Why We Focused on Safety for Honor Services Office Invoicing

Safety was our number one priority when we developed our Invoicing solution. We partnered with First Data Merchant Solutions and PayPal to ensure you had the best solution for processing online invoices.

First Data and PayPal Secure Payments

First Data
This is the largest acquirer processor in the world. Over a trillion dollars in credit card processing happened last year through this processor. If you do a lot of invoicing or have a high dollar value and wish to receive online payments, this solution is for you. A credit check and monthly fees may apply.

PayPal
Ease of use is where PayPal is making strides. Simply sign up for an account, tie it to your business account and you are up and running. This is a simple solution for those who do infrequent billing. It has no monthly fee, but the processing fees can be a bit higher.

Case Study (A Day In The Life Of Jasmine)
As Jasmine sat at her desk she was troubled because she was sending invoices using a Word template and had no idea how much was owed to her or when the invoices were due. Her Do-it-Yourself tactic had backfired.

She quickly subscribed to Honor Services Office and immediately noticed the difference. She was able to add taxes, fees and items she sold, within minutes. After choosing between First Data or PayPal for her processor, she was in business. She sent her clients invoices and had a surprise bonus, she was reminded when the invoice was overdue.

She resent the overdue invoice by editing the invoice. She went to Ledger Management and saw the payment automatically added to her books. "That was so easy" she said to herself.


Honor Services Office is fully PCI compliant!

FEATURED - Advice from Small Business Owner Mary Konow

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Mary Konow, M.S., GCDF

Stan: Mary please tell me about yourself and your business.

Mary: As the owner and career coach for MK Career Designs, I prepare job seekers and proactive professionals for success through empowering Career Coaching, effective career documents and strategic LinkedIn Profile Optimization. I help alleviate the stress of job searching with job readiness strategies, empowering job seekers to take the next step. I help professionals position themselves before the next big opportunity, show them how to grow their network and build professional credibility. www.MKCareerDesigns.com

Stan: What advice would you give small business owners right now?

Mary: As small business owners, we are always marketing our products and brand- whether we realize it or not. All networking efforts should be seen as a part of our overall marketing plans. Get out there, talk to people in your community and build relationships- in doing so, you will also build your brand. Stay consistent in your marketing and your efforts will pay off.

To see more information about Mary and her service please visit: www.MKCareerDesigns.com

Would you like to be featured? Contact me with "Feature Me" in the subject at contact@honorservicesinc.com.

Expiring Tax Credits and Being Prepared for Year End 2013

By: Stan Washington
Date: December 04.2013

T'is the season to be jolly, thankful and prepared! Yes it's that time of year where we want to relax and enjoy in many festivities, but are you prepared to relax? I remember one year I worked extremely hard and was too busy to focus on taxes.  My accountant asked for my documents and I had a pile of garbage.

She looked at me and shook her head with a despondent stare.  Her retort was "Come back to me when you are prepared." Okay, she wasn't that harsh but it felt that way!

Start Preparing for Taxes NOW
Why not start collecting your documentation now.  Before you schedule your next party, schedule time for collecting documents and summarizing your year. I have included tax credits to prepare you for your conversation with your accountant. You should schedule a meeting before the year ends.

Expiring tax credit full document: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43124.pdf

Bank Statements
I don't know about your bank, but mine makes it easy to access statements online for one (1) year. This means you need to collect your statements from last December until now if you haven't done so already.

Other Considerations
Have you done charity work? Do you have miles listed for business expenses? Have you tallied all operational expenses? Are you missing tax credits you are unaware of? Do you have an opportunity to get a credit in the next three weeks? Are you aware of the filing date for next year? (There is a two week delay extending the start of the season to February 04, 2014). Is your hardware fully depreciated? Should you purchase computer and other hardware now?

Filing season link:http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/2014-Tax-Season-to-Start-Later-Following-Government-Closure;-IRS-Sees-Heavy-Demand-As-Operations-Resume

Being prepared will help you reduce your heartache and headaches!

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Visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com to do online invoicing today!

My invoicing nightmare!

Excitement filled my mind when the day of business opening finally came to fruition.  All the days of planning, calculating and socializing was finally going to pay off. I had my business process practiced and I was ready for clients. Or so I thought…

When my first client appeared I was elated! Since my service was “pay first” I quickly had to send him an invoice to collect my funds. To my dismay, I had not thought of this part of my business! I quickly searched for invoice templates and found some free ones on the internet. 

THUS MY NIGHTMARE BEGAN!

I opened Word and created my invoice. Problem averted. I decided to make my invoices fancier so I used my Word prowess to do this.  ALL of my invoices were in word and at that time I also took checks. TWO BIG MISTAKES!

After waiting to receive checks or have them bounce, I found myself in a bit of a mess. My client received the work and I had not received payment. Then the end of the year hit and my accountant asked “how much did you sell?”

My answer was I don’t know! I spent two days sorting through a mass of Word documents trying to make sense out of my receivables. As an executive I had computer systems for all of this and now I was too busy to do “projections!”

BUSINESS NEEDS REAL SOLUTIONS

Once reality hit that I was in “business” I actually had to think like a business. When I looked at the cost of business solutions I found that none of them really fit my needs. I had to change my business to fit what I could afford. So I looked to FREE technology. THIS WAS MY THIRD MISTAKE!

Free software did not manage my business well. Yes I could collect a few contacts here and there but I could never totally understand my business. Since my background was in technology I hired some of the best cloud developers I could find to build what I needed.

INVOICING HAD TO HAVE DIRECT DEPOSIT

The very first thing we designed on Career Coach Office was a secure environment where your clients could enter their credit or debit information online without worrying. Once they clicked the pay button the approved funds would be directly deposited into your account.

SUBSCRIPTION INVOICING WAS A MUST

Many of my colleagues have subscription services for their clients so we added this feature.  This had to be simple as well. Set a billing date and an amount and you’re done. Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Annual invoices are sent without worry.

MULTIPLE PAY OPTIONS PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY

We looked around to find the highest used solutions.  We chose First Data for the direct deposit solution and PayPal for the less integrated solution. First Data processed over $800 Billion in transactions last year and PayPal is highly used because the signup process is very simple. Both solutions are secure and they quickly enable you to take credit and debit cards. They are Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant.

try it for free: http://www.careercoachoffice.com