Accountancy is one of the most important professions in the business field. It is the responsibility of an accountant to ensure that a company’s accounting is kept in order, with up-to-date documentation, commitments to suppliers are fulfilled, and the payment of different clients is tracked. This helps to verify and confirm that the state of the business is appropriate. To be a successful bookkeeper and help companies, regardless of their area or size, here are some tips to consider.
Responsibility
Responsibility is not just an important quality but a fundamental aspect of any business. It involves being diligent in fulfilling legal obligations, upholding commitments made to clients, and responding promptly to their inquiries. Additionally, ensuring the security of the data and information entrusted to the business is crucial in building trust with clients. By doing so, the business can establish a strong and lasting working relationship with its clients, which is vital for its success.
Stay at the Forefront
Something significant also is to stay at the forefront regarding current legislation and future changes and how all kinds of updates of this kind could affect your customers. It is even advisable to go further and promote learning for situations that could benefit future clients, such as issues related to exports, imports, and tax benefits that it can exploit in the best possible way.
Have a Team
Achieving success as a bookkeeper as a single person can be challenging, despite the fact that it is entirely possible to understand how to do so. It would be beneficial to have a small work team that could provide backup support when the workload or the number of clients increases. This could range from an assistant who can assist with typing, responding to queries, or answering messages from accounting clients to having a team member who can always offer support when needed.
Good Disposition and Patience
It will always be good when a client wants to learn about the accounting processes and thus understand the instructions given by their bookkeeper. The idea is that you always have the kindness and patience to explain the requested information, especially when we talk about SMEs, where issues related to accounting are an obligation. You must be patient and take the time necessary to deliver good care, carefully explaining the details consulted by any of your clients, regardless of whether it is small.
Use of Appropriate Technologies and Tools
When we think about how to be a successful bookkeeper, we must consider using the right technology from the beginning. Whether using technologicalequipment such as smartphones or notebooks, which will allow you to connect places, send and answer emails, and use functions such as calendars, spreadsheets, or different onlineservices. As well as using tools, such as accountingsoftware, that allow one to attend to and manage many customers, delivering an efficient online service in which different types of customers can connect at any time and view their information online.
Have Enough Space
Although it is perfectly possible to remain without an office of your own, it is advisable to have a physicalspace to receive current clients or prospects if required. When you are just starting, an excellent option to settle in a sharedoffice with other ventures is also an excellent alternative to hire a Coworking, where there are different payment methods according to the space needs.
When wondering how to be a successfulbookkeeper? The answer is not simple, but can be achieved with effort and dedication. Even with current technologies and goodsoftware, it may be feasible to increase the client portfolio without greatinvestment efforts, delivering outstanding quality in the accounting service.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.
Accounting software is beneficial as it facilitates the monetary management of your business. Even if all companies must submit their accounts and have their annual report validated by an accounting firm, using daily accounting software makes it easier for everyone. In this article, we offer you the top five best accounting software.
The Benefits of Online Accounting Software
Thanks to the predetermined design of this tool and the synchronization of the information made between the different modules of the same, the operative tasks in charge of the accountant are reduced because, for example, they no longer have to re-digit figures or program formulas in Excel tables. Still, they should only worry about the tasks requiring an expertprofessional who can conclude from their readings.
With accounting software, you avoid human errors, save time regarding input and verification, and, most importantly, access valuable statistical data. The software and accounting services SaaS make you gain efficiency is undeniable, but how do you choose
Sage One
Optimize your accounting management with Sage One and its accounting-finance software. With this accounting software, you can quickly meet your legal obligations and have a permanent view of the financial balance of your business through indicators and dashboards. With 20 years of experience, Sage One adapts to all businesses, regardless of size or industry. More than five million companies have chosen SageOne, which is not a coincidence!
Intuit QuickBooks
Save time daily with Intuit QuickBooks accounting software that stands out for its efficiency. A leader in its market, this accounting solution is 100% cloud. It presents an intuitive, ergonomic interface that can link with other software for an unmatched cooperation effect! Quotation, invoice, and VAT calculations become child’s play with Intuit QuickBooks accounting software.
