You may also be spending more by accepting only cash and check payments in your business. The processing of cash and checks has been found to be more costly, requiring more manpower in handling. Studies have shown that the average processing cost of credit card payments is only 2.7% of a transaction while the average processing cost of checks is 4% of a transaction and the average processing cost of cash is 4.8% of a transaction. Once again, you are leaking profits by refusing to accept credit card payments.

So how do you accept credit card payments in your business? This is where credit card services come in. The old route is to apply for a merchant account in a bank. You will then have to lease the software and equipment necessary to actually process payments and send the data to your account. If you want to accept credit card payments online, you need to apply to a payment gateway that allows real time credit card authorization for online transactions. You should ensure that your payment gateway is compatible with the bank or financial institution where you have your merchant account, and with the software and equipment you have leased.

In choosing the bank or financial institution for your merchant account, consider their expertise in combating fraud and reducing chargebacks. Also make sure that they are experienced in handling merchant accounts with online transactions.

If you are a small business owner, stick to a bank or financial institution that caters to small businesses rather than large companies. You may be able to get better rates and packages designed for your specific niche.

There are options for credit card services that offer everything you need in one easy package. You will not have to deal with various entities or go through various procedures. Often, these options also have added benefits, among them, quick reporting on your credit card sales figures. They may also offer interest on your credit card sales income, even up to money market rates.

One very important feature of your credit card services that you may not know of is that it can automatically qualify you to avail of small business loans. Once you have established a record of sales through credit, most credit card services will allow you to make cash advances that are practically like getting previously approved small business loans without having to put up any required collateral. The credit card services consider your future income through credit card sales as your collateral. This can go a long way in further growing your business.

Payment will not be a problem, either. For as long as you have sales through credit payments, you automatically get to pay your small business loans. It does not matter how much your sales are. Your payments are automatically deducted as a percentage of your sales. You are always covered.

Now do you still need further convincing on the benefits of credit card services for your business?

To qualify, companies should be private enterprises that are for-profit. They should have up to five hundred employees only and should be at least two years old. Furthermore, they should be able to prove financial need with a twenty percent decrease in sales, revenue or working capital. On the other hand, they should be able to prove that one of their two years in business has been profitable, and that with the infusion of cash they will be able to meet their existing and future debt obligations. This means positive cash flow projections. The ARC small business loans are intended to be used to pay outstanding debt such as payables to vendors.

For this batch of small business loans, there are no fees or costs involved, except if the borrower defaults on the loan later. In that case the SBA-approved lender can charge costs for securing and liquidating collateral.

The ARC small business loans also do not charge interest. Actually, the SBA pays the interest for the borrowers. Disbursement of the loan can take as much as six months but payment of the principal is also deferred for the next 12 months. After that, the borrower has five years to repay the loan principal.

Each small business can only avail of one ARC loan. SBA-approved lenders will offer the loans until September 30, 2010 or until available funds run out, whichever comes first.

There are, however, an estimated 30 million small businesses in the United States and only 10,000 of them can avail of the government’s small business loans. What if you do not happen to be among the 10,000 lucky recipients? How will your small business survive?

There are even doubts being raised on whether as much as 10,000 businesses can indeed avail of the ARC loans. There are fears that there may not be enough lenders willing or able to participate in the program. Lenders will have to advance the full amount of the loan, will not receive payment on principal for a full year, and will not be able to charge any fees, thereby absorbing all administrative costs. This may be too steep for many lenders. They may not be able to afford to participate at all.

This is where you as a small business owner can and should maximize your credit card services. We are not talking about your personal credit card services here. Instead, we are referring to the merchant services that enable your small business to receive credit card  and debit card payments. Surely, any business these days avails of these types of credit card services. After all, more people pay by credit card or debit card rather than cash.

Most credit card services offer small business cash advances that can be as substantial as small business loans. These small business loans do not require any collateral because they are secured by your company’s future credit card receivables. This is even more convenient for your business because repayment is also built into those receivables. Credit card services automatically deduct a percentage from your income to go toward loan repayment. For as long as you have incoming sales, you can support your loan. Interest rates are often quite affordable considering how the loan can help your business.

Small businesses should therefore look into maximizing these credit card services for small business loans. The survival of your business could hinge on this.

