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| INNOVATE! Technology, Tools, Tips & Techniques | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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December 2009
Dear Client,
Welcome to INNOVATE!, an administrative resource for small business owners. INNOVATE! is a product of Cybertary, a professional Virtual Assisting company. In these monthly emails we will be giving you numerous resources and tips you can use in your business, your home, your office and your life.
As the holidays approach we are continuously reminded of the number of tasks we have yet to complete before the year comes to a close. For many of us, most of these "to do" items will end up at the top of next years list, but some things just won't wait until 2010. This month in Innovate!, Cybertary helps you tackle your holiday gift buying and offers some tips to get ready for tax season to make way for a low-stress and well-organized holiday season
At the close of yet another year, we gratefully pause to wish you a warm and happy Holiday Season and a succesful New Year.
Enjoy!
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| Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Customers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gifts that Keep on Giving
 “The Holidays” is a phrase that conjures up a variety of thoughts and emotions. What should be a joyful time to spend with friends and family to reflect upon things to be thankful for can often become overshadowed by feelings of stress over time commitments, holiday shopping, and financials. For small business owners who are scrambling to meet year-end commitments and prepare for tax time, finding just the right gift to honor your customers can be overwhelming. For most people, however, it’s an essential tradition, and one that your customers will appreciate long after the holidays are over.
So just what do you give to show your customers that you appreciate their patronage and loyalty without breaking the bank or adding to your ecological footpint? There are many items to choose from that are useful to your customers, promote your company and are good for our environment. |
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| Get Organized for Tax Season | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Out of the Shoe Box and into QuickBooks
 Holiday lights are blinging, cash registers are ringing, and carolers are singing. It’s that time of year again… Tax Season. What?! Yes, you’re in the thick of the holiday season, but it’s time to start preparing your taxes, too. The truth is, tax season isn’t really seasonal, it’s year-round, and if you haven’t been doing your bookkeeping every month, it’s crunch time.Whether you’re going to organize and file your taxes yourself or you’re working with a tax professional, it’s important to prepare. So, gather your vehicle information, receipts, payroll reports, accounting records, list of assets, bank statements, last year’s business tax return, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. Get Organized: Depending on your level of organization throughout the year, gathering together all the necessary supporting paperwork can be one of the most time-consuming and potentially frustrating tax season tasks. Getting your documents together now may be the key to not only your sanity but also to discovering additional tax deductions. |
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 By Joyce Kane, Owner
Cybertary Pittsburgh
Billed as a decision support tool, Bing is the latest incarnation of Microsoft’s foray into the increasingly competitive search engine space. At a time when at least one of its peers has become a verb (as in, “just Google him”), a testament to how ingrained in the current online culture Google and by extension search engines have become, what would compel Microsoft to invest any corporate assets in yet another search tool, let alone the purported $80-100 Million for the Bing.com Marketing campaign?
Microsoft is using the tag line – “When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing and Decide”. So what the heck is decision support anyway? Does Bing have the capability to automate my trusty decision making Pro/Con matrix that I invariably drag out and work and rework when I have to make a decision? |
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 Share, Manage, and Access Your Files OnlineAre storage troubles getting you down? Can’t figure out where to keep those all-important personal or company files? Need a place where everyone can access the documents they need? Why not use a box? Ok, well maybe not a box in the traditional sense of the word, but a box none-the-less, a virtual one. Check out Box.net, a cloud-based storage and document sharing service that you can access from just about anywhere. If you Google “file sharing”, “backup”, or “file storage”, you will find an abundance of free storage sites, but none as simple, yet powerful, as Box. According to them, “it should be easy for people to access, work with, and share all their content, wherever they are”. Who can argue? Box seems to be one of the few storage services that understands it’s not all about space, it’s about user experience and ease of use, too. Box has an open platform that lets users take advantage of the best services and applications available on the web. Through this open platform, dozens of third party applications, including Google, WordPress, Zoho, FedEx, and many others, have been seamlessly integrated into Box, allowing the users to save and share their content using their favorite tools. Following are some key ingredients in the recipe for success that Box has effortlessly integrated into their site: It works everywhere. Upload files just by attaching them to an email, or upload directly from a Firefox widget. Box is also compatible with mobile devices. Use your mobile browser to access Box’s mobile site. Sharing and managing content has never been easier. Organize all your content online in a file or folder, then share that content with direct links to the files or folders. These files or folders can be turned into a public webpage with just one click!
Project collaboration and workflow. You can turn any folder into a shared online workspace and invite others to view, edit, or add their own files and exchange feedback by using the comment or discussion features.
So how much does all of this convenience cost? It couldn’t possibly be affordable, could it? In fact, Box’s free “Lite” version, allows you 1 GB file storage with a file size limit of up to 25 MB and collaborations with up to five people, a 5 GB “Individual” account for $8/month, and a robust customizable “Business” subscription for $15 per user per month. Not enough? They have an “Enterprise” subscription too, call 877-729-4269 to learn more. Every business needs a better way to connect and collaborate. Box brings together the best of traditional content and collaboration tools, and makes it effective and easy to use. Click here to learn more about pricing or to sign up for your free account. |
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THEME - New Years Resolutions
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