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9 Ways Businesses Can Benefit From Bitcoin

Last Updated: January 10, 2024

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are rapidly integrating into our society today. However, the same can’t be said about businesses. Their slow adoption and reluctance in adopting cryptocurrency stem from the lack of knowledge. To take your business to the next level, discover the benefits of adopting Bitcoin in this article.

With Bitcoin, your business will experience:

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Increased Brand Recognition

The sheer number of competitors in the market might make it harder for you to stand out as an organization.

However, you can adopt Bitcoin in your operations and stand out. How so? When you make transactions easy for your clients and meet their needs, they’ll spread the word and give your business increased visibility. Other businesses will get interested in offering the same services as you. However, by the time they learn how to invest in Bitcoin, you’d have already made your mark in your industry, giving you a competitive edge against competitors.

Wide Customer Base

As various parties worldwide adopt Bitcoin, embracing it places you in a better position internationally.

Trading using cryptocurrency allows you to have local clients and global ones. Another business might offer the same services as yours, but they utilize the traditional exchange system. With your firm allowing Bitcoin transactions, clients will often opt for your business due to the versatility of bitcoin. You’ll get to meet their needs despite their geographical location.

Ease Of Transaction

Bitcoin allows for paperless transactions with your customers, reducing the formalities needed to make or receive a payment, previously witnessed in the fiat exchange system.

Payments are only made through an online platform, an easier alternative than going to the bank to process a payment. Apart from the two transacting parties, there are no middlemen or other parties involved during a transaction, such as your bank or a regulatory body.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

More often than not, customers are always satisfied with services rendered through Bitcoin. This is because minimal approvals are needed, there are no delays in the process, and cryptocurrency offers privacy.

Bitcoin has a way of hiding the identity of its clients, who are only identified through public keys that change after making a transaction. Your customers don’t share their financial information, making it a secure platform for them. This, in turn, increases their satisfaction levels.

Increased Revenues

Businesses have the potential to increase their revenues through Bitcoin. How?

With Bitcoin enabling you to break business barriers internationally, you have a broad market for your services, widening your customer base. Unlock new segments of the market you haven’t reached before. More clients, both local and international, means more sales.

Reduced Costs

Many costs are incurred while using the fiat exchange system. Your clients are charged a fee for any transaction made using their credit cards and during international money transfers. Most banks charge a fee for all their services. All these small costs pile up and end up costing you money.

However, these small charges are reduced with Bitcoin, if not eliminated. You can store your money in a bitcoin wallet that doesn’t charge maintenance fees. There are also no currency exchange fees associated with bitcoin transactions. This reduces costs to your clients and your business, making it a viable platform to adopt as a business.

No Reversable Transactions

With the regulated exchange platforms, clients can cancel an order made, even after you’ve processed the order. This takes your business through many losses, not forgetting the inconveniencies caused by such a cancellation.

Bitcoin eliminates these losses since once a customer has confirmed a transaction, they can’t reverse the order made. This safeguards your business processes and resources, placing you in a better position.

More Business Control

The regular exchange system gives business owners minimal control over their finances. A lot of bureaucratic red tape is involved in larger transactions and can be a hassle for business owners.

Adopting bitcoin gives you more control, if not absolute control, over your business’ finances. There’ll be no one questioning your transactions, denying you access to your finances, among other inefficiencies.

Safe Data Storage

As previously mentioned, Bitcoin gives your business a wallet, where you store your money online, under a hidden identity. This system also provides a backup to safeguard your finances and prevent the loss of data.

With a bitcoin wallet, you’ll not worry about losing your money through a heist, among other ways.

Conclusion

Bitcoin is a system that you should adopt for your business. This will give you an edge in the market as one of the first businesses to do so. Before incorporating the use of bitcoins into your company, you need to learn how it operates. By doing this, you’re able to utilize its features to the maximum, eliminating any risks arising from errors due to the lack of know-how.

10 Tips to Save Money When Buying a Car

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

When you are in the market for a new car, it is essential to be mindful of your spending. There are many ways to save money when buying a vehicle, and we will discuss some of the best tips in this blog post. One of the most important things to remember is that you don’t have to buy a brand new car to get a great deal. There are many used cars available that are as good as new ones. In addition, there are also many ways to get a discount on a new car purchase.

How Much Money Should You Save Before Buying A Car?

Buying a car is a milestone in anyone’s life. It’s a big purchase and, unless you have an unlimited budget, it’s essential to save up for as long as possible before making the buy. But how much money should you realistically aim to save before buying your dream car?

The answer depends on a few factors:

What type of car you’re buying
What state do you live in
How much of a down payment you can afford

Here are some general guidelines to help you figure out how much money to save before buying a car:

If you’re looking for a new car, aim to save at least 50% of the purchase price.
If you’re buying a used car, save at least 20% of the purchase price.
Save up enough money to cover your down payment and closing costs. These can range from $500 to $4000, depending on the type of car you buy and where you live.
Factor in regular maintenance costs, such as oil changes, tune-ups, and tire rotations. These typically cost between $200 and $400 per year.
Save for at least six months to a year before buying your car. This will give you enough time to save up the money you need and avoid taking on high-interest debt.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to buying your dream car without breaking the bank. You may also want to speak with a Lemon Law Attorney to ensure that you’re getting a good deal on your vehicle. This will give you an edge in any negotiations with the seller and help you protect your investment.

