, and high-resolution-display improvements, version 4.8 aims to be more accessible, with features like tooltips controlled via the keyboard, rather than just the mouse. 

With numerous iterations, tools, and features, .NET has held up as an essential framework to know and use. It has provided the foundation for countless projects across sectors like finance, education, gaming, and more, and with frequent enhancements and improvements, it promises to continue to serve businesses for years to come.

Microsoft .Net – DepositPhotos

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Four Tips For Buying Car Insurance Online

Every time we turn on the television, a new commercial tells us about the mistakes we make online when looking for a car insurance policy. The problem is that most insurers won’t tell you about their policy, so you need to conduct in-depth research yourself. Looking for a car insurance policy online can be a very daunting task, especially if you haven’t done it before.

However, with a strong internet connection and wise planning, you can do it within an hour. Whether you’re shopping from an e-commerce website or looking for your first car insurance policy, the internet opens the doors to thousands of opportunities in this world. Low cost is just one factor that most people consider. There is much more to choosing an online car insurance policy than what you think.

In this article, we will guide you through 5 tips you need to keep in mind when choosing a suitable car insurance policy online.

1. Prepare before you search

Whether you’re looking for car insurance for the first time or just going through different auto insurance companies online, you need to have all the important information to request a free quote. You must have a perspective on what you need out of a suitable auto insurance plan. Note down details such as the model of the car, year of purchase, the total cost at the time of buying and other stuff before you begin your search online. This will save you time when you will join the digital bandwagon in the pursuit of finding a suitable auto insurance company.

2. Don’t swoon over the price

Just because you’re getting a cheap auto insurance policy from a company doesn’t mean you should dive full throttle from your side. Companies that win a client’s trust based on their cheap rates often turn out to be tough cookies at the end of the day. Go through the terms and conditions section of an auto insurance company before signing up for the policy. Read the terms and make sure the company doesn’t use cheap auto parts for maintenance and fixtures in case of an emergency.

3. Hire an insurance agent

Keep in mind, searching online is just one option. There is an endless number of companies that offer auto insurance to people. If you’re afraid that you might get conned online, you can take professional help in this regard. Auto insurance agents have hands-on experience of helping a lot of people. Not only do they give perfect advice but also help in negotiating the price of an insurance company. However, read the client reviews regarding an agent on his/her website or social media profile before hiring.

4. Compare Rates

Once you have a perspective on the kind of auto insurance policy you want, jot it down and start requesting quotes from different websites. In today’s time, most companies offer free online car insurance quotes after taking basic information on your vehicle. The cost of the same policy is different for every company depending on a lot of factors. After comparing rates, look for everything that a company offers within a policy. See if a company provides collision coverage, annual maintenance, etc.

Conclusion

So these were a few things you need to keep in mind when looking for an auto insurance policy online. Last but not least, always read customer reviews to confirm the veracity of the services of a company online.

Cars – DepositPhotos 

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/sales/free-resources/car-insurance-tips

7 Home-Based Food Business Ideas

Everyone loves a good meal. Even when you have no appetite at all, somehow you have to force-feed, and this is why food businesses are always flourishing.

If you love cooking and you have a few hours to spare every day, you can start a home-based food business with minimal investment. All you need are a few utensils, most of which you might already have in your kitchen and the love of food.

Before you start your business, however, read state laws on home-based food businesses. For instance, some states require that you keep your business cooking tools and ingredients separate from your personal tools. This is not a problem as you can have less personal tools and let your family eat what you cook for business. Information on home-based food businesses should be found in the state’s health department.

Once in a while, you might get a visit from the state health department to check the hygienic condition of your kitchen. Below are seven simple ideas for a  home-based food business.

1. Food Blogger

Most food businesses have a website – you might be running a restaurant but still, have a food blog where you share not only food health ideas and recipes but also fish for customers. Blogging about food only needs a computer and internet connection (two things that you might already have in your house), besides the passion for food.

Today, it is easy to start a blog as all you need to buy is a domain name, pay for hosting, and get a designer to tweak a few components of the blog, and you are good to go. You can monetize the blog by selling recipe books, cooking eBooks, hosting cooking webinars, and selling ads.

You can link your food blog with your YouTube channel where you make money selling ad space – the more the traffic you get to your channel, the more Google pays you for ads.

