Fundera

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

As a small business owner, you probably don’t have a lot of time. But it’s important to carve out a bit of time to network, especially with other small businesses. You’re probably thinking, “But time is money,” and you’re right. If done correctly, this small investment of time could be worth a lot of money. Networking is a great way to generate business leads, whether it’s a new partner for a future project or a new customer.

Small Businesses 111

Small Businesses Nonprofit Organizations 111

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

By John F. Dini, CMBA, CExP Financial buyers, Private Equity Groups and Family Offices, acquire companies based on their Return on Investment (ROI). When the owner of a mid-market company receives an offer from a financial buyer, he or she logically expects detailed due diligence on the business’ assets and income. Once they have proven the numbers shown on the balance sheet and income statement, most owners expect the transaction to proceed.

Deductions 79

Deductions Transactions 79

GoCardless

SEPTEMBER 3, 2017

Hear from accountancy firm Kinder Pocock on how they are tapping into the potential of apps in cloud accounting software to deliver value for their practice and their clients.

Accounting Firms 52

Accounting Firms 52

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

Have you ever found yourself sitting at your desk on the first nice weekend of spring, facing a huge pile of receipts and bank statements? If you’re like many small business owners, you have rushed to create your bookkeeping file for the previous year just a few weeks before the spring tax-filing deadline at least once since starting your business. And, like most who have found themselves in this position, you probably swore to never let this happen again.

Small Businesses 94

Small Businesses Transactions 94

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

If you’re a whiz in the kitchen who’s been complimented thousands of times about your cooking, you’ve probably toyed around with the idea of opening a restaurant. You think, “I can cook, my food is delicious, so a restaurant would be a no-brainer.” You conduct research only to find out that the restaurant business is notorious for failure. Some statistics put the food service business failure rates as high as 60% within the first year.

Credit Application 92

Credit Application Small Businesses 92

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Long after felons have paid their debt to society, most of them face challenges generating a steady income. A study by the Bureau of Justice a few years ago reported just 12.5% of employers are willing to consider job applications from people who have been convicted of a crime. Further adding to the challenge is the limitations of where they can actually work.

Medical Billing 92

Medical Billing Small Businesses 92

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

By Richard Greene, Clarus Advisors Cash flow is the life’s blood of a business. This is true for the small business and the Fortune 50. Understanding, tracking and controlling your company’s cash inflows and outflows is paramount to running a healthy company. To illustrate the impact collections has on your cash flow , consider this example: daily sales are $10,000 and Accounts Receivable sits at 42 days.

Credit and Collections 76

Credit and Collections Small Businesses 76

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

The Story of The Waxwing from Blackbox Visual on Vimeo. Steph Davies wears many hats : She’s a freelance illustrator, a new mom, and a small business owner. She’s also an advocate for other artists and creative entrepreneurs in her community, helping them build word-of-mouth and attract more business via her shop, The Waxwing. The Waxwing is an artists’ consignment shop based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Small Businesses 85

Small Businesses 85

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Chances are, you’ve heard or read something about the recent cyberattack on the systems of Equifax, one of the three largest credit reporting bureaus in the country, where crucial identification information of about 143 million U.S. customers was compromised. Equifax released a statement that the cyberattack made vulnerable names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, address, and driver’s license numbers of the credit bureau’s customers, as well as the credit card numbers of around 209,000 consu

Credit Scoring 84

Credit Scoring Small Businesses 84

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Everyone has come to accept that taxes are a fact of life. But how often do we stop and take a look at what these taxes really are? While business and income taxes make the headlines, few of us actually know what payroll taxes are and how they work. This isn’t a personal fault—we’re all busy. As long as the check clears, we’re happy. We all do it. We read the total paid without taking a careful look at the deposits (amounts put in) and withholdings (amounts taken out).

