Tag Archives: business

Fix These Errors That Are Costing Your Business

Everybody makes mistakes. If you run a business, you’re probably going to make mistakes at some point, whether big or small. But while some mistakes can be quickly fixed with little or no harm done, others can cause bigger problems. Errors can lead to your business losing money, which you most likely can’t get back once it’s lost. An error that goes undetected for a long period can be particularly devastating, slowly losing money for your business without you noticing. It’s vital to check various practices, procedures, documents, and data so that you can pick up on potential errors and correct them as soon as you can. This can be done in-house, or by employing specialists, for instance, using a full-service digital marketing company like iTonic Digital for your business marketing needs. Tracking metrics like your NPS will help with areas that work well and others that need improvement. There are multiple errors that you might need to fix for your business.

Errors in Weighing Products

Some businesses need to weigh out products before selling them. This could be anything from weighing products for wholesale orders to directly selling a product to customers, whether it’s a food product or anything else sold by weight. It might not seem like a big deal to go over the required weight by a tiny amount but doing this multiple times means that you lose a lot of your product. You need to ensure you’re using quality industrial scales to measure products accurately. Employees also need to have the right training to make sure they’re weighing everything properly.

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Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

Software Errors

Technology can help your business to go further in many ways, but it can also cause problems. Software errors can cause issues, for example. Utilizing regression testing tools can help ensure that new updates or changes don’t introduce new bugs into your systems. A software error can cause a variety of issues for your business, costing both time and money. Customers might be affected by software errors, which can put them off doing business with you. Software errors can delay the work of your employees too. It also takes time and money to fix a software error, slowing down the growth of your business. Deal with software bugs quickly to prevent chaos. A great place to start is by checking for site updates on your online store.

Incorrect Employee Time Tracking

Keeping track of when your employees are working is a necessity if they don’t have regular, salaried hours. You need accurate time-keeping so that you know exactly when people are working and how much you need to pay them. Even an error of a minute or two could end up costing your business a lot of money. You should look at the best time clocks for your business so that you can ensure you’re tracking time accurately. As well as tracking working time, it can help with keeping track of vacation time, sick days, and more.

Errors in Record Keeping

Good record keeping is a must for any business. When you start your small business, you might be unsure about the best practices for record-keeping. You might start off using a simple spreadsheet, which can be adequate for a small business. However, as your business grows, it’s sensible to look into other solutions. Mistakes in your record-keeping can cost your business money, and they’re easy to make if you’re manually entering information into a spreadsheet or even making manual entries into accounting software.

Tax Errors

Tax errors can cost your business in several ways. Firstly, if you make a mistake when filing your taxes, you could end up owing money later. You could owe more than you realize due to your error or you might end up paying a fine for submitting incorrect information. Another tax error that could cause problems for you is if you miss some tax deductions. You will end up paying more tax than you need to if you don’t apply all valid tax deductions.

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Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

General Human Error

As the saying goes, to err is human. People are going to make mistakes, even when you put in lots of measures to prevent that from happening. However, there are ways to catch errors so that human error can be reduced. One way to do this is by using automatic, which can remove the need for tasks to be completed manually. Of course, there can be downsides to automation too. If an error is originally inputted manually, it could be automatically replicated in several places without anyone noticing. That’s why it’s important to have the right tools and checks to pick up on errors as soon as possible.

Safety Errors

Keeping everyone safe is vital for your business. As well as ensuring the workplace is fit for purpose it’s vital that employees are properly trained to carry out their work safely. This includes them undergoing the necessary fire safety training, first aid training, and, if applicable training on the safe handling of chemicals in the workplace. This can be done in-house, or by employing specialists. A mistake concerning safety could cause injury or worse to an employee or even a member of the public. Not only would this affect the reputation of your business, but it could also be costly. You could be responsible for the costs incurred by any injury or illness. Other costs could include the expense of fixing the problem and possibly paying a fine or penalty due to the lack of care.

Customer Information Errors

Providing incorrect information to customers can lose business for your company. For example, if your customers don’t have the correct contact information, they can’t get in touch with you when they need to. If you price products incorrectly, this could cause problems too. Ensuring you always provide correct information to customers will help you to avoid alienating them. One of the ways you can do this is by keeping your website up to date. If your site contains outdated information, it can be a waste of time for both you and your customers.

