Author: Complete Controller

Do you have any talent you use only as a leisure activity? It is entirely justified for you to think of it as just a hobby, but there is a possibility that you can monetize it and turn your talent into a profitable business.

How to Monetize Your Hobby

You can turn many hobbies into businesses, such as carpentry, painting, baking, dog training, web design, and anything that delivers value to others. However, the real issue is that many of us are afraid to do it, even when we know we can make profits because we fear failure. We are worried that if we try to monetize our hobby and fail, we may no longer feel the same satisfaction or happiness that we feel when doing that activity or that others will see us differently.

It can be a chilling proposition that can make many skilled individuals desist from pursuing their dreams.

Trying to monetize your hobby into a good business idea is not easy, but on the other hand, it is not that it is quantum physics, either. With a bit of groundwork and strategic execution, a person can enjoy a positive result. Below are some tips:

1. Create a plan

To start monetizing your hobby, start with a plan. You will rethink this plan several times, but it is worth having an armed strategy from the beginning.

Fill all your free time with students in the evenings and on weekends, and save all the profits you make (do not waste!). Once you have saved enough cash to cover the expenses of 4 or 6 months, quit your job and dedicate yourself fully to building your guitar lessons business.

It doesn’t have to be a particular case or the plan that works for you, but it is better to have one. It’s not about throwing yourself blind and expecting things to go well.

2. Making your first sale

Nowadays, you do not need to go from a simple, playful hobby to a multi-million-dollar company. In the early stages, your goal should be to make your first sale. It does not matter if that means a deal of 5 dollars or a contract of 5 thousand, as your first sale will be the most challenging and meaningful you will make.

There are many strategies for you to achieve your first sale. However, everything mainly depends on the product you are selling. You could start by giving customers a free trial to generate word-of-mouth advertising if you sell a service. If it is a product, doing good product placement and some advertising in the right places will take you to the sale. (Social networks are mighty for people trying to reach many people with few resources).

It is important to remember that, although you believe in your product unquestioningly, the rest of the people have no reason to do so.

3. May your time yield

For many people, working full-time and then spending overtime pursuing your hobbies is not practical. There is not enough time in the day among children, couples, friends, and other social commitments. 

During the first stage, you will have to be creative about using your time. Maybe you must get up earlier than usual to do things before going to work.

Another alternative is to involve your children in your family time/ hobby so you can spend time with them and achieve bigger things.

4. Have an online presence

Everyone must have a virtual presence in today’s businesses to generate more activity. It means maintaining and creating a website, profiles on social networks, and everything that involves creating a brand as a professional.

Consistency in presenting yourself will give you a better, more established image that will result in more customers. If you’re unsure how to begin, look for what established musicians are doing that do something similar and take ideas from there. Art is not shaped in a vacuum; it is good to get some inspiration from the work of others.

5. Create a network

Some people will run into you online. However, many big and small businesses become successful from the network spread by word of mouth. You must prepare yourself to be very active in this part of self-promoting yourself.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Do you want to learn how to save money effectively? I share simple methods that you can put into practice and, from today, start accumulating your savings.

Saving money is not a one-time activity but a process. In the long term, the habit of saving can change your life, and I trust that these four simple ways will compel you to take the first step to enjoy the fruits of your savings later.

Saving can be compared to making a diet. Initially, you must control yourself, but after some time, it becomes routine, and the effects are always visible.

 

Take Small Steps

All this is not about accumulating large sums of money immediately. If you have never had the habit of saving money, then you should start doing it gradually.

There are many ways to save, but no one learns how to use all banking and investment products in a single day. Therefore, where do you start?

Start saving your money in a piggy bank. This is the oldest method of saving, but it is still effective. Of course, the funds collected in the piggy bank are not giving you interest, but it is the first step to get into the habit.

If you have never saved, the most important thing is to develop the habit. This means often saving even a tiny amount of money.