Small businesses now have to be more resourceful in finding alternatives to small business loans.

Government Grants and Contracts Instead of Small Business Loans

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009 caused the pumping of billions of dollars for the revitalization of the economy. Because of it, there are plenty of government grants and contracts available to small businesses. These can be alternatives to small business loans.

But how can small businesses avail of the stimulus program?

The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) has the responsibility for helping small businesses obtain and perform federal, state and local government contracts. It has Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) throughout the country, ready to help small business owners to get registered and find opportunities in the area of government grants and contracts. Counselors assist small businesses in filling out bids, proposals and quotations.

The PTAC holds seminars teaching small business owners all the ins and outs of government legalese, including acronyms and registries. A one-day seminar with PTAC covers what small business owners may take months to learn on their own.

The PTAC then helps small businesses with Central Contractor Registration (CCR), a requirement for doing business with the federal government. This registration can be so complicated that some companies take two days to do it when the PTAC counselor can help them get through it in 15 minutes.

Local PTACs will be of help in acquiring state and municipal contracts.

Other resources that small business owners should consult include the Small Business Administration (SBA) which also coordinates with the APTAC; the General Services Administration (GSA) which acts as the government’s purchasing department and provides information on becoming an approved vendor; the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) where federal contract opportunities currently available are posted; and the Small Business Innovation Research website (sbir.gov) where grant and funded research opportunities for small businesses are listed.

Cash Advances from Credit Card Services Instead of Small Business Loans

Another alternative to small business loans are cash advances from credit card services. This option is much easier than winning government grants and contracts.

Most small businesses are already availing of credit card services that enable them to accept payments by credit cards or debit cards. This is practically a requirement to doing business these days, with people hardly paying cash for goods and services. Many small business owners do not know that they could avail of cash advances from these credit card services, though, and that such advances can actually equal small business loans.

The amount that a small business can borrow is based on its average monthly income from credit card sales. This is so because the cash advance does not require collateral and future sales receivables from credit cards stand as the collateral. Payment will also be done through automatic deductions from those future credit card sales. There will be no set monthly amortizations. Instead, a certain percentage of the sales will be allotted as payment. The small business owner, therefore, need not worry over where to find cash for loan payments.

Cash advances from credit card services are the best bet of small business owners as alternatives to small business loans.

Even the financing for loans supported by the Small Business Administration (SBA) cannot meet the needs of the majority of small businesses. Although the amount of credit available for small businesses has reportedly been increased by 25% since March this year, it is not that easy to avail of the said small business loans.

Small businesses seeking small business loans should know how to prepare the right kind of business plans that banks are looking for. To justify the loan, they should be able to show the banks in detail how they intend to use the money in business and how viable their plan is. Experts say lenders have specific points which they scrutinize applications for and applicants should know these points and tailor their submitted business plans accordingly.

It is also said that loan applicants should first establish a strong relationship with the lending bank in order to increase the possibility of having a loan approved. Banks supposedly give more small business loans to businesses they have already known and trusted long term. Since small businesses are usually new businesses, this is quite difficult to do and it cannot be done in a hurry. How can a new small business with financial needs establish a good long term relationship with a bank in time to meet its current needs?

Another requirement of lending institutions from small businesses applying for small business loans is a good credit history score.  A small business should first be deemed credit worthy by the bank before it can even be considered for loan approval. Again, small businesses that are stll young are at an immediate disadvantage here. How can they establish credit worthiness in time?

The US Congress has also placed Congressional restrictions on eligibility for the Small Business Administration loans. Small businesses first have to prove that they are at least two years old and are both struggling and viable at the same time. They should present proof that they have had a positive cash flow in one of those previous two years in business. They should, however, be currently struggling with “immediate financial hardship” with a decrease in income that should not be less than 20 percent. At the same time, they should submit their projections for cash flow for the next two years, proving that they will be able to meet loan payments.

A faster way to get small business loans would be through credit card services.

Any small business should have credit card services. Credit card services enable a company to accept customer payments for goods and services via credit cards or debit cards, whether over the counter in brick and mortar settings, through the phone or online. Credit card services provide the hardware and software for this.

