Month: September 2014

Process Your Small Business Payroll Online and Save Time

    Finance Tips

Statutory payroll tax deductions

Processing payroll for small companies can be a huge hassle for small business owners, not to mention incredibly time consuming. Small business owners already have a lot of responsibilities to deal with, they shouldn’t have to worry about wasting so much time and energy on payroll management.

Fortunately there are online payroll solutions for this very reason. Managing your payroll online can save a lot of time, and involves much less annoying paperwork and calculations.

Take a look at the comparisons between online payroll management online, and filling out paperwork manually:

  1. Calculations
    Manual: One minute per staff member
    Online: 20 seconds per staff member
  2. Paperwork
    Manual: One minute per staff member
    Online: 10 seconds per staff member
  3. Checking Legislation
    Manual: Two minutes per month
    Online: 20 seconds per month
  4. Calculating Days Worked
    Manual: Five minutes per staff member
    Online: 20 seconds per staff member
  5. Creating Reports
    Manual: Two minutes per staff member
    Online: 20 seconds per staff member

  6. Add it up!
    Manual: 11 minutes per staff member
    Online: 1 minute 30 seconds per staff member

Online payroll management will save a great deal of time for any business, no matter the size, but it is particularly effective for large businesses. As a matter of comparison, doing payroll for 10 employee would take 15 minutes online, but would take one hour and 50 minutes manually. For 20 employees, online payroll would take 30 minutes, while manual would take three hours and 40 minutes. Payroll for 50 employees would take one hour and 15 minutes online, but would take a whopping 9 hours and 10 minutes to do manually.

It’s just not worth it to throw away so much time that could be better used elsewhere, on other tasks. Online payroll software can do the bulk of the work for you, saving you time and energy. Online payroll is also more convenient for employees, as they will be able to easily access paystubs and tax information through the online portal. More research here.

Merchant Cash Advance Services Can Help Your Small Business Grow

    Finance Tips

Cash advances on credit cards

When a small business is just starting up, or even if they’ve been operating for several years, money is likely pretty tight. There are actions that could be taken to help the business, maybe buying some new machinery, or doing some more advertising, but at this point there is simply not enough money in the budget to do so.

However, all hope is not lost. Fortunately, there are merchant cash advance companies that can offer easy cash advances to small businesses that need them. Cash advance merchant services are when the merchant cash advance lenders loan a large sum of money, in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of future credit and/or debit card sales.

Merchant cash advance companies don’t necessarily always make their money back through credit or debit card sales. That was originally the case, but now it can mean any kind of financing option that involves short payment terms (less than 24 months) and small regular payments (typically each business day).

Merchant cash advances are not loans — they are a sale of a portion of future credit and/or debit card sales. Because of this, merchant cash advance companies claim that they are not bound by state usury laws which limit tenders from charging high interest rates. This technicality allows them to operate in a largely unregulated market and charge much higher interest rates than banks.[

So if you are a small business that needs a little bit of extra money to grow, merchant cash advance companies can provide you with that money, with a reasonable repayment plan. Don’t let your business suffer because you don’t yet have the money to help it grow. This is a common problem with small businesses, which is why the merchant cash advance industry was created. See this reference for more.

3 Dream Jobs for Finance Majors

    Finance Tips

Jobs in financial services

There are many careers in banking and finance, but one of the tracks that leads to natural promotions is accounting. If you’re looking at jobs in accounting—but perhaps aspiring to something higher someday—here are three corporate finance careers that often come out of the accounting ranks or are founded on certified public accountant (CPA) credentials.

  1. Corporate Controller
    A corporate controller manages the accounting and other financial staff, ensuring that the company’s financial actions comply with plans laid out by senior leadership. A controller maintains consistency in accounting, and is aware of—and ready to report on—the company’s financial situation at every point in time.

  2. Vice President of Finance
    A vice president of finance bridges the gap between general staff and the very top “C-level” leadership. Typically, a VP of finance coordinates financial planning, debt management and budgeting. He or she may also advice on acceptable financial risk. Because the exact responsibilities of this job may vary from company to company—some placing more emphasis on accounting, others on planning for the future—a previous controller may or may not easily progress into a VP role.

  3. Chief Financial Officer
    A chief financial officer is a business strategist and true partner to the CEO, using knowledge about the company’s financial situation to develop and achieve new visions and goals. Like a VP of finance, a CFO often has an accounting background or a CPA credential, but CFOs rarely come from controller ranks. A CFO must have the skills of a good salesperson, selling other senior leadership or outside investors on the company’s strategic plan. Even though a good CFO understands the nitty-gritty of accounting practices, he or she must be fundamentally a people person with excellent communication skills.

