When Janice Whiting purchased Gourmet Dreams in 2004, the meal-delivery and catering business was still using a manual credit card swiper and a fax machine. And crazily enough -- considering the business is located in Silicon Valley and Whiting has a high-tech marketing background -- it stayed pretty much that way until 2014. She’d been focused on the culinary side and couldn’t afford a major tech overhaul. But as her four-employee business got busier, ordering and accounting became time-consuming for Whiting -- and a turnoff for her customers.
The Fix
Gourmet Dreams had been operating like it was 1999: Customers had to download an order form, print it out and submit it via either fax or email. Then Whiting herself manually processed credit card orders and keyed data into QuickBooks accounting software. Eventually she decided to replace all this with 3DCart, e-commerce software she chose because it integrated simply with her company website and QuickBooks, and provided a simple online shopping cart to handle ordering, payment and shipping.
The Results
If Whiting hadn’t upgraded to 3DCart, Gourmet Dreams “wouldn’t be in business” today, she says. The time she spends on orders, accounting and invoicing each week has shrunk from a day and a half to just a few hours, allowing her to focus more on cooking food and building the company. Since the switch, revenues have gone up roughly 20 to 30 percent annually in the past couple of years. And 3DCart doesn’t take much to run: She pays $36 a month (prices start as low as $20), and unlike some of its competitors, the platform doesn’t charge transaction fees.
A Second Opinion
There are many e-commerce options for small businesses, including Shopify, Volusion and BigCommerce. They can look similar, but they’re not, says Dean Peckenpaugh, a Houston-based e-commerce consultant. “The big questions are: What other third-party systems [such as accounting software] can they plug into? And can the platform be implemented without a developer?” he says. Beyond that, look for -- at minimum -- a platform with integrated, streamlined shipping and payment tools, plus templates that allow you to customize the look and feel of a website’s cart and individual product pages.
David Port
David Port is a freelancer based in Denver who writes on small business, and financial and energy issues.
Read more
Relax One App Gave This Gourmet Food Company the Tech Reboot it Needed stories
Extra cash always comes in handy.
Someone that doesn't pay attention to their money or is disrespectful of it is someone lacking money.
Our friends at TechBargains have rounded up these can't-miss Cyber Monday deals.
Regardless if 2016 was rough or a banner year, there is lots you can begin now to make next year better.
H-1B visas admit 65,000 workers and another 20,000 graduate student workers each year.
Our friends at TechBargains have rounded up these can't-miss deals.
The new network, Backpack, will be shared with the world for free.
Think you'll run out of money before you turn a profit? Then do this.
Choosing the right pricing strategy will help you maximize your profits. Here are four options and why each one might be right for you.
Apple needs a new platform. And Apple CEO Tim Cook knows it.
The Chinese company on Thursday launched a new premium phone, which will sell for about $777.
Tony Robbins shares insights from his just-published book, Money Master the Game, about how a trio of choices frame your outlook and influence your chances at success.
Is public Wi-Fi safe? Hell, no. But there are steps you can take.
Let's be honest, that's a surprise to no one.
There's no silver bullet for making it big, but it's not rocket science, either...unless of course you're SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk.
A successful crowdfunding campaign requires more than just a few social shares.
Fast, functional, sharp and informative, all for free.
You'll soon be able to remove followers and disable comments.
Walmart is famous for a lot of reasons, and not all of them have a happy face. Clashes between management and underpaid employees are common, and Walmart has...
Shopping for a home can be a stressful experience. You spend your day running from one property to the next hoping to be dazzled by an option in your price ra...
Samsung will not have to award all of its smartphone profits to Apple for patent infringement.
More than 125 titles are available for purchase.
The carrier claims data transfer speeds will hit 14Gbps.
Oxehealth uses computer vision, machine learning, and skin color changes to accurately monitor people from afar.
EB Games accidentally lists Switch accessories revealing a USB-C charging cable.
Sometimes all you can change is where you work.
Board members sold over $200 million in shares before a crash in 2012.