2012 Necessities for Small Businesses

Posted on 01/23/2012 by admin

Regardless of the resolutions that may have been made for 2012, there are several items, often overlooked or ignored, that are necessities for small business and are critical to small business success.

1. Business Plan – too many businesses operate by the seat-of-the-pants with little or no planning. Having a plan helps keep the business focused and the major benefit to you is the value the comes from the thought process one goes through when developing a plan. Establish goals and develop a plan to meet the goals. Update the plan as least quarterly making adjustments where necessary.

2. Accounting and Financial Statements – Accurate accounting is a necessity for every business to help manage the business, for taxes and for banks and other that need to understand the business. It is very important to be able to track revenues and expenses and to know what products or services are generating a profit. Having good accounting and financial statements are of the highest importance for any business.

3. Marketing – incorporated in the business plan should be the Marketing Plan for the business. Are you effectively marketing the business? What metrics are being used and measured? What is not working and what is?

4. Customer Service – do you understand and know who your customers are? Are you focused on providing the highest level of customer service? What is your customer satisfaction level and how is it being measured? Excellent customer service can increase sales but today, news of bad service can reach thousands of individuals in minutes.

5. Cash Flow – positive cash flow is the life blood of a business. When businesses are cash flow constrained it is important to have sources for cash when it is needed. Invoice factoring can provide cash quickly when required without hampering the business and is used by thousands of small businesses to help with cash flow.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Invoice Factoring for Printing Companies

Posted on 01/14/2012 by admin

The printing industry is changing, and facing unique challenges. For many small to medium-size printers, one of the most important considerations is managing cash flow. There is often a significant delay between the completion of a job and the issue of payment. In order to improve cash flow, printers can use invoice factoring to obtain vital funds while they wait for their customers to pay.

Any business with a long receivables turnover period can benefit from invoice factoring, and the service is particularly attractive for printing companies. By using invoice factoring, printers can create a regular income and help manage one of the greatest pitfalls of the industry – running out of funds during the long turnover periods. Since many small printers are sole proprietorships, the owners need their commission income to pay their daily living expenses. Invoice factoring can provide a great solution and much-needed security.

The Interface Financial Group is especially suited to invoice factoring for printers. As the only spot factoring company in the world, the Interface Financial Group’s form of invoice factoring offers flexibility and control to an industry that is filled with uncertainty. Printers can pick and choose the invoices they wish to sell. With invoice factoring, printers can be sure that they won’t miss opportunities to market and grow their businesses – even when cash is tight.

The printing industry may be tough right now, but there are still plenty of opportunities available. Invoice factoring can let printers take advantages of opportunities and grow their businesses, even under difficult circumstances.

David Munster
The Interface Financial Group

Manufacturing is Growing

Posted on 01/09/2012 by admin

Recently good economic good news has been hard if not impossible to come by. So it’s surprising that according to the ISM index, manufacturing has been growing for 25 consecutive months. Although experts consider manufacturing to still be weak, at least it is in positive territory.

Concurrently we have seen an increase in the number of small manufacturers that are looking for business financing to support growth or even just to operate their businesses. Their challenge is that few if any financial institutions are issuing business loans. In the meantime, they are bridging their financial needs using accounts receivables factoring.

Accounts receivable factoring helps manufacturing companies by providing an upfront payment for their slow paying invoices. Instead of waiting up to 60 days to get paid, they get an advance from the account receivable factoring company and get immediate use of those funds. The transaction is settled once the customer pays in full.

The big advantage of accounts receivable factoring in this case is that it’s easier to obtain than a conventional business loan. This helps the company bridge their cash flow gap and improve their financial stability. Ideally, this will help them qualify for a business loan later on. In this scenario, The Interface Financial Group would be the ideal solution for these manufacturers since there is no contractual commitment of time so the client is welcome to leave as soon as they qualify for a bank loan or LOC.

Sabeen Ahmed
The Interface Financial Group

Good News?

Posted on 12/02/2011 by admin

Though the stock market has been down during October and November there are signs of improvement in small business confidence, consumer confidence, home sales, construction and employment. Is this news to cheer about?

