Advantages for a business in using Fuel Cards

The advantages for a business in using fuel cards are many. First, of all it saves businesses a lot of money on unnecessary spending. Secondly, it allows the owner to take control over spending, and stay on top of company monthly expenses.

Many business owners find themselves having to budget every dime they spend. This means that every department has a spending limit. With gas constantly rising having company petrol cards are very practical. Business owners can put a set amount of money on the fuel card weekly or monthly, depending on what type of fuel card is used. This makes the driver accountable for his actions if he or she decides to make an extra stop. Only put enough money on the card for the estimated amount of miles that will actually be travelled.

Shell fuel card is accepted anywhere the shell logo is displayed. The cards also allows for easy bookkeeping. A fuel log is essential to every business that deals with the buying or selling of gas. A log makes it easy to see exactly how much gas is being used, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The fuel card is a great resource, and a great business planning too. If it is used the right way, it is also an excellent budgeting tool. Only spend what is needed. Set weekly or monthly limits on gas purchases. Even in the UK fuels card is good at various locations.

Individuals who own a fuel card may find this card useful especially in cases of emergencies. When the banks are closed, and buying gas is essential this card will come in handy. Almost every gas station in the world takes some type of gas card. Never worry about being stranded again. Gas is high and constantly rising; having any type of fuel card is a plus for anyone. It allows the individual or the business to put a spending limit on the amount of money that will be spent for fuel.

Many gas stations like shell are usually in every state in the world. Running out of money in the middle of nowhere should not be a problem. The card payment can be budgeted in along with other monthly expenses. With gas, being one of the major expenses for companies in the industry of trucking and transporting, being able to control and set limits on gas charges can yield positive results among drivers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/advantages-for-a-business-in-using-fuel-cards-4159940.html

Disadvantages of online jewelry shopping

Relatively large amounts paid in advance - This is one matter with roots in the psychological background of most of us and it takes time to over ride it. The modus operandi of small scale trade for millennia is to immediately get what you paid for. In jewelry language: you put the ring on your finger, you pay for it and keep it there. Buying the same ring online lives you with this rather virtual feeling. You just paid a good amount of money (by the way, also virtual) and you got nothing. One can't be blamed for being cautious. Today more than ever the cyber space is crowded by con artists. There is however reliable ways to avoid them and stay on the safe side.

 

Security of payment and shipping - Closely related to the above topic. The security of your payment is a serious issue and you have to make sure it is properly dealt with by checking the security policy of the jewelry merchant. In many cases though, the merchant is as exposed to fraud, as the customer and even more, since he have to ship an expensive jewelry before the payment is cleared. The customer have 3 to 7 days window to cancel the payment, while the shipping is irreversible. The shipping and insurance are handled by the merchant and in most cases is free of charge.  

Impossibility to examine and try on - A major disadvantage, since very few pieces of jewelry fits well everybody. The touch of the polished gold or the glitter of a real diamond is impossible to simulate fully on the web page and thus, lives space for misconception. However this is promptly addressed with the implementation of proper return policy. A good return policy is one which provides a 30 day money back guarantee or possibly longer. 

Overchoice - the advantage of massive and diverse choice in overdose turns into disadvantage. If you write "diamond ring" in your browser you will get approximately 8 million entries. Not all of them are jewelry merchants but a good deal are, besides how could one know. A customer seldom checks further than the first 20 to 30 entries, before she gets bored or confused and goes back or decides to buy over the counter. While Search Engine listing is done by stringent standards, it is automatic and done on the merit of marketing mastery rather than quality of the jewelry and service. You, as a customer might be missing this wonderful jewelry site, full of value packed offers on the jewelry you are looking for - just because they are listed 40th or 140th for that matter.

Advantages and Disadvantages of External hard disk drives

External drives are arguably the biggest growth area in data storage of recent times. They offer the possibility of a readily transportable repository for all a user’s valuable data, documents, photographs, music and movies. Alternatively they can provide a destination for a user to backup their valued files to, in case the data held on their internal storage is lost, or the internal storage fails. But are they lulling users into a false sense of security?

They are being offered with ever increasing capacity and at ever decreasing prices. Many are advertised using ‘pence per Gigabyte’ prices as a lure. However a few notes of caution arise from the recent spate of external hard drives being sent for Data Recovery.

·        Unlike the internal hard drive in your PC, which is held securely in a rarely moved case, external drives are being carried about from place to place and as a result they get dropped, knocked, crushed and subject to all manner of abuse and trauma.

·        They have trailing power and/or data cables that only too easily serve to pull them over, drag them off desks or otherwise expose them to further risk.