One way to do this is to put the rest of the money you have left after making the purchases in the piggy banks. You go to the store, you pay for purchases, and once in the house, you put all the coins in the piggy bank (assuming you pay for your purchases in cash).

When you have already accumulated a little money, it is time to move your savings to a savings account. It is where money is readily available and where interest grows little by little.

 

Determine the Goal of Saving

In one of the articles, I mentioned the importance of having financial goals. This is also dedicated to identifying your saving goal.

Your goal may be a trip around the world or the renovation of your home. Let us say you are thinking about buying modern furniture for $2,400, and you think, “Alright, I need $2,400, and I’d like to buy it in a year, which means I have to save $200 per month.”.

But why is it so important to know our goal in this situation? If you know what you want, it will be easier to do it because you will be able to deny yourself the pleasure of a moment – “These new shoes cost $100, but maybe I do not need them, and this month I will save $100 more to buy the furniture “-

To fulfill your goal, you must give up other things, and it is easier to do when you know your destination.

 

Pay Yourself First

Although it is well known and straightforward, few of us make use of this principle.

For example, when you get the money as a monthly work payment, you immediately transfer part of this money to your savings account.

Then, with the remaining money, you pay all your monthly expenses.

We fail to save money from what we have left at the end of the month. It is true because we have nothing left at the end of the month. Therefore, we must do it at the beginning of each month and deposit a percentage of our salary into another bank account.

 

Test and Choose What is Best for You

One of the essential saving principles says: use the savings methods that work for you. This principle is not only applied to save money but also to all the principles of personal finance. I assure you that I will repeat it in this blog, so you do not forget it.

You can find a lot of information on how to save money online and in books. However, eventually, you will realize that being efficient is not about using all the world’s methods, just because they are working for other people.

It would be best if you experiment, try different options, and see what works for you. In this blog, I also share the various saving methods, but I do not want to say that you will obtain precisely the same results as me by using them.

If you do not know which method is the best, there is only one way to know: check it and analyze the results.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Through years of personal growth and professional training, we are prepared to face and successfully overcome challenges. Still, we can never be ready for unforeseen events, such as business losses, accidents, or illnesses. It is where insurers can help us be protected against any eventuality.

The constant changes in our society and economy make us exposed and fragile to the future. So, it is necessary to have a guarantee of protection to live quietly. Several types of policies can insure cars, houses, businesses, and lives, among other things, that insurers design according to everyone’s family and contextual needs.

Here are some points that explain the importance of insurance in general:

Lifetime Insurance

An American Census Bureau report recently revealed that around 13.6 million legally unmarried parents lived with their children in 2011. Necessarily, single parents must ensure the financial security of their dependents in their death event. Here, life insurance would be the best choice for your business plan.

Life insurance is also helpful if you do not have dependents. This way, you can quickly pay all your final expenses. As a result, your siblings, parents, and other family members will have any burden regarding your dependents. With a life insurance policy, you can significantly contribute to a charity. Such policies are timelessly valuable and create a cash value as well. If you are not using it as a death benefit, you can withdraw or borrow against the owner’s and make a forced saving plan. You will have this policy as an outdated beneficiary designation, especially for a single, divorced, or spouse death. Only you need to make appropriate adjustments to your plan.

Security

Security. Insurance provides protection and support in cases of loss in an unexpected event. It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Insurance offers security and protection when a loss of income occurs due to death, old age, personal accidents, or illness. In the same way, against declines in fires, damages, destruction, or disappearance of properties, goods, and machines.

Reduce Losses

In business or on a personal level, having insurance increases the likelihood of getting ahead in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and fires. The closing of a company could depend on whether it has insurance. Also, life can bring us errors and uncertainties, limiting our income or losing them. With the payment and support of insurance, we can have the certainty that we will have a guaranteed income since the insurance company would pay a fixed amount for some incidents agreed upon in the same policy.

