How Ecommerce Boosts Your Business

If you are a business owner looking for a guaranteed way to boost your business and enjoy consistent profits you should bank on ecommerce that is the secret for millions of online businesses in the world today. Big or small, with ecommerce, you are bound to earn the much desired profits that you have anticipated. With the aid of ecommerce you have the ability to attract new customers and you can deliver them a shopping experience that makes them happy.

Now the vital question may arise in your mind - how ecommerce can boost your business? Well, ecommerce helps you to manage your resources and the tools that are available to you in a very cost effective manner. It gives you the benefits of managing your business without wasting precious time on resources that fail to bring in revenue and profits. With the aid of ecommerce you are assured that your targeted customer reaches you and you do not have to waste money on attempting to sell products and services to the wrong customer.

If you are wondering on the fact -how ecommerce can boost your business you will be happy to discover that you will witness an unexpected increase of profits thanks to ecommerce trading exchanges that focus on the online shopping malls and electronic market places. There is also the benefit of supply chain management and the inventory management system. There are also online product catalogs where you can post your products and services for your customers to see. The order entry and the fulfillment systems are also beneficial to both you and the customer. There are also the advantages of a structured customer relationship management system, commonly known as CRM and real time processing of payment. In this manner you are able to assure consistent revenue and business for your company!

Traditional shopping has now taken a backseat and ecommerce is reigning today. The market in the present times is one that is a technologically era driven one. It gives the customer and you the chance to reach out to one another in a precise and organized manner. You are able to cater to the targeted needs and the requirements of the customer without the woes of wasting precious time and money. With the aid of ecommerce you are able to boost your business and expand it in a short span of time as it reaches out to an extensive customer base across the world successfully!


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How Can I Make Money? Others Are Making Money, Why Can't I?

In these tough economic times many people have lost jobs and/or they need to generate some extra cash to deal with the rising cost of living. There are lots of people across the world who have learned how to make money on the internet. Like many people the world over, I bet you too are wondering "how can I make money"? More specifically; "how can I make money" on the internet? There are many different ways that are available to do that........from beginning a business, to earning quick money through GoogleAds.

In this article we will give you some ideas to answer your question of: "how can I make money? There are ways to generate cash flow -without the need of having to get up from the chair that you are sitting in!

-Become an affiliate: Do you want to start your own business online? Search for a potential market and see what you have to offer. You can sell anything online, from computers to designer shoes, from books and CDs to kitchen appliances... and guess what? You don't even have to own an actual store! You can become an affiliate for online giants such as Amazon or eBay, redirect customers from your webpage and earn commission on every item you sell. This is probably one of the most popular ways today that many people chose to answer the question............"how can I make money"?

- Get an online job: Online work is becoming more commonplace. There are many possibilities: for example, an organized person can work as a virtual assistant performing tasks such as answering emails, creating websites, data entering or typing. If you write well, thousands of sites will buy your articles and your writing services (if you are bilingual you can become a translator as well). You can also get an online job taking photographs, or editing videos. Consider your personal strengths and make them profitable!

- Advertising: Even your own personal blog can be monetized to produce profits for you via the placement of ads on your website.. However, in order to make money, you need plenty of traffic, which takes us to the last point.

- Begin implementing SEO techniques: Search Engine Optimisation is a concept anyone who is wondering how to make online money should be familiarized with. SEO refers to those techniques you should implement for getting your website or webpage indexed in all the different search engines people use to reach new web sites. While people rarely direct to a website by tipping its address, they normally use a specific search in Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Bing, or other known search engines. So SEO is essential for getting and keeping traffic into your site. The good news is, you don't need to spend a lot of money, since some basic SEO techniques can be implemented by yourself: using keywords, adding interesting content, building links, etc.

The question of "how can I make money" was the starting point from where many people began their online careers. However, you should be careful, there are plenty of scams and risky business propositions on the internet. One must be careful not to waste time and money with questionable companies and individuals..

Avoid Internet offers that promise earnings of thousands of dollars just by working a few hours, behind this too-good-to-be-true offer is usually some kind of fraudulent scheme.

Avoid aggressive selling, this will chase your potential customers away.

DO NOT SPAM... it is not only annoying, it is illegal as well.

Proceed carefully, however; remember that every journey starts with that first step. It is the time to take action and to move forward! The answer to your question "how can I make money"... resides with you.

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Building An ECommerce Website And Accepting Payment For Your Products

Building An eCommerce Website

Unless you are simply setting up an eBay store, (which is perfectly fine), you will need to establish a way to market, promote and sell your products. There is probably no better way to do this than to set up an eCommerce website. There are now literally hundreds, probably thousands of companies out there who will help you set up and promote your online store, but only a few are really good for a beginner. The one that I use and highly recommend is a great ecommerce platform called Big Commerce, based in Austin, Texas. Their templates are great, marketing tools are outstanding and the customer service is second to none. Being a seasoned eCommerce retailer who has tried and used many various eCommerce platforms, I can tell you that many are clumsy and difficult to navigate if you lack the experience in setting up an online store. Many of these companies offer you a free trial period so that you can become familiar with their software before you agree to work with them long-term.

If you really want to have a successful online business, your website will either make or break you. I can't get into all of the complexities of effective website building, but suffice it to say that this is the area of your business that will require the majority of your attention and focus as you get started. Do your homework, be patient and take advantage of the free trial periods that most of these eCommerce website builders offer before you take the leap. Once you go with a company, you'll feel compelled to stay with them due to all of the time and effort you have already invested.

Accepting Payment

Once you have a product and a website to market that product, you will need to set up an easy way for your customers to pay you. With that said, you MUST be able to accept credit cards. Period. To get started withaccepting payment, you will have to establish a merchant account. We use First Data and are very happy with the service that they provide. If you Google "First Data Merchant Account", you will be able to find them. Aside from First Data, there are hundreds of payment processing companies who will set up a merchant account for you so the you can seamlessly accept payment on your ecommerce website.

Another way to accept payment from your customers is with PayPal. Please remember that PayPal is a wonderful way for your customers to send secure payments, but it should not be the ONLY way. Some people simply refuse to set up a PayPal account, so you have to make sure that you also have a merchant account established so that you can accept credit card payments from your customers who don't use PayPal. Setting up a PayPal account is easy. Just go to their website and follow the steps to open a new account.

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Managing an E Commerce Site

Although you can reach out to a lot of prospects and customers on the Internet, getting your business to profit successfully online is certainly not an easy task. Aside from being tech-savvy, you must have good managerial skills, strong business sensibilities and a service-oriented drive as well in order to make it big in the online world of e commerce and make money with drop shipping.

In an e-commerce site, every business transaction is done online - from marketing and shopping to payment and shipping. Hence, you have to make sure that your website has all the features needed to deal with these requirements. First, you need to create an online store that can effectively encourage Internet shoppers to browse through your products. In order to do this, your online store must look professional so that customers would not be reluctant in shopping through your site. Secondly, a merchant account is a must for you to be able to make business transactions. Once your customers have decided to purchase your product, you need to provide them with the means to order and pay online. Make sure that, even if there is no face-to-face interaction with the customers, you can still provide good customer service.

When it comes to online business transactions, you need to make sure that the integrity of customer information is kept confidential. You should install a strong security system against unwanted online culprits that would try to steal valuable information from your e-commerce site.

