Upsetting

It's upsetting that some people out there purport to be helpful in givng you the ability to accept credit card payment, when in fact they are charging outrageous prices. Namely, (well, I won't really name names...)
1) There is a .com doing so at 5.5% on each transaction. That's DOUBLE what it should be!
2) There is another.com doing this for nonprofits alone, at 4.75% (a bargain, huh?)and they mail you a paper check once a month. That's not fair! They are earning money on the nonprofit's donations!
I am sure there are more.

Questions? Ask us.
Caveat emptor!

Thanks!

First, I want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Be thankful for:

· the business relationships you have earned this past year,

· for the friends you rely on,

· for the family that surrounds you, and

· for those who are trying to make significant changes to preserve, and improve, our way of life.

Second, thanks to those of you who are my clients.

Finally and not insignificant in the least, thank you for the gift that is Gotham.

Thank you to those who have referred business to me (you know who you are and how special that is to me).

I value my entire network of business relationships, for whom I try to provide the attention and service we all deserve but seldom receive.

Have a great holiday!

Obama

If Time magazine doesn't make Barack Hussein Obama its Man of the Year, I'm not sure who they could possibly pick who is more deserving.

No matter your politics, the challenge this brave and articulate man has ahead of him is immense.

We all must unite around him in order to assure we prevail as a nation.

Technorati Profile

tomorrow is a historic day

new law

On October 1st, 2008 a new law will be enforced in Connecticut.

In a nutshell, every business, nonprofit or other organization that requests private identification numbers

• Social Security numbers


• health insurance numbers


• driver's license numbers


• credit card numbers, etc.

must encrypt them on their systems, limit access to them by employees who are in a need-to-know status, and post a policy on their website, intranet and on employee bulletin boards saying this is their policy.

To download my white paper on ways to implement this law and to protect yourself from most breaches, go to: http://marchalpert.googlepages.com/whitepaper_new_law_in_ct_01oct08.

Please feel free to share with others.

Client seminars

We just held our first, in what I hope will be monthly, free client seminars, in this case for my not-for-profit clients.
The repsonse was great as we filled the room, and the comments were even better, as this one was unsolicited:

Hi Marc,
Thank YOU. The seminar exceeded my expectations. I really did get quite a bit out of it. Thank you for that and for being a pleasure to work with.

I think it encapuslates that we can actually help you in non-monetary ways.
All the best.

reboot

It's another computer term that may apply to us, now that the summer is almost over.

So many businesses slide along in the summer, not undertaking anything new.

They reevaluate and enact changes in September, thus rebooting themselves.

Change is constant and taking a few months off that affects cash flow improvements, delaying what could have been, is dangerous.

If you are thinking of making a change in business cash flow improvement, carpe diem! Do it now. Don't wait to reboot.

I can only imagine what they charge for a bounced check!

Yes, folks, it's a real bricks and mortar bank in Tightwad, Missouri.

Finally, a bank that can make fun of itself instead of relying on us to do so!

In re the death of customer service-now hear this!

I just received this in an email and thought it was brilliant:

Customers want you to listen to them. They want you to show them respect and listen to their needs. Don’t assume you know what they’re going to say. Let them tell you. And don’t interrupt them!

Customers want you to take responsibility. They want you to own them and their problem. Don’t pass the buck. Take care of them the way you would take care of your grandmother. See their issue through to completion. And then follow up with them and make sure they are happy with the outcome.

Customers want you to pay attention to the details. They want you to use their name when speaking to them, and call them back when you say you are going to. They want to feel important because they are!

Customers want you to remember it is their time and money. They don’t have to do business with you; there are other companies they can buy from. Remember, you are not doing them a favor. They are the reason you are in business. To serve them!

Give customers what THEY want, and they’ll be sure to come back! And they’ll tell others to come as well. And isn’t that what WE want?

I printed this and placed it on my bulletin board next to my office phone. I hope you will too.

This guy walks into a lawyer's office one day...

...and walks out with a new client. The lawyer received the customary service quality. And the attorney sent him an email:

Many thanks. Appreciate your taking the time to clarify this information (and so promptly). Others might have said "just go read the papers you signed". Which I should have done, of course. Thanks for making this so easy and user-friendly.

I would definitely like to be available as a reference for you if you are in discussions with other lawyers considering your services. Or any other business, for that matter. And I will spread the good word to my professional colleagues about your excellent service any time I can.

This is a real testimonial. I am pleased he is pleased.

And you thought from the start of this blog posting was going to be another lawyer joke, huh?

