A good banking relationship can reduce the stress on a small business owner. Be sure you have the right banker before you open your small business bank account.
If you are a small business person, looking to start a banking relationship, there are a number of things you should consider before you choose your bank.
Remember, this business relationship should last a long time, so you want to know you will have the banking services and options you need, or you will find yourself changing banks. And that can be a real hassle!
First, look at your business plan, and see where you intend to go with this business. Will your bank be able to support you if you are going global? Do they have international branches? Can your prospective bank handle import and export letters of credit, etc?
If your business is domestic, your business bank is still important. Does a small business account at your bank require a minimum balance at all times? If so, what are the penalties you will pay on a monthly basis if you do not maintain that bank balance?
Does your bank charge for wire transfers in and out of your bank account? If so, how much does the bank charge?
Does your banking institution provide online banking, so you can pay bills, transfer money in and out of your account and make other banking transactions?
If online banking is available, can you schedule monthly payments to your regular vendor accounts so you can save time in bill paying and avoid having to set reminders to pay those bills on time?
Can you download your banking reports and records of banking transactions into business bookkeeping software so you can be more productive and you don't have to re-enter data from one system to another?
How many branches does your bank have and where are they? Are these convenient to where you do business?
Will your bank provide you with a personal account manager who will help you make business decisions and support your business as it grows?
What kind of business loans does your bank offer and what are their rates? Will your bank help you put together the appropriate loan packages with supporting documents so that the loan is likely to be approved?
Can you get a line of credit pre-approved by your bank so that you have money available for those unanticipated purchases?
Does your bank offer Accounts Receivables financing so you can buy inventory or stock in advance and wait for customers to pay their bills without your business going under?
Can you reach someone in your bank 24 x 7 if you have a question and you need to call from another time zone?
Can your bank support investment accounts and checking/savings accounts to give you a full service suite of banking options for your business needs?
What other business services does your bank offer to the small business person? Get a brochure and sit down and talk to an officer about these and all of your other questions.
Before you open that small business bank account, compare one bank against another to find the one that best fits your needs and fulfills your requirements. You will be happy you took the time to go through this process
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Do You Bank Online?
If you haven’t made it to the world of options offered in bank-online fields, the fact is that you should be. Yes, there are many opportunities for you to walk into a teller and get your information taken care of. But when do you pay bills? Do you do it in the middle of the night, usually the night before it is due? If this is the case, you may want to consider the options of bank-online to simply give you the opportunity to make those payments on time. Why should you bank-online?
There are many reasons but most of them have to do with the ease of use. You can find yourself saving time and money by getting your work done on the web. You can bank whenever you like. You can check your balance well before the bank opens. You can actually see it as well, not just hear the information but see who is taking money from your account. It is quite simple to use and that too adds to the ease and convenience of bank-online options.
What is also great about it is that it can help you to set up bill payments on the web as well. This means that you go into your account, tell it the day you need to pay the bill, the amount and who to send it to and it takes care of the rest. If nothing else, it saves you the postage stamp!
Likewise, you will find that it also provides you with a way to automatically handle those bills so that you are not late anymore. And, it can help you to track your spending and savings because most of the banks that off bank-online options do so by providing you with a way to connect to your banking software as well. This means organization! See what opportunities you have in bank-online through your financial institution.
There are many reasons but most of them have to do with the ease of use. You can find yourself saving time and money by getting your work done on the web. You can bank whenever you like. You can check your balance well before the bank opens. You can actually see it as well, not just hear the information but see who is taking money from your account. It is quite simple to use and that too adds to the ease and convenience of bank-online options.
What is also great about it is that it can help you to set up bill payments on the web as well. This means that you go into your account, tell it the day you need to pay the bill, the amount and who to send it to and it takes care of the rest. If nothing else, it saves you the postage stamp!
Likewise, you will find that it also provides you with a way to automatically handle those bills so that you are not late anymore. And, it can help you to track your spending and savings because most of the banks that off bank-online options do so by providing you with a way to connect to your banking software as well. This means organization! See what opportunities you have in bank-online through your financial institution.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
insurance
The insurance industry allows individuals and businesses to pool and shift risk that they are not willing or able to bear for themselves. Policyholders can insure against a variety of risks. Popular lines of insurance include motor vehicle, household insurance, health insurance and indemnity insurance.
The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of perils. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, fire or storm damage, medical expenses, and loss of income due to disability or death.
The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers (or insurers) and insurance agencies and insurance brokers. In general, insurance carriers are large companies that provide insurance and assume the risks covered by the policy. Insurance agencies and brokerages sell insurance policies for the carriers. While some of these establishments are directly affiliated with a particular insurer and sell only that carrier’s policies, many are independent and are thus free to market the policies of a variety of insurance carriers. In addition to supporting these two primary components, the insurance industry includes establishments that provide other insurance-related services, such as claims adjustment or third-party administration of insurance and pension funds.
Insurance carriers assume the risk associated with annuities and insurance policies and assign premiums to be paid for the policies. In the policy, the carrier states the length and conditions of the agreement, exactly which losses it will provide compensation for, and how much will be awarded. The premium charged for the policy is based primarily on the amount to be awarded in case of loss, as well as the likelihood that the insurance carrier will actually have to pay. In order to be able to compensate policyholders for their losses, insurance companies invest the money they receive in premiums, building up a portfolio of financial assets and income-producing real estate which can then be used to pay off any future claims that may be brought. There are two basic types of insurance carriers: direct and reinsurance. Direct carriers are responsible for the initial underwriting of insurance policies and annuities, while reinsurance carriers assume all or part of the risk associated with the existing insurance policies originally underwritten by other insurance carriers.
