Organize Your Small Business Finances

 General
Nov 212011
 

Keeping track of your small business finances is obviously an essential part of running a successful business, and there are certainly a number of ways that people go about this important element.  If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to simplify and streamline this process. I know I’ve tried quite a few tools, from simple spreadsheets I create myself to off-the-shelf products designed to do it well.

One handy way to consolidate your finances and accounting for a small business is with the help of the free online accounting tool from outright.com.

The beauty of Outright.com is that it streamlines accounting and automates the process by taking data from the source, that is your online accounts. You can safely link up your bank, credit card and various e-commerce accounts and have all the information in one convenient spot. The figures from these financial accounts are then updated into your outright.com account and automatically categorized so you can see exactly where your money is coming from and where it’s been spent.  You can eliminate the time-consuming hassle of date entry and let the program do the work for you.

Another convenient feature of this form of bookkeeping is that the system helps you when tax time rolls around as well as estimating quarterly and end-of-year taxes for you.

It’s a pretty helpful resource to have, I think, and the fact that’s it’s free is just a bonus.  There are some more features available for paid accounts at $9.95 a month but you’ll get plenty of use out of the free account to get you going.

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Brushing up on My Fall Home Habits

 General
Oct 222011
 

Guest post written by Kendra Meyers

Years ago, I used to go through this whole routine every time the seasons changed as a way of making sure that my home was weather proofed and I wouldn’t have to worry about higher energy bills. Well, now that I have young children running around, it’s just a bit tougher. But I decided that this year I would pick up that really good habit again.

When I was checking some of those things like I used to around our home, I realized that some of the windows in our house were pretty drafty. I knew that it would be an investment to buy some better windows now instead of paying higher energy bills over the next few years. While I was online looking for some window resources, I came across some stuff and decided to click here to get more information.

I really am glad that I made the decision to get our drafty windows replaced. At least that’s one thing I won’t have to worry about this winter! All those things seem to add up once the temperature dips close to freezing.

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Credit Card Processing Services

 General
Oct 202011
 

Running a small business, especially a retail establishment like a store, restaurant or spa, can certainly be filled with a lot decisions that require you to pick the right equipment and services to meet you needs. One of the concerns that these types of businesses all share is the ability to pick a good credit card processing service.  After all the hard work of getting customers into the door and providing them with your product you need to reliably be able to process their payment.

MONEXgroup is the type of company that is in the business of helping you pick the right equipment to dependably process your orders, especially if you’re looking for a high quality POS systems.  Fortunately, they offer assorted models to fit your specific needs whether it’s a counter top POS, a wireless one or a long-range wireless unit.  There is no need to change your current bank account and they will provide you with new machines that have up-to-date software.  If a machine breaks down, they around the clock support to help you solve your problems.

If you’re a mobile merchant and need to process credit cards in various locations, a long range, wireless terminal can provide service inside and out wherever you go.  This would be ideal for someone who frequently uses a POS system away from a standard location. For those businesses that don’t require a wireless terminal, MONEXgroup’s counter top units can provide you will all the functionality you need to get you started accepted credit cards.

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Nursing Scrubs for Women

 General
Sep 232011
 

Saving money is not always about putting your cash in the right bank or investing in the perfect stock investment, but sometimes a wise personal financial decision comes with buying the right type of uniform.  If you’re a nurse, you’ve certainly realized the importance of finding the right type of cheap scrubs that don’t sacrifice on quality. The great difficulty, of course, is trying to determine if you’re going to get good quality fabric and a well made product for your troubles.  You also want to make sure that the uniform fits well and has a fashionable look.

Blue Sky Scrubs offers some of the finest made nursing scrub uniforms that are affordable, fashionable and made of high quality fabric you can find online. At http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ you can find much more than your typical frumpy scrubs.  They have a slimming fit and the “Original” scrubs feature two back pockets with fashionable stitching that matches the scrub top’s pocket.  You can even match the ensemble with a scrub hat to complete the look.

