Business Services

How Can An Expert Witness Affect a Construction Claims Case?

Summary: A construction expert witness’s testimony can help sway the judge and jury and is especially helpful in the bidding process.

A construction expert has extensive knowledge and expertise of the construction industry, including all aspects of construction injury and accidents. With the help of their testimony, the trier of fact on issues related to construction law such as delays, costs, and codes can be persuaded and claims can be handled from the position of someone who knows the industry inside-and-out.

This article is designed to showcase what how a construction claims expert can provide invaluable expertise in both construction projects and law.

Expert Witnesses and Legal Claims

A legal claim that arises from a construction project may involve a number of construction and property laws. For instance, the case could revolve around a breach of contract or a wrongful death from a construction site accident.

Such legal disputes may require the perspective of a construction expert witness to inform the case decision makers.

The Qualifications of Construction Expert Witnesses

A construction expert is generally someone who understands the intricacies and legalities surrounding the construction industry. They can describe and discuss industry standards, technical language, and complex issues.

Depending on the facts of the case, it may be important to hire an expert that has experience in a specific sector of the construction industry. Lyle Charles for example, is a veteran construction expert who can provide insight on various aspects of construction law, but may only be needed for structural steel cases.

Expert witness testimony has been proven to be an effective legal strategy, especially when it comes to persuading the trier of face.

Managing construction investigations with an expert witness

Investigations into construction incidents often require an expert witness as numerous details will need to be revealed. Since expert witnesses have experience in different elements of construction investigations like forensic sciences and scientific standards they will be able to yield better results. If you are looking at a construction claims management system, an expert witness is a sensible addition to your team.

As a construction project ends, there are often disputes, conflict, and claims. Most often claims are due to delays, but in some cases, claims can be a result of the project not being completed as specified. At this point, it can be useful to initiate a construction investigation, to identify if the person filing the claim has a legitimate right. If a claim has not been resolved before the paperwork or before the building is complete, it is best to keep someone who will look into the interests of the company at the site.

In some instances, construction companies heading projects may have conflicts with contractors, agencies or individuals working on the project. If peaceful interactions have not resolved the issue, the chances are that a once the project end, lawsuits can arise. Lyle Charles suggests to treat every disagreement as a possible claim and ensure that all correspondence is set aside safely. Information such as telephone conversations, emails, bills, and documents should be scanned and stored to ensure easy access if and when required.

3 Risks Business Owners Face from Payment Processing, and How to Avoid Them

Small business owners who are looking to break into the world of ecommerce rely on credit card processing services to supply the tools they need to transfer money digitally. That is fast becoming the norm, especially as more payments shift to mobile. Business owners can no longer afford to avoid digital transfers, but there are several risks they face trying to adopt these new systems. Read on for tips on how to avoid these risks and run a successful ecommerce wing to your business.

Paying Hidden Fees

Small business owners run cost-effectively if they want to survive, so many are tempted to use low-rate payment processors without realizing the true costs. Hidden fees are where you’ll end up paying the most money. Watch out for transfer fees, third party account fees at the credit card terminal, late fees, minimum balance fees and more.

Taking Security with a Grain of Salt

Another mistake small businesses frequently make is failing to take the security of their customers, and their businesses seriously. Few anticipate someone attempting to pay a bill with fraudulent or stolen cash. Even less think about their credit card readers getting hacked.

Failing to Integrate

When customers have to leave your site to make a payment, it’s not very good for business. There is a continuity break and that alone could mess up your sales funnel. It can also make you look unprofessional.

How to Solve these Problems

Essentially, talking to the payment processor in question will save you a lot of headache down the road. You can ask them about transaction fees, and if there are charges to transfer outside of your merchant account. You should ask where and how customer data is stored, to be sure you’re offering a secure transaction method. Integration often comes down to tools, which you can only get if you communicate what you need.

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Charge.com is one of the most affordable merchant account providers online, offering free software with no setup or cancellation fees.

Standards in EDI

Written by Act Data Services, Inc. 1-800-ACT-DATA

No involvement in EDI will be possible without discussing the standards involved. The standards govern how EDI messages are built. In this article we will look at what the standards are, what make up the standards and standards are chosen.

It helps to start out knowing that EDI messages are built using a syntax. More importantly, there is more than on syntax when it comes to EDI.