Zervant
Automate your accounting with Zervant software, an online accounting software. As a small business dedication, this software offers absolute flexibility and provides a qualitative solution for billing and bookkeeping. With the natural import of your customer and supplier contacts, managing your accounting has never been easier. Also, the Zervant accounting software is available as an Android and Apple-compatible application!
iTool
With iTool, you benefit from an ultra-complete accounting, commercial management, and tax package solution. With the power of this accounting software, you can easily and quickly manage your business. Ergonomic and comfortable to manage, iTool is the ideal tool, whether you are a craftsman, trader, or auto-entrepreneur. Compared to the others, this tool’s significant advantage is that it allows managing the fiscal packages. If you still doubt its effectiveness, do not hesitate to take advantage of the 30-day free trial!
MBPS
This French accounting software is now close to 35 years of existence, which is its strength. This software adapts to all companies (small businesses, start-ups). It can even adapt to your sector of activity by proposing tailor-made solutions according to whether you are in the building, the trade, or the education. Actual ERP allows you to control your movement easily and with a 360 ° vision.
Small business owners manage multiple projects at a time, not less than 17 hats. This accounting software is not the only software that eases their work; they are beyond that. It leverages tiny business as a featured productivity suite, including bookkeeping features.
With the help of the dashboard, you will have your accounting records. This software also allows you to manage questionnaires, invoices, payments, projects, leads, contacts, to-do lists, templates, calendars, and quotes. Also, you can synchronize customer emails directly from your inbox. They can oversee all your work with subtle results and overkill for businesses. And there is no need to spend a lot on this software. Only you will pay $45 per month; if you want to leverage an annual discount, it can be $295. You can also make commitments for $395.
Now you know everything about the best accounting and management software for small businesses and start-ups! It would be best if you made a choice that suits all your business proceedings. Ensure that the software helps you compile an annualaccountreport accurately.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.
When you go into business, you must pay every other person before you pay yourself. On the off chance that your business does not take care of its tabs, your business stops existing. It could be two years before you see your first check.
That implies you must shave your spending plan down to the minimum you need to endure. Pay off obligation. Cut back your living space. Go vehicle–free if you live in an area with available transportation. Take the necessary steps to require as meager as conceivable to endure.
A successful business is created overnight and requires patience and effort. Whether your idea is to open a product sales business or start a startup from a mobile app, we recommend you consider these four points so that you are ready for launch.
Be Realistic About Your Financial Situation
Consider where you are rightnow. Do you plan to leave your current job to start your new business? Do you have enough capital to start, or will you require an external investment? Do you have actual payments to make while starting your business?
Depending on the type of business you plan to undertake, it can take six weeks to six years to see profits, so you should know precisely how long it will take to make your firstsale and how much capital you must support your business during the first phase.
Work on the Idea of Your Business
Every day, they open newbusinesses and close many unsuccessful others. Think calmly about your business idea and why it will succeed. Will it solve a problem that nobody has yet been able to solve? Will it improve your target audience’s life, work, relationships, or situation? Will you offer some type of added value that nobody else offers? Are you in an area where access to this service or product is impossible?
By answering these questions in the preliminary stages of launching your business, you can create a plan that allows you to see the benefit of your business from the customer’s perspective. Make sure there is a realmarket for your service or product and seek to offer a value that is not easy to find for that market. Please do not start a business simply because you want to be your boss because we can tell you that during the first years, you will workmore than all your employees.
Set Your Economic Goals
As we told you at the beginning of this article, your business takes six weeks and six years to produce profits. It means that you should carefully plan how much money you have if this money is enough to help your business survive the initial stage, and in how long you should start seeing profits. Once you know this, you must define your salesgoals by time, several products, or the number of customers that hire your services.
A well-defined plan will help you know how much you must sell to maintain the growth of your business as you require with the investment you have and will allow you to establish levels of success and know if you are getting the expected results or if there are things you must modify.
Know Your Duties and Obligations
Unlike a job, when starting a business, we must adhere to some legal duties and obligations. Find out what permissions you must have to start your business, if there is any legal restriction, or if you must acquire specific equipment or modify the physical space where you plan to open your company.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.