2. Food Coach

How much do you know about food? If you know enough to teach other people, you can start a food coaching business online or offline. You can create videos and post them online or sell videos to people who need to learn more about food. You can also hold cooking classes in your kitchen.

If you have a small kitchen, you can coach your students from their kitchens – this is an even better idea seeing that you will spend less buying ingredients. While at it, you can write a book to facilitate instructions.

This business is ideal for foodies who love creating their recipes. You can come up with great recipes and teach people how to make the meals in your recipes.

3. Baking or Grilling Business

Baked food is a staple in most families – most snacks have a cooked food item. If you have a passion for baking, you can start a home-based baking business. All you will need is an oven and ovenware. To succeed in this niche, you need to make your food items unique. One way to sell your baked items is to collect orders from customers – these can be for birthdays, weddings, parties, or breakfast. When you cook on order, you will have more control over your business. You can also bake and supply the baked items to retail stores – if you have an understanding with retail stores, your business will flourish.

Just the same way you bake food, you can grill food and sell to your neighbors. You can sell barbecued beef or pork or poultry from home or supply your customers to their homes. With a professional-grade grill and grilling skills, you are good to go.

4. Become a Personal Cook

Some families have no time to cook their meals. You can step in and help them make delicious and healthy meals at a fee. Usually, you might be tasked with shopping for ingredients and coming up with a menu for the week. Your work will be to make healthy meals (and sometimes to serve the meals).

As a personal cook, you do not need special equipment since most families will require you to prepare the meals from their kitchen. In a day, you can prepare meals for three or more families.

5. Catering Business

If you enjoy cooking foods for events, a home-based catering business will do you right. Here, you will need to get food orders for events, get the menu from the event organizers, make the food from home, and transport it to the event venue. Depending on the size of the event and the number of attendees, you might need to hire one or more people to help you.

Events are frequent on weekends, and this is when you need to be busy. Even when you do not have an order to supply food at a particular event, you can still carry some snacks to an event (if the organizers allow) and sell them to whoever is interested.

6. Nutrition Coach

With so many lifestyle diseases, people are interested in eating healthy today more than ever. If you understand healthy food habits, be a nutrition coach. You can have a small office in your home or visit your clients in their homes.

As a nutrition coach, you will help your clients design a food regimen to follow. Some people might already have lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, and their foods have to be designed special.

7. Grow Foods and Home

If your backyard is big enough to grow a few fruits and vegetables, then you can supply the local market with fresh produce. You can make your product special, say organic fruits and vegetables to carve a niche in your local market. To do this, you only need enough space to grow vegetables and fruits, passion for growing plants, and the know-how to nurture these plants. Your customers might be your neighbors.

Conclusion

Any business you choose to start, be sure to check state regulations before launching. Again, do in-depth market research to identify a gap that needs filling. If the market is far from your neighborhood, for instance, you can start a small fresh produce farm.

The post 7 Home-Based Food Business Ideas appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/7-home-based-food-business-ideas

Software Engineering Talent Shortage-It’s Quality, Not Just Quantity

Who is a software engineer?

A software engineer is a person who has knowledge, skills and can solve cases, especially IT related. He is therefore paid because he can solve these problems by developing apps through his knowledge of computer science. He has deep knowledge of programming language that can translate them into ways that machine devices can able to understand.

He doesn’t only implement his ideas but also has original ideas on how best he can do it. As it should come down from his heart as it can be a talent. These ideas should not only help you to earn some cash, but they should have an impact on the ways we are living in and solve some of the problems that business suffers. This article will look at why we have software developer shortage.

There has been a shortage of software engineers not as individuals who call themselves engineers, but the shortage is on the quality. It’s one who hasn’t studied computer science, software engineering and has an experience of deep understanding of software engineering.

The recruitment of emerging talent has to be monitored and evaluated by the also cultivating and mentoring some programmers that are both external and internal employees.

It is always good to give some incentives to the new talents by going formal training of an employer who is facing a shortage of qualified applicants. When looking for this software engineer’s talent, the following have proved to bring about these shortages.

