ACA Plus Factoring Equal Tax Credits and Happier Employees

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Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as Obamacare two years ago, and it is still controversial with some claiming that ACA is a necessary step for the future, while others say it is not constitutional.

The majority of small businesses believe the ACA will help make small businesses more competitive and encourage growth economically. However the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) claim that the ACA will eventually harm small businesses by driving up the costs of their insurance premiums.

The reality is that many small businesses will not have to cover insurance, but the ACA requires any company with 50 or more employees need to provide coverage for them, meaning a company with 49 employees has to pay nothing for their insurance so this could keep small businesses from wanting to grow. Yet, those that provide insurance are also eligible for tax credits of up to 35 percent of the insurance premiums.

Any small businesses offering health insurance to their employees, makes them more attractive to job seekers. What’s more, factoring can help them pay for the coverage. Invoice factoring enables a small business to raise cash against its invoices within 24 to 48 hours.

SMEs Can Use Factoring Instead of Borrowing

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Yesterday the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index was announced — comming in 98.2 in March. This was down from 98.3 in February. Showing that lending was virtually unchanged in March for the second month and that small business growth is slowing, IFG believes that this news reinforces the need for small businesses to deploy factoring services in order to survive and grow.

The financial research firm also reports that lending is up 14 percent from a year ago. There are other business indicators such as the steady unemployment rate holding steady at a three year low of 8.3 percent, which suggest that the U.S. economy is now in a phase of self-sustaining growth.

Overall concerns are that this may lead to slower growth in the economy. The recently announced Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act — this is a package of six bills that are intended to create more access to capital for entrepreneurs and small business owners. But it is not going to rescue many small businesses, because they are simply too small.

Factoring is one solution that is a growing source of alternative funding. IFG offers invoice factoring solutions that will enable an SME to sell its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash within less than 24 hours. Unlike a loan, factoring services are the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts. There are no upfront fees and no co-signers required. IFG has no minimum sales volume requirement, and professional fees are competitive because circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged.

Student Loan Program Backfires

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In 1965 the student loan program seemed like a great idea; Borrow to go to college now, pay it back later after you get a job. The problem is that today the U.S. Student loan program’s debt is above $1 trillion, surpassing auto-loan and credit card debt today. Student loans are putting our country’s economic recovery at risk because it is increasing the burden on taxpayers.

Since student loans are increasingly hard to pay off, and many students are now unable to find work, some have even returned to school, putting them and their parents further in debt. However, today Factoring is actually another way parents could help pay for their children’s college in the future.

Small business owners trying to leverage college tuition programs can use invoice factoring to soften the blow and defer any college loan expenses for their kids.

For more information on factoring or even single invoice factoring, which enables the factoring of one invoice at a time, go to www.ifgnetwork.com.

58 Percent of Recruiters Believe Companies to Upgrade Executives in 2012

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According to the latest research from ExecuNet’s Job Creation Index, about 58 percent of recruiters surveyed in January 2012 believe that companies will be looking to upgrade their executive staff this year, because many companies seem to be feeling a little more confident about the future and the economy. This is why many of them are seriously seeking to replace existing executives with new talent. Some of the key industries include technology, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Executive Recruiters are expecting a huge rebound in hiring in 2012. and in fact many recruiters have been told to fill the positions that were on hold last year. However, hiring requires fund, and some smaller businesses may not yet be ready with the cash outlay required for new hires. In that case, invoice factoring by providing the much needed cash right away to get the new hires in the door.

For more information about factoring services, contact the Interface Financial Group. Visit www.ifgnetwork.com

Nearing Tax Time: Do You Need Factoring?

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It is close to that time of year when business professionals begin to scramble, have their taxes donw by CPAS, and or send weekends doing their tax returns themselves, only to realize they are short the dollars to pay.

This is when invoice factoring can step in and save the day. If you have legitimate clients, and contracts with them, you are in luck, because there are many companies that will want to work with you. But make sure you choose a reputable factoring company like the Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com) IFG can put together a package for you to purchase all or just a select few of your invoices, then you can meet your tax debts.

It is not difficult to qualify for factoring.
Another option for those who only need a little cash, is Spot Factoring. This is the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts by a factoring company like IFG, but you can factor one invoice at a time. With invoice factoring, there are no minimums, no maximums, no long-term commitments and no lengthy application process.

NFRB Report: U.S. Small Business Confidence is Up

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The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported on the United States small business confidence stating that it went up to a one year high in February — the optimism index went from 93.9 in January to 94.3 in February. When one adds this news to the other business indicators such as the unemployment rate which is staying around a three year low of 8.3 percent.