Despite the agricultural sector’s difficulties regularly faced, farmers try to produce significant crops on cultivable land. Either way, you need the right equipment to get the most out of your farm. However, acquiring such equipment cannot be improvised since it constitutes an expensive operation. A question then arises: how to finance its agricultural equipment? But still, should you buy new or used equipment?
Buying Used Agricultural Equipment: How to do it?
Farmers generally rely on second–hand equipment to equip themselves. It is a fact! Purchasing this type of equipment has many advantages: affordable prices and shorter delivery times. When avoiding unpleasant surprises in the future, it is essential not to neglect the acquisition used in agricultural equipment. In this perspective, different parameters must be considered, including:
The extent of farming
Equipment power and consumption
Its reliability and robustness
Frequency of use
Ease of handling
Better still, it is vital to favor materials that meet their needs.
Regarding the acquisition itself, farmers can turn to advertisements of used agriculturalequipment, which can be placed by:
Another farmer who renews his machines
An agricultural equipment dealer
An independent body
An agricultural cooperative
How do You Buy New Agricultural Equipment?
Even if new agriculturalequipment is not popular with farmers, this option is still possible. Besides, those who wish to invest in new agricultural equipment can equip themselves with many professionals. In the first place, they have quite the possibility of going through a concessionaire for their acquisition. In addition to exclusively offering equipment from a reliable manufacturer, this player provides after-sales service. On the other hand, nothing prevents them from going directly to the branch of a particular manufacturer. Otherwise, they can always see from a specialized distribution chain.
In all cases, in order not to miss anything in the choice of your agricultural machine, it is crucial to consider specific essential criteria:
Characteristics of the agricultural holding (area, type of land, etc.)
Adapted power
Ease of use
Consumption
Manufacturer’s warranty
Interview
Finance Agricultural Equipment: Are you Thinking of Borrowing or Leasing?
Whether to buy new or used agricultural equipment, farmers’ budgets are not always sufficient for farmers who have just started their activity. To finance the acquisition of their equipment or the modernization of their equipment, they turn to borrowing or leasing.
Loans, a highly requested financingsolution for the acquisition of agricultural equipment
Taking out a loan to finance the purchase of agricultural equipment is an approach highly recommended by farmers. It mainly allows them to preserve their cash flow. In addition, by applying for a conventional loan, farmers immediately become equipment owners.
In all cases, to contract a loan, the first reflex of farmers is to go through the banks. But today, they can also request financialsupport from another independent. Another possible option for applying for credit is agricultural equipment dealers. Indeed, some of these organizations offer financing through their credit institution.
If you want to benefit from the best financing solution, it is strongly considered to compare the current offers on the market. Having competition is often beneficial. However, farmers also can use the services of a professional finance broker to make their job easier.
Leasing, an attractive alternative to conventional credit
Instead of buying agricultural equipment, renting is also a solution for farmers. To do this, they must subscribe to a financialleasingoffer. Also called leasing, leasing has its share of advantages:
Have at your disposal adapted, functional, and modern agricultural equipment
Do not provide a bond or personal guarantee
Benefit from a taxbenefit (rents fully deductible from the result)
Allow the farmer to maintain his borrowing capacity
In addition, unlike conventional credit, leasing makes it possible to finance fixed assets at 100%. There is nothing better than to save your cash as much as possible. In addition, if the farmer wishes, he has the perfect opportunity to buy the agricultural equipment he has rented at the end of his contract. Leasing is, in principle, accompanied by a purchase option.
Note that some independentorganizations have developed other solutions to finance the acquisition of agricultural equipment. Farmers can opt for financialleasing or lease–back to purchase their equipment.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.
People are often under the impression that you would not have much work to do if you were an entrepreneur during your day. It is a common misconception that business owners only spend two to three hours in their office daily to check that things are happening in order. After that, they leave and enjoy the rest of their day while their employees work nine to five. However, that is just a conclusion people develop in their minds by observing an entrepreneur’s routine, which is why it is entirely wrong.
An entrepreneur’sdailytasks are much more hectic and mentally draining than an employee’s. Entrepreneurs must think in all directions when working for their business’sgrowth. Tasks like creating a comprehensive business plan and overlooking new employees’ hiring processes are all part of an entrepreneur’s job. While managing these tasks, an entrepreneur must consider taxes‘ impact on their business.
