You can withdraw funds from an heritage education funds RESP through Accumulated Income Payments (AIP) if the beneficiary decides not to pursue post-secondary education.

Conditions
In order to avail AIPs, the following conditions must be met:
– The payment is made after the year that includes the 9 th anniversary of the RESP, each beneficiary is at least 21 years old, and the person is not currently receiving an Educational
assistance Payment (EAP);
– The payment is made when the REPS has been open for 35 years, unless the account is a specified plan (in which case the payment will be made after the year that includes the 40 th
anniversary of the plan); or
– All of the beneficiaries are deceased at the time of the payment.

You must bear in mind, however, that not all RESPs offer AIPs. Also, the first condition may not apply if the beneficiary under the RESP is not able to pursue post-secondary education because of a serious and prolonged mental impairment.
AIPs do NOT include:
– The funds from educational assistance payments (EAPs);
– Payments to an educational institution in Canada;
– The refund of contributions to the subscriber or the student/beneficiary;
– Repayments from the Canada Education Savings Act or under a designation provincial program;
– Transfers to another RESP.

Tax considerations:
An AIP is subject to two taxes:
1) Regular income tax
2) An additional tax of 20%, or 12% for Quebec residents

Keep in mind that your contributions to the heritage RESP are not subject to tax, but the interest and investment gains are.
The promoters report the AIPs in box 040 of T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income. You’ll get a copy. You have to include this as income on line 130 of your income tax and benefit return within the year you received it.

Then, you can calculate the second tax using Form T1172, Additional Tax on Accumulated Income Payments From RESPs. You must include a filled out copy of Form T1172 with your income tax and
benefit return for the year you got the AIP.

Important note: You must pay the additional tax by the balance due date for your regular tax, typically falling on April 30 of the year that follows the year when you got the AIP.

Lowering AIPs Subject to Taxes
You can lower the amount of AIPs subject to tax up to a lifetime maximum of $50,000 if:
– You are the original subscriber
– You acquired the former subscriber’s rights through marriage or breakdown
– (when there’s no subscriber of the plan) You are the husband/wife or a common-law of a deceased subscriber

You also have to meet BOTH of these conditions:
– You’re paying the amount to your (or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s)registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), specified pension plan (SPP), or pooled registered pension plan
(PRPP) in the year you go the AIPs or the first 60 days of the following years; and
– Your RRSP deduction limit lets you take the amount contributed to your (or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s) RRSP, PRPP, or SPP on line 208 of your income tax and benefit return.
Then, claim the deduction for the year when any payments are made.

NOTE: You cannot lower the AIPs subject to tax if you’ve become the subscriber under the heritage RESP after the death of the original subscriber.

If you want to improve your career prospects, you need to become well-versed in risk management. Liability and privacy are both important to companies nowadays, as businesses are concerned about maintaining a good reputation with their customers. Therefore, if you want to increase your value to your company, you should strongly consider the risk management courses that are featured online. The following reasons will help you make a decision for this type of training.

1. Your employment prospects are better

If you want to make sure that you can obtain a job after graduation, you need to supplement your academic degree with risk management training. This type of coursework increases your expertise so you can be of more benefit to your company. When you are considered an expert, you will also feel more interested in your job overall.

2. Risk management training supports your understanding of business

While a business degree is general in nature, you can complement a number of business areas by taking courses in risk management. These areas include finance, marketing, accounting, management, and statistics.

3. You will make a difference when you take part in risk management training

If you wish to make a positive difference in your field, you should consider risk management education. You can help a business handle any unexpected events with more proficiency.

4. Risk management training will stabilize your position

Risk management training is frequently associated with the insurance industry and with the computer field, both of which remain stable in poor economic times. Therefore, knowing this information can enhance your job security.

5. You will be in higher demand if you understand the basics of risk management

According to business statistics, people who take risk management courses are in high demand today. Statistics reveal that about 40% of the workforce is expected to retire within the next decade. Therefore, your talents will be needed if you choose to advance your career by taking this type of training.

