Integrate Cloud-Based e-commerce Platforms

Integrate Cloud-Based Platforms

E-commerce businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based applications, such as hosted shopping carts, analytics platforms, cloud-based accounting, customer service tools, and more.

To operating smoothly, a merchant’s cloud-based apps should integrate with each other, to save time and to otherwise prevent data loss and ensure accurate reporting.

It’s important, therefore, to have an integration mindset when choosing and using software-as-a-service solutions.

Some tips:

Ask Around

As with evaluating any vendor for your company, go beyond the company’s website. Ask the vendor about other customers. Get references. Contact those companies and ask how the platform is working. Is it easy to set-up? Does it integrate seamlessly with other apps? How long does it take to transfer data from one app to the other? These are just some of the questions you need to ask when evaluating an app. Also check social media sites for any discussions pertaining to the program. Read what people are tweeting. Check relevant LinkedIn groups.

Check the Company’s Integrations Page or API

When evaluating a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, first determine if it integrates with the platforms that you’re already using. Pre-built integrations will save much time. Alternatively, if a company has an application programming interface (API), use it to integrate the app with your existing systems.

If you can’t find the integration you need or if you want to avoid the API option, contact the vendor directly and ask if it can make its platform sync with your existing solutions. Don’t underestimate the power of reaching out to your vendors.

Use Cloud App Integration Services

Another option is to use SaaS integration services. You have plenty of choices, depending on what you need to connect. If you just need to integrate two apps, like Dropbox to Gmail, for instance, you can use (IFTTT) If This Then That –  a service that lets you assign triggers and actions to each app through a drag-and-drop interface. When one program does something, it will automatically trigger another app to perform an action. For example, you can create a recipe wherein all your Gmail attachments are automatically saved to your Dropbox folder. IFTTT is free to use, to integrate up to 80 apps.

A similar service, Zapier, lets you do the same thing, but on a larger scale. It supports more than 250 applications, including Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Xero accounting, Campaign Monitor email, and more. Zapier is free for five integrations. It also offers Basic, Business, and Business Plus plans that cost $15, $49, and $99 per month, respectively.

IFTTT and Zapier work well to integrate two cloud applications. However, if you’re running a combination of cloud and on-premise applications, or if you have an ecosystem of apps and data sources that have to connect and exchange data, you need more sophisticated options.

That’s where services such as Dell Boomi and SnapLogic come in. Like IFTTT and Zapier, these solutions use a drag-and-drop interface, but at a larger scale. They connect multiple combinations of cloud and on-premise applications.

Use Free Trials

Always test-drive your apps or integration services. Most SaaS platforms offer free trials. Take note of user-friendliness, functionality, and observe how they function with programs you already have.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Financial Services, Internet Payment Gateway, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Small Business Improvement, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: api, apps and data sources, cloud applicaitons, cloud based applications, cloud based apps, cloud-based accounting, customer service, dropbox, e-commerce, ecommerce, exchange data, existing systems, gmail, integration, SAAS, salesforce, shopping carts, social media, software-as-a-service, sync, zapier

Automate Business Tasks with Your Smartphone

With so much to do each day, it’s easy for a small business owner to get bogged down in details. That’s where your smartphone comes in. With the right apps, your mobile device can automate the tasks that used to be daily chores. Whether you need help keeping track of all your business documents, or organizing your calendar and contacts list, it’s time to let your smartphone do some of the heavy lifting.

Back up your business files. Your work machine contains everything you need for a productive day, including every file and document you are working on. But you can’t always be at the office.  With your smartphone and the right apps, however, you can back up and access your business files from anywhere. Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, SkyDrive and iCloud are all solid mobile apps that automate the process of syncing your business files to the cloud so you can access them from any Web-connected device, including your smartphone or tablet. Better yet, any edits you make will be synced across all your devices, so you can stay productive and organized.

Manage new contacts. Swapping business cards is a great networking strategy, but cards are easy to lose, and manually inputting all that contact information into your address book is a chore. So let your smartphone enter all that data into your address books. CamCard (available for iOS and Android) is an all-in-one business card management solution. Just point your iPhone camera at a card and snap a photo. The app’s text-recognition software will pull out the key details and update your address book automatically. It can even search for new contacts on LinkedIn to add a photo and additional personal details for each new contact.

Silence your smartphone. A buzzing or ringing smartphone can be distracting – not to mention embarrassing – during a business meeting. Silencing your phone is simple, but chances are you’ll occasionally forget. That’s why there are handy apps that monitor your smartphone calendar for meetings and appointments, then silence your phone for the duration of that event. You can even whitelist specific numbers so you won’t miss an emergency call. When the meeting is over, your smartphone’s ringer and vibration settings will be returned to their normal state. That way, you can stay focused and free from distraction when it matters most. Android users can try Silencify. For iPhone users, AutoSilent is a good option.

