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The idea of businesses having one-on-one communication with their customers by providing online customer support services is gradually becoming the du jour of the day. Customers find it easier to access a website, anytime and anywhere, thus making it necessary for businesses to consider measures that take care of the online clientele. This has, therefore, given rise to the use of Online Customer Service tools. Businesses that jump onboard are mostly innovative companies, ready to take initiative, while others are simply apprehensive about costs that they may incur. Little do they know that leaning towards innovation does not necessarily mean heavy spending, rather it can actually  earn a larger number of customers.

Online Customer Support – How Does It Work?

Most of you might still be wondering how a static webpage can provide customer support online. Well, you might have observed while surfing through websites that some of them have a chat box, which pops up automatically once you access the page. This new and interactive way to provide online customer care is also known as live chat customer service. A real, live, thoroughly trained agent provides answers to customer queries from the company’s back-end making online customer care extremely efficient. Not long ago, businesses only options to communicate directly with visitors on their websites were the traditional ‘call us’ or ‘email us’ actions. Having to make this extra step often led website visitors to other service providers who could provide the answers without having to call or email questions. During other instances, traditional methods drove customers away with long processing and resolution times. In order to retain online customers, as well as attract potential new customers, websites have started providing immediate online customer care using advanced tools like live chat support service.

Online customer service has a number of benefits to offer which Processing Point has taken full advantage of. Here are some dynamics of our online customer support:

1. Talk Directly To Customers

Live chat support enables businesses to communicate with customers directly, making their online experience worth it, assisting them in any way they can and even jotting down their concerns or issues. Such direct feedback enables businesses to increase customer satisfaction with immediate and accurate answers.

2. Secure A Customer For Life

An online business presence demands more than just having a webpage. Customers like and expect personalized service because it makes them feel valued by the company. Online customer service helps win a customer’s trust, and consequently earns a customer for life. Providing superior customer service is one of the ways with which businesses can differentiate themselves.

3. Establish A Rapport, Whether It’s B2B or B2C

Do not overlook the fact that customers are more likely to stick around if you establish a relationship with them. A bond can be difficult to build, but online chat makes it easier because it’s a more personal way to establish rapport. Other ways to build rapport include using after-sale guarantees, offers or follow-ups. For example, if a company offers a lifetime guarantee on time clocks that come with online time and attendance software, who wouldn’t want to shop there or refer others to experience it too?

4. Cross Borders For Your Customers

Up-close, online customer care is not hindered by geographical distances. Businesses use live website chat to get in touch with clientele anywhere in the world, hence experiencing a diverse and successful relationship with their international customers.

5. Focus on Customer’s Ease

Companies providing customer care online know for a fact that it really does contribute to customer retention. Such an experience goes well beyond the traditional buyer-seller professional dealing, it delves into a deeper relationship that has a lot to do with the ease and comfort of customers. Its use has increased the success rate of companies because it provides a unique customer service experience, fostering brand loyalty and recognition.

These are just some of the reasons innovative companies like Processing Point offer online customer service for their websites. Companies that promote innovation and modernization are more likely to sustain their competitive edge in today’s fast moving economy. There is always a need to go an extra mile to attain customer satisfaction. In order to get the innovation push, companies need to think out of the box and come up with something really spectacular. Providing Online Customer Support is one such solution. Although the idea is simple, yet it helps businesses become the first movers in the market.

About Author:

Tim Burris is an Internet Marketing professional, working at LiveAdmins, LLC. LiveAdmins, LLC has created the advanced tool of Live Chat Support for Website.  Providing Live Chat Customer Service with the use of support chat software redefines how businesses can take advantage of technology and provide online customer care and support. The ultimate aim is to earn customer loyalty and increase brand recognition with use of most sophisticated means of technology.

Modern day payroll accounting systems provide a cost-effective solution for payroll needs of small and medium sized businesses. Traditional payroll preparation involves the collection of employee time cards, or timesheets, and then calculating the total number of hours worked. This process must be repeated for every single employee. Employee wages are then calculated by multiplying the total hours of each employee by his or her stipulated pay scale.

As can be imagined from this description, this process is not only tiresome and time consuming, but is also filled with human errors. With every mistake, the process has to be repeated all over again. This type of scenario puts a great strain on the resources of even larger corporations which, incidentally, have been the first to adopt automated solutions like online payroll accounting systems.

