Making Your Business Credible

10. April 2012  by Corey Pierce

Credibility in business has many aspects. For customers it may be your dependability, for other businesses it may be reliability, but when it comes to business fundability it is your financial credibility that is most important. You can make sure your business is credible by having the right associations, making sure your reputation is stable and you are adhering to your business plan.

Who Knows You?

It may be “who you know” that gets you ahead in the world, but it’s who knows you exist that makes you credible. Can people find you? Are you listed with the appropriate business associations in your field and in the business finance world? Your business should have a 411 listing, be in good standing with the BBB (also known as the Better Business Bureau), have the appropriate licensing for your city and state, have a Federal EIN number (the IRS Employer Identification Number) and a listing with Dun & Bradstreet.

To prove your business fundability, you also need to make sure your business credit rating is excellent, and public records do not show law suits or judgments against you. Some liens may be okay, but too many liens against your business will also make your credibility shakier with lenders. Find out what your bank rating is. This is a number that lenders will consider, and should be 5 or better to be considered credible.

Are You Following the Plan?

If you have a business, you should also have a business plan. That plan will have a detailed description of how you plan to make your business work. The longer you have been in business, the more credible that plan becomes if you are following it, and making your predicted goals. This will give lenders a reason to believe that future predictions you make concerning your ability to repay a loan are credible.

If you are just starting out, it is harder to prove your business fundability to lenders. However, a business plan that is not exaggerated and has reasonable expectations can still be an asset in negotiations for a loan.

Search for It

Yep, even banks use the Internet. It is very likely when you are looking for a loan, they are looking online to see who you are, and if your information stacks up. Make sure your business is searchable, and your online reputation is in good shape before applying for a loan.

business credit, business credit builder, corporate credit builder ,

Obama Gives Small Businesses Tax Cuts For Those That Hire

6. March 2012  by Lindsey Cram

President Obama’s 2010 tax break for small businesses was a real boon for both the economy and the individual worker. Of course, the unemployment situation in the country was, and still is a serious issue. It is one of the main dangers to people’s ability to maintain their personal credit ratings. 

The initial tax breaks made it possible for small businesses to do more without getting extra small business loans. It also helped when more money was needed. The fact that the incentives helped business owners keep their personal credit scores solid made getting small business loans easier.

The old tax credit was issued to small businesses for hiring new employees between February 2010 and January 2011. In August of 2011, Obama once again brought about changes to allow for tax breaks for all businesses that hire. This time he made it available to businesses that hired veterans. This will help the economy and those people who are entering the job force after serving the country.

The new bill is called the “Returning Heroes” credit, and is for the 2012 – 2013 term where businesses can earn a $2,400.00 tax incentive. As an added bonus, those businesses that hire veterans and keep them on the payroll for six months or more can get up to $4,800.00.

As a further incentive, there is a “Wounded Warriors” credit where businesses that hire veterans with disabilities from service can earn $4,800.00. This same incentive will allow for up to $9,600.00 for those employees kept on for six or more months.

There are some who complain about the cost of the bill if it passes Congress. It would end up meaning as much as $120 million dollars lost revenue for the government. President Obama countered the arguments against the bill with the need to recover from over 8 million jobs lost during the recent recession.

Veterans, especially wounded vets, have an even harder time fitting into the employment workforce, and they deserve to find some normalcy upon returning from duty. This tax incentive benefits everybody and is a great way for the country to find some stability, increase job rates and become more productive.

It certainly doesn’t hurt your financing appeal to hire veterans, and banks will also look favorably upon those efforts when you apply for small business loans.

business credit, business credit builder, corporate credit builder, small business credit

The Best Business Credit Cards for Small Business

21. February 2012  by Lindsey Cram

There is a lot more to a business credit card than simply providing available cash. It is very important to have credit cards in your business name in order to protect personal credit ratings. However, depending on your needs there are other things to consider when it comes to what makes the best business credit card for your business. 

