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Michael Cocanower
President, itSynergy |
Welcome
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I spent
some time this month reflecting on all of
the things we are thankful for at itSynergy.
At the top of the list was the dynamic and
growing companies we have the opportunity to
work with, a great number of which came to
us by way of a referral from another
customer. We recognize and appreciate the
potential clients referred to us by loyal
customers and colleagues. Client referrals
are especially important to us because it
enables us to expand our business and work
with clients who share our business values
and practices. And, you know better than
anyone the expertise we deliver and the
commitment we make to insure our clients are
extremely well served. And let me also take
the opportunity to say that if we are not
meeting or exceeding your expectations
today, I hope you will give me a call.
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To begin formally recognizing you for your
referrals, whether you are a client, partner or
colleague, we have developed a Client Referral
Program to reward you for your referrals.
Here's how it works: If the potential client you refer closes an
"assessment" agreement with us within thirty days of
your referral, you will receive one of the following
items of your choice: $50 AMC or Harkins Gift Certificate
$50 Starbucks Gift Card
$50 Cheesecake Factory Gift Certificate And, if the potential client you refer closes a
managed services or software development agreement
within three months, you will receive one of the
following of your choice: $200 Amazon.com Gift Card
$200 AZEATS.COM Gift Certificate (representing
numerous valley restaurants)
$200 Donated to Your Favorite Charity in Your Name To insure that we carefully track each referral and
reward you, please submit your referrals online at
http://www.itsynergy.com/referral.
Thanks for your referrals and your ongoing business.
Happy Thanksgiving! |
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You may know the Internal Revenue Code's Section
179 as the tax loophole that lets some businesses write off the purchase of
luxury SUVs. But Section 179 isn't just for Hummers anymore.
Congress clamped down on
the SUV loophole in October 2004, but the rest of Section 179, designed to
stimulate business spending with an up-front tax break, remains in force and has
even improved with age. Most business property that is useful for a few years is
accounted for as depreciating over time. For tax purposes, a portion of the cost
can be deducted each year. What Section 179 does is allow a business to receive
all those tax benefits in the first year. In 2003, the one-year write-off limit
was quadrupled from $25,000 to $100,000. Indexed for inflation, that amount is
now $125,000. One other important change came through in 2003. The IRS added
off-the-shelf software to the list of eligible property under Section 179.
Computer hardware was already on the list. That means that any computer software
you purchase through the end of this year may qualify for a complete write-off
on your taxes for the coming year. You could think of it as a giant rebate -
spend money in this calendar year and get a big chunk of it back in the next
year.
There may never be a
better opportunity to purchase computer hardware and software for such a small
net cost to you. If you've been thinking about an upgrade or replacement, call
and talk to us. We'll be happy to be sure you get the most bang for your buck! |
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Making Telecommuting
Work for your Business
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By Monte Enbysk
Reprinted with permission from
Microsoft Small Business Center
Telecommuting
has gotten a bad rap. Some say that employees can't be serious about
their careers if they'd rather work from home. Others insist that
work groups fall apart if team members aren't physically in the
office. |
But the bad rap may not
hold: The International Telework Association & Council (ITAC)
reports that the number of workers who telecommute at least some of
the time (the preferred term today for many is the less-U.S.-centric
"telework") tops 23 million, a number that continues to grow.
While telecommuting is
not for everyone, there is no question in my mind that in today's
Internet Age, most workers expect to be able to do it at least part
of each week or month. So, as a small-business owner who seeks to
recruit and retain good employees, you'd do well to be flexible
enough to allow telecommuting whenever possible.
Read more |
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System Engineering Corner Notes
from the Network Engineering Department:
Note to readers:
As our network engineers
work with all of you across our entire customer
base, they observe trends and issues that many
people have in common, or that many customers will
find helpful to know about.
This section is designed
to give them a mechanism to communicate those issues
to you, with the hope that YOU might benefit from.
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Are you using resource accounts correctly?
Did you know that Microsoft Exchange (the software that provides email for most
of our customers) includes an ability to set up and use resource accounts? A
resource account is an account on the server that represents a thing rather than
a person. Examples might include conference rooms, LCD projectors, or any other
location or item in your business that is shared by more than one person.
Once these resource accounts are set up, you can invite these resources to joint
meetings just as you would invite other employees or users outside the company.
Microsoft Exchange is smart enough to check the calendar of a resource you
invite, and then accept the invitation if the resource is available, or decline
it and allow you to reschedule if the resource is already in use.
In addition, your users all have access to look at the calendars for each
resource to see when it might be available. Even more advanced than that,
itSynergy can work with you to customize a tool we have pre-developed that will
show you a summary of all of your resource accounts (such as conference rooms)
on a single web page, including whether they are currently free/busy, and what
is scheduled on the current day. This web page can be a tremendous resource for
someone in the company that just needs to grab a conference room for a few
minutes to have a quick ad hoc meeting with a customer or vendor that has
stopped in.
Setting up resource accounts requires very minimal effort on our part, and once
set up, it is very easy to train users on how to use them. Our experience is
that the value our customers derive from using resource accounts FAR exceeds the
cost of the small amount of time it takes to set them up.
Give us a call! We'd be happy to set up and customize resource accounts and/or a
resource status web page just for you!
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November 2007
In this issue
□
Welcome
□ IRS Code
Section 179
□ Telecommuting at Work
□ Tech Corner
□ Referral
Program
□ Email Signature
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itSynergy Referral Program
 Can we
buy you dinner and send you to the movies? How about
make a donation to your favorite charity in your name?
Earn rewards for referring new customers to itSynergy.
For more details, please
visit here.
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Create and Use an
E-mail Signature
If you're like many people, e-mail is a regular part of your
workday. You send mail to business associates, customers, friends,
and family - and you most likely end your message with a different
closing depending on the recipient. Over the course of a day, that
can add up to a lot of repetitive typing. Why not use automatic
e-mail signatures instead?
Creating, managing, and
using automatic e-mail signatures are easier than you think, and
quick to set up, too.
Watch the demo
to see how.
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Quote of the
month
"The door
of opportunity
won't open unless you
do some pushing." |
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7310 North 16th Street,
Suite 130
Phoenix, AZ 85020-8203
Telephone: 602.297.2400
Fax: 602.297.8703
Email:
info@itsynergy.com
www.itsynergy.com
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