As we have stated in prior posts, the economy will go through fits and starts on its way to recovery. One month there will be good news and everyone will be cheering, the next month will be bad news and confidence indicators will drop. The economy continues in this mode but it does appear without doubt that the trend is upwards.

New businesses are being started, businesses that survived over the past three years and have re-invented themselves are growing, some banks are providing capital to select small businesses and overall the signs are positive. So, what happens now?

As businesses are started or are growing again, there is going to be a need for capital. For most, it will not be coming from there local bank. These businesses can strategically use invoice factoring to provide capital to the business when required. No fees and no contracts, just cash as needed and when needed.

2012 Construction Forecast

Posted on 10/24/2011 by admin

“A fifth straight year of decline is how 2011 will go into the record books, with no growth likely next year.” That’s the forecast from McGraw-Hill Construction.

“In light of the sluggish economy, construction spending continues to limp along in a depressed state with few limited signs of hope on the horizon. McGraw-Hill Construction estimates that 2011 will close out with a 4% drop in total construction starts to $410 billion, marking the fifth year in a row of decline. Analysts forecast that 2012 will see essentially flat activity with an estimated $412 billion in starts.”

This is a sobering report. Single family starts were expected to rise this year but did not and it does not appear that it will change in 2012. It is now expected that a housing recovery will not start to take place until 2013/2014. Stimulus money that had bumped up infrastructure and government projects is winding down and there is currently no expectation that more money will become available. The good news in construction has been multi-family projects which have seen an increase and will continue for 2012.

There are many projects in process and others that will come on-line over the next several months. For sub-contractors needing capital for these projects they can turn to invoice factoring to obtain cash quickly and as needed.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Lack of Sales Continues to Plague Small Businesses

Posted on 10/03/2011 by admin

It is the beginning of the last quarter of 2011 and the National Federation of Small Business reports, “Sales remain the largest problem for small firms—a full quarter identifying “poor sales” as their top business problem. The net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months lost 1 percentage point, falling to a net negative 9%, with more firms with sales trending down than up. Not seasonally-adjusted, 27% of all owners reported higher sales (last three months compared to prior three months), down 2 points from the prior month, while 28% reported lower sales (unchanged). Expectations for future sales are also in decline, with the net percent of owners expecting higher real sales falling 10 points in August, to a net negative 12% of all owners (seasonally adjusted), 25 points below January’s reading. Not seasonally adjusted, 21% expect improvement over the next 3 months (down 6 points) and 34% expect declines (up 7 points). Owners appear to have lost confidence in the economy and the government’s ability to assist the recovery.”

Few firms reported that obtaining credit is a problem, the result of lackluster sales. When companies are not growing there is not much need for expanded capital. The lack of sales continues to be a problem for small businesses. We expect this to be a continuing problem until confidence is restored.

Small business that are seeing growth have financing options available through invoice factoring. A service where receivables are sold at a discount providing immediate cash to the business. The service is fast and personal. New clients can be funded in as little at 24-48 hours and for repeat transactions, in as little as 2-4 hours. This “use it as you need it” service can help those companies that are growing or have short term cash flow needs.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Small Business Confidence Wanes

Posted on 09/27/2011 by admin

(Reuters) – “Small business confidence fell to a two-year low in the third quarter on increased economic uncertainty that could keep growth on a slow path and unemployment elevated through 2012. Vistage International said on Tuesday its confidence index dropped to 83.5 from a reading of 92.9 in the second quarter. The index is compiled from a survey of more than 1,700 small business chief executives.”

Once again we see small business confidence falling. In prior posts, we commented on the fact that this recovery will be slow and will go through periods of two steps forward and one back. It appears that currently it is one back based on the small business confidence indicators for the past quarter.

IFG experienced an increase in business through the summer months with a large increase in new clients searching for funding sources. These new clients sold receivables to generate cash for expanding business. Using IFG’s invoice factoring solution helped these businesses continue to grow during a difficult recovery.

Invoice factoring allows businesses to obtain cash quickly and easily. Once a client is setup, repeat fundings can occur in as little as 2-6 hours providing cash when needed. It is a “use it as you need it” service with no contract and no additional fees.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group