tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27784526096678082212024-03-24T23:10:14.657-07:00Barbara Johnson BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.comBlogger2979125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-45175821662380131582019-04-23T08:44:00.001-07:002019-04-23T08:44:58.164-07:00Summit Bank Business Loan Review, Plus Top Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summit Bank is an Oregon-based independent community bank with locations in Eugene, Bend, and Portland. Founded in 2004, Summit Bank’s stated mission is “to be the best community bank for businesses and professionals,” a mission they pursue in part through their</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business lending</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business banking</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">products. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For qualified business owners, a Summit Bank business loan may well be the best and most affordable loan option available. Unfortunately, however, Summit Bank offers very little transparency about their business loans, so you’ll need to visit a branch to learn more about their loan programs—and with only three physical locations, that obviously disqualifies the vast majority of American business owners from securing a Summit Bank business loan.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here, we’ll tell you what we</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">do</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">know about Summit Bank business loans, but we’ll also tell you about three more accessible loan options if you find that you’re not a fit for a loan from this Northwestern bank. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/loan' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>An Overview of Summit Bank Business Loans</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned, other than listing the types of loans they offer, </span><a href="https://www.sbko.bank/business-banking-with-summit-bank-eugene-and-bend-oregon-community-bank/business-loans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summit Bank</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">doesn’t provide any details about their loans, like their rates, terms, amounts, or eligibility requirements. This isn’t uncommon for banks—especially very small institutions, like Summit Bank—which often encourage interested parties to visit a branch to discuss the application process in person. Also, Summit Bank says they design custom banking solutions tailored to the needs and financial capacity of individual business owners (as is also the case with many bank lenders) so there’s really no one-size-fits-all Summit Bank business loan that they can advertise on their website.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With that disclaimer in mind, we can tell you a little more about how each</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">type</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">of Summit Bank business loan works, and which projects each is best suited for. That way, if you do decide to visit your local Summit Bank branch, you’ll better understand which of their loan products would work best for your needs.</span></p>
<h3><b>Equipment Loans</b></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/equipment-financing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Equipment financing</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">programs lend business owners the cash they need to purchase the expensive tools of their trade, both big (like heavy machinery) and small (like office furniture).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Along with other application materials, you’ll submit a quote for your equipment to your lender. If they approve your loan application, your lender will front you up to 100% of the equipment’s cost, at a term that generally lasts as long as the expected life of the equipment.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because the equipment itself acts as the loan</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/5-types-of-collateral" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">collateral</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, lenders are mainly concerned about the equipment’s value and relatively less concerned about traditional qualification standards, like your credit score and time in business—which makes equipment loans among the most accessible types of small business loans.</span></p>
<h3><b>Commercial Lines of Credit</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Along with</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business credit cards</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, lines of credit are probably the most flexible form of business financing available.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Much like a credit card without the plastic and perks, a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/business-line-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business line of credit</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a revolving, renewable pool of funds from which you can draw whatever amount you need (up to your credit limit), at any time you need it. Unlike a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/business-term-loans" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">term loan</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, you’ll only need to pay interest on the funds you actually pull from your line of credit. That makes lines of credit excellent reserve funds to keep in case of unforeseen emergencies or opportunities, or to smooth out gaps in your cash flow.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lines of credit from banks typically range anywhere from $5,000 to $1 million or more. Generally, banks most heavily weigh an applicant’s credit score, revenue, collateral, and projected financials when considering an applicant’s qualification for a line of credit. </span></p>
<h3><b>Commercial Real Estate and Construction Loans</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summit Bank also offers business loans for financing commercial real estate-related projects, like constructing a new facility, purchasing a building or land, or developing a property for business purposes. Once again, Summit Bank doesn’t provide information about their commercial real estate or construction loans’ rates, terms, or eligibility requirements, so you’ll need to contact the bank directly to learn more. Typically, though, commercial real estate loans carry long repayment periods—think anywhere between five and 25 years, depending on the size of the loan—and interest rates may be fixed or variable.</span></p>
<h3><b>Standby Letters of Credit</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, Summit Bank can provide business owners with standby</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/letter-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">letters of credit</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which are documents guaranteeing that the bank will deliver payment to the appropriate party in case their client fails to do so. SLOCs are typically used in international trade transactions, which present several potential risks and complications that may result in either the exporter or the importer failing to hold up their end of the bargain—which an SLOC protects against. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/apply')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">See Your Business Loan Options</span></button></span></p>
<h2><b><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53889 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18144909/shutterstock_149397572.jpg" alt="summit bank business loan" width="1000" height="667" /></b></h2>
<h2><b>3 Alternatives to a Summit Bank Business Loan</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although Summit Bank doesn’t specify their eligibility requirements, as a brick-and-mortar institution it’s likely that they’ll only approve the applicants that pose the least-possible risk: Typically, that means businesses that have good credit, experience in their industry, sufficient collateral (if necessary for the particular loan they’re applying for), a demonstrated ability to repay additional debt, and that are cash-flow positive. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your business can’t yet qualify for a Summit Bank business loan, consider working with an online lender, which typically requires much less stringent qualification standards than traditional lending institutions do. As these lenders leverage the power of technology, their application processes and time-to-funding windows tend to be streamlined, easy, and incredibly fast, too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are just three of your best options: </span></p>
<h3><b>Equipment Loan From Balboa Capital</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re seeking an even more accessible equipment loan, consider applying for the equipment leasing program through</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/lender-reviews/balboa-capital-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Balboa Capital</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keep in mind that Balboa Capital offers an equipment lease, rather than a loan, which means that the lender will retain the title to your equipment. You’ll pay for the use of that equipment for as long as your remittance schedule lasts, and at the end of your lease, you’ll have the option to buy the equipment for a low price.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In order to be considered for a Balboa Capital equipment lease, this online lender doesn’t require additional collateral or hefty financial documentation. And although they will consider your credit score during the underwriting process, they don’t set a required minimum credit score for eligibility. Like most online platforms, Balboa Capital boasts an incredibly fast turnaround time—if you qualify, you may receive a credit decision and access to your loan funds in as little as a single day.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Balboa Capital can provide qualified business owners with up to $500,000, and you’ll repay your equipment lease in monthly installments at a term lasting between 24 and 72 months.</span></p>
<h3><b>Business Line of Credit From Kabbage</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business owners seeking lines of credit with quick turnaround times should look into</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/lender-reviews/kabbage-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kabbage</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, one of the most trusted and transparent lenders in the online business lending marketplace. Kabbage can provide business owners with lines of credit between $1,000 and $250,000, with repayment terms lasting six, 12, or 18 months, and fees range between 1.25% and 10%.</span> <a href="https://www.kabbage.com/what-it-costs/loan-rates-and-terms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kabbage’s fee schedules</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">are somewhat unusual, but you can find a detailed explanation right on their website.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To qualify for a Kabbage line of credit of less than $100,000, at a minimum you’ll need $50,000 in annual revenue (or $4,200 per month), a 550 credit score, and a year in business. As you’d expect, qualifying for a larger line of credit requires more demanding minimum qualifications: $1 million in annual revenue (or $125,000 per month), a 680 personal credit score, and three years in business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you do qualify for a Kabbage loan, your loan may be funded in a single day. Drawing down on your loan is simple, too—you can either use the Kabbage dashboard, app, or Kabbage Card, which is essentially a credit card tied directly to your Kabbage line of credit funds.</span></p>
<h3><b>Term Loan From Fundation</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you need lump-sum financing to fund larger projects—but you’re not yet qualified for a commercial real estate or construction loan from Summit Bank, or another traditional lending institution—look into a medium-term loan from an online lender, like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/lender-reviews/fundation-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fundation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This premium online lender can provide qualified business owners with loans between $20,000 and $300,000, at terms lasting between one and four years. Those are among the highest loan amounts and longest repayment periods you’ll find from a trustworthy online lender, which can give you the funds and time you need to finance expensive projects like expansion and capital improvements.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re interested in a Fundation loan under $200,000, at a minimum you’ll need $100,000 in annual revenue, a 660 credit score, and a year in business. Those seeking Fundation loans greater than $200,000 will need at least $750,000 in annual revenue, a 720 credit score, and five years in business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Fundation may take as long as 30 days to review your application and deliver your loan funds, on average it takes this online lender three days to fund approved applicants—which is likely a much faster funding window than you’d experience with a brick-and-mortar bank. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/apply')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">See Your Business Loan Options</span></button></span></p>
<h2><b>Is a Summit Bank Business Loan Right for You?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Summit Bank business loan may be an excellent, low-cost financing option if your business is based near one of Summit Bank’s three locations, though you’ll need to visit your local branch to understand their business financing eligibility requirements. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you don’t yet qualify for a Summit Bank business loan, or if you don’t live near one of their branches, then you’re certainly not out of options. Consider working with a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/apply-for-a-loan#/questionnaire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">loan specialist</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">who can help you evaluate your needs and financials, pinpoint your financing options—both from online lenders and brick-and-mortar institutions—and then help you package and submit your loan application.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/summit-bank-business-loan">Summit Bank Business Loan Review, Plus Top Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/summit-bank-business-loan
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-19934207715900775182019-04-23T07:35:00.001-07:002019-04-23T07:35:46.283-07:00PrestaShop Review: Pricing, User Reviews, Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-an-ecommerce-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">starting an ecommerce business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, you want a software application that will allow you to set up your store and manage day-to-day operations—at a reasonable price, of course. With a variety of ecommerce platforms on the market, all at different price points, you may be wondering if there are any free options. That’s where open source platforms, like PrestaShop, come in. Unlike many other ecommerce solutions, open source platforms are free to download and allow you to modify the code of the software to fit your specific needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The PrestaShop open source platform was created in 2005 and has grown substantially since. Now one of the most popular</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/ecommerce-platforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ecommerce platforms</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">in Europe, PrestaShop is known for their free software, customizability, and international reach. Is PrestaShop the right fit for your small business? In this PrestaShop review, we’ll help you answer that question by taking a look at PrestaShop’s features, pricing, customer reviews, and comparing their platform to industry competitors.</span></p>
<h2><b>PrestaShop: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop is a European-based ecommerce software platform. Up until 2018, PrestaShop only offered their free open source ecommerce solution, which as we mentioned above, allows you to download and install the software and customize it for your particular business. In late 2018, however, PrestaShop launched a fully hosted, ready-to-use version of their platform called PrestaShop Ready.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whereas PrestaShop’s original offering is open source and free to download, PrestaShop Ready runs on a subscription basis. Just as with other platforms like Shopify and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bigcommerce-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BigCommerce</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, everything you need to run your store is part of PrestaShop Ready—essentially, PrestaShop Ready removes the development and technical resources that are needed for their open source platform.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, with PrestaShop Ready, web hosting is included as part of the platform and your store is hosted through Google Cloud. For the open source version of PrestaShop, you need to find your own web hosting or work with PrestaShop’s hosting partner,</span> <a href="https://www.ionos.com/ecommerce-solutions/prestashop-hosting" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1&1 IONOS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both of the PrestaShop ecommerce offerings, however, give you the fundamental ability to set up and launch your online store. You can customize your website, add products, manage your orders, process payments, market your store, and support your customers.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>PrestaShop Features</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although PrestaShop has two different ecommerce platform options, the features included with each are mostly the same. According to their website, PrestaShop has over 600 features, fulfilling your full range of ecommerce business needs—store management to shipping to marketing, and more.</span></p>
<h3><b>Store Creation</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop allows you to create your store’s website and customize it to your business. If you’re using PrestaShop open source, you can either use and customize the default template or buy and download others from</span> <a href="https://addons.prestashop.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop Addons</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, their official add-on marketplace. PrestaShop Ready, on the other hand, requires that you choose one of the handful of customizable templates included within the platform. With PrestaShop Ready, you also have access to a blog for your store.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For both options, however, you can organize your products, configure internal search, adjust the navigation, and dictate your checkout process, including one page checkout. In addition, you can optimize your store for international business. PrestaShop includes translation for over 25 different languages and allows you to use a multi-language product sheet to adapt to different markets. You can also set the currencies you accept and automate the exchange rate movements.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payment Processing</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the biggest differences between PrestaShop open source and PrestaShop Ready are the payment processing options. PrestaShop Ready allows you to accept payments four ways: Stripe, PayPal, bank transfers, and checks. Using</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/stripe-vs-paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stripe or PayPal</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">as your processor, you can accept credit card payments.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For PrestaShop open source, on the other hand, you have significantly more options. You can work with one of the PrestaShop Partners (free or paid), which include payment processors like PayPal,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/braintree-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Braintree</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/amazon-pay" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon Pay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/worldpay-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">WorldPay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/authorize-net-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Authorize.Net</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and more. You also have the option to pay for and download one of the other 250+ payment add-ons from the PrestaShop marketplace.</span></p>
<h3><b>Product and Customer Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the PrestaShop ecommerce platform, you can list an unlimited number of products on your site. You can give features and values to your products, create packs, sell customizable goods, as well as add and sell digital products. You can also create both product categories and subcategories, track your inventory, and get a dashboard overview of your manufacturers and suppliers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For your customers, you can allow them to create an account and track their orders. Through your PrestaShop interface, you can create a customer information database, as well as run customer service activities.</span></p>
<h3><b>Order Management and Shipping</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can create and edit orders from your PrestaShop admin, customize a workflow for orders and returns, print shipping slips, as well as automate email templates for different order status. PrestaShop also allows you to configure shipping with your chosen carrier, choose delivery zones, determine the pricing for different shipping methods, and calculate taxes based on location. Users of PrestaShop Ready receive a special offer, 100 euros free ($112.16 as of April 2019), from PrestaShop Partner Upela, which includes local and international shipping carriers.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134505/image262.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53868 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134505/image262.jpg" alt="using prestashop to run ecommerce business" width="1000" height="667" /></a></p>
<h3><b>Marketing and Reporting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop includes integrated marketing and reporting capabilities. You can create special offers, highlight your products, and increase engagement through abandoned cart, recently viewed, and back-in-stock product emails. PrestaShop lets you manage your store’s SEO, connect to social media pages, and run digital advertising on your site. The reporting functionality allows you to track marketing, sales, customer, and product performance—as well as provides an overview of your main data.</span></p>
<h3><b>Add-Ons</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another one of the main differences between PrestaShop Ready and PrestaShop open source is the access to add-ons. You can only download and buy add-ons from the PrestaShop marketplace if you are using the open source version of PrestaShop. This marketplace offers over 6,000 modules, themes, and services—ranging from site navigation tools to social media integrations to</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/best-shipping-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">shipping services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. These add-ons are not currently available to PrestaShop Ready users.</span></p>
<h3><b>PrestaShop Support</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The last real difference in terms of features for PrestaShop Ready vs. PrestaShop open source is the support for their users. A PrestaShop Ready subscription includes 7/7 support (seven hours a day, seven days a week) from PrestaShop customer support, as well as tips and tutorials within the platform. Dedicated support is not included with the open source option, however, PrestaShop does offer different support plans for open source at additional costs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For both platforms, you also have access to useful resources like the PrestaShop forum, community, documentation, FAQs, as well as YouTube tutorials.</span></p>
<h2><b>PrestaShop Pricing</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After going through the full range of features that PrestaShop offers, you may find yourself asking, “Is PrestaShop really free?” This is a valid question, and the answer, unfortunately, requires more than a simple “yes” or “no.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To explain, PrestaShop’s traditional ecommerce platform offering is open source, so yes, it’s free to download (they also offer a free demo). However, although the actual open source software is free to download, this doesn’t mean that it will be totally</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/free-e-commerce-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free to run your ecommerce business</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">through this platform.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you use PrestaShop’s open source software, you’ll have to find your own web hosting, which comes at a cost. Using PrestaShop’s hosting partner, for example, will cost you anywhere from $8 per month to $14 per month, depending on which plan you choose. Other hosting providers may have different rates. Additionally, there will be the cost for payment processing, which will vary depending on the processor.</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/stripe-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stripe</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, as an example, charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Some of the payment add-ons are free to download with PrestaShop, like PayPal, for example. But others, like Square, require you to pay ($169.99) to download the module itself.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, if you want to extend the functionality of your store to more than what is included in PrestaShop, you’ll have to pay for themes and modules from the marketplace to allow you to do that. Plus, the more customization you want, the more you’ll need to work with a developer to help you build your site. This is an added cost (and potentially a big one) people often forget about when it comes to open source ecommerce platforms. Unless you have technical knowledge, platforms like PrestaShop open source typically require help from a developer to set up, and sometimes manage, your store.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134509/image349.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53869 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134509/image349.png" alt="prestashop add-ons marketplace" width="1128" height="684" /></a>Modules in the PrestaShop marketplace; photo: PrestaShop</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taking all of this into consideration then, PrestaShop open source is free to download; however, the cost to run your ecommerce business through it can vary depending on your business’ needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop Ready, on the other hand, runs on a subscription basis. You can purchase a plan on a month-to-month basis, or annually. If you choose the annual plan, you will receive a 20% discount. As of April 2019, PrestaShop Ready only has one plan option, the Start plan—although</span> <a href="https://www.prestashop.com/en/prestashop-ready/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according to the PrestaShop website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Pro and Premium are coming soon. The Start plan costs 24.90 euros per month ($27.93 as of April 2019), or 19.90 euros per month ($22.32 as of April 2019) if you do the annual plan.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop Ready has a few additional costs besides the monthly fee as well. There is a 1.5% platform fee that kicks in after 3,000 euros ($3,364.51 as of April 2019) turnover. Furthermore, just like with PrestaShop open source there is a cost for payment processing. Unlike with the open source platform, however, you don’t have to pay for the actual module because Stripe and PayPal are included (these are your only two options though). As we mentioned above, Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/paypal-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PayPal</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">works with PrestaShop Ready at a special rate, 0.25 euros ($0.28 as of April 2019) per transaction and 1.40% of the amount cashed for six months, starting from the date of your choice. Two cost benefits, however, you receive with this platform are 100 euros ($112.16 as of April 2019) in free shipping with Upela and 75 euros ($84.12 as of April 2019) free for every 25 euros ($28.04 as of April 2019) spent with Google Adwords. PrestaShop Ready also offers a free 15-day trial of their platform, no commitment or credit card required.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luckily, unlike with the open source platform, web hosting, themes, and user support are all included in the subscription price. Remember, however, that PrestaShop Ready does not give you the ability to download (free or paid) add-ons from the marketplace; you must work with the integrations already included in the platform.</span></p>
<h2><b>Pros of PrestaShop</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now that we’ve broken down the features and pricing of PrestaShop, let’s take a look at some of the most beneficial aspects of the platform. Here are a few:</span></p>
<h3><b>Features</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no doubt that with 600+ features, PrestaShop gives you a lot to work with when building and running your ecommerce store. From unlimited products to one page checkout to abandoned cart emails, you certainly can’t say you’re missing out if you use PrestaShop. For PrestaShop open source in particular, you have an impressive amount of capabilities, considering the software is free to download.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, if there is an ability you’re missing when you use PrestaShop open source, you can explore the 6,000 add-ons in their marketplace to increase your functionality. Also, if you choose to capitalize on the flexibility of open source, you can truly customize the software to your business, in ways you can’t with a typical ecommerce platform. If you use PrestaShop Ready, on the other hand, you still have full access to the platform’s features, plus the added bonus of web hosting, included themes, user support, and those cost deals we mentioned earlier.</span></p>
<h3><b>Usability</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even though PrestaShop was first and foremost an open source platform, by all accounts it seems to be user-friendly and pretty simple to use (as you can see from the</span> <a href="http://demo.prestashop.com/en/?view=front" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free demo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">). The platform has incredible functionality, and yet, the dashboard is still clean and intuitive. Although you may require some developer assistance if you’re using open source, PrestaShop certainly appeals to beginner and advanced users alike, especially when compared to some other open source software like Magento.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134511/image435.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53870 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134511/image435.png" alt="prestashop free demo dashboard" width="1320" height="694" /></a>PrestaShop free demo dashboard; photo: PrestaShop</span></i></p>
<h3><b>International Reach</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Probably one of the most unique qualities about PrestaShop is the international reach their platform offers. Based in Europe, PrestaShop has ensured that their users’ businesses can function across the continent—and beyond. In fact, out of their</span> <a href="https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/PrestaShop" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">almost 250,000 live sites</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, over 30% of those sites are U.S. based. Since you can present your store in several different languages and currencies, as well as adjust your checkout for varying taxes and shipping, PrestaShop is equipped to facilitate businesses all over the world.</span></p>
<h3><b>What PrestaShop Customer Reviews Say</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrestaShop product reviews on the internet are generally positive, with users discussing much of what we mentioned above. Customers say that the platform is flexible, handles many different capabilities, and can be a good fit for users of varying experience. Users of the open source platform comment on the large PrestaShop developer base and community, saying that these resources are extremely helpful. Many users, in fact, compare PrestaShop to other open source offerings, like OpenCart and Magento, and say that PrestaShop is better for cost and functionality. It’s worth noting, however, that PrestaShop customer reviews as of April 2019 focus on the open source software and do not mention PrestaShop Ready.</span></p>
<h2><b>Cons of PrestaShop</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although PrestaShop has some strong benefits, there are drawbacks to consider, as well. Here are a few cons to keep in mind:</span></p>
<h3><b>Development</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of PrestaShop open source, if you don’t already have technical knowledge, it’s always going to be more difficult to run your ecommerce business through an open source platform. Although PrestaShop includes much of what you’ll need already, you still have the challenge of downloading, installing it, and figuring out the technical aspects of the software. More than likely, you’ll need development help, which can certainly be a hassle (and expense) for many business owners.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, due to the nature of open source, developments in the software are constantly being released, which means the possibility of bugs, version conflicts, and no professional support from PrestaShop to help you through them. Not to mention, although the marketplace can give you access to helpful add-ons, you have to incorporate them into your platform yourself, and risk the possibility that they don’t integrate quite right with the software and cause software issues.</span></p>
<h3><b>Cost</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The free aspect of platforms like PrestaShop open source is appealing to many owners looking for the most</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/efficient-ecommerce-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">efficient way to run their ecommerce business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. However, although open source is free to download, as we’ve explained, there are numerous additional costs to consider. These costs are unpredictable and can vary—you may end up spending more on this “free” platform than you would with a subscription-based, full-service option.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of PrestaShop Ready, on the other hand, you have more upfront costs for one service option. Although this may seem beneficial, especially considering the number of included features, the platform fee in combination with the</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payment-gateway" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment gateway</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">fees, could end up making PrestaShop Ready more expensive than it appears.</span></p>
<h3><b>What PrestaShop Customer Reviews Say</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although most PrestaShop product reviews are positive, users do mention their problems with the platform as well. The biggest con that users seem to agree upon is the development issues of open source. These PrestaShop customer reviews say that the software can be buggy and there are glitches between versions and when adding modules from the marketplace. Another common complaint is the cost of some of the add-ons and the comment that PrestaShop is not really free. Again, it should be noted that these reviews all apply only to the open source version of PrestaShop and there aren’t currently reviews discussing PrestaShop Ready.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134500/image173.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53867 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18134500/image173.jpg" alt="ecommerce business owner fulfilling orders with prestashop" width="1000" height="722" /></a></p>
<h2><b>PrestaShop Alternatives</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before deciding PrestaShop is the ecommerce platform for you, it’s worth exploring all of your options and taking a closer look at some of PrestaShop’s competitors. Here are two alternatives:</span></p>
<h3><b>Shopify</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify is one of the biggest players in the ecommerce industry, and for good reason. Shopify is known for its ease of use (beginner and beyond), customizability, and integration capabilities. Shopify, like PrestaShop Ready, is a fully hosted platform. Although</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">has many of the same features as PrestaShop Ready, it also offers different plans and pricing based on your needs, app integration possibility, and does not have a platform fee (unless you use an alternate payment processor). Shopify is a worthy alternative to PrestaShop Ready and even to PrestaShop open source if you’re concerned about development resources and cost. One customer review for PrestaShop even says if you don’t want to learn the technical aspects, choose Shopify.</span></p>
<h3><b>Magento</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re looking specifically for an open source ecommerce platform, the only one that truly compares to PrestaShop is Magento. Magento is actually one of the most popular ecommerce platforms in the world and is well-known for their open source offering. Magento has an impressive feature list and gives you the ability to extend your functionality, like PrestaShop, with add-ons from their marketplace. Although much of what Magento offers is quite similar to PrestaShop, Magento focuses more on their customizability, offering a wider range of add-ons for users. Additionally, Magento appeals to businesses who are larger or growing quickly and have unique needs. Admittedly, however, Magento seems to be more costly because of the development resources required for set up and maintenance of the platform. If you’re looking to take your business to the next level in terms of customization and have the development capabilities to do so, Magento is worth considering.</span></p>
<h2><b>Is PrestaShop Right for My Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ultimately, the right ecommerce platform for you depends on your business and specific needs. If you’re particularly interested in an open source platform, PrestaShop is definitely one of the best out there. With over 600 features included in a free, downloadable software, you already have impressive functionality that you don’t get with many other platforms. Additionally, if you’re looking to run your store internationally, PrestaShop is a great choice to facilitate that business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like with all open source platforms, however, keep in mind that there are added costs beyond the software itself. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a fully hosted platform, you might be better off going with a tried-and-true solution, like Shopify. Although PrestaShop Ready gives you access to a significant amount of features, other more established platforms give you similar functionalities at a similar price point, with the added bonus of plan options and integration capabilities. At the end of the day, if you’re considering either of PrestaShop’s offerings, you should take advantage of the free trial and free demo to help you reach a decision.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/prestashop-review">PrestaShop Review: Pricing, User Reviews, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/prestashop-review
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-11654083711506616512019-04-23T06:24:00.001-07:002019-04-23T06:24:34.206-07:00How to Find the Right Small Business Tax Advisor for Your Business<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>Small Business Tax Advisor Definition</h2>
<p>A small business tax advisor is a certified tax professional hired by businesses to help year-round with preparing and filing business taxes, offering tax and other financial advice, and representing the business in the event of an audit. A small business advisor should not only have the qualifications and experience to assist with taxes but also specific knowledge of the intricacies of business taxes.</p>
</div>
<p>Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of small business ownership is dealing with taxes. Of everything involved in <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business accounting</a>, taxes are not only the most difficult but also probably the most complex—and costly to your business if mistakes are made. For these reasons, many business owners work with a tax advisor. A small business tax advisor can take the hassle out of preparing and filing taxes, while also offering you financial advice and representing you in the case of an audit. If you think this type of person would greatly benefit your business, you’re not alone—but how do you find the <em>right</em> tax advisor for your business? There are a few things you need to know in order to find and hire a good business tax advisor: understand the types of tax advisors, what exactly they do, and what makes a good one.</p>
<h2><strong>What Is a Small Business Tax Advisor?</strong></h2>
<p>Before you can go about finding the right tax advisor for your business, you should know exactly what a tax advisor is. A business tax advisor is a certified professional who can help your business with your full range of tax-related needs. The role of a small business tax advisor, therefore, can include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Record keeping and planning for tax purposes</li>
<li>Preparing <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business taxes</a></li>
<li>Filing business (and possibly personal) taxes</li>
<li>Maximizing business tax returns</li>
<li>Offering tax and other financial advice for businesses</li>
<li>Representing businesses in case of an audit</li>
</ul>
<p>A business tax advisor is not someone you only work with during tax season, instead, it’s someone you consult with and utilize for your business tax purposes all year round.</p>
<h2><strong>Types of Business Tax Advisors</strong></h2>
<p>Technically, anyone can be a small business tax consultant—all they need is an IRS preparer tax identification number (PTIN). However, in order to ensure that your business and taxes are in the most capable hands, there are a few types of IRS-certified tax advisors you should know about. These kinds of tax advisors meet the additional skill, education, and expertise <a href="https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/understanding-tax-return-preparer-credentials-and-qualifications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requirements set out by the IRS</a> and therefore are the most reputable and are recommended to handle your business taxes—and even more importantly, they’re all authorized to represent you before the IRS:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Enrolled Agents (EA)</strong>: An <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/enrolled-agent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enrolled agent</a> is a tax professional licensed by the IRS. These professionals have passed a three-part special exam to demonstrate their tax proficiency or have worked at the IRS for a minimum of five years.</li>
<li><strong>Certified Public Accountants (CPAs)</strong>: <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/certified-public-accountant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CPAs</a> are accounting professionals who have passed the CPA Exam and comply with the CPA requirements. CPAs offer a range of services, including tax preparation and filing.</li>
<li><strong>Attorneys</strong>: Attorneys are law professionals who have passed the bar exam and are licensed to practice by their respective state. Although all attorneys technically fall under this IRS requirement, business owners will want to work with an attorney who specializes in business taxes.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you’re looking for a business tax advisor, you’ll want to find a professional that falls into one of these three categories. You’ll also want to look for a tax professional who has specific experience with business taxes, not just personal taxes. If possible, someone who has a familiarity with small businesses, startups, or your particular industry, will be even more beneficial.</p>
<h2><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-53272" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/10175356/tax-advisor-working-with-small-business-owner.jpg" alt="small business tax advisor" width="1000" height="667" /></h2>
<h2><strong>How to Find a Small Business Tax Advisor</strong></h2>
<p>So, you’re looking for a business tax advisor that falls into one of those three categories, but how do you start the process? If you haven’t worked with a tax professional before, where do you look?</p>
<p>A good place to start is with your <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-accountant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business accountant</a> or bookkeeper. If you already work with a CPA for your other accounting needs, they might have the experience to also serve as your business tax advisor. Even if you don’t work with a CPA, your accountant might have colleagues or references in their network that have the experience you need. Similarly, referrals, in general, are a great way to find a small business tax advisor. Consult other business professionals you use and trust—or talk to other small business owners for references.</p>
<p>If you don’t use a referral, another good route to explore is to consult professional tax organizations to find certified business tax advisors near you. You can go to the Association of International Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) website to access a <a href="https://www.aicpa.org/forthepublic/findacpa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CPA directory</a> or the National Association of Enrolled Agents to <a href="https://taxexperts.naea.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">find an EA</a>. Local bar associations can help you find tax attorneys in your area. As you go through this process, you’ll want to meet with several different people to find the tax advisor that will work best for you and your business.</p>
<h2><strong>How to Choose the Right Business Tax Advisor</strong></h2>
<p>Now that you know the basics about small business tax advisors and where you can start your search for one, let’s dive deeper into how to find the <em>right</em> one for your business. Since this person is going to be working with you year-round and handling some of your business’ most important financial information, you want to be confident about the person you choose. These questions can not only help you assesses your business tax needs, but also the business tax advisor themselves to determine if they’re a good fit for your business:</p>
<h3><strong>1. What role will the tax advisor play on my financial team?</strong></h3>
<p>Will your advisor interact with the other members of your team (attorney, financial planner etc.) to make sure everything in your financial plan is working smoothly? Will they have access to all of your business finance tools like your accounting or <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bookkeeping-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bookkeeping software</a>?</p>
<h3><strong>2. How much experience does the tax advisor have delivering the kind of results you are looking for?</strong></h3>
<p>Ask the tax advisor to share some success stories from other clients they have worked with. Most tax advisors will be able to share stories, testimonials, or even references with you. Make sure you check them out.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to ask about specific strategies the advisor has used. You want the advisor to respond with answers like “we educated the client on which costs were deductible” or “we restructured this client’s business to take advantage of lower tax rates,” etc.</p>
<p>What you don’t want to hear is evidence that the advisor has used aggressive strategies that would cause red flags with the IRS, or strategies that are just plain illegal. Listen for words like <em>planned, restructured, educated,</em> and <em>documented</em> in the advisor’s answers—these are legitimate.</p>
<h3><strong>3. What experience does the tax advisor have with <em>your</em> issues?</strong></h3>
