banking - Building Wealth

Many people I know talk about how they want to make more money, how they have all of these ideas for doing so, and how they want to make sure they can retire early, but I never see them doing anything about it. They do have some good ideas for building wealth, but they don't have any money. This is because there is a huge difference between wanting to make a lot of money and actually doing it. As I get older I realize that money is out there to be made, but you have to really want to do it. If you have the drive, there should be nothing stopping you from getting what you want. The first step in building wealth is indeed knowing if you really want it. You may think you do, but if you are not willing to put the time and effort into it, you aren't going to get very far. There is no fast building wealth method that will make you rich overnight. You can give someone your money that says they can do it for you, but you might as well forget about seeing a return. They are making money from your lack of drive and your wish to get rich quick. Building wealth means finding out what you can do, and what you can do to make money with the skills that you have. You may be good with numbers, or you may have a talent. It doesn't matter what it is as long as you can think of a way to make it profitable. Building wealth does mean that you have to have somewhere to start, but everyone has a chance. You may even get more than one chance, but if you let them pass you by, they aren't going to do any good. Another important aspect of building wealth is to know what to do when the money does start to come in. You can buy some things, but if you spend it as fast as you make it you aren't going to have anything to show for all of your hard work. Building wealth means saving as much as you can, and it also means living like you don't have much money. Many millionaires live in houses that are adequate but not flashy, and you would never know they had that much money. That's why they have it! For more information on how to find the Best Business Online try visiting Small Business Start located at http://Small-Business-Start.com where you will find valuable information on internet marketing, making money and other information. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominic_Ferrara banking - Employee Motivation Strategies:Effective Solutions That Could Yield Maximum Profits When people think of honoring employees for jobs well done, they may typically think of monetary rewards. However, these may be neither necessary nor the best type of reward. Once offered, cash bonuses can come to be expected and quickly forgotten, especially if they are the only recognition employees receive. By contrast, frequent, positive feedback provided within an enjoyable, team-oriented environment makes a tremendous difference in employees' sense of being valued and, as a result, their commitment to your company. With or without financial rewards, these cultural aspects of the workplace could be the smartest investment in the staff and business. Recognize and Reward High-Quality Work Employees are bound to be much more productive when they work in a positive, supportive environment. For example, Tejas Securities Group, Inc., a full-service broker/dealer and investment banking firm, strives to maintain an enjoyable, family-oriented atmosphere in which all employees focus on achieving team goals. This company goes an extra step by bringing in catered lunches every day for all the employees to enjoy together. "In this environment, everybody wins. We enjoy the dynamics of striving toward our goals together as a team," said Kurt Rechner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Tejas Securities Group. Praising employees for achieving their goals is important in maintaining an enjoyable work environment. Management can show their appreciation with positive feedback, however, if they go a bit beyond verbal praise, they can enhance employees' motivation without spending a lot of money. For example, celebrate successes with bagels or pizza. Invite employees to share their experiences in, and coworkers' contributions toward, accomplishing the goals. Peer recognition will further reinforce employees' sense of teamwork and commitment. Conclude the celebration by presenting mugs, T-shirts or other tangible items that will serve as reminders of their success and inspiration for ongoing achievement. With these good intentions, there are still potential drawbacks. For example, improvements in performance may be temporary, rather than long term. In addition, employees could lose their intrinsic motivation: they can become motivated solely for gaining a tangible prize, especially if it's a substantial monetary reward, rather than for experiencing the satisfaction of accomplishment. These challenges can be avoided by maintaining a positive, motivating atmosphere. Inspire Employees' Creativity and Empower Them to Use It Recognizing success is critical, and equally important is inspiring employees to work toward achievements. Your staff will be inspired by knowing their contributions are valued and that management is confident in their capabilities. At Tejas Securities Group for example, "The Chairman's Cup", a silver chalice inscribed with its name, is awarded each month to an employee who is recognized for their individual contribution to the overall team's success. The winner is then announced in a company wide meeting and is awarded the cup to display at their work station. Rechner noted "This announcement and award has become a fun and highly anticipated event, recognizing the ongoing importance of individual contribution to the company's success." Inspire creativity by providing freedom, time and other resources to employees. Ask them what they need to maximize their innovative thinking and productivity, and provide it with enthusiasm and encouragement. To further stimulate employees' creativity and confidence, support continual education through classes, seminars, subscriptions and memberships. Make