RSI Reversal Signals, the "Little Known" Key to Successful Forex Trading

Have you ever wondered what makes a Forex trading signal a success? Obviously if it makes pips, there is very little if no drawdown, it happens often and you can count on it to be successful much more than it fails. Wouldn’t that be the definition of a successful Forex signal?

I would like to give you some information that took me nearly three years to find and I stumbled on it while reading a book by Constance Brown a well known trading author. In her book she mentioned that she knew Andrew Cardwell THE expert on RSI, the Relative Strength Index. She said he could discuss the nuances of RSI for hours. This was enough to get me interested.

Now almost 3 years later I have discovered mounds of information on RSI that is not available in any books I know of, or is nowhere on the Internet other than in my eBook, my website and the articles that I have written for EzineArticles. Here is a little of what I know.

Reversals are little known

Reversals are trading signals discovered by Cardwell as a student of Welles Wilder the man that created the RSI. Welles Wilder moved on to other things but Cardwell stuck with RSI and in doing so discovered reversals.

Reversals are not divergences

Many people associate trading RSI with divergences. But Divergences are signals on RSI that indicate a trend is slowing and will retrace. Reversals are momentum signals that do something much more productive.

Reversals mean trend continuation

Reversals are trading signals on RSI that mean price is ready to rejoin the previous trend. Trading with the trend is a much more powerful way to trade simply because momentum in trading is strongest with the trend than against it. Reversals tell the trader when momentum is changing in the direction of the trend and they can be found on any currency pair and any time frame.

Reversals read momentum

RSI trading is about trading with momentum. There are 4 RSI Trading Signals all which reveal information about momentum in the market. If no momentum exists than regardless of the signal there is no trade.

The RSI reversal is one of the best kept secrets in trading. Traders who learn how to locate these reversals or use The RSI Paint Indicator which automatically locates these signals will benefit with trades that are highly profitable because they are momentum trades with the trend.

Source by Paul W. Dean

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/rsi-reversal-signals-the-little-known-key-to-successful-forex-trading/

How To Keep Track Of Gift Certificates

Why you should keep track of gift certificates

If you’re a small business and you’re giving/selling gift certificates (also called gift vouchers) to your customers, chances are you don’t have an integrated gift card solution which can be quite costly.

Hence, if you offer gift vouchers to your customers, you need a way to keep track of them, mainly for fraud and accounting considerations. Let’s see why this is necessary:

• you must prevent customers from fraud by reprinting a gift voucher, hence making your business lose money.
• if you allow customers to redeem a partial amount of the certificate value, you need to know which amount is still available to redeem.
• you also need to find out which certificates have been redeemed, if you want to evaluate the performance of your certificate program.
• you may also be interested in getting more fine-grained knowledge about the gift voucher: when it was sold, which promotion it was part of, etc…

Keeping track of gift certificates using a manual code

In this tracking system, you need every certificate to have a unique, random certificate number. Indeed, to be able to identify a certificate, its serial number needs to be unique. A random number is also important in that it disallows people from reprinting a certificate and using a text formatting program, to change its serial number to make it look like a valid new one. Actually, in order to lessen the possibility of people guessing a valid code, you can also incorporate letters and other special characters in the serial number.

How to generate gift certificate codes

You can either use a random code generator software or generate the codes yourself. In any case, make sure you hold a registry of current certificates in use. You can use Microsoft Excel or any spreadsheet program to keep such a list. You need to make sure that customers cannot see such a list, as you don’t want to them to know valid certificate numbers. In this file, you may want to specify certificate serial number, issuing date, certificate value, redeemed amount, and any other information you find valuable to track, such as what promotion the certificate is part of, whether it was sold or given to the customer, etc…

An easier option: generating bar codes for gift vouchers

If you want an easier and more automated way of keeping track of gift vouchers, you could print a bar code on every gift voucher so that it integrates nicely with your Point-Of-Sale software. Contact your point of sale software vendor to see if they can provide such integration.

Source by Tommy Jarnac

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/how-to-keep-track-of-gift-certificates/

Forex Expert Advisors Vs Automatic Trading Robots – Which is Better?

Two of the ways in which you can trade the currency market without really locating entry points yourself is by using an EA (Expert Advisor) program or an automatic trading robot. These two solutions have become widely popular in recent years with the advent of the Internet and other technological developments.

What is the difference between an Expert Advisor and an automatic Forex robot and which one should you use?

There are many similarities between EAs and trading robots:

1. Both are software programs which were developed to trade the market on your behalf.

2. EAs and robots both take care of the analysis part of the trade. They go over the current market prices and based on their internal algorithms and technical indicators, they discover the entry points for high probability trades.

The second similarity makes using either of these two solutions a low hassle way to take part in the currency market.

However, there is one major difference between EAs and automatic trading robots: EAs don’t really trade on your behalf while robots do.

You see, EAs just provide you with trading signals. They tell you when they believe you should trade but they don’t actually place the trade for you. This does mean that you need to be around to place the trade but it also gives you an additional layer of control, a final “veto” so to speak in which you can decide whether to follow the signal or not.

Automatic trading robots are an entirely different thing. A robot takes care of the entire trading process for you. It discovers where to place the trade and actually enters it for you. It also exits the market on your behalf, and it’s all done automatically without your active participation.

There is certainly something appealing about such a low hassle way to trade the market as a robot gives you but it also means that you’re not in control. An Expert Advisor is a much better way to be involved in the market and perhaps even learn something new about it.

If you want to be more involved in Forex trading, then an EA is the right solution for you. If you don’t then a robot may be better.

However, know that it is always good to know more about how the market is run. For that, a robot doesn’t really work. It can make you money, but it can’t teach you anything.

Source by John J. Drummond

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/forex-expert-advisors-vs-automatic-trading-robots-which-is-better/

What Is the Best Indicator to Use With Renko Charts?

A commonly asked question on renko charts is whether you need to have additional indicators to trade on the chart. And if yes, what are those indicators that are best suited to trade with renko charts.

As you might know, renko charts are strictly based on price. Time, which is plotted on the x-axis, is irrelevant when it comes to this unconventional chart type. Based on the number of pips price move, which can be determined by yourself, the renko bricks plot the price bricks accordingly. You might know that probably the best indicator is price itself. Therefore, by determining the price action and the patterns that are formed, traders don’t really need to have any further indicators to be used.

Depending on your level of understanding of the financial markets, such as identifying trends, highs/lows formed in price, the retracements and so on, traders have a higher chance of capturing prices at a good level to enter into the trend. Even without using indicators, renko charts can help you to scalp the markets, whether you are in it for 10 pips or 100 pips, renko charts makes is entirely possible depending on the type of technical trading strategy that you make use of. It is entirely up to the trader and depends on how they want to conduct their renko analysis of the charts and also in determining the brick size..

Money management or risk management can also be utilized when trading with renko charts and especially without indicators. Due to the very nature of the reversals in renko boxes, it can be of great help when traders can position themselves in a trade based on understanding the price and other technical patterns are more easy to spot in this chart type.

For example, we know that a renko box reversal occurs when prices moves twice the box size in the opposite direction. Therefore, the risk of a reversal is always two times the box size. For example, 20 pips for a 10 pip renko box and so on. With this information, traders can prepare their positions before hand and thus be able to set a minimum take profit of 3 times the renko reversal, which in our example would be 60 pips. This, this effectively puts the risk at 20 pips while the reward at 60 pips, making it a 1:3 risk reward set up. Conservative traders can make use of a 1:2 risk reward as well, such as 20 pips risk and 40 pips reward.

This same principle can be applied to the renko chart analysis, regardless of whether you use indicators or not. Traders can build a money management strategy which allows them to make consistent profits regularly. We mentioned earlier as to what is the best technical indicator to use with this chart type. We suggest making use of moving averages and an oscillator, or making use of Bollinger bands and an oscillator.

