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newsletternewsletter 313
Restaurant Pro Beta Testers Wanted (Online Ordering) Restaurant Pro Beta Testers Wanted (Online Ordering) pcAmerica is seeking volunteers to help test our new restaurant online ordering interface. Your customers will be able to go online, order items off your menu, and have the information automatically sent back to your Restaurant Pro Express system. The items will automatically print or display in your kitchen. This service typically carries a sign-up fee plus a monthly fee -- the sign-up fee will be waived, and you may continue to use the service past the test period. The test will start sometime in May, and be completed sometime in June, at which point we expect it to be 100% completed. Please contact sales@pcamerica.com if you'd like to help test this new interface. Who Pays Taxes?
1% of all taxpayers earn more than $388,806 annually. 5% of all taxpayers pay 60% of all income taxes and earn above $153, 542. 50% of all taxpayers earn less than $31,987 and account for only 2.99% of all income tax paid. In short, if you define rich as those earning more than $153,542, they are already paying 60% of all taxes. All of the above figures are based on 2006 figures. As the retired founder of pcAmerica, and as a person who knows and has worked with many thousands of retail stores and restaurants, I learned one very important business skill... You are doing well when more money is coming into your business than you are spending. You are not doing so well when more money is going out of your business than you are taking in. In other words, if you are spending more money than you are earning, you have a problem. I have no doubt that the employees at GM deserve every penny that they have been promised. I have no doubt that investment bankers, AIG employees, and workers at Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac deserve million dollar bonuses. My only problem is with any business that is spending more money than they are making. I do feel confident that our government can figure this out. Our government appears to have figured out how to spend more money than they have coming in. Well, we can always tax the rich some more (although there doesn’t seem to be much money left to tax). We can add a 70 cents per bottle tax on Coca Cola. We can add a tax on people who are over weight. We can add additional taxes or people who smoke or drink (even though they are probably smoking or drinking due to pressures related to higher taxes). Better yet, we should increase taxes on those retailers who are making a profit and pass that money on to those businesses that are losing money. I know that owners of retail stores and restaurants have an extremely difficult job even in a great economy. Surviving given our current economic situation adds more even more pressure. Who really deserves the bonuses? State sales tax revenues are down by 6% in the last quarter and according to data released on April 15, 2009. Unlike the federal government, states cannot legally operate with a deficit . To read more about who is paying the taxes, go to: http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html Do You Need Your Inkjet Printer? A fairly good inkjet printer sells for about $150. A fairly good black and white laser printer sells for about $200. If you are only printing in black and white, an inkjet printer will cost you about 2 1/2 cents per page extra for the ink. That comes out to be about $130 per year extra to print 100 pages per week on your inkjet. You may want to consider buying two printers. Buy a black and white laser printer for most of your printer needs including your daily business reports. Use your inkjet for creating marketing materials and other printing needs requiring color. Printing in color is going to cost you 7 cents to 27 cents per page depending on which inkjet printer you choose. Malls Shedding Stores At Record Pace Malls are shredding stores at a record pace. “Strip malls, neighborhood centers and regional malls are losing stores at the fastest pace in at least a decade, as a spending slump forces retailers to trim down to stay afloat”, according to a real estate industry report. For consumers, they have fewer stores to shop in and less product choice. In the first quarter of 2009, 8.7 million square feet of retail space have been abandoned. This compared to 8.6 million square feet of abandoned retail space in all of 2008. On average, landlords have been reducing rents by 1.8%. Given the recession, maybe it is time to ask for a rent reduction from your landlord. Yes. I understand how difficult it is to negotiate a rent reduction from a landlord. There are other ways. You can ask the landlord to perhaps pay for garbage removal, electricity, or other items that may be the renters’ responsibility. Landlords do not like reducing rents. However, you may be able to negotiate 2, 3, or even 6 month’s of FREE rent on your next lease. Another option may be to rent some additional storage space at 0 charge. Go to Barnes and Nobles or your favorite bookstore and find a book that will help you negotiate better. One of my favorites is called Getting to Yes. Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. by Roger Fisher and William Ury. It’s an easy read and will cost you less than $15. It could help you reduce your rent by thousands. You can order the book for 10 bucks at: http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0140157352 To read the entire article related to store closings go to: http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/10/news/economy/retail_malls/index.htm?postversion=2009041310 Are You Going To Lose Your Ability to Accept Credit Cards?
Are You Going To Lose Your Ability to Accept Credit Cards?
Another good article, PCI (Payment Card Industry) Compliance Basics:
PA DSS appeared in the April, 2009 issue of Business Solutions
Magazine at:
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According
to the Internal Revenue Service, 40% of all income taxes are paid by
1% of all taxpayers.
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