Posts tagged "Small"

Elite Telecom President Mike Russell Named Finalist for Small Business Person of the Year by Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Elite Telecom President Mike Russell Named Finalist for Small Business Person of the Year by Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Kennesaw, GA (PRWEB) May 22, 2009

Elite Telecom Services, an innovative provider of telecommunications consulting and auditing services, announced that President Mike Russell was recognized as one of five finalists for metro Atlanta’s 2009 Small Business Person of the Year at an awards luncheon hosted by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Yesterday marked the twenty-third anniversary of the event which honors five outstanding small business people for their contributions to Atlanta’s civic and business community. Russell was recognized for his significant level of community involvement and sense of commitment to helping other small businesses succeed.

“This recognition by the Chamber and leaders of our business community comes as a great honor and further solidifies our commitment to a business model which has found success by continually putting the needs of our civic and business community first in everything that we do,” said Mike Russell, President of Elite Telecom Services.

As President of Elite Telecom, Russell has made it his mission to help spare businesses the expense and frustration of managing telecommunications by serving as their personal telecommunications department. His efforts resulted in savings last year of more than $ 1.2 million for clients across metro Atlanta.

In addition to his corporate customers, Russell serves in both a volunteer capacity and as the in-house telecommunications department for more than a dozen churches, schools, foundations, theatres, and museums Russell personally donated more than 500 hours of community service to nearly two dozen civic and non-profit organizations last year alone.

“Helping business owners and nonprofits save money and ultimately make better use of their resources is one of the greatest things that I’ve been able to do for my community,” said Russell. “In turn, the respect that I have earned from the community leaders that I have served has not only led to new business for Elite Telecom Services, but opened the doors to greater opportunities to serve.”

To qualify for Small Business Person of the Year, nominees are required to be a primary owner or a major shareholder of a business that has been locally established for at least three years with gross annual revenues not exceeding $ 40 million and with fewer than 100 employees. They are also required to be a member of the Chamber and an active member of the community.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber

The Metro Atlanta Chamber — with our 4,000 member companies that collectively employ more than 700,000 workers — is a catalyst for a vibrant metro region. The Metro Atlanta Chamber focuses on the issues that matter most to the business community: improving quality of life, promoting economic growth and making Atlanta a brand name that means opportunity. For more information, visit http://www.metroatlantachamber.com.

About Elite Telecom Services

Elite Telecom Services (ETS) provides voice and data services as well as telecommunications technology audits to businesses, non-profits and government organizations. ETS offers a complete telecom management program – from procurement to technical support – and often fills the role of the telecommunications department for entities that are not large enough to support an internal telecommunications staff but nonetheless have demanding and often complicated telecommunications requirements. ETS customers save time and avoid frustration by having a single point of contact for all of their telecommunications support issues. For more information visit http://www.elitesvc.com or call 770-425-9898.

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
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Small Business Phone Systems – Reduces Costs, Enhances Productivity

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TDS

TDS® to Offer Managed Unified Communications Service Enabled by Cisco to Small Businesses Across U.S.

TDS Telecommunications Corp.

Madison, Wis. (Vocus) July 28, 2010

Today, TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) announces that it is now offering managedUC, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) managed service utilizing the Cisco® Unified Communications (UC) 500 system for Small Business.

The Cisco UC 500 system is designed especially for small businesses with locations that have up to 100 employees. TDS is able to offer managedUC to businesses located throughout the U.S., within and beyond its normal service boundaries.

“We’re pleased to offer this solution to our customers, it’s a perfect fit,” says Tom Canfield, vice president of Commercial Marketing and Product Development for TDS. “Cisco is the world-wide leader in data networking and VoIP products. Offering the Cisco UC 500 system reflects a significant commitment and investment by TDS in Cisco. It will enable us to offer voice and data solutions, on the customer’s network, allowing us to meet their communication needs for years to come.”

With this new service offering, TDS is helping small businesses function more like Fortune 500 companies, without the expense. The TDS managedUC solution provides an integrated, feature-rich, premise-based, IP PBX communications system. It gives small business customers (with limited or no internal IT department) a telecommunications system that TDS completely monitors and manages 24/7.

“Businesses will discover they’re able to quickly access and act on information at any time, anywhere, on a variety of devices,” continues Canfield. “Whether working from the office, home, or remotely, employees’ work is performed over a highly-secure connection. It means employees can do their job more effectively and efficiently, which just might be the key to out pacing the competition.”