Order Fulfillment Errors

Order fulfillment needs to work quickly to provide customers with their orders, but working fast can produce errors. Sending out the wrong products or missing products can cause issues for you with your customers. However, there are ways to reduce errors in order fulfillment, including using the right technology to organize and pick products. Staff training also helps to prevent errors, and so does giving your employees the time that they need to work properly without making too many mistakes. Double-checking orders is smart too, helping to prevent any errors from getting through.

A small error could be a big cost to your business. Watch out for any of these errors that could be a drain on your business’s finances.

Separating Family Life & Business Life The Right Way

Working from home is a privilege, but it’s one of those privileges that comes with pitfalls. When you finally find a job that allows you the freedom to work from home, it’s terrific. You can finally ditch the long commute while keeping the same salary level. You can save money for your next family vacation because you do not have to spend it on fuel or work lunches anymore. You get valuable time back that you didn’t have before because you were so busy in the office or commuting all the time, so you have the time to be Dad again. It’s amazing how you can be productive with your time, not spending it away from the kids.

The only downside is that your working persona and your ‘Dad’ persona need to remain separate under the same roof, and that’s not always easy. Setting boundaries with your work life are essential, and you have to maintain those boundaries where possible. Below, you’ll read some of the ways that you can separate your work and family life when you are working from your house.

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  • Keep Work & Family Paperwork Apart. You need a specified office space with room for all of your documentation. This requires you to invest a little in shelving and filing cabinets like this one. If you want to go one further with your mail not being mixed up with the family, you can take a professional route and buy a PO box with web access. It’s necessary for you to maintain a professional image to the outside world, and you can easily do that with some outside help. When you are a telecommuter, your office is everywhere. This means you can work from your local coffee shop if you want to. Even so, you need an office that holds your work and gives you a quiet space for telephone calls.
  • Keep Office Hours. You need to act like you’re in the office during the office hours you usually work. You can, of course, be flexible. You can do the school runs and attend events for your children, but if you start doing it too often, it can really mess up your productivity. Try and keep a consistent schedule where possible so that your family is aware that you need to work and when.
  • Ignore Household Distractions. Chores can wait when you are supposed to be working. The clean clothes that need putting away can wait until your working day finishes. Distractions can pull you away from your work, which will delay you in completing what you need to end your day. Ignore the distractions and wait until after work.
  • Create Boundaries. Don’t mix work into household chores. Opening your laptop while you cook is confusing to the family dynamic. Leave your work in the office and be engaged with your family instead.

It may not always be easy to create a boundary with your family, but it is possible if you want to ensure you don’t bleed your two worlds together.

Guide For Small Businesses Owners

Running a small business is not an easy thing to do! In fact, it can be an incredibly complex process filled with an inordinate amount of details and fact checking. That’s why we’ve taken the time to put together a small guide to help new small business owners better understand some of the important decisions they will have to make. Things like what payment methods to accept and how to make that decision a profitable one, for example, are important to know. We’ll also take a look at how you can even get a free online merchant account to help make your online payment processing experience an easy one!

Payment Methods

There are a number of different payment methods out there, and not all of them are created equal. One such payment method is BPAY, which is an internet service that allows businesses to arrange payments clearly and simply, enabling clients to transfer cash straight from their bank account to another business’s pre-identified bank account. If you are a keen investor, you may want to find out how to buy bitcoin with bpay too! You might be tempted to forgo accepting online credit card payments, for example, but this would be a big mistake. Many customers today prefer to simply slide a credit card rather than carry around cash or get something like a money order just to buy a product online. You should probably accept credit card payments, in other words, and you’ll want to find a merchant account service that offers a free online merchant account to do so!

About the Fees

Before you sign up for just any merchant account service, remember that you will be paying a transaction fee on every credit card payment you receive. This can lead to some frustration, especially if you settle for a service with fees that are simply too high. Instead, find a service with the lowest credit card processing fees you can find. That will help you maintain a cost-effective business.

For a merchant account service that understands how to help you succeed and even offers a free online merchant account, give Merchant Account Solutions a look today!