Essential Factors To Consider When Buying A Car

One of the most crucial factors when you decide to purchase your first or replace your old car is to have a plan and know what you are looking for. There are so many factors that go into buying a car, from your budget to the features you need in a vehicle. Here are some tips on how to save money when buying a car:

1. Set Your Budget

Determine how much money you want to spend on a car. This will help you stay within your budget and not overspend on a vehicle.

2. Consider Your Needs

Think about what you need in a car. Do you need a family sedan or an SUV? Are fuel efficiency and low emissions vital to you? Narrow down your list of needs so that you can focus on cars that fit those needs.

3. Shop Around

Don’t just go to one dealership when looking for a car. Shop around and compare prices from different dealerships. You may be able to find a better deal elsewhere.

4. Consider Buying Used

If you’re on a tight budget, consider buying used instead of new. There are many used cars available that are in excellent condition.

5. Think about Financing Options

If you need to finance your car purchase, many financing options are available. Compare interest rates and terms from different lenders before you decide on a loan.

6. Check for Car Deals and Rebates

Many automakers offer deals and rebates on their cars periodically. Check the manufacturer’s website or your local dealer to see if any special deals are available.

7. Get a Car History Report

Before buying a used car, get a car history report from a reputable source. This will tell you about the car’s past and whether it has been in any accidents.

8. Take Your Time

Don’t rush into a car purchase. Take your time and consider all of your options before making a decision. You may end up saving money in the long run.

9. Negotiate

Never buy a car without negotiating the price. You may get the dealer to lower the price by bargaining with them.

10. Pay In Cash

While this may not be possible for everyone if you can pay for your car in cash, you’ll avoid having to pay interest on a loan.

These are just some tips on saving money when buying a car. You can get a great deal on your next vehicle by following these tips.

Should You Get Car Insurance?

One of the most important things you need to do when buying a car is to make sure that you are fully protected in case something happens. This means getting car insurance. While it may seem like an added expense, it’s not if you think about it. Your car is likely one of your biggest investments, and you want to make sure that you are covered in case of an accident.

Shop Around For The Best Deal

When it comes to car insurance, don’t just go with the first company you come across. Take the time to shop around and compare rates.

Ask Friends And Family For Recommendations

Another great way to find a good car insurance company is by asking your friends and family for recommendations.

Look Online For Reviews

If you want to do even more research on different car insurance companies, you can look online for reviews. This will give you a good idea of other people’s experiences with different companies.

Get A Quote

Once you have narrowed down your choices, the next step is to get a quote from each company. This will give you an idea of how much it will cost to insure your car with each one.

Consider Your Needs

When choosing a car insurance company, it’s essential to consider your needs. Not every company offers the same coverage options, so you will want to ensure you are getting the right coverage for yourself.

Final Words

Buying a car should put you in a good place, financially and otherwise. By following the tips above, you can save money and ensure that you are fully protected in case of an accident.

7 Qualities That Make a Business Accountant Worthwhile

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

A business accountant can seem like a luxury, but they are essential to any company’s success. A good accountant will help your company make the most of its opportunities and avoid costly mistakes. They can also play a vital role in helping you through the tax season among other important accounting roles. It’s important that you pick one with the right qualities to propel your business to the next level. Here are seven qualities that make a business accountant worthwhile.

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Accountability

Accountants should always provide accurate, timely information and be available when needed. You need your accountants to easily trace financial problems to their root cause and tell you how to fix them.

Experience

Accounting is a rapidly changing profession, with laws and regulations constantly being updated by the government or other authoritative bodies. Accountants should always be staying up to date on changes in their field to advise clients accordingly. The more experience your accountants have, the better they will handle your finances.

Financial Knowledge

Business owners may know how to make money, but that doesn’t mean they understand the accounting profession. This is where a great business accountant from Pherrus.com.au can step in and provide expertise on finance-related issues. A good financial analyst will help you find new ways to grow your revenue and manage it in the long run.

Creativity and Innovation

A great accountant will also bring ideas for new ways to make money and help you develop methods that can reduce your expenses over time. Some of the most crucial ideas a worthwhile accountant will bring to your business include:

How to select a base currency for your business
Methods to reduce the time it takes to complete books and records at year-end
How outsourcing jobs can save you money in the long run

With such an accountant in your team, you can rest assured that your financial systems will always run seamlessly.

Knowledge of Technology

Great accountants understand the impact that social media and cloud software have on businesses today, and how to incorporate these platforms without compromising your security or performance.

High Ethical Standards

Business owners often make financial choices that negatively impact the bottom line, and it’s up to an accounting team to point out where any missteps may have occurred. Well-trained accountants will always maintain a strong sense of integrity and are inclined towards honesty for the benefit of your business.

Client-Oriented Approach

A great accountant will be dedicated to giving insightful advice when necessary about how business decisions may affect your tax liabilities and financial standing. A good accountant will never try to push you into a direction that may not be best for the company. They are always looking at all angles of any decision made, so there is no room for miscommunication or mistakes.

Business accountants are an invaluable asset to any business. They will help you stay on top of your business finances, reduce tax liabilities through proper filing, ensure that all necessary federal and state filings are completed accurately every year, and motivate the company to grow into a better version of itself each day.

How IT Support Services Can Enhance Your Financial Management

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

Managed IT Service Provider (MSP) can provide solutions to most of the issues and concerns that businesses have with maintaining their financial records and financial management systems. MSP can enhance financial transactions, bookkeeping and recording, invoicing, and generating reports.

