Google Changes Search Ranking, Favors Mobile-Friendly Websites

 Mobile-friendly websites will soon become more important for businesses than ever. Google recently announced a ranking signal change that will favor mobile-friendly websites in search results. Is your website responsive? 

The change, influenced by increasing mobile Internet usage, will allow people to more easily discover relevant, device optimized, and high quality search results. Last year, Shopify reported that mobile accounted for 50.3 percent of ecommerce traffic (40.3% mobile, 10% from tablets), beating out computers. 

The search engine giant stated the change will occur on April 21, and “will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact” on search results.

Please Read The Rest Of The Article Here

Thanks to VerticalResponse for this great post!

The 7 Website Mistakes Small Business Owners Make (and How to Avoid Them)

by Cathy Goodwin
found on Bplans

Does your website have you feeling stressed?

If you're a small business owner or service professional who wants to develop a new website, or improve the one you have, you might find yourself thinking, "It's a jungle out there!"

You wouldn't be wrong

Whether you're a small business owner or a larger one, your website is important to your business!  Please check out this great article on things you want to avoid doing and ways to fix them.  

Read the rest of the post to get tips on how to fix your website!

Win A 2 Minute Shopping Spree @ Pantry Pride

Win A Trailer!

St Marys Optimist Club Easter Egg Hunt

5 Myths about the Affordable Care Act for Midsize Businesses

Many businesses are struggling to understand and comply with the rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or health care reform law). To help them, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has a number of helpful resources at www.makinghealthcarereformwork.com, like this blog article that dispels five common myths about the ACA for companies with between 51 and 99 employees.

• Myth #1: Our business is exempt from the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate.
  Companies with more than 100 full-time employees must provide health insurance to full-time workers starting this year. In 2016, companies with 51-99 full-time workers also will have to provide coverage.
• Myth #2: Most businesses of our size don't provide health insurance.
  The ACA requires midsize employers to change their existing coverage. But only a small percentage will be offering coverage for the first time.
• Myth #3: Even if we are penalized for not providing coverage, we can deduct the penalty on our income taxes.
  Companies that fail to comply with the employer mandate are subject to a penalty. But the mandate is set up as a shared responsibility fee. This makes the penalty a tax that cannot be deducted for federal income tax purposes.
• Myth #4: We can continue to offer a limited benefit or mini-med plan.
  Limited benefit plans do not meet ACA rules, so you'll need to upgrade coverage to meet the employer mandate.
• Myth #5: We will have to buy our insurance from a government website.
  The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) is the online health insurance marketplace, or exchange, for businesses. But using the exchange is optional. Employers can buy directly from an insurance company or use a broker at no extra cost.

 Check out theblog for more details about the ACA and other topics.

BEING MOBILE-FRIENDLY JUST GOT MORE IMPORTANT

It’s 60% of those people use it to regularly browse the web. Therefore, it’s becoming increasingly important for websites to be mobile friendly. With it’s recent Webmaster announcement, however, Google just forced everyone’s hands: to avoid being penalized in its search engine results, your website must be optimized for mobile use.

That’s right, all of your hard work to increase your SEO could soon be thrown to the wayside.

Read more on the Marketing Essentials Blog

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jordan McAbee

Jordan holds two Bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration. Jordan has a natural talent with writing and numbers. His sharp sense for detail is essential in content development. When he is not strategizing for clients, he runs his own fantasy NASCAR game/website. He also writes for one of the top NASCAR blogs in the country. He is a regular on Twitter! Follow him.

10 Ideas To Improve Web And Social Media In 2015

I found this great article on how to improve your web and social media presence in 2015 on the Business 2 Community site.  The article was written by Barry Roos This is great information!

With the new year coming it is time to review your website and social media pages. No matter how successful, you can always improve. Here are 10 ideas:

