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July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Up Front Offering the Right Terms for Employee Leave Employee leave can be difficult for you and the employee in question. Legally, what are your options and what latitude do you have as an employer? Federal guidelines may not apply to you, but state mandates could be a different story. >> Read More > Sign On Resources Give Your Customers More Payment Choices Differentiate your business from the rest by offering multiple payment options. With Wells Fargo Merchant Services, you can accept credit and debit cards and electronic checks from your website or retail store. Now, open a new Merchant Services account and get our most popular 500 Gift Card package for only $225 (a savings of $335!). Get the Rewards You Deserve After serving others and your employees, why not serve yourself with one of Wells Fargo’s optional Business Rewards programs? Earn points for money you already spend on everyday purchases and redeem for travel, cash rewards, gift certificates and more. Be Prepared for Any Business Need The Wells Fargo BusinessLine® line of credit is a powerful and convenient financing solution, available for any business need, whether you want to expand your business, cover your accounts payable, or have cash on-hand for unexpected opportunities. Simplify Payments to Employees and Vendors Use Direct Pay to make fast, secure direct deposit and electronic payments to the bank accounts of employees and vendors. It’s fully integrated with Wells Fargo Business Online® Banking and payments can be settled next day for easy reconciliation. Feature Article Doing Well by Doing Good Volunteering has any number of benefits. From real monetary advantages to morale-building and feeling good, lending your skills and talents to those in need is simply the right thing to do. >> Read More Best Practices Making the Most of the “Vacation Rotation” The summer vacation slowdown can be a killer. But when you know downtime is coming, you can make the most of it by planning activities that support the business for the long term. >> Read More Revenue Generators Developing Special Summer “Downtime” Deals Getting customers in the door during prime vacation time can be tough. Summer promotions can boost your bottom line without creating a drag on profits. >> Read More Line Items Stopping Employee Theft It’s estimated that American businesses lose some $40 billion a year through employee theft. You usually won’t know how to deal with the problem until you’re faced with a crippling loss. The solution is to make antitheft thinking and actions part of your culture. >> Read More The Manager Keeping Up with Your Coverage As you grow in sales, space or any other area, you need to account for the all shifts in your company. One area that needs at least yearly maintenance is your insurance program. >> Read More Work/Life Balance Last-Minute, But Great, Vacation Deals If you don’t put a vacation package together at least a year in advance, it’s hard to find the best deals. However, sometimes, waiting until the last minute can net you the best deal on a package or even a la carte travel. >> Read More 1 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Hints and Reminders Tips to Help You Improve Your Work/Life Balance Looking for ways to simplify your life and find a healthier work/life balance? Find out how banking and making business payments online can help. Plus, learn which tax forms are due in the coming weeks. > Sign On Need Assistance To Learn More about New Products: Call us at 1-800-416-8658 For Help with Your Existing Accounts: Call us at 1-800-225-5935 Next Month Has the SBA Recovered? Getting Ready to Grow: Developing SBUs The Benefits of Multi-Tiered Financing Packages Profitably Stashing Your Cash for a Big, Fast Return Negotiating Your Lease Compensation Planning Resources (for Benchmarking) House Rich? Is It Time to Sell, Buy or Do Nothing at All? Safe List Designation Don’t Let a Good Thing Get Away! Make sure you continue to receive the Wells Fargo Small Business Roundup by adding Wells Fargo to your safe list. It’s an easy process that only takes a minute. >> Learn More 2 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Up Front > Sign On Offering the Right Terms for Employee Leave Employee leave can be difficult for you and the employee in question. Legally, what are your options and what latitude do you have as an employer? Those guidelines are outlined by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). While FMLA applies to companies that have 50 employees or over, it doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods: Many states have analogous legislation that applies to companies of any size. Here’s how FMLA dictates unpaid leave for eligible employees: l situations in which the employee is unable to work because of illness or other health difficulties; placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care; birth and care of the child of the employee; or caring for an immediate family member with serious health difficulties (immediate family members are defined as spouse, child, or parent). l l l In addition, spouses employed by the same company or agency are jointly entitled to a combined total of 12 work weeks of family leave for the birth and care of a newborn child, for placement of a child for adoption or foster care or to care for a parent suffering from a serious health condition. Finally, depending