Many a times Forex forums tend to be overrun by renko traders who make use of complicated indicators. It doesn’t quite help and it does not give you an edge in the markets.

In summary, as outlined in this article, traders don’t really need to make use of additional indicators to trade renko charts profitably. However, having said that, there are a few technical indicators that work well with renko charts.

Source by Chartist Ranga

The post What Is the Best Indicator to Use With Renko Charts? appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/what-is-the-best-indicator-to-use-with-renko-charts/

Online Bitcoin Trading: Discover The Keys To Earning A Formidable Income Trading Bitcoin

Step 1 – Do Your Research

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system, otherwise known as electronic money or virtual currency. It offers a twenty-first century alternative to brick and mortar banking. Exchanges are made via “e wallet software”. The bitcoin has actually subverted the traditional banking system, while operating outside of government regulations.

Bitcoin uses state-of-the-art cryptography, can be issued in any fractional denomination, and has a decentralized distribution system, is in high demand globally and offers several distinct advantages over other currencies such as the US dollar. For one, it can never be garnished or frozen by the bank(s) or a government agency.

Back in 2009, when the bitcoin was worth just ten cents per coin, you would have turned a thousand dollars into millions, if you waited just eight years. The number of bitcoins available to be purchased is limited to 21,000,000. At the time that this article was written, the total bitcoins in circulation was 16,275,288, which means that the percentage of total bitcoins “mined” was 77.5%. at that time. The current value of one bitcoin, at the time that this article was written, was $1,214.70 USD.

According to Bill Gates, “Bit coin is exciting and better than currency”. Bitcoin is a de-centralized form of currency. There is no longer any need to have a “trusted, third-party” involved with any transactions. By taking the banks out of the equation, you are also eliminating the lion’s share of each transaction fee. In addition, the amount of time required to move money from point A to point B, is reduced formidably.

The largest transaction to ever take place using bitcoin is one hundred and fifty million dollars. This transaction took place in seconds with minimal fee’s. In order to transfer large sums of money using a “trusted third-party”, it would take days and cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. This explains why the banks are violently opposed to people buying, selling, trading, transferring and spending bitcoins.

Only.003% of the worlds (250,000) population is estimated to hold at least one bitcoin. And only 24% of the population know what it is.

Step 2 – Set Up Your E-Wallet

In order for you to transfer your bitcoin to a friend of family member, you and they must both have an e wallet. If you would like to use a bitcoin ATM, you will also need to have an e wallet, in order to withdraw any money from your account. And finally, to facilitate the transfer of your funds to and from a trading platform you will need to do it via an e wallet.

To set up an e wallet, there are a myriad of company’s online that offer safe, secure, free and turn-key e-wallet solutions. A simple Google search will help you find the right wallet for you, depending upon what your needs are exactly. Many people get started using a “blockchain” account. This is free to set up and very secure. You have the option of setting up a three-tier login protocol, to further enhance the safety and security, in relation to your e wallet account.

Step 3 – Purchase Some Bitcoin

To buy any amount of bitcoin, you are required to deal with a digital currency broker. As with any currency broker, you will have to pay the broker a fee, when you purchase your bitcoin.

There are a myriad of bitcoin brokers online. A simple Google search will allow you to easily source out the best one for you. It is always a good idea to compare their rates prior to proceeding with a purchase. You should also confirm the rate of a bitcoin online, prior to making a purchase through a broker, as the rate does tend to fluctuate frequently.

Step 4 – Trade Your Bitcoin Online And Earn A Steady Passive Income

Finding a reputable bitcoin trading company that offers a high return on your investment is paramount to your online success. You must ensure that your chosen trading company is fully automated & integrated with blockchain, from receipt to payment.

To use conventional banking as an analogy, the blockchain is like a full history of banking transactions. Bitcoin transactions are entered chronologically in a blockchain just the way bank transactions are. Blocks, meanwhile, are like individual bank statements. In other words, blockchain is a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions that have ever been executed. It is constantly growing as ‘completed’ blocks are added to it with a new set of recordings.

Your ROI should also be upwards of 2%+ per day because the trading company that you are lending your bitcoin to, is most likely earning upwards of 10%+ per day, on average. Your ROI must also be automatically transferred into your “e-wallet” at regular intervals, throughout your contract term. There are a few different reputable trading platforms out there. All of them offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. For an example, there are company’s that will pay out as much as 10% per day with no contracts whatsoever. You can also find company’s that will give you a 3.33% per day return on your bitcoin, on a sixty day contract. There 90 day contracts which pay out 2.2% per day, however, they offer commissions from referrals that join using your affiliate link. Personally, I believe it is best to spread the risk across all three of the aforementioned platforms.

With online bitcoin trading, it is not unheard of to double your digital currency within ninety days or less. That means that investors are consistently earning 2.2% per day, or more. One of the aforementioned platforms will double your bitcoin in ten days because they are paying out 10% per day with no contract. I always advise my clients to start out small. Never put all of your eggs into one basket. Once you have familiarized yourself with the first of three platforms, you should set up the second account, learn it and finally get your third account up and running. Most people start with earning 2.2%, then move up to 3.3% and finally to the 10% per day platform.

If you are required to conduct tedious activities such as logging into your account, sending e mails, clicking on links etc, you definitely need to keep searching for a suitable trading company that offers a set-it-and-forget-it type of platform, as they absolutely exist.

Bitcoin trading company’s will automatically transfer your profit into your “e- wallet” as long as you provide them with your personal e wallet address. If you are on a 90 day contract, you will be paid out in 90 days. The 60 day contracts will pay you out in 60 days. And with the 10% per day platform, you are able to pull out your interest and principle any time, should you choose to exercise that option.

In order to withdraw money in your local currency, from your e wallet, you are required to locate a bitcoin ATm, which can often be found in local businesses within most major cities. Bitcoin ATM’s can be located by doing a simple Google search.

Source by Brett Steiner

The post Online Bitcoin Trading: Discover The Keys To Earning A Formidable Income Trading Bitcoin appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/online-bitcoin-trading-discover-the-keys-to-earning-a-formidable-income-trading-bitcoin/

Swap the Currencies With Forex Trading

Foreign exchange trading which is most commonly known as Forex trading deals with buying and selling of currencies. Forex trading generally happens through an exchange and these exchanges facilitate exchange of currencies between the investors who are participating in the exchange deal from two different locations. These deals happen online and are traded at either at a pre-determined price or at current market price. Forex trading is the largest trading in the world after credit market trading. Various financial institutions and international banks are key participants of Forex trading.

The trading happens in different times in different parts of the world. The closure of Forex market in one country will be followed by the opening of another country’s market. This is the reason behind the fluctuations of Forex rates throughout the day across the world. And this is the reason many fear to invest in Forex. However, modern trading strategies cushion you and your investment to the maximum extent against such unexpected circumstances. Having an idea or knowledge on modern Forex trading techniques would enable you to be conservative while participating aggressively in Forex trading.

There are numerous online and offline Forex stock brokers available who can guide and manage your investments. Having an experienced and professional help is always a good way to go for Forex trading. These stock brokers know a variety of Forex entry and exit strategies which will stop your losses and maximizes your returns. They are well equipped with information and are proficient enough to anticipate future with the help of information. Their strategies have been proven right in Forex markets worldwide and are making much higher profits for many.

The trading strategies by the brokers are generally crafted based on individual investors. Before crafting and applying a particular strategy on behalf of a client these people will assess various risk-related factors and then move to the next level if the risk level is comfortable enough. The risk factors are generally based on individuals demographic, economic and financial attributes which decide their ability to spend and attitude towards investments. All these factors definitely occupies higher slot in setting and implementing a Forex trading strategy.

