Tip to Choose a Bank for your Home Business

You should thoroughly consider your business needs when selecting a financial institution or bank for your small/home business. You may want to consider the following points:

- The types of products and services that are offered.
- The bank's criteria for qualifying for a loan.
- The minimum balances for accounts, interest rates and charges for account services.
- Location and Access to ATMs
- Online Banking Services

One bank may specialize in home loans or auto loans while another may focus on commercial loans for businesses. Some banks may only offer basic deposit accounts while others have lock box services, sweep accounts, and even online banking! It's very important to evaluate your business needs before you select your banker.

Here are some of the things that your banker may be able to help you with:

- Help you with the cash management needs of your business.
- Offer investment products of varying maturities or risks.
- Provide advice regarding what it will take to qualify for the loan that best meets your needs.
- Provide special loan programs for small businesses, including SBA loan programs and other government-guaranteed or agency loans.
- Assist you with finding financial information on your industry.

So compare different banks in order to find the one that will serve your business's needs and will also provide support and assistance during the infancy stage of your business. Selecting a bank that you can work with will be especially important as your business grows.

Start shopping around by gathering information to help you make this important selection. Compare interest rates on deposit accounts and basic consumer loans (most business loans are negotiated, so the rates won't be posted at the banking center). Also, look carefully at the charges for services. Tell them about your business and the form of organization so that they can tell you what special products and services or restrictions might apply.

Before selecting a bank, be sure to have a good understanding of your own business needs, and what you need from your bank. If you know what you will need from a bank, it will be much easier to evaluate and compare between various services. Remember, it is a good idea to establish a relationship with a banker, before you need money. The right banker will be someone that understands the needs of emerging and growing businesses. They will be interested in your business dreams and will help you achieve them.

9 things you must do to get a small business loan

To get approval for your small business loan application, you must be able to meet the lending criteria set down. Some organisations are more risk averse than others, and will therefore have more stringent criteria.

To vastly increase your chances of a successful funding application, you will need to present the following information:

1. The reason for the loan. The lender will be looking for something that fits within the normal range and expertise of your business. The amount may cover a number of items, so you will need to cover each.

2. The amount required, and the repayment term of the small business loan you want. (e.g. $10,000 term 5 years, payable quarterly).

3. Details of how you will repay the amount borrowed. For example, “From the increase in profits of reduced running costs of the Whizzbang Go4It”

4. Details of security you will be able to offer to the lender. This will act as reassurance for the lender. If you’re not prepared to put up some aspect of security, then why should they?

5. You will need to include your business plan which will serve to answer essential questions relating to management capabilities, information about the market you operate in. What kind of business you are in etc.

6. 3 Years financial statements. You will need to present quality financial information from your accounting software, preferably signed off by your accountant or tax advisor.

7. Latest Set of Management accounts. Again produced from your accounting software.

8. Accounts receivables (debtors) and payables (creditors) ageing reports.

9. Principals financial statements. – Particularly required if some form of security is necessary.

If you are a new company, the emphasis is going to be on your business plan , and the security (also called collateral) you or your business can provide against the loan.

You must take the time to practice presenting your case to the bank or lender to iron out any glitches. Practice on your colleagues and family (you never know, they might be so impressed, they'll invest or lend!). It may help to role play the lender and come up with as many pointy questions as possible. The more time you take the better your chances will be. (But remember, don’t fall into the analysis paralysis trap!)

Ten Practical Money Saving Tips

Financial security is important to every individual. By building a workable plan, we are able to find the path to future financial freedom. I have compiled a couple of saving tips that I hope will benefit you and your family.

• Alter credit card behavior and use it wisely. Try using cash or a debit card to limit how much you spend on your every day purchases. Keep your credit card for larger purchases only. This will help you utilize the money you have and live and spend within your means. When using your credit card, be sure to settle the balance each month. By doing this, it will help you save significant amount of money by avoiding interest charges.
• Hide it before you spend it. When money is in your wallet, you tend to spend it but if hidden or it is in your bank, you won’t have that temptation to worry about.
• Keep all your receipts and keep track of how much you spend. This will allow you to monitor how much you are spending and makes it easy for you to budget or cut down on unnecessary items when you need to.
• Prepare a shopping list. By writing down all the items you require for your household, you are only getting the things that you will need. Try to resist the urge of buying something that is not on your list.
• Prepare brown bag lunches. Packing your own meals for lunch can significantly reduce your grocery bills. Lunch meals every day add to your expenses and before you know it, you would have saved that money on something more worthwhile at the end of the day.
• Avoid impulse shopping. Ever pass a store and think I have to have that awesome jacket? Or maybe that cool guitar on the shelf? Impulse shopping generally leads us to buy something that we hadn’t planned on getting in the first place and leads to wasteful spending. Before you go ahead, always think if you will really need it and if you want to save, you are probably better off without it.
• Use alternative means of transportation. If you have means to public transportation, it’s a great way to save money. Find train and bus routes to and from your destination and compare the costs of driving a car. If you and your colleagues are able to carpool, you can share the costs of going to work and vice versa.
• Save coupons and search for bargains. Although this may sound like a boring thing to do, it does help save money. A lot of stores may offer almost twice the discount up to a certain amount on purchases eg. Buy one, get one free or buy one and get another at a reduced price. Even using coupons for restaurants can help save money.