Accounting Software for Small Business

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I work for a Developer and need accounting software that can deal with multiple development loans, as well as can calculate payroll & taxes. He doesn’t think QuickBooks is good enough, but I’ve always liked it in the past….Does anyone know of anything else I might try?? Thanks!

Setting up a home-based business may be a more cost-effective alternative to setting up a major company, but it may still drain the limited resources of a small business owner. To keep the business going, small business loans will definitely be necessary. These can be availed of through credit card services. This article will show you how.

First, you need to set up your home based business. Do your research on the type of business you want to establish. Find out what licensing and zoning requirements you need to meet and ensure that you meet them all. Do not attempt to cut corners here.

Get the services of an accountant, even if only on a consultancy basis, to help you set up your books and records correctly from the start. Ask for help in determining deductions so that you can plan on your business expenses. Establish a routine for keeping strict records of all income and expenses right from day one. Keep all business related receipts, invoices, client records, bank statements, bank deposit slips and canceled checks.

Being home-based, you need to set aside a particular place in your home just for your business. Make sure it can accommodate all the necessary equipment. Check that you have the appropriate electrical outlets and have them installed if needed to avoid overloading your system. Set up rules to keep the area insulated from household noise and disturbances.

Have a business phone installed that is separate from your residential line. Avoid having your children answer the business line. Install an answering machine to take calls when you are out or occupied.

Get a post office box so that you can use that address in your official stationery and other documents, keeping your business profile professional. Hold client meetings in rented conference rooms or set business meetings in good restaurants.

One of the most important steps in setting up your home-based business is to acquire credit card services that will enable you to accept credit card payments and debit card payments. These credit card services provide all the necessary software and hardware for you to be able to process payments in person, online or by phone. This step alone already expands the customer base that you can access.

Credit card services will also serve you well once your home-based business begins to feel the need for additional capital. When you need to get small business loans, you will not have to approach banks which are most likely not sympathetic to small home-based businesses.

The need for small business loans usually comes when the home-based business is already at least a year old. At such time, your home-based business would have created an average monthly credit card sales record with your credit card services company. You can refer to that when you approach your credit card services company for small business loans, sometimes called cash advances.

Credit card services do offer small business loans to their clients based on average monthly credit card sales, without the need for any collateral. The aforementioned average monthly credit card sales guarantee your company’s capability to pay the small business loans. Payments will be automatically deducted as a percentage of future credit card sales. This arrangement frees you from worrying about the amortization for your small business loans, too.

As soon as you pay up your small business loans completely, you are automatically eligible for new small business loans for as long as your home-based business is getting a good monthly average in credit card sales. With the help of credit card services, you can continue to expand and grow your home-based business.

If your business still does not have a merchant account that allows you to offer full credit card services, you are turning your back on profits. Just take a look at all of your competitors. All of those that pose serious competition accept credit card payments. Those that do not have credit card services do not have great sales figures to show, either. Even statistics point to the fact that companies that have credit card services earn much more than companies that do not have credit card services. The average credit card sale is $40 while the average cash sale is only $9. That means you are losing potentially $31 per sale.

You may also be spending more by accepting only cash and check payments in your business. The processing of cash and checks has been found to be more costly, requiring more manpower in handling. Studies have shown that the average processing cost of credit card payments is only 2.7% of a transaction while the average processing cost of checks is 4% of a transaction and the average processing cost of cash is 4.8% of a transaction. Once again, you are leaking profits by refusing to accept credit card payments.

So how do you accept credit card payments in your business? This is where credit card services come in. The old route is to apply for a merchant account in a bank. You will then have to lease the software and equipment necessary to actually process payments and send the data to your account. If you want to accept credit card payments online, you need to apply to a payment gateway that allows real time credit card authorization for online transactions. You should ensure that your payment gateway is compatible with the bank or financial institution where you have your merchant account, and with the software and equipment you have leased.

In choosing the bank or financial institution for your merchant account, consider their expertise in combating fraud and reducing chargebacks. Also make sure that they are experienced in handling merchant accounts with online transactions.

If you are a small business owner, stick to a bank or financial institution that caters to small businesses rather than large companies. You may be able to get better rates and packages designed for your specific niche.

There are options for credit card services that offer everything you need in one easy package. You will not have to deal with various entities or go through various procedures. Often, these options also have added benefits, among them, quick reporting on your credit card sales figures. They may also offer interest on your credit card sales income, even up to money market rates.

