US Business Finance Blog

Who Is Holding Your Company’s Funds?

Posted on November 5th, 2008 by Author

US Business Finance Corp works with our merchant credit card account clients to make sure they have their Visa and MasterCard sales funds into their bank accounts the next day. We understand that some banks and credit card processors hold on to your company’s money for two or three extra days, letting your funds make them money. We want to see your businesses quickly have access to your company’s funds.

For our clients who have a merchant cash advance on their future Visa and MasterCard credit card sales, there is a natural delay in the process, however that balances out with the fact the store owner received their funds on those sales sometimes months in advance!

If your bank is causing additional delays, which many are tempted to do in the current tight credit atmosphere, talk to them. If they have a hard time helping your business succeed, you may want to look for a more business-friendly bank. Banks that hold on to your funds for 24 or more extra hours are in effect creating a temporary 100% reserve on your funds! And you don’t receive the interest - they do.

Make sure you know who is holding, or holding up, your merchant credit card sales funding! If your funds take too long to find their way home or you are interested in the leverage a merchant cash advance can bring to your company, call the credit card processing services experts or the alternative financing team at US Business Finance Corp. We want to see you get as much of your credit card sales funds as possible and as quickly as possible.

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Filed under: Banking Industry, MasterCard/VISA, Money Matters - Business, National Economy

Top Merchant Credit Card Customer Service

Posted on October 21st, 2008 by Author

US Business Finance Corp’s business clients enjoy our merchant credit card processing services for several reasons. Our customer service is very responsive, our rates are very competitive, our monthly statements are very clear, and our clients have ready access to merchant cash advances. At US Business Finance Corp, we know how helpful credit card sales are for increasing sales and providing customers with an easy cash payment alternative. Our merchant account services mission is to help your business succeed.

The most common complaint US Business Finance Corp hears from merchants is that customer service is hard to get or not helpful. We have worked with merchants and over the years we know that helping business owners keep their companies running smoothly is the best way to run our customer service. Small problems like the terminal running out of tape, the terminal has just had a soft drink spilled on it, or a new employee needs a fast training can be big blocks to the merchant’s store turning a profit that day. Our customer service delights in solving problems, not causing them.

US Business Finance Corp takes finding merchants the best rates seriously. Our mission in helping your business succeed is to make sure you are taking home as much of your credit card sales volume as possible. We provide owner and employee training in order that your transactions go through correctly, you keep credits and charge backs to a minimum and that your employees never unwittingly make a mistake that negatively affects your merchant account file.

The second most common complaint we find is that other service providers make their monthly statements hard to understand. Fees may be tucked away so both the merchants and competing credit card processors have a hard time comparing processor services. US Business Finance Corp provides its merchants with clear statements - and our account experts will help you tear apart your bill to see what you are really being charged and how we can help you keep more of your money.

Lastly, our merchant credit card processing services have the additional benefit of connecting business owners to company cash advances. These cash advances are not loans, but a sale of future Visa and MasterCard sales. They carry no late charges, no fixed payments or fixed end payment date. The repayment plan is tied to a percentage of future Visa/MasterCard sales. As sales pick up, payoff happens sooner. If sales slow down, payment happens later.

Contact our credit card specialists today to see how we can help improve the profitability of your merchant credit card account. Whether desiring better merchant credit card account rates, better customer service or the ability to rely on business cash advances for any operating capital needs US Business Finance Corp is ready and able to help make your business operate more profitably.

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Filed under: Alternative Capital, Banking Industry, Business Cash Advance, Business Solutions, MasterCard/VISA

Small Business Documentation For Financial Success

Posted on October 18th, 2008 by Author

Businesses adapting the franchise business model strengths to improve their company’s financial success find business documentation a daunting task. With experience assisting small businesses start out with a successful business financing and systems, US Business Finance Corp has evolved a simple solution to this task. Diagram and then document the company - who answers to who - and then follow the money trail from advertising and sales through to payment.

The foundational training is centered on the company culture, which covers the basics such as who is the employee accountable to and what are they responsible for, dress code, using the time clock, calling when there are schedule changes, and use of company property. Make sure there are no “unspoken rules” that carry greater weight than the documented rules. Unspoken rules can undermine the success of the best systems.

When training employees, by following the money trail, the employee has a logical framework to couch their new found knowledge. Start with product training, possibly on a graduated basis for more involved products, so they know what the company offers - and what problems the products solve.

