Time for a Change? 6 Reasons to Swap Your Old Card for a New Business Credit Card

…And How to Find the Best New Business Credit Card for Your Business

Just as Thor has his hammer and Captain America has his shield, every business super hero needs an ultimate tool.  You cannot really call them all weapons right?  I mean, a shield is not about destroying, but about protection.  Everyone knows a hammer is a tool.  So, in short, tools can be used as weapons, and superhero tools can serve a variety of purposes, all for the greater good.  So too, can your business credit cards.  Sometimes, however, it is necessary to pursue a new business credit card, also for the greater good.  How do you know when that time has come?  Read on and we’ll tell you.

How Do You Know It’s Time for a New Business Credit Card?

You might not think it’s a hard decision.  Most business owners fall into two camps.  Either they are happy with their card and there is no need for a new one, or you just get a new card whenever you feel like it.  Unbeknownst to most, there actually is a right time and a wrong time to get a new business credit card.  Not only that, but there is also a right and a wrong way to handle the old one.  We can help you with both.

It might be time to ditch the old business credit card and get a new one if:

1.      The Fee is More than the Benefits are Worth

Maybe you are paying a hefty annual fee, but you justify it by weighing it against the rewards and interest rate you receive with the card.  It’s always wise to review that however.  Next time you are about to fork over that fee, take a look at what your options are.  Do you actually use the rewards offered with that credit card?  Are the rewards based on fuel spending and maybe you don’t travel?  Perhaps the rewards are at dining establishments you do not frequent.

Is that interest rate really the best?  Maybe you had a great promotional rate when you first got the card but now it’s nothing special.  Maybe the interest rate was the best available at the time but you are not so sure any more.

If either or both of these situations sound familiar, it may be time to ditch the old card and look for a new business credit card.  There is no point in paying the annual fee if you are no longer reaping the benefits that made you willing to pay it in the beginning.

2.      Your Spending Habits Have Changed

Have you outgrown the credit limit on your own card?  Maybe you spend more now that your business has grown.  It could also be that you spend on different things now.  In the beginning you may have used your card mostly for business supplies and sales dinners, whereas now you may use the funds for travel expenses and inventory more often.

Things change, and those things include spending habits.  The card that worked for your spending habits before may not be the best option for your current spending habits. Take a look at what you have versus what’s available in light of this, and you may see its time to ditch your old card and get a new one.

3.      You Now Qualify for Better Perks

For most business owners, their first business credit card is the first one for which they qualify for approval.  As your business, and your credit score, grows, you can get so much more.  If it’s been awhile since you shopped around, or if you see that you are getting unsolicited offers for cards that offer better perks than your currently have, it may be time to check out what new business credit cards are out there and ditch your old one.

Hit the jackpot with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

4.      You Can Get a Better Interest Rate with a New Business Credit Card

Another thing that you can get stuck with in the beginning, simply because you qualify for nothing better, is a lousy interest rate.  After you spend some time managing your business, and your finances, wisely, you are likely eligible for much better.

You can start with calling your current credit card company, but if they won’t budge, it’s time to drop the old card and start looking for a new business credit card.

5.      There is Any Better Offer With No Fee

Aside from a lousy interest rate and non-existent or useless perks, you can get stuck with an annual fee.  Sometimes the fee it worth it for the perks.  However, it is important to keep watch for cards that have better perks, better rates, and no annual fee.  Even if you get the same perks and the same rates, if there is no fee you are better off. If you are getting offers that do not include an annual fee, it might be time to find a new business credit card.

6.      You Anticipate an Upcoming Large Purchase

Sometimes it is simply a matter of dollars.  If you foresee a larger purchase in the near future, you may need to start looking for a new card.  For example, if you need to buy a new industrial refrigerator or oven, or both, you might not want to put that on a card you use for regular purchases.  Not only can it mess with the amount of funds you have available, but often you can find great deals on interest rates from dealers that sell what you are looking to buy.  It can help to save money and manage finances, by keeping larger purchases separate, if you just go ahead and open a new business credit card.

