New comment by haffi112 in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2020)"

Nordverse | Full stack engineer | Reykjavík, Iceland | ONSITE/REMOTE | Part-time / Full time

We’re a team of medical doctors and software engineers building solutions for healthcare.

We are currently located in Iceland and we are looking for world class developers to join our team.

More information here: https://www.tvinna.is/jobs/full-stack-developer-6/

Get in touch (contact@nordverse.com).

New comment by claudio-viola in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2020)"

Location: REMOTE | EUROPE | Remote preferred Willing to relocate: unlikely, but do contact me about it

– Technologies: Javascript, Typescript, Node.js, graphql, Docker, kubernetes, jenkins, aws, cloud, devops, backend, agile, scrum, kanban, python, ruby, shell scripting, linux, chef, ansible, ci/cd

– Résumé/CV: http://bit.ly/2HucTwp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-viola/

How to Rock your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

Rock Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession What’s your business bank credit score in a recession? Before going any further, do you know the difference between bank credit and business credit? Business credit is the full and complete amount of money that your small business can get from all manner of creditors. That … Continue reading How to Rock your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

New comment by claudio-viola in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (November 2020)"

SEEKING WORK | Location: REMOTE | EUROPE | Remote preferred Willing to relocate: unlikely, but do contact me about it

– Technologies: Javascript, Typescript, Node.js, graphql, Docker, kubernetes, jenkins, aws, cloud, devops, backend, agile, scrum, kanban, python, ruby, shell scripting, linux, chef, ansible, ci/cd

– Résumé/CV: http://bit.ly/2HucTwp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-viola/

The post New comment by claudio-viola in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (November 2020)" appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

New comment by claudio-viola in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (November 2020)"

SEEKING WORK | Location: REMOTE | EUROPE | Remote preferred Willing to relocate: unlikely, but do contact me about it

– Technologies: Javascript, Typescript, Node.js, graphql, Docker, kubernetes, jenkins, aws, cloud, devops, backend, agile, scrum, kanban, python, ruby, shell scripting, linux, chef, ansible, ci/cd

– Résumé/CV: http://bit.ly/2HucTwp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-viola/

The post New comment by claudio-viola in “Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (November 2020)” appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

How to Rock your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

Rock Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

What’s your business bank credit score in a recession?

Before going any further, do you know the difference between bank credit and business credit? Business credit is the full and complete amount of money that your small business can get from all manner of creditors. That means the credit unions,  credit card companies, and leasing companies. And it means any credit your small business can get from suppliers, under what is called trade credit or vendor credit or trade lines. Your bank credit score, though, is a touch different.

Bank credit, on the other hand, is the full amount of borrowing capacity which a small business can get from the banking system only. Hence your bank credit score, of course, is the measurement of this capacity to borrow.

Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession, Explained

A small business can get more business credit rapidly, so long as it has at least one bank reference and an average daily account balance of at least $10,000 for the most recent three month time period. This set up will yield a bank rating of a Low-5. So this means it is an Adjusted Debt Balance of from $5,000 to $30,000.

A lower rating, like a High-4, or balance of $7,000 to $9,999 will not automatically reject the small business’s loan application. However, it will slow down the approval process.

Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession, Defined

A bank credit rating is the average minimum balance as maintained in a business bank account over a three month long period. Hence a $10,000 balance will rate as a Low-5, a $5,000 balance will rate as a Mid-4, and a $999 balance will rate as a High-3, etc.

Goals for Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

A small business’s chief goal should always be to maintain a minimum Low-5 bank rating for at least three months. Hence that means  an average $10,000 balance.

This is because, without at least a Low-5 rating, the majority of banks will operate under the assumption that the business has little to no ability to repay a loan or a business line of credit.

One thing to keep in mind – you will never actually see this number. The bank will just keep this number in its back pocket.

Check out our professional research on bank ratings, the little-known reason why you will – or won’t – get a bank loan for your business during a recession.

The Bank Credit Score Rating Ranges

The numbers work out to the following ranges:

  • High-5 – account balance of $70,000-99,999
  • Mid-5 – account balance of $40,000-69,999
  • Low-5 – balance of $10,000-39,000
  • High-4 – 7,000-9,999
  • Mid-4 – $4,000-6,999
  • Low-4 – $1,000-3,999

Do not forget, your small business needs to be at the Low-5 level bank score or better.