on the circumstances, some employees may be able to take leave in blocks of time or by scaling back their normal work schedule. In addition, employers or employees may sometimes choose to use accrued paid leave to cover some or all of the FMLA leave. “Many smaller firms may not be held to such strict standards, as you wouldn’t be required to forgo making a living to give a key employee unpaid leave,” says attorney Matthew Hausman. “Still, even if you’re not covered by FMLA, consider giving some thought to what you do for employees. Put policies and procedures in place that clearly outline those to your employees and apply them consistently. If you extend benefits of any kind and then cut them off, that can be seen as modifying your own procedures and you may be exposed to a lawsuit because of it.” Hausman re-emphasizes that documentation is critical and that you should never do anything verbally that you don’t back up in writing. “You may be operating out of the goodness of your heart, but a spurned employee may react by suing you,” he says. “Always be clear, consistent and put it in writing. If you have a manual, always update it, even if you’re simply sending out a memo with a minor change. And stay up to date on any changes in the federal and state statutes. It may not affect you this week, but that can change at any time. If you have any questions about leave, speak with your attorney or a labor lawyer.” If you’re looking for samples of leave or time-off policies you might want to implement, go to CCH Business Owners Toolkit for free policy downloads. 3 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Feature Articles > Sign On Doing Well by Doing Good Volunteering has any number of benefits. From real monetary advantages to morale-building and feeling good, lending your skills and talents to those in need is simply the right thing to do. You might be surprised to find that small businesses are among the most giving of all corporate volunteers. According to charitable organization the Points of Light Foundation, with 85% of American companies having fewer than 100 employees and 37% of American workers—nearly 40 million people—employed by such companies, small to medium-size businesses have had a major impact on the public good. Resources Get the Rewards You Deserve After serving others and your employees, why not serve yourself with one of Wells Fargo’s optional Business Rewards programs? Earn points for money you already spend on everyday purchases and redeem for travel, cash rewards, gift certificates and more. Plus, enroll in both Wells Fargo While we tend to think in terms of major charities and organizations when it Rewards for Business Check Card comes to giving, small businesses have the impact they do because they’re and Wells Fargo Business Card local. “Even though a business might be small in size, it can still have a RewardsSM programs and transfer earned points between both big social impact,” says Jennifer Kim Field, Director at online volunteering programs to access higher value portal VolunteerMatch.org. “A large company can have national influence, rewards faster. but local impact is just as important. Sometimes small businesses can be more integrated into the local community, and may even have a better understanding of local needs—homelessness, educational, family and kids at risk, etc. One characteristic businesses both big and small share is an understanding that by forging local partnerships and working closely within the community, there is an opportunity to positively influence communities of all sizes.” The Benefits of Being a Good Corporate Citizen and Building Your Program Aside from simply feeling good about yourself and your company, Field points to several other advantages volunteering offers: l On the value-for-the-money side—“An average hour of volunteer time is valued at nearly $19 per hour,” she says. “Any company can calculate the monetary value of collective volunteer contributions by simply multiplying the hourly rate of a volunteer hour by the number of hours volunteered.” Improved morale and team-building—It may seem obvious, but it’s true: A team working together outside the office builds stronger relationships within the company. Learning—Often, volunteering gives you and your people the opportunity to gain skill sets you may not have otherwise had. Appeal to a whole new set of customers—According to a study by strategy and communications firm Cone, Inc., being a good corporate citizen might just boost your profile to the newest demographic: Millennials (78 million Americans between the age of 13 and 25). Cone’s research shows that, of this group: 83% will trust a company more if it is socially/environmentally responsible; 74% are more likely to pay attention to a company’s message when they see that the company has a deep commitment to a cause; m 69% consider a company’s social/environmental commitment when deciding where to shop; m 89% are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the second brand is associated with a good cause; and m m l l l 4 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Feature Articles > Sign On 66% will consider a company’s social/environmental commitment when deciding whether to recommend its products and services. In setting up any company volunteer program, what you do will be determined by the size of your company, the number of employees and the skill sets you have or want to build. Here’s a summary of suggested program set-up points from Points of Light, taken from its 8 Steps to Success for Small to Medium Size Businesses: How to Build an Employee Volunteer Program That WORKS brochure. m 1. Assess employee interests and community needs—Contact your local Volunteer Center at 1-800VOLUNTEER or visit www.1800volunteer.org to learn more. Conduct research internally with a short written or e-mail survey to assess employee interests and to identify any employee volunteer activity that is already occurring. 