<p>Does the advisor have knowledge about your industry? Do they work with anyone inside your industry right now? Do they know about any trends or news that relate to your business? What can be done to either profit from or protect you against those trends?</p>
<p>You want to be working with an advisor who understands your business and specific issues concerning business taxes, like the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-tax-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business tax rate</a>. If you have to educate your tax professional about how your business routinely operates, they probably aren’t the right person for you. A tax professional should refer you to someone else if your business is not their specialty.</p>
<h3><strong>4. What does the advisor do for their clients year-round?</strong></h3>
<p>Business (and life) happens year-round, not just at tax time. You need to be able to have access to your tax advisor all year long so if a situation comes up and you need guidance, you can get advice <em>before</em> the transaction or event happens.</p>
<p>If your tax consultant only does taxes between January and April and takes the rest of the year off, that should be a red flag to you. You want somebody who lives and breathes the tax code and can apply it to your situation. You also want an advisor that will stay in contact with you during the year and alert you to any tax saving opportunities that may arise.</p>
<h3><strong>5. What level of responsibility will they take for your tax return?</strong></h3>
<p>Finally, you want an advisor that will stand behind their work. If problems come up with your tax return, your advisor should be able to address them. If you face an <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/irs-audit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS audit</a>, your advisor should be able to help you through the audit process.</p>
<p>Asking questions like these will give you, as the business owner, the opportunity to finesse your tax advisor needs, as well as assess the individual tax advisor themselves. Like we previously mentioned, don’t be afraid to meet with multiple tax professionals to weigh their skills, experience, and even personality—at the end of the day, it’s of the utmost importance that this person is right for your business and will be able to fulfill your tax needs.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53273 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/10175429/tax-advisor-assisting-small-business-owner.jpg" alt="small business tax advisor" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><strong>The Final Word on Small Business Tax Advisors</strong></h2>
<p>If you’re in the market for a small business tax advisor, don’t wait until the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/tax-deadline-extensions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business tax deadline</a> is around the corner—start your search now. Keep in mind the kinds of professionals you’re looking for as you go through the search process and don’t be afraid to ask tax professionals about their qualifications, experience, and specific services. Ultimately, only you can decide on the right business tax advisor, but once you’ve found them, you’ll have the tax consulting and expertise (not to mention save yourself time and stress) that your business needs and that will certainly benefit you in the long run.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/right-tax-advisor">How to Find the Right Small Business Tax Advisor for Your Business</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/right-tax-advisor
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-58071335530901499532019-04-22T08:20:00.001-07:002019-04-22T08:20:56.011-07:00The 8 Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Business Owners<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Business Owners</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>QuickBooks Online:</strong> Best for Reporting</li>
<li><strong>Wave:</strong> Best Free Bookkeeping App</li>
<li><strong>Bill.com:</strong> Best for Automating Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable</li>
<li><strong>QuickBooks Self-Employed:</strong> Best for Freelancers and Contractors</li>
<li><strong>Bench:</strong> Best for Full-Service Bookkeeping</li>
<li><strong>Expensify:</strong> Best for Handling Expense Reports</li>
<li><strong>Finagraph:</strong> Best for Financial Planning</li>
<li><strong>Hubdoc:</strong> Best for Document Storage</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p>In the world of <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business accounting</a>, bookkeeping apps can change how you do business. As a small business, you don’t have a big accounting or bookkeeping department to balance your books and help with financial planning. This is where bookkeeping apps can help.</p>
<p>Bookkeeping apps can make you or your bookkeeper a lot more efficient by organizing and presenting your financial information in a way that’s accessible and easy to understand. This also makes it easier to plan for your business’s future and understand the impact of different financial decisions. There are several different bookkeeping apps designed for small business.</p>
<p>Here, we’ll cover the the eight best bookkeeping apps for small business owners. These apps have the potential to save you lots of time and can elevate your business to the next level.</p>
<h2><strong>The 8 Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Business</strong></h2>
<p>Here are the eight best bookkeeping apps for small business:</p>
<h3><strong>1. QuickBooks Online: Best for Reporting</strong></h3>
<p>Out of all cloud-based bookkeeping apps, <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting/quickbooks-online-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">QuickBooks Online</a> is one of the best overall. You can do all of the basics, such as tracking revenue and expenses, reconciling your accounts, and <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/quickbooks-financial-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preparing financial statements</a>. It takes the pain out of manual record keeping because you can simply connect QuickBooks to your bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts.</p>
<p>Compared to other bookkeeping apps. QuickBooks Online also has the best reporting functionality, with over 50 pre-built reports and the ability to create custom reports. You can also schedule reports to run on a periodic basis and be emailed to other individuals on your team. Reports are important, because it is the ultimate output of your books. Reports are how you get the information you need, in order to determine how well your company is doing.</p>
<p>QuickBooks Online also has a great mobile app and a powerful ecosystem at <a href="http://www.apps.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apps.com</a> that lets you complete a solution for just about any industry and any business model.</p>
<p>The video below highlights what you need to know about QuickBooks Online.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/42/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')">Buy QuickBooks Online Now for 50% Off</button></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8MbQYPrm8js" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></p>
<h3><strong>2. Wave: Best Free Bookkeeping App</strong></h3>
<p>Wave is a powerful bookkeeping app that also happens to be free at at the entry-level pricing tier. The free pricing plan actually comes packed with quite a few time-saving bookkeeping features. You can sync up an unlimited number of bank accounts and credit cards, and track income and expenses from various streams.</p>
<p>On the invoicing end, you can set up and send custom invoices with a choice of professional invoice templates. Capturing receipts is as easy as taking a picture with your mobile phone, and this feature works even when you’re offline. To accept online payments or add on payroll functions, there are extra fees.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53904 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/18160408/Wave-Accounting.png" alt="Wave accounting bookkeeping app for small business" width="941" height="567" /></p>
<p><em>Photo credit: Waveapps.com</em></p>
<h3><strong>3. Bill.com: Best for Automating Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable</strong></h3>
<p>Bill.com is a bookkeeping app that will save you a ton of time and allow you to almost completely automate your <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accounts-payable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accounts payable</a> process. Accounts payable is one of many <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-do-bookkeepers-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tasks that a bookkeeper does</a>. <a href="https://www.bill.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill.com</a> works with your existing accounting software, whether that is QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, or Oracle.</p>
<p>With Bill.com, every invoice that a vendor sends you, and eventually the payment that you make, syncs to your accounting software, so you only enter the data once. Vendors can send you a digital invoice to a secure ‘@bill.com’ email address, or you can drag and drop invoices into your Bill.com dashboard. Since Bill.com updates your accounting software for each transaction, transactions reconcile faster, and you have a better real-time view into your business’s expenses.</p>
<p>You can also use Bill.com to manage your accounts receivable. When you have it handling both sides, you also wind up with a powerful cash flow management tool. Bill.com ultimately lets you spend less time entering and paying bills, which is a big part of bookkeeping.</p>
<p>The video below highlights what you need to know about Bill.com.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AC-L52nZy-g" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></p>
<h3><strong>4. QuickBooks Self-Employed</strong></h3>
<p>QuickBooks Self-Employed is a basic bookkeeping app that supports one user (plus an optional login for an accountant or bookkeeper). This app gives you the ability to send and track invoices, track mileage, calculate your <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/schedule-c-instructions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schedule C</a> deductions, and see quarterly estimated taxes. It also makes it easy to separate business from personal expenses, which can catch contractors and freelancers off guard and make it much more difficult to file <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business taxes</a>.</p>
<p>Although you can access <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting/quickbooks-self-employed-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">QuickBooks Self-Employed</a> on a desktop or laptop, their mobile app lets you do a lot as well. With one swipe, you can easily sort business from personal spending, import expenses from your bank account, and track expenses. You can even set up custom categories for expenses so you know what your business is spending the most money on.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/43/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')">Try QuickBooks Self-Employed</button></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53907 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/18162852/QuickBooks-Self-Employed-Screenshot.png" alt="QuickBooks Self-Employed Bookkeeping App for Small Businesses" width="709" height="449" /></p>
<p><em>Photo credit: QuickBooks.Intuit.com</em></p>
<h3><strong>5. Bench: Best for Full-Service Bookkeeping</strong></h3>
<p>Bench Accounting is a full-fledged bookkeeping service and app. <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bench-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bench Accounting</a> is a little different from the other apps on the list because a team of professional bookkeepers will do your bookkeeping for you. To get started, you link your bank accounts, credit cards, and financial accounts to Bench. Every month, your bookkeeping team, made up of one senior bookkeeper and two junior bookkeepers, reconcile your accounts, balance your books, and prepare financial statements.</p>
<p>At the end of the year, Bench will even provide some tax help. They offer a year-end financial package that makes it easy to file taxes. They also will talk with your accountant or tax preparer when it’s time to file, to work out any discrepancies.</p>
<p>Along with the personalized services of Bench comes a financial app that lets you track your income and expenses and review your financial statements on the go. It’s also easy to message your bookkeeping team from the app, and they will respond within one business day. Bench will save you a ton of time because they completely take bookkeeping off your plate.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/21/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')">Get 20% off Bench</button></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-53925" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/19095821/Bench-screenshot.png" alt="Bench Accounting best bookkeeping apps for small businesses" width="1280" height="712" /></p>
<p><em>Photo credit: Bench.co</em></p>
<h3><strong>6. Expensify: Best for Handling Expense Reports</strong></h3>
<p>The <a href="https://www.expensify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Expensify</a> app makes it a snap—literally with your mobile device’s camera—to capture receipts. Then you can throw the physical receipts away and forget about them. Expensify’s SmartScan will figure out the payee, amount, and other critical info from the receipt. Then you can submit the receipts to be synced to QuickBooks Online, and, if necessary, reimbursed.</p>
<p>Since travel comes along naturally with expense reports, it makes sense that Expensify has an amazing travel concierge and trip planner as well. Just forward your itinerary to Expensify and it will track your trip for you. You’ll even get updates about your flights where applicable, and the concierge will tell you if you’re over-budget on travel.</p>
<p>Expensify has another use not many people think of. It has to do with the business expenses you charge on a personal credit card. Many small businesses co-mingle funds this way, which can be harmful from a financial and legal standpoint. With Expensify you can avoid that by linking up your personal card’s feed but submit only the business-related expenses to be synced to QuickBooks Online.</p>
<p>The video below highlights what you need to know about Expensify.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/njvf7kPYMK0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></p>
<h3><strong>7. Finagraph: Best for Financial Planning</strong></h3>
<p>Finagraph gives you powerful financial information about your business that you can use to make predictions. This app essentially takes your QuickBooks Online data and explains it.</p>
<p>Finagraph is a powerful analytical tool that makes it easy to analyze the financial health of your company and then form a plan of action for how to improve it. <a href="https://www.finagraph.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finagraph</a> keeps a history of your “finagraphs” so that you can get comparative info and make sure you’re always improving.</p>
<p>The visual interface of Finagraph makes it a powerful tool for small business owners to use together with their accountant or <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/certified-public-accountant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CPA</a>. You can download almost any component in PDF or an image format. Some modules are interactive, giving you a “Large View”—for example, a close-up look at working capital or accounts receivable.</p>
<p>The video below highlights what you need to know about Finagraph.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8JoqajEC6Y4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></p>
<h3><strong>8. Hubdoc: Best for Document Storage</strong></h3>
<p>Hubdoc is a central way to organize all of a small business’s receipts and documents. You can automatically sync up your financial accounts with <a href="https://www.hubdoc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hubdoc</a>, forward invoices from your email, or upload paperwork. Once Hubdoc receives your docs, it will archive them and convert the data into digital-ready files. You can then configure any bills from any account to push to your favorite cloud accounting software, such as QuickBooks Online.</p>
<p>The video below highlights what you need to know about Hubdoc.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TprDkzVtYuo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></p>
<h2><strong>What to Look for in Small Business Bookkeeping Apps</strong></h2>
<p>There are several unavoidable accounting and bookkeeping tasks that businesses have to do on a regular basis. The bookkeeping apps listed above make it easier and faster to complete these tasks.</p>
<p>Here’s what to look for when shopping for a bookkeeping app:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Core Features</strong> – Most small businesses use bookkeeping apps for a combination of the following tasks: invoicing, reconciliation, tracking income and expenses, financial statement preparation, and forecasting. Optionally, you might want to add on forecasting or payroll processing.</li>
<li><strong>Cost</strong> – You shouldn’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a good bookkeeping. Even QuickBooks Online, the gold standard in business bookkeeping, costs just $20 per month and offers a 30-day free trial. Wave is a free option for businesses on a tight budget.</li>
<li><strong>User-Friendliness</strong> – The whole point of using bookkeeping apps is to free up your time and give you better insight into your business’s finances. There might be an initial learning curve, but it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks to get the hang of your bookkeeping software.</li>
<li><strong>Number of Users</strong> – Think about whether you’ll be using this bookkeeping app just for yourself or whether you’ll need to share the info with a tax preparer, accountant, or business partner. If you need to share the information, make sure the app is set up for multiple logins and secure sharing of financial information.</li>
<li><strong>Automation</strong> – A good bookkeeping app frees up your time by automating tasks. For example, instead of manually uploading information from a receipt, the app should be able to “read” and automatically fill in certain information such as the amount and date of the purchase.</li>
</ul>
<p>As long as you keep these five tenets in mind, you should be able to find a bookkeeping app that’s perfect for your small business’s needs.</p>
<h2><strong>Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses: The Bottom Line</strong></h2>
<p>These eight bookkeeping apps for small businesses are designed to save you time and help you get a better handle on your finances. They’re all easy to use, reasonably priced, and have the powerful features that small business owners are looking for. With these bookkeeping apps, there’s no longer a need to manually track transactions, type information from receipts, or input income and expenses. Your newly organized financial information will help you make better business decisions, while giving you back more time to run your company.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bookkeeping-apps/">The 8 Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Business Owners</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/bookkeeping-apps/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-61103197464619431092019-04-22T07:40:00.001-07:002019-04-22T07:40:41.599-07:00Magento vs. Shopify: Which Is Right for Your Business?<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you’re</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-an-ecommerce-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">starting an ecommerce business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, choosing a platform to build and operate your store is one of the most important decisions you’re going to make. In researching the many options out there, you may see these names pop up again and again: Magento and Shopify. Although these are two of the most popular ecommerce platforms—each supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses—you may be unsure how to determine which one is right for you and your business’s specific needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, we’re here to help. We’ve previously reviewed both Shopify and Magento separately and discussed the pros and cons of each. Now, we’ll compare Magento vs. Shopify directly and break down how each measures up to the other. After looking at pricing, features, pros and cons, and user reviews, we’ll offer suggestions on which platform is right for what kind of business so that you’ll have a better idea of which</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/ecommerce-platforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ecommerce platform</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">will work best for you.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento operates a little differently than many other players in the industry. To explain, most ecommerce platforms function as software as a service or SaaS. This means that the software is accessible online and using it, you can create and manage your ecommerce store. With this kind of ecommerce software, your store is hosted through the platform and you have access to all of the functionality included through their interface.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although not as prevalent, there are also open source ecommerce platforms. With an open source platform, you acquire your own web hosting, and then download and install the software yourself. In this situation, you’re doing more development work, building your store and its capabilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keeping this distinction in mind, let’s discuss how this applies to <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/magento-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magento</a>. Magneto is unique in that it offers both an all-inclusive and an open source platform option. Magento Commerce is the typical ecommerce offering—the platform is hosted on the cloud (part of the Adobe Commerce cloud) and everything you need to set up and run your store is included as part of your Magento Commerce subscription.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento Open Source, on the other hand, is an open source ecommerce platform. Magento Open Source is free to download, but, as we explained, requires you to obtain web hosting and install the software yourself. Despite this distinction between the two offerings, Magento, on the whole, gives you the ability to create your ecommerce website, add products, set up your shopping cart and shipping process,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accept-credit-card-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">accept credit card payments</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and customize additional elements for your specific needs. The exact features (which we’ll discuss in more detail later), however, that are included with Magento depends on which offering you choose.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Shopify: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify is a fully hosted ecommerce platform that allows you to build and operate your store using their software. Generally,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">selling on Shopify</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is known as one of the easiest ways in the industry to run your ecommerce business as the platform is incredibly user-friendly. Beginners and beyond can develop their ecommerce store with Shopify.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the Shopify platform, you can create your ecommerce website, as well as a blog. The platform gives you access to over 70 themes, a drag-and-drop builder, unlimited products, and a built-in mobile shopping cart. Shopify offers five different subscription plans, each at a specific price point and an increasing number of included features as the price increases.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify offers their own payment gateway to process credit card payments, as well as the capability to utilize over 100 other different gateways. Additionally,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/shopify-pos" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify POS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, or point of sale system, allows you to accept payments in person as well as online. Shopify Shipping integrates directly with the Shopify platform and allows you to offer different shipping options. Furthermore, Shopify has a number of extended features that are helpful to setting up and running your store.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs: Shopify: Features</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most significant factors that plays a role in deciding which ecommerce platform is right for you is the features that the platform offers. Does the platform have the capabilities that your business needs? Now that we’ve gone through the basics of both Magento and Shopify, let’s dive a little deeper into their respective feature sets and explore some of the unique highlights of each.</span></p>
<h3><b>Shopify Feature Highlights</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the reasons that Shopify is so popular, in fact, is because of the</span> <a href="https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/pricing-plans/plan-features" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">breadth of features</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">that are included in their platform. In fact, the included features are one of the factors that distinguish it from other similar software, like when</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bigcommerce-vs-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">comparing Shopify to BigCommerce</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, for example. Some of Shopify’s unique capabilities include:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Shopify Payments:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify has their own payment processor included with their platform; if you use Shopify Payments, there are no additional transaction fees.</span></li>
<li><b>Abandoned checkout recovery:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatically send an email to users with a link to their abandoned card encouraging them to complete their purchase</span></li>
<li><b>Blogging platform:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only do you have a store website, but also a blog to publish articles and encourage discussion from customers.</span></li>
<li><b>Automatic taxes:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify automatically handles country and state tax rates.</span></li>
<li><b>Mobile app:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify’s customizable mobile app lets you manage your orders, products, staff, and customers while you’re on the go.</span></li>
<li><b>Marketing</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> Shopify has advanced marketing capabilities like SEO optimization, loyalty programs, discounts, gift cards, social media integration, and more.</span></li>
<li><b>Shopify App Store</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> The Shopify App Store has over 2,500 apps (everything from</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-a-dropshipping-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dropshipping</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to email marketing) that you can download to extend the functionality of your store.</span></li>
<li><b>Customer support: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify offers their users 24/7 support, as well as access to their help center, discussion forums, and ecommerce university.</span></b></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exact features that are included with Shopify ultimately depends on your subscription plan, which you’ll see broken down in the photo below.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53864 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18133055/image348.png" alt="magento vs shopify, shopify feature and price chart" width="872" height="831" /></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Photo credit: Shopify</span></i></p>
<h3><b>Magento Feature Highlights</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Similar to Shopify, Magento is known for the</span> <a href="https://magento.com/sites/default/files8/Magento-Commerce-Full-Feature-List-2.2.4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">impressive list of features</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">included with their platform. Here are a few highlights:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Instant checkout:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to your general shopping cart capabilities, Magento offers an instant checkout, which allows users to quickly and easily checkout on one page.</span></li>
<li><b>Site management: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento has advanced site management abilities, allowing you to control multiple websites and stores from one admin, as well as create, preview, and schedule content updates.</span></b></li>
<li><strong>Payment processing:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento works with common</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payment-gateway" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment gateways</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/paypal-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PayPal</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/braintree-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Braintree</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and has integrations with over 300 more, including international gateways.</span></li>
<li><strong>Reporting:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento’s platform includes 100 predefined reports, nine reporting dashboards, as well as the ability for you to create and edit your own reports.</span></li>
<li><b>Customer development:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento gives you numerous ways to engage and support your customers like guest or login checkout, email marketing campaigns, coupons, promotions, product wishlists, and a gift wrapping option.</span></li>
<li><b>International commerce: <span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to working with international payment gateways, Magento allows you to manage multiple country sites from the same store or environment. With Magento, you can also support multiple currencies, languages, and tax rates (including EU fixed product taxes).</span></b></li>
<li><strong>Add-ons</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> The Magento Marketplace offers over 4,500 different add-ons and extensions that can be downloaded to improve your store functionality.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as the capabilities differ between Shopify’s subscription, however, the same is true for Magento Commerce vs. Magento Open Source. The chart below shows some of the main differences between Magento’s two offerings. As you’ll see, Magento Commerce offers many more included features.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53863 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18133053/image279.png" alt="magento vs. shopify, magento feature chart" width="700" height="710" />Photo credit: Magento</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, since Magento Open Source, is an open source platform, you do have a unique ability to customize your store and make your ecommerce business stand out. Although Open Source may not include some of the features that Magento Commerce has, you can work with a developer to add extensions and integrations that will improve your capabilities.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs. Shopify: Pricing</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to an ecommerce platform’s features, pricing is another important consideration when trying to decide if that platform is right for your business. Whereas both Magento and Shopify have extensive feature lists, their pricing is very different.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned earlier, Shopify operates on a subscription basis, which you can do month to month, annually, or biennially. Shopify also offers a free 14 day trial, no credit card required. Shopify’s most basic plan is Shopify Lite, which costs $9 per month. This plan, however, does not give you the ability to create an online store—instead, you can sell via an existing website or Facebook page.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify’s next plan is Basic Shopify, which costs $29 per month plus a 2.9% + $0.30 fee on all online credit card purchases. For this plan, as well as the remaining three, Shopify charges an extra 2% fee if you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments. The next two plans are Shopify and Advanced Shopify, which cost $79 per month and $299 per month, respectively. The credit card purchase fee is 2.6% + $0.30 for the Shopify plan and 2.4% + $0.30 for the Advanced Shopify plan. The final plan Shopify offers is called Shopify Plus and is designed specifically for high volume merchants and large businesses. This plan is priced based on your business’s specific needs and you have to contact Shopify directly for a quote.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whereas Shopify has their pricing information readily available on their website, the same cannot be said of Magento. Magento’s website does not offer any pricing specifics on Magento Commerce, instead, you have to contact their sales team for a quote based on your business. The website does give you the opportunity to sign up for a free demo, but you have to submit your information to the Magento team to do so.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento Open Source, on the other hand, is free to download. However, although the download is free, there are other additional costs associated with this open source platform. As we’ve discussed, you’ll have to find and pay for your own web hosting, security, as well as any development work that’s needed to develop and launch your store. Furthermore, there will be a cost for you to</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accept-payments-online" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">accept payments online</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which will vary depending on the gateway you choose.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs. Shopify: Where Shopify Wins</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we’ve seen, both Magento and Shopify have a lot to offer. However, there are certain areas where Shopify stands out. Here are a few:</span></p>
<h3><b>Usability</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes down to it, one of the reasons that Shopify is a top ecommerce platform is because of its usability. Shopify’s platform is clean, intuitive, and easy to use whether you’re a beginner or have more technical knowledge. With Shopify’s theme offerings and drag-and-drop builder, you can design your store quickly and it’s not too difficult to do so. At the end of the day, Shopify is incredibly user-friendly, and this is one of the top reasons that customers like the platform.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the vast array of features included with Magento, it is not particularly user-friendly, especially when compared to Shopify. Magento Open Source is especially difficult, as it requires advanced development abilities and knowledge to set up. Although Magento Commerce is a little easier, the sheer amount of capabilities makes the interface more complicated and therefore difficult to get your store up and running.</span></p>
<h3><b>Pricing</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although it can be said that costs for Shopify can extend past their actual price structure (taking into account themes,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/best-shipping-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">shipping services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, add-ons), due to Magento’s lack of transparent pricing for their Commerce offering, we have to conclude that Shopify is better here. When you consider signing up for Shopify, you have a starting point for what setting up your store will cost (and what it would cost any other business to run their store with Shopify) and therefore can budget your spend accordingly. Additionally, if you compare Shopify’s subscription fee to other similar platforms, like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/volusion-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Volusion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, you can see that it’s pretty competitive. With Magento Commerce, on the other hand, you have no starting point for pricing and you have no way of knowing, after talking to their sales team, if you’re actually getting a fair price.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, although the “free” Open Source option of Magento may seem appealing, you may actually end up paying more than you would with an alternate platform. Between web hosting, security, and especially development costs, Magento Open Source could end up being more of an expensive (and time-consuming) option than you would think.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53862 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18133050/image172.jpg" alt="magento vs. shopify" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs. Shopify: Where Magento Wins</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although Shopify offers you transparent pricing and user-friendliness that Magento does not, Magento wins out in the ways you can customize and develop the capabilities of your ecommerce store.</span></p>
<h3><b>Features</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento’s list of features seems to be incomparable to any other ecommerce platform out there—including Shopify. The amount of capabilities provided to you through Magento Commerce in particular, is short of incredible. More than likely if you’re looking for your ecommerce store to operate a certain way, Magento will allow you to do it. In particular, Magento’s instant cart checkout, content preview, and international commerce functionalities are especially impressive. Although Shopify too has a broad feature set, Magento Commerce simply offers more.</span></p>
<h3><b>Add-ons and Customization</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the other big pros of Magento is, continuing off of their feature list, if the platform doesn’t have something you’re looking for, you have the ability to add it. The apps and integrations available in the Magento Marketplace is nearly double what is offered in the Shopify App Store. The variety of these integrations allows you to truly customize your store and extend the functionality to what you need to operate your business. Additionally, many of the integrations included in the Marketplace are “Magento Partners,” who work with Magento users to enhance their store capabilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, although not right for all businesses, Magento’s Open Source option gives you a completely unique way to create and customize your store. If you want the freedom and have the resources to develop your store with an open source platform, Magento does give you that ability where other ecommerce platform offerings don’t.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs. Shopify: User Reviews</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Much of what is mentioned in user reviews of both Magento and Shopify echoes the points of our discussion thus far.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customer reviews of Shopify are generally positive, with users highlighting just how easy it is to get set up and start selling using the platform, especially for beginners. Many users write that Shopify fulfills their ecommerce needs and gives them the ability to grow their business. The most consistent Shopify con that users mention is the payment processing fee. Since competitors like Volusion and BigCommerce don’t charge this fee, this seems to be a valid complaint.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For Magento, on the other hand, the user reviews for both Commerce and Open Source are wholly mixed. In terms of positives, customers frequently mention Magento’s customization abilities, especially with the Open Source platform. Users also highlight the vast features Magento offers. As for the negatives, users focus on the difficulty of using the platform and the time, effort, and resources it takes to get your store set up, as well as to train employees to use it. Many users also mention the cost of Magento as a negative, despite Open Source being free to download.</span></p>
<h2><b>Magento vs. Shopify: Which Platform Is Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, in looking at Magento vs. Shopify, which platform do you choose? Shopify offers you a fully-hosted platform with a variety of capabilities, set pricing, and is known for its user-friendliness. Magento, on the other hand, gives you the choice between Commerce and Open Source, both praised for their vast feature sets and customization abilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the end of the day, although these are two of the biggest players in the ecommerce industry, it seems they are best-suited for very different types of businesses. Shopify is probably best for small to medium-sized businesses that want an easy to use, one-stop-shop platform to create and run their store. Magento, in contrast, is more suited for larger or fast-growing businesses that need advanced features, want a high level of customizability, and have the extended resources to dedicate to getting their store set up. Ultimately, the one that you choose depends on</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">your</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">business needs and what is right for</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">you</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/magento-vs-shopify/">Magento vs. Shopify: Which Is Right for Your Business?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/magento-vs-shopify/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-89086592188859613592019-04-22T06:35:00.001-07:002019-04-22T06:35:43.034-07:00Heartland Payroll Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Administering payroll is just one aspect under the bigger umbrella that is</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/hr-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">managing HR for your small business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Although payroll might seem like an easy enough task, as your business grows, and your responsibilities increase, it can become more and more difficult to properly attend to this process. With all of your employees, different pay types, tax and compliance considerations, and more, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and make incidental mistakes. Luckily, payroll software was developed to solve these kinds of problems.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Payroll solutions, like those from Heartland Payroll, can automate your payroll process, manage employee information, and on the whole streamline your HR operations. Just like with many other business tools, however, there are numerous options on the market to choose from. Is Heartland Payroll Services right for your business? We’re here to help you find out. In this review, we’ll explore what Heartland Payroll has to offer, the features included, pricing, as well as highlight reviews from their customers. Plus, we’ll discuss alternative</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-services-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll services</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to help you find the best solution for your business.</span></p>
<h2><b>Heartland Payroll Solutions: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payroll is a web-based platform that digitizes your payroll, allowing you to easily and securely manage the process, as well as facilitate additional HR tasks. Using Heartland Payroll Services, you can pay all of your employees according to your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll schedule</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, input and store forms and information, and monitor hours and PTO. Additionally, you can file your payroll taxes as well as handle ACA reporting and compliance. Heartland Payroll includes a self-service portal for employees, so they too can view important information like W-2s, pay stubs, and vacation and sick days.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payroll Services tailors to your specific requirements and creates a customized service based on your business. This customization includes access to your single point of contact, a service representative dedicated to your business who serves as your point person and addresses all of your payroll and HR needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payroll is one of several services available from</span> <a href="https://www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com/payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payment Systems</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which also offers payment, POS, and customer engagement solutions.</span></p>
<h2><b>Heartland Payroll Features</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now that we’ve gone through the basics of Heartland Payroll, let’s dive deeper into all of the features that this software offers.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As you might imagine, Heartland Payroll Solutions includes the full range of payroll capabilities. Using this platform, you can pay your employees with free direct deposit or cut checks and order them directly from your Heartland Payroll dashboard. On this dashboard, you also have access to a drop-down for employee payroll forms and links to external payroll related sites. You can</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-set-up-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">set up your payroll</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to adhere to your particular schedule, including all different pay types and frequencies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, you can create automatic emails to notify your employees that their paychecks (physical or electronic) have been sent. If you need a customizable pay grid on your platform, you can work with a Heartland specialist to set it up. Furthermore, if you currently run your payroll on another system and need to switch over, your Heartland representative will help you complete that process.</span></p>
<h3><b>Taxes</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Heartland Payroll, you receive full-service tax management. Heartland Payroll Services takes care of tax calculation, tax filing, and automatic tax payments. In your platform, you can create account access levels that are specific to your business, including third-party CPA and insurance broker access levels—making working with your advisors easier.</span></p>
<h3><b>Employee Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to your basic employee payroll information, Heartland Payroll allows you to assign departments, divisions, jobs, and job groups to your employee profiles. You can also track the hours your employees have worked and build schedules for them. Heartland Payroll Services gives you the ability to monitor PTO and sick days, calculating accrued time, time used, and facilitating requests and approvals.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, your employees have access to all of their information through the employee self-service portal. You can customize the employee homepage, and through their dashboard (available online or mobile) they can view</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/1099-vs-w2-employee" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1099s or W-2s</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, pay stubs, time off, as well as any company notifications or reminders.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53617 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16193046/image278.png" alt="heartland-payroll" width="960" height="504" />Photo credit: Heartland Payment Systems</span></i></p>
<h3><b>Reporting and Compliance</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Work with Heartland Payroll Solutions to create payroll and other reports based on your particular needs. Additionally, Heartland will help your business with compliance, preparing, printing and filling out the required forms for ACA reporting, as well as tracking employee eligibilities through their ACA reporting tool.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payroll + HR</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payroll gives you the option to add further HR capabilities to your platform so that you can manage more in one place. You can use this integration to house all of your HR materials including customizable documents such as</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-write-a-job-description" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">job descriptions</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, offer letters, and company handbooks.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland Payroll + HR includes a built-in electronic employee file system to securely store employee data. Here, you can add not only basic employee information, but also emergency contacts, certifications, trainings, and create a process for employee reviews. Additionally, this integration gives you access to the Heartland HR Support Center. In this center you’ll find up-to-date HR news, as well as helpful information and training resources. Using HR Support, you’ll also be able to submit questions or work directly with a certified HR professional to receive guidance when you need it.</span></p>
