Small business credit cards differ from personal cards because they are issued to firms rather than individual consumers, and they are intended to be used for business purposes only. According to a 2010 report to Congress by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 83 percent of small businesses used credit cards as of the end of 2009. Of them, 64 percent used small business cards, and 41 percent used personal cards.

During the recent economic downturn, small business credit cards were a lifeline for many companies that could not obtain business loans and had to rely on cards to finance their immediate needs.

Business credit cards offer a number of advantages that personal credit cards do not. For example, they are excellent cash flow tools because they usually come with higher credit limits and lower interest rates than personal cards to meet the spending needs of small businesses. Issuers generally provide services that are particularly useful for running a business like employee cards with customizable spending limits, detailed spending statements each month or quarter, expense tracking and annual spending reports.

Like personal cards, business cards frequently offer rewards programs, balance transfer programs and introductory rate promotions. Fees, pricing structures and terms like grace periods are similar for the two products. However, it’s important to note that business cards are not covered under the Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, which applies only to consumer credit cards. Consequently, business cards do not carry the same consumer protections as personal cards.

However, a big plus for using business cards is that it protects your personal assets. If your business is set up legally as a limited liability company (LLC), it’s critical that you keep your business expenses separate from your personal expenses in the event that you are ever sued. A credit card issued in your business name proves you operate your company separately from your personal finances, which may come in handy if you are ever audited by the IRS.

When applying for a business credit card, the U .S. Small Business Administration advises that you choose one from an issuer that reports to a business credit bureau, not the consumer credit bureaus. “This will shelter your personal credit for personal necessities such as auto loans, mortgages, student loans and personal credit cards,” it explains.

One final and very important note about small business credit cards. They are intended to be issued only to small business owners, and applicants must sign a statement verifying that they are applying for the card on behalf of their business. Business card contracts typically state that the card is to be used only for business purposes and stipulate a personal guarantee that both the company and the guarantor (business owner or authorized officer) are responsible for balances accrued. In other words, there is no free ride if the account goes into arrears — you will be held personally accountable for your debt.

Before applying for a business credit card, consider which features you require and then research your card options. Consider consulting with a business credit service that knows which lenders are lending and whether you’re likely to qualify for a card with them. Alternatively you can try finding an issuer on your own, perhaps one with whom you have an existing consumer credit account, that will be willing to issuing you a business credit card.

A recent article in USA TODAY reports, “more workers across the nation have been suing employers under federal and state wage-and-hour laws” since the height of the recession in 2008, with the number of lawsuits filed last year 32 percent higher than in 2008. The main grievance of workers are working more than 40 hours per week and not receiving overtime pay. Various practices include:

-          Being forced to work off-the-clock

-          Working in misclassified jobs that exempted them from receiving overtime pay

-          Technology (such as smartphones and other mobile devices) leading to extended work responsibilities during their personal time.

Many companies have reclassified salaried executives as hourly employees — often to the dismay of the workers themselves, says Dan Yager, general counsel of the HR Policy Association, which represents human resource professionals. Such a strategy lets employers head off lawsuits by paying a lower basic wage that accounts for expected overtime.

Even meritless lawsuits against a small business can lead to ruin. Nonprofit association, SCORE, provides mentorship to small businesses and warns against the following top employer mistakes that lead to lawsuits:

-          Classifying all employees as exempt from overtime rules. Under employment law, generally salaried employees are exempt from overtime and various other rules that apply to hourly or non-exempt employees — but merely paying someone a salary does not guarantee they are truly exempt, and job titles don’t either.

-          Classifying all employees as independent contractors because hiring employees is more trouble and expense. This is a bright red flag for the IRS. There are strict and detailed rules around what qualifies as independent contractor status you’ll need to follow.

-          Failing to receive and/or provide sexual harassment and discrimination training. Know the rules on sexual harassment, discrimination, disability, safety and wage-and-hour laws as your best defense.

-          Letting employees decide what hours and how many hours they want to work each day. Most employees are restricted by law as to the number of hours they can work without overtime pay and valid alternative workweek schedules require you to follow specific steps to institute such a program. Failure to meet requirements can mean penalties and back pay for overtime.

-          Withholding a departing employee’s final check if they haven’t returned company property. This seems completely reasonable to most business owners but in some states, final paycheck deadlines are set by law carry and carry hefty penalties if not met, regardless of whether the employee is still in possession of things that must be returned.

