Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Fantasy sport skills and our exercise of free will – Mint

An argument clincher for fantasy sports arrived this week in the form of a tax bonanza that this industry is expected to yield, thanks to its dream emergence in recent years. Valued at 34,000 crore currently, the market is forecast to reach 1.65 trillion in India by 2024-25, according to a report put out jointly by the consultancy Deloitte and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports. If killjoys lay off and this pace of virtual growth materializes, its tax contribution to our coffers could zoom from a modest 1,450 crore in 2020-21 to a hefty 24,300 crore by 2024-25. This should quicken the pulse of taxmen on the lookout for easy pickings to meet an asking-rate raised sharply by a spell of covid-19, lest ever-steeper targets slip away. By trapping us indoors with eyeballs affixed to screens, the lethal bug did us at least one good turn. It made fantasy gamers proliferate across the country. Indeed, the craze has granted us yet another global boast: India now has the worlds largest base of fantasy sports-persons, estimated at above 130 million. The more they play, the more revenue this market will generate; and the faster it flips up its financial score, the less likely that well all be burdened with heavier post-pandemic tax levieseither openly, in the shape of specific slap-ons, or silently, by way of prolific inflation. Or is this just a fiscal fantasy?

The grey zone this enterprise inhabits, though, lumps it with regulatory risks. It is exposed to glares of reproach not just from those given to suspicion of anything thats fun, especially if its profitable, but also to gavel raps from courts of law that could take a dim view of this activity for falling afoul of bansin some stateson money being staked on games of chance. But is that what they are? Opinions span a range of shades. Marketers of fantasy-sport gigs contend that they are real games of skill, like some of the actual versions played on real fields. Many game-players agree. Fantasy cricket, for example, lets participants crunch data, pick teams and summon other such wisdom to improve their odds of winning. Also, one can play cashless, typically, so trials are on the house. Yet, as the action stays in an online realm where its that software keeps scoreboards ticking, unless games are fixed, their final results must be a close function of random inputs. Chance must surely play a major role, even if only backstage. But then again, since skills are often perceptual anyway, self-perceptions of it ought to count. So long as our punters are convinced of their agency over wins and losses, their punts neednt be clubbed with gambles. Fantasy games are found to be addictive, no doubt, but this can perhaps be held in check by rules that cap the time and cash each player may spend on them.

By the same token, we could also ease the curbs that prevail in some states on games of chance being bet upon. Roulette players may well be aware that the prize-money sought differs greatly from what they should expect to win once its weighted by their win likelihood; also, that this expectation cannot exceed their ticket price for a go at the wheel, unless its a loss-leader casino. But if they derive psychic benefitslike the rush of hope or thrill of a spinthen it would qualify as a case of value delivery from one free agent to another. Should state clamps interfere with free will? Lets not forget that fantasy has seen demand swell in various other arenas as well, and that too, with unbridled supply to satisfy it.

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Fantasy sport skills and our exercise of free will - Mint

CashApp Will Now Do Your Taxes for Free, and It’s Actually Legit – VICE

Tax season is here, folks, and even if you think that Uncle Sam eating 40% of your lunch is a steaming pile of nonsense, you still have to pay. After all, as the old adage goes, three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and long Furby guiding you across the River Styx in the afterlife. Dont freak out yet: Tax Day (April 18 this year) is still over a month away, so if all of your receipts and invoices are crumpled up in a shoebox documents safe under your bed, youve still got time. Traditionally, youd either have to pony up for an accountant, or shell out for some legacy tax software to have the privilege of giving the government your money. However, in the year of our Lord 2022, the good people at Cash App are offering a simple, elegant solution: Theyll file your taxes for free.

Yep, you read that correctly: Cash App, the app best known for helping people pay back their friends for weed and tacos, now offers Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax), a fast, easy, and 100%-free way to file both your federal and state taxes, even if you're taking deductions or credits, or have a uniquely complex tax situation. Millions of people have already used it to file for free (including one friend of Rec Room, who said it was very easy, very legit, and that they got a great return), and it currently has a 4.8/5-star rating for its service. Most people can file their taxes in minutes, the website reads. Not only is it fast and easy to file with us, it's completely free from start to finishno hidden fees, charges, or surprises. And frankly, we're in need of making this whole thing as easy as possible.

The only thing you need to do is download Cash App to log in and start filing with Cash App Taxes. (If you don't already have Cash App, creating a free account to get started is a snap.) Plus, if you deposit your refund directly into Cash App, you can get it up to five days faster compared to many banks, according to the site. You also dont have to worry about your taxes or personal information being secureCash App Taxes uses 128-bit or higher encryption to protect the transmission of your data, has a dedicated on-site security team, and supports two-factor authentication with authenticator apps.

Whether youre more than happy to fork over some of your hard-earned clams to Uncle Sam to help build schools, repair roads, and fund government projects across the country, or youre Googling how to start an offshore shell corporation as we speak, Cash App Taxes is there to help you settle your account with government, for free, because as weand some of historys most notorious criminalsknow, the IRS does not fuck around.

File your taxes for free today with Cash App Taxes.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story.

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CashApp Will Now Do Your Taxes for Free, and It's Actually Legit - VICE

The Best Free Invoice And Billing Software Of 2022 – Forbes

Invoice Ninja is a feature-packed free invoicing software that makes it easy for you to manage billing for multiple clients and even multiple businesses. You can create an unlimited number of quotes and invoices, but the free plan limits you to 50 clients. Add a logo to invoices to add professionalism, but youre stuck with the Invoice Ninja branding, too.