·        Unlike the hard drive in your PC or Laptop, which is cooled by a fan, external drives seldom have cooling fans and, in an effort to make them as small as possible, the hard drive(s) inside rarely have much free air space around them. This can result in overheating with the attendant problems that causes.

·        External drives are an excellent destination for backing up files, but this only truly safeguards your data if the files are initially saved to an internal drive and then backed up to the external. If the external becomes the default place for files to be saved to, the data is not being backed up, it is simply being saved to a destination where it is more likely to be lost.

The hard drives found inside externals are no less likely to fail than an internal drive. Indeed where the drives inside an external are invisible to the user and perhaps chosen to keep costs low, might they be more likely to fail even without the extra risks highlighted above? Where external drives carry extended warranties, this might seem reassuring, but remember, the warranty will only cover repair or replacement of the drive, not the cost of recovering any valuable data stored on it.

Saving Face with a UPS: Benefits of UPS PC Protection

By Melissa Winter

You only need to screw up once, in a big way, to learn a lesson and never do it again. After a storm last summer, I had the catastrophic experience of losing tons of important computer files — as fast as lightning, never to return. It took nearly a week to rebuild my system. That's when I bought an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Word to the wise: Get a UPS before this happens to you. Why you should have a UPS: A UPS is similar to car insurance: you need to have it, but hope you never have to use it. Like an automobile, a computer is an expensive investment you want to protect. In the event of a blackout, a UPS instantly switches your computer to emergency battery backup power and lets you work through brief power outages without losing data or experiencing other damaging effects. These can include hardware degradation, keyboard lockup and motherboard damage. A UPS protects your system from the following power problems: Power transients — brief surges in voltage caused by lightning strikes or when electricity-hoarding appliances (like air conditioners and copiers) are turned off Spikes — instantaneous increases in voltage caused by lightning or overloaded power grids Brownouts — a reduction of your incoming voltage Power failure — a complete interruption of electrical power Line noise — interference from electrical appliances All of these power problems can damage your desktop and corrupt data. A UPS will provide power to keep your system running, giving you the chance to save valuable data and shut down your system properly. Some models even include software that automatically saves and shuts down your files. Why a UPS and not a surge protector? UPS units have a leg-up on surge protectors in many ways. Both handle surges, but a UPS gives you battery backup power. This allows time to save the data in your computer and shut down your system before anything is lost. Typical battery backup run times are shown in minutes and indicate the amount of time the battery backup operates. A UPS protects your computer from electrical noise and damaging power surges, including lightning. A surge protector can handle surges during a brownout, but your system will still have to work harder due to the lower voltage. What you need to know before you buy: Before you can decide which UPS system to buy, you need to know how much capacity, or volt-amps you need. To determine this, multiply the number of amps by 120. If the measurement is given in watts, multiply it by 1.67. For example, if your monitor uses 2 amps (2 x 120 = 240) and your computer uses 100 watts (100 x 1.67 = 167) the total volt-amps needed would be 407 (240 + 167 = 407). Along with knowing your volt-amp capacity, look for the joule rating given on the UPS system. A joule (pronounced jewel) is a unit of energy. Its rating provides an idea of how much surge protection a UPS system provides. Look for a rating of 400 or greater to ensure reliable protection for your system. Ready to protect your system? Here's our selection of uninterruptible power supplies.

The Benefits of Using Promotional Items to Your Advantage

Are you looking for a creative and catchy way to bring attention to your business If you are, you may be in the process of examining promotional items

Are you looking for a creative and catchy way to bring attention to your business? If you are, you may be in the process of examining promotional items. Promotional items are a great way to promote your business, but it is also important that you proceed with caution.

As previously stated, promotional items are designed to help promote a business, but if you are not careful, they can be a huge business expense. That is why it is important to first do a little bit of research. Before you set your promotional plan in motion, you should know which promotional items are the best, as well as know which distribution techniques are the most successful. For your convenience, a few helpful tips are provided below.

As for which promotional items will help you see the best success, it is important to look at it from the standpoint of a business owner and a consumer. From the standpoint of a business owner, you need affordable promotional items where your business name, logo, or slogan can be prominently displayed. From the standpoint of a consumer, it is important to choose promotional items that consumers want. Promotional items can turn into more of a hassle than anything else when no one wants them.

So which promotional items are the best for your business? You will want to examine shirts, hats, ink pens, magnets, koozies, and cups. They are, by far, the most common and successful promotional items for business owners, like you. Why? Because they are items that people use. Many consumers are always on the lookout for pens, magnets, and cups for their households, especially those that are free. These are all items that will be used, as opposed to later just tossed in the trashcan.