Bonus: Your Old Card Is Connected to Your Personal Credit Score

You need your business cards to be based on and reporting to your business credit.  In the beginning however, most businesses do not have business credit.  They can get cards based on their personal credit score, so they never even think about business credit.

When it comes to running a business however, business credit is better.

If you have great personal credit, you may think business credit is a non-issue.  Regardless of what your personal credit looks like, as a business owner it is important that you begin to build business credit. Here’s why.

If you use business credit to handle business transactions, your personal finances will not be affected by those transactions.  This means that if your business fails, your personal credit score will stay intact.  Also, you will not be personally liable for your business debts.

In addition, paying business expenses with personal credit cards can keep balances near the credit limit.  This is true even if you pay everything off each month.  Business expenses are large, and personal credit cards usually have smaller limits than business credit cards.

Your debt-to-credit ratio is affected by this.  That will negatively affect your personal credit score even if you make payments on time.

How to Build Business Credit

You know the why, now here’s the how.

Get an EIN

It is a number for your business, kind of like your personal SSN. Apply on the IRS website.  It doesn’t cost anything, and you can use it on business credit applications instead of your SSN.  You may still need to provide your SSN for fraud prevention, but it will not be used to access your personal credit score.

new business credit card Credit Suite2

Formally Incorporate

A business must be incorporated to have business credit. The idea is that your business needs to be established as an entity separate from yourself in every way.  Incorporation not only accomplishes that, but it also offers you some liability from business debts.

Dedicated Contact Information

You need a dedicated business address and telephone number.  The phone number should be toll free, and the business should be listed in the directories with its own contact information.

Professional Website and Email

All businesses these days need a professional, user friendly website to be able to compete.  You also need an email address that is specifically for the business.  Do not use a free email service such as Gmail or Yahoo.  The business email address should use the same URL as the business website.

Business Bank Accounts

A separate business banking account is a must.  You can pay yourself from this account, but do not run personal expenses through it.

You Need a D-U-N-S Number

Yes, another number. This time it comes from Dun & Bradstreet.  They are the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency, so having a credit report with them is necessary for getting business credit.  The number is free on the D&B website, but they will try to sell you other services.  You don’t need any of them.

A Quick Note on How to Start Building Business Credit

Once you accomplish this, it is time to work on building your business credit score.  There is a process, and you have to work your way through it patiently.  It takes time, but the payoff is big.

Hit the jackpot with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

The Vendor Credit Tier

This is your way in.  These are vendors that will extend net 30 terms on invoices and then report your payments to the credit reporting agencies.  Once they start doing that, your business credit score will be established and grow from there.

This tier includes vendors such as Quill.com, Granger, and Uline that sell items you can use in your business every day.  Make a few purchases with net 30 terms, make your payments on time, and watch your business credit score explode. Find more about vendors that can help you build business credit here.

Working Through the Credit Tiers

After you have 7 to 10 accounts reporting from the vendor credit tier, it should be possible to get approval in the retail credit tier.  These are credit cards attached to specific stores such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Office Depot.

After you have several accounts reporting from the retail credit tier, you will qualify for cards in the fleet credit tier.  These cards are issued by companies like Shell, Fuelman, and WEX to be used for fuel and vehicle repair and maintenance.

The last tier is the cash credit tier.   When you have enough accounts reporting from each tier, and if you are keeping current on all your payments, your score will be strong enough to get your approval for these cards.  They are general credit cards such as MasterCard and Visa that are not attached to a specific store.  Typically, they have higher limits and more rewards options.

 

What to Look for in a New Card

This part is easy. You want something, everything if possible, to be better than the old card.  Your old tool should by default be more powerful than the old one.

