The bad news: Ransomware has become big business. CryptoLocker, Locky, and other variants are netting criminals so much money that there are some who provide it “as a service” to non-techie criminals for a split of the ransom money collected. The good news: You can protect yourself. The most important thing is training: your employees […]

A bill making its way through Congress—the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013—would allow states to require out-of-state businesses to collect sales tax. On May 6, 2013, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA). If this legislation passes the House, it will require Internet-based businesses to collect state sales tax based on the shipping address […]

If you’ve ever had to spend time on any of the following: Guessing at a customer’s sales tax rate based on zip code Having a customer reject an invoice because you guessed wrong Had a tax audit find you charged the wrong tax (even if you based it on what jurisdiction the customer said they […]

Facebook has made a fortune out of a seriously warped version of the word “free”. You give them all your thoughts, feelings and behaviors for free, and they’ll happily sell that info to advertisers. “Sharing” as in “what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine”. The latest revelation is that, by default, anything you […]

Are you one of the many who suffer from Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)?  Don’t let eye fatigue slow you down- try to incorporate the 20-20-20 rule in your daily work routine. Step I:  After every 20 minutes of looking into the computer screen, turn your head and try to look at any object placed at least […]

There has been much discussion recently among business software VARs about how to price our services. The traditional method has been hourly billing. How long does it take the consultant to do the work? Others are now saying we should scrap time tracking and should use “pricing on purpose” or value billing. What is the […]

Most businesses reviewing their information systems and processes for improvement total up the costs of making  changes. What will new software cost? What will it cost to train employees?  You can quantify those answers, because you can get quotes that put those costs on paper.  What’s harder to quantify is the cost of not changing.  […]

Verizon Communications has been granted permission to stop distributing the white pages in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. Other states that have already approved the change: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. The reason is obvious – the internet. These days, not only are phone books used […]

Despite Re-Circulating E-mail, It is Still Not Necessary to Register Cell Phone Numbers As the number of phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry surpassed 139 million, the Federal Trade Commission reiterated that despite the claims in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers […]