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PowerPoint Presentations …Easy to do, Hard to do right

The strength and sophistication of Powerpoint means that it is now extremely easy to put together sales presentations that are accompanied by all kinds of supplementary data and information. powerpoint presentations are practically de rigeur in the industry; without one audiences feel that there is something missing. However, the relative difficulty of effective Powerpoint design means that it is extremely easy to put together a slideshow that actually adds very little to a presentation; in fact, it can detract from your talk, leaving the audience bored and frustrated. We have all had to sit through bad presentations. In many cases, the slideshow feels like a bolt-on extra: something that has been added almost as an afterthought. This is because in many cases, it has – simply because it is expected.

To create a good Powerpoint presentation you have to bear in mind a few principles. The slides should complement your talk, not duplicate it. Again, you will doubtless have had to endure talks in which the slides simply repeat the spoken content – sometimes verbatim. The purpose of the slides is to support and illustrate the spoken material, making it more memorable and full of impact. Instead, they are often used to render it redundant.

Complexity is another key issue. Many beginners make the mistake of packing too much information into a slide, on the grounds that a picture is worth a thousand words. Simplicity is better, though this does not mean dumbing down your message. You are generally looking for bold, straightforward ways of communicating key statistics, facts and information. If there is too much on the screen then your audience will be distracted from your talk as they struggle to decipher and digest it. Graphs can be very powerful, since they can be used to show trends that otherwise take a great deal of description. You should add legends or brief bits of text to your slides, but not too much. You want your audience to know exactly what you are showing them, without giving them more than they need.

In the end, powerpoint presentations are supposed to complement your talk, not to replace it or duplicate it. Sales presentations are all about being convincing and communicating your message as clearly and succinctly as possible. Look for the take-home points, the ideas that you want people to remember above all else. Make sure your Powerpoint design helps you achieve this, rather than obscuring it.

Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/

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Coach hire London provides inexpensive travel

coach hire london has been beset by a negative reputation for too long. Frequently associated with crowds of tourists blocking the roads and famous sights, or with hoards of school children being taken to the museums and galleries for the day, it is now time to reflect upon coaches as an option for anyone in need of an inexpensive vehicle with the room to carry a sizeable group of people. In any case, who are we to look down our noses at visitors and youngsters to whom a visit via coach to the capital via coach offers enormous cultural wealth? Luxury coach hire is of course another matter; less the domain of package holidays and pedagogical institutions, than the superior option for those with a little more money to spend on a truly memorable experience of getting from A to B or of going on tour. Indeed, if you’re planning a tour then coach hire really will deliver: unlike public transport where the routes are prearranged and sometimes send you out of your way, your coach driver will take you exactly where you want to go, using the roads and routes that make most sense. Large bands of musicians, theatre troupes and sports teams doing the rounds of concert halls and stadiums will really benefit from the kind of personalised travel that coaches afford. Smaller parties, meanwhile, might consider accessing these same privileges if they resort to minibus hire.

Minibus hire will customarily cater for groups of between 8 and 33 people, with a few popular sizes having eight, twelve, fifteen or seventeen seats, including the driver. As such, travelling by minibus can accommodate sizeable families wanting to travel together for events such as weddings, get-togethers at Christmas or Easter, or even for family holidays in the UK or further afield. Minibuses certainly allow you to carry more luggage with you, enjoy a convivial atmosphere, and leave you less vulnerable than you might be with a caravan or trailer bringing up the rear.

coach hire london or minibus hire has also earned plenty of popularity amongst groups of people arranging stag or hen parties away from their usual haunts. In this instance, hiring a vehicle makes extra sense in terms of safety. If you afford the services of a designated driver you can avoid all concerns associated with drink driving. You can even transform your vehicle into a personalised party bus, and upgrade to luxury coach hire if you please.

Please visit http://www.goldenboy.co.uk/

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Document processing is more efficient when done online

Automated document processing has been a common and cost-effective method of handling invoices and other records electronically for 50+ years. The capability to scan a document into a computer’s automation software on arrival simplifies the entire process of invoice processing.

No longer do company staff need to go through a lengthy manual filing process of up to 15 steps before an invoice can be paid. These days, accounts payable employees bank on automated document management systems to do the hard work for them. Intelligent Data Capture (IDC) systems save employee time and reduce the risk of human error in a way that, not too long ago, would have seemed unthinkable.

Sometimes, there is the complicationof different companies using different invoice processing systems, or of dealing with a company that is stuck in the past, still completing all of their filing and processing by hand. However, there is a broad consensus across industries that automated systems represent the future of administrative business tasks, and it’s not likely to be long before most companies catch up, especially given the saving of time and error that comes with using automated document management.There is such a big variety of types of files that can benefit from automated document processing, especially given the growth in traceability and communication that has come with the universality of the net. Most companies use automated databases to keep information about sales suppliers employee payroll and performance, as well as to produce pay slips and periodic progress reports.

