5 Oktober 2009

Advantages of Portable Credit Card Processing

Almost all retail businesses accept credit cards these days and usually do it through a hardware credit card processing terminal. Other businesses that work remotely or at their customers locations are not taking credit cards as much these days for a few reasons. First, many of them are used to invoicing their customers for the transaction total and getting paid later. OR, it may be a hassle to write down the credit card number and process it later in the office.

Portable credit card processing machines are getting more common and have a ton of advantages for mobile businesses. First, processing the card on the spot is better for the business and for their customers. The transactions costs will be lower when scanning the card itself versus typing in the information later. Also, you can tell a rejected transaction right away and request a different card or a check instead. You also don't need to deal with invoices, collections, and depositing checks at the bank. From a customer's point of view, they prefer that you don't have their precious credit card number written down and like to get a printed receipt on the spot. Though the cost of a portable terminal is not cheap, most businesses can easily justify it both in terms of added convenience and added revenue compared to older methods of taking payments from customers. Ask your merchant services provider if they have the option of using a portable terminal for your payments and streamline your payments processing today.

Interior Design Ideas - The Formal Drawing Room

Most people's favorite room when it comes to decorating, a formal drawing room provides the most wonderful opportunity to demonstrate your decorating skills and to express your personality.

In all the other rooms in the house a preoccupation with the practicalities usually has to dominate, sometimes at the expense of aesthetic considerations.

Although it has to perform and respond to our needs, the formal drawing room is above all a room for pleasure - to satisfy all the senses. This may involve some subterfuge where there is a conflict between what is needed for comfort and what appeals visually. Here are some examples:

  • A television set cannot be anything but an ugly piece of equipment, yet hidden beneath a round table with a full-length cloth it need not be an eyesore.
  • Radiators are rarely attractive, but can be disguised if encased in a box or painted to match their surroundings.
  • Ugly contours in a room shape can be boxed in to give symmetry and provide storage.
  • A badly proportioned window can have its dimensions hidden behind well-designed curtains.

The style of a drawing room is most likely to be dictated by the period or style of the building that houses it; occasionally, however, it can be interesting to go against the architecture and so create drama by a clashing of the centuries.

Antiques in a modem warehouse space or contemporary furnishings in a classical Georgian interior are just two examples of the excitement that you can create. Mixing periods within the same room is also a possibility, but needs to be done with skill. The most successful results are produced by combining contrasts: rough aged wood with smooth tubular-steel; antique matt velvet with glossy chintz; polished marble with rough medieval matting.

This is a room where many people choose to display their most precious possessions - portraits of ancestors, family silver, collections - and it is important to bear this in mind when deciding upon a scheme. It is all too easy to go overboard and cover every surface with pattern, only to find that when accessories are placed they disappear against a dominant background.

To avoid this an experienced designer will always gather together the accessories right at the start (or, if they are not yet accumulated, will have them in mind) and will think of them as part of the overall scheme. If you like your furniture, accessories and guests to star, select plain surface treatments and create a 'blank canvas' backdrop for your features.

Should flowers be your passion, leave space for a judiciously placed vase, and when planning flower arrangements, always take into consideration their surroundings - give thought to their color and form within the context of your scheme. Try mixing fresh blooms with artificial greenery to make your bouquets go further and have in reserve further silk imitations for when fresh flowers are not to hand. If no flowers are available, try sprinkling flower essences in your room - you will find your guests searching for the bouquet.

When arranging furniture in a drawing room, view the room from every direction before settling on a format. Make sure that from each position you have a pleasant vista. The view of the room you get upon first entering is particularly important and sometimes this can be much improved by rehanging the entrance door on the opposite axis, so that it opens flat against an adjacent wall and you are able to view me whole room immediately.

Mike has just finished refurbishing his house and remodeled the kitchen and living area. Here he shares his interior room design ideas which inspired him to have a conservatory added to the house and the kitchen design ideas he used to help create his ideal reception rooms.

Mike Spencer - EzineArticles Expert Author

Find More : Interior Design Room , Interior Design Home , Decorating Interior , drawing room , interior room design , kitchen design ideas

2 Oktober 2009

Unique Idea of Shopping - Hamper Gift

The most fabulous way to show someone that you love and care for him or her is to offer the person a gift hamper on special occasion. Gift hampers are mostly sought for occasions like Valentine Day, birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day etc. Some of the most admirable gift hampers include new baby gift hampers and romantic occasion gift hampers.

There are large numbers of companies which offer fabulous gift solutions for luxury and exclusive gift hampers as well as scores of fashionable and stylish gift ideas which may serve any of your choicest occasions. These companies also include their services and offer gifts meant for wedding, anniversaries, business, sympathy and get-well-soon.

The gift hampers are generally packed attractively with complete service which includes free of cost photo greeting cards, gift wraps, free of cost gift messages, greeting cards based on themes and high-end customer service. The customer service ranges from tracking the client's order to shipping the gift hamper.

The warmer days are here again when people love to fire the grill. This season of the year is known for spring training and yard work. It is also the harbinger of one of the most important events of the year, Father's Day. It needs special and careful planning for special figure like Dad. He has no idea about his likes and dislikes but he would gladly accept what you would offer.

Gift hampers can be offered to anyone - man, woman, children, baby, friend, boss and soul-mate. Generally, shopping gift hampers proves to be a challenging task. A gift hamper has to be creative and it should also appeal to the funny side of the person for whom it is meant. While buying for a gift hamper for men, you should always make it a point to go for showy stuffs as men like to show off gift and play with it.

There are several gift hamper companies in the UK. These companies are busy in making the bondage of you love and concern stronger. First4hampers.com is one of them. Either you are looking for New Baby Gifts, Valentines Day Gifts or Easter Gifts, you can avail the services of this online hamper gift company. The company has 30 years of experience in this industry. The impressive numbers of its loyal clients have never found that it has ever compromised with quality.

The fruit baskets shaped by the professionals of the company include fresh and high quality of products which are best value for money. First4hampers.com also provides Parcel Force Next Day delivery to clients based in the UK and Republic of Ireland. This offer ensures that the hampers reaches the clients absolutely fresh.

The professionals of the company are very experienced in preparing and wrapping Champagne gifts, as well. Chief feature of the company is to include luxury version of the day to day life. You can place your order for any gift hamper by 1pm and professionals of the company would deliver the gift by the end of the next business day.

Matthew Maine is author of this article on Father's Day Gifts.

Find more information about Birthday Gifts here.



Find More : gift hamper , gift ideas , Birthday Gifts , Hampers Delivery , Luxury Hampers Delivery , Gift Hampers Delivery