Being able to accept payments through credit cards or debit cards can greatly enhance a small business’ income earning potentials. In addition to that, credit card services can provide the equivalent of small business loans with no need for any collateral. The amount of the small business loans are computed based on the average monthly income of the small business from credit card payments. The small business loans are then amortized through automatic monthly deductions of a certain percentage from the small business’ future credit card revenue. This means small businesses can almost automatically qualify for small business loans through credit card services, and will surely be able to pay such small business loans. Is there a faster way than this?

Of crucial use to small businesses are credit card services and small business loans. The entrepreneur needs to know how to avail of these tools and how to effectively wield them for maximum business growth.

Credit Card Services

A small business would do well to get reputable credit card services in order to prosper in the current business climate. Availing of credit card services will enable it to accept both credit card and debit card payments. This is true either for brick-and-mortar businesses or internet based online businesses. After all, most consumers nowadays routinely use credit cards or debit cards for payment purposes. It only makes good business sense to be well-equipped for the needs of credit card users and debit card users as well as for the needs of customers who pay in cash.

Merchant services provide credit card services covering a wide range of solutions for the processing of credit cards and debit cards as payment options. These credit card services include traditional terminal equipment at point of sale, where credit cards or debit cards are swiped. It also includes software and high speed IP solutions for both traditional commerce and e-commerce. Credit card and debit card payments can, therefore, be accepted in person or through the internet, by phone or by fax.     

Small Business Loans

Any business – whether a small start-up business, a medium-scaled one or a big business company – will be needing an infusion of additional capital sooner or later. Additional capital is always needed for expansion, additional inventory, additional manpower, new systems, new equipment or a new physical layout.

Capital is not always easy to come by, though. The original investors’ personal coffers may have been emptied by the earlier outlays. Prospective investors may not be keen on shelling out funds in times of crisis. Businesses, therefore, have no choice but to seek business loans.

Getting business loans is a difficult process. Even small business loans are not readily approved. Be prepared to present a lot of documentation and paperwork. For small business loans, the proprietor’s personal credit history is taken into account and related references need to be submitted. Of course, the company’s financial statements are just as important in proving the feasibility of the business and its capacity to repay its business loans. Having a detailed business plan will show your business strategies and projections, demonstrating your business acumen.

Unfortunately, even with all the requirements completed, applications for business loans – including small business loans – are, more often than not, disapproved.

Solutions

Some merchant services provide a comprehensive solution for the needs of small businesses in relation to credit card services and small business loans. The set up is elegantly simple. A small business need only avail of the company’s credit card services to be eligible for merchant cash advances. These cash advances are actually small business loans, except that there is no need to go through the complicated application process for business loans. Repayment is made very easy and worry-free, too. A certain small percentage is built into the credit card processing rates to take care of the advances. This way, repayment is actually done automatically in a very affordable manner and according to income flow.

Small business owners would, indeed, be wise to look into these timely business solutions.

If you are an African American, you can easily contact the local business groups in your state for inquiring about federal grants options. As a matter of fact, they are offered by specialized business groups within the boundaries of their city.

These grants are not just given to promote any regular business. Rather, they are even used to encourage cultural businesses. Every year, the government gives millions of dollars in the form of grants to Native Americans for different purposes.

The grants are not just provided to start up or expand a small business. Instead, they are even provided to go to a college or build a home. Indeed, education grants are very popular among Native Americans, giving them an opportunity to complete their education with the help of financial funding by the government.

Where to look for the grants?

Start-business government grants are available for Native Americans on a state by state basis. While searching for these business grants, it is wise to search for local sites as they might prove to be helpful. Indeed, they can give information about availing specific grants that you might be interested in.

What is needed for a successful application?

To receive business or college grants, you will typically require a certificate highlighting that you are indeed a Native American and belong to one of the federally recognized belt of tribes.

It is imperative to apply for grants to aid your business programs and help you expand it. You can even do the keyword search in order to see the listings of the agencies from which you can receive this helping hand.

What are the great benefits of grants?

In short, grants serve to be a nice medium of assistance or aid for Native Americans since they must not be repaid, unlike bank loans. You can get the grant application forms on the Internet. Find out, if you are eligible for this financial aid and also the details you need to include in the grants applications

It is important to remember that one can apply for more than one grant. This will help in increasing your chances of receiving the grant for your small business.