Tranquility

The insurance eliminates or reduces the tension, fear, anxiety, frustration, or mental weakness associated with the uncertainty of the future. Our health can also be affected if we do not foresee these situations. Likewise, we must learn to invest money and practice the habit of saving.

Promote Savings

The insured is obliged to regularly pay the value of the insurance, which can encourage the habit of saving. For example, life insurance promotes regular and systematic savings, which, after some time, could be helpful to and necessary for the insured person, depending on the life policy contracted. It is a benefit you could use in the future!

Recommendations

• If you are evaluating to contract insurance, be it for life, housing, automobile, or business, you must consider the following:
  • Before choosing the company to contract your insurance, seek specialists’ and current users’ opinions and advice.
  • Find out the necessary procedures and the process in case of facing an unforeseen event and having to claim insurance.
  • Remember to have the payment of the current policy fee always to have the insurance in force and avoid being rejected in case of an emergency.

Important Things to Consider

Hire a well-experienced insurance expert for practical insurance protection for your specific requirements. Make sure this guidance lets you get all available discounts. In today’s world, proper credit has excellent value. You will have higher credit limits, fittest interest rates on loans, and a lower interest rate on credit cards. Nowadays, landowners and employees must show their credit records before apartment leasing and make job offers.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

A guarantor responds with everything he enters or will enter, in addition to all his assets. In addition, the bank can go against the guarantor rather than against the principal holder if he wishes by including some clauses in which we waive the benefit of the order, division, and excuse.

The non-indebted person, the mortgagee, is the individual who utilizes an objective property of which you are the proprietor to ensure the obligation that an outsider has contracted with your leaser. That is, he is the person who puts his property as an assurance. However, he is not an account holder since you neither get cash nor are committed to bringing it back.

Even though the facts demonstrate that the typical practice is that the account holder is likewise the person who contributes a portion of his benefits as security, the law (article 1857 of the Civil Code) permits separating these positions, subsequently comprising an assurance for the outer obligation, along these lines, the individual mentioning a credit will be obliged to reimburse this sum (account holder). At the same time, the outsider that comprises a home loan on their property ensures the commitment if there should be an occurrence of default by the indebted person.

If something implies essential obligations and the Spaniards have signed without informing us, they are the mortgage loan deeds. Due to ignorance or overconfidence sometimes and other negligence, many people have come to the firm before a notary, by the hand of their director of a lifetime (or the bank’s agency), without reading the binding offer.

In the most practical way possible, let us try to explain the different figures used by the bank to reinforce a mortgage operation:

• The guarantor
• The non-debtor mortgagee
• The holder of the mortgage loan does not own the property

The Non-Debtor Mortgagee

This figure is less known to the public, not because it is not used, but because it is not explained. The mortgagee does not borrow a mortgage on his home but owes the bank nothing. Well, technically, in practice, it is something else.

The financial institution takes a mortgage guarantee from the non-debtor mortgagee, responding to your home only in the mortgaged part (response for the mortgage liability assigned to your estate).

A couple requesting a 100% mortgage plus expenses is the most frequent case. Currently, the maximum that banks usually grant is 80% of the valuation; sometimes, they give the option of mortgaging another home to reach 100% (and the mortgagee’s non-debtor’s home is mortgaged).

Mortgage Holder without Ownership

The last figure we will study in practice resembles that of the guarantor, although it has some differences worth commenting on.

It would be the case in which we sign as holders of the mortgage loan deed, but we do not appear at all in the sale. We assume a mortgage debt without receiving a percentage of any housing in return. It is a delicate position in taxation since it could be considered a covert donation (if a part of the mortgage payments is paid).

Some entities have used it to increase the family unit’s income and for an operation to pass its scoring. Under the assumption that the mortgage holder also pays the fee, the debt ratio improves. This rarely happens since the false guarantor produces nothing and only refines the operation.