1. Responsive Design: If your site doesn’t work on all devices, make this the year. And the best part? You can keep your design if it works for you, just convert it.
2. Stock Photos: If the majority of your images are stock photos, replace with real company photos.
3. Get Blogging: If your site looks exactly like it did a year ago, add content. Best Way? Add a blog, and write often.
4. Social Media: If you have social media pages and never post, delete them. Sounds strange coming from someone who lists social media management as one of their services, but you actually harm your business with social media pages that are out of date. Why? It looks as if you are closed for business.
5. eCommerce: Not selling online? Make this the year. You don’t have to go full bore, start with a few products and see how it goes. There are simple ways to sell, not requiring a totally new website. If you have WordPress for instance, there are simple plugins. If not, there are other methods, such as PayPal buy now buttons and more.
6. Content Management System (CMS): If you have a static website someone built for you several years ago, that you can’t edit, consider a content management system, such as WordPress or Drupal.
7. Professional Management: We have all seen the DIY websites, promising that you can do everything yourself. Domain companies love to push these sites complete with templates used by 10s of thousands of other businesses. You quickly find out they aren’t so easy and you are stuck with a half done, unprofessional website. Hire a pro to help you manage your site. Go with a CMS (see #6) and let a pro keep the software up to date, backed up and safe.
8. Schedule, Schedule, Schedule: One of the main reasons our websites and social media gets out of date is because we don’t treat them as we do the rest of our business. The solution? Have a schedule for content and social media and STICK TO IT. Write a blog posts once a week or whatever works for you, and send yourself a recurring invite. Come up with a social media plan, say post every other day, or even once or twice a week. But stick to it.
9. Automation: This should not be a dirty word. You can automate certain tasks, such as having your blog post get sent to your social media pages via an RSS feed. Or you can bulk set up social media posts, there are several service that allow this. You shouldn’t automate everything, as you want to be on your social media pages each day interacting with your audience.
10. Security & Backups: One of the main things you need to start taking seriously is security. If you are using WordPress for instance, make sure you are on the current version and that plugins are up to date. And use a good security plugin to mitigate the risk. And please, take complete backups on a regular basis so you can get your site back if hacked.
11. 
    

11 Words & Phrases to Avoid Using on Social Media and What to Say Instead

We all know that there are phrases that we get tired of hearing after awhile.  Social media marketing is much the same way.  You don't want your social media message to be stale or, even worse, be something that actually sends your customers running in the opposite direction.

This blog post on the Vertical Response blog lists a few of the words and phrases you'll want to avoid if at all possible.  How many are you guilty of using?

"Coming up with original or catchy wording for your social posts is important if you want to stand out in the busy social media sphere. To help you avoid common clichés, we’ve put together a list of words to avoid using, (some of which can actually repel customers), and potential replacements."

Get the list HERE

Essential Oils Beginners Class @ The Gathering on Spring

The Gathering on Spring invites you ....

Young Living Oils Class

Essential Oils Beginners Class

A class for those who would like to get started with essential oils or for those who are just beginning their journey in natural supplements! Please join us for this free informational class. You will have the chance to smell and sample some essential oils while learning about the many ways that they can be used to improve your health and wellness, naturally of course! You will be entered to win door prizes just for attending!

-Ali Meyer, RN, Class Instructor

A Convenient Schedule Saturday, March 21st: 2:30 - 4:00 pm

To Sign Up Please call The Gathering at 419-394-1402. For questions please call Ali Meyer at 419-305-8748.

Zyto Scans Available This simple 10 minute process will identify which oils your body may be needing!  $10 each

United Way Fundraiser @ JT's

The United Way of Auglaize County works to improve lives and community conditions within Auglaize County by bringing people and resources together.  By supporting the United Way of Auglaize County you are helping to support local agencies that work to make life better in Auglaize County. They focus on the areas of Education, Income, Health and people's ability to meet their Basic Needs.  These are the building blocks everyone needs for a good quality of life and they are the cornerstones to a strong, prosperous community.

Great way to have a night out 

and help a great cause!  

Looking For Volunteers

Volunteerism has always been an honor of Americans to be able to help and serve others in your community, but there has been a great resurgence in volunteerism over the last several years to support community.

At Joint Township District Memorial Hospital volunteers have always been part of the backbone to the quality of service that is provided to the surrounding communities thru JTDMH.  The start of volunteers at JTDMH began with sewing curtains, mending sheets, mending gowns, the opening of a small gift shop and countless other opportunities.  Today volunteers still play a vital role in the service to our patients but in many different capacities.

Volunteers deliver mail and flowers, take trays to patients, fold gowns, stock cabinets, make sure people know where to for appointments, help answer phones, run the cash register, help make product for the gift shop, help with community outreach programs, visiting patients thru hospice, fundraising, crafts, clerical help and much, much more!

