Getting a bank loan for your business may be more difficult than usual in today’s economy. However, if you give your bank a thorough, organized, and well-supported loan proposal, you’ll increase your chances of getting the money your business needs. (more…)
Processes
Be Cautious With E-mails If You Don’t Want Your Identity Stolen
The e-mail from your bank gets your attention right away. It says you need to log into your account in the next 48 hours to continue your online privileges. Something about a system upgrade. You wonder, is it legitimate? How can you know for sure? (more…)
What’s New: Report Foreign Investments By June 30
If you have foreign bank, savings, or investment accounts, you are required to file “Treasury Department Form 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR),” by June 30, 2012. The report is required if you have an interest in accounts in foreign countries and the aggregate value of those accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time last year. (more…)
Inventory Management: How Much Is Too Much?
Inventory management is all about keeping track of the goods you buy, process or store as part of your business.
Good inventory management involves minimizing your inventory costs. The cost of buying and holding inventory can be very high. In fact, it can account for up to 80 percent of the final price of goods or services in some industries. (more…)
Give Your College Freshman Some Money Tips
For better or worse, habits formed during the early years of college often harden into long-term lifestyles. This is especially evident in the area of finances. Discipline learned during the college years often pays dividends well into the future. Financial mistakes, on the other hand, may take years to undo. Start your college freshman on the right track with these three tips: (more…)
Getting Your Head Into The Clouds
It can be a Catch-22 on whether economic, technological and management trends are good for small business or not. They certainly require an investment in time and money to keep abreast of the never-ending developments. However, to ignore them is to provide your competitors with the opportunity to grow their businesses at your expense. (more…)
Better Ways To Back Up
It seems like backing up should be an obvious daily activity in this technology-dependent world of business where one spilled latte can destroy months of data. With such a simple slip up constantly on the horizon, backing up your data should be the last thing you do each day to ensure that whatever happens, you will not be backtracking and re-doing work. (more…)
Should I Buy Or Rent A House?
From articles in respected financial journals to spots on late-night television, real estate hawkers and investment gurus have touted the benefits of homeownership. “Don’t throw your money away on rent,” they admonish. “Interest rates are headed up. Now’s the time to buy.” “After all,” they suggest, “buying a house is a surefire way to build wealth.” (more…)
What’s New: Watch Out For E-mail And Phone Scams
The IRS is warning taxpayers not to respond to e-mails and phone calls they may receive which claim to come from the IRS or another federal agency. Such contacts are likely to be scams whose purpose is to obtain personal and financial information from taxpayers, which are then used by the scammers to commit identity theft. (more…)
Why It’s Important To Keep An Eye On Your Company’s Cash
Do you regularly monitor your company’s cash accounts? You should. Even if you leave the job to your bookkeeper or accountant, you should stay aware of where the cash is going and how the spending is approved. Along with inventory “shrinkage,” theft or improper expenditures of cash are among the chief sources of loss for small companies. (more…)