information easily accessible through a work library. Ask employees to offer new ideas, request proposals for new projects, and share employees' suggestions through publications, meetings and recognition events. Most importantly, take action on those ideas that have potential benefit for the company, and recognize employees who made any resulting achievements possible. While encouraging creativity and rewarding success may come somewhat easily, it may be more difficult to stay optimistic when mistakes are made. However, this is where positive reinforcement is even more critical. Employees will be much less likely to offer ideas if they are intimidated by management's reactions to possible mistakes. Keep in mind and express to employees that mistakes are learning opportunities, which could lead to innovative ideas that have a major, profitable impact on your company. If an idea doesn't work out, recognize the initiative and effort. Employees will feel further inspired and satisfied, knowing that management truly listens to their ideas and supports their efforts. According to Rechner at Tejas Securities Group, "management's openness to staff members' input, feedback, ideas and suggestions is the cornerstone of good communications and strong employee relationships. Everybody wins when they are all part of a supportive team." All of these steps contribute to a sense of entrepreneurship and empowerment, which are essential to reinforcing teamwork and dedication. Empowerment should be initiated on three levels: encouraging employees to be more active in their work; involving staff members to improve processes and procedures; and enabling them to make more and bigger decisions. In addition to motivation and job satisfaction, employees benefit with strengthened confidence to accept and pursue new responsibilities. Once a few employees succeed, their enthusiasm and motivation would become contagious throughout their teams or departments. As a result, those groups would become more enthusiastic, proactive and therefore, successful, which further stimulates their team spirit. Ultimately, your company has much to gain by empowering staff members. By maximizing employees' talents and motivation, managers could invest more time in strategic planning and further motivating employees. Be Wary of Financial Incentives and Rewards Certainly, monetary incentives and rewards could be part of your employee-recognition program. However, it is critical that these incentives not be the only or primary strategy for motivating and retaining employees. On the surface, financial incentives may seem to be the most meaningful forms of motivation for employees. However, the short-term benefits may be far outweighed by long-term disadvantages, which could turn your costly financial incentives into serious deterrents to employees' productivity. As a result, your company's profitability could suffer, and you may be faced with further costs of replacing employees who leave for more satisfying work environments. Typical of human nature, people tend to think about what their employers have (or haven't!) done for them recently, especially if they do not feel appreciated. Furthermore, a brief word of gratitude only when a financial reward is presented will not be perceived as a sincere expression of appreciation. The easiest and most cost-effective way to avoid this pattern is to maintain open communication with positive feedback and encouragement at all times, with occasional celebrations - where presentation of cash rewards or announcement of new financial incentives, if any, should be just a small part of these events. Similarly, if cash bonuses are presented on a schedule, such as around the holidays, they probably come to be expected. This reaction could be avoided if bonuses are given randomly, when you have extra money to share with employees. However, before deciding to present cash bonuses, determine if that money could be better used to expand your business. Express to employees how their contributions resulted in the extra cash flow, and rally them up for investing that money into exciting new possibilities for themselves and the organization. In addition to cash bonuses, other types of monetary rewards are profit-sharing plans and Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOPs). Profit-sharing plans are simple types of retirement plans in which employers contribute an amount of money equal to a certain percentage of eligible employees' salaries. With ESOPs, the company contributes to a trust, and these funds are allocated to individual employee accounts. Also, employees can reserve part of their paychecks to purchase shares of the company's stock. Profit-sharing plans offer a strong incentive for employees to be more involved with the company. The staff is more likely to work as a team and accept greater responsibility for increasing the company's profitability. Another advantage is that financial benefits are measurable and objective. As a result, management would not risk showing favoritism, which would cause this motivational strategy to backfire. On the contrary, profit-sharing plans can also have potential drawbacks. They do not guarantee that employees will be focused on customer service, productivity or other essential elements for the company's success. If profit levels are ever too low to be shared, employees will feel disappointed or even resentful. Even if this does not occur, employees may object to the lack of acknowledgment for their individual achievements. Of course, this particular disadvantage can be overcome with strategies discussed previously. In any case, a negative situation would lead to lower employee morale, which inevitably diminishes employees' motivation and performance. On the positive side for ESOPs, employees directly gain a sense of ownership, usually at levels proportionate to how much stock each employee has. The potential disadvantage, similar to profit-sharing programs, is if stock options do not work out. Furthermore, emotional stress often associated with fluctuations in