Payment methods are likely to look a little different in 2018 than they did in 2017. First of all, PayPal and Invoice2go just recently teamed up to help more businesses accept credit card payments. And when customers do pay with credit cards, they may no longer have to provide a signature, as some credit card companies have announced that they’re doing away with those requirements.
You can read about these updates and more news that could impact your small business in 2018 in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.
Technology Trends
PayPal Here and Invoice2go Simplify How Businesses Take Credit Card Payments
The PayPal Here mobile point of sale (mPOS) system from Invoice2go is going to simplify how you get paid no matter where you are. By partnering with PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Invoice2go brings into its ecosystem a globally recognized and trusted payment platform.
Discover and American Express Follow Other Cards in Doing Away with Signature Requirements
Discover and American Express (NYSE: AXP) are the latest credit card companies to do away with signatures at checkout for credit and debit transactions. Discover’s new policy is going to take effect on the Discover Global Network in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean beginning in April 2018.
New dodl.es App Will Bring Simple Animation to Your Social Media Marketing
A new mobile app, dodl.es, is set to launch early next year simplifying digital animation and illustration for everyone, regardless of their technical and artistic skills. dodl.es Mobile App Launching in 2018 Built on a social platform by a team in Combined Locks, Wisconsin, dodl.
98% of All Companies Plan to Use E-Learning by 2020 with Opportunities for Small Biz
Just a few years ago, e-Learning was a niche market not understood by a vast majority of businesses. Today, it’s a booming industry with immense potential. According to data compiled by e-Learning platform Zeqr, by 2022 the global learning management system market will be valued at 19.05 billion.
Are You Using the Most Popular Workplace Apps of 2017 in Your Business?
Zapier just released its annual report identifying the most popular and fastest growing apps in the workplace. The Best of 2017: 30 Web Apps and Software Trends That Ruled the Workplace includes a few new apps, but you will easily recognize many of them.
Employment
ZipRecruiter and Square Partner to Help Small Businesses Find Job Candidates
Job application aggregator ZipRecruiter and digital payment solution Square (NYSE: SQ) have formed a new partnership which will help small businesses find candidates for job openings. Under this partnership, ZipRecruiter will be the first and only hiring service in Square’s App Marketplace.
Management
56% of Employees Believe Their Managers Can’t Motivate Them
A whopping 56% of your employees don’t believe you or the managers that work in your company are able to motivate them. This is the finding of a new report by Ultimate Software, a provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions in the cloud.
Apply These 5 Techniques to Reverse Poor Productivity Over the Holidays
The holiday season can be a distracting and unproductive time for small businesses. So much so in fact, that a whopping two thirds of workers admit to being less productive during December. Naturally, it’s within every small businesses’ interest to stay productive throughout the festive period.
Marketing Tips
Advertising Influences 90 Percent of Consumers to Buy, Study Says
A new study seems to suggest advertising does work! The study found advertising influences almost all consumers (90 percent) to make a purchase. It specifically influences 81 percent of Millennials and 57 percent of Baby Boomers ages 55 and older to make a purchase.
Nicolaus Wolfrum Explains How His Local Small Business Grew Globally on Ebay
Turning a local business into a global business doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds. Ecommerce platforms like eBay have actually made that transition fairly seamless for entrepreneurs like Nicolaus Wolfrum. Wolfrum runs an eBay store for his dad’s business, Jim’s Automotive Machine Shop in Greeley, Colorado.
Retail Trends
Amazon Says Cyber Monday Now Biggest Shopping Day Ever, What Can Your Business Learn?
Online shopping titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) reports Cyber Monday 2017 is now officially it’s biggest shopping day ever, surpassing the company’s midsummer Prime Day event. And small businesses benefited too selling an estimated 140 million items worldwide over the five day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, now sometimes referred to as the Turkey 5.
Sales
End of Year Sales Goals Don’t Have to be Hard: Read These 10 Tips
Another year is almost over for American small businesses. It’s time to hurry to meet end of year sales goals. Here are 10 tips some experts shared with Small Business Trends. Taking the time to do the little things like scheduling emails and front loading work for the first two weeks of the month are important steps.
Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight: Executive Home Care Helps Seniors in Their Own Homes
Helping others is a noble pursuit for any business owner. And it’s the whole reason that the founders of Executive Home Care decided to jump into business ownership in the first place. The couple was called into action to help an elderly neighbor and never looked back. Read their story and how the business continues that important work today in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
Small Business Operations
A Small Business Wastes 15 Days Tracking Down Late Payments Every Year, Study Says
If you had 15 days out of the year to spend the way you like on your business, it probably won’t be to track down late payments. But according to the Sage survey report titled, “The Domino Effect: The Impact of Late Payments” that is exactly the amount of time US small businesses spend every year.
New Divvy Dashboard Eliminates Paper Expense Reports
Financial startup Divvy recently announced its new cloud based free financial dashboard that eliminates the paper expense report process. It sets expense budgets and gives employees cards so they can spend or request set amounts. Divvy even sends purchases electronically from point of sale to accounting in seconds.
21-Point Checklist for Preparing for Natural Disasters
A natural disaster can rear its head at any time. The damage and devastation caused by natural disasters can present many challenges for businesses of all types and sizes. Being sufficiently prepared can help avoid some of the potential issues a natural disaster can cause — and speed up your business’s recovery.
Social Media
Snapchat Lens Studio Lets You Build AR Lenses for Free
Imagine placing a Snapcode on the door or window of your store. A customer scans it, and an augmented reality (AR) image pops up on their smartphone. Lens Studio is a new desktop app from Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) which lets you create Lenses to bring in the real world.
Twitter Introduces New Thread Feature for More Cohesive Business Messages
Coming on the heels of expanding the character limit of tweets to 280, Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) announced recently it is making it easier to create threaded tweets. The online social networking company said its new “threads” feature also makes it easier to read or discover all the tweets in a thread.
Taxes
10 Tax Write Offs For Small Businesses Around The Holidays
The end of the year is a big time for small businesses. You’ll need to get your taxes in order and enjoy the holiday too. Here at 10 holiday tax write offs that can help you to do both at the same time.
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