If you’re a business operating out of the state of Texas, you’re probably looking for some Information Technology (IT) solutions for your financial management concerns. Hence, you might want to consider expert managed IT services in Houston and other similar firms. Moreover, here are some of how IT support services can enhance your business’s financial management.

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1. Automate Financial Transactions And Accounting Records

An IT consulting service can enhance your financial management through the automation of your bookkeeping ledgers, journals, and accounting records. There are many aspects of bookkeeping and accounting that can be enhanced through automation. Some of the things that accounting clerks do can be easily done by computers through automation solutions and accounting software applications.

Automation software, for example, may evaluate scanned sales invoices and receipts. Furthermore, the information is stored automatically in the ledgers and journals in the computer files and databases where it belongs. The majority of commercial proprietary accounting software can easily accomplish this. Some of the most fundamental bookkeeping chores that an MSP may automate are listed below.

Record bills, delivery receipts, sales invoices, official receipts.
Prepare invoices and send them to customers or clients.
Document transactions according to their category.
Create journal entries both in the general journal and the account journal.
Track and save bank deposit slips and bank statements.
Take note of payment of bills, utilities, rent, and other operational expenses.
File statements of account received from vendors and suppliers.

2. Use CRM For Sales To Enhance Financial Management

Sales is another area where MSP can enhance your financial management. An MSP can install and customize a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for a sales software solution for your company. CRM for sales is a powerful technology tool that can optimize the capabilities of your sales force. With CRM, your sales team can access all the customer data to engage the customer’s needs and requirements and convert the interaction into a sale.

An MSP can integrate your CRM for sales with your financial management systems and software applications. This would allow your sales teams to access information about the purchasing behavior of your existing as well as repeat clients and customers.

For example, MSP IT can integrate the data on a customer’s payments history to the CRM for sales system. This would give your sales teams an insight into the seasons when a specific customer would most likely place an order. It could also show the times when they would have the cash to pay for what they bought. This would enable your sales team to know when to engage for possible repeat sales. It would also enable your accounting teams to know when to send statements of account or follow through on payment requests.

3. Automate Your Sales Invoice Management

Invoicing is a crucial aspect of business transactions and financial management. Delays in preparing and sending invoices mean that your business would also be delayed in sending them to your customers and clients. Buyers and customers who haven’t received invoices from you would have no reason yet to process their vouchers and checks to pay for what they owe your company.

These delays would exacerbate the operational issues and inefficiencies experienced by your accounting, field messenger, collection, and bank transaction employees. By automating your sales invoice administration, an MSP may help you eliminate these inefficiencies.

They can install and set up existing invoicing software and integrate these with your messaging, transmittal, and communications systems. Your accounting staff can schedule the sending out of invoices once the conditions or requirements are completed. Your collections staff can be copied in the transmittals so they’d know which customers and clients have already been sent their invoices.

4. Give Managers Real-Time Access To Financial Documents

An MSP IT can help your company’s financial management by providing real-time access to financial records of their offices and departments to the company’s senior leadership and managers.

For instance, the sales teams could have access to the remaining budget allocations of buyers who have contract or sales agreements with your company. This information could enable them to make follow-through sales calls and presentations if the customer or client still has a lot of unused allocation.

The procurement team could have real-time access to the budget used up by the different departments out of their respective annual allocations. This would enable the procurement team to coordinate more efficiently. It would show the requests and expenses of the various departments based on what they’ve used up and spent so far up to that accounting period.

5. Give Mobility Solutions To Your Employees

An MSP IT can also enhance your financial management by providing remote and mobility solutions to your managers, staff, and other employees. There are financial management difficulties and inefficiencies that can be solved and increased if managers and staff can deliver conversations or documents via remote or mobile solutions.

The MSP may, for example, assist collection managers in establishing a strategy with their messenger and collecting personnel that would reduce the number of aging invoices with unpaid payments. The messenger staff would know, for instance, if they’re going to collect a check from a customer whose office or manufacturing plant is also near another customer with an uncollected payment. This would enable the collections staff to try to collect payment.

If the procurement manager has access to current financial information, he or she may handle the acquisition of particular supplies and materials more efficiently. They can also more effectively manage the timing of purchases and procurements with the fluctuation of the market prices of inputs and other raw materials. In short, they can buy when the prices are low. This might be done provided they have a clear understanding of the company’s planned cash flow and forecasted procurement appropriation.

Conclusion

Getting an MSP can address the gaps and inefficiencies in your financial management systems that you thought couldn’t be solved anymore. IT solutions are highly suitable for financial management systems because both deal with information management. Many facets of financial management can benefit from technological advancements.

Do Term Insurance Plans provide tax benefits under 80C?

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

Does every month’s salary give you a feeling that your expenses are higher and the earnings are less? Do you want to earn more or save more? Is your current lifestyle and loan liability too much for you to pay?

Thoughts of having less money and higher expenditures can leave you irked. It can shake you from within if there are hardly any assets that offer security.

When you realize that the current demands are essential, you ought to take a loan for it. But the constant pressure of paying the loan gives you enough worries. If this is the case with you, often thoughts of saving money and building securities would strike your mind.

For ages, the traditional way of creating financial security for dependents in the family is through a life insurance policy. The reason for insurance being a primary choice to pick is because it offers life security, options of savings, and tax benefits.

