At Onsharp, we are continuously working to provide our clients with the most innovative solutions for their business while offering them an unparalleled customer experience.   That’s why our talented team of developers recently made enhancements to SmartPay to make it an even better overall experience for all involved.
As we let you know in a blog a few weeks ago, SmartPay is now PCI Compliant.  On top of that important update, SmartPay is now even more feature-rich than before.  These new and improved features include:

• Expanded help documentation for all types of users answers questions immediately
• Easier navigation on payments report makes daily and weekly reporting faster
• Load a custom invoice format as a default invoice template for enhanced customization
• More search and reporting options give merchants the information they need to help their customers
• Import line items for further customized invoices
• Easy reference of refunds provides a meaningful payment history
• Printer-friendly receipts make record-keeping and customer service easier
• Entering manual payments is quicker with the new bulk entry option
• And more!

To learn more about SmartPay’s new and improved features, check out the rest of our website.  If you still haven’t learned as much as you’d like about SmartPay, take a short and sweet virtual tour here.

Questions about these new features or what exactly they mean? Contact us right now, or leave us a comment to let us know what you think about the improved system.

The number of households using electronic billing and payment is quickly growing.  In fact, “According to the financial information management company FISERV, the number of American households paying bills online has doubled …up from 15.3 million in 2004 to more than 36 million last year.” Source. With the number of people using electronic billing and payment increasing year to year, it isn’t a surprise that security becomes a forefront concern.

Even though electronic billing and payment is now very secure (SmartPay is PCI compliant; if you missed our blog on that, check it out here). It is still important to take extra precautions when securing your personal information online.  Here are 5 simple steps to ensure extra security.

1. If you print off statements for your records, shred them.  Even users of electronic billing and payment may print something off every now and then—and sometimes it is hard to remember to shred the information if you aren’t used to paper bills anymore.  But it is important to make an effort to do this, as theFederal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates about 9 million Americans are affected by identity theft every year .   Learn more about identity theft here. 

2. Never respond to e-mails requesting important personal information.  Phishing and hackers are major, valid concerns in today’s Internet-driven society, and any legitimate company with which you do business will never request important personal information via e-mail.  If you receive a suspicious e-mail, be sure to contact a representative of your bank or of the business for which the hacker may be pretending to pose.

3. Check your online accounts regularly.  It is important to keep an eye on your bank account, as well as any online shopping accounts or other online accounts.  Staying on top of your purchases and information will help you notice right away if there seems to be any tampering with or fraudulent purchases toward your accounts.

4. Keep your computer secure.  Make sure your computer and information is kept secure, and try to do all of your online financial business and bill paying at your home.  Don’t take your laptop to a public place (i.e.; a restaurant, the local coffee shop) to do your bill paying, as there is more risk if you are connecting to a network you don’t know is secure or if you are around a lot of people.

5. Make your passwords strong.  Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts, and don’t write your passwords down.  Make them long in length and very unique; using special characters and a combination of upper and lower case letters helps.  Change your passwords regularly.  Every 3-4 weeks is an ideal span of time, and be sure it isn’t a password that someone would easily be able to guess.

Following these and other simple guidelines will help you keep your information more secure, and will make the use of online accounts and online bill paying much more enjoyable!

In today’s world, it seems everywhere you turn businessesand individuals are increasing their efforts to go green and have a morepositive impact on the environment.  Fromhome appliances deemed energy-efficient with the “Energy-Star” logo tobusinesses starting up their own recycling programs, it is easy to see why somepeople might see the concept of “going green” as more of a trend than alifestyle.

And with this, when it comes to paperless billing andpayment, some people believe just that.  Thatpaperless billing and payment is merely a trend, another way for people to tryto follow the crowd in their efforts toward a greener world.

But  whether or notyou think going green is a trend, whether or not you are committed to making agreener lifestyle for yourself and your business, one thing should be agreedupon across the board –Paperless billing is more than a trend.

Our reasons for believing this are countless, just as ourreasons are countless as to why you and your business should make the switch(check out some of those reasons here.)

But one of the biggest reasons is because services likeSmartPay are web-based.  And the webcontinues to grow day by day.

The web has proven itself to be more than a trend.  According to an interview from Eric Schmidt,CEO of Google, the internet will continue to grow exponentially, especially dueto a “fundamental shift toward user-generated information that people willlisten to more than traditional sources.” Schmidt also commented on how realtime information is going to be key, as more and more consumers are growing toprefer and demand information and power at their fingertips.  And this is precisely what SmartPay gives you–literally.

Instead of waiting to receive a bill in the mail, writing acheck for that bill, sending it back through the mail and waiting for it toclear, customers check their e-mail and pay their bill or invoice with theclick of a mouse.  You can see why it ismore than a trend; it fits the growing demand for web-based applications onbehalf of consumers.  Since this demandwill only continue to grow as the internet also grows, day by day, month bymonth, and year by year, it is clear that web-based applications such asSmartPay are not phasing out anytime soon.

So if you believe “going green” is a trend, that isalright.  Everyone is entitled to theirown opinion, and I don’t think there’s ever been a time in history where everyonewas in agreement on a big social issue. 

When it comes down to it, paperless billing such as SmartPayis more than a trend.  But your hugebellbottom jeans and platform shoes from the ‘70s, or the mesh shirt you stillhave boxed up somewhere from the ‘80s? Now that’s a different story.