2. Align with business objectives—What is the product or service your company provides and who are the clients and customers you serve? Choose volunteer activities that support your company’s objectives and also are visible, meaningful or helpful to your clients and customers. The program should be structured to help the company and community thrive. 3. Get top management support—You and your top managers should lead by example. Encourage employee participation and directly acknowledge and reward it. 4. Partner with others—Create valuable relationships with other businesses, including other local businesses, suppliers and customers for larger impact, and consider partnering with schools and nonprofit organizations. 5. Align volunteering with financial contributions and in-kind support—You may not have a formal company philanthropy program, but you can make donations of services, materials or money to a few local groups. Whether the support is small and ad hoc or large and formally organized, make your donation and your volunteering time both work harder by reinforcing one another. Consider organizing volunteer activities that support the same nonprofit groups that receive your donations. 6. Measure the program and evaluate results—It is critical to measure the results of your employee volunteer program efforts to show management and staff that the effort is worth it because employees are participating, they find it rewarding and their efforts are making a difference. Collecting data need not be complex or time consuming. You can develop a simple self-reporting form for employees to complete. The data can track number and type of volunteer hours, people involved, number of organizations served, number of individuals served by the activities and dollars raised or dollar value of the work provided. 7. Establish a recognition or awards program—To keep the program thriving, create a system to acknowledge the time and effort of employees with certificates, coupons, vouchers or other gifts. 8. Publicize your efforts, both internally and externally—Use a variety of communications techniques, such as the company intranet and website, newsletters, e-mail, bulletin boards, news releases to the media, retail displays and in regular advertising and direct mail to tell your community about your volunteer activities. You can also use some of these communications methods to stimulate participation among employees before events and to recognize and show appreciation after events. If you’re looking for more information, a web search will offer a wide range of links. You might want to start with VolunteerResource.org, which features a compendium of topics on which to search, including “Workplace Employee Volunteering.” 5 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Best Practices > Sign On Making the Most of the “Vacation Rotation” The summer vacation slowdown can be a killer. But when you know it’s coming, you can make the most of it by planning activities that support the business for the long term. “Downtime gives you the opportunity to stop, take a deep breath and look critically at almost every aspect of your business,” asserts Paul H. Rich, CPA, CM&AA, a principal at Rothstein Kass Business Consulting Group. He offers the following list of suggested activities that can help you make the most of the summer slowdown: l Resources Be Prepared for Any Business Need The Wells Fargo BusinessLine® line of credit is a powerful and convenient financing solution, available for any business need, whether you want to expand your business or cover your accounts payable. You’ll have fast, easy access to as much as $100,000 cash and the flexibility to be prepared for any unexpected opportunity or need. Take time for taxes—If you’re paying estimated taxes, you know that you have at least two post-June payments to make (September of this year and January of the next year). Why not take the time to meet with your accountant or financial advisor to ensure that: m you’re putting the right amount away based on where your business is now and where you might grow (if you’re overpaying, why give the IRS an interest-free loan? And if you’re underpaying, now’s the time to avoid a big tax payment. Check out “Do You Owe Estimated Taxes?” to learn more), and m strategize about the next year. Can you use Section 179 deductions to reduce your tax burden, dump some inventory or move certain expenditures and payments into the following year? l Think about going green—If you’re giving any thought to being more environmentally friendly in the framework of your business, now might be a good time to do it. If you go with a hybrid vehicle, federal tax credits are available from $250 to $3,400 (the credit will be phased for each manufacturer once it has produced 60,000 vehicles). l Take the time to update your banker on your business—You never know when it might be time to go for more financing. When the fall and winter season heats up, you’ll be too busy to make the time, but downtime gives you the