By incorporating this type of system into the operational hierarchy of a business, the task of payroll has been transformed from a laborious one to a breeze. The only thing that is required from payroll staff or human resource managers is to enter employee hours into the online payroll accounting system, and it will do the rest. No more spending countless hours on calculating and recalculating employee benefits, payroll and payroll taxes, overtime pay and paid leaves – these are all handled automatically.

The icing on the cake is that services like online payroll and small business accounting services are far cheaper than in-house book keeping and payroll. By adopting these systems, businesses not only save money, but also save valuable time, making these systems an integral part of the workplace.

We all know how financial meltdowns have affected the ability of business organizations to survive and move forward. Lower costs and productivity are in demand, yet ever increasing labor costs make it difficult for any company to successfully compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately, organizations that do not use innovative tools and resources to help curb operational costs may eventually fail. Attendance tracking software is one sure way for small, medium, and large organizations to save money and achieve higher productivity. The good news is that any organization can benefit from having effective time and attendance software to help cut additional labor costs. Companies that depend on this software include manufacturing businesses, medical organizations, financial firms, restaurants, repair shops, consulting firms, legal corporations, convenience stores and more.

Why companies use time and attendance software?

There are several key reasons for companies to use automated software:

Costs

Many business organizations have embraced the technology of attendance tracking software because it helps reduce costs. Labor costs account for a major part of overall business costs. Therefore, companies need to make sure there aren’t any unneeded expenses incurred. When employees arrive late, they cost the company money. No business wants to lose money because its workforce is showing up late. One of the most important uses of time and attendance software is that it helps track employees’ time making them accountable for wages earned.

Productivity Goals

Keeping track of productivity goals is another key concern for any manufacturing or service organization. When businesses are not able to account time against the tasks assigned, it becomes difficult to determine whether or not employees are being productive. Business organizations that are particular about achieving their production goals on time depend heavily on time and attendance software.

Calculation of Taxes

Taxes can be difficult to calculate, which is yet another reason for any business to consider attendance software. Tax calculations are not only processed for the organization itself, but also for employees’ salary deductions. With modern attendance software, businesses do not need to go through the time-consuming process of calculating taxes because the software does it for them.

Proxy Attendance

Perhaps one of the most important concerns for business organizations is proxy attendance. Likewise, one of the most effective ways to cut this malpractice is by using time and attendance software. The software makes each employee accountable for his or her time and calculates payroll based on exact hours worked.

Paying employees accurately and on time is very important for small businesses, but it is often easier said than done. The fact of the matter is that payroll processing is one of the most complex administrative tasks that small business owners have to undertake. Calculating the different pay scales applied to different employees against the hours worked is no easy feat. Add to this the difficulty of doing the process manually and you have your hands full.

This process can be simplified with the use of automation at the workplace. Ideally, automation should start at the beginning with the collection of employee time and attendance data. Using an online time clock for tracking employee payroll data can make a big difference in terms of the time spent on the task. Similarly, the complex calculations of payroll processing involving state and federal payroll taxes, employee benefits and other such regulatory requirements can be taken care of easily.

One important thing to consider in this regard is to select a service provider that offers services for both a time clock and payroll. This way every little detail pertaining to employee time and attendance recording and preparation of payroll is handled for you with the help of automation. Employees arriving for work punch in and out. Since the time clock is equipped with time and attendance software, their data is accurately recorded online.

When it is time for payroll, the same data is used for payroll processing once it has been verified by the business owner or an authorized person. The many different aspects of payroll are taken into account and the complex task is done with just a few clicks. Employee paychecks are then printed and sent to employees or direct deposits can be made online.

A quick review of the above benefits makes it easy to see that the combination of a time clock and online payroll is an ideal solution for small businesses.

Accurate maintenance of financial records is of extreme importance for any business. A business owner cannot implement policies and strategies without being aware of the company’s exact financial status 100% the time. Another important factor to consider is the compliance of tax regulations in which failing can result in financial penalties or even prosecution by governmental agencies.

Businesses that are just starting out and are hard put for cash can face problems in hiring and retaining full-time accountant due to the high costs. In the past, owners would take it upon themselves to maintain their accounts. However, this also took valuable time away that they could have spent on planning or performing tasks that could add value to their business. This is where small business accounting services and payroll and accounting software outsourcing can be of immense help.

Almost every business today operates a merchant payment processing account with one credit card payment processing company or another. If you are a business owner that has steady customer traffic and don’t yet have an account, it is time to get one. Creating a merchant account is an important step and should be weighed thoroughly like any other business decision. There are a lot of companies that provide credit card payment processing services. You should select the one that offers the best combination of service features and affordable costs.

