Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

Chamber Confidential

www.metrochamber.com

Volume 2, Number 32 

Niki Carr Lowery, Executive Director

Niki’s Notes:

ChamberPlus, Inc., a subsidiary of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership , provides affordable health benefits, including life and dental, to small businesses with one or more owners. This benefit is offered through a partnership with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MS.  ChamberPlus is now being written in every county throughout Mississippi--a significant advantage  for small businesses around the state.  Currently ChamberPlus is covering over 1,450 businesses enabling us to insure over 20,000 lives.   

In addition to health benefits, ChamberPlus explored other avenues to offer the best products for small businesses.  As a result, we developed two affinity programs by partnering with F.A.R.S. Check Recovery Program and Office Products Plus.  These two businesses have submitted the following information to acquaint our members with their products.  If you have any questions or comments regarding these two affinity plans, please contact Niki Carr Lowery, Executive Director, at 601-948-7598 or by email at ncarr@metrochamber.com. 

Discounted Office Products:

New Business-to-Business Benefit – Office Supplies at Great Savings! 

ChamberPlus has partnered with a local company, Office Products Plus, to provide an affinity program that helps small business.  This program helps small business reduce their costs for office supplies.

With this program, businesses will be provided:

Pricing:

• ChamberPlus Special Contract Pricing on over 300 items
• Custom contract pricing specific to your needs
• Competitive pricing on other items
• Price overrides for full case packs and large quantities

Easy Ordering:

• Internet (setup with custom pricing)
• Fax (with your custom fax order form)
• Phone (if you’re out and can’t get to your computer or fax)

Easy Returns and Problem Resolution

• One call, next day pick-up, next day credit

On -Demand Reporting

• Information provided to help you reduce office expenses

Over 25,000 items are available for fast delivery.  This business-to-business program provides Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership members with an outstanding value. Place your first order with Office Products Plus and see the value of ChamberPlus program! For more information, call ChamberPlus at 601-948-7598, or toll free 866-948-7598.  The fax number is 601-352-5539.

ADDITIONAL SAVINGS ON YOUR NEXT ORDER…

$10.00 off your next on-line order over $100.00

Reference Coupon Code: MJC02

Offer expires 10/31/05

• No Per Transaction Charge!

• No Phone calls to make!

• No Redeposit fees!

• No Letters to write!

• No Monthly minimums!

 Federal Automated Recovery Systems

These systems were formed to help merchants, professionals and any organization that accepts checks to successfully recover checks that are returned NSF or otherwise dishonored.

Last year, there were 731,000,000 dishonored checks passed in this country with approximately $54 billion at risk 

FARS Marketing has a solution that………

Will get your money back….all of it, plus FARS provides Real Time (24/7) on-line reporting and tracking for all merchants.

Revolutionary new NSF check collection process……. New banking rule allows us to collect your NSF checks electronically!

What is Electronic Check Processing?

Electronic Check Processing is the conversion of non-sufficient funds and uncollected funds checks into electronic items. These items are then sent through the ACH network for collection.

What are the benefits of Electronic Check Processing?

·          Lower collection costs.

·          Dramatic improvement in collection rates.

·          Faster deposit to your bank, within the first 15 days from when the file is received by the Automated Clearing House (ACH).

·          Timing the NSF check processing for greater chance of recovery.

·          Verification of available funds from the check writer’s bank.

How much does the service cost?

Electronic NSF check collection is FREE. Hard collections on “account closed” and “stop payment” checks are on a 75/25% split of the collected amount. There is a one-time set up fee of $79.00 to the merchant with no annual renewal fees. This is applicable for ChamberPlus members only!

What is your success rate?

FARS collects 75% of the recipient’s dishonored NSF checks within 5-7 business days and another 10% within 30 business days. FARS collects and returns to the merchant 100% of the NSF check amount.

What are some of our customers saying?

“We recommend this service to anyone looking for a quick and convenient way to collect on returned checks. It has relieved our staff from many headaches and has proven to provide desired results”

“Bank fees [for uncollectible checks] were eating into my profits, so I decided to stop accepting checks altogether, which cost us lost sales. Then I was referred to FARS Marketing, with its incredible… collection rate…I am accepting checks once more in ALL my locations and have recommended this service to all my business friends” 

“With FARS I get an e-mail notification report on the status of every outstanding check. And our controller can access their web site at any time to review status. I have been very pleased.”

Mississippi Business &  Technology Expo   January   18 - 19, 2006 www.msbusiness.com/events     It is time again for the state's largest business-to-business networking event — the Mississippi Business & Technology EXPO. The event, presented by Roadrunner Business Class, will be held January 18,19 2006 at the Trade Mart in Jackson. It is a special project of the Mississippi Business Journal, Now in its 23nd year, EXPO will feature nearly 200 exhibits and is expected to attract thousands of attendees. In addition, the event will feature multiple awards programs, free seminars, door prizes, and more. Special drawings will be held for seminar attendees to win two free Southwest Airlines tickets; and visitors to the Cyber Café can register for a FREE computer from Ridgeland Computer Repair and Road Runner. Golf Pro Bob Ford will analyze swings, and many other attractions await EXPO attendees. "Over the course of more than two decades, the Mississippi Business Journal has worked diligently to grow the number of exhibitors, attendees and offerings at the show," said MBJ general manager Ron Jones. "We are going to provide a number of 'firsts' at this year's event, and we are really excited about the 2006 version of the EXPO." The EXPO's hours Wednesday, January 18, 2006, will be 9:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., including a Business After Hours networking party beginning at 5 p.m., and on Thursday, January 19 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  The Top 40 Under 40 Luncheon will also be held January 18, beginning at noon, and will recognize 40 of Mississippi's top business and community leaders under the age of 40. The Business Woman of the Year Luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. January 19. This award ceremony unveils the top business woman selected from the MBJ's previously held 50 Leading Business Women program. Special Projects Director, Robbie Bell, reports that outstanding entertainment, speakers and multi-media are once again on the agenda for each of these events.   The show is open to the public, and admission is free with a business card. For more information, call (601) 364-1000,    Whether you're an entrepreneur, a sole proprietor or CEO of a large corporation, this is one event you don't want to miss!   We hope to see you there!

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