stocks could interfere with employees' productivity. Certainly, financial incentives and rewards can be true motivators, but only when balanced against the potential drawbacks and packaged with ongoing verbal recognition, encouragement and support. At Tejas Securities Group, for example, "We supplement our employee-recognition program with an ESOP. The employees' sense of ownership and the stock investments' potential are icing on the cake - on top of the essential substance of open communication, teamwork and positive reinforcement," Rechner said. Launch a Positive, Ongoing Cycle with the Best Choices for Your Staff When handled in a consistently positive manner within a team-oriented atmosphere, all of these strategies contribute to an ongoing positive cycle: motivated employees are encouraged to be creative, which leads to accomplishments that gain recognition, which strengthens their sense of job satisfaction and boosts their motivation. With all of these factors in place, staff members will produce more for the company. The entire process should be continual and even begin with the hiring selection. "It's essential to start with quality people as the foundation, and then motivate them to succeed," said Rechner at Tejas Securities Group. It takes hard work, some money and a bit of luck to recruit employees who have the technical skills and personal qualities you need to strengthen your business. Maximize your investment in these individuals by establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with them. This article is copyrighted by Tejas Securities Groups, Inc. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part and may not be posted on other websites, without the express written permission of the author who may be contacted via email at tejas@digitalbrandexpressions.com.

banking - Employee Motivation Strategies:Effective Solutions That Could Yield Maximum Profits

When people think of honoring employees for jobs well done, they may typically think of monetary rewards. However, these may be neither necessary nor the best type of reward. Once offered, cash bonuses can come to be expected and quickly forgotten, especially if they are the only recognition employees receive. By contrast, frequent, positive feedback provided within an enjoyable, team-oriented environment makes a tremendous difference in employees' sense of being valued and, as a result, their commitment to your company. With or without financial rewards, these cultural aspects of the workplace could be the smartest investment in the staff and business. Recognize and Reward High-Quality Work Employees are bound to be much more productive when they work in a positive, supportive environment. For example, Tejas Securities Group, Inc., a full-service broker/dealer and investment banking firm, strives to maintain an enjoyable, family-oriented atmosphere in which all employees focus on achieving team goals. This company goes an extra step by bringing in catered lunches every day for all the employees to enjoy together. "In this environment, everybody wins. We enjoy the dynamics of striving toward our goals together as a team," said Kurt Rechner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Tejas Securities Group. Praising employees for achieving their goals is important in maintaining an enjoyable work environment. Management can show their appreciation with positive feedback, however, if they go a bit beyond verbal praise, they can enhance employees' motivation without spending a lot of money. For example, celebrate successes with bagels or pizza. Invite employees to share their experiences in, and coworkers' contributions toward, accomplishing the goals. Peer recognition will further reinforce employees' sense of teamwork and commitment. Conclude the celebration by presenting mugs, T-shirts or other tangible items that will serve as reminders of their success and inspiration for ongoing achievement. With these good intentions, there are still potential drawbacks. For example, improvements in performance may be temporary, rather than long term. In addition, employees could lose their intrinsic motivation: they can become motivated solely for gaining a tangible prize, especially if it's a substantial monetary reward, rather than for experiencing the satisfaction of accomplishment. These challenges can be avoided by maintaining a positive, motivating atmosphere. Inspire Employees' Creativity and Empower Them to Use It Recognizing success is critical, and equally important is inspiring employees to work toward achievements. Your staff will be inspired by knowing their contributions are valued and that management is confident in their capabilities. At Tejas Securities Group for example, "The Chairman's Cup", a silver chalice inscribed with its name, is awarded each month to an employee who is recognized for their individual contribution to the overall team's success. The winner is then announced in a company wide meeting and is awarded the cup to display at their work station. Rechner noted "This announcement and award has become a fun and highly anticipated event, recognizing the ongoing importance of individual contribution to the company's success." Inspire creativity by providing freedom, time and other resources to employees. Ask them what they need to maximize their innovative thinking and productivity, and provide it with enthusiasm and encouragement. To further stimulate employees' creativity and confidence, support continual education through classes, seminars, subscriptions and memberships. Make information easily accessible through a work library. Ask employees to offer new ideas, request proposals for new projects, and share employees' suggestions through publications, meetings and recognition events. Most importantly, take action on those ideas that have potential benefit for the company, and recognize employees who made any resulting achievements possible. While encouraging creativity and rewarding success may come somewhat easily, it may be more difficult to stay optimistic when mistakes are