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Inc-Query | Operations (not-dev) | Full-time | REMOTE (US/APAC) | https://inc-query.com Small, profitable, rapidly growing, fully remote tech company. We program surveys insanely fast for private equity and management consulting clients. If you enjoy dealing with very smart clients in a somewhat technical and fast-paced environment, this role may be for you. The Survey Director …
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Google may lead the search engine ranks, but they’re not the only player in the game.
Bing holds 11.22% of the global search engine market share. Compared to Google’s 72.94%, that may not seem like much — but with upwards of a third of US desktop searches coming from Bing (and Bing-backed AOL and Yahoo), it’s pretty huge.
For ecommerce businesses, that makes Microsoft Shopping Campaigns (formally known as Bing shopping campaigns) a killer opportunity to boost your bottom line.
NOTE: Bing now refers to all platforms related to their shopping ads by the Microsoft name. For example, what was once called the “Bing Merchant Center” is now the “Microsoft Merchant Center.”
Long story short: Your paid media strategy deserves diversification, and Bing is the place to find it.
Why?
Because Bing offers unique demographics you may not be able to target from Google Ads.
More than 70% of Bing users are over the age of 35. At the same time, nearly 40% of Bing users have a six-figure annual household income. The company reports a good chunk of their user base comes from the South Atlantic region of the US (which includes various states from Delaware to Florida, plus Washington DC) — but they also have a stronghold across North America, Latin America, China, and more.
If you are looking for high earners in a particular region, Bing could be your gateway into a lucrative ecommerce market.
Bing has some other perks too, like:
When used in tandem with Google Ads, Bing can diversify your paid media campaigns for all kinds of ecommerce products.
For more information about paid shopping and product campaigns, check out this video and the eCommerce Unlocked series on my YouTube channel:
When a user searches a branded or non-branded keyword on Bing, they’ll receive a grid of shopping results from various ecommerce platforms, which are usually from big ecommerce giants like Amazon and small businesses with compelling offers and inventory.
If the user has their location tracking turned on, Bing will refine the results by adding products they can find locally.
Bing “hiking boots” search query
Depending on your layout, these ads might show up as a vertical grid on the SERP’s right-hand side.
As an ecommerce marketer, your Bing shopping campaigns can give you valuable real estate above the fold.
And it may just put you in contact with a whole new audience while you’re at it.
First things first: Create your Microsoft Merchant Center account.
You can do this by logging onto your Microsoft Ads (formerly known as Bing Ads) account, click the “Microsoft Merchant Center” button, and create an account. You’ll need to verify your store with a destination URL, which may take up to 48 hours.
Once that’s done, follow the steps below.
A shopping catalog (or shopping feed) is where your products live. You can either import your existing shopping feed from Google Merchant Center or create a brand new one. You can upload any new catalogs to your Microsoft Merchant Center.
When creating a new feed, don’t forget to set up all of your product attributes.
There are mandatory product attributes (like title, link, price, description, product identifiers, and more), but there are also some optional ones (like color, gender, material, and size).
Add as many as you can because this info helps you connect with users in your target audience. That will help improve your conversion rates — which is always a good thing.
Creating a custom audience tells Microsoft and Bing who you want to reach. Aim to create a narrow audience, so you don’t waste ad spend on people outside your target audience.
On your Microsoft Advertising account, head to “Shared Library.” Under the audience header, you’ll click “View Audiences.” This section is where you can lay out your ad’s plan of action once it’s live.
From your Microsoft Merchant Center, click Create Campaign. Then click Sell Products.
You’ll adjust your campaign settings, like setting priority levels for each of your Bing shopping campaigns.
Priority levels can be high, medium, or low. The higher priority campaigns take precedence, so set your important campaigns with a bigger budget on high priority while leaving your runner-ups on medium or low.
You can organize based on various attributes you’ve given to each product. This feature helps with targeting.
This option ensures your ad prices always reflect your website prices, and you’re not advertising products that you’ve already sold. A new consumer isn’t going to give your shop a second look if prices are off or you’re promoting out of stock items.
Instant updates also help you avoid wasting your budget.
Head to the “Labels” on your product feed in your campaign editor. You can organize campaigns, keywords, ad groups, and ads in a way that works for you.