There are certain steps that you should follow when setting up an account such as listing all the features that are essential for your business, noting current fee structures, etc. Following are some tips that can guide you in the hunting process for the right account provider.

Fee Structure

Though fees are an important aspect to consider, your decision should not be based solely on the price tag alone. There are two categories of fees – those that are charged once, and those that are recurring. The first type may include account set up, contractual or annual fees.

The second category deals with recurring fees that can include charges for maintenance, charges for generating reports and charges levied on each transaction. Most of the merchant payment processing account contracts include a complete fees and penalties list that can help you compare prices.

Industry Experience

In order to get the best combination of cost and services, select a credit card payment processing company that has considerable expertise in handling Internet businesses. Such companies have the practical knowledge and skill to handle fraudulent activities. It is also advised to select a payment processing service that has previous experience in handling your specific type of business.

Customer Service and Technical Support

While looking for the customer service aspect of the merchant payment processing service provider, follow these guidelines.

1. Make sure there are no complaints against your selected company at the Better Business Bureau.
2. Visit online forums and websites related to this field where people share their experiences with such companies among themselves.
3. Send an email or call personally asking for information to get an idea of their response time.

Selecting vendors for credit card payment processing and small business accounting services are important decisions and warrant your full attention and time.

The workplace today is quite efficient with its use of management systems like attendance tracking software or accounting software for businesses. However, this wasn’t always the case; there was a time when almost everything used to be done by hand in offices. Letters and memos were hand-written or typed. Communication was done via posts that took a lot of time to deliver and subsequently took more time in getting a response. Almost any function that you can imagine in an office or business was done manually.

Technological advancements have revolutionized the way things are done at the workplace. With the introduction of automation, our lives are not only much more comfortable, but we are also able to accomplish more than ever before. Imagine how much time an accountant took to prepare the daily ledgers of expenses and cash receivables, or payroll personnel who had to process the payroll data manually by taking it from time sheets and then calculating wages for employees with different sets of pay grade and benefits. If there was ever a mistake, this time consuming process had to be repeated all over again.

All this has become a thing of the past with countless management systems and applications at our disposal to do our bidding. Employees arrive on time and leave on time being well aware of the fact they cannot bypass the attendance tracking software and stand to lose financially in case of a late arrival.

Payroll processing is done in minutes thanks to useful features in attendance software and so is the case of accounting. Complex calculations like social security contributions, VAT and sales tax, cash in hand, accounts receivable, and any other process can be done in seconds thanks to these applications. As a result, businesses are far more efficient and productive.

A small business is characterized not in monetary terms but by the employees. If an organization employs less than 500 workers, it is typically described as a small business. But managing payroll even for less than a hundred employees is a demanding task if an owner does not use payroll software for small business or an attendance tracking software and still uses paper time sheets and old card punching attendance tracking clocks. So if you are a small business owner, the answer is YES as you have to manually calculate each aspect of payroll or to have it done by HR personnel and both cost time and money.

1. Payroll Software Is Worth the Cost

A business owner needs to handle payroll tax calculation and national insurance contribution by himself every week and that can take up a lot of his valuable time. Valuable time; which he can spend on more productive tasks that can add value to his business if he had the payroll software for small business. Alternatively, he can choose to have it done by HR people and that would also mean extra work for HR personnel which will cost money to the employer eventually. A solution package that is easy-to-use to comply with the payroll requirements can be very effective in making a small business more efficient. Applications like payroll software and attendance tracking software can really make life easy for small business owners.

2. User Friendliness of Payroll Applications

Payroll software is not rocket science, so to speak. A person does not have to be a genius to implement and use it, people with very little or no computer operating know how can easily manage these applications. These payroll solutions are designed in such a way that small business owners can focus their energy and time on making their businesses more productive and profitable. If payroll software is too complex to use, there is no point in getting one as it would be counter-productive.

Perhaps the number one thing we hear from our new clients is how bad their previous vendor’s customer service was. It’s really what ProcessingPoint was founded on and it’s a little dumbfounding that companies still continue to get this so wrong.

In today’s social world you have two options. Do it right and succeed or do it wrong and everyone will be commenting on your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your blog, and anywhere they can complain about you. Online reviews are becoming more and more important and people are becoming educated about how to shop. Reviews play a big part if the buyers decision process and the last thing you need are unhappy clients commenting how bad your service is.

