As you know, it is our passion to help the business owner grow their business to its greatest potential. Whether partnering with you for your business financial needs or just serving up information, we want to help you realize your business ownership dreams. We try to keep you up on the latest tools to assist you in your endeavors. To that end, check out the IRS site for tools to help with your small business. Whether just getting started on feeling the twinges of growth the tools on this site are very helpful.
Posts Tagged ‘small business’
IRS Tools for Small Business
Thursday, July 7th, 2011Small Business Financial Crunch Reported In Today’s Wall Street Journal
Thursday, June 30th, 2011We all know that times are tough, business is in a terrible slump. As you know we specialize in tools to help the small business owner get the alternate financing they need.
Here is an interesting article that supports the need for alternate financial options for the small business owner.
Great New Tools for Small Business
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011Just a couple of new tools to help the entrepreneur… One is a mobile app for your smartphone to help you track expenses. Check out ExpenseWatch.com.
Also in the running to help the small business owner is B2Bee. They recently added a bookkeeping product to their line of tools for the entrepreneur. For more information about online invoicing, expense tracking, and bookkeeping features, visit http://www.getthebee.com/.
Having good business tools in hand to help you run your business can help you make the most out of your most valuable resource; your time. And, as always, if you need assistance easing your cash flow pains, please feel free to contact us.
Small Business Article – Surviving the Cash Flow Crunch
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011In a recent article that appeared in the June, 2011, Costco Connection, Don Sadler provided some terrific information on the factoring industry. He cited a Washington Monthly article in which Jeffrey Leonard, CEO of the Global Environment Fund, stated that, “Typically, small businesses lead the way out of recession…” Mr Leonard explained that the reason we are not seeing that this time is due to the fact that small businesses are experiencing cash flow problems.
“Many large companies today have simply announced that as a matter of policy they will be paying their bills late – sometimes as much as four months late,” Leonard noted. This policy results in small businesses essentially making “free loans” to their customers – rendering their working capital unavailable.
Mr. Sadler cited a couple of options that are available to the small business owner: optimizing cash flow and factoring. Sadler quoted Tracy Eden, national marketing director for the Commercial Finance Group, “Factoring is a creative financing solution for businesses that don’t qualify for traditional bank loans but need a financial boost to help manage their cash-flow cycle.”
Factoring allows businesses to sell their outstanding invoices to a finance company, known as the factor, at a discount. According to Ryan, “Instead of waiting up to 90 days or longer to get paid, the business receives most of the cash – typically 70 – 90 percent of the receivable – when the invoice is generated.” When the factor collects the invoice the small business will receive the balance, less the discount.
This scenario is a win – win situation in that the small business can maintain cash flow, allowing them to make payroll, purchase supplies, or whatever they need to focus their working capital on as well as keeping their customers happy and maintaining a positive relationship.
If you would like additional information you can contact our office to see how factoring might be a great option for you to keep your cash flowing during these unsettled economic times.
Inbound Marketing – the Latest Trend for an Online Presence
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011In an article posted on AccountingOnline.com Alan Vitberg outlined the newest sensation sweeping the marketing arena; “Inbound Marketing”. In his article Vitberg outlines the approach, the ROI, and other advantages to this new brand of marketing. The implementation stage that he outlines involves an approach “based upon firms implanting strategies and tactics for:
(1) “getting found first” by potential customers who are searching for solutions to their needs or problems;
(2) converting those who have found the firm into a new engagement;
(3) transforming traditional outbound activities for more inbound traffic; and
(4) continually monitoring and measuring results to refine tactics in order to deliver more ROI.
At its core, rather than interrupting people to get their attention with emails, cold calls, snail mail and the like, inbound marketing relies on the principle that visitors will find and come to you if you have the right mix of online presence, thought leadership, infrastructure, tools and discipline in place.”
If you would like to read more please visit http://www.accountingtoday.com and type “Inbound Marketing—The Next Evolution in Marketing Accounting Services” in the search box.