made. However, this is where positive reinforcement is even more critical. Employees will be much less likely to offer ideas if they are intimidated by management's reactions to possible mistakes. Keep in mind and express to employees that mistakes are learning opportunities, which could lead to innovative ideas that have a major, profitable impact on your company. If an idea doesn't work out, recognize the initiative and effort. Employees will feel further inspired and satisfied, knowing that management truly listens to their ideas and supports their efforts. According to Rechner at Tejas Securities Group, "management's openness to staff members' input, feedback, ideas and suggestions is the cornerstone of good communications and strong employee relationships. Everybody wins when they are all part of a supportive team." All of these steps contribute to a sense of entrepreneurship and empowerment, which are essential to reinforcing teamwork and dedication. Empowerment should be initiated on three levels: encouraging employees to be more active in their work; involving staff members to improve processes and procedures; and enabling them to make more and bigger decisions. In addition to motivation and job satisfaction, employees benefit with strengthened confidence to accept and pursue new responsibilities. Once a few employees succeed, their enthusiasm and motivation would become contagious throughout their teams or departments. As a result, those groups would become more enthusiastic, proactive and therefore, successful, which further stimulates their team spirit. Ultimately, your company has much to gain by empowering staff members. By maximizing employees' talents and motivation, managers could invest more time in strategic planning and further motivating employees. Be Wary of Financial Incentives and Rewards Certainly, monetary incentives and rewards could be part of your employee-recognition program. However, it is critical that these incentives not be the only or primary strategy for motivating and retaining employees. On the surface, financial incentives may seem to be the most meaningful forms of motivation for employees. However, the short-term benefits may be far outweighed by long-term disadvantages, which could turn your costly financial incentives into serious deterrents to employees' productivity. As a result, your company's profitability could suffer, and you may be faced with further costs of replacing employees who leave for more satisfying work environments. Typical of human nature, people tend to think about what their employers have (or haven't!) done for them recently, especially if they do not feel appreciated. Furthermore, a brief word of gratitude only when a financial reward is presented will not be perceived as a sincere expression of appreciation. The easiest and most cost-effective way to avoid this pattern is to maintain open communication with positive feedback and encouragement at all times, with occasional celebrations - where presentation of cash rewards or announcement of new financial incentives, if any, should be just a small part of these events. Similarly, if cash bonuses are presented on a schedule, such as around the holidays, they probably come to be expected. This reaction could be avoided if bonuses are given randomly, when you have extra money to share with employees. However, before deciding to present cash bonuses, determine if that money could be better used to expand your business. Express to employees how their contributions resulted in the extra cash flow, and rally them up for investing that money into exciting new possibilities for themselves and the organization. In addition to cash bonuses, other types of monetary rewards are profit-sharing plans and Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOPs). Profit-sharing plans are simple types of retirement plans in which employers contribute an amount of money equal to a certain percentage of eligible employees' salaries. With ESOPs, the company contributes to a trust, and these funds are allocated to individual employee accounts. Also, employees can reserve part of their paychecks to purchase shares of the company's stock. Profit-sharing plans offer a strong incentive for employees to be more involved with the company. The staff is more likely to work as a team and accept greater responsibility for increasing the company's profitability. Another advantage is that financial benefits are measurable and objective. As a result, management would not risk showing favoritism, which would cause this motivational strategy to backfire. On the contrary, profit-sharing plans can also have potential drawbacks. They do not guarantee that employees will be focused on customer service, productivity or other essential elements for the company's success. If profit levels are ever too low to be shared, employees will feel disappointed or even resentful. Even if this does not occur, employees may object to the lack of acknowledgment for their individual achievements. Of course, this particular disadvantage can be overcome with strategies discussed previously. In any case, a negative situation would lead to lower employee morale, which inevitably diminishes employees' motivation and performance. On the positive side for ESOPs, employees directly gain a sense of ownership, usually at levels proportionate to how much stock each employee has. The potential disadvantage, similar to profit-sharing programs, is if stock options do not work out. Furthermore, emotional stress often associated with fluctuations in stocks could interfere with employees' productivity. Certainly, financial incentives and rewards can be true motivators, but only when balanced against the potential drawbacks and packaged with ongoing verbal recognition, encouragement and support. At Tejas Securities Group, for example, "We supplement our employee-recognition program with an ESOP. The employees' sense of ownership and the stock investments' potential are icing on the cake - on top of the essential substance of open communication, teamwork