May, 2017

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What Is the SBA’s Definition of Small Business (And Why)?

Fundera

With 28 million small businesses making up 99.7% of all U.S. firms , small business is big for the United States’s economy. But what exactly do these small businesses look like? The government—specifically the Small Business Administration —can help you answer that question. Here’s exactly how the SBA defines small business and why they set these definitions in the first place.

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Infographic: 3 factors influencing success in business valuation firms

Abrigo

Success in business valuation practices is driven by many factors, but three have shown to be key components for growing firms, according to market research firm IBISWorld. The first is developing specialized services that provide a competitive advantage. Specialized knowledge and experience allow a more effective, targeted valuation practice , which reduces competition.

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Increase your European SaaS customer base with Direct Debit

GoCardless

European businesses and consumers have unique preferences when it comes to paying for goods and services online. Optimizing the payment process allows US companies to beat their competition and capture these customers, who are ready and willing to spend.

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5 Fun and Inexpensive Customer Appreciation Ideas

Fundera

Customer appreciation doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. With a little creativity and thoughtfulness, you can show your customers just how much you appreciate their business. Recognition, a kind note, or thoughtful gifts can deepen business relationships tremendously. Customer Appreciation Ideas: Get Creative. German professor Armin Faulk proved the power of giving : In one of his experiments, donor solicitation letters that contained gifts garnered 17%-75% more in donations tha

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The 6 Best Apps for Retail Businesses

Fundera

I know you came here searching for the six best apps for retail businesses. This is an area that goes both so wide and so deep, that to put a list like this together, and call it absolute would be next to impossible. So, I’m going to outline the top six apps for retail business that I’m currently researching for my business and clients. To sum it all up: The e-commerce industry has failed the accounting industry.

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What Business Does Every Small Town Need?

Fundera

If you’ve ever lived in a small town, you know it’s a whole different way of life than the big city or the suburbs. You can’t step out your front door and hail a taxi, or run to Target whenever you need a gallon of milk. Many businesses and services that urban and suburban dwellers take for granted are scarce in small towns. That spells opportunity for savvy startup entrepreneurs.

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How to Create a Stellar QuickBooks Online Budget

Fundera

The first question my clients usually ask me is, “How much money do I have?” So I show them their balance sheet. Their second question is, “How much money did I make?” And that can be explained with the P&L. The problem with these questions and reports is that they are history reports. If the outcome is great, then my clients are happy.

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How Do Small Business Owners Pay Themselves? The Quick and Simple Answer

Fundera

Are you on your business’ payroll , or do you take payment from your business in the form of owner draws? Do you and your business partner take guaranteed payments? What about regular profit distributions? Are you taking enough money from your business? Are you taking too much? How can you tell? And where are your payments showing up in your business’ financials?

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These Entrepreneurs’ Best (And Worst) Experiences Hiring Extra Summer Help

Fundera

Whether it’s an oceanfront restaurant on the Jersey Shore or an Italian ice stand in Ohio, the same rule applies when it comes to hiring help for the summer: Staff more people than you think you need. That’s at the root of the best and worst experiences with summer help for Darrell Wordelmann, who is the general manager of Rooney’s Oceanfront Restaurant in Long Branch, New Jersey, and Alison Hunter, who is the manager of Rita’s Italian Ice in Gahanna, Ohio.

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How Much is a Small Business Loan? Our Product-by-Product Chart Breaks It Down

Fundera

You know the saying too well: “It takes money to make money.”. Sometimes you just need extra capital to grow your business. If you’re not willing to give up equity in your company or don’t qualify for small business grants , then taking on a business loan could be the way to go. However, business loans certainly aren’t free money to use as you please for your business.

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How to Create Company Culture from the Ground Up

Fundera

Startups know how much having a distinct company culture can set them apart and communicate who they are to the world, but what they might not know is how to create that culture. Should you focus on the perks of the job or concentrate on conveying the mission of the company? If you’re not sure where to start, these steps will guide you in the right direction to ensure success for your business, team, and yourself. 1.

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The Beginner’s Guide to Business Accounting

Fundera

Starting your own business is exciting. It takes courage, determination, and planning to be successful. And a bit of understanding about business accounting. One of the most important things to do in the early stages of your business is to establish your accounting systems and procedures. Here are some tips to help you get off on the right foot with your business finances.

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Why These 2017 Grads Are Becoming Entrepreneurs—Not Employees

Fundera

Pedro Espinoza was 10 years old when he started his first business, so it’s no surprise that he won’t be looking for a job when he graduates with the rest of the Class of 2017. Espinoza, who attends the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley, is the founder and CEO of SmileyGo , a data analytics funding platform that aims to redefine the way nonprofits and corporations are connected to each other.

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Need Legal Advice? 11 Experts Reveal How to Find the Right Small Business Lawyer

Fundera

You might not know that your small business should have a lawyer until the need really arises. And when that time comes, how (and where) can you find the right small business lawyer to work with? Well, we asked 11 small business legal experts how they think small business owners should go about finding a lawyer who’s a good fit for their business’s needs.

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Analyzing the Best in Small Business

Fundera

In the U.S., nearly 29 million small businesses make up 99.7% of all commerce today. Of these small businesses, less than 1% earn the distinction of being profiled on the Entrepreneur 360 list. The list – established in 2015 – chronicles some of the most successful private companies in the U.S. to better understand what drives growth in today’s economy.