Another little-appreciated advantage to automating invoice processing and other documentation management is an eco-friendly one. Businesses who take the step to bring filing and databasing online save large amounts of paperwork, especially using innovations like electronic invoices and purchasing orders. Just think about how many trees are downed per year to supply printed invoices, pay slips and sales orders. Most people aren’t aware of the scale of this problem, but almost all companies are more than aware of the exorbitant cost of printing sheet after sheet of paper – often only to feed that information back into a computer manually.

But all of those filing cabinets full of ecologically-unfriendly paperwork are becoming a thing of the past as more and more managing directors realize the importance of cloud-based digital document management. Outsourcing gives companies the liberty to spend valuable time focusing on raising sales, brand awareness and manufacturing levels, whilst able to sleep easily, knowing that the day-to-day filing tasks are taken care of.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Bacs payments and the problem of transaction reversibility

Bacs, or Bankers Automated Clearing Software, has been around a long time. Essentially, though, bacs payments simply mean transferring money directly from one bank account into another. FPS or Faster Payments Service is essentially the same, but it generally happens almost immediately, whereas Bacs takes up to three working days. Bacs software is therefore different to credit or debit card payments, and has advantages and disadvantages in comparison.

Since bacs payments are made directly from one bank account into another, they are effectively irreversible. With credit cards, the transaction can be cancelled and the money returned to you if there is good reason (such as fraud, or the goods you ordered turned out not to be as advertised, or never turned up at all). With bacs, this is far harder. That is a good thing for merchants, since you won’t have to worry about customers making unjustified chargebacks if they change their minds. For buyers, though, it means transactions cannot be undone. In most cases, this will not be a problem because bacs tends to be used for paying suppliers and for employees’ wages, and so on. These are generally predictable and are paid in arrears. However, if a mistake (such as a typo) occurs, it is not a simple matter to reclaim the money. Without the goodwill of the recipient, it can be extremely time-consuming. If you are making monthly payments, it might simply be easier to adjust the next one rather than rectify the last one.

Bacs software can be integrated into your accounting package to ensure that mistakes don’t routinely happen due to human error, but it’s impossible to eliminate them altogether. That bacs payments are made in their millions every day proves that this need not be a fatal flaw for bacs, and that there’s no reason your organisation should not use it too. Indeed, the advantages far outweigh any minor problems that might arise from its use. Bacs is more secure, faster and easier than paying by cash or cheque. It’s also the standard, now – or, at least, FPS is – which means that if you’re still paying by more traditional methods then you will naturally find yourself at a competitive disadvantage. There is really no good reason to hold large amounts of cash on the premises or to use time-consuming and inefficient cheques when instant and straightforward transfers are possible at minimal cost.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Invoice processing -speed, efficiency and a better brand

Not so long ago, every document in every office took paper form. Documents were always paper, and had been for around 2,000 years. Then, just a few decades back, desktop computers really started to become popular. Now, documents could be created on the screen and printed to be a hard copy – like everything else in the office. But as computers grew even more common and with the spread of the internet, there came a point when documents no longer had to be printed to be sent around – they could be saved online or on a network, in the office’s document management system. Now, there were two distinct systems: paper and virtual, and the difficulties this entailed – and still entails – could be significant. It can be messy, wasteful and inefficient. People trained in one system may not be quite familiar with the other. Documents can get lost in the paper system, perhaps getting piled up on one person’s desk, or taken out of the office and never seen again. Document processing aims to bring the two systems together, bridging the considerable gap between a paper-based office and a paper-less office. Invoice processing does the same for the accounts department – an important asset in an age where some invoices are sent through the mail and some are raised electronically, by bacs.

The technology used to achieve this has come a long way in the last few years. At one point, the best you could hope for was a scanned image – a picture file of a memo that could not be edited, and certainly not using a word processor. More recently, optical character recognition has enabled printed documents to be turned back into editable computer files. Further developments mean that even handwritten letters can be converted into Word or other documents. The technology generally takes a while to ‘learn’ to read handwriting reasonably, but boasts accuracy rates of greater than 97 percent.

This means that document processing is now very reliable and effective, and when combined with a good document management system can make for a much more efficient office. Everyone can access the documents they should have – and the documents will always be accessible to those who have permission to read them. Similarly, invoice processing means that your accounts department is less likely to miss a payment – something that always undermines a business’s reputation with suppliers and clients.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

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School uniforms online, the easy way to shop

A good London schoolwear supplier doesn’t just sell school clothes. They sell peace of mind and the knowledge that purchasing school uniforms doesn’t have to entail days of traipsing the high street for every last item your child needs – usually with the child in tow.