To have your business run smoothly, it’s important to get the facts and required education about employment laws. It’s the only true way to avoid employee litigation. Also, perform background checks and screen your potential employees well before hiring. Weed out the bad seeds that may be looking to earn some easy money by filing a bogus claim against you. The best defense is a good offense.

Small businesses may be more vulnerable to attacks since malware creators understand that such firms often have weaker security than larger organizations. According to the report, targeted attacks saw a 42 percent increase, with 31 percent of those attacks aimed at businesses with fewer than 250 employees. This is an increase of 18 percent from a year earlier. Symantec Corporation monitored computers containing its software in over 157 countries and found the US ranked first worldwide in the overall ranking of security threats.

The mobile realm also experienced a sharp increase of malware incidents, Symantec reports, with an increase of 58 percent. The greatest number of vulnerabilities happened on the Android mobile operating system — with 103 reported in 2012. This compares with Apple’s iOS platform and Windows Mobile — each having only a single incident. The disparity is presumed to be mainly due to Android’s huge market share and open platform, but also because of the ease with which apps can be downloaded.

According to Symantec researcher, Vikram Thakur, the main purpose of cyber attacks last year was to access users’ data, with 32 percent of malicious activities on mobile platforms intended to steal some type of information.

He warns against turning off any of the features in your security solution or you are putting yourself at risk. Thakur recommends taking the following additional steps to protect your mobile devices. Always use security software and update the software frequently. Also, only install the applications you are going to use and be certain it’s from a reliable source. Remember that Android applications can be downloaded from almost anywhere, but if it is not from a reliable source it could contain malware.

Always be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other malware that can weaken your computer’s security. To avoid phishing (when Internet fraudsters impersonate a business or social media website to trick you into giving out your personal information) remember that legitimate businesses would never ask you to send sensitive information through insecure channels.

Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information so never email personal or financial information. When entering personal or financial information online, First look for signs that you are on a secure website. Check the URL and if it begins with “https” rather than “http”, there is a greater likelihood that the site is secure. Remember that is the “s” stands for secure. If you follow good computer and mobile device security practices, you can greatly decrease your risk of falling victim to data theft and cyber fraud.

Chris Donnelly, global managing director of Accenture’s Retail practice, believes that although seamlessness can be challenging to achieve — that it is possible to attain. He said, “Traditional retailers must take stock of their operational capabilities. They require a presence at every stage of the customer journey to deliver a consistently personalized, on-brand experience from discovery through research, purchase, fulfillment and beyond to product maintenance or returns.”

Consumers desire personalization at every touchpoint. The following list indicates the percentage of consumers with key preferences:

• I can receive unique pricing, automatic discounts, free returns, or pre-sales based on my loyalty/purchase history. — 55%
• I can earn and use my loyalty rewards in-store, online, or on a mobile device. — 53%
• My accounting is completely connected between purchases and loyalty point both online and in-store. — 45%
• I may have one account to use in-store, online, and on mobile devices to make checkout easy and fast. — 43%

There is a mutually beneficial relationship between stores and online channels as online shopping continues to grow as a consumer preference. Seventy-three percent of respondents indicated that they participated in the practice of showrooming (browsing at least once in-store and then buying online) and 88 percent  said they participated in webrooming (browsing first on the Internet and then making their purchase in-store).

Consistency in the consumer experience was shown to be an important factor in terms of pricing and promotions. Seventy three percent of consumers expect a retailer’s online pricing to be the same as its in-store pricing, and 61 percent expect a retailer’s online promotions to be the same as its in-store promotions. In actuality, Accenture’s benchmark analysis of top global retailers suggests something different. They found only  16 percent offer the same prices online as they do in the store and  73 percent offer the same promotions online as in the store.

Accenture is working with retailers around the world to help them provide a seamless shopping experience to their customers. Accenture Seamless Retail Services is a business service that helps retailers to execute consistently and effectively with price, promotions, assortment and inventory across multiple channels to build customer loyalty and drive up sales.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) notes that nearly 96 percent of consumers live outside the U.S., and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries. In promoting World Trade Day on its website, SBA suggests that small businesses should consider exporting if they’re interested in increasing sales and profit, reducing dependence on the domestic market and stabilizing seasonal fluctuations.