Business Development Ideas
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011I just read an interesting article posted on AccountingToday.com by Nicholas D Keseric, Jr.
The article highlighted a different perspective on business development. There were some great take-aways that I would like to share with you. (Thank you Mr. Keseric for your insights). And, though I believe these are all things that we are aware of, I think we forget to be actively engaged. I know that I found his ‘laundry list’ a good reminder. It doesn’t matter what your business is, or how large/small you are, you can implement and benefit from these suggestions.
• Stay in close contact with your clients and ask them for referrals.
• Suggest addition services that your firm provides for your current clients.
• Work your referral network as you never know when it will be the right place and right time.
• Network like a politician running for office—meet, greet and shake a ton of hands.
• Be observant. Look for new businesses coming into your market.
• Be positive in your attitude.
• Embrace technology. Use it today because we may not understand it tomorrow.
• Be passionate in what you do and how you do it. Others will see it.
• Host and moderate a seminar for business owners on topics that can help them run their business better. Invite clients and prospects, and offer your referral sources to bring in clients. Don’t make it an infomercial for accounting services. Make the topics unrelated to your firm. By doing so you will make the program more impactful and important.
• Follow up on everything you do and say (see dot above).
• Look at how you get to places vs. just looking at the destination only. In other words, don’t focus on the revenues only, but focus on the relationship that will bring you to those revenues.
• Improve the internal communications avenues in your firm by responding to e-mails and voicemail messages…the first time.
• Market your firm year round.
• Join organizations to meet new people and businesses. Time consuming but needs to be done.
• Easier to say than do, but be more welcoming to others. Give people a reason to remember you. Enjoy being yourself and let others see you who you are.
• Be a teammate to your colleagues.
• Lead and look to the future on how to grow your business. There is no book or iron-proof marketing plan available, just hard work on your part.
• Strive to be rewarded as a trusted advisor by clients.
• Get social: FaceBook, LinkedIn, others. They’re too big to ignore and they’re not going away.
As you all know, I am all about the business of helping grow your business… whether it is by offering funding options or information.
Administration’s Budget and Changes for Small Business
Friday, February 25th, 2011In an article by Michael Cohn on the AccountingToday website (posted 2/15/2011) Mr. Cohn cited that The White House had released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2012. In the article he went on to explain some of the changes that will impact small business.
The budget, as outlined for 2012 lays out plans for eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investments.
Mr. Cohn quoted President Obama as saying, “Because small businesses are critical creators of new jobs and economic growth, the budget eliminates capital gains taxes for investments in small firms and includes measures to increase these firms’ access to the loans they need to meet payroll, expand their operations, and hire new workers.”
There was also additional discussion of the proposal’s aim to provide short-term relief to employers by suspending interest payments on state unemployment insurance debt and suspending the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, or FUTA, credit reduction for employers in borrowing states in 2011 and 2012, according to the Treasury Department green book. The proposal would also raise the FUTA wage base to $15,000 (from $7,000) per worker paid annually in 2014, index the wage base to wage growth for subsequent years, and reduce the net federal UI tax from 0.8 percent (after the proposed permanent extension of the FUTA surtax) to 0.38 percent. States with wage bases below $15,000 would need to conform to the new FUTA base. States would maintain the ability to set their own tax rates, as under current law.
The reviews of this information, as reported by Mr Cohn, were mixed:
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Monday that he plans to introduce legislation this week that would give states tax relief for two years on the interest owed to the federal government for the funds they borrowed to cover their unemployment benefit programs.
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, criticized the White House budget proposal. “With at least $1.6 trillion in job-destroying tax increases, this budget fails to preserve the pro-growth policies needed to expand our economy, create jobs, and reduce the deficit,” he said in a statement. “Keeping pace with its liberal tax-and-spend agenda, the Obama Administration hits almost every sector of our economy with a tax hike – energy taxes, taxes on hiring, higher income taxes. That’s not how we get our country moving forward.”
The only thing that is clear from this discussion is that the budget proposal is something that bears watching and further consideration.
