Carbonite Review for Business File Backup

As a company that likes to help small businesses experience more success, Qlixite is now incorporating reviews of products and services.

This review will discuss how Carbonite can help you protect your Small Business files in a secure offsite location in case of computer failure.

Carbonite is a comprehensive and robust online backup service that will keep your important files backed up with a minimum of fuss and virtually no interference. It's all controlled by a simple program that runs invisibly in the background. In fact, the recent release of Carbonite 4.0, makes the whole process even easier. They've simplified the setup and given you more options for restoring your files. But before we get much more into restoring files, let's talk about backing things up.

Backup:
As with all online backup services, the initial backup will take a while. Depending on your Internet connection speed and the amount of data on your hard drive, it could take a day or more. Your computer is completely usable during this time, but you'll need to keep it on and connected. Subsequent backups will take less time as Carbonite will only need to save new files and previously backed-up files that have changed.

By default, Carbonite backs up your documents, email, photos, and music. We like that Carbonite takes care of emails automatically, since many online backup services don't, requiring the user to manually locate these files and add them to a backup schedule. However, it won't back up files larger than 4GB unless you tell it to.

Restore & Remote File Access:
In the event of a crash or any other data loss, you simply use the downloadable Carbonite InfoCenter to restore your lost data. But Carbonite's usefulness goes beyond disaster recovery. While we generally talk about an online backup service as a remedy for catastrophic data loss, there's another feature users will love and use much more often, and that's versioning. Carbonite will automatically save up to twelve versions of every file you back up. This allows you to roll back to a previous iteration of any file to recover lost changes. It's like the ultimate "undo" option. Anyone who's ever made unalterable changes to a large text or graphics file will recognize the value in this feature.

Carbonite can also migrate files to a brand new PC. That functionality is now standard with Carbonite 4.0; a new restore option promises to put all your files in just the right place on your new system.

Carbonite can also be used to access your files from any computer that has an Internet connection. Simply log in to the remote access section of carbonite.com and you'll see all your files, just as you would if you were looking at your hard drive (minus the programs). It's a good feature, and it's one you'll find with many online backup services, although it's not as evolved as it is in a product like SugarSync. You can't, for instance, use it to securely share files with others. They're for your eyes only. A small knock against an otherwise great service.

Pricing:
Carbonite does offer a free 15 day trial version of their product so you can see if you will like and use the service. We wish it was a 30 day option but at least they offer a trial.

Carbonite offers unlimited storage for a single computer in the form of three plans.
Click here to see their online comparison.

• Home $59 per computer per year for Mac and Windows.

• File and folder backup
• Web and mobile access
• Phone, chat and email support
• Manual video backup

• HomePlus $99 per computer per year for Windows only.

• File and folder backup
• Web and mobile access
• Phone, chat and email support
• External hard drive backup
• Mirror Image backup
• Manual video backup

• HomePremier $149 per computer per year for Windows only.

• File and folder backup
• Web and mobile access
• Phone, chat and email support
• External hard drive backup
• Mirror Image backup
• Courier Recovery service
• Automatic video backup

Unlimited backup is a great deal, but note that Carbonite limits you to backing up a single computer. If you'd like to backup multiple computers, you need to purchase a subscription for every computer you need to backup.

Conclusion:
For pure online backup for a single home or business computer, Carbonite is a good bargain. While it may not have all the fancy features other online backup providers have, the setup is simple, fuss free, and comprehensive. The user interface simple and easy to use. You'll just set it and forget it—until the day you need to restore your files

PayPal Review for Small Business Credit Card Processing

As a company that likes to help small businesses experience more success, Qlixite is now incorporating reviews of products and services.

This Review overviews how using PayPal can take your Small Business Credit Processing to the next level.

Who would find PayPal useful?
This review will cover merchant services offered through PayPal useful for physical and online transactions. If you are interested in providing options for your cutomers in regards to paying by credit card or instant transfer...this is for you!

■ Getting a traditional credit card processing system involved
■ applying for and obtaining a merchant account,
■ leasing hardware,
■ getting something called a gateway, and
■ then there were all the fees.

Is PayPal easier?
Yes! When you visit PayPal’s site, you can learn about all of the details of their merchant account (Honestly - the website can be a little difficult to navigate) but suffice it to say - it's easy to set up and operate with a low monthly fixed fee.  Their only disadvantage was the percentage on transactions was slightly higher than traditional credit card payment processing options.

What is not so great about PayPal?
• Be sure to compare the fees and percentages. Depending on your type of business of sales volume, you might be better served by a different company like PayJunction.
• If you offer more than 25 products, you may want to use a third party shopping cart that will automatically generate and organize your online store. We like Quick Shopping Cart from ThisIsMyDomainUSA or GoDaddy. Making each button individually can get a little tedious.
• If you like to offer coupon codes, you will find that PayPal is not equipped for that. Again, we suggest a third party shopping cart.
• Customers might not like PayPal - make sure you say on your website that customers can use their credit card because there are people who do not like PayPal.
• Their customer service by phone can be great one minute and then you can get someone who doesn't know what their talking about.
• Their website has a ton of info but can be a little confusing.

PayPal offers many solutions and packages for businesses.  Here is a basic overview of their two major products:

Website Payments Standard

Process credit cards directly on your website with Website Payments Pro, our merchant account and gateway in one.

• Accept VISA MASTERCARD AMEX DISCOVER PAYPAL
• Clear pricing, no hidden fees (See Pricing)
• No long-term commitments or monthly minimums
• Works with most popular shopping carts
• Lower total payment processing costs
• Buyers paying by credit card never leave your site
• One account for everything - No need to maintain separate relationships with a merchant account bank, a gateway, or credit card companies. PayPal handles all your payment processing as well as your reports, statements, billing information, and account support. It works with most major shopping.
• Easy to read reports and downloadable logs into Excel, Quickbooks and Quicken.
• Get your Money fast! (Transfer to bank account, spend it via PayPal or withdraw cash at an ATM)
• Open your business to international sales - US dollars, Canadian dollars, Euros, Australian dollars, GB pounds and Japanese Yen

Website Payments Pro

With Website Payments Standard, you can add a payment button to your site and accept credit card orders securely. Here are the basic features...

• Accept VISA MASTERCARD AMEX DISCOVER PAYPAL
• Your customers don't even need a PayPal account
• Easy button setup, no programming skills required - (choose from Buy Now, Add to Cart, Subscribe and Donate Buttons)
• No setup, monthly or cancellation charges (See Pricing)
• No credit application
• Need to accept recurring payments of varying amounts? There is an optional program that costs $19.99/month. (Includes automatic billing and installment plans)
• Compatible with most major shopping carts.
• Easy to read reports and downloadable logs into Excel, Quickbooks and Quicken.
• Get your Money fast! (Transfer to bank account, spend it via PayPal or withdraw cash at an ATM)

Paypal also offers more online and virtual terminal solutions if you are interested in operating your business solely via online sales. Review all of their products by clicking Here.