6. Risk is inherent in society

As a society or business grows and develops, it constantly experiences risks. That is why risk management training is important. In this fast-paced world, risks can elevate rapidly. Therefore, it is important to know how to manage risks and minimise their threats.

7. Reducing risk allows a company to meet its goals

You can be an integral part of a business when you understand the dynamics of risk management. For example, enterprise risk management (ERM) is an area that is used in corporations. ERM permits a company to manage risk across its sectors and its extended networks.

8. You can be a key player in diverting a business crisis

One of the risk management subjects that students learn is crisis management. Learning how to prevent a crisis can help you support your company’s security goals and objectives.

9. You can support your company in reducing cyber risks

Because technology is used extensively in business today, a course in cyber risk management can help you support your

company’s mandates for customer and corporate privacy. This type of support can go a long way in keeping a company afloat.

Promotional products have been around for a long time, but the trends are always changing. When considering a promotional product campaign, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. Here, we’ll discuss the 6 hottest trends in promotional products for 2018 and onward.

1. Using brand-name, retail-inspired products

Companies looking for promotional products are turning to beloved brand names to help boost their image. These deals can be valuable for both brands, making it a clear win-win.

A popular example is branding drinkware products that people already love to use. Nalgene, CamelBak, and S’well bottles are all extremely popular water bottles that can be branded with your company’s logo.

Because these branded bottles are coveted, people are much more likely to use them than if you used generic promotional products.

2. Branded apparel that’s wearable outside the office

While that t-shirt may look great on the job, it’s unlikely that employees are going to wear it on the weekend. Unless, of course, it’s useful to them.

Current trends suggest that athletic designs with performance materials perform very well outside the office. Employees are more likely to wear the clothing if it has features like a good design, moisture-wicking fabric, and functionality.

This trend definitely combines with the previous one: people are more likely to use promotional apparel if it’s a well-known clothing brand.

3. Promotional products are an investment

In 2018, marketers are seeing promotional products as a worthwhile investment, and more companies are willing to spend for good quality. Cheap, unbranded products simply don’t cut it anymore. Investing in high-quality promotional products will give you a better ROI than cheaping out.

You can stand out from the crowd by choosing high-quality promotional products that people will actually use. While you will spend more on these products in the first place, the products are much more likely to get used, and increase your brand visibility rather than ending up in a landfill.

Consumers want useful products, not just free stuff.

4. Eco-Friendly promotional products

Consumers these days are conscious of their environmental choices. They’re less likely to accept a promotional product if they think it’s going to end up in a landfill.

You can make the choice easier by offering eco-friendly promotional products that make consumers feel good using them.

5. Tech promotional products

People love technology, and promotional products are no exception. Consider investing in branded speakers, phone chargers, smart watches, wireless headphones and USB battery packs. Consumers are eager to use these products, and they’ll give your brand more visibility.

6. Materials like wood grain, cork, and copper

In 2018, consumers are looking for functional and beautiful products that use high-quality materials. Some cutting-edge trends include copper, cork, and wood grain products. These materials give off an impression of high quality while also providing functionality. Customers are much more likely to use your products if they’re made with these trendy materials, and they’ll give your brand a modern, up-to-date image.

Consumers are more aware of the green practices of the companies they do business with. People may choose a business solely on their environmental impact. One area where any business can improve their sustainability is through waste reduction. Trash compactors make this a possibility.

1. Compactors Help Save Money

Businesses may decrease the cost of waste removal with the addition of a compactor. The machine compresses the trash into a small cube, limiting the size of the waste. This results in the waste bins getting filled less often.

When a business takes longer to fill their waste bins, they require fewer trips from the waste removal company to collect the trash. This saves the business money and may prevent the need for scheduled pickups. Instead of scheduled removal, the business may save money with on-demand pickup.

2. Compactors Save Space

Trash compactor also save space compared to the need for several large waste bins. If it takes longer to a fill a bin, the business may no longer require as many bins. This reduces the space required for trash purposes.

