You would think that in today’s world of high tech, with companies releasing gadget after gadget which supposedly simplifies our lives, that IT support companies would be a thing of the past, but if anything, we need IT support companies more than ever.

Up until a few years ago we seemed to be in a Microsoft only world, with mobile phones which were simply phones, and software that came in a box on a bunch of cd’s or dvd’s. Nowadays mobile phones are mini computers, able to connect to your business and even allow you to produce work on them. Software is now mostly downloaded, and more often than not, contains technology which allows you to store information on the internet (commonly known as the ‘cloud’). And finally, it is no longer a Microsoft only world. Google and Apple are producing hardware and software which business people want to use in their businesses and they want them to work seamlessly ‘as advertised’.

IT support companies who may have thought that the industry giants were finding ways simplify IT for their customers and take them out of the equation, now receive requests to connect businesses across the globe, using the usual laptops and desktops, and also mobile phones and tablets. If anything, the role of the IT support company has grown in recent years, as businesses have become so reliant on IT systems that it is hard to think of any business starting out without the need for an IT platform to help them sell to customers and purchase from suppliers.

The truth is that IT isn’t simple, and as the upgrade cycle continues to increase, it will become more complicated. As new industry leaders pop up and legacy companies decline, the creation of standard protocols becomes difficult, so none of the brands will really work simply together, and if you try to go to one brand only, then you are at the mercy of their upgrade schedule, which is very rarely in anyone interest but their own.

On the positive, this is all very exciting for IT support companies like ourselves and it should be exciting for businesses. With more innovations comes more opportunities for younger businesses to outpace older, more established businesses, as they can invest in these new technologies faster. Fun times.

From April 2013 HMRC will begin to roll out their planned Real Time Information (RTI) system for companies who have employees within the PAYE system.

The basic change is that whereas companies currently send PAYE information to the HMRC after the year end, from April 2013 some companies will be sending PAYE information each payment period, and from October 2013 it is expected that ALL companies will be sending PAYE information monthly.

What this means for businesses is that the HMRC will be able to check that the PAYE information you send is correct, and also to chase companies for any amounts outstanding.

This from ;

Under RTI, employers and pension providers will tell HMRC about tax, National Insurance contributions (NICs) and other deductions when or before the payments are made, instead of waiting until after the end of the tax year.

RTI will:

• make the PAYE process simpler and less burdensome for employers and HMRC; for example by removing the need for the end of year return (P35 and P14) and simplifying the employee starting and leaving processes
• make PAYE more accurate for individuals, over time reducing the number of bills and repayments sent after the end of the tax year
• enable HMRC to pursue late payments more effectively
• support the payment of Universal Credits
• reduce Tax Credits error and fraud

Employers and pension providers will send this information to HMRC online for payments made to all their employees including those paid below the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit.

We are not sure that this will make things simpler for employers as the end of year return isn’t that complicated anyway, and we suspect that more care will need to be taken that everything is correct before submission, as any problems will be difficult to correct, or even worse, attract penalties or investigations. It also means that you will have less leeway when it comes to sending payments before getting calls chasing money, which is never good news!

It has to be said that most of our customers favour windows machines and servers, but there are a few customers who prefer Apple, and this number is steadily growing with the success of iPhone and iPad. We support and use both, and Apple announced some exciting news recently with the next version of their OSX operating system, Mountain Lion.

There are apparently over 100 new features being released with Mountain Lion. Here are some of our favourites;

• iCloud. Sync all your documents, pictures, movies, and music across all your Apple devices
• Messages. Apples unified messaging system
• Reminders. Apple’s to-do list app now syncs between devices
• Notes. Similar to reminders you can sync your notes
• Notification Center. We hate the notification center, but now you get it on OSX
• Share. You can share websites and other documents with a share button, which links with Vimeo, Flickr and others
• Twitter. Apple have integrated Twitter into OSX
• Game Center. You will now ba able to play those meaningless social games on you Mac too.
• AirPlay Mirroring. Want to push your desktop to your Apple tv? Well now you can.
• Gatekeeper. A security feature which aims to protect your mac from malware, by only allowing you to install software from the Mac store (don’t worry, you can turn it off, for now!)

We’re looking forward to getting our Developer Preview installed and getting a real look at the new upgrade.

In our discussions on Search Engine Optimisation we mentioned backlinks and how search engines use these back links to decide how important your website is and therefore what position your website appears within the results (the higher the better of course!)

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. It is better to have one way links than it is to swap links and it is better if these links come from websites with more authority than yours (search engines aren’t really a democracy, some websites are more equal than others and links from them carry more weight).

Here are a few ways to get backlinks;

• Write a guest post on a blog
• Add the link in your signature on forums
• Comment on other websites
• Write press releases with links built in and post them to press submision engines
• add articles to your site and push them out to social networks
• Add your site link to directory sites
• Write great content which encourages other sites to link to it

Getting more backlinks will help your website get higher rankings in the search engines, but this is usually quite hard work. The best way to get links is simply to write great content and then other sites will link to you anyway.