The essential practical difference with the guarantee is that being a guarantor, we leave CIRBE as an indirect risk, and being a mortgage holder is an immediate risk. And it will be more difficult for us to obtain subsequent financing if our threat is direct.

These three legal positions are those that financial institutions use to reinforce the operation (in bank slang), that is, to have more guarantees to collect if the principal holder of the mortgage does not pay. We must be apparent if the formula satisfies us and if we are willing to bear the consequences. It would be best if you always put yourself in the worst case: the one who has requested the mortgage does not pay. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Bookkeeping has emerged as the most effective and long-term process for securely recording and managing financial data. If you are a business owner, you must seek its usefulness.

If you own a private venture, staying up with the latest budgetary records is fundamental for your prosperity. It would be best if you refreshed your record books as often as possible. Here are a few advantages of day-by-day accounting and record maintenance. 

Enables You to Check Your Financial Situation 

Refreshing your daybooks gives you data vital for your business to run smoothly. If, under the circumstances, you gradually go over your business’s funds, you will have all the data you require about the budgetary condition of your business. All the outstanding bills, finance estimation, and salary data will be readily available. 

Enhances Decision Making 

If you have easy-to-access everyday accounting records, you will think settling on critical monetary choices is much less demanding. Realizing how much capital you have to your detriment encourages you to choose matters like buying stock or employing more staff. 

If you come across some unfavorable records demonstrating that you are running low on capital, you can choose to apply for a new line of credit for your business so that you can secure your business. 

It Makes Your Work Easier

You will spare time that you would have spent endeavoring to make up for lost time toward the month’s end if you refresh your money-related records day by day. If your books are dependably placed together, you will have more opportunities to concentrate on maintaining your business. 

Acts as a Protective Shield to Your Small Business

If your accountant checks your books every day, they can catch false charges, shield your checks from skipping, and ensure that you have enough capital for your next installments. It protects your business from steering into the rocks. When you have gatherings with potential financial specialists about the eventual fate of your business, having up-and-coming records demonstrates that you are serious. 

Enables Problem-Comprehending Easier 

If you do your accounting every day, you will be able to become aware of any issues early and tackle them before they increase. If you refresh your books day by day, you can distinguish any fake action and report it before it does unsalvageable harm to your business. 

If there are chances that you consider bookkeeping and accounting overwhelming or getting out of control, you can enlist the services of a professional. You can quickly seek help and inquiries with books and handles representing a considerable rundown of solo business pioneers. Nevertheless, you must hire a dependable bookkeeper if you like to take things yourself. Any way you do your accounting is extraordinary if you stay with it! If you do not, you will rapidly end up behind and with futile money-related reports. With the correct spotlight on your books, you have the accurate data to put your business on track to flourish for a considerable time.

Credentials Bookkeeper

There is no need to have a formal education if you want to be a bookkeeper. You must be a stickler for perfect results and know about financial topics. Small business owners or accountants oversee the work of bookkeepers who are responsible for managing the company’s financial records. But bookkeepers are not an accountant. 

Bookkeeping functions

• Categorize and record transactions of your finances
• Post credits and debits
• Create and send invoices
• Balance and maintain prior accounts, subsidiaries, and general ledgers
• Manage and complete payroll
• Keep all your financial records
• Make a smart financial strategy
• Contribute to the timeless and influential advancement of the business
• Bookkeeping is one of the main aspects that help business financials to grow
• The bookkeeper has your sales and expenditure receipts as your business record
• The size of your business and the quantity of your financial transactions define bookkeeping complexity
• It helps companies to show their financial transactions as supporting documents on the IRS website
• It is not a part of the financial statement

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

In the current era, nothing is more important for an individual than having multiple sources of income and keeping a healthy savings account. One should always have a healthy amount of savings due to inflation and how the essentials of life are slowly getting out of a person’s financial reach. Medical facilities, for instance, are too expensive these days, and one should have enough savings in their bank account to pay for medical bills in an emergency.

