In fact, a CCH Accounting Firm client survey shows that over half of all businesses have been approached by other accounting firms, while 20% of individual clients have been approached. The news gets even worse: from that same study, 36% of business clients and 19% of individual clients report they are likely to switch CPA firms in the next year. 

It’s a tough market to grow in if your customers aren’t completely loyal to your accounting firm. Fortunately, providing stellar customer service is a surefire way to grow your customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction, specifically with the service they receive, is directly correlated to higher loyalty.

Great customer service can help you keep your clients’ trust and prevent them from leaving your firm. In this article, we share five customer service tips for accountants that will ensure your customers have a great experience.

1. Be responsive

Do you ever notice we rarely use the abbreviation “brb” or “be right back” anymore? That’s because most of us are constantly connected to our communication streams—whether it’s email or SMS. We never have to say when we’ll be back because we are always online. 

Clients have higher expectations than ever when it comes to getting a response from businesses—and accountants are no different. Responding to emails in less than one hour will meet the expectations of 89% of your clients. If you aren’t able to consistently respond that quickly, you might consider hiring an assistant to help you clear your inbox, or put on an autoresponder to let people know when to expect a response from you. 

2. Modernize your workflow

There are so many great tools for bookkeepers and accountants available. Not only do they make your life easier, but they also make your client’s life easier. People like working with businesses that make things easy for them. In fact, Gartner reports that 94% of people who have low effort experiences are likely to return, but only 6% of people with high effort experiences will do business with you again. 

If you’re not already, considering using the following tools: 

• Help Desk: A help desk is a system that organizes your conversations and prevents communication details from falling through the cracks. This is especially helpful if you have multiple people working with the same client and need to view past conversations. Some popular Help Desk tools include Zendesk and Salesforce. 
• Secure Document Signing: Electronic signatures are legally binding and fully enforceable. By using a tool like DocuSign to securely send client documents, your clients can avoid the whole print, sign, scan song-and-dance. Collect signatures quickly and keep your work rolling right along. 
• Digital Accounting Systems: Accountancy Age says that “by storing your clients’ accounts in a cloud-based system, your clients can work with you online, from any device. This is invaluable for giving them, and you, a real-time view of their financial situation, allowing you to offer the most relevant and up-to-date advice.” 

3. Set expectations and meet them

Live by the rule: underpromise and overdeliver. It’s tempting to make big promises to clients. They’re always happy when they hear them, and it’s easy to win new business when you promise the world. But fast forward to when you need to deliver on your promises, and you might not be able to. 

Even if you do a great job, customers will be unhappy when their expectations are unmet. You are better off setting realistic expectations and then meeting or exceeding them. Sarah Chambers, customer service consultant explains why: 

“In a study where participants were promised concert tickets, then given worse, equal or better seats than they were promised, participants were no happier or more likely to recommend the company when given better seats. They were much more upset when they were given worse seats.”

Be clear with your clients on what they can expect from you (on deadlines, services and response rates in particular) and then make every effort to meet those expectations.  

4. Apologize, effectively, when necessary

Mistakes happen. Clients don’t expect perfection, but they do expect you to own up when something does go wrong. Whether it’s a missed deadline, a calculation error or a lost email – take ownership of your errors and apologize. 

But not all apologies are created equally. In order to repair the relationship, your apology should be genuine and specific. And you need to fix the mistake that you made. Consider following these steps for an effective client apology:

1. Empathize: understand how your mistake impacted your client and say it. “I understand how important this document is for your business”
2. Say sorry: actually say that you are sorry for what happened. Don’t beat around the bush. “I’m sorry we were a day late on this deadline”
3. Offer an explanation: if the situation requires it, explain what went wrong. Don’t make excuses. “We had been changing over our email provider and lost a few emails in the process”
4. Fix the problem: make the change that will make your customer happy. “I’ve made the necessary changes to the report.”
5. Learn from your mistakes: are there any systemic changes you need to make to prevent this issue from happening again? “We’ve just hired an assistant to help us stay on top of our incoming emails.” 

Finally, wrap it up by repeating how sorry you are and let them know that you’re available to help or answer any questions. 

5. Listen to your clients

People will tell you what they want…if you’re listening. Asking for and acting on customer feedback is the best way to know that you’re offering a great experience. While feedback can come in all sorts of forms (from online reviews to angrily worded emails), taking the time to actively seek out insights will get you the best results. Here are some ideas on how to be a great listener: 

• Get face to face time with your VIP customers frequently to talk about how their business is going. Ask what their vision for the next five years is. Be active in asking for feedback. 
• Send out a yearly client survey after tax season has settled asking how the process went this year. Ask clients what could make life easier for them. 
• Check-in with clients who decide to move their business elsewhere. Don’t try to win them back, but ask what the biggest deciding factor was for them. 

When clients provide feedback, make sure to take action as quickly as possible. If clients provide negative feedback on a survey, make sure to follow up with them. If you aren’t responding to client feedback, not only will they probably stop giving you any, they might also stop giving you their business as well. 

Delivering great customer service isn’t just about answering the phone with a smile. It’s about setting up your workflow in a way that makes your customer’s experience consistently great. By using modern tools, responding to your customer’s needs and apologizing when something does go wrong, you can keep your clients happy—even in the middle of tax season. 

The post Five Helpful Customer Service Tips for Accountants appeared first on ZipBooks.

(As a company full of accountants, we’re allowed to make that joke).

Accounting may be notoriously boring, but that doesn’t mean your logo has to be. You might have an idea in mind, might be looking to rebrand, or might be starting from scratch. We’re going to share some useful tips to creating an accounting logo that your clients will remember. 

Accounting Logos from the Big Four

The main goal of accounting logo design is to evoke a sense of reliability and security from its target audience. Many successful companies are trying to introduce both geometric and defined details in their logos. 

Check out the logos from the Big Four to get some accounting logo ideas:

The Deloitte logo is pretty simple. The designer only used the company name to create the text logo. The font they use is big and heavy-weighted, which creates an impression of solidity. The small, bright green dot at the end of the text was created back in 2003, giving the logo a modern update.

PwC decided to take an innovative approach. They preferred the bright, warm colors to standard cool shades; the warmth suggesting friendliness. Also, they chose to use serif fonts since they did’t need to worry about the readability and scalability of the three-letter text.

Ernst & Young (EY) uses the abbreviation of its company name in bold, white letters. The logo is minimalistic, but at the same time strong and loud. An interesting signature detail is the bright yellow triangle depicting the light projected from a lantern illuminating the road. This is a great example of how simple geometric symbols can convey a powerful message.

The name KPMG is an abbreviation, representing the four founders: Klynveld, Peat, Main, and Goerdeler. The company’s logo is designed in a strictly traditional style. Cool blue shades dominate, with a large font and rectangular shapes. Such a classic financial logo perfectly speaks to the company’s experience and trustworthiness.

Each of these logos has benefitted the overall vision and brand of its accounting firm. Here are some of the key takeaways that can help you build your accounting logo:

1. Color can be endearing

According to color theory, colors can affect a person psychologically, causing special feelings and associations. Colors can even change our moods and evoke desires. Therefore, before painting the logo in your favorite color, make sure that it triggers the necessary emotions to properly present your company. 

For accounting firms, popular colors are green and gold which creates associations with money while black, purple and red symbolize luxury. 

Nevertheless, the most used color by successful companies is blue—think Facebook, Twitter, HP, Walmart—it’s a global favorite. 

