Utilizing the Cloud with Global Resources

Global Resources assists organizations with utilizing the cloud. The traditional belief was cloud-based web tools were used mostly by large corporations, and that these tools were costly and their capabilities are too expensive to be efficiently utilized by small and medium-size businesses. However, although cloud technology is often associated with large-scale, enterprise usage, it doesn’t mean small business should avoid it. 

With the many web-based cloud options available today, it is extremely easy to adopt and can be seamlessly integrated into a technology portfolio to increase efficiencies of key business tasks such as client engagement, workflow and day-to-day operations.  

For those who are still unsure about the cloud, the experts at Global Resources LLC have factors you should consider: 

More to the cloud than file sharing - Email and file sharing is a common practice of the cloud but other functions, such as calendar and client management, are not as commonly used by small business management. Online calendar, online scheduling and online CRMs have efficiencies beyond the standard cloud benefits. As with any cloud application they are always available, backed up and have zero maintenance for the business. But they also offer a unique value, as they can actually connect to your website, social networks and email, offering a seamless flow of client information between your customer-facing assets and your internal tools. 

Customers can also benefit from the cloud - One of the greatest impacts of leveraging the cloud that is often missed is the huge improvements in customer service. As customers today want services 24/7 from anywhere, on any device, the cloud has the capacity to turn average customer service into exceptional customer service. The cloud by nature is available 24/7, creating an on-demand repository of every action and transaction between the business and the client. Cloud business applications have the capacity to offer personalized, self-service portal for clients –making the business available for its clients 24/7. 

The Cloud has more benefits when used with mobile- Mobility today means more devices, more locations and more apps that improve productivity, collaboration and your overall business.  And this shift in mobility is paying off with 70 percent of firms saying mobility is improving customer service. But the great power of mobility truly shines when married to great cloud solutions. As an example, the cloud CRM can be programmed to deliver automated email or mobile notifications for customer inquiries or notify the business team member when it’s time to follow-up. On the other end, an online calendar and scheduling automation solution will remind clients of upcoming appointments via email or text messages, eliminating the need for a phone call reminder.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Global Resources Advises on Corporate Philanthropy

Adding corporate philanthropy is an important – yet often confusing – practice. Many business owners turn to the business consultants such as those at Global Resources LLC to help establish corporate giving. There are many benefits a company can reap from engaging in corporate responsibility, as long as the philanthropic endeavors are integrated properly. 

If you’re considering becoming more socially responsible and integrating philanthropy into your business, be aware that there are common risks, if not done strategically. 

• Budding social butterflies - One of the risks involved is that a company's leadership can end up getting overly focused on the social side of philanthropy and subsequently lose track of the business platform.
• Direct giving can hamper goals - On the downside, philanthropy that is direct, or created through pure donations of money can make it difficult for a business to actually change what it wants to change in the community, if the receiving charity is not properly vetted before a financial contribution is made.  Some charities which portray a worthwhile community purpose may have an extraordinarily high operating expense relating to their fundraising activities which limits the impact of the corporate giving by the business owners.
• Time, cost and decisions - If a business decides to take a more direct route by investing money in the community itself, then there are other issues which must be taken into account. The business must form a team and decide how much money to give and where it should be given to produce the most impact. Decisions affect not only the length of the project, but also any marketing that goes along with it. In the end, the company must be prepared to spend time, money and decision-making power on a project, if it wants to have an impact beyond a financial contribution.  All factors, both time, money and resources should be evaluated to make a prudent decision as to the best way for a business to engage in corporate philanthropy.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Critical Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Consultant

Hiring a business consultant can be the first step in maximizing the success of your organization.  At Global Resources, we provide an objective and comprehensive analysis of the business to give an unbiased view of its strengths and weaknesses. 