TDS managedUC features:

    Equipment is housed at the customer’s premises
    24/7 monitoring and management of the Cisco UC 500 system; any indications of “trouble” are cared for immediately, often before the customer realizes any problems
    Businesses, networking up to five locations, can share features between locations, including four-digit dialing, without the long-distance toll charges
    Productivity enhancing applications are available, such as a PC-integrated toolbar and a soft phone, that can replace the hard phone for traveling employees
    Employees working from home, office, or traveling access a highly secure VPN connection every time

“Our collaboration with Cisco helps our customers to maximize financial and human resources,” adds Canfield. “In these tight economic times, relying on one provider to manage all the communications needs means business owners can focus on what matters most, growing their business.”

TDS Telecommunications Corp. markets communication services to business and residential customers in 30 states through its brands TDS Telecom® and TDS Metrocom®. With 1.1 million access line equivalents in service, TDS Telecommunications Corp. connects customers to phone, broadband, and digital television service in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities. TDS Telecommunications Corp. is the eighth-largest wire line company in the nation; employing approximately 2,600 people. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wis. Visit http://www.tdstelecom.com and http://www.tdsbusiness.com for more information.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS, TDS.S] Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to nearly 7.3 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular® [NYSE: USM], its 82-percent owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 12,400 employees as of Dec. 31, 2009. Visit http://www.teldta.com for more information.

For more information contact:

Cindy Tomlinson, Associate Manager – PR

TDS Telecommunications Corp.

608-664-4471

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Affordable PBX Phone System for Your Small Business

If you are looking to cut down your telecommunication expenses of your small business office, the affordable PBX phone system is an ideal option. The system helps reduce your telecommunication expenses as well as provides professional customer service to improve your business productivity. This advanced phone system comes with a host of user-friendly features.

Manages Business Calls Efficiently

A PBX phone system’s auto attendant feature does away with the need to employ a live receptionist. The auto attendant handles all incoming calls with professional sounding messages and takes calls during business and after hours. Using interactive voice messages, it efficiently directs calls to the desired extensions.

The PBX phone system eliminates the possibilities of missed calls. Unattended calls are automatically directed to assigned phone numbers, which could be cell or mobile numbers. If the person is not available at any of these numbers, the call is directed to voicemail. The system can also receive your fax messages.

Convenience of Web Interface

As PBX services are hosted, you can save on your expenses that would have to be spent on setting up premise-based PBX equipment. The service provider manages the phone service. This feature-rich phone system functions through a web-based interface. All you need to set it up in your small business office is the existing phone line and a broadband connection. If you need to add more extensions in your telecommunication system, you can get it done without installing additional phone lines.

Reduced Calling Rates

As calls are made over the Internet, calling rates are comparatively low. Besides, many service providers offer toll free numbers and local telephone numbers. The local numbers help you expand your business to other cities as calls to these places will be charged only local rates. Toll free and local phone numbers help you target specific markets.

Most service providers offer PBX phone services at affordable monthly rates.

Small Business Phone Systems – Less Expensive, More Efficient

Small business phone systems ensure smooth business communication in all small and medium businesses. They are less expensive than traditional phone systems and come with several features that facilitate efficient telecommunication.

Cost Saving Features

While expanding your small business, you might have to install additional phone lines in your office. With the IP PBX phone system you can add or remove extensions through a single phone line, as these are entirely web-based. You can therefore add as many phone lines as you want at no additional cost.

Small Business Phone Systems with Efficient Functionalities

Small business PBX systems offer great efficiency with their advanced communication features.

Get Efficient Call Routing – The interactive auto attendant manages all incoming calls efficiently. Callers never get line busy signals as calls are automatically greeted and directed to the desired extensions without delay. Callers can dial directly to up to 100 different personal extensions or departments making use of capabilities like dial-by-extension, dial-by-name, and full call transfer/forwarding.

Work from Anywhere: These phone systems are the best solutions if you have a small business as you work from anywhere without missing a call, while giving callers the impression that you are in a corporate office. Even if your employees are in different global locations, the phone system with its dedicated local or toll-free business phone number makes it seem that they are in one office.

Sophisticated Call Management: The wide selection of advanced call management features of the small business phone system helps you serve your customers better. Unattended calls are sent to voicemail boxes, where the callers can leave voice messages. These can be retrieved later. You can also receive encrypted business faxes via email.

Expensive Hardware not required

As these phone systems are hosted, they are managed from the service provider’s site. The small business office does not have to install any expensive hardware to set it up. The small business PBX phone systems function mainly through a web-based interface. Small offices just need a phone line and an Internet connection to set it up.