As most of the strategies are crafted based on the individual’s abilities they generally yield good returns. However, the markets are highly sensible and are fluctuating so, keeping an eye on the information and being alert are two essentials for any Forex trader. Sometimes one crafted strategy may not be suitable for the same individual at some other point of time. Hence, having only one strategy for the same individual at different points of time is not a good idea.

Source by Rizvana Manzoor

The post Swap the Currencies With Forex Trading appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/swap-the-currencies-with-forex-trading/

Yandere Simulator – A Stealth Video Game For The PC

Yandere Simulator is a free video game for PC users. It is a stealth type video game where the players play as a high school girl named Ayano Aishi. She is in love with her senior, senpai and wants to attain his attention by any means possible. It is quite a unique game with an addictive gameplay and good graphics. However, it is still in development stage and until it gets completed, it’s going to be a bit buggy.

The concept

Yandere Simulator is based on a typical Japanese high school theme. Ayano Aishi has a huge crush on her senpai and wants his love. However, she’s a bit reluctant to talk to him directly. And, to make things more difficult, it seems like her senpai is quite popular as other girls in the school are also trying to get close to him. Ayano has to eliminate her competition, and she can use all possible means to do so. Even blackmailing and killing other girls is allowed. However, she has to do these missions quietly, when no one is looking at her. Thus, comes the stealth element.

What’s in it for the players

Because of its high school drama element, the game is quite popular among the teenagers. However, that doesn’t stop some grown-up video gamers from playing the game. The gameplay is good despite the fact that the game is quite full of bugs. Control options are great, and the missions are challenging. To progress in the game players have to tasks that are quite immoral in the real world. However, it is this element that makes the game unique and addictive. Players have to complete the tasks without leaving any traces. Otherwise, Ayano will get caught and the game ends.

The game is quite detailed and relates quite much to the real world. For example, there is a social element in the game and that we live in a large group, we don’t want to get caught for the wrongdoings, etc.

The game is not complete

Again, Yandere Simulator is still in development stage and what available is the beta version. The developer of the game has made the beta version available on the internet for download and installation without spending any penny. Simply visit the official website to download the game. The download file is actually the game launcher using which you can also update the game. The game developer usually makes the update available after two weeks.

Since the game is still at testing phase, players experience quite many bugs, errors. In some cases, the game launcher doesn’t work and sometimes the game crashes. Also, you will never win the game because it is not complete yet.

Source by Sudeep Thapa

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/yandere-simulator-a-stealth-video-game-for-the-pc/

Top Reasons To Consider A Precious Metals Gold IRA In This Economy

Understanding the economy is often confusing for most people as there are many key factors to understand. The first step would be to understand the current monetary system and where it is headed. The current monetary system is known as a fiat system which means that there is no direct backing by gold or silver as there was before 1970.

Why all fiat monetary systems end:

It is important to remember that all fiat monetary systems throughout history never last more than 30 to 40 years. The current one is going on to around 46 years now which means it is due to end and change to a system that is backed again by hard assets such as gold and silver. If you currently own an IRA then it can be quite risky to hold it in dollars which can be devalued overnight or be reduced significantly in purchasing power due to hyperinflation. One option is to transfer into a precious metals or gold IRA as this will offer the additional protection from inflation. Gold has never gone to zero in value however currencies such as the dollar can go to zero through the process of hyperinflation. A gold IRA can be a smart way to protect your future retirement account from hyperinflation and also potentially make significant gains.

Gold has outperformed the stock market in the last 15 years and many analysts believe that this will continue for the foreseeable future. Many billionaires today are openly admitting to increasing their investments in gold so this is a key sign that they believe gold will rise significantly in the next few years. There are many great companies that offer a precious metals backed IRA but you do need to do your research to find the best ones. Be sure to check their Better Business Bureau rating as well as any complaints received in the last few years. Do not risk your IRA with companies that do not have a good record with the BBB. Also keep in mind that the current monetary system will most likely shift to a hard assets backed system and thus a precious metals backed IRA is ideal to protect yourself from any devaluation of the currencies which can lower the purchasing power of your IRA if held in dollars. There are many options available to invest in precious metals and if you already own an IRA then it can be a smart option to rollover into a gold IRA.

Source by Kelvin Jansones

The post Top Reasons To Consider A Precious Metals Gold IRA In This Economy appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/top-reasons-to-consider-a-precious-metals-gold-ira-in-this-economy/

Differences Between COBIT and Agile IT Governance

After introducing the traditional IT governance frameworks, I would like to point out some differences between them and an agile approach. I’ll examine the COBIT model:

1. COBIT is a generally applicable and accepted standard for IT governance focused more on control, less on execution. Control, inherently induces the need for documentation and contract negotiation. Agile IT Governance, on the other hand, emphasizes execution and the collaboration between individuals to achieve execution. COBIT could be strengthened further by emphasizing the latter as much as the former.

2. COBIT requires that policies, plans and procedures that drive an IT process are documented, reviewed, maintained, approved, stored, communicated and used for training. This comprehensive documentation can be disastrous if the documented process is inherently flawed and cannot adapt to rapid changes in the business environment. Agile IT Governance emphasizes the need for working governance vs. comprehensive documentation on governance processes. COBIT could benefit from a balanced emphasis on just-enough process documentation for legal compliance and baseline business activity.

3. COBIT says to successfully deliver services to support the enterprise’s strategy, there should be a clear ownership of the requirements and deliverables. Of dozens of managers in a business unit, which individuals have the right level of subject matter expertise? Or the organizational relationships to enable clear ownership and direction of the requirements? The answers to these questions can vary widely depending on who you ask. COBIT could benefit from the consideration that identifying the wrong owner can lead to flawed governance. Agile IT governance mitigates this risk by focusing on identifying the right person who fits the role of “the owner” for the right stage of the project.

4. COBIT believes that processes and tools make enterprises quick to adapt. Processes and tools can only be as effective as the people who design them. Plus, they can be effective only for a specific period of time. Processes and tools often lack the ability to adapt to changing business environments. The emphasis on individuals and interactions help overcome these challenges because they allow teams to maneuver with agility, and adapt to the circumstances at that point in time. COBIT could benefit from consideration of Agile principles which emphasize individuals and interactions over tools and processes.

5. To satisfy business objectives, COBIT emphasizes complying with the laws, regulations and contractual arrangements to which the business process is subject. The emphasis is again on contract negotiation, not on collaboration. The word “contract” often awakens adversarial feelings and can lead to counter-productive behavior. While a framework for Agile IT Governance appreciates the value of contracts, it laments the fact that there is no mention of the word “collaboration” in COBIT.

It’s no longer a question of whether organizations should adopt an agile governance framework, but rather, why you think yours doesn’t already. What are your experiences with traditional governance frameworks? What is your opinion about an agile approach to governance?

Source by Adina Palade

The post Differences Between COBIT and Agile IT Governance appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/differences-between-cobit-and-agile-it-governance/

Medical Billing – NSF or UB-92

It is no longer a question in the medical billing community of what the best method of sending claims is. Electronic billing has numerous advantages over sending paper claims including ease of transmission, lower cost, faster turnaround time and a number of other advantages. But what about the type of electronic format? The main ones today are NSF 3.01 and UB-92. So what’s the difference and is one better than another? Which one should you use? Does it make a difference? Will using one format over another give you more headaches in the long run? In this installment, we’re going to discuss the basic differences between NSF 3.01 and UB-92, including the pluses and minuses of each.

The first thing that you need to know is that NSF 3.01 has been around a lot longer than UB-92. Back in the early days of electronic billing, it was the only option. Therefore, software manufacturers had to include it with their product if they were going to compete in the marketplace. Because of this and because everybody was creating their own NSF 3.01 package, each software manufacturer had to do the best job they possibly could. Because of this, NSF 3.01 was pretty much perfected. The only differences between the software packages was the interface for transmission. The specifications themselves were pretty solid.

Today, with the two formats available and NSF 3.01 no longer being the only choice, for a medical billing agency to switch over to UB-92, there had to be a good reason. Well, there were several.

