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Maximize Your Credit Card Services with Small Business Loans

Maximize Your Credit Card Services with Small Business Loans

Since June 15, 2009, the United States Small Business Administration has been processing deferred payment small business loans of as much as $35,000 to be given out to 10,000 small businesses. This is covered by the SBA’s America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program.

To qualify, companies should be private enterprises that are for-profit. They should have up to five hundred employees only and should be at least two years old. Furthermore, they should be able to prove financial need with a twenty percent decrease in sales, revenue or working capital. On the other hand, they should be able to prove that one of their two years in business has been profitable, and that with the infusion of cash they will be able to meet their existing and future debt obligations. This means positive cash flow projections. The ARC small business loans are intended to be used to pay outstanding debt such as payables to vendors.

For this batch of small business loans, there are no fees or costs involved, except if the borrower defaults on the loan later. In that case the SBA-approved lender can charge costs for securing and liquidating collateral.

The ARC small business loans also do not charge interest. Actually, the SBA pays the interest for the borrowers. Disbursement of the loan can take as much as six months but payment of the principal is also deferred for the next 12 months. After that, the borrower has five years to repay the loan principal.

Each small business can only avail of one ARC loan. SBA-approved lenders will offer the loans until September 30, 2010 or until available funds run out, whichever comes first.

There are, however, an estimated 30 million small businesses in the United States and only 10,000 of them can avail of the government’s small business loans. What if you do not happen to be among the 10,000 lucky recipients? How will your small business survive?

There are even doubts being raised on whether as much as 10,000 businesses can indeed avail of the ARC loans. There are fears that there may not be enough lenders willing or able to participate in the program. Lenders will have to advance the full amount of the loan, will not receive payment on principal for a full year, and will not be able to charge any fees, thereby absorbing all administrative costs. This may be too steep for many lenders. They may not be able to afford to participate at all.

This is where you as a small business owner can and should maximize your credit card services. We are not talking about your personal credit card services here. Instead, we are referring to the merchant services that enable your small business to receive credit card  and debit card payments. Surely, any business these days avails of these types of credit card services. After all, more people pay by credit card or debit card rather than cash.

Most credit card services offer small business cash advances that can be as substantial as small business loans. These small business loans do not require any collateral because they are secured by your company’s future credit card receivables. This is even more convenient for your business because repayment is also built into those receivables. Credit card services automatically deduct a percentage from your income to go toward loan repayment. For as long as you have incoming sales, you can support your loan. Interest rates are often quite affordable considering how the loan can help your business.

Small businesses should therefore look into maximizing these credit card services for small business loans. The survival of your business could hinge on this.


10 Comments to Maximize Your Credit Card Services with Small Business Loans

  1. Ken's Gravatar Ken
    November 20, 2009 at 2:42 pm | Permalink

    You need to keep accurate records when running a business. This will be your best defense if you ever get audited.

    For IRS purposes, you need to make a profit every 3 out of 5 years to have the IRS prove that you are not running a business. Otherwise, it is up to you to prove that you are running a business and not doing a hobby. You can prove that you are running a business by keeping your business accounts and personal accounts separate.

    You can write off any legitimate business expense including dinners with clients, car expenses, equipment, etc.

    Having a separate checking account and credit card is a good idea. However, it isn't necessary. You can comingle your business and personal expenses using your personal accounts. But, if you do this, then it will be harder for you to prove that you are running a business.

    For your revenues, you don't need a corporate account to make you deposits. You just need to make the deposits in your separate account that you use for business.

    You can read Publication 334 for more information.

  2. ForeverCanadianGirl's Gravatar ForeverCanadianGirl
    November 20, 2009 at 2:46 pm | Permalink

    the laugh track never seems to stop. ever. its ANNOYING!

  3. Chev's Gravatar Chev
    November 20, 2009 at 2:49 pm | Permalink

    Hi,

    i have found a site to be usefull, just check this out

  4. Inopedes's Gravatar Inopedes
    November 20, 2009 at 3:06 pm | Permalink

    Graham Linehan the writer talks a lot about why he went with a traditional sitcom ‘audience’ on the DVD commentary. He finds it more warm and inclusive and i agree with him.

    I love so called ‘intellectual’ comedies as much as the next guy but also love traditional sitcoms with audience laughter. They can both co exist. It’s not one or the other you know. Variety is the spice of life and all that. It seems some people can’t handle having a choice and want one thing and one thing only.

  5. Wayne R.'s Gravatar Wayne R.
    November 20, 2009 at 9:36 pm | Permalink

    Yes, the courses you speak of will help you to become a Business Analyst.

    A BA can be on the client side or the IT side. If on the client side, they are interfacing with work group domains that process the work and review what they need. They generate requirements and then work with the IT side to update or generate processes and applications to fullfil the business needs.

    If you're a BA on the IT side of the house, then you're taking all the requirements and developing processes and application solutions. Your job is to work with the client to generate a business solutions document (there are many names for it) and get signoff. Then, you need to make sure that solution becomes reality by working with systems analysts, programmers, and testers. You're generally responsible for the delivery of the solution. Although, if the solution revolves around process changes with other work group domains, you normally work with a PM (Project Manager). Never the less, you have end to end responsibilities for the IT delivery to insure the client gets what they need (and paying for).

    With the offshoring of work to cheap labor, to remain associated with software development, the BA role is a good profession.

  6. SarahR's Gravatar SarahR
    November 21, 2009 at 5:38 am | Permalink

    Hiiiiiii..
    I think you have to choose the Marketing section in Human Resource Management(HRM) because in marketing you get the nice job in the good reputed company on a high post..

  7. RoFLKOPTr's Gravatar RoFLKOPTr
    November 22, 2009 at 1:30 pm | Permalink

    Holy shit. I honestly would never have guessed that.

  8. StudentPolitechniki's Gravatar StudentPolitechniki
    November 23, 2009 at 3:15 am | Permalink

    Boring

  9. anthonygath86's Gravatar anthonygath86
    November 23, 2009 at 4:27 pm | Permalink

    It’s not laugh track or canned laughter. It’s a live audience. No recent UK comedy or chat show uses canned laughter. Blame the idiot British public.

  10. Austinite's Gravatar Austinite
    November 23, 2009 at 11:08 pm | Permalink

    You can't post a Proposal for Sale of Business here. It is a comprehensive document similar to a business plan with dozens to hundreds of pages. Contact a broker like VR Business Brokers and see if you can get help. Yours is a unique business driven by personal contacts and is not easily sold.

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