Posted by Elissa Beckman

When I started working at PaySimple 2 years ago, I knew that it was a special place. After six months, I was given the inspiring title of Empowerment Director, verifying once again just how amazing this company is. My favorite line quickly became: PaySimple doesn’t do Human Resources, PaySimple does Empowerment!

With a strong leadership team in place that provided guidance and encouragement, we were quickly able to create a culture and environment that attracted not only the brightest talent, but the greatest people. Since our team members were working so hard and giving us so much, we wanted to show them our respect and appreciation in return. Some of the many benefits of working at PaySimple include: Friday lunches and happy hours, participation in team sports, a relaxed dress code, free public transportation passes, gym membership reimbursements, and weekly recognition programs.

When I heard of the Denver Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” competition earlier this year, I knew that PaySimple had to enter. After I filled out an initial application, we were contacted by Quantum Market Research to complete an employee survey. The survey categories included: team effectiveness, retention risk, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers, individual contribution, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued, work engagement, and people practices.

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Popularity: 53% [?]

Posted by Sarah Jordan

Last weekend, six of our own PaySimplers joined an estimated 3,000 cyclists in the 23rd Annual Great-West Life Bike MS, Colorado’s Ride 2008. Each rider is pledged to raise at least $300.00 for the cause, but most go above and beyond that amount. Team PaySimple, comprised of a total of almost 50 friends and family members, together raised over $35,000!

The ride encompassed 150 miles over two days. Starting June 28, Cyclists rode 75 miles from Front Range Community College in Westminster, CO to Ft. Collins, CO and returned to the college the following day. I asked our participants to share their thoughts about the experience or any inspiring moments they had during the 2-day race…

Elissa Beckman, Empowerment Director–“With almost 50 riders on our team, people tended to notice us and comment on our jerseys. It made for a great conversation topic when people would ask, “What is PaySimple?”. I must say, I never thought I’d be conversing with strangers about electronic payment processing while climbing through the mountains of Colorado.”

“Unique experience? Well, I might be the only person in the race who made it the entire 150 miles without a spill, only to eat it as I reached for my medal crossing the finish line. But I am still so happy that I participated!”

Wesley Cropp (on right), Account Executive –- “Admiration was a constant feeling over the course of the two-day race; I was in awe at the physical ability of the experienced riders and headstrong nature of those that struggled with the course. The last quarter-mile was lined with supporters and family members, waving flags and holding out medals. With that kind of support, where I once felt tired I then felt like I could make it 20 more miles. That’s what it’s all about.”

Chris Kampfe (on left), Marketing Analyst – “The experience of riding with the team was brilliant. Each turn was a new experience, a constantly changing landscape. And when you came up on a hill, it’s inspiring to have a strong, supportive team to climb it with. It really didn’t hurt that everyone looked fantastic in their spandex either. Just sayin’…”

Jeremy Segale, VP of Operations — “The energy this weekend was amazing, over 3,000 riders uniting together to pedal against MS. I was proud to ride for Team PaySimple, the 7th largest team. It is great to be part of an organization that supports involvement in such a worthy cause.”

Jeff Gardner, President — “This is my fourth year doing this event and I am continually amazed at the support provided by the volunteers of this event, many of which are fighting MS. It is a huge undertaking to support riders of all abilities over such a long distance and the MS Society does an amazing job.”

“My most inspiring moment came from a brief speech at dinner on Saturday night by one of our team members who has three family members with MS. It was an emotional moment for Jamey and his passion to find a cure is very personal and contagious.”

With 82 cents of every dollar raised going to the cause, BikeMS raised an estimated $2.6 million this year. And while the tour is a fun and team-oriented way to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, it also creates awareness for the cause and gives hope to the 400,000 Americans living with MS every day.

So recruit some fellow employees, friends, and family members, and get your team together! There are WalkMS and BikeMS events in your area, and an endless number of worthy causes that your small business can get involved in—and you can take it from our own participants, that being involved is much more rewarding than just sending in a check.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Posted by Evan Berlin

There’s a lot of doom and gloom out there. Economists from around the country seem to agree that the US economy is in a downturn. How deep or how long it will last is anyone’s best guess. Even the ever optimistic Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, said recently, “My general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think. This will not be short and shallow.”

While recent research from the National Small Business Association (NSBA) survey of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses and American Express OPEN seems to back up those assessments, many small business owners remain optimistic about their ability to have a successful year. Among the highlights:

• Increased energy costs have led 37% of businesses to increase their prices, yet 18% have invested in energy efficient equipment or upgrades

• 70% of small business owners remain confident in the outlook of their own business

• 70% of businesses have been able to secure adequate financing, up from 67% in 2007

• 71% of business owners plan to grow their business over the next 6 months

• Almost 40% of small business’ plan to hire in the next six months

• 86% of entrepreneurs describe themselves as “ glass half-full” people

As Eric so eloquently spoke of in his recent post, and Sarah discussed last Monday, small businesses provide the fuel that powers the US economic engine. On the heels of small business week, and in the midst of what most experts believe to be a recession, we at PaySimple wish you all the best in 2008. We know things are tough yet we remain confident in your ability to remain strong in the face of adversity. We are 110% behind all of you who strive for better lives and a piece of the American Dream.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Technorati Tags: economy, energy costs, small business, recession, American Dream.