There are things like frequent flier miles and hotel savings that the right business credit card can provide for those that have to travel often on business. These are just a couple of the incentives that business credit cards offer. If your business doesn’t require you to travel, however, those may not be the right business credit cards for you, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t others that will give you the bonuses you can use.

Types of Incentives Available

Cash Back: Many business credit cards give you a cash back bonus simply for using the card. These bonuses may be general cash back on all purchases, or they may stipulate certain types of purchases. In other cases there may be several types of cash back bonuses on a single business credit card. For instance, the bonus from “SimplyCash®” business card from American Express OPEN that offers 5% cash back on office supply purchases as well as on wireless services. It also gives 3% on gasoline purchases and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Bonus Miles: If you travel heavily for business, or just want to take a much needed vacation you can choose a card like Capitol One® Spark Miles for Business that gives you thousands of frequent flier miles with no limits. There are no blackout dates for traveling, or any airline restrictions and you can even use the miles for cash back or gift cards if you decide you aren’t going to travel. Capitol One® also has a Spark card for cash if you prefer bonuses rather than miles.

Bonus Points: Another form of bonuses are given as “points” toward special purchases. InkBold with Ultimate Rewards gives you 50,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 in 3 months. If you have a lot of large expenses, or use your credit card for regularly recurring expenses this can be a very beneficial type of bonus.

Hotel Bonuses: If you travel on business or for pleasure this type of bonus can save you a lot of money. Marriott Rewards Business Card is one of these types of cards. It gives you 1 point for every $1.00 spent, plus 2 free nights at certain locations throughout the year, no limits on the amounts you can earn, plus if you use your card to pay for hotel accommodations at a Marriott you will get triple points for each dollar spent.

What You Should Consider when Choosing a Business Credit Card

Remember that along with helping you protect personal credit, your business credit card will help you build your company. However, it’s important to determine what you need your card for in order to pick a card properly. If you need a business credit card to finance big, long-term purchases look for a card with a lower interest rate rather than big bonuses. In the long-run, you will pay a lot less for the overall purchases even after you take bonuses into consideration.

If you are using your business credit card to finance monthly expenses and make accounting easier, you will be paying off the entire amount every month, so interest is not a concern. In those cases, get the most for your dollars by choosing a business credit card with the most useful bonuses for your needs.

business credit, business credit builder, business credit cards, business financing, business loans, corporate credit builder, credit score, line of credit, merchant card, merchantcard, money, new business, small business credit

Building Business Credit – First Steps

24. November 2010  by James Penny

business credit builder first stepsMany small business owners use business credit cards because they want to improve their credit ratings. It’s a wise choice, because some cards such as MerchantCard offer immediate access to significant amounts of money, without needing personal guarantees, fixed payments or collateral. And with careful budget planning, the business owners can keep the costs under control and build a strong business credit at the same time.

Having a good business score is the key to obtaining loans for your small business, no matter if you need them for additional inventory, working capital, business growth, and so on; nevertheless, building up business credit is a time consuming process that involves a lot of paperwork.

First of all, you need to register your business, either as an LLC or as a corporation. Then, you will have to prepare your business license documents, your financial statements, some good references (if you’ve got them) and so on. Please note that you need to have a “real” business address in order to register your business as an independent entity; a simple P.O. Box won’t be accepted.

The following step is to register your business with the major credit agencies, commercial entities that ensure a good business climate by keeping track of the companies’ credit scores; having a valid credit report from one or more of these agencies is practically mandatory if you plan to go to the bank for a loan.

Another thing to consider is the strength of your business; the banks like financial stability and if you’ve got the documents to prove it, you have increased your chances to get the needed loan quite a bit. Paying your bills promptly is another key factor when it comes to building a good business credit score; failing to do that will decrease your credit score for sure.

Another little known method that allows you to improve your credit score is the usage of credit lines, which in some cases offer easier payment conditions; no matter if you go this route or not, make sure that you take care of your payments as promptly as possible, without ignoring any of your debts, not even the minor ones. Do this and you will be on your way to improve your credit score, thus giving your small business a great chance to access loans from the banks and allowing it to grow quickly.

