The interactive voice response (IVR) containment rate, a call center metric, refers to the percentage of calls the IVR system successfully handled without assistance from a human agent. A high IVR containment rate means the system was able to resolve customer concerns, reducing the burden on the human workforce and improving the overall call center…
Ultimate Guide
Cost of Goods Sold: What It Is & How To Calculate It
Cost of goods sold (COGS) represent the total costs in making or purchasing a product. In simpler words, COGS is the amount you paid when you produced or purchased the products that were sold during the period. Selling costs like commissions are not part of COGS. Rather, these are recorded as part of operating costs….
How Much Are International Calls? What Small Businesses Need to Know
International calling costs vary based on the country you’re calling and the service provider you use. Voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) providers offer the cheapest per-minute international call rates, ranging from 1 cent to $1 per minute. They also have different international call plans for specific needs. In this article, find out how much are international calls, learn…
FDIC Insurance for Business Accounts: What It Is & How It Works
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) brought Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance for business accounts into the forefront of every business owner’s mind. The FDIC protects against all bank failures for up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank. Amounts above $250,000 can be insured using separate banks, insured cash sweeps (ICS) alternative…
SBA Disaster Loans: Everything You Need To Know
If a disaster has caused damage to your business and you couldn’t get a loan, a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan, an affordable financing method, can give you the funding needed to restore operations as quickly as possible. Many types of SBA disaster loans have rates below 4% with repayment terms of up to…
What Are Commercial Tenant Improvements? (+ How They Work)
Commercial tenant improvements (TI), also known as commercial leasehold improvements or build-outs, are customized changes or repairs a landlord makes to their property as part of the lease agreement. This is most common in commercial real estate because property changes are needed to fit specific business needs. In exchange, the landlord will either pay for…
How Payroll Outsourcing Services Work: Ultimate Guide
Outsourcing payroll can be an easy way to save time and money. Rather than tracking and calculating employee payroll by hand or using spreadsheets, you can hire a bookkeeper, use an accountant, or work with a professional employer organization (PEO). Many small business owners outsource their payroll and HR because of how complicated and time-consuming…
Common Invoice Payment Terms and Tips on Setting Them
Most companies will set payment terms to ensure that they’re paid on time, with the most popular terms being 30 days (or Net 30). Setting payment terms is an essential part of accounts receivable (A/R) management, and making terms transparent to customers by displaying them on every invoice that’s issued is an important bookkeeping task….