Tailored Payroll: Reward Your Staff Tax Free

This year you may consider rewarding your employees for their work. As an employer you can provide an employee with a small benefit with a value not exceeding €250 Tax Free. PAYE, PRSI and USC need not be applied to that benefit. This can only be given to an employee once in the income tax year. Where a benefit exceeds €250 in value, the full value of the benefit is liable to PAYE, PRSI and USC.

Monetary benefits e.g. cash, cheques, credit transfer etc.; do not qualify under the small benefit exemption. However, you can give a voucher up to the value of €250 which does qualify under the scheme. The small benefit exemption does not apply to the numerous values of benefits. It applies to a single benefit only.

As a Tailored Payroll client we keep you up to date on how you can save Tax in your payroll. Contact us today for a competitive price and you can continue to make savings on your payroll while remaining compliant. Our flexible service includes:

  • PAYE,PRSI and USC Calculations
  • Registration of Employer with Revenue
  • All employer Revenue submissions to include: P30’s,P45’s, P35, P60’s and registration of new employees
  • We provide email Payslips and P60s to employees
  • Creation of Bank file for payment to employees
  • No hidden costs

For more information about this business visit their website or email to payroll@tailoredpayroll.ie. Tailored Payroll is part of Use SBC as a channel initiative. If you want your business to be featured, click here.

 

 

 

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Calling all Innovators & Entrepreneurs, we need your help & your green VOTE !!

As with any Irish technology company, we all suffer unique challenges when growing business internationally. As a country we have a small population so we struggle when trying to make as much noise as our International competitors. Even places we assume are tiny states such as Haiti & Togo have twice and three times our population.

Hence we need your help…

One of our company’s, Surface Power HONE which has developed a revolutionary “daylight” powered Nano-heat engine technology is short-listed (final 18 was judged by experts) for the 2Degrees Champions Award –  “Innovation of the Year” which is the world’s leading collaboration platform and service for sustainable business with over 46,500 members from 177 countries. https://www.2degreesnetwork.com/

Surface Power HONE has nearly 7,000 installations of this patented technology over 8 countries to date and it has been kept fairly secretive until recently. The technology was field tested in the West of Ireland & New Zealand as the daylight levels are some of the lowest in the OECD. In short, it replaces the use of oil and gas for heating and cooling with free daylight. Have a look at LIVE customers on our website such as the UK National Health Service running their hospital’s central heating on free “daylight” (sounds mad but true !!)

The next phase of the 2Degrees “Innovation of the Year Awards” is a voting stage which will reduce the final 18 to 5 for the big awards ceremony and we need your help and your vote. 

Although already in the short-list of 18, we are the only Irish Technology company in this shortlist and are up against huge players such as Nestle, General Motors & B&Q.

You can vote for us by clicking the link below to get us into the final 5 and we thank you in advance for that vote. Be sure to tweet it afterwards using the link so we can personally send you a thank you tweet. Go raibh maith agat as do chabhair.

Best Regards, John Quinn, CEO. (Twitter – @johnquinn_irl )

Read our story and VOTE from below.

https://www.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/2degrees-community/resources/surface-powers-nano-engine-harvests-light-generate-heating-and-cooling/

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Start-up Story: SqueezeIT – The Home Straight

Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

The next thing I needed, obviously, was my own website so more research, I eventually contacted Webbiz and met with them, they seemed to have their heads pretty much screwed on so I gave them the gig – I had written most of the text for the site anyway – and after much toing and froing they came up trumps and as a result they will be helping with some minor aspects of the mobile conversions which is great and this will add another dimension to the business.

I was also looking at ways to advertise for SqueezeIT and contacted Emergo and met with them too and they have also decided they want to actually partner with SqueezeIT which is absolutely fantastic as they are also based in Germany so that could be another possible market for the business going forward.

I am also in talks at the moment with a representative from Lyoness to provide the service to them by offering it to their client merchants both here in Ireland and overseas, especially in the USA and the UK.

Currently I am looking for a “home” for SqueezeIT and should have something sorted soon, fingers crossed!

So if anyone out there would like to avail of our service just visit SqueezeIT.ie and all the details are there and as an opening offer we are prepared to waive the 100 euros deposit for the 1st 5 businesses who sign up with us regardless of which of the three options you choose to use and we will feature your site on our site also from time to time to say thanks.

Written by Aidan Murray. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel’ initiative, SqueezeIT has an exclusive offer for SBC members: “We will waive the 100 euro deposit for the first five companies that sign up for our service with us and will give a 50% discount for the next five businesses.”

