DECEMBER 2014 ;e Costco Connection 97
Don’t forget to use
your Reward on
your next
trip to Costco.
COSTCO SERVICES
Update
To learn more about our complete suite of
Costco services,click on the “Services” link at
Costco.com or call toll-free 1-800-220-6000.
Some restrictions apply. See “Services” at Costco.com for applicable terms and conditions. All services are provided by third parties, may not be available in all areas and are subject to change without notice.
INTUIT PAYROLL
COSTCO SERVICES offers a
quality, reliable, cost-effective
business phone service from
Intermedia. The service is even
better with new state-of-the art
phones from Polycom and Cisco
for members looking to add
phones or new service.
The new phones promise
better HD sound quality on the
handset and the speaker. Some
feature color displays, touch
screens and more. The Polycom
IP 7000 Conference Phone
allows for expansion micro-
phones to cover larger confer-
ence rooms or auditoriums.
The Cisco phones accept three
to five lines, depending on
which model you choose. For
example, the Cisco SPA525G
has a color display and five-line
capability, and supports
Bluetooth headsets.
Find out which plan and
phones are best for your business. Go to Costco.com and
search “new phones.”
THE ANNUAL OPEN enrollment period for qualified health
plans under the Affordable Care
Act ends;February 15, 2015. To
obtain coverage in 2015, you
generally must select and purchase your plan during the open
enrollment period.
The benefit year for plans
purchased in the last open
enrollment will end on December 31, 2014. To continue health
coverage in 2015, you will need
to renew your current health
plan or choose a new one during the open enrollment period.
One of the provisions of the
The team that
plays together
AT THIS TIME of year, many
non-retail businesses may see
activity slowing, but that doesn’t
mean your company has to
come to a halt. It’s a good time
for team-building, and Intuit,
Costco’s payroll service and
QuickBooks provider, offers the
following suggestions.
; Volunteer together. Plan
activities where employees can
work together volunteering for a
local cause or charity. Charitable
activities can help build camaraderie, boost employee morale
and make people feel better
about themselves and their organizations. There are so many
ways for employees to give back
to the community.
; Commit to a team walk,
run or bike ride. Sign up for a
charity walk, run or bike ride
and train together during
lunches to build connections
among team members. Efforts
like these can increase camaraderie, boost the health of the
employees—which lowers company health-care costs—and
increase their ability to focus.
; Plan a field trip. Go to a
local museum, aquarium, zoo or
historical site to bond while
learning about and supporting
your community.
; Take a cooking class. Go
off-site to participate in team-building cooking activities, or
hire a chef to come on-site to
teach these courses. Classes are
fun, but, more important, they
promote team bonding, improve
communication and foster collaboration and cooperation in a
completely new setting.
; Unite with fun competitions. Competitions can be simple, such as a chili cook-off or a
cubicle-decorating contest, where
employees playfully compete for
small rewards or trophies.
Or you can be more elaborate and stage new-product-idea
or marketing-campaign competitions. These competitions can
not only bring your employees
together, but they may surface
the company’s next revolutionary idea.
And keep your team happy
by making sure their payroll is
right and on time. Check out
Intuit Payroll Services by going to
Costco.com and searching “
payroll.” For more on Costco’s Intuit
Payroll Services and Quickbooks
Online, see our story on page 85.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
What to expect in 2015
M
E
DI
A
B
AK
ERY
law is a penalty for not having
coverage. The penalty for not
having coverage in 2014 was 1%
of income or $95 per adult
($47.50 per child) whichever was
higher, but that is expected to
increase in 2015.
Healthcare.gov
lists the fee in 2015 as 2% of your
income or $325 per adult/$162.50
per child, whichever is more.
The Costco Health Insur–
ance Marketplace can assist you
in reviewing various plan
options that are available in your
area. For more information, visit
costcoquote.com;or call;toll-free
1-855-332-3821.
New phones
for your business
INTERMEDIA
