D-Link has launched its new DCS-6500LH Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt and DCS-6100LH Compact Full HD Sleek and Discreet Security Cameras.

Sleek and discreet, the Compact DCS-6100LH Full HD Wi-Fi Camera blends enhanced Smart Home Surveillance features with a stylish, subtle design. IR Night Vision, together with Sound and Motion Detection, alerts you instantly when something unexpected happens. Giving you extra peace of mind with the latest in-home security camera technology. 

The DCS-6100LH brings crystal clear surveillance as it allows you to monitor your home in Full HD 1080p resolution with a wide-angle 110-degree Field of View (FOV), day or night, making it the perfect 24/7 home security companion. Designed to be stylish, subtle and simple to use, it’s ideal for discreet placement anywhere throughout your home.

The DCS-6100LH’s built-in Sound and Motion Detection enables you to trigger alerts that are automatically sent to your mobile device, and the video clip recordings let you stay aware of what’s going on at all times in your home – and yes, it’s ideal as a baby monitor or office camera as well.

If you’re worried that you’ll lose all your camera footage the DCS-6100LH Compact Full HD Wi-Fi Camera lets you record snapshots and video clips to the cloud for anytime access. You can also playback recordings from the cloud or download footage to your mobile device from anywhere, anytime through the Internet.

The DCS-6500LH Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera gives you 340° views. Its Pan & Tilt technology allows you to see virtually every angle of any room. With Motion and Sound Detection and Night Vision that provides up to five metres of monitoring in complete darkness, this all-seeing watchful eye alerts you to anything or anyone that moves inside your home. 

The DCS-6500LH camera’s clever Auto Motion Tracking means that the Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera turns into an all-seeing, highly responsive, roving eye that pans and tilts to track objects no matter where they move – automatically. Now that is clever.

There’s also maximum discretion with Privacy Mode as D-Link understands that there’s nothing more sacred than privacy in the comfort of your own home. You can easily turn on Privacy Mode via the mydlink app, and the lens is covered completely, giving you maximum control over your privacy whenever you need it.

Both the DCS-6100LH and the DCS-6500LH lets you record snapshots and video clips to the cloud for anytime access and playback, and there are multiple cloud subscription offers to maximise your recording options too.

Both cameras work with the Google Assistant and Alexa, so you can use voice controls to, amongst other things, stream live video from your camera to compatible devices such as the Amazon Echo Show, Echo Spot or the Google Chromecast.

Both cameras also use the very latest in WPA3™ encryption for even more protection.

As with all D-Link devices, you get more control with the mydlink app which makes looking after your home easier than ever. You can manage, control and set automation scenarios for these two new cameras, and indeed all your mydlink cameras, anytime or anywhere.

The DCS-6500LH and the DCS-6100LH D sleek and discreet security cameras are available now from www.dlink.com.au (RRP $99.95 and $79.95) from all authorised D-Link partners and retailers.

To learn more read Small Business Answers guide to wireless security cameras.

In a world of online reviews and big-box retailers saturating almost every market, earning customer trust and keeping customers engaged has never been more important for small businesses. Marcus Marchant, CEO of Vistaprint Australia, the marketing partner to millions of small businesses worldwide, shares this sentiment. “More than ever, customers are faced with never-ending options. While you may have the best product or service on the market, trust and credibility is what sets you apart from other businesses and encourages new customers to take up your offer.”

With all this said, earning trust (especially online) can be tricky. Here are Marcus’ top four ways to keeping customers engaged:

• Provide outstanding customer service. Customer service has been known to make or break businesses, and people have really come to expect a more friendly, authentic experience from small businesses in particular. Pay attention to all the interactions (big or small) you have with your current and potential customers.
• Have a clear satisfaction guarantee and honour it. When trying something new, prospective customers feel at ease knowing they have a fallback if something doesn’t meet their expectations. At Vistaprint, we have an Absolutely Guaranteed policy that has really resonated with our base. We encourage customers to get in touch if they aren’t happy with their order and stop at nothing to make it right.
• Build a credible online presence. Most of your customers will do an online search before trusting you with their business, so you want to ensure your website and social media emphasise your reliability and professionalism. Customer testimonials and reviews, both on your website and on review sites, can also have a significant impact on your reputation.
• Make sure your social media hits the mark. Your social media is a great personalised touchpoint for your customers. Show your brand’s personality on it. Go above and beyond to respond to customer comments within 24 hours or share helpful information and tips.