Grow Your Business with Best Practice Policies (Final step – off you go)
Monday, January 17th, 2011Ensure:
Don’t feel that, because you have implemented best practices, they are best left on autopilot. To ensure that they are working for your business you should evaluate the effectiveness of the new policies. This can be done by scheduling follow-up meetings with employees. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Tweak your best practices to fit your particular business situation.
This step is absolutely critical. You may approach this final step by having a monthly meeting (perhaps bring in lunch or have an off-site teambuilding activity) or appoint a compliance officer who follows up with individual employees and departments.
Success for all businesses:
You may already be familiar with best practices, but have always assumed that the concept was designed for big business. These policies have their place with a business at any level. After all, there is a reason those mega-companies have grown to the level they have achieved. Implementing best practices can be a good first step toward growing your business in 2011.
Email Kim@Funding4You.com to discuss how our funding products can be put to work for you to grow your business.
Grow Your Business with Best Practice Policies (Step 2)
Friday, January 14th, 2011As we discussed yesterday, it is imperative to identify challenges within your company, in order to establish some best practices for your business model. But, what do you do with those policies once you have identified them?
Execute:
If you simply take stock of the issues you will not see much of an improvement. While knowledge is power, you have to implement that knowledge into real action. Turn your ideas into policies, and formalize them. Make a big deal out of introducing them to your employees and explain the rationale behind them. Best practices are intended to improve your company’s financial bottom line. Ideally, this will translate into a positive outcome for everyone. During the meeting to discuss the new policies make certain to emphasize the constructive nature of the changes. You may also want to put the policies in writing and have them available at the meeting.
Here are some examples of best practices that other businesses have implemented.
Invoice for goods and/or services at the time they are provided.
Set a specific time interval to deal with collections, ideally once a week.
Estimate your income tax obligation monthly, not just quarterly. When payments come due, there won’t be any major surprises.
Provide cross training for employees where practical. That way you won’t have downtime if someone is ill or out for a period of time.
Utilize technology where you can (i.e. set us a merchant account to receive payments).
If possible, have employees who incur billable time use a timer. A few minutes lost here and there can add up, and this can be a big ‘leak’ that needs to be plugged.
Review your pricing structure. Ensure that you are building in enough to cover overhead and still realize enough profit to not only sustain but grow your business.
Run inventory reports regularly. This will allow you to keep close tabs on your inventory and not have any surprises. This may also allow you to shop for the items you need at a lower price rather than having to replace something last minute and potentially having to pay a premium.
This is not a difficult process. You simply need to utilize the publicized practices of the most successful businesses and adapt them to your business situation. Also keep in mind that you can network with other business owners that you know to see how they have approached implementing best practices. If cash flow is hampering some of your best practices, such as maintaining your inventory numbers, then please contact us for a solution.
Grow Your Business with Best Practice Policies (1st things 1st)
Thursday, January 13th, 2011I recently read a terrific article in a newsletter that I think speaks volumes to the business owner; large or small. The article referred to Best Practices models that could be implemented at any stage of your business and would help the business realize some pretty significant improvements. At this time of year – when we are working on getting a fresh start – these suggestions can play a great role in a ‘jumping off point’ for that fresh start. This article caused me to consider how important best practices are to the health of a business and how many business owners are missing out because they simply may not know how to incorporate such policies into their particular business model.
There are three stages you need to address when you decide to apply best practices to your business model.
Identify:
It is imperative that you first identify the problems are you trying to solve. What are you pain points?
• Cash flow
• Collections
• Payroll
• Reduction in your customer base
• Timely payables
• Inventory
It might be helpful if you consult your employees about issues they see in the company. Employees can often see where the disconnect is and will appreciate you taking the time to assist with their pain points.
We at the Factoring Alliance can assist you with cash flow to help with a number of the above issues. From making your payroll on time, to cash flow to keep up with inventory needs we can partner with you to help you grow you business. Please feel free to contact us about our services and products or email Kim@Funding4You.com.