opportunity to update your banker on how you’re doing with your plan, how you plan to grow and to plant the seeds for a potential loan or line when the time is right. Work on your disaster plan—“Most small business owners don’t think about long-term disaster planning in the true sense,” Rich says. “This is the time to assess the provisions you have for loss of personnel, safeguarding of assets, additional storage, redundancy of systems and functions you have in place. It’s important to review your insurance policies, develop contingency plans and make back-up copies of your critical records (e.g., accounting and employee data, customer and supplier lists, inventory, etc.).” (Read “Preparing Your Small Business for a Disaster,” on Wells Fargo’s Education site for more information.) Update or create your “redundancy” network—Nothing can hurt your business like suddenly getting a huge contract and not being able to fulfill it. Use your downtime to create partnerships with companies that can help you fill in the gaps when more production or other types of help are needed. You can even get competitors to fill in for you on certain jobs when you’re on vacation. On the sales side, you might consider the formation of strategic alliances with these same companies for greater reach. Update technology—Check out your current hardware and software. Are any of your programs out of date? Is it time to upgrade to the Vista operating system? And, while you’re at it, review your firewalls and anti-virus software, to ensure that you’re protected from the latest worms and hackers. “This also means making sure your data systems and databases are current,” adds Rich. “Having the right information keeps you nimble and agile and gives you the information you need to make decisions. In an active business, having the right 6 l l l July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Best Practices > Sign On automation and hardware/software is part of your competitive edge. IT is a strength and yours should be up to date.” l Review/re-target your customer base—Take a look at customer data to determine who’s making you the most money and why (who purchased expensive items or in high volume, paid quickly, etc.). Why not reach out to those customers with special “downtime incentives,” like discounts or exclusive sales, which will both reward them and pick up your business? On the flip side, you may also have the time to push collections efforts on slow-paying customers. Visit with customers and suppliers—Meet with your biggest accounts just to catch up. It’s not a time to push hard on sales, but to meet with people to learn about what they’re doing business-wise, and how you might be able to help them in the future. Meeting with suppliers to bring them up to date on what you’re doing and to learn about changes they might be making can help you both plan more effectively going forward. And the bonding that takes place can be invaluable in creating lasting relationships. Research the competition—“To stay fresh, grow your business and be innovative, you need to learn what customers are buying from others,” Rich says. “Review the brick and mortar and online operations of your four to five biggest competitors. Learn what you can re-engineer or what you can do to differentiate yourself.” Develop your business, your employees and yourself—This might be the time to think about new product or service development. In fact, slower times can help you test new product and service concepts in a more focused way, readying and modifying them for the higher sales seasons. And what about the skill sets or your employees and yourself? Downtime can be the perfect time to invest in the intellectual capital of your firm and, as a result, in the long-term viability of the company. Clean up your space—“When you work hard and the business is growing, you may not always have time to clean up,” notes Rich. “But when you get stacked up, the space can become inefficient based on clutter. File what you need to file, make sure you’re compliant with fire and OSHA regulations, clean up inventory and put everything in order to make it more accessible.” Take care of yourself—Get a physical and make sure all your personal documents (will, insurance policies, etc.) are up to date. Plan your own vacation and stick to the plan. You can even combine work and play activities by taking key clients and suppliers on activities like golf outings or short day trips. “A company is only as healthy as its leader,” notes Rich. “Balance is difficult to maintain while trying to earn a living. Some decisions are made by mistake because you’re over-tired. To stay healthy, you need to give yourself time. You are the prime asset and you owe it to your family, yourself and your employees. Sometimes, detaching completely is the only way to ensure that you’re healthy enough on a consistent basis to lead.” l l l l l Finally, Rich advises thinking about downtime differently in the future. “It shouldn’t really be called downtime; it’s a normal cycle within the business,” he opines. “When you think through your time budget, think about the issues above and look in advance to know when you’ll be able to carve out specific institutional slots to handle them. Using this time wisely is as important to your business as anything else you do.” 7 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Revenue Generators > Sign On Developing Special Summer “Downtime” Deals Getting customers in the door during prime vacation