The next step in the money trail is sales. Sales training ranges from operational steps such as working the cash register and credit card terminals to the customer service area of handling irate customers, finding the right product for clients to soliciting customer feedback. The US Business Finance Corp team provides our merchant credit card account owners and employees training on both the credit card “point of sale” terminals and the handling of various customer situations. We believe credit cards should benefit your company with greater income and by minimizing “operator error” and credit requests through training we can help improve your business and protect your profit margins.

The last steps are usually the back office steps of handling payroll, invoicing and bill collecting. Though maybe somewhat tedious, one place most businesses have room for improvement is timely billing on their outstanding accounts. The sooner invoices are sent, the sooner clients will send their payments and keep the cash flow at the necessary level to meet the business’s own bills.

Documentation in some areas can be as simple as block diagrams or photographs of steps in a process. Simplifying steps aids in their ability to be remembered as well as the time it takes to document the steps. And it help keep documentation maintenance time low so its more likely that your training material remains current to your business’s innovations and improvements.

US Business Finance Corp realizes the tremendous benefits to consistent training as well as consistent customer service and help from your credit card service provider. We assist our customers, not just in providing great rates, but also in providing the training necessary to protect your merchant account status and your rates. Contact our small business financing team and credit card services experts today.

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Filed under: Alternative Capital, Management and HR, Marketing and Sales, MasterCard/VISA, Your New Business

Beneficial Health Plans Help Attract Employees

Posted on October 16th, 2008 by Author

Many small businesses use health insurance to attract employees, yet they also feel the pinch of rising health insurance costs. Small businesses turn to US Business Finance Corp for merchant credit card processing services in order to increase sales - both in the store and expand to online sales. With increased sales, creating a health insurance program becomes a reality.

Health insurance helps attract key talent and becomes a bargaining chip in the hiring practice. Many companies have sought for a middle of the road solution to both help their employees and avoid the hefty health insurance increases. Weighing in on the decision was the nature of the insurance - to keep the insurance cost down, many companies covered employees for catastrophic illnesses with high deductibles. They found that most employees did not benefit from the coverages and looked for alternatives that would better benefit most of their employees.

The 2003 legislative changes created Health Savings Accounts (HSA) - a tax-exempt savings account that could be funded on a monthly basis by employers or a pre-tax contribution by the employee, depending on how the account is set up. Employees could tap into their individual accounts to pay for simple doctor visits. The accounts are not limited to the employee’s health care, but extend to their family also. These accounts work to cover the area that the high deductible insurance policies do not cover.

Another benefit of an HSA is that the medical treatments that are allowed by the IRS (they have a say since it is a tax-exempt account) cover many alternative healing modalities such as chiropractors, acupuncturist, and psychoanalysts, as well as dental and eye care, which are often excluded from basic health insurance policies.

Employers like the HSA route since it both can save them money - almost 30% over the co-payment insurance route - and gives their employees greater control over their medical care. A side effect of HSA implementation is that once employees take more responsibility for their health maintenance they often start making healthier choices at meal times.

Employees also like the HSA option since all unspent funds remain in the savings account. The account can continue to accrue funds to be available after retirement. Since the HSA belongs to the employee, not the employer, the employee has the discretion to use the account or save up for the medical rainy day.

Since small and medium-size businesses historically have found that health insurance has given them a competitive advantage in hiring the best employees, HSAs give employers a way to help employees beyond the affordable catastrophic coverage. Also when health insurance programs are instituted, employee moral and the businesses profitability usually go up.

To help your company increase sales, turn to the alternative financing and credit card processing specialists at US Business Finance Corp - we find the best credit card processing and alternative financing solutions for small and mid-sized businesses.

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Filed under: Alternative Capital, Business Cash Advance, Business Solutions, Management and HR, MasterCard/VISA, Your New Business

Acquiring Computers For Your Small Business

Posted on October 15th, 2008 by Author

US Business Finance Corp helps small businesses obtain computers to help their companies gain a competitive edge - repair issues and outdated hardware or software can be a source of headaches and loss of work time. We provide alternative funding solutions so small business owners can keep their computers up-to-date in today’s economic atmosphere. Our following guide can assist small business owners assess the merits of the various computers available. With the glut of great refurbished computers on the market a real consideration is whether to get a new computer or a refurbished computer.