and positive reinforcement," Rechner said. Launch a Positive, Ongoing Cycle with the Best Choices for Your Staff When handled in a consistently positive manner within a team-oriented atmosphere, all of these strategies contribute to an ongoing positive cycle: motivated employees are encouraged to be creative, which leads to accomplishments that gain recognition, which strengthens their sense of job satisfaction and boosts their motivation. With all of these factors in place, staff members will produce more for the company. The entire process should be continual and even begin with the hiring selection. "It's essential to start with quality people as the foundation, and then motivate them to succeed," said Rechner at Tejas Securities Group. It takes hard work, some money and a bit of luck to recruit employees who have the technical skills and personal qualities you need to strengthen your business. Maximize your investment in these individuals by establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with them. This article is copyrighted by Tejas Securities Groups, Inc. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part and may not be posted on other websites, without the express written permission of the author who may be contacted via email at tejas@digitalbrandexpressions.com. R.L. Fielding has been a freelance writer for 10 years, offering her expertise and skills to a variety of major organizations in the education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing industries. She lives in New Jersey with her dog and two cats and enjoys rock climbing and ornamental gardening. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=RL_Fielding banking - When Quicken Doesn't Balance After you've been using Quicken for while and have been balancing your account regularly, you will only irregularly have trouble reconciling it. However, if you are just getting started, you may have trouble getting your Quicken account to balance. For that reason, let me offer some suggestions for balancing a Quicken account that's causing you trouble. Check for missing transactions Account balance trouble stems from only three causes: Reason 1: You cleared a transaction the bank hasn't recorded Reason 2: You forgot to record a transaction, or perhaps several transactions Reason 3: Either you or your bank incorrectly recorded a transaction Therefore, when you find yourself with reconciliation troubles, first make sure that you are not missing some transaction. Go through the bank statement line for line, comparing each of the transactions listed there with the contents of your account register. If you find the bank statement lists a transaction that your Money account register does not, then you need to record it in Money. Confirm you haven't incorrectly cleared transactions Once you confirm that the Quicken account register includes all transactions, verify that you have not incorrectly cleared transactions that are still outstanding. To do this, thoroughly review the Quicken account register and make sure that each transaction marked with a "C" does, in fact, appear on the bank statement. Compare amounts If the two reviews described in the preceding paragraphs don't explain the difference between your records and the bank's, you need to check the actual transaction amounts that you have recorded against those shown in the bank register. In other words, if the bank register shows a check to your mortgage company for $500, you need to make sure that your account register also records the check as $500. Unfortunately, it is easy to incorrectly record transaction amounts in the Quicken account register. All it takes is pressing the wrong key. And, in fact, two data entry errors are particularly difficult to see: transposition errors and sign errors. Watch for transpositions Transposition errors occur when you transpose, or flip-flop, the numbers in an amount. If you write a check for $123, but record the check as $132, for example, you've transposed the 2 and the 3. And this error is hard to spot later. You look at the bank statement, for example, and see the digits 123. Then when you look at the account register, you see the digits 132. Unless you are looking not just at the digits used but also at their order, you may miss this error. Watch for sign errors Sign errors occur when you enter a deposit as a withdrawal, or a withdrawal as a deposit. All this really means is that you have entered some transaction amount in the wrong column. Again, this error is sometimes tough to spot because the transaction appears both on the bank statement and in your register'just in the wrong column in the Quicken register. If you come up with some difference with your records and the bank's that is irreconcilable, try dividing the error by 2. Then look for a transaction equal to this result. For example, if you have a $200 error, divide $200 by 2 to get the result $100. Then look for a $100 transaction that is entered in the wrong column. Know the errors reconciliation won't catch There are several common errors that account reconciliation won't catch. Reconciliation won't catch when you forget to record a transaction and the transaction hasn't yet cleared the bank. If you forget to record a check and the check is still outstanding at the end of the statement month, for example, the check doesn't appear in your register and it doesn't get listed on your bank statement. Another kind of error that a bank reconciliation won't catch stems from entering a fictitious transaction in the account register. For example, if you enter a check in the Money account register that you never wrote or a deposit you never made, the check or deposit will never clear the bank. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to find these sorts of errors. Mostly, you need to apply simple common sense to prevent them. In the case of forgotten uncleared transactions, your only recourse is to be careful in your record keeping. Try to establish a system whereby you regularly record the checks you write and the deposits you make.

