New comment by seemavb in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (January 2024)"

Location: Malaysia

Remote: Yes, only Remote jobs

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: XML, Wiki Markup; Adobe Tools [FrameMaker, Illustrator, Photoshop CS4]; Video Editing [CapCut, Clipchamp, Canva]; Microsoft Tools [Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Visio, Paint]; Soft Skills [Problem Solving, Adaptability, Team Player, Superior Time Management]

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seemavbhat

Email: mail2seemabhat@gmail.com

New comment by rdrsss in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2022)"

Location: Delaware, USA

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Prefer not to.

Technologies: Go, C++, Python

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdrsss/

Résumé/CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18NjSRUuRhkBQ_vcweakgYu8g…

Email: manuel.rdrs@gmail.com

Software engineer for over 10 years. Generalist programmer, I’ve worked across many different domains. Love to keep things varied and try new things. I’ve worked mostly in the games industry doing backend work, lib integration, tools, etc… I’m looking for something different (not games), I love backend and application programming, open to something new. Interested in doing something with rust.

New comment by AzorienX in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2022)"

Location: Latvia Remote: Yes Willing to relocate: Yes (life goal) to Sweden, Norway, Ireland, can consider other locations Technologies: VueJS, HTML, CSS, Android SDK, React (learning at the moment) Résumé/CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iQB4zNhkbKOgqYDM7plpK466FTzO1irmfAgMcRE-Ft4 Email: azorien@gmail.com Hello. I am front-end/UI focused developer that also has some graphic design experience. Currently I am learning web front-end technologies and trying … Continue reading New comment by AzorienX in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2022)"

How to Choose a Business Partner

Are you interested in starting a business or growing your existing business? Bringing on a business partner can offer several advantages. These include expertise in different business areas, strategic connections and more capital.

But select the wrong partner and you could be setting yourself up for years of personality conflicts and lawsuits. And ultimately, the end of your business.

Before you even think of approaching a potential business partner, consider whether you really need one. Then, get clear on the type of person who will be a good match for your own skills, values and goals. It’s much harder to undo a business partnership than it is to create one. Here’s what you should know before taking on a business partner.

What does a business partnership entail?

A partnership is a relationship between two or more people who carry on a business together. For tax purposes, partnerships are known as pass-through businesses. This means the partnership doesn’t pay taxes. Rather, partnership income or losses are passed through to owners. The owners then pay taxes on their share of profits on their individual tax returns.

Partnerships are the second most common type of pass-through business in the U.S., just behind sole proprietorships. That popularity stems, at least in part, from the ease of creating a partnership.

According to SCORE, a nationwide network of volunteer business mentors, partnerships aren’t a legal business entity. In some cases, they don’t have to be registered with the state. This is unlike corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) do. Essentially, if you go into business with another person without incorporating, you’re in a partnership by default.

Despite that informality, forming a business partnership isn’t a decision to take lightly. Even if you don’t have a formal agreement, you have basic legal responsibilities to other members of the partnership. Such as:

  • Sharing planning and decision-making rights
  • Maintaining appropriate financial records
  • Sharing business profits and losses based on each partner’s investment
  • Compensating partners for expenses they pay on behalf of the business
  • Getting your partner’s consent before bringing on extra partners
  • Returning your partner’s original capital contribution should they to leave the partnership

How to identify a solid business partner

Choosing a business partner is like choosing a spouse. You’re trusting this person with your financial investment and your future. That’s why it’s so important to choose your partner wisely.

So what kind of criteria should you look for? Consider these six questions.

What are your goals?

What happens if you want to grow your business internationally, but your partner wants to keep it small and local? Not being on the same page about target market, investments and long-term strategy can lead to a lot of unnecessary conflicts. You and your partner should have similar goals for the future of the business.

How are their finances?

Unless you already have an open relationship with your potential partner, you likely won’t know much oft their financial history. Going into business with someone with poor credit or shady financial dealings can get you into trouble. Consider having a potential partner submit to a background check and credit check.

Do they have complementary skills?

People tend to want to do business with other people who have similar temperaments, skill sets and backgrounds. While this can be a good basis for friendship, it’s not always the best for a business partnership.

Look for a partner who is better than you at certain things. For example, if you’re the whiz with numbers, you might need someone who is a great communicator or leader. But, if your focus is big, long-term strategies, you might need a partner with excellent attention to detail. Bringing complementary skills together makes your partnership greater than the sum of its parts.