Rocking Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

It should be clear that the thrust behind bank credit scores is to show proof that your small business can pay back its financial obligations in an expeditious manner. Therefore, yes, you will need to maintain a minimum balance for at least three months. Every cycle is based on the balance rating during the previous three month period.

Business Bank Loans in a Recession Credit SuiteCongruency

It is also vital that the business owner ensures that their business bank accounts are reported exactly the same way all of their business records are, and with the exact same physical address and phone number. And it cannot be a post office box!

It is imperative that each and every credit agency and trade credit vendor, every record keeper also lists the business name and address the exact same way. No lender is going to stop to consider all of the ways that a business might be listed, when they look into the business’s creditworthiness. Therefore, if they are unable to find what they need easily, they will just deny the application.

Note: these are record keepers of financial records, income tax, web addresses and e-mail addresses, directory assistance, etc.

Congruency also matters in the event you use a fictitious name or DBA, AKA a ‘doing business as’ status.

Responsible Account Management

Plus the business must manage its bank account responsibly. This means that the small business should avoid writing non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks at all costs, because that decimates bank ratings. Non-sufficient-funds checks are something which no business can afford to let happen. It is even a good idea for the business to add overdraft protection to their bank account as soon as possible, in order to avoid NSFs.

Positive Cash Flow

Your business must show a positive cash flow. The cash coming in and leaving a company’s bank account should reflect a positive free cash flow. A positive free cash flow is the amount of revenue left over after a company has paid all of its expenses. When an account shows a positive cash flow it indicates that the business is generating more revenue than is used to run the company. That means the bank will feel that the business can pay its bills.

Consistent Deposits

Finally, understand that banks are highly motivated to lend to a business with consistent deposits. A business owner must also make regular deposits in order to maintain a positive bank rating. The business owner must make a lot of consistent deposits. And they need to be more than the withdrawals they are making, in order to have and maintain a good bank rating. If they can do that, then they will have a good bank credit score.

Check out our professional research on bank ratings, the little-known reason why you will – or won’t – get a bank loan for your business during a recession.

An Alternative to Jacking Up Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

Of course we are talking about business credit building here. Business credit is an asset which can help your company in years to come.

Small business credit is credit in a small business’s name. It doesn’t tie to a business owner’s consumer credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the company.

As a result, a business owner’s business and consumer credit scores can be very different.

The Benefits

Due to the fact that small business credit is distinct from consumer, it helps to protect an entrepreneur’s personal assets, in the event of a lawsuit or business insolvency.

Also, with two distinct credit scores, a business owner can get two separate cards from the same vendor. This effectively doubles buying power.

Another benefit is that even startups can do this. Heading to a bank for a business loan can be a formula for frustration. But building small business credit, when done the right way, is a plan for success.

Consumer credit scores depend on payments but also various other elements like credit use percentages.

But for small business credit, the scores truly just hinge on whether a business pays its invoices punctually.

The Process

Building business credit is a process, and it does not occur without effort. A business has to actively work to build company credit.

That being said, it can be done easily and quickly, and it is much faster than establishing consumer credit scores.

Merchants are a big component of this process.

Doing the steps out of sequence will result in repetitive denials. Nobody can start at the top with small business credit. For instance, you can’t start with retail or cash credit from your bank. If you do, you’ll get a denial 100% of the time.

Company Fundability

A small business has to be fundable to lenders and merchants.

For this reason, a small business will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address. And it needs to have website hosting bought from a merchant such as GoDaddy.

In addition, business telephone and fax numbers must have a listing on ListYourself.net.

Additionally, the company phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or the like).

A business will also need a bank account dedicated solely to it, and it needs to have every one of the licenses necessary for operation.

Licenses

These licenses all have to be in the perfect, correct name of the business. And they need to have the same company address and phone numbers.

So note, that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Check out our professional research on bank ratings, the little-known reason why you will – or won’t – get a bank loan for your business during a recession.

Dealing with the IRS

Visit the IRS website and acquire an EIN for the business. They’re totally free. Select a business entity like corporation, LLC, etc.

A small business can get started as a sole proprietor. But they will most likely want to change to a variety of corporation or an LLC.

This is in order to minimize risk. And it will optimize tax benefits.

A business entity will matter when it pertains to taxes and liability in case of a lawsuit. A sole proprietorship means the entrepreneur is it when it comes to liability and tax obligations. No one else is responsible.