There’s no rocket science behind this. It is simply that a life insurance policy provides multiple benefits.

At times, tax savings is the prime intent when buying a life insurance policy. In this case, a common mindset would be to avoid spending money. This is where the alternative of a term insurance policy plays.

Let us explore more about term insurance.

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What is Term Insurance?

A term insurance policy is a life insurance policy that offers financial security to the dependents of the life insured. The policy pays the death benefit to the nominee only after the life insured passes away during the policy period.

The premium for the term insurance is low but the limit of the life cover is high.

For example, Rohit, age 21 years, wants to purchase a term insurance policy for his family. He found the options and bought a term insurance policy for Rs.1 crore at just Rs.477/- per month.

Term insurance attracts individuals because it is an affordable life insurance policy with a high life cover.
People have shown interest in the term life insurance policy because it now covers Covid-19 life claims also.
Buying a term insurance early in life is helpful because the premium is less when you are young. Also the premium under the term insurance policy remains the same for the entire policy term.

Term insurance plans provide you with several benefits.

Do term insurance plans provide tax benefits under Section 80C?

Yes, term insurance provides tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The total amount of Rs.1.5 lakhs is allowed under the life insurance policy for the deduction. Apart from this, the total death benefit that the nominee receives is also tax exempted under Section 10(10D).

If the life insured outlives the total policy term, the life insurance policy will give you maturity benefits. The amount is to help the family gain stability after the life insured has died. This is why the total maturity amount is tax-exempted.

Other than the tax savings, there are other benefits that the term insurance policy offers.

Benefits of Term Insurance Policy:

Who buys anything without considering the benefits of it. Before you buy term insurance, these are the benefits that you can consider:

High Life Cover at Affordable Premiums: The term insurance policy provides a large amount of life cover at an affordable premium. You can get a cover as high as Rs.1 crore for just Rs.477/month.
Long Life Cover: The term plan gives you a long life cover up to age 100. For example Rohit, age 21 years, purchased a term insurance policy. Now he can get cover under the term insurance policy for next 79 years.
Help Manage Loan Liabilities: The term plan helps your family pay-off the loan liabilities when you are not around. The claim amount can be used to pay financial burden liabilities like home loan, car loan, education loan, etc.
Flexible Pay-Out Benefit: A term life insurance policy provides financial stability to the nominee after the life insured passes away. The policy provides an opportunity to the life insured to choose the payout but at the inception.

The life insured can choose the payout the nominee will receive after the death, depending on their lifestyle or financial requirements. The payout can be either in the form of a lump sum or as monthly income. This will help families manage regular expenses and other financial needs.

Inbuilt-Terminal Illness Cover: A term insurance policy comes with an inbuilt-terminal illness cover. Terminal illness is the state that leads to death within 6 months after detection. The illness can wipe away your savings and this is where a term insurance policy will pay.
Option to enhance cover with riders: Term insurance policy allows you to provide you with the choice to increase the scope of cover with the riders. You can pay an extra premium and get the additional cover. For example: Rohit owns a term plan of Rs.1 crore and took an accidental death benefit rider cover for Rs.50 lakhs. After 5 years of the policy, Rahul died in an accident. The policy paid him an additional benefit. His nominee will get a total of Rs.1.5 crores for the claim.

Some insurance companies provide a return of premium option. Under this, the entire premium paid will be returned if the life insured survives the policy term.

After reading the benefits of the term insurance plan, you can read about the different types of term insurance plans.

Types of Term Insurance Policies.

There are six different types of term insurance policies that you can consider as a feature before buying the plan.

Level Term Plans: This is the most simple and the basic type of term insurance plan under which the sum assured remains the same throughout the policy tenure. The benefits will be paid to the nominee after the death of the life insured.
Increasing Term Plans: Another plan option is increasing term plans in which the life insured has the option to increase the sum assured annually. The premium amount will remain the same.
Decreasing Term Plans: Under the decreasing term plans, the sum assured will decrease to meet the requirements accordingly. A decreasing term plan helps when the policyholder has to pay the loan or other EMIs.
Return of Premium Plans: The plan comes with a maturity benefit in which the life insured will receive all the premiums paid. The benefit applies only when the life insured survives the policy term.
Term Plan with Riders: It is a term plan which is easily expanded with rider covers. Riders are additional covers that can be included after paying extra premiums. Some of the riders that you can think of buying include accidental death rider, accidental death and disability rider, critical illness rider, hospital care rider, surgical care rider, and waiver of premium rider.
Convertible Term Plan: This term insurance allows policyholders to convert the existing plan into other types. For example, Rohit can convert his term insurance policy into an endowment plan after a few years.

Conclusion:

Amongst all life insurance policies, the most suitable and affordable option is to look for the best tax saver term insurance plans. The term insurance applies for a specific period through which you can expect the tax savings. All the premium you pay for a term insurance policy is eligible for a tax deduction. When it comes to tax planning, many individuals opt for deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. For more details on term insurance and tax benefits.

Things To Look For in a Good Real Estate Attorney

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

When you seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in real estate law, you should ask a few pre-screening questions. Getting this information upfront will help you determine if the lawyer is the right fit for your situation.

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Experience

Typically, the more experience a lawyer has, the better. Find out how long the attorney has been practicing. If you are working with a specific type of property, such as residential, commercial, or multifamily units, you will want to find a legal professional with experience in that particular branch of real estate.

