Support: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
E-Business
What is E-Business? 
Electronic Business or E-Business refers
to the implementation of business processes
using the internet. These processes may
include selling products and services,
marketing, advertising, accounting,
research, communication, inventory
management and quality control just to name
a few. It's principle functions are to save
time and money, increase profitability,
leverage and extend your business
What is E-Commerce?
Electronic Commerce or E-Commerce refers
specifically to the process of purchasing
goods and services on the World Wide Web.
That means that the actual transaction
takes place over the internet. Transactions
are usually Business to Business (B2B) and
Business to Consumer (B2C).
How can your company benefit from
E-Business and E-Commerce?
- It makes the size of your business
irrelevant - Companies large and small have
access to the exact same customers. It
"levels the playing field".
- It makes the location of your
company irrelevant - Potential customers
otherwise oblivious to your existence now
have access to you from anywhere in the
world and you can support them even if they
reside outside your geographic region.
- It exponentionally increases the
amount of feedback - You have instantaneous
access to your clients reponses and
reactions with feedback when you publish
new marketing, advertising and pricing
programs as well as new products and
services on your website.
What is a Website?
The most common form of E-Business is a
"website". Websites are mainly developed
for businesses who wish to extend
themselves to a much larger market/audience
to create brand awareness, sell products or
services, offer customer support, generate
feedback for marketing or simply provide
information about themselves. Potential and
existing clients are able to browse,
research, compare, shop and ultimately make
a purchasing decision about particular
companies, their products and services all
from the convenience of your Website.
What are some advantages and
disadvantages of having a
Website?
The advantage is obvious. According to the
University of Texas, in North America
you're extending your business to a market
that spent in excess of $300US billion
online in 1999 and that figure is expected
to climb to $1US trillion by 2002 and that
just counts the ones making purchases
online. Disadvantages include the
potential that you may end up with a
website that is inadequately planned,
developed and maintained. The result is
lost faith in E-Business as well as the
associated expenses inlcuding time and
capital invested.
How can I get a Website?
We highly recommend you consult with us
before you invest. You don't want to have
some flaky website that represents
your business. How will you market
your E-Business? How will you generate the
necessary traffic on your site? Establish
what you want people to see on your
website. What are your business features?
What will make people visit your site and
what will keep them coming back? What
message would you like to send to the
consumer? We can help you answer all these
questions and more just contact us to ask
any questions or request a free
consultation and a representative will
contact you.
General
Do I need a computer? An Internet
connection?
No. However having a computer and an
internet connection will make it a great
deal easier for you to monitor your
website's development and progress.
Does GateForce sell computers and
accessories?
Unfortunately we do not. However we are
affiliated with several third party
hardware solution providers and we would
gladly refer and advise our clients wishing
to purchase hardware.
Can GateForce deliver their products and
services outside the Ottawa
area?
Absolutely, however that would most
definately require an internet connection
at the clients end as well. It may also
require additional time to complete,
otherwise it's fairly easy. We are also
planning to expand in the near future to
several other key Canadian markets in order
to facilitate better service to our
national clients.
Technical
What do I do if I can't see my website
or it doesn't function
properly?
This happens from time to time. At
GateForce Solutions we endeavour to create
your E-Business so that it's compatible
with the most popular browsers. In some
cases Websites don't "look" as good in
certain browsers and that's a result of how
the browser interprets the code written
into the Site. Sometimes simply clicking on
the refresh/reload button resolves this
issue, if not you may have to shut down the
browser altogether and then reopen it and
finally try restarting your computer. If it
still doesn't work send us an Email
and we'll reply as soon as possible.
What do I do if my email isn't
working?
Pretty much the same as above although
there is also the probability that the
Internet Service Provider's (ISP) Mail
Server is "down". This also happens from
time to time and can usually be fixed in a
matter of hours, sometimes minutes. Since
we outsource to our ISP we cannot answer
for their problems however we will gladly
help you contact them if you're having
problems. Again if you would like send us
an Email
we'll reply as soon as possible.
Billing
How much will an E-Business Solution
Cost?
On average E-Business Solutions vary in
price range anywhere from about $100 up to
$20,000. It all depends on the scale of the
project. We are capable of handling
projects big and small. We have an hourly
rate for all of our services or you can
choose one of our Web
Packages. Frequently we offer exclusive
and non-exclusive promotions and we offer
maintenance and marketing packages as well.
If we don't have a package that suits your
needs then we'll custom make one! We also
have an exceptional contract with a third
party if you require webhosting.
How does GateForce bill their clients?
Our policy for billing is quite simple,
initially we require a 10% deposit to begin preliminary development of an E-Business Solution. Once an initial design has been approved by YOU we bill for an another 40% for a total of 50%. Once the project is finished we invoice the balance of 50% for a period of net 30 days. For maintenance, support and marketing we can invoice monthly or you can save and we will invoice at once. Consultation services are billed hourly only and the invoice is issued following the consultation. We accept cash or cheques and we appreciate post dated cheques for monthly billing. If you have any more billing related questions please contact us.
Does GateForce bill their clients in US or Canadian Dollars? Why?
All prices on this website and all prices quoted are in US Dollars. Wo do this in order to compete in a predominantly US currency based market. Also, PayPal, our partner for all credit card transactions deals solely in US Dollars for all secure online transactions. We will provide service and billing in Canadian Dollars to all clients who request this option in advance, all payments in Canadian funds must be made by certified cheque or money order.
If you are unable to find the answer to any questions you may have on our website please feel free to Contact Us.
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