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Why your business needs to take card payments

30th December 2014 by admin

Why your business needs to take card payments

While there remain plenty of ways to pay for goods and services, including cash, direct debit and payment services such as PayPal, being able to pay by card is now a key expectation of consumers in all industries.

Partly through convenience and partly through the relative security of not having to hand over sensitive information such as bank account details, paying by popping a credit or debit card into a PIN-protected machine is now the default in many shops, as well as the preferred payment method of many shoppers.

This can mean that those not offering this service – even if they offer a range of other ways to pay – can run the risk of seeming backward and awkward. This impression can transfer to the would-be purchaser’s view of products and services, however unfair this assumption may be.

What is clear, is that NOT offering card payments is fast becoming a niche activity and one to be avoided if possible! That’s the case whether your business is face-to-face or online.

As well as convenience for the customer, card payments also offer a range of benefits to the company or individual taking the payment and are generally quick and easy to set up.

Apart from giving customers who are able to pay by card their payment method of choice, particular benefits include:

1. Payment immediately, rather than having to wait to bank a cheque and then for it to clear

2. Less cash on the premises, which has savings in both security needs and time needed to take it to a bank to pay in

3. Customers who wish to purchase an item but don’t have enough cash on them are still able to go ahead

4. It is harder for a customer to claim fraudulent use of their card if they have had to enter their own pin for the sale to go through

Of course, there are some costs involved, although these vary according to the package you negotiate, typically based on the volume and amount of transactions involved. But it is unquestionable that on balance, the benefits to your business of offering card payments far outweigh the relatively small costs involved.

Here at Boxx we offer a card processing solution that is real alternative to the traditional high street banks. Our rates are competitively priced and you can even hire a payment terminal too.

If you want to find out more about card processing or any of our other services, contact us here.

Telephone Fraud: 6 Top Tips to Prevent It

16th December 2014 by admin

Telephone Fraud: 6 Top Tips to Prevent It

Security in the office and in businesses has traditionally centred around securing the physical building and internet connections, but phones too are an important consideration.

While a burglar can’t break in through your phone, or hackers download a virus that will paralyse your business, anyone breaking into your systems could also find personal or confidential information that could be used against you. They can also hijack your system to make a huge number of international or long distance calls, the cost of which you will have to bear.

Telephone fraud remains a significant crime that can harm your business’s finances and operations as well as damage your reputation. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is a thing of the past overtaken by cyber crime – the National Fraud Authority had almost 500 reports in the year to July 2014, which had cost businesses more than £6m.

With this is mind, we have compiled a list of the best ways to make sure your telephone system is as secure as possible, to give you the best chance of avoiding being a victim of telephone fraud.

Securing your system is key, as this will be your strongest defence, as well as giving you confidence that calls are not being rerouted over a weekend, for example, when the office is not in use. So what practical measures can you take…?

Change default passwords or codes for system logins. Make them personal and not obvious (e.g. not 12345), and include letters and capitals if the system allows.
Change all passwords, on hardware and remote systems, several times a year.
Change the passwords of any staff who leave, so only current personnel and managers can access the system.
Talk to other businesses in your networks. If they’ve been a victim of fraud – and the National Fraud Authority estimates that one in four businesses were (of one type or another) in 2013 – what have they done to stop further occurrences and can you learn anything from them?
Consider using call blocking settings that limit long distance and international calling.
If you use internet-based calls such as Skype for video conferencing, for example, ensure your firewall and anti-virus software is up to date.

As with any type of fraud, being alert to the dangers and taking preventative measures is one of the best ways of minimising the chances of fraud happening to you or your company.

So take sensible measures and stay alert.

Here at Boxx we offer Fraud Aware protection to our customers as standard, for additional peace of mind. To find out more get in touch.

VoIP: An Introduction to Voice Over Internet Protocol

2nd December 2014 by admin

VoIP: An Introduction to Voice Over Internet Protocol

Voice over Internet Protocol, more commonly known as VoIP, has revolutionised communication by allowing person-to-person calls over the internet, at a lower than usual price.

Communication is carried out through a VoIP specific handset, sometimes known as a SIP (Session Initiated Protcol) phone, which is connected to the internet. What makes VoIP so attractive is that it can be used exactly like as standard telephone line, or you can harness the power of the additional features to improve your call handling & monitoring.

VoIP is cheaper because it doesn’t make use of traditional telephone wires that are costly to lay and maintain. It works by translating speech into data packets for transmitting across the internet (like any other file) and transforming it back to its usual form upon arrival.

We always recommend an assured broadband service with voice traffic prioritisation, to ensure calls are of the highest digital quality. This means that the voice signals travelling over the data connection will not be interrupted by other data travelling along the same data connection, thus affecting the quality of the call.

