The internet is a powerful re-search tool for individuals and business owners, but it can also be overwhelming.
Finding information online can often take much longer than using the information once you find it, which is not good for efficiencies and can be frustrating. In fact, some business owners still try to avoid using the internet in their business as much as possible, just to avoid “the hassle.”
However, there are things that can be done to reduce this hassle and integrate the internet into a business to better the business and improve efficiencies.
Read Also
European wheat production makes big recovery
EU crop prospects are vastly improved, which could mean fewer canola and durum imports from Canada.
Online bills, bill payments
Everyone knows that paying bills is a normal byproduct of doing business, but they may not know that many bills can be viewed and paid online, from telephone and utilities to parking tickets.
As well, many businesses are now going with paperless billing to reduce their environmental footprint, which means bills are sent via email instead of using the traditional postal service.
In fact, Canada Post has created an online service called “epost,” which allows bills to be registered under a secure site and made available for future viewing.
Some service providers have started offering discounts for registering their bills under this service.
Using online billing has several benefits:
- Reduces the incidents of lost mail.
- Results in real time delivery. This can be especially useful when dealing with suppliers who require quick payments. It allows for more time between when the bill is received and payment is due, thus allowing for greater cash flow management.
- Avoids late payments.
- Allows bills to be paid at any time of the day from the comfort of the office or home computer.
- No cheque is required for payment and postage fees are reduced.
- Can result in increased productivity and efficiency because business owners will spend less time and resources paying bills and more time on their business.
Employee wages, payroll deductions info
Wages are often the single largest expense for business owners.
Knowing comparable wages in a local area can be crucial in helping to ensure wages are not being overpaid or good workers don’t leave because they are underpaid.
For example, alis.alberta.ca/wageinfo in Alberta is an excellent re-source when trying to determine comparable wages in a local area, including specific information for the agriculture industry. These types of sites can help when setting wages for employees, determining fair raises or comparing your own pay to others in your area.
The federal government’s payroll deductions online calculator at www.cra.gc.ca/pdoc can be used to calculate an employee’s payroll deductions, check payroll deductions that you have already calculated or allow an employee to check if their deductions were done correctly.
This can help ensure that payroll remittances are correct and no unforeseen penalties and interest charges are incurred.
Other GST, corporate or individual tax info
The Canada Revenue Agency web-site at www.cra-arc.gc.ca includes links for individuals and for businesses. By registering under this site, businesses can obtain up to date information from the government regarding balances due, past assessments, payroll information and GST filings.
Another option helps make payments and transfer account balances.
The internet can provide business owners with excellent information to develop and grow their operations. Having information at their finger tips can be a great way to minimize time invested on research and calculations for day to day transactions.
Contact your tax adviser for details if you wish to establish a better online relationship with the government.