In addition to women scrubs, Blue Sky Scrubs offers a nice selection of mens medical scrubs that also feature the same well made materials and fashionable look.  Unlike many scrub selections, these are designed to have a nice slimming cut, just long enough to tuck in if needed and a single pocket.  As Blue Sky puts it on their website, this “medical uniform is guaranteed to be more savvy than your typical set scrubs.”  This is a sentiment that captures the essence of Blue Sky Scrubs and their entire line of products, both for men and women.

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Structured Settlements: A Lump Sum of Money for Your Future Payments

 General
Aug 192011
 


Structured Settlement PaymentSelling a structured settlement is a big decision, but you may need a lump sum of cash now in lieu of  future payments. There are simply times when it becomes very important for you to have a large sum of money at your disposal. These can be times of hardship such as a medical emergency, etc. In such a situation a person would always try to secure some money through the medium of raising debt, but what would you do if are unable to raise debt and your need is quite urgent. Well, these days there is a very innovative financial instrument that can help you in raising money very quickly. That instrument is the sale of your structured settlement.

Many people may receive structured settlements for several different reasons, but the amount of money received is in small denominations and is received over a long period of time. The sale of a structured settlement gives you the option of getting all the money to be received in the future as a lump sum by a simply transferring your right to a structured settlement to a buyer company. There are several pros and cons relating to the sale of structured settlements.

Let us take a look at what these are and decide whether it is good to go in for such a sale or not.

The primary advantage of selling your settlement is that you gain access to a large sum of cash, which you would otherwise get in tiny pieces over a period of several years. This means that selling a settlement would give you the opportunity to fulfill your present obligations such as credit card debt, home mortgage, education expenses, etc.
Before thinking of selling a structured settlement one should realize that the sale itself is going to cost you money.

This is due to the fact that you would have to hire a consultant who is going to consult a lawyer, find a purchaser for you and take permission from the court of law on your behalf to sell your settlement. And for these services he is going to charge you a fee.

Another thing to note before thinking of selling your structured settlement is that such a transaction has a very large tax liability. So before you go in for accepting any offer for your settlement you should make sure how much you would have to pay the IRS in taxes and what is the net amount you are going to pocket.

Selling a settlement is a court issue and you need to approach the court to get permission to sell your settlement. This requires you to hire a lawyer and provide documentary proof to the court that your reasons for selling are appropriate.
A positive point with regards to selling your settlement is that by getting a lump sum today you would be spared from a continuous fall in the value of the settlement that you are receiving.

For example, suppose you have settlement of $100,000 for which you are getting $500 every month, selling that settlement for say $80,000 would be better for you as what $500 can buy you today may not be able to buy the same for you two or three years in the future.

These are some of the things that you need to take into consideration before thinking of whether to go in for the sale of your structured settlement or not. The sale of a structured settlement is something that should be done with utmost care and only if the need is very immediate.

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Incorporate Your Business

 General
Aug 072011
 

If you’ve been thinking about incorporating your business, especially if you want to do business as a Nevada company, you likely want some guidance and some expert help. Certainly, many people choose to use an attorney for this service, but it’s not always necessary if you choose to use the services of a company like IncParadise.net that specializes in this area.

IncParadise is a good alternative to using a lawyer, and this will help you to save a lot of money when you’re just starting out.  For under $300, they can provide everything you need to have a Nevada Corporation. They can also provide inexpensive filings in all 50 states if you are looking to incorporate or become an LLC.

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Mortgage Relief Programs

 General, Home Loans
Aug 012011
 


Mortgage relief programs are providing much needed assitance due to the crisis in the housing market that has seen record numbers of foreclosures and homeowners who find that they are underwater on their home loan. These programs, however, are not always easy to obtain or even to understand.