Posted by Sarah Jordan

It’s easy for small businesses to get lost in or ignored by the media. Small businesses don’t have the extensive ad budgets, celebrity spokespersons, or brand recognition that large corporations do. And although they are innately involved in our communities, make charitable contributions, and even volunteer employees to participate in fundraisers, they don’t make billion dollar donations (think Warren Buffett and Bill Gates), sponsor rock concert benefits, or make the cover of TIME.

However, once a year—as occurred last week—small businesses are thrown into the spotlight. This year it’s important to note that National Small Business Week took place while the economy is taking a downturn—when it seems the nation was already looking to small businesses to pull it back up. And it doesn’t take a celebrity endorsement from Bono to see why:

Each year, the 26 million small businesses in the United States:*

• Generate two-thirds of all new jobs
• Employ over half of the country’s private sector workforce
• Represent 97 percent of exporters
• Represent almost 100 percent of all employer firms
• Generate a majority of the innovations that come from US companies

Of course, if you’re a small business owner, you probably already know all of this and thinking, if the nation thinks we’re so important, then why not throw us a freakin’ bone. The good news is, it may be coming closer to happening. There have been small steps taken since 2000, but here is a list of some current proposed legislation that could lend some support to small business success:

• Small Business Expensing: Now businesses with up to $325,000 in new investments (rather than $200,000) can immediately expense the first $40,000 (currently $25,000), rather than depreciate it.
• Simplified Taxes: The final rules will be announced shortly by the Treasury Department that will allow businesses with less than $10 million in gross receipts to use cash accounting rather than accrual accounting—greatly reducing the amount of paperwork and time required to file taxes.
• Death Tax Repeal: The tax burden for family-owned businesses passed down through generations would be greatly reduced.
• Association Health Plans: The theory is that by pooling together small businesses into “associations,” they would have the same purchasing power health insurance benefits as large organizations.
• Improve Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs): By removing the cap on the volume of MSAs and lowering the required deductible for both individuals and families, small businesses and their employees can take advantage of more of the benefits of these tax-free health insurance savings accounts. See full legislation details

Now, whether this legislation passes and is implemented is still to be seen. But we the employees and owners of small businesses can all hope that perhaps the focus on nationwide small business success will last for more than just the duration of a week or a recession.

*Stats from http://www.score.org

Popularity: 27% [?]

Technorati Tags: large corporations, National Small Business Week, small business, legislation, recession

Posted by Sarah Jordan

Since we provide a payment processing solution, many of our customers came to us seeking an alternative to PayPal. We’ve heard various complaints about the company including high prices, bad customer service, and even, “They just won’t give me my money.”

Today, I found out about the Worldwide Ebay Strike, which since its purchase in July of 2002, is also an indirect strike against PayPal. For a short explanation, if you haven’t heard this news, a group of eBay users are trying to gain momentum against the auction giant to combat its recent regulation changes, which have been adversely affecting the business of eBay sellers.

What businesses should know is, yes, there are alternatives to PayPal. EBay and PayPal are excellent solutions for consumer to consumer buying and selling, but have limitations for businesses. If you are a legal business (i.e you have a business bank account and business license) looking to sell your products online, I strongly recommend getting a merchant account for both ACH (e-checks) and credit cards, rather than accepting payments solely through a PayPal account.

What’s the difference?

Control over funds: PayPal is a service primarily for consumers and does not protect a business as well as a merchant account would against fraudulent chargebacks. A merchant account is strictly bank and processor related, which follow established regulations. PayPal is a separate entity that can hold your funds by rules that it sets—whatever those may be.

Recurring billing: If you are a service industry business, or offer payment plans, you could save yourself quite a bit of work and expense by setting up recurring billing. PayPal does not offer an automatic billing program for PayPal accounts.

User experience: As a consumer, I would be weary of purchasing anything from a business only offering PayPal as a form of payment. The funny thing about merchant accounts is that they not only protect businesses better, but they also provide the consumer some assurance. By offering customers eCheck or credit card payment options, you’re showing that you are a real business that has qualified for a merchant account and are much less likely to be fraud.

Check out the comparison breakdown of PayPal, PaySimple, and other business e-payment solutions here.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Technorati Tags: payment processing solution, alternative to PayPal, Worldwide Ebay Strike, merchant account, fraudulent chargebacks, e-payment

Posted by Sarah Jordan

The Federal Reserve released their 2007 Payments Study on Monday. The study covered 2003 to 2006, finding that all types of electronic payments grew while paper check payments decreased. The annual use of debit cards increased by about 10 billion payments, surpassing credit cards as the most frequently used payment type. The number of Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) payments increased by 6 billion and credit card payments grew by 3 billion. Even as the most common types of electronic payments increased, another noteworthy increase was in the number of checks being processed electronically. Almost 3 billion consumer checks that were written to billers were converted and cleared as ACH payments rather than check payments. The 2007 Federal Reserve Payments Study’s major findings include:

• From 2003 to 2006, electronic payments grew 12.4 percent per year, now making up over two-thirds of all non-cash payments.
• Payments made by debit, credit, or EBT cards constituted over half of all non-cash payments in 2006.
• The number of debit card payments now exceeds the number of credit card payments. (With lower rates, that’s great news for business!)
• ACH payments increased 18.6 percent per year from 2003 to 2006, 38.4 percent of which were checks converted to ACH.

Read the full executive summary of the 2007 Federal Reserve Payments Study

Popularity: 23% [?]

Technorati Tags: Federal Reserve, electronic payments, paper check, Automated Clearinghouse (ACH), debit card, credit card, business