Blue is calming and creates a sense of trust. Multiple bright colors are less common in accounting logo design because they are often used to demonstrate a non-standard approach in business.

2. Font is more than words

Minimalism is trending in design. Keep the logo to its simplest form, sometimes just the company name will do. Logos usually include text in their design with or without icons. When choosing the font, it is important to choose according to the mood you plan to convey. 

If the priority of your brand is to focus on its experience and commitment to traditions, then use big and bold fonts. If you are aiming to build customer loyalty, then choose softer and smoother fonts. 

It is important to maintain the aesthetic by balancing the icon, color and shape of the logo. Also, try to maintain the readability of the text with scalability in mind and stay away from using complex fonts with serifs.

3. Let icons tell the story

Monetary symbols are quite common in financial logos. In order to stand out among competitors, you need something not as predictable. 

Conservative emblems are great choices. The imagery of a lion, bull or horse can create the impression of wealth and strength. Monograms have the same effect.

Geometry is quite popular among accounting logos, too. Simple and defined geometric shapes are the best ways to convey honesty and transparency. If your company name is not something abstract and quite realistic to portray, then take this opportunity to create an icon that will help customers remember your brand. You could even find an icon online using a service like icons8 or iconfinder.

What about a slogan: is it necessary? 

A slogan is a short message representing your company. This message can inspire association, evoke emotion, assure quality and provoke call-to-action. In a nutshell, a slogan that speaks to your audience can influence them to choose your brand over competitors. Therefore, global brands often bet on their slogans and usually win. 

To create a slogan that will increase your sales, you need to first determine the competitive advantages of your brand and incorporate the essence to your logo and slogan design.

Use an online logo maker

Designing a logo for your business can be costly and time-consuming, but not with these quick solutions. 

Here are some great online logo makers that allow you to try out your design (sometimes for free):

Logaster

Logaster is an online brand identity builder that has helped millions of small businesses with a fast, simple and affordable branding solution.

Pricing: Free download of a small logo and favicon icon. Paid plans start at $9.99 for more color and layout variations, different file formats, templates and social media kit, etc.

Hatchful

Hatchful is Shopify’s free logo creator. Hatchful uses online with stock imagery and creative templates to generate simple logos. Creating a logo does not take much time, but the icons used may not be unique.

Pricing: Fully free

Ucraft

Ucraft’s free logo maker offers an empty canvas and many shapes and tools, which allows you to fully express your imagination. The result predominantly depends on your skills. So if you have a good sense of style and time, you might be able to create a great logo.

Pricing: Free download of logo in PNG; SVG starts at $12.

A professional logo can help your financial business 

An effective logo will differentiate your company from competitors. Creating a unique brand image will attract the attention of your target audience. But in order to maximize its effect, aestheticity is not the only important factor. 

The active promotion of your logo across various marketing collaterals that will enhance your brand awareness. 

Here’s where to apply your logo:

• Prints: business cards, letterheads, envelopes, flyers, invoices, internal documents.
• Web pages: Profile pictures on social pages and corporate site.
• Corporate products: stationery, promotional products, etc.
• Office interior: wall stickers, banners and other decorative elements.
• Digital and outdoor advertising: videos, posts and articles, billboards, signs, posters.

Remind your target audience of your logo wherever possible, so that they will instantly think of your company when in need of financial services. The more familiar they are with your brand, the more likely you will make a sale.

The post How to Make Your Own Accounting Logo appeared first on ZipBooks.

We’ve abandoned the abacus and opted for software alternatives, but much of it is still rather archaic. 

Whether you’re a recent graduate looking to launch your own accounting firm or a veteran bookkeeper hoping for a better alternative to QuickBooks, we’d like to welcome you to the world of modern bookkeeping. 

Here are 6 steps to running a modern bookkeeping business (with the right software):

1. Start with the basics

The beautiful thing about a modern bookkeeping firm is that is it can be totally digital and virtually free—if you use the right tech.

Google’s business platform, G Suite, is a great place to start for a business email, document storage and even communication (linked to your device through Google Voice). 

Whether or not you’re ready to set up a business website, at the very least, you should definitely create a Google My Business (GMB) listing. It’s totally free to set up and makes a huge difference in local SEO. Google shows GMB listings at the top of search results, meaning that anytime someone searches a local bookkeeping firm you’re more likely to rank. This increases visibility and customer trust. 

Once you’ve opened the doors for your online business shop, you’ll need the best accounting software on your team. You may already be familiar with QuickBooks, but it’s not the only solution out there. Spend some time trying out alternative options before you commit to anything. Take advantage of free trials and affordable pricing to see which interface is most intuitive to you. 

When you’re ready to seek out your first client, take time to set your rates. This can really stress out new business owners, but remember, you can adjust your rates later on if you need to. Setting an hourly rate is super easy, but we actually recommend monthly pricing instead (e.g. $150 for a month of bookkeeping). This kind of recurring revenue provides more consistent income to you and builds up better relationships with clients.   

Even if you’re just charging for a one-time job (something like catching up on last year’s books), having clients pay you by the month will serve you better. That way, it’s not just a transaction, it’s a relationship.

And one last first step, (even though you’re an accountant, so hopefully you don’t need the reminder), please separate your business spending from your personal. 

2. Manage your clients

The first client is the hardest to get, but before you know it, you’ll have too many clients to manage in a spreadsheet. This is where the right software can really make a difference. 

For example, in ZipBooks, you have access to a centralized Client List, with instant access to everything from contact details to unconfirmed transactions. You can easily jump in and out of client accounts or navigate between them. The black bar on the top makes sure you never confuse your own books with a client’s. 

Onboarding new clients is a cinch too. When you add clients to ZipBooks, they’ll receive a celebratory email inviting them to set up their own account. From their self-service dashboard, clients can check the status of their books, message you about any questions, and manage their business. You’re behind-the-scenes making the magic happen.

Plus, with ZipBooks, you can cobrand your business on every client account. All you have to do is upload your logo and it’s automatically displayed when clients log-in to ZipBooks. 

New clients may also want to import their old bookkeeping data. If you’re migrating a client over to ZipBooks from QBO (or any other accounting software), we’ve built in all the migration tools you’ll need to transition client accounts in a matter of minutes. 

3. Simplify communication

Everyone in business knows that existing clients are more valuable than new ones. Thus, you should do everything in your power to ensure that client communications are totally frictionless. 

The current industry standard for accountant-client communication depends on over-crowded spreadsheets and poorly encrypted emails. Not only is this process quite cumbersome, but trying to reconcile this way means lots of awkward back-and-forths and wasted time. 

Modern accounting firms have adopted texting in order to streamline reconciliation and improve client trust.  

When it comes to financial information, clients don’t want a stiff-suited-bean-counter. Finances are personal! Instead, clients are looking for bookkeepers who can be trusted advisors, partners in their business. Texting is one way to give your firm that personal touch. 

In ZipBooks, client messaging is totally seamless (you don’t even have to open a new tab). From your client’s transactions list, all you have to do is click “Ask client” and you’ll instantly text them with a link to the transaction in question. Clients read and respond to messages from their phones, for quick, efficient bookkeeping collaboration. 

From there, ZipBooks Accountants can view all their messages in one place. Check a box to confirm and choose a category from the drop down. Reconciliation in a matter of seconds. 

Not to mention, clients are 5 times more likely to respond to a text message. You can send client reports via text as well (either in PDF form or live). 

4. Automate invoicing and billing

If you’re smart, your invoices will send themselves. 