At a retail location or warehouse, the loading area or the dock may have more room to sort and unload merchandise. The space that is saved can also help create a safer environment by providing more room for the safe operation of dollies and forklifts.

3. Avoid Messes and Spilled Trash

Using large trash bins increases the chance of a large spill or mess. Employees may miss the bin. The bins may also fill too quickly. These problems lead to a mess around the trash site and may become an eyesore if the area is visible to customers or guests.

Trash bins may produce horrible odours that spread to other areas of the property. Keeping these odours at bay is difficult with a trash bin that is regularly overflowing with waste. This is especially common with bins that do not have lids.

Compactors help prevent messes by pressing the trash into a compact cube. Once compressed, the trash is unlikely to spill or create a mess.

4. Increase Worker Safety

Improperly disposing of waste may lead to accidents such as a slip-and-fall injury due to a trash spill. Exterior trash bins are also occasionally the source of scavenging. Scavengers may injure themselves while trying to retrieve trash. These issues are eliminated with a compactor. The machine prevents spills and the compressed waste is difficult to scavenge.

5. Improve Environmental Sustainability

Reducing the amount of waste produced limits the waste that goes in the landfills. Fewer trips to the landfill require less fuel. These benefits reduce the business impact on the environment.

Waste reduction also increases efficiency. Fewer garbage bags are used and the waste removal company makes fewer trips to the business. The result is more efficient waste removal and better sustainability.

The use of compactors reduces the demand for waste removal. Reducing waste can help businesses save space, energy, and money. It also helps maintain a clean environment, improves worker safety, and protects the environment. Simply by adding a compactor, businesses can make a profound difference.

Promotional products go beyond having your brand, personalized message or logo on them. An assessment process is vital for every business to understand the most appropriate promotional product that will bring the right message and meaning to clients for its marketing campaign. The right promotional products give the right experience to customers and in the end, meet the company’s marketing goals.

1. Promo products should enforce brand relevance

One of the essential features of a promotional product is that it should be relevant to the company’s brand. It is a feature that plays an integral role in driving the message home to the clients. It aids in helping the users and recipients of the promotional product to associate your business with the promo product that they receive. For instance, pens are among the most popular promo products; however, they are not relevant if your company doesn’t have anything to do with writing. You can consider giving electronics for digital businesses, first aid kits for hospital businesses, and sunscreen if you are a dermatologist.

2. Useful promo products

A promotional product should be helpful to achieve an effective marketing strategy for your brand. Valuable products mean that the recipients will keep them as well as use them. You can opt for promo products that offer long-term or short-term use. For instance, a business that is in the salon industry can choose to give its current and potential customers useful products as well as those that will always remind them of your business.

3. Promo products that represent your business

Necessarily, a promotional product should represent your company even if they are short-term products. A company can give a branded water bottle or food item that serves a short-time purpose, but it represents the company. Research shows that promotional products have the potential of elevating the opinions of customers about your company. Therefore, a cheap or low-quality product gives a wrong impression of your company, which represents your company in the wrong way. Also, remember that consumers keep promotional products for more than two years on average; hence, you don’t want your company to be represented in the wrong way for all those years.

4. Features of the promo product

The aesthetic elements of a promotional product are one of the reasons why consumers will settle for it even in the future. Therefore, you want to design a promotional product that is well-designed and attractive to your target audience. You should factor in specific product features such as the color to ensure that the color of the promo product is available in the company’s brand or if the color you want will make sense to your audience. Also, consider the imprint area to ensure that the promo product is big enough to incorporate the company’s logo or brand message. Don’t forget to think about the decoration type.

Gamification increases user engagement by tapping into humankind’s competitive streak. Our brains’ reward centers are rarely satisfied which is why we keep coming back for more. So while educators leverage gamification to increase classroom participation, and while employers use gamification to enhance employee productivity, Kuwait online shopping sites use gamification to drive user engagement and sales. Here are a few ways a strategic gamification plan can increase sales and build a brand’s positive image.