The delivery aspect of e commerce sites should be managed efficiently as well. There must be a tracking code in every shipping activity so that there would be evidence as to whether the delivery has been made or not. By doing this, you can prevent dishonest customers from falsely claiming that they should be given a refund for not receiving their orders.

It is very important that you are well versed in the aspects of starting an e commerce site. Having a product to sell is not enough to make profit online. You have to make sure that your product can survive the dynamics of the online world of business because there are a number of products that are not suitable to be sold online. Be smart about everything you do in developing an ecommerce site.

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Benefits of Ecommerce in Modern Life

Business establishment and growth has over generations been developed to suit well placed establishments which are largely in line with new technological evolutions. Ultimately, businesses have been modernized in order to enable them to meet universal consumer requirements and principally enhanced business effectiveness in terms of accountability, management and growth. Electronic commerce or ecommerce as widely known is an important advancement in the latest wave of business growth and its mainstream models has enabled it to gain popularity amongst the major business players.

Benefits of ecommerce are overwhelmingly varied and the intensity of internet usability has meant that information sharing is greatly achievable. The ultimate nature of doing business over a well coordinated network has meant that theoretically, benefits of ecommerce are understood through better technological interfaces where consumers are able to satisfactorily interact with sellers. The market players are therefore able to satisfy their clients by incorporating sustainable marketing of their products and the openly defined benefits of ecommerce along this principle of e-buying and e-selling are transformed into universally accepted financial implications. In the emerging economies, the benefits of ecommerce are directly linked to highly complex networks with advanced security measures. While ecommerce provide one of the fastest means of trade, these benefits of ecommerce are deliberated on the general composition of the trading parties. A highly compatible method is required in order to specifically create absolutely relevant transfer systems where buying and selling characteristics are supported by the larger internet connectivity.

Interestingly, the benefits of ecommerce are extensively classified although the business formation remains uniquely the same;

• the system development feature global interconnection of computers with compatible operating systems and hence transactions are ideally managed through a process cycle that is capable of enabling the consumers to make relevant purchases, and at the same time enabling sellers to sell their products even when they are located in remote locations

• The business transactions performed through a wide class of product distribution makes ecommerce one of the most effective means of exchanges and the relationship between buyers and sellers is enhanced by the ordering process which virtually create convenience and reduces transaction errors.

• The overall costs of processing product sell are greatly reduced as important benefits of ecommerce create consumer based satisfaction over a number of paper based transaction challenges

• The systemic operations as one among the benefits of ecommerce indicate that individual operations help generate competence among the market players and improve sells per unit time and this also reduces selling prices among the line sellers.

• Product delivery time in ecommerce is highly managed and signal changes over time enhance the procedural implications in sort, decision making and order management. Therefore, the market patterns provide highly competitive product levels and here the benefits of ecommerce would periodically make the business growth to be well enabled.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Krishna_N

Boost Your Business in E-Commerce

Boost your business

Business management principles incorporate transformational resolutions intended to boost your business. Characteristically, your basic organization will enable you to understand how typical business development is measured and to what level is it managed. Simple methods aiding business development streamlines will enable you boost your business and grow towards meeting high level business gains. In practice, the phenomenon which technically makes your targets achievable is critically tested by the comprehensiveness of business ideas that you are well conversant with. Naturally, nearly all techniques aiding business growth are conceptually measured by the integrity of the measuring unit. In general terms, to boost your business and enable it to competently transform itself into the competitive edge makes it stronger.

To boost your business, it is ideal to look at the major spectrums that relate to the expected gains;

• Goal setting - better planning processes with good and well focused customer based framework is ultimately necessary to give you a performance feedback. The highly integrated timelines enhance specific commitments and arriving at a goal would procedurally give you an additional development tool. You will be able to have a relatively new approach and a hallmark is devised as one important process to boost your business.

• Client development process - to boost your business and create a better bargaining ground, the existence of new and old clients would mean that service provision will be ultimately met as per the intensity of the services given to your clients. It is amazing to meet your clients and obtain feedbacks from them and you will be able to understand the type of services they receive from you. This will simply give you the capability to make ideal changes and improvements and largely enabling you to boost your business.

• Profit focus - the focus on profit and also on increased turnover is an important principle which needs important attention. Business opportunities along this portion enlists highly created assert turnover and you will have an added opportunity to make a huge profit. With a focus on how to develop the business without necessarily compromising your clients, avoiding risks is resoundingly an important perspective which will give you a better bargaining power.

• Creating new business platforms - Successful implementation of business ideals require businesses to have newest systems of management. In general, to boost your business, expert systems are clearly dedicated to enhance the product growth and create business knowledge within which the business is administered.

Conclusively, business characteristics are highly critical and the demands which enrich business growth should timely be developed in order to give the business enhanced capital gains.

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Impact of Ecommerce

Ecommerce has had many lives transformed and many online businesses established. Electronic commerce development syndicate has increasingly supported huge business transaction processes and the impact of ecommerce within the industry is critically managed by the changing market trends. In a typical business establishment, the impact of ecommerce is widely espoused by the relevance of the major market players. A well managed business that has been accustomed with changed business performance explains the pioneer feature of online businesses and this commercially provides the aspect relative to impact of ecommerce in a much smaller business enterprise. The marketplace is intelligently viewed to be carrying well factored ideals that contemporarily make the business to benefit from the introduction of new markets. The typical impact of ecommerce has been arguably reflected on the business ability to meet unique requirements that are relatively converged on a wide performance scale.

In everyday business, you do not need any specific skills to be able to satisfactorily meet the ultimate transactions in your online business. In any case, proper training is much less of a requirement. The functional status of such a business only requires you to be well acquainted with business skills and a bit of computer knowledge. From this level, the impact of ecommerce will supposedly create a defined aspect of converging people and businesses. Defining proper business characteristic is accustomed to the larger purchasing power in the ecommerce environment. Hence the impact of ecommerce here is to enable the traditional business process classically transformed to meet the ever changing needs of consumers. The common workplace is widely regarded as having the projections necessary to electronically procure and or sell goods through the secured network. Virtually, people have been obliged to adopt the wave of technology relating to transfer of commodities and money over the internet.

The impact of ecommerce on a large scale create an important status in establishing the economic growth of a region as individual companies gain a lot from rapid sales and reduced transaction cycles. In all the support processes, the economy is highly transformed through a positioned level and indeed, the overall impact of ecommerce to an immediate society include; improved sales per unit, general business boom over a period of time as well as highly developed buyer-seller relationships. The tools of trade are equally modeled through effective economic growth and the techniques that mirror new potentials are competently developed by the emerging ecommerce principles.

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Potential of Ecommerce

Electronic commerce is essentially an evolving business component that has in the last few years generated a wholesome business entrepreneurship and it has featured more sophisticated process of carrying out business activities. Potential of ecommerce today has been specifically aligned to business development life cycles and hence provide a more functional status within a given business environment. Therefore with a growing pervasiveness towards market functionality, the functions themselves are technically listed with the potential of ecommerce and satisfactorily interacted to create business oriented factors. An evaluation of proper business mechanism within which ecommerce gains positive performance encompasses the rapid growth along its mainstream areas. By virtue of relevant potential of commerce, the business spectrum exhibits numerous occurrences which are intended to enable the business to meet its target costs. The rapid changes that occur within a market sector is systematically leveled by the potential of commerce as per the rates of the major assessment indicators.