For starters, because it was a relatively new format, the software was a lot cheaper than the software to send NSF 3.01 claims. For small medical billing agencies, this was a big plus, especially if they didn’t have a large client base. Also, the cost to process these claims was cheaper because the format itself wasn’t as popular and agencies were trying to get companies to use it. But there was a downside to all this.

Because UB-92 was new, there weren’t as many pieces of software to choose from. Most of them were also untested. The early failure rate of UB-92 transmission was great. The specifications were confusing and finding good programmers to create the code was not an easy task. So finding good software was very hard.

Another problem was that because UB-92 was new, not every carrier accepted claims in this format. In the early days only private carriers accepted claims in this format. Even today, not every carrier accepts UB-92 format as a transmission method. So if you are thinking of going with UB-92, you first better check to make sure that the insurance carrier you want to bill accepts claims in that format.

Today, the differences between NSF 3.01 and UB-92 are not quite as great. Yes, there are still insurance carriers that don’t accept UB-92 claims. But more carriers are taking them. The downside is that because UB-92 is becoming more popular, the cost has gone up since the early days. So the difference in cost between NSF 3.01 and UB-92 are not as great.

In the final analysis, it all comes down to what your budget is and who you want to send your bills to. In most cases, either NSF 3.01 or UB-92 will get the job done nicely.

Source by Michael Russell

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/medical-billing-nsf-or-ub-92/

What Does Door to Door Service Mean?

Some terms in the shipping industry can be confusing for shippers to understand. Door to door delivery seems to be one of them. One of the biggest problems is that companies do not always see that door delivery means to the door, of the warehouse of course. They think that door can mean to their customer’s door which can be true only on a drop ship or direct ship, but they do not understand it to be door. So to clarify, Door to Door delivery means that the freight forwarding company will pick up the shipping container from your warehouse and bring it to the port. Then they gate it in and file the necessary paperwork and retrieve it on the other side to be brought to your consignee’s warehouse.

Since a door to door delivery means a through bill of lading that includes trucking, there will also be additional charges added on your bill of lading. Many times however, a through bill of lading will actually have lower freight rates than if you were using different shipping companies. This is definitely something to consider when trying determining if you will need a door delivery. Using separate companies means more interaction with shipping companies, but it also allows for closer managing so it will depend what is best for your company.

No matter which type of delivery you choose, it is important to know what all of your options are before shipping. Even just a small amount of legwork can save a lot of money in the end.

This type of delivery could be the best cargo shipping experience available. Start your shipping experience for door to door by submitting online your request for freight service. Requiring little more than a few keystrokes and clicks of your mouse, take advantage of this opportunity to indicate your cargo requirements and preferences in the form provided. Please make sure to indicate door to door service when signing up online and you will receive it.

When you detail all your requirements upfront, you can receive great options for door to-door. If you do not detail your requirements upfront, then you may not get the best door to door service that is appropriate and unique for your freight shipping experience. And make sure that you work with a trusted freight forwarder who can provide you with outstanding freight services that work for door to door.

Source by Steven Lerner

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/what-does-door-to-door-service-mean/

The 7 P’s of Business Phone Etiquette

Etiquette is in essence about proper conduct and presenting yourself favourably. Demonstrating good etiquette is important if one seeks to be successful. An area in which this is essential is the business phone call.

Millions of business phone calls are made every hour and day. Business people that interact solely over the phone yet never meet still form strong opinions of one another. Practising good business phone etiquette helps encourage clear lines of communication, build rapport and avoid misunderstandings.

Most of us can recollect a phone call that left us feeling frustrated or irritated. How much of this could have been attributed to poor phone etiquette? Here we explore a few simple examples of areas within business phone etiquette that should be employed when making or receiving calls.

All successful business interaction needs preparation. The phone call is no exception. It is important to know who you are calling, the most convenient time to do so, the reason for your call and what you can do for them. Be structured, short and sharp.

If the caller is not known to the receiver it is important that the purpose of the call and the caller’s credentials are established immediately. A simple introduction followed by a sentence or two not only shows good phone etiquette but allows the receiver to set the forthcoming information within a context.

Particularise your intention behind the call. Do not assume the receiver understands why you are calling them and what you expect of them. Expand upon information and specify the purpose of the call.

Pass on information that the receiver will understand, appreciate and find useful. Waffling and speaking generically will lose attention and generally reflect poorly on the caller.

Good business phone etiquette demands professionalism at all times. When speaking to someone you do not know avoid informal speech or personal questions. Once a relationship has been built it is considered polite to enquire about weekends, children or other non-sensitive personal matters.

Privacy and security around furtive issues must always be borne in mind on the phone. If it is imperative that sensitive discussions take place over the phone, business etiquette requires that you confirm with the receiver whether this is appropriate.

Be patient. Demonstrating good business etiquette relies on your staying calm, cool and collected under pressure or when facing a testing situation. Your ability to stay patient earns respect and avoids rash actions or decisions.

Although there is much more to business phone etiquette than the above 7 P’s you will find they can go a long way in contributing to an improved understanding of how to use the phone effectively in the business world.

Source by Neil Payne

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-7-ps-of-business-phone-etiquette/

The United States Silver Dollar Coin

On and off since the late seventeen-hundreds, the United States has produced a wide variety of dollar coins. Made of various metals at different points, including gold, silver, copper and nickel, they have been a popular denomination with both the general public and coin collectors alike. Without a doubt the most popular U.S. dollar coin is the silver dollar. For generations the silver dollar has held the interest of not only coin enthusiasts, but also those who invest in precious metals.

Generally speaking, silver dollars are made up of approximately 90% silver with an additional amount of copper added to give the coin added durability. As there was a short period of time when the content of silver in the coins was increased by a small amount in order to compete with foreign coins that had higher silver content. These coins were not generally considered to be circulating coins within the United States, and came to be known as Trade Dollars. During times of a shortage of the raw silver that was need to produce the coins, the amount of copper nickel used was increased to as much as 60% of the total content.

Silver dollars have been minted at six facilities including the mints in West Point, New York (W), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (P), New Orleans, Louisiana (O), Carson City, Nevada (CC), San Francisco, California (S) and Denver, Colorado (D).

In the history of United States coinage, it is interesting to note that silver was in many ways as valuable as gold, and was just as difficult to come by. This is the reason that you will find that the production numbers were quite limited due to the difficulty in obtaining silver. When the value of silver had risen to a point that it made the production of silver dollars financially impractical, a halt was placed on the production of the coins. This was the case between the years of 1804 up until 1836.

Production did not resume in full until the discovery in Nevada of the Comstock Lode in 1850. The finding of such a large deposit of silver hastened the production of silver coins within the United States. Eventually, even the massive deposits found in Nevada began to dwindle, causing another slow down in production until 1904. The silver melt of 1918 once again increased the availability of the raw materials needed, although even this was somewhat temporary in nature, as silver shortages seemed to come and go as the years went on.

The United States Mint began producing the American Silver Eagle coin in 1986, a coin that is 100% pure silver weighing in at one full troy ounce. Unlike previous silver dollars the silver eagle was not intended to be a circulating coin as the silver contents are valued at least nearly five times the coin’s face value, depending on market conditions. Many of today’s investors tend to purchase silver eagles as a hedge against the falling dollar value.

Source by James Kirkwood

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-united-states-silver-dollar-coin/

How Business Firms Can Influence the Government In Making Favorable Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Monetary and fiscal policies are the two different tools taken by the authorities. Monetary policy is taken by the central bank of any country. And fiscal policy is taken by the government By nature two policies have different effect and implication. The economic condition, government vision etc influence in selecting what policy should be taken.

Basically the aim of those two policies is to promote and foster economic growth, increase the GDP, creating employment and over all make positive impact on the economy.Those policies are very much important and concerning matter for the business community. Business firms would be interested to expand their business and making larger investment if monetary and fiscal policy are in favor and keep interest of them.

