Why Small Businesses Should Transition to Online Faxing

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Online Faxing|Why Small Businesses Should Transition to Online FaxingMany small businesses are quickly adopting digital practices to survive the rapid digital transformation driven by technology and evolving consumer needs. That is playing a significant role in enhancing their operations and facilitating their employees. One of the latest digital practices has been the adoption of online fax systems from the traditional fax machine.

There’s no doubt that fax remains an indispensable tool for many businesses. When you consider the limitations of operating and maintaining a fax machine, including the costs, you’ll understand why digital faxing is the future of fax. Online faxing helps address operational challenges and makes it easy to send and receive fax from anywhere on any device.

So, why should you transition to online faxing systems?

Increased Fax Accessibility

If your business relies on fax, you’ve likely gotten new employees or even existing employees who wanted to learn how to fax something. If you’re still using a traditional fax machine, what follows is a time-consuming process of pressing buttons and waiting, with limited access to the machine only during office hours. That is not productive for any small business.

By switching to online faxing, sending a fax is easy and quick, and you get to enjoy increased fax accessibility. Most digital faxing solutions can now be accessed via mobile, PC, or tablet. That means that your employees can send and receive documents and access their fax records anytime and anywhere.

Streamlined Efficiency

By transitioning to online faxing, your small business gets to streamline operations and improve efficiency. Instead of your employees spending countless minutes on the fax machine, they can send faxes in seconds and do more productive work. Complex on-premise storage solutions for your fax documents are also replaced by online fax storage solutions.

Your employees can access all the fax information and documents they need from a single location. Whether you use fax to communicate to clients, market your products, or keep your customers in the know, online fax streamlines the entire process for better efficiency.

Enhanced Faxing Security

With 46 million fax machines still operational worldwide, it’s easy to see why there have been growing calls about the security risks that these machines pose when conducting confidential business transactions. For small businesses in industries that still rely on fax such as real estate, legal, and healthcare, transitioning to online faxing offers enhanced security.

Online faxing helps you reduce compliance risks and ensure data protection when sending and receiving faxes. Even when sending confidential documents, your small business can be assured of a secure solution. When choosing an online fax service, be sure to confirm the security protocols in place for peace of mind.

Reduced Costs

By transitioning to online fax, your small business gets rid of the costs associated with fax machines, including hardware, software, networking systems, and maintenance. You can save a significant amount of money by simply switching to a cloud-based solution that is much cheaper, more efficient, accessible, and quicker instead of relying on a complex on-premise fax system.

No more buying ink, toners, and papers. With a quick and easy setup, you should be faxing by email, online, or a mobile app in minutes. Most online fax services feature a scalable and affordable pay-per-use pricing model or a monthly subscription model depending on your faxing needs. You can easily choose a pricing model that suits your small business.

Conclusion

Faxing is here to stay, and online faxing offers small businesses complete flexibility and access to their document sharing needs while ensuring secure data sharing. Being able to continue working and sending and receiving documents without the need for a physical fax machine will help your business streamline operations.

6 Reasons Why Your Organization Would Benefit From Using a Remote File Server

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 6 Reasons Why Your Organization Would Benefit From Using a Remote File ServerKeeping your business organized can be a struggle, especially if you’re trying to take care of everything by yourself. Getting everything set up and ensuring that it all works properly is a hassle in and of itself.

But you can definitely make things easier for yourself with the use of a remote file server. So how do they work exactly and how can you benefit from one?

What is a Remote File Server?

A remote file server is a computer that someone can access from their own computer from anywhere else in the room or the building. That allows a person to have access to files that they may not have storage space for on their own computer.

With that said, here are the remote file server benefits you could experience when employing one in your business.

More Security and Backups

Instead of having to use your own computer to save your backups, you have a separate server where everything can be saved. You can also save and backup your files to another computer entirely, leaving you with more hard drive space.

That means less slow down and having to purchase another hard drive to transfer your files to. That’s more money in your pocket while still having access to all of your data. Having a separate server also means that your files are more secure, as only you (or anyone with the password) will be access the files.

Remote Access

Remote servers can be placed on their own VPN (Virtual Private Network) so that you can access it from just about anywhere, including your home or even on your phone while you’re away on vacation. You can grant access to your employees as well so that they can keep abreast of work and which projects need to be tended to.