banking - When Quicken Doesn't Balance

After you've been using Quicken for while and have been balancing your account regularly, you will only irregularly have trouble reconciling it. However, if you are just getting started, you may have trouble getting your Quicken account to balance. For that reason, let me offer some suggestions for balancing a Quicken account that's causing you trouble. Check for missing transactions Account balance trouble stems from only three causes: Reason 1: You cleared a transaction the bank hasn't recorded Reason 2: You forgot to record a transaction, or perhaps several transactions Reason 3: Either you or your bank incorrectly recorded a transaction Therefore, when you find yourself with reconciliation troubles, first make sure that you are not missing some transaction. Go through the bank statement line for line, comparing each of the transactions listed there with the contents of your account register. If you find the bank statement lists a transaction that your Money account register does not, then you need to record it in Money. Confirm you haven't incorrectly cleared transactions Once you confirm that the Quicken account register includes all transactions, verify that you have not incorrectly cleared transactions that are still outstanding. To do this, thoroughly review the Quicken account register and make sure that each transaction marked with a "C" does, in fact, appear on the bank statement. Compare amounts If the two reviews described in the preceding paragraphs don't explain the difference between your records and the bank's, you need to check the actual transaction amounts that you have recorded against those shown in the bank register. In other words, if the bank register shows a check to your mortgage company for $500, you need to make sure that your account register also records the check as $500. Unfortunately, it is easy to incorrectly record transaction amounts in the Quicken account register. All it takes is pressing the wrong key. And, in fact, two data entry errors are particularly difficult to see: transposition errors and sign errors. Watch for transpositions Transposition errors occur when you transpose, or flip-flop, the numbers in an amount. If you write a check for $123, but record the check as $132, for example, you've transposed the 2 and the 3. And this error is hard to spot later. You look at the bank statement, for example, and see the digits 123. Then when you look at the account register, you see the digits 132. Unless you are looking not just at the digits used but also at their order, you may miss this error. Watch for sign errors Sign errors occur when you enter a deposit as a withdrawal, or a withdrawal as a deposit. All this really means is that you have entered some transaction amount in the wrong column. Again, this error is sometimes tough to spot because the transaction appears both on the bank statement and in your register'just in the wrong column in the Quicken register. If you come up with some difference with your records and the bank's that is irreconcilable, try dividing the error by 2. Then look for a transaction equal to this result. For example, if you have a $200 error, divide $200 by 2 to get the result $100. Then look for a $100 transaction that is entered in the wrong column. Know the errors reconciliation won't catch There are several common errors that account reconciliation won't catch. Reconciliation won't catch when you forget to record a transaction and the transaction hasn't yet cleared the bank. If you forget to record a check and the check is still outstanding at the end of the statement month, for example, the check doesn't appear in your register and it doesn't get listed on your bank statement. Another kind of error that a bank reconciliation won't catch stems from entering a fictitious transaction in the account register. For example, if you enter a check in the Money account register that you never wrote or a deposit you never made, the check or deposit will never clear the bank. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to find these sorts of errors. Mostly, you need to apply simple common sense to prevent them. In the case of forgotten uncleared transactions, your only recourse is to be careful in your record keeping. Try to establish a system whereby you regularly record the checks you write and the deposits you make. Having trouble with Quicken? Specifically, does the data look funny? Seattle CPA and Quicken for Dummies author Stephen L. Nelson explains how to get your accounts to balance. Seattle certified public accountant & author Stephen L. Nelson wrote Quicken for Dummies and more than 100 other books as well. Nelson holds an MBA in Finance and an MS in taxation. He also edits the limited liability company web site. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Nelson banking - E-banking (Online Banking) and Its role in Today's Society The world is changing at a staggering rate and technology is considered to be the key driver for these changes around us (Papers4you.com, 2006). An analysis of technology and its uses show that it has permeated in almost every aspect of our life. According to Tero et al (2004) many activities are handled electronically due the acceptance of information technology at home as well as at workplace. Internet can be seen as a truly global phenomenon that has made time and distance irrelevant to many transactions. According to Heikki et al. (2002), the transformation from the traditional banking towards e-banking has been a 'leap' change. The evolution of electronic banking started from the use of automatic teller machines (ATM) and has passed through telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the revolutionary online banking (Alter, 2002). The future of electronic banking according to some is the acceptance of WAP enabled banking and interactive-TV banking (Petrus & Nelson, 2006). But it has been forecasted that among all the categories, online banking is the future of electronic financial transactions. The rise in the e-commerce and the use of internet in its facilitation along with the enhanced online security of transactions and sensitive information has been the core reasons for the penetration of online banking in everyday life (Papers4you.com, 2006). According to the latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2006) indicate that subscriptions to the internet has grown more than 50% from 15 million in 2000 to 35 million in 2005 in the UK. It has also been estimated that 60% of the population in the UK use internet in their daily lives. The fundamental shift towards the involvement of the customer in the financial service provision with the help of technology especially internet has helped in reduce costs of financial institutions as well as helped client to use the service at anytime and from virtually anywhere with access to an internet connection. According to theorists (Walfried et al., 2005) customer evaluation of the electronic services is influenced by attributions of success and failure in inter personal service situations. The use of electronic banking has removed the banking personnel that facilitate the transactions and has placed additional responsibilities on the customers to transact with the service. Although the use of E-banking is provided for the benefit of the customers but these changes require increased work or involvement on the part of customers. These and other factors might be seen as lesser service provided in terms of customer service. But these assumptions would be wrong if the customer knows the value of using the electronic service. Thus it can be concluded that a fit between task i.e. the banking; technology i.e. the user interface and its reliability; and individuals i.e. the customers and their knowledge about using the service, is the key to successful E-banking services (Zigurs & Buckland, 1998). References: Alter, S. (2002), "Information Systems" 4th Edition, Prentice Hall Heikki Karjaluoto, Minna Mattila, Tapio Pento (2002), "Factors underlying attitude formation towards online banking in Finland", International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 20 Issue: 6; 2002 Research paper ONS (2005), "Office of National Statistics", www.statistics.gov.uk Papers For You (2006) "C/B/93. Dissertation. Will online business replace the traditional business in the banking industry in UK?", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina35.htm Papers For You (2006) "P/F/174. Dissertation. Adoption of Online Banking", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina35.htm Petrus Guriting, Nelson Oly Ndubisi (2006), "Borneo online banking: evaluating customer perceptions and behavioural intention", Management Research News; Volume: 29 Issue: 1/2; 2006 Conceptual Paper Tero Pikkarainen, Kari Pikkarainen, Heikki Karjaluoto, Seppo Pahnila (2004), "Consumer acceptance of online banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model", Internet Research; Volume: 14 Issue: 3; 2004 Research paper Walfried M. Lassar, Chris Manolis, Sharon S. Lassar (2005), "The relationship between consumer innovativeness, personal characteristics, and online banking adoption", International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 23 Issue: 2; 2005 Research paper Zigurs, I. & Buckland, B. (1998), "A Theory of Task/Technology Fit and Group Support Systems Effectiveness", MIS Quarterly, Sep98, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p313-334, 22p

banking - E-banking (Online Banking) and Its role in Today's Society

The world is changing at a staggering rate and technology is considered to be the key driver for these changes around us (Papers4you.com, 2006). An analysis of technology and its uses show that it has permeated in almost every aspect of our life. According to Tero et al (2004) many activities are handled electronically due the acceptance of information technology at home as well as at workplace. Internet can be seen as a truly global phenomenon that has made time and distance irrelevant to many transactions. According to Heikki et al. (2002), the transformation from the traditional banking towards e-banking has been a 'leap' change. The evolution of electronic banking started from the use of automatic teller machines (ATM) and has passed through telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the revolutionary online banking (Alter, 2002). The future of electronic banking according to some is the acceptance of WAP enabled banking and interactive-TV banking (Petrus & Nelson, 2006). But it has been forecasted that among all the categories, online banking is the future of electronic financial transactions. The rise in the e-commerce and the use of internet in its facilitation along with the enhanced online security of transactions and sensitive information