<h3><b>Recruiting and Onboarding</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to the HR add-on, you can also integrate with Heartland Hire, Heartland’s employee onboarding portal. From this portal, you can give new employees access to complete their</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-documentation-do-you-need-for-each-new-hire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">hiring documentation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—and once documents are approved, the data is automatically entered into the payroll system. Through Heartland Hire, you can also add recruiting and applicant tracking services enabling you to manage the whole process from candidate search and applications to interviews to eventual onboarding.</span></p>
<h3><b>Integrations</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only can you add HR, onboarding, and recruiting to your Heartland Payroll Services, but you can also integrate Heartland Payment Systems’</span> <a href="https://www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">other offerings</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Payment, Point of Sale, and Customer Engagement. Moreover, you have the ability to integrate with third-party applications (as long as they’re compatible with Heartland Payroll), for time and attendance, 401(k), accounting software, and workers’ compensation.</span></p>
<h3><b>Single Point of Contact</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned briefly earlier, one of the most unique features of Heartland Payroll is the single point of contact. In order to provide a truly customized solution, Heartland Payroll assigns every customer a dedicated single point of contact, or service representative, who serves as your point person for all your Heartland service needs. Throughout your time with Heartland Payroll Solutions, you’ll work with this individual to get your platform set up, troubleshoot any issues, and generally assist you with anything you need.</span></p>
<h2><b>Heartland Payroll Pricing</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heartland does not list the pricing for their payroll services on their website. Although their site says that they have competitive pricing, specifically, “straightforward payroll pricing for our all-inclusive service without hidden fees or surprises,” you have to contact the Heartland team to get a quote priced based on your needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Typically, factors that will affect quote-based pricing for payroll services include the size of your business, the number of employees you have, and the specific capabilities you require. Along these lines, sometimes payroll providers charge additional fees for integrations, internal or third-party. Additionally, it’s worth noting that other payroll providers often charge a monthly base fee plus a monthly fee per employee. To find out how these considerations may or may not apply to Heartland Payroll Services, you’ll have to work with them directly.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Heartland Payroll Solutions Reviews</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surprisingly, and especially when compared to other payroll services on the market, there is not an abundance of Heartland Payroll reviews on the internet. However, that being said, the ones that are available are wholly positive—focusing greatly on the Heartland customer service.</span></p>
<h3><b>Heartland Payroll Positive Reviews</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customer reviews of Heartland Payroll are generally positive. Users say that Heartland Payroll is easy-to-use, accurate, and efficient. Additionally, users highlight the benefits of Heartland’s service especially for payroll and taxes—consistently saying that Heartland saves them time and prevents worry or frustration. Although the pricing for Heartland Payroll Solutions is quote-based, many customers, in fact, report that the service is affordable.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, the most overwhelming aspect mentioned again and again in Heartland Payroll Solutions reviews is their customer service. Users praise Heartland’s customer service for their helpfulness, accessibility, and knowledge. Many customers say that if you have an issue with your service, not only can you easily reach a representative, but they can also help you solve the problem. A great amount of users say for this reason, among the others we discussed above, they’ve been using Heartland Payroll for years—with some reporting the benefit of switching from big payroll competitors like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/paychex-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Paychex</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/adp-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ADP</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h3><b>Heartland Payroll Negative Reviews</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although the Heartland Payroll reviews are overwhelmingly positive, some users also report areas of the service that could be improved. The most common of these complaints is concerning the speed of the platform, especially in relation to reports. Customers say that the platform can be slow and that running reports takes too long.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, some users say that the interface, overall, could be improved. These users feel that it’s not easy to navigate and that it’s outdated. Furthermore, some customers say that Heartland Payroll lacks more extended HR functionality.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, it’s also worth noting that although users do report these problems, a good majority of customers also report having no issues whatsoever with Heartland Payroll.</span></p>
<h2><b>Alternatives to Heartland Payroll</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re considering Heartland Payroll as your payroll software, you should also look into industry competitors to determine if another option may, in fact, be a better fit for your business. Let’s take a look at two of the top alternatives to Heartland Payroll Services:</span></p>
<h3><b>Gusto Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gusto is one of the most popular payroll software out there and for good reason. Gusto is known for their usability, flexibility, and modern interface. Similar to Heartland’s emphasis on customization,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/gusto-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gusto Payroll</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">offers you three different plans (each increasing in functionality) with the option to add further services a la carte so that you can choose what’s best for your business. The most basic plan, Gusto Core, costs $39 per month, plus $6 per employee per month. Gusto Complete costs $39 per month, plus $12 per employee per month. The last plan, Gusto Concierge, is $149 per month, plus $12 per employee per month. The a la carte add-ons, which include offerings like health benefits, workers comp, and 401(k) plans all come at additional costs. Gusto also offers a one-month free trial of their services.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like Heartland Payroll, the most basic version of Gusto, Gusto Core, includes full-service payroll, employee information storing and self-service portal, as well as PTO tracking and customer support. With the more advanced plans, you receive benefits like the ones associated with Heartland Payroll + HR: employee onboarding, HR resource center, and access to HR professionals. However, with Gusto, you only receive dedicated support (similar to Heartland’s single point of contact) with Gusto Concierge, the highest level plan. If you’re looking for a more modern and tech-savvy payroll platform with available pricing, Gusto is a worthy alternative to Heartland Payroll Services.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/54/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Get Started With Gusto Payroll</span></button></span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53616 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16193044/image168.jpg" alt="running payroll with heartland payroll" width="1000" height="667" /><br /></span><b>Patriot Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Patriot Payroll is another very popular payroll software, as well as one of the best reviewed on the internet. Patriot Payroll is known for its simplicity, ease-of-use, and affordable cost. This payroll software is offered in two plans: Basic and Full-Service. The Basic plan includes your general payroll processing and costs $10 per month, plus $4 per employee per month. The Full-Service plan, on the other hand, is more robust and includes full tax management. This</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/patriot-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Patriot Payroll</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">plan costs $30 per month, plus $4 per employee per month, making it cheaper than Gusto’s most basic plan. To increase your functionality with Patriot Payroll, you can add their time and attendance feature, as well as Patriot HR. Although these add-ons require extra monthly fees, they’re still quite affordable, and much less than the Gusto add-ons. Patriot also offers a free month trial of their software.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like Heartland Payroll, the reviews of Patriot Payroll are incredibly positive, with many users praising their customer service and commenting on how much time the software has saved them. Although Heartland may have a few more features included in their platform, not taking integrations into consideration, Patriot has the advantage of actually disclosing their pricing structure. This being said, if you want a highly rated payroll software with some of the most affordable (and available) pricing out there, you might want to consider Patriot Payroll.</span></p>
<h2><b>The Bottom Line on Heartland Payroll Solutions</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the end of the day, only you can decide which payroll software works best for your business. Keeping that in mind, it seems that Heartland Payroll is best for small businesses that highly value customer service and want the kind of specialized attention for payroll and HR that Heartland offers. Although the Heartland Payroll reviews are incredibly positive, it’s worth considering that other options might offer you a more modern and user-friendly interface, as well as advanced HR capabilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, it’s difficult to know if Heartland Payroll is competitive with their pricing as it’s only available by talking to their team directly. Competitor payroll offerings, on the other hand, have standard pricing that you can compare to determine if you’re getting the best price. All of this being said, though, if you’re looking for a payroll software you can count on—with the added benefit of a dedicated service representative—Heartland Payroll is certainly a viable option.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/heartland-payroll/">Heartland Payroll Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/heartland-payroll/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-13712451240987968522019-04-21T10:20:00.001-07:002019-04-21T10:20:17.808-07:00Magento Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify, WooCommerce, and Volusion—if you have an</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-an-ecommerce-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ecommerce business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, or are looking to start one, you’ve probably heard these names. How about Magento? Although Magento might not be a household name, this</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/ecommerce-platforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ecommerce platform</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">handles over $100 billion in gross merchandise volume every year and works for big brands like Canon and HP. That’s pretty impressive. With a business that large, you may be wondering why all small businesses aren’t looking into Magento ecommerce.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some relevant background on Magento: The Magento ecommerce platform has been around since 2008 and ownership has shifted a few times over the past 10 years. In 2018,</span> <a href="https://news.adobe.com/press-release/corporate/adobe-acquire-magento-commerce" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adobe purchased Magento</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and their platform became part of the Adobe Commerce Cloud. Before the Adobe acquisition, Magento was known mainly as Magento Community (now called Magento Open Source), an open source ecommerce platform geared toward businesses with development knowledge. At that time, Magneto also offered their Enterprise edition (now called Magento Commerce), which was a more inclusive platform typically utilized by big businesses.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Magento has become part of Adobe, they have shifted their ecommerce offerings and the way they market their platforms, with a renewed focus on appealing to small and midsize businesses. As you may have gathered, matters are pretty involved when it comes to Magento and their ecommerce platforms—and that’s why we’ve created this Magento review. Keeping in mind the new direction of Magento ecommerce, we’ll take you through their offerings, features, pricing, and compare Magento to other industry players—so that you can decide if this is the right ecommerce platform for your business.</span></p>
<h2><b>What Is Magento?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now that we’ve explained a bit about Magento’s history, let’s dive deeper into what Magento actually is.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the whole, Magento is an ecommerce platform, as we mentioned, owned by Adobe. Magento, therefore, has the general capabilities that characterize an ecommerce platform software: It allows a business to operate online. With their software, you can create and manage your website, sell your products, develop a customer experience, and generally handle your ecommerce business operations. As an ecommerce platform, Magento has two distinct branches, Magento Commerce and Magento Open Source. So, what’s the difference?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento Commerce is a cloud-based, all-inclusive, ecommerce platform. This means that by using Magento Commerce, your store is hosted through the cloud, as is the case with many ecommerce platforms. It also means that everything you need to run your business—building your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-website" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">small business website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, managing your products, developing your shopping cart—is part of the software. To have the full breadth of functionalities offered by Magento Commerce, all you have to do is pay for their service.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento’s second offering, on the other hand, is completely different. Unlike your typical ecommerce platform, Magento Open Source (as per the name) is an open source platform. With this open source platform, anyone can download it (for free), install it and make adjustments to the software based on their needs. This also means, however, that you must find a web host for your site and any functionality that isn’t included must be added or created and then installed by a developer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So although as a whole, Magento is an ecommerce platform, there are two very unique ways to use it. Ultimately, which offering you choose depends on your particular business needs.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53858 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18131909/image261.jpg" alt="magento review" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>Magento Features</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As you might imagine, the features you receive when using Magento ecommerce varies greatly depending on which version of the platform you choose. Since Magento Commerce is the more comprehensive option, comparable to other ecommerce platforms, we’ll discuss those core features first. You should keep in mind that Magento Commerce has an exhaustive amount of capabilities and these are just the highlights. A complete list of their features is</span> <a href="https://magento.com/sites/default/files8/Magento-Commerce-Full-Feature-List-2.2.4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">available on their website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h3><b>Store Builder</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento Commerce gives you the ability to create your own ecommerce store and personalize it to your business. With their Page Builder, you can drag-and-drop to develop and edit your pages, quickly and easily. You can preview and schedule your content to seamlessly make changes without disrupting the customer experience. Additionally, the Magento ecommerce platform has responsive design themes so that you can optimize your store for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.</span></p>
<h3><b>Shopping Cart</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the Magento ecommerce platform, you receive advanced shopping cart and checkout capabilities. You can create personalized shopping experiences based on user information, let users save products in their cart for later, and allow them to create a post-purchase account with one click. Magento Commerce also includes instant purchase checkout, extended promotion development, tax and shipping estimates, as well as both guest and user checkout options.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payments</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An essential element of any ecommerce business, Magento gives you the ability to securely accept payments. Magento automatically accepts checks and money orders, bank transfers, cash on delivery, and purchase orders as part of their platform. For</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accept-credit-card-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">accepting credit card payments</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Magento allows you to integrate with a variety of different payment gateways. Although they recommend you work with</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/braintree-vs-paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Braintree or PayPal</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, you have the capability to work with others, as well as download payment extensions through the Magento marketplace.</span></p>
<h3><b>Inventory and Order Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Through the Magento Commerce dashboard, you can manage your inventory as well as your orders. You can add all of your products, assign them to categories, bundle, and group them. You can also create product templates, track inventory, and offer different business models including subscriptions, digital goods, and services. For your orders, you have the ability to view, edit, create, and fulfill orders and invoices right from the dashboard. You can also print packing slips, shipping labels, and customize customer emails.</span></p>
<h3><b>Marketing and Reporting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to these general store functionalities, Magento Commerce also includes integrated marketing and reporting resources for your business. The platform includes SEO tools, a data dashboard, customer email capabilities,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/loyalty-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">loyalty program</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">development, and more. Magento’s reporting system gives you access to up to 100 predefined reports as well as the opportunity to create and edit your own.</span></p>
<h3><b>Customer Support</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Magento ecommerce platform comes with support for you, as a user, as part of the managed cloud, as well as from their staff directly. As part of the cloud, you have access to application and infrastructure support as well as platform monitoring. From Magento, you have technical support available to you 24/7 by phone or email. Depending on your agreement with Magento, you may also have access to a dedicated launch and account manager.</span></p>
<h3><b>Magento Open Source</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although the Magento Commerce platform gives you access to all the features described above (and more) the capabilities that come included with Magento Open Source are very different. In fact, Magento actually</span> <a href="https://magento.com/sites/default/files/Magento-Commerce-for-Small-Business-Comparison-Chart.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">provides a chart</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to lay out the feature differences between Commerce and Open Source.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the whole, Magento Open Source allows you to build your store—developing your shopping cart, products, payments, catalog management, and instant checkout. Open Source includes your general ecommerce necessities, but lacks some of the supplemental capabilities associated with Magento Commerce such as marketing tools, content preview, customer loyalty programs, and the drag-and-drop Page Builder. Furthermore, since Magento is free to download and install, there are no user support offerings.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can, however, use integrations and add-ons to Magento Open Source to increase your abilities, but to do so you must work with a developer or go through the process yourself.</span></p>
<h3><b>Magento Add-Ons</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, for both Commerce and Open Source, Magento offers a few specific product add-ons to further enhance your ecommerce capabilities. These include:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Order Management: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Extends your order management and inventory functionality, combines online and in-store shopping experiences</span></b></li>
<li><strong>Business Intelligence Pro:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Gives you added data management,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/web-analytics-tools" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">web analytics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and reporting capabilities</span></li>
<li><strong>Shipping: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Enables access to full-scale</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/best-shipping-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">shipping services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—connecting you to global shipping carriers, automating order fulfillment and logistics, comparing rates and finding the best shipping costs</span></li>
<li><strong>Magento Marketplace: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento’s network of available integrations and extensions you can add to your platform to improve your store—includes free and paid options ranging in categories from payments to marketing to accounting.</span></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Magento Pricing</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To discuss Magento pricing, we once again have to break down the difference between Commerce and Open Source. Open Source, as previously mentioned, is free for anyone to download and install. However, just because it’s free to download doesn’t mean that Magento Open Source comes at no cost. Remember, to use Magento Open Source, you’ll need a web host, a theme, as well as additional technologies to actually get things up and running. Furthermore, although Magneto Open Source can accept payments, you’ll need a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/custom_loan/how-we-make-money-and-form-our-editorial-opinions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment gateway</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to actually process them, which comes at varying costs depending on the gateway you use.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, there is cost to consider involved with actually installing and maintaining Magento Open Source. Unless you have a development experience or a developer on staff, you’ll need to work with and pay an outside resource to create your store, customize it, add any integrations, and put everything into production. Furthermore, if you want particular add-ons, like some of those in the Magento Marketplace, you might have to pay for those as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the end of the day, although it’s difficult to put a dollar amount on the cost of Magento Open Source, this platform is not a way to</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/free-e-commerce-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">run your ecommerce business for free</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The pricing for Magento Commerce, on the other hand, is based on a different set of considerations. Many of the added costs associated with Open Source—web hosting, customization, development—comes included with Commerce, and this is one of the main benefits of an ecommerce platform like this. However, Magento does not list the cost of their Commerce offering on their website. To find out the price of Magento Commerce, you’ll have to contact them directly and receive a quote based on your individual business and needs. The Magento website allows you to request a free demo; however to do so, you’ll have to provide your information and work with their team.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That being said, most ecommerce platforms operate on a subscription, monthly fee basis, plus the cost of</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payment-processing-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment processing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. In this case, therefore, you would be paying for the Magento Commerce platform, plus the fees associated with the payment gateway you choose. Pricing might vary depending on your business size, amount of monthly sales, and specific capability requirements. Furthermore, Magento is not clear if their additional product offerings (Order Management, Business Intelligence Pro, and Shipping) require an added cost. Ultimately, if you’re considering Magento for your ecommerce platform, you’ll have to reach out to them for specific pricing information.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Pros of Magento</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As an ecommerce platform that serves over 250,000 merchants, there are definitely benefits to Magento. Let’s check out a few:</span></p>
<h3><b>Features</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re looking for the maximum amount of features and functionality, Magento Commerce is your best bet. Their feature list is extensive—any specific need you’re looking for is probably included in their platform. Additionally, Magento has all the essential elements you need to set up and manage your store, as well as global functionality, advanced reporting, customer loyalty programs, among others. At the end of the day, you’re probably not going to find an ecommerce platform whose capabilities compare to Magento’s.</span></p>
<h3><b>Integrations</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to their comprehensive feature list, Magento also gives you the ability to integrate with numerous platforms, working with hundreds of the best industry partners (like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/amazon-pay" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon Pay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, for example) through their Magento Marketplace. If you need something that Magento Commerce doesn’t have, this marketplace gives you access to find that functionality. The integrations on</span> <a href="https://marketplace.magento.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento Marketplace</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">include customer support, payments, marketing, accounting, shipping, and site optimization.</span></p>
<h3><b>Open Source Option</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although the Open Source track is certainly not viable for every business, those who can use it will receive extremely unique benefits. Not many ecommerce platforms have an open source offering, so if this is something you’re looking for, Magento is a great option. With Open Source, you have unmatched control over your ecommerce business. Since you’re developing the specific elements, your store, design, and functionality will be completely your own. Furthermore, if you have already have the development experience in-house, Magento Open Source becomes even more of a workable option.</span></p>
<h3><b>What Magento Users Say</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magento customer reviews generally reach a consensus that these points are the main benefits of their service. Customers highlight the customization ability, especially with Open Source, saying it allows them to stand out among other ecommerce businesses. Additionally, users say that the extensive capabilities are very useful, particularly if you have a large or rapidly growing business. It should be noted, however, that users who like Magento Open Source often admit that you need to have a coding background to truly utilize the platform.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53857 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/18131905/image170.jpg" alt="magento review" width="1000" height="676" /></p>
<h2><b>Cons of Magento</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although both of Magento’s ecommerce offerings have their advantages, there are certain drawbacks as well. Here are a few to consider:</span></p>
<h3><b>Usability</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whereas many ecommerce platforms advertise their ease of use, this is not a quality bestowed upon Magento. For Open Source in particular, this is probably one of the biggest issues. If you don’t have a development background, or don’t want to pay for someone to install, develop, and work on the software, Open Source is going to be nearly impossible to use. As for Magento Commerce, although it’s an all-inclusive platform, it’s easy to see how the amount of features could be overwhelming and therefore, could be possibly be complicated and confusing to actually use.</span></p>
<h3><b>Price</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For many small businesses, cost is a huge consideration, especially if you’re just starting out. Whether you’re a small or medium size businesses, the price is a definite disadvantage of Magento Commerce and Magento Open Source. Although it’s difficult to determine the exact cost of either option, Magento customer reviews seem to suggest it can be quite high.</span></p>
<h3><b>What Magento Users Say</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as with the positives, the Magento community reviews are consistent on the negatives of the platform as well. As we mentioned, Magento users view the price as a big drawback, regardless of the version being used. Although the “free” element of Open Source seems appealing, customers confirm that there is, in fact, a large cost involved with actually getting your business up and running. The price associated with either platform, customers feel, is only appropriate for bigger or rapidly growing businesses. Additionally, users of both systems (as well as developers) report that it’s not user-friendly, can be overcomplicated, and it’s difficult to train employees to use it.</span></p>
<h2><b>Alternatives to Magento</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re looking into Magento for your ecommerce platform, there are also many industry competitors you should consider. Here are two worthy alternatives:</span></p>
<h3><b>Shopify</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the first platforms you probably think of when you hear “ecommerce,” Shopify is known for its usability, variety of features, and customization abilities. Unlike Magento, Shopify’s pricing is readily available. They offer four different plans, ranging from $9 to $300 per month. Additionally, Shopify allows you to accept payments through their own payment services provider, or, for an additional charge, you can work with one of over 100 other payment gateways.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although Magento has an unparalleled list of features, Shopify’s platform is also pretty inclusive. In addition, if they don’t have a functionality you desire, you can choose from over 1,200 apps in the Shopify app store to extend your capabilities. Furthermore, where users report that Magento can be complicated and often requires developer-level knowledge,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">selling on Shopify</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is generally considered simple, user-friendly, and accessible for all business sizes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In fact, for better or worse, Magento ecommerce platform reviews consistently mention Shopify as an alternative. So if you’re looking for a wide variety of capabilities, plus upfront pricing and an easy set up and selling experience, Shopify is worth considering.</span></p>
<h3><b>OpenCart</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OpenCart, like Magento Open Source, is an open-source ecommerce platform. Just like Open Source,</span> <a href="https://www.opencart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OpenCart</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">can be downloaded and installed for free and then customized to create the exact website and store you desire. While Magneto requires you to find your own web hosting, OpenCart offers you the ability to work with their hosting partner, who will get the set up started for you. You can also download the platform and host it yourself, if that’s what you’d prefer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With OpenCart you can choose a variety of themes, and while the feature list isn’t as extensive as Magento, there are numerous plug-ins (free and paid) you can use to extend your capabilities. Like Magento, OpenCart also gives you access to a handful of payment gateways, like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/authorize-net-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Authorize.Net</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, that are already integrated, or you can download additional ones from the OpenCart marketplace.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A huge difference between OpenCart and Magento Open Source, however, is the ease of use. Although OpenCart does require some technical knowledge, it’s said to be much easier to set up, implement, and maintain—making it more accessible for small businesses who are interested in an open-source platform. At the end of the day, though, OpenCart is pretty reliant on plug-ins and actual customization, so you might need the help of a developer to get the most out of it. Nevertheless, OpenCart certainly stands up as a competitor to Magento Open Source and is worth a look if this functionality is something you’re interested in.</span></p>
<h2><b>Is the Magento Ecommerce Platform Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to Magento ecommerce, it’s safe to say that the platform is very involved, whether you’re considering Magento Commerce or Magento Open Source. Although as part of the Adobe Commerce Cloud, Magento is marketing their software directly to small and medium-sized businesses, it’s difficult to say that utilizing their platform would be the most</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/efficient-ecommerce-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">efficient way to run your ecommerce business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Magneto has unparalleled features and functionality, however, due to the unpredictable pricing and resources involved to actually use it, the platform is probably best for larger businesses or businesses with significant developer resources. At the end of the day, you’ll have to consider the various ecommerce platform options to decide which is right for you.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/magento-review/">Magento Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/magento-review/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-4004366475515765242019-04-21T08:40:00.001-07:002019-04-21T08:40:09.733-07:007 Small Ways to Improve Your Business’s Customer Service<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to running a small business, customer service is key. Even if your business has an amazing product or service, without the proper customer support, you probably won’t be able to achieve long-term success.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although it might seem like common sense, it can be challenging to implement best practices in this area. Luckily, there are many small but effective ways that your business can tackle customer service challenges. From responding to negative reviews to better optimizing your business’s website, the little changes can add up. In fact, seven out of 10 U.S.</span> <a href="https://www.helpscout.com/75-customer-service-facts-quotes-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">consumers will spend more money</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">with a company that has great customer service—so it can even boost your sales!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keep reading to find out how your business can deliver excellent customer service by making the right changes to your processes.</span></p>
<h2><b>How Can You Improve Your Customer Experience?</b></h2>
<h3><b>Offer Online Support</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does your business utilize online channels to provide customer support? If not, it’s crucial that you start using them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When customers have a question or issue, they don’t want to spend time trying to call your company or visiting your location. Their time is valuable, and they want a solution as quickly as possible. That’s why you should create an online strategy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few of our suggestions are:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Provide live chat on your website</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> By implementing a live chat service, customers can get immediate answers from your team. Typically, these services have fairly simple onboarding processes, but ensure that it works correctly before adding it to your site.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Monitor your social media channels:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Nearly</span> <a href="https://acquire.io/blog/customer-service-tips/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">50% of patrons turn to social media</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">when they have a question or issue with a business—and they expect a prompt response. By ensuring that someone from your team checks social notifications and responds to questions, you can avoid angering customers who feel they are being ignored.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Use third-party CRM software:</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to take your customer service to the next level,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/crm-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CRM software</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">might be the right choice. This can help you keep customer records organized, and you can manage customer inquiries all in one place.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Emphasize Team Training</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most crucial aspects of a business’s customer service is your team. Any individual who interacts with customers should be well-trained on your company’s values, be knowledgeable about your products or services, and consistently learn new customer service skills.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Consider investing in training courses for your employees, or host monthly sessions where you review challenges that your customer service team faces. These courses don’t have to break the bank; in fact, you can enroll in</span> <a href="https://alison.com/tag/customer-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free customer services courses</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">from educational sites like Alison.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By investing your support team’s growth, you can see considerable improvements to your company’s customer retention.</span></p>
<h3><b>Take Time to Talk to Customers</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can be easy to focus on your day-to-day responsibilities, but you should make it a priority to interact with your customers. Ask them about how you can improve their experience, find out what their interests or challenges are, and try to get to know them. You can do this by getting to know in-store shoppers, sending surveys via email, or starting conversations with users who tag your products on social media. Get creative when finding ways to interact with your customers—anywhere they are, you should be, too!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only will this improve customer satisfaction, but this will also enable you to take their feedback and insights, and enhance other areas of your business.</span></p>
<h3><b>Always Respond to Negative Feedback</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can be difficult to interact with unhappy customers. But as a small business owner, it’s crucial that you apologize and find solutions to customer issues. That’s why we suggest</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/dealing-with-negative-online-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">responding to negative reviews</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or comments—even if you don’t feel the criticisms are warranted.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When responding, ensure the customer that you’re apologetic, and then see how you can solve their problems. By making it clear that your company strives to provide good customer service, even the unhappiest patrons may be willing to give you a second chance.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53624 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16194038/shutterstock_631075877.jpg" alt="improve-customer-service" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>Say “Thank You”</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the best ways to connect with your customers is to say “thank you”—it’s that simple! You can thank in-store patrons for visiting or send “thank you” emails to customers after they make an online purchase. When customers feel valued, they’ll be more likely to visit your business again in the future.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even better, they might tell their friends to check out your business, too! After having a positive experience, 77% of patrons will</span> <a href="https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/customer-service-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">recommend a business to their friends</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h3><b>Create a FAQ Page on Your Website</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You should strive to make it easy for your clientele to find answers to their questions. That’s why adding a FAQ page to your website is a must. This page should cover topics such as your prices, how to contact different departments at your company, how to find their account balance (if applicable), and anything else that’s relevant to your business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To make sure that you’re covering all the frequently asked questions that you receive, ask your support team to keep track of common inquiries. That way, when you go to create the content for your FAQ page, you’ll be completely prepared.</span></p>
<h3><b>Respond Faster</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Understandably, handling customer service issues can take time. You might need to contact members of your team, conduct research, or conduct other tasks that will allow you to provide patrons with correct answers or a clear solution. Still,</span> <a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/07/real-time-response-to-customers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">customers expect fast results</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with 82% expecting immediate responses to their questions. If they don’t get them, they may take their business elsewhere.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Going forward, aim to respond to customers as soon as possible. Even if you can’t provide them with an answer just yet, by responding and letting them know that you’re looking into their issue, they’ll know that your team cares and is on top of it.</span></p>
<h2><b>The Final Word on Providing Good Customer Service</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Successful customer service involves various components. From being prompt to training your team, there are small changes that you can make to ensure customer satisfaction. By making this a priority, you’ll be surprised at how focusing on customer service can benefit every area of your small business.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/improve-customer-service/">7 Small Ways to Improve Your Business’s Customer Service</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/improve-customer-service/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-52096013833851649322019-04-21T07:06:00.001-07:002019-04-21T07:06:02.633-07:00Walmart Business Credit Card Review, Plus Top Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On those days when you look up and realize you’re out of office supplies, cleaning gear,</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">you need to stock up for the company’s annual picnic, where do you go to get your shopping done? If you frequently head to Walmart or Walmart.com for your business needs, then you might be considering the Walmart Business Credit Card.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By using this credit card for some of your essential purchases, you’ll be able to build your business’ credit history and credit score. However, with all of the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business credit cards</a> available, how do you know that (even as a frequent shopper) the Walmart Business Credit Card is right for you? Will this card save you money? Will you earn cash back with your purchases? These are important things to consider when looking at Walmart’s Business Credit Card—and this review is here to help. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ll take a hard look at the Walmart Business Credit Card, an in-store charge card that you or your employees can use only at Walmart stores, Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Walmart.com, Walmart, Murphy USA gas stations, and Sam’s Clubs. We’ll break down everything you need to know, as well as the pros and cons of getting this card. Additionally, we’ll explain another of Walmart’s credit card offerings, as well as top business credit card alternatives.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-30523 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/30173234/walmart-business-credit-card-1-1.jpg" alt="walmart business credit card" width="1000" height="500" /></p>
<h2><b>Walmart Business Credit Card: What You Need to Know</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Walmart Business Credit Card</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is meant to help small businesses manage their spending and separate their business and personal expenses. This is a store card, meaning that you can only use it in-store or online at Walmart stores, Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Walmart.com, Walmart, Murphy USA gas stations, and Sam’s Clubs. However, although you are limited to those options, there is a lot included under that one umbrella. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Walmart carries a vast array of products, plus they have a myriad of locations across the country—giving you access to all of their merchandise across many regions.</span></p>
<h3><b>Fees for the Walmart Business Credit Card</b></h3>
<p>One of the factors you always want to look at when choosing a credit card is the fees. The Walmart Business Credit card for store purchases has <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards/no-annual-fee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no annual fee</a>. Additionally, as you might expect, this card doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees—not that this is of particular concern unless you’re visiting an international Walmart and plan on using your card there.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://commercial.syf.com/Ecom-Web/eapply-commercial/Internet/walmartbrc/en/html/TermsConditions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">APR for the Walmart Business Credit Card</a> is fairly straightforward. The rate for purchases is currently 17.05% and will vary depending on the prime market rate. You have a grace period of 26 days if you make a payment in full each time.</p>