1. Novelty

Using new technologies, or creating a new spin on an older technology is a way to rebrand and refresh a business’ image and attract a new audience. But an app does not need to be flashy in order to achieve a novel presence.

An article in Harvard Business Review broke down traditional businesses and online businesses into two categories. Traditional businesses were defined as purchase-oriented while online businesses were defined as user-oriented. The reason why online businesses outperformed some traditional businesses was based on convenience and an improved user experience. Convenience can be considered novel, especially for online businesses positioned within complex industries, like real estate and finance. Gamifying a complex system increases engagement and eases processes like application forms or even thorny regulations.

2. Sticky Apps

Getting customers to return to your business‘ in-app experience can be difficult, especially when electronics offer so many other distractions. Games, countdowns and other “fun” strategies will keep a customer hooked. Research has shown that once a customer is in an app they are more likely to make a purchase. The longer a customer is inside your business’ app then the likelier they will be to buy something.

3. Shareability

Social media depends on sharing and games are highly shareable experiences. Users enjoy sharing their successes and they also like challenging others. This electronic competition acts as a digital word-of-mouth that reaches across time zones and even demographics. Cross-platform gaming experiences, ones that work just as well on Apple devices as they do on Android, increase shareability and grow your app’s user base.

4. Incentivization

Some marketing experiences are already gamified, or quite close. Collecting points, accruing rewards, receiving bonuses and other incentives are built-in to programs like frequent flyer clubs or grocery store apps. Gamification provides users with instant gratification that older rewards programs couldn’t deliver. By incorporating instant rewards at check-out or encouraging in-app purchases using a count-down clock adds excitement to already successful strategies.

Before employing any of these strategies, ensure that your target demographic finds them appropriate. Not all gamified options can, or should, be geared to all customers. Establish your program’s goals and hone in on the kind of experience your customers would enjoy and share.

Accounts receivable factoring is one of the tricky methods of gaining cash. The accounts receivable factoring is one of the unpleasant but necessary parts of doing business, especially where B2B commerce is involved. Here are some tips that make accounts receivable factoring less stressful.

1. Patience and Persistence

Most organizations fail to understand that patience can play magic in making your invoices profitable. Most people will pay comfortably during their sweet time no need to pressure them so much. Sometimes getting an ideal company that is willing to buy the invoices can take long. However, that should never be a reason to give up early.

2. Communicate clearly

One of the ways of ensuring that clients are in a position to pay their invoices is to remind them through effective and creative communication. Remember you do not want to sell invoices to a company and then your clients to default on payment.

3. Be Organized

A Good organization is one of the ways of ensuring that your invoices sell easily and successfully. Organization entails deploying an easy-to-use-system that will keep records of the clients that the company has credited. Buyers will be ready to spend their cash when they see that the accounts receivable are managed professionally. Furthermore, it will be easy to deal with clients who default on payment.

4. Act professionally

Sometimes the accounts receivable affair may not be a success as we had earlier thought. In such a scenario, you may sometimes be tempted to let your emotions take over and end up ruining business relations with good clients. Before taking action, you should put into consideration factors as the payment history of the client.

5. Set the credit limit

Sometimes offering credit beyond a certain limit can be detrimental to the business. You should come up with a strategy of ensuring that clients do not exceed certain limits. For accounts receivable factoring to bear fruit avoid giving credits to clients whose ability to clear the debts is in question. Sometimes some clients are never sure the kind of debt that they can handle within a specified period, therefore, setting a limit makes it easy for them.

6. Always start early

Beginning early is quite beneficial. First, it gives the clients some ample time to prepare for payment. Second, the buyer does not need to make a rash decision as it can lead to a loss. In case a client comes up with an excuse, it will be easier to deal with it 30 days before due time rather than three days before time.

There are other strategies that you can be used apart from the ones named above. Having an outside resource is a good example. Most organizations that are good at managing the accounts receivable have alternative means to services delinquent accounts.