US Business Finance Corp, as an alternative funding source, helps companies buy needed office equipment or new advertising to help improve business. Our business cash advances benefit company owners since they provide fast access to cash without the need for collateral or personal guarantees. The cash advance is paid back with a portion of future MasterCard and Visa credit card sales. The business’s balance sheet is not affected and the cash advance is usually paid off in six to nine months.

One maxim that has saved owners from buying mistakes is to look for the most cost-effective computer to match your needs, not the cheapest. This is often a question of buy new or refurbished. Buying new or refurbished largely depends on usage. Start with a list of the functions the computer will be used for (accounting, email, etc). Then create a checklist of specifications for the computer. Include operating system, screen size, RAM size (more for graphics software), minimum size of processor(s), and desktop or laptop. Then price what is available.

Older computers tend to be slower and have less RAM capacity. However, for many office tasks involving spreadsheets or word processing, older computers of very much up to the task. A good strategy for buying refurbished computers is:

Always deal with a reputable business;

Check the reviews of the computer and the resale business on the Internet; and

Make sure there is a manufacturer’s 30 - 90 day warranty.

Many companies, such as Dell and IBM/Lenovo, have lease return computers available that are refurbished at the manufacturer’s facility to meet the “good as new” specifications. In states with high business property taxes, buying refurbished computers is also a way to keep your business property taxes down without sacrificing office productivity.

Often, a small business will realize better productivity from a computer by opting for a more RAM (1K to 2K) and a slightly slower processor time since the RAM is usually maxed out by the computer long before the processor is.

Getting a new computer makes sense if you need the fastest processor, largest hard drive and as much RAM as possible, which is usually the case for graphics intensive jobs. Graphics software tends to use as much RAM as you have and then want more. The processor speed (and number of processors) also decreases the time your engineers sit and watch the screen as a software operation takes place. Most word processing and accounting functions do not need to pay the premium attendant with the fastest machines.

Another area to take into account is that some inexpensive computers that are newer and faster are made with proprietary hardware in the interest of cutting costs. When a computer has a proprietary motherboard that means any future upgrades to RAM may cost your business 2 to 3 times what similar sized RAM costs for non-proprietary computers. A simple way to check a computer you are considering buying is to go online and check the price of 1 Meg RAM. Regular RAM may run $80 - $150, while RAM for proprietary boards can run to $400.

Taking these three points into account - source of financing and either new or refurbished - companies can better determine which computers will meet the most cost-effective price point and provide them their best long-term productivity. Contact us at US Business Finance Corp to see how quickly you can finance your computer upgrades without needing long-term financing or equipment leases.

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Filed under: Business Cash Advance

10 Tips For Restaurant Success

Posted on October 8th, 2008 by Author

US Business Finance Corp works with small businesses such as restaurants to maximize their ability to succeed with business cash advances, alternative financing and business information. Over the years, we have found the following ten tips to be good part of restaurants’ plans that lead to success.

Always make a great cup of coffee! The secret to a great cup of coffee, besides starting with a good coffee brand, is to keep the equipment clean and use good water. The use of carafes or thermoses to keep the coffee warm after brewing not only saves power, but keeps the coffee from getting that cooked forever taste.

Never serve hot water for tea in carafes that are also used for coffee or that was heated in the coffee machine. This drives your tea drinkers away - better to ride the wave created by the green tea marketing campaigns!

Create the culture of a valued employee. This starts two positive feedback cycles: upbeat employees (normally) equal happy patrons and they attract people to your team who also have a positive nature. Training is key to employee competency. US Business Finance helps train employees and owners on credit card transaction best practices to minimize errors and improve your rates.

Know your financial cycles in detail. Tighter planning for staffing and food inventory can have the most direct affect on improving your profits. Create meaningful, yet simple daily, weekly and monthly financial reports. Knowing your cash flow also allows you to time your cash advance draws to exactly meet your cash flow need.

Get a merchant credit card account. From credit card studies, patrons will spend an average of 15% or more. Accepting credit cards opens the way to higher receipts, better protection against NSF checks, and an opportunity to get a cash advance on your future Visa/MasterCard sales.

Unless you are a franchise restaurant with a restricted menu, make sure you always serve good food - from the freshest meat and fish to crisp salads. With more of the population turning a critical eye on the way their eating habits affect their health, the institutional meals of the past are losing their supporting population.