When you opt for someone who is well versed in the area you will be dealing with, they will likely be able to handle challenging or complicated issues quicker and with greater ease.

References

You should not be shy when it comes to asking for references. A real estate attorney like the ones at LegalShield should be comfortable giving you these also. The referrals might come from past or current clients, other lawyers or legal professionals, or family and friends.

You can search for any online reviews about the person or the law office, but these should carry little weight in your final decision. The remarks may not be from vetted sources.

Communication

Find out how the office will communicate with you. If an assistant will be contacting you, meet that person. Ask if you will be receiving updates or will they just call you when they need to. Find out if they will be sending you emails so that you will know to be on the lookout for them.

If you have a problem or question and want to get a hold of them, ask how you should communicate with them. Some offices will accept emails, while others may want you to call or make an appointment.

Other Services

Real estate attorneys work hand-in-hand with title officers, and some attorneys are title agents themselves, or they have one on staff.

Many documents pass between the lawyer and title company, so it can save time and confusion if there is an in-house title professional or a preferred partner.

Supporting Staff

It is not uncommon for a busy real estate attorney to have auxiliary staff, but you want to know if the lawyer will be working on your case or will be passed down to someone else. If so, find out who these other people are and their titles. They might be paralegals or junior attorneys. In many cases, this is fine. They can often handle the routine paperwork, and if something different comes up, the principal lawyer can step in.

If a team is working on your file, get their names and contact information. It can be helpful to have more than one point of contact at a law office. The attorney you hire is responsible for the entire transaction.

Finding a lawyer who specializes in the complicated matters surrounding real estate is not a difficult process if you know what to ask. These few tips can make finding the right legal team for your needs quicker and easier.

7 Business Benefits Of A Cost-Effective Inventory Tracking System

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

One of the biggest challenges of growing your business is managing your inventory.

You can easily manage a small inventory with manual bookkeeping or maybe a spreadsheet when starting. However, as your business and order volume grows and you expand into new markets, attempting to manage your inventory operations becomes impossible manually.

Not only can it become a hassle, but it can also be a significant barrier to your business’s growth and success. That is why investing in an effective inventory management system is beneficial.

As its name implies, an inventory management system refers to the technology that governs how you approach your inventory management. Moreover, it allows you to track and manage your products throughout your entire supply chain, from the purchases to the end sales.

This article will further discuss the whys of your business’s reliable inventory management and tracking system.

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Simplified Inventory Management

Perhaps the most obvious benefit to using an inventory management and tracking solution is that it makes the whole process of handling your inventory a lot easier, more convenient, and more efficient. This causes you to save time and money.

With supply and demand changing every single day and your stock levels fluctuating to accommodate those changes, an inventory management system can help automate your process to keep up with daily demands in your warehouse.

Using an inventory management system, you can eliminate manual and labor-intensive processes like typing inbox numbers or product numbers individually. By automating these processes and tasks, you can free up employee resources and spend their time on more important work in your business.

Higher Productivity

With an organized and systematic inventory management system, you get more things done in less time.

Using software can help manage your inventory that cuts down the time it takes to process, track, and audit your products. With a single and real-time interface, you can check the stock amounts on all your business inventory, follow what is selling, connect to payment apps for purchase orders and invoicing, find vendor information, and so much more.

Improved Inventory Tracking Accuracy

Some inventory management system comes with technological innovations that allow for more streamlined and accurate product tracking.

For instance, radio frequency identification or RFIDs has become increasingly common in warehouse environments to track and trace inventory. RFIDs can be used to eliminate or reduce the need for hand-scanning. In addition, it prevents data duplication, transcription errors, and ‘missed items’ when used to track large numbers of products simultaneously.

This will result in significant and immediate improvement in your inventory tracking and management.

If you’re interested in increasing the accuracy of inventory tracking in your warehouse, consider an RFID-enabled system. It would be best to work with companies like Lowry Solutions, which offers expertise in RFID inventory tracking software to ensure quality and efficiency in handling inventory tracking demands. You can click here for an RFID inventory management system.

Cost Savings

By streamlining your inventory management and tracking process, you can save money and cost in your daily operations. For one, it can help improve and shorten your supplier’s lead time with better supplier management relationships. Also, in connection with the previous point, better accuracy helps in reducing obsolete and excess stock, not to mention the costs incurred.

However, automation is perhaps the most significant cost-saving with an inventory management system. Automating your manual processes can prevent poor inventory management, avoiding errors such as overstocks and stock-outs that can cause significant revenue losses.

Prevent Over- Or Under-Stocking

With regards to overstocks and stock-outs, an inventory management system can help you maintain the right balance in your warehouse.

Too much stock can take up valuable warehouse space and incur unnecessary charges. Meanwhile, too little supply can lead to stock-outs causing potential loss of sales and unhappy customers.

With inventory management and tracking software, you can track low stock levels and identify your re-order points for each product you have. This can avoid the occurrence of stock-outs or overstocks.

In addition, suppose you’re unsure how to set up or calculate a re-order point. In that case, most inventory management systems use formulas and previous data from your company to calculate them for you automatically.

Happy And Satisfied Customers

Happy customers mean a happy business. Furthermore, an inventory management system can help boost your name in the eyes of your customer by improving your services.