If your company is ready to progress forward with the professional assistance of a business consultant, it is important to hire the best consultant for the job. Here are some questions we suggest asking prospective business consultants:

1. How many professionals work at your firm? Business consultants fall essentially into two categories: Solo-practitioners and team players. Understanding the difference between working with a consultant who is on his own or a company which has a team of professionals with experts with experience in a variety of fields will help you evaluate what you need and who offers the best opportunity for you to gain the professional help you deserve.  
2. Will you sign a letter of confidentiality? Will you refrain from working for our competitors?  Ask all consultants to sign a letter of confidentiality. You and your staff must feel free to discuss business subjects with your consultant and trust his or her discretion. If you feel uncomfortable, you won't discuss matters candidly, which will affect the outcome of your consulting engagement. 
3. Ask how many clients do you work with at the same time?  Will you return phone calls or emails the same day? The number of clients a consultant can serve well varies with the kind of service provided and clients involved. But some general rules apply: You want to have same-day response to questions or problems. Be sure to ask about their practices for personal follow through when working with you and their follow-up for client services.  
4. Will you teach us to do this work for ourselves and become self-sufficient? By making training part of the consultant's job, you can limit the chance for the unnecessary expense of the consultants doing what your own employees could be doing, once they are properly trained by the consultants you hire. Establish a schedule within which the consultant can accomplish the goals you have established for the project. 
5. What kind of documentation will you give us when the project is completed? Keeping a paper trail of the work a consultant does for you accomplishes several ends-all of them good. Documentation will usually give you some forms and tools that you can use for continuous improvement and allows you to keep a record of the analyses made of your company and the responses you've taken. 

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266.

The Know-how to Keep Your Business Running

You decide what success means to you and your business. The experts at Global Resources will utilize industry expertise and intimate practical knowledge to achieve your goals by creating a sound plan and carrying out the perfect implementation.

As a small business professional, you know how difficult it can be to keep your company thriving, much less prepared for unexpected bumps down the road. If your goal is to maximize your brand, Global Resources LLC has some tips to help you achieve success:

1. Plan for disaster. You should plan for any event that could cause you to lose valuable data or productivity. These could range from a failure of your backup software to a disaster that prevents your employees from coming into the office to work. The business experts at Global Resources can help you determine the best protocols for potential disasters.

2. Prioritize IT. Your small business might not require a full-time in-house network manager, but you still need access to a trusted technological professional who can set up, maintain and grow your network tailored to your company’s specific needs. If losing your Internet connection for more than a few minutes would throw a serious wrench in your operations, find the best provider available in your area. Email that goes down once a week or an ISP that is not available when you need it can frustrate customers and employees alike!

3. Consider insuring vital employees. It’s not uncommon for one person in a small business to become the resident expert in an important area such as database programming. Ask yourself what would happen to your company if that person quit or became too ill to work for a long period of time. 

If the business consequences are too hideous to contemplate, it’s time to make sure you have a backup. If it’s not possible to train a second employee or document the job’s duties for an emergency replacement, it might be wise to invest in disability or life insurance for employees you literally cannot afford to do without.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266.

Strategic Tax Planning for Your Business

At Global Resources, we pride ourselves as being recognized by clients and industry experts as a premier strategic tax advisory firm offering extraordinary dimension and expertise. We are attuned to the fluid nature of ever-changing tax laws, and work diligently to ensure your success.

Filing taxes can be a time-consuming and tedious process, yet it is mandatory.  By working with the tax experts at Global Resources LLC, we ensure your taxes are completed flawlessly, while allowing you the time needed to effectively run your company. 

When it’s time to file a federal income tax return for your small business, there are various ways you can do it, depending on whether you run the business as a sole proprietorship or use a legal entity such as an LLC or corporation.  Each type of entity requires a different tax form on which you report your business income and expenses. Regardless of the form you use, you generally calculate your taxable business income in similar ways.

If you’re already looking ahead to the next tax season, here are some general tips for strategic tax planning.

