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The Basics of Invoice Factoring

Making goods and providing services often means that you are waiting for customers to pay on invoices for the cash you need for supplies, bills and salaries. This can strain your cash flow and prevent you from making seasonal or time-sensitive purchases you need to grow or thrive. When your cash flow is tight because of outstanding invoices for goods or services already delivered to customers, you can turn to factoring or accounts receivables financing to get some needed slack. This process gives you an advance on qualifying invoices, so you have the cash you need for working capital while the customer still has time to pay. What Are the Benefits? Not only does financing your accounts receivables give you cash when you need it, that you are already owed, but it can free your company from the burden of collecting on those invoices. The fees associated are usually lower than the interest rate on a loan and the process has an easier application process. You can even apply online and get t...

How To Pick the Right SBA Loans

This Small Business Administration is designed to help companies with fewer than five hundred employees stay in business and help the economy thrive. While you can find informational resources through this administration, most people are more familiar with the financial help the SBA offers. SBA loans are divided into a couple of different programs, each with specific goals. The two most familiar are the 7(a), or general business loan, and the CDC/504, or real estate loan, and choosing the right one for your business needs can be the best way to grow and thrive. What Is the CDC/504 Program? The major differences between the SBA loan programs are how you can use the funds from each one. With the CDC/504 program, you can purchase equipment and owner-occupied commercial property with the help of a Certified Development Company. These are typically larger amount loans than other SBA programs, from $125,000 and $2 million with a ten percent down payment, and cannot be used for working capita...

How Small Business Can Use Tax Deductions

When you’re running a small business, one of the best ways to save money is to take advantage of tax deductions available to you. Here are some to look into. 1. Home Office Space If you’re running your startup out of your home, you can usually write off your workspace as long as you use it exclusively for your business. The IRS has made adjustments so that it’s easier to calculate how much you can deduct, but you need to make sure that you’re fully meeting all of their criteria for this write-off so that you don’t run into any trouble down the road. 2. Transportation Expenses Similar to using a space in your home, if you use your personal car for business purposes, you can write off some of these expenses. From repairs and gas to tolls and parking fees, you can get tax deductions on all of these costs. You can do this by using the actual expense method, which means you keep track of all of the costs you incur while conducting your business, or by using...

10 Tips for Launching a Startup

You have an idea for a startup but no concept of how to begin. Lack of direction breeds hesitation and the longer you wait the greater the odds of abandoning your plans forever. Avoid your dream from stalling out by using the below strategies to craft a plan that makes yours happen. 1. Just Do It Overthinking causes indecision and prevents people from taking action. Abandon your fetish for perfectionism and start making moves. Remember that every mistake is also a learning opportunity. 2. Seek Wisdom Acknowledge areas of weakness and realize what informational gaps you need to have filled. Read up and chat with those already inhabiting your field, letting the mistakes of others guide your way. 3. Partner Up Finding the right person to help see your vision through makes all the difference. Being able to exchange ideas regarding strategy and overall planning provides indispensable clarity. 4. Raise the Bar Instead of reinventing the wheel, create a superior one. Delivering improvements o...

Why You Should Provide Financing for Customers

For many businesses that are looking to increase revenue,consumer financing can potentially be a good option. Although those with asmall business may think that they have fewer options for doing this than alarger company, the reality is that there can be many ways that a smallbusiness may use business to consumer finance to increase revenue. How Does Customer Financing Work? The primary goal of customer, or consumer, financing is toencourage someone who is just looking around to actually purchase something.Business to consumer finance works by allowing a customer who may not have themoney to make a purchase upfront to buy something with credit offered by thecompany, and then make smaller payments over time. Because a customer won’thave to pay the total balance at once, they may feel more encouraged to makemore purchases, or a larger purchase than they normally would, instead ofputting it off or waiting until they have the money saved. Different Kinds of Programs  When it come...

What are the Benefits of Equipment Leasing?

Many businesses rely on certain types of equipment to runproperly. Whether it’s computers, manufacturing equipment, or something else,you need it to be in good working condition. The thing is, equipment eventually wears out and needs to bereplaced. Doing so is vital to business. The problem, however, is thatreplacing that equipment can be quite expensive and can put a serious damper onyour cash flow. One way for you to get the equipment that you need withoutlosing crucial cash flow is with equipment leasing. What is Equipment Leasing? Also called equipment financing, this solution allowsbusiness owners to get the equipment they need without using up their cashflow. A financing company technically purchases the machinery and you makelease payments to use it. Payments are generally more affordable thanpurchasing the equipment outright yourself. Keep Your Cash Flow Your cash flow is necessary for many things. You need it topay your employees, pay the bills, make repairs, get new inventory...

Ways to Finance Your Medical Supply Business

Operating a medical supply business can be a taxingexperience. To stay ahead, it can be helpful to have a firm understanding ofthe financing services available to you. When your cash flow slows, it canprevent your business from thriving. By using the right financing option, youwill see an improvement with your working capital and can use the funds tocover business expenses and take advantage of opportunities to grow yourcompany. Look over these options and determine which financing solution is thebest fit to help your business reach the success you desire. Traditional Financing The most common route to consider for financing is visitinga bank for a loan. The process is usually straightforward and the applicationwill require that you produce documents detailing your credit score and recentfinancial history. The drawback to a traditional bank loan is that the processfor approval can take a considerable amount of time. When your business needsfunds fast to meet deadlines and satisfy clien...