Sole Proprietors Take Note

If you run a company as a sole proprietor, then at least be sure to file for a DBA. This is ‘doing business as’ status.

If you do not, then your personal name is the same as the company name. Consequently, you can end up being directly liable for all company debts.

Additionally, per the IRS, with this arrangement there is a 1 in 7 possibility of an IRS audit. There is a 1 in 50 chance for corporations! Prevent confusion and substantially decrease the odds of an IRS audit simultaneously.

But treat any DBA filing as a steppingstone to incorporating.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make sure it is being reported and deal with any errors ASAP. Get in the habit of checking credit reports. Dig into the particulars, not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs.

Update Your Data

Update the information if there are inaccuracies or the info is incomplete.

Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to contest any inaccuracies in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be corrected. But the CRAs often want you to dispute in a particular way.

Disputes

Disputing credit report mistakes commonly means you mail a paper letter with copies of any proofs of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the original copies. Always mail copies and keep the original copies.

Fixing credit report errors also means you precisely spell out any charges you contest. Make your dispute letter as crystal clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you sent in your dispute.

A Word about Building Business Credit

Always use credit responsibly! Never borrow more than what you can pay off. Keep track of balances and deadlines for payments. Paying off promptly and in full will do more to raise business credit scores than just about anything else.

Building company credit pays. Excellent business credit scores help a company get loans. Your lending institution knows the small business can pay its debts. They understand the company is authentic.

The company’s EIN links to high scores and your business bank credit score in a recession will not matter quite so much.

Takeaways for How to Rock Your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession

Start with consistent deposits, even if you cannot make terribly high ones. Just, start to become dependable in how you add money to your business’s bank account. Whether you deposit every week or every other week, etc. is your own choice. Opt for whatever you are most likely to be able to do.

This can also help you with both positive cash flow and responsible account management. Hence you get a lot of bang for your buck here – quite literally.

The other fairly simple task you can undertake is to make sure your business address and other particulars are perfectly congruent across the board. This means, for example, that if you wrote Ltd. on your D&B D-U-N-S number application, but Limited when you applied for a business bank account, you will need to take measures to get these two areas in sync.

Generally, the easiest way to do this is by going through everything and simply copying and pasting your information.

The post How to Rock your Business Bank Credit Score in a Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

How to Sound Like and Become a Business Credit Expert

What can a business credit expert help you do?  What do you need to know to sound like or even become a business credit expert?  It’s not as simple as a Google search, that’s for sure. You need someone who really knows the secrets to nailing small business funding. 

Language is Impressive but Knowledge is the True Test of Being a Business Credit Expert

Use terms like tradelines, business credit reporting agencies, starter credit, credit line hybrid, EIN and more and you will have people thinking you are a business credit expert in no time.  The problem is, unless you actually have the knowledge to back up how you sound, you can’t really help people, or yourself.  Unless you are a business credit expert, you cannot guide people through the process of building business credit and using it properly. What do you need to know?  Everything.

Business Credit Expert: What is Business Credit?

First, a business credit expert has a true understanding of what business credit is.  Just having a credit card that calls itself a business card is not business credit. Business credit is credit under a company’s EIN. It has no association with the owner’s Social Security number. It is totally separate from personal credit, and therefore the business credit score can differ drastically from your personal credit score.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.

This is credit in the business’s name and it is based on the business’s ability to pay, not the business owner’s. When done right, it is possible to get some business funding based on a business credit score without a personal credit check. Also, you, the business owner, aren’t personally liable for the credit the business gets.  Business credit is essential to getting the small business funding you need. 

Business Credit Expert: How is Business Credit Different from Personal Credit? Biz Credit Expert

The obvious answer is that a business credit score is based on the business’s ability to pay, not the owner’s.  However, they are different in a number of other ways as well. Various factors affect your business credit score in ways vastly different from how they affect personal credit. Each of these factors affects business credit and personal credit in different ways. 

 

  • Late Payments

 

Most personal accounts do not report late payments to your personal credit report until they are 30 days or more past due.  Business credit accounts report to business CRAs when an account is only one day late.

 

  • Inquiries

 

When someone checks your personal credit report, there is a negative impact on your credit score.  When a lender checks your business credit score, there is no negative impact. 

