Whether it is a multi billion dollar corporation or a newly set-up small business accounting software is more than a mere convenience. It is absolutely crucial for any business, irrespective of its size. For with no proper accounting software, companies can find themselves unable to meet the mandatory compliance issues. Furthermore some others could even experience multi billion dollar financial fraud of the kind Enron and their like that have made very popular. More than the big corporations, it is smaller businesses that need professional accounting software. Since most of them are carry out small-scale operations and often too small to be able to pay for the services of a full time accounting professional, in fact they depend more on small business accounting software than their big counterparts. And through years, as an increasingly number of people have taken the entrepreneur way, small business accounting software has become a large industry in its own right.Firstly what do you know about small business accounting software? Basically small business accounting software, as the name suggests, is accounting software specifically prepared to cater to the needs of the small business. Small businesses have their own specific requirements, specific needs, specific tax calculation structures and even specific sops. Small business accounting software hence combines these specifics into consideration to build or work out a special small business accounting package that such businesses could use. Small business accounting software also guarantees that firms with restricted manpower resources don’t have to spend in the hiring costs of expensive accountants to manage their records.A number of small business accounting software available today are relatively easy to use, simple and cover a host of complex options. Previously small business accounting software was not so popular because the small businesses were not as well-structured as they are at present; simply because there weren’t too many small businesses to make the production of a specific small business accounting software profitable.But the times have changed. And small business at present comprises well over 25% of all businesses in the United States of America. With this new critical mass, both the manufacture and distribution of small business accounting software has become not just practical, but also very profitable to the manufacturers of small business accounting software.This includes even big players like Microsoft who have identified this business need and have special small business accounting software packages. Moreover every time you buy a premium laptop or computer, you will in all possibility get a bundled software package that includes some sort of small business accounting software. Sites like download.com offer a number of small business accounting software, some of which at no additional cost. So, if you haven’t yet already started using it, surely it is about time you did!
How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?
I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.
A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.
So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?
The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.
I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.
Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?
Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.
A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.
But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.
So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.
They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.
But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.
But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.
But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.
And it cost them.
Learning Points
The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.
Home Based Business for Moms: A Tutorial
Nowadays everyone is trying to find home based businesses in order to bring a boost to their income. Today’s moms are also trying to find businesses at homes because not every mom wants to work long hours at work like men do. Seeing this, I have created a step by step tutorial on a profitable home based business for moms.Mostly moms would have many motherly jobs to do such as look after the children, cooking, cleaning up the house etc. Therefore online jobs would certainly not be suitable for them because they would then have to sacrifice all they do at home to work online, which obviously is not an option. So, for this purpose, I have taken special care to compile kind of jobs that would be suitable to most moms.One of the ways to start a home based business for moms is by going online. Everyone nowadays is looking for jobs online because it provides vast amounts of paying jobs for every category. Any mom would surely be interested in at least one of the online jobs to offer. Also, it is necessary for her to know what kind of task she is about to opt for.You should always have the essential elements you would need to achieve success online. You cannot ensure your success until you have the basic fundamentals for your task. Therefore, you must have a laptop or a desktop computer, an internet connection and most importantly, determination to succeed.Now once you have collected all the essentials it’s time to get started. Along with the many different offline home based businesses a mother could choose from, there are also many online ones which would provide them with greater outcome. Some of them are as follows.1. Network marketing is one of the best home based business for moms. This is specially recommended for those moms who would like to spend more time at home and look after their children. This may seem unprofitable to some mothers at first, but it promises to provide great outcomes.2. Data entry is a job which requires you to enter data upon request of some companies. This job allows moms to run their regular work i.e. cooking etc. with their online home based business. The income is low compared to the network marketing business, which provides greater profits.3. Affiliate programs are suitable for those moms who own a website. All you have to do is paste a link, onto your website, that would lead to an external website that sells products. When a transaction is made from the website, you would get a commission from the website.4. Paid surveys are also a great way for moms to earn money. Upon each survey you take, you get a fixed amount of money (winning prizes is also possible).The internet contains many different business opportunities, and many of them are filled with people who try to victimize others, so you should be careful while choosing a home based business, or else your time and determination would go to waste.