Business merchant accounts are critical to have if you want to accept credit cards. Business merchant accounts are not limited to those computer consultants reselling products either. They are a good idea for any sale, especially when you are selling to new clients.

If you have a business merchant account you will not have to chase down outstanding debt. The cost is not that high and you don’t have to buy traditional credit card processing equipment. Now they have what is called a lab terminal, which allows you to use your web browser to manage the transactions. The systems are completely secure and most business merchant account providers team up with larger companies that offer great advantages.

Costco’s Business Merchant Account
One of the biggest secrets we learned about business merchant accounts is that Costco provides a fantastic deal on credit card processing through Nova Systems. It’s such a great deal it can actually pay for your entire Costco membership. Here are some particulars:
All of the monthly statement and gateway fees are waived – savings of $25 – $50 per month
Very competitive discount rates on Visa and MasterCard.
You can add on processing for American Express and Discover – you will find that even though American Express transaction fees are higher, it is a very popular card with small businesses.
The charges billed are transferred quickly and directly into your business bank account – this is a lot faster than doing your billing or invoicing once a week or so.

Paypal

Paypal is a popular alternative to traditional business merchant accounts. Paypal is very easy to set up and the set up is free. There are restrictions though on what you can do and how you can withdraw your money. The largest drawback is the negative connotation of being an ebay related service where people sell garage sale stuff as a hobby.

The Bottom Line on Business Merchant Accounts

Business merchant accounts will help you get paid faster. There are fees involved but the customer convenience and no hassle approach to receiving your money make it worthwhile. There are different business merchant accounts available so do your homework and choose the one that makes the best sense for you.

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There is no question that as a small business owner you have persevered and worked hard, dedicating your life to the success of your company. That being said, don’t you think a company you put all of your energies into, deserves the chance at having a happy ending? Have you considered the impact your death, disability, retirement, or even divorce could have on your small business ?

If you are the owner of a small business it is time for you to stop thinking of only what is happening now, and start focusing on what could happen in the future. Therefore, you need to put your priorities into perspective by protecting yourself and your business with a succession plan. A business succession plan is what you need to ensure that your business has a happy ending by remaining secure, regardless of what may happen in the future.

In particular, a succession plan allows your business the chance to be able to stand up to any challenges that may occur along the way. For instance, certain setbacks that you might experience may be entirely beyond your control such as divorce, disability, departure and death. But with a business succession plan you have the chance, as a small business owner, to ensure that regardless of what may happen to you, your business will be protected.

The following are a few aspects you should to take into consideration when creating a business succession plan for you small business:

How to Begin the Succession Planning – Since you need to make choices before you can really begin achieving your succession planning goal, you must first think about your long term business objectives and ask yourself important questions such as –

• Will I sell my small business?
• Should I set up a plan that allows me to transfer my business to one of my business associates or a family member?
• Does my business have public potential?

Of course, business succession planning begins with much more than simply deciding who you will be giving your business to in the event that you can no longer run your company, or wish to sell it. Additionally, succession planning is about keeping your small business afloat and successful to ensure that your absence will not devastate your company. Therefore, in order to maintain future control of your business, you will need to begin your succession planning by making choices that will concern things such as:

• ownership objectives
• asset protection planning
• taxation and transaction planning
• estate planning

You will want to keep in mind, however, that due to the fact that every action you take with succession planning will result in a reaction, you will require the assistance of experienced experts when developing your plan.

Understand the Dollars and “Sense” of Business Succession Planning – Like any type of business preparation, your business succession plan needs to be orderly and handled carefully if you don’t want to suffer the consequences of financial losses – or worse – the loss of your small business. That being the case, you need to know exactly what you are dealing with, and how you can achieve the most of your planning.

The one mistake you will not want to make is to overlook your business finances. You can help keep your business secure by properly using the following, and more, in your succession planning before problems occur:

• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Annuities

Furthermore, you will find that with an orderly succession plan, you will be avoiding the possibility of your business having to be sold to pay off the estate tax, in the event of yours or (if you have one) your partner’s death. It is no secret that estate taxes can claim up to 55% of an estate that is taxable, which is no mystery why so many businesses fall into debt, become bankrupt, or are sold due to the death of the owner or partner.

In addition, another aspect that needs to be considered is that clients are most likely to do business with other businesses after the owner or partner is deceased. However with the proper succession plan, your business should be able to maintain any regular clients – or if not – it will be better equipped to survive the possible drop in assets if a slow period should follow.