 

  • Access to Business Credit Reports

 

The only ones who have access to your personal credit report are those to who you give signed authorization.  In contrast, anyone can check your business credit score.  They do not have to have authorization from you. 

 

  • Name of the Reporting Account

 

Your personal credit report has the name of the company holding each account reporting.  Your business credit report only lists the industry of the reporting account, not the company’s name. 

 

  • How long information stays on your report

 

Though it varies, most information stays on your personal credit report for the life of the report.  The average life of information on your business credit report is 3 years. 

The details may vary between CRAs, but this gives a good idea of how long certain information can affect your business credit score. 

 

  • Amounts reported

 

Exact amounts are shown on your personal credit report. Business credit reports show rounded amounts. 

 

  • Who Reports Payments to the CRAs

 

With personal credit, everyone reports your accounts and payment history. Only about 7% of those who check business credit actually report accounts to the business credit CRAs.

 

  • Debt-to-Credit Ratio

 

The amount of debt you have in relation to the amount of credit available to you makes a real impact on your personal credit score.  If your cards are near their limits, you’ll see a decrease in your score.  With business credit, being near your limits does not affect your score. 

 

  • Regulation

 

There is much less regulation when it comes to business credit, and there is virtually no regulation when it comes to correcting mistakes on your business credit. 

 

  • Monitoring

 

You can get a free copy of your personal credit report each year.  In addition, there are a number of free credit monitoring services that let you get a peek at your credit score.  These are typically updated at least once a month.  

There are business credit monitoring services.  However, they are not free.  Still, if you choose the right one, it’s worth it to know what is happening with your business credit.

Business Credit Expert: What are Business Credit Reporting Agencies?

Business credit reporting agencies are agencies that provide business credit reports.  There are several, but the main three are Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.  A business credit expert needs to understand what the business credit reports issued by these agencies say to lenders about businesses. Then, you can begin to understand the impact on small business lending. 

Business Credit Expert: How Do I Get Business Credit?

You can’t until your business is set up properly.  It has to be set up as a separate fundable entity aside from the owner. Until then, any accounts you have are just reporting to your personal credit, even if they are called business accounts. How do you change that?   

Contact Information

Your business has its own phone number, fax number, and address.  That doesn’t mean you have to get a separate phone line, or even a separate location.  You can even still run your business from your home or on your computer if that is what you want.  You don’t even have to have a fax machine.

 Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.

EIN

You also have to get an EIN. This is an identifying number for your business that works like how your SSN works for you personally.  You can get one for free from the IRS.

Incorporation Matters

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is vital.  It lends credibility to your business as one that is legitimate. It also offers some protection from liability. The big thing for business credit and fundability however, is that it is the only real way to separate business finances from personal finances.

Which option you choose does not matter as much for fundability as it does for your budget and needs for liability protection.  The best thing to do is talk to your attorney or a tax professional.  What is going to happen is that you are going to lose the time in business that you have.  When you incorporate, you are creating a new entity.  You basically have to start over.  You’ll also lose any positive payment history you may have accumulated. 

This is why you have to incorporate as soon as possible.  Not only is it necessary for fundability and for building business credit, but so is time in business.  The longer you have been in business the more fundable you appear to be.  That starts on the date of incorporation, regardless of when you actually started doing business. 

Business Bank Account

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account. First, it will help you keep track of business finances.  It will also help you keep them separate from personal finances for tax purposes. 

Furthermore, there are several types of funding you cannot get without a business bank account.  Many lenders and credit cards want to see one with a minimum average balance.  In addition, you cannot get a merchant account without a business account at a bank. That means, you cannot take credit card payments.  Studies show consumers tend to spend more when they can pay by credit card.

Licenses are a Must

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run.  If it doesn’t, warnings are going to go up at every turn.  Do the research you need to do to make sure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business at the federal, state, and local levels. 

Is That All? 

No, it isn’t.  The next thing you have to do is get accounts reporting.  First, get a D-U-N-S number.  You can apply for a free one on the D&B website.   Dun & Bradstreet is the largest and most widely used business credit reporting agency.  You cannot have a business credit report with them unless your business is in their system.  The D-U-N-S number is how you get in their system. 

Once you have this number, you can start to do business with companies that will report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies. You can do this in a few ways. The best bet is to try all three ways.  The more positive payment history you have, the better. 

