US Business Finance Blog

Small Business Financing For Hair Salons

Posted on November 26th, 2008 by Author

Many budding entrepreneurs open their own hair salons and look for ways to expand their businesses after their initial success. However, like many business owners before them, their ability to raise operating capital through traditional lending institutions such as banks is not very promising. US Business Finance Corp has alternative financing solutions to fund the operating capital needs of hair and beauty salons.

US Business Finance Corp’s customer service begins with offering very competitive rates on Visa and MasterCard merchant credit card processing services. With our credit card processing services comes the ability to collect cash on future credit card sales. The benefit of a merchant cash advance over a traditional loan is owners do not have to offer assets of the hair salon or their home as collateral to secure the funds. Since the cash advance is a sale of future hair salon credit card transactions, not a loan, their is no fixed end date, no late fees and no monthly lump sum due – the payments are made a little bit at a time out of a percentage of the sale.

A business cash advance performs better for the hair salon owner than cash advances on their credit card since the fee for our merchant cash advance is a fixed amount. US Business Finance Corp takes on the risk of the merchant cash advance. Owners who rely on their credit cards for cash advances not only pay high interest rates, but, if they don’t pay off the credit card advance quickly, end up paying a very high dollar amount of interest since the credit cards do not demand the principal of the advance get paid in a timely manner. You may end up paying your personal or business credit card company 2 or 3 times the amount of the original advance versus the fixed amount of a merchant cash advance!

If you are ready to stock your hair salon with inventory for the coming holiday season or are looking to buy more equipment or advertising to expand business, rely on US Business Finance Corp to get you a merchant cash advance that helps you meet your financial and business goals. Contact our small business alternative financing experts today to see what business cash advances can do for your hair salon!

Busting The High Cost Myth of Merchant Cash Advances

Posted on November 22nd, 2008 by Author

One of the initial objections our alternative funding experts receive from merchants researching a merchant cash advance program is its cost. Let’s bust the high cost myth once and for all and see how merchant cash advances are very competitive with traditional loans. In some instances, they are better for the merchant than a loan.

First, recognize we are comparing apples to oranges. With a traditional loan, a bank charges a merchant interest for the use of their money. The hallmark of a loan is that the borrower bears most of the risk, the payments are fixed amounts paid over a fixed amount of time. By law, the bank must notify the borrower of the annual percentage rate (APR).

With a business cash advance, the business transaction is a sale, not a loan. The merchant sells future credit card sales (only the Visa and MasterCard sales with US Business Finance Corp) and the cash advance company charges a fixed fee. Two critical differences between a sale and a loan is the sale has no fixed payment period and never charges a late fee. The cash advance company bears the risk in the transaction, not the borrower. Since the alternative funding company bears the risk, they can be more lenient in both the merchant’s credit score and length of time in business – a boon to start-up businesses.

Since a merchant cash advance does not have a fixed pay-off period, (they average 6 to 9 months to pay off) we can only figure what would be a comparable annual percentage rate once it is paid off. However, right up front we can compare loans to cash advances in terms of the dollar cost of the money.

For example, if you obtain a 5 year $10,000 loan at 10% interest, you would pay $2,748 for the use of that money over the five years – not including any late payment fees. You would need to show the bank in-depth financial information, attach a personal guarantee, use personal or business assets as collateral, and the loan would affect your credit score.

If you received a $10,000 business cash advance, you would pay about $2,400 for the money, receive it quicker, not have any personal risk, personal guarantee or collateral on the line. Your balance sheet and credit score would not be affected.

Banks and lending institutions use credit cards to make outrageously expensive loans and cash advances to consumers and business owners by guiding their eye to the interest rate and keeping you from looking at the actual dollar cost of the credit. If you have a credit card charging you 14%, but you only pay a little on the balance over the course of time, the dollar cost of $10,000 in credit is astronomical.

US Business Finance Corp has a great record assisting our business customers and merchants with cash advances. Keep the dollar cost of your cash infusions down by considering our merchant cash advance solution. Contact our business cash advance specialists today!

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.

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.

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.

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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