What is Webhosting??

Website hosting is a type of service that makes websites accessible to the internet. Website hosting companies sell space on their servers that clients can use to put their website on the World Wide Web. Hosting on a server can also be used for data storage.

There are a number of different hosting services available. It depends on the size of the website, with larger websites generally having their own dedicated servers, rather than sharing with other businesses. Most websites online, however, are not big enough to necessitate their own server and thus obtain website hosting services to save money.

Using another company to handle your website hosting is a great idea unless you absolutely need your own server or have the ability to maintain them on your own. Website hosting companies take care of the servers and keep everything running smoothly. This saves business owners time, money and stress that they would otherwise be investing in a server too big for their needs.

Website hosting businesses face a unique set of liability questions that can be circumvented through a well written contract. That way if something unfortunate happens, such as the servers temporarily crashing, the site host is not liable for business the client may have lost in that time frame. Some other points to include in a legal document with a client would be confidentiality agreements, the scope of services, payment methods and other common contractual factors.

Documents to Bring to Your Attorney If Your Web Development Company Is Suing Someone or Being Sued

Unfortunately, there comes a time in almost every business owner’s life where they have to cope with the inconvenient, and often expensive, reality of a lawsuit. Even the most responsible, thorough business owner can find themselves in a situation where a client is unsatisfied or feels that you, the business owner, have cost them money. In business dealings, clients often seek legal recourse as a means to repair any damages.

From the beginning of a business relationship, maintain a constant paper trail. Get everything in writing – approvals, changes, conversations, everything. Most importantly, put your business agreement into writing before any money or services are exchanged, preferably using the appropriate legal document template. Downloadable legal template and software are available online through websites such as ContractEdge.com.

Having physical proof and hard evidence showing what was agreed upon and what actually transpired protects you from the client coming back later and demanding something different or claiming they did not agree to something. This kind of proof is an essential part of the documents you will need to bring your lawyer should someone choose to sue you.

Your lawyer should be familiar with lawsuit cases and will more than likely need the following documents:

·         All communication with the other party (the client, business partner, vendor, etc.)

·         Any legal documents and agreements (independent contractor agreement, web site development agreement,                 etc.)

·         Summons and complaint issued by the other party

·         Any insurance you have (such as professional liability insurance, general liability insurance, etc.)

·         Dates and times of communication – basically a calendar of the events that transpired

·         Any witnesses or employees involved

·         Tax returns and other financial statements

·         Bills or invoices issued to/received by the other party

·         Incorporation documents

 

You can also bring anything else pertinent to the lawsuit such as notes from a phone call or meeting held with the client.

If you have physical evidence proving your point, such as an email where it is clearly stated, more often than not it will be difficult to prove that that did not happen. Taking measures such as getting everything in writing keeps you greatly protected and will save you money, time and long term stress.

Top 7 Provisions Needed in a Staffing Agency Employment Agreement

Staffing and employment agencies are in a unique situation when it comes to employment agreements. Unlike a regular employer-employee business relationship, staffing agencies do business by loaning out their employees to other companies. The employees are technically considered independent contractors and are paid through the staffing agency, not through the client.

This obviously presents some tricky legal issues. How do you protect your agency from poachers? If your independent contractors are performing like they should be, client companies will often want to hire them on permanently. As a staffing agency that needs reliable people you can trust, you want to hold on to your employees as much as possible.

One way to do this is through setting up clearly stated, well written, quality employment agreements and contracts that establish some rules regarding an employee’s working relationship with a client. You can include provisions that prohibit solicitation from both parties (your client and your employee) beyond the scope of the job they were hired to do.

Here’s a list of the ten most important provisions that should be included and clarified prior to the commencement of any work being performed:

1. Scope of Services – clearly define, as specifically as possible, what work will be performed by the employee for the client. If the contractor will be expected to answer phones while at the position, include that in the contract. If it’s not included, the contractor should not be expected to do it.

2. Price and Payment Terms – as with any business agreement, it’s important that the price and how payment will be collected are discussed and agreed upon before any work is performs.

3. Employee Solicitation/Hiring – be very clear that solicitation of contractors will not be tolerated and is in violation of their contract.

4. Term and Termination – identify the time window in which your employee will be working for the client and what the end date will be for work performed.

5. Intellectual Property – who has the rights to any work performed or created by your employee while working for your client?

6. Confidential Information – a non-disclosure agreement never hurts here. Assure clients that any and all information a contractor is privy to during his or her time at the client company is confidential and treated as sensitive information.