It’s important to clients to receive consistent and professional invoices for their records. Not to mention, the faster you invoice, the faster you get paid.  

There are tons of great options for digital invoicing—don’t even think about sending an invoice in the mail. Digital invoicing gives you the speed and professionalism your bookkeeping firm needs, and it allows for digital payment. 

Square and Stripe are two popular payment processors that help you get paid faster. As a bookkeeping firm, you also have access to CPACharge, a payment processor designed specifically for accountants. CPACharge has some of the lowest rates in the industry—1.95% + $0.20 for credit card transactions—plus, with ZipBooks, the $10 monthly fee is waived for life!

You should also set up recurring billing for your monthly bookkeeping services. That way, you can automatically charge client credit cards every month, without even thinking about it.  

5. Improve bookkeeping operations

When you’re managing a ton of clients, it can be easy to lose track of time and not get paid for all the good work that you do. 

ZipBooks built-in time-tracker makes it possible to get accurate-to-the-second invoices for every client you manage. 

ZipBooks time-tracking also helps you manage larger teams. Every team member can track their time in the same ZipBooks Accountant account, from the bookkeeping intern to the top CPA. Customize account permissions so that certain users only have access to the client accounts they’re actively working on. 

6. Make accounting delightful

If there’s anyone who deserves beautiful, intuitive accounting software, it’s the people who are using it every single day. 

The time you spend finding the right software for your accounting firm will more than pay off in the end. The software you choose should have these life-saving features:

• Auto-categorization
• Automated reports
• Secure document storage
• Custom tags
• Payroll Integrations
• Award-winning support 

Finding all of these great features for a reasonable price may seem like an impossible task. That’s why we created ZipBooks. We believe that small business owners deserve the very best, at the best price for their budget. 

We offer great discounts for you and  your clients. 

Not only do you get great software at a great price, but you get to watch your business grow in ZipBooks. From your accountant dashboard, you can track client licenses, active MRR, team member hours and more. You’ve got a lot to keep track of for your business and we help you get organized—all in one place.

Ready to get started?

Fill out your contact information and a ZipBooks expert will reach out to you shortly. 

The post How to run a modern bookkeeping business (Hint: you need the right software) appeared first on ZipBooks.

What is Schedulicity?

Schedulicity is an online booking platform for small business owners such as barbers, stylists, masseurs, trainers, and tutors. Clients book their own appointments through the Schedulicity marketplace or mobile app.  

In addition to their basic calendar, Schedulicity offers automated marketing and digital payments to help businesses grow. 

How much does Schedulicity cost?

While Schedulicity pricing starts at $0/month, if you plan to book more than 10 clients a month, you’ll need to upgrade to Unlimited Bookings Plus.

On the free Schedulicity plan, you get:

• 10 bookings per month
• Reminder emails
• Access to the mobile app
• Basic marketing and client management

Rather than offering tiered pricing, Schedulicity lets you pick and choose the add-ons that are most relevant to your business. While this might end up saving you money, it’s a bit overcomplicated. 

Each of the following add-ons is priced based on the number of providers at your business (solo, 2-5, 6-10 or 11+):

Unlimited Bookings Plus

From $20-$50/month

Includes unlimited booking for appointments or classes, a business listing on Schedulicity’s marketplace and access to discounted processing fees through Schedulicity Pay. 

Client Text Reminders

From $5-$10/month

Includes automated client reminders via text (sent anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days before their appointment)

Package Management

From $5-$10/month

Includes customization of session- or package-based pricing

Automatic Billing

From $5-$10/month

Includes client subscriptions with recurring billing

Multiple Locations

$5/month

Includes unlimited multi-location management within a single account

Automated Marketing

From $5-$50/month

Includes automated emails to customers for recommended services, birthdays and promos (with analytics)

What features and integrations are available through Schedulicity? 

Schedulicity is pretty comparable to most business booking software apps. However, Schedulicity has also built out a digital payment processor and decent mobile apps. 

Appointment Management

When clients book your services via Schedulicity, it’s easy to manage your calendar. From your dashboard, you can view upcoming appointments, edit any existing details, and mark no-shows. 

Schedulicity Pay

If you require some sort of pre-payment or just want clients to pay digitally, you can integrate Schedulicity with Square or Stripe. 

Users who purchase the Unlimited Bookings Plus Add-on can also access discounted rates through “Schedulicity Pay.” Rates start at 1.99% + $0.10 for dip or swipe cards. Keyed-in purchases have a fee of 2.85% + $0.25. 

You can also accept in-person payments with the free card reader and customize checkout with discounts, taxes, and tips.

Mobile Apps

Schedulicity provides two free apps for bookings—one for customers and one for businesses.

Customers can download the Android or iOS app to schedule appointments, receive reminders or contact your business. 

Businesses can download Schedulicity Business on an Android or iOS device in order to view their calendar, access their client list and manage workshop rosters.

Customer Support

Business owners can reach out to Schedulicity ‘Rockstars’ via email, chat or phone. Schedulicity also provides a detailed Help Center for support.

What do people say about Schedulicity?

Reviews of Schedulicity are largely positive from a business perspective. The software gets 4.5 out of 5 stars on both Capterra and G2. Here’s what users have to say:

What people like about Schedulicity:

• I love that Schedulicity appeals to my needy and highly organized personality, as well as my insatiable desire to categorize, color-code, and organize (or reorganize) my schedule with one click.
• Works well keeping coworkers informed of schedules.
• My experience with support staff solidified my dedication to using the schedulicity software! Thank you!

What people don’t like about Schedulicity:

• A bit clunky when it comes to making appointments show up on a google calendar.
• I do not like the view we have from our end when booking clients…and the Agenda View for printing off my day sheet.
• The templates are nice, but very limited.

What are some alternatives to Schedulicity?

Schedulicity isn’t the only company trying to modernize online booking. Take a look at these alternatives:

Acuity Scheduling

Like Schedulicity, Acuity Scheduling gives clients the option to book their own appointment so “all you have to do is show up.” Accept payments with Stripe, Square or PayPal and integrate with tons of your favorite tools (like QuickBooks, MailChimp, Google Analytics, etc.) Plus, Acuity Scheduling supports healthcare providers with HIPAA compliance.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month

Free Trial: 1 week

Vagaro

Targeted specifically towards Salon, Spa and Fitness Professionals, Vagaro integrates online scheduling with social sites like Facebook and Yelp. Add-ons include a custom website builder, POS equipment, recurring memberships, forms & waivers, and online invoicing. 

Pricing: Starts at $25/month

Free Trial: 1 month

The post Schedulicity for Businesses: Features, Reviews and Alternatives appeared first on ZipBooks.

We’ve gathered a list of some of the best tools out there to help you get things done better and faster. 

Let’s dive in!

1. ProofHub

The Best Software For Managing Projects And Teams

ProofHub is an all-in-one productivity solution designed to meet every need of a growing business. It’s one of the best project management and collaboration platforms available today. With ProofHub, managers and teams get access to a scalable feature list that eases their job and improves their productivity at every stage of a project—planning, scheduling, organizing, collaboration, executing, monitoring, controlling, and delivering. 

“Great tool for saving time on project management, automate tasks, communicate with team members, clients and track time.” 