• Lack of experience
• Lack of technical/ hard job skills
• Salary is too high
• Lack of workplace/ soft skills competencies
• Lack of formal engineering training

Lack of Experience

Many software engineers are new in the market, and many employees are looking for experienced candidates. Thus may technically bring about short since only those with experience will have the job opportunity in this field. No one is ready to take a fresh graduate as they may think he doesn’t meet the requirements and also may not give high tech software due to lack of experience.

They don’t have anything or prove to show that they are capable of, as well not a history about them is found or can be referred. Software engineers without any reputation or portfolio to prove their determination is a risk. This may only rely on lack, hence this shortage fall in.

Lack of Technical Skills

Some software engineer candidates may have the right skill that is necessary and thus may not have the technical know-how to determine the quality of the software engineers this can affect his or her ability to achieve their goals and objectives. The software engineer may be talented in one skill or field by not in others.

Lack of Soft Skills

Soft skills blend well with technical skills, as the candidate may have the right technical knowledge. The candidate must have some soft skills, which may include interpersonal skills, communication skills, and work as a team, work ethics problems, and conflict resolutions. This may be a big asset that a talent software engineer may possess, but this isn’t always the case as it would have them in the workplace.

Lack of Formal Education

This is the most important that a talented software engineer has to have and gone through, some may not have gone through it, and hence no potential employers go for them. The course work is very expensive, and many may not afford to go through it; thus hence, this shortage comes in. 

High Salary Demands

Due to this shortage, the few that are left and that the demand is very high for the organization s to employee them they demand quit high salaries so as the can offer their salaries. The organization is ready to pay the high salaries so as they may not lose them to greener pastures. 

Characteristics of a talented software engineer include

• Software engineers are geniuses and always come up with ideas they want to use and solve the existing problems.
• They are very few.
• He is passionate about developing great software, and he is deeply immersed in technology.
• He is devoted to giving all it takes in developing software that is innovative, strong, and high quality.
• He is not limited by technology and goes beyond doing research in order to give the best software beyond our thinking.

We have a shortage of such talented engineers of this kind, and also it’s not easy to find such a person as there isn’t a clear definition of such in the whole world. Thus we can’t really define him because they are scarce.

Therefore every organization has its definition of a talented software engineer. They use different approaches to hire, recruit, and also to retain them. It varies from one organization to the other.

Their capabilities also differ depending on the different organizations that they are working for, and also the technologies they are working for and last on the environment there are in as well as how their skill and knowledge are natured.

Some people believe that the scarcity of talent software engineers could be just, but a perception looking for such requirements can also be difficult in the software sector; thus, hiring and equipment can bring this shortage. Therefore this isn’t a perception but is real.

The talent of Software Developers

For the business to remain competitive in this kind of era, they have to use talented software engineers in order to propel in the market by offering efficient, high tech systems as well as offering solutions to the organization IT problems.

As so many researchers have predicted that the demand is so high. The projected growth in developing different app and software’s as well it can generate billions of dollars in revenue. Due to such growth, so many organizations have also had a challenge in getting a good software engineer, or developer demand is still high.

In addition, most software engineers and developer may not match the demand of the clients thus will look at some of the problems that bring about these shortages of talented software engineers.

Conclusion

Statistics show that more than 1.5 million positions as there are  ony400000  graduates thus there is a shortage of about 1M software engineers. For these reasons, the various organizations are come up with training programs for employees and teach them some basics of software engineering to alleviates some shortages.

Software Engineering – DepositPhotos

The post Software Engineering Talent Shortage-It’s Quality, Not Just Quantity appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/software/engineering-talent-shortage

Top 4 Software Testing Challenges And Their Solutions

Software testing and quality assurance services keep on evolving. These practices are the parts of the software product lifecycle. They help to check whether the developing or developed product matches the expected outcome. QA software testing eliminates the probability that the final product has errors of design and functionality. Software companies perform product testing either manually or by using automation tools. It is an equally integral part of the software development lifecycle just as the design and development.

However, due to the surge in mobile devices and applications, testers sometimes find it challenging to keep up with the continuous requirement for the highest level of accuracy. Moreover, modern technologies such as Blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, predictive analysis, and more are forcing developers and testers to attain the software quality goal.

Today, we will look at how the most common challenges affect software testing and how to address them.