7. Limitation of Liability – clarify what your staffing agency and contractors will be liable for. This is a good time for a liability agreement stating what you are directly liable for.

Non-Disclosure Agreements for Software Developers

People that work in or around the software development industry are often privy to confidential information regarding the software they are currently developing. Receptionists, developers, and everyone else in the office has access to information regarding a particular project. With an NDA in place, the software developer can have greater protection for  his ideas.  If it is, he has legal recourse thanks to his non-disclosure agreement.

Having a well-written non-disclosure agreement will provide an extra measure of security to those who develop software programs for a living. Non Disclosure Agreements set conditions for the exchange and use of confidential information and materials between the developer and a business associate.  It requires the other party to hold sensitive information confidential . More importantly, it gives the software developer legal recourse if the software is used illegally or if the project is exposed to anyone other than whom the NDA allows.

Sometimes both parties desire protection of their confidential information.  A mutual non-disclosure agreement is a common way to keep information protected. A mutual non-disclosure agreement protects both parties when they need to share information without the general public knowing. These types of agreements are usually used to outline individual business processes in a confidential manner. Companies for whom the developer is creating software may require a non-disclosure agreement in place so that additional protection is in place to ensure that all those who are privy to the details of the software’s development do not share it with anyone else than those who are directly involved in the project.  There are many scenarios where a non-disclosure agreement can be a vital tool.

Tips on Starting a New Business

As a successful business owner, I have had some experience with what works and what doesn’t when trying to start a new business. Here’s a brief list of what I’ve found to be the most important considerations:

1. Create a business plan. This is arguably the most important part of starting a new business. A business plan lays out everything your business intends to do in a clear, concise manner. Referring back to your business plan can help you stay focused and on track.
A well written business plan will also improve your chances of securing loans from lenders. Lenders want to see professionalism and organization. Having a business plan shows the lender that you are prepared and will be spending the loan money wisely.

2. Start small and work up from there. When you’re first starting your business, work with as few expenses as possible. If you can work out of your home, do so. Only hire as many employees as you absolutely need. You can adjust as your business grows, but in the beginning, keeping expenses low will keep you out of debt.

3. Make sure you have the right small business insurance. Consult an insurance specialist, or a website such as businessinsurancenow.com to determine what type of insurance your business needs. An insurance agent can help you understand the differences between business liability insurance and errors and omissions insurance, among others.

It’s important to have the proper amount of coverage, buy too much and you’ll just be throwing money away. Buy the wrong type and you’re wasting money and uninsured! Don’t buy any at all and you will be completely on your own to cover mistakes, something a new business invariably makes.

If you need more information or assistance in getting your company started, visit the small business association website.

The Difference between an Independent Contractor and an Employee

Independent contractors and employees are differentiated by three main categories of criteria: behavioral control, financial control and the relationship between parties.

Behavioral control includes factors such as: who determines the number of hours worked (the business or the worker), or who decides how the worker does his/her job. For example, if the work needs to be completed between the hours of 8-5 in an office, that person is probably an employee.

Financial control has to do with who procures the supplies to perform the work. Other things to consider are how the worker is compensated: is it a one-time fee or a weekly salary? Are expenses being reimbursed?

Type of Relationship denotes what kind of agreement is in place regarding work and payment. Is this a one-time service bound by an employment contract, or will the relationship continue indefinitely? Does the employee/independent contractor receive any benefits such as insurance benefits?

The necessity of a contractor agreement or an employment contract can be determined based on these three criteria. When working with or as an independent contractor, there should always be a well-written independent contractor agreement in place to protect both parties.

For more information on the different types of employees, visit the IRS website for exact legal descriptions and tax information.

Interview with an IT Business Insurance Expert

Listen to this highly informative interview with Jim Cochran, President of Techinsurance, one of the leading IT industry related business insurance providers. This interview will answer a lot of your questions!

Make a Solid Start with a Solid Business Plan

Starting your own IT business is a daunting task. Having started three technology-based businesses on my own I’ve learned the hard way about business planning. In my experience having a solid business plan is a good first step. The question is how do you make a solid business plan?