A syntax is the set of rules on which an EDI message is built. EDI is dominated by the use three primary syntaxes in the world today. The three syntax are ANSI ASC X.121 (often called ANSI X.12), UNTDI2 and EDIFACT3. ANSI X.12 is the dominant standard in North America and is widely used in Australia and New Zealand. UNTDI used to dominate in Western Europe, and messages using this syntax are still widely used in the UK. However, international messages are only done using EDIFACT3.

EDIFACT was created out of the understanding that with international commerce and shipping, it was no longer feasible to use national standards. EDIFACT was the result of the merger of UNTDI and ANSI in 1985. ANSI itself was no longer used after 1995. Industries such as travel, insurance, and health only use EDIFAT.

The EDI standard comprises the syntax and message design rules and the directories. The design rules are the technical rules that should be following during message design. The directories indicate the building blocks of the messages. For example, a single message could be part of a larger message and will indicate it in the design.

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Act Data is an electronic data interchange provider for retail and supplier environments. They will handle all aspects of the implementation including vendor compliance.

Four factors to consider when selecting an expert witness

Written by Lyle Charles

The right expert witness can ensure that you foster successful outcomes. Litigation can be stressful for the parties involved and a good construction expert witness can reduce or eliminate these outcomes. Here are 4 factors that should be considered when selecting an expert witness.

Ensure your expert is willing to see the case through to the end – Some professionals will avoid deposition and testimony. Therefore it is best to hire an expert who is willing to fulfill these obligations and see your case through to the end.

Make sure your expert has a good team behind them – Construction delay claims and other litigation can drag out over a long time. Therefore you should ensure that you always have an expert on hand to assist you through the entire process. Choose an expert witness that is backed by a team of strong experts that will support you thought-out the process.

Don’t be too narrow in evaluating industry expertise – Although specific industry expertise is important, the varied experience can also bring a lot to the table. An expert with a wider knowledge can help to solve complex issues and shed a different light on a case.

Give yourself options – Sometimes different cases will need different expert witnesses. For example, construction delay claims may require a specific expert witness. Therefore it can be a good idea to change your witness according to your case at hand.

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Experts, such as Lyle Charles provide a professional opinion and a complete construction consulting service.

How a “Cash-less Future” Might Work

The future of payments may look a little bit different in the next few decades, and that’s because cash is slowly going the way of the Dodo bird. Cash has been a useful method to pay for transactions partially because it was the only verifiable method to do so. Cash had value, but checks and credit cards have slowly begun working their way into the fabric of modern society.

In the next decades, cash will be an even smaller portion of financial transactions than already take place on the streets as more companies turn to a reliable online credit card processing for e-commerce.

One might ask, “What would replace cash?”

The solution is something we’ve already been using, just in a different format. The smartphone is now equipped with microchips that are designed to store bits of data that are associated to your bank accounts. This information is persistent, so it goes from one phone to the next, and is backed by several layers of security.

You first secure your phone, then the account itself, and finally the chip is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. If the hacker ever wiped your device, the encrypted chip would prevent them from taking any of your financial data. According to Charge.com, this technology is very similar to what’s in newer credit and debit cards.

That same chip also facilitates the transaction itself. Everything is done wirelessly, and newer technologies may not even require WiFi connections to do so.

These “digital wallets” would be able to follow us from device to device, and all throughout our lives. Much like your bank account already. Transactions would all require a smartphone, or some other device in place of the phone, and money would be moved almost instantly.

Areas to consider when creating a Business Plan for a gelato shop

Written by Gelato Products

Creating a business plan is an important step to making a business successful, mainly because a business plan will summarize the steps that the business will take to grow and reach its goals. If you are looking at opening a gelato stop, it is best to draw up a clear business plan to ensure you stay competitive. Here are a few areas to consider.

Main investments – It is important to ensure that you have a list of tangible and intangible goods that will be required to run and open your store. This means that you will need to know details about the size of the shop, its location, employees and their needs and many others. Your main tangible investments will include investments in machinery, equipment, laboratory accessories, and furnishings. It is also a good idea to source suppliers for gelato supplies like gelato cups and spoons.

Intangible investments, on the other hand, will include start-up costs, bureaucratic expenses, registration trademarks etc. It can be a good idea to get assistance from a consultant for these stages.

Shop promotions – Shop promotions are a great way to get your shop and products noticed. Include weekly and monthly promotions in your plan with a budget that will cover the event. To get ideas on how to organize a promotion, look for inspiration online and visit your competitors.

Flavors – It is best to plan to create at least 20 flavors to understand what flavors are best for your target market.