Finding the appropriate program for mortgage assistance, or even a loan modification or mortgage relief plan is a daunting task, however, as a spate of programs have been introduced in the past year, some of which have expired and others of which are nearly impossible to qualify. The homeowner who attempts to dig out from a financial hole, caused by the failing economy and falling home prices needs to examine all of the options available, whether they are Federal Mortgage Relief programs, state loan assistant plans, HARP Loan Refinance Program, the HAFA program or some other government assistance.

Finding a Mortgage Relief Program

It hasn’t been too long since there were new mortgage assistant plans and loan modification programs coming out of Washington on a monthly basis.  These programs each had official sounding acronyms like HARP, PRA, HAFA, HAMP,etc., each designed to rescue floundering homeowners, prop up the nation’s real estate problem and re-energize the nation’s economy. For the most part, these programs have been a failure and have only reached a small portion of their intended target.

The Obama Refinance Program, as reported by the FHFA, still has programs available for homeowners looking for assistance.  It’s still possible to find information on programs that can lower your payments, lower your rates or get help if you are unemployed or have a home that has fallen in value.

It’s imperative that you understand all of the options that are still available.  Many banks and lending institutions have departments set up to lead you through their loan modification programs, mortgage relief plans or refinancing options. Make sure you talk with someone who is well-versed on all the programs that are still an option including the HAMP, HARP and FHA refinance for borrowers with negative equity.

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Personal Finance Weekly Roundup

 General
Jul 302011
 


The goings on in Washington have certainly dominated the headlines this week as Congress attempts to balance the budget and extend the debt ceiling. Despite the bickering of politicians and the attempts to find a compromise, your own personal finance concerns continue to carry on. Even if Washington can’t balance the nation’s budget, it’s still important to stay focused on your own.

Considering the importance of a solid personal financial picture, there have been some good articles and blog posts recently to help you keep things in perspective.

First of all, a nice write-up on the current gold boom compared to the one in 1980 on NPR’s Planet Money. What’s driving the price of gold up? The same as before: “Inflation fears, global instability, and a lack of faith in governments and the currencies they back.” There are, however, some differences as they note that inflation is much lower now than in 1980 and gold rose much faster back then. Interesting to keep things in perspective, especially if you’re looking to buy gold bullion.

CNN Money has a good feature on some retirement planning tools. Of course it’s always good to keep an eye on your retirement planning and it can’t hurt to run some figures through different calculators to get a gauge on whether you’re putting enough money in the right place.

If you’re in debt you probably have some work to do and would like to figure the best way to climb out, especially if you’ve been actively seeking debt help.  Wallet Pop has an interesting article on the 4 dumbest things you can do if you’re in debt.

And some quick reads from:

Motley Fool on “Some Terrible Advice I Hope You’ll Ignore.”

Forbes Finance: “When to Sell Your Mutual Fund and Fire Your Money Manager.”

The Street on the “Return of 20% Home Down Payments.”

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Finding the Best Savings and CD Interest Rates

 General, Personal Investing
Jul 272011
 


Interest rates on savings accounts and CDs have taken quite a beating these last few years. At this point it’s really hard to even find anything much better than 1% to 1.5% APY on any type of personal savings account. There are, however, some pretty good resources available to hunt for the best interest rates.

Google has got into the game recently, offering a comparison engine at Google Advisor. As with all things Google, the interface is refreshingly clear and uncluttered and navigating the site is quite simple.  You can find the best interest rates on CDs as well as savings and checking accounts.  You can also find current offers on mortgages and an assortment of credit cards too.  You can sort by a number of criteria like APY, fees, minimum amounts and so forth.  Currently, as of this writing, the best interest rate on a standard savings account is 1.15% APY and the best 1 year CD rate is 1.33%.

Another, familiar option, for checking out a number of competing banks can be found at Bankrate.com. Also fairly easy to use, but much more cluttered than the Google Advisor interface.  At Bankrate they mix their ads in with the search forms, presumably to get you to click on the ads of course, and it makes for a less pleasant experience overall. Unlike Google, however, there are some more search options available like College Finance, auto loans, retirement and a few more.  The best rate on a standard savings account at bankrate.com at the time of writing is now, like Google, 1.15% APY and it also matches the other engine for 1 year CD rates at 1.33%.