Savings Overview 

Saving separates a portion of the monthly income of a home, an organization, or an individual. It aims to accumulate it over time and then allocate it to other purposes. It may be recreational expenses, significant payments, or any eventual payments. Or solve an economic emergency.

Saving is a usual practice and an essential concept in economic theory, understood as the percentage of income or income that is not destined for consumption. That is why there are different forms of savings. Financial instruments whose specific role is to allow or increase the desired financial protection have been designed.

Typically, savings consist of the surplus of money or resources accrued during the production process, whether national, business, family, or personal. However, the excessive desire for savings and sacrifice of significant or necessary expenses that could be covered are linked to greed and are severely viewed culturally.

Its origins as a practice are intricately linked to the source of civilization before the existence of money, so harvest goods were preserved for later consumption. The first savings and loan company emerged during the fifteenth century as part of the new order brought by the Bourgeois Revolutions and was a precursor to the current banks. Saving and capital accumulation were vital in the constitution of early capitalism as an economic system.

Types of Savings

Usually, two forms of savings are distinguished: public and private. The shared savings are the ones that perform the State, from the income of international trade, taxes to its citizens, or other economic activities. The State saves resources by covering its basic needs for operation and assistance (public spending). There is still a surplus or excess of resources. Otherwise, talk about the deficit.

Private savings. Private organizations of diverse types carry it out, that is, those that do not belong to the public sphere. Families, nonprofit institutions, and businesses do it. Savings are given when the basic needs of the company or family are fully covered, and there is a surplus of available resources.

Saving Account Benefits

No one can risk having a massive amount in their houses, so people open savings accounts. They also earn a significant amount of interest. Track your previous calculation. You learn how your savings account lets you increase your money without doing anything additional. Yes, it is not a gratis benefit as you will have to pay taxes and interest earnings. Your regular saving lets you know how you earn or bet leverage of passive income. There are multiple ways of saving money, as you will have the option of liquidity and the convenience of being an account owner.

You can save money based on the long- and short-term goals with a deposit certificate or CD. You can earn the best APY with a CD account by comparing a few savings accounts.

In the case of CD accounts, you can deposit your money in them within a specific time. You will not earn the interest until you pay the penalty before maturity. You will have six monthly withdrawals with a sentence as a CD account benefit.

Selecting any savings account is your best option if you want the safest way to spend your hard-earned money. There are other options where people save their money, such as investment in multiple assets. However, there is a lack of growth and substantial risk regarding stocks or mutual funds. The core benefit of having a savings account is getting consistent interest without any trouble. There is no danger of losing money as well.

You can also ensure your savings accounts, such as FDIC or NCUA. It will help when your bank or lender will no longer secure your money with a limit of 250,000 dollars per account ownership category and per depositor.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

It is always better to prevent damage from happening in our daily lives than to repair it later. This logic also applies to our credit history and credit score. There are several factors in achieving a good credit score, and below is a little reason why it is beneficial to have good credit scores.

Maintaining a Healthy Credit Score Will Help Grow Your Economy

Even if a person is in debt and they are trying to resolve it because they’ve reached an agreement with the financial institution that granted it, in the end, there is a note in their history indicating that they are a higher risk for the credit grantors. It is why preventing and maintaining a credit score brings a person many more long-term benefits; these benefits include the following:

• Better interest rates as compared to before
• Broader credit lines
• Greater diversity in types of financing (forms of payment of your debt)

If someone does not know their credit score, they can check it in the Credit Bureau or Credit Circle. Also, if a person wants to learn more about how the score works, they can check our blog post, “Know your Score in Bureau and Credit Circle.” The factors that a person should always consider in maintaining a good credit score are mentioned below:

• Punctuality of the payments
• Debt capacity (how much a person can owe without falling into a vicious circle)
• Current credit status

When a person asks for a loan, the financial institution will review your credit history. The institutions will set different factors according to their rules and regulations depending on the nature of their credit, whether quick loans without collateral, mortgage or auto loans, or others.