<p>Regardless of your credit history, you’ll pay a delinquent APR for late or missed payments. The delinquency rate is 24.99% if you don’t make your minimum payment by the due date twice in any six billing periods consecutively.</p>
<p>As for late payment fees, it’s $29 for new balances of a minimum of $50, and $15 for any amount less than that. These late payment fees are not too high if you think you’ll carry a balance. Of course, you don’t have to worry about any of these rates if you intend on paying off the entire statement balance in full every month.</p>
<h3><strong>How to Apply for a Walmart Business Credit Card</strong></h3>
<p>If after exploring all of your options, you ultimately decide that you want a Walmart Business Credit Card, you should know how to apply for one. Luckily, applying for a Walmart Business Credit Card is very simple. All you have to do is go to the <a href="https://eapply.syf.com/EApplyCommercial/load.do?cHash=9941244770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">application link</a> and fill out the form there. You’ll be required to fill in some basic information about you and your business and agree to the Terms and Conditions as well as the Personal Guarantee.</p>
<p>To finish the Walmart Business Credit Card application, you’ll click “accept and submit” and the application will be sent to Synchrony Bank, which issues the Walmart card, for approval. Synchrony will advise you on the status of your application. If you’re approved, you’ll receive your Walmart Business Credit Card account and login information. If you are not approved, you will be notified of that as well.</p>
<h3><b>Pros of the Walmart Business Credit Card</b></h3>
<p>Now that we’ve gone through the basics of this business credit card, let’s break down the benefits.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, you can use the store Walmart Business Credit Card to help you better manage your purchases, since you receive an</span> <a href="https://images.synchronycredit.com/eapplycommercial/Internet/walmartbrc/en/pdf/Sample%20Statement-BRC1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">itemized monthly statement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This will be great for accounting purposes, as it will</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> help you keep track of every Walmart purchase. With this statement, you’ll be able to see exactly where you’re spending the most—which is perfect for business budgeting or trying to trace your spending patterns. Plus, by using the credit card and paying off your bill on time, you’ll be <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-credit-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improving your business credit score</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, since the card can only be used at Walmart, you’ll have a sense of security with your employees—knowing that by giving it to them—they can only use it there. Furthermore, in comparison to other business credit cards, it may be easier for you to get approved for the Walmart card, especially if you’re looking</span> for an easy line of credit to spend at your go-to store.</p>
<h3><b>Cons of the Walmart Business Credit Card</b></h3>
<p>To be quite honest, there is not much substance to the Walmart Business Credit Card. Since you can only use the card at Walmart, it’s essentially a <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/business-line-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">line of credit</a> for Walmart without any additional perks or benefits. Whereas other cards offer perks like welcome bonuses, cash back, discounts, and more, the Walmart card has none of these.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.walmart.com/cp/Walmart-Credit-Card/632402" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walmart Credit Card</a> for consumers, on the other hand, offers discounts and rewards that the business credit card does not. (We’ll discuss this in more detail below.) The consumer card gives you <span style="font-weight: 400;">3%, 2%, and 1% back in the form of statement credits on certain categories. Although the Walmart Business Credit Card may be helpful </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">if you need it from a cash flow standpoint, it certainly doesn’t give you the option to truly make the most out of your card.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Who Should Get the Walmart Business Credit Card?</b></h2>
<p>Now that we’ve broken down the pros and cons of this card, let’s look at what kind of businesses are best-suited for the Walmart Business Credit Card. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it’s hard to say that this card would<span style="font-weight: 400;"> be the absolute best possible choice for any small business. Look at the facts:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">No benefits, rewards, or discounts</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">No breaks for late payments, regardless of credit standing</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">No ability to use beyond the Walmart family of stores</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not even the best</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Walmart credit card</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">out there </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In other words, small businesses really can’t get much use out of this card. The card is</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> simply a line of credit—and although it shouldn’t be too hard to get approved for— if you’re spending on a business credit card, you might as well get something in return.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned above, however, it could be beneficial to limit your employees’ spending to one store. But if you’re really concerned with limiting their purchasing power, there are other options you can explore, including a prepaid card, like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards/bento-for-business-card" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bento for Business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Otherwise, this card is probably best-suited for a regular Walmart customer who is looking for a simple credit card to <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/establish-business-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establish business credit</a>.</span></p>
<h2><b>Alternatives to the Walmart Business Credit Card</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You may be considering the Walmart Business Credit Card because you’re looking for a pretty simple card with which you can easily keep track of purchases or itemize your spending. Although this card may help you in those areas, it’s worth considering other options available to you as well. While</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the Walmart Business Credit Card only allows you to use it at Walmart and doesn’t give you any rewards, these alternatives have</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> comparable perks while offering you more benefits, too:</span></p>
<h3><b>The Walmart Mastercard From Synchrony Bank</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re really interested in</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a Walmart credit card, it’s worth thinking about their consumer credit card. This card gives you the option of both spending outside of Walmart as well as at their stores and provides those statement credits we briefly mentioned above. Their Earn 3-2-1 program allows cardholders to earn:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3% back on Walmart.com purchases</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2% back on Murphy’s USA and Walmart gas purchases</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1% off anywhere your card is accepted</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no annual fee, and the APR is similar to the Walmart Business Credit Card. However, late penalties with this card are a bit higher if you plan to carry a balance, and there is a foreign transaction fee. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although this consumer card may have merits in comparison to Walmart’s business credit card, there are certainly other business credit cards that can strike a great balance.</span></p>
<h3><b>American Express Blue Business Plus</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="CreditCardEmbed-615272ca-6249-438d-9cf4-fb9dab7053e8" class="CreditCardEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/credit-card/11" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="CreditCardEmbed-615272ca-6249-438d-9cf4-fb9dab7053e8"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you tend to carry balances and are concerned about APR, the American Express Blue Business Plus might be a great pick for you. This business credit card carries the longest 0% intro APR out there right now at 15 months. So, you can go interest-free on any balance you carry that entire time. After the 15 months are over, a variable APR kicks in, depending on the prime market rate and creditworthiness, so make sure you check the terms and conditions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, you can use this card anywhere that accepts American Express cards and not just at Walmart. So, that’s a definite benefit of this card—but you’ll also be earning rewards, too. For every dollar you spend, you’ll earn 1x in rewards points with no limit, and 2x rewards for up to $50,000 in purchases annually.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can redeem these rewards for nearly anything, including merchandise and travel—which could be a big boom to your business. Plus, there’s no annual fee on this card, so it’s certainly worth considering.</span></p>
<h3><b>Capital One Spark Cash for Business</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="CreditCardEmbed-13f03e31-127e-4958-b8bc-21348519f9f9" class="CreditCardEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/credit-card/34" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="CreditCardEmbed-13f03e31-127e-4958-b8bc-21348519f9f9"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the pros of the Walmart Business Credit Card is its simplicity. There are no complicated terms, rewards, or spending categories to keep track of. If you want more from your business credit card, but don’t have the time or desire to track your benefits, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">the Capital One Spark Cash for Business Card might be for you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Spark Cash card is one of the simplest cash back rewards card available to business owners. You get unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases—each day, every day. Also, if you travel abroad, there no foreign transaction fees.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another perk of this business credit card is the generous welcome offer. If you spend</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> $4,500 with the card within the first three months of opening your account, you’ll get a $500 one-time cash bonus. You also get free employee cards, meaning that you earn rewards on what they spend as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This card has an annual fee of $95, but Capital One waves it for the first year. So, not only can you try out the card without risk, but if you get the signup bonus, the fee is covered for the next five years.</span></p>
<h3><strong>Bento for Business Visa® Debit Card</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="CreditCardEmbed-1bd78925-bf58-414f-ab00-3179ff97b873" class="CreditCardEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/credit-card/125" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="CreditCardEmbed-1bd78925-bf58-414f-ab00-3179ff97b873"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Bento for Business card, which we mentioned earlier, is a little different from the previous two. Unlike the American Express Blue and Capital One Spark Cash cards, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bento is a prepaid business credit card. Similar to the Walmart Business Credit Card, this card is simple and offers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> no rewards—it’s just a line of credit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But the difference here is that when you sign up for Bento, your card is hooked up to your checking or</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business banking account</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Therefore, you supply the funds for the card yourself, securely transferring cash directly onto the card to fund your credit line. If your biggest concern is employee spending, this card lets you set limits (since you choose how much goes on the card at any given time), but also allows for flexibility.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With this Bento card, you can easily set spend limits, track card activity, automatically integrate expense data into your bookkeeping software, and create as many cards as your business needs. This way, you can carefully monitor your finances, but also give your employees the ability to spend outside of Walmart.</span></p>
<h2><strong>Is the Walmart Business Credit Card Right for My Business?</strong></h2>
<p>Ultimately, you might want to seriously consider your other options before filling out a Walmart Business Credit Card application. Although you may be a frequent Walmart shopper, who wants a simple, straight-forward business credit card, there are cards out there that work for those requirements—plus give you added benefits. Every dollar can help your small business, so you should pick a card with intention<span style="font-weight: 400;">—one that’s going to help you earn rewards, points or discounts, or lets you control spending with a degree of flexibility that isn’t also limiting. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide which business credit card is right for your business, but it’s worth remembering that t</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">here are plenty of options that will give you more than a store charge card.</span></p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/walmart-business-credit-card/">Walmart Business Credit Card Review, Plus Top Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/walmart-business-credit-card/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-29665390461894456032019-04-20T10:05:00.001-07:002019-04-20T10:05:46.697-07:00What Does a Bookkeeper Do, and How Can They Help My Business?<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Does a Bookkeeper Do?</h2>
<p>Bookkeepers ensure that all of a company’s expenses, income, and transactions are recorded in the company’s books and reconcile the company’s financial accounts, typically on a monthly basis. Bookkeepers might also help with financial statement and financial report preparation. Although bookkeeping can be in-house staff position, most businesses employ bookkeepers on a freelance basis.</p>
</div>
<p>Bookkeepers can wear many different hats depending on what a business needs. That said, most bookkeepers nowadays use <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business accounting software</a> to do their work. Plus, there are a few things that almost every bookkeeper can take care of for your business. Though the role of a bookkeeper is multifaceted, there are some core tenets to what bookkeepers do.</p>
<p>If you’re wondering what a bookkeeper does, then chances are you’re probably also wondering if you need one. We’ll explain the tasks that a bookkeeper can take care of for you, the going rate for a bookkeeper, and where to find a good bookkeeper.</p>
<h2><strong>What Does a Bookkeeper Do?</strong></h2>
<p>There’s no one simple way to answer this question. Just like any other field of work, bookkeeping can look different from business to business. However, these are the most common tasks that bookkeepers tends to tackle:</p>
<ul>
<li>Record financial transactions</li>
<li>Reconcile bank accounts</li>
<li>Manage bank feeds</li>
<li>Handle accounts receivable</li>
<li>Handle accounts payable</li>
<li>Work with your tax preparer and assist with tax compliance</li>
<li>Prepare financial statements</li>
<li>Take on some payroll and human resource functions</li>
<li>Make technology and process streamlining recommendations</li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s a closer look at what a bookkeeper does:</p>
<h3><strong>Reconcile Your Bank Accounts</strong></h3>
<p>The most important task for any bookkeeper is to <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-reconcile-in-quickbooks-online" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reconcile your financial accounts</a>. Account reconciliation ensures that transaction details in your accounting software match transaction details on your bank account statements, credit card statements, and other financial account statements.</p>
<p>It’s important to regularly reconcile your accounts to avoid overdraft fees, fraudulent charges, or incorrectly recorded transactions. Accounting software makes reconciliation pretty easy, but a human touch is still required to make sure all transactions are accurately recorded.</p>
<h3><b>Manage Bank Feeds</b></h3>
<p>At a basic level, your bookkeeping service or bookkeeper should be managing the transactions brought in through your accounting system’s <a href="https://digitalfirst.com/online-accounting-guide/bank-feeds-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank feed</a>. Bank feeds link up your accounting software with your business bank account, allowing you to see each transaction in real time.</p>
<p>The accounting software, depending on how effective it is, should be able to automatically categorize certain transactions. For example, a credit card transaction from an airline can be automatically categorized as a travel expense. Bookkeepers keep an eye on these transactions and make sure they are being categorized correctly.</p>
<p>Bookkeepers might also have to manually add any transactions that aren’t included in the bank feed. The transactions that need to be added will most likely be transactions generated <em>outside</em> of the accounting system, such as cash payments or handwritten checks. It could also involve matching deposits as customer payments to help manage accounts receivable or outgoing transactions as payments against vendor bills.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-7017 size-large" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/16122709/what-do-bookkeepers-do-pic-1024x523.png" alt="What Do Bookkeepers Do" width="1024" height="523" srcset="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/16122709/what-do-bookkeepers-do-pic-1024x523.png 1024w, https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/16122709/what-do-bookkeepers-do-pic-300x153.png 300w, https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/16122709/what-do-bookkeepers-do-pic-200x102.png 200w, https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/16122709/what-do-bookkeepers-do-pic.png 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></p>
<h3><b>Handle Accounts Receivable</b></h3>
<p>Accounts receivable management can take on a few forms. As mentioned above, the small business staff might be entering their own estimates or invoices, and they might be receiving payment against the invoices.</p>
<p>However, there’s another option. The client uses an industry-specific estimating program to calculate the job, then provides the bookkeeper with the total. They then enter the estimates into their <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting/quickbooks-online-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">QuickBooks Online</a> account and create or progress invoices as the project moves along.</p>
<p>Creating invoices, sending them to customers, providing statements, and assisting in collections is all part of the A/R services we provide for our clients. The customer lets the bookkeeper know when they’ve been paid, we enter that payment in QuickBooks Online, and then we create a deposit to match what the client takes to the bank.</p>
<h3><b>Handle Accounts Payable</b></h3>
<p>Along with accounts receivable, many bookkeepers also handle their clients’ accounts payable. That means the bookkeeper will handle all of the vendor bills that the company receives. Bookkeepers will note payment deadlines from each vendor, early payment discounts if available, and submit payment to the vendor. As a company grows, bookkeepers can add on an additional approvers to give the thumbs up for payments. Properly managing your accounts payable is important for maintaining relationships with suppliers and keeping positive trade credit terms.</p>
<h3><b>Work with Your Tax Preparer</b></h3>
<p>One of the services that many bookkeepers fail to mention is that, by default, they’re going to serve as a sort of translator between you and your certified public accountant or enrolled agent. Because bookkeepers have a much more intimate knowledge of your books, it’s sometimes easier to have your bookkeeper contact your tax preparer when you’re about to file your <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business taxes</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Prepare Financial Statements</strong></h3>
<p>Most bookkeepers will prepare three major financial statements for your business—the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/profit-and-loss-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profit and loss statement</a>, <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accounting-balance-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">balance sheet</a>, and <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/prepare-cash-flow-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cash flow statement</a>. It’s a good idea to have updated financial statements every month, and then again at year end. The profit and loss statement shows your business’s bottom line and operating expenses. The balance sheet shows your business’s balance of assets and liabilities. The cash flow statement shows the cash flowing into and out of your company. Accounting software allows bookkeepers to prepare these financial statements and share them with your accountant and tax preparer.</p>
<h3><b>Process Payroll</b></h3>
<p>Bookkeepers also, at times, fulfill payroll and human resource functions. Your bookkeeping service might have a payroll offering, or they might assist you in the processing of paychecks or tax payments and forms. They might simply input payroll data into your accounting system after your payroll service provider has submitted reports to you, or they might import the data from a file provided. Bookkeepers might also help you manage timesheets for hourly employees or overtime.</p>
<h3><b>Make Technology and Process Streamlining Recommendations</b></h3>
<p>Bookkeepers are also pretty good at keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies. It’s not unusual for your bookkeeper to find a new app or solution specific to your industry, especially if many of their clients work in the same space. Or maybe there’s a way to help you cut labor costs. Bookkeepers like to search for efficiencies and make your back office run as smoothly as possible. In this way, they can be a very valuable partner to your business.</p>
<h3><img class="aligncenter wp-image-47167 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/16174123/shutterstock_10826723871.jpg" alt="What Do Bookkeepers Do" width="1000" height="697" /></h3>
<h2><strong>How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost?</strong></h2>
<p>Freelance bookkeepers typically charge between $30 to $50 per hour for basic bookkeeping tasks. Prices can be lower than average if you just need someone part-time to do simple tasks like data entry. However, if you’re looking for someone with accounting or tax preparation skills, be prepared to spend more.</p>
<p>All of the following factors can affect the cost of your bookkeeper:</p>
<ul>
<li>Types of tasks you’d like the bookkeeper to do</li>
<li>Complexity and volume of your business’s financial transactions</li>
<li>Bookkeeper’s experience</li>
<li>Number of hours worked per month</li>
<li>Whether you use any accounting software and what type (most bookkeepers prefer QuickBooks Online)</li>
<li>Your business’s location</li>
</ul>
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<p>Bench is a bookkeeping service that balances your books on a monthly basis. They reconcile transactions, prepare financial statements, and provide you with a year-end financial package to make tax filing easy. They will also work directly with your tax professional.</p>
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<h2><strong>Bookkeepers vs. Accountants</strong></h2>
<p>A bookkeeper has training in recording, categorizing, and reconciling financial transactions. Most accountants have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and are skilled in interpreting financial records to make business recommendations.</p>
<p>Many people are confused about the difference between <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bookkeeping-vs-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bookkeepers vs. accountants</a>, and the truth is that some bookkeepers also perform accounting tasks. For example, accounting software now makes it pretty easy for bookkeepers to prepare financial statements, a task that was traditionally reserved for accountants.</p>
<p>It helps to think of a bookkeeper as the chef who prepares the meal. The bookkeeper prepares the books and makes accurate financial records available. The accountant is like the food critic. The accountant will dig deeper into the financial records and analyze the business’s finances. An accountant can advise you on ways to conserve costs and increase profits and help you understand the financial impact of business decisions.</p>
<h2><img class="alignnone wp-image-53694 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/17160720/shutterstock_3844720272.jpg" alt="what does a bookkeeper do" width="1000" height="676" /></h2>
<h2><strong>Bookkeepers Help You Get Back to Business</strong></h2>
<p>There you have it—all of the main skills that a bookkeeper can bring to your business. Your bookkeeper isn’t just doing simple data entry—there’s so much more that goes into bookkeeping than many small business owners realize.</p>
<p>The next time you find yourself wondering, “What does a bookkeeper do?”, you now know that the answer can be anything from reconciling transactions to processing payroll—the answer can even be managing all of the above.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, the answer to this question will ultimately depend on what you and your small business need from your bookkeeper. Either way, having a bookkeeper keeping track of your small business’s finances will free up the time and energy you need for growing your business.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-do-bookkeepers-do/">What Does a Bookkeeper Do, and How Can They Help My Business?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-do-bookkeepers-do/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-85275449737774592902019-04-20T08:30:00.001-07:002019-04-20T08:30:51.656-07:00Business Owners Policy (BOP): What Does It Cover?<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Is a Business Owners Policy?</h2>
<p>A business owners policy, or BOP, combines general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance in one package. Bundling these coverages together lowers premiums. Businesses with less than $5 million in annual revenue and fewer than 100 employees are typically eligible.</p>
</div>
<p>Small business owners typically have three things on their mind when purchasing <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business insurance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—coverage, convenience, and value. A business owners policy (BOP) is designed for each of these factors. By bundling general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance into a single policy, BOPs allow small businesses to save money and pay a single premium while securing essential coverage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business owner policies are a good option for many small businesses, but they’re not for everyone. If you don’t need all of the types of insurance that are bundled into the policy, then you might be better off buying these policies separately. We’ll explain more about BOPs, what they cover and don’t cover, where to purchase a BOP, and cost.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Who Should Buy a Business Owners Policy?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although eligibility varies by insurance company, business owner policies are typically available to businesses that have less than $5 million in annual revenue and fewer than 100 employees. By bringing together liability, property, and business interruption coverage under one umbrella, BOPs can save you up to 20% on premiums were you to purchase each type of insurance separately.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The coverage provided by a business owner policy varies based on the insurance company, but in most cases a BOP provides basic liability and property insurance, plus business interruption insurance. Any business that has assets, such as equipment or inventory, could benefit from having a BOP. A BOP also is important for anyone who has a brick-and-mortar business location.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s take an example to see the benefits of a BOP. Say you own a retail shop and a heavy storm hits the business district, causing damage to your facade. As a result, you have to close down the shop for several hours while you do some emergency repairs. You finally reopen but fail to notice a leak in the ceiling where water is dripping. The water pools onto the floors and causes a customer to slip, who then sues your business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A BOP would replace or repair the assets that are damaged during the storm, pay for the facade repair, replace the income that you lose when you have to close down the shop, and cover the expenses of defending the customer’s lawsuit. But instead of paying three separate premiums for three separate types of insurance, you would pay just one premium for the business owners policy.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53708 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/17162301/image169.jpg" alt="business owners policy" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>What a Business Owners Policy Covers</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned already, insurance companies differ in terms of which coverage they include in a business owners policy. BOPs are also customizable to some extent, and you can add or subtract add-on coverages as necessary for your company.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most insurance companies include the following three types of insurance in a basic business owners policy:</span></p>
<h3><b>1. General Liability Insurance</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">General liability insurance is the first line of defense for a small business owner and is always included in a business owners policy. General liability insurance covers the cost of defending lawsuits against your business. These lawsuits might allege bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Slip and falls are the commonly cited example of what general liability insurance protects, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For example,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/general-liability-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">general liability insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">also protects you if a competitor claims that you injured their reputation and sues you. Or if an employee is hanging a sign and dents the window of the business owner next door, that also falls under general liability insurance.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anyone who owns a small business should have general liability insurance, or they take the risk of a lawsuit eating into their bottom line. You might even have to show proof of liability insurance when signing a contract or getting a business loan. Fortunately, general liability insurance is quite affordable, especially when bundled into a business owners policy.</span></p>
<h3><b>2. Commercial Property Insurance</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The other important coverage in a business owner policy is</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/commercial-property-insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">commercial property insurance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Commercial property insurance protects the building that your business is housed in, as well as any equipment or assets that your business uses. If your property is vandalized, stolen, lost, accidentally damaged, or damaged by weather, commercial property insurance will pay for the property’s repair or replacement. Some policies even cover loss or damage to electronic data.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Any business that owns or leases commercial space should have commercial property insurance. Most landlords expect their tenants to have their own commercial property insurance. You should also have this coverage if you manufacture products, maintain inventory, or keep equipment.</span></p>
<h3><b>3. Business Interruption Insurance</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most, but not all, insurance companies, also include</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-interruption-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business interruption insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">in their business owner policies. Business interruption insurance covers lost income when your business has to temporarily slow down or stop operations after vandalism, theft, or a covered disaster.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The majority of small business owners don’t think about getting business interruption insurance, but it’s often what can help the most when your business faces an unexpected situation. Even if a business has to close down for just a few days, it’s possible to lose thousands of dollars in revenue and profit. Plus, even when your business is closed down, you still have to pay your employees and suppliers and meet other responsibilities. Business interruption insurance replaces lost income and lets you continue to meet your responsibilities.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53709 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/17162304/image260.jpg" alt="business owners policy" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>What a Business Owners Policy Excludes</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business owner policies can be customized to a business’s specific needs. You can add optional coverages to ensure that a BOP covers your company’s primary risks. Not all types of insurance are a part of a BOP, but many are.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The following types of insurance are not part of a standard business owners policy, but you might be able to add them on to your BOP:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Workers compensation: </b><a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/workers-compensation-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Workers compensation insurance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, legally required for most employers, covers injuries or illnesses that employees experience in the scope of their work.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Professional liability:</b> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/professional-liability-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professional liability insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">protects service businesses and professionals against claims of negligence.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Commercial auto policy:</b> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/commercial-auto-insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Commercial auto insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">insures you against accidents that happen while you’re driving for business purposes.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Flood and earthquake insurance:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Small businesses typically must buy separate, specialized policies to cover</span> <a href="https://www.iii.org/article/does-my-business-need-flood-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">flood damage</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.iii.org/article/does-my-business-need-earthquake-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">earthquake damage</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This is important if you do business in flood-prone or earthquake-prone zones.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Employment practice liability:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><a href="https://www.nationwide.com/business/insurance/employment-practices-liability/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Employment practice liability insurance (EPLI)</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">guards your business against claims of discrimination, such as gender or race-based discrimination.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also add</span> <a href="https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/umbrella-liability-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">umbrella or excess liability coverage</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to a business owner policy. These coverages fill in any gaps left by your primary insurance policies. If a claim maxes out the coverage limits on your general liability policy, for instance, you can tap into an excess liability policy.</span></p>
<h2><b>Cost of a Business Owners Policy</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The cost of a business owners policy averages $1,191 per year, according to insurance marketplace</span> <a href="https://www.insureon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Insureon</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The cost can be lower or more than that depending on several factors, such as your business size, industry, and claims history.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The following factors can affect the cost of a business owner policy:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Coverage limits:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The coverage limits on your BOP directly impact cost. Most small businesses purchase a $1 million/$2 million BOP. This means the insurer will provide $1 million in coverage per claim and $2 million aggregate over the lifetime of the policy (usually one year).</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Industry:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Higher-risk industries with more exposure will pay a higher premium than lower-risk industries.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Value and type of property: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the commercial property insurance portion of your BOP, cost depends on the type and value of the property you’re insuring. The higher the property value and the more difficult the property is to replace, the higher the cost.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Business location and age:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The geographic location of your business and your time in business will also affect cost. Newer businesses generally pay higher premiums.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Size of business: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">The more employees you have, the more risk exposure you have, and the more you’ll pay for a BOP.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Claims history:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Insurers pay careful attention to your claims history when quoting you a premium.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adding on optional coverages will also increase the cost of your business owners policy. The more coverage options you want to bundle into your BOP, the more expensive it will be. But overall, you can save up to 20% on premiums for bringing all coverages under one policy, instead of buying coverage separately. As long as you know that you have to buy a certain type of insurance, you don’t have anything to lose by including it in a package deal.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53710 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/17162306/image347.png" alt="business owners policy" width="828" height="404" />Photo credit: Hiscox.com</span></i></p>
<h2><b>Where to Purchase a BOP</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dozens of insurance companies sell business owner policies, which can make things pretty confusing for small businesses that are shopping around. Where should you begin? If you already have general liability insurance, property insurance, or another type of insurance from a specific insurer, it’s a good idea to ask them if they offer a business owners policy. You will then be able to see how much money you can save by opting for the insurance bundle.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re just starting your search for insurance or if your insurer doesn’t offer a business owner policy, then we recommend going with an A rated insurance company. The rating comes from global credit firm A.M. Best and is called a financial strength rating. The higher the rating, the more likely it is that the insurer will be able to pay your claims on time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In no particular order, here are our recommended providers for buying a business owners policy:</span></p>
<h3><b>Chubb</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chubb is another small business insurance company that offers a business owners policy in all 50 states. They have an A++ rating from A.M. Best, which is the highest possible rating. Like Hiscox, you can get a quote for a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/chubb-small-business-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chubb</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">BOP online and buy a policy online. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Based on your industry and the information you provide about your business, Chubb will give you different options to customize your business owner policy. At a minimum, all business owner policies include general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance. Professional services, financial services, and technology are three industries that most frequently obtain a BOP from Chubb.</span></p>
<h3><b>Hiscox</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hiscox is an A rated insurer and one of the best options for small businesses that are in search of a business owners policy.</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/hiscox-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hiscox</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is one of the most reputable, experienced insurers for businesses, having been around since 1901.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hiscox offers business owner policies for online quote and purchase in several states. You can fill out a short questionnaire about your business’s insurance needs, and then you will be able to see your monthly premium and decide whether to purchase the policy. General liability and commercial property insurance are included in a Hiscox BOP. So is business interruption insurance, although that’s already part of a Hiscox commercial property policy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the liability side, Hiscox provides extensive coverage for bodily injury claims, property damage claims, advertising and marketing injuries, and electronic data liability. On the property side, Hiscox provides up to $100,000 of equipment coverage and $10,000 of coverage for property that you transport out of the office. They will cover up to 12 months of lost business income in the event that damage to your property prevents you from operating your business. Up to $10,000 of coverage is also available to replace or restore electronic data.</span></p>
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<h3><b>The Hartford</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Hartford is an A+ rated insurance company that offers a business owners policy. They are highly rated for their claims service and customer support. The Hartford’s BOP combines general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance. Optionally, they allow businesses to add on data breach coverage or professional liability coverage to a BOP.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The downside to The Hartford is that it’s not always possible to get a quote and purchase a policy online. You might find that you go through the request-a-quote form, only to get a message telling you to contact The Hartford by phone. The Hartford still conducts most of their business through a network of independent agents.</span></p>
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<h3><b>Progressive</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Progressive Insurance has an A+ rating from A.M. Best and is best known for their home and auto insurance policies. However, they also provide several types of small business insurance, including a business owner policy. Restaurants, wholesalers, retail stores, and contractors are some popular business types that get BOPs through</span> <a href="https://www.progressive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Progressive</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As with a standard BOP, Progressive insures against general liability claims, property damage, and loss of business income. Small businesses nationwide that bought a BOP through Progressive paid an average of $61 per month, which is on the low end for a business owner policy. You can also score some additional discounts. For instance, you can save 10% to 15% on your premiums by grouping together commercial auto insurance and a business owner policy.</span></p>
<h3><b>Insureon</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Insureon offers a slightly different experience for insurance shopping.</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/insureon-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Insureon</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is an insurance marketplace, so they let you compare offerings from insurance companies. Hiscox, Chubb, and The Hartford are actually all among Insureon’s partners, so you can use Insureon as the middleman to compare their policies. By comparing policies, you’re likely to get the best deal on a business owner policy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can get several online quotes on Insureon after inputting some information about your business. Be ready to spend about 15 minutes filling out their online questionnaire. Should you decide to purchase one of the policies, then you’ll need to contact Insureon by phone. Their trained agents will help you figure out what optional coverages you should add on to your business owner policy for maximum protection. They’ll also help you complete your purchase.</span></p>
<h2><b>Bottom Line on Business Owners Policy</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A business owners policy is an affordable way to secure all the types of insurance coverage you might need for your company. The best part is that most BOPs are customizable, allowing you to add and remove coverage as you need to best fit your business’s risk exposures.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When shopping around for a business owner policy, you’ll want to think carefully about what types of risks you want to insure against and how you can best protect yourself if the unexpected happens. If you have questions, insurance companies are usually happy to help you go through an inventory of your assets, work through different possible scenarios, and get comprehensive coverage.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-owners-policy/">Business Owners Policy (BOP): What Does It Cover?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-11722752056283625172019-04-20T07:20:00.001-07:002019-04-20T07:20:37.296-07:00How to Save on Labor Costs at Your Business<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you are opening a new business or yours has been around awhile, one of your biggest expenses is almost certainly labor. Managing your labor costs is a key way to achieve profitability and make sure you stay in business. Here are ways to save on labor costs in your business.</span></p>
<h2><b>Can software help automate work and save you money?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is software out there for everything, and that includes helping keep labor costs down. Find software that can automate some of the busy work that you and your managers do on a daily basis. If, say, you pay an assistant manager $15 an hour, eliminating paperwork that takes them five hours a week would save you almost $4,000 a year.</span></p>