Using VoIP as a communications solution is very reliable and becoming a mainstay of office life. Statista, the website that draws references from hundreds of different sources, estimated VoIP use worldwide at more than 158 million mid 2013, with all predictions being that it will remain a fast-growing market (see findings here)

Boxx make integrating VoIP into your business really easy:

1) Choose a handset (wide range available)

2) Allow us to pre-configure the set-up so it fits your requirements

3) Plug into your broadband & you’re ready to go, it’s as simple as that!

If you are interested in finding out more about VOIP and how you could introduce the service into your business, simply contact us – a Brain Boxx will be happy to help!

Telephone jargon buster: Key telecoms terms explained

18th November 2014 by admin

Telephone jargon buster: Key telecoms terms explained

As jargon-heavy industries and sectors go, telecoms is one of the hardest to master.

Littered with acronyms and technical phrases that are impossible to decipher if you don’t already have some knowledge of what they refer to, finding and buying the best package can be a nightmare.

But not any more: our jargon buster brings you the most common and need-to-know terms, and explains them as simply as possible.

So without further ado, here we go…..

ADSL: An Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line refers to a standard telephone line being transformed into a broadband connection to transmit large amounts of data by putting a splitter into the telephone wall socket. It typically delivers fast download but slower upload speeds. ADSL2+ is a faster version of this that is now available across much of the UK.

Hunt Group: This rotates incoming calls through a group of lines associated with the same number until a free one is found. Perfect for sales teams or call centre as the caller only receives a busy signal if all lines are busy.

IP: Internet Protocol is the standard way of transporting information across the internet in packets of data.

IP Telephony: Internet Protocol Telephony is the standard setting out transmission of data and calls across the internet.

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network, often referred to as an ISDN line. ISDN is an international communications standard for sending voice, video and data over normal, copper telephone wires.

Non-Geographical Numbers: These are telephone numbers that do not include an area code, such as 0800 or 0845, and are often used for consumer call centres. What the number starts with depends what it costs, and not all are free on mobile packages, for example, so make sure you are clued up on costs.

Number Port: This allows you to move an existing telephone number to a new provider. The normal process is to request a port code and then give this to your new provider.

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network, simply a standard telephone service. It is mostly digital these days, apart from the final part from the local exchange to a user’s phone where copper wires carry the analogue voice data.

Router: Either a device or computer software that directs IP packets to the next point towards their destination.

SDSL: A Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line works the same as ADSL (see above) but with equal speed/bandwidth in both directions.

SIP: Session Initiation Protocol allows worldwide free communication between people using computers and mobile devices on the internet. It harnesses VoIP (Voice over IP, see next entry) technology and is most commonly used to start and finish VoIP calls.

VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol translates speech into data packets for transmitting across the internet like any other file, transforming it back to its usual form on arrival. Much cheaper than traditional calls, communication can be carried out through any computer or phone that can connect to the internet.

VPN: A Virtual Private Network is a way of creating a private communications network on an otherwise public system such as the web, using security including passwords and authentication to allow access.

If there is any other telecoms related jargon you need help with, please feel free to contact us.

Team Boxx grow their mos for Movember

4th November 2014 by admin

Team Boxx grow their mos for Movember

Staff at Boxx Communications are abandoning their bare-faced ways to get hairy for cash as part of the Movember movement.

Movember recruits start the month completely clean-shaven, and then grow what facial hair they can during the month, taking lots of pictures along the way and hopefully being sponsored lots for their efforts.

Men taking part are dubbed Mo Bros, and are required to follow five key rules:

1) Starting without any facial hair at all

2) Committing to growing what they can for the whole month

3) Not to allow their sideburns and mo to join, as this becomes a beard

4) Not to let their mo and any chin hair join as that would be a goatee

5) Every Mo Bro ‘must conduct himself like a true country gentleman’

Team Boxx including director Dean took part last year, but this year they’ve created a TEAM to hopefully raise more funds in a combined effort, as well as spur each other on.

Movember is a global movement aiming to raise awareness of men-specific illnesses such as prostate and other cancers and raising funds for charities that tackle them, as well as increase knowledge of danger signals to look out for and generally promote healthier lifestyles.

The Movember Community has raised £346 million to date and funded over 800 programmes in 21 countries. It spread from its native Australia to the UK in 2007.

Dean wanted to take part in memory of his Grandad, but also because it’s a great cause that raises lots of money and awareness of men’s health issues at the same time as having a bit of fun. Kelly was keen to get involved too as Prostate cancer is a topic close to her heart at the moment too.

Dean recruited some volunteers to help him through the bare-faced pain and team captain Kelly Green will be making sure there are plenty of pictures of their progress taken throughout the month and uploaded to the page.

Just a day in, Dean is already having issues with his new look. Unlike the others, he is now less hairier and reality has hit home….. “I’m really struggling to come to terms with my new face and taking regular selfies is only going to add to the pain!