Know How to Write Your Happy Ending – Remember, when all is said and done, the outcome of your succession plan depends entirely on the choices you make regarding the future of your small business. It is imperative that you take the time to make the best choices that will allow you to implement a succession plan, which keeps you in control of the outcome that involves the transfer of your company. By knowing how to ensure the prosperity of your business future with a succession plan, is how you will write your happy ending.

In today’s high tech world, it no longer has to take extensive amounts of time to start a small business. Many of the business startup steps can be handled quickly via the Internet, including the ability to incorporate online, apply for a tax ID number, and apply for a small business loan.

Incorporation
To begin with, it is beneficial to incorporate your small business for many reasons. The main advantage is the protection of personal assets that is offered. Under this setup, business owners property cannot be a target of lawsuits or creditors. Also, corporations are taxed at a lower rate and credit ratings are established for the corporation, not based on the individuals rating.

There are websites that offer secure application forms for incorporating your business in as little as 10 minutes. The information you will typically need in order to complete the form are the state you are incorporating in and what type of corporation you will be establishing (e.g. Basic Corporation, S-corp, or LLC).

Tax ID Number
Next it is necessary for new business owners to apply for a Tax ID number, also known as EIN (employer identification number). This is the nine digit number that is assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to any type of business entity (corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.). The Tax ID number is used for tax filing, business, and banking purposes, as well as for the identification of your business by various federal agencies. Again, this is a quick process online – it can be done in about 5 minutes.

Small Business Loan
If you need funding for your small business, you will want to consider applying for a small business loan online. The process is simple and quick. For this type of loan, there is not usually extensive documentation required and reputable firms do not charge application fees. Also, you can typically find out if you qualify for an unsecured loan (no collateral) or a line of credit usually within a day or two. If you do not want to risk your personal assets and are in the market for a funding between $10,000 and $100,000, this is the avenue to take. It is however important that you have a good credit history and also be sure to apply with a trustworthy company.

Conclusion
All in all not only are these processes simple and quick, but they greatly reduce since margin of error since you are filling out your applications directly online.

Running a small business is much harder than running a corporation. Surprising? Not if you’re a small business entrepreneur.

As a fledling business owner on a restricted budget you have to multi-task,juggle,prioritize and balance. Unlike corporations, you don’t have a specialized professional team to help you manage, allowing you to focus on more critical business strategies.

Neither do you have the capital to afford such luxuries.At best you have about twenty employees that you need to train, supervise, motivate, schedule and pay.

You’re the sole manager, running your business on a shoe-string budget with only 24 hours a day.

Given such stressful financial and time constraints, how can you successfully maintain a balance between excellence, efficiency, and improving productivity all on your own?

The answer? Think big.

Manage your business like the big corporations do. Corporations rely on efficient organization that is cost-effective. Yes, even big companies have budget (granted big, but not unlimited) constraints that warrant resourcefulness. Today big businesses resort to business management software whenever possible to replace business processes that were once done manually, reducing costs of labor, time and human error.

Scheduling employees, for instance, used to be a tedious, time-consuming task before automated scheduling software made rosters, schedules and shift management a breeze.

Today, small businesses can not only easily be a more efficient organization with the help of such software but can also obtain business software at no cost. The business software market offers a variety of free trial software programs for evaluation before purchasing. The downside of those programs are either a time limitation (meaning you might not get fully acquainted with all features) or limited in features (meaning you can’t test all the features). If you like the program, you find out it carries a corporate price tag.

On the other hand, there are companies (few though they exist), such as Kappix, that offer free fully functional business management software, with no time/feature limitations.

Kappix, a leading provider of employee scheduling software, provides businesses of all sizes with DRoster Employee Scheduling. DRoster creates, manages, and automates shifts, rosters, schedules, personnel contact information, job descriptions and tasks. DRoster Employee Scheduling software enables a small business to manage its workforce in advance. You can ensure replacement for absentees, breaks, time-off, vacations. Kappix gives small businesses the professional edge that big companies have. This software provider is an example of the few quality providers of true free business management software.

Now you can “think big” – focus on more critical business issues and leave the scheduling to DRoster. Kappix provides DRoster at no cost along with free support. Their employee scheduling software is intuitive and designed to meet the scheduling needs of a myriad of industries.

Free software like Kappix’s DRoster Employee Scheduling Software, can afford you the time to boost productivity without sacrificing valuable money and precious time. Think big, like the big successful corporations. At no cost.

For more information about various free business management software or DRoster Employee Scheduling Software servicing your business, contact the author of “Small Business,Think Big” Nancy Berger.

(DRoster Employee Scheduling Software can be downloaded at http://www.kappix.com/setup.exe)