<h2><b>How should you track your employees’ work time?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having software that can help you manage your team’s clock is a great way to save on labor expenses.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For instance, with software, you can prevent early clock-ins and convert excess paid breaks into unpaid breaks to make sure you are paying your employees when they are actually scheduled and on the clock working. Although your savings depends on the number of employees your team has, it can really add up, if each employee is clocking in just a few minutes early every day. This is a huge way to save money—we find businesses save about $2,500 a year by preventing early clock-ins (sometimes referred to as “time theft,” though usually it’s just a mistake).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Implementing the use of a</span> <a href="https://joinhomebase.com/features/time-clock/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mobile time clocks</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">for offsite events can save time as well by not requiring your employees to clock in at the main office and then drive to the work site, using their phone’s GPS.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using software to help your managers</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/employee-scheduling-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">schedule shifts</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">will cut down the amount of time they are spending on a necessary but tedious task. You’ll also get the added benefit of easier compliance with labor laws, like the</span> <a href="https://joinhomebase.com/blog/flsa-recordkeeping-requirement-time-cards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fair Labor Standards Act</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h2><b>Can you automate the onboarding and training process?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Systematizing your onboarding process will make sure your employees are trained correctly and up-to-date with any new policies and procedures. This will eliminate most of the time it takes another employee or even a manager to train a new hire.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use training software—or even your computer’s camera and YouTube—to record your onboarding process and train your employees on the company’s expectations on what will be asked of them. This will provide consistency in the workplace and help you figure out which employees may need extra training in certain areas.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a great way to implement continued training, as well. Test your employees in certain areas regularly to make sure everyone is knowledgeable about products and services.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most importantly, a better onboarding experience will usually translate into a more welcoming experience for new hires, and happy employees mean you can save time and money on recruiting staff. The labor market is tight, and finding replacements is a time-consuming process.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53698 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/17161402/shutterstock_322577240.jpg" alt="save-on-labor-costs" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>Should you cross-train staff?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cross-training your staff is not only a great way to make your employees feel more valuable to the business, but it will also allow you to place your employees where needed and avoid being short-handed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Employees who are cross-trained can help with overseeing new employees as well and helping out when teaching. This will take these tasks off your plate so you can focus your efforts on building the business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The more responsibilities you give your employees the more they will feel like they are contributing to the business, they will have a sense of fulfillment when coming to work. This will keep your employees happy and wanting to work hard for you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Training your employees to do multiple roles will give you the opportunity to see how an employee does in certain roles. This enables employers to hire internally and put their team in the best position to succeed in their business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ll also save on overtime. If you have only one or two people trained for a critical role, you’ll probably be forced to call in someone and potentially put them into overtime if the other person isn’t able to make it to their shift. Cross-training your staff means you have more options if something comes up.</span></p>
<h2><b>How can technology help you cut down on labor costs?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Depending on the type of business you run, there are a lot of ways software can help automate tasks that would normally take an employee’s time. If you run a restaurant, investigate restaurant reservation and food delivery services, to see if they might be a good fit, rather than paying someone to answer the phones. Likewise, if you operate a hair salon or barber shop, you can use software to manage the</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/appointment-scheduling-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">appointment booking</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">process.</span></p>
<h2><b>Which cost more, new employees or happy employees?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Employees who are happy with their employers tend to stay longer. Keeping your employees happy may not seem like it will save on labor cost at first, but keep in mind how expensive it is—in both time and money—to hire a new employee.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The time it takes for interviewing, the cost to train, and the cost if they don’t work out can really add up. It may be worth the investment to do everything you can to keep your most productive employees happy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can give out a bonus to employees who perform well, give them extra vacation days, or increase their benefits packages. Happier employees often lead to happier customers and repeat business. Your employees are your brand, and how you treat them ripples throughout your business. </span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/save-on-labor-costs/">How to Save on Labor Costs at Your Business</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/save-on-labor-costs/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-14866705930134696582019-04-19T15:40:00.001-07:002019-04-19T15:40:12.920-07:00Small Business Week 2019: The Ultimate Guide for Small Business Owners<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated small business owners during</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Week</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This week of celebration highlights how vital small businesses are to the nation and economy, and offers an opportunity for consumers to rededicate themselves to shopping locally. </span></p>
<p>This article explores what National Small Business Week can mean for your business and how you can take advantage of or participate in it.</p>
<h3><b>When Is Small Business Week?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2019, Small Business Week will take place from May 5 through May 11. This event for small businesses is held every spring. </span></p>
<h3><b>What Is Small Business Week?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Week is a week meant to highlight the importance of entrepreneurs and small business owners across the United States. During this week, small business supporters are encouraged to shop small at local businesses. </span></p>
<h3><b>Why Does Small Business Week Take Place?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Week takes place because small businesses are of vital importance to local economies as well as the economy of the United States. M</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">ore than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, according to the SBA. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The nation’s small businesses create an estimated two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.</span></p>
<h3><b>Where Does Small Business Week Happen?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year, newly appointed SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza will kick off the week.</span></p>
<p>Small Business Week is celebrated nationally and can be celebrated anywhere a small business is found.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-53946" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/19160648/shutterstock_722577298.jpg" alt="small business week" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>How Can You Celebrate Small Business Week?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Details of the national events have not yet been announced, so you should check the </span><a href="https://www.sba.gov/nsbw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Week</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">website for updates.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can get information about events in your area from your local</span> <a href="https://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/districtoffices" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SBA district office</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Even if you can’t travel to a national event and there is no local event near you, you can still get involved with National Small Business Week virtually by watching live or recorded events online, shopping at a local small business, or participating in the conversation on social media.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Look for National Small Business Week events and information on social media using the hashtag #SmallBusinessWeek, or follow the SBA on Twitter @SBAgov or on</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Facebook</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to get the most current updates. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A major focus of National Small Business Week is the awards ceremony honoring small business owners, entrepreneurs, and their supporters.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These include:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Person of the Year Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Exporter of the Year</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery – Public Official</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery – Volunteer</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Federal Procurement Award – Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Federal Procurement Award – Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Federal Procurement Award – Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">8(a) Graduate of the Year Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women’s Business Center of the Year Excellence Award</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jody C. Raskind Lender of the Year</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Small Business Investment Company of the Year</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Winners of the awards were chosen in March.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read about all 53</span> <a href="https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/sba-administrator-honors-nations-top-small-businesses-02" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">National Small Business Week award winners</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—one of whom will be named the Small Business Owner of the Year during Small Business Week.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am delighted to recognize the 53 winners from across the country as they gather in our nation’s capital,” Linda McMahon, the previous head of the SBA, said in a press release announcing the winners.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Want to know more?</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.sba.gov/nsbw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sign up to get email updates</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">about Small Business Week events.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Do you know someone who deserves to win a Small Business Week award next year? Keep an eye on the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">National Small Business Week website</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to find out how and when to nominate them.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-week/">Small Business Week 2019: The Ultimate Guide for Small Business Owners</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-week/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-4166213341436183352019-04-19T07:34:00.001-07:002019-04-19T07:34:56.675-07:00First Tennessee Bank Business Checking Review, Plus Top Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The right business checking account can help you and your business thrive. It can help you not only store and spend your money, which is important, but some</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business bank accounts</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">can grow your balance by earning interest. Others may offer payroll management services to take some of that work off your plate. The right account will also allow you just the right amount of transactions per month, without stifling your business flow or charging you too much for services you don’t need.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First Tennessee Bank offers business owners several options when it comes to</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts/checking" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business checking accounts</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Although there are only two accounts, the Bizessentials account offers the choice between four different levels, to further customize your account. The bank also has a Business Learning Center with helpful business management and banking resources. You can find</span> <a href="https://www.firsttennessee.com/small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">First Tennessee Bank</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">branches in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.</span></p>
<h2><b>Choosing the Best Business Checking Account</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you’re looking for the best business checking account, it’s helpful to first determine what you need from an account. Do you need hundreds of transactions per month? Or are you more interested in a no-fee experience? Answering questions like that will help you narrow down your search.</span></p>
<h3><b>Fees</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fees are an easy and tricky way to sabotage your savings. There are fees you can prepare for, but some can pop up without any warning. It’s important you spend and manage your money responsibly, which can usually help you avoid any surprise fees on items like overdrafts or account inactivity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First Tennessee Bank business checking accounts charge monthly fees, although some offer ways you can waive the fee. Typically, you’ll find higher fees on accounts with higher transaction limits or perks.</span></p>
<h3><b>Transaction Limits and Balance Minimums</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business checking accounts are often differentiated by their transaction limits. Smaller businesses may do better to find accounts with low transaction limits (and therefore lower monthly fees), while bigger businesses will need the flexibility of a higher transaction limit for hundreds of transactions per month.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At First Tennessee Bank, transactions include checks paid and deposited, deposit slips, mobile deposits, online bill payments, and electronic debits and credits. Every $100 of cash deposits you make counts as one transaction. Through the Bizessentials Business Checking account, detailed below, you can find a range of transaction limitations to find the best fit for you.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53594 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16174311/shutterstock_613661264.jpg" alt="first-tennessee-bank-business-checking" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>First Tennessee Bank Business Checking Accounts</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First Tennessee Bank’s two business checking accounts include a Visa Business debit card. Having this Visa card also enrolls you in First Tennessee Cash Rewards. Through this program, you can earn cash back when you shop at certain businesses with your Visa card. The accounts and your funds can be easily accessed online, over the phone or on mobile.</span></p>
<h3><b>Bizessentials Business Checking</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As its name might suggest, the First Tennessee Bank Bizessentials Business Checking account offers business owners checking account essentials. Plus, since every business owner’s needs are different, the account comes in four different levels, so you can customize your checking account.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Value level allows 75 transactions per month and charges a small $5 monthly fee. The Basic level boosts your transaction limit to 250 per month. There is a $15 monthly fee, but you can waive that with a minimum balance of $5,000. At the Standard level, you’ll need a minimum daily balance of $10,000, or $25,000 in combined account balances. This level allows a sky-high 600 transactions per month. The final level, aptly named Interest, also limits you to 600 transactions per month, charges a $25 unwaivable fee and earns interest.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monthly fees and limits:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">$5-$25 monthly fee, depending on account level</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">75-600 transactions allowed per month</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">$0.50 fee per excessive transaction</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Best for:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">A range of business owners who don’t need account bells and whistles</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Business Interest Checking</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Right off the bat, the Business Interest Checking account sets itself apart from the Bizessentials options by earning interest and having no minimum balance requirements. It also provides some overdraft protection which you can set up through a separate line of credit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monthly fees and limits:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">No minimum balance requirement</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Best for:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business owners who want to earn interest on their balance</span></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Top Alternatives to First Tennessee Bank Business Checking Accounts</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Perhaps First Tennessee Bank business checking accounts don’t have quite what you were looking for. Or perhaps you simply want to research other options. Here are three top alternatives to First Tennessee Bank business checking accounts.</span></p>
<h3><b>Azlo Business Checking: Best No-Fee Option</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="NewMarketsProductEmbed-f7258501-3198-46a9-85bd-9a08589bac72" class="NewMarketsProductEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/new-markets-product/6" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="NewMarketsProductEmbed-f7258501-3198-46a9-85bd-9a08589bac72"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts/checking/azlo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Azlo business checking account</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is best for business owners who can manage their business accounts just fine online, as there are no branches you can visit. The account doesn’t charge a monthly fee and doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement. Azlo won’t limit your transactions, either, leaving you free to conduct business as usual.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One downside for business owners who largely work with cash is that Azlo can’t accept cash deposits due to its lack of physical locations. You can still withdraw cash, however, from ATMs within the AllPoint network.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/6/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open an Azlo Account</span></button></span></p>
<h3><b>Chase Total Business Checking: Best for Growing Businesses</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="NewMarketsProductEmbed-0acd5365-0de6-44bc-8af6-2e535dd75aef" class="NewMarketsProductEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/new-markets-product/2" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="NewMarketsProductEmbed-0acd5365-0de6-44bc-8af6-2e535dd75aef"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-bank-accounts/checking/chase/total" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chase Total Business Checking account</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is for those who fall in between First Tennessee Bizessentials’ Value and Basic levels. The Chase account allows for 100 transactions per month, which isn’t a whole lot, but can be just right for some growing businesses. As for cash deposits, you can deposit up to $5,000 per month.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Chase Total Business Checking Account charges a $12 monthly fee (boosted to $15 with paper statements), but you can waive either fee with a minimum daily balance of $1,500.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re a new Chase Business customer, there’s also the opportunity to earn a $200 bonus, which is a good way to give yourself a nice savings boost from the start.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/2/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open a Chase Total Account</span></button></span></p>
<h3><b>Axos Business Interest Checking: Best Interest-Earning Option</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe id="NewMarketsProductEmbed-b26af892-b17e-42b1-890a-e21e966adcfe" class="NewMarketsProductEmbed" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%;" src="https://www.fundera.com/embed/new-markets-product/8" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" name="NewMarketsProductEmbed-b26af892-b17e-42b1-890a-e21e966adcfe"><script type="text/javascript">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Axos Business Interest Checking account earns interest on your hard-earned money, and unlike First Tennessee Bank, is upfront about its rates and fees. All balances will earn at a solid business checking rate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ll need at least $100 to open an account and at least $5,000 in the account daily to waive the $10 monthly fee. The account includes a limit of 50 free items per month and 60 Remote Deposit Anywhere items. A pretty solid perk to banking with Axos, which is completely online, is its unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements, so you can use ATMs almost anywhere without worrying about racking up fees.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/8/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open an Axos Account</span></button></span></p>
<h2><b>Who Are First Tennessee Bank Business Checking Accounts Right For?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First Tennessee Bank Business Checking accounts are best for business owners who value the ability to visit a bank branch for account management. Although you can access your accounts online and on mobile, some account information still needs a quick call or visit to a branch.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The accounts themselves offer a range of choices for business owners. Transaction limits range from 75 to 600, allowing both small and large business owners to find an account that allows them to make the right number of transactions per month without much constraint. There are also a couple interest-earning options to help any business owner boost their savings just a little bit more.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/first-tennessee-bank-business-checking/">First Tennessee Bank Business Checking Review, Plus Top Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/first-tennessee-bank-business-checking/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-64006279011320722852019-04-19T07:29:00.001-07:002019-04-19T07:29:44.276-07:00What is an ICO and How Can You Use One to Grow Your Small Business?<p>An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is a <strong>method of raising capital for a business</strong> by selling one form of cryptocurrency in exchange for another. Similar to an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the investment world, ICOs typically function by selling crypto tokens in exchange for bitcoin or ether. Essentially, this gives buyers a share of your company.</p>
<p>This exchange, which has been called the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-crowdfunding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crowdfunding</a> of the cryptocurrency world, is seen by some as a controversial and unregulated way of raising funds for a business. In fact, it became such a debate that in 2017 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) weighed in with an <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official conclusion</a> that virtual tokens, like the ones sold in ICOs, are securities and are, therefore, subject to federal securities laws.</p>
<p>ICOs can be an effective way to raise capital for your small business, startup company, or passion project. To find out how you could benefit from using an ICO, <a href="#infographic">jump to our infographic below</a>. Otherwise, keep reading to learn more about how an ICO works.</p>
<h3><strong>Token vs Coin: What is a Crypto Token, Anyway?</strong></h3>
<p>Before diving into how ICOs can help you build capital for your small business, it’s important to understand the <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basics of cryptocurrency</a> and the difference between tokens (like those used in ICOs) and coins.</p>
<p>There are <strong>two main forms of cryptocurrency</strong>: tokens and coins.</p>
<p><strong>An ICO uses tokens</strong>, which are representations of another asset and have no intrinsic value. For example, cash has no intrinsic value but is accepted as legal tender through government regulation. Similarly, ICO tokens have no inherent value but are commonly accepted as a currency to be traded. These tokens reside on top of a pre-existing <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/blockchain-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockchain</a> (networks of data linked together using cryptography), are easy to create, and use a self-executing code to operate. This relative simplicity makes them ideal for small businesses and startups.</p>
<p><strong>Coins</strong> possess their own independent blockchains, which are either derived from the original Bitcoin blockchain or are a native blockchain that supports only one currency. Coins also have no intrinsic value and can be traded like tokens.</p>
<h2><strong>How Does an ICO Work?</strong></h2>
<p><img class="alignleft wp-image-53549 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16114125/how-does-an-ico-work-1-1.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="850" /></p>
<p>Your small business or digital startup can use an ICO to fund operations or begin new projects. Like any other campaign for raising capital, your campaign should include detailed information for the buyers of your crypto tokens.</p>
<p><strong>Here’s the basic steps involved in getting an ICO off the ground:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Create a plan.</strong> Lay out the details of your campaign on a <strong>white paper</strong>, which outlines your project for investors. Include these things: what the project is about, what the capital raised will go towards, how much capital you expect to need, what the benefit for token buyers is, what type of currency is accepted, and the duration of the campaign.</li>
<li><strong>Sell crypto tokens.</strong> During the campaign, you’ll distribute crypto tokens to supporters and investors in your business. They can be bought either with fiat money or another type of cryptocurrency.</li>
<li><strong>Act on the results.</strong> If your ICO requirements are met in the set timeframe, the money raised can be used to begin or complete your project. If requirements are not met, money is returned to the token investors and the ICO is declared unsuccessful.</li>
</ol>
<p>If this method of raising capital for a small business sounds familiar, you might be thinking of IPOs in the stock market. These fundraisers share many traits with their investment cousins, but they act in different ways for a small business or startup.</p>
<h3><strong>ICO vs IPO: What’s the Difference?</strong></h3>
<p>A company using an ICO sells tokens in the same way another company might sell shares to investors. However, there are several significant <a href="https://masterthecrypto.com/crypto-ico-vs-stock-ipo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">differences</a> between ICOs and IPOs.</p>
<p><strong>Regulation</strong>: While ICOs have no oversight or regulating body, IPOs are official documents with legal requirements and standards.</p>
<p><strong>Credibility</strong>: Because ICOs have no formal framework or protocol, they have no track record and may only have a white paper to back their campaign. On the other hand, IPOs must be verified by several parties and undergo rigorous scrutiny.</p>
<p><strong>Function</strong>: ICO tokens do not grant ownership of a project, though they give their owners other benefits (like the ability to be traded or sold at any time). IPOs represent a portion of ownership in a company through stock purchases and stockholders receive dividend payments as a result.</p>
<p><strong>Lifespan</strong>: Benefits reaped from an ICO may only last a short amount of time –– popular campaigns can last less than a month. IPOs are subject to a lengthy process because of their requirements and may take up to 6 months.</p>
<p><strong>Access</strong>: Anyone can participate in an ICO –– all you need is the currency to begin exchanging. Participating in an IPO is much more challenging and has limited options for collection.</p>
<h2><strong>The Pros and Cons of Using an ICO to Raise Capital</strong></h2>
<p><img class="alignleft wp-image-53550 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16114155/pros-and-cons-1-1.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="850" /></p>
<p>The ICO industry is booming –– over <a href="https://icobench.com/reports/ICO_Market_Analysis_2018.pdf">$11 million</a> was raised in 2018 alone. But before you jump headfirst into this new trend for raising startup capital, carefully consider the pros and cons of using an ICO to avoid putting your company at risk.</p>
<h3><strong>The Pros of an ICO for Small Business</strong></h3>
<p>ICOs offer many startups an easy way to get off the ground and start building their business.</p>
<p>Check out the <strong>benefits of using an ICO</strong> to grow your business:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Ease of use</strong>: <a href="http://thetokenfactory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online services</a> allow anyone to generate crypto tokens for an ICO in seconds, meaning your small business can begin fundraising immediately.</li>
<li><strong>Liquidity</strong>: Token buyers can cash in and out at any time unlike traditional investing, which may keep investors’ money tied up for years.</li>
<li><strong>Minimal oversight</strong>: ICOs are not regulated by any governing body and only require an informal white paper to be used.</li>
<li><strong>Impressive returns</strong>: If the value of tokens purchased during your ICO period climbs above the set price, backers of the ICO can expect a significant return on investment.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>The Cons of an ICO</strong></h3>
<p>While the advantages may be appealing, it’s important to note that the market for ICOs is currently unstable. After several massive climbs in recent years, ICOs are beginning to fall in value, leaving many startups at risk of losing capital.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Significant risk</strong>: More than half of all ICOs fail within 4 months, according to <a href="https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=185119005071011005102106075112018074017047006041059002118104075106085099026027097112025016100118110061032000112011117105095067016080011050064102081026071084122070000013046009076102112064094094118123079122110010089105072001087003104030110110007022091&EXT=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> conducted by Boston College.</li>
<li><strong>Potential fraud</strong>: Because they are unregulated, 80% of ICOs in 2018 turned out to be fraudulent campaigns, according to New York-based ICO advisory firm <a href="http://satisgroup.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Satis Group</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Launch cost</strong>: An estimated <a href="https://www.bitcoinmarketjournal.com/launching-an-ico/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$500,000</a> is needed to launch an ICO campaign, including everything from legal to public relations.</li>
<li><strong>Market stagnation</strong>: While the number of ICOs introduced every year continues to rise, the amount of capital raised is beginning to dwindle.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>How Small Businesses and Startups Can Use an ICO</strong></h2>
<p>It’s safe to say the ICO market is a hot-button topic. From the SEC’s decision on regulations to an ever-changing market, we can expect to see more ICOs in the near future.</p>
<p>If you plan to use an ICO to fund your new project or small business, there are a few things you should keep in mind as you begin mapping out your campaign. For our recommendations and ICO hacks, check out the infographic below.</p>
<p><a id="infographic" name="infographic"></a> <img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-53323" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12103602/ico-ig-5.jpg" alt="" width="1251" height="10361" /></p>
<p>ICOs can be an effective way to raise funds for a startup, new project, or small business. But before you dive into the cryptocurrency world, be sure you know the associated risks of starting an ICO in order to minimize your chances of failure.</p>
<p>There are plenty of <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/guides/business-capital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ways to raise capital</a> for a small business. Business loans, credit, and expert guidance are great ways to get your project off the ground.</p>
<p><span class="SimpleList StandardText">Sources</span></p>
<p><span class="SimpleList StandardText"><a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin Magazine</a> | <a href="https://www.fxempire.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FX Empire</a> | <a href="https://blockgeeks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlockGeeks</a> | <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Investopedia</a> | <a href="https://www.forbes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a> | <a href="https://www.sec.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SEC</a> | <a href="https://coincentral.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coin Central</a> | <a href="https://masterthecrypto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Master the Crypto</a> | <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coin Desk</a> | <a href="https://techdayhq.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Day HQ</a></span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-an-ico/">What is an ICO and How Can You Use One to Grow Your Small Business?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-an-ico/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-59605287272218606552019-04-19T06:24:00.001-07:002019-04-19T06:24:25.613-07:00Self-Employment Taxes and SECA: Tax Obligations for the Self-Employed<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Are Self-Employment Taxes?</h2>
<p>Self-employment taxes are social security and medicare taxes for freelancers, consultants, and other self-employed business owners. Under the Self-Employed Contributions Act (SECA), individuals who don’t have taxes withheld from their wages must pay self-employment taxes. The current self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of net self-employment income.</p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many consultants, freelancers, and other self-employed workers mistakenly believe their tax obligations won’t change much once they leave their 9 to 5 jobs. However, once you become self-employed, you often end up with greater responsibility for <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small business taxes</a>. Since you’re not an employee, you don’t have an employer to deduct taxes from every paycheck. As a result, you’re responsible for calculating taxes, making the required payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and filing the necessary tax forms yourself. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a self-employed business owner, you must pay self-employment taxes on net business income over $400 per year. We’ll cover how self-employment taxes are calculated, how and when to pay the taxes, and the accompanying tax forms that you have to submit to the IRS. Self-employed individuals have more tax responsibilities, but understanding the rules can put you ahead of the game and save you money. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><strong>Who Has to Pay Self-Employment Taxes?</strong></h2>
<p>Virtually everyone who earns income in the United States must pay social security and medicare taxes. If you’re an employee, then your employer will withhold these taxes as <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">payroll taxes</a> from every paycheck. The employer will also pay their own portion of social security and medicare taxes. For employers and employees, these taxes are called <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/fica-tax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FICA taxes</a> after the Federal Insurance Contribution Act.</p>
<p>For self-employed individuals, these are called SECA taxes after the Self-Employed Contributions Act (SECA). There’s no employer-employee share of SECA taxes—the self-employed individual pays the entire share out of their net earnings. Anyone who earns over $400 in self-employment net income in a year must pay self-employment taxes. This is true even if you’re already retired or receiving social security and medicare benefits.</p>
<p>Independent contractors, freelancers, consultants, <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/sole-proprietors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sole proprietors</a>, partners in a partnership, and members of limited liability companies that are taxed as <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-a-disregarded-entity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disregarded entities</a> must pay self-employment taxes. Partners in a partnership and members of a multi-member LLC must pay self-employment taxes on their respective share of the business’s income. In most cases, corporate shareholders who actively work for the corporation are considered employees subject to FICA tax withholding.</p>
<h2><strong>How Much Are Self-Employment Taxes?</strong></h2>
<p>The current self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of net self-employment income. This comes from adding up social security taxes (12.4%) and medicare taxes (2.9%). There’s also a 0.9% medicare surtax on certain high income earners, which goes to fund healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>You must pay 12.4% social security taxes on net annual self-employment income up to $132,900. For example, say you make $220,000 this year in net self-employment earnings. You would pay $16,479.60 in social security taxes. Your earnings above $132,900 aren’t subject to social security taxes.</p>
<p>The medicare tax of 2.9% is required on all net self-employment income. In the same example, you would pay $6,380 in medicare taxes.</p>
<p>There is an additional 0.9% medicare surtax on annual self-employment earnings applies over $200,000 for single tax filers ($250,000 for married filing jointly, and $125,000 for married filing separately). Assuming you’re single filing jointly in the example above, the $20,000 above the $200,000 threshold would be subject to the medicare surtax. That brings the medicare surtax to $180. Add everything up, and your total self-employment tax bill would be $23,039.60. That’s a lot of money, but thankfully, as we’ll explain more below, half of your tax responsibility can be deducted as a business expense.</p>
<h2><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53385 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/15134352/Schedule-SE-lets-you-calculate-your-self-employment-taxes.png" alt="Schedule SE lets you calculate self-employment taxes" width="733" height="502" /></h2>
<p><em>Photo credit: IRS.gov</em></p>
<h2><strong>How to Report and Pay Self-Employment Taxes</strong></h2>
<p>Remember, self-employment taxes are calculated on net self-employment income. You’ll calculate your net self-employment income by starting with <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/schedule-c-instructions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schedule C</a>. On Schedule C, you will report your total business revenue for the year, and then make any allowable <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/21-overlooked-small-business-tax-deductions-you-need-to-know-free-ebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business tax deductions</a>. That will give you your taxable self-employment income that you report on form 1040.</p>
<p>At that point, you must fill out <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sse.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schedule SE</a>, which is a self-employment tax form that will help you figure out how much you owe in self-employment taxes. Add the result of Schedule SE to line 58 of form 1040. Although the 15.3% tax rate might seem pretty hefty, there’s some good news. You get a deduction for half of your self-employment taxes (7.65%). The IRS treats the “employer side” of self-employment taxes as a deductible expense to make taxes more equitable for self-employed individuals. The deduction gets reported on line 27 of form 1040.</p>
<p>Employers must deposit FICA taxes on a periodic basis throughout the year. Since there’s no employer for self-employed individuals, the self-employed must pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis. Form 1040-ES will help you calculate your estimated taxes, and you can send payment through the <a href="https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electronic Federal Tax Payment System</a> (EFTPS).</p>
<p>Here are the upcoming quarterly due dates for self-employment taxes:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>April 15, 2019:</strong> First quarter (covering Jan. 1 to March 31)</li>
<li><strong>June 17, 2019:</strong> Second quarter (covering April 1 to May 31)</li>
<li><strong>September 16, 2019:</strong> Third quarter (covering June 1 to Aug. 31)</li>
<li><strong>January 15, 2020:</strong> Fourth quarter (covering Sept. 1 to Dec. 31)</li>
</ul>
<p>Make sure you put these due dates in your business calendar, to avoid paying penalties and back taxes.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-27296 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/09140216/tax-obligations-for-self-employed-1-2.jpg" alt="self-employment taxes " width="1000" height="500" /></span></p>
<h2><b>Avoid Penalties on Your Self-Employment Taxes</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You should always do your best to meet your self-employed tax obligations. Some of the consequences of not meeting your tax obligations are pretty severe:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Penalties and interest</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. As mentioned above, failure to make estimated tax payments as required can lead to underpayment penalties and interest. The interest continues to accrue until the balance is paid in full, even if you set up a payment plan with the IRS.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Backup withholding. <span style="font-weight: 400;">In some cases, the IRS or your state tax agency may determine you should be subject to backup withholding. When this happens, the tax agency sends a letter to anyone you have done business with in the past, instructing them to withhold a sizable percentage of any future payments due to you. This backup withholding amount must then be remitted by the business to the tax agency.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></strong></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Seizure of assets.</strong> Even though the IRS and your state tax agency prefer to avoid this step, they will enforce this consequence if the amount due is large enough or if you ignore their attempts to collect taxes due. <span style="font-weight: 400;">The most common form of asset seizure is a <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/tax-lien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax lien</a> on your bank account. If you owe a large amount of money for taxes and fail to make—and keep—arrangements to pay those taxes, the IRS and other tax agencies may instruct your bank to forward most or even all of the money in your bank accounts to them.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What’s the best way to a</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">void potential tax pitfalls? </span>Work with a tax professional or <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/certified-public-accountant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">certified public accountant</a> (CPA).<b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A tax professional who is privy to your entire financial situation, not just your business tax situation, can advise you on how to best fulfill your tax obligations. </span></b></p>
<p><img class="alignnone wp-image-53386 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/15134504/shutterstock_1179932260.jpg" alt="Self-employment taxes can be managed in-house or with the help of a tax professional" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>Self-Employment Taxes: From Complicated to Manageable</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a self-employed individual, more of the tax obligations fall on you to do yourself. But self-employment taxes don’t have to get in the way of your small business. Understanding your obligations and proactively planning to fulfill them can move your tax obligations as a self-employed individual from complicated to manageable. It just takes a bit of guidance and planning. If you find yourself needing extra help, don’t hesitate to work with an accountant or tax professional.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/tax-obligations-for-self-employed/">Self-Employment Taxes and SECA: Tax Obligations for the Self-Employed</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/tax-obligations-for-self-employed/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-31720398449153304002019-04-18T09:10:00.001-07:002019-04-18T09:10:15.882-07:00How to Discover What Your Customers Really Want<p>As a business owner, you think about your customers every day. Still, it’s a good idea to make time to regularly reflect on<span class="ellipsis">…</span><span class="read-more-download"><a class="read-more green button" href="https://www.kabbage.com/blog/how-to-discover-what-your-customers-really-want/">Read More</a></span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.kabbage.com/blog/how-to-discover-what-your-customers-really-want/">How to Discover What Your Customers Really Want</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.kabbage.com/blog">Grow With Kabbage</a>.</p>
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from Grow With Kabbage https://www.kabbage.com/blog/how-to-discover-what-your-customers-really-want/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-80960122175690881462019-04-18T08:50:00.001-07:002019-04-18T08:50:18.927-07:00Rideshare Insurance for Drivers: How It Works and Where to Buy It<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Is Rideshare Insurance?</h2>
<p>Rideshare insurance provides liability and damage coverage when driving for Uber, Lyft, or other ride-hailing companies. It provides primary coverage when the app is on and the driver is waiting for a ride request. Rideshare insurance covers gaps in a driver’s personal auto policy and the insurance policies provided by rideshare companies.</p>
</div>