The focal level which explains the complexity of the digital data being incorporated into the complex network system give the coverage of information and data within a given business environment. User definition classified as the likely content of convergence expresses the genuinely modified service delivery. Service utilization is one important mainstream model supporting potential of commerce life cycle and wide a wide range of organizational potentials, ecommerce has been widely accepted as an important landmark step in marketing. The potential of ecommerce is well framed across a business divide and network access features are appropriately defined by the level that supports internet usability within an ecommerce environment. Internet access across virtually almost all households has meant that sales are directly availed to individuals who need them as per the most vital network routes. Service requirements are equally directly linked to procedural growth within the information technology environment and here, the potential of ecommerce is widely anticipated. The availability of internet within a commercially active area mean that electronic services are vital and contribute greatly to the objective derivatives of an acceptable roadmap that meets buyer as well as seller specification.

There is a well coordinated significance related to the growth of ecommerce and the rate at which various factors interact with each other explains the usefulness of ecommerce in retail buying. In this process, potential of ecommerce is acquired through the changing purchasing spirit among the various households. The defined composition aims at bridging digital divide and makes ecommerce to be perfectly evaluated and repossessed as a prerequisite towards developing a more robust market.

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Banking Software System - Top 3 Features to Look For

With an increased focus in the banking industry to automate exception tracking and manage loan files, many financial institutions find themselves in the difficult position of evaluating the pros and cons of implementing a banking software system. Although there are many variables that a financial institution should consider when looking at banking software systems, evidence suggests there is a common set of features that lead to successful integration. Financial institutions should heed the following suggestions when considering different software solutions.

Take A Look In the Mirror First

Before evaluating the specific features of a banking software system, it is wise to first review your existing internal processes. Current workflow and exception tracking processes are important to take into consideration before seeking out a banking software vendor. By fully documenting and understanding your internal processes, you can put your financial institution in a better position to locate banking software companies that fit your needs.

Once you have roughly documented your existing processes, it is advisable to begin your search for a banking software system provider. The search for bank management software is similar to shopping for any B2B product. Many organizations start by doing a Google search for keywords such as "bank loan document imaging" or "loan file imaging software". However, to streamline your search efforts, many industry organizations such as the ICBA (Independent Community Bankers Association) offer a convenient search tool, which allows you to drill down into more specific vendor information.

Background of Banking Software System Technology

The term "banking software system" can actually have a lot of different definitions depending upon your community bank's specific needs. Many systems feature a wide variety of functionality that can range from loan tracking, compliance tracking, bank operations management, and deposit tracking to name a few. Although many of these more advanced features are great for certain banks, other financial institutions may only need a more simplified offering. At a minimum, the following features should be present in any reliable banking software solution.

What To Look For In A Banking Software System

1. Bank Imaging - Simple, yet dynamic bank document imaging. The bank document imaging software should provide streamlined enterprise-wide scanning and imaging, facilitating cross-departmental economies of scale.
2. Integrated Loan Portfolio Software - Helps you automate the loan management process from start to finish. More advanced systems may also provide tools that help automate loan application, underwriting, and approval processes as well.
3. Automated Exception Tracking - Exception management software that eliminates the need for a manual tickler file system.

So What Does It All Mean for My Community Bank?

In summary, following the steps outlined in this article can simplify the process of choosing a banking software system. Although many features likely exist, even the most basic systems should, at a minimum, include bank imaging, integrated loan portfolio software, and automated exception tracking.

Alan Wooldridge has been serving the banking industry for two decades as Co-President of AccuSystems ( http://www.accusystem.com ). AccuSystems provides bank imaging software that simplifies bank document management. With over 250 community banks throughout the United States using the AccuSystems bank management software, AccuSystems continues to be the trusted name in bank document imaging. AccuSystems' bank loan software is marketed under the AccuAccount brand; AccuSystems' software for bank operations management (banking human resources, accounts payable, etc) is marketed as AccuDoc. AccuSystems also offers banking software solutions for deposit tracking, exception tracking, and managing bank workflow. AccuSystems' Tickler Tracking System automates the management of tickler files, which are traditionally very labor intensive. Alan Wooldridge and the AccuSystems team is glad to answer any questions you may have about bank imaging and related technologies. Feel free to call with any questions: 800-950-2550.

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An Effective Way To Recover Your Investment

The reason you engage in business is because you wanted to earn. In getting started with a business, you have to purchase the equipment you need. You have to spend quite a lot of money to get it started. There will always come a time when you would need to replace that equipment. The replacement could be because of so many different reasons. It could be because the equipment is already obsolete; there is newer equipment being sold in the market that you think would be better to use or it could be because you no longer need it because you no longer sell the product that it is being used for. Whatever your reasons may be, by the time that you dispose that equipment, you will be reminded of the amount of money that you have spent for it and how it would help if you are able to recover it.

Investment or asset recovery is very common in the business industry. Investment or asset recovery is a businessman's way of maximizing the value of the equipment that he is no longer using.

An effective way of recovering your investment or asset is through an industrial surplus. Industrial surplus is the process of selling your obsolete equipment to boost your profit. The surplus shop that you will sell it to will also be reselling your equipment at a cheaper rate.

By selling your equipment to a surplus shop, you are not just able to use the equipment that you have purchased when you started your business; you are also able to get back almost half of its original price. You can use the amount of money that you get back from it in purchasing another equipment if you need to or you can consider it an additional profit.

Investment or asset recovery is made very fast and very easy through industrial surplus. Most industrial surplus shops purchase just any type of surplus you have. They purchase heavy equipment, tanks, motors, welding machines, pipe fittings, pumps, valves, circuit breakers, etc. They purchase waste goods, scrap and obsolete materials. It does not really matter if you are selling just one piece of surplus or if you have an entire facility to sell. Most industrial surplus shops purchase individual surplus and also arrange for purchase of an entire facility or plant.

By choosing to recover your investment or asset through industrial surplus, you do not just make the most out of them but you are also able to recover the money that you have spent for them.

Industrial surplus is a very effective way to recover your investment or your asset because there is definitely no chance that your surplus will not be purchased again or resold by the shop that you sent it to.

Most businessmen nowadays also choose to buy equipment or other materials that they need from an industrial surplus shop. Other than the fact that surplus are at a cheaper rate, they are also most of the time, more durable than brand new ones.

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Factoring Receivables - The Advantages

'Factoring' refers to a monetary transaction where a business firm trades its accounts receivables, i.e., invoices, to a third party, that is usually called a 'factor'. The third party buys the receivables with liquid money. This way a business gets ready money to finance itself.

A business firm is evaluated first on the basis of its profit background. Every firm is evaluated differently. Factoring companies have their own requirements. To be precise, a business must do proper sales and must have a verifiable invoice. Receivable financing is ideal for all the industries that deal with commercial accounts.

Factoring receivable is a way to maximize your cash flow. It is a better alternative to finance the invoices and get immediate cash rather than giving up on the ownership of your business. It allows you to avail ready cash from a factor who will take the responsibility of collecting the payment from customers. In order to get a good rate from your factor, you must maintain a steady creditworthiness.

