Products January 25, 2018

Orchestrate Creates Tools to Diminish Scheduling Frustrations

The new feature will work alongside the ProcessComposer and Mix feature, and will be powered through the Salesforce platform.

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In an effort to streamline internal and external scheduling along with saving time, Orchestrate LLC has introduced Pulse, a scheduling tool added to the set of solutions operated with the Salesforce AppExchange.

According to Orchestrate, the tool will allow for numerous functions on the Salesforce platform, including the ability for consumers to view other users’ schedules, populate meeting invites in advance, and find available meetings on various calendars.  

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Additionally, the tool gives customers access to user and team calendars, permits them to enter meeting times depending on preference and durations, and can be customized using filtering options with no restraints.

The tool is designed to decrease difficulty surrounding day-to-day scheduling, and will complement Orchestrate’s ProcessComposer and Mix features, says Josh Van Heukelom, president and co-CTO of Orchestrate.

Ultimately, the goal of Pulse will be to maximize efficiency among busy professionals, according to the company.

“Scheduling can be difficult, especially when it comes to managing multiple groups, clients and calendars,” says Sayer Martin, Orchestrate’s Chief Operating Officer and Co-Chief Technology Officer (CTO). “Through Pulse, we created a solution that will streamline scheduling and ultimately save professionals’ time.”

More information on the feature can be found here. 

Data & Research January 25, 2018

Nearly One in Seven Small Business Owners Not Confident About Retirement

Only 20% said they were very confident they will have enough money to retire comfortably, Paychex found in a survey.

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Sixty-nine percent of small business owners have zero to little confidence they will be able to retire comfortably, Paychex found in a survey.

Thirty percent said they were somewhat confident, 21% said they were not at all confident, and 18% fall between somewhat confident and not at all confident—adding up to a total of 69%. Only 20% said they were very confident they will have enough money to retire comfortably.

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Asked what could help improve their situation, 68% said being able to save more. Other ways they would like to receive financial help were assistance in converting a portfolio balance into monthly income, cited by 10%; guidance on investments and the appropriate savings rate, also cited by 10%; and retirement tools to cover a wide range of expenses, including health care, cited by 8%. Fifteen percent said that nothing would help them feel more confident about retirement.

Paychex cites a GOBankingRates survey conducted in 2016 that found 69% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. In 2017, the Employee Benefits Research Institute found that 33% of Americans worry about covering basic living expenses in retirement.

Paychex says that small business owners cannot rely solely on selling their businesses to fund their retirement. Rather, they should set up a 401(k) plan.

Bredin conducted the online survey for Paychex last August among 341 principals of companies with 500 employees or less.

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