Sync your calendars. Both Android and iOS have built-in calendars to help you plan your week and schedule meetings. But juggling both a mobile calendar and a desktop office calendar is a pain, so why not use your smartphone to synchronize the two? If you use Microsoft Outlook as your business calendar, for example, Google Calendar offers an easy way to link them. And iPhone users can synchronize their mobile calendar with Outlook by plugging their smartphone into their computer and accessing the Calendars tab in the iTunes options menu. Automating the process of syncing your calendars means you’ll never mix up appointments. And if you share your business calendar with your employees, it ensures that everyone is always on the same page.

Sync your social media accounts. A strong presence on Facebook and Twitter can help you engage your customers and grow your business. Mobile apps can help you keep your business profiles fresh when you’re on the go, but reposting those updates on each platform individually can be a chore  especially from a tiny smartphone screen. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to automate the process of synchronizing social media posts between your business profiles. Simply visit this page to link your Facebook and Twitter accounts. After that, go ahead and use the Facebook mobile app to post updates, news or promotions to your business’s Facebook page, each post will be automatically funneled to your Twitter followers as well.

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16 Free Online Tools for Small Businesses

16 Free Online Tools for Small Businesses

Whether you’re starting a small business or you’re just thrifty, you can likely benefit from some free online productivity tools.

There are apps for accounting, collaboration, customer management, development, scheduling, general office tasks and more. All of these tools have free plans, and several are entirely free.

Appointlet

If you make appointments with customers, you may need Appointlet, an online appointment-scheduling app for Google Calendar. Add it to your website and let your clients do the booking. Confirm, decline, cancel, or reschedule any appointment right from the comfort of your Google Calendar. Easily gather all the information from your clients that you need to fulfill the appointment.

Boomerang for Gmail

Lets you write an email now and schedule it to be sent automatically at the perfect time. Write the message as you normally would, then click the Send Later button. Tell Boomerang when to send your message by using the calendar chooser or the text box that understands language like “next Monday.

Dropbox

Is a cloud-storage service that lets you access and sync files across all your devices. While Dropbox only offers 2 GB of initial free storage (Google Drive and SkyDrive offer more), it expands free storage up to 16 GB free for referrals. Dropbox offers native support for Linux and Blackberry, as well as Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. To supercharge your Dropbox, utilize the many third-party apps, which offer enhanced file syncing with Dropbox’s new Datastore API.  

Evernote

Is an app to remember everything, from lifelong memories and vital information to daily reminders and to-do lists. Everything you store in your Evernote account is automatically synced across all of your devices, making it easy to capture, browse, search, and edit your notes everywhere you have Evernote.

Gmail

Is a Google’s email application, which includes 15 GB of free storage (across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ photos). Gmail also lets you communicate via SMS, voice, or video chat. See who’s online and connect instantly. See your contacts’ profile photos, recent updates, and shared docs next to each email.

Google+ Hangouts

Turn any gathering into a live video call with up to ten friends or simply call a contact to start a voice call from your computer. Enhance your call with Cacoo for online drawing, SlideShare for sharing presentations, and Conceptboard for whiteboard collaboration. 

HelloSign

Is an application for getting documents signed. It includes tools to facilitate document signing, tracking and management. Notifications keep you appraised of the signer’s activity. Signed documents are securely stored and always accessible. Sign an unlimited number of documents for free. HelloSign has mobile apps and a Gmail extension.

HootSuite

Is a social media dashboard to manage and measure you social networks. Manage your messages, get custom analytics on your social campaigns, and communicate internally without leaving the HootSuite dashboard. Access a single interface to monitor Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ Pages, WordPress and more. Or add more social networks with the HootSuite App Directory.

KeePass

Is a free password manager to help manage your passwords in a secure way. Put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. Remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using secure encryption algorithms (AES and Twofish).

Mural.ly

Is a visual-collaboration whiteboard app. Drag and drop images, links, and documents to organize your ideas. This simple visual tool can keep your team in sync through brainstorming, planning, or designing a project. Features include private murals, auto-save and backups, comments, activity feed, and chat.

NutshellMail

Takes copies of your latest updates in your social networking accounts and places them in a snapshot email. The NutshellMail update is then sent to your primary email address. NutshellMail supports Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, MySpace, YouTube, Foursquare, and Citysearch. Receive updates as often as you wish.

Rapportive

Shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox. Immediately see what people look like, where they’re based, and what they do. Establish rapport by mentioning shared interests. Record thoughts and leave notes for later.

Streak

Is a customer relationship application for Gmail. Track your deals from your inbox. Group emails from the same customers together, utilizing spreadsheet view right inside Gmail. Use the mobile app to keep track of your customers, make calls, and send emails. Share selective parts of your inbox. Schedule emails to send later.

Trello

Is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in a process. Trello uses boards, lists, and cards to create projects and develop your workflow.

Wave

Offers online accounting and finance applications for small businesses. It includes invoicing, accounting, payroll, payments, receipts, and personal finance software. Accounting, invoicing, receipts, and personal finance applications are free.

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