New York SBDC Research Network

By Carly Klein From Bplans For a lot of non-technical founders—that is, entrepreneurs with a business idea but without technical expertise—sourcing software development talent is critical. In many areas, however, the high demand for tech talent appears to be larger than the supply of qualified tech and software developers for hire. As a result, a lot of founders are turning to international outsourcing. While this may be an innovative solution to your immediate need for tech talent needs, the question of how to protect your intellectual property when outsourcing software development has probably crossed your mind. The last thing you want is to have simply handed your idea and your intellectual property over to a potential competitor. It’s a valid concern. The best thing you can do is create an IP protection strategy and document it in a business plan, so you’ve integrated it into your larger business strategy.

Blog post from SBA.gov by Anita Campbell "Good software can enable your small business to increase sales by saving time and money while expanding capacity. But you must choose wisely — because the wrong software can be an expensive mistake. Here is my tried-and-true checklist for choosing software to support your business operations: Testimonials from Businesses Like Mine Find vendors with a meaningful number of testimonials from other small business owners. Look for testimonials from businesses like yours — businesses of roughly the same size, in similar industries and trying to solve similar problems. A software package might work just fine for some businesses, however, it may not help fix your problem. Financially Strong Vendor For mission critical processes, I hesitate to put my company’s future in the hands of software or an app that may or may not be updated a year from now. You see this problem with some mobile apps and content management system plugins.

From PC Magazine : Have you started thinking about doing your taxes? Neither have I. But PCMag's Kathy Yakal has been testing tax preparation software for weeks. Tax law changes every year and tax prep software has to change with it. This year, Intuit TurboTax once again earns the Editors' Choice award for the best overall package. That said, TaxAct and FreeTax USA (which actually costs $6.99, despite its name) also had strong showings. Just don't expect to collect on the Trump tax cuts. Those won't show up until you file next year.

From Bplans : Bplans loves SaaS (or “software as a service”). It also loves SaaS businesses, subscription businesses, and the subscription business model in general. So, the company has made an effort to create resources to help you learn more about what running a SaaS or subscription business actually entails, and give you the tools to start and run one successfully. Here, you’ll find all of the best SaaS and subscription business resources, starting with a detailed definition of a SaaS business (so if you’re still unsure what it actually means, don’t worry—it's covered), all the way through how to grow your SaaS or subscription business, and inspiration from some truly bizarre subscription products out there.

Here are a few links discussing point-of-sale systems that are open-source: The Top 6 Free and Open-Source POS http://blog.capterra.com/the-top-6-free-and-open-source-pos-solutions/ 3 Open-Source Point-of-Sale Systems for Small Business http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/ProductReviews/Software/3-open-source-point-of-sale-systems-for-small-business.html The Best Point of Sale Software for 2016 TopTenReviews.com   Top Point of Sale Software Products Capterra http://www.capterra.com/point-of-sale-software/  Software Advice Compare Retail Point of Sale Software Other reviews of open-source software: Bossie Awards 2015: The best open source applications By  InfoWorld staff ,  InfoWorld  | Sep 16, 2015

The PayCheckManager site : Paycheck Manager provides a FREE Payroll Calculator with a no hassle policy. Any user can simply access PaycheckManager.com and start using the calculator. No registration required. No private information is saved. It’s a full-featured paycheck calculator that allows for hourly or salaried, bonus, 401k and other earnings and deductions. Users can also download and print paychecks, all for FREE! As our friend Walter said, "Still waiting to see what the catch is but haven't found it yet." Paycheck Manager also provides a complete self-service payroll management tool for any user who wants to prepare, view and print paychecks, payment vouchers and payroll reports. All information will be saved in our secure environment for easy payroll management. This portion is FREE to try for up to 3 months upon registration.

In the Spring of 2012 Adam Hoeksema, Co-Founder of ProjectionHub, was working on his personal taxes using TurboTax when it hit him, “If TurboTax could take a highly complex process like preparing a tax return, and make it simple enough for someone other than a tax professional to complete, there must be a way to make the process of creating financial projections much easier as well.” More HERE .

Looking for business or other software? Try Capterra , recommended by a business librarian. You can use the browse feature on the left navigation bar OR search for what you want.

New software titles are added to the marketplace on an hourly basis. We don't subscribe to any database that promotes itself as being up-to-the-minute with their listings. However, for requests that seek software to perform a certain function, I typically look at one or both of these sites: 1) STORES Software Sourcebook (courtesy of the National Retail Federation) - This is updated annually, and the link here refers to their 2009 version. You can search by keyword, or by the category of software being sought. 2) SoftScout - The Business Software Encyclopedia - According to its latest tally, this website has information on 24,615 products. It also can be searched by keyword & category, as well as by broad industry category and operating system. Remember these. Bookmark these. Refer these to clients who are looking for software help.

Over the weekend, I had to bring a lawnmower AND a DVD player to be repaired. In both cases, I fear that the cost will be dangerously close to simply buying a new one. Not a very environmentally-friendly deal. Which is why I liked this article from the Nov. 8th New York Times so much. It reveals a number of websites where you can go and get ready advice on repairing an iPod (CrunchGear.com), a Mac (macfixit.com), home theatres (avsforum.com), gaming systems (fixya.com), copiers, PDAs . . . and all the other toys of life. In many cases, you'll get a variety of options, specific instructions, and the means to save a bunch of money vis a vis replacement parts. As an extension of the Third Place post I wrote a while ago, it's clear that these online repair forums are a replacement for local repair shops (which the article laments as a near-extinct species). Here at the library, we frequently visit online forums to get answers to questions relating to the software we use.

Intuit has now made their "Simple Start" version of QuickBooks (formerly $99) free, recommended for very small or one-person businesses. Entrepreneurs can also enter Intuit’s contest to win $50,000 ($40,000 cash and $10,000 in products and services). Get contest details and download a free copy of Simple Start here . These activities are tied into Intuit's "Just Start" campaign, including a series of exciting live events featuring Rhonda Abrams, small business advice columnist and expert, as the "expert-in-residence." She'll be available one-on-one to answer questions about business. People who meet Rhonda will receive one of her books (free and personally autographed), get free Simple Start software, and enter Intuit’s "Just Start" contest for a chance to win $50,000 for their business. New York – Thurs & Friday, November 8-9, 11 am – 2 pm Grand Central Terminal, Vanderbilt Hall Boston – Tues & Weds, November 13-14,

Josee often tells you about new books added to our collection. Today, I'm going to steal a bit of her thunder (sorry, J!). We recently obtained an electronic version of the book "Web & Software Development: A Legal Guide". It's published by Nolo , a publisher of self-help legal books for people & businesses (and provider of lots of other titles in our collection). I like the books from Nolo, because they're an honest attempt at boiling down complicated legal issues into terminology that's straightforward. A lot of their titles (like this one) are written by practicing attorneys with practical experience in their chosen specialty. We bought this book primarily because of a recurring type of request: Is software patentable? And, if it is, is it worth pursuing? I tried researching this question without this book, and the stuff I found was just dense and likely of little use to the client who needed it. Fortunately, chapter 9 - "Software and Internet