While it won’t directly impact your Bing ads, this does help you better analyze your campaigns and improve future targeting. That can boost future campaigns and help you optimize existing ones.
Need a more hands-on guide? Microsoft has a training course for newbies.
Why settle for average when your ecommerce shop can run the Bing shopping game?
Try these tips and tricks to optimize your Bing ad campaigns and maximize your ad dollars. You can also view my free PDF of Bing Ads resources.
It may seem like magic, but you can import your shopping campaigns to Bing straight from Google Ads.
All you have to do is make sure your website is set up on an ecommerce platform (think Shopify and the like.) Then, ensure your Google Ads shopping feed and campaign are up and running.
Once you create your Microsoft Merchant Center store and verify it, you can import your campaign using Microsoft’s Google Merchant Center (GMC) Import tool.
Then, tick the option that allows you to sync the two platforms to keep everything updated.
Universal Event Tracking (UET) is a Microsoft tool that helps track the sales and conversions that stem directly from your Bing shopping campaigns.
Events are consumer actions like clicks throughs, add to carts, and purchases. You can track which events matter most to you and follow the consumer’s path from start to finish.
This tracking will help you understand how much revenue you can attribute to your Bing ads. The process includes applying a UET event tag and short web coding to record the conversions as they come.
Use Microsoft’s how-to guide for implementing UET for your Bing shopping campaigns.
To help businesses of every kind (including you ecommerce folks), Microsoft has developed a series of ad extensions for Bing shopping campaigns.
What are my favorite extensions for ecommerce businesses?
Well, since you asked:
If you use Shopify to run your ecommerce store, you can integrate it directly with Bing Shopping.
Use the Shopify app to streamline analytics and keep all your data in one easy-to-access place.
Shopify is especially helpful for ecommerce teams who want collaborative access to Bing shopping campaign info. But regardless of how many people you have on your side, it’s undoubtedly beneficial for Shopify store owners.
Remarketing is a process that lets you target consumers based on their prior web actions.
Keep in mind, if you import Google shopping feeds over to your Microsoft Merchant Center, you can’t import your remarketing data. That means whether you’re importing or starting campaigns from scratch, you’ll need to set up remarketing audiences manually.
Start with your existing audiences in your Microsoft Advertising platform.
You’ll also want to make sure you’ve set up UET tags and coded them into your website. This tagging makes sense considering you’re basing it off of the customer’s previous actions, so you need to track them.
Once you hit the “Audience” page, click “Create a remarketing list.”
From there, create a tag and configure the settings as you see fit. And whatever you do, don’t forget to save!
Bing’s local feature is pretty cool. It shows your ads for localized product queries, including cities, states, or phrasing such as “near me.”
So if your ecommerce business also has a local storefront, set up Local Inventory Ads to maximize reach.
All you have to do is provide your shop’s physical location, upload and submit product info, keep your inventory updated, and enable your Microsoft Shopping Campaigns.
There’s no denying Google‘s prowess, but ecommerce advertisers should consider Bing campaigns as well.
Adding Bing shopping campaigns to your marketing repertoire is an easy way to diversify your paid advertising.
Is your ecommerce business ready for an adventure into the world of Bing shopping?
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82% of businesses fail because of poor cash flow management and subpar accounting practices. Yikes. It’s no secret that accounting is hard — and there’s a reason people spend their entire lives learning how to do it well.
But there’s good news.
You can avoid becoming a part of this statistic without heading to university to get a Bachelor’s (or Master’s) degree in accounting.
Enter… modern-day accounting software. It exists to help even the smallest businesses improve their bookkeeping processes, save time, and make fewer costly mistakes.
Plus, understanding your numbers can lead to smarter business decisions and improved overall business health/performance as well.
However, choosing the best accounting software isn’t easy, thanks to the thousands of options on the market. Which one offers everything you need without a slew of confusing features you’ll never use?
If you’re not sure how to answer that question, you’re in the right place. This article covers how to choose the right software, the different types of software, and my top five recommendations.
Let’s get started!
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all accounting solution for every business in every industry. Furthermore, the size and complexity of your business play a role as well.
Because of this, it’s critical to understand your budget and software requirements before making any decisions. To help you out, these are the criteria I considered when creating this list.
Feel free to use them as you go through the process of making your final choice.
It’s important to consider the number of clients and vendors you manage because certain plans limit the number you’re allowed to have. So be sure to pay close attention to the limitations of each plan before making your final decision.