Some of the major advantages of factoring receivables are as follows:

1. Immediate, ready cash without any delay

2. Business credit rating is not significant

3. Well-organized handling of data entry and invoicing

4. No hassles in handling slow-pay and/ or no-pay clients

5. Expanded capacity to grow through more production and sales

6.Facility to avail vendor discounts

Factoring receivables allow a business firm to enhance its cash flow. Companies would not have to incur penalties and can pay expenses on time. It also allows business owners to avoid collections. Companies who offer factoring receivables are run by professionals who take care of all the collecting and keeping a track of all the invoices. This can be a huge benefit to your business as it reduces the amount of bad debts. Such companies may also purchase bad debts of your business. Business expansions can also be facilitated through factoring receivables. It allows a healthy cash flow system. Businesses can thereby operate without any halt.

Companies offering factorial receivables usually cover 90% of the invoiced amount. The remaining 10% of the total amount is paid and when the company gets a payment for the invoice. It is better than applying for a loan in a bank as it is comparatively a lengthy process. Plus, with factoring receivables, you would not need to wait for an approval, you can get cash supply immediately.

Do a little research before choosing a company that offers factoring receivables. Texas business owners can now seek help from Mazon Associates for expert assistance.

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A Tale of Two Invoices

In quite long thread on the social networking site "linked in" recently, one individual suggested that sending out invoices was a necessary and rather mundane part of doing business and, as long as it was done efficiently, how it was approached (on or off line) made very little difference to the bottom line-perhaps only a few pounds sterling (or any other currency internationally) for a small business. In this article, let's test that assumption by looking at what time and cost is involved in sending out invoices physically (which for our purposes here includes emailing them as attachments which are then printed) and sending them out electronically with a full digital bill/invoice presentment solution. A full digital invoice solution is one in which a bill is "clickable" and not just a flat email or a PDF attached to an email for instance.

Traditional billing

Most businesses bill on a regular basis, such as the end every day, every week or every month. In all cases however the product or service rendered has to be known along with its cost and an invoice generated to the relevant customer. Even if an accounting system can produce this whole list readily (which is not always the case of course) each invoice needs to be printed (or rendered as a PDF if it is to be emailed) and then sent out with either a correctly addressed envelope (and stamp) or by email. These invoices are then received and opened by the respective customers at various stages-some immediately and some not being opened for several days perhaps and then put into the payables processing queue to be paid either on terms or at some point afterwards.

In traditional billing, customers tended to be treated similarly in terms of offering only one, two or three payment options (such as cheque, direct debit or occasionally a credit card) but whichever one they choose, the customer will need to work quite hard to remit the payment (taking both time, effort and money). Cheques for example need to be written, signed and posted (in an envelope with stamp). Credit card payments (if they are accepted) require the customer to call the client and quote the card details to an accounts receivable person who then needs to reconcile or match the payment to the invoice as quickly as possible.

The bottom line is that traditional billing is an old-fashioned and relatively inefficient process and has high costs for both the issuing organisation and the receiving customer. The research firm Billentis suggests that the average internal cost of billing is somewhere between £5 and £15 (depending upon size of firm and overall process efficiency). About two thirds of this cost is in relatively hidden business expenses such as the staff required to collect money, handle bill calls/deal with queries and carry out bill reconciliation/matching. Hence, anywhere from 3 to 10 of this cost is potentially completely avoidable.

Digital Billing

In sophisticated and well-designed on-line web sites (which are now commonplace in the UK and elsewhere) every organisation can now easily upload all of their invoices (daily, weekly or monthly) to a single destination web site at the same time as they are posting out or emailing their invoices. Hence this adds no time or internal effort and only involves a small cost per bill (usually around 0.40-0.50 pence). This is technically an on cost to a business until a physical invoice is no longer sent. However, even if this is not the case, a digital invoice brings a number of benefits.

Firstly, in a digital billing solution at an aggregation web site all customers typically have the option of being immediately able to see their bill or invoice (in summary or in detail) at the billing site just by entering a unique identifying Merchant number and invoice number. If they wish they can then pay it instantly, or (if they want to have a number of tracking, alert and reporting benefits) they can register and pay it. In addition, customers can pay their bill by all the options that the site offers including all debit and credit cards, and even cash in some cases. There are therefore usually multiple ways to pay offered, which all helps the merchant to get their money by the means by which the customer can best pay.

As yet another benefit of digital billing in a system, the on-line site is almost always available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days of the year. This means that payments can be remitted whenever a customer wishes to do so, not just when the organisation is open to accept cheques or field phone calls (perhaps only 9-5pm Monday to Friday).

Even if only 10% of customers pay via this on-line channel, this is 10% of invoices that are paid and easily reconciled (requiring no further work or call handling). However, in practice, customers increasingly like making payments on-line, particularly when the channel is safe and secure. Some organisations have therefore converted many more and, in some instances, all of their customers to this online invoicing and payment method.

In time and cost terms, research suggests that those customers paying a digital bill are quicker to pay (accelerating cash flow), are less likely to call the issuing organisation for any reason and are making a transaction which is readily matched and reconciled (saving expensive accounting or bookkeeping time). All in all this is likely to save an organisation anywhere from 3 to 6 per invoice. Even if you only send out 100 invoices a month this results in savings of 3,600 to 7,200. It's quite clear then that this is a significant difference and may amount to a very large sum for larger organisations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Warner

What Will the Housing Market Look Like in 2011?

2011 is going to be a rough year for the housing market, barring unforeseen changes to our country's economic fortunes. There is a massive supply of unsold homes in this country. There is little demand for these properties. Basic economics tells us that home prices must fall unless there is a massive influx of home-buying immigrants or we destroy a lot of the existing housing stock (which would be a monumentally stupid waste of resources).

According to Standard and Poor's, as of the end of the third quarter, the principal value of foreclosed mortgages totaled $450 billion. Although this is down from $460 billion in the second quarter, it will now take 44 months for the housing market to absorb the supply of distressed homes, up from 40 months in the second quarter. In an article on Marketwatch.com, the ratings agency commented:

"The growing volume of distressed properties remains one of the primary factors hindering a full recovery in the U.S. housing market".

Home prices are down about 20-25 percent since their 2006 peak. While home values were temporarily buoyed by the first time home buyer tax credits, values commenced falling when those stimulus programs expired in the spring. Home prices have been falling in many areas for several months now. In the most recent Case-Shiller Home Price Index, David Blitzer, the Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P commented:

"The double-dip is almost here, as six cities set new lows for the period since the 2006 peaks. There is no good news in October's report. Home prices across the country continue to fall. The trends we have seen over the past few months have not changed. The tax incentives are over and the national economy remained lacklust in October, the month covered by these data. Existing home sales and housing starts have been reported for both October and November, and neither is giving any sense of optimism.

The good people at Zillow are no more optimistic than those at S&P. Zillow says home values will drop by $1.7 trillion in 2011. Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries commented: "The back half of 2010 looked horrible and 2011 should look like the mirror image of that". Humphries does not paint a pretty picture.

Possibly you don't agree with Zillow or S&P/Case-Shiller. How do you feel about the opinion of media and real estate mogul Mort Zuckerman? He says the glut of distressed properties will "put downward pressure on residential prices" and "that's going to continue for several years".

What about the opinion of Nouriel Roubini, former advisory to the Clinton Treasury, NYU Stern School of Business Professor, and predictor of the financial meltdown says real estate problems in the United States are "underappreciated" and that the "real estate market, for sure, is double dipping".