Unbelieveable, almost!

Do you need a new headset for your cellular phone? Mine was falling apart so I took advantage of the offer at http://www.freeheadset.org/.

Find your cell phone model, order the headset and pay, in most cases only for shipping, or a very reduced price for your Bluetooth or other premium headset.

From their website:
“Since December of 2003 we've been running a worldwide wireless phone safety program that distributes free cell phone headsets in an effort to promote safe driving. So far we've given away over 200,000 headsets and we'd like to give one to you too!”

The one I ordered was ONLY $3.94 for the shipping, and I expect to receive it early this week. Not bad at all! Compare that to a retail store!

I hope this helps someone.
Stay cool.

Customer Centricity

A snippet of something someone said about us today in an email: "He’s great at getting back quickly."

That's nice to hear, because that's how we operate.

I hear horror stories about interminable wait times on so-called client service 800 numbers, lack of follow through by the service provider and the all-time worse: an emailed answer to a question you didn't ask, not answering the question you DID ask!

We are here for the client-that makes us client-centric!
Let us know if you need help.

podcast...cooooool

I never did a radio show before but was thrilled when Liz Kopyscinski, Vice President Belray Asset Management, asked me to spend a half-hour on her weekly podcast about local businesses. It went so fast and when you enjoy doing something it's easy to speak about it! Thanks, Liz, for the invite and I hope all of you enjoy listening:

http://www.belraycommunity.com/radio/belray-radio.html

Free hugs

I was in Cambridge Square on Saturday, home of Harvard University, outside Boston. Two students were holding signs offering free hugs.

My wife took one up on the offer, and my son another.

Jack Mitchell, owner of a specialty men's clothing store in Westport, CT and author of the excellent book "Hug Your Customers" has a sequel "Hug your People." His premise: people, whether they are customers or employees, need to feel appreciated. In this ever increasingly impersonal electronic world, he could not be more on target.

So, hugs, free, or as the result of buying a book, are important ways of acknowledging value and worth of the people who help make you successful.

I try to hug my clients. If you are my client and feel underhugged, please let me know. I do not charge for this part of my service. This is my electronic "free hugs" sign.

It really IS better to give than receive!

Science proves what we have been helping nonprofits do for 6 years: receive from their donors in a smarter way.

Donors feel better (see article) and nonprofits keep more of the donations.

Everyone feels better this way!

Have a nice holiday weekend.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Good-to-Give.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=better+to+give+than+receive&st=nyt&oref=slogin

We were asked to be a guest blogger

... on bizriskadvice, a blog produced by HUB International in New York City.

Thanks to Michael Zeldes of HUB International, and a fellow Gothamite for the invitation.

I hope to add more value on this topic for his clients at another date.
http://bizriskadvice.com/blog/clients-who-pay-by-check-how-your-company-can-protect-its-cash-flow-with-new-payment-technologies.html

Who is gonna bail you out????!!!!????

Citibank, Bear Stearns, who else? And there will be more.

When you need a financial bailout, who will come to your rescue? No one, right?
Don't wait until it's too late. Work on your cash flow NOW.

The key to business success is sound cash flow and actively managing that cash flow. You probably cannot do it alone.

Call us in to help, we have particular expertise and tools to optimize your cash flow.

www.greinvoice.com in the press

Here's some recent coverage of www.greinvoice.com in the trade press in the payments industry. I expect more soon so come back later to see what the industry thinks of our new product.

• see page 2 in http://www.cardforum.com/attachments/20080228NT50CPQN-1-February%2028,%202008.pdf
• our press release reproduced on GreenSheet.com; this will be expanded to a spotlight on new products later this week: http://www.greensheet.com/newswire.php?newswire_id=8759

Happy Procrastinator's Week

I will finish this posting later.

LEAP DAY!

Happy February 29th. Leap Day.

At the local coffee shop, a cup will cost you 29 cents all day, with a coupon of course!

If you optimize your cash flow for your business, today is like finding a $20 bill in your pocket. How?

It would mean one more day to receive more money in your bank account. It would mean one more day to optimize your working capital and be more efficient.

The analogy I like to use is that cash flow is like blood rushing throughout your body. A clog in the plumbing can cause problems throughout the business. Efficiency of cash inflow and smarter ways to accept payments will make your business healthier. One extra day to receive money is a gift.

I hope you have a prosperous Leap Day.

