Pedro Hernandez

Pinterest, the image-based social media site from San Francisco, is not only growing fast, but may also be getting ready to make a big move into the ecommerce arena. The company is reportedly readying its own “buy” button, and of course the underlying platform to handle online and mobile purchases. Pinterest is taking things slowly, […]

Traditionally, small and midsized business (SMB) IT environments and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software have rarely mixed. And the reason for it lives right in the name. ERP is the quintessential enterprise-grade application. In a large corporation, it automates and helps coordinate complex business processes, including supply chain management, accounting and human resources—sorely needed capabilities […]

A corporate intranet may make sense for a sprawling organization, but mobile small business workers often lack the time and, frankly, the enthusiasm, to log in and catch up on what’s going on back at the office. On-the-go employees need important notices, updates, and workplace communications to come to them in a timely manner. New […]

Hiring new employees not only causes an increase in payroll, but can also cause IT costs to skyrocket. Today, DinCloud, a Gardena, Calif.-based infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider, helps small businesses hire more and keep the IT costs in check. The company offers small businesses an alternative to the traditional IT route of buying more workstations, servers, […]

Last year, Microsoft finally pulled the plug on its venerable Windows XP operating system (OS). This year, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is at it again, but this time it’s Windows Server 2003 that’s getting the ax. Windows XP was undoubtedly popular. Even today, it still clings to more than 18 percent of the desktop operating […]

ControlScan, a provider of payment card industry (PCI) compliance products, has branched out into comprehensive security for small and midsized businesses (SMB). The Atlanta-based company built a reputation for securing the devices and networks that handle credit card information for small businesses, Jyothish Varma, senior director of security product strategy for ControlScan, said in an […]

Economic uncertainty has given way to overwhelming optimism, according to the latest edition of Rocket Lawyer‘s semi-annual Small Business Index. The San Francisco-based legal services specialist polled 500 small business owners for its survey and found that small and midsized businesses (SMBs) are more confident about their prospects going into 2015 after several years of […]

Xero now offers its cloud-based small business accounting and payroll software solutions as one integrated product in the U.S. but there’s catch; it’s currently available only in California, Florida and Texas. “We know that running a small business is easier when you combine accounting and payroll,” Jamie Sutherland, president of Xero U.S. told Small Business Computing. […]

Being your own boss can be a rewarding way to make a living, but it’s not without its challenges. Chief among them is keeping your financial house in order. As a freelancer or independent contractor, all of the things that employees take for granted—tax withholding, expense management and the like—are your responsibility. When the numbers […]

Intuit’s popular TurboTax software is under fire for changes that essentially mean that freelancers and rental property owners have to pay more to file their taxes this year. The Deluxe version of the software (retail: $59.99; widely available for $50), no longer includes Schedule C. Self-employed filers use the form to report profit or loss […]

For gadget lovers, the holidays don’t end until the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas closes its doors in early January. Each year, CES bestows upon them a bounty of next-generation TVs, PCs, mobile devices and all the modern home must-haves. It takes some searching, but CES also offers great finds for small business […]

Social media has helped many a small business attract a big following. Tweet by tweet, and with every Facebook page update, entrepreneurs engage with prospective new customers and turn current ones into loyal fans. As rewarding and just plain fun as it is to rack up the likes, retweets and replies, small business marketers often […]