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Posts for November 2015

Why your next printer should be a network printer

November 23, 2015 by IT Donut contributor

Office printing{{}}Network-connected printers have become a cornerstone of the modern work environment. They let you have one printer to which anyone in your office can print, rather than requiring employees to operate individual printers, or to print from a particular computer

Why get a networked printer?

A network printer is one device for everyone. Because it's connected to your computer network, anyone in your business can print from it. They don't have to email documents to their long-suffering colleague who has the printer on their desk.

It may also be one device for (almost) everything. That's because, despite the name, network printers often do more than just print.

Many have copying and scanning functions built in. Typically, you can scan a document and have it emailed to a specific person or saved to your central network drive.

There are obvious benefits to this approach. For instance:

  • Instead of managing several printers, scanners and other pieces of equipment in your business, you only have one device to worry about.
  • You can print from any networked device, not just computers. For instance, print wirelessly from a smart phone or tablet.
  • It's easier to keep track of what you're printing and when, because you can create a log of all print jobs. This also means you can oversee all operations or even impose individual print quotas.
  • Many networked printers include comprehensive management software, so you can lock-in settings such as double-sided printing or cover sheets.
  • Buying one powerful printer may cost a similar amount as purchasing a basic printer for each employee. However, it will usually print faster and have lower running costs.

But perhaps most importantly, networked printers are more efficient. With a dependable way to run off high-quality hardcopies, your staff will spend more time focusing on their work, and less time faffing around with a cheap or unreliable printer.

"Network printing really supports the modern office, simplifying daily tasks and making complicated processes incredibly efficient," explains Christian Ralph of Printerland, the printer and ink company. 

"The increased capabilities of modern printers have made it easier for offices of all sizes to add multiple devices to a single machine."

How to set up a network printer

Setting up a networked printer is usually fairly straightforward, so you won't necessarily have to pay your IT supplier or support company to do it for you.

Having said that, if your printer includes centralised management software or other advanced functions then you may want to seek advice before ploughing ahead!

To set up a networked printer, there are two options:

1. Use printer sharing

Cheaper printers may not include a dedicated network connection.

In this case, you'll need to connect the printer to one of your office computers (or servers). You can then use the software on that computer to set up printer sharing.

This will allow anyone in your company to access the printer, but only when the computer to which it's connected is switched on.

2. Get a direct network connection

If you can, it's best to invest in a printer with a dedicated network connection. This might cost a little more, but means you'll be able to print without having to first check that a particular computer is switched on.

Printers that are connected to your network directly are usually faster and more reliable. Most businesses take this approach.

If you use Windows, Microsoft provides lots of information to help you set up a printer using one of these methods.

Keeping an eye on the risks

Modern printers are very different to their counterparts of 10-15 years ago. Your typical networked printer isn't a 'dumb' slave to your computer; it has processing power, memory and even software of its own.

It uses this to manage print queues, optimise print jobs, resize images and more.

Occasionally, this increasingly-sophisticated software can go wrong. Back in 2013, a Xerox photocopier had a bug that meant it sometimes changed the digits in documents that it copied.

And, just like any other computer, networked printers can fall victim to hacking attacks.

Indeed, they could conceivably provide a soft target, as businesses may overlook the importance of protecting a networked printer. (Hackers have previously targeted broadband routers in a similar way.)

Printer manufacturers are aware of these issues, of course. Many have developed security software that protects these devices from attacks. And your business should make use of it.

Do your people know how to use a printer?

Printing off a document isn't always as simple as it looks. Employees may have to grapple with confusing quality and paper setting. Some companies even have smartcard or PIN-based systems to control printing quotas.

If staff don't know how to use these features and settings properly, it can waste their time - as well as ink and paper.

Sure, 'printer training' can be a tricky one to sell to your staff. But if you can overcome the 'do I really need that?' factor then it can help to develop standard, secure printing practices across your business.

In short, creating a positive printing environment can standardise all your printed output. That means quality will never suffer - and cries of 'is the printer working?' should be few and far between.

Sponsored post: copyright © Printaland

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Posted in Computer hardware | Tagged printing | 0 comments

Five things you need from an online accountant

November 16, 2015 by IT Donut contributor

Online accountancy{{}}When you're running a smaller business, you don't need to hire an expensive accountancy firm to keep your finances on track. Nor do you need to spend hours wading through complicated financial reports.

Many accountants provide software that makes it easier for your company to maintain your accounts and balance your books online. These cloud accounting services - where your data is stored and accessed online - can be an excellent option.

They make it easier to monitor revenue, generate invoices, track cash flow and manage payroll. Your business's financial information stays secure, but you can access it no matter where you are.

What's more, using an online accountant will often be cheaper than working with a High Street firm.

There are many online accountants available, offering a range of services for a range of costs. This means it is important to think about your needs in order to determine what specific features your business will need.

However, here are five features that are a must for any business considering online accountancy:

1. Fixed accounting prices

Look for an online accounting service that charges a fixed monthly fee. Ideally, this should include unlimited telephone and email support, plus access to your own dedicated accountant.

If you don't choose a fixed-fee service, you could be hit by a bill that's higher than you expect. If your accountant charges for their time, you might be charged every time you email or call them.