Businesses in the Rocky Mountain region will learn all about how to leverage recent technological advances to their advantage at a one-day event sponsored by World Trade Center Denver that’s billed as a “premiere trade and investment conference.” “Plug into the Global Economy – How Technology Impacts Trade” is the theme of the gathering, which promises to be a valuable networking opportunity that will bring together nearly 500 international business professionals to highlight the value of technology tools for trade and business.

“From supply chain management to social media marketing and team collaboration, there’s a multitude of new technology tools that allow businesses to do more across the globe than ever before,” declares WTC Denver on its website. “Through World Trade Day, the Rocky Mountain World Trade Center Institute and its partners aim to put these tools and services into the hands of those who will find them most useful.”

SBA and VISA® have also chosen World Trade Day 2013 in Denver as the venue to announce the “Exporter of the Year” award as well as the winners of the SBA-Visa Export Video Contest.

Attendees will also be able to attend a conference track showcasing relevant technology to help grow their international business. Demonstrations are planned in the areas of:

• Internet Marketing
• Social Media
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Team Collaboration Tools
• Logistics
• Financial Management
• Product Sourcing and Procurement
• Supply Chain Management
• Country Risk Analysis
• Translation and Localization Support
• Foreign Exchange
• Market Intelligence

More information and a full World Trade Day 2013 event prospectus are available from WTC Denver. Registration is available online.

Other World Trade Day/Week observations are scheduled on various dates in other American cities as diverse as New York City, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, MI, Kansas City, MO, Wichita, KS, Portland, OR and Albany, NY.

For more general information about small business exporting, check out the Export.gov website. SBA also dedicates a full section on their website to exporting that offers an export business planner, a list of U.S. Export Assistance Centers, government programs that offer training and financial assistance to small businesses, export success story videos and other helpful tools to get you started in the right direction.

A recent Smarter Small Businesses study by the Center for an Urban Future that focused on small businesses in New York City concluded that while they face more competition than ever from national chains with deep pockets and overseas companies with significantly lower costs, too few of them are taking advantage of technology that could level the playing field in a meaningful way.

“By adopting basic technologies that are taken for granted by large corporations — from Google ads and customer management software to digital payroll programs and point-of-sale systems — small businesses could expand their customer base, reduce their costs and become more efficient,” the study notes. “Technology can springboard some small firms to the next level and help others simply improve their profit margins enough to survive.”

For example, let’s look at point-of-sale systems. There are a number of technological advances in the way businesses can accept credit cards that can help them become more competitive.

Merchant Express® offers state-of-the-art solutions ranging from traditional retail point-of-sale processing for brick-and-mortar operations to online processing through our payment gateway Transaction Express® to mobile processing with PayFox® that turns your smartphone or tablet into a terminal wherever the sale takes you. Other options include wireless credit card processing for merchants who do business outside a traditional environment, telephone credit card processing for low-volume merchants, electronic check processing and gift and loyalty card processing. Merchant Express is truly your one-stop provider for merchant accounts and other merchant services.

Beyond credit card processing, there are many other areas within your small business where technology can give you a much-needed boost, including:

Access to the Internet on your mobile device(s) not only simplifies your life and keeps you on top of business developments throughout the day, but it can help build your company brand. Being able to respond immediately to a client or vendor’s email or accommodating a customer’s preferred payment method while in the field reflects positively on your professionalism.

Online planning software, like a calendar system, can help you organize your day and stay current on meetings and appointments no matter where you are. There are many systems to choose from, so pick one that meets your specific needs and leverage it to your advantage.

Email management systems enable you to stream multiple email accounts to just one account, making it possible to manage important business correspondence.

Time tracking software helps you prioritize tasks from most to least profitable and can guide you in determining which can be eliminated or outsourced.

Accounting and inventory management software is helpful even if you have someone who handles these aspects of your business. With the right software, you can personally design and manage a budget for your operation, keep track of goods and services, and follow profits and losses on a daily basis

The authors of the Smarter Small Businesses study concluded that technology is no longer an option, but an essential tool for businesses who want to remain competitive. “This is not just the case for large corporations and high-tech startups, but for nearly all small businesses — from the corner bodega facing more competition from chain grocery and convenience stores and pharmacies to the neighborhood restaurant that needs to attract diners from outside the immediate neighborhood to survive,” they explained.

Take the first step and explore the types of technology that are right for your small business — including new solutions for accepting credit cards from Merchant Express — and you’ll be on the fast track for a more efficient, organized and competitive company.