  • Annual Fee– Whether the fee is the actual reason for the change or not, if you are changing anyway look for the lowest annual fee possible that also fulfills all your other needs.
  • Interest Rate– Again, maybe you are changing specifically for the lower rate, and maybe you aren’t. Either way you need to find the lowest interest rate possible that still gives you everything else you need.
  • Perks– look for perks you will actually use. If it’s all travel miles and you never travel, there is no point.
  • Credit Limit– A limit that will not handle your spending habits or the amount of your new purchase isn’t going to do you any good. Look for the highest limit you are eligible for. Remember that if you do not use it all, it will only help your debt-to-credit ratio, which in turn helps your credit score.

Hit the jackpot with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

As with all things, you can do an analysis of the cost versus the benefit. If the annual fee means you get a super low interest rate or perks that will save you several hundred dollars a year, it may be worth it.  Before you make a decision, consider this in light of the reason why you are changing versus what is available to you at the moment.

Should You Shut Down the Old Card?

This is where it can get iffy.  You might think it obvious that you close the old account.  That is not always the best option however.  It can actually be beneficial to keep it open.

The average age of all of the accounts on your credit report affects your credit score.  The older your accounts are, the better it is for your score.  Opening a new account already lowers that average, so closing an older account is going to lower it even further.

If you have had the account for a while, it might be better to zero it out and keep it active.  Be sure to determine what level of activity is necessary to keep the account active.  If you have to make a small monthly purchase and pay it off every month or so it may be worth it to keep and older account open.

Is it Time for a New Business Credit Card?

The short answer is, maybe.  If your credit is at a point where you can get better rates and incentives with a lower annual fee, then it is time to get a new card.  If your credit limit on your old card can’t support your current or changing spending habits, it’s time for a new card.  Lastly, if your business credit cards are on your personal credit report, it’s time to build business credit and get a new business credit card.

 

 

 

The post Time for a Change? 6 Reasons to Swap Your Old Card for a New Business Credit Card appeared first on Credit Suite.

Hive.co (YC S14) Is Hiring Engineers (and More) in Kitchener, Canada

Article URL: http://hive.co/l/fs-dev-oct-1

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21193362

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

An Easy Wealth Exercise: Ten Steps To Wealth

An Easy Wealth Exercise: Ten Steps To Wealth

Invite to this easy, enjoyable and also very easy workout to enhance your wide range awareness, concentrate your mind as well as support on your own to make sure that you can accomplish wide range genuine, and also quickly.

The adhering to workout is simply among 365 various everyday “riches fitness center” mini-workouts that you can do right there and after that, before your computer system, without also needing to rise, as well as which does not take anymore than 60 secs to finish, from our “60 Second Wealth Creator Series”.

When you come down a trip of actions, this is a fundamental visualisation workout which is really cool to do for genuine.

In the meantime, envision you’re standing on top of a trip of actions as well as for every action, we’ll make a riches affirmation.

10. I await riches!

Take a deep breath as well as tip down to the following action.

9. Wide range is my due.

Take a deep breath as well as tip down to the following action.

8. I accomplish riches quickly.

Take a deep breath and also tip down to the following action.

7. Riches pertains to me conveniently.

Take a deep breath and also tip down to the following action.

6. I welcome riches ahead right into all I do.

Take a deep breath and also tip down to the following action.

5. Wide range is my companion and also my buddy.

Take a deep breath as well as tip down to the following action.

4. Riches is wonderful and also wondrous.

Take a deep breath and also tip down to the following action.

3. Riches participates in all as well as every element of my life.

Take a deep breath as well as tip down to the following action.

2. I get on my means to wide range …

Now take a deep breath as well as JUMP off the last action and also onto the following degree:

1. I AM WEALTHY!

Slap your hands and also provide on your own a round of praise!

If you appreciated this workout, of course occur as well as register for the complete program– it is totally FREE and also not just that, we have some remarkable incentives also.

Assume rich, FEEL well-off as well as BECOME WEALTHY!

