POST CATEGORY : Finance

How to Avoid Late Payments as a Small Business

For small and big businesses alike, late payments can be the bane of a company. It’s a hassle to chase clients around, hounding after them to please pay up.

Sometimes it’s simply because it slipped their mind. Sometimes it isn’t, but either way there are strategies you can put in place to help avoid them.

Invoice

From invoicing techniques to contingency plans these techniques will help you to get paid on time.

The devil in the details of your invoice

Whether your invoice is digital or paper it needs to be as clear as possible. You want it to be easy to pay, and thus the amount owed and ways to pay should be marked clearly.…

Continue reading →

Top 5 Online Invoice Generators for Small Business Management

You don’t need to pay for native invoicing apps and software programs for your mobile devices or office PC. There are tons of great online invoice generators out there, that do just as good a job as more complicated paid solutions like Intuit, Freshbooks, Oracle, etc.

Shopify online invoice generator

Most small business owners don’t need complicated accounting solutions and will have an outside private business accountant that takes care of crunching the numbers anyhow. This makes the need for a clean and simple tool for creating and downloading your receivable’s invoices a must for many SMB owners out there.

Here’s a list of the top 5 web-based generators that you can access any time, to make a quick invoice on the fly, from any device and as many times as you like – for free!…

Continue reading →

Get Ready to Show Proof of Health Coverage in 2015

By now, you should know the law: As of last year, all Americans – both individuals and businesses – are required to carry health insurance coverage under the terms of the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010. If you don’t have at least the minimum amount of health coverage, you could face penalties on your 2014 tax bill.

Proof of insurance coverage

Because this is the first year that taxpayers have to provide proof of health coverage, many people are confused about what they actually have to do. The good news is that for most people, the process is actually quite simple, and only requires checking off a box on their tax return indicating that they have coverage.…

Continue reading →

Smart Ways to Build Credit and Grow Your Business

One huge issue for a startup entrepreneur is obtaining credit to finance business growth. All companies need capital to market the business, make a product or provide a service. Without proper financing, a new business may quickly fail. Here are some tips to build business credit and protect the credit rating.

Business credit rating

Business credit vs. personal credit

This article explains that both business and personal credit scores are based primarily on the same two issues. One issue is the number of credit inquiries and applications to obtain credit. The other is the number of loans and credit cards outstanding.

Avoid the mistake of using personal credit to finance business operations.…

Continue reading →

Common Payroll Tax Pitfalls

If you have employees, then payroll taxes are one of the costs of doing business. Unfortunately, they can also be a potential minefield. The IRS is cracking down on businesses that don’t properly file or report their payroll taxes – and they are paying especially close attention to small businesses, which are the largest source of uncollected taxes. Even if it’s an honest mistake, the IRS could leverage huge penalties, audit your company, and even initiate a criminal investigation if you do your payroll taxes wrong.

Sloppy tax preparation

Below are some of the common payroll tax pitfalls that small businesses face, as well as suggestions on how to avoid them.…

Continue reading →

5 Good Reasons for Selling your Structured Payment

Many people looking to sell their settlements do it for a variety of reasons. The decisions are often dependent on the situation of life at that point in time. However, as you make a decision to sell it is important to make sure that the money is spent on something that will add value to you and your family. Therefore, the 5 good reasons for selling your structured settlement are as follows:

Selling structured settlements

  1. Buying a home or trying to avoid a foreclosure
  2. Engaging in a major home repair like buying a new roof
  3. Opening a well-researched new business or adding more funds to an already flourishing business
  4. Going back to college or paying for your child’s education
  5. Paying an expensive medical bill.
…Continue reading →

Picnic and Barbecue Planning Pointers for Businesses on a Budget

Company picnics boost morale and show appreciation for the work your employees do. They also show a commitment to your staff. At the same time, they can be expensive. Many employees don’t realize the cost involved in hosting an event, with the biggest costs being food and entertainment. Here’s how to have a BBQ event that won’t break the corporate bank account.

Company picnic

Get Organized

Start with an inventory of everything you need. This is also a great time to make a budget for your party. Set a dollar amount that you cannot exceed. Then, write down categories like “food,” and “party favors,” and “beverages,” and “invitations,” and “raffle items.”…

Continue reading →

How to Buy Shares (and Not Losing Money on Them)

CEOs/Founders – you have diligently accumulated funds for investing and it’s time to start doing something with the funds. Stock investing is one of the most popular ways to make your money to work for you. But how to buy stocks and shares? How to know which one to buy? This article can shed some lights for you.

Buying shares

Although we tend to think of shares as the reserve of City brokers in pinstriped suits, this isn’t the case at all. Shares are becoming far more accessible to the masses, thanks largely to the advent of the internet and smartphones, which give people the opportunity to invest anywhere and at any time.…

Continue reading →

Could Invoice Financing Benefit Your Business?

Invoice financing can be a highly useful tool for start-ups looking to raise capital quickly, yet a large number of business owners don’t consider it as an option when they’re attempting to increase their available funds. In fact, many don’t even know what it is…

Invoice financing

What is Invoice Financing?

Invoice financing is an asset-based means of borrowing capital. The way it works is that a third party, known as an invoice financier – either a banking or independent financial institution – purchases unpaid invoices from a business, thus granting them instant capital for their customer’s outstanding debts. Many businesses find it useful to use free broker services such as through Touch Financial to assess which lenders will offer the best services and rates.…

Continue reading →

Evaluating the Potential of Extending Credit to Your Customer

There has been an ongoing debate among business owners as to whether or not extending credit to their customers is an ideal practice to consider. The reality is that you’re providing your products or services upfront, with the hopes that the customer will repay you at a later date. Of course, there are various risks involved that should be considered, but with the proper management of your cash flow and credit departments, extending credit to deserving and qualified customers can prove to be less of a risk and more of a competitive edge.

Agreeing upon credit extensions

Reality Check: Times Are Rough

Though the global economy is recuperating at a pretty steady pace, it doesn’t negate the fact that many people are still facing financial difficulties.…

Continue reading →