Ask Companies You Already Work With 

Vendors you already have a relationship with may be willing to give you credit without a credit check.  Even if not, they may offer net 30 terms on invoices.  They don’t have to.  So, you will have to ask.  If they agree, ask them to report the payments to the business credit agencies. 

Ask Utility Providers 

You pay things like utilities, rent, and the internet each month anyway.  Ask those companies to report payments.

Use Starter Vendors 

This is a little-known secret of business credit experts.   Many business owners are unaware of starter vendors. Certain retailers will extend Net 30 terms in your business name without a credit check.  Then, after you pay, they will report those payments to the business credit reporting agencies.

This is how you can get started building business credit business credit.  They do not check either your business or personal credit score.  Of course, they do have other risk reducing guards in place.  They vary by vendor.   Here are a few to help you start the process. 

Crown Office Supplies

Crown Office Supplies offers paper and other office supplies. They report to all three of the major business credit reporting agencies, which of course include D & B, Experian, and Equifax. It can be hard to find vendors which report to Equifax, so getting credit with Crown is a good move.  They do have a $99 annual membership fee.

Uline

Uline sells shipping, packing, and industrial supplies.  Also, they report to Dun & Bradstreet and Experian.  This means you must have a D-U-N-S number. 

In addition, they ask for 2 references and a bank reference. The first few orders might need to be paid in advance to get approval for Net 30 terms.

Grainger Industrial Supply 

Grainger sells power tools, pumps, hardware and other things. In addition, they can handle maintenance of your auto fleet. You need a business license and EIN to quality, as well as a D-U-N-S number.

You can apply by fax or over the phone. If you need less than $1,000 in credit, you only need a business license for approval. For over $1,000, you will need trade and bank references.  

If you are just starting out and do not have references, the $1,000 is plenty to get you started building your business credit. 

Why You Really Need an Actual Business Credit Expert

Knowledge is definitely what makes you a business credit expert.  The best way to become one, and get that knowledge, is to work with an actual business credit expert.  They know things that are not widely made known to the public.  These are things that a simple Google search will not tell you.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.

For example, you need a lot of accounts reporting business credit.  You need several of these starter vendor accounts, but it is not easy to find vendors that will work like this.  Most vendors do not make it known if they report payments to the business credit reporting agencies, or not.  You need expert help to help you find the ones that you qualify with and that will report. 

Vendor accounts change their underwriting and reporting practices regularly.  It is incredibly difficult to keep up with.  It takes alot of time and a lot of effort. An expert has the time and knowledge it takes to stay on top of which vendors are approving accounts, and what they look for.  Also, they can keep tabs on who reports accounts and who they report them to.

In addition, it is usually a shot in the dark as to why you were denied business credit.  A business credit expert has the knowledge and expertise to help you set yourself and your business up to give you the best chance possible. They know what creditors are looking for, and what gets you denied.  It’s likely many of the reasons businesses are denied credit will shock you. 

It is not easy to keep up with the ever changing world of business credit.  With a business credit expert, you won’t have to guess. 

The post How to Sound Like and Become a Business Credit Expert appeared first on Credit Suite.

New comment by haffi112 in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2020)"

Nordverse | Full stack engineer | Reykjavík, Iceland | ONSITE/REMOTE | Part-time / Full time We’re a team of medical doctors and software engineers building solutions for healthcare. We are currently located in Iceland and we are looking for world class developers to join our team. More information here: https://www.tvinna.is/jobs/full-stack-developer-6/ Get in touch (contact@nordverse.com).

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New comment by jstrasner in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2020)"

Specto | [https://jobs.specto.dev/](https://jobs.specto.dev/) | jobs@specto.dev | Europe, North/South America and matching timezones (remote) | Full-time | Android (Kotlin/Java/C++) | $120k-$180k | 0.15% – 0.35% We’re building the next generation front-end app performance monitoring platform (APM) for the mobile era. For the Android position we’re looking for engineers passionate about system internals and performance that have …

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New comment by claudio-viola in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2020)"

Location: REMOTE | EUROPE | Remote preferred Willing to relocate: unlikely, but do contact me about it – Technologies: Javascript, Typescript, Node.js, graphql, Docker, kubernetes, jenkins, aws, cloud, devops, backend, agile, scrum, kanban, python, ruby, shell scripting, linux, chef, ansible, ci/cd – Résumé/CV: http://bit.ly/2HucTwphttps://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-viola/

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