Silvia Hartmann

The post An Easy Wealth Exercise: Ten Steps To Wealth appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Pivot (YC W15) hiring a senior full-stack engineer – consumer fitness hardware

Article URL: https://jobs.lever.co/trainwithpivot/53074c96-b243-4ade-a19b-b3776439215f Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21185886 Points: 1 # Comments: 0

Op risk data: Rogue trading costs Mitsubishi $320m

Also: QR code scam costs ING customers; Australia banks hit with Pillar 2 add-ons. Data by ORX News

The post Op risk data: Rogue trading costs Mitsubishi $320m appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Just Funded… $100,500 in 4 Days

One of our sports complex clients just secured $100,500 in revenue financing, and did so in only 4 days!

They were looking for working capital and marketing funds.

They had minimal deposits in their bank account and the business owner had severe credit issues.

Even with these restrictions and needing money quickly, we got the deal closed and funded in 4 days just in time for them to start ramping up their business for their best season.

Click Here to see how much funding you can get for your business.

The post Just Funded… $100,500 in 4 Days appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The 4 Best Small Business Loans of 2019

And 5 Practical Tips for Landing the Best Small Business Loans

If you need a small business loan, you shouldn’t settle for just any loan.  You want the best.  You’re in luck, because we not only have a list of the best small business loans of the year, but we also have in depth reviews and practical tips to help you find not just the best, but the best for your specific business.  Let’s take a closer look.

Where Do You Find the Best Small Business Loans?

I know, you are wondering how there can be more than one best.  The best is the best, and there is only one best when it comes to most things. Business loans don’t work exactly the same way.  The best loan for your business may be different than the best loan for the next business.  That’s because your business will likely have different needs and qualifications than the next one.

US News  handles this by naming the best small business loans in different categories.  This year, these took the prize:

  • OnDeck: Best Lender for Small Business Loans of Up to $500,000
  • BlueVine: Best Lender for Fast Funding
  • Funding Circle: Best Lender for Small Business Loans with a Low APR
  • StreetShares: Best Lender with Prequalification Available

In addition to this list from US News, we would like to add our own bonus category of “Best Lender for Faster, Easier SBA Loans.”  That award, in our opinion, would go to SmartBiz.  They have totally streamlined the Small Business Administration loan program application process making it both faster and easier.

Well that’s all great of course, but to make a true informed decision, you need details.  What makes these the best?

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

OnDeck

OnDeck offers lines of credit and term loans with fixed interest rates.  You can’t get up to $500,000 with a term loan.  They also have an A rating with the Better Business Bureau.  The minimum FICO they require is 600.  In addition, you must have $100,000 minimum annual revenue and be in business for at least one year.  Find out more about OnDeck in our review.

BlueVine

BlueVine offers a number of financing options including term loans, invoice financing, equipment financing, lines of credit, and merchant cash advances.  They require you to be in business for at least 6 months.  If you need a term loan or a line of credit, then they require a minimum annual revenue of $100,000.  If you are trying to get invoice factoring, the minimum credit score is just 530!  For a line of credit or term loan, you will need a minimum credit score of 600.  They have an A+ rating with the BBB.  Find out more about BlueVine in this review.

Funding Circle

If you’re looking for a low APR, then Funding Circle is your go-to.  They have fixed rate term loans and require a credit score of 620 or above.  There is no minimum revenue requirement, but they do require you to be in business for at least 2 years.  They have an A+ BBB rating. Find out more in our Funding Circle review.

StreetShares

This is considered by US News to be the best lender with prequalification available.  They offer invoice financing, term loans, and lines of credit.  The number of years in business requirement is one.  They require less minimum annual revenue than the others at only $25,000.  The minimum credit score is 600, and they also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.  You guessed it.   You can find out more about StreetShares in our review, here.

best small business loans Credit Suite2

SmartBiz

SBA loans typically take a lot of time and paperwork. SmartBiz found a way to speed things up, making it easier than ever. The requirements are a little more strict however. Your credit score has to be 650, and you have to be in business for 2 years or more. In addition, annual revenue has to be $50,000 at least, and there can be no outstanding liens, bankruptcies, or foreclosures in the past 3 years.