Exceptional features:

• Chats and discussions
• Announcements
• @mention
• To-do lists and tasks
• Workflows and Boards
• Gantt charts
• Custom reports
• Custom roles
• File management system
• Online file proofing
• Time tracking
• Timesheets
• Multiple timers
• Notes
• White labeling
• Advanced search

Pricing:

Essential—$45 per month (billed annually) or $50per month (billed monthly) for unlimited users 

Ultimate Control—$89 per month (billed annually) or $99 per month (billed monthly) for unlimited users and unlimited projects

2. Google Hangouts

The Best Software For Video Conferencing And Online Meetings

Google Hangouts is a tool to connect. It’s a communication software by Google that lets people (especially remote teams) engage and interact via text, voice or video chats. From one-to-one chats to online meetings and conferences, the Google Hangouts feature list has every functionality that a business or team may need to work together effectively. 

“G Suite enabled our teams to collaborate more closely and the business to operate more efficiently, which was extremely important in enabling us to transition to a modern organization…”

Exceptional features:

• Voice/video calls
• Group conferencing for up to 15 people
• Auto screen focus
• Instant messaging
• Screen sharing
• Intelligent muting solution
• Hangout on air feature
• Custom administrative control options
  

Pricing:

Basic—$2.93 per user per month 

Business—$9.96 per user per month 

Enterprise—$23.02 per user per month

3. Wrike

The Best Software For Task Automation

Wrike is an award-winning solution for project management and collaboration. It’s a simple productivity tool that lets you schedule, prioritize, discuss, monitor, and deliver work effectively from a single location. 

”With everything contained in Wrike, we were able to leverage Wrike’s functionality to increase the quality of our assets across the board, make sure they were consistent, and also see where we were being efficient.”

Exceptional features:

• Customizable dashboards
• Task management
• Interactive Gantt chart
• Kanban board
• Access controls and permissions
• Real-time newsfeed
• Document management
• Document collaboration
• Discussion boards
• Customized reports
• Recurrent tasks
• Milestone tracking
• Time and expense tracking
  

Pricing:

Basic—FREE for 5 users 

Professional—$9.80 per user per month for 5-15 users 

Business—$24.80 per user per month for 5-200 users 

Marketers and Enterprise—custom pricing

4. Toggl

The Best Software For Tracking Your Work

Toggl is a popular productivity app for time-tracking. With Toggl, individuals and teams get a handy overview of how they’ve been spending their time across various tasks and activities. The app can be used both online and offline, thereby making it easier to keep your work and time in sync at all times. 

“It’s always hard to predict how much time a project is going to take. Having stats on how much time different things have taken in the past is great for getting accurate predictions for the future.”

Exceptional features:

• Charts
• Share reports
• Offline time tracking
• Billing and invoicing
• Employee database
• Mobile time tracking
• Multiple billing rates
  

Pricing:

Starter—$9 per user per month (billed yearly) 

Premium—$18 per user per month (billed yearly) 

Enterprise—Available by quote 

5. ZipBooks

The Best Software For Accounting And Online Invoicing

ZipBooks is a modern solution that small businesses and accountants can use everyday for accounting, invoicing, and time-tracking. With ZipBooks, you can keep all your bank accounts synced, make smarter financial decisions for your business, and keep all your financial data safe in one centralized place. Want managing business to be simpler? Start using ZipBooks. 

“After trying multiple platforms, ZipBooks proves to surpass all expectations. They make bookkeeping a breeze. Would recommend a thousand times over because it has been crucial to my business growth.”

Exceptional features: 

• Online invoicing
• Time tracking
• Expense tracking 
• Recurring billing
• Team management
• Online accounting software
• Invoice maker
• Payroll management
• Tax management
• Online payment processing 
• Customizable invoices 
• Budgeting and forecasting 
  

Pricing:

Starter—FREE 

Smarter—$15 per month 

Sophisticated—$35 per month 

Accountant—custom pricing

6. Dropbox 

The Best Software For File Storage and Sharing

Dropbox Business is productivity software for storage backup, file sharing, and collaboration. It’s a file-sharing package by Dropbox, designed to help businesses conveniently store, access, and collaborate on files on the cloud. 

“Dropbox Business gives us a secure, unified place to store all of our work, and helps reverse the friction that can come with having hundreds of computers in one company.”

Exceptional features:

• Document management
• Project management
• Real-time editing
• Version control
• Access control
• Archiving and retention
• Backup
• Data synchronization
• Encryption
• Audit trail
  

Pricing:

Standard – $12.50 per user per month, starting at 3 users 

Advanced – $20 per user per month, starting at 3 users 

Enterprise – Available by quote

7. GanttPRO

The Best Software For Planning And Scheduling

GanttPRO as the name itself suggests, is a project management solution that utilizes a Gantt Chart approach. The software simplifies planning, improves communication, and makes it easier for teams to deliver work within desired estimates. 

“Helps for effective planning and decision making in an organization. Ability to drag and expand the task, assign people and costs. Easy to handle multiple projects and to delay tasks that are linked.”

Exceptional features:

• Gantt charts 
• Kanban board 
• Time and expense tracking 
• Collaboration tools 
• Budget management 
• Milestone tracking 
• Resource management 
• Dependency tracking 
• Templates 
• Color coding 
• Percentage-complete tracking 
• Product road mapping 
  

Pricing:

Individual — $15 per user per month (for 1 user) or $7.90 per user per month (for 5 users) 

Team — $6.90 per user per month (for 10 users) or $5.90 per user per month (for 15 users)

8. Evernote

The Best Software For Note-Taking

Evernote is a note-taking app loaded with a number of tools and functionalities that let you manage everything from big projects to personal moments. With Evernote, you won’t have to worry about losing track of your ideas, deadlines, and tasks. 

“Why is it cool and why should you use it? Because it allows you to share your notebook with others, which can be edited together in real-time, as well as share articles and webpages.”

Exceptional features:

• Collaboration tools
• Customizable templates
• Idea management
• Annotation and markup
• Task management

Pricing:

Basic—FREE 

Premium—$2.65 per month 

Business—$14.99 per user per month 

9. Hubspot

The Best Software For Marketing

HubSpot is great productivity software for inbound marketing, sales, and CRM. It’s basically marketing, sales, and service software designed to help businesses/teams/individuals grow without compromise. With HubSpot, you not only grow traffic or convert more visitors, but you also ensure that you exceed expectations and convert customers to potential promoters for your business. 

“It makes our employees’ lives easier, simplifies their processes and allows them to focus on helping the customer.”

Exceptional features:

• Integrated social publishing
• Social media monitoring
• Social media publishing
• Social media analytics
• Social Media Bookmarklet
• Search Engine Optimization
• Calls-to-Action
• Progressive profiling
• A/B testing landing pages
• Custom lead scoring
• Predictive lead scoring
• Event-based segmentation
• Event-based scoring
• Branching
• Email lead nurturing
• Automation templates
  

Pricing:

Starter—Starts at $35 per month (includes 1,000 contacts) 

Professional—Starts at $560 per month (includes 1,000 contacts) 

Enterprise—Starts at $2,240 per month (includes 10,000 contacts)

10. Zoho CRM

The Best Software For Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Zoho CRM is a web-based CRM solution designed to help businesses attract, retain, and satisfy target customers. The solution is highly customizable and user-friendly. It provides you a 360° view of your business so that you can identify and seize amazing sales and marketing opportunities. 

“Zoho has played an important role in standardizing our program. We now have more than 15,000 sellers using our services. The functionalities we’ve added have evolved Zoho CRM beyond just lead and contact management to more of a complete operational platform.”