A final, popular, option for searching for good interest rates is Money-rates.com.  The interface and navigation falls somewhere between the prior two–not quite as simple as Google’s but much cleaner than bankrate. Unlike the other two, however, the results are less than satisfying with only a few featured returns and than a list of results with no links and not much information.  The best rate here for a savings account appeared to be 1.04% APY, though there were a number of higher rates listed for local banks with specific requirements (minors, residency, etc.) and the best CD rate was 1.19%, but only returned one listing and, again, a bunch of other results that you would presumably have to hunt down on your own.

Overall, the best approach to finding a good rate would probably be to stick with Google Advisor and Bankrate.  You can also just do a simple Google search and scan the Adword ads on the top and side to get a sense of which banks and financial institutions are running promotions and trying to get your business.

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That Advertising Agency

 General
Jul 262011
 

Advertising has changed over the years, especially with the advent of the internet and the need for an advertising agency to understand how to operate in this new, digital landscape is probably more important than ever. Certainly, there is still a great need for a ad agency that understands all of different media formats, but the old way of running an advertising or marketing campaign have evolved very rapidly.

Quite simply put, if you’re running a company and you’re only relying on ad techniques that worked ten, or even five, years ago, you’re most likely missing out on a lot of potential customers. People are choosing to do things online that were the exclusive domain of other formats before.  People watch movies and television shows, read the news and weather and even listen to the radio all online nowadays.

ThatAdvertisingAgency.com is a company that understands how to function in this altered, digital world. As they say on their website, they were “born digital.” They know how people consume their information and enjoy their entertainment. They also know how to mix old and new technology to provide a thoroughly mixed media experience. Most importantly, they focus on making their customers happy and provide a way to track their investment in an ad campaign. Running an advertising plan without a clear sense of what is and is not working does not make sense and your ad budget can be wasted if you don’t have a good handle on the efficacy of your program.

The ability to improve your reach and raise the awareness of your company are clearly important. If you realize the need for finding someone who understands how to fuse traditional ad techniques with the appropriate internet marketing know-how and knowledge, contact ThatAdvertisingAgency.com to reach your advertising goals.

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Green Dot Credit Card

 Credit Cards, General
Jul 262011
 


A traditional credit card can obviously be a convenient way to make purchases, buy gifts or pay for bills, but if you either choose not to have one or can’t obtain one a green dot credit card might be an alternative solution and a convenient way to reload a prepaid card.

Basically, unlike a normal credit card where you make purchases with the card and then pay off the balance, a green dot credit card allows you to put money on the card first and then use the card to make payments or send money to a variety of partners that accept the card or reload a prepaid card. It also allows you to send money to PayPal and is the only way to do so without a bank account.

The fee for a MoneyPak card is $4.95 and you can put amounts from $20 to $500 at stores like CVS, Walgreens and KMart and up to $1,100 at WalMart.  Once the balance of the card has run out, you cannot reload the card.

You should treat your card like you would cash and protect it very carefully.  The MoneyPak site has a list of approved partners so that you can protect yourself against fraud.

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The Reverse Mortgage

 General, Home Loans
Jul 252011
 

The reverse mortgage is not necessarily a common option for homeowners to pursue, in fact, it’s really limited to the people who are eligible for this type of loan; however, it can be a very viable solution to a great number of people.

Essentially, a reverse mortgage is a way for homeowners older than 62 to acquire equity from their home without having to actually sell the house or move out. The basic idea is that the general flow of money is “reversed” from a conventional lending situation. Instead of paying a lender a mortgage payment to purchase a home, a homeowner will receive payments from the mortgage company.

The specific terms and arrangements of a reverse mortgage are quite varied. Homeowners, for instance, can acquire the funds in a lump sum, receive monthly payments, or draw the money from a line of credit. Because the details of a reverse mortgage can be so different and since these types of loans are not as common as standard mortgages, it is best to work with a company that specializes in reverse mortgages.