I think you get the idea. If you're reading this, you have your own Google machine, and can find plenty of people who are predicting a continued slide in housing prices, a full-fledged double dip, or both. You may even find a few (very few) people who are saying that housing will recover in 2011. Usually these people have a pretty clear agenda, and I wouldn't put too much stock in what they say. While there is something to be said for contrarian thinking, I simply cannot see anything other than further declines in home values in 2011 (on average - some areas will fare better than others).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Kraus

Wake Up And Smell The Inflation

One bright day, in the middle of the night

Two dead boys got up to fight.

Back to back they faced each other,

Drew their swords and shot one 'nother.

A deaf policeman heard the noise,

And came to arrest the two dead boys.

If you don't believe this story's true,

Ask the blind man, he saw it too! ~Author Unknown

Confused about inflation? Don't worry, you're not alone.

Government statistics say inflation is moderate at only 1.6% over the past year. But our gas, food and medical bills tell us otherwise.

Measuring Inflation

To measure inflation, the government looks at price gains in eight categories: Apparel, Education, Food, Housing, Medical, Recreation, Transportation, and "Other".

Each category is given a weighting based on a typical U.S. household's income that is spent on it. Food gets a 15% weighting, housing 42%, medical 6%, transportation 17%, and so on. Prices are then checked regularly to identify trends.

Inflationary Trends

Take food. Last October, food prices rose 1.5%. This January, they rose 1.8%. That's an increase in pace of 20% (forget the math, just trust me on the numbers).

Transportation prices rose 5.29% last October, and 5.42% this January, an acceleration of 2.5% - much less than the 20% for food. But that's scant comfort because we still paid 5.4% more for gas, while we only paid 1.8% more for food.

While food and transportation are necessities, categories like apparel and recreation are more discretionary. So it's not surprising that apparel prices stayed practically unchanged, housing rose only 0.4%, and increases in medical and recreational expenses also slowed - blunting the sharp increases in food and transportation.

Put it all together, and you get inflation at 1.63% for January versus 1.5% last October.

The bottom line is that prices rose at a quicker pace than three months ago. For you and me, it simply means that inflation is increasing and the purchasing power of our dollar is declining at a more rapid pace than three months ago. Not good at all, particularly in a stalled economy with high unemployment and a virtual freeze on wage increases!

Sleep With The Enemy

I am reminded of a simple, yet brilliant idea I learned many years ago - if your electricity bill starts rising, buy shares of your electricity provider. You need electricity, and your provider knows this. If electricity generation costs rise, your provider will simply pass the increase on to you while making sure its profit margins remain intact. These profits either get distributed as dividends or cause shares to rise. If you hold shares, the dividends or stock appreciation compensate you for some or all of the increase in your bill.

So higher investment returns from capital gains, interest income or dividends can help you beat inflation.

Now, applying this concept to rising fuel costs, consider buying Oil company stocks. As a shareholder, you will see stock price appreciation and higher dividends. This has, in fact, already happened. Chevron shares, for example, have risen from the mid $80s last October to over $100 today.

However, first know all the facts and risks, or talk to a good advisor before implementing this strategy.

Buy Short Maturity Bonds

Investors can also buy short-maturity bonds to protect against inflation, and roll maturing principal into higher yielding bonds over time (called laddering).

Avoid long maturity bonds - they lock you into lower yields for long periods of time. Like a frog in a vat of low heat but rising temperature water that dies a slow painless death, long bond investors get the comfort of nominal principal preservation and interest payments, but get killed on purchasing power.

Dividend stocks and short-term bonds are two strategies to protect you from inflation.

Pay close attention to the economic world around you and speak to experienced advisors, and you will discover ways to beat the system and not just be its hapless victim.

Visit http://onthemoneyradio.org for weekly commentary and money advice that covers the entire financial spectrum which also airs on my weekly radio show, "On The Money!"
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Pomeranz

Money Matters: Finance Your Business and Keep Those Finances on Track!

Some people dream of becoming an entrepreneur, but worry too much on where or how to finance their dream business - that is, where they should go and look for it. If you're one of them or even have engaged in business for years now, here are options for your finances.

1. Personal Savings. You are most likely to use this as a source of your capital because this is the easiest way to finance your business.

2. Borrow from friends or family. This is self-explanatory.

3. Loans. Bank Institutions are willing to help in providing businesses with finances. When you're thinking of borrowing funds from investors or loan institutions, much consideration should be given to the factors included in the financing deal: like the duration of the loan and the interest rate. Let's say you opted for a short term loan. They are appropriate to use when you want to grow your working capital requirements such as accounts receivable and inventory. However, if you consider purchasing new furniture and fixtures or opening a new store, you might want to take long-term loans as this you could pay for a much longer time.

4. Sell assets that are already idle. These may be in the form of old machinery or equipment and it may also be other forms of property. They may be old and may have slowed down the operation of your business, but if they're still useable, you might as well sell them.

5. Rent or Lease. Rent out a particular room or area in your building. This is also a great way of financing your business.

6. Equity Financing. You issue your equity ownership with the use of common shares. What's nice about this option is that the capital you borrowed is interest-free and there's no need for you to pay it back. However, your investors will become part-time owners of your business and may have an influence on you and on how to manage the business.

7. "Angels". These are actually people who just simply want to help you out. They are actually mysterious persons. Possibly they see something good in your business. Some people coined them as "Donors".

These are sources of financing your business. There may be other ideas out there, so it's better to venture out and know some of them.

If you want to track your finances as to where they come from or where they are being spent, check your cash flow statement. Using the Cash Flow Statement, you can budget your money as to what you should be spending. You can pretty much make an opinion or an evaluation over a certain operation - that is, whether your business gains or not. Probable predictions of your company's standing in the future can be made as well. Limitations of the Cash Flow Statement happens when, for an instance, you have generally less amount of cash on hand, yet are still earning a huge net income or vice versa. This could happen when there is more Accounts Receivable (or credit) than Cash.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luminada_Jenkins

Stamp Duty - How Much Is Your State Charging You?

Stamp duty costs, which are paid on both the purchase and the mortgage amount, are soaring according to the second Residential Stamp Duty Report from home loan lender Bankwest.

The report reveals that over the last five years these levels have increased by 36 per cent in Australia and Victorians are being hit the hardest.

Residential stamp duty for buying the typical Australian house is now $14,761.

BankWest senior analyst Tim Crawford told the ABC: "Across Victoria as a whole, we've seen a 38 per cent increase in the typical stamp duty bill over five years and the typical bill in Victoria is pushing towards $20,000." he said.

"In Melbourne we've seen a 76 per cent increase in the median stamp duty bill over five years."

This translates as Melbourne home buyers having to set aside four and a half months worth of their average household income to pay this tax on a median priced house.

The new Liberal Government in Victoria campaigned on this issue and is currently preparing to cut this tax for first home buyers. Thereby reducing it by around 50 per cent on a median priced house in Melbourne.

Melbourne buyers are the hardest hit of any Australian capital city with the average bill pushing through $30,000 to $30,620.

This is four times the burden of median houses in Brisbane, which enjoys the nation's smallest bill of $7,245.

Triggering this increase is the booming Australian property market, which has delivered yet another blow to property buyers who now have to work an average of two months just to pay this cost, according to the Bankwest research.

Crawford says "bracket creep" is generally to blame for the increases. He explains that house prices have continued to increase but most state and territory governments haven't changed their corresponding thresholds.

Bankwest Retail Chief Executive, Vittoria Shortt said the sustained rise was an ever-escalating burden for home buyers.

