Friday, March 16, 2018

Great Financial Statement Tools You Need for Your Business



For any business, strategic P&L (Profit & Loss) management is important to keep earnings positive and minimize expenses. If you’re tired of not knowing where your business stands financially, create a simple profit and loss statement or give one of our favorite accounting systems a try.

Choosing the right financial software can streamline the P&L management process. But with so many P&L reporting tools out there, which one is the most suitable for your business? Here’s a roundup of some great accounting tools that also offer profit and loss statements for small businesses:

QuickBooks


QuickBooks helps business owners make an accurate and professional profit and loss statement. Its P&L reports show total income, subtotals for income or expense accounts, profit margins, categorization of expenses and losses, detailed transaction lists for any entry, customized percentages, and identifications of over- or underspending. Plus, QuickBooks offers easy integrations and affordable monthly fees.

Xero


Xero’s solid accounting software comes with easy-to-use financial reporting tools that allow business owners to understand their real-time cash flow. Each package covers the basics, including financial performance reporting—meaning you won’t have to worry about paying more for the reports you need. And if you run into a problem, Xero provides customer support and has an abundance of how-to articles and tutorials.

Freshbooks


FreshBooks gives business owners a detailed breakdown of profit and loss, so you’ll know exactly how profitable you are. Each one of its packages offer financial performance reports, and to better serve its customers, FreshBooks offers complete mobile access for iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and other gadgets.

Wave


Wave has recently integrated P&L statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Its financial reporting gives you the full picture when it comes to the health of your business. However, Wave’s number one selling feature is you only have to pay for extra services when you need them, which means the essential system is free with no strings attached.

GoDaddy Bookkeeping


GoDaddy Bookkeeping delivers real-time reports on profit and loss, total expenses, and more. Their platform is convenient even for business owners who don’t have accounting experience. Plus, they offer three affordable packages, ranging from $3.99 per month to $11.99 per month.


Friday, March 9, 2018

Exciting Things You Can Do With a Virtual Reality Headset



Virtual reality headsets had been conceptualized a long time ago, back in the 1960s where there were prototypes of immersive stereoscopic videos, motion-tracking headsets and interactive Google Street View-like experiences took place. It was only until recently that the technology has fully developed and these devices have been made available to the public.

Below are some exciting things you can do and enjoy with a virtual reality headset. Check them out and be amazed.

Explore Different Places

Choosing a college can be very tiring. This is especially so when you have to go through a compulsory tour. This is one of the most helpful things to do with a VR headset.


Youvisit.com is loaded with thousands of pictures and videos of international universities and colleges, and you can practically walk into the environment and look around without actually being there.

Youvisit also deals with real estate listings, where clients wear headsets and go through homes that are far away.

Create Artwork in 3D

Creating art with the Tilt Brush is definitely one of the things to do with a VR headset. The 3D effect of the strokes is mind-blowing. You can go around your work and have some of the paintings suspended in mid-air. The kind of images you can make are limitless. They range from abstract to representational and realistic. Even if you can’t paint, you’ll still be able to use the brush like a spray can.

Mountain Bike Experience

Go mountain biking with your VR headset using a stationary bike that is compatible with your VR headset and an extreme mountain biking app. There are two models you can choose from:


The Ebove Bike

The Ebove bike was designed to be compatible with VR technology. There’s no doubt that the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive initiated VR gaming, but newer ones have joined the competition.

The Ebove bike inclines and goes the opposite way, uses pedal resistance and sideways tilt, and all correspond automatically to the 3D visuals. You can choose from a range of preloaded routes and tracks that can be operated and viewed on a 15.6-inch touchscreen. You can even challenge friends in real time.

VirZOOM

The bike is compatible with Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and HTC Vive and works well with PC and PS4. VirZOOM is less fanciful than the Ebove as the reactiveness corresponds to your speed input. This is justified as the VirZOOM is way cheaper than the Ebove.

Fly Like a Bird


Humans have always been inspired by the flying of birds as is evident in many inventions. It’s only natural that it should be one of the things to do with a VR headset. Unlike other inventions, with the VR headset you are the one doing the flying.

Birdly gives you the most realistic bird-like experience. Simulate flight posture by lying on a padded platform while wearing your headset. The flaps serve as your wings, and the hydraulic mechanism of the device tips you forward when you dive.

Real Life Rollercoaster

Most people who go to fairs and parks go for Rollercoaster rides because of the adrenaline rush. Six Flags over Texas, in collaboration with Samsung, incorporated the use of a VR headset while riding the rollercoaster in real life. Instead of seeing the real world, users see themselves somewhere else fighting to prevent a space invasion.

Bedtime Story for Your Kids

The world got busier, and this affected the time parents spend with their children. They hardly have time to read bedtime 
stories to their little ones. If you are guilty of this, Samsung has provided a solution to this with their bedtime story app.


Parents uses a Gear VR while the child wears a Google Cardboard headset. Apart from the feeling of reading together and the illusion of their presence, it has the benefit of the child living in the present.

Better Blueprints for Architects

Arch Virtual creates VR apps for architectural companies. This app doesn’t have a pre-built house for you to look at but open spaces. With computer models as the digital blueprints, Arch Virtual creates a three-dimensional animation of the interior. Once in the Oculus Rift D2K, you can examine every part of the building.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Pre-Built PC vs. Custom-Built PC: A Guide to Help You Decide Which One to Buy

There has always been an ongoing debate between those who build their own PCs and those who buy them pre-built. Actually, there’s really nothing wrong with either option even if the outcomes are different for both. In reality, both methods can and do deliver a satisfactory product, depending on the needs of the user. Still, we need to offer some insight into both sides of the argument if you’re still undecided.


Pre-Built PCs are easy to find and actually affordable
Most major laptop manufacturers such as ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc., usually focus on pre-built desktop PCs for those who don’t have time to shop around for parts or those who don’t have any high standards of hitting, such as specs for gaming. Many people just need a budget desktop PC that can browse the Internet, handle word processing, need it for work, or just to have a PC handy at home.

Instead of waiting for sales on parts or for everything to finally arrive from different vendors, you can grab a pre-built budget PC from a store and have it promptly working for you. These budget PCs usually come in a few configurations and price points, that is if you are targeting anything in terms of specs or budget.

Pre-Built PCs come with a warranty and technical support
Brand new pre-built desktop PCs will come with a warranty, which means in the case of a faulty piece of hardware inside; you can ship the entire thing away and not have to worry about diagnosing the problem yourself. This provides a bit of peace-of-mind for those who have no knowledge how to tinker with their PC. There are thousands of legitimate online resources when it comes to getting help with your PC, but dedicated technical support from a manufacturer can be the difference between a false diagnosis and getting back to work.

But Custom-Built PCs can still have warranty and technical support
Building your own PC from components you have personally decided on does have benefits in regards to performance desires and aesthetic needs. This is especially true for those with high spec standards to reach such as for gaming PCs or for those who are into huge video and image editing. Remember that along with each component decision manufacturers provide their own set of warranties and exclusions. So, for instance, your motherboard breaks down, all you need is to bring that component back to where it was purchased as it is covered by warranty.

Professional tech support is usually not a problem since technical support companies with good reputation and reliability exist, with affordable monthly or even yearly subscriptions.

What does all this mean? Pre-built PCs are a good option if you don’t need anything that will raise the roof in terms of performance, whereas building your own PC can save you money in the long run when it comes to gaming or for high end work like editing or video making.