Exceptional features:

• Sales force automation 
• Sales forecasting 
• Lead management 
• Account management 
• Social CRM 
• CRM workflow management 
• Document library 
• Sales tracking 
• Mobile CRM 
• Real-time sales updates
  

Pricing:

Starter—$6.98 per user per month (billed annually) 

Standard—$10.05 per user per month (billed annually) 

Professional—$16.74 per user per month (billed annually) 

Enterprise—$29.30 per user per month (billed annually)

So, what’s your favorite productivity app or tool? Have you tried any of the ones on this list? Let us know your choices and experiences in the comments below. 

The post Top 10 time-saving software products for your small business appeared first on ZipBooks.

Here’s everything you need to know about PayPal friends and family transfers (and a few friendly warnings as well).

Note: The following applies to Personal PayPal accounts. If you have a PayPal Business account, friends and family payments may not be available to you.

What is PayPal friends and family?

When you send or request money through your personal PayPal account, you can choose whether it’s a “Friends and Family” payment or a “Goods and Services” payment. 

Friends and Family payments are often used to pay back a friend, deliver money to family members abroad or send digital gift cards. 

How do I use PayPal friends and family?

In order to send money using PayPal friends and family, both you and the recipient need to have a PayPal account (you can set one up for free). 

Sending money with PayPal friends and family only takes a few steps:

1. Login to your PayPal account.
2. Click Send & Request.
3. Under Send money, Enter phone number, email or contact name.
4. When prompted, select Sending to a friend.
5. Enter payment amount, add a note (optional) and Submit.

Note: PayPal friends and family may not be available in some countries. 

You can also send friends and family payments using the PayPal app or PayPal.Me. The process is pretty similar on the app—you just enter the payment amount before selecting whether or not it’s a friends and family payment. 

How much does it cost to use?

Friends and Family payments can be made to anyone in the U.S. for free (from your bank account or PayPal). 

If you are sending money internationally, you may be charged a transaction fee equal to 5% of the send amount (up to $4.99 USD). 

When you pay with a debit or credit card, you’ll be charged a small processing fee—for both domestic and international transactions. Currently the rate is 2.9% + a fixed fee (varies by currency; $0.30 in the U.S.).

Can you get scammed on PayPal friends and family?

Unfortunately, yes.

But you can always count on Michael Scott to get you out of a jam

Here’s a good rule: If they’re not your friends and family in real life, they shouldn’t be your friends and family on PayPal. 

Occasionally, sellers will request that you make a purchase using PayPal friends and family rather than the traditional Goods and services payment. This can be a convincing argument as there is no fee required, meaning they may offer you a discounted rate. 

Don’t take the bait. 

In fact, using PayPal friends and family for business purchases is explicitly against their User Agreement:

“You must not use the “send money to a friend or family member” feature in your PayPal account when you are paying for goods or services.”

Business owners know this as well as should never ask you to pay in this way. Take it as a red flag and just pay the goods and services fee. 

As one user commented “3% is a small price to pay for peace of mind”

Does PayPal reimburse fraudulent payment requests? 

While PayPal does protect against “Goods and Services” scams, Paypal does not  reimburse “payments sent using PayPal’s friends and family functionality.”

Thus, the following information only applies to goods and services payments made from personal PayPal accounts. 

Items and services payments are protected by PayPal Purchase Protection. Here’s what that means:

• Your full financial information is not shared with sellers
• Transactions are encrypted and monitored 24/7
• All global transactions are covered

For Buyers

According to PayPal’s policy, you’re protected if:

1. You’re charged for something you didn’t buy
2. Your order never arrives
3. Your order arrives, but it’s different than described

If any of these things happen to you, PayPal guarantees to reimburse the full cost of the purchase plus any shipping costs (just make sure you report the problem within 60 days of the transaction date).

PayPal asks that you work with the seller first, but if they refuse to hit the “Issue a Refund” button, you can open a dispute in the Resolution Center. 

For Sellers 

For Sellers, the protection guarantees are pretty similar. Particularly, PayPal covers against two types of buyer complaints:

• “Unauthorized Transaction”
• “Item not received”

However, in order for Sellers to be protected by PayPal they need to have proof of delivery or shipment and be upfront with all the details. Learn more here.   

Are there any alternatives to PayPal friends and family?

For business transactions, pretty much any business alternative is better than PayPal friends and family—Square, Stripe, even PayPal Business.

In general, payment processors that are designed for buying and selling goods always afford better security—and they tend to have pretty fair rates. For example, ZipBooks free invoicing allows digital payments for businesses, so you have better security and get paid faster.

If you are actually transferring money between friends and family, PayPal is just one option. There are tons of great peer-to-peer payment apps out there. My go-to is Venmo, but I’ll let you compare for yourself. 

The post How to use PayPal Friends and Family—and how not to use it appeared first on ZipBooks.

You’ve likely got tons of questions: What is the the FUTA tax? Why do I need to pay it? What does it support? How much is it?

Here’s everything you need to know about the Federal Unemployment Tax Act—and trust me, you need to know it. As someone with employees, understanding the FUTA tax ensures that you’re compliant with the IRS. 

What is the FUTA Tax?

The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) is an act that imposes an unemployment tax on employers. Employers submit FUTA payments quarterly and report these taxes on IRS form 940. Typically, the rate is 6% of the first $7,000 paid in wages (per employee).

The FUTA tax funds the federal government’s oversight of each state’s unemployment program. 

This act was implemented in 1939 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, after the effects of the great depression. Because of the economic downturn, many people were unemployed and had absolutely no protection once they were let go. The government wanted to make sure that people who were involuntarily unemployed had the right to a temporary and partial wage replacement. The purpose of this tax was to decrease the need for welfare and promote purchasing power to keep the economy on the rise. The FUTA tax—deemed helpful and successful throughout the 1900s—is what businesses pay today.

Who has to pay the FUTA tax and how do I know if I qualify?

Employers are the only people who have to pay the FUTA tax.

It’s fairly easy to figure out if you are obligated to pay. In fact, to see if you qualify, you can take a look at these tests below: the general test, the household employees test, and the farmworkers test. If it turns out that the tests below describe your business, you will pay Federal Unemployment Tax.

General test (this doesn’t apply to farmworkers or household workers):

• If you paid wages of $1,500 or more to employees during any calendar quarter in 2018 or 2019.
• If you had one or more employees for at least some part of a day in any 20 or more different weeks in 2018 or 2019 (full-time, part-time, and temporary employees count)

Household employees test:

• You’re subject to the FUTA Tax if you paid cash wages of $1,000 or more to any household employees in any calendar quarter in 2018 or 2019. (A “household employee” is defined as anyone who works in a private home, local college club, or local fraternity or sorority.) 

Farmworkers test:

• If you paid cash wages of $20,000 or more to farmworkers during any calendar quarter in 2018 or 2019.
• If you employed 10 or more farmworkers during some part of the day (whether or not at the same time) during any or more different weeks in 2018 or 2019.

Is anyone exempt from paying the tax?

Although most employers pay the tax, there are a few exempt businesses and organizations:

• Indian tribes: As of December 21, 2000, Indian tribes are not required to file form 940 (FUTA Tax form). Tribal employers are exempt unless the tribe chooses not to participate in the state unemployment system.
• Tax-Exempt organizations: Religious, scientific, charitable, educational, and other organizations described in section 501(c)(3).
• Employers of state or local governments: Services delivered by employees of a state or political subdivision.

What is the FUTA tax rate?

The FUTA tax rate is 6.0% and applies to the first $7,000 you paid to each employee during the year.