"There's little doubt that stamp duty is among the most unpopular duties a home owner encounters and our research shows they are a significant financial add on to the cost of a property," Shortt said.

"Most homeowners in capital cities now need to set aside or borrow three months of their household income if they want to move house.

"As a result, many people may be tempted to stay put and renovate rather than move house because of high stamp duty bills.

"All states offer stamp duty concessions for first time buyers and there have been concessions for new home buyers which also helps. But people already in the property market who are looking to upgrade in their area generally face higher bills."

On a national average, stamp duty payable on the median house is equivalent to 3.3 per cent of the purchase price with Melbourne leading the way at 5.2 per cent of the purchase price for the median house and lowest is Brisbane at 1.6 per cent.
Significant findings

* Melbourne home owners need to set aside 4.4 months of their annual household income to pay stamp duty for median priced properties, the highest in the nation. Sydney ranks second, at 3.2 months.
* Brisbane home buyers pay the lowest in this tax, having to set aside one month's salary.
* The typical home owner in more than half of capital city local government areas (53%) needs to set aside 25% of their annual household income - up from 47% a year ago.
* Nationally, the typical home owner in 17% of council areas now needs 25% of their household income to pay the charge - up slightly from 16% five years ago.
* There has been a rise by more than 50% in five capital cities in the past five years - Darwin (137%), Canberra (82%), Brisbane (77%), Melbourne (76%) and Adelaide (60%).
* Western Australia and Victoria are the only states to have raised their thresholds to match the rise in house prices in the past five years.
* Queensland has the lowest stamp duty bills as a percentage of median purchase price at 1.4%, whilst Victoria has the highest as a proportion of the median price at 4.3%.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=K_Jennifer

Lower Your Property Tax Bill - A New Year's Resolution You Can Keep

For many, the beginning of a new year signals a time to make some sort of change in their lives and become more like their ideal selves. For others, January signals the time to make a different kind of change, one that is much easier to make: trimming their property tax bill. The tax appeal process in New Jersey involves a number of steps and using an experienced property tax attorney to lead you through the process will make that New Year's resolution much easier to keep.

Since tax appeal season in New Jersey is toward the beginning of the year, lowering your property taxes is a perfect New Year's resolution. Toward the end of January of each year, every New Jersey property owner is supposed to receive their annual assessment. That's the little green card that comes from the tax assessor's office. Since all properties within a particular municipality in New Jersey are taxed at the same rate, it is the assessment which differentiates one property owner's tax bill from another and is the real measure of whether a property is being taxed fairly or not. The period in which one can generally appeal an assessment in New Jersey is from the time the assessment is received until April 1 (May 1 if there was a reassessment or revaluation).

The first step to understanding whether you are being taxed too much is understanding how your property is being valued.

In New Jersey, your assessment is the value at which your property was appraised at the time of the last revaluation. Though the amount at which the municipality values your property changes from year to year, your assessment typically remains the same. Every year, each municipality in New Jersey is assigned an "equalization ratio," which is intended to reflect the current value of the properties in a particular municipality in relation to their value in year of the valuation.

You can find your municipality's equalization ration by calling your town's tax assessor or the county tax board. It can also be found at the New Jersey Division of Taxation website. The "average ratio" is the percentage of "true value" that your assessment is deemed to be. In other words, divide your assessment by the equalization ratio to obtain the true valuation of your property. This is the number your assessor is actually using to compute your property tax, not your assessment.

For many people, the decision about whether they should appeal their assessment is an easy one once they realize the actual valuation of their property. For others, especially people who have owned a property for a long time and have not been thinking about buying or selling, the question of whether to appeal an assessment is less clear.

Here are several rules of thumb to consider in deciding whether to appeal your assessment:

* As your assessment gets older and your equalization ratio gets lower, there is greater likelihood that your assessment has fallen out of line with your property's actual value.
* Conversely, when an equalization ration rises above 100% because property values have fallen (as they have in recent years), that means that on average, properties are overassessed in those municipalities. The property owner still bears the burden of proving that their particular property is overassessed but an average ratio of over 100% is a good indicator of overassessment.
* When you live in a development or neighborhood where properties are very similar, and prices have dropped significantly, your individual property value has probably decreased and your assessment and equalization ratio may not have kept pace.
* Whenever a property has unique characteristics that make it very different from those nearby, there is often a case to be made for reducing the assessment. For example, a very large old home in a neighborhood of smaller, newer homes will often be assessed as a larger home with the characteristics of the surrounding areas. In fact, such homes tend to be more difficult to sell and often warrant lower assessments.

The next step in the process for individuals is to decide whether they want to work with an attorney in this process. While corporations and other legal entities must be represented by an attorney under New Jersey law, an individual homeowner may represent him or herself. Nevertheless, there are very good reasons to consider retaining one:

* Many lawyers work on a contingency basis so that there are no legal fees unless your taxes are reduced. There are certain fixed out-of-pocket expenses that the property owner pays but the lawyer receives a percentage of the tax savings if, and only if, the appeal is successful.
* A lawyer working on a contingency basis should provide a free consultation and do his or her own independent research to determine whether an appeal is likely to succeed. If a lawyer does not return calls and take the time to tell you why they believe your assessment should be reduced, it is a signal to look elsewhere.
* Most of all, there is the convenience of having an experienced professional handle your case. You do not have to worry about any of the rules which can be burdensome and, frankly arbitrary. (For example, property tax appeals can be dismissed if the petition is not printed on legal paper). You do not have to testify at a hearing, which is usually unfamiliar and uncomfortable for the homeowner.
* Many people believe you will end up with a better result when you are represented by a lawyer. This extra savings year after year more than offsets the lawyer's fee.

Take for example the case of Stephen and Rachel Pineles, who decided to appeal the assessment on their Essex County New Jersey home in 2010. "My town had not had a revaluation in over twenty years and my assessment was outrageously high in comparison with the actual value of my home," said Stephen Pineles. "Hiring an attorney to handle the property tax appeal was definitely the right decision for me. I did not have to worry about anything. Initially, the tax assessor offered a reduction that was on the low side. In the end, my attorney negotiated a much better settlement and my property taxes were reduced by over $3700 or almost 30% of my tax bill."

As with anything else, there is some amount of risk in appealing your assessment. In New Jersey, if your case is unsuccessful, you will not recover your out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, under New Jersey law, your assessor has the right to argue that your assessment is too low. This right is limited, however, to cases where your property is undervalued by a measure of 15%. If your property's assessment divided by the equalization ratio is $100,000, the assessor can only argue that assessment should be increased if he or she can prove your property is really worth at least $115,000. If your attorney has done his research well and has determined that there is a good case for lowering your assessment, it is unlikely to happen.

As the new year begins, in addition to some of the more difficult goals and changes people contemplate, it may be worthwhile to consider trying to lower your tax bill. It could be one of the easiest and most profitable resolutions you make.

About Elie Fink
Since moving to New Jersey in 2005, Elie Fink, Esq. has devoted a large portion of his time to understanding New Jersey property tax law. Since founding the Law Offices of Elie Fink in 2009, he has successfully challenged property taxes throughout northern New Jersey.

Elie Fink graduated from the New York University School of Law in 2000. He served as a clerk to a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York and then worked at top tier New York law and accounting firms.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elie_Fink

What Is a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone ("TIRZ")?

Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code allows municipalities or countries to form a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone ("TIRZ"). The municipality proposing the TIRZ must notify each taxing unit that levies real property taxes in the proposed TIRZ and determine that tax increment that each taxing unit will contribute to the tax increment fund.

Money deposited in the tax increment fund may be disbursed only to satisfy claims to holders of tax increment bonds or notes issued for the zone, to pay project costs for the zone or payments pursuant to an agreement made by the board. Project costs include, but are not limited to, the following costs associated with public works or public improvements including:

* Capital costs, including acquisition, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, clearing and grading;
* Financing costs, including interest before and during construction and for one year after completion of construction, whether or not capitalized.
* Real property assembly costs;
* Professional services costs, including architectural, planning, engineering, and legal advice services.
* Administrative costs for employees of the municipality or county in connection with the implementation of a project plan;
* Organizational costs, including the costs of conducting environment impact studies or other studies, the cost of publicizing the creation of the zone, and the cost of implementing the project plan for the zone;
* Costs of operating the TIRZ and project facilities; public facilities, or pay debt service on bonds.

In addition to property tax contributions into the tax increment fund, a municipality collecting municipal sales and use taxes may contribute all or a portion of the sales tax increments to the tax increment fund or enter into a tax abatement agreement with an owner of the property within the TIRZ.

Criteria for Establishing a Reinvestment Zone
To be designated a reinvestment zone, an area must:

* Substantially arrest or impair the sound growth of the municipality or county creating the zone, retard the provision of housing accommodations, or constitute an economic or social liability and be a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use because of the presence of:
o Slum, deteriorated or deteriorating structures;
o Defective or inadequate sidewalk or street layout;
o Faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness;
o Unsanitary or unsafe conditions;
o Tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land;
o Defective or unusual conditions of title;
o Structures other than single family residential structures, where less than 10 percent of the square footage has been used for commercial, industrial, or residential purposes during the preceding 12 years, if the municipality has a population of 100,000 or more;
o Conditions that endanger life or property by fire or other cause;

* Be predominately open and, because of obsolete platting, deterioration of structures site improvements, or other factor, substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the municipality or county;

* Be in a federally assisted new community located in the municipality or county or in an area immediately adjacent to a federally assisted new community;

* Be in an area described in a petition requesting that the area be designated as a reinvestment zone, if the petition is submitted to the government body of the municipality or county by the owners of the property constituting at least 50 percent of the appraised value of the property.

Public Improvements Eligible for TIRZ Financing

* Educational facilities if the reinvestment zone was created on or before September 1, 1999
* Flood and drainage facilities
* Parking facilities
* Parks
* Pedestrian malls and walkways
* Sewer
* Street lights
* Streets
* Utilities
* Water
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Foreman

What Is Community Infrastructure District ("CID")?

The Background of CID - As the development of real estate continues to expand in Idaho, the impact caused by such expansion requires the necessary construction of public infrastructure to accommodate such growth. In 2008, Idaho legislature enacted the Idaho Community Infrastructure District Act ("Act"). The purpose of the Act was to create new mechanism for the financing of public improvements for the public agencies and developers alike. The Act, styled after similar legislation in New Mexico and Florida, addressed a critical issue of how to pay for new public improvement burdens in a cost effective manner. The Act authorizes bonds to be issued and repaid with a mechanism that taxes or assesses the land benefiting by the new public improvements. This provides for much needed community development which may otherwise be infeasible due to the significant costs imposed by the extensive public improvement burdens. At the present time, a Community Infrastructure District ("CID") is allowed in an incorporated city or in the county if within the City's comprehensive planning area and the city consents to the CID formation. The Act allows for the issuance of general obligation bonds, special assessment bonds or revenue bonds or any combination thereof. The projected annual assessment, tax or revenue stream secures the repayment of the bonds.

Eligible Public Improvements Available For CID Financing

* Water Improvements
* Sewer Improvements
* Flood Control Projects
* Roadways
* Public Parking Structures
* Landscaping and Lakes
* Lighting and Traffic Control
* Parks
* Recreational Facilities
* Public Safety Facilities
* Financing Costs
* Real Property Interests
* Development Impact Fees

A sound CID should be established with the following overall objectives in mind:

The real estate developer's financial goals should be met whenever reasonably possible since their project and its customers will be repaying the borrowing costs of the CID financing so long as it does not present any undue credit risk;

The real estate developer should use an experienced consultant to assist them in understanding all available options when going through the CID process;

On larger development projects, the CID financing should be structured to allow for multiple bond issues at different points in time and improvement areas should be employed to minimize the financial obligation on unimproved or underdeveloped property; The particular development project characteristics or constraints should be understood so that relevant risk associated with the project's development and its ability to repay bond debt is clear. Examples of this are environmental constraints, infrastructure constraints, and private financing caps;

The legal and engineering side of the construction and/or acquisition of the improvements should be understood if tax exempt bond financing is being used. More specifically, the specific construction related guidelines and procedures should be spelled out when a real estate developer is constructing the public improvements and seeking reimbursement from CID bond proceeds;

The estimated annual cost and the maximum annual cost of the CID financing to the borne by all property owners involved in the development process needs to be fully understood and properly disclosed; and

The project's appraised value needs to be properly performed consistent with sound bond underwriting and appraisal practices because the CID bonds are ultimately secured by the projects value. The appraisal instructions should be clearly defined from a CID bond credit perspective. For example, if bonds are being issued on an appraised value that assumes the project has unimproved lots with no performance guarantees at the appraisal date, then the appraiser has overstated the value for the value-to-lien ratio.


President and CEO (DPFG)

John has been advising clients in the real estate consulting business for the last twenty-seven (27) years. Prior to the formation of DPFG, Inc. in 1991, John spent nine years (9) in tax, audit, and consulting positions with the national accounting firm of Kenneth Leventhal & Company.

During the course of his career John has accumulated significant industry experience in areas such as; valuation of multiple land uses, public/private sector negotiations, cash flow analysis of projects and portfolios, development cost evaluations, entitlements to development, public finance applications on development, litigation support, redevelopment district development,expert witness testimony, development impact on school districts, land acquisition, due diligence, project leasing, special financing district restructuring, auditing of companies, and market analysis and recommendations.

John is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, inactive, in the State of California and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from California State University - Fullerton. John is an accomplished speaker, presenter and author of various articles on a multitude of real estate topics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Foreman

Thoughts on Protesting Property Taxes

For most people, negotiating property tax value or ad valorem tax value is more of an art then as a science, since there are so many things involved in the appeal process. You have to have good negotiating skills if you are to be successful with it. This is why you go to people who have made it their business to make sure that they can negotiate on your behalf. It is not just the trivial things that they will negotiate for you but something much more important and something that could save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you go to the taxing authorities on the subject of ownership tax reduction and property tax appeal, you may just save yourself thousands of dollars a year. Place taxes are probably one of the biggest expenses that you have on a commercial property. Imagine how good it will be for you and your bottom line if you can pay people to help you reduce your tax? If you happen to be thinking about this, you should go to people who know the place tax laws very well. You can find such a company that handles property tax reduction protests and commercial property tax appeal cases extremely well. They will help you come up with all the paperwork that you will need so that governmental agencies will take a very close look at these documents to approve your ownership tax appeal and reduction.