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CECL: The role of risk ratings

Abrigo

The importance of a sound risk rating process continues and possibly grows in the coming years as financial institutions grapple with the increased emphasis on estimating credit losses. With Basel III focusing more attention on credit risk management, and the more granular review of loans required by the FASB’s current expected credit loss (CECL) model, financial institutions can likely expect to see an increased emphasis by examiners on the importance and effectiveness of risk rating systems.

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The Economics of Starting a Business in Texas

Fundera

There’s a lot to like about Texas. The abundance of tacos, for one. But perhaps more important is the state’s staunch support of its business community. With the exception of Delaware, there may be no better place to start a small business than Texas, which has the advantage of the nation’s second-largest population and a number of fast-growing metropolitan areas.

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6 Lessons From Elon Musk About Breaking Into a New Industry

Fundera

Elon Musk seems to be everywhere these days. From pushing for space travel to developing a self-driving vehicle, the CEO and co-founder of Tesla is a busy guy. But while Musk might not be a typical entrepreneur, he’s definitely shown he’s capable of adapting to different environments and industries—something important to the success of any growing business owner.

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21 Must-Knows Before Starting a Small Business Partnership

Fundera

The beginnings of a small business partnership can resemble a teenage summer romance. This person just “gets” you. You’ve got a great idea, you agree on everything … you’re going to take over the world together! Whether your newfound business interest is with a long-time friend or someone you’ve only recently met, there’s no denying the adrenaline rush of those early days.

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Government Contracts for Small Business: Where and How to Get Them

Fundera

In the never-ending search for new customers and better profit opportunities, there’s a single source of new revenue opportunities that far too few small business owners are recognizing: the U.S. government. The federal government is a huge organizational entity—and just like any other business or organization, the government needs to purchase goods and services in order to function effectively.

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20 Badges, Ideas, and More to Tell Customers “Thank You For Supporting Small Business”

Fundera

Every small business owner is thankful for their customers. Without those loyal customers that keep coming to your door, running your business would be a lot harder. When customers give you the love—putting their dollars into your small business—it’s nice to give them some love back. In fact, showing a little appreciation might help keep your customers coming back to you—research shows that 68% of customers will switch the brands they shop with because they felt as though businesses didn’t care

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How Will the Impending Credit Changes Affect Your Score?

Fundera

We all know that one of the biggest challenges small business owners face is access to capital. Access to sufficient capital in business is the lifeline that can keep an entrepreneur afloat. New business owners especially often have to rely on their personal access to credit in order to finance the beginning stages of their business operations. This is why it’s important for business owners to stay abreast of how their personal credit score can affect their ability to get credit for the purposes

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These Entrepreneurs’ 16 Out-of-the-Box Ways to Find Employees

Fundera

The best employee for your small business might be someone that you can’t just find on any old job board these days. When you need to recruit for a certain skill, personality trait, or just a general good fit for your company culture, sometimes you have to get creative. So we asked small business owners just like yourself, “What are your out-of-the-box ways to find employees?”.

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Where Barclays Business Credit Card Wins and Loses

Fundera

If you’re a loyal Barclays banker, you might be wondering what Barclays business credit cards are out there. Unfortunately, the Barclays Business Credit Card is only available in the United Kingdom (for our readers overseas, here’s the link ), but business owners can still get a great value out of the Barclaycard consumer credit card. We break down the pros and cons of Barclays’ personal card offer and help you find the best options out there for business travel.

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Helping credit unions grow organically: Proper software implementation & integration

Abrigo

In a recent article from Credit Union Insights , Frank Koechlein discusses the need for credit unions to grow into their analytical solutions. “When you were in college you didn’t start with advanced trigonometry, you started with the basics of math and each year you built on what you learned the year before. Why should developing an effective analytics strategy be any different?

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Hiring headache? Try technology

Abrigo

One of the biggest obstacles for many community banks and credit unions with aggressive growth goals is staffing. As the institution grows there is more for everyone to do, and additional staff is often necessary to keep up. However, growing the staff can be a real challenges for many banks and credit unions. For one thing, there is a limited number of qualified loan officers and credit analysts on the market, especially seasoned bankers that have the skills needed in a rapidly growing instituti

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Poll: Accountants want substantially more revenue from advisory services

Abrigo

Everywhere these days, news headlines scream that automation stands to eliminate many of the traditional jobs in the U.S.: “ Robots are coming for white-collar workers’ jobs ” and “ More Robots, Fewer Jobs.” Indeed, a 2013 research study estimates that nearly half of total U.S. employment is at high risk of becoming automated over the next 10 to 20 years, and the study ranked accountants and auditors in the top one-sixth of the most automatable occupations.

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Sageworks Lending Solution helping community banks and credit unions grow

Abrigo

Earlier this month, John Holt, CEO of Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union appeared on Better Connecticut to discuss how Nutmeg FCU was fulfilling its commitment to helping small businesses in their community by implementing a new digital loan application process. John commented that most banks and credit unions do not lend to small businesses, as they tend to be more focused on larger deals.

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5 Benefits of expanding in-house member business lending

Abrigo

With the National Credit Union Administration issuing its final member business lending (MBL) ruling as of January 2017, credit unions are seeing increased flexibility in their lending limits. While this newly found flexibility provides opportunities for competitive growth, the NCUA states “[MBL] has unique characteristics and more complex variables than other lending and carries a number of risks.

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Adding advisory services? Start with your clients

Abrigo

Developing predictable revenue streams can help your firm grow in ways you may not have initially thought possible. Many CPAs spend the bulk of their careers bearing up under the weight of their tax and compliance workload while bringing in revenues that fall short, given the time and effort invested in a compressed timeframe. Having better, higher-paying clients may feel like a dream, and you may think you’re destined to become a mini H&R Block.