Fundera

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Did you know October is Women in Small Business Month? According to the Small Business Administration , there are more than 11 million woman-owned businesses in the U.S. That’s 38% of all businesses, supporting nearly 9 million jobs and generating $1.6 trillion in annual revenues—something worth celebrating all year round! But as the gender gap in business fights to close, it’s important to take this month to reflect on how you can support the cause.

Small Businesses 106

Small Businesses 106

Abrigo

OCTOBER 10, 2017

By John Brown, Founder of Business Enterprise Institute, Inc. Setting goals is critically important when you approach the inevitable exit from your business. Without goals, even the strongest systems fail, as they have no purpose to work toward. Your goals are what guide your process toward a successful exit, and without them, you will find wheels spinning in the mud of indecision.

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GoCardless

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Cloud accounting has given rise to a new breed of tech-savvy, data-enabled, commercially astute accountants, who are becoming trusted advisors to their clients.

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Fundera

OCTOBER 17, 2017

Many new small business owners rely solely on their bookkeeper or accountant to explain their financial statements to them. While nothing can replace the advice of a skilled financial advisor, having a basic understanding of important accounting concepts can give you peace of mind and confidence you’re making the right decisions in your business.

Small Businesses 106

Small Businesses Dashboards 106

Fundera

OCTOBER 2, 2017

When it comes to the future of your business, filing for bankruptcy might seem like the absolute worst thing that could happen. And, yes, it will show up on your credit report, which might put you at risk of getting rejected by certain long-term lenders. However, filing for bankruptcy is not necessarily a death sentence—in fact, it could mean the difference between sinking or saving your business.

Bankruptcy 100

Bankruptcy Chapter 11 Chapter 7 Business Bankruptcy 100

Fundera

OCTOBER 29, 2017

Tracking your company’s cash balance can feel like an overwhelming task—but it doesn’t have to be. And doing so is essential to making sure your company is prepared for both good times and rough periods in the future. Here’s what you need to know about preparing and analyzing your cash flow statement to best inform day to day and long-term decisions about your business spending and general operations.

Transactions 96

Transactions Small Businesses 96

Fundera

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Just because the glass ceiling exists certainly does not mean that it should. And perhaps it’s just starting to crack : women own around 40% of businesses in the U.S. In China, the world’s second largest economy? Women account for 55% of all entrepreneurs. This is great news. Studies, personal anecdotes, and experience tell us that women make great business owners , and in honor of October’s Women in Small Business Month, we’ve compiled a big ole list of just why that is. 1.

Small Businesses 92

Small Businesses 92

Fundera

OCTOBER 11, 2017

Do you find yourself scrambling to prepare for tax season? Have you ever found yourself wishing for a checklist to help you prepare? Preparing for tax season can be daunting, even if you have kept up with your bookkeeping and record keeping throughout the year. Preparing for tax season doesn’t have to be daunting. Following is the ultimate small business tax preparation checklist. 1.

Small Businesses 89

Small Businesses Deductions Transactions 89

Fundera

OCTOBER 5, 2017

If you’ve ever learned much about personal financial management, you know that maintaining a strong personal credit score is critical to your ability to qualify for things like a home mortgage, personal or car loan, or even a personal credit card. But did you know that this same system of credit monitoring and reporting also exists for businesses? That means the decisions you make with your business finances when you first open your company can have an impact that lasts long into the life of you

Credit Scoring 86

Credit Scoring Credit Reporting Agencies Small Businesses Default 86

Fundera

OCTOBER 4, 2017

Women are making waves in entrepreneurship like never before. Women now own 36% of businesses ( based on 2012 US Census ), up from 30% in 2007. Advances in technology make it easier for busy women to start and run their own businesses these days. Internet access along with cloud-based apps make it so more women can seamlessly integrate their business-based livelihood with the parts of their life that includes children, relationships, and everything else in between.