A unique feature of Invoice Ninja is that it allows you to send invoices for multiple businesses, so you can manage billing for all your businesses or clients businesses with one free account. Like most of the best free invoicing software, Invoice Ninja lets you use payment gateways such as WePay, Stripe, Authorize.net and PayPal.

If you find the limitations of the free plan too restrictive, you can upgrade to one of the paid plans, which are affordableat $10 to $14 per month. The paid plans also include payment reminders, reporting and a branded URL, so customers can pay via a link.

Who should use it:

Invoice Ninja is a good choice for any small to midsize business, but its best for individuals who run multiple companies and need to invoice for each oneyou can do so for up to ten businesses from one account.

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The Best Free Invoice And Billing Software Of 2022 - Forbes

New Jersey-based POS Solutions Announces Five Million In Free POS Software & Hardware To Local Restaurants That Are Raising Money For Ukrainian…

New Jersey-based POS Solutions Announces Five Million In Free POS Software & Hardware To Local Restaurants That Are Raising Money For Ukrainian Relief.

ROCKAWAY, NJ-March 14th, 2022POS Solutions, the leading provider of point of sales solutions to thousands of tri-state restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and more, announced their free POS software and hardware for any restaurant, small business, or organization, raising money for the millions of displaced Ukrainians.

We are extremely proud to work with area business owners to boost their efforts to help the over two million Ukrainians that the ongoing conflict has displaced, stated Chris Sasso, President of POS Solutions. We are helping restaurants and businesses who facilitate the collection, processing, and disbursement of customer donations and helping the brave people of Ukraine, he concluded.

ABOUT POS SOLUTIONS:

Since 1978, POS Solutions has been providing restaurants, bars, and thousands of small businesses to accept and process credit cards and contactless payments. They serve businesses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Florida, with plans to expand in 2022. Based in Rockaway, New Jersey, POS Solutions employs over 40 local residents and offers tech support in both Spanish and English.

POS SOLUTIONS MISSION:

POS Solutions is dedicated to providing the best in POS solutions software, hardware, and service and giving back to our communities and customers through charitable giving.

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New Jersey-based POS Solutions Announces Five Million In Free POS Software & Hardware To Local Restaurants That Are Raising Money For Ukrainian...

TMS 2.0 is finally here and its free – FreightWaves

Shippers and brokers are traditionally forced to use off-the-shelf transportation management systems because they cannot afford to build their own TMS.

These systems come at a steep cost despite the growing number of TMS solutions on the market, many fall drastically short of expectations and are prohibitively expensive.

Whats needed is a freight management solution that does it all, but is scalable and affordable perhaps even free.

This is the goal of MVMNT, a Chicago-based FreightTech startup.

MVMNT founder and CEO Michael Colin drew from his logistics background and passion for fintech to create a freight management solution that addressed the many inefficiencies and pain points that hinder this industry.

When booking a load, youve got your TMS open on one window, youve got your email open on another window, and then youve got a Chrome browser open with like 15 tabs, Colin said.

In this emerging era of streamlined freight technology, using three monitors at once just isnt the answer.

Its a transportation management system, right? Youre supposed to be able to manage all of your freight in it, Colin explained. You shouldnt have to use external, individual subscription-based software solutions built 15 years ago to do your job.

From carrier procurement to pricing, load dispatching to making payments, MVMNT is the all-in-one freight management platform that encapsulates what a TMS should be.

We dont charge for connections made on our platform, he said. Were not in the business of making decisions for our customers; were just in the business of helping facilitate those decisions and making them quicker and more efficient.

MVMNTs free-to-use model takes capital constraints out of the equation when it comes to choosing freight management software.

If youre a small brokerage, not only do you have to think about making money but you also have to think about cash flow, Colin said. Transportations an industry where cash flow is incredibly important.

Colin stressed that cash flow goes beyond the books it can better position companies to make a direct impact in the market.

Cash flow is not just an accounting function by being able to pay your carriers quickly, you drive stronger retention, get better rates and are more competitive in the market, said Colin. Our QuickPay-embedded financing solution brings the benefits of paying carriers immediately to small and medium-sized businesses that otherwise wouldnt be able to.

He described MVMNT as unlike other free-to-use products, many of which sacrifice quality for accessibility.

We really want to make sure that this isnt true for our platform, Colin said. The ability to build something very strong that solves end users problems while also being free I think thats a really powerful combination.

Colin founded MVMNT in response to the challenges he faced at a large freight brokerage in Chicago. As then-director of business operations, he was frustrated with a number of technology constraints that made things inefficient.

What MVMNT has created is a reverse-engineered TMS, dubbed TMS 2.0, one that Colin said hed love to have used when he was in the trenches. The platforms familiarity and simplicity among industry leaders has quickly led to its widespread adoption. In just two years, over 30,000 carriers have joined the platform.

Weve redefined what your TMS should be able to do and found a way to give it away for free to everyone in the market, Colin said. And unlike many startups trying to enter the space, we are building MVMNT from the inside out as industry operators that believe in a strong command of operations via technology.

Click for more FreightWaves content by Jack Glenn.

The leading voices in supply chain are coming to Rogers, Arkansas, on May 9-10.

*limited term pricing available.

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TMS 2.0 is finally here and its free - FreightWaves