Free Online Bookkeeping from Outright.com

Last week, I told you about the free IRS Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop. Knowing what your tax responsibilities are is great, but how do you keep track of all that information?

Let me introduce you to Outright.com. Outright is a free online bookkeeping program which was created to help sole proprieters and single-member LLCs “track income and expenses from credit cards, invoices, receipts, or even merchant accounts, or enter records quickly in simple ledgers.”

Not only does this program keep track of your income and expenses, but it also proves to be an invaluable tax tool. It will automatically track important tax deadlines (quarterly filing, 1099 deadlines, etc), manage W-9s, tell you who needs a 1099, and automate Schedule C.

You may be thinking the same things I thought when I first learned about the program. “My financial information is ultra-sensitive. Is this site secure? What happens if I cancel my account?”  Here are the answers I found:

• all information in Outright is encrypted
• the site itself is password protected and encrypted
• data is backup hourly
• all data belongs to you and can be downloaded in a format which can be read by spreadsheet software
• if you cancel your account, you data is immediately deleted

I’m recommending this product not because I receive compensation or incentives for any referrals I may give.  I’m not an Outright affiliate. I’m recommending this program because I use it myself and am ecstatic with the results. Once I had entered my 2009 income and expenses, I was able to view and download a pdf of my Schedule C.  Wow! What a time-saver! My CPA is gonna love me.

What is your preferred bookkeeping method?

Custom WordPress Designs: PageOne Marketing Solutions

About PageOne Marketing Solutions

PageOne Marketing solutions helps local business owners develop and put into action a powerful online brand and business presence in order to attract more clients and drastically cut advertising costs while at the same time putting online marketing efforts on “autopilot.”

Reason for Makeover

Brad and Michele contacted me because they were not happy with their business website’s design. The colors did not coordinate with their logo, the video and newsletter opt-in form took up too much valuable space, their ebook cover looked like it had been created by an amateur, and the site’s layout just did not present their content in the best way.

Solution for PageOne Marketing Solutions

Since Brad and Michele already had their content in place, we decided they just needed a site redesign.  The Berries and Cream Decadence package was the perfect solution since business website designs typically require more detail than a personal blog design would.

A New Design

Brad and Michele knew they wanted their site colors to match or coordinate with their logo. They also knew they needed to keep the newsletter opt-in form and the video. I suggested moving the opt-in form to the right side of the header so that it would be easily accessible from every page of the site.

I created a pin-striped background that was dark enough to create great contrast for the white content area. The pin-striping created a subtle texture that was more attractive than just a solid background would have been.

A new ebook cover replaced the poorly designed cover that had been used before. I was able to incorporate the PageOne logo into the cover, further promoting the site’s branding.

I created a sidebar to feature important information that did not belong in the navigation bar. I also created a special page template without a sidebar for those pages where a sidebar would not be appropriate.

A feature specifically requested was title images with shadows. I used the logo colors for the titles and shadows. Every page has a custom title image.

To further fortify the branding, I created a favicon using a portion of their logo.

Home Page

Brad and Michele knew they wanted to keep the video on the home page. I suggested moving it just underneath the home page title. There, it would get the attention they desired, but it would also allow additional content to appear above the fold.

Plenty of relevant images were used in the page content, which helped to make the long page more interesting. Brad and Michele requested that I create custom pull-quotes to emphasize imporant selling point.

Goal Accomplished – Another Satisfied Client

Once the design was complete, I installed the new design at Brad and Michele’s site and made the final tweaks that are nearly always necessary after installation. Brad and Michele were thrilled with their new design and the professional appearance it gave their site.

How is your website working for you? We can transform your site just like we did Brad and Michele’s, giving it a more professional design and better navigation.
Click here to view our Custom Blog Design Packages

Top 5 Fun Traffic Tips for Your Blog

Are you finding the traffic building a bit tiring? Not getting the amount of traffic to your blog that you’d wished for when you started?

Increasing your readership needn’t be tiring or stressful, it can be FUN! If you just have the right mindset when doing it you can benefit immensely and have fun at the same time.