Forming Healthy Management and Financing Habits

Considering the factors that influence a person’s history and how a good credit score can bring benefits, it’s time to start developing healthy habits of managing your income and handling your debts. Maintaining a healthy weight prevents illness, but a wholesome credit history avoids long-term financial problems. According to experts, a person must eat healthily and exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight. Healthy eating and exercise for a credit history translate to analyzing income. How much do you earn per month in active and passive income? Does anyone help them with their daily expenses?

How much can a person buy from debt? Remember that the golden rule is that your liability does not exceed 30% of your monthly income. For example, if a person earns around $ 20,000 per month, their debt should not be more than $ 6,000 per month, including all types of credits they must manage. A person should make average estimates for their reasonable expenses and debts. Based on their income, recurring payments, and liabilities, they can assign a budget according to each thing.

Enjoy the fruits of your effort. As time passes, a person will see and receive the benefits of a good credit score.

Resources to Repair Your Credit History

Suppose, for some extraordinary reason, they did not manage to maintain a good credit history. In that case, plan B is talking to the institution that granted them the credit and arriving at terms to pay their debt. People can also use an intermediary to help them plan their finances to save and follow an austerity plan to get out of debt. Remember that even repairing the debt will leave a signal in their credit history.

All in All

A score that ranges from 300 to 850 is considered a good credit score. A score of around 800 or more is considered an excellent credit score. The advantages have already been discussed, such as having a good credit score. Things like paying your bills on time, paying off your debts, keeping your credit card balances low, and not closing unused credit cards are necessary steps that can help you improve your credit score. 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Planning your succession is essential; we all agree. However, very few of us talk about it! And it is understandable: evoking death is not already appearing as a person; imagine as an IT consultant. It would be best if you thought of your wealth and your business.

Often, clients postpone this subject until tomorrow. For them, as for you, is talking about succession difficult? Have you thought about your loved ones who could find themselves alone, needy, and overwhelmed by the events after your death?

Protect Your Wealth Through Financial Independence

Being free to decide how to organize your property’s transmission is a natural stage of financial independence. It would help if you had a compelling conversation today rather than months of conflict for your family once you are gone. And then, if you organize your succession during your lifetime, the management of your business will only be more precise.

Admit that you had not considered this angle. Thinking about your future can also secure your financial freedom.

And like any legal action, this requires the knowledge of very different rules. You could find the associated procedures complex with reason. Hiring a business lawyer prevents you from rushing through the process, making mistakes (costly), and penalizing your loved ones. For example, did you know you can leave inheritance property without taxes to your life partner when it is impossible for your children?

After all, I’m talking to you about maintaining your quality of life now and in the future. It deserves you to spend a little time on it.

Organizing Optimal Estate Planning: How to Do It?

Estate planning involves establishing a distribution plan for your assets. And since you are an IT consultant, this includes everything related to your business. The legitimate question you ask yourself is: how do you make it optimal and keep its properties in the family?

Different professionals are there to guide you. The objective is to organize your current management. You thus increase your chances of planning according to your will, with full legal, financial, and tax compliance.

All this upstream work has undeniable legal importance. By continuously improving your business process, we prevent potential conflicts and surprises after your death. Poor planning or management of your business can have serious consequences: relatives who receive nothing and find themselves in financial difficulty, opposition between heirs, inheritance blocked due to anomalies, and so many disputes to spare your entourage.

Our panel of advice is complete. We are here to inform you about your rights, check or dispute tax documents, determine your heirs and trustee (or executor), inventory your property, and pay your debts.

Make a Will Before You Die

What is the will? First, understand this! Legal proof confirms who will be the owner of all your assets after your death. This document authorizes the name of the future proprietor, the date when the court legally allows your property to them, and the conditions of the will.

