Payment methods should be a bit different in 2018 than they were in 2017. First, PayPal and Invoice2go have recently partnered to help other businesses to accept payments by credit card. And when customers pay with credit cards, they no longer need to provide a signature, as some credit card companies have announced that they are removing these requirements.
You can read these updates and other news that may have an impact on your small business in 2018 in this week 's Small Business Trends newsletter and news.
Technological Trends
PayPal here and Invoice2go simplify the way businesses accept credit card payments
Invoice2go's Mobile POS system (mPOS) will simplify the way you get paid no matter where you are. By partnering with PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Invoice2go brings to its ecosystem a globally recognized and reliable payment platform.
Discover and American Express follow other cards by removing signature requirements
Discover and American Express (NYSE: AXP) are the latest credit card companies to remove signatures at checkout for credit and debit transactions. Discover's new policy will take effect on the Discover Worldwide Network in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean from April 2018.
The new dodl.es app will bring simple animation to your social media marketing
A new mobile application, dodl.es, should be launched early next year to simplify digital animation and illustration for all, regardless of their technical and artistic skills. Launch of the mobile application dodl.es in 2018 Built on a social platform by a team in Combined Locks, Wisconsin, dodl.
98% of all businesses plan to use eLearning by 2020 with small business opportunities
Just a few years ago, e-learning was a niche market that the vast majority of businesses did not understand. Today, it is a booming industry with immense potential. According to data compiled by the Zeqr online learning platform, the global market for learning management systems will be valued at 19.05 billion by 2022.
Do you use the most popular business applications of 2017 in your company?
Zapier has just published its annual report identifying the most popular and dynamic applications in the workplace. The best of 2017: 30 Web applications and software trends that have prevailed in the workplace include some new applications, but you'll easily recognize a lot.
Employment
ZipRecruiter and Square Partner Help Small Businesses Find Candidates
ZipRecruiter, aggregator of employment applications and digital payment solution Square (NYSE: SQ), has formed a new partnership that will help small businesses find candidates for job offers . As part of this partnership, ZipRecruiter will be the first and only hiring service in the Square applications market.
Management
56% of employees believe their managers can not motivate them
56% of your employees do not believe that you or the managers who work in your company are able to motivate them. This is the conclusion of a new report from Ultimate Software, a provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions in the cloud.
Apply these 5 techniques to reverse poor productivity during holidays
The holiday season can be a distracting and unproductive time for small businesses. So in fact, that a whopping two-thirds of workers admit to being less productive in December. Naturally, it is in the interest of all small businesses to remain productive throughout the holiday season.
Marketing Tips
Advertising influences 90% of consumers to buy, according to a study
A new study seems to suggest that advertising works! The study found that advertising influences almost all consumers (90%) to make a purchase. It specifically affects 81% of Millennials and 57% of Baby Boomers aged 55 and over to make a purchase.
Nicolaus Wolfrum explains how his small local business grows globally on Ebay
Turning a local business into a global business does not have to be as complicated as it sounds. E-commerce platforms like eBay have made this transition quite transparent for entrepreneurs like Nicolaus Wolfrum. Wolfrum runs an eBay shop for his father's company, Jim's Automotive Machine Shop in Greeley, Colorado.
Retail Trade Trends
Amazon says Cyber Monday now the biggest shopping day, what can your business learn?
Amazon's Titan (NASDAQ: AMZN) reports that Cyber Monday 2017 is officially its biggest shopping day, surpassing the mid-summer Prime Day event. And small businesses have also benefited from the sale of about 140 million items worldwide during the five-day Thanksgiving period on Cyber Monday, now sometimes called Turkey 5.
Sales
End-of-year sales targets should not be difficult: read these 10 tips
Another year is almost over for small American companies. It is time to hurry to meet the end-of-year sales goals. Here are 10 tips shared by experts with Small Business Trends. Taking the time to do the little things like e-mail planning and front-loading work for the first two weeks of the month are important steps.
Small advertising projector
Spotlight: Home Care for Seniors Helps Seniors in Their Own Homes
Helping others is a noble quest for any business owner. And that is why the founders of Executive Home Care have decided to embark on corporate ownership in the first place. The couple was called to the action to help an elderly neighbor and never looked back. Read their story and how the company continues this important work today in this week 's Small Business Spotlight.
Small Business Operations
Small Business Wasting 15 Days to Spot Late Payments Every Year, Study Says
If you had 15 days of the year to spend as much as you want on your business, it is unlikely to be tracking late payments. But according to the Sage survey report titled "The domino effect: the impact of late payments," this is exactly the time that small US companies spend each year.
The new divvy dashboard eliminates reports on paper costs
The Divvy Financial Startup recently announced its new free cloud-based financial dashboard that eliminates the paper expense reporting process. It establishes spending budgets and gives employees cards so that they can spend or ask for fixed amounts. Divvy even sends electronic purchases from the point of sale to accounting in seconds.
21-point Checklist for Disaster Preparedness
A natural disaster can raise your head at any time. The damage and devastation caused by natural disasters can present many challenges for businesses of all types and sizes. Being adequately prepared can help avoid some of the potential problems that a natural disaster can cause – and speed up the recovery of your business.
Social Networks
Snapchat Lens Studio allows you to build free AR lenses
Imagine placing a Snapcode on the door or window of your store. A customer's analysis and an augmented reality image appears on his smartphone. Lens Studio is a new Snapchat desktop app (NYSE: SNAP) that lets you create lenses to bring in the real world.
Twitter introduces a new Thread feature for more consistent corporate messages
In the wake of the expansion of the character limit tweets to 280, Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) recently announced that it's easier to create tweets to net. The online social networking company said that its new "threads" feature also makes it easier to read or discover all the tweets of a topic.
Taxes
10 taxes written off for small businesses around the holidays
The end of the year is a big moment for small businesses. You will have to put in order in your taxes and enjoy your holidays. Here, 10 holiday tax breaks that can help you do both at the same time.
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