As mentioned before, an inventory management and tracking system can help increase inventory accuracy. This ensures that the right product is delivered to the right place. Moreover, by automating tasks, those items are also provided to customers faster.

Some software even has real-time update features that notify customers about their shipment, including time arrival estimation. This gives your customers the tools to determine when their products are set to arrive, reducing their worries and saving you from answering questions about their product shipment.

As a result, you can expect a significant increase in customer satisfaction that ultimately benefits your business’s bottom line.

Enhance Inventory Forecasting

A reliable inventory management system can help produce valuable sales necessary in making more data-driven business decisions.

For instance, if you fully understand the law of supply and demand, you can also anticipate sale trends. This gives the business a competitive edge and can reduce operational costs.

Most inventory management and tracking systems are equipped with tools such as reporting and inventory metrics that you can use to make strategic decisions.

In addition, with these analytics and data, you can work out your inventory turnover rate while also identifying opportunities for reducing the amount of inventory you’re holding in your warehouse as well as lowering inventory carrying costs.

Take Away

Running an effective inventory management operation can be a challenging task. Fortunately, there is software out there that can take a lot of the hassle out of the process.

Using a specialized inventory management system and considering the benefits mentioned above can help you get on top of your business’s busy daily operation and allow you to stay competitive in your specific industry.

A Small Business Guide To Indirect Tax Governance

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

Now that you’re gradually venturing into the world of business, you’re most probably concerned about the indirect taxes you have to pay and impose on your products. You’re not the only one bothered by them. Even large businesses are affected by it, and of course, the consumers who will purchase the products.

Unfortunately, indirect tax grows in importance, leading to a complex and frequently changing taxation system. But why is it becoming essential in society? It is because the revenue collected by the government from indirect tax is increasing.

Indirect tax can be found on every product you purchase. Depending on your country, indirect tax is often referred to as value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST). However, these two are just a part of it. If you want to learn more about these taxes, you need to continue reading this guide.

Moreover, if you want to compute the tax on any product, you may visit apps or websites that offer their calculator for tax computation for free.

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What Is Indirect Tax?

Indirect tax is a type of tax collected by a business entity from the supply chain. It is imposed on a manufacturer but is passed on to consumers as part of the price of goods and services purchased. So basically, the consumer is paying the taxes by buying the product, not the business that produces it.

How Is Indirect Tax Different From Direct Tax?

As mentioned above, indirect taxes are paid from the purchases made by the consumer. It will be collected by the businesses that sell the products. Then, they will be forwarded to the government as a tax payment. That’s how indirect taxes work.

On the other hand, direct taxes, as the name suggests, are paid by consumers directly to the government. It could be in corporate tax, income tax, wealth tax, and more.

With this said, the main difference between the two is how the taxes are paid.

What Are The Different Types Of Indirect Taxes?

Indirect taxes come in many forms, depending on what products you want to purchase. For example, the tax imposed on alcoholic beverages is different from what is on basic consumption necessities. Here are the types of indirect taxes you might need to know:

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

Value-added tax is placed at every step of production, starting from purchasing raw materials to their final purchase. It means that the government receives revenue from every manufacturing process that adds value to the product. To further elaborate the confusing taxation process, here is how VAT implementation works, assuming that the VAT rate is 10%:

A small business manufacturer purchases a raw material costing USD$1. It will become USD$1.1 with added VAT.
Then, the product produced with the raw material is sold to a retailer for USD$3. It will become USD$3.3 with added VAT. Only two cents will be forwarded to the government minus the previous one cent incurred during the product’s initial production. Note that the two cents are only 10% of the gross margin of USD$2.
Lastly, the retailer will sell the product to consumers, following the above principle.

However, VAT may vary, depending on where you live. Different state or country means different VAT rate. For example, Louisiana has a different tax rate from Maine, Massachusetts, and others.

Because of its nature, VAT is full of controversy. According to experts, it only increases government revenue by placing additional costs on consumer goods instead of charging wealthy taxpayers who can afford it more.

Sales Tax

Sales tax is imposed on all goods and services you can see in the market and is only levied at the point of sale compared to VAT. So, when you plan to buy your favorite products in the department store or visit one of the best spas in town, remember that you are about to pay indirect tax in the form of sales tax.

Also, do not worry if your product will be double-taxed because it will not. As the name suggests, sales tax will only function after the sale of the product. On the other hand, VAT is added not on the sale of the product but every step of its production. Therefore, rest assured that your product won’t be double-taxed because of their difference in application.

Excise Tax

Excise tax is a special tax required on specific products, including tobacco, alcohol, and fuel. If you’re a manufacturer of these products, you are already paying this tax to purchase the necessary raw materials. Unfortunately, the excise tax will only make the product more expensive and burden consumers.

For example, the manufacturer buys a living substrate to produce alcoholic beverages. Because they need to pay indirect taxes as soon as they purchase the raw materials, they need to raise the product price, transferring the burden to their consumers.

Customs Tax

Have you noticed that the products you purchased abroad are slightly cheaper than buying the same in your country? It is because of an indirect tax called customs tax.

Customs tax is also known as tariffs. It is the tax imposed on all imported goods and is also the reason why your favorite brands abroad are way too expensive once they reach your country. Tariffs may differ, depending on which country you live in. Some countries offer higher tax rates, especially if the government sees a fast movement in the line of imported goods.

If you’re planning to sell your products overseas someday, you will need to determine the tax rate on imported goods imposed on your products.

