Gateway TelNet, a leading provider in unified communications, announced today that the company is helping customers take advantage of a large tax-break for small to mid-sized businesses with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179. Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if a business owner buys (or leases) a piece of qualifying equipment, he can deduct the full purchase price from his gross income. Essentially, it’s an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to buy new equipment and invest in their companies.

The recession has taken a toll on many businesses and this program provides a means for business owners to access much needed savings on major purchases of technology equipment, software or business phone systems. If business owners act by December 31st, 2012 they can write-off the entire purchase price of qualifying phone systems in the first year up to $139,000. While every transaction is different and tax professionals should be consulted on specific situations, the potential rewards of this program have nudged many business owners to invest in the technology they need to gain a competitive advantage for 2013. This year, Section 179 also extends to cover off-the-shelf software purchases in addition to traditional equipment. Many business owners have installed new business phone systems as a result of this addition to the tax code, because recent breakthroughs in unified communications are enabling businesses to collaborate better, faster and more efficiently with one another.

“We were stunned to find out that so many of our customers had not yet heard of Section 179,” commented Jerry Hilecher, President of Gateway TelNet. “We may specialize in delivering technology solutions to our customers, but we treat our customers like partners. When we find something as powerful as this program we have always considered it to be our duty to share this information to our customers. Our goal is to introduce our customers to technology that not only enhances their productivity, but more importantly increases their bottom-line. That approach has contributed largely to our success over the years and we plan on continuing to serve our customers in a proactive manner for years to come.”

A vicious trend has developed among prominent carrier service providers called auto-renewals also known as “evergreen” clauses. Evergreen clauses are essentially an agreement between two parties that is automatically renewed or after each contract term, until canceled by the either party.
For businesses, this means that you can easily become locked into contracts with poor service providers. Imagine attempting to cancel your services with a current provider, only to find out that you are contractually obligated to continue paying another year for a service you’re completely unhappy with. Hidden in your carrier service contract is language that automatically renews your services, preventing any opportunity to explore options to optimize or reduce cost
on your carrier services. Be wary of auto-renewal verbiage sent by the carrier along the lines of: “Unless notified within 90 days of contract expiration date of intent to cancel services, contract will automatically renew for the same term at the same time.” Locating the auto-renewal clause can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. One way find this verbiage is to call the customer service line of your carrier service provider to obtain the termination date of your ontract and request this in writing. This simple process alone can save you thousands of dollars.

Ironically enough, these contract restrictions are often avoidable. In the case of “evergreen” clauses businesses have two options. On the one hand, you can avoid
being locked into contract by making sure that you notify your carrier that you’d like to cancel services in writing, prior to the expiration of the specified term. These can vary from one contract to the next. On the other hand, you can consult with a Unified Communications provider, like Gateway TelNet, who has been helping businesses deal with “evergreen” contracts for several years. Whichever approach you take, it’s vital that you periodically review your carrier service contract and acknowledge the termination date.

“Small to mid-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy and they need all of the help they can get to continue fueling our nation’s economic growth,” states
Jerry Hilecher, President of Gateway TelNet. “We get a great deal of satisfaction when we can help our customers get out of these contracts and get back on the fastrack to profitability.” Gateway TelNet is a leading unified communications provider that specializes in:
Examining current connectivity (phone lines and internet) to analyzecost/effectiveness in order to make recommendations. If you’re paying a long distance phone bill, we can eliminate it.

*  Evaluating specific business needs, as they relate to Voice and IT services, and customize solutions accordingly.
*  Most likely if your phone system is more than 3 years old we can cost justify a new system while eliminating the two risks of technology: Cost and Obsolescence.
*  Educating our clients on the advantages of new technology and partner with them to increase their profitability and give them a competitive advantage.

Gateway TelNet has earned its position as the market leader by educating its customers on technology solutions that either create competitive advantages for them
or increase overall profitability.

When she’s not coordinating service calls, our own Shannon Gomes has been hard at work in the Pacific Opera Project’s production of the musical thriller Sweeny Todd. This production won’t be anything less than excellence from curtain to closing! This will be taking place in October/November, at the Porticos Theatre 2033 E. Washington Blvd. Pasadena, as well as The Miles Memorial Playhouse 1133 Lincoln Blvd. Santa Monica.

Announcing a powerful IT network assessment tool! The sophisticated technology provides businesses with extraordinary insight into their IT infrastructure, critical devices and other endpoints. This tool enables us to immediately assess the stability of a customer’s network and provide real-time recommendations to improve overall performance and security.

We deploy network assessments when meeting with small to midsized business (SMBs) in the local area. Technicians are able to plug a small device into existing servers and within roughly 30 minutes, those technicians are able to gain a comprehensive understanding of network activity and applications. During the discovery phase, the tool highlights existing threats on the network, security holes or other areas of concern. Interestingly enough, most problems are usually solvable with minimal effort. For example, the tool runs a password strength analysis on every endpoint on the network and can identify potential risks to the network. More often than not, a simple password change can fix this problem. Additionally, Security Risk Report includes a proprietary Security Risk Score and chart showing the relative health (on a scale of 1 to 10) of the network security, along with a summary of the number of computers with issues. Another area of concern for most small business owners is when employees download software programs that drain bandwidth or expose the business to threats such as viruses. This tool can detect that and then we can begin remediating the problem.

After the discovery phase is conducted and the tool has uncovered network issues worth investigating, business owners receive an executive summary with all pertinent findings and recommended action steps. “It’s very powerful to give our customers this level of insight into their network,” stated Jerry Hilecher, President of Gateway TelNet.
“Business owners want technology to run efficiently so they can benefit from increased productivity and profitability. As their technology advisor, it is our responsibility to ensure this result.”