1.       Gather all business records. Before filling out any tax form to report your business income, you should have all business earnings and expenses available.  We suggest using a computer program to organize and keep track of all transactions during the year.

2.       Find the correct IRS tax form. Selecting the correct form to report earnings depends on how you operate your business.  Small business owners often use a sole proprietorship, which allows them to report all of their business income and expenses on a Schedule C attachment to their personal income tax return. If you run the business as an LLC and you are the sole owner, the IRS also allows you to use the Schedule C attachment. If you use a corporation or elect to treat your LLC as one, you are responsible to prepare a separate corporate tax return on Form 1120.

3.       Fill out your Schedule C or Form 1120. Be sure to use correct information and file documents properly.  After processing your paperwork, it can be quite tedious and time-consuming to make additional changes.

4.       Know the filing deadlines. When you use a Schedule C, it becomes part of your Form 1040 and therefore, no separate filing deadlines apply. It is generally subject to the same April 15 deadline. If you need to file a Form 1120, you must file it by the 15th day of the third month following the close of the tax year, which for most taxpayers is March 15. You cannot send this form to the IRS with your personal income tax return.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Improving Business Management Strategies

Managers are crucial to every working business.  Not only are these chosen employees responsible for managing other co-workers, but they also must work towards increasing business profits. If your business has an unsuccessful manager, chances are you will see a negative ripple effect as the outcome.

At Global Resources LLC, we work with business owners to analyze management and improve workplace functionality.  Our consulting services team is comprised of some of the brightest management minds in business. All have practical, hands-on business management experience. Nothing is left to theory.

Manager Relationships

The relationship between a manager and a worker is one of the largest influences on a worker's job performance. Bad management practices may decrease employee morale and cost the company more than just the cost of high turnover, amongst others. Displeased employees stop caring about how well they perform at work, are more likely to demand more money for extra tasks, etc. The management pros at Global Resources will work with your staff to improve productivity and effectiveness. 

Manager Profitability

Frequently, investors judge a company's management team on a subjective level and become captivated by the CEO’s hopes and dreams of the future. However, what really matters is management’s ability to create wealth for shareholders. If this ignored, investors might fall victim to some unpleasant returns.

The experts at Global Resources will create effective evaluations for your management team:

•Assess the company's economic margin.

•Evaluate the ability for a company to sustain historical levels of economic margin performance.

•Build out future cash flows to better evaluate expected future performance relative to its peer group.

•Look at investment prospects of firms and review how they are growing or shrinking their business.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the management experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Business Analysis Helps Businesses Do Business Better

A business analysis is a structured approach for introducing, managing and maintaining change to businesses in all types of industries. Simply put a business analysis is an agent of change. 

There are many reasons a company will hire Global Resources to conduct a business analysis, including the need to investigate their business systems by taking a holistic approach to evaluate actions that will improve the operation of a business as well as the desire to document the business requirements for the IT system.

The business experts at Global Resources LLC utilize a business analysis to identify and articulate the need for change, and to facilitate that change. We provide an objective and comprehensive analysis of the business to give an unbiased view of its strengths and weaknesses. The business analysis takes approximately one to three days. Our target market is businesses that range from $1 million to tens of millions in annual revenue.

The business analysts at Global Resources work across all levels of an organization and complete an in-depth examination, including financial, operational and sales functions. By doing this, we can thoroughly provide recommendations for improvement by identifying strengths and deficiencies. Our business experts may be involved in everything from defining strategy, creating internal practices and procedures, specifically crafting leadership roles by defining goals and requirements for programs and projects as well as supporting advancements in company technology.

At Global Resources, we have the specialized knowledge to act as a guide and lead the business to its desired destination. The value of business analysis is in the realization of benefits, avoidance of cost, identification of new opportunities, understanding of required capabilities and modeling the organization. Through the effective use of business analysis, we can ensure an organization realizes these benefits, ultimately improving the overall growth.

To learn more and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266.