Tips for Managing Cash Flow in a Small Business

Cash flow is one of the biggest challenges that small business owners face. One of the reasons is because usually not enough attention is paid to managing it, until a crisis hits. Small business owners are often so focused on growing their businesses and making sales that they fail to see how their operational costs are eating into their profits. Suddenly, there are bills to pay and clients haven’t paid yet; as the business owner, you have to figure out a way to get cash in fast. However, if you are diligent about managing your cash flow, you can foresee and set up contingencies for situations like that. Here are a few tips that can help you to stay ahead of the game.

Know Your Operational Costs

Right from the start you should know what it costs to run your business on a monthly basis. Certainly, there will be some variable costs that change on a monthly basis but you should still have a rough idea of what they are so you can form a budget. If you do not capture all your expenses then you are quite likely to forget about some of them. A few hundred dollars here and there can quickly add up. The easiest way to do this is to draw up a simple spreadsheet. Capture fixed expenses such as rental costs and salaries first, and then have sections for variable costs such as stationary, telecommunications and fuel. These operational costs should form the basis of your budget. They define your break-even point of your business. Bring in less income than that and your business will be in trouble. Always know the target that you need to reach in terms of turnover.

Define Your Payment Dates

Try not to have all your expenses payable at the same time of the month. Most landlords require that you pay the rent up front yet many insurance companies, for example, will allow you to schedule your debit orders for the 10th or 15th of the month. What this does is spread the load of your payments throughout the month. Instead of having to make sure that you have a lump sum of cash available at the end of every month, you need only a portion of your expenses to be covered then and have some more time to get in the balance of your cash before the next batch is payable.  It may initially seem like a mission to split up the payment dates but it can make a huge difference to your cash flow.

Be Strict with Your Debtors

This is a trap that too many business owners fall into. They do not want to offend customers and potentially lose out on their business so they bend over backwards to accommodate them and let them get away with paying late on a regular basis. Large companies often use this tactic to help balance their cash flows. The longer they can stave off paying a small business, the greater benefit to them. You don’t have to be aggressive when chasing payments. From the outset with clients, make sure that you clearly communicate your payment terms. Ideally, small businesses should operate on a cash-on-delivery basis but in many industries, this is not possible. Try to have as short a period as possible for payment. Ideally, it should be seven or 14 days. At the outset, it should never be more than 30 days. If it is seven days then clearly state this on your invoice and when you make delivery.  If after the eighth day you have still not received payment, make a phone call to find out if it has been processed. If it has but doesn’t yet reflect in your account, let your client know that you will call to confirm as soon as it does. This is a polite way of letting them know that you watch and manage your cash flow closely and that they cannot get away with delaying payments.

Make Sure You Have a Wide Customer Base

Many small businesses start with just one or two major clients. While this is great initially, think of what will happen if that big client delays payment or doesn’t pay at all. How will that affect your cash flow? It is much better to have lots of smaller amounts of cash consistently coming into your business than to depend on one or two large payments every month. To have large clients is great but make sure you can break even without their payments. That way, you will always have a strong cash flow.

How to Cut Operational Expenses / Useful Tips for the Small Business

How To Cut Operational Expenses / Useful Tips For The Small Business

When it comes to cost management, it’s the everyday expenses that are most often overlooked by small businesses. Experienced cost management consultants like AMK Associates in New York often start with these overlooked items to give their clients an immediate boost to their bottom line. Here are some simple tips for cutting your operational expenses without compromising quality or reducing your staff:

Office Supplies

* Use generic versus brand names whenever possible. Many brand name suppliers make generic versions of their products, so you won’t sacrifice quality. For example, use 3M’s Highland Self-Stick Notes instead of their Post-It’s notes and save more than 50 percent per unit.

* Always ask for a price break. Most vendors will not quote you their best price unless you ask. So ask!

Equipment Leasing vs. Purchasing

* Buy anything small enough to set on your desk; otherwise, lease it. Leasing gives you the option to upgrade or downgrade, depending on your needs and changes in technology.

* Keep leases under 36 months. Buy smaller equipment such as fax machines and printers (Brother and Epson are great); while their prices constantly drop, the technical capabilities do not change significantly.

Messenger Services

* Analyze where your packages are being delivered

* Then, negotiate a broader delivery range and pay a fixed price.

Equipment Insurance

* All leasing equipment companies automatically charge for insurance, even though your current policy may already cover it. Register your leased equipment with your insurance broker so it can be added to your current policy.