What Are The Advantages Of Indirect Tax?

Even with many negative implications to consumers, indirect taxes can still benefit society. Here are some advantages you might want to know:

The low-income household can still participate by purchasing even low-cost products in the market.
Indirect taxes are not noticeable, so consumers won’t feel that the government has taxed them. However, they can still see the tax breakdown on their receipt for transparency.
Indirect taxes are easier to collect than direct taxes.
These taxes discourage everyone from purchasing harmful products, such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

Final Words

Starting a small business is not easy, even more so when governments impose indirect taxes on your products, making them more expensive than their actual value. Also, as an owner, you must apply these taxes properly on your goods and services. To do this, you will need to know the type of taxes applicable to your business, such as sales tax, VAT, or excise tax.

Also, remember that tax rates vary from state to state or country to country. So, make sure to do your little homework to avoid having errors in imposing taxes.

5 Essential Qualities To Look For In An IT Consulting Service

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

There’s no doubt that IT (information technology) is the future. Nowadays, everything revolves around technology, innovation, and information. This is great because the transformative power it possesses is quite immense.

Because of technology, the world has become a much more convenient place to live in for everyone. It’s made creating a digital reality possible. Now, every organization, business, government agency, or individual requires an IT service of some sort. It ranges from virtual assistants to automated technologies, to database management systems, to enterprise resource management systems, to advanced information systems, among many others.

Also, different businesses have different business models. They, too, can be further classified by industry. Industries have unique characteristics that encourage businesses to adopt certain types of technologies.

So, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution in the world of IT, thus, the need for a New York IT consulting service or one from your locality. But, not just any consultant. You need to look for the one that’s best suited for your business’s needs, one you can rely on, and one who can take on any task as professionally and efficiently as possible in order to get your money’s worth.

That being said, here are five of the essential qualities you need to look for in an IT consulting service:

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Professionalism And Experience

This is a very important quality to look for when selecting an IT consultant. You want to deal with a company that has a commendable reputation and character. You don’t want to hire a company whose employees mistreat their customers doing business with you. Perhaps, the best advice would be to not deal with a company you won’t even refer to somebody else.

Therefore, the best place to start when ensuring the professionalism of your prospective company is to do proper research. A company’s track record usually speaks for itself. You can look for online reviews of their past clients. Customer testimonies usually reveal the level of professionalism that the company has.

A company that cares about keeping its reputation intact will invest in training its employees on how to treat customers and do their job the right way. Keep in mind that consultancy is also a business. You, as the client, need to be taken care of properly; otherwise, they risk losing customers to other competitors. So, do your homework to determine the level of professionalism and experience your prospective company has.

The ideal company is the one that has the most experience. Even though the experience isn’t synonymous with giving wonderful service, it’s a good place to start in shortlisting possible consultants you’d want to use for your company.

Advisory Skills

The main responsibility of a consultant is that of giving advice. So, the consultant has to be knowledgeable about what they do. And, in this case, they have to be knowledgeable about IT. They have to be excellent advisors—that’s what you’re paying them to do.

Also, they have to possess good problem-solving skills. They have to combine the facts of a matter, analyze them, and advise about what steps you can take to solve a problem or to improve a system. What you want is someone who’s going to give you pieces of advice that actually work. And. also you want someone who’s able to come up with effective solutions tailored to the specific issues you’re facing.

You also want an advisor who’s going to tell you the truth. A good advisor will keep it real with you, no matter what. It also relates to the first point about professionalism because those companies that have a reputation to maintain will give you exemplary service; they’d want you to come back. Also, they’ll have a lot to lose if their image is tarnished, so to fail is the last thing they’d want to happen.

Technical Skills

You need to have to work with a technically competent team. This is important because you need people who know what they’re doing and have an in-depth understanding of IT. You want people who’ll deliver high-quality consultancy services every single time. Technical competence ensures that your business is safe in their hands.

Communication Skills

A good consultant has to be equipped with superb communication skills. Good interpersonal skills are a prerequisite. A good consultant has to know how to convey a message, even to a crowd of people who are clueless about how a system works.

IT has a lot of jargon that your employees may not understand. So, on top of having a consultant who’s knowledgeable in IT, they also have to be very good at communication. They need to be able to explain how certain functionalities or how certain systems work. This makes it important for a consultant to communicate with team members effectively. They need to understand what you say for them to understand and do the right thing.

Time Management Skills

You’re paying someone else to assist you. So, ideally, you’d want to maximize every hour that you pay them to work. Thus, the IT consultant you should hire has to have great time management skills. They should have an organized schedule to help them accomplish tasks on time because deadlines are very important. This is because the completion of one process can affect the completion of the entire project. So, when looking for a consultant, observe their time management skills.

Mind you, clients always observe how well consultants manage deadlines. It is a consultant’s job to meet the deadlines as agreed or as suggested. Your time is valuable and you can’t afford to waste it on a consultant who doesn’t value your time.

Conclusion

So, when you’re looking for an IT consultancy service, you need to consider your business’s needs first. Also, consider looking for consulting professionals in the field that your business operates—this is the ideal thing to do, but it doesn’t have to be the standard. Some IT consulting services are very flexible and adaptable, especially those that are virtual or can go virtual. So, in addition to the aforementioned, be diligent in research to identify the right company for you.