In addition, last Friday’s news showed that job growth exceeded 200,000 in row. It is all showing economic growth, and we can see that companies are now ordering new inventory to satisfy more customers. The NFIB survey indicates plans to increase inventories by five points in February.

With a more promising economic growth in our future, many businesses are starting to think about hiring, and increasing inventories, all of which takes cash flow. This is the ideal time to implement strategies for funding like invoice factoring.

Factoring has long provided small businesses with cash so they could sustain and grow. Now there are new financial products like spot factoring from IFG, enabling a company to factor one invoice at a time.

U.S. Adds More Jobs; Recovery in Sight

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More good news for small businesses! The Labor Department reports, the United States added 227,000 net jobs in February, the third straight month of gains over 200,000. It is just one more sign confirming a strengthening recovery. The unemployment rate has remained 8.3 percent, and these revisions actually showed stronger gains in the months of December and January 2012 than previously were reported.

In recent news there has been a flurry of positive economic reports about the American economy. This includes a continued rise in consumer confidence, something that is invaluable in the economic recovery.

Now many business plans include hiring more workers which means they need the cash flow to do so. One way a company can mitigate any risks is to begin factoring receivables. Funds coming in can be leveraged, so a business does not need loans to get cash fast.

For more informaiton on how you and your organizaiton can learn more about invoice factoring, go to www.ifgnetwork.com.

Is Borrowing Money Good or Bad for Small Businesses?

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After the last four years when smalhttp://www.ifgnetwork.com/ifgblog/wp-admin/post-new.phpl businesses could not get loans it would appear as if the lending environment is better. According to the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index reports, small-business lending rose 18 percent in January. This is still down from the high point four years back, but the index has been up double digits for 18 months in a row now – and experts think this is good for the economy.

The big question is, maybe the fact that businesses are borrowing more again is not such good news? Does it really presage an economic boom? Maybe small businesses are reorganizing debts or perhaps they really do need to borrow to simply stay in business.

Small businesses could also be operating like big businesses have in the past few years — grabbing credit lines and loans while they can and then sitting on the money while they wait for the economy to truly improve.

Basically, debt is not a good thing for small businesses, especially when the debt is high-interest credit-card debt. That is why another alternative is growing more attractive to many businesses these days — Invoice factoring.
Factoring has long been used by small business to prosper, but today it is even more attractive than loans.

Slash Small Business Costs via Factoring

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Business isn’t getting better as fast as many small business owners desire, so many are looking for ways to cut costs. Obvious solutions include comparison shopping for the best deals on affordable insurance premiums, renegotiating a lease or mortgage, but there are also some creative ways to save money such as invoice factoring.

You could start leasing or hiring temporary employees. An employee leasing company can save you substantial amounts in benefits (as the leasing company usually offers benefits to its workforce itself). Hiring temporary employees insures that you are only paying for work only as you need it.

Try shopping for business credit cards with no annual fee and the lowest interest rates. Also avoid cash advances as credit card companies charge fees on the advance as well as hefty interest rates. And when making deposits at the bank, try to make them early enough in the day that you start earning interest that same day.

Go paperless, you can lower storage and printing costs and improve efficiency (documents that are emailed arrive instantly, rather than the days it can take to send something via USPS, also avoiding postage charges). And instead of buying office equipment, think about leasing it. If you do not not own the equipment, then this means you’re not liable for many service or maintenance charges. You can switch payroll to debit cards, eliminating the expense of printing checks and lowering the risk of fraud. Also consider bundled services from your utility or data company.

Think about factoring to ease cash flow problems quickly. Many business owners are not familiar with factoring receivables, the practice wherein a business sells its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash. Invoice factoring is not a bank loan. Loans are based on your assets and the ability to pay it back. But when factoring receivables, the funds available are based on your credit-worthy customers and are virtually unlimited. The more invoices you have, the higher your credit line is.

It is a wise idea to try alternative sources of funding like factoring receivables.

Bookeeping and Factoring Invoices

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Small businesses may need to hire an outsourced bookkeeper to take a look at their financial information on a quarterly basis, or at the least, annually. Think about establishing your record keeping system for strategic reasons. Depending on the overall complexity of your business, your volume, or the number of transactions involved, your financial adviser can design an economical structure that includes factoring services to help keep cash flowing.

Even if you are just a sole-proprietor, set up separate business and personal books, which will make record-keeping much easier. This can help you manage your business cash flow. Use a bank that has good online banking features so you and or your staff can save time from going to the bank all the time. By using online bill-pay, and even remote deposits, your time can be focused on the business.

Maintain a separate credit card for business purchases because this will make tracking these expenses easier, and
think about hiring an invoice factoring services company like the Interface Financial Group (IFG) so that you receive payments from your customers as early as possible. Cash flow is the life-blood of most small businesses.