2. A mobile accounting app

One of the biggest things going for online accounting is that it's available 24/7. There are no office hours. This flexibility should be matched with a mobile app that lets you manage your money from anywhere.

A mobile app allows you to sign in and manage your money from any location. You can easily stay up-to-date with relevant projects and make sure you don't miss any deadlines.

3. One point of contact

You'll have to deal with a real accountant at some point, even if you have the very best online accountancy service. Many online accountants provide a generic telephone number or email address for queries or issues. This means you can end up talking to a whole variety of people.

It's better to find a firm that offers a dedicated personal accountant. This means you'll always get to speak to the same person. They'll get to know your business, so you won't have to tell them the full story every time.

4. Comprehensive online help

With access to the right information, you can handle more of your finances yourself. The benefit of doing this is that it keeps you closer to your figures, so you always know what's going on.

It's easier to work this way when your online accountancy service provides a substantial online knowledge centre or help website. Make sure this support is in place, perhaps via an FAQ section, support documentation or user forums.

5. A proven track record

Online accountancy is an increasingly popular way for smaller companies to meet their accounting needs. Make sure the supplier you choose has a solid reputation - both as a business accountant and as an online company.

Many online accountants will give you a quote via their website. Do not jump at the first one you get. Take out a few quotes to compare prices and service levels. 

Sponsored post: copyright © 2015 Rachel Smith, Technical Writer at Nixon Williams's Vantage Online Accounting.

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Is personalisation the way to more online sales?

November 12, 2015 by John McGarvey

Is personalisation the way to more online sales?{{}}How does your company website stack up against bigger competitors? New research suggests that smaller companies can sharpen their competitive edge by creating websites that are mobile-optimised and personalised to meet the preferences of individual customers.

An online study of over 2,000 British adults found that small businesses rule when it comes to personal service. A whopping 71% of people said smaller companies deliver a more personalised offline service than bigger ones.

However, 59% of people felt that big businesses generally have better websites. Given that such companies typically have generous budgets to build customised sites, that's perhaps not a great surprise. (They don't all go to plan, of course - just look at Marks & Spencer.)

The research was commissioned by web hosting firm 123-reg and conducted online by YouGov.

And it suggests that small companies could clean up, if only they can find some way to deliver that same personal service online. After all, they're already beating big competitors in other contexts.

The problem with online personalisation

The problem is that it's not easy to deliver personal service via a website. On the internet, personalised content risks coming across as clumsy or misguided.

Just take retargeting banners, beloved of many an internet marketer. These are used to encourage you to buy a product that you've shown interest in.

After you've viewed a product on a website, you often see repeated adverts for the same thing as you browse different websites. That's retargeting in action.

Retargeting banners do work in some circumstances, but they can also engineer irritation and mistrust in customers, who get tired of seeing the same adverts over and over and over again. Worse, badly-implemented campaigns can see you targeting customers who've already bought your product.

But let's not get hung up on retargeting. The point is that it's easy to do personalisation badly. To do it well requires you to tread a fine line between showing customers that you know them, without becoming repetitive or overbearing.

How to do personalisation right

So, when you want to incorporate personalised, targeted elements to your website or mobile app, it's a good idea to proceed with caution.

Try to find some way to measure the impact of any changes. You could perform an A/B test, or at least try to monitor any change in conversion rates.

With that in mind, consider starting with some basic personalisation, such as:

  • Greeting customers by name if they're signed in, and tailoring this greeting depending on the time of day. For instance, say 'good evening' if they're browsing after 6pm.
  • Detecting a visitor's location and then using this to show them personalised content. For instance, you could show your nearest branch, or offer people in a certain town an extra discount.
  • Altering your main call to action depending on the time of day. For example, if it's late afternoon then a restaurant's website could offer the option to 'book a last-minute dinner reservation'.
  • Showing personalised recommendations based on what each individual visitor has previously purchased. (You'll probably have seen similar functions on big online shopping sites, like Amazon.)

In any case, it's definitely worth experimenting. As part of its research, 123-reg joined forces with Patrick Fagan, a behavioural scientist.

"The experiment shows that SMEs could almost halve lost sales opportunities and double their propensity to return to a site by using information about the visit to show specific content," he explained.

"It also highlighted that personalisation of a site significantly affected people's trust and empathy with the business which, in turn, directly translated into purchase and behavioural intent."

Or, in other words: appropriate personalisation really does help you sell more stuff.

Tools to help with online personalisation

If you want to incorporate personalised, targeted elements into your website or app, there are a number of ways to proceed.

The options available will likely depend on how your website is built. So, if you're planning a new site, it's a good idea to consider personalisation features before you get started. You might be able to:

  • Use an ecommerce package or website building service that offers personalisation features. 123-reg has its own website builder, and other web hosting companies have competing packages.
  • Use a plugin to add targeting functions to your website. For instance, if your website is based on WordPress, there are many plugins that allow personalisation based on user location, preferences and more.
  • Get your website developer to build personalisation options into your website. If you've designed and built your website from scratch, this might be the only viable option - although it could also be costly.

Ultimately, your website is likely to be a key sales or marketing channel for your business. (And if it isn't already, it certainly has the potential to be so in future.)

With personalisation and targeting steadily becoming more common, now is a good time to consider whether personalised content could make it easier to compete with larger rivals.

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Posted in The internet | Tagged website | 1 comment
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