Fundera

DECEMBER 29, 2015

It might be hard to imagine now, but before 2009, tapping your phone didn’t usually result in a black car pulling up minutes later to drive you wherever you wanted to go. But in only a few short years, the ride-sharing service Uber has expanded to eight million users , 160,000 drivers, 300 cities, and 45 countries worldwide. The company’s disruptive status in the industry is why some are saying Uber could have a valuation of $70 billion , according to CNN Money , which would put the company’s va

Shared Service 76

Shared Service 76

Abrigo

DECEMBER 31, 2015

A favorite principle that financial advisors like to discuss is “compounding”: How saving a little now can help magnify your returns down the road as the interest or the investment gains multiply. This concept of compounding is appealing. After all, who doesn’t like to get back more than they put into something? Undoubtedly, many accounting firms providing periodic reviews of their marketing budgets seek ways to get more out of what they are investing in marketing.

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

GoCardless

DECEMBER 21, 2015

The deadline is getting ever closer. you'll need to upgrade unless your software supports the new security standard.

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Fundera

DECEMBER 23, 2015

Looking for your next business venture, but don’t want to think of a new idea? Consider purchasing an existing business instead! But whether you’re already a business owner planning to add a new business to your portfolio or a first-time entrepreneur who’s never owned a business before, there are a few things you’ll need to know before following through with a business acquisition.

Credit Scoring 76

Credit Scoring Small Businesses Default 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 21, 2015

Mozzeria: A Small Business Revolution Mini-Documentary from The Small Business Revolution on Vimeo. Melody always wanted to open a restaurant. Russ grew up on New York City pizza. So when it was time for a career change for the both of them, the answer seemed obvious: a wood-fired pizza restaurant they’d call Mozzeria. Running a restaurant in San Francisco is no small feat.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 18, 2015

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Securing financing was still a big deal for small business owners. As it turns out, the InterGalactic Banking Clan had some pretty strict regulations with their small business financing. Here’s a list of 12 characters or organizations from Star Wars who could’ve used an out-of-this-world loan. 1. Anakin on Tatooine.

Credit Scoring 76

Credit Scoring Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 15, 2015

“Free money.” If you’re starting or running a business, nothing sounds better. Sadly, there’s no such thing…. Unless you count small business grants. Unlike loans, grants don’t need to be repaid, so there’s no worry over term length, interest rates, APR, or refinancing. You just need to qualify, and boom—free money. There are two caveats, though. First, grants are generally pretty specific about what you can spend that money on, whereas loans tend to be very flexible.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses Nonprofit Organizations 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 14, 2015

For hardworking business owners, the temptation to work through the holidays can be strong. But whether your holiday break is 12 days or 12 hours, be sure you carve out time to relax and make the most of your well-earned time off. 1. Unplug… by whatever means necessary. Got this one here. 2. Do what you must to ignore your inbox. Got this one here. 3.

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Fundera

DECEMBER 11, 2015

We’ve made it to our last day of Fundera’s Five Days of Giving. In case you didn’t know, every day this week we’ve been raffling off a basket filled with gifts from our very own customers’ small businesses. To shake things up, today’s prize will go to whoever has the most entries. (If there’s a tie, we’ll raffle it off between the top entrants.).

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 10, 2015

It’s the second to last day of our Five Days of Giving. In case you didn’t know, every day this week we’ll be raffling off a basket filled with gifts from our very own customers’ small businesses. Help us take some of that holiday shopping off your plate—and into your home. You can enter the contest by completing any of the tasks below—and the more you finish, the more entries you get.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 9, 2015

We’re smack dab in the middle of our Five Days of Giving. As a reminder, every day this week we’ll be raffling off a basket filled with gifts from our very own customers’ small businesses. Help us take some of that holiday shopping off your plate—and into your home. You can enter the contest by completing any of the tasks below—and the more you finish, the more entries you get.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Welcome to the 2nd day of Fundera’s Five Days of Giving ! Remember: every day this week we’ll be raffling off a basket filled with gifts from our very own customers’ small businesses. Help us take some of that holiday shopping off your plate—and into your home. You can enter the contest by completing any of the tasks below—and the more you finish, the more entries you get.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Today marks the first day of Fundera’s Five Days of Giving ! As a reminder, every day this week we’ll be raffling off a gift basket filled with all sorts of goodies from our customers’ small businesses. Help us take some of that holiday shopping off your plate—and into your doggie bowl. You can enter the contest by completing any of the tasks below—and the more you finish, the more entries you get.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 4, 2015

A single mom of three, Pam Beach always picked the graveyard shift to waitress so she could see her kids during the day. Life was certainly hard—but she managed to make ends meet. She’ll never forget the day that all changed. On what seemed like a normal day, Beach arrived home with her three kids to find their front door locked. The bank had seized her home.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Next week, December 7th through December 11th, mark your calendars for Fundera’s first ever Five Days of Giving! Every day next week, we’re going to raffle off a gift basket filled with goodies from our very own customers. That’s right—you’ll have 5 chances to walk away with a basket of items from some of the country’s coolest small businesses.

Small Businesses 76

Small Businesses 76

Fundera

DECEMBER 28, 2015

Most entrepreneurs will tell you that adapting to change is a good thing. But Ben Rubin, CEO of 10% Happier , took this idea to a whole new level when he started a business based on making changes—and then decided to change his whole company himself. Huh? Let’s back up a bit. Boston-based 10% Happier, a meditation courseware platform and app, was formerly known as Change Collective, a company that sold digital courses to help people live better lives.