File Centralization

No more having to search through hard drives to find what you’re looking for. With everything in one place, you can be more effective with work and get through projects much faster. Different permissions can be assigned to different employees as well so that only the right eyes are on the files you want.

Monitoring Employees

No one enjoys their boss peering over their shoulders to see if they’re working on what they should be. Through a remote file server, you can see exactly which employees are hitting which deadlines and what else needs to be worked on. No more having to rely on he said/she said arguments.

Data Recovery

Did you reformat your hard drive or have your computer hacked and lost everything? You won’t have to worry about losing all of your files with a remote server onhand. You can recover all of your data with a remote file server, as long as you’ve been backing up your files on a regular basis. You can avoid that horrible burden of having to start everything over from scratch.

User Control

User accounts and passwords are all controlled by your remote file server, which makes it very easy for new accounts to be created or to lock out/disable those who are no longer working for the company. This provides a safer working environment for all of your data.

Consider a remote file server for your business the next time you’re looking to upgrade. It’s definitely more beneficial than people give it credit for.

4 Frequently Asked Questions About Outsourcing Answered

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Outsourcing|4 Frequently Asked Questions About Outsourcing AnsweredFor those who are not yet on board with the prospect of outsourcing, this Q and A post shall help to quell your concerns. Below are four commonly asked questions that are often asked by business owners about outsourcing. And accompanying them, the answers to help you decipher whether or not outsourcing of some kind is a good choice for your business.

What is outsourcing?

Outsourcing refers to business owners finding and paying talented professionals (such as freelancers) and companies to do the work they don’t have the time or expertise to do themselves.

Depending on the scale of your business, there are usually multiple activities you (and your team) need to complete to ensure the company runs smoothly. For example, an entrepreneur who plans to launch their startup will need to work through the below;

  • Create a business plan
  • Build a website
  • Craft a brand
  • Set up and manage social media pages
  • Create a marketing plan to entice new customers
  • Hire, employ and train staff
  • Record every expense, income, and outgoing to ensure you have all the necessary information ready to complete your tax return

Everyone has a limited amount of time and resources available to complete business tasks, therefore attempting to adopt multiple jobs at once and do them well is near impossible. As a solution, outsourcing is often the answer to entrepreneurs’ who are short on time.

Providing numerous opportunities to outsource all of the tasks mentioned above and more, you can, for instance, outsource a trusted business partner to take care of everything related to human resources, such as hiring employees and managing the payroll. Or hire a freelance social media manager to take care of all the business’s social channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin.

What services can I outsource?

Practically each and every area of your business you can think of can be outsourced. Here are a few of many examples;

  • Sales
  • Digital Marketing
  • Human Resources
  • IT services
  • Customer services

Can small businesses outsource work?

Of course, there’s no minimum amount of employees or turnover required to outsource services, but some freelancers, contractors, and services are better suited to smaller businesses than others; you just need to research and find out what works for you.

Is there a cost advantage?

Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of outsourcing is the amount of money your company can save. If your company has been affected by the pandemic, cutting costs is likely compulsory rather than a choice.

Delegating tasks to businesses outside of your own eliminates the costs associated with hiring employees to perform a specific role.

For example, hiring an in-house human resources team to take care of every aspect of interviews, employment, pensions, and healthcare is costly. Furthermore, you need to provide the same service to the human resources team you’ve hired too.

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. – Jessica Jackley, entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs can’t do it all. If you want to cut costs, save time, improve efficiency, and concentrate on the parts of your business, you are passionate about, delegate tasks to other professionals.

4 Ways To Lower Costs and Increase Your Business Revenue

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Businesses cost money to run. As the owner, you should be looking for ways to lower costs and save money as much as possible, without affecting your staff or production rates. There are many ways to lower your costs and the earlier you are in your business, the sooner you start saving money, the more you will have to re-invest in the future. So how can you lower costs efficiently and quickly? Here are 4 methods you can look into to help reduce the money your business is spending.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 4 Ways To Lower Costs and Increase Your Business RevenueLowering production costs

Have you ever considered the price of a zip tie? How many do you use when building your products? If you lowered the amount in each one, how much would this save in the long run over thousands of products? Small incremental savings like this are the key to reducing your production costs through your business’s lifetime. Lowering production costs doesn’t have to be as ruthless as lowering staff numbers but by finding ways to save small amounts that add up in the long run. Automation and time-saving techniques are easier to implement. If you need to, consider other suppliers of your products to lower your outsourcing and production costs further.