Succeeding in customer service is more than saying “the customer is always right”. Its about listening and taking ownership. You not only have to show the customer you are listening but let them know you care, you understand, and you personally will be back in touch with a resolution. It’s a full circle process that starts and stops with you solving their problem.

At ProcessingPoint we have always operated on the “single point of contact” rule. From day one and throughout the life of your account you work with the same person regarding account matters. We feel this is the best way to show our customers we care as our representatives get to know you and your business and they have a vested interest in helping the customer succeed. If issues arise they have that same familiar person to contact that knows them and can handle questions and account matters.

Being good at customer service really isn’t hard if you think about it. Treat each customer how you expect to be treated as a customer. It’s really that simple. When I am a buyer, I want to get answers to my questions, be dealt with courteously, and if someone can’t answer my question, I want them to be committed to find the answer for me as I am interested in buying their product or service.

It’s also important to understand every outlet you have where someone can fill out a form is an extension of your customer service. This could include a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a corporate blog, a company member’s email address, or any form on your web site that someone could fill out and submit. It could even happen on a non-affiliated web site like Yelp where someone is reviewing your business. Each of these could have a consumer filling out anything and you need to be prepared with a plan if that happens.

Here are three fail proof steps to great customer service and how your business can improve.

• Follow the Golden Rule – Treat people how you want to be treated. If we all did this the world would be a much better and less hostile place but think about it in terms of customer service. How do you want to be treated when you sit down at a restaurant, call about tires for your car, or fill out a form online? Now do that for your own customers.
• Record calls or review email inquiries – One of the most revealing ways to see how your employees are doing is to have calls recorded. They are excellent for training purposes and have helped many companies improve their customer service skills just by letting them listen to themselves on the phone with customers. There are many phone tracking services that can help set this up for you. Similarly reviewing emails that are sent out to inquiries can also be revealing. Are you answering the questions? Are you asking for the business? Not asking for the business is one of the biggest mistakes customer service employees can make. “Can I schedule you an appointment to bring in your car for those new tires?”, “Would you like me to get the paperwork started?” or even- “Would you like fries with that?”
• Call your competitors – secret shop your competitors and see how they do it. Find out what they are doing well and implement that at your own company. You know who your competitors are and who is doing well, steal some ideas and make your customer service experience better for your customers.

Always remember that there are others out there that do what you do, and they want your customers. You usually don’t get more than one chance to show your customer why they are at the right place; don’t screw it up by subpar customer service.

Today more than ever the idea of running a business can be so complicated. It used to be you could decide to go into business, open your doors and people would come. In the new business marketplace it’s much more social and being successful means establishing relationships with your customers. Everyone has a voice and you need to focus on making your business message successful.

Often times some of the most critical pieces of being in business are overlooked and one of them is payroll for small business.  Paying your employees on time, making sure its accurate, and correctly filing payroll tax reports is a constant hassle and it’s no surprise that more and more businesses are using outsourced payroll services to keep simplify their business tasks.

The decision to outsource payroll should actually be a simple one in that it has some very clear benefits to your company.)

1. Outsourcing payroll saves you time – let’s face it; the time it takes to deal with payroll can be daunting. It’s not just processing the payroll, its distributing paychecks, calculating withholding and employment taxes, preparing tax forms, and dealing with employee payroll inquiries. Letting experts do this not only takes away the hassle but allows you to free up time to focus on more important things in your business.
2. Online payroll processing saves you money – most business owners fail to realize how much their time is worth and the hours allocated to pay employees, file payroll taxes, and maintain paperwork.  By outsourcing these services to companies like ProcessingPoint, you can allocated  your internal resources elsewhere.
3. Payroll tax penalties can be costly – you didn’t get into bussourcing payroll taxes to a company that does this every day makes good business sense. Our payroll services are guaranteed accurate. If we make a misiness to spend your time calculating federal, state, and local payroll taxes.  Doing it wrong can mean penalties on the errors as well as interest so outtake and you re penalized, we will pay the penalty.
4. Value added services – outsourcing also means added benefits your payroll provider offers. For instance, ProcessingPoint’s uEmploy Payroll Services can offer your employees an Employee Pay Card allows your employees to be paid on a credit card they can use anywhere the Visa/MasterCard is accepted.  It has shown to increase employee retention as well as cut down on paper checks so it saves small businesses money. uEmploy also syncs seamlessly with uAttend time and attendance solutions for top notch time clock services.

Overall there are some very compelling benefits to outsourcing your payroll services to the experts. Learn more about ProcessingPoint’s uEmploy services today.