Though, Why Software Testing is Important

If, for any reason, software testing is the end product or even the business might have to suffer. Software testing is essential to point out critical errors that were undiscovered during the software development process.

Benefits of an efficient software testing process:

1. The user gets verified and easy to use application and feels the confidence that the app does not have any misleading features.
2. QA software testing helps to enhance application security that means the end-user gets a trustworthy and vulnerability free product.
3. It ensures that the application works in all the compatible browsers and operating systems across devices.
4. Due to the high-quality software application, it results in low maintenance costs and consistent performance.
5. It ensures application reliability and customer satisfaction toward software Development Company.

Common Software Testing Challenges & Their Solutions

1. Lack of Communication:
   Communication issues are most common in the software development lifecycle. It can be either between the clients and project managers or between the various teams working on the project. It can happen due to many circumstances such as different shifts of committed organizations, more prominent offices, different time zones of clients and developers, and many others. However, this communication gap can lead to a significant flow in the quality of the product. Solution: Complete team collaboration is essential during the entire software development, testing, and deployment phases. Companies should integrate adequate testing and engineering processes to make collaborative decisions. A transparent process helps to keep everyone on the same page. As a result, the clients get delivery faster and within the budget.
2. Absence of Complete Testing:
   Software products today get to build with a few million lines of codes. To make an error-free product deployment, every section of code must go through a complete testing process. However, because of the high demand for software applications in a shorter time, the software companies face the challenge of executing a whole testing process. When a product release gets closer, clients and project managers create more pressure on developers and software testers to deliver the product. That is another reason behind the absence of complete testing. Solution: Companies should create a priority list of requirements. It will help to identify the areas that need to be tested earlier. Besides, such practice will ensure that the essential part of the software product is tested and verified before moving to further stages.
3. Incomplete or No Documentation:
   Many companies today still prefer verbal communication for simple or even complex changes in the developing product. They do not maintain the required documentation that contains functional and non-functional scopes of the project. It leads to the lack of requirement gathering for the software testers as verbal communication may miss some vital information about the project. Solution: Teams should create comprehensive documentation that contains complete requirement analysis. It will help business analysis, technical, and QA testing teams to understand the as-is and to-be product model. As testers correctly understand the project objectives and specifications, they will create the most relevant test cases and prevent software defects.
4. Unstable Testing Environment:
   In the rapid process of application development and delivery, the requirements specification changes at times. Besides, developers make changes to test environments to fix the identified issues or add new functions to be tested. Moreover, when multiple testers are involved in the testing process of a single product, it becomes challenging to keep track of all the changes made by individual members. If QA testing teams do not get updates about all these changes, it brings disorder in the application lifecycle. In the end, it becomes difficult to test an app with incomplete information. Solution: To release a quality product, the team members and project managers need to create an organized and controlled testing environment. A clear description of the changes in required product specifications leads to short turnaround times. Besides, it helps QA and testing teams to proceed for the next steps in a controlled environment without going back and forth all the time to gather testing requirements. Apart from this, challenges such as unavailability of the skilled testers, application complexity, failure to create a proper testing automation process, and more need to be addressed for the successful delivery of a defect-free product.

In Conclusion

Software applications today have become more complex to handle. The continuously changing specification requirements and rapid development cycle play a significant role in creating a challenging test environment. From gathering essential project elements to creating automated test cases, everything needs to be streamlined for successful testing outcomes.

Toward this, a reliable QA software testing company comprising analysts, developers, testers, and project managers brings the whole application development process in one place. As a result, it becomes possible to maximize productivity and release the best possible version of the software product.

Quality Assurance – DepositPhotos

The post Top 4 Software Testing Challenges And Their Solutions appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

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21st Century Internet Marketing Strategies to Boost Business Sales

The primary goal of any business is to increase sales. And in the 21^st century, if your business does not have an online presence, you’re leaving money on the table. When you launch your business online and incorporate effective digital marketing techniques, you can accomplish a variety of goals like a wider audience, stronger branding, higher traffic, generation of leads and sales, conversion of visitors into customers, etc. However, the field of digital marketing can get complicated if you are unaware of the precise areas you need to lay your focus upon. This is why having a strategy in place lays the initial foundation that you can work upon as your business begins to catch the pace. So, let’s have a look at some of the relevant internet marketing strategies to attract customers, increase leads, and improve sales.