The business firm can influence the government in the following ways to make favorable monetary and fiscal policy:

1. Collective bargaining:

Business communities sometimes arrange different trade shows, seminars and discussions where top government officials like finance minister, governor of the central bank are invited. On that meeting business communities can express their concern and try to convince in making certain policies. Sometime, delegates from the business community meet with prime minister, finance minister on this issue. This can be one way from which business can influence government

2. Private public partnership:

Business firms can offer government private public ownership in some industries. In doing this, government can save some capital that is shared by the private community. And another benefit of this, if government become partner then the policy will be in favor of the business sector. This concept is very much helpful if governmental policy is to boost up the economic growth and rapid industrialization.

3. Privately owned country service:

If the business sector (i.e. private firms) take initiative to do some country service like environmental clean up, waste management, and in return want some favor such as tax reduction on some specific business, it’s become another way to influence government in making favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

4. Creation of certain jobs and get privilege on any industry:

Creation of employment is another concern for the government. Government always tries to provide new job opportunities for the unemployed people and try to achieve higher employment in the country. Business firms also do business for profit motive. In doing this they need employees. If business firms assure the government that they will create certain new job opening in the market and wants to get some facilities for their business, then monetary and fiscal policy can go in favor of the business.

5. Assurance of incremental social responsibility:

Corporate social responsibility is another issue that business firms have to do in the global business world. Some issues like acid violence, dowry, tree plantation, awareness against some fatal disease etc. here business can help. In return they can demand government giving some facilities. Government thus makes some favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

Apart from the above issues there are something that business can influence government in making favorable monetary and fiscal policy. Those are quite unethical but it has existence in the modern world.

6. Bribe to the government officials:

Sometimes this unethical practice can be seen in some third world countries and even in some developed countries. Bribing the government officials business sometimes make favorable policies.

7. Forcing government by stop production, chaos:

Some times business firms can take negative actions like work stoppage, stop export etc to create government to give some facilities and make favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

Actually all the policies of the government trigger the benefit for the business sector. Business firm can influence the government in making those policies using the above discussed ways.

Source by Md. Masudur Rahman

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/how-business-firms-can-influence-the-government-in-making-favorable-monetary-and-fiscal-policy/

Duties of Directors Under Cyprus Companies Law

Cyprus Companies Law (Cap. 113) provides that every private company shall have at least one director and every public company shall have at least two directors (s.170). Furthermore, every company must have a secretary and a sole director shall not be also secretary. However, in the case of a single-member private liability company the sole director can be also the company secretary (s.171).

According to section 174 of Cap.113, the acts of a director or manager are valid notwithstanding any defect which may afterwards be discovered in his/her appointment or qualification. Since directors have powers to take important decisions several duties are imposed on them so that to guarantee that the companies’ interests are well-protected.

Duties of Directors:

a. Fiduciary Duty

b. Duty to exercise skill and care

c. Statutory Duties

It should be clarified that there is no difference in principle between executive, non-executive or nominee directors. Have in mind that the duties owed by the Directors are owed to the company and not to individual shareholders.

Fiduciary Duty:

According to the Law, a Director owes a duty to the company to act in good faith in the best interests of the company. This duty is known as the ‘fiduciary duty’. In other words, the director is obliged to promote the profitability of the company and protect company’s interest.

The principal duty of the director is to act in the best interests of the company as a whole, and that is usually taken to denote the interest of shareholders both present and future.

In practice, the fiduciary duty can be explained as follows:

1. Directors shall act in good faith in what they consider to be the interests of the company.

2. Directors must act in accordance with company’s constitution, i.e. the memorandum of articles and association, and shall exercise their powers only for the purposes allowed by law.

3. Directors must not use company property, information or opportunity for their own or anyone else’s interest, unless allowed to by the company’s constitution or in particular cases where such use has been disclosed to the company in general meeting and the company has approved it.

4. Directors shall not agree to restrict their powers to exercise an independent judgement. Nevertheless, if they consider in good faith that this it is in the interests of the company for a transaction to be entered into, they may restrict their powers to exercise an independent judgement by agreeing to act in a precise way to attain this.

5. In case there is a conflict between directors’ interests or duties and the interests of the company, then directors are obliged to account to the company for any benefit they receive from the transaction. Nonetheless, directors are not obliged to account for the benefit if they are allowed to have that interest by company’s constitution, or the interest has been disclosed and approved by the company in general meeting.

6. Directors must act fairly as between the members of the company.

7. In the course of a winding up of a company it appears that directors continue to allow a company to incur credit even though they knew or ought to have known that the company had no reasonable prospect of paying, then following the sections 307 and 312 of Cap.113, they may become personally liable for that credit unless they can prove that they have taken every step, in order to minimise and/or eliminate the possible loss.

Duty to exercise skill and care:

The modern approach to the duty of care is defined in Re D’ Jan of London Limited [1993] B.C.C. 646, a leading English company law case related to directors’ duty of care. ‘The conduct of: a reasonably diligent person means a person having both (a) the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as carried out by that director in relation to the company, and (b) the general knowledge, skill and experience that that director has’.

However, the absence of clear authority makes it difficult to define exactly what the above definition entails. The first part of the definition indicates an ‘objective’ or a ‘benchmark’ test of what ‘the reasonable person’ might expect of a director in specific circumstances. The second part of the test requires that in case that particular director has a particular skill or level of experience, then he/she is obliged to exercise that particular skill in addition to the benchmark test.

Statutory Duties:

Directors have several statutory duties imposed by the Companies Law and other legislation, i.e. the Income Tax, VAT, Customs& Excise Legislation, Health and Safety, and Environmental legislation.

The statutory liabilities imposed under the Companies Law to directors regarding the company, its shareholder or to the public are:

· Register of Directors and Secretary (s. 192);

· Register of Directors interests (s. 187);

· Disclosure of payment for loss of office made in connection with transfer of shares in company (s.185);

· Disclosure of interests in contracts (s.191);

· Loans to directors (s. 188-189);

· Prospectus offers (s.31-.39);

· Pre-emption rights /Transfer of shares (s.71 – 82);

· Fraudulent trading (s.311);

· Profit and loss account and balance sheet (s.142);

· Falsification of books or destroying company documents (s.308);

· Duties antecedent to or in course of winding up (s.207, s. 213);

· Directors report and annual return (s.151);

· Financial Statement available for review and investigation (s 141);

Have in mind that:

Pursuant to Companies Law, breach of director’s duties is a criminal offence with penalties ranging from a default fine to two years imprisonment. Moreover, the directors are liable to personally compensate the company in respect of any loss caused by the breach of their duties. Regarding tax-related offences, directors may be liable for prosecution by the Inland Revenue or Customs& Excise Department.

Source by Michael Chambers

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/duties-of-directors-under-cyprus-companies-law/

The Vending Machine Conundrum

The expected number of drinks vended per day and the layout of the business premises are the most important considerations when selecting a vending machine. Other factors are involved but these are a matter of personal preference rather than practical implications.

It is probably not worth investing in a hot drinks vending machine unless more than 25 cups of beverage are consumed per day. A small coffee machine, kettle or brewer would probably suffice.

Research has shown that a typical office worker will consume 3-4 cups of coffee or tea per day from a conveniently situated vending machine that is set at a fair and reasonable vend price. Consumption tends to increase to 5-6 cups a day when on ‘free-vend’. The number of drinks expected to be vended to visitors and customers should also be factored in.

The layout of the business’s premises is also important. Many companies prefer to have all their vending machines in one designated area. Some business may prefer to have smaller table top machines situated in more convenient positions throughout the office.