Once you have a list of promotional items to distribute, you need to decide how you wish to give them away. Are you opening a new business or have you recently done some remodeling? If so, you may want to consider hosting a grand opening or a grand reopening celebration. These, alone, can be used as promotional tools. You can give away free promotional items, such as ink pens, magnets, cups, and hats to the first hundred or so people who attend your grand opening celebration.

Another option that you have is to give away free promotional items to those who make a purchase, even just a small purchase. This approach is nice, as you are able to accomplish two of your business goals at the same time. These goals include making a sale and promoting your business. It is also important to note that this approach is realistic for those who operate online businesses, as you can simply just add a free promotional item into a package that you ship out.

By following the above mentioned steps, you are sure to see success with the use of promotional items that prominently display your business name, slogan, or logo. As a reminder, be sure to personalize all promotional items. Doing so ensures that your promotional campaign continues on for months or even years.

Making Promotional Products Work to Your Advantage

There is no dearth of products that can be used for the purpose of promotions. All you need to do is think of the right item and get your logo and company name imprinted on it. Promotional products can be used for a variety of purposes such as give-aways on trade shows and business events, sales incentives, contest prices as well as business gifts.
It's extremely necessary to choose the right promotional products. Once you've made a choice there are a few more things that you will need to keep in mind.
Goals
Promotional products can be used for all kinds of stuff like referrals and motivation. Before you go about promoting your business you need to ask yourself certain questions such as:

1. What kind of product options do I have?
2. What kind of business am I aiming at?
3. What can be my budget?

You will need to make decisions based on the answers to these questions!The Scope of your Promotional Efforts
This concerns your target audience. For example, while you give away promotional gifts at a trade show, you need to know that you are giving them away to the right people rather than giving them to almost anyone who comes by to your space to take a look at your products and services.
Prepare a strategy...
...to make sure that all your promotional efforts are made in the right direction, i.e. towards your target audience.
This can be done easily if you have chosen the right kind of promotional products. For example, you can get attention from a soccer player with imprinted soccer balls and other soccer accessories. Alternatively, you can have your customer sit through a demonstration of your product and services and fill up a small questionnaire in order to receive a promotional gift.
All in all, you need to choose a promotional product that only your target audiences will be interested in, it should ideally be a promotional product to suit their lifestyle.
Useful Promotional Products
There is no point in choosing a promotional product which people are going to throw away. Choose a product that will be useful! It really doesn't need to be expensive. Remember, the most successful (refrigerator magnets, pens, calendars, post it notepads) promotional products are inexpensive.
Quality Matters
A bad quality promotional product is irritating. A defective quality product will not only get thrown away but will also tarnish the image of your business among clients and customers.
A Teaser
Get a mug with a nice teaser message and a phone number imprinted on it. Tell people about your products and services once they call up your company.
Lastly, consider the cost. Sometimes, an inexpensive promotional gift can make up for an expensive promotion. It's best to get some advice from your dealers. Make a good decision!

For any help on Promotional products, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the Promotional gifts! Article Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Making-Promotional-Products-Work-to-Your-Advantage&id=3095115

Promotional Products – Create Competitive Advantage

There are many new ideas and products, nowadays that are used to create competitive advantages. In today’s corporate world it is must to stay competitive and keep all your employees and clients active and interacting with you. Different companies and corporates use different activities and ideas to keep the employees and clients in touch with them and let them participate actively with the company affairs; one of the best and widely adapted things to create competitive advantage is by giving away corporate gifts. The theme and the ways of doing business have been prevalent since the old days.

Before enumerating the advantages of the corporate gifts and how they help you in being competitive, let us give you an idea about what corporate gifts actually are. Corporate gifts are actually giveaways by the companies to promote their name and improve their image. Corporate gifts help companies in interacting with clients and other competitive corporates. These corporate gifts can vary considerably from promotional discounts and holidays and other facilities like free coupons and traveling tickets and free stays. Whatever you pick to offer as the corporate gift on behalf of the company, make it stand out in the crowd and do something that others are not doing. You must aim at offering corporate gifts that are not available in the local market.

Corporate gifts are used to challenge the competition and for withholding a strong position in the market competition. In the world, when we talk about corporate links and relations it is a must to maintain healthy and yet competitive relations with other clients and do your best not to lose the customers at any cost. These are the little things; if proper care is taken, then these would benefit the corporates with multiple profits but otherwise carelessness can easily ruin the profits overnights. So, one needs proper strategy and planning for offering corporate gifts.