First things first, you have to understand what you are getting yourself into. I can only suggest researching the formation of a small business. Running a business is a completely different concept than working for a business. When you are merely a part of the work force, everything is fairly simple and straight forward. You go to work, do what your employers asks, receive compensation, go home and then start the entire process over. When you are running the business, it’s not as simple as just doing the required work. You decided to start your own business because of the freedom it provides. However, when owning your own IT business, you must take great care to ensure that you file the proper tax forms, build rock-solid contracts and agreements. Furthermore, you no longer have an easy access free checking account; instead you have the ever confusing business checking account. Nine to five starts to sound like a long lost dream. You get into your own business for the freedom. All of these interesting new twists and turns make it imperative to have a working knowledge of how small business is managed. In my opinion, the first step is to assess if your new venture is worthwhile.

Sit down and run basic figures. How much is this new business going to cost me? How much am I going to be able to make from this new business? Am I financially secure enough to continue to make ends meet, even if my business is in the “red” for a while? How much do I need to make in order to feel like my business is a success? These are just a few basic questions to ask yourself. If you still feel comfortable with your plans, then it is going to be a good idea to start working your plans out on paper. Using a simple business plan is a key step in the development process. You can always add to your business plan so start simple and build from there.

Just because you have a business plan doesn’t mean you are guaranteed success. Part of the reason I suggest going into a new business venture knowing your personal thresholds for time and money is because there is always a good chance your new business might just take a little longer to find success than you plan in the first place. You must have the fortitude to stick with your new business. With the appropriate planning in place, and assuming your ideas can hold water, eventually you should succeed.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing New Software Needs

I work as a web designer.  Occasionally, I do some simple scripting and coding for web design, but that doesn’t qualify me to write software.  When a client needs something specific that needs more than I’m capable of, I call in the outsourcers.  Outsourcing saves me time and money.  Just like using my services saves my clients time and money, using a software developer saves me time and usually makes me money.

Be careful when choosing a software firm to do your outsourcing.  I’ve found that offshore developers are charge less per hour for their services.  Using offshore developers can reduce costs, but it can also open a Pandora’s Box. Issues, such as getting projects completed exactly in the manner specified, can occur due to language barriers.  Software development is not a simple task and adding additional complicating factors lengthens the process.  When choosing an offshore firm, be sure to check not only their portfolio and experience, but also their English skills and payment methods and options. Always look into what kind of assurances there are that you will a) own the work b) will have recourse if your project is not done on time or properly.

In my experience, using an onshore software firm increases profit.  While you are most likely going to have to pay more on the per hour basis, the number of hours it takes for projects to be completed from start to finish is less.

Whether onshore or offshore, outsourcing software development will save you money.  Many of my colleagues use offshore developers regularly.  Personally, I prefer onshore developers, but I have used a few offshore firms to successfully complete some projects.

Ways to Ensure Payment for Independent Contractors

You have a prospective client or a project on the line and now all you have to do is close the deal.  How do you bid the project out?  What is the best way to quote a rate?  There might not be a 100% surefire method, but I have a few techniques I have found helpful.

A lot of my bidding and rate quoting is based on personal knowledge and proximity to my prospective employer.  When I am able to meet people face-to-face, I am usually able to gauge their interest in working with me and their general budgetary concerns.  When I work with long-distance clients or with clients via internet, I usually have to spell my rates out more clearly and my closing rate isn’t nearly as great as my in-person clients.

Working as an independent contractor, I always ask for a certain percentage upfront on all jobs over $500.  I generally ask for one-third upfront.  That just ensures that my client is serious, fully engaged in the process, and it makes it next to impossible for client not to pay.

Once I have completed the first phase of proofs, I usually collect the second third of the project.  I have found this makes setting appointments with clients to review their project much easier.  It also makes it difficult for clients to take my design work and develop it themselves.

After the project is completed to the client’s satisfaction, I give them the final bill with any and all necessary corrections.  It is not uncommon for clients to initially want to put in some “sweat” equity on their project.  Very often when it comes time for clients to deliver their end of the bargain, they do not.  That is why I have to correct their final bill.  I always promise to keep their final bill within ten percent of the original estimate unless I have received their written consent.

As an independent contractor, I use these steps if I am billing out on an hourly rate or for a fixed rate.  I find it useful to estimate the number of hours it will take me to complete an entire job.  This is helpful for the client so they know what to expect and it helps me to budget my time.

Nailing down your client’s budgetary concerns and needs as soon as possible can be extremely helpful.  If your client is asking for something that cannot be achieved within their intended budget, you need to either decide to take a hit on the project or let them know.  Being open and honest is always the best policy.  Part of being open is being willing to find new, creative ways to complete a project within your client’s budget.