If you break this down, this means that you will only pay a maximum of $420 per employee. Additionally, there is a chance that you can receive a credit up to 5.4%, which can reduce your tax rate to 0.6%. Some employers even receive additional credit if they have a state experience rate lower than 5.4%.

Overall, it’s important to make contributions to your state unemployment fund by the due date so your rates stay as low as possible, which in turn saves your business money. 

Note: the 6.0% tax rate can change if you are in a credit reduction state. If you are in a credit reduction state, you will have different credit standards. 

How does a state qualify as a credit reduction state?

When states cannot afford to pay unemployment benefits for their residents, they will often take out a Federal Unemployment Trust Fund Loan with the federal government. A state becomes a credit reduction state when they have an outstanding loan balance with the federal government. Essentially, if a state isn’t able to repay its unemployment benefit loans, they are considered a credit reduction state.

The IRS gives specific reporting instructions for calculating the credit reduction on Form 940 to make the application process easier.  

Does this credit reduction affect an employer’s taxes?

Yes, it unfortunately does affect employers’ taxes. The state will require employers to provide more compensation on Form 940 to help pay the difference until the state eventually pays back the loan.

Generally speaking, employers may receive a credit of 5.4% when they file Form 940; however, if you are in a credit reduction state, your credit will be altered to a lower percentage on a specific schedule. According to the IRS, the reduction schedule is 0.3% for the first year, another 0.3% for the second year, and an additional 0.3% for each year that the loan is not paid. Additional credit reductions may apply in later years if the loan is still outstanding and criteria isn’t met.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, your credit will be reduced. This means that your maximum credit will not be 5.4%, it will reduce to a different percentage based on the longevity of your state’s loan. For example, let’s say that your current credit is 5.4% and your state decreases credit by 0.3%, you would simply subtract 0.3 from 5.4 and you will end up with a 5.1% credit.

When do I deposit my FUTA tax?

Employers are required to use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to make all federal deposits. Form 940 covers a calendar year, but you may have to deposit your FUTA tax before filing your return. If you have FUTA tax liabilities, you need to make deposits on a quarterly basis and file Form 940. According to the IRS, if your FUTA tax is more than $500 for the calendar year, you must deposit at least one quarterly payment. 

You need to deposit your taxes by the last day of the month after the end of the quarter. If the due date lands on a weekend or a legal holiday, you will make your deposit on the next available business day. Here’s an easier way to look at it:

How do I report my FUTA taxes?

The IRS makes it easy to submit your FUTA Tax return. Simply fill out Form 940 (following the instructions provided if needed). The IRS requires employers to mail Form 940 to specific locations, depending on what state you reside. Go here to check out your state’s official FUTA mailing address.

The due date for filing Form 940 is January 31st; however, if you deposited all FUTA tax deposits when they were due, you have until February 10th.

Anything else?

Federal Unemployment Taxes aren’t the only payroll taxes you’ll be responsible to pay. Most businesses are required to submit State Unemployment Taxes as well (according to your state’s SUTA). SUTA rates can range from 0.05% to 14% so be sure to check your state’s current policy (similar exemptions apply). 

You can keep both FUTA and SUTA tax rates low by filing on time, minimizing turnover, and responding to unemployments claims. Whenever possible, it can help to consult payroll or tax experts. Good luck!

The post Everything You Need to Know About the FUTA Tax appeared first on ZipBooks.

Whatever the reason—take heart. The world of freelance is only growing and it’s a lifestyle anyone can build. 

What do freelance digital marketers do?

As a freelance digital marketer, your job is promote the businesses of your clients in a way that brings in new customers. Digital marketing includes copywriting, content writing, search engine optimization (SEO), advertising, social media management and more.

What will my day-to-day look like?

Your day-to-day as a freelance digital marketer will look different depending on the niche you choose. For example,

• If you’re Copywriting, you might create landing pages, draft emails, or improve CTAs. 
• If you’re creating Content, you might write blogs, design case studies, or script podcasts.
• If you’re doing SEO, you might build backlinks, research keyword ideas, or audit websites.
• If you’re managing Social Media, you might edit photographs, create infographics, or engage with followers.

More generally, a digital marketer’s day-to-day might include setting up KPIs, perfecting marketing strategies, sending reports to clients, measuring analytics, and creating other promotional materials (newsletters, onboarding, outreach, ads, etc). 

Typically, freelance marketers will organize their time by client or project. 

How much do freelance digital marketers make?

Digital marketer salaries float around $61K (according to Glassdoor) or around $25/hour (according to ZipRecruiter). 

As a freelance digital marketer you will set your own rates (here’s how), but you can quickly scale to this amount or higher if you hustle, find the right clients and build your expertise. 

While education or experience in marketing would be an incredible boon to someone trying to start their own digital marketing business, it’s not required. Clients will care more about what you have to show for yourself. 

Here’s how to get started:

1. Drill down

Digital marketing is a wide and varied field. It combines old fashioned practices like advertising and design with modern channels like social media and search engines. 

When getting started, it can be tempting to do it all. You’ve got tons of marketing experience under your belt after all: design skills, editing skills, photography skills, nunchuck skills. 

Napoleon, don’t be jealous

But you’re not working at an agency anymore. As a freelancer, you’ll land more clients if you can niche down.

Bring your background into your business and consider your target audience. You know that you can market yourself better if you actually know what services you’re offering and what clients you want. 

Plus, then your client will actually know what they’re getting. I’ve seen too many freelance marketers lose business overnight because their clients don’t understand the scope of what they’re buying. Set very clear expectations about the marketing tasks you’ll be doing and the results they might see. 

And always include time frame in your initial project descriptions—clients likely won’t understand that some marketing (like SEO and content) is a long game, not a get-rich-quick scheme. 

Choosing your niche

When it comes to freelance digital marketing, I recommend specializing in one of the following: 

• SEO
• Copywriting
• Content writing
• Social media management

Important reminder: there will inevitably be overlap in these fields (you know that), but choosing just one area to focus on will attract the right customers. 

Think about which aspect of marketing comes most naturally to you—what you do well and get excited about. This is the best niche for your business. 

For example, I’d take content writing over copywriting 9 times out of 10. If your marketing strengths lie in imagery, design and engagement, social media might be a better field for you. If you like the research, outreach and strategy associated with SEO, start there. 

You may find that clients request multiple services from you—because they like you and you’re killing it! If this is the case, you can still create a one-stop digital marketing shop, just outsource. If you’re great at social media management, but a client requests a website update, hire a freelance programmer to help you out. Easy. 

2. Build your portfolio

Once you’ve chosen your niche, don’t quit your day job. Not yet at least. First you need to show off a little. 

Start creating a collection of projects, posts, pictures and other content that applies to your niche. In addition to physical examples, make sure you have some statistical examples as well. Data that proves tangible ROI will impress clients more than pretty pictures.

If you find that your portfolio is a little lean, do something about it! Create some mock-ups for your favorite company or offer to work for free for friends and family. These experiences, products and even testimonials (don’t forget to ask for them!) will help you bring in more clients later. 

Showcase your portfolio on a beautiful website. Put some real time and money into your website. This is your first impression to clients. It should be engaging, mobile-friendly and fully-optimized. 

Then, make it easy for clients to contact you. One short form, accessible from any page. 

3. Put yourself out there

Just because you have a hefty portfolio, doesn’t mean clients will flood your contact form. They need to be able to find you first. 

Put your marketing background to work and do some good old fashioned SEO for your own company. Optimize for keywords and create content that potential clients would be looking for.