Direct insurance carriers offer a variety of insurance policies. Life insurance provides financial protection to beneficiaries—usually spouses and dependent children—upon the death of the insured. Disability insurance supplies a preset income to an insured person who is unable to work due to injury or illness, and health insurance pays the expenses resulting from accidents and illness. An annuity (a contract or a group of contracts that furnishes a periodic income at regular intervals for a specified period) provides a steady income during retirement for the remainder of one’s life.
Property-casualty insurance protects against loss or damage to property resulting from hazards such as fire, theft, and natural disasters. Liability insurance shields policyholders from financial responsibility for injuries to others or for damage to other people’s property. Most policies, such as automobile and homeowner’s insurance, combine both property-casualty and liability coverage. Companies that underwrite this kind of insurance are called property-casualty carriers.
The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of perils. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, fire or storm damage, medical expenses, and loss of income due to disability or death.
The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers (or insurers) and insurance agencies and insurance brokers. In general, insurance carriers are large companies that provide insurance and assume the risks covered by the policy. Insurance agencies and brokerages sell insurance policies for the carriers. While some of these establishments are directly affiliated with a particular insurer and sell only that carrier’s policies, many are independent and are thus free to market the policies of a variety of insurance carriers. In addition to supporting these two primary components, the insurance industry includes establishments that provide other insurance-related services, such as claims adjustment or third-party administration of insurance and pension funds.
Insurance carriers assume the risk associated with annuities and insurance policies and assign premiums to be paid for the policies. In the policy, the carrier states the length and conditions of the agreement, exactly which losses it will provide compensation for, and how much will be awarded. The premium charged for the policy is based primarily on the amount to be awarded in case of loss, as well as the likelihood that the insurance carrier will actually have to pay. In order to be able to compensate policyholders for their losses, insurance companies invest the money they receive in premiums, building up a portfolio of financial assets and income-producing real estate which can then be used to pay off any future claims that may be brought. There are two basic types of insurance carriers: direct and reinsurance. Direct carriers are responsible for the initial underwriting of insurance policies and annuities, while reinsurance carriers assume all or part of the risk associated with the existing insurance policies originally underwritten by other insurance carriers.
Direct insurance carriers offer a variety of insurance policies. Life insurance provides financial protection to beneficiaries—usually spouses and dependent children—upon the death of the insured. Disability insurance supplies a preset income to an insured person who is unable to work due to injury or illness, and health insurance pays the expenses resulting from accidents and illness. An annuity (a contract or a group of contracts that furnishes a periodic income at regular intervals for a specified period) provides a steady income during retirement for the remainder of one’s life.
Property-casualty insurance protects against loss or damage to property resulting from hazards such as fire, theft, and natural disasters. Liability insurance shields policyholders from financial responsibility for injuries to others or for damage to other people’s property. Most policies, such as automobile and homeowner’s insurance, combine both property-casualty and liability coverage. Companies that underwrite this kind of insurance are called property-casualty carriers.
forex
The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. The average daily trade in the global forex and related markets currently is over US$ 3 trillion. Retail traders (individuals) are a small fraction of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks, and are subject to forex scams.
Friday, August 10, 2007
e-commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown dramatically since the wide introduction of the Internet. A wide variety of commerce is conducted in this way, including things such as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at at least some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wide range of technologies such as e-mail as well.
Mortgage
A mortgage is a method of using property (real or personal) as security for the payment of a debt.
The term mortgage (from Law French, lit. dead pledge) refers to the legal device used for this purpose, but it is also commonly used to refer to the debt secured by the mortgage, the mortgage loan.
In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans secured on real estate rather than other property (such as ships) and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property.
In many countries it is normal for home purchases to be funded by a mortgage. In countries where the demand for home ownership is highest, strong domestic markets have developed, notably in Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The term mortgage (from Law French, lit. dead pledge) refers to the legal device used for this purpose, but it is also commonly used to refer to the debt secured by the mortgage, the mortgage loan.
In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans secured on real estate rather than other property (such as ships) and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property.
In many countries it is normal for home purchases to be funded by a mortgage. In countries where the demand for home ownership is highest, strong domestic markets have developed, notably in Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Finance
Finance is a field that studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, allocate, and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects. The term finance may thus incorporate any of the following:
The study of money and other assets;
The management and control of those assets;
Profiling and managing project risks;
The science of managing money;
As a verb, "to finance" is to provide funds for business or for an individual's large purchases (car, home, etc.). The activity of finance is the application of a set of techniques that individuals and organizations (entities) use to manage their financial affairs, particularly the differences between income and expenditure and the risks of their investments
The study of money and other assets;
The management and control of those assets;
Profiling and managing project risks;
The science of managing money;
As a verb, "to finance" is to provide funds for business or for an individual's large purchases (car, home, etc.). The activity of finance is the application of a set of techniques that individuals and organizations (entities) use to manage their financial affairs, particularly the differences between income and expenditure and the risks of their investments
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