For more information on this business visit Partner Site: emergo-online.com | Email: squeezeit@yandex.com |Phone: 087 261 7576.

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QRVO: Print Partners Opportunities

QRVO is an innovative Information Gateway suitable for numerous advertising/branding and promotional applications. Based on the original QR code, developed by Denso Wave, the high capacity code now offers greater flexibility, a consumer friendly voice over and is linked to Analytics. The Alpha Numeric code is provided in a print ready format, with selected customer, text, graphics, and video, content.

Users simply scan the code with a Smart Phone or Mobile device, no URLs, no password, no user details. Content is a near immediate download. Most Smart Phones now have inbuilt scan options

QRVO clients determine the content. The level of scan activity can be monitored by Analytics. The code remains intact and the content can be changed remotely. The client determines the content, evaluates the campaign and can alter the content to match demand.

QRVO Print Partner network in Ireland

We are seeking to establish a QRVO Print Partner network in Ireland. This offers an integrated upsell opportunity to the print sector. The QRVO code is a major additional promotional/marketing/advertising tool for the existing customer base. The once humble business card will continue to display primary contact details, and can offer a video presentation on a new service or product. Some customers may opt to provide a special offer, voucher.

The bespoke QRVO is provided in a print ready format. The customer determines the content and deployment. The code can be deployed on business cards, conventional publication, brochures, Labels, till receipts, headed paper, outgoing mails, signage and packaging. Most importantly the customer can determine the effectiveness through Analytics.

In a marketplace where customer engagement is critical QRVO is simple, customer friendly, innovative and that vital engagement can be evaluated.

If you feel this outline is of interest and merits further discussion, please email info@info@qrvo.ie to contact our sales team

Based on the original code developed by Denso wave, QRVO is re-engineered in Castlebar County Mayo www.qrvo.ie

“This document contains information that is confidential to QRVO and all Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights in this document and all information contained in it shall vest in QRVO”

Witten by John Moran | QRVO Business Development info@qrvo.ie 087 25 27 407. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel initiative, QRVO has a special 10% discount on Standard QRVO orders to SBC members and readers.

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Start-up Story: SqueezeIT – My Fight Back

Read part 1 and part 2.

I then checked out Thebeesknees in California to make sure they were legit, they even phoned me and answered any questions I had for them so that put my mind at ease and I could buy the software in a white label (see Wikipedia) version which meant I would own it outright.

Researching Irish market

So next I decided to research the Irish market again in more detail and be the master of my own destiny – and hopefully business – to see if anyone was specialising in this type of service and found that although there was plenty of web design companies offering mobile site services none were specialising in adapting websites for mobiles so I decided to keep going. I was actually beginning to enjoy my little adventure!!

I even contacted some of them to see if they would be interested in working with me and needless to say I was underwhelmed by the avalanche of responses I received.

I joined meetup and went to various meetings and got mostly positive feedback on what I wanted to do during 2014 as further research and also to network but everyone was “too busy” or wanted to be paid from day 1 which was not possible. Discouraged? Moi? No way Jose!!

Name and resources

I decided on the name SqueezeIT for the company and registered the name with the Companies Registration Office (CRO).

Actually one company I contacted said that they could offer the same service as me but after four weeks I still haven’t heard from them, so go figure. I also researched pricing in the market and drafted a business plan.

One thing I was adamant about was to use my own resources to get everything started and not rely on others until I had something to “show” for my efforts as I also wanted to find a business partner to work with from a similar technical area as mine to achieve some credibility.

I then researched and decided on my target market – both offline and online – but that I will keep under wraps for now as it has been decided on at this stage but it did take some time. The devil is in the detail as they say.

To be continued…

Written by Aidan Murray. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel’ initiative, SqueezeIT has an exclusive offer for SBC members: “We will waive the 100 euro deposit for the first five companies that sign up for our service with us and will give a 50% discount for the next five businesses.”

For more information on this business visit Partner Site: emergo-online.com | Email: squeezeit@yandex.com |Phone: 087 261 7576.

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How to Make a Business out of Selling Liquidated Merchandise

The commercial landscape seems to be making changes all the time. One business opens its doors while another turns out the lights for good. As businesses come and go, have you ever wondered what happens to all that excess inventory? Instead of wondering where it is being shipped off to and stored, it would sure be nice to know how to get your hands on it. With between 10,000 to 50,000-dollars sitting in the bank, you will potentially have all the capital you need to get into the game of acquiring and reselling liquidated merchandise.