If your services are contingent upon a certain region, make sure you claim your Google My Business profile. This will optimize your business for “near me” searches and get you to the top of Google search results. 

According to Moz, signals from Google My Business are the most important ranking factor for local SEO

Create valuable content and offer it for free. Actively participate in marketing groups and forums. Don’t just promote yourself, be genuinely helpful. Write your own marketing course. Pitch out to online publications. Become a speaker. 

Don’t reinvent the wheel. You know the tricks of the trade—now just market yourself—Catch attention. Earn trust. Acquire customers.

4. Get paid

Despite all your hours of marketing efforts, you may still have to go on the hunt for paying clients. 

There are tons of online platforms for freelancers to find projects and bid for clients. Upwork is a popular favorite, but it does have a cumbersome enrollment process and takes between 10-20% of your earnings (though most sites like this will take some sort of cut).

Other freelance sites worth perusing: 

• Freelancer
• Toptal
• Guru
• Fiverr
• PeoplePerHour
• 99Designs

If you are not interested in using third-party sites to secure clients, there is another way: leverage your own network.  This is definitely a more long-term strategic play, but the clients you secure are more likely to be loyal.

Don’t overthink it. Look for newer or smaller businesses who are willing to work with a novice freelancer like yourself. Remember, the first client is the hardest to get, but if you do stellar work, it will only get easier.  

Setting your rates

On to the question that gets most freelancers biting their nails off—how much should I charge?

Setting your rates doesn’t have to induce nightmares. One of the advantages of being your own boss is that you can change rates whenever—even between clients if you have to! Just start somewhere.

Most beginners start with an hourly pricing model, but you have some flexibility here. You could also consider charging by project, by milestone or even by retainer. 

Look around at other freelance digital marketers—how much are they charging? Take into account what your goals are and how much you need to pay the bills. And of course, make sure that you’re delivering actual value. 

To determine your basic pricing, you need to figure out what your target annual income is first. Then, adjust that salary based on expected business expenses (including ~30% for self-employment taxes). Finally, divide by the number of hours you expect to work in a year.

Here are a few other easy ways to set hourly rates:

• Drop three zeros—Take your goal salary and drop three zeros (e.g. $50,000/year = $50/hour)
• Double your resentment number—What’s the lowest rate you’ll work for (so low that you’ll resent your work)? Double it. (e.g. $15/hour * 2 = $30/hour)
• Do what the next guy does—Google average hourly rates for freelance digital marketing or check out competitor pricing. 

Once you’ve set your rates, post them clearly on your website (even it’s just an estimate). You’re not locked in to your rates; businesses change pricing all the time. If a certain client requires more attention, up your price. Or If you’re really excited to work with someone, consider offering a discount. 

Don’t take on broke clients though. If they’re barely making a living themselves, you may end up chasing down payment or getting fired because—it’s not you, it’s them. 

And if you do use hourly rates, make sure you have a decent time tracker so that clients know exactly what they’re paying for. For example, ZipBooks is free accounting and time-tracking software that allows you to import billable hours directly into your invoices, so you never forget to get paid.

5. Know your numbers

Now, for the part of freelancing that you’re least excited about: accounting. 

Wait—don’t skip this section! I know your books may not excite you, but you need accurate financial records to make sure that your business is actually staying afloat. 

Separate business spending

Start by setting up a separate bank account for your business transactions. You don’t need to go out and get a fancy metallic credit card; just open a new checking account at your current bank. 

Freelance digital marketers are often sole proprietors who don’t see a need to separate spending or find it easier not to transfer funds. However, there are strict tax laws related to personal draws and blended funds will raise red flags for the IRS. 

While this may seem like an unimportant step in your business growth, intermingling spending habits will create messy books and be a nightmare come tax time. 

If self-employment taxes are already freaking you out, check out our guide here.  In a matter of words, self-employed individuals are required to pay estimated quarterly taxes 4 times a year—not just in April. But you do get awesome deductions!

Use smart software

As the right-brained creative that you are, you owe it to yourself to find a smart, beautiful, automated accounting solution. 

The standard today is cloud-based accounting software that can go anywhere with you and integrates with every service you need—time-tracking, payment processing, digital invoicing, and more. 

The customer view of a ZipBooks invoice

ZipBooks free Starter plan offers unlimited invoicing that integrates with popular payment processors like Square and PayPal so you get paid faster. Clients make payments online and transactions are automatically imported into books—meaning less mundane accounting work for you. 

6. Run a business

You did it. You’ve started a business—now run one! 

Create a mission statement and set revenue goals. Not only will setting milestones help you to grow your business, but it will improve your relationships with clients. Don’t disappoint your clients with overblown promises, but be realistic as you set expectations of project duration and quality. Meeting expectations consistently is better than underdelivering on lofty promises. 

Freelancing can get a little overwhelming, especially if you’re new to it or you’re taking on lots of new clients. Make a calendar and stick to it. Don’t let friends or kids or anything else distract you during working hours. Of course, the beauty of freelancing is that you get to set when those working hours are, but make sure you honor your schedule. If you don’t value your time, your clients won’t value it either. Be hyper organized. And don’t procrastinate!

Calendar Blocking for increased productivity

Remember, done is better than perfect. Just go for it. You’ll figure things out along the way.

And if you’re suffering from imposter syndrome—(Hello, High School English teacher here!)—just keep hustling. Constantly check in with yourself. Keep learning, keep practicing. Enough confidence and ambition will carry you a long way.

You may be a one-man (or woman) show, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect business imperatives like customer service or your own marketing efforts. Build relationships with the people around you. Be outgoing and be kind. Keep in touch with your audience through an email list, facebook group, twitter profile, etc.  The more people you have on your side, the more your business will grow. 

You’re the employer now, not the employee. Go out there and slay. 

For my veteran freelance marketers out there, I want to hear from you! Tell me in the comments—What worked for you as you were getting started? What would you do differently a second time around?

The post How to get started in freelance digital marketing (and rock at it) appeared first on ZipBooks.

ZipBooks has partnered with CPACharge to improve fast, secure payments for Accountants—and to offer you the lowest rates in the industry. 

The post ZipBooks partners with CPACharge for simple, speedy and secure payments appeared first on ZipBooks.

For example, things like logo placement and card stock—while they may seem trivial at first—can make all the difference when it comes to standing out in a stack. Remember the iconic scene in American Psycho where the lead character obsesses over one of his colleague’s business cards?

Don’t get so obsessed over creating the best business card in the history of the world that it keeps you up at night, but you should definitely care about your card being balanced, focused, and targeted to your ideal user—so they actually get in touch with you.

In this article, we will cover the top business card design best practices you need to consider when it comes to creating an awesome business card, as well as how to keep it on-brand and ensure it’s memorable enough that your prospect sticks it to their fridge or office whiteboard.

1. Establish your logo design and colors

It may seem obvious, but if you want your business and brand to be taken seriously, then it is best practice to invest in a professional logo design along with a set of brand guidelines—also known as a style guide.

Image via  Looka

Let’s start with your logo

There are many ways you can get a custom logo designed. And the cost of your logo will vary. On the more affordable end of the spectrum, you have options like using an online logo maker, using a website like Fiverr, or buying a logo template and customizing it yourself in a program like Adobe Illustrator or Canva. With these logo options, you’re looking at a price range of $20-$200.

What about colors?