time can be tough. But there are ways to boost your bottom line during down time with summer promotions. “Just remember,” counsels John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide, “you’re not just lowering your prices just because it’s slow. You need to take creative approaches that don’t drag on profits while offering real value to customers.” When thinking about downtime promotions, Jantsch suggests considering some of the following approaches: l Resources Give Your Customers More Payment Choices Differentiate your business from the rest by offering multiple payment options. With Wells Fargo Merchant Services, you can accept credit and debit cards and electronic checks from your website or retail store. Wells Fargo has the right payment solutions for your business. Now, open a new Merchant Services account and get our most popular 500 Gift Card package for only $225 (a savings of $335!). Make it a game—“If you’re a retailer and you have older inventory to move, why not offer an interactive component?” he asks. “Offer a series of stepped discounts, put slips of paper in a hat with the numbers on them and have customers pick their own discounts out of a hat. If you establish that promotion on a regular basis, you can build real buzz.” l Serve your best customers first—One problem with promotions and sales is that your best customers can sometimes feel slighted; as if they’re not getting the best deals. It may be worthwhile offering them a special “pre-sale” or “private sale.” Reward them by letting them know they’re getting the best deals before anyone else, then open your doors to the public. Partner with local nonprofit agencies—“Using the ties to your community will always help you,” observes Jantsch. “If you have a sale in which you give a portion of the proceeds to a local charity or organization in need, you’ll feel good and so will your customers. In addition, those agencies and groups will refer business back to you. It’s a win-win promotion that can work on multiple levels.” Create your own holiday—Other than July 4th and Labor Day, there aren’t many holidays on which to hang your promotional hat during the summer. But, says Jantsch, if you create your own holiday—and the more crazy, creative and unique you can make it, the better—it can eventually become an institutionalized annual event. It helps build your brand as well as your sales. Hold an introductory special—Downtimes can be great for introducing a new product or service on a smaller scale. It can be an efficient way to test response before the big push of a major sales period. Again, this may be a way of rewarding your best customers, giving them the chance to be the first to acquire your latest and greatest product or service. l l l And don’t forget about vendors and suppliers. Ordering what you need in bulk might be the way to get yourself a hefty discount or renegotiate prices should you choose to purchase during their downtimes. “In any case, developing stronger relationships with your suppliers does more than just give you better pricing, it leads to better service,” Jantsch adds. “Remember, you’re not having a sale for the sake of a sale and don’t penalize your best customers,” Jantsch concludes. “Your profitable customers are also the ones who refer you, so take care of them. You can use these promotions to both build prospects and support your loyal customers.” 8 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Line Items > Sign On Stopping Employee Theft It’s estimated that American businesses lose some $40 billion a year through employee theft. Honest employees often know theft is happening but hesitate to inform management of the problem. Most times, there are warning signs of theft occurring through declining profits, unexplained inventory shortages, rumors and other discrepancies. But management usually doesn’t know how to deal with the problem until it is forced to face a crippling loss. You may not think you’re as open to employee theft as a larger firm, but, says John Case, anti-theft consultant and author of Employee Theft, the Profit Killer, you may be even more vulnerable. “In larger businesses, there are generally checks and balances, with several people responsible for a given function,” he explains. “In a smaller company, you often have just one person handling any number of tasks with less observation by fellow employees or even the owner, so people have more latitude. How often do you give employees keys to your office or building, simply because it’s convenient?” Another problem in a small business is that, if one employee sees another stealing, he or she is often hesitant report it. They’d rather keep quiet than turn in a friend or colleague, and risk that person losing his or her job or even retaliation. The solution, asserts Case, is to make anti-theft thinking and actions part of the culture of your business, which can be done through loss-prevention training. It doesn’t have to be lengthy or complex, as long as two points are made clear: 1) theft directly affects the fortunes of both the company and the employee, and 2) there’s a “safe” avenue for employees to report theft so that their identities are protected. First, says Case, you need to let employees know about the magnitude of employee theft and how it affects each individual employee. A few examples include: l Resources Keep Your Indentity Safe Would you know if someone else was using your name to open accounts? With Identity Theft Protection, a comprehensive