If you’re working hard to win trust, it’s also worthwhile to look at the ways you might be losing it. Marchant says, “While it can be easy to get caught up in short-term sales and quick wins, focusing on these outcomes entirely can sometimes negatively impact the relationship you’ve built with customers.” Here are some of the other ways you might be losing out:

• Your marketing is overly promotional. While everyone loves a discount, having a highly promotional website can often make customers wonder, “What’s the catch?” Be strategic about when you run sales to avoid creating this perception.
• Your final prices are unclear. If your prices don’t reflect any large or unexpected fees, your customers may feel like they are being tricked. Make additional fees clear upfront so customers know what to expect when making their final transaction.
• Your customer interactions feel generic. Whether through email, your Facebook page, or on the phone, it’s important to tailor your customer communications at every touchpoint. People come to small businesses for personalised interaction, so don’t ignore that differentiator by making your responses automated.
• You have a broken website or incorrect details. Your customers (potential and current) need to feel like you’re there for them. If they can’t use your website or find up-to-date contact details, they’ll be more likely to take their business elsewhere (or leave a bad review).

Just remember that if you make business decisions with your customers in mind (Keeping customers engaged) at the end of the day, they’ll take note and reward you in kind with their trust and business.

For more advice see Small business Answers guide to Social Media.

Business management platform MYOB will enable businesses to “set and forget” recurring payments via direct debit capability. The new functionality, MYOB Direct Debit, rounds out MYOB’s invoice payment workflow with a deeply integrated experience.

MYOB’s current invoice payments solution is helping businesses get paid three times faster than those who do not harness software. MYOB Direct Debit targets a further reduction of payment times, freeing business owners to manage customer payments differently.

MYOB anonymised customer data demonstrates that 75% of payment volume is recurring. On average, a business receives six repeat payments per year from the same customer, with typical recipients spanning gardeners, cleaners, bookkeepers, and gyms. The new recurring direct debit transaction service will allow subscription services to seamlessly receive payments and greatly reduce time spent chasing payments.

Through the improved MYOB invoicing workflow, businesses can request payment of an invoice through a built-in “pay now” button or set up a recurring direct debit. The invoice and subsequent payments are reconciled automatically to the profit and loss report, enabling a fully automated end to end invoicing workflow.

Andrew Baines, General Manager of Financial Services at MYOB, said the new capability will ease known business pressures for SMEs.

“The time businesses are spending on chasing down late payments – particularly for those with recurring payment schedules – is a pressure that’s increasing for our customers. MYOB Business Monitor shows extreme pressure caused by late payments from customers rose from 25% in January 2021 to 29% in June 2021. This is time business owners could otherwise spend on growing their business.

“MYOB has designed this recurring transaction service to be as pain-free as possible. The streamlined consent process means that the business owner’s job is done as soon as the customer provides their approval.

“This is the latest update of our invoicing workflow, which is designed to automate the process of getting paid as much as possible. Automating payment reminder messaging and invoice reconciliation are seemingly small features that provide a big return in time for a business. We are regularly improving this workflow to give businesses back as many hours as we can so they can get back to doing what they love.”

Harry Linden owns Lakesview Accounting Solutions, a two-person business delivering bookkeeping and BAS solutions for small business clients. Harry has been trialling MYOB Direct Debit as a participant of MYOB’s early access program and believes streamlining administration tasks are a key part of future-proofing a business.