Small Businesses 80

Small Businesses Credit and Collections Deductions 80

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

Remember high school math, when you had to memorize dozens of formulas in order to pass the final exam? As an adult, you might have been surprised to discover you actually use some of those formulas in your real life. Most of them, though, have no practical use outside of math class. Fortunately, the most important accounting formulas are both practical and intuitive, making them easy to remember and apply in your business.

78

78

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017

When a lending institution establishes its risk rating system it has to decide whether it will require analysts to risk rate the borrower or the loan -- or both. Said another way, it has to decide between a single or dual rating system. There are benefits to each. On one hand, a single rating system is simple. On the other, the dual rating system allows for more distinction in risk grades, which could be beneficial to the institution.The answer to the question as to which is better for a lending

Credit Risk 68

Credit Risk Default 68

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

When you become a business owner, you quickly realize that it isn’t just about your personal credit score anymore. Yes, your personal credit score still plays a (surprisingly) important role in your business’s life, but now you have another financial indicator to pay attention to: your business credit score. Just as you monitor your personal credit score by reviewing your credit reports periodically, it’s important to keep up to date on your business’s credit score by regularly reviewing its cre

Credit Reporting Agencies 76

Credit Reporting Agencies Credit Scoring Credit and Collections Bankruptcy 76

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Thinking about expanding your business? It’s common for business owners to get the itch for growth, but how do they do it? Unfortunately, it often takes money to make money, so you’ll likely need financing to give you that extra push to make the expansion happen. Why Expand? Some reasons people choose to expand their business are staff shortages, inventory gaps, unfilled orders, untapped markets, edging out the competition, or changes in the respective industry.

Invoice Amount 76

Invoice Amount Deductions Small Businesses Default 76

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 3, 2017

The idea of sitting back and not doing much of anything while you earn money is kind of the definition of living the dream, right? That’s passive income, something that earns you money without necessitating active (or at least sustained) involvement. And as impossible as it might sound—it isn’t. There are indeed ways that people can make passive income for a nice monthly cushion.

Small Businesses 75

Small Businesses 75

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

In the past few years, Chase has really stepped up their travel credit card game. Whether it’s with the consumer Chase Sapphire Reserve, which earned a place on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek, or with the business Ink Preferred, which is one of the best credit cards out there for travel signup bonuses, Chase has won their way into our hearts. Here are four ways that Chase’s cards have changed the game for business travelers. 1.

Transactions 75

Transactions 75

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

Running a business with your spouse: It’s a dream come true! You get to spend every day with your favorite person, you’re pursuing your goals together, and you’re creating financial independence for your family. It won’t be long until you’re sitting atop an empire and hobnobbing with Oprah and Mark Zuckerberg. Running a business with your spouse: It’s a living nightmare.

Bankruptcy 75

Bankruptcy 75

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In a perfect world, you’d have an unlimited budget when launching your e-commerce store. You could start out with the best tools, from the highest quality providers, with no regard for their impact on your bank account. Of course, most of us aren’t that lucky. Rather than being able to splurge on everything that catches our eye, we have to be judicious about where and how we invest our budget.

72

72

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

Imagine the following scenario. An analyst is preparing a risk rating as part of an account’s annual review. She has spread the most recent financial data and updated answers to qualitative questions in the scorecard. She knows this credit well because she has managed it for two years and talks to the CFO regularly. When the risk rating is calculated, however, the scorecard result does not match what she was expecting.

Credit Risk 60

Credit Risk 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

Banks have a wealth of information available to them, and if they use the right tools to dissect that information, they can make major process changes that improve what matters most to customers – both customers of today and tomorrow. For example, according to a recent poll during the Sageworks Risk Management Summit, 39 percent of bankers say it typically takes their financial institutions from three to six weeks to close a new commercial loan, and another 36 percent said it takes more than six

Small Businesses 60

Small Businesses Credit Unions 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

A major concern surrounding technology expenditures is whether the investments will generate a return for the accounting practice. Indeed, it is this worry that keeps partners and some firms stuck using outdated solutions when they could make their work easier and grow the practice with new, differentiated services. However, identifying the return on investment begins with ascertaining which everyday challenges can be addressed with technology.

