MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BOND

Bond Solutions would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and we hope you have a fantastic time over the Christmas period.

Our offices will close on Christmas Eve at 12pm and will reopen on Monday January 4th 2010. If you have any urgent queries, please email us at support@bond-solutions.com and someone will respond to your query.

We would like to thank all of our customers and associates for your support in 2009 and we look forward to working with you in 2010.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

The Bond Team

OUR PART IN THE REAL INNOVATORS CAMPAIGN

Our managing director, Derek Curtis, is part of Business Link's Real Innovators campaign. As part of the campaign, Derek was asked to participate in a video case study about utilising social media.

Please click here to visit the Real Innovators site and watch the video.

FREE 60 DAY TRIAL OF OUR E-MARKETING TOOL

As the popularity of digital marketing rises we have seen an increased demand for our e-marketing tool Swiftpage. As well as being more cost-effective than a printed newsletter, e-newsletters can provide you with feedback and a wide range of information to help make your marketing activity more targeted.

Swiftpage links with Sage Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and also runs as a standalone product.

It provides a convenient and effective way to communicate with your customers and direct them to areas of your website that you think they will find useful. It also offers a survey function where all results can be viewed online and imported directly into your CRM system.

As a web-based tool, you simply log in to your account and create templates or surveys through its easy-to-use template editor. The e-newsletter can be saved or sent immediately, straight from the program. You can add links to your website or other webpages that you feel may be of interest to your recipients. To ensure that your server or email system is not slowed down, Swiftpage sends your email from its own dedicated server.

If you are using Swiftpage with a CRM system such as ACT!, Sage CRM or SalesLogix you are able to create target groups of contacts who you would like to receive the e-newsletter. It can then be sent through your software at the click of a button. This can prove extremely useful when targeting specific groups of people – for example, all customers who have purchased one particular product. A copy of the email will also be logged against their contact so you can see exactly who has received each communication.

Once your newsletter has been distributed you are able to see exactly who has opened it, what links they have clicked on and how many times they have viewed it. This can provide you with invaluable information into exactly what each individual is interested in. Swiftpage will generate a ‘hotlist’ which contains information about the recipients who have shown the most interest in each area of the newsletter - so you know who’s most likely to purchase your products.

Swiftpage also offers the option to add a box to your website to capture customer information which can then be imported into an Excel document or straight into your CRM system. This can be used to capture those looking for further information, a company catalogue or any other data.

Communication is key to any marketing campaign and this cost-effective software can help you promote your company and its key messages, as well as providing your customers with special offers or general news from your company. It ensures that you are always at the forefront of your customers’ minds and that they are reminded regularly about your products or services.

We are now offering a copywriting service if you would be interested in having a full bespoke newsletter created for you by our dedicated copywriting team. Please contact Bond directly about this service by calling 0870 043 4303 or emailing sales@bond-solutions.com.

We are offering a free, no-obligation, 60 day trial of Swiftpage if you would like to try this out for yourself. Please contact us or click here for further information.

Welcome to Bond Solutions

We are constantly looking to improve the information available to customers and friends of Bond Solutions. We are therefore currently in the process of developing a new website which is expected to launch soon.

In the meantime however, please browse our blog for all of the latest news and information from Bond. Just click on the articles on the right, or click here to go to the latest article.

Follow us on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter.

Our LinkedIn page.

Bond News

Alternatively, if you wish to contact the Bond team, please call 0191 516 6882 or email info@bond-solutions.com.

SAGE ACCOUNTS OFFERS FOR NOVEMBER

Following the news that Microsoft will no longer be distributing Office Accounting in the UK from today, we are offering several discounts on Sage Accounts software throughout the month of November.

If you are currently using Microsoft Office Accounting you will qualify for a trade-in discount of 30% off Sage Accounts. Those who are not using any accounts packages will receive 10% off for this month only.

Sage Accounts is suitable for SMEs of any size and can streamline your business processes and provide you with up-to-date customer information. It incorporates a range of essential processes and we have picked out our top features and how they can benefit your business.

Billing, Payments and Finance
· Invoice production allowing you to manage supplier and customer payments and streamline the full process.
· The creation and management of sales orders, quotations, invoices and purchase orders which can be posted or sent electronically to the customer.
· Credit control facilities, including debt management, which make you aware of exactly when you should be paid and where debts lie within your business. This enables you to ensure you are paid on time and manage your payments correctly.