Will provide instructions to the executor to manage, handle, and control the burden of your asset rightly with excellent efficiency. A will transform your estate into judicial probate. The court will distribute it according to the country’s regulations if you don’t make your will. And it can hand it over to those who don’t have the right to have all your lifetime earnings without any legal authority. 

If your children don’t come in the category of adults, you will have to make a guardian for this responsibility with the condition of giving it to them until they become adults. There are lots of ways for estate planning strategies that you can ponder. Individual retirement accounts will help you in this process as they are the most beneficial way to extend your tax status.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Factoring, fine trading, leasing, and debt collection are alternative financing solutions for SMEs. They ensure quick liquidity and save equity.

Many companies need help to obtain credit. One of the reasons for this is the high-security conditions due to the stricter regulations. Small and medium-sized companies are open to alternative financing solutions. Companies in the 2.5 to 50 million dollar sales class consider modular financing sensible. You believe that a mix of funding is a growth accelerator. It means entrepreneurs remain liquid and can act more flexibly in the market. Alternative financing solutions and how they work are in more detail below.

Factoring: Immediate Liquidity Through the Sale of Accounts Receivable

Factoring is on the rise. More and more small and medium-sized companies are relying on pre-financing invoices to secure quick liquidity because the companies’ payment behavior is falling. Many companies complain about bad debts. It has severe consequences for small and medium-sized companies because they often pay advance payments for goods or services, personnel costs, and social security contributions. Permanent default in payment or even bad debts can, therefore, in the worst case, threaten the company’s existence.

Factoring

Factoring is the purchase or sale of money claims from goods and service transactions. It is a purchase transaction, i.e., it happens on a purchase agreement, not a credit agreement. The combination of pre-financing, assuming the risk of bad debts, and active debtor management is a flexible financing and service instrument, especially for expanding companies.

The advantages of factoring: You can minimize outstanding debts and secure immediate liquidity by continuously selling exceptional receivables to a factoring company. In addition, the invoices have insurance against possible bad debts. It means the entrepreneur receives his money, even if the client does not pay.

Another added value is that the factoring company offers relief regarding dunning. Thus, the entrepreneur has his head accessible and can handle his core business. A plannable inflow of funds, which supports the company in growth, and the generation of an increased equity ratio are further decisive plus points. With factoring, the financing volume increases with sales and does not end like a credit line. In addition, companies gain freedom of action and can use factoring strategically. The provision of collateral customary in banking is not necessary.

Factoring can grant existing or potential new customers payment terms up to 60 days. It gives the company a clear competitive advantage. In addition, there are no costs for any discounts previously granted. The expenses for factoring are also offsetting in the discount area. Outstanding debts can be minimized through the immediate payment of the receivables. Due to the improved balance sheet structure, the reputation of rating agencies and banks is also increasing.

The factoring model is adapted individually to the respective needs and the company’s industry. However, due to certain branch conditions, factoring is not suitable for all branches of the sector.

Fine Trading: Flexible Purchase and Goods Financing

The pre-financing of orders often costs small and medium-sized companies valuable liquidity. Since the order is not yet profitable, there is often a lack of financial means to make advance payments. Fine trading is an option to raise capital. The financing solution is suitable for all companies that want to finance their lead times for their orders as required.

Fine trading is a triangular transaction whereby the fine trader acts as a middleman. The company negotiates the goods order with its supplier. The fine trader orders directly from the supplier, and the supplier sends the goods to the company. It confirms the proper receipt of the delivery. The supplier then sends the invoice to the fine trader, who pays the supplier using a discount. The middleman retains a small additional fee-based margin. Finally, the company receives a payment term from the fine trader up to the expected delivery of goods.

Fine trading immediately improves liquidity. It means that additional projects can be financed and implemented. Immediate settlement of the invoice improves the supplier’s image and strengthens the negotiating position. It can lead to better prices and discounts in purchasing negotiations.