Contact the volunteer department at JTDMH and learn how to Make Your Mark and help those in your community!  Please call Julie Jacobs, Volunteer Development Coordinator at 419-394-3387 ext. 2808, email at jujacobs@JTDMH.org or complete an application on the Volunteer tab at www.grandlakehealth.org.

Upcoming Events At The Library

Coming Up At The Library!

March 11 - 6PM - Mary Coons Author Visit

Welcome former St marys artist and author as she presents her book, The Piglys and the Hundred-Year Mystery.

March 17th - 7PM -Tips For De-Cluttering Your Life

Beth Keuneke, Adult Services Coordinator, shares tips and resources for de-cluttering your home and life.  Help make this the most organized spring ever!

March 17th - 1PM   Computer Basics

A series of classes that will be presented by instructor Jay Miley.  Three sessions will take the novice from using the mouse to surfing the web.  Class sizes are small.  Participants are asked to register, and registration includes the three-session class.

March 17th - Session I: Using the Mouse and Computer Basics

March 24th - Session II: Windows Basics

March 31st - Session III:  Internet: Surfing and Searching

March 18 - 3PM - Movie Matinee@ the Library

For teens and adults.  What if not fitting into one of five groups means certain death?  Watch and find out!

March 23rd - 5:15 - 5:45PM Cyber Monday:  Digital Catalog Demo

Walk in and learn how to use the digital library catalog.

For more information about these and other library events, please visit the library at 140 S Chestnut St, online at stmarys.lib.oh.us or call 419-394-7471

Top 5 Web Skills You Need To Learn To Run Your Own Business

When you decide to make the big leap and become a business owner, you are accepting the fact that you have a lot of learning to do. Running a successful business is not a talent that you’re born with – it requires dedication and attentiveness.

This blog post from the Wix.com blog outlines 5 web skills that business owners need in todays business world.  Check it out  HERE

Tips for Running Your Home-based Businesses

BY GLENN MUSKE 

More people have a home-based business than you might think.

On average, one of every 10 households is operating one or more home-based businesses. In rural areas, that number is often higher.  And these numbers typically do not take into account farm and ranch operations which, by most definitions, would be considered a home-based business.

Home-based businesses are nothing new.

If you think about it, our country’s economic system was based nearly entirely on home-based businesses in its early years and in the frontier areas of our country.

Today the home-based business owner has a significant number of tools to help him or her operate the business. Many of these tools are based on technology, including the Internet. With such tools, the home-based business owner cannot be distinguished from any other business owner.

This is important to note because a common misconception is that people operating a business from their home are not as serious about business success.

In reality, we find that home-based business owners are as serious about business success and interested in growth as any other business owner. Even those owners who also have additional goals, such as maintaining a lifestyle or more family time, know that they must remain competitive in terms of price, product, packaging and service.

Home-based business owners not only struggle with outside perceptions; they also have internal factors that may hinder business development.

It is not surprising that many home-based business owners struggle with loneliness. They feel that they have few or even no professional colleagues who can identify with their struggles. In some communities, these business owners find ways to meet on a regular basis. They form a network to discuss ideas and trends, and simply to share time with people in similar situations.

Some other tips for the home-base business owner are:

• Take your laptop and spend time at the local coffee shop, library or even park bench where you can get free wireless Internet. This gives you a change of scenery, it may spark some new ideas and you have the chance to meet new people. It provides for that necessary social interaction all of us need.
• Get dressed in business casual clothing as opposed to clothing for a more relaxed situation. Working in your PJs sounds great but may not put you in the right frame of mind.
• Make plans to attend regular conferences. Don’t forget to attend that monthly meeting of your Chamber of Commerce. If the Chamber is welcoming a new business, make sure you attend. It is a great chance to make new connections. Also, do not forget to ask the Chamber to do a welcome as you start your new business. It will be free publicity and is a way to start building awareness that you are open.
• Make contacts with local news media. Become the local expert in your subject area. Be the person the media turn to with questions. This helps you form important relationships and becomes a great marketing tool.
• Find a work buddy. You have others you know who are in the same situation you are. You perhaps can do some team work or just enjoy some office camaraderie. With the virtual world, you often can work from anywhere.

Communities can also help the home-based business owner by recognizing their existence, making it easy for them to get started, and encouraging them to become a part of the business community.

Home-based businesses support owners, their family, and their community. Encourage their development and success in your community.