What this essentially means is that you would not be left wondering where all that excess inventory ends up anymore, mostly because it could happen to make its way into your company warehouse. You could be fast on the track to starting and running your own merchandise liquidation business. According to SBA.gov, individuals looking to close shop should inventory, assess, and prepare merchandise for a liquidation process. This means that a savvy reseller could really find huge stores of products inexpensively.

Selling Liquidated Merchandise

If you are interested in selling liquidated merchandise, then you should be aware of a couple of angles to this lucrative business model. The first idea is to actively purchase and resell merchandise that failing businesses are trying to get rid of as quickly as possible. This means you have to do the leg work to figure out who is in the process of liquidating their store and then how to unload the product once you have purchased it. This is not difficult to do if you already have buyers lined up. This means you will want to spend a considerable amount of time developing business-to-business relationships to be able to unload product as quickly as it comes in to your warehouse.

Alternatively, once you have gotten to know other people in this industry doing the same thing, you could forge relationships with other purchasers. In this business approach your goal is to convince these individuals to allow you to resell their stock for them. In this situation, you end up with a constant supply of merchandise. All you have to do is be excellent at reselling the product and collecting a commission for getting the job done. Again, forging relationships with other retailers ready to buy at wholesale prices will help to keep the merchandise moving along.

Offering Drop Shipping Options

Another way to generate orders for merchandise you are attempting to resell is to offer buyers the option to have product drop shipped to their customers. In this scenario, other people are moving your product for you and you do not have to pay any hefty marketing costs. With enough people placing regular orders, you will be able to generate excellent resale rates with minimum advertising efforts on your part. There are numerous online sellers who would rather not have to reship product; consequently, if you take care of all the shipping for them, this makes their life easier. This type of symbiotic relationship is really a win-win for everyone involved.

What Type of Merchandise Should I Purchase

When it comes to purchasing large lots of liquidated merchandise from a commercial source, it is important to steer clear of perishable items. Sometimes merchandise does not resell as quickly as you might hope; consequently, perishables are a huge liability in the merchandise resell industry. Items, such as power tools, appliances, mobile devices from Directliquidation.com, and other consumer electronics and collectible toys are prime items that you will undoubtedly be able to get top dollar for from eager buyers.

It is important to consider that items that are trendy today may not be all that trendy in a few months or longer. When it comes to trendy items, it is important to have sound judgment. You have to know that you can move these products in a reasonable amount of time to justify the purchase of such items. This can make clothing items, for example, a difficult prospect. That is to say, unless you truly are quite a fashion buff. In such a case, experience will be a priceless commodity.

Selling Your Inventory Direct Online

One of the ways to move product quickly is through a merchandise liquidation website. Direct sales to customers online will provide you with a much larger customer base. In addition, you can break up stock orders into more manageable sizes and charge a bit extra on the shipping for each lot of product being resold.

This can add up and allow you to accumulate substantial profits in a short amount of time. It is important to not overprice entire lots of product, making it accessible to be purchased by other buyers at a perceived discount. Remember, when it comes to liquidating merchandise, it is best to find the price that moves the product fast while still realizing a significant profit. Product that sits on your shelves for too long of a time is generally costing you money as it is taking up valuable warehouse space.

Liquidated assets from commercial businesses are turned out on the open market every day. Those who take the time to identify commercial interests unloading their merchandise stand to have access to product at below wholesale prices. While there are an endless number of buyers ready to acquire this product at or slightly below retail value, this business is intended for the few who take the time to understand how to take advantage of the vast stores of product that are being offered to the highest bidder.

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QRVO Delivering Your Business Message Better

QRVO, Quick Response Voice Over, is an unusual and yet, simple, piece of technology. The original QR, Quick Response, code, was originally developed by Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary, as an industrial function in vehicle assembly operations. The alphanumeric, high capacity barcode, has been re-engineering to now include a professionally recorded voice over, and combined with Analytics, offers an abundance of consumer friendly applications.

The QRVO code, can be scanned with Smart Phones and Mobile Devices. There is not a requirement to log in, no URL, no password, and content is nearly immediately available. The content, text, graphics or video, can be a special offer, directions, event/product details, call to action, voucher, notifications.

QRVO codes are effective from stamp size to 48 sheet poster. The client, those in the advertising, branding and promotional sectors can opt to deploy codes on Business Cards, outgoing mails, voucher, loyalty card conventional publications, signage, and packaging.

Clients can include Analytics to monitor the number of scans, and measure, the success or otherwise of campaigns. While the QRVO code remains intact, the content can be altered remotely to match changing market circumstances.

