You’ve probably noticed a lot of people talking about Facebook. No matter where you go, it seems like somebody has something to say about Facebook! But let’s just say you have set up your fan page and now the crickets are chirping. Now what? There are some things you can do that your fans would appreciate! And if they like what they see, your fans will share it, too. Then the friends of your fans will see it, and so on! This is when your Facebook page can really pay off. Give these tips a try and your social networking could really take off.

Give special offers.

People always love a good deal, and they especially love it when it’s exclusive! Reward your Facebook fans by giving them a special deal nobody else can get. And don’t give out the samples from the back room, make it something they really WANT. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, but make it worth talking about.

Spread industry news.

If you are an industry leader, you surely receive word about things happening in your industry. Your customers would surely like to be in the loop on what is going on also. Give them a tidbit of information they crave by posting your inside knowledge on Facebook! Your customers will love it, and you will position yourself as an industry leader.

Share customer comments.

Has a customer given you a nice compliment lately? Take those comments and spread the word by posting them on Facebook! Posting the comments and thanking your customer for them on your Facebook page gives others a chance to chime in as well. Of course, it’s always a good idea to check with your customer to be sure they approve of having their comments posted on your Facebook page.

These are just a few of the ways you can take action and get your customers talking about your company and your products!

Remember the days of using a calculator and a typewriter to process payroll? Thankfully, those days are gone, and there are much simpler tools to make the process more efficient. Today, there are tools available to help ensure timely tax payments, accurate and complete payrolls, and to make sure employees are paid on time. These days, most businesses use one of two methods to process payroll: in-house payroll software, or a payroll service. As a business, you must choose the method of payroll processing that works best for you. Start out by asking yourself these simple questions.

What staff is available to manage the process?

No matter which processing method you use, you will need staff to manage the associated tasks. Many in the business world tend to believe that a payroll service takes less staff time, since it handles the tax payments and processing. While this may be true, be sure to account for all of the time your staff must spend collecting and entering time data for employees (if applicable), updating employee earning and deduction changes, running payroll reports, and generally making sure that data is accurate and timely. When using a payroll software program, it is a good idea to have at least one employee who is familiar with your payroll processes, and your payroll software. He/she should be able to set up employee information, enter time in the appropriate manner, process payroll, run reports, maintain tax filing schedules and be able to file them using your system.

Who manages what?

It is important to consider your current staff and their expertise, when you are deciding on payroll processing. For instance, if you don’t have a skilled HR person, you may lean toward a payroll service, since some of them offer HR services. If you have a person who is skilled in using in-house payroll software already, you might find it easier to stay with that. Consider who you have on staff and their expertise, and then whatever system you choose will come along with a much smoother transition.

Where is my data safest?

There is a major different in the location of your payroll data when comparing a payroll service to in-house software. With a service, your data is typically stored in a remote location and accessed via the internet. Of course, most services use strong encryption to provide security for your data. For payroll software, your data is stored on your own server, so the information is not available via the internet. However, you still need to be sure there is a good internal security system, since payroll data is sensitive, and you don’t want unauthorized employee’s to log in and view or edit sensitive data.

No matter whether you use payroll software or a service, payroll solutions are definitely a key way of ensuring your payroll is easy to manage, accurate, and that taxes are paid on time! And of course most importantly, that your employees get their checks. There are a few additional steps you can take to make your employees happy. Just by adding features that may already be included within your payroll solution, you may increase the happiness level of your employees!

Add direct deposit

You might just be surprised how much happier employees would be by receiving their pay directly deposited into their bank account, rather than receiving a paper check. Direct deposit allows employees to eliminate the hassle of going to the bank, and also reduces the chances of lost checks. Some payroll solutions even allow for the depositing of funds to unlimited bank accounts, allowing for Christmas savings accounts, additional checking accounts, child savings accounts, and more!

Offer pay card option

Some employees may not have bank accounts, and in those cases it can be difficult or costly for them to find a way to cash their paychecks. Pay cards can be a great way to solve this problem! Deliver employee pay on reloadable debit cards instead of paper checks and you have just made some of your employees very happy by providing them an easy way to access the money they have earned.

Translate pay stubs into employee language

Do you have employees who are not native English speakers? Depending on their language skills, these employees may be better able to understand the important details of their pay and benefits if you have them printed on their pay stub in their native language. Payroll solutions that offer this feature will typically allow you to enter the translation one time, and assign it to the applicable employee(s), and the pay stub will be printed that way automatically from then on.

Add important information to pay stubs benefit summary etc.

Are employees constantly asking how much vacation time they have left? How much they’ve contributed to their 401K? Details like this, and much more can be included on a pay stub. Surely your company has its own unique set of details which you may want to include on the pay stub, so add whatever is most important to your business and your employees.

Add online pay stub access.

Many payroll solutions are now offering the ability for employees and previous employees to access their pay stubs online! No more searching around for slips of paper to access the information they need. Provide employees or previous employees with a password, and they will be able to look up their pay stubs and even W-2 forms online, making it easy for both them and you.

Don’t assume that what you are doing is the best or only solution available! You could make your own job easier as well as bump up employee happiness by adding features you may already have in your payroll system.

You’ve heard the saying “people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan”. Well, that’s not always true. Several years ago, (long enough that the statute of limitations has long passed), I was on the board of a not-for-profit organization that would consistently budget a negative cash flow for the year. They didn’t want to lose money, and didn’t think they would lose money, but they always planned to lose money. I didn’t understand that philosophy. I am certainly in favor of conservative budgeting, so if something doesn’t quite go according to plan, there are still prospects of survival.

Now that we’re in the New Year, you should have your plan for 2012 in place and have started executing that plan. Some businesses have to start executing their plan long before the beginning of any calendar period by buying inputs for commodities they grow or parts for finished goods they produce. In this case, their plan has to be more perpetual than based on a twelve month period. While I don’t believe the old Wall Street movie that proclaimed “greed is good”, I also don’t believe profit is a four-letter word. The best thing we can do for ourselves, the people that work in our companies, our local communities, and our country, is to plan to be successful and execute the plan. So, don’t fail to plan, and don’t plan to fail.