<p>The rideshare industry has grown enormously over the last several years and is expected to be worth <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ride-hailing-industry-expected-to-grow-eightfold-to-285-billion-by-2030-2017-05-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$285 billion by 2030</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. If you drive for Uber, Lyft, or another ride-hailing company, you’re helping to drive that growth and hopefully profiting in the success of the industry. However, you should also make sure that you’re safe while driving and transporting your passengers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your personal auto insurance doesn’t work when you’re driving for hire, so you’ll need</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business insurance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare companies offer insurance coverage while you’re en route to a customer and when the customer is in your car. Rideshare insurance fills the gap left over while your app is on and you’re waiting for a ride request.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ll explain how rideshare insurance works, what it costs, and where to buy it. By purchasing rideshare insurance, you can ensure that you and your customers are protected whenever you’re on the road.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Why Do I Need Rideshare Insurance?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are three different insurance policies that work together when you drive for Uber, Lyft, or another ride-hailing company—your personal auto policy, your rideshare insurance, and the insurance that the rideshare company provides. Usually, the rideshare insurance is simply an add-on or extension to your personal auto policy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each policy kicks in during a different time period:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Period 0:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> You’re driving, and your app is off. Your personal auto insurance covers you during this time.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Period 1:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Your app is on, and you’re waiting for a ride request. The rideshare company’s insurance will provide only liability coverage. For damage coverage, you need rideshare insurance.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Period 2:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> You’ve accepted a ride request and are in transit to pick up the customer. The rideshare company’s insurance will provide coverage.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Period 3: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’re transporting the customer. The rideshare company’s insurance will provide coverage.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Isn’t My Personal Auto Policy Enough?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Personal auto policies aren’t designed to provide coverage when a driver is using the car for business or commercial purposes. That’s why personal auto insurance only works in Period 0 when your app is off. During any other period, you need additional insurance to be covered.</span></p>
<h3><b>Isn’t Uber</b><b>’</b><b>s or Lyft’s Insurance Enough?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Uber, Lyft, and most other major ride-hailing companies provide insurance for their drivers. Many drivers assume that this is all they need to be fully covered while ridesharing. However,</span> <a href="https://www.uber.com/drive/insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Uber insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013080548-Insurance-Policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lyft insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">are in full force only during Periods 2 and 3, when you’re in transit to pick up customers or have customers in your car.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During Period 1, Uber and Lyft provide only limited liability coverage—$50,000 bodily injury per person, $100,000 bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 property damage per accident. If you hit someone with your car and they sue you, Uber and Lyft will pay only up to these limits to cover property damage and bodily injuries to the other person and their vehicle. Uber and Lyft</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">won’t</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">provide collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, or uninsured/underinsured coverage during Period 1.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.allstate.com/tr/car-insurance/what-is-collision-insurance.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Collision coverage</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">helps to repair or replace your car if you’re in an accident with another vehicle or object.</span> <a href="https://www.allstate.com/tr/car-insurance/what-is-comprehensive-auto-insurance.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Comprehensive coverag</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">e helps to repair or replace your car if it’s stolen, vandalized, or damaged in a fire or natural disaster.</span> <a href="https://www.thezebra.com/insurance-guide/uninsured-motorist-coverage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">protects you if someone without insurance or without sufficient coverage limits hits you. You need rideshare insurance to have collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage during Period 1.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rideshare insurance also provides excess coverage during Periods 2 and 3, over and above what the rideshare company’s policy provides.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s another look at each rideshare period and which insurance applies:</span></p>
<table class="BlogTable">
<tbody>
<tr class="BlogTable-header">
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Rideshare Period</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Which Insurance Covers You</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">How Much Coverage</span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Rideshare Period">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>0 – App off</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Which Insurance Covers You">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Personal auto insurance</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="How Much Coverage">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Personal auto policies vary by insurer and state</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Rideshare Period">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>1 – App on, waiting for ride</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Which Insurance Covers You">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Rideshare insurance; limited insurance from rideshare company</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="How Much Coverage">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Rideshare policies vary by insurer and state Uber and Lyft provide $50,000 bodily injury per person, $100,000 bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 property damage per accident</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Rideshare Period">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>2 – Accepted ride request, in transit to customer</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Which Insurance Covers You">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Full coverage from rideshare company; rideshare insurance provides excess coverage</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="How Much Coverage">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">
<p>$1 million liability coverage per accident</p>
<p>$1 million uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident</p>
<p>Comprehensive and collision coverage up to the value of your car if you have these options on your personal auto policy</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Rideshare Period">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>3 – Transporting customer</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Which Insurance Covers You">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Full coverage from rideshare company; rideshare insurance provides excess coverage</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="How Much Coverage">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">
<p>$1 million liability coverage per accident</p>
<p>$1 million uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident</p>
<p>Comprehensive and collision coverage up to the value of your car if you have these options on your personal auto policy</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53602 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16175213/image167.jpg" alt="rideshare insurance" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>Is Rideshare Insurance Available Everywhere?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rideshare insurance is not available in every state. Since this is still a relatively new type of insurance, most insurance companies <a href="#chart">limit coverage to certain states</a>. If rideshare insurance isn’t available in your state, then you’ll need full-fledged</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/commercial-auto-insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">commercial auto insurance</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">while driving for a rideshare company. Some localities, including New York City, require rideshare drivers to purchase commercial auto insurance and apply for a commercial driver’s license.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re driving in a state where you’re unable to find rideshare insurance, the best option is usually to call up your personal auto insurance and ask them whether they’d cover an accident that happens while you’re ridesharing. Some companies might accept claims from rideshare drivers or offer alternatives for gap coverage. If the answer is no, it’s best to either avoid rideshare driving or obtain commercial auto insurance. Fortunately, many insurers are working on expanding rideshare insurance nationwide.</span></p>
<h2><b>Cost of Rideshare Insurance</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annual premiums on rideshare insurance range from about $15 to $120 per year, making this one of the most affordable types of insurance. The cost varies according to the insurer, the specific policy, and the state where you’re driving. The table in the <a href="#chart">“Where to Buy”</a> section gives you an estimate of how much different insurers charge for rideshare insurance.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to your annual premiums, you also should note any deductibles in your policy. A</span> <a href="https://www.progressive.com/answers/car-insurance-deductible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">deductible</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a specific amount of money that you have to pay before the insurance company will pay out benefits. Your personal auto policy and rideshare company policy could have deductibles. Deductibles are most common on collision and comprehensive coverage. During Periods 2 and 3, Uber charges a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage. Lyft charges a $2,500 deductible.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">John Frigo is a digital marketing lead at</span> <a href="https://www.mysupplementstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">MySupplementStore</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and former rideshare driver. Frigo says, “Transporting customers is a lot of responsibility. If someone were to be injured in your car, it could be a costly nightmare of a situation, so it’s best to be covered as much as possible and have your own insurance in addition to whatever the rideshare company provides. I got my rideshare insurance through State Farm. It was only about $15 to $17 extra per month [on top of my personal auto insurance premium].”</span></p>
<h2><b>How to Buy Rideshare Insurance</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you’re in the market for rideshare insurance, the best place to begin is with your personal auto insurer. In most cases, insurers will simply extend your personal auto policy to cover rideshare driving. If your personal auto insurer doesn’t offer rideshare insurance or doesn’t offer it in your state, then you might need to switch your personal auto policy to another firm. Most insurers do not offer stand-alone rideshare coverage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before approaching your auto insurer, be sure to have the following information ready to go to get a quote:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Car year, make, and model</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Which ridesharing companies you drive for</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Average number of monthly rideshare trips and average number of miles driven per trip</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Driving record</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Copy of driver’s license (including for anyone else who’ll be driving the car), vehicle registration, and title</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Policy number for your current personal auto policy</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re unsure about how many miles you’ll be driving for Uber or Lyft, you can always look up your prior trip history to get an estimate or use a</span> <a href="https://therideshareguy.com/day-5-what-are-the-best-apps-to-track-your-mileage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mileage tracking app</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h2><b>Where to Buy Rideshare Insurance</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most of the major car insurance companies provide rideshare insurance.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Tony Arevalo, founder of</span> <a href="https://carsurance.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Carsurance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is an insurance agent and a former Uber and Lyft driver.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Arevalo says, “Drivers are limited to a few large carriers for rideshare coverage. To keep premiums down, get quotes from all the carriers that offer rideshare coverage, and keep your driving record free of violations and claims.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a summary of major insurance companies that offer rideshare insurance, along with where they offer it and how much they charge.</span><br />
<a name="chart" id="chart"></a></p>
<table class="BlogTable">
<tbody>
<tr class="BlogTable-header">
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Insurance Company</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">States Where Coverage Is Available</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Approximate Cost</span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>State Farm</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and WY</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds 15 to 20% to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Geico</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WA, WV, WI, and WY</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Est. $269 per month based on sample quote (covers personal and rideshare driving)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Allstate</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AK, ID, IL, MI, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, UT, WA, WI, and WY</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds $15 to $20 per year to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Progressive</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AL, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NM, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and WY</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Pricing unavailable</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Farmers</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AZ, AR, CA, CO, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, TN, TX, UT, and WI</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds 25% to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Safeco</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AZ, CO, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, OK, OR, TN, UT, WA, and WI</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds less than $10 per month to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Erie</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">DC, IL, IN, KY, MD, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, and WI</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Pricing unavailable</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Metlife</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">CA, CO, IL, TX, and WA</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Pricing unavailable, but coverage applies during all periods</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Mercury</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AZ, AR, CA, NE, NV, NM, OK</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds $0.20 per day to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>MetroMile</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AZ, CA, IL, NJ, OR, PA, VA, and WA</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Base monthly fee plus per-mile fee</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Travelers</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">CO and IL</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Pricing unavailable</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Insurance Company">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>USAA*</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="States Where Coverage Is Available">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY, and WV</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Approximate Cost">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">Adds $6 per month to current premium</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">*USAA only provides insurance for current and former U.S. military members and eligible family members.</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Allstate, Safeco, and Mercury are the most affordable options for rideshare insurance, but their coverage is only available in a handful of states. State Farm is the best option for rideshare insurance in terms of cost</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">availability. The insurance carries over your personal policy deductible and limits while you’re ridesharing. Plus, other personal policy benefits, like emergency roadside assistance and rental car reimbursement, also become available while ridesharing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With so many insurers providing rideshare insurance, you might not know where to start. Car insurance marketplaces like</span> <a href="https://insurify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Insurify</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">help you compare quotes for rideshare insurance from different insurers.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53604 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16175217/image346.png" alt="rideshare insurance" width="1158" height="609" />Photo credit: Insurify.com</span></i></p>
<h2><b>Bottom Line on Rideshare Insurance</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rideshare insurance is essential if you’re driving for Uber, Lyft, or a similar ride-hailing company. No matter how careful you are or how clean your driving history is, there’s always the chance that an accident could occur or another driver could hit you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You should always carry proof of insurance while driving, whether for personal use or ridesharing. If you experience an accident, make sure you report the accident to the police and get the other driver’s insurance information. You should file a claim with your personal auto insurance company, as well as with Uber and Lyft’s insurance provider. The insurance companies will work out who pays what part of the claim.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember, your personal auto policy won’t work while your rideshare app is on, and the insurance provided by Uber and Lyft doesn’t cover all the gaps. To be covered at all times while driving, you should get a ridesharing extension to your personal auto policy. Fortunately, dozens of major insurance companies offer ridesharing coverage, and it’s becoming available in more states over time.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/rideshare-insurance/">Rideshare Insurance for Drivers: How It Works and Where to Buy It</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
<br />
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/rideshare-insurance/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-40697724934820705432019-04-18T07:15:00.001-07:002019-04-18T07:15:27.582-07:00Square Appointments Review for 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re one of the millions of small business owners who uses</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">as your payment processor, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the platform has added</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/appointment-scheduling-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">appointment scheduling software</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to their list of small business-centric products and services.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square Appointments provides service-based business owners a centralized, streamlined method of handling all their customers’ appointments, and their customers with an intuitive booking experience available through any of their devices. On top of its appointment managing capabilities, Square Appointments also provides a few customer- and team-management features, as well as full integration with</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-pos-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square POS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this Square Appointments review, we’ll go into greater detail about the Square Appointments app, and provide you with a few alternative appointment scheduling software options to consider, as well.</span></p>
<h2><b>Square Appointments Features</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square Appointments is a comprehensive, cloud-based appointment scheduling software. Here’s what you can expect with your <a href="https://squareup.com/us/en/software/appointments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Square Appointments</a> account:</span></p>
<h3><b>Online Booking</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Square Appointments, you’ll receive a readymade booking website that can either stand alone or that you can embed onto your existing</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-website" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business website</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">through an integrated widget or booking button. Then, your customers can book, cancel, or modify appointments on their own devices, choosing available time slots within blocks that you’ve already set and with the available employee of their choice. On your end, you can customize your appointments’ duration and payment options, and you also have the option of charging a fee or full repayment for no-shows. </span></p>
<h3><b>Cloud-Based Calendar</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a cloud-based software, Square Appointments inherently automates most of its processes, including syncing with your personal Google Calendar; updating whenever your clients book, cancel, or change an appointment; and sending your customers text or email reminders about their appointments. </span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53586 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16172901/shutterstock_365283422.jpg" alt="square appointments" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>Built-In Point of Sale</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By using Square Appointments as your scheduling software, you’ll also be using Square as your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-a-point-of-sale-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">point of sale system</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—and benefitting from the robust but easy-to-use features included with your Square POS.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The foundation of Square POS, of course, is that this software enables you to accept all major credit and debit cards and other popular payment methods through any conceivable medium—whether that’s in-person via</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/mobile-credit-card-reader" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mobile card reader</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or a fully outfitted register; your business website; your computer’s virtual terminal; or invoices. Whichever Square POS you use, the software will automatically adjust pricing for taxes, tipping, and discounts, too. And if you don’t have a WiFi connection, you can still accept payments through Offline Mode.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of payment acceptance, Square POS is also loaded with a long list of business management features: think advanced reporting, customer feedback garnered through digital receipts, inventory tracking, and integration with Square’s myriad other management tools.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/19/outbound_click?placement_type=orangeCTA')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sign Up for Square for Free</span></button></span></p>
<h3><b>Customer Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When your customer books their first appointment, Square will save their personal and billing information for easy, one-click rebooking. You can also view every customer’s appointment and billing history through their dedicated customer profile.</span></p>
<h3><b>Team Features</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Along with managing your customers, Square Appointments comes with built-in features that let you manage your employees. Square’s cloud-based software means that it automatically syncs with your master calendar, and every employee can view that calendar on their personal devices so everyone is always in the loop about changes and updates. Individual team members will also receive their own confirmations about their appointments. Plus, Square Appointments enables tip and commission tracking, so you can be certain that all of your team members receive the exact payment they’ve earned.</span></p>
<h2><b>Square Appointments Pricing</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square Appointments is totally free for individuals, though solopreneurs using Square as their</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payment-processing-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment processor</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">will be responsible for paying a transaction fee of 2.75% per tap, dip, or swipe.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From there, Square Appointments bumps to $50 per month for businesses with two to five employees, and the transaction fee shifts to 2.5% + $.10 per processed card payment. Businesses with six to 10 employees can use Square Appointments for a $90 monthly fee and that same 2.5% + $0.10 transaction fee. If your business has more than 10 employees, you can contact Square Appointments’ sales team for a custom pricing model.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square Appointments offers a 30-day free trial period for teams, so you can test out this service and see if it works for you before committing to a paid plan.</span></p>
<h2><b>Square Appointments Alternatives</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Square Appointments is a perfectly functional, intuitive, and accessible appointment scheduling software for most service-based business owners, some entrepreneurs may want a scheduling software that has even greater capabilities or that is geared to their particular industry. Here are just four alternative options for you to consider:</span></p>
<h3><b>10to8</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like Square Appointments, <a href="https://10to8.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10to8</a> is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software that covers all the necessary bases: 24/7 booking, calendar syncing, saved customer information, reporting, online payment processing, and more. But 10to8 offers users a few more advanced capabilities than Square does, like:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatically send questionnaires to your clients before their appointment, so you can gather relevant information ahead of time</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Manage room bookings across several locations</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Book and manage house calls</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Take bookings from Facebook (in addition to your website)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customizable booking page</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automated, branded appointment reminders sent through SMS, email, Slack, or Facebook Messenger</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">10to8 offers five plans at increasing prices for businesses of varying sizes. The smallest of small businesses can opt for their most basic plan, which is totally free, and larger businesses can contact sales about the Enterprise plan, which is available for a custom-set price. </span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53585 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16172900/shutterstock_149396321.jpg" alt="square appointments" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>Appointy</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Appointy is a powerful scheduling software that lets your customers book appointments, classes, workshops, events, tours, rides, or whichever other method through which you deliver your services. On top of its comprehensive scheduling capabilities, <a href="https://www.appointy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Appointy</a> is loaded with unique features. Here are just a few:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customers can book through Facebook, your website, or a dedicated booking website that Appointy offers its clients for free</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Integration with Square POS</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customizable deals, discounts, and gift certificates</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Integration with your social media accounts</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Appointy offers four service tiers, and each increases pretty dramatically in available features and capabilities. Here again, the smallest businesses can opt for Appointy’s free option. And at the higher end of the scale, larger businesses with multiple locations can opt for Appointy’s Enterprise service, which costs $99.99 billed monthly, or $79.99 billed yearly. All three of Appointy’s paid tiers offer a 14-day free trial period. </span></p>
<h3><b>MINDBODY</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re in the health, wellness, or fitness industries, you should definitely consider</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/mindbody-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">MINDBODY</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">as your appointment scheduling software of choice, as this booking software provides features and resources geared especially toward businesses like yours. Take a look at some of MINDBODY’s key features:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Set a maximum class size and offer customers the option to join a waitlist</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A complete POS system, including</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/pos-terminal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">POS terminals</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">through Poynt if you need to process payments at your front desk</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">An intuitive customer-facing app, including stored billing details for one-click rebooking</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatic integration with MINDBODY’s</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll software</span></a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Integration with tons of other fitness apps, like ClassPass, Fitbit, and Trainerize</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Integration with marketing tools to attract and engage customers</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, MINDBODY is the priciest option on this list, with its three service tiers costing $129/month, $239/month, or $349/month. As a unique offering, for $249 per month, you can commission MINDBODY to design and build a customized booking app for your business.</span></p>
<h3><b>SimplyBook.Me</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">SimplyBook.Me receives largely positive reviews across major review platforms, with many customers praising its easily navigable interface, friendly customer service, and highly customizable booking solutions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like the other apps on this list, <a href="https://simplybook.me/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SimplyBook.Me</a> is a fully functional, cloud-based booking software that can accept a range of popular payment methods. But this platform’s carries an impressive list of other unique features, like a customizable booking website and the ability to offer your clients add-on products (like coupons and gift cards, sales, memberships, and promotions), as well as an extensive list of advanced custom features. While SimplyBook.Me can work for virtually any service-based business, a few of its features are dedicated toward healthcare businesses, like HIPAA compliance and SOAP note forms.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">SimplyBook.Me offers four service tiers with advancing capabilities:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Free: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Includes 50 bookings and one custom feature</span></b></li>
<li><strong>Basic:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">$9.90/month, includes 100 bookings and three custom features</span></li>
<li><strong>Standard:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">$29.90/month, includes 500 bookings and eight custom features</span></li>
<li><strong>Premium:</strong> $59.90/month, includes 2000 bookings and unlimited custom features</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also contact SimplyBook.Me for a custom appointment scheduling solution at a bespoke price.</span></p>
<h2><b>Is Square Appointments Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All told, you can’t really go wrong by signing up for Square Appointments. As you’d expect from Square, this service is simple to set up, easy to use, and it gives you automatic access to the rest of Square’s comprehensive, tech-forward</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/merchant-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">merchant services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Square Appointments especially makes sense for new or very small businesses: As long as you’re small enough to make the cut, this service will be completely free, and it offers you and your customers all the foundational tools you need to seamlessly manage your appointments.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, it never hurts to consider your other options, too—and 10to8, Appointy, and MINDBODY are just three, reliable appointment scheduling software that can potentially offer your business even more capabilities than Square can. Whether it’s one of the four appointment scheduling apps we mentioned here, or one of the hundreds we didn’t, you should always take advantage of your software’s free trial period, if it’s available. That way, you can test our your service and see if it works for you, your staff, and your customers before committing.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-appointments/">Square Appointments Review for 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-appointments/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-82627122929249192772019-04-18T06:29:00.001-07:002019-04-18T06:29:37.594-07:00Principal Place of Business: What Is It and Where Is Yours?<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>Definition of Principal Place of Business</h2>
<p>A principal place of business is your company’s primary location. It is often where your books are kept and the location where your leadership team is based. The IRS allows you to take certain deductions, depending on the location of your principal place of business.</p>
<p>When you operate in different locations, it can be confusing to determine your principal place of business. Some businesses have multiple store locations in different cities or states, and some smaller businesses operate out of a home or spend most of their time on the road visiting customers.</p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In fact, with the recent surge in individuals working for on-demand service companies like Uber and TaskRabbit, more and more taxpayers are faced with the challenge of trying to figure out where exactly is their principal place of business.</span></p>
<p>But knowing your principal place of business has important <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accounting</a> and tax implications. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of knowing your principal place of business, and how to determine yours.</p>
<h2><strong>Why You Need to Know Your Principal Place of Business</strong></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why is your principal place of business important? Properly defining your principal place of business affects the following:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/21-overlooked-small-business-tax-deductions-you-need-to-know-free-ebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax deductions</a> you can claim on your tax return. Depending on where you operate your business, you may be able to take deductions for certain expenses.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The type of <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business taxes</a> you are required to pay in the different places you operate in. From state taxes to employee income tax, what you owe will depend on where your principal place of business is located. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The legal jurisdiction your company falls under and which court will hear legal matters involving your company.</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s take a closer look at how your principal place of business impacts your deductions and taxes. </span></p>
<h2><b>Deductions Based on Principal Place of Business</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can deduct the expenses you incur to maintain the locations of your business, whether you rent or own the property. If you operate three retail stores for your business, for example, you can deduct the costs to maintain all three stores. But if you also work out of your home, you might be able to deduct costs to maintain your home if you can establish that it is your principal place of business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IRS lets you deduct certain expenses if you use your home to conduct business and you meet certain tests. According to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-587" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS Publication 587</a>, to qualify for this deduction you must consider:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The relative importance of the activities conducted at each location</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The amount of time spent at each location</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you use part of your home exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities for your business</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you have another fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities for your business</span></li>
</ul>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-43207" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/15165224/shutterstock_794978530-1.jpg" alt="A home office as a principal place of business" width="1000" height="600" /></p>
<h3><strong>Can You Deduct a Home Office?</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your business operates three locations but does most of the administrative and management work such as bookkeeping, scheduling, and management activities from an <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/home-business-tax-deductions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">office in your home</a>, you might be able to deduct some of your taxes. First, it’s important to understand whether the office in your home is used exclusively for business purposes. If so, you can deduct some of the costs associated with keeping up your house, such as mortgage interest, insurance, real estate taxes, repairs, and utilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The key to determining the principal place of business is where most of the administrative or management activities are performed. Generally, if you have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities, you can deduct your home office. </span></p>
<h3><strong>Special Deduction Considerations</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IRS has special rules for those who conduct business on the road or are away from their homes for a significant amount of time. For example, if you conduct administrative or management activities from a hotel room or from your car, this won’t necessarily disqualify you from being able to take the deduction. Neither will hiring an outside company, such as a bookkeeper, to perform these activities outside of your home.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are other tests and requirements associated with this deduction that you’ll want to talk over with your qualified tax professional when considering whether you’re eligible to take the deduction.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other deductions that may be affected by your principal place of business are travel expenses. There are special rules regarding the distance between places that you work and your “</span><a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html#en_US_2016_publink100022605" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tax home</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” that can affect whether some costs are deductible.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Principal Place of Business and Taxes </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s also important to establish your principal place of business in order to determine which state and local authorities require you to pay tax and the types of taxes you’re required to pay. Many states require that you collect and <a href="https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog/2015/09/what-happens-when-you-collect-but-dont-remit-sales-tax.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remit sales tax</a> and pay income tax if you conduct business in any capacity within their borders. But other states don’t have the same requirement if you spend an insignificant amount of time there or your income from the state is less than a certain amount.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You need to know your principal place of business in order to calculate the amount of income tax to pay to each state where you file. Typically, you’re required to report all of your income on the tax return for your home state (the state you have determined as your principal place of business), but you can take a credit for any taxes paid to other states, which reduces the tax you owe. Make sure to check with each state to determine which taxes you need to pay.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Where your employees work can also affect the types of taxes you pay. If you hire remote employees and they work in different states, you need to register as an employer in those states and remit <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">payroll taxes</a>. And if you provide services in surrounding areas outside of your principal place of business, you need to be aware of the laws and obligations that you might have.</span></p>
<h2><strong>Principal Place of Business and Courts</strong></h2>
<p>The United States Supreme Court <a href="https://www.robinskaplan.com/resources/articles/u-s-supreme-court-defines-principal-place-of-business-for-diversity-jurisdiction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defines</a> principal place of business as the following:</p>
<p><em>“‘Principal place of business’ is best read as referring to the place where a corporation’s officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities. It is the place that Courts of Appeals have called the corporation’s “nerve center.” And in practice it should normally be the place where the corporation maintains its headquarters—provided that the headquarters is the actual center of direction, control, and coordination, i.e., the “nerve center,” and not simply an office where the corporation holds its board meetings (for example, attended by directors and officers who have traveled there for the occasion).”</em></p>
<p>This is similar to the IRS’s definition of a principal place of business requiring exclusive and regular use. However, know that if your business ever needs to go to court, your principal place of business will be determined in accordance with the Supreme Court’s definition.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-52379" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/29140756/shutterstock_144544808.jpg" alt="principal place of business" width="1500" height="1000" /></p>
<h2><strong>Principal Place of Business: Special Situations</strong></h2>
<p>There are a couple of situations where your principal place of business might not be so obvious. Let’s take a closer look at some of those instances.</p>
<h3><strong>Virtual Office</strong></h3>
<p>A virtual office is a service that allows a workforce to operate remotely by providing a range of necessary business functions through the internet, such as a mailing address, phone number, and office space which you can rent on an as-needed basis. Because virtual offices provide your business with a physical address, it is fair to wonder if that means it can be used as the principal place of business.</p>
<p>However, given that a business does not typically carry out business activities via the location provided by the virtual office, it should follow that a <a href="https://easycompanies.com.au/hc/can-a-virtual-address-be-used-as-the-registered-office-address-and-place-of-business-address/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual office is not sufficient as a principal place of business</a>. Those who operate out of a virtual office are better off listing their home address as their principal place of business.</p>
<h3><strong>Registered Office</strong></h3>
<p>A <a href="https://www.upcounsel.com/registered-office-vs-principal-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">registered office</a> is a physical location in which all of a corporation’s legal documents are stored and the location where any process of service is served (i.e. court summons). The law requires that the registered office be located in the same state in which the business is incorporated, and have a registered agent present during normal business hours to receive paperwork on behalf of the business.</p>
<p>The registered office can also be the principal place of business, although it doesn’t need to be. An example of a registered office that is also a principal place of business is a storefront where legal documents are kept, managers operate, and business is carried out on a daily basis.</p>
<h2><b>Work With a Tax Professional to Determine Your Principal Place of Business</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The best resource you can have as a business owner trying to determine your principal place of business and how it affects the taxes you owe is a qualified tax professional. Working with a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/certified-public-accountant" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CPA</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/enrolled-agent" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">enrolled agent</span></a>, <span style="font-weight: 400;">or another qualified tax pro will help you navigate the federal and state tax laws and make sure that you stay compliant. </span></p>
<h2><strong>Getting the Most from Your Principal Place of Business</strong></h2>
<p>Understanding your principal place of business can help you identify tax opportunities and stay compliant with the law. There are pros and cons to different types of principal places of business, so be sure to consult with a tax professional before creating yours. With your principal place of business sorted, you can focus on larger matters related to the success of your business.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/principal-place-of-business/">Principal Place of Business: What Is It and Where Is Yours?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/principal-place-of-business/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-38518957005735475972019-04-17T08:39:00.001-07:002019-04-17T08:39:58.962-07:00TriNet Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>TriNet Payroll Review</h2>
<p>TriNet is a professional employer organization that provides a range of services, including payroll processing. The payroll platform comes with tax administration and a robust employee portal. It works best when paired with TriNet’s other services, particularly benefits administration and expense and time tracking.</p>
</div>