Do you have a personal relationship?

Partnering with your spouse, sibling or best friend might seem like a great idea to start. But proceed with caution when forming a business with someone with whom you already have a personal relationship.

According to a PWC survey,  23% of owners and executives in a family-owned business say they’ve never had a disagreement with their family members. Meanwhile, disagreements are a regular occurrence for 7% of family-owned businesses.

Close relationships can suffer if the business fails due to conflict. Which many do — data shows 20% fail in the first year alone. This isn’t to say that you should never do business with friends and family. But if you do, make sure you have a written partnership agreement. Outline responsibilities and how you’ll resolve potential conflicts.

Have you considered a trial run?

Until you’re actually in business with someone, it can be tough to understand their work style or how they’ll react in difficult situations. If you don’t have any experience working with your potential partner, consider doing a trial run. You could work on a project together or hire them as a consultant.

This allows you to see how well they communicate. See if they pull their weight and work through challenges. If it goes well, you can formalize your business partnership. If it doesn’t go well, you have a chance to walk away sooner rather than later.

Do you have a written partnership agreement?

No matter whom you choose as your business partner, you need a written partnership agreement. This agreement spells out the rules for how the partners will manage their business. It includes responsibilities, investments, profits and losses, company management and conflict resolution. It can also address what happens when one partner wants to sell or leave the business.

Don’t skip the formal agreement because you’re starting a business with family or afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. A partnership agreement is always important. But it can be even more crucial when you’re starting a business with a friend or family member. Plus, a well-thought-out agreement can help lessen misunderstandings and preserve your relationship.

Each state has its own laws governing formal business partnerships. So it’s a good idea to work with an attorney who specializes in contract law. They can help you create a custom (and legally enforceable) partnership agreement. 

Of course, hiring an attorney costs more than downloading a partnership agreement template you might find online. But a well-drafted agreement can protect your investment, efficiently resolve disputes. And it saves you tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees later.

Janet Berry-Johnson, guest blogger and author of this post.

 

 

 

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New comment by stdcall83 in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (January 2022)"

SEEKING FREELANCER | Israel, (GMT+2) | REMOTE
We are looking for a talented Senior Software Engineer to help with design and development of SystemC (C++) modelling and Virtual Platform SW simulations which are used as a development tool for our Software.

Email:ramon [at] neureality.ai

Website: https://neureality.ai

Requirements:
* Strong hands-on in C++ programming and proven design skills
* Experience in modeling language such as systemC and TLM

Advantages:
* Experience with networking protocols like TCP/IP, RoCE, NVMe over Fabrics.
* Experience with embedded systems and HW-SW integration.

Best Call Recording Software

Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.

Call recording software is a useful tool for businesses and individual users alike. 

From quality assurance to employee training, compliance, record-keeping, dispute resolution, and more, there are dozens of reasons why organizations can benefit from recording calls. 

But there are so many different call recording solutions on the market today. It can be a challenge to find one that fits into your workday. You don’t want to have to re-do everything just to record calls.

And you also don’t want to pay for a million features you’re never going to use.

Use this guide to learn more about my top picks and methodology for finding the best call recording software for you.

#1 – Talkdesk Review — The Best For Voice and Screen Recording

Talkdesk is a modern cloud contact center solution. One of the main benefits of using this platform for business communication is the built-in call recording capabilities.

With Talkdesk, you’ll gain deeper customer insights with encrypted screen and voice recordings.

By synchronizing the playback of voice and screen recordings, you’ll have more context for evaluating customer interactions with your support team. This also makes it easier to ensure compliance and provide your agents with in-depth feedback on their performance. 

The software has a feature called Talkdesk Speech Analytics. The tool is perfect for analyzing calls based on customer sentiment, keywords, topics, and more.

Some of the other key features and benefits of using Talkdesk for call recordings include:

  • Inbound and outbound call recording
  • Custom storage options
  • Ability to pause and resume live recordings
  • Store recordings for as long as you need
  • Storage available on Talkdesk’s cloud storage or use your own storage system

Talkdesk even has tools for quality assurance. Admins can add time-stamped annotations to recorded calls and fill out scorecards to improve agent performance. All of this can be managed from a simple and intuitive interface. 

Request a demo to get started. Pricing for this contact center solution is based on the number of agents on your team.