Preparing your company for a recession

An article dated 30Jan08 by Tim Reason on CFO.com entitled, "Preparing Your Company for Recession" and was subtitled "Face it: Financial Crises are Inevitable. To Emerge Strong, Companies Must Be Quick and Smart in Their Responses" spoke about 3 general ways to prepare for a recession:
1) seek ways to reduce costs
2) optimize working capital
3) measure your performance

How right he is.

I want to embellish some of his points hinting at how our services work to prepare any size company or nonprofit for the economic downturn we are in and will see continue for a while. But why wait for a recession to implement keener business and achieve smarterpayments (name rings a bell, huh?)?

1) How can you reduce costs that can be pared down, and use technology to do so?
Think anew about all your routine processes and ask: Is there a better way? Does it have to be done this way? Can technology, especially email and the internet, accomplish the same?

Consider paper invoicing, mailing and labor costs: could an invoice travel from you to your customer by email, be opened and paid all in one transmission? Sure. See this blog's most recent posting or cruise over to our greinvoice website, for details of a new service we offer: http://www.greinvoice.com. Imagine saving postage (goes up again in May!), paper and envelope costs (I cannot believe how expensive paper is getting), and getting paid faster right on the email/web-based invoice you send the customer. That gives you more time and money to do other things like optimize your cash flow or measure your business results while your payment is on its way to you. Win win.

2) Why not optimize working capital: that's an essential practice even in good economic times?
Have you tried to get a loan recently? Bank liquidity is drying up; I know, a bad pun, but you get the point. Bankers sleep best at night knowing their customers' working capital (especially their CASH FLOW) is as smooth and efficient as possible. After all, that's what's paying them back.

However, banks do not market all the best solutions. You need to go outside the banking industry to find out about ways to improve cash flow. Independent financial consultants offer new ways that banks don't offer. And each service should be tailored ot your specific needs. Like: faster cash in the bank account, no matter who helps you get it there faster, is what makes a lower interest rate on your loan, or whether the bank gives you a loan at all. If you don't do this, someone at the bank will measure your efficiency, which brings me to #3.

3) How and what do you measure? Who has the time????
Statistical measurement is anathema when your business is growing quickly. There's just no time to stop and measure. When business slows down, you are fixated on revving it up. Once again, no time or inclination to measure.

Certain services we offer provide historic totals and other ways at looking at your business graphically and seeing things in a new way. We made it easy to see a graph or chart, so you could gain new insight. If you do not measure your business, your banker will (see discussion in #2 above).


So, there you have it, another installment of how we can help you prepare for the recession. Just ask, or we may just suggest a few services.

Green B2B invoicing and payments

Business invoicing has just gotten “greener,” resulting in more cash in a new, easy way to electronically send an invoice and receive payment, while conserving our natural resources. Beat the recession.

We just launched a new service called greinvoice, which allows businesses to send invoices to their clients by email, with a link on the email to open the invoice on the recipient’s screen, at which time they can pay the invoice by electronic check or credit card…no postage, paper, envelope or trash.

We brought together three best-in-class vendors in this unique service to handle invoicing and payments in a secure online environment. Additionally, we are pleased to be able to help the environment by reducing trash and simultaneously help our clients receive payment faster.

Perhaps we are ahead of the technology curve (as usual), but the simple economics of rising postage rates (announcement today of another one penny rate increase in May) and escalating paper costs and the looming recession make the focus on cash flow even more imperative. Our lower cost to use technology to deliver invoices and receive payment makes more sense now than ever.

We have shown companies, e-commerce sites and nonprofit organizations of all sizes, locally and nationwide, many other ways to improve their cash flow using new technologies and reduce the administrative effort and expense.

See the website, http://www.greinvoice.com/ and let us know how we can help you get more green (pun intended!)

Nice to hear-and a new product is coming!

Where did January go?

As we tiptoed through the on-again-off-again recession, amid the political primaries, the gut-wrenching rise and fall of the stock market, as a rogue trader in France lost over $7 billion and no one seemed to notice until it was too late, I lost track of the blog.

But I am back. One of my most interesting clients sent me an email earlier today (excerpt):

Oh by the way the shopping cart is working out great! We have this international competition going on and a lot of people from overseas are having trouble sending the entry fee which is $40 so I told them that if they have a credit card they can go to our website and do a onetime donation and to specify that it is for footprint entry fee.

Another happy camper, and using our technologies for a purpose they had not anticipated at first. Nice to hear this-that makes me happy.

AND...

Keep an eye on the blog for an announcement of a brand new product coming out soon, using internet technology to get your invoices paid fast and inexpensively!