Credit and Collections 74

Credit and Collections 74

Fundera

DECEMBER 10, 2015

Most of us know that good personal credit makes it easier to purchase a home, get a job, or rent an apartment. But did you know that as a business owner, you’ve got a whole other set of credit reports and scores to worry about? These other reports, based on your business, get generated pretty much the same way personal credit reports do. The main business credit report bureaus are Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, and Equifax, and business lenders and commercial partners all look at these reports

Credit Scoring 73

Credit Scoring Small Businesses 73

Fundera

DECEMBER 9, 2015

The world of small business lending is filled with acronyms—it can make your head spin. Whether you’re researching funding options, applying for a business loan , or signing documents after being approved, it’s important to know what all those lending acronyms mean. Here’s a rundown of some lending acronyms you might come across. ACH. Automated Clearing House.

Nonprofit Organizations 71

Nonprofit Organizations Credit Scoring Credit Unions Small Businesses 71

Fundera

DECEMBER 22, 2015

It’s that time of year again: tax season is upon us. Close your books and get ready to file! It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Just get your accounting cleaned up and organized. But I know it isn’t easy for many small business owners—like I always say, you didn’t start your business to do bank reconciliations (but I did!). Got this one here. Every year we get clients who come to us in a panic, because they can’t quite figure out how to make something work in QuickBooks, or what basic reports the

Small Businesses 70

Small Businesses Transactions 70

Abrigo

DECEMBER 28, 2015

Let's assume, for the purpose of this article, that you are operating a successful valuation or accounting firm. Or, perhaps you're an M&A professional or business broker, but no matter the nature of your work, you have a cash flow positive, successful organization. Yet your work valuing businesses and advising owners has made you painfully aware that competition is always around the corner.

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 23, 2015

By Adam Blitz, Principal and Consultant at GetBlitzed Solutions CPA’s can be invaluable. However, CPA’s often dive into accounting work that only meets the compliance requirements. It’s common knowledge that clients need tax returns or financial statements completed and submitted in a timely manner. It’s also well known that the information derived from these resources can be crucial in strengthening a client’s ability to reach their goals.

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms Small Businesses 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 22, 2015

Depending on the size of your bank or credit union, your credit department may be set up in different team structures. It might even be just a few people with shared responsibility. If your institution underwrites and reviews enough loans annually, it’s likely that you have adopted some type of spreading, ratio analysis or global software designed to help you identify and measure credit risk in potential and existing borrowers.

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions Credit Risk 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 17, 2015

When accountants go to client meetings they run the risk of either going in without a plan or fail to innovate their usual tactics for understanding their client. Since most business owners view accountants as a commodity , prioritizing the ways you communicate with your client during your annual or quarterly meetings is critical to displaying your value.

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Are you the go-to person when your business clients decide to exit their businesses – either through a sale or transfer to family, key employees or a third party? Chances are, you’re not. Only 12 percent of business owners, including those who plan to exit as soon as five years, identify CPAs as someone they’ve spoken with about their plans to exit or stay in business, according to a 2014 survey by the Business Enterprise Institute (BEI), a business management consulting firm and network of exit

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Abrigo

DECEMBER 11, 2015

Reflecting on the past year, accountants can undoubtedly point to goals they have achieved and some that have been left unmet. The start of a new year is an excellent time to regroup and refocus your practice on growth and how to most effectively and efficiently achieve it. Katie Tolin, past president of the Association for Accounting Marketing and founder of CPA Growth Guides LLC, believes that several trends driving accounting firm growth over the past year will become even more important in t

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 9, 2015

If you are following the large accounting industry news outlets, it’s no surprise that the role of an accountant has been, is currently and will continue to shift from compliance work to consulting engagements. The resistance to this change has been threefold: First, there is not enough time in the day to make drastic shifts in operations, especially for the vast majority of smaller accounting firms.

Accounting Firms 60

Accounting Firms 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Looking back at 2015, the Sageworks valuation team hosted and attended webinars across a variety of topics from marketing a practice to finding the bias in a valuation. Each of the webinars listed below is available on demand to watch at no cost. In this article, we highlight some of our favorite webinars from the year. We also offer a few tips to those planning their own thought leadership webinars as their firms gain traction as leaders in their market.

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Abrigo

DECEMBER 8, 2015

In today’s environment, having an effective risk rating system in place helps beyond determining an institution’s credit approval process or loan pricing. These systems also impact broader risk management practices, including setting an institution’s reserve, stress testing, determining risk appetites and strategic planning. With little prescriptive guidance available, banks and credit unions can customize their risk rating system to fit the unique characteristics of their portfolio.

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions Credit Scoring 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 4, 2015

Sageworks banking industry experts are winding down a busy year of disseminating information and facilitating discussions on regulatory changes, such as the FASB’s upcoming move to the current expected credit loss model (CECL), and on best practices for portfolio risk management and credit analysis. Sageworks consultants have hosted and spoken at roughly two dozen regional and national events and industry conferences attended by hundreds of banking and credit union executives, regulators and ind

Credit Unions 60

Credit Unions CECL Accounting Firms 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 3, 2015

Are you staying current with the hot topics in banking? While the FASB’s CECL model has garnered much of the industry’s attention as of late, several other topics within credit, stress testing and the ALLL were of interest to banks and credit unions in 2015. Sageworks, a provider of credit risk and portfolio management solutions , regularly hosts complimentary webinars for banks and credit unions.

CECL 60

CECL Credit Unions Credit Risk 60

Abrigo

DECEMBER 2, 2015

The following is an excerpt from the Sageworks whitepaper "The Automation Revolution: How Technology is Changing the Way Firms Operate". As consumers adopt the latest technology, businesses must do the same in order to provide services and customer experiences that align with today’s technology. The feeling of visiting a financial services firm – or any business – and seeing an outdated website or paper contracts instead of electronic signatures can leave the impression of outmoded qualification

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