Any small business owners (especially online, e-commerce, or consulting)?

[vr4chick]

Small internet based sales.

Gateway is Paypal, been using them for two businesses now. Great because it is so widely recognized now and they allow for it to be basically hidden and look like a standard credit card processing screen.

Use quick Books as well and have an accountant that reviews everything quarterly. Just makes sure we're not messing up and makes sure we have the correct forms to file.

Track customers, Google analytics, ebay analytics, and quick books helps a lot.

All sale recipients are filed away by month with their shipping receipts.

It will get more complicated as we grow, but for right now it is not bad.

-John

Paypal has changed in the last 5 years. 5 years ago I would have reccomended them but not now...I woud reccomend an actually processor like First Data. I've helped start 2 businesses, one is well recognized here.

[vr4chick]

I would definitely reccomend Neat Desk for any businesses. The IRS will accept a scanned copy of reciepts...It cuts down on the paperwork

[J-Groove]

Paypal has changed in the last 5 years. 5 years ago I would have reccomended them but not now...I woud reccomend an actually processor like First Data. I've helped start 2 businesses, one is well recognized here.

I hadn't checked them out before. Thanks!

We're still working on building our own site, everything right now is through Paypal and custom orders via email and contracts.

But this may be a great option for the site.

-John

[AdamVR4]

I wasn't planning on starting a business any time soon, but this thread has been interesting, border-line empowering. Thanks guys I'll be sure to review this when the wife gets sick of her technical career and decides to open a restaurant, haha...

I'd say this was just about the only thing school 'failed' to introduce me to. Google points me to a couple ".gov" sites with "10 step" lists and information resources for starting a business... Is this the best place to start for the very basics?

[UTRacerX9]

Eh, I could type a long drawn out response, but the fact of the matter is that you are best off going to a CPA and telling them what type of business you are planning on. Then they can suggest what type of business plan is best, whether it's a partnership, LLC, or other. Once you decide then it's simply of matter of choosing how you want to handle the books. When you start out, it's fairly easy to manage yourself, as long as you know basic accounting rules, and brush up on applicable tax law.

[vr4chick]

I hadn't checked them out before. Thanks!

We're still working on building our own site, everything right now is through Paypal and custom orders via email and contracts.

But this may be a great option for the site.

-John

If you need any help at all in regards to your credit card processing, just hit me up. I would rather help someone and not see them get messed over by another company. I've spent 10 years in credit and debit processing.

[bfretless]

What I'm really interested in now is customer management and invoicing. I want customers to be able to view and pay invoices online. Does anyone have a solution for this? It doesn't have to integrate with QuickBooks, although it saves me time if it does.

Been using Harvest for the last six months. Very easy and quick to log consulting time and create invoices. You can accept payments online using either PayPal or a payment gateway like authorize.net. They are adding new features regularly.

[Maximal]

Paypal has changed in the last 5 years. 5 years ago I would have reccomended them but not now...I woud reccomend an actually processor like First Data. I've helped start 2 businesses, one is well recognized here.

I know a lot of people like paying with paypal so I give them that option. It's easier to keep everything in the same place and have them process my credit cards for me too. I haven't had any issues with them and been with them a long time now not noticing many major changes. They do charge a lot for their virtual terminal so if I processed a lot of cards in person it might make sense to go another route.

I would definitely reccomend Neat Desk for any businesses. The IRS will accept a scanned copy of reciepts...It cuts down on the paperwork

That's on my list for "crap to buy end of the year to save on taxes". Do you have the portable one or the desktop one? The desk one looks awesome but is crazy expensive.

I wasn't planning on starting a business any time soon, but this thread has been interesting, border-line empowering. Thanks guys I'll be sure to review this when the wife gets sick of her technical career and decides to open a restaurant, haha...

I'd say this was just about the only thing school 'failed' to introduce me to. Google points me to a couple ".gov" sites with "10 step" lists and information resources for starting a business... Is this the best place to start for the very basics?

Might find some good stuff on google but your best bet is to talk to someone who runs a successful small business. Inc and Entrepreneur are good magazines to pick up (inc is better IMHO) and you can learn some stuff from them.