SEO Strategies

If implemented correctly, SEO strategies can have a positive impact on Search Engine Results Page (SERP), which in turn will help users find your website with ease. Below listed are some of the core concepts you can implement for SEO…

• Keyword Research is an essential element of SEO tactics that lets you know how many users are searching for a particular query. You can make use of a keyword research tool to discover the average monthly searched queries and target the said audience by implementing these terms in your website’s content. You can choose keywords by competition, season, region, and other relevant criteria’s that suit your business needs.

 

• Technical SEO refers to non-content strategies and points to server optimizations that mainly aid search engines to crawl through your website’s content effectively and index it accordingly. When a search engine accesses and crawls your website, the resultant interpretation, and indexing results in higher rankings on SERP.

 

• On-Page SEO refers to the practice of optimizing every single webpage of a website so as to enable it to earn relevant rankings and eventually climb up the SERP. This takes into account both the HTML source code and the content of the webpage to ensure that each webpage gets the best possible shot at higher rankings.

 

• Off-Page SEO is the process of taking into account the link building of a website by including citations, backlinks, and promotions via social media platforms. This strategic form of link building results in higher traffic and higher rankings on search engines.

Email Marketing

If you think the popularity of emails has gone down because of social media and other apps, here’s a quick fact. Over 90% of users check their emails on a daily basis, which means, email marketing has immense potential if done right. According to a survey, the ROI on email marketing is 3800% which is in-fact 3-times higher than social media. So, how does one go about strategizing via emails? Here’s how…

For starters, you can begin by sending promotional emails. You can inform the users about offers, discounts, season sales, etc. You can also send out emails to customers who failed to make a purchase but have items remaining in their shopping cart. Aspects such as free delivery or limited editions can also be included here.

Additionally, you can also include other strategies like lead magnets, welcome emails, shopping receipts, etc. to ensure your business stays in constant touch with the user/customer at all times.

PPC Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the most influential and successful internet marketing advertising strategies. By relying on an auction-based system, you can bid on keywords that are commonly used by users, and in-turn has your website advertised on SERP. PPC offers a quick boost to any business that is just starting off by allowing it to benefit from paid traffic until the time organic listings begin to reflect on search engines. With PPC, you can promote your landing pages and target users at the right time with the right message.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing focusses on all major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. By targeting users via social media, you not just connect with your existing customer base but are also able to connect with a wider audience, as friends and families usually tend to share relevant stuff to one another. Thus, social media platforms act as the perfect word-of-mouth recommendations that are more powerful than any paid advertising there is. To make social media marketing effective, all you need to do is choose the right channel depending upon your audience and target the wide range of online shoppers who make use of social media platforms for online purchases.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is an effective internet marketing technique that takes into consideration content published in various forms such as videos, blogs, articles, infographics, etc. by laying focus on certain prominent keywords. The goal is to not just provide relevant and valuable information to the target audience but to also increase traffic, rankings, and conversions. In order to make content marketing effective, you can include:

• Blogs; that are industry-relevant and keyword optimized.
• Link baits; created with the specific intention of formulating hyperlinks for the website.
• Guest posts; where content is published on another website in order to create a backlink.
• Videos—because sometimes, it’s easier to watch than to read.
• Podcasts—because audio is just as effective.

Affiliate and Referral Marketing

• Affiliate Marketing: This strategy is considered to be one of the most successful online marketing tactics. Here, you affiliate with another entity who promotes/refers your product/services to a wide range of customers through social media platforms, and in turn they get a share of the profit you make via the sales generated. This way, you do not have to pay huge sums of money to market your product, and only pay once the sales come through.

 

• Referral Marketing: Referral marketing, as the name suggests, is where you promote your product/services to customers through word-of-mouth. This form of marketing is often witnessed on e-commerce sites where an existing customer gets additional reward points for referring the business to their friends or family.

Conclusion

To sum up, internet marketing strategies can bring forth great profits to any business as long as it is marketed smartly. However, one must remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to digital marketing. You ought to mix and match various strategies and figure out which one works the best for your business and when. Since digital marketing isn’t a niche field, you don’t have to fret if one of the strategies does not work out. Simply move on to the next strategy and see how well that fits!

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