“The role of the bookkeeper is about to change. AI, automated payment generation and end to end streamlining free up the bookkeeper to focus on higher-value pieces of work, like consulting my clients on strategic ways to run and grow their business. Features like this present an opportunity for me to expand my offering for my customers.

“Simplified payments mean for small business owners like me; the future’s a lot more predictable. You can better plan your movements in the understanding that your cash flow reporting will be a lot more accurate. You’re spending less time chasing people up for payments and worrying about making your payment commitments. It gives the business control,” Harry said.

Set and forget payments are now available for businesses to use in AccountRight Live and new Essentials at a competitive rate of 0.7% plus 25c per transaction with a $4 cap.  Other features include a simple to digest dashboard that summarises all live, paused or past recurring payments.

MYOB Direct Debit is another improvement to the invoicing workflow, which was also recently integrated with Butn’s invoice financing functionality, which is now available to all new Essentials customers, providing access to short-term cashflow smoothing facilities for businesses.

For more information on MYOB Direct Debit, visit https://www.myob.com/au/comms/business/myob-direct-debit

Small Business Answers has a guide on accounting software to run your business.

EPOS is the new name of Sennheiser gaming and enterprise audio products. So although this is a new brand, it has 115 years of experience in developing audio products. The EPOS ADAPT 360 is one of 4 models in the EPOS ADAPT range. Although this is the entry model, it certainly is not an Entry product being a true business-class headset. To learn about choosing the right Headset for business, see our guide.

As a small business owner, every dollar you spend is very much your own. We like the ADAPT 360 headphones because they are just as quality music headphones as a business headset. Thus listening to your favourite tunes with these over-ear headphones would be reason enough to buy them, delivering high-quality stereo sound. With playtime over and it’s time to get down to business! These headphones become a wireless headset, enabling you to conduct clear voice calls with the added benefit of using active noise-cancelling technology to remove background noise in a busy work environment. A button can be pressed allowing a TalkThrough function which allows a face to face conversation to be had without removing the headphones. The active noise-cancelling technology enables you to commute in your own world on a bus or a plane.

The headphones can be connected to two Bluetooth devices, so you can take a call from either your mobile or participate in a video call on your PC.  The ADAPT 360 headset is designed to work with Microsoft teams. When the included USB dongle is connected to your computer (Windows or Mac OS), a headphone button will instantly launch Teams. Call quality is excellent however we do not recommend using the headset in a windy environment.

The EPOS ADAPT 360 comes with a carry bag, USB C charging cable,3.5mm double ended audio cable and Bluetooth dongle. Two microphones are used for voice pickup and to control the adaptive noise cancellation. To conserve space, the headphones fold before storage in its case. We felt the case might have benefited from some padding.

Even powered off the over-ear headphones provide a level of isolation, but when powered will provide up to 46 hours of battery life (39 hours talk time – ANC off). Charging time is two and a half hours, so best done at night, and the Bluetooth range is up to 25m line of sight. Left on but not used, the headphones will stay on standby for up to 2 months.

Weighing in at 238 grams, the units are surprising light whilst appear quite rugged.  They come with a 2-year warranty.

In our modern home and business blending life, the EPOS ADAPT 360 headset with its SENNHEISER heritage seems to be that perfect mix of work and play. Great sound, wireless, noise-cancelling and all day and night battery life.

Master Builders Australia has launched a new partnership with the Pharmacy Guild to boost vaccinations in the building and construction industry for tradies to book a Jab. 

“The involvement of community pharmacies is going to be a major boost to Master Builders Australia’s national ‘Let’s Get The Jab, Let’s Get It Done’ campaign to boost the vaccination rate among builders and tradies around the country,” Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia. 

“The partnership involves the promotion by Master Builders of the Pharmacy Guild’s online portal and accompanying QR code to the building and construction industry. The Pharmacy Guild’s portal means that builders and tradies can book a vaccine appointment at a community pharmacy that’s local to them literally within minutes,” she said. 