Modern drinks vending machines offer a fantastic range of beverages. Freshly brewed tea, coffee direct from the bean, luxury cappuccino, mocha and latte are all available. Machines that serve hot beverages made from only from instant ingredients can also be a viable alternative if there are budget constraints.

Other options include selecting the drink strength, extra sugar or a no-cup option so staff may use their own coffee mug. Many machines now offer large 12oz cups so the beverage is comparable in size and quality to drinks purchased at the local coffee shop. Most vending suppliers now offer drinks made from ethical and sustainable sources and this can be an important factor in determining which company to choose.

Most vending machines are available in a number of different colour schemes and many suppliers can offer bespoke graphics so that the machine matches the company decor or logo.

Typically, a vending machine is supplied on a lease rental basis and the company can set the vend price to subsidise, break-even or make a small profit depending on the price and quantity of drinks served.

Large businesses with many staff may be in the strong position of negotiating with a supplier so that all the vending equipment is installed, serviced and maintained free of charge. The vending operating company is responsible for filling, cleaning and servicing the machine as well as collecting the cash. Some deals for the larger user may even have the benefit of ‘cash-back’ deals as a percentage of revenue taken through the vending equipment.

A reputable vending supplier will always listen the requirements of the customer first before making a recommendation, rather than simply promoting the virtues of the latest equipment.

Source by Fenton Wayne

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-vending-machine-conundrum/

Courier Hand-Delivery Service For Legal Documents

There are many reasons why someone might want a courier service to transport and hand-deliver legal documents. One would be that they need the documents to get their destination more quickly than the postal service or one of the big shippers like UPS could handle. If it needs to be there faster than overnight, then often a courier service is your only option. Another reason could be for the added security that the Chicago courier service provides over these other services. But just what added security measures do couriers put in place when handling sensitive documents?

One of the most important security measures is restricting the number of hands that the documents pass through en route to their destination. If you were sending legal documents via the postal service, even if they were sent via registered mail, they would still pass through scores of different people’s hands before they were delivered. Many Chicago courier services offer a service where one person is assigned to protect and transport the document, until they put it into the recipient’s hands.

If your purpose in sending the documents is to have the recipient sign them, you can usually find a Chicago delivery service that will provide the additional service of acting as a witness to the signing of the documents, and then bringing them back and hand-delivering them to you. In this case, there are literally only 3 sets of hands that touch the documents: Yours, the driver’s, and the person signing them. This greatly reduces the possibility for things to go awry. And in the unlikely circumstance that the documents did go missing, there would be a clear chain of custody that would show exactly where they had been.

When you choose to only do business with a Chicago courier service that has a hand-delivery service option for shipping important legal documents, you are ensuring that you avoid the kinds of hassles, finger-pointing, and litigation that can arise when documents get lost, compromised, or fall into the wrong hands. In addition, if the documents are a matter of your businesses life or death, you can often find a courier company that can take your documents via helicopter, and then return them to you the same way. In this way, you can sometimes get your documents across the city, signed, and back to you within minutes. This is truly the safest way to get your documents from point A to point B and back again.

Source by Zachary Malone

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/courier-hand-delivery-service-for-legal-documents/

3 ERP Implementation Mistakes – How Your Company Can Avoid the Same Mistakes

For an inexperienced IT department, taking over ERP vendor screening and ERP software solutions implementation will typically be costly, time-consuming and highlights complicated problems.

For any modern business, getting your ERP solutions implementation right first time is an absolute necessity. If all goes well then you have got a solution which will improve productivity, increase employees efficiency, scale back costs, increase sales and supply your customers with current data and services. If all goes wrong… well, let’s take a glance at some in renowned cases of ERP solutions errors…

Sweet gone bitter

Back in 1999, Hershey’s Foods, a popular US sweet manufacturer, switched to an SAP ERP solution for their North American office. Sadly for Hershey’s they were inexperienced in ERP solutions implementation nonetheless had tried to go directly through the vendor. Unprepared for the adjustment period following the $112m ERP solution and CRM package implementation, they suddenly suffered a mysterious drawback with their wholesale and distribution ordering system. The result: Hershey’s were unable to deliver some key sweet lines to retailers in time for Halloween, a crucial date within the American confectionery calendar. the cost to the corporation was $100m in lost revenue and an 8% drop in stock price.

How to avoid an identical mistake:

Get some expertise on your side. A seasoned IT team, well versed within the best practices of ERP solution implementation would have accounted for a few teething problems and ensured that the system wasn’t rolled out before it had been ready and in any event not right before the most vital festive date in Hershey’s commercial calendar.

If you don’t have the expertise in-house then make certain you decide on an ERP supplier with the expertise and support team to manage these avertable pitfalls.

‘Just do it’ – not always the most effective recommendation

A year later and at the turn of the millennium, international sportswear company Nike shelled-out over $400m for a replacement ERP solutions system. What did this vast amount of cash get Nike? A total of $100m in lost sales, a 20% drop in share value and class action lawsuits coming out of their ears. Well what went wrong?

Combining an ERP module with CRM and supply chain management software system, Nike had tried to make a better breed of super-system. These multiple-vendor business systems are widespread within the US however (perhaps due to the Nike multiple vendor ERP example) haven’t really caught on within the United Kingdom yet. On such an enormous scale, and as we see within the case of Nike, it only takes one key call to go awry for the entire project to travel downhill very fast.

How to avoid identical mistakes:

Consider very carefully the pros and cons of choosing one integrated ERP solution vs a best of breed approach. It is perhaps worth foregoing some advanced options that add negligible business worth to make sure that you simply are operating closely and effectively with one trustworthy software system provider.

“just doing it’ with a group of so called best of breed software system suppliers isn’t the most effective approach. ‘ There was clear evidence of an absence of planning and testing within the Nike implementation thus make certain that there is real focus and time allowed for these key activities.

“For people who follow these things, we became a poster child for failed implementations.”- Quote from Nike’s vice president of global operations and technology Roland wolfram,

The perfect storm

Sometimes it’s not just one factor that causes issues, it’s numerous little things. when Hewlett Packard implemented a replacement ERP software solution in 2004, in contrast to Hershey’s, they had left teething time, and, in contrast to Nike, had planned the implementation to the nth degree. Instead, what hit HP was the perfect storm of issues: a fifth of orders not going through, a resultant server bottleneck occurred, and also a backlog of orders to be processed.

The company lost a whopping $160m in lost revenues and seriously damaged their name. Customers and company purchasers alike began to move to competitors.

“We had a series of tiny issues, none of which individually would have been too much to handle. But all together they created the perfect storm.”- Quote from the executive vice president of worldwide operations and CIO for Hewlett-Packard at the time, Gilles Bouchard.

How to avoid an identical mistake:

How are you able to avoid the same tornado of issues? The HP ERP disaster fell to poor software system testing and additionally their aftercare team not being ready to tackle multiple problems at once. Some could even argue that they clearly selected the wrong vendor given the quantity of issues that seemed built into their ERP system.

When selecting an ERP software system provider, make certain they have a good track record both at building the initial system and handling the post-implementation care. An ERP supplier who isn’t equipped to manage issues of their own creating can leave the door wide open to a perfect storm of issues.

Source by Sadie Hawkins

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/3-erp-implementation-mistakes-how-your-company-can-avoid-the-same-mistakes/

The Trending Magazine Insert That Says Thank You

Have you ever been reading through a magazine and been blasted in the face by a pungent and odorous tang of cologne or perfume? Yes, me too. What’s worse is that I will literally bring the thing to my nose over and over, trying to figure out how the smell lasts so very long within the glossy paper. I end up smelling like the magazine all day. One good thing about that kind of magazine insert is that it is memorable. Almost everybody recognizes that experience. So, how do you replicate such a lasting impact with magazine handouts when you aren’t a cologne or perfume manufacturer?

