Month: February 2019

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Accounting and bookkeeping have changed drastically ever since the processes became automated and it changed further with the advent of cloud computing. Bookkeeping and accounting used to be so much of hard work that procrastination was rampant in accounting that hindered business growth. Business owners could not access real-time data as the accounting records were seldom updated and had to depend on guesswork to take business decisions that were often incorrect. All these are now history because even the smallest business can now use Darcy Services Bookkeeping MYOB to ensure that the bookkeeping and accounting records are up to date. Using a system for tracking income and expenses has become so easy that business owners can project future costs and revenue quite confidently.  It has greatly boosted the prospects of doing business in a better way.

Ready information in your hands

Today, no business can do without a primary business software system that has changed the ways people used to maintain accounting records. All essential information is now at your fingertips courtesy the reports generated by the system that keeps you abreast of the critical financial indicators. From accounts receivable by customers to sales and expense report as well as profit and loss by product – you are aware of everything.

Enhance the benefits of online banking

Banks are offering many benefits to its customers, and by using the accounting software, it becomes easy to harness the online benefits provided by banks. The software can coordinate with several banks and provide information so that you can quickly download transactions and reconcile the data with complete ease.

Better collection of accounts receivables

Generating sales invoice is a breeze by using accounting software that generates professional looking invoices that you can send across to customers over e-mails. The speed of sending invoices can be complemented well by requesting customers to make online payments. The payment cycle can shrink considerably depending on your ability to prevail upon customers to make timely online payments, and this can have a far-reaching effect of business profitability.  The software generates various reports and statements, and you can generate customised reports to identify customers who you consider the high risk with respect to collecting payments.

Receive payments promptly

The accounting software has provision for recording payment received via credit cards which speed up crediting the payment in your account immediately. Some software allows users to upgrade the system to synchronise it with POS (Point of Sale) system and integrate it with your cash register and credit card machine.

Bills payments made easy

By using the accounting software, you can manage your cash flow efficiently by tracking the accounts payable so that you can choose the most convenient time for paying bills. It helps to save cost as there is no fear of paying overdue interest for unpaid bills. You would be better placed to interact professionally with your vendors. Accounting software can be easily integrated with POS System.  For additional information and to Find out the best POS System for your small business.

If you are using online accounting software, you are in complete command of your financial status as you can access information any time and from anywhere.

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Social media marketing success depends not only on the number of followers you have but also how fast the number keeps growing. When you are using Instagram, you must create strategies to ensure that the follower base keeps expanding and most importantly comprise of a high number of active Instagram followers. You just cannot afford to feel complacent even if you have a million followers because unless most of them are active on the platform and take interest to share your content, it does not add any value to the marketing campaign. The element of shareability linked to the high visibility of brands makes social media so much valuable to marketers. And sharing of content on Instagram is only possible when your followers take an active interest in your content to share it.

Building the numbers first

Nothing happens unless you can develop a sizeable number of followers on Instagram. To begin with, you must engage a full-time person experienced in Instagram to look after your account who can do all the hard work necessary to attract viewers and then convert them into your loyal followers. At this point, you must not fuss about the quality of followers too much because the numbers do matter in giving you confidence about the prospects of using the platform for your needs. When you see that many people are taking an interest in your brand, you can plan the next step to sensitize followers and use them for propagating your brand across the platform.

Build relationships

Once your brand becomes familiar to your followers, you must think about how to use them for growing the brand. Besides creating high-quality content, you must interact with followers closely to develop a more close relationship that goes beyond numbers. You must stay active on the platform and respond to what others are posting so that your online existence becomes quite convincing and authoritative that takes your marketing efforts to a new level. Your followers can discover the human face behind the brand that generates more trust and encourages them to come forward and share your content.

Activity outscores numbers

While the number of followers on Instagram might make you proud, do not forget that their activity level is perhaps more important. This brings us to the point where quality rules over quantity. After all, what sense does it make to build a crowd if only a few choose to spread the good word about your brand? Unless your followers turn into your brand ambassadors, the number of followers would only remain a vanity metric, doing little good for your marketing cause. Indeed, you must target the maximum following but also take steps to ensure that the followers stay active and help you gain an advantage in marketing.

The activity level of followers is an indicator of the extent of interest they take in your business and brand that really matters. Even if you have fewer followers who are highly active, it will translate into a better business which is the purpose of taking your business to Instagram.

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Whenever you perform a Google search, whenever you browse through the recommendations on Netflix, whenever you see the trends on Twitter or take a peek at your Facebook news feed, you see the result of their tireless work yet you don’t even spare them a thought. They are the algorithms, the unseen forces shaping our lives – especially the digital one. They are the pieces of code that recommend you related products when you buy something online, they are the ones who select the “people you may know” on social media and they are the ones compiling a playlist for you on various music streaming services. Their role is very important in everything digital so let’s take a brief look at what they are and what they are used for.

What are algorithms?