In this context, you should know that the application form should be filled out carefully to ensure accuracy. In case that there is a requirement for a grant proposal, this too should be worded carefully. Briefly, the application examiner should be able to easily go through your papers without any problems.

So, do not wait longer and apply for your grant right now! Look up the benefits of small grants for Native Americans in your city or state and apply immediately.

There are many debt consultants listed on the Internet who can offer advice on the forms of help that will give the best advice regarding what form of relief best applies to each individual situation. It is always best to seek the aid of a debt management consultant to avail oneself of their expertise in devising the various forms of aids that are available. Basically debt management is a continuum, that begins with negotiations that revolve around either consolidation of the financial obligations that results in one unified payment or debt settlement, which may result in a reduced payment plan of the total business debt being enacted.

Any and all of these plans should be utilized in preference to the last resort of filing a chapter 11 business bankruptcy settlement which may not give the owner the relief he or she thinks it will afford, and will certainly negatively impact the further continuance of this enterprise. This form of small business bankruptcy is not designed to be a debt absolution plan as many people erroneously think. Chapter 11 small business bankruptcy is actually designed as a quite stringent plan in which a conservator is appointed to take charge of the business assets to apply them to the repayment of all the businesses debts. The protection it offers is relief from creditors attempts to collect. The bottom line with small business bankruptcy is that there are limitless reorganization plans, including debt management, consolidation and settlement that are available if one contacts a debt management consultant. Many of these debt management consultants will describe to the owner the many options that can contain the negative impact that debt can exert upon their business and offer several solutions that may be much preferable to seeking small business bankruptcy protection.

Check these links to learn more:

http://www.curadebt.com/about.asp

http://www.curadebt.com/settlement/business-debt-negotiation/business-debt-settlement-negotiation.asp

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These same owners are also employing business consultants to identify savings on their small business insurance. Consultancy helps business growth & business development by developing business ideas & offering business training.

In this first of three segments I will deal with business resources and business loans and discuss how business assets and resources can be used to source business loans for business growth.

Development Grants, Business Finance & Small Business Insurance Secrets For Companies #1 Business Resources & Business Loans

It is said every business can be judged from its balance sheet which depicts a clear picture of its resources including its assets and its liabilities. It is also important to understand that a successful business leverages its assets wisely to generate resources and reinvests in the business. A business is also known from the quality of assets it creates.

The assets which a business generates over a period of time may be mortgaged to avail businesses loans and financial institutions look for tangible assets like real estate, buildings, and inventory etc. to advance credit facilities to businesses.

It is therefore necessary for businesses to invest their profits in quality assets and utilise those assets intelligently to raise further finances. This is a cycle which if used effectively, makes Business Resources And Business Loans a useful business philosophy at all times.

It is a well known fact that the rate of return or the return on capital employed is always higher than the interest rate on loans and funds borrowed from banks and the financial institutions.

As the liquidity situation in the world improves, banks and financial institutions are eager to lend and businesses are in a position to negotiate the lending rates. Lower rates of borrowing eventually translate into higher profitability and higher rate of return on capital employed.

A wise entrepreneur can use lower rates of borrowings to his advantage and business growth can be exponential as this cycle continues. The International Business Guru advises businesses on different business management systems and methods which help business leaders to milk their resources fully to generate cash and redeploy it in the business.

Different business consultants and business consultancy firms stress on mortgaging of assets as an effective business finance tool. Business loans therefore play an important role in improving business efficiencies and profitability and business assets can be used as effective tools for business development and growth.

In this second segment I will focus on business ideas grants for small business discusses about availing grants for small business with great business ideas.

Development Grants, Business Finance & Small Business Insurance Secrets #2 Business Ideas Grants For Small Business

Every entrepreneur brings with him many new ideas which are put to use in the enterprise to create value for the customers and stakeholders. It is said an enterprise is all about finding the right business ideas and implementing them through a successful enterprise.

Once the business idea is thought of, the next important step is to get the business financed through different sources. Various government bodies provide business development grants to budding entrepreneurs to attract them towards setting up their enterprises.

Some of these development grants are for business training and for other aspects of business growth and development.

