POST CATEGORY : Finance

Loan Officers: Advocates to Small Business

Working as a mortgage loan officer can sound like a fairly straightforward job. People apply, you evaluate, you notify, you close. It doesn’t sound too complex.

Loan officer counselling client

But of course, nothing is as simple as it seems at first look. The reality is that mortgage loan officers do far more than that. For example, the staff at Eagle Home Mortgage provides an important source of information to applicants, giving them information that can help them succeed.

This is true for more than just homeowners. It applies to businesses too. Because so many small businesses are sole proprietorships or partnerships, their owners don’t have the resources to research a lot of very important information.…

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5 Unusual Business Funding Sources to Tap

When your back is against the wall and you find you need some significant cashflow, which you don’t have, for your business to make it in the next 30 days or so, often times conventional funding sources just aren’t an option.

Business funding

When the wolf’s at the door and/or you need money to launch/expand quickly, there’s simply no time to seek out bank loans, commercial mortgages, venture capitalists, angel funding, family loans, etc.

If that’s the position you find your business in currently, you might just want to give one of the following 5 unusual funding sources a shot:

1. Invoice Factoring

Invoice factoring is perhaps the most popular among the unusual methods for financing a business.…

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XTrade and Online Trading – What You Should Know

XTrade is just one of the many trading brokers out there, but unlike most other brokers, it offers you to trade in CFDs instead of trading directly with the underlying asset. What is CFD? It stands for Contracts For Differences.

CFD - Contract For Difference

Like binary options, it is a derivative instrument, however, unlike binary options, you do not win all or lose all. Instead, a losing scenario could see you either losing all of your money or losing only a part of it. This is because CFDs gives you the opportunity to earn money from the difference in the asking and closing price.

Leverage And Ratio

So, if the price of a certain asset like USD/EUR opens at 1.6 and closes at 1.8, you earn 0.2.…

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Commercial Leasing vs. Buying: The Key Considerations

Being a business-owner is all about decision making, from large-scale considerations to the small but often significant details that can drive commercial growth. Your ability to make informed and time-sensitive decisions will therefore have a definitive impact on your success as an entrepreneur, while it will also be the determining factor in minimising costs, optimising efficiency and maximising profits.

Commercial fleet

Commercial Leasing vs. Buying: The Key Considerations for your Fleet

One of the biggest decisions you will make as a business-owner (or at least one who delivers goods and services to the general public) is whether or not to lease your buy your commercial fleet.…

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Why Investors Don’t Love Your Hardware Startup and What You Can do About It

Hardware-focused entrepreneurs know that starting and scaling a hardware startup is a monumental task. Between product creation, manufacturing, supply chain, sales and branding, it takes focus and stamina. Not surprisingly, nearly 90% of new startups are software focused.

Hardware startup founder

According to PWC and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), of the companies receiving venture funding for the first time in Q4 2015, software companies received the largest share, accounting for 37% of the dollars and 39% of the deals. Investment in hardware was less than a quarter of the amount invested in software. So why are VC’s hesitant to invest in hardware companies and how can you finance yourself without their funding?…

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3 Tips for Assessing Your Financial Needs When Starting a Small Business

Starting a small business requires a great deal of complex planning. Not only do you have to come up with your business plan and method for success but you need to consider financial funding. Many small business owners may take funding for granted and only look for it at the last minute. Unfortunately, this methodology could leave you in an unstable position as you approach opening day.

Assessing small business finance

Funding for small businesses can come from a variety of sources, depending on your business model, ideas, and needs. Failing to adequately assess your needs could leave you with a larger debt than necessary, or not having enough funding to get your business off the ground.…

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How Great Online Accounting Can Save Your Business

Every business survives or fails because of whether it is staying in the red or black. It is hard to keep any kind of business afloat if you are spending more then you are taking in, that is an easy statement to make.

Cloud accounting

But what if you aren’t really sure how your business is doing? Sure, you have cash in the bank and happy customers, but are you really making a profit? This is the all important question that can only be answered with a good accounting system.

These days, more and more, that accounting system will be online accounting or cloud accounting.…

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Lessons in Car Finance: Key Benefits of Taking Out a Chattel Mortgage Over a Car Loan

For business owners or managers that need to purchase vehicles to operate their business, paying for the asset upfront can have a huge impact on their financial resources. With second hand vehicle prices starting from $3000 and brand new vehicles starting from $14,000, the cost to purchase the vehicle (or several outright) might require the business to part with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds. For many small to medium sized businesses, this cost is too much for people to manage.

Business cars

When it comes to car finance, personal or car loans are another option, however the repayment costs tend to be high.…

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Asset Management Services: What They Are and How Your Business Can Benefit

More and more businesses are outsourcing the management of assets and in the process allowing other companies to take care of and manage investments and resources. This relieves a lot of stress and increases productivity while saving money. A win, win!

Asset management

Are you wondering, what are asset management services? This is a simple yet complex answer. Asset management is the systematic process of operating, positioning, maintaining, improving or disposing of assets in a cost effective manner. Which means, having a professional organisation take care of your tangible and intangible assets for a fee or fixed price.

According to Investopedia, asset management is usually provided by a financial services company like an investment bank.…

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Limit Expenses as an SME – 5 Actionable Points

As an SME it’s easy to rack up more expenses than what you are generating in revenue. Spending on suppliers, vendors, employee perks and taxes can get out of hand in the blink of an eye unless carefully planned. But there are several ways to limit expenditures that, by focusing on improving efficiency, can even make a company more profitable.

Cutting bills

Palletise large shipments

If you are shipping goods as part of your basic, regular practice, how you do so is a crucial factor in your business’s operations. It goes without saying that a reliable pallet courier that offers competitive prices and excellent service should be used.…

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