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Gelato Products offers a wide range of products including ice cream spoons and Los Angeles wholesale gelato supplies.

The architecture and document flow of EDI

Organizations have several requirements when it comes to the implementation of EDI. Mostly, they want the EDI service to meet a set of objectives that will help the organization reach specific goals. Many of their fundamental objectives boil down to the following:

Efficiency

The primary goal is to do more with less. Organizations are pursuing efficiency gains, even at large capital cost, for longer term revenue. The primary goal is to consolidate, restructure, and downsize along with the introduction of technology to improve processes.

Effectiveness

The key driver here is increasing productivity. Improved training strategies alongside leading technology will result in large gains in productivity from employees at all levels. The training will need to take into account the different levels of computer-literacy and exposure to technology.

Environment

A common environment will lead to consistency and almost no errors. Adopting an information exchange format, which is accepted by most trading partners will avoid costly duplication in data entry, communication, and information exchange. According to Act Data Services, Inc. 1-800-ACT-DATA: with electronic data interchange services, your documents come in, get translated to a format you can read, and deliver them where you want them.

Sharing

The greatest gains will come from sharing of information within the organization. In the past, one department will not have access to relevant information if it is within the purview of another. For example, customer service agents can now see and provide details of the location of a shipment without contacting the logistics department.

 

How Important is a Background Check to the Hiring Process?

Employers need to face a fundamental question for themselves: how important is it to run a criminal background check for employment? For some industries, running these checks is one of the most important aspects of applying for a job, because it clears someone to handle money or to drive long distances without becoming a liability to the company. In this guide, you’ll learn when to start doing background checks, and what you need to provide to potential employees in order to conduct one.

When to Start Checking

The moment you’re ready to hire your first employee, you should start instituting a policy to conduct pre-employment checks. They are affordable, and they can be used as a tool to help find the best qualified candidates for a job.

In some states, such as California, it’s really important that you treat every candidate as a potential (regardless of criminal history). Therefore, if you decide to rescind an employment offer upon discovery of a crime in someone’s past, you’ll need to be prepared to show how that decision might affect your business.

Legalities

If you inform candidates when they apply, then you should be ok in most states. Running instant background checks involves learning some very personal and private details about someone’s life, so you need to be careful about how you approach the topic. You should make sure that you’re following the rules of your state.

The first step is to look up some information in your local chamber of commerce, and to speak with an attorney if possible. They should be able to point you in the right direction to learn more about the laws of your city and state. Also, be prepared to offer the potential employee a copy of the check you ran, and a disclosure explaining why that check disqualified them from the job (if that applies).

Importance

At this point, you’re probably wondering if it’s necessary to do this for every new hire. There are two things to consider here:

1. New hires working with sensitive data, or in a position that may affect company insurance or day-to-day operations, should receive a background check. It’s a good idea to make sure you’re working with someone trustworthy.
2. Background checks are inexpensive. Narrow down your candidates until you find a few you like, then discuss background checks with each one and run them as needed.

In short, not every business will find themselves in need of a background check. Most businesses would benefit from running one, though, and far fewer are making that critical decision. Make 2017 the year you begin checking your employee’s history of employment.

Bio: Specializing in both criminal background checks, and tenant screening, Tenant Screening Services, LLC offers instant reports and pre-employment checks available online.

Applying for an online merchant account

Written by Charge.com Payment Solutions, Inc.

Applying for a merchant account for the first time can seem intimidating. Fortunately, the process is actually quick and painless. Due in large part to increased competition in the space, the application process has improved considerably.

The first thing to know is that there is no industry standard for the application. Different payment gateway providers have different application processes. The more reputable companies will process the application in days (rather than weeks) and require only very basic information.

Here is the information that will be required at one time or another during the application process:

Products

The merchant account provider will need a list or categorization of the products that will be sold on the site. This is to determine whether any of the products violates the guidelines or terms and conditions. In addition, you will be expected to check with the provider if you are uncertain if a future product or service meets said guidelines.

Tax ID or SSN

Personal account users will need to provide the social security number. Business account users will need to provide the associated Tax ID number. That is also known as the EIN.

Bank letter

Confirm the routing and account number to your provider by getting a letter from the bank or providing a void check. They can then use that information to confirm the account details. This is the location where the money will be deposited.

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Charge.com offers an online merchant account for small to mid-sized businesses who want an affordable way to accept credit cards online.

 

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