About Glenn Muske

Glenn Muske is the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.

Open House At Vancrest of St Marys

      March 24, 2015

      2PM - 4PM

      Stop by and tour the updated and             renovated facilities!

1140 Knoxville Rd     St Marys, OH     419-394-3308 

Have you ever seen the TV show “Mythbusters”? These two guys, who are a little nutty, build contraptions and perform experiments to prove or disprove a myth about something. Such as tying enough helium balloons to a lawn chair with a person sitting in it, the chair, and individual, will eventually float. Well, this article is “Mythbusters”, St Marys Chamber style.

With the population of St Marys growing constantly, and the average age of a business owner dropping, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to recruit Chamber members. Individuals are not as knowledgeable about the Chamber, and what benefits it can bring to a business. This is where I come in.

Since I have been with the Chamber, I have heard a couple of “myths” or misconceptions about our organization. This article is going to set the record straight.

Myth #1: The Chamber is a part of the city government. – This is the misconception I hear the most. The Chamber is NOT a government organization. We do work closely with the city and county governments on a number of different projects, and many city and county officials are members of the Chamber. However, the St Marys Area Chamber of Commerce does not operate with the tax dollars of St Marys citizens.

Myth #2: The St Marys Chamber supports political issues and candidates. – While the United States and Ohio Chamber show support for various political causes and candidates, the St Marys Area Chamber of Commerce chooses to remain neutral.

Myth #3: The St Marys Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization capable of obtaining grants. – Yes and no, the St Marys Chamber is a 501c6 non-profit organization. This means we are a non-profit funded by a dues paying membership. While some grants are available to Chambers of Commerce, most are only applicable to non-profit organizations with a 501c3 status.

Myth #4:  The St Marys Chamber is here to promote all businesses in St Marys whether they are a member or not.  Yes and no, the St Marys Chamber of Commerce is a member supported organization.  We promote and support our member businesses.  If someone calls for a recommendation, we ONLY recommend our members.  We indirectly support non-members because we support the strengthening the local economy.

Myth #5: The St Marys Area Chamber is a great organization to help promote your business. – I must confess that this really isn’t a myth, but actually a belief I have. Many businesses see the Chamber and think of Golf Outings and Awards Banquets, but there is so much more. Networking, Credibility, Visibility, etc. I could go on and on, but I am close to running out of room.

My Challenge to you is to check out what the chamber can do for your business.  Stop in and see Tim or I, or call and ask us to stop in.  We’d love to tell you about the chamber and what how we can help you out. Everyone benefits by the more people that get involved. And lastly, if you hear someone mention Myths 1, 2, 3,  or 4…BUST IT!!

Daylight Savings Time Starts This Weekend!

Don't Forget to Set 

Your Clocks Forward!

Artist Reception To Be Held At Arts Place

Greetings Art Lovers!

I hope we are all thinking SPRING! Arts Place the Collective Center in St Marys, OH  is going to have the opening for the exhibit of DRAGONS by Anna Fisher and Kay Sluterbeck on March 13th(FRIDAY) from 5-7pm.  This event will be free and open to the public. Kay Sluterbeck and Anna Fisher will be in the gallery here to talk and meet with you.

We had to cancel  the earlier opening due to weather problems. If you have doubts about the weather and if we are open PLEASE check on FACEBOOK as I will post any closing on there. I am hoping that we will have better weather now.

Regular Hours are Monday – Thursday 12-4:00PM.

The exhibit runs thru March 26,2015.

26th Annual Business Person's Breakfast

26th Annual Business Person's Breakfast 

St.Marys Community Public Library

Thursday, April 2, 2015

7:30AM - 9AM

Our speaker will be Pat Clark and John Spencer from OhioMeans Jobs, ODJFS.

They will be speaking on:

1) Reverse Job Fair - This program is offered by the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services  and provides you the unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with the  skilled labor force in your industry,

2) Ohio Learn to Earn - Helps employers find good candidates for job openings and trains those workers at no cost for 24 hours a week, up to

6 weeks, and the State of Ohio handles the Workers Comp. and

3) OhioMeansJobs.com - Access to OhioMeansJobs Business Support Center, online or local, save resumes, post jobs, and so much more.

Enjoy a delicious breakfast from Creative Catering by Cathy Flynn, and an opportunity to network with your business colleagues from the community.