The business ideas which focus on delivering value added services and products in an innovative manner are the most preferred ones for business grants. The theme Business Ideas Grants For Small Business takes a closer look at the business ideas and grants available for setting up small businesses.

In the United States many state development agencies offer grants to small businesses to start or expand the business. The International Business Guru is an excellent motivator for small business entrepreneurs and says small enterprises need robust business ideas that can successfully grow the business over a period of time by offering value added products and services to its customers.

While many may argue that it is difficult to bring out products in the categories where there are already established players, it is important to understand that the spirit of an entrepreneur lies in finding out the gap between the needs of the customers and the products currently on offer, and filling that gap by right products.

A good example of innovation in a product can be a solar powered outdoor camera when most of the products available in that use conventional battery cells.

Many business consultants and business consultancy firms provide business training on successfully converting innovative concepts to workable business ideas.

Government bodies also encourage budding entrepreneurs through different training programmes to set up innovation driven enterprises. Entrepreneurs need to continuously re-invent themselves to sustain the fast pace of business development and growth.

In this third segment I will focus on the importance of utilising consultancy to help a business organisation protect its assets by ensuring they have adequate insurance and how to get the best out of your insurance company.

Development Grants, Business Finance & Small Business Insurance Secrets #3 Business Insurance & Small Business Insurance Every business organization possesses business assets which are vital to its operations.

As the business organization progresses financially and grows in size, it invests in assets which have the tendency to either generate additional income or which can be leveraged to raise capital.

Business assets are therefore the vital pillars on which an enterprise rests. In addition to tangible assets such as real estate, buildings, machinery etc, intangible assets such as intellectual capital, knowledge are also crucial and of immense value to a business organization.

It is therefore important that these assets are rightly protected from various risks so that the business organization is not subjected to losses in the event of loss or damage to an asset.

The most crucial protection to an asset is provided by securing the asset through insurance plans and Business Insurance And Small Business Insurance takes a closer look at some of the important aspects of protecting the assets.

Before insuring an asset, it is necessary that it is valued appropriately and in case the asset has a tendency to appreciate in value, then the appreciated value should also be factored in the valuation at the time of insuring.

For small businesses this is extremely crucial. If the assets are physical in nature then they need to be insured against perils such as fire, earthquake, floods and other natural calamities.

Many business consultants and business consultancy firms have designed business training courses to address the insurance aspect of business organizations. Insurance companies have also come out with innovative insurance plans that can be customized to the specific needs of business organizations.

In addition to the real assets already discussed, other assets such as inventory and capital equipment such as production machinery and office equipment should also be insured with appropriate insurance covers.

As stated by the International business guru, more than anything else, business insurance provides a complete peace of mind to every business owner and business leaders and enables them to focus on important business matters like business development and business growth.

The Chartered Financial Officer handles all aspects of a business related to finance. He not only takes care of the current business but implements strategies and policies to tackle every conditionthe business would meet in the future. The CFO in other words is the brain of the business. Every decision taken, is taken by him after due consideration on the pro’s and con’s. CFO for hire would give you the services of a CFO on an hourly basis or a weekly basis depending on your requirements. This way you cannot only get the services of a CFO you don’t have to pay as much as you would have to for it.

The reasons why you would need a CFO are far too many to count but to name a few you would require a CFO to predict the cycle your business to running in, analyzing and projecting your business and cash flow needs, telling you how much cash you should keep in hand and how much to invest and where, work aggressively to reduce cost expense and sorting out for tax and other issue’s. They would review the financial statements and check what actions need to be taken, help in the process of hiring and firing employees. They would closely monitorthe business and make recommendations to improve it. The models used in financial planning are often so complex that no one except the experts understand them, CFO’s use them forthe business giving it the professional touch you business would lack.

The small and medium scale enterprises are normally working on very tight margins and to employ a CFO would ruin them. CFO for Hire would be an option where they can avail professional counseling and that too with very little expense.

Caution must be maintained however on whom you hire since you don’t want anyone but the best for your business. You should conduct rounds of interviews, get necessary reference checks, conduct pre employment checks and then hire the suitable candidate. The tests range from ability tests, behavior tests, character tests to productivity tests.

There are plenty of agencies that offer the services of CFO for hire and help you make the right decision for your business needs.