service available through Wells Fargo Insurance, you can minimize your risk and secure the support you need if identity theft occurs. After enrolling, you’ll be notified if certain changes occur on your credit profile. Should identity theft occur, you’ll get timely access to expert assistance to you help recover and secure your identity. Insurance is available through Wells Fargo Insurance, Inc. Insurance products: l Are NOT insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency. Are NOT deposits of or guaranteed by the Bank or any Bank affiliate l a recent CareerBuilder survey found that 40% of hiring managers say they have fired an employee for theft at the office; according to the survey, the most commonly stolen items were office supplies (15%), money (14%), and merchandise (11%); 75% of internal theft goes undetected; insider theft is growing at 15% annually; and Learn More Ways to Protect Your Business View the archived Wells Fargo webcast Protecting Your Business to hear industry leaders share more advice on taking steps to keep the unexpected from impacting your business. Get more insight on everything from insurance and online security measures to legal structures. l l l l perhaps the most sobering statistic of all: The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) estimates that one-third of companies that go bankrupt do so due to employee theft. “Once employees understand the nature and magnitude of theft, you need to make everyone understand how it 9 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Line Items > Sign On impacts the company and them directly as well as what it takes in sales to offset losses from employee theft,” Case adds. “Theft can lead to cutbacks in benefits and pay increases and, ultimately, jobs. If they understand the personal stake they have in the impacts of theft, they’ll work with you to stop it and even help prevent it.” To make that happen, you need to ensure their confidentiality in coming to you or their supervisor with any instances of stealing. Having one employee face off against another can cause real problems—these issues need to be addressed at a higher level. An anonymous tip program takes away any excuse not to come to management and report theft. Remember, employee theft can take several forms beyond stealing supplies or inventory, including faking on-the-job injuries for compensation, stealing small sums of cash, forging or destroying receipts, shipping and billing scams, putting fictitious employees on payroll and falsifying expense records. “But you need to recognize that 90% to 95% of your people are basically honest,” says Case. “If you let 100% of people know that part of their job is to report theft and you’ve answered the question ”What’s in it for me?” when it comes to preventing or reporting employee theft, you’ll have taken effective steps in creating a strong loss-prevention culture.” To learn more about the measures you can take, read “Workplace Theft: Preventing Employee Pilferage.” 10 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ The Manager > Sign On Keeping Up with Your Coverage Change affects every part of your business. As you grow in sales, space or any other area, you need to account for the shifts in your company in any number of ways. One area that needs at least yearly maintenance is your insurance program. “Whether you’re adding a new location, more staff or even expanding product or service lines, any change has an impact on your coverage,” adds Dan Collins, Business Insurance Manager with Wells Fargo Insurance, Inc. “If you’re not up to date regarding coverage, that exposure and liability could cost you time and money.” Typically, the areas of coverage you’d review with an agent include property, time element, crime, automobile, liability and workers’ compensation. The issues may be covered differently depending on the program you use, but those are the basics. “Business interruption tends to be among the most misunderstood coverages,” Collins notes. “Business interruption insurance is like disability insurance for your business. When you have a problem, you tend to think in the short term: How do I replace my office space or inventory? That’s only natural. But what if your business is shut down for four to six months? You want coverage that not only helps you rebuild your business, but helps account for a reduced level of income during that time. And you want to keep your employees from looking for work elsewhere. You can’t minimize the importance of that type of support.” Resources Protect Your Business The right insurance coverage is a “must-have” when it comes to protecting your estate for you and your heirs. A business owner’s policy (BOP), available through Wells Fargo Insurance, covers business property, its contents and more. A BOP will also pay to repair or replace your business property if it’s damaged by fire or other covered loss. Obtain coverage now and protect your business. Request a free quote online. Insurance is available through Wells Fargo Insurance, Inc. Insurance products: l Are NOT insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency. Are NOT deposits of or guaranteed by the Bank or any Bank affiliate l Another coverage that’s becoming increasingly common is that for identity theft. With the amount of business taking place online, it’s insurance that helps both you and your customers get back on track in the case of losses due to data theft and related computer crimes. According to