Depending on the size of a company, it may have all three of these levels of finance management, or may combine the positions into one or two roles. How are your company’s corporate finance careers structured? What do you think are the best corporate finance careers? Share in the comments.

Why Everyone Needs a Little Financial Advice

    Finance Tips

Accredited debt relief

We all remember the financial crisis of the mid 2000’s that resulted in thousands of lay offs and the infamous housing market crash, in which many Americans lost their homes. Though the economy is slowly showing sins of improvement, American consumers are still struggling under crushing credit card debt, medical bills, and student loan debt.

As such, several Americans are seeking out help with debt, and are turning to debt counseling in order to get the best financial advice possible to take control of their finances.

Debt counselling provides the best financial advice available in order for help consumers reach their financial goals and better manage their personal finances. An experienced debt counselor will carefully review your finances, including your debt to income ratio, spending habits, and monthly expenses, in order to determine a plan of action that aligns with your personal financial goals.

Having a professional evaluate your financial situation is useful in that it allows you to have a fresh perspective. Additionally, it gives you the tools and resources in order to make better and more informed financial decisions in the future.

Debt advice may also help you plan for life’s milestones, such as purchasing a home, going to college, getting married, and retirement. It’s important to be financially prepared for these milestones in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Don’t hesitate to seek out the best financial advice from a reputable debt counselor in order to see what your financial future has in store for you. Find out more about this topic here.

The Top 5 Tips for Selling Gold

    Finance Tips

Estate jewelry oklahoma city

You’ve probably seen the commercials: Old, broken jewelry or gold coin collections can translate into big money if you’re willing to sell and have them melted down. But not so fast; to make sure you’re being treated fairly and getting the maximum profit from the sale, here are five things to do before rushing off to places that buy gold.

  1. Know the Lingo
    Educate yourself in advance so you won’t be overwhelmed when you walk into a shop. Unlike a standard U.S. ounce, which is 28 grams, gold is measured in troy ounces. A troy ounce is 31.1 grams. You may also hear the measurement a “pennyweight,” which equals 1.555 grams.
  2. Separate Your Jewelry by Karat Level
    Since pure gold is very soft, it is mixed with other metals to make jewelry. The higher the karat marked on your jewelry (you can usually find this information on the inside of a ring or bracelet), the more gold is in it and the more it should be worth.
  3. Ask for an Appraisal
    Ask in advance what your gold is worth and then take time to think about it and do your research. Many places that buy gold offer free appraisals of gold and other precious metals, or you can go to an outside appraiser to get an idea of how much your jewelry is actually worth.
  4. Check the Market
    The value of gold changes daily based on national and international markets, so you may want to keep an eye on the market to get the most out of your collection. Going through a gold buyer, of course, means that you won’t get the full value since they have operating costs and need to make a profit as well. But knowing the general trends of gold prices is a good idea.
  5. Research the Buyer
    Find the best place to sell gold in your area. Some businesses buy and sell gold, while others only buy. Research the buyer you’re considering to make sure the store has a reputation for above-board business transactions. The Better Business Bureau is always a good place to start, but you can also check out user reviews and testimonials.

Have you tried to sell gold jewelry or coins? What was your experience like? Share your experience and advice on selling gold in the comments. Read more like this.

One Easy Way to Ensure That You’ll Retire Comfortably

    Finance Tips

Using self directed ira to buy real estate

Many Americans depend on the assumption that they will be able to retire one day, but we’re seeing more and more retirees still working full time past their retirements — about one quarter of them. Not only do some Americans have to work well into their retirements, many people do not feel that they will be able to retire comfortably and believe that they will have to work until the age of 80 before they will be able to full retire.

There are a number of ways to prepare for and ensure that you will be able to have a comfortable retirement. Popular choices for this purpose are investing, opening a 401 (k), or opening an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). An IRA is a particularly attractive option because certain types of them get tax breaks, and you can still invest the money in the IRA. If you have a self directed IRA, you will be able to invest those funds however you see fit.

One smart way to invest your IRA is to buy real estate that will generate income. The only way to do this is with IRA non recourse loans. Nonrecourse loans are secured loans for which the collateral is real property. The non recourse loan agreement is basically this: if the borrower defaults on the loan, the non recourse lender can only seize that property; the borrower is not personally responsible.

Self directed IRA lending can allow you to purchase a piece of income property like a multi family home or other residential property, commercial property, or agricultural land. Any of these has the potential to create a source of income to not only pay back the IRA non recourse loan, but to help you fund your retirement so that you can rest easy.