Yesterday we mentioned Search Engine Optimisation and what it means. One of the things we discussed was writing effective copy to make the most of your search engine ranking.

We use keywords when talking about search engine rankings. The visitors you are targetting will use keywords when searching and you choose the keywords you would like your website to be listed for. Once you have chosen your keywords, this becomes an important part of writing your copy for the site.

Traditionally we have been taught at school and in various writing classes not to repeat ourselves too much. This often means trying to use a number of words which basically all mean the same thing, so as not to seem repetitive.

When you write copy for search engine optimisation you forget all of this and ensure that you write your copy using the keywords you have chosen, regularly and consistently. Obviously there is little point in repeating yourself too much making the content unreadable to the visitor, but you should try and mention the keyword enough so the search engine will be able to know what your page is about and that this topic is the chosen keyword!

What is Search Engine Optimisation and why should I care? This is something we are asked quite often as we talk to business owners about their website.

Basically, your website can only convert a certain amount of visitors into customers, and there will be a ratio to this, whether it be as high as 1 in 10 or as low as 1 in a million. In order for you to increase customers you will inevitably need more visitors, and these visitors will usually find your website via a search engine. Google is responsible for something like 80% of search engine traffic and therefore when we talk about Search Engine Optimisation, we often talk about your website rankings on Google.

So what is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? The real definition of this is ensuring the content on your website is written and presented in such a way as to provide the best possible ranking in search engines for specific keywords which target a specific type of visitor.

In addition to writing the actual content we also usually include what is called link building within the SEO activity. Link Building is a term used for creating or requesting internet links from various websites to your own. These links are used by search engines to determine how important your website is for certain search terms, and the more links you have, generally the better your website will perform.

We’ll follow this article up with a few more which will discuss how you can increase your internet traffic using Search Engine Optimisation.

Today is the launch day of I Love Goole, Goole’s local reward card. ITexpress have been involved right from the beginning when the working group got together towards the end of November. Since then we have managed to design the logo, come up with the name, and then provide a website capable of hosting all the offers and scaling up in the future.

Deadlines are always important to clients, and in our experience, they are often missed. As we chose the 14th February for this launch to coincide with Valentines Day, the deadline wasn’t really able to slip, and we are grateful for the efforts of many business people around the town who managed to get the information to us in time.

Interestingly, the launch of a website isn’t even the end of the work, in many woays it is just the beginning. We now have to focus on adding content as quickly as possible and working on the search engine optimisation and promotion of the site.

EastTrans are celebrating a new website launch and now have the ability to add their own news items to the website. EastTrans are based in Stallingbrough, near Grimsby and specialise in transporting goods across the country. They are probably the largest provider of curtain sided transport movements on the south bank of the River Humber.

EastTrans came to ITexpress as their old website was based in flash and it was unable to be edited easily. We converted the old website so it would be html based and we also setup a news section so East Trans could add content as they wished. As it happened, they took advantage of our content adding service and now it is simply a case of letting us know the latest news and we edit their site for them, simply and quickly.

If you are interested in learning more about how we can improve the web presence of your business then please call us on 01405 765782 or contact us

From 6 April 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be able to ask employers to pay a security where there is a serious risk that they won’t pay over their PAYE tax deductions or Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs).

This will not affect the vast majority of employers who  pay their tax on time and in full. And it won’t be used for employers  who are having genuine financial problems, says the HMRC.

The reason given by the HMRC for these increased powers is due to businesses who do not pay being given an unfair advantage. This from the HMRC website

Businesses have repeatedly told HMRC that they resent the unfair advantage gained by those who don’t meet their tax obligations. HMRC is determined to pursue those who won’t pay, to make tax fairer for all.

HMRC can already ask for a security for VAT, insurance premium tax (IPT) and environmental taxes. They are effective – in around half the cases the trader becomes and remains compliant after receiving the first warning letter.

At this point it seems that this is a process which will only be applied to those businesses and business owners who have abused the PAYE system, but we wonder how long it will be before it is required by any small business who wants to employ people.

The I Love Goole! initiative is getting closer to the launch date of Valentines Day, and now is the time to get involved if you haven’t already. ITexpress are donating the website for the venture and we have a holding page up at http://ilovegoole.co.uk where you can enter your email address and get updates as they occur.

If you are a Goole Shopper then make sure you find some time on Tuesday to visit the town and get your card from the I Love Goole! tent which will be located on Boothferry Road. If you are a local business and haven’t yet signed up for the scheme then make sure you contact us as soon as possible, so we can get you up and running and your details entered on the website.

The I Love Goole initiative is a great way of building solid local loyalty and we are extremely proud and excited to be a part of it.