The short answer is, Custom Screen Cleaners. With nearly 1/3 of the entire world population owning a smartphone of some kind, anything that caters to screens is already reaching your market in spades. Add your logo to a sticky microfiber phone cleaner that adheres to the back of a phone and you have a lasting branding impact that is not only useful but memorable too.

Custom Screen Cleaners have been a hit at trade shows for several years now, but a few magazine insert companies have thought to leverage the popular product. The reason they are a hit at trade shows is because the phone cleaner sits on a person’s phone or tablet for literally six months to a year and a half. Every single time the phone is out, which is roughly 150 times a day on average, your logo and information are being blasted around for all to see. Repeated impressions are key with hyper branding that works and this product does that. Once it leaves the magazine and sits on a phone, you are not simply lost on a coffee table, in between the pages. Your brand is also not lost in a drawer where a lot of cheap pens end up.

There are a few big players of screen cleaners out there. The thing to look for is where they are sourced. It’s best to find a company that doesn’t buy the cheap knock offs from China and rather, is US-based. The reason is that the cheap screen cleaners don’t stick very long, defeating the purpose of long-lasting hyper branding. As with other magazine inserts, look for the price breaks at larger quantities. Finally, many microfiber phone cleaner companies have good ties with production and printing companies, just in case you need to reassess your fulfillment side of things.

Thank your readers and your brand with something clients will love and keep on their phones.

Source by Jason Thomas

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-trending-magazine-insert-that-says-thank-you/

The Business of Fashion: Uncovering the Market Segments of the Apparel Industry

The fashion industry does seem very small and saturated but that it is like an alternate universe when you get in. There are so many market segments to uncover and since there is the need to be clothed and the need to feel good when clothed, it keeps on becoming a thriving business to the rest of the world. If you are starting out a new label, knowing the industry and where you want to position the label are the crucial points to uncover to set your business as well as your products on the right direction. Let us start by identifying the unique market segments and what makes these segments unique and why you should put your business at that level.

As of the moment, there are around 5 market segments that are within the fashion industry. They are normally distinguished by levels, pricing and procedural nuances. These segments are haute couture, ready to wear, mass market, Eco fashion and niche fashions

Haute Couture

A label that is exclusive to fashions that are completely handmade or most of the procedures done by hand; of materials made of the most luxurious and laboriously concocted patterns and fabrics and presentations that are well beyond magical, Haute couture is the pinnacle of market segments selling to the richest women. The term is carelessly used by others when they are indeed made to measure companies. Haute couture is a label controlled strictly by Chambre Syndicale in Paris and only a select few houses are labeled as haute couture houses. The likes of Christian Dior, Chanel, Givenchy and Elie Saab have the rights to be called haute couture houses. The market can be called niche since it only caters to a very small, privileged people who can spend $20,000 on a suit to over $150,000 or more for an elaborate dress with embroidery. It requires an audience with the Chambre Syndicale so if you want to be a full blown couture house, you need to establish your brand and show point of view that can be refreshingly couture.

Ready to Wear

This started out in the 1960s as an alternative to haute couture. These are ready to purchase items that come in standard sizes. This is one of the biggest money makers of fashion companies and where they also put much of their efforts adverting and presenting. If couture is held twice a year, ready to wear can have several runs ranging from the conventional spring and summer fashions, pre-fall and resort plus other specialty lines for kids and even pets. It is a massive industry. Ready to wear comes in several sub sections including luxury ready to wear. Most couture houses have their own ready to wear lines that are less expensive than haute couture by a mile but still are very expensive. Then there is the diffusion line that is catered to a more hip audience but still range similarly in price. High street lines are often less costly.

Mass Market

This is where most people buy their products. If you are starting out, it would be great to begin here and then head up, or diversify. Mass market normally is sold at very convenient prices but can vary in influence like the more posh labels to department store clothing. Boutiques normally offer a broad range of fashions from working class, leisure, daily and glamour/evening looks. Young companies can either begin here or at ready to wear label, the latter is ideal for those who want to create a stronger commercial impression.

Eco fashion

This is a unique market that focuses mainly on environmentally conscious materials and processes. It takes a lot more creativity to transform the fashions and make them rally stylish but it pays off very well since there is an emerging market for people who like Eco friendly options especially for accessories.

Niche fashion

This is focused on a specific area such as undergarment, jewelry, hats or shoes. This is another great option and it is easier to sell or market to boutiques or set up online compared to pieces of clothing.

By understanding the aspects of fashion and its different segments, one can easily make a decision about the best options and ultimately plan the business and the future strategies.

Source by Mark P Spencer

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-business-of-fashion-uncovering-the-market-segments-of-the-apparel-industry/

The Benefits of Hand-held Metal Detectors

Hand-held Metal Detectors are designed to safeguard security-sensitive areas like schools, courtrooms, corrections facilities, sports events, businesses, nightclubs, bars and other public areas and events. They are used along with walk-through metal detectors. Construction crews and woodworkers also use hand-held metal detectors to find dangerous nails or other metallic debris in reclaimed building materials and trees.

A recent study proves that hand-held metal detectors are just as accurate as x-rays in finding coins and other metallic objects swallowed by children. They are cheaper and radiation-free, are usually lightweight, highly sensitive and require little maintenance. The special shape of the sensitive surface makes operation of the device easy, unlike portable metal detectors with ring transducers. They come with 9V batteries or rechargeable NiMH batteries.

Hand-held metal detectors are most commonly used for body searches for weapons in crowd control, and checking parcels and letters. Garret manufactures some of the best hand-held scanners in the world. The Garrett Enforcer G-2 is the smallest body scanner and sensitive enough to detect even the smallest of knives or guns. The most popular one is the Super Scanner. It can detect hatpins as small as one inch.

When hand-held detectors are switched on, a red signal pattern in transmitted from the coil to the ground. When the signal comes in contact with a metal, it interrupts the signal and the detector alerts the user with an audio signal and flashing lights. Hand held detectors are of various types — commercial, professional, all-purpose, beach, gold metal, relic metal and 2-box deep searchers.

Source by Damian Sofsian

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-benefits-of-hand-held-metal-detectors/

Significant Problems Encountered in Implementing a New Strategy in a Business

”Strategy is defined as the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out those goals” Chandler(1962)

Strategy is a process and could be considered in fewer than three stages. These are: strategic analysis; this is the stage where through analysis the strategist identifies the opportunities threats, strengths and weaknesses in the environment; the strategic formulation stage, where a choice is made and the strategy implementation stage is the stage where the strategy is translated into action.

Implementing a strategy or strategy implementation is defined as “the translation of strategy into organisational action through organisational structure and design, resource planning and the management of strategic change”.

Analysing the definition, it becomes obvious that strategy implementation is somewhat complex. Therefore, the successful implementation of a strategy would be how well the various components in carrying it out are successfully integrated and interact.

To identify significant problems encountered in implementing a new strategy in a business, a critical look at the components to be applied in implementing the strategy would be a good pointer. These are considered below: Organisational structure and design; and strategy implementation; translating the strategy into organisational action by using the structure of the organization will also be dependent on the type of structure in use in the organization. This is so because the needs of a multinational organization are different from those of a small business. It is also possible that the extent of devolution or centralisation can influence strategy implementation.

For example using a matrix structure which often takes the forms of product and geographical divisions or functional and divisional structures operating in tandem; the time taken for decisions to be made may be much longer than in more conventional structures. The organisational structure and design aspect of the strategy implementation deals with how the human resources in the organization are mobilised and organised to bring about the corporate strategy. The main significant problems encountered through the usage of organisational aspect in strategy implementation is the fact that most of the employees can leave the firm if they feel that they are being ‘used’ in actual fact if they are not motivated. This is particularly so where the CEO or senior management imposes the strategy on the employees.

Another problem encountered here is the way and manner information is passed down or up the ranks. If there is a blockage which impedes the flow of information processes it means that decisions would be made based on outdated or obsolete information. This can be solved by devolving the central command for easy flow of information among all rank and files especially in implementing a new strategy in a business. Recognition must be given to organisational structure and design’s set up where operational and strategic decisions are made, there should be compromise if implementing a new strategy will succeed in any business.