In mathematics, an algorithm describes a set of rules to be followed in calculations – and its role is similar when it comes to computers, too. The visual representation of an algorithm would look a lot like a flowchart used in programming, for example: lots of “if-then” statements with instructions for either case. Think of it as a series of people working at a fruit packaging plant putting apples in one crate if they are red, in another if they are yellow, and calling their supervisor if a pear gets mixed into the batch. They can describe something as simple as the recipe for apple pie to something as complex as AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence that beat Lee Sedol at Go, and everything in between.

Algorithms in everyday life

We don’t see the algorithms in our everyday lives but we see their “handiwork”, so to say. When you book a ticket. When you pay with your card at the grocery store. When you play your favorite game on your phone. We usually call them programs, software packages, applications, apps – depending on the environment. Even reading this article is the result of an algorithm running in your brain: you read the letters left to right, recognize the word, look for its meaning in your memory, understand it, then proceed to the next one in the text. There are many algorithms that are surprisingly complex doing things that seem like magic, like getting the most relevant result when performing a Google search, unlocking your smartphone by allowing it to read your fingerprint or finding the shortest route between your home and the supermarket on your GPS. Today’s digital world wouldn’t function without them.

Algorithms vs humans

Algorithms are becoming “smarter” and more complex as they get more and more data to work with. And, as many jobs can be broken down into simple tasks, they are getting better at them – sometimes better than humans. Take Uber, for example, replacing the dispatchers traditionally working at cab companies with an algorithm that does its job right, sending a driver to the desired address in due time, and taking care of handling the payments, too. An increasing number of companies are now experimenting with replacing part of their human personnel with computers, and the results so far seem promising. In time, algorithms will become even more complex – smarter, if you like – and will be able to do even more of the jobs that were traditionally done by humans. They will do this through a better understanding of the things they do, breaking these things down into simple tasks, and figuring out ways to automate them.

In 1964, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov predicted the following: “The world of A.D. 2014 will have few routine jobs that cannot be done better by some machine than by any human being. Mankind will therefore have become largely a race of machine tenders.” While he was off by a few years, we’re definitely getting there.

Branding your Cannabis Brand takes some foresight and some thought. These tips will help you do so.

Tell a Story

Today’s consumer is smarter than ever and has caught on to the usual sales language. However, one thing they cannot resist is a good story.

A good brand story is one that entertains while connecting to consumers emotionally. Think about the “Most Interesting Man in the World ads” by Don Equis. All they did was take a cheap lager and turn it into something else completely. A cheap beer suddenly takes on an attitude of sophistication and adventure. To make things worse, consumers took the story and molded it to their lives with the “I don’t always/but when I do” meme. It is a story that’s likely to continue selling years after the conclusion of the campaign.

You don’t even need to have an elaborate story. A complex fiction may work wonders, but you might be surprised by what a simple origin story of your brand is capable of accomplishing. It provides a sense of authenticity and leaves your customers feeling like they are taking part in something greater than themselves.

So, you need to think about your brand’s story and find a good way to tell it. If you do that, you are guaranteed to connect with an eager audience.

Think “Lifestyle” Rather than LOLs

The Dazed and Confused image of marijuana was ubiquitous when cannabis was sold exclusively via the black market. However, as it enters the mainstream market, savvy businesses will brand their cannabis products for audience that’s more expansive.

It means marketing cannabis products as “lifestyle” enhancers instead of sticking to the traditional stoner niche. Think sophisticated and sleek i.e. a new product for a life of luxury. Apple is a prime example.

You can alternatively consider what the craft breweries did as their industry exploded following the turn of the millennium. Beer suddenly tool on a completely different level of refinement. Each brewery, today, has a distinct, storied brand. Beers are available for all occasions and to be paired with certain foods. A massive brewery tourism industry has even blossomed.

Think of it like this: The average consumer of cannabis is a middle-class, late twenties to early thirties. So, what kinds of products do these people buy? Organic foods, bespoke clothing, craft cocktails… you get the picture. Simply put, your brand should appeal to their desire for a more refined lifestyle.

Cannabis companies should be looking at more innovative techniques of branding in the modern cannabis era – use a cannabis marketing agency to help.

Elevate the Language

This is an extension of the point above.  All the outdated slang i.e. herb, grass, pot, bud, etc., speaks to the outdated and under-the-radar market. Today, you are selling in a mature and vibrant industry. You now sell “doses” rather than “hits” or “flowers” instead of “buds.”

Obviously, there’s enough room for all the silly aspects of marijuana culture that people know and love, but stay classy and still refer to it as cannabis for branding purposes.

Don’t Use Clichés

Never forget that you are attempting to elevate the conversation and that tired old clichés do everything besides that. Afro man songs, 420, tie-dye, laziness, and Rastafarian colors and even the long-embraced pot leaf have all started to fall by the wayside.

Sure, there’s a place and time for all these, but if you do have to use cliché and nostalgia, only include them as periphery elements – never make a tie-dyed pot leaf the basis for your whole brand.