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Helping Your Accountant Can Save You Time And Money

April 22, 2013

Many small businesses have a conversation with your accountant before, during and after the tax preparation process. This can be a costly mistake.

Does your accountant know your accounting software?

First of all, your accountant (CPA or EA) should have an understanding of the accounting software that you use. Most have significant experience with Quickbooks & Peachtree, but you should certainly confirm that with them. If you’re wondering what is the best and cheapest software for you, it really depends on your company size, industry & budget. Outright, Xero & Wave accounting all offer free versions or trials and are generally free for small businesses and freelancers. The larger names in the space as we mentioned before are Quickbooks, which has over half of the small business market, and then there’s Peachtree. Our advice to you is to use an accounting solution that works well for you and provides for a seamless transition when you hand over your books to your accountant. (more…)

6 Creative Ways to Use a Survey to Engage Your Audience

April 22, 2013

When you think of online surveys and polls you probably think of the customer satisfaction survey you send out from time to time. But surveys are also an easy way to make the communications you’re already doing—email newsletters, content on your Facebook page, etc—more engaging. Engaged and interested customers and members are more likely to stick around longer and spread the word about you. Surveys help you make your marketing more relevant: when your customer and members get the chance to share their perspectives, you get the kind of insightful feedback you need to create engaging offers, content, and more.

Here are 6 ideas for creative ways that you can use surveys to engage with your audience. 

1. Get blog topics

Create a poll asking which blog topics your audience is most interested in. Be sure to put it in an email, on your Facebook Page, or link to it on your Twitter account. After all, you’re trying to create the content your audience wants to read—they know best what that is! (more…)