The staffers growing mos for charity are:

Mo Sister Kelly Green Team Captain & Consultant Social Media Manager

Mo Bro Dean Burgin Director

Mo Bro Dan Harwood Contractor IT Manager

Mo Bro Asad Sayed IT Business Support

Mo Bro Sam Winters Business Development Manager

Mo Bro Declan Digby-Smith Business Development Manager

Mo Bro Adam Fulker Lead Generator

Mo Bro James Dawson Business Development Manager

Check out the Boxx ‘mo space’ team page, where you can donate to the team and see more progress pictures and watch this space to see how they look come the end of the month.

Good luck everyone!!

Broadband jargon buster: key terms explained

21st October 2014 by admin

Broadband jargon buster: key terms explained

Dipping your toe in the world of broadband providers can often feel like going into a shop to find everyone but you suddenly speaks a foreign language.

Littered with technical speak for every stage of the investigation and purchase process, even choosing what package you need can be tricky.

But fear not our jargon-buster will mean you can hold your own, while ensuring you get the package you need because you have the right knowledge at your fingertips.

So, without further ado, here are our explanations of the most common broadband terms you are likely to come across…..

ADSL Broadband – The UK’s most popular form of internet connection and is provided over telephone lines. Quality varies depending on how far your connection is from the telephone exchange.

Bandwidth – refers to the rate data can be transferred between two points in a given time.

Broadband – A high bandwidth connection to the internet.

Cloud-Based – A programme that functions in the cloud, otherwise known as large groups of networked remote servers. Often hosted in a data centre, these allow a user to access the cloud from an internet-enabled device. Dropbox is a well-known example of a cloud-based service.

Connection – This refers to the path between at least two places and can refer to either a telephone or an internet connection.

Contention Ratio – Refers to the maximum number of users or businesses sharing a bandwidth connection, each of whom will have an equal proportion of the total speed. The lower the contention ratio, the better the service.

Download Limits – The amount of data that your ISP will allow you to download each month before you are charged extra or have your account restricted.

Download Speed – The rate or speed at which your computer can receive data from the internet.

Ethernet – connects a number of computer systems to form a very fast, private local area network. It is even faster over fibre cabling and can handle a huge amount of online activity, such as downloading large files or using real-time applications such as video-conferencing.

Fibre – use glass or plastic threads or fibres to transmit and deliver data, but are only available in fibre-enabled areas of the UK.

Firewall – accesses traffic from the internet and stops unwanted traffic arriving at your computer.

Fixed-Line – Internet connections that come into homes or businesses via either cables or a telephone line. Distinct from mobile broadband, which uses
the mobile network.

FTTC & FTTP – Fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), has fibre-optic cable running between the telephone exchange and your nearest street cabinet, but copper wire on the final stretch to your home or business. Fibre to the home/premises (FTTH or FTTP) is a superior version where the fibre-optic cable runs all the way, which is both faster and more reliable.

IP Address – Your Internet Protocol address is a string of numbers unique to a device that identifies you on the internet, facilitating communication between your computer and the rest of the internet.

ISP – An Internet Service Provider can provide the internet access, domain registration and web hosting, and will be the company that bills you for your internet, regardless of how the internet enters your home or business.

LAN – A Local Area Network is the data network connecting all computers, servers and printers in one physical location.

Latency – The speed of your network, and whether it has small delays and processes information quickly (low latency), or longer delays and slower processing (high latency).

MAC – A Migration Authorisation Code aids the process of changing ISPs. Your existing company is supposed to supply this for free within five days. It should be passed to the new ISP within 30 days. Downtime when using this method of switchover is not supposed to be more than a few hours.

Managed Internet Access (MIA) – refers to a dedicated internet connection that is fully and pro-actively managed by a provider, meaning problems should be spotted and fixed as soon as they occur, instead of having to be reported.

Mobile Broadband – Broadband for a laptop or tablet, requires a 3 or 4G-enabled device or a plug-in adaptor, typically USB.

Network – All the internet-related services you invest in, be they broadband or VoIP, are all connected and provided to you through a network.

Point-to-Point Leased Lines – A point-to-point leased line is a private circuit linking two premises so data, voice and internet traffic can be transferred securely.

Streaming – A way of transferring data at a steady speed, most often used for watching media without having to download it.

Unlimited Broadband – A broadband package that has no limits on how much you can download each month, although some do stipulate a fair use policy so check before signing a contract.

Upload Speed: How fast your broadband connection can send data from your computer, such as sending your photos to an online website or portal, or sending emails.

VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol translates words into data packets for transmitting across the internet like any other file, transforming it back to its usual form on arrival. Much cheaper than
traditional calls, communication can be carried out through any computer or phone that can connect to the internet.

Wide Area Network (WAN) or Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) – WANs or MPLS technology are used by businesses that want to link and exchange data between computers at two or more sites that may be far apart, such as disaster recovery sites. Usually private, they can be accessed remotely and are often formed of two LANs (see above).

We hope this helps break down those language barriers, if there is anything we haven’t covered, please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to clarify for you.

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