Appointment scheduling software lets clients schedule and pay for appointments and related services online. We researched the top-rated appointment scheduling software options and decided to review Square Appointments, Acuity Scheduling, and Bookeo Appointments. These three services deliver a full range of features at small business-friendly costs. Read on for our review and top recommendations. Best…
About the Author
Krista Fabregas
Krista Fabregas is a staff writer at Fit Small Business and editor of the Ecommerce Section. Krista launched her first ecommerce site in 2001, and soon grew to operate two niche B2B and B2C sites, a 10K square foot warehouse, and staff of nine. Combined, her sites sold more than $1.5M annually for several years. Krista now shares her hands-on experience with others looking to expand into online sales. When not helping small business owners launch and grow efficient ecommerce operations, Krista enjoys writing fiction and nonfiction and riding horses and motorcycles in her hometown of Houston.
Creative Packaging Ideas: Examples, Costs & Providers
Creative packaging lets ecommerce sellers convey their brand to buyers in a share-worthy unboxing experience. Fully-customized packaging is pricey, but many creative packaging ideas are very economical. Logo stickers, printed inserts, paper sleeves, and tie-on tags are just a few creative packaging examples that deliver plenty of bang for just a few bucks. Creative Packaging…
Order Fulfillment Costs: Fulfillment Services & 3PL Costs Explained
Order fulfillment costs include inventory receiving and storage, order packing, shipping, and depend on order complexity, package size and weight, and sales volume. Small orders might cost $1 to fulfill while complex orders can exceed $10. Fulfillment services’ fee structures also vary greatly, and the best fit depends on your specific needs. Searching for the…
How to Design an Open Office Layout & Alternative Ideas
An open office layout is a floor plan centered on a large, open space with minimal enclosed offices. Open office layouts are economical, flexible, and can be effective for highly collaborative teams. However, studies show that poorly planned spaces decrease productivity and employee satisfaction. Balancing openness with privacy options is key to a successful design….
Best Ecommerce Platforms for Small Business in 2019
Ecommerce platforms list products for sale online, manage payments, orders, inventory, and customer communications, and connect to social and marketplace sales channels. We reviewed popular platforms and rising stars and found that Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce are the best platforms for small businesses in terms of price, online sales, and marketing features, and ease of…
6 Best WordPress Ecommerce Themes 2019
Any WordPress theme can support ecommerce plug-ins, but the best ecommerce WordPress themes deliver built-in features sellers need to succeed on the WordPress platform. Cart icons, checkout pages, filtered search, homepage sales sections, and quick-shop links provide the user experience that shoppers expect. You’ll find these capabilities, and plenty more, in WordPress ecommerce themes. A…
How to Open a Shopify Drop Shipping Store in 6 Easy Steps
Drop shipping is a business model that lets you curate, market and sell a unique collection of products without any inventory, storage or staff costs. Shopify connects to hundreds of drop shippers via apps that automate every step, making it the quickest, easiest and most economical way to launch an ecommerce business. Below, we’ll show you…
How to Set Up a Free Square Online Store in 8 Simple Steps
Any Square seller, from mobile businesses to multi-store retailers, can easily open an online store, list products for sale, accept orders, and process payments. Best of all, it happens within your Square POS system—a free Square online store is included with your free Square account. Here’s how to set yours up today. Square’s free online…
ShopKeep vs. Square: Price, Features, & What’s Best in 2019
In a ShopKeep vs. Square POS review, both clearly deliver essential retail point-of-sale functionality, including barcode checkout, iPad registers, and inventory, staff, and customer tracking, plus both offer a free version. ShopKeep offers impressive inventory tools and supports various payment providers while Square’s all-in-one product delivers convenient built-in payment processing, ecommerce, payroll, and marketing features….
Inventory Control – Definition, Features & Software Providers
Inventory control is the organizing and tracking of inventoried goods on a retail sales floor, in backroom storage, or in a warehouse. Good inventory control practices and systems ensure correct stock counts, proper product display and storage, correct tagging, and accurate restock orders. Inventory tracking software is an essential tool for ecommerce sellers and retail…
Stripe vs. PayPal – Who’s Best in 2018?
Our Stripe vs. PayPal review reveals that both online payment services compete closely on processing fees, ease of use, and platform integrations. Beyond these key factors, Stripe supports more custom checkout options and online payment types while PayPal accepts online and in-person payments and has lower fees for nonprofits. We examine both in detail below….
How to Accept eWallet Payments in 5 Easy Steps
Square accepts Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay (formerly Android Pay) eWallet payments as a built-in feature of its payment processing service. To accept eWallet payments with Square, sellers just need a $49 contactless reader. We’ll show you how to get one, connect it to Square, and accept eWallet payments in five easy steps….