The next aspect in strategy implementation – resource planning sets out resources and competences need to be created. It deals with the identification of resources needed and how those resources will be deployed and controlled to create the competences needed to implement the strategies successfully. This resource configuration is dependent on: protecting unique resources i.e. where a strategy depends on the uniqueness of a particular resource such as patent; and it must be protected; by legal means; fitting resources together, (mix resources to create competence) business process re-engineering (to create a dynamic improvement in performance) and exploiting experience by learning and improving continuously to improve competence.

One of the major problems of strategy implementation as a result of resource planning is a failure to translate statements of strategic purpose, such as gaining market share into critical factors that will make the purpose achievable and ultimately achieved. This a critical success factor analysis can be pursue as a start in resource planning. For example a definite timetable might be needed for an organization trying to introduce, say a new product for Christmas. A detailed examination of the timing has to be done if production and its marketing would be a success; as well as the allocation of funds for this undertaking. The problem here is that due to the non-uniformity in the times needed for the various activities, it is difficult to know where to start.

Scholes et Johnson (1999) writes that the circularity of the problem is quite usual in developing a plan of action, and raises the question of where to start – with a market forecast, an available level of funds, a production-level constraint, or what? The answer is that it may not matter too much where the starting point is, since the plan will have to be reworked and readjusted several times. A useful guideline is to enter the problem through what appears to be the major change area. An organization planning new strategies of growth may well start with an assessment of market opportunity. Someone starting a new business may will begin with a realistic assessment of how much capital they might have available.

Critical path analysis is recommended for strategies which have detailed planning of implementation. Another problem envisaged is the conflict arising among departments on the allocation of funds especially where money is involved in the implementation of the new strategy.

The next component in the implementation stage of the strategy is the management of strategic change. It is widely accepted that strategic change builds on four underlying premises:

1.There is a clear view within an organization of the strategy to be followed.

2.Change will not occur unless there is a commitment to change

3.The approach to managing strategic change is likely to be context dependent.

4.Change must address the powerful influence of the paradigm and cultural web on, the strategy being followed by the organization.

There are two types of change – incremental change-which merely builds on the skills, routines and beliefs of those in the organization, so that change is efficient and likely to win their commitment, and transformational change – which requires the organization to change its paradigm over time. It could be a change in routine (”the way of doing things around here”. It could also be a change in strategy that will necessitate the change. Although the implementation of strategy concerns the changing aspect of organization structure, control systems and resource planning which does affect the day-to-day operations of members of the organization; people’s behaviours and perceptions may not have changed.

To effect a successful strategy implementation, management must also adopt appropriate styles to manage the change processes. For example, it there is a problem in managing change based on misinformation, or lack of information, education and communication style will be used. This involves the explanation of the reasons for and means of strategic change. Collaboration or participation involving those who will be affected by strategic change in the identification of strategic issues; intervention, direction and coercion styles.

Associated with management of strategic change is the problem of change management. It becomes absolutely difficult to manage the change which comes about as a result of the implementation. For example some managers will lose their position as a result of the change (delayering) others might be made redundant as a result of do upsizing others might still lose their job titles or position which they cherished most as a result of business process re-engineering. This will demotivate the staff and the organization may lose some competent staff. Others may have to be retrained to take up new positions or demoted if they are to remain in the organization. This kind of problem can be avoided if management adopts a participatory style of leadership and get the staff involve from the formulation to the implementation stages of the strategy.

In conclusion, it could be expedient to point out that just as there are numerous definitions of strategy, its implementation style might differ and so might its attendant problems and solutions. Nevertheless, since implementation involves the controlling of others behaviours and sometimes perceptions and culture, most problems would be human-related and probably possible solutions would be dependent on management style and behaviour of the leadership in terms of structure and availability and allocation of resources.

Source by John Whonderr-Arthur, Ph.D. Esq

The post Significant Problems Encountered in Implementing a New Strategy in a Business appeared first on Big Financial BLOG.

source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/significant-problems-encountered-in-implementing-a-new-strategy-in-a-business/

Importance of Postbox Rental

Receiving mails through a postbox is still very fashionable today not just for individuals faced with different kinds of needs but also for big companies and all kinds of businesses. In as much as the technological developments have been established, there are some mails which are better off being received through the physical mail addresses or the postbox. This is especially the best way of receiving mail privately when there is no urgency.

Renting a postbox therefore has proved to be of great importance. You will have the choice for the period you would like to rent the postbox. This option is very important since you will get the chance to receive an awaited mail and pay a good amount for the postbox before then leaving it. The categorized rental period also proves to be very helpful for individuals who are living in an area on a temporary basis since they will effectively enjoy the services of the post office for the exact period they will be within the locality.

Renting a postbox comes with different options for the different kinds of needs that people have out there. The most important thing is that you will be in a position to select the right postbox depending on your working situation or the mailing needs that you have. The most common types of postbox are personal, business and corporate which accommodate different numbers of named mail recipients. The rental charges for the postboxes are quite reasonable relating with the number of people as well as the period within which you will manage to enjoy the great postal services.

Renting a postbox will definitely provide you with the privacy that you need as far as the inbound mails are concerned and you will find it even more important if you are the kin of a person who travels a lot or is in a temporary residence within the area you are renting the postbox in. The boxes are also most important and effective for people operating business from their homes.

Together with the postbox, you have the chance to enjoy numerous other services from your postal service provider including shipping and packaging as well as the mailing. It makes it all possible to also send and receive packages within a reasonable time thereby providing the missing link between two parties or businesses. Always make sure that you are renting the most appropriate postbox to enjoy all the benefits coming with it.

Source by Albert Bond

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/importance-of-postbox-rental/

Role of Banks in International Trade

It is impossible to be in international trade without involving your bank for all the services they provide such as advice on financial issues and the potential risks involved. It is true that one critical hurdle for SMEs is the lack of information on international trade processes, documentation and banking procedures necessary to carry on with business abroad. For result oriented and cost effective international trade, you will very definitely need access to accurate and timely information and a sound knowledge of banking.

Payment Options in International Trade

Quite obviously all payments in an international trade are made through bank either by way of wire transfer or check with the latter not being preferred for not being the quickest. The following are some of the common ways of payment modes in international trade.

1. Banker’s Draft is a cheaper option and easier to obtain but there is a risk of loss in transit. The only advantage it has against check is quicker credit that the exporter gets.

2. Letter of Credit. This international trade instrument is mutually convenient for both the parties. The exporter gets paid once he produces the copy of BoL (bill of lading) which he receives from the shipping company and the LoC, to the bank, regardless of whether the consignment as arrived at destination or not.

3. Wire transfer is by far the fastest and the cheapest option in which the importer will instruct his bank to transfer the amount to the exporter’s bank account. The first time, the transfer happens in about 10-15 days depending on the destination country and the routing bank. International wire transfers are made through intermediary banks/correspondent banks.

4. Although not in a big way, some China manufacturers accept Paypal for smaller amounts such as US$5,000 but require 3% extra to compensate for the charges. Paypal is the quickest and easiest mode of payment in international trade.

Banks that are serving international trade, understand the crucial role they are required to play. Many large banks maintain worldwide correspondents to provide quick delivery of actual currency, wired money or drafts. You may choose your bank for international trade account on the basis of whether the bank can extend advances against the account receivables. Bank may, however, require your account secured through export credit insurance provided by Export Import Bank of United States. Banks also let you enter into forward exchange contract with your bank and fix the amount of the foreign exchange you receive when you are dealing in convertible currencies. You need your bank to be with you as long as you are in international trade.

Tootoo.com

Source by Lau Yolanda

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/role-of-banks-in-international-trade/