Collins, there are essentially three ways to look at coverage: You can avoid the risk, assume the risk or transfer the risk. “You can avoid risk by not taking on projects with exposures that are simply too great,” he notes. “Insurance is a risk-transfer mechanism—you essentially pay for back-end support should there be an issue with a project. Assuming the risk means you self-insure. Your agent should be asking you what keeps you up at night from a business perspective. His or her job is to help you assess the level of risk and educate you about the implications of exposure from an insurance perspective. Once you know what those implications are, you can choose the way you want to mitigate the risk.” To optimize the review process, you need to come to the table willing to be “transparent”, asserts Collins. To help you get the best possible coverage, you need to share as much about your business and where it’s going as you can, so that the program you end up with, including the size of your deductible, the level of risk you’ll actually assume and the additional coverages you may need truly matches your appetite for risk. “And be willing to challenge your agent or insurance planner,” he concludes. “Make them help you understand the process and what you’re getting. The process can be a difficult, complex one, but a good agent can help you understand what you’re buying and why.” 11 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ The Manager Don’t Be Afraid to Ask > Sign On If you need some help determining what to ask your insurance agent or planner during a review, Scott Simmonds, an independent insurance consultant, has compiled just the list you’re looking for. It’s called “126 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Agent,” and it covers a wide range of business areas. To provide more context around a few key questions, Simmonds offered some explanations: 1. Do I have adequate general liability coverage? “This is somewhat of a trick question. The idea is to prompt a conversation around the overall adequacy of your coverage.” 2. Are my aggregate limits high enough? “Some liability policies have a cap on the most a policy will pay for all claims, or the aggregate limit. You want to try and look at it separately, from a limit per occurrence perspective.” 3. Do I have adequate coverage for my professional liabilities? “The answer might be no, but it brings up the concept of professional liability or malpractice insurance. This isn’t just for doctors and lawyers, it could affect a computer technician who shorts out a hard drive, a real estate agent who doesn’t draft a closing document properly or a contractor who builds a deck that’s not up to code. It can apply to any number of professions.” 4. Is my business income coverage written to protect me from a calamity? “Seventy-five percent of all businesses that experience a catastrophic loss never open their doors again. Not because they don’t have enough property insurance, but because they don’t have enough loss of income coverage, so it can be tough to make it during the time it takes to rebuild.” 5. How are you compensated? “You want to know why the agent is recommending a particular company and the names of other companies he or she obtained quotes from.” 12 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Work/Life Balance Feature Articles > Sign On Last-Minute, But Great, Vacation Deals Finding the best price for a great vacation requires patience and flexibility. If you don’t plan to put a package together at least a year in advance, it’s hard to find the best deals. But it’s the middle of summer and you haven’t made a move yet. Sometimes, waiting until the last minute nets you the best deal on a package or even a la carte travel. Of course, if you do have time to plan, it’s the best way to get exactly what you want. Clem Bason, Vice President at Hotwire.com, points to several new online destination-planning tools that can help in that respect. “Our TripStarter planning tool shows you historic airfare and hotel prices in any given market,” he says. “For example, you might find that hotel prices are at their lowest in Los Angeles during September and decide to visit then.” Expedia also offers a rate calendar function that shows you how hotel prices vary over the next 30 to 60 days, and Farecast has a similar function for airfare. But if you have anywhere from a five- to 14-day window, Bason offers a few tips that can help you plan an inexpensive, last-minute getaway: l Resources Get the Best Price First with a Wells Fargo Business Services Package Wells Fargo Business Services® Packages can help you succeed financially by offering all the financial services you need in a single, affordable package. Three different plan levels, featuring such services as a Wells Fargo® Business Platinum Check Card, Wells Fargo Business Online® Banking, business savings accounts, business term loans and lines of credit, business credit cards and more, help you create a customized solution to meet your business needs. Do a web search—“You can always find great deals when you conduct a web search, but,” he says, “make sure you include the word ‘exclusive’ in your search. It means the provider has truly worked hard to get rates that are special and worth investigating.” Be flexible—Don’t fixate on a specific day for departure or return. Shifting from a Monday to a Sunday departure could save you $200, $300, $400 or more. Once you’ve booked, don’t be flexible—“Suppliers can tack on