Varied applications

Applications are both wide and varied. In an effort to assuage the negativity about parking charges, QRVO may offer a partial solution.

QRVO codes can be overprinted on parking tokens. The QRVO code can present special offers, discounts to the hard pressed motorists. The initiative may not be a total panacea, but can offer a different, and more acceptable, value to parking charges.

QRVO also offers an information point for the tourism and trekking sector. Visitors can scan information points and, linked to dedicated web content, can log onto local history, Flora and Fauna, and directions to further places of interest.QRVO information points are available as a multi lingual option.

The QRVO can also be included in or on packaging. Producers can utilize video content on a QRVO code to further enhance product details or production processes.

Customer updates and e-zines can now be included on key rings and that information can be regularly updated. The once humble business card now becomes an information point, where additional product or company details are included in an overprinted card. The fashion sector can embrace effective innovation by including QRVO based video on fashion tips, alternative styles and colours.

Signage/Posters can offer text, graphic or video enhancement of the company or its products/events.

QRVO

QRVO clients simply submit the required voice over content and suitable web link or graphic. Our design team will revert with a proof and seek final client confirmation. The finished product is presented in a print ready format. QRVO is non-intrusive, does not require user details and does not impact on data protection requirements.

The original QR code was developed by Denso Wave, Toyota. The current QRVO code was developed in Mayo, to include a professional voice over and added Analytics.

Developer John Moran says “In developing the QRVO code, we looked to Image, Impact, Information and Innovation. We believe we now have a product to meet the criteria. Smart Phones and iPads have in built scan facilities. Users do not require high skill levels. The professionally recorded voice over is consumer friendly. The client has the option to change content and to monitor the effectiveness of the campaigns. QRVO codes can provide a cost and operationally effective information channel.QRVO campaigns can also incorporate Social Networks as an added impact This development has evolved after much trial and error over the past number of years.” QRVO is designed to deliver YOUR business message BETTER.

To see how your company can avail of a free QRVO audit, please forward details to info@qrvo.ie.

Witten by John Moran | QRVO Business Development info@qrvo.ie 087 25 27 407. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel initiative, QRVO has a special 10% discount on Standard QRVO orders to SBC members and readers.

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Webinar Best Practices

Preparing a presentation through a webinar is only half effective as the preparation that goes into the webinar presentation. Webinars can be very cost effective and can reach a broad audience. The webinar can be as official, or as informal as the host wishes it to be. Depending on the sophistication of the marketing and IT departments, the webinar can be robust or elementary. Read on for Webinar Best Practices…

The goal is to effectively communicate with the intended audience. At this point it is presumed that the host has decided that the webinar is the most effecting medium to communicate the host’s message.

1. Select Your Presenters and Speakers

Your message cannot be effectively communicated if you chose the wrong communicators to convey your message. Understanding the type of medium that you are using with your webinar and the speaking style of your presenter. Your presenter may not be comfortable speaking during a webinar format. This should be addressed with a short test run prior to the actual presentation. Some speakers can be coached to present in the webinar format while others may find it difficult to adjust.

2. Determine Your Presentation Format

How you present your information is just as important as what you are trying to say. You will have to see you webinar presentation from the perspective of the your audience. Your presentation may be viewed on different mediums, including smart phones tablet devices, laptops as well as desktop computers. Again a test shot of how you may want to present your presentation is not as important as how your presentation will be received. If you ask two or three friends to view a five minute segment of your presentation you may receive valuable feedback regarding the proper manner to organize your information.

3. Plan Your Exhibits and Visual Displays

Your visuals are critical in a webinar. Depending on the receiving device graphics, it may not be visible to someone participating with your webinar using a smartphone or a tablet device. Some exhibits and visual displays may need to be distributed to the webinar participants prior to the presentation starting. Others may have to be simplified too so the images or graphics can be viewed easily.

4. Select Your Webinar Medium

There are many services that offer online meetings for free, and there are several for webinars as well. Most have a modest cost for their use, but will allow a free trial so you can see if the medium is easy to use and whether it is a site or program that you are comfortable with. Again you should decide on a webinar medium that is reliable and is easy for your audience to sign in to use. Also, you may want to compare the various features between the mediums. Use of graphics and playback ability are important in the communication of your message.

5. Determine Your Webinar Registration

If you have a specific guest list for your webinar you may want to ensure that your webinar facilities have the capability of easy registrations so you are able to tell who from your target audience is actually participating on your call. This will help you to determine if you need to take additional steps to advertise your webinar and the presentation subject matter. Webinars allow for very specific audiences and messages in a compelling way, with limited interaction. Ideally you’d want everyone on your business’s mailing list to attend, but don’t plan on it. You may also want to determine if you desire the registration list to be viewable to other participants of the call.

