Precious Funding

Most schools and non-profit organizations use everything you can think of to raise money. And with the school year now beginning, somewhere there are new parents or members put in the position of having to raise money.

This article covers four advantages of using spiritware and related items for fundraising. Spiritware, as used here,
is an item of clothing used to promote a group, school, organization, or idea.

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Poverty in Haiti

It may not be surprising to hear poverty in Haiti is huge, but realizing that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere is a bit of a shock when you find out it is also home to some of the wealthiest people in the world as well. Approximately 80% of Haiti’s population lives in extreme poverty; there is a small middle class population and a very small segment of extremely wealthy people, including millionaires.

Most Haitians live in rural areas or very small, often remote, villages. They live without access to electricity or even clean water. Over half the adult population is illiterate due mostly to the lack of access to education and books and the need for children to work from very young ages. Those who live in the cities fair no better. In fact, 65% of Haitian children will never finish elementary school and 80% won’t ever attend high school.

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SMALL BUSINESS DIFFICULTY IN GETTING CASH.

Small businesses are a vital part of the economy. They create jobs, provide more or new products and services, and they also contribute to tax revenue. These entities have been instrumental in shaping the economy and improving it. However many of these small businesses need certain resources such as capital to start up and/or expand.

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Arguably, the sense of economic uncertainty that comes with recession has perhaps been worsened by the contrast between today’s climate and the benign conditions we’ve enjoyed for most of this decade. When the economy boomed, many businesses enjoyed spectacular growth. But over one or two years, there has been a correction of revenues that has challenged even healthy companies.

In these conditions, some businesses struggle to accurately predict their forecasts and cash flow requirements. Along with the possibility of falling revenues comes the prospect that customers may go out of business and leave debts unpaid, while others may choose to delay payment.

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Running a staffing agency requires a combination of good sales skills along with solid organizational skills. As an owner (or manager) you need to make sure that you are signing on new clients who will use your staff. At the same time, you need to recruit quality staff that will ensure that you meet your client’s expectations. And while you do this, you also need to make sure that payroll is handled so that your team is always paid on time.

For many staffing agency owners, this last point can be a real problem, especially if the company is starting up or growing too quickly. Most commercial clients will be happy to use your staff for a contract, but they will pay their invoices in 45 to 60 days. In the meantime, your company needs to cover all employee payroll. You have to pay salaries, retain taxes and cover any benefits you offer. Many agencies just can’t afford to wait that long to get paid.

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Business Refinancing used to prevent Company Bankruptcy (Liquidation)

In the midst of an economic downturn, many companies find themselves at risk of failure because they do not have enough cash to maintain their day to day business activities. This may be the case even if there is a strong order book as customers fail to pay invoices on time as they in turn are trying to preserve cash. There is also the increased risk that the customers themselves may stop trading leaving outstanding invoices unpaid.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons for the current recession in the UK is the lack of available funding through traditional routes such as bank loans and commercial mortgages. High Street banking institutions are currently extremely reluctant to lend because of the huge bad debt risks they have exposed themselves to over the past 5-10 years. Faced with this situation, it is not surprising that many businesses are running out of cash and considering bankruptcy and liquidation.

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If you have decided to raise funds for your school, group or organization by selling fundraising snacks, your first thought should be to find out snacks that meet your state’s wellness or nutrition policies, standards and regulations. The second thought will be about finding low-cost fundraising snack items that leave you with enough profit.

Snacks always prove to be great fund raising items. It is a favorite pass-time which costs less to donators and yields good profit. You can sell a pack of snacks at as little as $1 or 2 and can earn a profit as huge as 50-70%.

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If you have a small to mid-size business, it is highly likely that you suffer from business cash flow concerns. A steady cash flow not only keeps your business solvent, but it also enables you to grow your business because you lack working capital. The most common factor in lack of working capital is offering payment terms to your customers.

One of the most frequent negotiating terms for new customers is the amount of time they have to pay you for your products or services. A small business owner will accept the payback terms of 30, 45, or even 60 days to get the business. However, you are expected to deliver your products or services immediately and wait for your payment for up to 60 days.

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These days many new entrepreneurs want a business that can provide them with flexible hours, being their own boss, having more free time and making the big bucks. That is why most entrepreneurs prefer to start a franchise style business, such as a Subway or McDonalds. A franchise business opportunity gives an entrepreneur a chance to try to be his own boss and add more free time to their schedule. However, starting a franchised business is a daunting task because it requires a huge up front investment and a lot of personal time. Most franchises don’t see a profit until there 5 year anniversary, if it lasts that long. One should really consider the risks before becoming a franchiser.