Free-licence software

Many software suites now use an expensive subscription service that adds up quickly when you start to add multiple users. However, there are other options available to you. As users became tired of paying for expensive software, well developed, managed, and most importantly free, software exploded onto the market with alternatives to almost every major software suite. As a smaller business, it is within your best interests to become accustomed to what free software is out there for you. Do keep in mind though that you must consider compatibility issues between different pieces of software. Don’t waste time forcing a square peg into a round hole, when the paid-for software will do the job.

Go digital

Newer businesses have the luxury of being able to perform almost all of their admin digitally in the modern-day, with paper or hard copies rarely being required. With widespread software or mobile apps designed to provide you with paperless, digital alternatives to paper forms and documents. Going digital means you can cut out almost all of your paper documents which removes unnecessary storage and the costs associated. Yes, at some point you are going to have to print something, but if this is rare, you also save money on expensive printer maintenance costs as you only need something small to suit your need.

Speaking to financial professionals

Speaking to tax and accounting professionals is a great way to learn about what options are available to you. You may be surprised to find out where you are overspending and what your actual liabilities are in certain areas of your business. For example, in some cases, you may be able to look into a tax segregation report to cut tax liabilities across your premises. To learn more about cost segregation click here. Financial advice can cost. But the money you can potentially save makes the initial outlay small in comparison. Good professionals are worth it so invest your money into them wisely.

5 Ways Managers Can Prepare Their Businesses for the Peak Season

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 5 Ways Managers Can Prepare Their Businesses for the Peak SeasonIf you are a business owner or even the manager of a business, the looming peak-season can be daunting no matter what industry you work in, retail, to hospitality, to manufacturing. You will want to find the best strategies to prepare for your peak trading times and implement them while you are quiet. Perhaps you are considering how to bring your customers back once the current restrictions have been lifted. Here are a few ideas to help get you ready for the next big season.

Conduct Repairs and Essential Maintenance

The first step that you should take is to inspect your site, including all public spaces, electrical equipment, and fixtures, to ensure that they have not sustained any damage. If you find an issue, you must act quickly and conduct a risk assessment and arrange for repairs to ensure that your premises are compliant with health and safety regulations. You should find ways to conduct repairs and essential maintenance as soon as possible in the quieter periods. For instance, for those in the hotel or theme park industry, they may take this lull to conduct commercial pool renovations, such as resurfacing or installing a new filter.

Scale Up Your Marketing Campaigns

Now is the best time to revise your marketing campaigns. How can you attract new customers and spread word about your business in preparation for the peak of summer? You should check that your website is prepared for a higher amount of traffic, and ensure that your contact information is easy to find. Have you considered SEO and PPC advertising to help customers who are looking for businesses like yours? Perhaps you can find the time to evaluate your budget to incorporate this.

Review Your Rates

While you are quiet, you can take the time to review your rates and your pricing structure. Are your prices still competitive against your rivals? If you cannot answer ‘yes’ for certain, take time to have a look around and see what you can update, perhaps setting up promotions alongside your revised marketing campaigns is a viable option? Nearly everyone will appreciate an incentive such as a discount code, or a special sale, it will help to bring people to you ahead of the peak season.

Review Your Employment Strategy

Do you have enough employees for your business? Perhaps with recent events, you have had to lay staff off. Are the ones who are left skilled enough to cope with the busier periods, or would you benefit from hiring a few extra hands temporarily? Do you have an effective training plan for your team to ensure that they can handle the demands that the job and customers may make? If not, now is the best time to think about how you can help them.

Review Data from Past Seasons

One of the best ways that you can prepare your business for the upcoming season is to review the data from previous seasons by tracking the critical metrics of every business, such as sales, website traffic, and customer numbers. This will enable you to effectively predict how your business will fare.

With these five helpful tips, hopefully you have gained some ideas on how to prepare yourself and your team for the upcoming summer season. Good luck!