One very important feature of your credit card services that you may not know of is that it can automatically qualify you to avail of small business loans. Once you have established a record of sales through credit, most credit card services will allow you to make cash advances that are practically like getting previously approved small business loans without having to put up any required collateral. The credit card services consider your future income through credit card sales as your collateral. This can go a long way in further growing your business.

Payment will not be a problem, either. For as long as you have sales through credit payments, you automatically get to pay your small business loans. It does not matter how much your sales are. Your payments are automatically deducted as a percentage of your sales. You are always covered.

Now do you still need further convincing on the benefits of credit card services for your business?

To achieve financial independence, experts encourage even currently employed individuals to consider entrepreneurship. Setting up your own business, no matter how small, is touted as one of the best ways toward building the foundation for wealth. Those who are concerned about having a safety net need not take the plunge recklessly. One can start setting up a small business even while employed.  

Of crucial use to small businesses are credit card services and small business loans. The entrepreneur needs to know how to avail of these tools and how to effectively wield them for maximum business growth.

Credit Card Services

A small business would do well to get reputable credit card services in order to prosper in the current business climate. Availing of credit card services will enable it to accept both credit card and debit card payments. This is true either for brick-and-mortar businesses or internet based online businesses. After all, most consumers nowadays routinely use credit cards or debit cards for payment purposes. It only makes good business sense to be well-equipped for the needs of credit card users and debit card users as well as for the needs of customers who pay in cash.

Merchant services provide credit card services covering a wide range of solutions for the processing of credit cards and debit cards as payment options. These credit card services include traditional terminal equipment at point of sale, where credit cards or debit cards are swiped. It also includes software and high speed IP solutions for both traditional commerce and e-commerce. Credit card and debit card payments can, therefore, be accepted in person or through the internet, by phone or by fax.     

Small Business Loans

Any business – whether a small start-up business, a medium-scaled one or a big business company – will be needing an infusion of additional capital sooner or later. Additional capital is always needed for expansion, additional inventory, additional manpower, new systems, new equipment or a new physical layout.

Capital is not always easy to come by, though. The original investors’ personal coffers may have been emptied by the earlier outlays. Prospective investors may not be keen on shelling out funds in times of crisis. Businesses, therefore, have no choice but to seek business loans.

Getting business loans is a difficult process. Even small business loans are not readily approved. Be prepared to present a lot of documentation and paperwork. For small business loans, the proprietor’s personal credit history is taken into account and related references need to be submitted. Of course, the company’s financial statements are just as important in proving the feasibility of the business and its capacity to repay its business loans. Having a detailed business plan will show your business strategies and projections, demonstrating your business acumen.

Unfortunately, even with all the requirements completed, applications for business loans – including small business loans – are, more often than not, disapproved.

Solutions

Some merchant services provide a comprehensive solution for the needs of small businesses in relation to credit card services and small business loans. The set up is elegantly simple. A small business need only avail of the company’s credit card services to be eligible for merchant cash advances. These cash advances are actually small business loans, except that there is no need to go through the complicated application process for business loans. Repayment is made very easy and worry-free, too. A certain small percentage is built into the credit card processing rates to take care of the advances. This way, repayment is actually done automatically in a very affordable manner and according to income flow.

Small business owners would, indeed, be wise to look into these timely business solutions.

If you have or want to start a small business, getting a small business loan will help ensure your success. While some people have the money to invest into their small business, many others do not have the capital available to allow their ideas to develop unless they get a small business loan. While it can be hard to get a small business loan, it can be done. There is a risk involved with lending to people who are starting small businesses because the majority of small businesses end up failing within two to five years. As a matter of fact, when you apply for a business credit card, many places will require your business to have been incorporated for at least two to three years before giving you credit under your company’s name.

Now if you have good personal credit, especially if you have great personal credit scores above 750, it will be entirely possible for you to get a loan for your business in your own name. The problem with this is that the loan will appear in your personal credit report, which can help to bring down your personal score since it is a brand new loan-even more so if you are ever late on it. However, if this is the only way you can get capital for your business, it may be worth the personal score hit. Small businesses are becoming more common and, the more common they become; it will be easier for you to get a loan. Most major banks now give small business loans to their customers. As a matter of fact, when you open a bank account for your business many will try to solicit you into applying for a business credit card or a loan.