Small Businesses 85

Small Businesses 85

Fundera

OCTOBER 7, 2017

Boo! Did we scare you? It’s easy to get a customer’s attention with Halloween-themed marketing. October is a great month to engage your consumer base in fun, simple—and yes, perhaps spooky—ways. Bonus? It’ll be good for your business to get that all-important marketing push just before the holidays. Some marketing ideas work better for some businesses than others, but don’t worry: we’re not short on ideas.

Small Businesses 85

Small Businesses 85

Fundera

OCTOBER 10, 2017

Visiting a haunted house is a time-honored tradition during Halloween season. The months of September, October, and even into November are prime time for getting scared half to death by people in elaborate, grizzly costumes and terrifying props. It’s also (assuming you’re visiting a haunted house for entertainment purposes and not just some random abandoned mansion) a business.

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Fundera

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The immediate effects of a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey are obvious almost everywhere one looks in Houston. But the long-term effects are more difficult to assess, especially when it comes to small businesses. Harvey dumped a record amount of rain near the nation’s fourth largest city—51.88 inches, the highest ever in the continental U.S.

Small Businesses 80

Small Businesses 80

Fundera

OCTOBER 16, 2017

Small Business Saturday is coming up in November—it’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving. But you don’t have to wait that long to support local small businesses. The National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend some $9.1 billion on Halloween this year—a record high, up from $8.6 billion last year. Why not spend some of your dollars with local small and independent businesses?

Small Businesses 79

Small Businesses 79

Fundera

OCTOBER 14, 2017

One of the most exciting things about business is that there’s no one way to go about it. Each entrepreneur has a unique story and set of qualifications, whether they earned them through schooling or directly on the job. Of course, many famous entrepreneurs and successful businesspeople never went to college at all—and there’s so much we can learn from them.

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Fundera

OCTOBER 19, 2017

Starting a business is a challenging pursuit—and that’s without the complicated legal ramifications that you want to protect you and your business against. As a business owner, you want to make sure you have covered all your legal bases to avoid any hefty fines, headaches, or—worst case—even jail time. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available to small businesses both online and through hired legal counsel.

Transactions 75

Transactions Small Businesses 75

Fundera

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Over the past couple decades, ecommerce companies like Amazon have had so much success thanks to one distinct advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar stores (other than low prices)—the ability to analyze customer behavior using big data. Big data in this context are the shopping patterns of buyers—such as what’s hot in search right now or what items are typically bought together.

Small Businesses 73

Small Businesses 73

Fundera

OCTOBER 23, 2017

In November of last year, we released our first annual report on the State of Small Business Lending: Spotlight on Women Entrepreneurs. After reading stats like women entrepreneurs receive only 16% of all traditional small business loans, we wanted to know: do these same stats also ring true in online business lending? To find out, we dove into our own internal data to look at the gender breakdown of a Fundera customer sample.

Small Businesses 72

Small Businesses Credit Scoring 72

Fundera

OCTOBER 21, 2017

In the landscape of modern marketing, social media isn’t really optional anymore. Even small businesses and startups need to put serious focus on how to best connect with their audience and spread brand awareness through these digital channels. Instagram is one of the most popular social platforms available, and its influence and impact continue to grow rapidly.

Small Businesses 71

Small Businesses 71

Fundera

OCTOBER 5, 2017

These days, we’re taught to think that entrepreneurship is entirely the province of the young and the restless. But the history of business actually favors founders who started later in life. Without these “ silverpreneurs ,” hits like GEICO, KFC, and LinkedIn would never have existed. There’s no reason to think that you can’t be one of them. Let’s take a look at three reasons why age shouldn’t stop you from launching your business. 1.

Small Businesses 71

Small Businesses 71

Fundera

OCTOBER 27, 2017

Non-profit organizations face a dilemma when it comes to choosing accounting software —they usually need something fairly robust that can handle fund accounting and keep track of financial information and donor contributions. But these organizations are also typically limited to the amount of money they can afford to spend on the software. This can result in organizations choosing an accounting system that doesn’t provide the features and reporting capabilities they need.