Furthermore, you need to know how many user accounts you need as well. Some of the basic plans included in this list limit the number of users to one or two.
So, you may need to upgrade to an advanced plan to accommodate your needs if you need more than that.
Make sure the software you choose offers a mobile app so you can manage payments, invoices, and cash flow on the go. It may not seem like an important feature now, but you never know when (and where) you need to access your accounts or send an invoice.
The best accounting software includes intuitive features that let you follow up on invoices and a portal where your clients can pay you. With internal client management tools, revenue and accounting are centralized in one location to simplify the process.
Plus, it’s easier on your clients.
Most accounting software includes invoicing functionality but in different capacities. Some offer highly customizable invoices while others are easier to use with fewer customization options.
Furthermore, the software you choose should make paying invoices as easy as possible for your clients. Some other billing and invoicing features to consider include:
Lastly, consider the payment processing fees associated with each software. Most charge a set percentage plus a small fee for credit card transactions and 1% for ACH transfers.
Many modern accounting tools make it easy to categorize and store digital versions of your receipts. All you have to do is snap a photo of your receipt and attach it to the associated expense in your account.
However, not every software includes this. So, if this is something you’re interested in, be sure to choose an accounting software with receipt management capabilities.
Connecting your bank accounts and credit cards to your accounting software makes account reconciliation a breeze. It also reduces the chances of human errors when making manual entries.
However, not every software offers this capability on basic plans (but all of my top recommendations do).
So make sure you opt for a software that includes this functionality.
It’s important to consider the tools you’re already using to run your business. Why? Because the best accounting software for you integrates seamlessly into your tech stack with minimal hassle or headache.
So before you get started, make a list of everything you need and the tools you already use.
Then, make sure the top contenders on your list include your full requirements and the necessary integrations.
You can even schedule a call with a sales rep for each accounting software to walk through your list of requirements to make sure they can handle everything you’re looking for.
When it comes to accounting software, you have several options. Some of them are better than others, but the best choice for you depends on your situation.
So let’s walk through your options before we dive into my top recommendations.
Spreadsheets are a free, DIY option if you’re on a tight budget. They work okay if you’re just getting started and have a limited number of business transactions.
However, they’re not a long term solution and they leave a lot of room for human error.
If you’re looking for a free option, I highly recommend Wave as an alternative.
Most modern-day accounting software is cloud-based, making it easily accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
And it’s usually billed on a monthly basis, scalable, affordable, easy to use, and built for small to midsize businesses.
Every option on this list falls under this category.
This is a type of highly secure accounting software specific to enterprises and large businesses.
It’s very expensive and requires an in-house team of engineers and/or financial specialists to install and maintain.
Because of that, I didn’t include this type of software in my research.
Now, let’s dive into my top accounting software recommendations based on the size of your business and your specific needs.
If you’re a freelancer, solopreneur, or small business, FreshBooks is a great accounting software to consider. To date, they serve more than 10 million businesses around the world.
And the software complies with double-entry accounting standards, providing you with more in-depth insight into your finances and business transactions.
FreshBooks specializes in invoicing, but the tool also includes small business features, like:
Furthermore, your account dashboard includes a birds-eye view of your business’s financial health. It shows outstanding invoices, total profit, revenue by source, expenses, and unbilled time all in one centralized location.
Plus, you can manage your books on the go using their robust mobile app.
And the software integrates with over 200+ business tools like Shopify, G Suite, Stripe, Zoom, Squarespace, and Gusto. So, you don’t have to worry about incompatibility with most of the tools you already use.
But like most accounting software, FreshBooks charges a transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for credit cards and 1% for ACH transfers. However, these fees are pretty standard across the industry, and you don’t have to worry about any additional hidden costs.
Their paid plans start at $6 per month for up to five clients making it very affordable for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners alike.
However, FreshBooks can scale alongside your business with other plans, including:
Sign up for a free trial to take FreshBooks for a test drive today! Alternatively, you can save 50% off your first three months. However, you have to choose one offer or the other.
If you’re running a small business or starting a new business from scratch, QuickBooks is a popular choice — and for a good reason. In fact, over 5.6 million users around the world trust them for their accounting needs.