Be sure to get the exact colors and fonts used in your logo design, so the same elements can be used on your business cards—creating a consistent experience. Not every color is the same, and it may end up that your brand colors will impact things like:

• Which card stock you can use—If your brand colors are more monochrome, then using a thinner card stock is an option. If your colors are vibrant, your card stock will need to be thicker.
• Your cost to print—Not all colors are equal and several colors may need to be mixed to create your particular shade of blue.

This is why it makes sense during the logo design stage to have a set of brand guidelines created, especially if you’ll be working with printing companies for flyers, mailers, and events. Your partners and vendors will love you.

2. Don’t skimp on your card stock or material

Card stock and or material is another area where many small business owners are thinking outside the box, investing a little extra coin, and creating a card that’s worth hanging onto purely because of its uniqueness and perceived value.

Image via  Julie Antinucci

I once received a business “card” from a custom t-shirt printer that was printed on a rectangle of cotton fabric. Not the most solid material, but I still remember it (and have the card) years later. Other types of unique materials for business cards include:

• Wood
• Cork
• Leather
• Metal
• Cotton paper
• Chocolate

What is business card stock?

Card stock (also written as cardstock) is a paper stock that is thicker than traditional printing paper. Usually, most business cards are printed on card stock that is 350 g, 45 kg, or 12 pt (thickness). It’s best practice to print your business cards on a thicker stock for a few reasons:

• The thicker the stock, the better your business card design will hold up over time. Whether you carry business cards in your wallet, purse, or glove compartment, we all know what happens to thin cards – they eventually get ruined.
• Believe it or not, how your business card “feels” speaks a lot to the quality and professionalism of your company. In terms of first impressions, handing someone a durable business card vs something that feels flimsy can make all the difference. It’s similar to having (or receiving) a good handshake.
• If you plan to have printing on both sides of your card, a thicker stock is the only way to go. Printing on both sides requires the card to hold more ink. Using a thicker stock ensures your design remains intact.

3. Pick a font pairing that best represents your brand

Picking the right font for your business card takes a bit of strategy, a dash of creativity, and a healthy dose of intuition. Often one of the most overlooked elements of business card design, the fonts you choose can have a direct impact on the perception of your brand. Good typography tells a story of its own. 

Image via  Shutterstock

When it comes to picking the right fonts for your business card design, you must consider the hierarchy of the content, the weight of your fonts, and how much text you want (vs need) to have on your card. Here are a few tips to ensure your font choices hit the mark:

• Stick with font pairings of 2 or 3 fonts—Too many can be confusing. Fontpair.co is a great resource for choosing proven font pairings.
• The best business card fonts should challenge the norm, but not too much—Steer clear of Comic Sans, but still make sure your fonts are readable and clear.
• Don’t be afraid to showcase your personality—whether you’re a company or a personal brand. If there’s one way to make your card fun, it’s with font.
• Consider using print-friendly fonts and font sizes—If your plan is to have a mini square business card, be sure to choose a nice clean font that is big enough to read with minimal effort or squinting.

Font type can also invoke a sense of style. Helvetica or Futura could give off a sense of elegance, whereas a font like Mohave would be great for a strong headline that’s directly engaging and commands attention.

4. Logo placement matters

Determining the best placement of your logo on your business card can be quite a challenge for designers. This is another scenario where having a brand style guide comes in handy. Is your brand subtle and subdued? Or is your brand in-your-face and extroverted?

The worst thing you can do is stick your logo in the top corner and call it a day. That could very well be what works best for your brand, just be sure to get creative, move things around, and see how different logo placement or arrangement makes you feel.

Image via  Looka

Keep in mind, your logo may have several elements like a wordmark, symbol, or monogram. In the example above, you can see on one side of the business card the background is blue with the combination mark (logo and symbol) centered. On the opposite side, you can see just the symbol again in the bottom left corner.

Image via  Design Inspiration

If you’re going with a vertical business card layout, try using a large logo in the top or bottom half of the card. This is a great way to portray confidence and attitude if that’s your thing.

Another great way to be “brand first” with your business card design would be to make your logo larger than the actual card on one side, acting as the background. This can be extremely effective, especially if your logo has two colors with enough contrast.

5. Consider brand identity with card shape and size

Once you have your logo and colors defined, it’s time to think about the shape and size of your cards. Think about it: from a design standpoint, the card is your canvas. And this is definitely an area where business owners can truly stand out and speak directly to their industry and target market.

Image via  How Design

Chomp, a design agency in the UK, took their business card design to the next level and directly played off their company name (which is also carried throughout their website design).

What is the standard size of a business card?

The dimensions of most standard printed business cards is 3.5 x 2 inches, and it is best practice to include a “bleed” area. The bleed refers to an 1/8th inch space around the outside of the card. Having bleed allows things like background color to go right to the edge of the card instead of having a noticeable border. When choosing the size of your business card, keep shape in mind as well.

What shape can my business card be?

You will find most credible online printers have a variety of business card shapes available. These typically include:

• Rounded corners
• Vertical
• Square
• Mini
• Folded

Whatever shape you choose, keep in mind that the more custom you go, your cost is likely to increase. And if you’re asking yourself “is this shape too tacky?”, it probably is. 

As far as best practice goes, we recommend keeping your card simple to start. Let your design and content speak for themselves, and if it’s clearly obvious that your brand needs a card shape beyond the traditional rectangle (like Chomp), then make sure you spend the money to hire a designer and do it right.

6. To finish or not to finish?

One of the biggest ways you can enhance your business card design is choosing the right type of finish. When your design, card stock, and finish are all in sync, the end result is a lasting first impression that just “feels” right.

Image via  Ricky Carmichael

What is business card finishing?

When it comes to paper, the word finish simply refers to a final coating or treatment to finalize the design. In terms of business cards, the type of finish that’s available to you can depend on the card stock or material you’re printing on, as well as the capabilities of the printing service you’re using.

The most common business card finishes are:

• Matte is one of the most popular and timeless finishes. Smooth to the touch and very professional.
• Spot UV is a treatment that involves applying varnish to a specific element on your card, such as your logo. Like the image above which is matte finish with spot UV treatment on the logo.
• Emboss and deboss can bring dimension to your cards, making elements either pop out or drop in. 
• Gold or silver foil finishing involves adding a metallic finish to elements of your business card, allowing them to catch the light and truly shine.

Should I only use one finish for my business card?

Actually, it’s becoming best practice to combine finishes for a truly custom business card creation. For example, combining a matte finish with foil stamping and deboss can produce a result like what you see below.

Image via  Digitized Visions

Much like with the colors you choose, the type of finish and number of treatments you choose can affect your cost. There’s nothing wrong with opting out of any special business card finish, and even going with no finish at all—as long as it’s aligned with your brand and gives an accurate impression to your potential clients.

Maybe you’re in the recycling business. Which in that case it would make total sense to use recycled paper stock with no finish at all—raw and uncut.

What about digital business cards?

Ok, I know what you’re thinking, “If I have a website or Facebook account, why would I need a digital business card?” The truth is, you don’t need one. Especially if you have an awesome business card design on lovely stock with a super professional finish.

But you should still get one, and here are a few reasons why:

• Digital business cards are often free or low cost to create, with nothing more than a simple mobile app like CamCard or Inigo
• These apps will design, store, and send your digital business card to another person’s mobile device with ease. Which is awesome, especially if you’ve forgotten your cards.
• With mobile phones often being at the center of most people’s personal and professional lives, giving someone the ability to save your info quickly is key.

If your company is within the technology or digital sector, beaming someone your digital business card can be a great way to make a first impression. It’s an easy way to let prospective clients know you are ahead of the trends.

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