Nonprofit Organizations 69

Nonprofit Organizations Credit Card Payments Dashboards Transactions 69

Fundera

OCTOBER 31, 2017

The end of daylight saving time is, for most of us, a blessing. Not only do we get an extra hour of sleep on the first Sunday of November, but for the next few weeks, our mornings are a little brighter. We much prefer the end of DST to the beginning, when we lose an hour. What’s less certain is the economic impact of daylight saving time—or what the point of it is at all.

Small Businesses 69

Small Businesses Credit and Collections 69

Fundera

OCTOBER 29, 2017

Over the past few years, the concept of workplace has changed dramatically. Expectations in the workplace have also changed. Advances in technology and multi-generational teams have redefined the modern workplace in many ways. More and more employees in these next generations are looking for something beyond the traditional approaches to employee engagement.

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Fundera

OCTOBER 5, 2017

Thinking about applying for a business credit card ? Smart move. Using a business credit card comes with a lot of perks for small business owners. Plus, applying for a business credit card is a great secondary financing option when you’re in the need for financing but don’t necessarily qualify for a more traditional business loan just yet. You can use one for backup business financing , to build business credit , to cushion your cash flow, to earn rewards on your purchases… The list of benefits

Credit Scoring 68

Credit Scoring Credit Card Companies Small Businesses Transactions 68

Fundera

OCTOBER 15, 2017

The hiring process can be an arduous one. Sift through scores of résumés, conduct interviews—and second interviews—make an offer, iron out the details. Whew! That was tough! But now you’re ready to celebrate because your work is done. You can rest assured you’ve made the right decision and everything is going to be great! Right? Maybe. Maybe you hired an extraordinary person who magically understands exactly what you want and will always do it exactly the way you want it done.

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Fundera

OCTOBER 28, 2017

Millennials, a term for those born from 1981 to 1997, are a unique generation with ample potential as entrepreneurs. Still, despite millennials being the most educated generation to date, factors like slowing asset accumulation, rising student debt, and coming of age during the Great Recession have made starting a small business a relatively rare thing for this demographic.

Small Businesses 67

Small Businesses Bankruptcy 67

Fundera

OCTOBER 8, 2017

‘Tis the season to be jolly … Already? According to the National Retail Federation, one of the biggest trends for the 2017 holiday season is strategic shopping. In 2016, more than half of holiday shoppers began early browsing in October and even in earlier months although two-thirds opted to wait until November to begin buying gifts. Is your small business ready to embrace consumers who are starting their holiday research?

Small Businesses 67

Small Businesses 67

Fundera

OCTOBER 26, 2017

Snapchat, YouTube, and other social media channels may get all the buzz these days, but for most small businesses, the most effective digital marketing method is still email. More than 90% of people like to get promotional emails from companies they do business with, according to MarketingSherpa, and 865 want to get these emails at least once a month.

Small Businesses 65

Small Businesses Transactions 65

Fundera

OCTOBER 29, 2017

What is APR ? You may find yourself asking this question for a variety of reasons, such as when applying for a credit card or comparing business loan offers. APR, also known as annual percentage rate, is defined by Investopedia as: “…the cost per year of borrowing. APR is not the same as the interest rate on a loan. Loans charge an interest rate, but usually also charge other fees, such as closing costs, origination fees or insurance costs, which are typically wrapped into the loan.

Credit Scoring 65

Credit Scoring Credit Card Companies Transactions Small Businesses 65

Fundera

OCTOBER 15, 2017

From ransomware and denial-of-service attacks to email phishing scams and malicious hacking, small and midsize businesses are facing more cyberthreats than ever before. But many aren’t doing enough to implement, test, and maintain backup and disaster recovery strategies, according to the results of a recent survey. The survey also found that unplanned IT system downtime resulting from cybercrime, human error, and hardware failure continues to be a significant problem for smaller organizati

Small Businesses 65

Small Businesses Cybersecurity 65