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When It’s Time to Go Plastic
A clean, accessible accounting system that accounts for every transaction is a requirement for every small business, especially when the company begins to realize increased daily sales.
Trying to keep track of every transaction manually with a paper system can be a nightmare, often leading to missed items and a backlog in processing the postings. Since you also need to know current cash flow and prepare for critical tax reporting and payments, how do you handle all of this efficiently and comprehensively? One way to simplify and make things easier could be going plastic as soon as your doors open.
With electronic payment so widespread, accepting “plastic” payment allows a company to process both credit and debit cards on most of the major networks. Doing so creates easy-to-manage records and paperwork for accounting purposes. Accepting credit/debit card payment also allows a business to be paid immediately rather than waiting for a large personal check to clear.
For small businesses, cash flow is critical. Receiving sales funds as quickly as possible helps a business owner manage his or her company finances on a more predictable basis, paying off vendors in a timely manner. With credit card payments, bounced checks and cash flow hiccups are eliminated. The business knows exactly when and what payment has arrived and can use those funds immediately.
Going plastic also allows a small business to integrate better with e-commerce. Most customers buying goods or services online use a credit card. Small businesses that accept such payments access wider markets, regardless of distance or even country, because the credit card processing companies manage the risk and movement of payments electronically. The customer enjoys risk-free purchasing and the small business enjoys a wider portfolio of customers not possible with cash or check payments.
For tax reporting purposes, most card processing services provide easy-to-download activity records that break out incoming and outgoing funds, the payer and payee, amounts, dates, and what the transaction covered. These activity logs are actual transaction records that are very useful as supporting documentation for tax reporting. So instead of chasing various receipts all over the place, a small business has all it needs on one clean report that can’t be easily disputed in an audit. This reporting format works well for both reporting sales tax as well as business income taxes. Further, the reporting is easily imported into major financial off-the-shelf software programs, producing even easier financial management benefits.
Finally, customers tend to spend more via a credit/debit card payment versus cash. Because the money isn’t due right away, customers find it easier to purchase higher cost items. That in turn means larger sales per transaction for small businesses, which is a good thing when every revenue dollar counts. Up-selling becomes easier too because customers are not concerned about cash in hand.
Using credit cards for your business is a valuable transaction tool and produces greater revenue as well as easier on-the-go financing and important tax records. Smart businesses take advantage of all opportunities, including available payment tools. Go plastic today!
About the author
Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, a merchant services provider and also serves on its Board of Directors. She has more than 15 years experience in the bankcard industry in direct sales, sales management and marketing.
Read Similar: business banking, business financing, business loan, economy, franchise financing, small business
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Avoid risks using your credit cards for your business
In the US many people use personal credit cards to finance their business transactions. Business people are eager to use credit card accounts because their higher credit limits enable the business to access more cash toward business objectives.
An owner can avoid investing their own money while setting up a business by opting to use a credit card to tap into extra funds. But they should be cautious and exercise discipline to pay back the full monthly charge amounts otherwise face an insurmountable level of debt for the young enterprise.
Here are a few other risks involved with using credit cards that you should be aware of:
Accumulated debt: When using credit cards for business transaction, the owner risks spending money they may otherwise avoid if relying solely on cash. Therefore it’s advisable to track all your expenses and be aware of which ones were spent from credit accounts. Limit them to what you believe you will be able to repay in the next 30 days. If you will dedicate subsequent income receipts to be applied toward paying off your credit charges, then you avoid accumulating long term debt.
Fraud and Theft: Identity theft and credit card fraud are two serious risks associated with credit card usage, so be careful as to who you provide your account information to. Also be aware of the charges you make and confirm that your monthly statements do not contain others Charles that you did not make. Don’t pay for charges you did not make, which you are not legally responsible, but rather report them immediately to the lender.
Never disclose your credit card PIN number to anyone – it’s designed only to be used either at an ATM, through the telephone keypad or online.
Avoid prepaid credit cards (if you qualify): Apply for a regular credit card to avoid the risk of loss from misplacing or theft of a prepaid card. You can cancel a regular account card with a maximum $50 loss, but the prepaid account balance will be irretrievably lost.
Credit History: Avoid the adverse consequences to your credit history by paying all bills, especially credit card accounts on time or even ahead of schedule. Be aware that some low-interest accounts have a zero tolerance for your payments being received even being one day past the due date. Schedule it and all bills to arrive safely ahead of time to build and protect a good credit rating.
High interest rate: Late payments, poor credit histories and using the accounts for “cash advances” rather than purchases raise the interest rate charged by lenders. Payoff these sums as quickly as possible to lower borrowing cost and work toward performing better on your credit accounts to improve your score.
Christina Jones is a contributing writer to many financial publications and has written several articles on debt relief programs and Chapter 7 and 13c bankruptcy. Her expertise is in debt finance.
Charles H. Green is Executive Director of Small Business Finance Institute that educates business owners about finance. He is the author of The SBA Loan Book, 3rd Edition (Adams Media).
Can There Be Too Much Profit?
Yes, that is a serious question. And in my reasoning, yes is also the ultimate answer to the question.