Project Management
· Project management control which allows you to see the costs and resources associated with a project through accurate analysis and the production of reports.
· A fully integrated stock management system with a stocktake function that links to your sales and purchase orders to ensure you have an accurate view of where your business is at each moment.
· There is also a fixed asset module which will allows you to clearly record, value and manage the depreciation of assets within your business.

Reports
· There are a series of reports that can display information such as aged debtors and creditors, profit and loss and balance sheets and reporting on stock and project profitability. You are also able to customise these reports at any time to display the information that is key to your business and its performance.

Integration
Sage Accounts links with a range of add-on applications as well as other Sage products such as ACT! and Payroll.

It also integrates with Excel so you can create reports within the programme as well as exporting data directly to Excel.

There are a series of packages available depending on the size and function of your business. These packages begin with Sage 50 Accounts – aimed at companies with less than 2 users, and span up to Sage 50 Accounts Professional – aimed at companies who require up to 10 users’ access the accounts system.

In addition to the accounts product, we also offer training, installation and support to ensure that you get the most out of your accounts programme.

As mentioned, this is only a brief overview of what Sage Accounts can do for your business so please contact our sales team if you would like any further information. The discount is applicable until the end of November and please quote ‘bondblog’ when ordering to ensure you receive this.

E: info@bond-solutions.com T: 0870 043 4303

THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING AN INTERNATIONAL RESELLER

We did a presentation for Sunderland Software City about the pros and cons of trading internationally and we thought we would share our thoughts.

As a reseller of several international products such as Scribe and Swiftpage, we have found working with suppliers abroad can provide a mutually beneficial relationship – as long as you get it right.

Firstly, you need to establish your reasons for reselling the product. Our decision was based on the fact that the products complemented our range of software and we knew they would provide added value to our customers. The products allow us to provide our customers with everything they need without having to use different suppliers.

We have two key international partners (IPs) - one based in the USA and one based in India. Due to time differences we generally communicate via email as this is the most convenient method. Email works best for both parties, making the process a lot smoother in all aspects.

One thing we have noticed is the significant differences in the ways which they do business. For example, our US supplier is very commercially driven and focussed on targets and sales. Our Indian partner however, is very customer service orientated and will have a query or problem turned around within 24 hours in most cases. The point we are trying to make is know the culture of the country you will be working to grasp how they work and if this works for your business. We found this really helped us to know what to expect from the relationship. Other important factors to consider are annual holidays, working patterns, time differences and most importantly support back-up from the vendor.

The legal issues surrounding contracts for the partnership can sometimes be tricky and it is worth getting a solicitor involved if you think there could be any issues with legislation. A few key areas we had to consider were: which country’s legislation would apply, who would own the software licences and also who would provide the support for the software we were selling.

The financial agreement may be different if doing business abroad. Most companies operate on 30-day payment terms which we found didn’t apply when dealing with international partners. We were often asked to provide payment upfront by methods such as a credit card or wire transfer. Obviously this may affect your own payment terms for your customers and you need to build that into the relationship with your customers.

In summary, we have found working with international partners a very worthwhile and mutually-beneficial experience although, as with everything in business, it is important to fully understand the up and downsides of working with suppliers abroad.

International partners can allow you to access market-leading products that your competitors may not have, provide an all-round better service for your customers and add value to their existing software implementation. However, remember you have to establish long-distance relationships with these IPs and legislation and finance can also be problematic.

We have done it and found it a benefit to our business, but make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

BOND BACKS CHRIS IN THE ECHO’S PORTFOLIO AWARDS

We would like to wish our software support engineer Chris Bunyan good luck in the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards tomorrow evening.

Chris, who celebrates his sixth anniversary with Bond Solutions this month, is a finalist in the Employee of the Year category at the awards ceremony taking place at the Stadium of Light.

Chris works directly with our customers to resolve any queries they have with their software, as well as visiting them on-site to install new systems and ensure that they work correctly with their current operations.

As the initial point of contact for our technical team Chris was instrumental in our success in the Sage Circle of Excellence Award - an award based on independent research into how many of our customers would be prepared to recommend us to others.

Having won the award three times, we are currently ranked second in the UK out of over 2,000 Business Partners - something that would not have been possible without Chris’ expertise and first-class customer service skills.

Bond Solutions’ managing director Derek Curtis said: “When we saw the Employee of the Year category in the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards we knew we had to put an entry in for Chris as he has had a major impact on the success of Bond Solutions.

“We are delighted that he is a finalist in the category and the full team is behind him 100%. We are looking forward to cheering him on tomorrow night at the awards ceremony.”