Mix consistency with something new. While keeping a core menu that your customers love, have something new - either in the way of a dessert, sandwich special or “catch of the day”. This gives your customers both the security of knowing what to expect and also giving them the satisfaction of enjoying something new or unexpected.

Choose your location wisely. Location can be determined by either for the resident population (such as office workers on lunch break), closeness to a major road with easy on-off access and good parking. Remember - a parking lot with the spaces too tight is seldom visited twice by patrons with nice cars. US Business Finance Corp assists restaurants with commercial real estate mortgages as part of our business financing services.

Understand what experience your restaurant provides your patrons. Once you know what attracts clients back or leads time to give referrals, you can fine tune that aspect of your offering. It is also good to know what drives clients away, so you can eliminate that vexation - sometimes its the little things, like water spots on the knives.

Prepare for financial cycles ahead. Make sure to have a plan in place in case you need emergency operating capital to sustain your restaurant during any down sales cycle. Road construction making it hard for regulars to dine? Refrigerator fail overnight and spoil inventory? By setting up your merchant credit card processing service up with US Business Finance, you not only get great processing rates and service, but the ability to quickly tap into a cash advance. This emergency operating cash fund then gets paid off out of a percentage of future Visa and MasterCard sales - no personal guarantee or collateral necessary.

As restaurant owners and managers know, there is always a bit of the theater in running a successful restaurants. Regardless of all the daily hassles going on in the restaurant, as that final bonus tip: smile - keep the audience assured that even if their life is rocky, your restaurant is the calm in the center of the storm.

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Filed under: Business Cash Advance

Alternative Financing Help For Your Medical Practice

Posted on October 1st, 2008 by Author

The small medical practice part of the healthcare industry turns to alternative financing help, such as cash advances, to fill their cash flow gaps. Without a large financial staff that hospitals can afford, doctors are forced to take on the role of a small business entrepreneur. When pursuing traditional lending avenues, small medical practices, especially start-ups or ones in expansion mode, often find that their lack of assets or cyclical cash flow hinder their ability to secure traditional business loans that are available to large hospitals or established medical practices.

US Business Finance Corp offers alternative financing assistance to small medical practices that:

Supplies fast and consistent access to operating capital - 24 hour or less approval;

No liens or security interest against accounts receivables;

No need for personal guarantees or use of personal assets (your home!);

Available to many medical practices that do not qualify for standard bank funding; and

Financing can be used for any needs of your medical practice.

Our approval rate for small businesses is over 80%! Our normal funding time? We usually electronically transfer the cash advance to your company’s account within seven business days after approval. There are no checks to write, coupons to return or monthly financial reports to send to us. The cash advance is automatically repaid from a percentage of your patients’ Visa and MasterCard payment. The monthly payment amount is entirely dependent on your credit card receipts - more payments equals faster time to pay off.

When cash flow emergencies arise, we know that your overdue accounts receivables are no promise that your medical practice will meet its bills on time. US Business Finance Corp knows that time is of the essence and we strive to work with our clients to get the approval and funding process completed as quickly as possible. Getting a standard business loan will never fund your practice as fast as our business cash advances.

Contact us at US Business Finances Corp to see how quickly your medical practice can obtain approval and funding of our business cash advance to meet your financing needs.

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Filed under: Business Cash Advance

Controlling Your Credit for a Profitable Future

Posted on September 25th, 2008 by Author

As the credit markets tighten up and the economy contracts, many Americans over their heads in debt consider bankruptcy as an alternative, when they should be considering alternative financing. Bankruptcy provides limited solutions and several downsides. After a bankruptcy getting unsecured loans is rather impossible and the interest rate on collateralized loans will take into account the high risk presented by a past bankruptcy. Bankruptcies remain on your credit history and affect your credit score for ten years. The following are several steps to consider in order to preserve the best credit score you can and move form debt to healthy finances.

Retired couples on fixed income and high credit card debt should also keep in mind that depending on the type of bankruptcy route they take, not all their retirement accounts may be protected from being used to satisfy creditors. All 401(k) programs are protected, but IRS accounts are only protected up to $1 million and after the court may decide what is yours and what can go to creditors.

Negotiate with the credit card companies. This can be done on your own, using the expertise of a lawyer or a credit counselor. The benefit of using an attorney experienced in negotiating settlements is they know all the credit card company tricks and will insist on the negotiated terms being formalized in writing. They also provide an impersonal buffer to the card companies and any collection agencies. Negotiation may include reduced interest rates, longer time period or reduced balance.

