Category: Running a Business

How Banks Assess Credit Risk in 2024

How Banks Assess Credit Risk in 2024

When your business needs financing, you'll find that some of the best options require the most documentation. Why? It all comes down to credit risk. Banks and other financial institutions need to gauge the risk associated with lending to your small business.  Understand how lenders approach credit risk, and your business can improve its qualifications. What is Credit Risk? The term “credit risk” evaluates the risk of default; in other words, it tries to predict the possibility of losing money… Read More
Business Credit Score vs. FICO Score

Business Credit Score vs. FICO Score

When it comes to credit scores, many of us think of FICO scores first. FICO creates the formulas that are behind billions of credit scores used by lenders, insurers and other businesses.  Most of FICO’s credit scores are used to evaluate personal finances, not businesses, though there is an exception we’ll talk about in a moment.  Business credit scores are credit scores created to evaluate small businesses, instead of consumers. Business credit scores are used to help business owners qualify… Read More
What Are the Key Features of the Best Fleet Cards?

What Are the Key Features of the Best Fleet Cards?

If you’re a business owner who spends a lot of money on fuel costs, a fleet card may help you save money and control fuel costs. Here are some of the most important considerations when you choose the best fleet fuel card for your small business.  Wide acceptance Acceptance is one of the most important criteria when choosing a fuel card. You need a card that will be accepted where you or your drivers need to use it. Generally, cards… Read More
EBITDA Margin: What is Means, How to Calculate and Why You Should Know This Term

EBITDA Margin: What is Means, How to Calculate and Why You Should Know This Term

Scroll financial headlines and you’ll likely see the term EBITDA mentioned more than once. Like this headline on Yahoo Finance: “Tap These 5 Bargain Stocks With Impressive EV-to-EBITDA Ratio”.  If you aren’t interested in financial analysis, you may wonder what that means to your small business. EBITDA doesn’t just measure the performance of a big business: small businesses can also benefit from knowing what this financial metric says about their business, too.  Why Small Businesses Should Know What EBITDA Means… Read More
How to File a BOI Report in 2024

How to File a BOI Report in 2024

It’s easy, and often relatively inexpensive, to set up a business in the US. While most business owners start a business to meet their own personal and financial goals, bad actors sometimes abuse this system for money laundering, terrorism financing, or other nefarious purposes. They hide behind business entities they create, making it difficult for law enforcement to find and stop them.  As a result, Congress (on a bipartisan basis) passed the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021. It created a… Read More
Here’s What the Fed Rate Cut Means For Your Small Business

Here’s What the Fed Rate Cut Means For Your Small Business

After eleven rate hikes, the Fed has finally begun to lower interest rates. It has lowered the federal funds target rate by half point, bringing the new range down to 4.75% to 5%.  The federal funds rate is not a rate small business borrowers pay; rather it affects the rates banks pay each other for overnight loans. Still, other interest rates in the economy typically change when it changes. (More about how this works below.) “The U.S. economy is in… Read More