<p>TriNet provides small and medium-sized businesses with a wide range of workforce management solutions, including <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/hr-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">human resources</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and benefits administration, compliance services, applicant tracking, performance management, and more. In this review we are going to focus on one of TriNet’s most popular services—</span><a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-services-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll processing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the TriNet website, TriNet handles payroll for over</span> <a href="https://www.trinet.com/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">325,000 employees</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">across the United States, and processed $37 billion in payroll in 2017. TriNet also provides tailored payroll solutions for a variety of different business types, including finance, manufacturing, marketing, nonprofits, retail, technology businesses, and more.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So does all that variety and experience make TriNet a good fit for your business’s payroll needs? Well, let’s find out.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16102113/image166.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53525 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16102113/image166.jpg" alt="trinet-payroll" width="1500" height="1001" /></a></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll: How It Works</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet Payroll is a cloud-hosted payroll solution that allows you to manage and process payroll via an online portal or the TriNet mobile app. As we mentioned, TriNet offers payroll solutions by business type, as well as by the size of your business. TriNet couples their payroll service with a few other nifty features to make managing labor costs as intuitive as possible.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here is what you can expect when you sign up for TriNet Payroll:</span></p>
<h3><b>Setup</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet has a fairly standard onboarding process. To get started with payroll you’ll need to provide some basic business information and link your business bank account to the software. You’ll then need to input all of your employees’ payroll information, including tax and benefits deductions and their personal bank account information if they elect for direct deposit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next you’ll arrange your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll schedule</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. TriNet allows you to run payroll weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly (twice per month), and monthly. You can also arrange different pay schedules for different employee groups. For instance, you can pay your salaried employees on a semi-monthly basis and your hourly employees on a weekly basis. Remember that whichever payroll schedule you choose will affect the deadline by which you have to submit payroll.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you sign up for TriNet Payroll, you’ll also get a dedicated account manager who can assist you with some of these tasks. Adding new employees to the payroll system is as easy as uploading their</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/i-9-form" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">I-9</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and W-4 information. TriNet will take care of filing and notifying the appropriate state and federal authorities.</span></p>
<h3><b>Dashboard</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you are finished setting up your account, you will be directed to your dashboard. This is where you can manage payroll along with a variety of other HR functions (depending on what you sign up for). The dashboard is broken up into several components: You can see any open “tasks” you have to complete, your next deadline for submitting payroll, upcoming deadlines for employees (i.e. filing for benefits), holidays, and more.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sidebar along the left-hand side of the screen gives you access to other HR tools, like your benefits administrator. This is also where you can access your payroll reports, compliance center, employee handbook, discrimination and sexual harassment trainings, and software integration center. At the bottom of the page are links to TriNet’s customer support center and</span> <a href="https://www.trinet.com/insights/type/blog" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">blog</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h3><b>Running Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the top components on your dashboard is the payroll center. Every time you log on, it will tell you how many days you have until you need to run your next payroll. Clicking into the payroll center will bring you to a screen where you can see a list of all your employees, including</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/independent-contractor-vs-employee" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">contractors</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The payroll process is as simple as entering employee hours worked since the previous pay period. If you sign up for TriNet’s time tracking tool, this information will be automatically imported (more on this later). TriNet also has options for entering in overtime and bonuses. Depending on the information you provide, TriNet will automatically determine what each employee is owed this pay period, as well as any deductions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After all employee information is entered—if all looks good to you—you can select the option to run payroll. Payroll will then be processed in accordance with your payroll schedule. If you need to make any changes after choosing to run payroll, you can contact your account manager, although they may charge you an additional fee.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of payment options, TriNet facilitates direct deposit and the delivery of physical checks. Employees can also opt to have their wages deposited onto a debit card through a partnership TriNet has with the financial services company</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Rapid</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet delivers e-paystubs to employees at the end of each pay period so they can see a breakdown of their paycheck, including tax and benefits deductions and retirement contributions.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16103327/shutterstock_6702107172.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53528 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16103327/shutterstock_6702107172.jpg" alt="trinet-payroll" width="1000" height="667" /></a></p>
<h3><b>Tax Administration</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you run payroll, TriNet will automatically calculate and withhold federal, state, and local</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payroll-taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll taxes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and electronically submit withholdings. TriNet can also handle your payroll administration tax documents, including electronic W-2 preparation and delivery at the end of the year. Employees can choose to import their W-2s directly into TurboTax. TriNet will even manage</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/futa-tax" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">unemployment taxes</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and claims for you.</span></p>
<h3><b>Employee Portal</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When your business contracts with TriNet, all your employees get access to a self-service employee portal. From here they can view their latest paystub, see their payment history, view a breakdown of where their money is going (i.e. earnings, taxes, benefits), adjust their direct deposit information, update tax information, download their W-2, and view other employment forms and policies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Depending on the additional services you sign up for, employees can view and elect specific</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/fringe-benefits" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">benefits</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, track PTO, submit expenses, view performance reviews, and see the company directory and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-organizational-chart" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">organizational chart</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All this information is also accessible from the TriNet mobile app. One added benefit of using the app is that it stores a digital version of your health insurance card for easy access.</span></p>
<h3><b>Reporting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the reporting portal on your dashboard you can view over 20 standard and customizable reports to help you gain insight into your labor costs. View reports on job costing, compensation, turnover ratio, and more. Reports can be segmented by department or individual employee, and all reports can be exported to your</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">accounting software</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or downloaded as a PDF, Excel spreadsheet, or CSV file.</span></p>
<h3><b>Support</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned earlier, all payroll subscribers receive a dedicated account manager who can answer their payroll-related questions. This can be particularly useful when it comes to matters of compliance, such as your state laws regarding maternity leave, disability insurance, or working with contractors and freelancers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If it’s outside of business hours, TriNet’s aforementioned blog and support center feature guides on how to perform essential functions. TriNet also has offices in 20 states across the country, and routinely hosts in-person events at its offices where customers can learn more about the TriNet platform and general HR best practices. Find your nearest</span> <a href="https://www.trinet.com/locations" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet office</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h3><b>Integrations and Add-Ons</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet is really a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/professional-employer-organization" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">professional employer organization</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(PEO), meaning they provide a wide range of services beyond payroll that may come in handy for small and medium sized businesses. Let’s take a look at a few of those offerings now:</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">HR Services</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet can provide your business with a team of industry-specific HR specialists to assist you in a myriad of functions, from recruiting and onboarding to performance tracking, growth and development, and employee relations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the back-end, TriNet provides you with platforms where you can manage recruitment, provide employee feedback, and give employees access to over 500 online educational programs.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Benefits Administration</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PEOs like TriNet can typically secure comprehensive benefits packages at affordable rates by grouping their co-employees from all of their client companies together. TriNet in particular offers medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance, retirement plans, flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, gym membership discounts,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/employee-assistance-program-eap" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">employee assistance programs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and more.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the compliance side, TriNet can help you navigate requirements related to the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, disability,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/workers-compensation-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">workers compensation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and state filings.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Expense Management</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet offers its own expense management tool that allows you to import expenses from a bank account, credit card statement, or by snapping a picture of a receipt from the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet Expense app</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The app also comes with a mileage tracker, and expenses can be reimbursed by importing the charges to your payroll platform. Furthermore, expense info can be exported from TriNet Payroll to your accounting software for easier bookkeeping.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Time and Attendance</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With TriNet’s time and attendance tool, you can generate work schedules by day, week, or month, add breaks that align with your scheduling policies, and update schedules to optimize their staffing mix. Employees can also request time off from their employee portal, and all scheduling information is imported into payroll.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16103334/shutterstock_745054567.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53529 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16103334/shutterstock_745054567.jpg" alt="trinet-payroll" width="1000" height="581" /></a></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll Price</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet is entirely quote-based and does not provide any specific pricing information on its website. On the software review website</span> <a href="https://www.g2.com/products/trinet/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">G2 Crowd</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, TriNet ranks in the 73rd percentile in terms of HR software price.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cost is impacted by the number of employees in your company, how often you plan to run payroll, and the selection of additional services you plan to use with TriNet (i.e. benefits, HR). Fees are assessed on a per employee basis, every time you run payroll.</span></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll Pros</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are what we see as the benefits of working with TriNet Payroll:</span></p>
<h3><b>Range of Services</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With a PEO you get so much more than just payroll services, and if you want to get your money’s worth, you should take advantage of that. TriNet offers a broad range of services that are size and industry-specific—that’s not something you get with most payroll service providers.</span></p>
<h3><b>Risk Mitigation</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another thing you get when working with an organization that provides tailored solutions for specific industries is people who know how to keep your business in compliance with the law. TriNet provides you with a dedicated account manager for all of your services—that means one for payroll, one for benefits, and one for HR. These people can be your go-to resource whenever you have any compliance-related questions, allowing you to make informed decisions with peace of mind.</span></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll Cons</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some drawbacks to using TriNet for payroll:</span></p>
<h3><b>Clunky UI</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A repeated comment amongst users is that they find the TriNet platform to be confusing, buggy, and prone to glitches. In particular, users said they found TriNet’s reporting portal difficult to use, and that integrating the TriNet platform with other software is a slow process.</span></p>
<h3><b>Price</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re just looking for a payroll solution, TriNet can be pretty pricey. That’s because customers are encouraged to bundle their payroll service with other TriNet products. The real value comes from being able to have so many services under one provider. There are cheaper options available for those just looking to process payroll.</span></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll: User Reviews</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On major review websites, here is what users have to say about TriNet:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><a href="https://www.g2.com/products/trinet/reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G2 Crowd</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 4 stars out of 5</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><a href="https://www.trustradius.com/products/trinet/reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TrustRadius</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 8.1 stars out of 10</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><a href="https://www.trustpilot.com/review/trinet.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TrustPilot</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 2 stars out of 5</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><a href="https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/north-reading/profile/new-machinery/trinet-group-inc-0021-388964" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Better Business Bureau</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> Not accredited</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The reviews are a bit all over the map. In positive reviews, customers praise TriNet for providing every service needed for their business. In particular, they are happy with the range of benefits they have access to, and how payroll is processed accurately and on time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In negative reviews, customers say TriNet is overpriced for its level of service, and that account managers sometimes provide incorrect information. Others reported glitches that caused errors in payroll and PTO tracking.</span></p>
<h2><b>TriNet Payroll Alternatives</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you don’t think TriNet is a good fit for your business, here are some alternatives to consider:</span></p>
<h3><b>Wave Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re looking for a payroll service provider with a bunch of additional services that you don’t have to pay for, consider</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/wave-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wave Payroll</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Wave provides a full-service payroll platform and combines it with free accounting and invoicing software, giving you one place to manage all of your incoming and outgoing money. Wave Payroll starts at $39 per month plus $6 per employee you run payroll for. Note that Wave only offers tax administration in six states.</span></p>
<h3><b>ADP Payroll</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to work with a large payroll service provider that caters to small businesses, consider</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/adp-payroll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatic Data Processing</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(ADP). ADP offers four different payroll-specific plans, each catering to different sized businesses with specific needs. But since ADP is a PEO, you also get access to an array of additional services, like you do with TriNet. Also like TriNet, ADP pricing is quote-based.</span></p>
<h2><b>Is TriNet Payroll Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">TriNet can work for most businesses, but it makes for a really attractive option if you need more than just payroll. That’s because TriNet can provide a broad range of services and expertise that are size and industry-specific. If you’re just looking for a payroll solution, there are likely cheaper options out there. If you need an integrated workforce management solution, TriNet is a solid option.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/trinet-payroll/">TriNet Review 2019: Features, Pricing, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/trinet-payroll/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-17224417545848724172019-04-17T07:39:00.001-07:002019-04-17T07:39:15.219-07:00Brightpearl Review 2019: Features, Cost, Alternatives<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Is Brightpearl?</h2>
<p>Brightpearl is an omnichannel retail management system that consolidates the point of sale experience on all of your different sales channels onto a single platform. It also offers additional features like an accounting platform and warehouse management system.</p>
</div>
<p>Today, many retailers are becoming omnichannel sellers in order to better meet customers where they’re at. This means they make their products available for purchase in a variety of places, such as in a physical store, online, over the phone, and on various ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Having to manage sales orders from so many different places can be a challenge for a business owner—you need to oversee fulfillment, update inventory, place purchase orders, and transfer sales information into your accounting system.</p>
<p>There almost aren’t enough hours in the day.</p>
<p>Enter Brightpearl: A retail operations software that allows business owners to consolidate their omnichannel sales strategy onto a single platform. Brightpearl launched in 2007 after co-founder Chris Tanner found there wasn’t a <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/merchant-service-providers" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">merchant services provider</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">on the market that could handle a multi-channel sales approach. Today Brightpearl works with over 1,400 retailers and has processed over $2.5 billion in sales.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s take a closer look at what</span> <a href="https://www.brightpearl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">does to see if it can help your retail business.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53512 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16100317/image1124.png" alt="brightpearl" width="996" height="554" />Photo credit: Brightpearl</span></i></p>
<h2><b>What Is Brightpearl?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl is a complex piece of software that consolidates the</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-a-point-of-sale-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">point of sale</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(POS) experience on all of your individual sales channels in one cloud-hosted platform. So if, for example, you receive an order through your Shopify store and via the Amazon Marketplace, both of those orders will be routed through Brightpearl, giving you one place to process payment, arrange shipping, and update inventory.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl is so complex that when you sign up you’ll be paired with a project team comprised of a team manager and implementation consultant. Even then, implementation can take as long as 90 days. Your team will create an implementation plan, migrate all of your data onto the Brightpearl platform, configure your system, prepare training and educational materials for you and your staff, test and launch your platform, and then optimize your system after launch to make sure it’s working the way you want it to.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl offers solutions that are tailored to your business’s needs. On its website, Brightpearl breaks down how it can help businesses that sell primarily online (including</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-a-dropshipping-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dropshippers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">), wholesale, or at a physical location. There are also unique solutions based on the ecommerce channels you use, including</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/bigcommerce-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BigCommerce</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Magento,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/ebay-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">eBay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<h2><b>Brightpearl: Capabilities</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl’s list of capabilities is long. Let’s try and touch on everything this software can do:</span></p>
<h3><b>Sales Order Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sales order management means being able to take sales orders from all your channels and manage them in one place. This is the heart of the Brightpearl product. From your platform you can automatically process orders, allocate inventory, route orders to the right warehouse, and invoice sales. You can also assign custom order statuses to track orders from creation to completion, place items on backorder, manually enter orders offline, and send quotes and order confirmations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the exact number of orders Brightpearl can process per hour or per day varies by the sales channels you use, the system is designed to process high order volumes.</span></p>
<h3><b>Inventory Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On your Brightpearl platform you get full visibility into inventory levels at any location. Inventory levels are automatically updated in real time based on inventory sales, warehouse-to-warehouse transfers, returns, and restocks. Other features include the ability to change pricing from your platform and track product assembly and raw material inventory.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl also has an “inventory planning” suite where you can access information about how your inventory is performing to help you make more cost-effective decisions. In the inventory planning suite you can view reports on historical sales data, product cost, seasonality, out of stock periods, average sales, and sales trends to inform future stock orders and ensure they are aligned with customer demand. You can also create individual inventory dashboards to track inventory KPIs by date range.</span></p>
<h3><b>Order Fulfillment</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Businesses can arrange shipping and fulfillment using Brightpearl’s 25 different automation conditions, allowing shipping rates and delivery time to be automatically determined based on the product order and customer location. You can also track and manage inventory in a store, warehouse, at a supplier, or all of the above. Brightpearl integrates with a variety of shipping management tools (ShipStation, ShipTheory) that allow you to generate shipping labels, and you can also configure cost breaks for your different shipping methods, or adjust price according to weight and quantity.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53522 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16101729/shutterstock_696477250.jpg" alt="brightpearl" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>Order Purchasing</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes time to replenish stock, Brightpearl makes it easy to place purchase orders to your vendors. You can onboard your suppliers, order new stock, and complete payment all from your platform. You can also set automation conditions so that certain items are automatically reordered when stock counts are low. Your system also tracks unit costs, margins, and revenue separately for each vendor.</span></p>
<h3><b>Warehouse Management</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re a large retailer you need to work closely with your warehouse. To that end, Brightpearl offers a warehouse management system that allows you to keep track of the items moving in and out of your warehouse and reduce mispicks and other warehouse errors. It works by connecting with your sales order management interface to track new orders, returns, and corrections. You can also track your inventory stock counts, assign barcodes to specific products, locations, and shipments, and reconcile deliveries and returns.</span></p>
<h3><b>Retail Accounting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl provides an accounting platform that integrates with your other systems to allow you to track the value of your inventory, your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/cost-of-goods-sold" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cost of goods sold</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(COGS), and your profit margins on goods sold. Brightpearl will also update your profit and loss statement and balance sheet with every invoice, payment, processed shipment, and inventory order. You can also reconcile bank statements, track accounts payable and receivable, and perform accounting in multiple currencies. If you’d rather use your own accounting software, Brightpearl integrates with most major providers.</span></p>
<h3><b>Reporting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl allows you to generate a variety of reports that can provide you with insight into your business’s performance across all your sales channels. You can generate reports on accounts payable and receivable, purchase orders, inventory replenishment, product performance, profit margins, and more.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payments</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl does not process payments on its own, but it does integrate with a variety of third-party payment gateways, including</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/authorize-net-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Authorize.Net</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/braintree-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Braintree</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Sage Pay, PayPal,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/worldpay-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Worldpay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, USAePay,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/stripe-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stripe</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and iZettle. You can also accept phone order transactions through Brightpearl’s virtual terminal, or send custom invoices directly from your payments platform. Other features include the ability to save cards on file, set custom permissions for your staff, and process in-person payments using Brightpearl point of sale (more on this later).</span></p>
<h3><b>Customer Relationship Management (CRM)</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Access to your customers’ full transaction history and personalize your marketing communications across all your sales channels with Brightpearl’s</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/crm-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CRM</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">database. From here you can store customer contact information, view their order history, manage payment options, and segment your customers with customizable tags. You can then arrange and automate marketing communications via an integration with MailChimp.</span></p>
<h3><b>Point of Sale</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of everything else, Brightpearl has a point of sale app that can run on iOS devices to process in-person transactions as well as online sales. The POS syncs all your sales, inventory, customer, and payment information in real-time, and allows you to set custom permissions for different members of your staff, apply discounts, refunds, and store credit, send digital receipts, and take payments offline. The POS system also integrates wirelessly with POS hardware, and provides preferential rates for card payments using</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/crm-for-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PayPal Here</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">hardware.</span></p>
<h3><b>Integrations</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aside from the ones we’ve already mentioned, Brightpearl integrates with a variety of other software applications that can extend the functionality of your platform. In the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl app store</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">you can choose from marketing, accounting, shipping, inventory, and reporting tools.</span></p>
<h3><b>Customer Service</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to the implementation and training services you get when you sign up, you can also contact customer support during regular business hours via phone and live chat. On its website, Brightpearl says its average response time to customer inquiries is 26 minutes. There is also 24/7 email support.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl also operates a</span> <a href="https://www.brightpearl.com/resource-center/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">resource center</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">with a variety of guides and how-tos, plus a community forum where you can talk to other Brightpearl users.</span></p>
<h2><b>Brightpearl Price</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl pricing is entirely quote-based and depends on the specific needs of the business. While the website does not list any specific pricing information, in reviews users say Brightpearl charges a flat monthly fee based on the level of service the business is getting and the number of users on the account.</span></p>
<h2><b>Brightpearl Pros</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given everything Brightpearl has to offer, here are what we see as its benefits:</span></p>
<h3><b>Consolidation</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl consolidates all of your sales channels in a single place, which makes managing your business a whole lot easier. Furthermore, Brightpearl learns how your business operates and then automates essential tasks, like purchase orders and order fulfillment. These types of functions allow you to spend less time performing back office tasks and more time building your business.</span></p>
<h3><b>Reporting</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl provides all of the functionality of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—a system that gives access to</span> <a href="https://www.oracle.com/applications/erp/what-is-erp.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">enterprise data from multiple activities</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">using common constructs, definitions, and user experiences. In the past, ERPs were reserved for large businesses that could afford to host them. But with the advent of cloud computing, they have become more widely available to businesses of all sizes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl’s reporting functions are that of an ERP, and it is designed to work with businesses of all types. In reviews, users rave about the level of insight Brightpearl is able to provide into their business operations—from inventory to sales history, and much more.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-53523" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16101839/shutterstock_2313764801.jpg" alt="brightpearl" width="1000" height="699" /></p>
<h2><b>Brightpearl Cons</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The one main drawback with Brightpearl is fairly obvious, given how complex it is:</span></p>
<h3><b>Ease of Use</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A system that does as much as Brightpearl is going to take awhile to learn how to use, even with customized onboarding and training. In reviews, users have reported feeling overwhelmed by everything that the system does. With any point of sale you are going to face a learning curve, but Brightpearl’s range of functions amplifies it.</span></p>
<h2><b>Brightpearl User Reviews</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here is how Brightpearl ranks on the major review websites:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.g2.com/products/brightpearl/reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>G2 Crowd</strong></span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 4.1 stars out of 5</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.trustradius.com/products/brightpearl/reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>TrustRadius</strong></span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 7.4 stars out of 10</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.brightpearl.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>TrustPilot</strong></span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 4 stars out of 5</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.capterra.com/p/124180/Brightpearl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Capterra</strong></span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>:</strong> 4.5 stars out of 5</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some positives comments users made:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My business has grown hugely over the last three years with turnover up 400% and profit up 500%. I can honestly say this would not have been possible without Brightpearl. By streamlining almost all of our business processes, I have been able to keep staff to an absolute minimum as turnover has grown. Brightpearl has also allowed us to add sales channels, which we simply would not otherwise be able to manage without more staff.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><a href="https://www.g2.com/users/36eefc4b-d064-46b1-abbb-e482d2f77315" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dick H.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(G2 Crowd)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“With Brightpearl we can accurately see profit margins down to order level so we can discount where possible to offer the best prices. Brightpearl’s analytics gives us the ability to create customizable reports that deliver the insights we need to make performance-driven business decisions right down to the product level.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><a href="https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/brightpearl-2016-08-23-11-27-37" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gary Murray</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(TrustRadius)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some negative comments users had:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“While I love the accuracy of reporting, orders, order history, and tracking, there are a lot of steps involved in each process. It’s not difficult to learn, but can be tedious.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><a href="https://www.g2.com/products/brightpearl/reviews/brightpearl-review-103267" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Katie K.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(G2 Crowd)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A more flexible licensing structure would be great so small businesses can tailor access to a select number of employees without having to pay a lot extra for having access for more people than they need.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><a href="https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/brightpearl-2016-07-29-08-29-28" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuart Withers</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(TrustRadius)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Little quirks in Brightpearl are horrible to get resolved. For example, if an employee who also had a Brightpearl login placed an order for himself on our POS, Brightpearl for the longest time would not import the order if the employee used the same email on the POS as on their Brightpearl login. When we contacted tech support, they said, ‘That’s just how the software works.’ There were many examples of this answer for problems. I believe these problems are getting resolved, but slowly, and the poor attitude still rankles.”</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/brightpearl-2016-07-12-11-08-15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Keller</a> (TrustRadius)</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><b>Brightpearl Alternatives</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brightpearl is ideal for multi-channel selling, but if you’re looking for something a little simpler, here are some alternatives to consider:</span></p>
<h3><b>Lightspeed Retail POS</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lightspeed Retail offers some omnichannel functions while still being more of a basic POS system. Prices start at $99 per month plus hardware costs, and with that you get in-house payment processing, a management interface for inventory, customers, and employees, plus</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/lightspeed-pos" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lightspeed</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">syncs with your ecommerce website, allowing you to manage both your physical and virtual stores in one place. Again, its functions aren’t as expansive as Brightpearl, but it offers some of the functionality at a lower cost.</span></p>
<h3><b>Square for Retail</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to really simplify things, try</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-for-retail" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square for Retail</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This is a retail version of Square’s POS software, and includes payment processing, inventory, customer, and employee management, plus reporting tools. It also works with Square’s popular POS hardware, and you get favorable payment processing rates. It doesn’t offer omnichannel functionality like Brightpearl and Lightspeed, but at $60 per month it can work for small brick-and-mortar retailers.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/75/outbound_click')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sign Up for Square for Retail</span></button></span></p>
<h2><b>Is Brightpearl Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We recommend using Brightpearl if you are a retailer who sells your products through at least two different sales channels. Overall, the more sales channels you use, the more functionality Brightpearl can offer to you and your business.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Generally speaking, businesses that sell on multiple sales channels are past the early growth stages, meaning Brightpearl is probably not a good fit for small business owners just starting out. If that’s you, we’d recommend first establishing a foothold on one specific sales channel. As your business grows and you expand to other sales channels, you should then consider an omnichannel product like Brightpearl.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/brightpearl/">Brightpearl Review 2019: Features, Cost, Alternatives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
<br />
<br />
from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/brightpearl/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-67423101827486746022019-04-17T06:54:00.001-07:002019-04-17T06:54:10.227-07:00Cash Flow Statement: What It Is, Example, and How to Prepare One<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>What Is a Cash Flow Statement?</h2>
<p>A cash flow statement is a financial statement that shows the flow of cash into and out of your business during a specific period of time. The cash flow statement shows how much cash a company receives and spends on operating, investing, and financing activities. Using this financial statement, you can see whether a company is generating more cash than it is using.</p>
</div>
<p>Tracking your company’s cash balance can feel like an overwhelming task—but it doesn’t have to be. Preparing a cash flow statement on a regular basis gives you a clear, organized look into your cash flow position.Along with your income statement and balance sheet, a cash flow statement, also known as a statement of cash flows, is one of the three major financial statements in <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business accounting</a>.</p>
<p>Periodically reviewing your cash flow statement 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.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/general' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>Why Do You Need to Run a Cash Flow Statement?</b></h2>
<p>Performing a cash flow analysis allows you to track changes in your business’s cash balance during a specific period by calculating cash inflow versus cash expenditures.</p>
<p>This process will help you to identify patterns, not only around <i>how much</i> money is coming in and going out of your business, but also <em>for what</em> and <i>when</i>—enabling you to plan ahead and avoid being short of cash when bills and payroll are due.</p>
<p>Your cash flow statement will also give you a snapshot of your business’s financial health: whether or not your everyday operations (without outside help from investors or loans) are generating enough money for the business to sustain itself. This is your company’s liquidity—an important factor for monitoring for the longevity of your business.</p>
<p>It’s smart to run a cash flow statement on at least a monthly basis. But if you’ve had recent cash flow problems, it may be worthwhile to track your cash flow weekly or even daily for awhile. The more frequently you update your cash flow statement over time, the more apparent patterns of cash flow in your business will become, and the better you’ll be able to predict (and prepare for) leaner times.</p>
<p>Remember that a cash flow statement is just that: a statement of how much <i>cash</i> your business has at its disposal at a given time. It’s distinct from a <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/profit-and-loss-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profit and loss statement</a>, in that it shouldn’t include non-cash financial transactions. It’s also different from a <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/accounting-balance-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">balance sheet</a>, which focuses on assets and liabilities.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-53309" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/11153740/shutterstock_13400631051.jpg" alt="A cash flow statement includes operating, investing, and financing activities" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><strong>What Does a Cash Flow Statement Include?</strong></h2>
<p>The cash flow statement is basically a snapshot of your business’s financial health. A statement of cash flows can be presented in two formats:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Indirect Cash Flow Statement </strong>– The starting point of an indirect cash flow statement is net income, and then you make adjustments for depreciation, accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, and accrued expenses to arrive at cash flow from operating activities.</li>
<li><strong>Direct Cash Flow Statement</strong> – Rather than starting with net income, a direct cash flow statement lists the cash amounts received from customers and paid to employees and vendors.</li>
</ul>
<p>In this article, we’ll focus on the indirect method because it’s much more commonly used. No matter which format you use, the cash flow statement should be divided into three parts: cash associated with operating, investing, and financing activities. A healthy business drives their cash flows from operations and reinvests capital. This means you want to see net positive cash inflows from operations and cash outflows for investing activities.</p>
<p>Here’s the right cash flow statement format:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Operating activities</strong> -This category covers your day-to-day business income and expenses, such as income from sales and paid receivables. outflows include payroll, payments to suppliers, insurance, and business taxes.</li>
<li><strong>Investing activities</strong> – Investment outflow covers bigger-ticket items like purchase of equipment or real estate. These are long-term investments of assets in your company, rather than nitty-gritty daily purchases like supplies or goods for resale. If you rent out or sell equipment or real estate assets, those proceeds count as investment inflow in your cash flow analysis.</li>
<li><strong>Financing activities</strong> – Here, you’ll track incoming capital from equity fundraising or business loans as inflow. Any payments you make on a loan during the reporting period or dividends paid to investors will count as outflow in this category.</li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, the cash flow statement is only concerned with cash and cash equivalents (e.g. checks, bank accounts, and U.S. treasury accounts). For example, if accounts receivables goes up, that means sales are up, but you haven’t received cash at the time of sale. As a result, accounts receivables will be deducted from your net income and actually get treated as a cash outflow on your cash flow statement. Conversely, an increase in accounts payable will show up as an inflow on your cash flow statement because you haven’t paid for those goods or services yet.</p>
<p>The final line on your cash flow statement shows your net cash balance, the amount of cash your company has on hand during the reporting period. That should be a positive number if your business is generating more cash than it is using.</p>
<h2><strong>Cash Flow Statement Example</strong></h2>
<p>Here is an indirect cash flow statement example, with $150,000 net income as a starting point:</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><b>Sample Cash Flow Statement for Quarter Ending March 31, 2019</b></h3>