Not only do these well established companies have expertise in the main Texas area, but it also has various boutique affiliates all through out the nation so that you can seek help from them even if the property is not in Texas. Each state has unique laws and they will make sure that they help you work within those laws and have your place tax reduced at the same time and at a very favorable value. If you want to make sure that your place taxes are reduced, be sure to get yourself the best place tax consultant that knows the ropes to get your place tax reduced.

Mattox, Terrell & Associates, Inc. is a property tax firm dedicated to the property owner - our client. Service specialities include: All Types of Property Tax Appeals and Property Tax Reduction, Protests, Negotiations, Renditions, Filings & Exemptions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annie_A._Smith

Learn How To Save Money On Your Property Taxes

Did you know you can appeal your real estate values set forth by your taxing jurisdiction? I want to give you some basic guidelines on knowing how to make a confident appeal to save money on your property taxes. It's up to you to provide legitimate reasons why you feel the assessor has over valued your property. Here's some recommendations to back up your values.

1. Have you had an appraisal of your property done recently?

2. Does your home have structural problems?

3. Have you noticed homes similar to yours that are selling and revealing declining property values?

This last question concerns using comparable sales to find values. Let's take a closer look at using this method. You can obtain comparable sales data from files at the county assessor's home office, real estate agents or title companies. A person should work with real estate sales that are most identical to your property, and which sold nearest to the assessment or appraisal of your real estate. The preferred sales comparisons are sales of very similar properties in your locale or vicinity. For every different comparable sale you utilize, make sure to incorporate the parcel or account number, property address, date of sale, sale price and comparable property attributes.

Comparable attributes to take into account are:

* Specific location-sales in the same subdivision or neighborhood
* Land comparison-lot size or acreage
* Desired attributes such as a view or waterfront
* Sewer or septic systems
* Unfavorable elements such as an accessibility difficulty
* Water systems
* Zoning Developments
* Form of construction-wood framework, brick or other
* Square footage of entire finished living space
* Year built
* Number of stories
* Improvement style and quality
* Building condition
* Quantity of bedrooms and bathrooms
* Fireplace
* Garage or car port

Other Supporting Data

* A map displaying the specific location of your real estate and comparable sales properties
* Certification by others regarding issues
* Prepared estimates of the expense to fix issues
* Pictures

Appealing your property values is a property owners legal right. If you can't reach a settlement with the assessor's office on lowering your values then by all means begin the appeal process. Utilize the sales comparison technique guidelines as recommended above and get your property taxes lowered.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonas_DuBois

What Do Property Taxes Pay For?

County property taxes, or any other tax for that matter, while unpopular, are an essential source of revenue to county and/or state governments. County property taxes help pay for essential community services.

Each taxing authority, whether local or state, continually strives to update its county property appraisal ratios based on current market values. Their objective is to maintain tax equalization on residential and commercial property located within their taxing jurisdictions. Most county governments are dependent of county property taxes for their income. Accordingly, the property taxes that are levied can and do vary a great deal from county government to county government.

Perhaps, paying county property taxes is unpopular, because we feel we don't have any choice; as we perceive these taxes are forced upon us. However, we have made a choice to a citizen of the particular community within the county. As such, we do receive a lot of valuable services in return.

In the county in which I reside, ad valorem taxes make up approximately 34% of the total revenue reported by the county.

While there may be some variation in the services that property taxes provide, I receive the following benefits from the taxes I pay:

* Police protection and emergency response;
* Fire protection and emergency response;
* Storm water runoff;
* 911 Emergency service;
* Maintenance of streets, traffic control, sidewalks and curbs;
* Snow removal;
* Wireless telephone;
* Emergency family assistance and housing funds;
* Access to low-cost mental health services;
* Parks and recreational facilities;
* Activity programs for senior citizens;
* Central and neighborhood libraries;
* Wastewater treatment; and last but not least,
* The office space and administration of these service

How many of these services do you take for granted? How many people does it take to provide these services 24/7? Each one is entitled to receive his/her fair wage, just like you and me.

The author currently publishes two blogs specifically relating to Self Improvement. One blog entitled Self Improvement under Magnifier is published within her website. This website markets three products or collections of ebooks on Self Improvement, Anxiety and Depression and Dating and Relationships. The other blog is a weekly blog published on Blogspot.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trona_Hanly

5 Money Savvy Tips For Kids

Almost 75% of parents feel unprepared to teach the basic of personal finance skills to their children You cannot begin too young to develop in kids a sense of delayed gratification and to teach them the crucial life skills associate with responsible money management. It may be a different task, but talking to kids about money matters is one of the best things parents can do to help children understand the importance of personal finance.

Here are some tips to help you develop money value in your children:

1. Save - Children should be taught that they don't have to spend every dollar they get.

2. Goals - Saving without a goal is like playing football without touchdowns. No fun!

3. Paying yourself first - A child should be taught to save a portion of every dollar.

4. Allowance - Pay children in cash and let them manage that money. That way they will learn that when it's gone, it's gone.

5. Role model - Children learn by observing adults. Showing a good example by paying bills on time, using cash rather than credit card and take them to the bank when making a saving deposit.

By engaging children with those simple strategies you develop basic money management skills for kids. They need to have a sense of money value which they can put in practice and learn what money is about and how it work. Every child has a different way of learning. Remember being patient and consistent, and your child will be able to learn these skills in an easy and fun way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miriam_Baresh

Get the Drift of Finances

Every man has his own set of fears. Some are afraid of heights, others are almost to the point of dying when asked to present to an audience, and while there are some who are always running away from their debts. In the case of the latter, it is either they are carefree on finances or just plain careless when it comes to money.

Money is not everything but when one has nothing of it, he can almost do nothing as well. It is what he can do with finances that will determine his fight or flight plan when the situation arises. An important component of one's success portfolio relies not solely on how ready he is for the spending requirements of the present, but rather depends on how he can survive the tsunami of financial emergencies during an economic crunch.

To begin taking control of one's financial gear shift, he can start by getting his hands on some vital information on many financial instruments and other influential factors such as cash, loans, credit cards, interest rates, and credit standing. Ones finances are personal matters that poor management can result to being heavily drenched in debt.

Even for couples, money can be an emotionally charged topic that may open a can of worms and ruin an otherwise harmonious relationship.

On a corporate level, finance takes a notch higher in terms of priorities. Companies rely heavily on good cash flow resulting from sound financial management. That is the reason why a lot of firms would reserve the financial matters only to the best hands they have on the payroll or would even outsource such management to the best financial firms that can guarantee a healthy financial portfolio.

Owing to modern technology, it is easier nowadays to find financial management tools that can help even small companies to be on their tip-top shape when it comes to their finances.

There is a lot of downloadable computer software that can take care of the financial numbers by making a few keystrokes here and there. Some are freely available online and while others charge a premium for added proprietary features.

One example is Quicken Premier software that allows users to monitor their finances and can be linked to their bank or brokerage accounts for better ease of use due to consolidation of transactions. There is also the Microsoft Money which has become useful when it comes to investment tracking and the research tools that are readily accessible.

If the company can afford it, there are also the modular SAP ERP solutions that can be highly customized depending on the business needs and structure.

Whether big or small, availing any of the above or other financial management software is another financial consideration that must be given careful analysis and evaluation. The internet is a rich source of information about all these tools and can be a potent guide on which to choose. Compare prices and match benefits accordingly. One must also pay considerable thought whether these tools will work on the existing hardware and software programs readily at hand.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luminada_Jenkins