Tips for Landing One of the Best Business Loans

1.      Appear Fundable

What is fundable?  A business that appears fundable to a lender is an established business separate from its owner.  It is complete, organized, and either has solid revenue or a solid plan if a startup.

To appear fundable, a business needs:

  • To be formally incorporated as an S-corp, LLC, or a corporation.
  • An EIN from the IRS. This is an identifying number for your business that function similar to the way your SSN does for you personally.
  • A dedicated business bank account.
  • Contact information that is different from the owner’s. A separate telephone number on a toll-free exchange and a dedicated physical address are imperative.
  • A professional website and an email address that has the same URL. Free web hosting and email services won’t do the job in this case.

2.      Have a Killer Business Plan

Lenders are also going to want to see a professional business plan.  Even if you are not a startup a plan is necessary.  Startups have to show what they are planning and that they have done the research to make it work.  Established businesses need to show how they plan to use the funds, and that they have research to show the market supports that plan.

At a minimum, a business plan should have the following sections.

  • An Executive Summary– This is a complete summary of the business idea.
  • Description– The description goes into further detail than the summary, describing the business. What type of business is it? What product or service will it offer?
  • Strategies-Layout your plan for getting started. Do you have a marketing plan, area in mind for location, or idea of how many employees you will start with?
  • Market Analysis– All that market research you did goes here and should include not only a market analysis but an analysis of the competition as well.
  • Plan for Design and Development: How is all of this going to play out, from start to finish. What steps are you going to take? This is more detailed than your strategies section.
  • Plan for Operation and Management– Who will own or does own the business and who will run or currently runs it from day to day.
  • Financial Information– This section includes current financials, projections, and a budget plan for the loan funds you are applying for.

3.      Be Prepared

It is almost impossible to over prepare when applying for a loan.  Anticipate any questions they may ask.  Pull together any forms or documentation they might ask for.  Items such as past tax returns, financials, and licenses are common.  The more you have ready to go before you start, the faster and easier the process will be.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

4.      Have Solid Personal Credit

You need a solid personal credit score to land the best small business loans.  There is just no way around it.  As you can see above, a score of at least 600 is required almost across the board with the exception of some invoice factoring options.   If you do not have this score however, all is not lost.

It is possible to improve your personal credit score.  The first step is to get a copy of your credit report. You can get a free copy each year.  Look for what may be impacting your score negatively.  If there are mistakes, contact the credit agency in writing to have them removed. If late payments are a problem, start paying on time.  Knowing what you need to work on is the first step.

5.      Have Solid Business Credit

Of course, when it comes to the best small business loans, you cannot ignore business credit.  While it isn’t listed as a primary requirement for most lenders, it can only help you to have strong business credit.

If a lender sees a personal score that isn’t exactly what they need, it is possible they will take business credit into consideration when making their decision.  In addition, if you qualify and have stellar business credit, you may be able to get a lower interest rate.

More Benefits of Business Credit

Since business credit is the one topic out of these 5 that people seem to question the most often, let’s talk about why it’s important.  There are a number of reasons.  The first one is, if you have business credit, your business transactions will not affect your personal credit report.

You may be thinking that it doesn’t matter, because you pay all your bills anyway.  You would be wrong however.  It absolutely matters.  Here’s the thing.  Personal credit cards often have lower limits than business credit cards.  Conversely, business expenses are typically much higher than personal expenses. This means, if you are using personal cards for business expenses, you are likely to keep balances at or near your limits.

Consistent balances near your limits has a negative impact on your credit score even if you are making regular payments.  If you have business credit cards, your limits will be higher and better able to accommodate the high expense of running a business.

How do You Get Business Credit?

The steps to looking fundable are also the first steps toward business credit.  Your business has to be separate from yourself before business credit can be established.  In addition, you will need a D-U-N-S number.