#2 – Cube ACR Review — The Best Call Recorder For Android

Cube ACR is a smartphone app designed specifically for Android devices. It has 10+ million installs worldwide.

In addition to cell phone calls, this simple tool makes it easy to automatically record calls from VoIP platforms like Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, WeChat, LINE, Slack, Hangouts, and more.

For such a basic app, Cube ACR has surprisingly good recording quality, and you can clearly hear both sides of the conversation. Just customize your settings to enable VoIP calls, automatic recordings, and control storage backups via Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. 

Cube ACR is always coming out with new updates to ensure recordings are stable and reliable. 

Other noteworthy features and highlights of Cube ACR include:

  • Cloud backups
  • Silent mode
  • Geotagging to see where calls take place on a map view
  • Data security with a PIN lock
  • Automatically remove old recordings to free up storage

If you want to mark an important part of the conversation, simply shake your phone, and Cube ACR will highlight that part of the call so that it’s easy to find later. 

While the app is popular for individual use, the software has business-specific features as well. It integrates with certain business tools, has custom development, and offers special business licensing options. 

The app is free and has a 4.3/5-star rating with 510,000+ reviews on the Google Play Store. 

#3 – Callcap Review — The Best For Call Monitoring

Callcap is a bit unique compared to some of the other software on my list. It’s not really a standalone call recording tool. This platform is branded as a call tracking and monitoring solution, but it does have call recording capabilities.

Marketers leverage Callcap to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior. Any business seeking an advanced solution beyond basic call recording should consider Callcap.

Callcap will automatically record all of your business calls. These recordings are available at any time. You can use them for agent training, employee recognition, lost opportunity analysis, disputes, and more.

All recordings are stored in the cloud and accessible from anywhere, and it is easy to share recordings with team members.

But Callcap takes these recordings to the next level with third-party monitoring services. Their trained analysts provide unbiased scoring for all inbound and outbound calls. The data from Callcap allows agents to improve, close more deals, and increase customer satisfaction. 

Other benefits of Callcap include:

  • Catalog item tracking reports
  • Track revenue by campaign or employee
  • Secure and PCI compliant recording and monitoring
  • Manual pausing and automated scrubbing
  • Call tracking
  • Call recovery

Callcap is not for everyone. If you just need a basic solution for recording calls, look elsewhere. But if you want one of the most advanced call recording and monitoring services on the market today, Callcap should be at the top of your list. 

#4 – Rev Call Recorder Review — The Best Call Recording App For iPhones

Rev is best known for its online audio transcription and video captioning services. It’s trusted by more than 170,000 customers worldwide, across industries like marketing, legal, media, education, and more.

But they also have an excellent iPhone app for recording calls.

This is a simple and straightforward solution for call recording. It’s a viable option for both personal and business use cases.

Here’s a quick overview of Rev’s key features:

  • Automatically record incoming and outgoing calls
  • Free and unlimited call recording
  • Convert any recording to text with the in-app transcription feature
  • Easy to share recordings and transcriptions via Dropbox, email, and more

Aside from the ability to transcribe and share, Rev is a no-frills solution for call recordings. It’s perfect for anyone who wants a free and simple way to record calls on their iPhone.

#5 – Aircall Review — The Best Call Center Solution

Aircall is more than just call recording software. It’s a complete cloud-based call center solution made for business teams. 

You can set it up in seconds without any hardware, downloads, or headaches associated with traditional phone systems. Best of all, every Aircall plan comes with call recording capability.

If you just need a way to record calls on your existing phone system, Aircall probably won’t be a viable option. This software is designed for businesses that need a completely new phone system. The call recording features are just some of the many perks you’ll get with an Aircall subscription.

Some features of Aircall include:

  • Automatically record inbound and outbound calls
  • Customize recording settings at any time
  • On-demand playbacks
  • CRM integrations
  • Clear recording quality
  • Unlimited calls in the US and Canada

Aircall has additional services for things like call monitoring, call whispering, and call analytics. These advanced features are not available on the entry-level plan.

Pricing starts at $30 per month per user, and you can try it for free for seven days.

#6 – Kixie PowerCall Review — The Best Chrome Extension For Call Recording

Kixie PowerCall is another all-in-one business phone solution. It’s a top choice for remote teams looking for a simple way to manage calls.