Please register by March 27th for the Business Person's Breakfast by calling the Library at  419-394-7471 or e-mail, Susan Pittman at pittmasu@oplin.org.

Better Business Breaking News Alerts! Scams To Watch Out For

BBB BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Bogus Emails and Robocalls Explode!

IMPORTANT!: Starting at 8:00 EST this morning, scammers sent a wave of bogus emails to business owners and consumers all over North America. These emails CLAIM TO BE FROM BBB "Accreditation Services" and ask your company to open an attached SBQ (Standard Business Questionnaire) form to answer questions. This attachment, however, delivers malware to the user's computer, and should NOT be opened. Several local firms have already reported receiving it. If your company does, forward it to phishing@council.bbb.org. We are working with the authorities to have it shut down as fast as possible. We have no idea where they come from.

NEXT: BBBs around the country are swamped with complaints regarding robocalls - recorded messages calling your cell or home phone. The companies that use these practices are almost always violating Federal laws, and they often cheat consumers out of thousands of dollars.

Biggest scam call, as we have warned many times, is the call from the "IRS" notifying you that you owe money on back taxes. Consumers who "push 1" for details are connected with an "IRS Agent" who tells them that a police car is "30 minutes away" and they will be arrested if they don't send money immediately, using a "green dot" card or Western Union. Despite all our warnings, many consumers are terrorized by these crooks and send money. We try to explain that the IRS NEVER calls taxpayers, they always notify by mail. Also IRS gives consumers full details on its findings and provides the opportunity to appeal the assessment. The robocalls scammers do none of this. Many are calling from India.

"Microsoft calling" is often a robocall. "We've been monitoring your computer and it is running slow because a a virus. We can get into your machine and clean it out." Consumers get these calls at home and are tricked into thinking that Microsoft or another computer service is actually monitoring their system. Nonsense! These scammers often install viruses in victim's computers or steal information they can use to withdraw money from bank accounts or steal identities.

"This is Rachel from Cardholder Services" is perhaps the largest scam robocall in the world. Billions of consumers suffer through these annoying (and often illegal) messages, which are such a problem that the Federal Trade Commission runs a "Zapping Rachel" campaign. Several criminal firms using the Rachel recording have already been prosecuted, but the calls persist.

"John from Political Opinions of America," was a robocall which claimed you had been "carefully selected" to participate in a 30-second research survey, after which you could "press one" to receive a two-day cruise to the Bahamas. This violated the Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by using robocalls to sell cruise vacations. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc. is one of the firms fined for the practice.

Be Aware: Robocalls to cell phones are a violation of Federal law. The companies using robocalls often ignore the "Do Not Call" list, also a violation. And we warn that, if the message says, "Press I to talk to us, press 2 to stop these calls", DO NOT PRESS 2! The scammers will be alerted to your phone and will sell your number to all the others. The best tip we can give on robocalls is to not answer or hang up immediately.

FINALLY: A new racket is the Realtor Escrow Scam, a warning for home buyers and their agents about a phony escrow request that could cost thousands of dollars. Scambusters.org reports one victim almost lost $48,000 before the scam was spotted at the last minute. 

It's a simple and convincing trick. The scammer identifies buyers who are near to closing on a deal and sends them an email purporting to come from their agent or broker. It requests money to be wired to an escrow account, which, of course, is phony and untraceable. To make the request seem legitimate, the email may include documentation including a bogus "closing statement." Several realtors have reported this scam and some victims have lost substantial sums of money. It's easy to fall for, especially if buyer and agent have already been communicating via email.

As we (and Scambusters.org) frequently warn, never assume that the sender of an email is the person it seems to come from. Always check independently, by phone, with your agent that the request is legitimate. Even then, check out the escrow company's validity and reputation online.

Better Business Bureau
219 N. McDonel St.
Lima, OH
(419) 227-8012

Women in Business Ohio Upcoming Meeting

March Business Book Review From the St Marys Community Public Library

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What To Ask

Marquardt, Michael J. 2014.

 

Leading a team with questions can eliminate ambiguity and create alignment among team members, an d knowing how to come up with the right questions to ask is vital. Avoid putting team members on the spot, forcing them into a defensive stance, encouraging them instead to focus on the problems at hand-and creative solutions to those problems. “You don’t have to have the answer to ask a great question,” says Marquardt. “A great question will ultimately get an answer.” His examples and tips guide leaders to create empowering questions that convey respect for the person to whom it’s posed and encourage that person’s development as a thinker. See how you can lead your business to success by asking the right questions.

