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Business Tip of the Month

Does your business Web site make these blunders?

No matter the size of your company, customers nowadays expect your firm to have a presence on the Internet. They'll be scanning your business cards, advertisements, and letterhead for a Web site address. But once those customers visit your home page, will they stay? Will they buy? Will they come back?

Steer clear of the following Web site blunders — mistakes that sabotage all too many business Web sites — and you may entice customers to stick around and buy your products:

Designing the Web site for you — not the customer. Why do you visit another firm's Web site? You're probably looking for free information. If a Web site can provide this information — quickly and painlessly — you might be willing to consider the firm's products and services. Unfortunately, some business owners seem to design Web sites with their egos in mind. The site spouts the firm's stellar history, the president's credentials, the years and years of research that culminated in the firm's outstanding products — none of which busy viewers care about. They are visiting your Web site to get answers. Fail to provide these answers and they'll leave.

Heavy graphics, meager content. It's true that a well-placed picture can be worth a thousand words. But some Web sites take this idea to the extreme. Consider that many of your visitors will be using slower Internet connections, so if your pages are filled with high resolution graphics, customers may not wait for them to load. Again, people come to your Web site for information. Give it to them. Provide text-based content that will answer their most pressing questions about your products and services.

Shoddy navigation. Make it easy for users to get around your site, from home page to supplemental pages and back again. Don't abandon them at a new page without a clue how to get back to the main page or other important parts of the Web site.

Clutter. You have about four seconds to entice viewers to stay at your Web site. Don't bombard them with irritating pop-up advertising, flashing words, or irrelevant information. Provide clear easy-to-read text, supplemented with a few well-placed and relevant pictures and design elements. Do this and viewers may linger. Annoy them and they'll go elsewhere.
An inferior business Web site can drive customers away; a well-designed one can become an integral part of your firm's marketing strategy.

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Tax Tip of The Week Updated May 5th 2008

Get ready for next year's tax filing
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There are no official statistics, but it's likely the number of financial resolutions made on April 15 is second only to those made on New Year's. When you're in the midst of tax time, trying to get the most benefit from allowable deductions, you can easily see how adjustments to your recordkeeping can save you time and money — and you promise yourself you'll make those changes.

Guess what? Now's the time to follow up on your promises. Here are two tips that can help ease next year's burden:

Write it down. You know the general rule: IRS regulations require documentation for most deductions, including automobile mileage, charitable contributions, and business travel and entertainment expenses. You can keep logs, account books, or other expense records manually or electronically, in whatever system works for you.

 

For instance, you could store a note on your cell phone after a lunch-time business meeting, and transfer the information to a more permanent format later. The key is making a habit of recording your deductible expenses and the supporting facts.

Set it aside. Did you scramble to get enough money together so you could make a contribution to your IRA? Put your contributions on autopilot by establishing an automatic monthly transfer from your checking to your retirement account.

For 2008, you can contribute up to $5,000 to a traditional or Roth IRA ($6,000 if you're over age 50).

For more suggestions designed to reduce the stress of next year's filing season, please give us a call.

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FORT COLLINS CO CPA TAXES ACCOUNTANT BOOKERKEEPER Fort Collins Colorado

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Dye and Whitcomb’s "Tax Tips" are published weekly to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance.
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Financial Tip of the Month

How to keep bank fees low

As mortgage concerns spread throughout the economy, many financial institutions are charging new fees — and increasing the level of existing charges — to lessen their exposure to volatile markets. As a consumer, it's prudent to know about these various fees and how to avoid at least some of them.
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ATM fees. Banks make billions each year on automated teller fees, and they can add up quickly for consumers. For example, two "foreign" withdrawals a week (from a bank that's not your own) could cost you over $300 a year in fees. Generally speaking, you won't be charged for withdrawals from your own bank's ATM machine, but if you use another bank's automated teller, expect to be charged as much as three dollars per transaction.

Fortunately, this is an easy fee to avoid. Some financial institutions belong to networks that have agreed to waive ATM fees for their customers. Find out which banks or credit unions are tied to your network and frequent only those ATM machines. Also, instead of making lots of little withdrawals to get your lattes and toothpaste, make less frequent larger withdrawals from your own bank's automated teller. Of course this takes discipline, both up front and after the money's in your wallet. But ask yourself, "Do I really want to pay hundreds of dollars a year in ATM fees just to get my own money?"

Overdraft fees. Banks will charge you if your account doesn't have sufficient funds to cover checks, ATM withdrawals, and electronic payments. These fees can really hurt. For example, a bank might charge $25 for the first bounced check, $30 for the next three incidents, and $35 for checks that bounce thereafter. Some accounts have "courtesy overdraft" or "bounce protection" features, but often these come with a hefty price tag to cover overdrafts.

How can you avoid overdraft fees? Reconcile your bank balance with your check register every month. Record checks and online bill payments at the time of each transaction. Review your account balance during the month, either by phone or online. If you're not the world's greatest bookkeeper, keep extra cash as a cushion in your account as your own "overdraft protection."

Overdraft fees, ATM charges, and other fees can be avoided with a little forethought and discipline. If you'd like additional suggestions, give us a call.

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