1. Social Networking. This can be too much fun if you don’t watch out.  If you aren’t already on twitter or Facebook I suggest you get on there as soon as possible! Have fund and promote your blog at the same time. Use a service such as Bit.ly to shorten your URL’s and tweet about older posts as well as new. Remember to interact with other tweeters and not only tweet your own content.  Same thing goes for Facebook, reply to statuses of your friends and contacts and make new connections whenever possible. Don’t collect friends for the sake of having friends, only connect with those you really have some kind of relationship to.
2. Join a forum related to your topic. If you write about gardening it make sense to talk to those interested in gardening and not weight loss. Have something in common; you never know what connections you can make on forums. Don’t see it as time wasting, instead as a unique opportunity to meet new interesting people.
3. Comment on other blogs. This is probably one of the most given advice around when it comes to blogging but it works! Making thoughtful comments that show you are actually commenting because you have something to say and not for link building can make a huge difference for your blog.
4. Learn some basic SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is important for any blogger who wants more readers.  Don’t worry if it seems complicated, it really isn’t and you only need to know some basics.  A good idea is to check out Dan Thies’ free eBook SEO Fast Start. Learn how to use keywords in your titles and posts.
5. Write unique content. Show your personality in your posts; don’t be afraid to show a bit of who you are in your blog.  That is what makes your blog so special. Another tip is to write “Ever Green Content”. The term “Ever Green Content” refers to writing content that can be read today, tomorrow and months from now and it will still be relevant.

Actually you could probably put these tips in any order, they are all very effective. What you do with it is up to you. Blogging is supposed to be fun, so make the most out of your blog and have fun with it!

Need to set up some more strategies for your blog to get it going? Sign up for some Blog Coaching with Linda to see what you can improve on your blog!

IRS Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop

It’s that time of year again here in the US – tax time. As a small business owner, you are probably going through the same ritual I am going through – hunting down all of those receipts to make sure you will be able to claim as many deductions as possible. I try to stay organized throughout the year, but I inevitably slack off toward the end of the year. (As usual, I’ve vowed not to let that happen again this year!)

January is also the month when you have to issue 1099s to your independent contractors and make sure you are in compliance with IRS regulations. Personal taxes are bad enough to keep track of, but there are so many forms, rules, and regulations for businesses that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by it all.

The IRS has a great resource for us small business owners, both newcomers and veterans. They have created a virtual Small Business Tax Workshop. This video workshop is available at any time and is set up so that you can skip to any section that interests you. Topics include the following:

• Introduction – an intro to the workshop
• Lesson 1 – What You Need to Know About Federal Taxes and Your New Business
• Lesson 2 – How to Set Up and Run Your Business So Paying Taxes Isn’t a Hassle
• Lesson 3 – How to File and Pay Your Taxes Using a Computer
• Lesson 4 – What You Need to Know When You Run Your Business Out of Your Home
• Lesson 5 – How to Set Up a Retirement Plan for Yourself and Your Employees
• Lesson 6 – What You Need to Know About Federal Taxes When Hiring Employees/Contractors
• Lesson 7 – How to Manage Payroll So You Withhold the Right Amount from Employees
• Lesson 8 – How to Make Tax Deposits and File Payroll Taxes Using a Computer
• Lesson 9 – What You Need to Know About Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA)

While I have a trustworthy CPA, I’m still going to go through this workshop myself.

What is your best tip for complying with IRS regulations for your business?

Small Business Web Solutions: Bra~vo intimates

*Note: Bra~vo intimates is a bra fitting store, and the website images reflect this.*

About Bra~vo intimates

More than just another bra shop, Bra~vo intimates specializes in the custom fitting of everyday bras, sports bras, maternity bras, and special needs/post surgery bras.  Because of the owner’s dedication and expertise, Bra~vo intimates has earned a reputation for being the best bra fitting store in the area.  People travel several hours just to be fitted by Rebecca Aughton and her staff.

Reason for Makeover

Rebecca contacted me because she was ready for a professional website.  She had created the website herself and had done the best she could, but she knew that it did not present her business in the best light.  She was ready for, as she put it, “a big girl website.”

Solution for Bra~vo intimates

We decided the Information Blogsite package was right for her.  Moving her website to the WordPress platform would allow Rebecca to easily update the site herself.  We also decided it was high time for her website to have better functions, like a contact form, prominent newsletter signup form, and a calendar of events.

A New Design

After installing and configuring the WordPress platform on a test domain, the next step was to create the custom WordPress design. Rebecca knew she wanted to use the pinks and golds in her logo, and she wanted something clean yet soft and feminine.

I added to the curves in the logo to create a soft, flowing shape in the header. I also added a soft curving background decoration. The website font was chosen to match the logo font, and the headline colors and backgrounds were also based on the logo colors.

Rebecca had tons of great pictures for me to incorporate into the website. The images that were used were chosen to enhance the words they related to.  The final effect was a personable and inviting website.