Compound Profit offers a very affordable business credit builder program that simplifies this process, bringing it down to only 120 days and offers guaranteed results – or your will get a full refund! Contact us for your complimentary consultation; our highly trained Profit Advisors offer 100% free advice.

business credit, business credit builder, commercial credit builder, corporate credit builder , , ,

Build Small Business Credit

15. October 2010  by James Penny

build small business creditMost small business owners start their businesses using their personal savings, personal credit cards and even loans from family members and / or friends. It’s a good move, because having access to the needed funds is crucial when it comes to starting and growing your business. Sadly, as the time goes by, the owners continue to support their business using their personal assets, and thus put their families at risk.

Most times, the business owner doesn’t know too many things about building business credit, so he / she goes straight to the bank, hoping to get a reasonable business loan with a low interest rate without having too much trouble. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst ideas, especially when you’ve just started a business, because the banks aren’t willing to take any risks these days. As an example, even though SBA claims that its qualifying standards are flexible, they will still require several things from you:

- A personal financial statement. This is the most important document for the bank; if it isn’t looking very good you won’t have too many chances to get a business loan.

- A business profile document: a paper that describes your business, the number of years you’ve been in business, the number of employees, the annual income, profits or losses during the last few years, etc;

- A paper that specifies how much money you would need, how you are going to spend it, the type of loan you’re interested in and how much money you expect to earn in order to repay the business loan.

- A description of the collateral that you are offering in order to secure the loan. This might include money, property and / or equity.

How does having a good business credit score help the small business owners? Many people aren’t aware of this, but using a good business credit builder program opens the door to several opportunities:

- Get a business credit profile under your business name, separating it from your personal credit profile;

- Elliminate the usage of personal credit for business purposes.

- Get access to loans, leases, credit cards and the opportunity to win contracts with major clients;

- Inform all the major business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Nexus Lexus) automatically about your constantly growing business credit score;

- Get approved for business lines of credit with low interest rates.

Now that we’ve got this out of the way, choosing an inexpensive, proven business credit builder program would be a wise move – don’t you think?

business credit, business credit builder, commercial credit builder, corporate credit builder , , ,

Corporate Credit Builder

11. August 2010  by James Penny

corporate credit builder1. Business Credit Builder Programs – overview

If you are interested in expanding your business, you might already know that getting business credit without using your personal credit as a guarantee is a tricky matter, especially if your credit score is lower than ideal or if you have been in business for only a few years.

Fortunately, there is hope: the corporate credit builder programs allow you to get business loans, even if your business credit score isn’t very good. And the good news doesn’t stop here: if you used to work on a 100% cash basis, a good corporate credit score will allow you to make use of lines of credits with most of your suppliers, thus freeing your operating capital.

Use a corporate credit builder program to get working capital for your business. Here are just a few advantages when using Compound Profit’s Corporate Credit Builder program:

- Pay only $19.95 per month and get all the advantages that come with the much more expensive corporate credit builder programs: obtain business credit, credit cards, leases, line of credits and capital for your business fast! Our corporate credit builder program allows you to build strong commercial credit in only a few months;

- Get actual cash for your business (not just lines of credit with specific stores or vendors) and spend it the way you want to;

- Build your corporate credit profile without putting yourself and / or your family at risk;

- Benefit from tax deductions;

- Get financing and equipment leasing with lower rates and better terms. Get better prices from your suppliers;

- Get peace of mind knowing that your company is compliant with all the laws and regulations.

Most (if not all) companies will need to establish a good business credit score sooner or later; therefore, it is a wise decision to start using a corporate credit builder program today, before the actual need arises. And if you have been in business for several years, you have great chances to get big loans and leases without using any personal guarantees.

No matter what your personal credit score value is, our Corporate Credit Builder program can help you get the business credit you need, without affecting your personal credit or forcing you to use other guarantees. Don’t use your personal credit to finance your business; check out our powerful, inexpensive Business Credit Builder program today.

bad credit, business credit, commercial credit builder, corporate credit builder , , ,