6. Prepare a Detailed Agenda

This is the most important part of your webinar. You must first decide how long your webinar will be and then literally script each segment of your webinar. If you plan to have a period for questions and answers you should plan a set amount of time for questions and answers and stick to that time period so you do not run out of time. Otherwise, members of your audience will start to fall off the webinar if they feel or sense that there is no structure to the presentation. Additionally, once an agenda is shared, your audience will know what subject matters are going to be covered and when to present timely questions.

7. Set and Execute a Dry Run in Front of a Test Audience

After you have put your presentation together you should do a real time presentation with a test audience to see if all facilities of the webinar work properly. This will help you to perfect your presentation and will keep your audience engaged.

8. Reserve and Check Your Equipment and Space

Prior to the commencement of your webinar presentation you or your staff should do a check of all of the systems to be used for your webinar. This includes making sure that call in or login numbers and passwords are working properly. This will avoid any unforeseen delays in the start of your presentation. Studies have shown that if someone has difficulty signing into a webinar then they will leave before 10 minutes and that audience is lost.

All and all, with these tips you’ll be on your way to a better, well-prepared webinar presentation.

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Creating a Successful Employee Reward Program: 6 Key Strategies to Consider

Today’s workforce is more diversified than ever. And companies looking to leverage this rich and vast resource of multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-lingual employees for competitive edge are finding employee reward programs very effective for upping employee satisfaction, spurring motivation and increasing productivity. Small businesses have the advantage of creating the employee rewards program they’d like to see implemented throughout the growth of the company.

The main challenge for companies in implementing a successful employee reward program is making sure the program is aligned with key business goals and objectives. To that end, here are six key strategies to consider for creating an employee reward program that works.

Begin with the end in mind: Corporate success comes from meeting specific goals, and those goals need to be made clear before implementing an employee reward program. After all, the achievement of corporate goals is dependent upon employee performance. And since employee performance is the product of actions and behaviors, both good and bad, it’s critical to reward employees in ways that reinforce only those actions and behaviors that align with corporate objectives and increase performance.

  • Make all employees eligible: In order to be successful, an employee rewards program must make all employees eligible for recognition. And that must be made abundantly clear to the entire workforce at the outset. Otherwise, at the first sign of favoritism, real or imagined, the program and those who implement it will suffer a damaging loss of credibility as employee morale takes a nose-dive. Without establishing and maintaining a level playing field for all employees even the best reward program will fail.
  • Make the program multigenerational and multicultural: No employee recognition program can be successful unless the rewards being offered are relevant and meaningful for all employees, regardless of age or culture. While taking generational and cultural differences among the workforce into account is no small feat for HR, the benefits are well worth the effort. A simple and direct way to gain a better understanding of what types of rewards might be preferred by employees of different generations and cultures is to ask them in an anonymous survey what culture they most closely relate to and what types of rewards motivate them most.
  • Give personalized rewards: While giving a reward that best matches the employee’s age and cultural background is critical, making that reward personal to them by including a note of thanks from upper management will go a long way in making the employee feel truly valued and appreciated. Long after the money is spent or the luster of the gift is gone, the power of a personal note or letter of recognition will continue to reinforce and reproduce positive employee behaviors.
  • Leverage technology: In order to be successful, employee reward programs must be effectively and efficiently communicated and promoted in order to maximize employee participation. In today’s tech connected world there are all kinds of ways to promote programs and educate employees using the communications platforms that they are most familiar with. Web based platforms, email, and social media are just a few tools that can be used to give extra depth and relevance to reward programs. And many companies are discovering the power of recognizing employees through social media platforms and delivering their rewards digitally.
  • Monitor effectiveness: Employee reward programs can go a long way in creating a positive corporate culture. That being said, it is still incumbent upon HR to show that the program is achieving the strategic objectives of the company, such as increased performance, productivity and ROI. Today’s sophisticated HR platforms allow businesses to accurately monitor and measure ROI as well as other key indicators of employee performance. Armed with this information, management has a better picture of how well the reward program is working as well as areas that can be improved upon to increase employee motivation and performance.

 The above six strategies will go far in helping an organization implement a successful employee reward program. To make any program more effective, it’s critical that employees understand that the reward is performance-based. It’s also important for management to present the reward sooner than later, as delaying a reward can dramatically reduce its effectiveness.

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