Clear Navigation

At the old site, information was lumped together, making it difficult for visitors to find what they were looking for. At the new site, I made sure that each type of information had its own page (Contact, Services, About, etc.) and that site navigation was clear and easily accessible.

The Phone a Fitter feature was important since Rebecca would soon be receiving national attention, and I incorporated into the header a click-able banner about that feature. The phone number and location were also added to the header to make sure they were easily available on every page.

I created a sidebar to feature important information that did not belong in the navigation bar.  The newsletter signup was made more attractive with a custom newsletter image and a listing of the benefits received by newsletter subscribers. The sidebar also included a short commercial showing more about Bra~vo intimates, a map and link to get driving directions to the store, and a section to allow visitors to connect with Rebecca on Twitter and Facebook.

Home Page

Rebecca and I decide the home page content area would be best used to funnel people to specific areas of the website and to show her expertise as a bra fitter.

The slideshow is used to announce ongoing events (like The Incredible Bra Sale from January 18 – 23, 2010) and to direct people to informative pages on the site: About the Expert Bra Fitters, Bra Fitting & Services, and Jeunique Custom Fitting.

To establish Rebecca’s expertise, the area beneath the slideshow features excerpts from 3 articles containing bra fitting tips and 1 article containing bra shopping tips.

Goal Accomplished – Another Satisfied Client

Once the design was complete and the content was in place, I moved the site from the test domain to the live one.  The transition occurred without any problems at all, and Rebecca was more than pleased with the completed website.  She stated that she had not even imagined that it could look that good, and she was very pleased with how the information was arranged.

How is your website working for you? We can transform your site just like we did Rebecca’s.
Click here to view our Small Business Web Solutions

Why should my business invest in a blog?

Why Your Business Needs a Blog

As small business owner you might ask yourself  “Why should my business invest in a blog?” A very good question indeed, but let’s turn it around and ask:

• “How can a blog help my business?“
• “What are the benefits of having a business blog?”
  and most importantly
• “How can a blog help my business grow and make me money?”

The real answer is that as a small business owner you need all the help you can get to spread the word about you and your business. Blogging is one way of promoting your business, and by now you should have grasped that you get what you pay for.

3 benefits of having a business blog

A blog offers businesses three very important benefits.

1. It will increase the awareness of your brand and make it easier for potential customers to find you.
Do a search for your company or the services you sell and see how easily you can be found. If  the result isn’t very good, a blog or website can help change that.  Self-hosted WordPress is pretty search engine friendly out of the box, and when you add on a plug-in specifically designed to help with SEO, your blog can become a powerful tool to help you rank better in the search engines.

2. It will help you build credibility.
It will help your potential customers to trust you.  The more you write, the more they trust you – if you give them the right information. Use your blog to inform and educate your customers so they understand what you offer. It is a fantastic opportunity to show what you have to offer without being too “pushy”.

3. It will help you with your marketing efforts.
A Blog is a viral marketing tool: it will make it easy for people to talk about you and your services. A blog makes it easy for others to link to you and to talk about what you’ve written. This will result in more sales opportunities. The time you spend on your blog can be substituted for various other marketing efforts you are doing and still give you a better result.

Visitors know if you are investing in your blog

When you are in business you quite quickly start to understand that you get what you pay for and the best is often worth paying for. Here at Berries and Cream, we like to use free and low cost services whenever possible, but when it comes to making the investment in a website or blog we tell it to you straight: Having your own domain name and paying for hosting is a must if you are serious about your business and about your blog.

Too many times have we seen, and still see daily, small business owners starting a blog on a free platform service without a custom domain and then complaining that their blog is not giving them the results they had hoped for. This goes together with the credibility point above: make your customers trust you by showing them you are a serious business owner.

Using a free blogging platform without a custom domain name (like myblog.blogspot.com or myblog.wordpress.com) often creates a first impression of unprofessionalism. A custom domain name, on the other hand, lets people know that you are serious enough about your blog to invest in it.

Our Recommendations

Hosting: We recommend and use BlueHost and HostGator. Very easy and reliable and to work with. Have your site hosted for a small monthly fee.

Self-hosted WordPress: WordPress is easy and very flexible to use; all of the available add-ons (plugins) make it a great Content Management  System.

A custom design: Make your blog or website unique and memorable. Having a custom design made for you will help enhance your brand and make it easy for your visitors to remember you.

Have questions?

Now let’s go back to the question: “How can a blog help my business?” If you need help to figure that out, sign up for a consultation on how a blog can help your business.

If you have not yet have a blog, it is about time to get one. Need help? Ask us and we will guide you in the right drection!