Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 4, 2012

16

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday August 4, 2012 

BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA


THE AGE-OLD STANDARD FOR “BEST PRACTICES” OR 
“BEST PRACTICES OR SIMPLY B.S.”

The World English Dictionary defines “best practice” as “the recognized methods of correctly 
running businesses or providing services.” This team may be a relatively recent addition to popular 
business lexicon, but best practices have been in play for thousands of years. Great architectural 
structures like the pyramids in Egypt and massive architectural masterpieces in places like Rome and 
China required the application of standards that evolved from an expanding body of best practices 
applied to design and construction.

The definition for this popular buzzword also includes “practices considered the most appropriate 
under the circumstances, a practice that is regarded as the standard that may well be adopted as a 
formal guideline or regulation.” Consider the standards for building codes in California, which are 
required to account for seismic activity that is not common to other U.S. regions, or laws that forbid 
the use of fireworks in certain regions that would present little to no danger in areas that don’t have 
the same level of fire hazard.

A best practice can be applied to anything that involves a process. As individuals, groups and 
organizations engage in the planning and implementation of projects and activities, they often create 
and refine a set of processes and standards – overtime, these are regarded as best practices. When 
these practices are identified and adopted as the prescribed manner of getting things done, they can 
be used to strengthen and improve communities, entire industries or individual businesses.

Practices that are most practical are among the most likely to become codified into law, or at least 
regarded as minimum expectations. Drinking and driving, toilet seat covers in public restaurants, 
ramps and wide doors to accommodate customers in wheelchairs – these are a few examples of areas 
in which expectations deemed reasonable, evolved into standards and eventually, laws.

Used simply as a buzz word by bosses, managers and salespersons, “best practices,” is a mere 
irritation to employees and customers whose experience is in sharp contrast. A sense of action is 
inherent in the use of the word “practice” in the phase itself. Specific actions or practices deemed 
appropriate to make improvements or maintain a baseline of high-quality will always be evident 
when best practices are in play. To use the phrase when speaking of an ideal or something planned 
for future implementation is at best, an example of a worse case scenario. 


WHAT’S IN A FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE?

The Facebook business pages have come a long way. They are starting to look and act more like a 
web site. Actually, you don’t even have to be a member of Facebook to see them. Below is a map and 
description of the elements you’ll find on a Facebook page. It also includes some rules Facebook has 
about the large cover photo that sits on top of the page. If you would like to set up a Facebook page 
for your business, there is no cost. Once you are logged into your Facebook account, go to www.
facebook.com/pages and create a page.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that also specializes 
in Social Media Education for business owners. Join their conversation on Facebook and get good tips 
and tricks about social media, www.facebook.com/hutdogs 

 

Sign up for their upcoming classes and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/schedule


OMG! OH MY GOSH DID YOU 
KNOW…………….. By Patricia Richardson, M.B.A


QuickBooks 2012 has features that make it powerful and multi-functional, 
allowing users to benefit with more detailed financial data that provides 
greater insight, all with time-saving steps. We can all enjoy faster workflows 
while seeing more valuable information about our businesses…all provided 
automatically by QuickBooks. 

The 2012 Premier, Accountant and Enterprise versions of QuickBooks includes a new Inventory 
Center that looks a lot like the Vendor, Customer and Employee Centers. You can find the Inventory 
Center on the Home Page in the Company Section next to the chart of accounts. It can also be found 
on the Vendor drop down menu, under Inventory Activities. With this feature you can easily find 
and locate inventory tasks, items and reports all in one place. As in the other Centers, there is now a 
Notes field for each inventory item for quick identification. (The Inventory Center is for Inventory 
and Assembly items only, not other types of items). QuickBooks Enterprise also allows for an image 
for each item.

The Inventory Center improves efficiency because all pertinent information about inventory and 
assembly items and related transactions appear in one place, and the user can click through to see 
reports and transactions. It is also great because it now includes Notes! In fact, even items that are not 
inventory and assembly items now have a Notes field. 

This year there is also an improved Shipping Manager. This QuickBooks feature now integrates with 
USPS, whereas prior to this year, it integrated only with UPS and FedEx. You can access this feature 
from the File drop down menu. In addition to shipping by UPS and FedEx you can now ship USPS 
packages, find drop off locations, schedule pick-ups, track or refund a shipment, or print a SCAN 
form. You can also print USPS shipping labels directly from QuickBooks and select desired USPS 
Services, all via a link within QuickBooks to Stamps.com.

…On another note: IRS Hosts Workshops For Code Sec. 501(C)(3) Organizations

The IRS will host a number of one-day workshops for small and medium-sized Code Sec. 501(c)
(3) organizations during the summer and autumn of 2012 in Louisville, Ky.; Erie, Pa.; Arlington, 
Va.; and several other cities. The workshops are designed for administrators or volunteers who are 
responsible for tax compliance, and for organization representatives. More details are available on 
the IRS website ( www.irs.gov/charities).

Patricia Richardson the owner of Monrovia Computerized Business Service and is a local accountant, educator and 
trainer working to help business owners realize their business mission and vision by empowering them with tools 
and training in areas that may not be their core competency. For additional information, patti@qbworkshop.com 
or www.QBworkShop.com 


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