This is a number from Dun & Bradstreet that they use to enter you into their system and issue a business credit score.  If you do not have a D-U-N-S number you will not have a credit file with them.  Since they are the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency, you need to have a business credit profile with them.  Get a D-U-N-S number for free on their website.

How Do You Get Business Credit if You Do Not Already Have It?

If you do not yet have business credit, you will need to open accounts in the vendor credit tier after you finish these steps.  We all know that it is almost impossible to get credit if you do not already have credit.  However, the vendor credit tier consists of vendors that will offer net 30 terms without a credit check, and then report your payments to the credit reporting agencies.  After you have enough of these types of accounts reporting, you will have a credit score and be able to apply for accounts from different types of companies to grow it even more.  Find out more about the vendor credit tier and building credit here.

Keep an Eye on Your Credit Reports

Both credit scores are so vital to being able to get the best business loans, it is important to talk about monitoring them. With personal credit scores, this is easy.  You can get a free copy of your personal credit report every year.  In addition, there are numerous websites that allow you to monitor your credit on a monthly basis for free.

Business credit monitoring isn’t as easy, and it definitely isn’t free.  The credit agencies charge from $50 to over $100 for just one report.  You can monitor your business credit at a fraction of the price at https://www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

Don’t Forget Traditional Lenders

These business loans are from non-traditional lenders.  This is because non-traditional lenders are generally more friendly toward small businesses than the traditional banks.  Do not neglect to check into what your local traditional lenders may have available however.  If your personal credit score is above 650, they may very well offer even better rates and terms than those listed above.

While big banks are not typically friendly toward small businesses, local community banks can be favorable if your credit is strong.  Credit Unions are another option if you have a good credit score and are a member.  Do your research before making a final decision.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

The Best Small Business Loans Can be Yours

How do you land the best small business loans of the year?  In short, you prepare.  Do a fast check to ensure your business will appear fundable to lenders.  Do some research to determine which loan options best fit your needs and qualification abilities. Don’t forget to see what traditional lenders have to offer as well. Get all the necessary paperwork, including your business plan, together before you begin the process.  Then, take note of both your personal and business credit scores and determine if you need to make some adjustments to improve them.  With these items checked off your list, the best small business loans really can be yours.

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The Importance as well as the Relevance of the Macroeconomic Indicators

The Importance and also the Relevance of the Macroeconomic Indicators

The financial tasks which happen within the structure of a nationwide economic climate are concretized in a vast array of solutions and also products. Their evaluation under valoric or physical facet is understood with the aid of the financial indications.

The financial indication exposes the numerical expression of the measurable side of the financial sensations and also procedures in a specific room as well as time problems. It allows to make noticeable these sensations as well as procedures quantitatively, structurally and also qualitatively as well as to observe the connections in between some specific subsystems of the nationwide economic climate.
According to the degree these indications are computed for, there can be macroeconomic and also microeconomic indications; if the previous reveals the outcomes at the degree of specific financial representative, the last procedures the efficiency at the degree of nationwide economic situation. The beginning factor in computing the macroeconomic signs is stood for by the microeconomic ones.The crucial macroeconomic indications are the accumulated item, the gdp, the gross nationwide item, the nationwide earnings as well as the individual earnings of the populace.
The Gross National Product (GNP) stands for the marketplace worth of the last products and also solutions generated in a particular amount of time, typically one year, by the affordable representatives of a nation, no matter their presence inside or outside the limits of that nation.

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Just Funded… $100,500 in 4 Days

One of our sports complex clients just secured $100,500 in revenue financing, and did so in only 4 days!

They were looking for working capital and marketing funds.

They had minimal deposits in their bank account and the business owner had severe credit issues.

Even with these restrictions and needing money quickly, we got the deal closed and funded in 4 days just in time for them to start ramping up their business for their best season.

Click Here to see how much funding you can get for your business.

The post Just Funded… $100,500 in 4 Days appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.