From small businesses to self-employed individuals, QuickBooks offers an array of excellent accounting solutions to match your needs.
Furthermore, you can choose from cloud-based, desktop, or POS system deployment, depending on your situation. However, I highly recommend the cloud-based solution for most businesses.
Plus, the online software integrates with apps like PayPal, Square, and Shopify to simplify cash flow management in one centralized location.
With their online solution, you can easily access your account anywhere globally with an internet connection. Plus, you can use the mobile app to take pictures of your bills and receipts rather than filing a heap of paper receipts in your office.
You also get access to features like:
And you can easily upgrade to an advanced plan if you outgrow the basic plan or need more advanced features. Some of their advanced features include 1099 management, inventory management, and time/attendance tracking.
So regardless of what you need, there’s a plan to suit your needs.
The cheapest plan starts at $25 per month. And you can add payroll services to your plan, starting at an extra $45 per month + $4 per employee per month with more advanced options available.
Furthermore, QuickBooks charges $0.25 + 2.9% for invoices, 2.4% for swipes, and 3.4% for keyed payments per transaction. Alternatively, they charge 1% for ACH transfers. And you can save up to 40% on transaction fees if you charge more than $7,500 per month.
Like FreshBooks, QuickBooks offers a 30-day free trial OR 50% off your first three months.
Get started with QuickBooks today!
If you manage many clients and vendors, Zoho Books is one of the most affordable accounting software to consider. Their cheapest plan includes up to 50 billable clients, and they also have packages for up to 500 billable clients as well.
So, you don’t have to worry about exceeding your monthly limits.
Furthermore, Zoho Books includes access to powerful features like:
Zoho Books also offers an intuitive mobile app for managing your accounts on the go. With the app, you can track your mileage, reach out to customers, track your time, create invoices, and more.
Each plan also includes a private client portal for accepting payments, unlimited phone and email customer support, free SSL encryption, and open rest APIs to connect with third-party applications.
Furthermore, Zoho offers a wide range of other business tools that integrate seamlessly together. Running a subscription-based business? Or need advanced inventory management? Maybe you need extensive expense reporting for your team.
Odds are, Zoho offers what you need. You can bundle tools together to save money and create a custom business management system for your business.
I highly recommend starting with the Basic Plan ($9 per month) and upgrading to an advanced plan when and if you need to. The Basic Plan includes up to 50 contacts, two separate user accounts, and five automated workflows to simplify your accounting processes.
Zoho’s advanced plans include:
All of which are very affordable for businesses of all sizes. Furthermore, you can add extra users and 50 auto-scans for $2/month and $5/month, respectively.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial to see if Zoho Books is right for you today!
Sage 50Cloud is a desktop accounting application seamlessly connected to the cloud. So, you get the speed and reliability of a desktop software paired with the flexibility and remote accessibility of using the cloud.
Furthermore, Sage offers cloud-based accounting software, so you’re not limited to the desktop application if that’s not your thing. However, their desktop solution is where they really shine.
You can securely access your accounts anywhere, anytime, allowing you to work when you want and how you want. So, you’re not limited to your desktop computer despite the benefits of using desktop software.
Plus, as the #1 rated accounting solution for small businesses, it includes features like:
As you can see, Sage 50Cloud includes a robust set of features you typically have to pay extra for with the other options on this list (i.e., payroll).
And with those advanced features comes an advanced price tag.
So if you’re looking for basic accounting software, you’re better off going with FreshBooks or QuickBooks. However, if you need these advanced features, pricing starts at $50.58 per user per month.
Their paid plans include:
However, you can save a bit more by choosing an annual plan and paying in advance. Additionally, you can subscribe to Microsoft 365 for an extra $150 per year.
You can try Sage’s cloud-based accounting software free for 30 days with no installations and no credit card required. After that, you can purchase Sage 50Cloud if it’s a good fit for your business.
If you have a tight budget or need a simple accounting solution, Wave is an excellent choice. It’s an award-winning finance software for entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes.
Plus… their accounting features are entirely free with no hidden fees or monthly payments. However, they charge a standard transaction fee of 2.9% (3.4% for American Express) + $0.30 for credit cards and 1% for ACH transfers.
You can also add payroll services starting at $20 per month. But accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning are all free forever.