For those who cannot get a small business loan on their own, because they might be a little bit more risky for the bank, they can try to seek assistance through the small business administration (SBA). The problem is that many people do not understand how the SBA works. Many of them falsely believe that the SBA will actually lend you the money, which is really not true. What the SBA will do for you, to help you obtain a small business loan, is guarantee that loan for the lender so that, if you default, they will pay the lender a percentage of your balance.

The bad news is that this cannot guarantee you will get a small business loan. The reason is because many lenders will still assess how risky you are, since the SBA will often only pay a percentage of the loan-which usually does not include the interest you may have incurred and any other fees. They know that if you pay the loan then they are likely to get all of their money, whereas they might have to settle with the SBA for a particular amount-leaving them with little to no profits.
In any event, seeking help from the SBA seems less risky, since they will have something to fall back on if you don’t pay your small business loan or if your company goes down to the tubes.

All in all, if you can get a small business loan, it can really help you grow and expand your business and will provide you with additional capital to help keep your cash flow open. Just make sure that you don’t take up a loan that is too large and you are unable to pay back, otherwise you could be end up spending all of your profit and leave none for yourself and your business.

Your business is doing well. Your customer base is growing, and during the last quarter you actually turned a profit for the first time since you opened your doors last year. You have a solid business plan and now it’s time to think about moving out of your rented space, buying more equipment, or perhaps hiring more employees.

Perhaps your business is profitable but during your slow season you’re short of cash. Or your delivery truck just broke down and you have decided its time to get a new one. You need to get cash to keep your business moving forward. Where do you start?

The good news is that there are a wide variety of loan programs available that can be applied to almost any business situation. The bad news is that the choices can seem complex and overwhelming. Here are some options that a small business owner can consider:

Business Lines of Credit

If your business is profitable over the course of the fiscal year but there are times when you are short of cash because your income is seasonal or cyclical, you may benefit from a business line of credit. A line of credit provides access to cash for a variety of short-term financing needs and gives you the flexibility to draw on the line at any time as long as you pay down the balance.

Typically, once the line of credit is established funds are available when you need them, but the advantage is that you do not pay interest until you draw on the line. Lines can be secured or unsecured, with multiple repayment options and a variety of interest rates.

Interest rates generally range from nine to fifteen percent based your personal and business credit history and other factors. You would generally not use your business line of credit for expansion or capital investment, because you may not realize income from your expansion for many months. For expansion you should consider a loan.

Business Loans $25,000 and Up

A business loan provides access to cash for many kinds of one-time expenditures and long term financing needs such as fixed asset purchases, or business expansion or acquisition. Unlike a line of credit, a business loan is amortizing and is fully disbursed when you close the loan. You may have the ability to lock in an interest rate.

There are many types of business loans:

• Vehicle Loan — Finance the purchase of a new or used vehicle.

• Equipment Loan — Finance the purchase of new or used equipment.

• Real Estate Loan — Finance the purchase of commercial real estate.

• Secured Loan — Get permanent working capital, improve cash flow, purchase inventory and materials, finance accounts receivable, expand or remodel facilities.

• Agriculture Loan — Finance crop and livestock production expenses, purchase equipment, breed livestock, purchase land for farming or ranching.

• Cash-Secured Loan — Get permanent working capital, improve cash flow, refinance debt, purchase inventory, materials, equipment, or vehicles, finance accounts receivable.

Business loan rates depend on a number of factors, including the amount you borrow, your collateral, financial strength of your business, term of the loan, and your credit rating. Over the past ten years business loan rates have fluctuated between four and eleven percent.

Small Business Association (SBA) Loans

If you have less-than-stellar credit or you are not sure you qualify for a regular bank loan, you may qualify for a loan program backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA has created a program of government-guaranteed loans designed to make loans to small businesses that may not otherwise qualify for credit. SBA loans make it possible to qualify businesses more easily and provide them with more flexible terms than conventional loan options. You can get more information at http://www.sba.gov/, or talk to your local commercial banker. The SBA does not make loans to small businesses; it is a guarantor of loans made by private banks and other institutions.

Talk to your local commercial bank when you’re ready to consider a line of credit or a loan, and you’ll see the range of choices available to you.

© 2008 Thomas Hauck Communications Services

ALL BUSINESS: Banks expand small-business loans
NEW YORK—Banks know what the public wants to hear: They’re lending money to the little guys. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s new ad campaign publicizes the bank’s plans to lend $10 billion to small businesses this year.

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