“This will make getting the jab easier for builders and tradies and allow Master Builders to gauge the number of people in the industry receiving the vaccination in aggregate terms and in compliance with privacy legislation,” Denita Wawn said.  

“Getting the jab is the only way to open up the country and end the lockdowns which are having such a toxic effect on our industry, the economy and the community but our research has found that we need to make it easier for builders and tradies,” she said.  

“Many builders and tradies, particularly males under 40, are holding back on getting the jab because they do not believe that Premiers and Chief Ministers will keep their promise and open up when vaccination rates reach 70% and 80% and because they think they erroneously believe that the virus poses no physical threat to them. However, they are willing to get the jab to stop the lockdowns and open the country as outlined in National Cabinet’s national plan if the process is made easier and that’s where community pharmacies come in,” Denita Wawn said.  

“Our partnership with the Pharmacy Guild is an outstanding and leading example of the business community working together to boost vaccinations so that we can all return safely to our normal working and private lives, providing that our state and territory leaders keep their promise to open up at 70% and 80%,” Denita Wawn said.

Canon Oceania has announced the winners of its 2021 Grants Program, recognising seven organisations across Australia and New Zealand that are paving the way towards a better future for their communities. As COVD-19 lockdowns continue to impact Australian businesses, Canon’s Grants Program includes a small business category and increased cash donations for the second year running.

After the public cast more than 4,000 votes for this year’s finalists, Canon is awarding more than $30,000 worth of grants. Australian winners will each receive $5,000 in cash and products ($2,500 in cash and $2,500 in Canon products).

Australia’s winning projects will help disadvantaged communities connect with nature, support learning and communication for individuals with autism, and deliver therapy to children impacted by adversity.

“We’re continuously inspired by the breadth of organisations working to make a positive contribution to society, despite the tough economic and personal circumstances that COVID-19 has created for many Australian communities and organisations,” said Dave Yoshida, Managing Director, Canon Oceania.

“This is especially true for small businesses, with many significantly impacted by the current restrictions in a number of states. We’re proud to support these organisations, providing them with tools that help them adjust to the ‘new normal’ and set themselves up for future success. We’re excited to see how this year’s winners use their grants to positively impact their communities and our environment.”

For the past 15 years, in the spirit of Canon’s Kyosei guiding philosophy – living and working together for the common good – Canon Oceania has supported more than 75 schools, not-for-profits and community groups with more than $420,000.

Previous winners have used the grant to provide assistance and therapy dogs for children with disabilities, facilitate learning for children with hearing loss, and stop dolphin cruelty.

AUSTRALIAN WINNERS 2021 Grants: $5,000 ($2,500 in cash, $2,500 in Canon products)

Small Business: The Young Naturalist (NSW)

The Young Naturalist is a social enterprise, especially interested in assisting women and children in disadvantaged communities throughout Australia. It provides scientific nature programs to help children understand and connect with nature.

Sharing their excitement, Dr Aniuzka Kazandjian and Dr Fiona Benyon, the co-founders of The Young Naturalist said, “Our mission is to bring Australian biodiversity to life and connect children with nature by providing experiences in microscopic investigation, citizen science participation and hands-on creation of biodiverse habitats. The 2021 Canon Oceania Grant will enable us to ‘capture the moment’ our Young Naturalists make their first scientific nature discoveries, creating tangible memories of their connection with nature. Thanks to Canon, our Young Naturalists will be able to share their Nature discoveries with the world, by contributing their images to iNaturalist and the Atlas of Living Australia. The high-quality images captured with Canon cameras will also contribute to the creation of our Young Naturalist series of Natural Sciences books and field guides, assisting children to identify our unique Australian biodiversity. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Canon Australia for sharing The Young Naturalist’s vision to ‘nurture the future custodians of our Natural World’.”

For more information about Canon Oceania’s Grants Program, please visit: https://www.canon.com.au/about-canon/community/grants

For more information about grants, Small Business Answers has a guide.