<table class="BlogTable">
<tbody>
<tr class="BlogTable-header">
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Cash Flow Statement Item</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Value</span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Net Income</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$150,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Depreciation</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$50,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Increase in Accounts Receivable</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($30,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Increase in Inventory</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($10,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Increase in Accounts Payable</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$30,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Decrease in Prepaid Expenses</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$10,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Decrease in Accrued Expenses</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($10,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p><strong>Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities</strong></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>$190,000</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Increase in Investments</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($50,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Increase in Property, Plant, and Equipment</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($100,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Sales of Property, Plant, and Equipment</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$20,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p><strong>Net Cash Flow from Investing Activities</strong></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>($130,000)</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Net Cash Flow from Investing Activities</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($130,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Repayment of Business Loans</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($25,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>New Business Loan Received</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">$50,000</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Interest Expenses</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($5,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p>Dividends Paids</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">($50,000)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p><strong>Net Cash Flow from Financing Activities</strong></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>($30,000)</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Cash Flow Statement Item">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"></div>
<p><strong>Net Cash Balance</strong></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Value">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>$30,000</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The sample company had a positive net cash balance at the end of the first quarter in 2019. Most of the positive cash inflows came from operating activities, which is a good sign. The company also made some good long-term investments in plant, property, equipment. The business doesn’t seem to be borrowing too much money.</p>
<p>Note that although depreciation appears on the cash flow statement, depreciation is <em>not</em> a source of cash for a business. It’s listed on the indirect cash flow statement to adjust net income, which is reduced by depreciation expense on the income statement.</p>
<p>To get even more out of your cash flow statement, try <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/common-size-analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">common size analysis</a> of your financial statements. With common size analysis, you’ll be able to see what percentage of net revenue is made up by each line item in your cash flow statement. This will allow to make good decisions about where to increase spending and where to cut back.</p>
<p>By now, you should understand all of the different numbers on a cash flow statement. For more guidance, check out this video from Fundera contributor Seth David:</p>
<center><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7kc7W3lN3iI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></center>
<h2><b>How to Prepare a Cash Flow Statement With Accounting Software</b></h2>
<p>To simplify the process of preparing your cash flow statement, use accounting software such as <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-accounting/quickbooks-online-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">QuickBooks Online</a>. Accounting software will make the required calculations for you, and you can schedule weekly or monthly cash flow statements. In your accounting software’s cash flow analysis feature, start by entering your company’s net income and cash balance at the beginning of the tracking period. This number should include all of the company’s bank account balances as well as any petty cash.</p>
<p>For each category, mark inflows as positive and outflows as negative. Double check that you’ve entered all your expenditures and incomes for the analysis period. The software should add everything up, category by category, and then total the balance of the three categories. You’ll also be able to see your final cash balance. Subtract your starting balance from your ending balance for the period to determine whether your cash flow over the statement period in question was positive or negative.</p>
<p>With software like QuickBooks, you can easily compare cash flow for different time periods. This is especially useful when discussing company goals and growth targets or when planning big investments.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/42/outbound_click')"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Try QuickBooks for 50% Off</span></button></span></p>
<h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-53310" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/11154029/shutterstock_626698901.jpg" alt="Getting the most out of your cash flow statement" width="1000" height="667" /></h2>
<h2><b>Getting the Most Out of Your Cash Flow Statement</b></h2>
<p>Now that you have a cash flow statement, how do you use it to better inform spending and sales decisions?</p>
<p>Just looking at whether your cash flow during the analysis period was positive or negative is a good start. If you see a pattern of negative cash flow over several months, it’s likely time to implement cost cutting or revenue building measures to work toward a positive cash flow. Consider raising prices, cutting down excess inventory, changing marketing tactics, or adjusting your staffing schedule to realign your cash flow in a better direction.</p>
<p>Figures from your cash flow analysis can also help you measure other areas of your company’s financial health. For example, look at the ratio between your operating activities cash flow (day-to-day cash expenditures and income) and your net sales to see how much cash from sales is going into your company’s pocket rather than to overhead. Ultimately, you want your cash flow to increase as sales increase, meaning that your cash profit from sales is holding steady.</p>
<p>Once you’ve mastered the basics of tracking and analyzing your company’s cash flow, you might want to investigate some more complex figures, such as your company’s <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/freecashflow.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free cash flow</a>—an important number for venture capitalists and others who may consider investing in your business. These higher level cash flow analytics can give you a bigger-picture view of your company’s finances.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><button class="Button Button-large Button-primary normal orange" onclick="window.open('https://www.fundera.com/new_markets_products/42/outbound_click')">Try QuickBooks for 50% Off</button></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.fundera.com/resources/tools/cash-flow-template" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-3782 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/01151847/cash-flow-template.png" alt="cash-flow-template" width="761" height="413" srcset="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/01151847/cash-flow-template.png 761w, https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/01151847/cash-flow-template-300x163.png 300w, https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/01151847/cash-flow-template-200x109.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/prepare-cash-flow-statement/">Cash Flow Statement: What It Is, Example, and How to Prepare One</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/prepare-cash-flow-statement/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-12577419259206446532019-04-16T08:32:00.001-07:002019-04-16T08:32:39.104-07:00Entertainment Business Loans: The Top Options<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For creatives and entrepreneurs pursuing artistic projects, sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t the creative process itself (although that certainly comes with its own set of challenges)—it’s securing the right entertainment business loans so you can get your project off the ground and share your work with your community.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For many artists and entertainers, navigating the financial world is tricky, nonintuitive, and, frankly, uninteresting. But the reality is that, in certain cases, funding is necessary in order to create your project in the first place—whether it’s a short film, a play, a video game, a comic book series, a full-length album, a digital short, or another project that requires gear or materials, a cast and crew, and other pricey incidentals in order to come to fruition.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But because individual creators and business owners in the entertainment industry often seek loans in order to fund a business idea, entertainment</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business loans</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">may not be the conventional lump-sum bank financing you’d expect. Here, we’ll show you just a few of those creative funding ideas that may work for creative entrepreneurs. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><iframe class='NewsletterSignup-iframe' src='https://fundera.com/embed/quiz/loan' scrolling='no'></iframe></span></p>
<h2><b>A Quick Rundown on Entertainment Business Loans</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re seeking entertainment business loans, you can certainly try your luck with</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/debt-financing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">debt financing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is the exchange of money for the promise of repaying that money, plus interest, over a predetermined window—in other words, it’s the arrangement that likely springs to mind when you think of a conventional loan. But for financial institutions to trust that you’ll hold up your end of the bargain, they need substantial evidence of your financial solvency. Typically, that evidence takes the form of industry experience, a strong credit score, high annual revenue, and a serviceable</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/debt-service-coverage-ratio" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">DSCR</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, among other factors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But considering that many artists and creators seek financing to</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">start</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">their projects, hopeful applicants simply won’t have the credentials needed to secure debt financing from traditional lenders or online platforms. That said, there are a couple forms of debt-based business financing that are</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">accessible for entertainment business owners, mostly because these methods don’t involve going down the straight-and-narrow</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/guides/small-business-financing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business financing</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">path (but what fun is going the conventional route, anyway?).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In many cases, though, entertainment business owners—by which we mean individual artists and creators, or owners of entertainment-related businesses, like production companies—secure their funding</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">without</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">creating debt. Zero-debt financing can take a few forms: You can seek investors to put up their money in return for equity in your business or project; or solicit generous strangers to donate small amounts of their own money.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53507 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16095000/shutterstock_635806064.jpg" alt="entertainment business loans" width="1000" height="665" /></p>
<h2><b>Entertainment Business Loans: Your 6 Top Options</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With that primer in mind, here are just a few of the best options for entrepreneurial artists seeking entertainment business loans:</span></p>
<h3><b>Crowdfunding</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For most artists and creators, the safest route toward securing at least part of your required finances is through a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-is-crowdfunding" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">crowdfunding</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">platform, like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/kickstarter-for-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kickstarter</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or Indiegogo. Depending on the platform you choose and the nature of your project, you can provide your backers with rewards in return for their donations, like an advanced copy or demo, merchandise, a ticket to the premiere, a commissioned art piece, or a cameo in your project. Often, rewards increase in value (and work, on your end) along with the dollar amount your backer pledges.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are so many upsides to crowdfunding. First off, as long as you’re aligned with your particular platform’s guidelines, virtually every creator is eligible for this form of financing. And in addition to receiving money for your project, creating a crowdfunding campaign is an excellent way to forge a community of guaranteed fans and supporters even before you deliver your product—a boon for every artist hoping to publicize their work. You can also use your crowdfunders as a testing ground and receive valuable, direct feedback about your project. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the downside, however, crowdfunding most likely won’t provide you with all the cash you need for your project; so if possible, this financing method is best used in tandem with a more substantial method, like one of the forms we’ll outline next. Also be aware that most crowdfunding platforms charge a fee for the use of their services, so a small percentage of the money you do end up raising won’t actually make it into your pockets.</span></p>
<h3><b>Angel Investors</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we mentioned, certain forms of zero-debt financing involve the exchange of money for some form of influence over your business—and angel investing, another popular type of entertainment business loan, is one such financing method.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-find-investors" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Angel investors</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">are individuals who offer up their own wealth to help early-stage businesses and projects they believe in get off the ground. In exchange, angels often take equity in the business. Depending on the investor and the stake they take in your project, they may expect a key decision-making role in your processes or, at the very least, they’ll provide their guidance and expertise.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Business owners will often need to leverage their personal and professional networks to find angel investors. But if your network is limited, or if you need to brush up on your in-person networking strategies, you can also turn to online platforms like</span> <a href="https://angel.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">AngelList</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Angel Investment Network</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to connect to potential investors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you find your angel investor through a personal connection or online, be prepared to prove why your project is worth their investment. Create a presentation or document detailing your unique value proposition (or, in the case of creative projects, how your project differentiates itself from what’s already on the market), how much money you need and how exactly you’ll use your funds, your financial projections, and your marketing plan. The better prepared your presentation, the more likely potential angels will be to believe in both your financial responsibility and the value of your creative project—and to offer up their money and guidance to help you get that project started. </span></p>
<h3><b>Friends and Family Loans</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As an artist, you understand how crucial it is to surround yourself with people who support your work; and at a certain point in your artistic career, you may need to tap that network not only for emotional support, but for their financial backing, too. If you’re approaching your friends and family for a loan, however, do so with the utmost care. Prepare a detailed loan agreement or</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/promissory-note-for-business-loan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">promissory note</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">so they understand that you’re legally bound to repaying their contribution, and don’t be afraid to solicit the help of an attorney if need be. </span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53508 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16095001/shutterstock_487267645.jpg" alt="entertainment business loans" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h3><b>Kiva Loans</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kiva loans are a kind of hybrid between crowdfunding and an alternative lending platform. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit is an online lending platform that offers businesses and individuals with 0% interest loans up of up to $10,000, with repayment terms ranging between three and 36 months. Like a crowdfunding platform, loan funds come from individuals who can browse the Kiva site and contribute to the causes they believe in. Unlike a crowdfunding platform, however, those lenders will receive their money back, according to a repayment schedule determined between Kiva and the business owner.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While several types of businesses and initiatives can be eligible for a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/kiva-loans" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kiva loan</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the platform intends to create funding opportunities to the individuals who are often excluded from traditional lending institutions, or who simply don’t have access to traditional forms of financing—including women, refugees, IDPs, and business owners in developing nations and conflict zones. But even if you’re not one such business owner, you may be a good match for a Kiva loan if your project is inherently socially conscious or environmentally responsible. Take a look at</span> <a href="https://www.kiva.org/lend/arts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kiva’s Arts loans</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">page for a better idea of the types of creative businesses that have been approved for these unique loans. </span></p>
<h3><b>Personal Loan for Business</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you need a substantial sum of money for your entertainment business or project, it makes sense to want to turn to a bank or online lending platform for that lump sum. But as you now know, very few of these lenders, whether brick-and-mortar or online-only, are willing to risk extending credit to new businesses.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But if your personal credit score and financials are strong, you can consider securing a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-loans/personal-loans-for-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">personal loan</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">from a bank or online lender. Unlike a business loan, which you need to use for business-related purposes, you can use a personal loan for virtually anything you need, including your startup or creative pursuit. As is always the case, however, you need to be certain that you can responsibly repay your loan and interest within your lender’s repayment period. There’s no doubt that your work is important—but in the long run, it’s probably not worth getting caught in an unnecessary cycle of debt for.</span></p>
<h3><b>Business Credit Card</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">business credit card</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is one of the most accessible forms of financing for businesses, regardless of their industry, experience, or financial situation—in fact, if your business doesn’t have its own financial history to provide on your</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-credit-card-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">credit card application</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, then the card issuer can simply evaluate your personal financial information instead.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, your credit card probably won’t give you access to all the funds you need to finance your entertainment business, especially if you’re working on a larger-scale, financially demanding project like shooting a movie or recording an album; and even if you did have access to a substantial credit line, your credit card’s short billing cycle probably wouldn’t provide you enough time to repay that amount without incurring added interest. Instead, use your business credit card to pay for any smaller, day-to-day expenses related to your entertainment business, like inexpensive gear, art supplies, or even meals for your cast or crew (even if you’re actually the only credited cast and crew member). If you can qualify for one, we’d recommend using a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/business-credit-cards/cash-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cash back</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or points card so you can reap additional benefits every time you spend. </span></p>
<h2><b>The Bottom Line on Entertainment Business Loans</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are tons of alternative funding options for creative types, and this guide only highlighted a few of the more popular and accessible methods of securing financing for creative projects. Other options, for instance, are to look into both government- or privately funded</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">grant programs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, paid residencies, or scholarships, which may provide you full or partial funding as well as the time, materials, resources, and space you need to work on your project. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember, too, that many of these funding methods can be used in tandem with one another. Crowdfunding makes an excellent supplement to a heftier form of financing, for example, and a business credit card is a must-have for any serious business owner, regardless of industry, to pay for their incidentals (and earn perks and rewards in the process).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no doubt that navigating the financial aspect of your entertainment business can become a project within itself—but probably not as creative a project as you’d like it to be. If you’re daunted by the task, start with what and whom you know. Reach out to your fellow creators and ask how they’ve financed projects in the past. Launch a Kickstarter or Indiegogo page and see if it gains traction. And, if it makes sense for your project’s needs, take a few minutes to apply for a business credit card online and start separating your business and personal finances. Then, as your project picks up, you can move onto larger forms of financing, like loans and investors.</span></p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/entertainment-business-loans/">Entertainment Business Loans: The Top Options</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/entertainment-business-loans/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640878190576923471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778452609667808221.post-82166388226747936842019-04-16T07:32:00.001-07:002019-04-16T07:32:39.988-07:00WooCommerce vs. Shopify 2019: Features, Pricing, Reviews<div class="ledger-featured">
<h2>WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Which Is Better?</h2>
<p>Shopify is a self-contained, cloud-hosted ecommerce platform, and WooCommerce is a plugin that turns a WordPress website into an ecommerce store. Shopify is generally considered a more fully formed ecommerce solution while WooCommerce is cheaper and allows for more back-end customization.</p>
</div>
<p>WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most widely used <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/ecommerce-platforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ecommerce platforms</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">in the world—but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. The approach each platform takes in delivering its service is vastly different.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify is a cloud-hosted ecommerce platform that allows you to manage all aspects of your online store from a single platform. WooCommerce is a plugin designed to turn an existing WordPress website into an ecommerce store. Both businesses dedicate pages on their website to explain to prospective customers why they should switch to their platform.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re going to take a more unbiased approach to figuring out which ecommerce platform is better suited for your small business. Here’s our comparison of WooCommerce vs. Shopify.</span></p>
<h2><b>WooCommerce: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we already mentioned,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/woocommerce-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">WooCommerce</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a shopping cart plugin designed specifically for WordPress. Why WordPress? Because</span> <a href="https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/wordpress-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">33% of all internet websites are built on WordPress</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, giving WooCommerce a huge built-in market to work with.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To get started with WooCommerce, you’ll need to download it from the WordPress application store. The plugin is completely free to use, but you’ll need to set up a</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-domain-name" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">domain name</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, hosting solution, and SSL certificate—all of which cost extra.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once your site logistics are in order, you can go about customizing your store to your liking. In terms of design options, WordPress offers a free theme called Storefront that is optimized for WooCommerce stores. Storefront comes with 14 “child” themes ranging in price from free to $39. Of course, there are hundreds of other free and paid themes available in the WordPress theme store to choose from, meaning your site can truly look one of a kind.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ll also have to take care of some other ecommerce prerequisites—adding your product catalogue and arranging shipping and payment processing. WooCommerce tries to make all three as painless as possible. The format for adding products is similar to how you would go about publishing a blog post. In terms of payment processors, you can choose a payment service provider like</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/paypal-small-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PayPal</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/square-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Square</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, or integrate with a variety of reputable</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/payment-gateway" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">payment gateways</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. WooCommerce also offers a free shipping calculator.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other things you can configure include taxes, product reviews, inventory, your CRM, and your privacy and notification settings. Once your site is live, you’ll benefit from WordPress’ built-in</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/understanding-seo-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SEO</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">tools and analytics tracking. Plus, WooCommerce integrates with over 300 additional applications, allowing you to build an even more customized solution. Finally, WooCommerce is what is known as open-source software, meaning you can modify its code as much as you want to fit your needs.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53499 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16092321/shutterstock_731340991.jpg" alt="woocommerce vs. shopify" width="1000" height="718" /></p>
<h2><b>Shopify: The Basics</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify is used by</span> <a href="https://wemakewebsites.com/biggest-brands-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">10% of all ecommerce stores in the world</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, making it the second most popular platform behind WooCommerce. Unlike WooCommerce,</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/selling-on-shopify" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a self-contained ecommerce platform, meaning you don’t need to plug it into an existing website to create your store. Instead, simply sign up for an account and you get your own cloud-hosted ecommerce website with a custom domain and SSL certificate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But this will cost you: Shopify has</span> <a href="https://www.shopify.com/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">three different pricing plans</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">ranging from $29 per month to $299 per month, with the higher cost plans featuring lower credit card processing rates and more staff accounts. There is also a $9 per month social selling plan and a quote-based enterprise plan. Regardless of which plan you choose, the process of setting up your store is similar. You’ll start by providing some basic business information, then be directed to a dashboard where you can manage all of your operations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the dashboard you can upload your entire product catalog via a CSV file, or migrate it over from another platform. Shopify also has manual product entry, allowing you to provide as much detail on a product as you desire. Once you have uploaded your products, Shopify allows you to group products into collections for customers to find them by category (i.e. sale items, seasonal products).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From there, you can customize the look of your site using any of Shopify’s free and paid themes. Shopify also boasts a drag-and-drop store builder, allowing you to make cosmetic changes to your site and see how they look in real time. In terms of the logistical stuff, shipping zones and custom rates and be arranged from the dashboard, and you can also get discounted shipping rates through</span> <a href="https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shipping/shopify-shipping" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify Shipping</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To get the best payment processing rates, you need to sign up for Shopify’s in-house payment processor—Shopify Payments. Shopify will charge you an additional fee for using any other payment processor, which could significantly cut into your bottom line. Before launching, Shopify also asks you to set specific store policies, such as your policy on refunds, customer privacy, and your terms of service.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once your store is tuned to your liking, you can test launch it to make sure it operates the way you intended. If all looks good and no important information is missing, you can bring it online.</span></p>
<h2><b>WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Similarities</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we said in the beginning, it’s hard to really identify any similarities between WooCommerce and Shopify that are meaningful. Sure, they are both ecommerce tools, and they both allow for the sale of products online, but that doesn’t help you decide which platform is better. Here is the most common ground we found between the two platforms. Keep in mind that we don’t feel these similarities are difference makers:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both platforms allow for the sale of an unlimited number of products.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both platforms allow you to sell most types of products (physical, digital, services).</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both platforms offer designs that are mobile-responsive (i.e. look good on a mobile device).</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both platforms allow for the use of coupons and discount codes.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both platforms have built-in shipping rate and tax calculations.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s much easier to find areas where these two platforms are different, and where one provides a better level of service than the other. Let’s take a look at some of those differences.</span></p>
<h2><b>WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Where WooCommerce Is Better</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ll start by examining areas where we believe WooCommerce provides a better product than Shopify. They are as follows:</span></p>
<h3><b>Price</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Obviously, free is the best price, and WooCommerce costs nothing to download. You still have to pay for your own domain name and SSL certificate, but those can cost as little as $10-$20 per year. The hosting can be a bit more expensive depending on how much storage you need (larger stores will require more expensive hosting).</span> <a href="https://www.bluehost.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bluehost</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">offers a special deal to ecommerce merchants, with hosting as low as $2.75 per month, including an SSL certificate. All in all, this is much cheaper than Shopify.</span></p>
<h3><b>Payment Processing</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another area WooCommerce will save you money is with payment processing. It integrates with both Square and PayPal, both of which will charge you 2.9% + $0.30 to process digital payments. This is the same credit card processing rate you’ll get with Shopify if you sign up for its “Basic” plan ($29 per month). But that’s just it—you need to sign up for Shopify Payments to get this processing fee. If you choose to go with another payment processor, Shopify will add an additional fee. We prefer the option that works with more processors and charges a reasonable rate, and that’s WooCommerce.</span></p>
<h3><b>Customization</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify is known for having lots of features and integrations, and that’s true. But because WooCommerce is an open-source platform, those with a technical background can transform their store into something completely original if they were so inclined. Furthermore, the WordPress theme store is a lot bigger than the Shopify theme store, meaning merchants have a lot more options to choose from when designing the look of their store.</span></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-53497 size-full" src="https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16092318/shutterstock_406599559.jpg" alt="woocommerce vs. shopify" width="1000" height="667" /></p>
<h2><b>WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Where Shopify Is Better</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a reason 10% of all ecommerce platforms are hosted on Shopify. We’ll list them here:</span></p>
<h3><b>Features</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The benefit of being the largest ecommerce platform provider (note that WooCommerce is an ecommerce plugin) is that you can add a lot of “stuff” to your platform, and other people build software to work with your platform. Among the things included with your Shopify store are a blogging module, advanced metrics reporting, abandoned cart recovery, a mobile app, daily data backups, and the ability to search your website in multiple languages.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All of the pricing packages also include</span> <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/shopify-pos" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify point of sale</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, plus paid add-ons like the aforementioned Shopify Shipping and</span> <a href="https://experts.shopify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify Experts</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">who can help you customize your website. If that’s not enough, there are over 1,500 apps in the</span> <a href="https://apps.shopify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify app store</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">than can extend the functionality of your website, including integrations for things like dropshipping, marketing, sales and conversion, customer support, inventory management, and more.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So although WooCommerce is more customizable, those who want a tailored solution without getting too technical will fair better with Shopify.</span></p>
<h3><b>Ease of Use</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’ve had experience using WordPress, you might find WooCommerce easier to use. But in general, Shopify features a very intuitive platform that even the most inexperienced ecommerce merchant shouldn’t have trouble navigating. Some of the features that make it so user friendly include its drag-and-drop site designer and its “Ecommerce University” featuring a series of ebooks, video series, and webinars on how to run your Shopify store.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify’s customer service is also more accessible than WooCommerce’s. They are available 24/7 and can be contacted by phone, email, or live chat. With WooCommerce you have to submit a ticket and wait for a response. There is however a robust online community of WooCommerce users who talk on forums and post blogs.</span></p>
<h3><b>Scalable</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shopify handles all the technical parts of your store, including data storage, meaning scaling is as easy as upgrading your pricing plan to accommodate an additional number of staff accounts. The larger your business gets, the more perks Shopify will throw your way, including cheaper credit card processing and more features.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While WooCommerce doesn’t limit you in terms of staff accounts, your platform is self-hosted, making you responsible for storage, data backups, and security. As your business gets bigger, you may decide you don’t want to spend your time tending to these logistical tasks.</span></p>
<h2><b>WooCommerce vs. Shopify: User Reviews</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To get a better picture of the public perception of WooCommerce and Shopify, let’s see how they rank on the major user review websites:</span></p>
<table class="BlogTable">
<tbody>
<tr class="BlogTable-header">
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Platform</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">G2 Crowd</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Trust Radius</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">TrustPilot</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Capterra</span></th>
<th><span style="color: #ffffff;">Better Business Bureau</span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Platform">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>WooCommerce</strong></div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="G2 Crowd">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">4.3 stars out of 5</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="TrustRadius">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">8.7 stars out of 10</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="TrustPilot">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">4 stars out of 5</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Capterra">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">N/A</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Better Business Bureau">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">N/A</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="BlogTable-dataRow">
<td valign="top" data-th="Platform">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent"><strong>Shopify</strong></div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="G2 Crowd">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">4.3 stars out of 5</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="TrustRadius">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">8.5 stars out of 10</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="TrustPilot">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">1 star out of 5</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Capterra">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">4.5 stars out of 5</div>
</td>
<td valign="top" data-th="Better Business Bureau">
<div class="BlogTable-cellContent">A+</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition, here are what small business owners and website designers who have experience using both services have to say:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For years I was a WooCommerce fanboy, but after I started working with a client on the Shopify platform, I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to work with. From a user standpoint and a development standpoint, it’s so much easier to run and much cheaper to modify. Not only that, the amount of apps and themes you can choose from goes far beyond what WooCommerce offers. Shopify is what I recommend for any company looking to run lean, and focus more of their spend on marketing and products, rather than development and website updates.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Jeff Moriarty,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moregems.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moriarty Gem Art</a></span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Shopify is great for businesses that have limited website design budget and are willing to sacrifice some control in order to save some money. It is important to know that you do not own a Shopify website—you are simply leasing space on their platform. So the website, once built, is not transferable and is technically not an asset of the business since it is not owned. WooCommerce is an open-source solution that integrates nicely with the WordPress web development platform. Businesses that can afford to invest a little more upfront in their online store can benefit from true ownership and claim the website as an asset. This option also offers more design flexibility since you are not beholden to the Shopify black box.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Randy Mitchelson,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://grumpygoat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GrumpyGoat.com</a></span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“While most digital entrepreneurs fixate on comparing costs between WooCommerce and Shopify, they overlook the actual value of what they are getting. WooCommerce will not charge for the platform itself, only plugins, hosting, themes, etc., while Shopify charges for everything. But with that higher price point, Shopify offers a better ecommerce experience on both the business and consumer ends. For businesses, the analytics platform on Shopify is superior and offers more tools for marketers, such as abandoned cart retargeting. For consumers, the platform offers an easier and more intuitive experience. You are less likely to lose a potential customer due to frustration or related factors.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Philip Mullennax,</span> <a href="https://www.redolive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Red Olive</span></a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I get it… WooCommerce looks less expensive and because it is on WordPress, a lot of people are very familiar with the interface. If you want to run a blog or an affiliate website, sure, go with WordPress and WooCommerce. If your livelihood depends on selling physical products that you ship or that are dropshipped, stick with a hosted ecommerce platform made specifically for that purpose, like Shopify. You’ll pay a little more per month but in the long run, it’ll save you a lot of time, which</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">is</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">money. Besides, if you can’t afford $30-$70/month for a secure ecommerce platform, it’s not really a website worth your time.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Dave Hermansen,</span> <a href="https://storecoach.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Store Coach</span></a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Shopify certainly wins at ease of use, but it’s a problem that you are very limited in terms of custom development and expansion. I’m not a fan of building a long-term project on something you don’t own, and that can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Shopify is a hosted platform, and they have ultimate control over what you can edit, what you can access, and what you can integrate. What happens if for some reason they cease to be profitable and go offline, or there’s a massive security exploit? You are effectively left with nothing. With WooCommerce you are in charge, and your store’s files are located on your own server. So you’re free to modify everything on your store as you see fit.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Brandon Ackroyd,</span> <a href="https://www.tigermobiles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TigerMobiles.com</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<h2><b>Which Platform Is Right for Your Business?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to WooCommerce vs. Shopify, here are what we see as the use cases for each product, given everything we have gone over.</span></p>
<h3><b>Use WooCommerce If…</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use WooCommerce if you need a quick-and-dirty ecommerce store, you understand WordPress, and/or you have a technical background and know how to tinker with code. WooCommerce does offer a cheap ecommerce solution, but if you are inexperienced, you will have a hard time creating something that will really stand out. However, if you have the time and budget to invest in creating something unique, WooCommerce offers you a lot of possibilities.</span></p>
<h3><b>Use Shopify If…</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use Shopify if you have the money to spend upfront, you want a clean and professional looking ecommerce store without any hassle, and you plan to have a high volume of transactions. Really Shopify is like a one-size-fits-all solution, because there isn’t a business situation that Shopify can’t work for. That’s not to say it’s better than WooCommerce, just that Shopify will probably be a more accessible product for a larger segment of the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So there you have it, our review of WooCommerce vs. Shopify. The only thing left for you to decide is which product makes sense for your business, and get to work.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/woocommerce-vs-shopify/">WooCommerce vs. Shopify 2019: Features, Pricing, Reviews</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.fundera.com/blog">Fundera Ledger</a>.</p>
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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/woocommerce-vs-shopify/
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