has been the core reasons for the penetration of online banking in everyday life (Papers4you.com, 2006). According to the latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2006) indicate that subscriptions to the internet has grown more than 50% from 15 million in 2000 to 35 million in 2005 in the UK. It has also been estimated that 60% of the population in the UK use internet in their daily lives. The fundamental shift towards the involvement of the customer in the financial service provision with the help of technology especially internet has helped in reduce costs of financial institutions as well as helped client to use the service at anytime and from virtually anywhere with access to an internet connection. According to theorists (Walfried et al., 2005) customer evaluation of the electronic services is influenced by attributions of success and failure in inter personal service situations. The use of electronic banking has removed the banking personnel that facilitate the transactions and has placed additional responsibilities on the customers to transact with the service. Although the use of E-banking is provided for the benefit of the customers but these changes require increased work or involvement on the part of customers. These and other factors might be seen as lesser service provided in terms of customer service. But these assumptions would be wrong if the customer knows the value of using the electronic service. Thus it can be concluded that a fit between task i.e. the banking; technology i.e. the user interface and its reliability; and individuals i.e. the customers and their knowledge about using the service, is the key to successful E-banking services (Zigurs & Buckland, 1998). References: Alter, S. (2002), "Information Systems" 4th Edition, Prentice Hall Heikki Karjaluoto, Minna Mattila, Tapio Pento (2002), "Factors underlying attitude formation towards online banking in Finland", International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 20 Issue: 6; 2002 Research paper ONS (2005), "Office of National Statistics", www.statistics.gov.uk Papers For You (2006) "C/B/93. Dissertation. Will online business replace the traditional business in the banking industry in UK?", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina35.htm Papers For You (2006) "P/F/174. Dissertation. Adoption of Online Banking", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina35.htm Petrus Guriting, Nelson Oly Ndubisi (2006), "Borneo online banking: evaluating customer perceptions and behavioural intention", Management Research News; Volume: 29 Issue: 1/2; 2006 Conceptual Paper Tero Pikkarainen, Kari Pikkarainen, Heikki Karjaluoto, Seppo Pahnila (2004), "Consumer acceptance of online banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model", Internet Research; Volume: 14 Issue: 3; 2004 Research paper Walfried M. Lassar, Chris Manolis, Sharon S. Lassar (2005), "The relationship between consumer innovativeness, personal characteristics, and online banking adoption", International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 23 Issue: 2; 2005 Research paper Zigurs, I. & Buckland, B. (1998), "A Theory of Task/Technology Fit and Group Support Systems Effectiveness", MIS Quarterly, Sep98, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p313-334, 22p Copyright 2006 Verena Veneeva. Professional Writer working for http://www.coursework4you.co.uk Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Verena_Veneeva banking - Home Equity Line Of Credit - Tips On How To Make The Most Of It Without a doubt, your home is your biggest asset, and a home equity line of credit can help you take full advantage of it. When you stop to consider how much equity your home builds up over the years, it only makes sense to use it when you need it. A home equity loan or line of credit will help you during times when you need financial assistance. Sure, you can go to your bank and try to get a personal loan, but at what rate of interest? Same with a credit card. You can easily be looking at a 12%-18% APR on these transactions, compared to an equity loan of 6% or & 7%. The key is in how you will be using the funds with this type of loan or credit line. They are best utilized in these types of situations: 1. Medical emergency - A home equity credit line works well during times of unexpected medical emergencies, or even a funeral. It gives you a way to get the money you need, quickly and without damaging your credit. 2. Paying off debt - If you are trying to manage and pay off debts from credit cards, loans, etc. then a home equity loan makes sense. Pay off the high interest credit cards and loans, and pay it back with a low interest loan. 3. College expense - If you have kids in school then you know how expensive college can be. Even a community college will run in the thousands every semester. Using some of the equity in your home to pay these expenses can be invaluable. 4. Home remodeling projects - This is one of the best ways to utilize the funds from a home equity loan or credit line. Use the funds to build a new addition, or update a bathroom, etc., and further increase the value of your home. Not only do you get to enjoy the updates, but the benefits of adding more value as well. These are some of the biggest reasons for getting a home equity line of credit. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active and do not edit the article in any way.