This free accounting software includes features like:
Plus, you get unlimited email support, as well. And if you’re wondering how Wave stays in business, it’s through their transaction fees and payroll services. So, yes. The software really is free forever, with no hidden fees.
Furthermore, you can download Wave’s mobile app to access and manage your accounts on the go from anywhere with an internet connection.
Sign up for a free account to get started today!
I recommend FreshBooks (for freelancers and individuals) or QuickBooks (for small teams). These two solutions are suitable for most users. They’re incredibly affordable, easy to use, and scalable. Plus, they include all your essential accounting features.
And if you’re on a tight budget, Wave is an excellent free alternative.
However, the best accounting software for you depends on what you need and what you can afford. So, feel free to use the characteristics we talked about as you go through the process of choosing the right software for your business.
What’s your favorite accounting software?
The post Best Accounting Software appeared first on Neil Patel.
Zizoo Boats | Mid- or Senior-level DevOps Engineer | Berlin | Full-time, on-site | https://www.zizoo.com
We’re Zizoo, the leading global boat rental platform. Our mission is to disrupt the travel industry and make booking a boat holiday as fast and easy as a hotel.
We’re looking for a DevOps Engineer that would like to hone their skills, or a Senior DevOps Engineers that can hit the ground running, to work in at awesome startup, in a small agile team, with flat management structure, and the ability to make a real impact and grow your skills along the way.
Our tech stack is mainly AWS ECS and Fargate, GitHub (+ Actions), and coded in PHP and JS (nextjs and react).
Please send your CV to jesse@zizoo.com
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Location: Massachusetts
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: Javascript/Node/React/Next/GraphQL, HTML, CSS/SCSS, Python/Django/Flask, PHP, C, Bash, Linux administration, Java, Redis, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon MWS
Résumé/CV: https://jesseevers.com/jesse-evers-resume.pdf
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-evers/
Email: jesse@jesseevers.com
I mentioned some of the technologies I’ve worked with above, but there are others. I have a strong history of starting a project with little or no knowledge of the project’s stack, and leaving my clients pleased with the outcome.
I’m especially interested in work outside of frontend web development, especially: anything climate change-related, networking, embedded design, or app development.
I’ve worked on everything from data pipelines to APIs to basic assemblers, and I’m confident I can meet or exceed expectations on anything that’s thrown my way.
Pupil Labs | Senior Backend Engineer (Python) + DevOps | REMOTE | https://pupil-labs.com
Pupil Labs is the world-leading provider of wearable eye-tracking solutions. We design, engineer, build, and ship hardware (eye tracking glasses) and software (capture, storage, visualization, and analysis tools) that are used by thousands of researchers in a variety of fields, ranging from medicine and psychology to UX design and human-computer-interaction.
You will be working on Pupil Cloud – cloud-based storage, visualization, enrichment, and analysis platform. This product addresses a number of exciting computational and infrastructural challenges that will involve close collaboration with our R&D and Design teams.
Requirements:
– 5+ years of production experience
– DevOps based around Kubernetes + Docker
– Experience with Chef/Ansible/Puppet
– Solid grasp of Python
– Understands security
– Experience with web-based services
– Monitoring, implementing, and ensuring reliability of HA systems
– Experience with message queues
– Load/stress testing
– Part of 24×7 on-call rota
Technology we use: Docker, Kubernetes, Postgresql, Python, Javascript, Redis, Nginx, Grafana, Prometheus
Services we use: Gitlab, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Amazon AWS, Sentry, Google/Firebase
Apply: Send an email to jobs@pupil-labs.com with intro letter and CV and/or links to projects. (no recruiters please!)
SEEKING WORK | EU-based | Remote | Frontend | 10 years of experience Tech Focus: React, Angular, Redux, NodeJS, Webpack, Puppeteer For a longer list of tech stacks I have experience with, see my CV: https://mherczeg.github.io/cv/ Rate: 50 EUR/hour Contact: herczeg.mt[at]gmail.com I also offer test automation and devops consultation.
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Zizoo Boats | Mid- or Senior-level DevOps Engineer | Berlin | Full-time, on-site | https://www.zizoo.com We’re Zizoo, the leading global boat rental platform. Our mission is to disrupt the travel industry and make booking a boat holiday as fast and easy as a hotel. We’re looking for a DevOps Engineer that would like to hone … Continue reading New comment by jiffs in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2020)"