How To Manage Your Cap Table After A Fundraising

Last Updated: August 26, 2024

A cap table is a dataset often started in a spreadsheet containing detailed information about the different people who own a company. The cap table includes a detailed breakdown of a company’s ownership or capitalization structure. It usually contains a list of the persons who own shares of stock in a company. It also indicates how many stocks are owned by each person or shareholder on the list.

The cap table contains other data aside from the list of shareholders and their capital stock. It includes data about any grants the company may have received, such as liquidation rights and classifying shares into preferred, common, convertible, and warrants. The cap table also includes entries about debts incurred by the company. Here are some suggestions on managing your cap table after a round of fundraising.

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How To Manage Your Cap Table

Update Your Cap Table

One of the first few things you have to do after fundraising is to put all the relevant information about those who put up the money. It would be best to put in the new or updated information on your shares of stock as soon as possible, so you don’t forget or lose the data.

Since you’ve recently conducted a round of fundraising, there might have been changes or transactions which would affect your existing shareholders. If they’re all new investors, you’ll have to input the investments they brought in during the fundraising.

Compare Post-Money Results With Your Fundraising Action Plan

It would be best to have a fundraising action plan before executing any fundraising round. This will enable you to manage the fundraising to meet your immediate funding requirements yet stay aligned with your strategic business goals. After the fundraising, it’s best to compare the results of your company’s post-money situation with the goals and forecasted scenarios in your fundraising action plan.

Among the things in your checklist should be the overall ownership and capitalization structure. The post-money structure should be well within the range envisioned before the fundraising. Venture Capital (VC) specialists suggest that the founders maintain majority ownership during the seed and early financing rounds.

Some VC professionals suggest founder shares should be somewhere between two-thirds (67%) up to ideally 80% of the total capitalization. This would ensure the founders would have enough stake and motivation to make the startup fly. This also leaves them enough shares to unload for future rounds of financing. The suggested share of early angel investors should be not more than a fifth (20%) to give room for subsequent investors. Some startups also allocate around 10-12% for Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOP).

Check For Rounding Up Errors

Rounding up decimal numbers is one of the most common errors after a company goes through a financing round. This is expected in all mathematical computations involving decimal numbers. It also happens in preparing accounting reports and statements and engineering computations.

It’s specifically relevant in managing cap tables because the Price Per Share (PPS) can be in real numbers (numbers in fractions or with decimal points). In contrast, the shares will always be integers (whole numbers without decimal numbers, i.e., 300, 367, 521 shares, etc.).

The typical error that occurs when the PPS of an investor is rounded is that it will affect the total number of shares owned by that shareholder. For example, a PPS of USD$7.33033129 won’t be equivalent to the same number of shares if the PPS was rounded to USD$7.33. The difference could run up to more than a hundred additional shares of stock. This will impact the overall capitalization structure and the ownership percentage of other shareholders across the board.

Check Transactions Involving Existing Shareholders

It’s also possible that some of the transactions involved a transfer of shares between some of your shareholders and other external incoming shareholders. There could have been a transfer of shares among your existing shareholders. These types of changes will most likely require adjustments in the data entries of those shareholders who were parties to the transactions.

Some of these things can be easily adjusted using popular spreadsheet software applications. But there are changes that you have to keep track of almost every day. This is why some businesses prefer to use special software applications to create their cap tables rather than do it using popular spreadsheet applications.

Avoid Over Dilution After A Fundraising

You should review your capitalization structure after high-resolution fundraising. This happens when the business puts out a variety of offers for Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFEs) and convertible notes containing different terms. Startups usually do this to entice specific investors to buy in. They’re hoping these investors would greatly help the venture, especially in the early stages.

High-resolution fundraising gives the startup founders a lot of room for flexibility, especially during the early rounds of pre-seed and seed. The problems come up when the business loses track of what they offer. The variety of discounts and valuation caps, combined with pre-and post-money valuations, can result in so many messed-up values that would be difficult to track manually with your usual spreadsheet.

Consider Using Cap Table Software

This can happen when you’re not using advanced software for managing cap tables. After sorting the cap tables, you might find out that you’ve given away an ownership portion of your company way beyond what you had in mind. It might also dilute the stock shares of other investors who wouldn’t know any better if they don’t have real-time access to updates to your cap table.

Stock dilution happens when the company authorizes the issue of new stocks and offers them to investors. The influx of the new shares brings down the value of the existing stock because it reduces their share in the overall ownership of the company.

Review Alignment Of Legal Documents With Cap Table

Keep in mind that stock certificates are also legal documents. They’re proof that the investor owns the number of shares in the company specified in the certificate. Aside from that, it entitles the shareholder to a bundle of other rights. It means they can access the financial documents. They can sell or assign their rights to other shareholders or even use them as collateral to get bank loans. Additionally, they can team up with other shareholders to form a new majority.

This makes it essential for the founders to ensure that all these legal documents and agreements align with your cap table data. You should include a review of all the discounts and convertible securities. You should hire someone who understands cap table mathematics. It would help if you also asked for help from a corporate lawyer who has experience in equities and securities transactions.

Conclusion

There will be numerous and sometimes sweeping changes in your capital structure after a round of fundraising. The issue of new stocks will dilute the ownership share of the existing stockholders. Some shareholders may transfer or exchange their stocks to another existing shareholder. They may also sell to the incoming investors. All these changes have to be managed so that your cap table will accurately reflect the ownership structure of your company.