Pinterest is a social networking site where its users collect and share online images pinning them to virtual bulletin boards. Photos and links to favorite products and brands can be saved on individual’s pinboards which can be followed by other users. Some would compare it to a window-shopping experience helping users find things they like and retailers hope it encourages more impulse purchases.

Many of Pinterest’s members are young, female, well educated with disposable income but most retailers are still learning how to reach and interact with consumers through the site in order to increase their sales.

Pinterest began allowing companies to set up official business accounts in November and many major brands have responded by congregating to the site with hopes that Pinterest’s promotional service will positively impact consumer behavior. Reuters reports major retail brands with a presence on Pinterest include L.L. Bean, with more than 5 million followers; Nordstrom Inc, with more than 4 million followers; and Lululemon Athletica Inc with close to 2 million. Other major players like Gap Inc and Urban Outfitters Inc have fewer followers on the site, but are growing.

Now Pinterest has introduced a tool that will allow businesses to see how many visitors the content-sharing service is referring to their sites. The Pinterest Web Analytics tool is available for free to companies with a verified website. Featured data includes the number of people that have pinned from a site, the number of views each pin has and how many users have visited a site from the Pinterest website.

Pinterest has already shown that it is an effective marketing tool for businesses. Last July, data from online sharing service Shareaholic showed that Pinterest beat Twitter, StumbleUpon, Bing, and Google in referral traffic. What’s more, Pinterest users don’t just click over to e-commerce sites to simply scrutinize the merchandise. According to data from e-commerce platform Shopify Pinterest users are also 10 percent more likely to make a purchase than people who come over from other networks.

While Facebook dominates in socially-driven shopping, Pinterest is driving the highest average spending per online shopping session, according to a study by RichRelevance, an e-commerce consultant which tracked 700 million shopping sessions to benchmark the performance of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest as drivers of traffic to retail sites. Findings showed Pinterest shoppers, on average, spend nearly $170 per session. In comparison, Facebook shoppers spend $95 per session, while Twitter shoppers spend $70.

Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance said, “The big take-away from our research is that not all channels in the social space are created equal. As retailers and brands continue to sort out how to take advantage of social networks, this infographic provides great insight into better understanding the nuances of each channel, how they resonate with consumers and how marketers can take advantage of each in their own unique way.”

The following are the three main goals of this event:

• To increase understanding of the benefits of investment in occupational health and safety.
• To raise awareness of the role and contribution of safety and health professionals.
• To reduce workplace injuries and illness by encouraging new health and safety activities and interest in NAOSH Week.

The Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) is the leading health, safety and environmental organization for professionals in Canada.  Since 2000, the responsibility and management of NAOSH Week has continued under CSSE’s leadership, partnering with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS), and the Labour Program of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), and Threads of Life national registered charity, dedicated to supporting families along their journey of healing who have suffered from a workplace fatality, life-altering illness or occupational disease.

Another NAOSH Week partner is the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) – the oldest and largest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. ASSE’s 30,000+ members manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor and education.

Partnerships with government, business, suppliers, CSSE Chapters, community health organizations and other safety groups provide the support, resources and network necessary to manage the NAOSH Week plans.  It has always been rooted with a community-based approach with events coordinated by local, provincial and/or regional committees and comprised primarily of volunteers who share a focus and vision of safer workplaces and communities.

Organizers suggest establishing a NAOSH Week planning committee to develop an outline of events and activities in support of company/ business safety objectives since involvement, support and enthusiasm are critical to success. Promotional materials, checklists and sample documents can be downloaded from the NAOSH website.

To participate, simply complete an Event Submission Form  and your event will be posted upon approval in 24 hours or less from the time of your posting. If you are presenting the same event more than once, you should provide the dates and locations for each instance and if you are presenting a number of different events, complete a separate form for each event. Once you post your NAOSH Week 2013 events you will qualify to enter the NAOSH Week Event Draw for a NAOSH Week Flag and $100 certificate for NAOSH Week promotional products.

There are a number of flexible work arrangement options, one or more of which might work for your business. They include:

• The aforementioned flextime, which allows employees set their own starting and quitting times within limits determined by management.
• Compressed work week arrangements let employees put in a 40-hour week in less than five days. The most common arrangement is four 10-hour days, giving employees an extra day off each week.
• Job-sharing involves letting two people share the responsibilities of one full-time position. This arrangement is popular with workers who want to keep their careers on track but prefer to work part time due to family or other responsibilities.
• Telecommuting gives employees the opportunity to work from home during some or all of their scheduled hours. Usually they come into the office on a regular basis to stay in touch with their co-workers and attend meetings. Otherwise they stay in virtual contact with their colleagues.

