SMB

Benefits of Business Projectors

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Business ProjectorsBusiness projectors are today are becoming more and more of an invaluable tool in promoting business growth for SMB’s. Projectors can be used to accomplish a wide number of tasks efficiently such as training new employees, giving market proposals, and displaying important fiscal data. Getting a business projector often times makes good financial sense, from large corporations to small home offices.

Projectors display information in a precise and clear and are perfect for presentations and conferences. Business projectors allow the speaker to create dynamic and unique presentations to draw the audience in. Using projection equipment will get your point across more effectively than simply talking. Visual aide will also help the speaker keep his place and not get sidetracked. With the information displaying on a screen in front of you, viewers can take notes easier and a speaker will be more effective on a topic.

If you are thinking about purchasing business class projector, you may want to consider renting a projector first. Projector rentals are great for short term business projects such as new employee training and offer great diversity throughout the work place. Renting a projector will also allow a business to evaluate the projector and determine if they want to spend a large amount of money on a permanent projector.

HSA Raises Contribution Limits for SMBs

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Great news for all those SMBs with employee HSA account holdders, the 2008 HSA Contribution and Out-of-Pocket Maximums and High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) Minimums have been raised.

The new Maximum Contribution for 2008:
* Increases the maximum contribution to $2,900 (individual coverage) $5,800 (family coverage) regardless of deductible and number of months in the high deductible health plan.

* Catch-up contribution (age 55 and over): $900 for 2008
As an FYI, funds contributed in excess of $6,700 ($5,800 + $900 catch-up) attributable to 2008 will be rejected for “over contribution.” The comparable level is $6,450 ($5,650 + $800 catch-up) for 2007.

Maximum out-of-pocket – increases to $5,600 for individual coverage (up from $5,500) and to $11,200 for family coverage (up from $11,000) for 2007
Minimum deductible for qualified high deductible health plans remains at $1,100 for individual coverage and at $2,200 for family coverage

Read the HSA Case Study

E-Mail Archiving For SMB’s

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E-mail ArchiverAlthough SMB’s have been slow to adopt e-mail archiving solutions, mainly because of the cost, the adoption rates of e-mail archiving solutions have been growing steadily over the past two years. The fact of the matter is, an e-mail archiving solution in todays market can save SMB’s money.

SMB’s today are finding that they have too many e-mail in their inboxes, too much e-mail overall, and many SMB’s want to get their data off of their email servers to a secondary storage device. An e-mail archiving solution will solve all three of these problems. Accompanied with a spam filter, an a-mail archiving solution would increase the performance of your e-mail servers and increase productivity.

The possibility of a lawsuit is yet another reason to get an e-mail archiving solution. E-mail is becoming to play a huge factor in court battles and many businesses are expected to produce relevant e-mails and electronic evidence. Businesses can be held liable if they do not take the proper steps to maintain e-mail records.

It is estimated that businesses can not only mitigate their risk of lawsuit, but also save up to $100,000 in related legal fees and labor costs in the event of a lawsuit. Your SMB will also save money from improved e-mail server performance and productivity, lower storage cost, and overall operational and maintenance cost of your e-mail servers.

Source: ComputerServiceNow

What’s not covered in an SMB HSA

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HSAs can make employee paychecks go further, but what are some of the downsides to HSA?
HSA stands for Health Savings Account. For more information on HSA’s visit the Wiki page on HSA

One downside is that many things are not covered. The following expenses are not eligible for reimbursement under a Health FSA, HRA or HSA:

Annual medical contract fees for exclusive provider care Arch supports, knee wrist braces (unless prescribed for a specific medical condition) Breast pumps (unless medically required to care for a premature infant) Blood pressure machines (unless prescribed by a physician as medically required for constant monitoring of blood pressure due to a
medical condition) Cosmetic surgery Dental bleaching or any other teeth whitening Domestic help fees (for services of a non-medical nature) Electric toothbrushes replacement brushes Electrolysis or hair removal Hair transplant Health club dues/memberships (unless part of a medically prescribed regimen to treat a specific condition) Humidifiers (unless prescribed by a physician to treat a specific medical condition) Insurance premiums of any kind (see below exceptions for HRA and HSA) Laetrile, even if prescribed by a doctor, is not reimbursable. Lens replacement insurance Marijuana, even if prescribed for medicinal purposes, is not reimbursable. Massage therapy (unless prescribed by a physician to treat an injury or trauma, or for rehabilitative purposes) Over the counter items which are items not categorized as a medicine or drug and may include, but are not limited to, hot pads, support
pillows, bandages, ACE wraps, nail clippers, pumice stones, feminine hygiene products, etc. are not reimbursable (unless used to treat
a specific medical condition). Over-the-counter toiletries or personal hygiene items which may include, but are not limited to shampoo,
toothpaste, conditioners, hand creams, deodorant, shaving cream, razors, dental floss, body powders, hair gels/sprays, make-up, nail
polish accessories, soap, mouthwash, etc. are not reimbursable. Physical therapy treatments for general well-being Supplements – The cost of supplements taken for general well-being are not reimbursable. However, the cost of supplements taken to
alleviate a specific medical condition is reimbursable. A physician should substantiate the diagnosis of a specific medical condition
and acknowledge that the supplement being used alleviates the medical condition diagnosed. Tuition for special schools (unless it is a special school to treat a specific condition such as blindness, speech, etc.) Union dues Vitamins – Daily multi-vitamins taken for general well-being are not reimbursable. Vitamins taken to treat a specific medical condition
are reimbursable. A diagnosis of the medical condition should accompany the vitamin claim. Prenatal vitamins obtained by prescription
are reimbursable. Weight loss machines
Source: Cigna

Here are some SMB employee and employer concerns we will review:
What are the excluded HSA Expenses?
What are the HSA Contribution Limits?
Is an HSA Taxable to the Employee or Employer?
What are some HSA things I should know?

Part 1 in 10 Year Case Study on an SMB

Utilizing Your Day To The Fullest

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Something I suffered from in the past was lack of an effective time management strategy for my work day. A good time management strategy will help you to accomplish what you want to accomplish in a day faster, and it will help you get more individual tasks completed daily. Here’s a list of some techniques to help you better utilize the time you have:

* Create a list of tasks to complete each day
Plan ahead and compile a list of things you want to get done every day. Throughout your day go through and consult your list, and check off tasks as you complete them.
* Put follow-up items on your list for the next day or two
If you have a task that you just can’t squeeze in today, go ahead and start an advance list and put it on tomorrow or the day after’s agenda.
* Bring forward unfinished work from the previous day
Items on your agenda that you haven’t completed can be added to the next day’s agenda and finish them then.
*Keep track of due dates
Use your list to keep track of when tasks need to be completed.
* Keep a list of monthly priorities
A list of things you need to do between one month and the next will be helpful in compiling your list of daily activities.
* Keep track of long-term commitments
Something so far in the future that it couldn’t be placed on your daily, tomorrow, or monthly list needs to be kept track of somehow as well.
* Keep your work area clean and organized
Lack of organization will lead to a lot of time wasted when you’re searching for something you need.
* Keep all your current work in a single area
Multitasking is a necessity, it happens. Make yours go smoother by keeping all your resources for your current projects in a single location.
* Get rid of old documents that you no longer need
Try to keep the amount of files you have on-hand to a bare minimum. Throw out the stuff from a few months ago that you will never need to reference again.

Not all of these strategies will work for everyone, but I think that if you give it some effort they can all have a positive impact on your work efficiency.

sources: Tom Mochal, Tech Republic

SMBs to IBM – We can’t hear you!

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In a recent blog post about IBM losing SMB computer resellers, it has become clear that IBM needs to step up the offerings and communication to SMBs.

Photo: IBM Chief, Sam Palmisano

According to a CRN poll, SMBs are jumping ship to board the HMS Dell and HP computer reseller programs.

IBM needs to overcome its long standing focus on large corporate customers and resellers and redouble its efforts in the SMB computer reseller community.

Read more about IBM SMB Computer Resellers