Shopping for clothes online has various benefits. For starters, when you buy online – anything, whether it’s clothes, books or computer hardware – you tend to get better prices. That’s because if you buy from a store you’re also paying for their overheads: rent, heating, staffing costs and so on. Not only that but they’re likely to be situated somewhere costly, on the high street where footfall is higher and shops are more competitive. With an online schoolwear supplier, it doesn’t matter where they are operating from. You place your order and it’s posted to your door.

Convenience is another obvious plus. It’s much simpler and less effort to do your shopping over the internet than it is to find the time to travel to the shops and physically search for what you require. You can buy what you want in your lunch hour at work or in the evenings, rather than take a day to get your child kitted out for next term. It also doesn’t matter when you shop – the internet doesn’t have opening hours.

One caveat is sizing, though this doesn’t have to be an insurmountable problem. Take careful measurements and use existing clothes to gauge what you need and you should be able to order school clothes that fit properly without any trouble. On the off-chance that there is a problem, you can always return them and have them exchanged for a different size. Once you have used the same supplier once, you will have a much better idea of how their clothes fit, so it will get easier and easier as time goes on.

A decent London schoolwear supplier will have more than just school clothes. You can treat it like a one stop shop, picking up everything that your child needs – stationary and calculators, equipment for clubs and sports as well as school uniforms. Some will even offer a school delivery service, so even if you leave things until the very last minute you can still make sure the right items will be waiting for them when they arrive at the school gates.

Please visit http://www.uniform4kids.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.uniform4kids.com/

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Next generation access is the key to poor web coverage

The UK’s ICT infrastructure is better than much of the rest of the continent’s, but connectivity is poorly distributed throughout the country. Whilst London and the southeast mostly enjoy fast internet access, some of the outlying regions and rural areas are still using the old telephone network’s copper cables for their infrastructure. Consequently speeds can be down to the ‘dial up’ rates of a decade or more back. next generation access involves improving these phone networks – which were never supposed to support high-bandwidth internet traffic – to fibre-optic cables which are capable of transmitting huge volumes of data very quickly. The problem is that such upgrades are pricey, and companies are not always ready to make the investment. However, this means that whole villages can be stuck with slow internet access. Given the role of the web for business, personal communication and life in general now, this is problematic. One solution is community broadband.

Community broadband is a way of bringing groups of people together and sharing connections between them. These are locally-organised programmes aimed at addressing ‘not spots’ – those areas that presently have little or no connectivity. They are often administrated by social enterprises or not-for-profit groups and are therefore cost-effective. There have already been some great success stories, with tens or hundreds of thousands of people in some towns connected to the high-speed web. This obviously comes with many benefits, not least that e-commerce now accounts for a sizeable proportion of GDP; good internet access is viewed as a prerequisite for the economic recovery which is currently elusive.

Communications technology is fast-moving. Only a few years ago it was almost unimaginable to browse the internet on a smartphone – the mobile phone revolution is itself less than 20 years old. Whilst this makes some businesses (and individuals) wary about upgrading – the new technology may soon become obsolete itself – it also means that those without next generation access are being left behind, reliant on phone cables that were never intended to handle the load that is currently demanded of them. The UK’s ICT infrastructure is patchy, and large areas – particularly remote places – have very slow access. Community broadband is a way of addressing this and bringing equality of speed to the country. This will be fundamental both to economic recovery and addressing the north/south divide in terms of web access.

Please visit http://www.broadbandvantage.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.broadbandvantage.co.uk/

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Bacs or SWIFT? What are the advantages?

bacs software is now a well-established tool that enables you to pay customers and suppliers quickly, securely and easily by means of electronic transfer. Bacs payments are a far better option than paying by cheque or cash, since you don’t have to worry about keeping big quantities of cash on the premises – a potential security issue – or cash-flow problems brought about by people cashing their cheques at unexpected points in your financial month. Bacs, the acronym for for bankers’ automated clearing standard, is a well-tried and tested method of payment that can save you a lot of time and money, as well as having other advantages.

Bacs usually takes three days to clear as standard, although depending on the sending and receiving banks it can be virtually instant. If you are concerned or there is cause to make a fast transfer, SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is guaranteed same-day. However, this means an additional cost, so for small payments it is rarely worth it. For larger sums or urgent orders and payments, SWIFT may be a good choice and the costs will be proportionately smaller if the transfer is large.