According to the 2012 National Study of Employers by the Families and Work Institute, flexible work arrangements have been increasing in popularity with employers in recent years. Between 2005 and 2012, employers increased the options available to employees who wanted to better manage the times and places in which they work, including flextime (from 66 to 77 percent), flex place (from 34 to 63 percent), time management choices (from 78 to 93 percent) and daily time off when important needs arise (from 77 to 87 percent). It’s noteworthy that over half of the employers surveyed (53 percent) were small businesses employing 50 to 99 employees.

“These findings reveal that both employers and employees can benefit from effective and flexible workplaces,” the study notes. “Employees benefit from having higher quality jobs and more supportive workplaces that are less likely to negatively affect their personal and family lives, while employers benefit from having more engaged employees, higher retention and potentially lower health care costs.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Fair Labor Standards Act  (FLSA) does not address flexible work schedules, so alternative work arrangements like flexible work schedules are a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee’s representative (a union, for example).

Finally, Entrepreneur.com offers tips for success when instituting flextime options at your small business, summarized below:

Your goals for any employee working flextime need to be clear, specific and action-oriented so they can be measured at the end of the work period. You both need to agree on the actual scope of work and the mode for transmitting the end result.

An employee’s exact role in the company needs to be clearly defined. Manager and employee must know the expectations and responsibilities of both parties, especially when employees working outside the office and communicate via phone or email.

You must determine the frequency and mode of communication you require before your employees begin working their flextime schedules. Whether you want a phone call, written weekly summary or a face-to-face meeting, it’s critical that you establish guidelines upfront.

Establish some regular working hours for your telecommuting employees. Outline a usual time that he or she will be available by phone or email, and set a regular time for them to come into the office. Some employers establish “core hours” when all employees must be physically present at the business location for a set period of time on a specific day to help make the adoption of flextime easier for all involved.

This recent survey indicates that retailers have the greatest chance of influencing the shopping behavior of women online — as it was shown that 89 percent of those surveyed research their products of interest on the web prior to making a purchase. Asking family and friends was preferred by only 5 percent of those surveyed, and in-store browsing for product research was done by only 6 percent of respondents. The majority of women researched products on the web by PC or laptop computers (71%) and 18 percent searched online via mobile device or tablet web apps.

The advantages of online product browsing are its convenience and the way it offers the ability to compare large quantities of items to find the lowest prices or best deals. Forty-one percent of the women surveyed said they used their mobile device to get detailed product information and 46 percent looked for coupons. They also used their mobile devices to look up store hours and locations.

Eight percent of respondents said they mostly made their purchases via mobile device. Nearly equal amounts made purchases in-store (45%) and from their desktop or laptop PC (47%). The survey indicates only a small percentage of respondents most often make mobile commerce (mcommerce) purchases. Twenty-four percent report having made at least one mobile purchase.

Research shows that women still outnumber men as the chief shoppers in most households. Unicast’s What Women Want from the Web Report  revealed that 85% of all brand purchases are made by women — which is only one facet of their purchasing power. According to the report, women make 92 percent of vacation purchases, 93 percent of food purchases and control $7 billion in annual spending.

Key findings also showed women between the ages of 18-24 are more receptive to online advertising in various formats — with the most popular ad content being those pertaining to sales and discount codes (46%), followed by creating or submitting an entry to win a prize (31%). Additionally, about one in four women showed interest in ads with localized information.

Retailers can target highly-qualified consumers to share special deals and coupons through location-based social media marketing apps. Smartphones used as mobile shopping tools is a new reality as many consumers download apps and willingly reveal their current location in order to get information and take advantage of unique offers.

As technology advances at a rapid pace, location-enabled features and insights will become more conventional. Retailers with mobile-optimized websites (which include product information, store information, customer reviews and pricing, among other items) provide opportunities to educate consumers to make it easier for them to make informed purchases.

Websites with responsive design will have a competitive edge over businesses with less mobile-friendly sites. As the primary shoppers, retailers and marketers must adapt their messaging to female shoppers with the focus on mcommerce in order to remain competitive.