Business Credit and Financing

Business Credit Cards

Business credit cards offer purchasing options and power as well as rewards and are great for all business owners. Having a business requires specific purchasing power. This is why business credit cards are such a great option for both large and small companies. Credit cards designed specifically for businesses offer business owners and employees multiple options and, often, rewards and cash back bonuses that are relevant to their needs.

Posted in Business Credit Card

A Business Credit Card is More than a Convenience

A business credit card is a financial management tool as well. Most of us take our credit cards as a daily part of life. We whip them out to pay for gas, lunch and even groceries. A business credit card can help you differentiate between personal travel expenses and business travel. Many cards provide year end reports that group different types of expenses together. It can be a bit of a shock to find out you spent $3,500 on stamps, for example. But that kind of knowledge is helpful when you're examining your profit and loss statement for areas you can trim.

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U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigates fraudulent business credit card ring

CINCINNATI, OH — A three-count indictment charging five individuals involved in a fraudulent business credit card ring has been unsealed following the arrest of three of the defendants. The indictment alleges that the scheme caused a loss of approximately $767,000 since December 2005.

Posted in Business Credit Card

Getting Business Credit

Whether you're planning to start your own business or expand the one you own, you may be in the market for credit. When you shop for a loan or line of credit, remember that the law protects you against discrimination. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits creditors from denying you a loan based on reasons that have nothing to do with your credit-worthiness.

Posted in Business Financing

Alternative Sources of Capital

Small Business Financing The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the federal agency created specifically to assist and counsel small businesses, suggests the following sources of capital in addition to banks:

Posted in Alternative Business Financing

Credit Application Help

If You Need Help If you are not granted credit by the lender and you believe the lender may have acted unlawfully, you can seek further assistance from the regulatory agency that supervises the institution. A list of some of the agencies is contained in this brochure for your reference. If it becomes necessary to seek legal assistance, the Act provides some remedies.

Posted in Business Financing

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Obtaining credit can be a difficult process for any business owner and especially for first-time borrowers. But keep in mind that different lenders have different standards; if you did not meet the standards of a particular institution, you may still qualify elsewhere. If you have a full understanding of why the initial lender didn't approve your application, with time and more attention to these areas, you can improve your proposal as a result and may succeed the next time you apply. Women and minority applicants may be concerned that they have received less favorable treatment which is unrelated to their creditworthiness. All business applicants have certain protections against unlawful discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Act makes it illegal for lenders to deny your loan application, discourage you from applying for a loan, or give you less favorable terms than another applicant because you are a woman or a ...

Posted in Business Financing, For Women And Minorities

If Your Application Is Not Approved

Most lenders, banks especially, are conservative in granting business loans. Given the obligation to their stockholders and depositors, they need to be sure there's a good chance the loans they make will be repaid. If your application for credit is not approved, find out the reasons why. Some of the reasons that lenders often give for denying a business loan include, for example, insufficient owner's equity in the business; lack of an established earnings record; a history of slow or past-due trade or loan payments; or insufficient collateral. Finding out the reasons may help you qualify the next time you apply. The lender will keep you informed about the status of your application. If you are considered a "small business" (when your business revenues are $1 million or less, or when you are applying to start up a business), a lender has 30 days to let you know, either orally or ...

Posted in Business Financing

Sources of Credit Technical Assistance

Before you approach a lender, you might want to seek the advice of another, more experienced "set of eyes" to review your business proposal, particularly if you are a first-time borrower. By doing so, you'd be getting the loan package in shape to make it easier for the lender to reach a favorable credit decision. There are some business support groups whose members could counsel you on how your package looks. A qualified counselor might even discover that you really don't need more money, and instead suggest better inventory control, improved marketing techniques, or other changes that could actually solve your growth problems. One source of counseling available to small businesses is the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), which is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Others might include accountants and financial advisers. Once you are satisfied that your proposal is in good shape to present to a lender, ...

Posted in Business Financing

The Credit Application Process

Applying for commercial credit can be tedious. It calls for more documentation than you might initially have expected and certainly a lot more than when you apply for consumer credit. For lenders, extending credit to an entrepreneur usually means customizing the loan to suit the credit needs of that business. So don' be disheartened by the amount of paperwork needed to accompany the application. Instead, be prepared!

Posted in Business Financing