Another short-term step that may be available is to do a balance transfer using a 9 - 12 month 0% or low percent rate card offer to maximize payments going toward your balance.

Work with a reputable consumer credit counselor who has a bona fide track record. Steer clear of counselors who are primarily offering loans or pushing you to take the bankruptcy step without going over all the alternatives with you. If you do file for a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Reform Act dictates that, at your won expense, you must undergo credit counseling for six months prior to filing and take a financial-management course after your filing.

Weigh all your alternatives taking into account all the assets you have to leverage. Even in a slow real estate market, you may be able to sell you home to a relative for a price that benefits you both, rent the home and make a dent in your outstanding liabilities.

If negotiations with creditors fail, you can’t meet your monthly credit obligations, and bankruptcy is unavoidable, work with an attorney. You want to make sure all the correct steps are taken to protect your assets and income and to minimize the downside of a bankruptcy.

US Business Finance Corp offers small businesses cash advances to weather their cash flow short falls. Quick application processes and fast funding upon approval help businesses keep moving safely towards profitable sailing.

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Filed under: Alternative Capital, Business Cash Advance, MasterCard/VISA, Money Matters - Personal

Positioning Your Business For Market Fluctuations

Posted on September 22nd, 2008 by Author

The nature of business is cyclical. US Business Finance Corp offers several alternative financing solutions for business owners looking to position their businesses to weather the business cycles with the least disruption. Restaurants have days of heavy traffic and slow days. Gift stores have seasonal cycles. The building industry has longer cycles, both the residential building cycle and the commercial building cycle. The following guidelines should help your decisions to guard your cash flow and operating capital reserves.

Keep the typical business level in mind. When times are very good and an expansive mindset is in place, always keep in mind the nature of the business cycle. Decide whether you really need to hire more employees or if allowing for overtime will best meet your labor needs. The benefit of overtime is that you are using experienced employees and when the sales cycle shifts employees go back to their regular time and no one needs to be laid off. In good cycles, talk to your financing specialists, lining up a business cash advances or a business line of credit is best done in solid business cycles.

Recognize when you have a “hit the wall” situation and need outside advice. A hit the wall situation is one that you are not trained to handle and are tempted to solve in ways in which you are comfortable. Unfortunately in hit the wall situations, your gut instincts tend to be wrong - usually leading to wrong decisions. A red flag is if business decisions are reactionary: crisis-management thinking. Typically the reactionary thinking is following a period of denial that the market has changed and avoidance of painful, but necessary, business steps.
Outside advice can help you gain the necessary perspective. US Business Finance Corp assists small businesses with alternative financing that can deal with business changes. One business consultant commented that most small businesses fail by fixing the wrong problem - they fixed the one they knew how to fix, not the one that endangered the company.

US Business Finance Corp has helped many small businesses meet operating capital needs with cash advances only after the owners widened their search for solutions beyond traditional bank sources. Once they found out how quickly and easily they could access business cash advances using their future credit card sales, they were able to turn around challenging business situations.

Approach cost cutting carefully. Drastic cost cutting can send the wrong message which has a way of reinforcing the market’s negative perceptions. Always keep the vision for what you need coming out of the market fluctuation. Employment expenses and business supplies offer the largest amounts of costs that tantalize with a fast cost cutting step. However, these are also the ingredients you will need in place to take advantage of your next business opportunity. Another option is to be honest about the state of the business with your employees and then you can explore less drastic and more beneficial measures, such as pay cuts or reduced hours that will see the company through and keep your trained work force intact.

Never lose sight of adding more markets. No business saved their way to profitability. Building the income stream and constantly looking to service new markets not only builds profitability, but is also one of the best measures to minimize market fluctuations. New customers, strategic alliances with complementary businesses, new products or services or business cash advances to bolster operating capital all build the company’s forward momentum. Also, remember to take input from and reward your employees for business opportunities they perceive.

Business downturns and upturns can equally benefit your company if you address the needs of the market with your vision and your workforce - addressing the present while building for the future. Contact your financing professionals at US Business Finance Corp to see what alternative financing solutions we have to meet your business’s operating capital constraints.

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Filed under: Alternative Capital, Business Cash Advance, Business Solutions, Management and HR, Money Matters - Business, National Economy