* Then request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from your broker, and submit it to the equipment leasing company. Otherwise, you will double your insurance charges.

Shipping

* Handle shipping costs on a case-by-case basis. Know the shipping policies of each vendor and choose the best vendor for each item to be shipped.

* For instance, if the weight is not stated on a package, some shipping companies will charge customers for a five-pound parcel. To avoid this, preprint air bills with one pound, and most vendors will adjust the poundage if the package weighs more or less.

Printing

* If your letterhead text won’t change the same for a six-month period, print in bulk. It saves both money and time. Don’t worry about storage; most printers will store the inventory and ship at no additional cost.

* If your printer won’t store it for free, negotiate storage and shipping into the overall price of the print job.

Telecommunication

* If your total telecom costs for both voice and data are ,000 or more, consider a T-1 connection. While you will be charged a recurring monthly fee, your per-minute rate will be significantly lower.

* Check to make sure your phone company is charging you in six-second increments. If not, you will pay for a full minute for every fax you send, even though it transmits in seconds.

Service Contracts

* Don’t automatically get costly service contracts for every piece of equipment. You may find it more cost-efficient to simply pay for time and materials; even as much as 5 per hour if repairs are necessary.

* Some service contracts are advisable, but be cautious. For example, most telecommunication contracts include the PBX (console), as well as each individual telephone. Though it is advisable to insure the console, there is little need for insurance coverage on the phones.

The Bottom Line

By making these minor purchasing changes, you can cut your operational expenses significantly. Cost management consultants can uncover additional savings by analyzing other expense items, designing more efficient systems and aggressively negotiating with vendors. It’s tedious, meticulous, detailed work that many small business owners and managers would rather avoid (much like filing income taxes). But just like income tax filings, business owners can offload the work to experienced cost management consultants to keep their focus on running their businesses and maximizing their bottom lines.

Arleen Kahn is founder and president of AMK Associates (www.amkassociates.com), a New York City-based cost-management consulting firm. For more information on how you can impact your bottom line through cost control, contact Arleen at 1-888-345-8008 or amk@amkassociates.com.

Call Management System Saves Small Trader Organization $46,500

A small UK based trader organization was interested in maximizing their telecommunications investments and identifying areas of possible improvement. First, they wanted to identify unused PSTN and private line circuits. They also wanted to easily allocate voice service expenses and provide historical trending reports on telecom activity. And finally, to better track telecommunications charges to protect themselves from duplicate charges and/or payments.

This small trader organization decided to install a call management system to track their telecommunications usage and provide trending reports. The system they chose gives total visibility of their telephone costs and usage. It is the only solution available that integrates dealer board data and fixed line, mobile, internet, email, and voice recording usage, under a single system with secure web-browser. Equally, this call management system is geographically redundant; able to support a single site or a global network of hundreds of remote branches.

This particular call management system was designed specifically for investment banks and to connect with turret and dealer board systems and interfaces with both traditional and VoIP telephony systems. It is crucial for investment companies to get solutions that were created specifically to fit their needs. The turret system integration is the key component in making a really complete call management system for investment banks and trader companies. Equally, finding a system with the flexibility to work with any telephony system makes integration easy and painless for the business customer.

By investing in this call management system, this trader organization was able to immediately identify five unused private wire lines. They were able to terminate these five lines and cease paying for lines that they were not using. Identification of a trunk outage from the LCR operator to more expensive PSTN calls. These PSTN calls are billed at a 15% inflated cost. Due to this outage, the company was paying an inflated charge for these bills. They were also able to identify errors in telecommunications charges from their carriers. This billing error amounted to roughly 5% percent per month. They were also able to identify that they were not receiving the discount structure that was agreed upon in their contract. In all, the company was able to save ,500 in the first year after implementing the call management system. They were able to recoup their investment in the system in less than 8 months after purchase.

This call management system offered some additional benefits as well. It offered a sophisticated web browser based, dashboard-style interface with drilldown reporting. It also came equipped with highly granular access policies, defined and limited by the system administrator, allowing secure access from any point. And most importantly, it allows managers to evaluate real time statistics on trader activity as it happens – most and least active traders by day of the week, etc.

This small UK trading company was able to realize real returns on their investment in a call management system. Not only did they see immediate returns, but they were also about to monitor their costs and the activities of their traders on an ongoing basis. A call management system can help investment banks and trading companies to cut costs and improve efficiencies with an almost immediate return on investment.