Promotional Products for Sports Events

Sports army comprises bound and activist audience. Audiences that feel blessed utilizing chargeless sample they receive. Abnormally the promotional articles that are imprinted with their admired sports logo works best. Promotional articles accept been articular as an capital and able allotment of business products. They are absolutely a accurate and able way to bazaar your aggregation at sports events. There are bags of promotional articles exists that assignment able-bodied with sports events, so accept one that is ideal for your company. A arch advantage of application promotional articles is to advance your business strategy. These promotional items are generally acclimated about and appropriately your angel gets again exposure. There are abounding advantages to application such promotional articles as a allotment of announcement at sports events.

Read more: http://sportales.com/sports/promotional-products-for-sports-events/

The Additional Benefits of Sea Freight Services

A sea shipping company offers an extensive array of services to individuals or business owners that need to send cargoes or packages to different locations. However, overseas shipment services have become a mandatory requirement for companies that are required to transport goods to foreign countries. Therefore, sea shipping remains the perfect choice for companies seeking packing and moving services, transport services, custom clearance services, project transportation, and distribution as well as selling services. Over the years, sea transport has also emerged as an important aspect of international trade.

In the present scenario, sea transport companies offer cargo services that include world wide consolidation services, air freight shipping services, sea freight shipping services, air charter services as well as air forwarding charges. Besides this, the companies also provide warehousing as well as storage services to different clients.

Generally, a sea shipping company is responsible for delivery of freight container from one port to another while transporting your goods to any destination across the world. In addition, the company also needs to deliver the goods in a timely manner and in the perfect condition. Nowadays, majority of shipping companies utilize high-tech tracking equipments for monitoring the transit times of shipment. They are also capable of keeping the client updated with the latest information about the progress of their consignment. Besides this, there are several other advantages of utilizing the services of sea freight companies over other shipping carriers. This includes services like safe handling and insurance for protection of cargo.

The industry of worldwide shipping has to deal with several unique complexities. For transporting its freight to international destinations, an organization needs to abide by the rules and regulations of both the countries. This is where the services of sea freight companies come into the picture. Therefore, if you need to transport goods to an international destination or intend to expand on a worldwide scale, you need to utilize the services of an established sea freight company. Always opt for a company that meets the requirements of a customer besides providing the customers with premium quality services. In addition, make sure that the company utilizes an organized and open process for tracking of your belongings.

Article Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Additional-Benefits-of-Sea-Freight-Services&id=4831068

9 Benefits Of Having An Online Business

9 Benefits Of Having An Online Business

by moonheart85 on Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:08 am

Many people are now looking to work from home, essentially opting-out of the rat race to spend more time with their families. As you can imagine, there are plenty of benefits of having your own online business. Today, I will briefly talk about 9 of the most important advantages of working from home as an online entrepreneur.

Here are the 9 benefits in no particular order:
1. Gain Personal Freedom - No more commutes = more time = more money. You'll spend less money on gas and you won't have to answer to a boss or wake up to an alarm clock.

2. More Mobility – You work from wherever YOU want: from home, from the beach, from a coffee shop. Anywhere.

3. Actually Keep the Money You Make – Simple Principle: The harder you work, the more money you earn. Every hour you spend will directly help build your bottom line.

4. Tax Advantages – Using your home as a place of business offers a number of tax deductions including (home office deduction, transportation, phones and communications, a portion of utilities, office furniture etc.) I've personally saved thousands in tax dollars since I started online.

5. Join a Rapidly Growing Industry – Unlike the rest of the economy, online business is thriving. Today, with rising unemployment and massive layoffs, more and more people are looking online for entrepreneurial ways of making money. Millions upon millions of people are estimated to join home-based businesses in the next few years. Started now ensures that you take advantage of this.

6. Less Stress – Although success in online business does require consistent effort, working at home allows you to set your own schedule, and therefore more effectively juggle the commitments of family and daily life.

7. Increased Opportunity – With the economy down, being in online business allows you to create your own income-producing opportunities. As a home-based entrepreneur, you won't have to worry about the economic downturn affecting your job or future promotions.

8. Less Risk - Running a business from home takes much less startup money than a freestanding business, or even a franchise location. Once your business is up and running, it will cost much less to maintain as well

9. Make More Money - No longer will you have a ceiling on your income. In the corporate world, if you're lucky, the best you can expect to achieve is a 5-10% raise per year. Online, as your knowledge grows, so will your income.

Article Source : http://www.whydowork.com/forums/benefits-having-online-business-t23157.html