This robust Chrome extension can be installed in seconds on Mac, Windows, and Chromebook devices. All Kixie PowerCall plans come with call recording capabilities.

As a Chrome browser extension, it’s easy for agents to make and receive calls from anywhere. Recordings can be managed with a single click, and the software is ready to use out of the box. 

Since Kixie PowerCall is an all-in-one phone system, you’ll also benefit from features like:

  • Single-click voicemail drop
  • Local presence phone numbers
  • Click-to-call dialing
  • Live call coaching
  • Call reporting insights

Like some of the other software on our list, Kixie PowerCall is better for teams that need a complete business phone solution. If you just want basic call recording features on your existing phone service, you’ll find other options more suitable for your needs.

You get 300 free minutes when you try Kixie PowerCall free for seven days. 

#7 – Ooma Office Pro Review — The Best Price for the Total Package

A lot of the best call recording options available come as part of wider business phone solutions. When it comes to getting voice and video with all the features you’d need—including call recording—you can’t beat Ooma Office Pro.

I usually save the pricing information for towards the end of these reviews, but here it’s lede: Ooma Office Pro is just $24.95/user per month.

That sort of pricing for the feature set you get usually requires you to have 20 or more users. Ooma offers just one flat price, which makes it great for teams of any size to update their calling capabilities.

Here’s just a sampling of that feature set:

  • Virtual receptionist
  • Virtual extensions
  • Multi-device ring and ring groups
  • SMS messaging included
  • Desktop calling app
  • Voicemail transcription
  • Call logs
  • Call parking

Plus, call recording is adaptable for automatic and on-demand recording. And they’re all stored in your call logs automatically.

Keep in mind, you’ll need to sign up for Ooma Office Pro, as the standard Ooma Office plan does not come with recording features.

If you need a more customizability and analytical capability in the form of a full UCaaS solution, you can step up to Ooma Enterprise for just a few bucks more—$27.99/user per month.

Ooma also offers device flexibility—their mobile app allows you to call from anywhere, but they also sell equipment like traditional desk phones and base stations.

For customer service, sales, or even the legal and medical fields, Ooma Office Pro is a modern business phone solution that will give you the call recording features you need for compliance and improvement.

Get started with Ooma by getting a quote today.

#8 – Nextiva Review — The Best Call Recording for Massive Organizations

In a large company, a lot of different people need to use call recording for a lot of different reasons. And Nextiva is the business calling solution built to handle the strain.

Think of a huge customer service team—dozens of people need to touch the software, from the reps recording their calls to the customer service and HR managers who will use them to run quality assurance, employee evaluations, and training.

Multiply that by the number departments in your office, then again by the number of offices in your organization…

You can see how call recording frequency and storage needs add up quickly.

With the Enterprise and Ultimate plans of Nextiva One (their voice and video service), you get unlimited recording of both calls and video conferences. Plus, both plans accommodate an unlimited number of users, so everyone can utilize the recording features and access (if you grant it) saved recordings.

Plus, you unlock advanced features of Nextiva’s overall calling service, like advanced voice call analytics, and custom productivity reporting.

When you think about it, it all comes together nicely. Call recording for anything from training to stakeholder meetings can be used in tandem with the analytics, reporting, and Nextiva’s built-in team messaging and collaboration tools to spur improvement everywhere in your organization. And at scale.

What seals the deal for Nextiva is the price point for large teams. The Enterprise plan—which includes everything I’ve described above—is $31.95/user per month for 100 or more users.

That’s a better value and feature set for teams that large than just about anybody else out there.

Want to get started? Reach out to Nextiva and schedule a demo today.  

#9 – RingCentral Review — The Best Archiving and Storage for Recordings

Whether you’re using recordings for training, posterity, note-taking, or anything else, what good are they if you can’t access and store them easily?

If you choose RingCentral Office for your team messaging, video conferencing, and phone system, you get generous call recording limits and an excellent dashboard for managing them.

You get the full suite of communication tools, plus features like:

  • Call whisper and barge
  • Hot desking
  • Real-time call analytics
  • Open API
  • Single sign-on
  • Dozens of integrations

RingCentral allows storage of 100,000 call recordings per account, kept for up to 90 days. That’s a nice allowance without even getting into their tool for organizing and storing recordings.

That would be the RingCentral Archiver, a clean, easy-to-use dashboard for viewing and accessing all call recordings in your organization.