The risks of buying a franchise opportunity are there will be rules that must be adhered to in regards to how you run your business. In fact, most franchise agreements have stipulations that the franchisee gives. You have to play by their rules, what location is best, the size of the location, restrictions on autonomy because you’re buying the rights to participate in a system and more. You will have to pay huge up front costs and franchise fees for the whole time your business is up. You will need to know if buying a business franchise opportunity is the right course of action for you. Most franchise agreements are for ten year terms. This locks you in even if you fail. Some other disadvantages are high overhead, Workers Compensation, insurance on the property, hiring and firing. When all is said and done, financing is one of the most confusing, and often frustrating, aspects of opening a franchise. You also need to run marketing campaigns that are approved by the franchisee. There is a lot of money and time spent only to see if you make it past 5 years. Most franchise owners spend 60-80 hours a week running their businesses. The hope of adding free time is a distant memory. The only thing that you have added is a higher stress level. What if you don’t make it? How much debt will you be in if you fail? Putting up a franchise business is more costly than putting up an online business.

There is a better way to make money, add more free time to your life and be your own boss. That better way is starting an internet marketing business. Anyone can easily make money, add more free time and be their own boss with an internet marketing business, but you have to know how to do it. Internet marketing refers to the promotion of products and services over the internet. The internet is a rapidly growing medium which has also become one of the most successful avenues of making a good deal of money.

The pros to becoming an internet marketer are getting paid today and not having to wait 5 years to see a profit, having up to 80% profit margins, no employees, no leasing or renting space, and no overhead, just to name a few. This also means no hiring and firing, and no workers comp. An Internet marketing business can be done from anywhere in the world. All you need is a computer and cell phone to do business. With an internet marketing business you can work from the comfort of your home full-time or part-time and still advertise to the world through the internet. Another great benefit is there is no huge up front investment and no contracts to lock you in. Also, with an internet marketing business, you will build a team that you can leverage their efforts to give you more free time.

Business Finance through invoice discounting and factoring.

Due to the credit crunch and many banks’ unwillingness to lend, businesses are struggling to raise money to finance their activities using traditional sources such as an overdraft, credit card or loan facilities. Given this situation, many companies are turning to sources of income such as factoring and invoice discounting.

With factoring and invoice discounting, cash flow is improved by borrowing against invoices. Using this facility the company is usually able to access 80% of the invoice value immediately without having to wait for the normal payment period. There are three main ways to do this:

• Invoice Factoring

  - The process of invoice factoring generally involves a bank (normally known as the Factoring company) taking over a company’s invoicing and credit control function. The factoring company makes credit available on raising the invoice. The name of the factoring company is stated on the invoice and the payment of the invoice is made directly to the factoring company. Payment collection and credit control are often managed by the factoring company.

• CHOCCs Factoring

  - CHOCCs stands for Client Handles Own Credit Control. This type of factoring is similar to full factoring however in this situation, the company still retains responsibility for collecting payment of its invoices. It has the advantages that it will normally be a cheaper service and more control is maintained over the payment relationship with the company’s clients.

• Invoice Discounting

  - Invoice discounting is similar to factoring in the sense that a factoring company will make credit available to the business as soon as an invoice is issued. However, the service is discreet. The factoring company’s name does not appear on the invoice and the debtors do not know of their involvement. The company sends out its invoices in the normal way and collects debt in the normal way.

Which factoring option should you use?

This depends on the nature of your business. For example, where it is important to ensure that the involvement of a factor is not disclosed, invoice discounting may be a more appropriate method. Where this does not matter or in fact where it is seen as an advantage to involve a third party to help in the collection of debts, then full factoring may be the correct solution.

Of course, for invoice discounting to be made available, the factoring company must have the confidence that the business it is lending to will be able to tightly manage its debt collection processes. For a full invoice factoring solution, up to 80% of the value of an invoice may be made available on the day it is raised. However, as invoice discounting is perceived as a greater risk to the factoring company as they have less control, smaller amounts may be made available using this solution.

It is important to understand that invoice factoring provides access to money based on business activity which is already happening. For factoring or discounting to work, the business must be already generating or imminently generating invoices. As such, it is an ideal way to improve the cash flow of the business which is currently operating. Having said that, however, invoice factoring or discounting can also be an ideal solution to help improve the cash flow position of a new business such as a Phoenix company. Here invoices will start to be raised almost immediately and so a factoring facility could be used.

Because Invoice factoring or discounting focus on cash flow improvement, they are not usually a good way of raising a lump sum for a specific business project. If this is your requirement and a bank loan is not available, then a more suitable option may be asset refinance.

Invoice financing and discounting are not without cost. Normally both options involve a service charge (which may be between 0.5% and 1% of the sum lent) and a rate of interest. However, where a business is looking to improve cash flow and more tradition methods of achieving this such as bank overdrafts and credit cards are being withdrawn, invoice financing and discounting is often an extremely useful solution.

Cooper Matthews specialise in Business Refinancing and Business Recovery Services Advice, providing practical insolvency advice for businesses with financial problems to turn your business around. They have significant experience in working with small to medium sized businesses.