 

Leading with Questions is available at the St. Marys Community Public Library. (Source: Harvard Business Review.)

SCAM ALERT!

Be Aware of a phone scam that is going around!  I recently got a phone call from a company called WizTechAssist telling me that they were calling everyone who had a computer running Microsoft Windows.  They told me there were virus's on my computer and they were going to help me find them.  Of course once they found them they were going to want me to pay them to remove them, thus giving them access to my computer!

I told them I was not interested and hung up...they called back from another number demanding to know why I hung up on them.

After a call to the BBB I found out that they have gotten numerous calls reporting this scam and that many people have fallen for this scam.

Please spread the word and make sure friends and family are aware of this and don't fall for this!

If someone you know does fall for this, please call the BBB to report it at 419-223-7010.

Here is more information from Microsoft about these scams HERE

We're Slow This Morning!

If you need to get hold of us, please call 419-300-4611

or reach us by email at info@stmarysohio.org

Check out what's going on in St Marys by going to www.stmarysohio.org
and checking out the community calendar!

Your Weekly Appointment With Your Business

By Becky McCray, Small Biz Survival

This article was originally posted on Small Biz Survival and was used with their permission.

Today, you have unprecedented support available to help you build and improve your business and to survive any economic conditions. No matter how small a town or isolated an area you live in, internet access connects you to astounding resources.

• You can read advice from experts, including those in your own field.
• You can connect personally with mentors, consultants, and many other types of support online directly and through social networks.
• You can access in-depth guides, ebooks and college courses on any small business issue, some for free, others for an affordable price.

All that’s available, but you’re still struggling with your business. Why? What’s keeping you from using these abundant resources to improve your business? With all this abundance, there are still two resources that remain scarce:

1. Your time
2. Your attention

What is the solution? You’re going to have to make an appointment with your self and your business. Dedicate a set time each week, 1 hour minimum. Make it an absolute commitment. Do not let anything disturb you during this hour.

Here’s the agenda for how you’ll spend that time:

1. Figuring out what areas of your business need improvement and choosing one to work on at a time.
2. Finding the resources and people you need.
3. Reading the resources that you found.
4. Learning by making your first attempts.
5. Talking with your mentors, contacts or consultants to check what you’re learning.
6. Implementing and solidifying your learning into how you do business. 

Your very first step is simple:

• Make an appointment with yourself this week for one hour.

Get your calendar. Do it now.

Becky McCray owns a store and cattle ranch in a small town in Oklahoma. Download her 20 Small Business Ideas for Small Towns here http://smallbizsurvival.com/news 

BWC Update: Why It's Important To Remain Current On Your Premiums

Prospective billing: Why it’s important to remain
current on your workers’ comp premiums

Prospective billing starts in July 2015 for private employers, and BWC is reminding employers about the importance of staying current on workers’ compensation premiums.

Paying your premiums in a timely manner will keep your workers’ compensation coverage in effect, and it can save you from having to pay costly non-compliance fees as well as preserve your eligibility to participate in money-saving rating and discount programs.

In May, you’ll receive your notice of estimated annual premium, which will be based on your reported payroll for July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. It is not a bill. Please review it for accuracy and contact BWC if you feel something is wrong with the estimate.

The first invoice you will receive will come in August (as part of the transition credit, BWC will make your June invoice payment on your behalf). You’ll also need to report payroll for the January to June 2015 period, but BWC will pay that premium with the transition credit as well. Transition credits will not be granted to employers with lapsed coverage or employers who have not reported their January to June 2015 payroll.

BWC’s switch to prospective billing also means new deadlines for rating plans and programs. The deadline for programs of Destination: Excellence is now the last business day of May.

A private employer timeline and other resources about prospective billing are available at bwc.ohio.gov. BWC is also offering free seminars around Ohio to answer questions and provide details about prospective billing to private employers. To register, click here.

Questions? Please contact your local BWC customer serviceoffice, call 1-800-644-6292, or email BWC.

Remember, public employers won’t switch to prospective billing until January 2016. A link to the timeline for public employers is available here.

30 W. Spring St. Columbus, Ohio 43215-2256 | 1-800-644-6292 | www.bwc.ohio.gov