Allrmc.com is an example of a company that focuses their business on the reverse mortgage, and all of their staff members are experts on reverse mortgages. You can find a great deal of information on their website including a set of pdf guides with tons of information on the ins and outs of a reverse mortgage. When you’re ready to talk to someone they have staff to talk to in order to see if this is something that fits your specific needs and situation.

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Enrolled Agent Examination

 General
Jul 212011
 

Becoming an enrolled agent can be a great way to get in the business of helping taxpayers and taking the enrolled agent examination is the most common way to become qualified to do so. An enrolled agent is an individual who has been authorized by the government to represent taxpayers before the IRS. You may qualify for such a distinction if you’ve worked for the IRS for a certain number of years in the right capacity, but otherwise you have to pass the enrolled agent exam as well as complete a background check.

The EA examination can be a difficult test if you are not prepared. The exam covers a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the IRS tax code, so you obviously need to know your stuff before you can even think about taking such a test.

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for the exam is by taking an enrolled agent course that features a good study guide and offers the chance to take multiple practice exams. You can find these types of guides from different sources, an example of which can be found at  fastforwardacademy.com. The book they offer provides a thorough overview of the test covering everything you need to know to prepare.  They have a couple of different levels of preparation available with one program offering the chance to take unlimited practice exams.

 

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Money Market Accounts

 General, Personal Investing
Jul 162011
 

We have on occasion explored the different ways to use your money in order to better understand the options available for personal investing. These assorted methods have included investment options like standard savings accounts, CDs, bonds, the stock market, IRAs and other assorted vehicles that can be used to try and generate a return, be it for savings, investments, retirement planning or any other personal finance goal. Another option that might be appropriate for some folks looking to place their money is in a money market account (MMA).

An MMA is an investment alternative to some of the other common methods and it has some advantages that make it a unique choice. Basically, a money market account is like a savings account and can be opened at banks that offer MMAs, like Aurora Bank FSB.  The difference from a standard account is that the money is deposited into a fund that is administered by the bank, which invests the money is safe places like government bonds.  The yield of an MMA is slightly higher than a normal savings account and the interest rate is usually increased depending on the balance, with accounts over $100,000 normally offering the best rates.  The funds in these accounts are protected with the backing of FDIC insurance up to $250,000.

A money market account is a good way to balance the risk in a well-diversified portfolio.  Certainly, there aren’t going to be great gains made as might be seen with other, riskier options, but they do offer a place to put a portion of your funds for safekeeping while still drawing a return on your money.  You can usually draw money out of a money market account a limited number of times per month, usually about six times with penalty, so you money is still available to you and your account is very liquid. Obviously, however, this wouldn’t be the type of an account for your regular expenses or a replacement for a checking account.

An MMA is really best suited as a safe place to keep your money on a short-term basis for things like emergency living expenses. The stock market is obviously too volatile for these types of funds and other types of investment options are not as liquid.  On the other hand, a traditional checking or savings account does not usually offer as good a yield as a money market account. It is not really a place to keep all of your funds due to the limitations listed above, however, there’s clearly a place for some percentage of your investments dollars in a well-rounded portfolio for an MMA.

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Virtual Data Room

 General
Jul 112011
 

The process of sharing information in a secure and efficient manner during the course of the due diligence process of an M&A process can be a serious concern and with an online data room like the one offered at Datasite you can at least be sure you have the proper place to conduct the a course of a transaction. With a virtual data room the standard paper data room is moved online, and obviously this area needs to be secure as well as accessible.

Merrill Datasite allows you to perform the acquisition due diligence within the secure confines of a proper virtual data room. It serves as a document warehouse solution where data is added to a centralized location and can be accessed around the globe, securely, by the assorted authorized personnel and external interests needing access to the information.

Merrill Brink International, provides localization services in a host of important and crucial business fields as they are a  leading provider of financial, legal, life sciences and corporate Translation Services for companies around the world.

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