In it, you can see recordings, voicemails, and SMS messages all at once, see the numbers they came from, and when they were made or received.

You can easily connect the Archiver to Dropbox, Smarsh, or Google Drive, allowing you to easily sync and backup recordings on your cloud storage. That way you can save any recordings that may be about to hit the 90-day expiration date.  

Automatic call recording and the Archiver only come on RingCentral’s Premium and Ultimate plans. You can utilize on-demand call recording on the Standard plan, but you won’t have many options for accessing, storing, or downloading them.

RingCentral Premium is the best plan for most businesses wanting voice, video, messaging, recording, and easy archiving. Pricing for that package scales based on the number of users:

  • One user: $44.99/user per month
  • 2-99 users: $34.99/user per month
  • 100+ users: $32.99/user per month

For teams of 50 or fewer, you can even try it out for 15 days with RingCentral’s free trial.

What I Looked at to Find the Best Call Recording Software

There are certain factors that I looked for while narrowing down the top recommendations on my list. You can use this methodology as well when shopping around comparing different tools side-by-side. Consider this as your buying guide for call recording software.

Use Cases

Why are you seeking a call recording solution?

The answer to this question will help narrow down your options. Some tools are better for sales and marketing, while others are better for training, management, monitoring, and quality assurance. 

There are smartphone apps for call recording for personal use and full-scale business phone solutions with built-in call recording features. 

The type of calls you’re recording will impact your decision as well. Some solutions only support traditional calls, while others support WhatsApp call recording, Skype call recording, and other third-party platforms. 

On-Demand vs. Automatic Recording

Do you want every inbound and outbound call to be recorded automatically? Or would you prefer to control if and when a recording starts and stops?

The ability to choose between on-demand and automated recording is definitely something to keep in mind as you’re shopping around. 

For large-scale business use, automatic recording will probably be your best option. It’s one less step your staff has to think about during a call. But for personal use, you probably don’t need to record every single call you make or receive. 

Live Monitoring and Call Evaluation

Live monitoring is a crucial tool for call centers. In addition to recording the call, this feature allows managers or admins to listen in on calls in real-time. 

Overall, this is a proactive way to improve quality assurance. 

Some software takes QA one step further by providing call evaluation metrics. There are tools out there that can use recordings for sentiment analysis, conversion insights, and more to provide advanced scoring grades for each call. 

Security and Compliance

Security needs to be a top priority for conversations that include sensitive information. Examples include credit card information, medical information, personal details, and more.

Certain businesses must follow industry-wide regulations to ensure compliance. Make sure the software you’re considering meets all necessary regulations, even if it’s something as simple as notifying the caller about the recording and giving them the option to opt-out.

Storage

Another factor to consider is to assess the way recorded calls are stored and accessed from platform to platform.

What type of storage restrictions does each plan have? How easy is it to access, organize, and listen to those recordings at a later time?

For example, let’s say you’re dealing with a customer dispute. A customer claims that they never gave your staff permission to charge their credit card over the phone. Can you quickly locate that recorded call to find out what happened?

The best call recording storage systems are searchable and well-organized. 

Conclusion

Call recording software comes in different shapes and sizes. The best option for you will depend on your unique wants and needs.

I’ve made suggestions in my reviews of the top products:

  1. Talkdesk — Best for voice and screen recording
  2. Cube ACR — Best call recorder for android
  3. Callcap — Best for call monitoring
  4. Rev Call Recorder — Best call recording app for iPhones
  5. Aircall — Best call center solution
  6. Kixie PowerCall — Best Chrome extension For call recording
  7. Ooma Office Pro — Best price for the total package
  8. Nextiva — Best for massive organizations
  9. RingCentral — Best archiving and storage for recordings

Consider a smartphone app or standalone call recording tool for simple call recordings. More advanced call recording software will come with features for screen recordings, call monitoring, and customer insights. Choose an all-in-one business phone system to get features that go above and beyond just call recording. 

Regardless of your call recording needs, you can find what you’re looking for using my recommendations listed in this guide. 

The Schumacher trait that makes Verstappen such a tough teammate

In an exclusive interview, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner gives his theory on why Max Verstappen’s teammates struggle to match him and weighs up the strengths and weaknesses of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. The post The Schumacher trait that makes Verstappen such a tough teammate appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain … Continue reading The Schumacher trait that makes Verstappen such a tough teammate