Trust me when I assert that I am a committed free-market capitalist. I believe in the power of the profit motive to move mountains, revolutionize the world, and spread assorted good things to millions of people. Without it, we might be still be living as serfs in 18th century conditions under the knuckles of some knight.
Profits motivate ordinary individuals to unleash their imagination, energy, and industry to create opportunities, innovation, and relief. Profits solve problems, feed people, and change the planet. Without profits, the world would collapse on a moribund economy that couldn’t even feed us, resembling the failed communist societies that herded citizens into forced labor in collective, state-owned enterprises, rife with corruption, fraudulent output, and dispirited participants. Read More 
F(r)ight Zone Ahead
Over this past weekend the federal budget drama ended with an hour to spare ahead of a threatened shutdown. Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep funding operations after a deal was cut to reduce the remaining 2011 budget by $38 billion, while taking several social issues off the table demanded by conservatives.
The story was covered like a natural disaster with hourly updates and frequent progress reports. Realistically, it was only the prelude to a larger fight looming over the 2012 budget and the necessity of raising the federal debt ceiling in the weeks ahead. Now comes the frightening part. Read More
Economy at Rest
Across the media I keep seeing the discussion going back and forth about who or what is the culprit for tight business credit and a continuing sluggish rate of economic growth. Depending on the guru you tune into, the average projected 2011 growth of the Gross National Product is only about 3%, meaning that new job growth will remain lethargic for the foreseeable future. At that pace, it may take 15+ years to return to the same employment level enjoyed prior to the housing bubble.
So where is the money to fuel a more robust economy? Let’s look at all the players in that cycle: Read More
Read Similar: business banking, business financing, business loan, economy, SBA loan, small business
Who Do You Trust?
Have you heard the phrase “information age?” Truly we are living in that time, as free information connects the world more rapidly than ever before with an increasing frequency and volume than ever before possible. Technology has made everyone an expert capable of distributing facts, fiction and opinions to most of the literate world, if they will only click on your site or email. You are reading this blog as an example.
To quantify this information, Wikipedia reports that as of 2006, Google had already indexed more than 25 billion websites (long before this one existed), and was getting 400 million inquiries per day. In 2010, YouTube reported that 35 hours of video was being uploaded every minute, and that it already consumed more bandwidth than the rest of the internet. Read More
What Is The Real Problem?
Remember the imagery of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand? That is sort of how I view the average American taxpayer. They may be opinionated, but choose to remain purposely blinded to what is really happening around them. It is much easier to just not see anything in the periphery and keep to ourselves, or maybe just vent about what we think we don’t like and won’t try to understand.
The Concord Coalition (www.ConcordCoalition.org) was formed in 1992 to create a bi-partisan dialogue on fiscal responsibility by then U.S. Senators Warren Rudman (R-NH) and Paul Tsongas (D-MA). Obviously it has not made enough progress in the years since to raise awareness of the need to reform the U.S. budget or its drunken propensity to continue an endless cycle of spending growth and income reduction. Read More
Read Similar: business loan, economy, financial crisis, fiscal policy, SBA loan, small business, taxes
Living With Less
I keep hearing that we are waiting to recover from the great recession of 2008, but I will share a few thoughts on that statement that you might ponder. First of all, this period we are experiencing is no recovery. Nothing resembles the typical way our economy has always performed by taking a few months of rest, and resuming steady growth with consumer confidence restored and good job still held. We Americans always expect to return to the good life with gusto. And to do so quickly.
In fact, my view is that we are not in recovery – we are at the beginning of living with less. Recovery assumes you will return to where you were. Think about residential housing and new bank start-ups. We are not going back to the heedless growth in those two sectors, and they were a significant part of the economy that fueled our blind confidence. The fallout from the loss of those two sectors continues to reverberate in virtually every sector of our economy. Read More
Read Similar: banking, business financing, economy, financial crisis, small business, year in review
When There Aren’t Enough Borrowers, Train New Ones
I keep reading about the debate playing out across the country among the many interested parties. Who is the culprit behind tight credit and a continuing sluggish economy? Some say banks are still too tight with their credit decisions. Others cite a lack of demand for credit as the problem with growth. My answer: It depends.
It is demonstrably true that hundreds of banks continue to struggle with capital issues, and frankly don’t have the money to lend. It is also true that many banks do have sufficient funds to lend, but are still holding a tighter grip on lending criteria, and only funding the best deals. And both sides can accurately point to a zealous regulatory environment, which perhaps didn’t act forcefully enough when the bubble was inflating, but are darn determined to keep it flat now. Read More
Read Similar: business financing, business loan, economy, financial crisis, financial regulatory reform, SBA loan, small business
What Would Warren Do?
I have never owned a single share of Berkshire Hathaway stock. My interest and observations of Warren Buffett have always been passive, but my admiration is nonetheless strong. As a captain of American industry, he strikes me as a solid individual who has conducted his life and business with values we can only revere. Old-fashioned? Absolutely. Out-of date? Never.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what Warren Buffett is thinking now as our democratic process has delivered this republic to a point of perpetual government deadlock? At the core of every issue: money. Read More
Read Similar: business banking, business financing, business regulation, economy, federal budget, fiscal policy, small business, taxes
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