One of the great things about Bacs software is that it can be integrated with your other accounting systems and databases. If you haven’t done this, it can be a real headache and a drain on resources, because different transactions have to be logged and entered into different systems. If you take the time to set up your systems correctly, however, you can save a significant amount of time (and potentially expensive errors) and streamline your accounts in a way that is simply impossible if you are using several applications or processes.

bacs software consultants will be able to advise you on the best programmes for your accounts, and whether your present systems can be used in conjunction with Bacs payments. Migrating your accounts can be a formidable task, though the benefits are exceptional. Once you have completed the process, you can use Bacs automatically – paying workers on time, every time; ensuring that suppliers are paid and that customers are respecting their commitments to you; and logging every transaction to make sure that there are no surprises hiding in your accounts to cause problems at the end of the tax or accounting year. Moreover, auditing processes can be started to identify and fix past accounting errors – something which can cost businesses a significant proportion of turnover.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Centralised document processing turns your data into assets

In a century where technological advancements are (almost) breaking the speed of light, inventing intelligent robots and making world wide connectivity a reality, it makes no sense to still be scrabbling around in filing cabinets looking for that important document placed there many years ago. If space travel is now a possibility, document processing should be a breeze. Document management systems gather all significant information into a central pool which can be made accessible to all your employees. It’s not rocket science, but using a DMS to optimise all operations from customer service to invoice processing will not only save you money but make it go further, and send your business soaring.

All too often, information is trapped in separate email exchanges or even in individuals’ heads. By altering your processes, all of this useful data can be utilised and consequently becomes an asset to your company. Once this data is collated into an electronic library, employees can use indexing, archiving and full text search functions to access thousands of files. Daily internal operations will be made more effective, and the ability of your company to provide a high level of customer service will be increased. This is thanks to the electronically collected material from which target audience data can be quickly and accurately pulled. All of your operations will gain in promptness and professionalism.

More than this, DMS systems can produce very tangible improvements to your company’s financial processes. As already mentioned, centralising your resources makes the most of its asset value. Dependable invoice processing makes the most of your working capital, helps to prevent against duplicate or overdue payments, and improves cash flow. Finally, the costs of paper storage facilities are eradicated as digitising information hugely reduces the space needed to store all this data.

Security improvements are another advantage. On-paper vulnerability to fire, flood, theft and vandalism and over-handling are a thing of the past, thanks to data retrieval facilities. Regulatory compliance is another positive of increased security and centralised control as DMS files are extremely trackable and the chances of withdrawn licenses or legal action are correspondingly reduced.

To implement document management systems within your organisation, look for an expert provider to advise you on how best to optimise routine but necessary tasks. Enabling shareability and integration across your business, document processing systems increase professionalism and value, simplify security and control, and save money. Leave your competitors to labour over manual, non-electronic invoice processing. Installing DMS will bring your business up to date, make significant savings, and raise your level of professionalism.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

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Glass louvres preventing high-angle summer rays

In modern cities it has become usual for many buildings to be presented in long, smooth expanses of glass. They look chic, futuristic and efficient, though in many ways they are reminiscent of the principles of early modernist architects such as Le Corbusier, continued in many aspects by the likes of Jean Nouvel and Renzo Piano (the men behind the superbly designed and instantly recognisable Villa Savoye, Centre Pompidou and Institut du Monde Arabe). Certainly, the most recent buildings by Nouvel and Piano are well equipped to deal with the changing light that the coming and going of different seasons brings about. In older modernist buildings, however, there is a pervasive tendency for overheating or other temperature control issues to become problematic. In the summer, for example, the sun enters buildings from a much higher angle than it does during the rest of the year. And this means that the building has to either confront the subsequent rise in temperature inside the building or be faced with unhappy residents or workers who are simply too hot for comfort. Brise soleil can be added to buildings to deal very precisely with this problem. glass louvres and external louvres meanwhile can provide tailored sun shading techniques at the same time as adding aesthetic value to a less attractive building’s façade.

When you think of the positive benefits sun shades can bring to commercial blocks, the value of investing in brise soleil will be very apparent. From an external point of view the building should be sufficiently appealing – that is to say unique, interesting and memorable so that it boosts your brand’s identity – to capture as many business partners as possible and sustain their loyalty many years down the line. From an internal point of view, the focus should be on your workers: a building whose indoor temperature is comfortable is more conducive to high levels of productivity because happy workers are more efficient workers than hot and flustered ones who can’t wait to get on their lunch break or go home to cool down and relax.

Brise soleil will not merely encourage employees to do more work, however; the possibilities are more exciting than than only increasing profits and efficiency. One surprising plus point that sun shading solutions bring is in their capacity to add aesthetic interest.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/

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