Posted by admin on February 13th, 2010
Lease management software provider Odessa Technologies contends that automated workflow processing accelerates lease processing times, effectively manages related processes, and optimizes workforce efficiencies in any decision making environment. Any workflow process, whether it be for the decision on lease applications or vendor payments (check requests), can be accommodated by an automated workflow system that is built with adequate versatility. In fact, the automation of decision making can fundamentally change the way an organization works, forcing it to confront its bottlenecks and find new ways to create efficiencies.
Workflow model applied traditionally
A standard workflow that can be managed through an automated workflow system is the lease application process. Typically, a lease application traverses through various departments or stages before an approval or rejection decision is made. An application may, for instance, first go to the credit department, then funding, and finally to the legal department before getting approval. Moreover, certain applications (i.e. those which exceed a certain pre-defined dollar limit) may have to make two (or more) stops in the credit department before moving forward. Workflows such as these can be easily modeled in an automated system; further, based on certain user-defined conditional logic (such as a credit limit), the application can even move through different paths within the same workflow.
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Posted by admin on January 24th, 2010
In the last article we looked at a few of the things you should consider before leasing that first office or storefront for your business. To recap, you should not only consider the old standard “location, location, location,” but also consider things like sufficient parking, the number of employees who will be working onsite, and future growth projections. I stressed that it was important not to get caught up in the moment. You should take your time to find the space best suited for your business for the long haul, not just for today.
This week we’ll discuss the most important aspect of the process: signing a commercial lease (insert dramatic music here). One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make when leasing commercial space is not reading the lease. Forget reading the fine print. When it comes to a lease its ALL fine print.
Don’t believe me? Let me tell you the true story of my friend, Homer, whose name I have changed to protect the ignorant. Homer signed a two year lease on a suite of offices for his business. As the owner of the business Homer signed on the dotted line and agreed to personally guarantee payment of the lease and to abide by its terms. Homer moved in and it was business as usual until the end of the two year lease term drew near. It was then that Homer discovered that failing to read the lease was going to be a very costly mistake.
Toward the end of the two year lease period Homer decided to relocate, but when he gave the landlord what he thought was the customary 30 day notice, he discovered that the lease had automatically renewed for another two year term at the 60 day notice point. In other words, Homer didn’t realize that the lease required a minimum of 60 days notice to let the landlord know that the lease would not be renewed. Because Homer did not know that he was required to give at least 60 days notice of his intent to vacate, the lease automatically renewed for another two years. And there was not a darn thing Homer could do about it but reach around and slap himself in the back of the head for not taking the time to read the lease.
What was the landlord’s position when Homer pointed out that he had not read the lease and therefore was not aware of the 60 day notice? The landlord, while sympathetic to Homer’s plight, stuck to his guns and told Homer that he would have to honor the lease, which meant that even if Homer moved out as planned, he was still on the hook for paying the rent for another two years.
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Posted by admin on January 9th, 2010
When negotiating on equipment leasing contracts, small business and corporate accounts should review all the legal terms in order to avoid the top mistakes associated with leasing equipment. These rules are applicable in multiple areas of equipment leasing from educational, computer and engineering equipment leases.
Mistakes to Be Avoided in Contracts
One of the primary mistakes made when negotiating their lease is the use of a very short contract. The short contract text may not address issues involving problems with software in computer leases or litigation issues such as employee piracy. Other issues that are not addressed in many short contracts include:
• Software transaction agreements
• Troubleshooting Support Issues
• Clauses handling provider’s going out of business
It’s important to make sure that all parties have their expectations clearly outlined in the contract. The contract helps avoid mistakes in leasing equipment by detailing the obligations of both parties. Contracts that possess clarity and completeness are important and the shorter the contract, the more likely there will be legal risks and ramifications for the company leasing the equipment.
Performance Details
The contract should detail the performance of the equipment. If someone is leasing a computer system, a server or a backhoe, they need to know that it will handle the load they are preparing to deliver to it. The performance details are an area where equipment can fail in leasing if they are not clearly stated. It’s important to make sure that both parties have those issues clarified before closing on any contracts or deals regarding performance issues.
Structure Defects
Structuring agreements is key to understanding where responsibility lies. An equipment leasing agreement needs to stipulate the structure of the deal. In other words, the salesman is unlikely be the primary contact for system defects. The primary contact may be the manager in charge of that account, but they will likely only handle negotiation issues. Customer support issues may be directed elsewhere. That structure and allocation of responsibility must be clearly spelled out in the contract.
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Posted by admin on December 26th, 2009
The government is currently spending around 1 billion dollars a year to keep 45,000 prisoners in state and federal prisons for Marijuana related charges. That is one billion dollars a year that can be better spent on welfare, education and medical insurance for the poor. All this money just to keep Marijuana illegal and this does not even cover the cost of keeping those jailed for other drug charges.
This is no different from the hundreds of millions of dollars the banking industry is going to have to spend to develop a system that can stop the transfer of money from one account into the account of online casinos for the purposes of casino gambling, which everyone involved in coming up with the rules and means to block these transfers admits there is no way to make it work.
In both cases the government would be smarter to legalize the usage of Marijuana and online casinos, regulate the industry to make safe and use the tax revenue to increase the living standards of our poorest citizens.
By keeping Marijuana illegal the government is not stopping anyone from getting it. All they do is make people have to travel to shady areas to purchase Marijuana. Making it unsafe for people to purchase, but if they legalized it, they would be reducing traffic to drug related areas and it would allow the police to better target dealers and users of harder drugs like crack, coke and heroin.
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