60

60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Credit analysts assign risk ratings with a focus on whether the lending institution will get its money back in full and on time. This forward view is the reason analysts will downgrade on expectations and upgrade on performance. Borrowers do not operate in a vacuum, however, and their environment is often impacted by things beyond their control. “Industry” sums up the factors of supply and demand, competition and substitution that will influence a borrower’s performance.

Credit and Collections 60

Credit and Collections 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Many financial institutions have yet to begin in earnest their preparations for transitioning to the current expected credit model (CECL), a recent poll by Sageworks suggests. More than half of financial professionals attending a webinar this summer, “CECL Transition Planning and Execution,” said their financial institutions have completed none of the following four major activities related to a transition: • Implementing a transition governance structure • Implementing an execution governance s

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions CECL 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

In the recent Sageworks webinar “Actionable Steps to Prepare for CECL Today,” Neekis Hammond and Jared Mills, advisory services consultants at Sageworks, discuss five actionable steps credit unions can take to prepare for the upcoming CECL regulation. Coordinate departments The first step describes the importance of coordinating with other departments to form a CECL committee.

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions CECL Credit Scoring 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Business valuations of small enterprises can be lucrative for valuation professionals, but the nature of smaller businesses means you need to vet opportunities well, according to Pasquale Rafanelli, CPA/ABV, ASA, CVA, CFE. Rafanelli, valuation manager at Grassi & Co. and a member of the CVA Exam & Grading Committee with the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), says it’s critical for valuation professionals to learn as much as possible about the business and t

Small Businesses 60

Small Businesses 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

In a world filled with digital loan applications, growing fintechs and booming small businesses, credit unions need to continually evaluate their borrower experience. In a recent Sageworks webinar, “Best Practices for Automating Simple Member Business Relationships,” Vice President of Strategy at Sageworks Peter Brown discusses ways to improve borrower satisfaction.

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions Credit Risk Small Businesses 60

Abrigo

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Retaining the “right” clients for your accounting firm and taking the time to develop loyal relationships with those clients should be a high priority, according to practice management consultant Charles Hylan. It is significantly more expensive to attract a new client to an accounting firm than to invest in client retention, he says. In addition, without cultivating relationships with the “right” client, accounting firms are apt to be replaced eventually by competitors – or perhaps even technol

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

Ugmonk by Jeff Sheldon from Ugmonk on Vimeo. Jeff Sheldon had a problem: As a designer, he wasn’t satisfied with the low-quality, impersonal, poorly designed t-shirts and accessories he found in stores. He craved more products that fit his simple, minimalist style and weren’t just capitalizing on the latest trend. He started designing t-shirts that he himself wanted to wear.

Small Businesses 65

Small Businesses 65

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Is your business also a brand? Do you create original materials and assets for your business? Brand value and intellectual property can be just as important as revenue when it comes to your business—and you may not realize these things require specific protection. For instance: what if someone starts selling a product using your company name and logo as an endorsement without your permission?

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64

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

Having a business credit card at your disposal is a no-brainer for any small business owner. But we’re the first to admit it: knowing which credit card is right for your small business isn’t so simple. There are a lot of options out there, and sadly, there isn’t a “catch-all” card for every business owner. Instead, the credit card you use will depend on the type of small business you run.

Credit Card Companies 62

Credit Card Companies Small Businesses Transactions 62

Fundera

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

A 0% APR business credit card can seem like a dream come true for small business owners. If you need to make a big purchase—furnish a new office, for example, or book tickets to a conference on the other side of the country—a zero interest card can offer the chance to pay down your debt interest-free. But those deals do come with a dark side. If you mismanage your debts on a 0% APR card, you could be hit with high-interest rates or worse.

Credit Scoring 62

Credit Scoring Dashboards Small Businesses 62