fees for changing flight, hotel and rental car plans,” Bason notes. “Once you’ve made your plans, stick with them or you may pay more.” Consider booking closer to your travel date—If you’re willing to wait until the very last minute, you can find extremely steep discounts—sometimes from 50% to 60%. If you’re willing to purchase about five to seven days out, you’ll find that many airlines and hotels have slashed rates to fill their planes and rooms. It requires an appetite for risk, but the possible savings are tremendous. Most travel sites give you access to last-minute inventory, so the deals aren’t that hard to find. Try secondary airports—“Many low-cost carriers, like Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue have been growing like crazy, so they’re constantly adding new routes,” says Bason. “If, for example, you’re going to New York, fly into the Newark, New Jersey airport instead. Or fly into Oakland instead of going directly to San Francisco. In some cases, you can save as much as a third of the price.” l l l l You might also want to look at some locations you may not have thought of. New passport laws, for example, mean fewer people are traveling to Mexico and the Caribbean, and great deals are still available this summer. Hawaii has also slowed down this summer, and ticket prices are falling in part because airlines keep adding new flights, says Bason. Alaska Airlines is the most recent example, having just launched direct service from Seattle to Oahu and Kauai. “It’s all about flexibility,” Bason advises. “If you have a small window and you’re willing to handle a bit of risk, you may end up with a vacation deal you’ll never forget.” 13 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Hints and Reminders Solutions > Sign On Tips to Help You Improve Your Work / Life Balance Many small business owners say that running their business is their life, leaving them with little time for anything else. So identifying ways to save time and improve efficiency is especially important to small business owners - and that’s why we want to make sure you are taking full advantage of the time saving online solutions available at Wells Fargo. Manage your Business Banking Anytime, Anywhere With Wells Fargo Business Online® Banking you get a clear view of your accounts in one convenient place and access to a wide range of time saving services so you can: l l l access multiple business and personal accounts, including lines and loans, all with a single sign on. monitor account activity, view balances and transfer funds quickly and easily delegate view-only access to up to 25 users, such as a bookkeeper or accountant and free up more of your valuable time As a Business Online Banking customer, you also have access to a wide range of fast and convenient online payment services through the Wells Fargo Online Payment SuiteSM. You can save time and simplify your business payments by paying bills, business taxes, employees and vendors – all online, anytime. Not a Wells Fargo Business Online® Banking customer? Enrolling is easy. 1. Go to wellsfargo.com/biz and click Enroll Now under View Your Accounts 2. Enter your Social Security Number (required for initial enrollment only), Business Account Number, ATM PIN and E-mail Address 3. Click Continue and create a Password and Username . To add any of the payment services available through the Wells Fargo Online Payment Suite, simply go to the Transfers & Payments tab once you’ve signed on to Business Online Banking and select the appropriate enrollment links. With the time saving online solutions available from Wells Fargo, you’ll have more time to focus on your business and hopefully discover a little extra time for your personal life, too. 14 July 2007 View Your Accounts Enroll Now | Learn More Wells Fargo Business Banking Roundup™ Hints and Reminders Solutions Reminders July 31 l l > Sign On (Adobe® Reader® version 4.05 or later needed to view forms.) Deposit federal unemployment tax owed through June if more than $500 File Form 941, eemployer’s quarterly federal tax return for the second quarter of 2007 (Deposit any undeposited tax. If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return. If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until August 10 to file the return.) File Form 5500 or Form 5500EZ, annual return/report of employee benefits plan for 2006 Participate in next live Small Business Webcast: Technology and Your Business, where industry insiders will share information and valuable technology tips and tools to help your business succeed. Register today! File Form 2290 and pay the tax for vehicles first used in July l August 15 l August 31 l Note: As of this year, the IRS provides PDFs of certain forms (e.g., W-2 and W-3)—filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA)—for informational purposes only. Copy A appears in red, similar to the official printed IRS form, but do not file Copy A downloaded from the site with the SSA. A penalty of $50 per information return may be imposed for filing forms that can’t be scanned. To order official IRS forms, call 1-800-TAX-FORMS (1-800-829-3676) or order online at Forms and Publications by U.S. Mail. You may file these forms electronically on the SSA’s website at Employer Reporting Instructions & Information. You can create fill-in versions of these forms for filing with the SSA. You may also print out copies for filing with state or local governments, distribution to your employees, and for your records. 15