Suppliers also achieve advantages through fine trading. The purchase financier takes over the risk of default, meaning incoming payments can be planned and made immediately. Liquidity planning is simplified, and the balance sheet improves by reducing receivables. In all this, there are no additional costs for the suppliers. With some fine trading providers, however, the financing volume is limited. It is agreed upon individually before the cooperation.

Leasing: Balance-Neutral and Liquidity-Friendly

Leasing can be an alternative financing solution if companies want to invest in new machines or company vehicles. It saves the credit line at the house bank and the equity. Companies have much room to maneuver through tailor-made solutions for more liquidity when leasing.

The leasing rates are adjusted individually. With these ongoing monthly expenses, entrepreneurs can better calculate their finances. However, the leasing rate also represents a block of fixed costs that extends over the entire term of the contract. The installment payments can be tax deducted as business expenses and are fully deductible.

Leasing leads to a tax reduction since investment-related taxes, such as trade tax, are no longer applicable. However, the lessor remains the legal owner of the leased property. However, this has the advantage that the leased object does not appear on the lessee’s balance sheet. There is also the option of buying the leased property during the term of the leasing contract. Leasing rates are usually a bit higher than those for a debt-financed purchase.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Buying a car can be a stressful process for anyone who is considering a new model. The greatest devaluation of a new car occurs in the first three years of use. Just leaving the dealership causes the car’s value to depreciate by 15%. Because of this, many people feel insecure when purchasing a new vehicle, wondering whether funds should be saved, used to buy newer models with options, or used on older models with lower expenses such as taxes and insurance. Taking certain precautions and following tips can benefit the prospective car buyer.

Below are tips for making the best deal when purchasing a new car.

Buy From a Reliable Seller

Any problems that occur before the sale regarding vehicle mechanics or documentation are the seller’s responsibility. That is why buying new cars only from reliable establishments, companies established in the market, and with a positive reputation is essential. That way, the buyer is guaranteed their vehicle operates appropriately, and the documentation has been checked before it goes on sale.

Look for the Best Deal

Calculate the values of discounts in new models compared to the same model from last year. Then look for the most cost-effective offer with optional extras (trio electric, stereo or DVD and parking sensors), factory items (such as power steering or electric, air-conditioning, ABS brakes), and tax and insurance payments.

Evaluate the Vehicle 

It is essential to complete an excellent visual inspection; for example, if there are no water or oil leaks, no apparent rust, dents, or unevenness in the bodywork. Perform a test drive to make sure that everything is working correctly. Review your car carefully before purchasing it to reduce the risk of buying a problematic product.

Calculate Fixed Expenses

To avoid purchasing a car whose expenses will exceed your ability to pay, you must calculate in advance the fixed expenses to be disbursed periodically. These include taxes, automobile insurance, and the payment modality’s installments.

Know Your Credit Score 

Knowing your credit score before applying for financing has useful benefits. It helps you make necessary corrections regarding information on the credit reports that contribute to the score. You can also easily apply for loans and have a better understanding of the rates that you want. For free credit scores, you can use online sources. For personal information, many websites offer you a score in exchange. Be cautious while selecting websites. You will need to sign up for credit tracking services or other products, and you will have to do it before you get to see your credit score.

Check Documentation Method

The last obstacle between you and the open road is signing documents for purchase and registration. However, it is not the process through which you should rush. You need to check your paperwork or documentation for accuracy and completeness. Correct all the errors or blank spaces before signing the paperwork to avoid any issues or legal ramifications later.

If you do not correct errors early, these mistakes will be a severe headache for you after you sign the papers. Make sure all the numbers and things match the deal you will finalize. Complete a thorough check of all terms, conditions, and calculations before signing any document with the financing institution or dealership.

Choose the Best Method of Payment

The best way to pay for any product is cash. However, it is rare for someone to have readily enough money to buy a car. Thus, choosing between consortium, financing, and leasing is necessary to choose which payment modality best suits your needs and financial conditions.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.