Here are a few taxtips that every entrepreneur should know if they are looking to obtain maximum tax benefits while getting their business finances structured.
The Difference Between Hiring Employees or Subcontractors
One thing that every entrepreneur must know is the difference between hiringemployees or subcontractors. Tax rules and obligations are different in both cases. The company must pay full-time employees specific socialsecurity and health-related tax benefits to which contracted or freelance workers are not entitled.
Freelancers and subcontractors are also hired for a specificproject, and their term/contract ends when the project ends.
Keep Separate Accounts
Another critical factor entrepreneurs must not ignore before starting a business is keeping business and personal accounts separate. It is an essential practice for taxpurposes. No one knows if their company will excel or result in a flop idea. Nevertheless, they must consider the possibility that their business will grow and run for the long term; hence, they must keep both accounts separate so tax authorities can deal with both funds according to different regulations.
Experts say that if personal and business funds are combined in any way, then complications occur in terms of business tax debts. These are problems related to shareholders and board members and can involve taxregulatory authorities’ penalties.
Structure the Payroll Account of the Business
Due to some tax obligations, entrepreneurs must provide a proper structure to their business’s payrollaccount. Tax regulatory authorities strictly check these matters and scrutinize companies not paying their tax dues associated with the payroll. Employees bring tens of scheduled payments and tax forms, so entrepreneurs must know these matters.
Start-up Tax Deduction
When an entrepreneur is planning to start a business, there are certain expenses that they usually rack up. Such expenses can be used as a tax deduction. In most states in the US, an amount of five thousand dollars can be deducted as a tax deduction in the name of start-up costs and research and development. In the name of research and development, conclusions include the costs of employee training sessions, checking the viability of the business idea, ordering supplies, etc.
Claim Depreciation
Entrepreneurs can claim the depreciation of business items with time. Deterioration of the physical state of resources and supplies, fleet, or office vehicles can all be claimed by the business owner. As per the latest regulations from the regulatory authorities, machinery, furniture, buildings, cars, and other equipment are all depreciable, along with other intangible items like copyrights, patents, and software.
Entrepreneurs have twoapproaches in such cases: either they claim the depreciation of their business’ properties and resources periodically to improve their taxsituation yearly, or they take the lump sum approach.
Conclusion
Apart from these, entrepreneurs must learn many other taxtips before starting their venture. These tips can also benefit an already operational business and help the owner improve its tax situation. Indeed, new entrepreneurs have too much on their plate; tax planning is something they must not ignore.
Such practices can help entrepreneurs save quite a fortune for their business eventually.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.
Processmanagement is usually associated with changes for the employees concerned. For these to take part in the changes and to master the new processes, special measures are required. Even though it is sometimes called the delicate side of progress, dealing with the individual’s side of a change is frequently the most testing and essential part of an authoritative change.
Think about a merger or procurement. The technical side of the change is positively unpredictable. It would help if you worked out the money–related courses of action of the arrangement, coordinated business frameworks, and settled on choices about the new association’s structure, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Be that as it may, getting individuals ready and taking an interest in the merger or procurement can affect progress and disappointment.
From Thinking in Functions to Thinking in Processes
Despite the great importance of processes in companies, they have been out of sight for many years. Instead, companies thought in the function category – and many still do so today. There is a development department, production, sales, accounting, customer service, and many other departments. Often, there were breaks at the departmental boundaries; the process flow mostly stalled there. Time was misspent, costs rose, and quality dropped.
Only in the early 1990s did the process idea return to the focus of companies. One trigger was the “BusinessProcessReengineering” concept by Michael Hammer and James Champy.
With his valuechain model for describing the corporate strategy, Michael Porter also clarified that processes are the core of a company because they make visible which services are essential in the market in relation to customers and comparison with competitors.
With his process model of the value chain, Michael Porter also emphasized that processes are of different importance for a company’s success. The following can be distinguished:
Coreprocesses that directly contribute to added value, competitive advantage, and thus to the company’s sales and profits are core services; examples are sales, production, or product development.
Supportingprocesses that are also important or necessary but do not directly add value; examples of such support services are bookkeeping, strategy planning, or maintenance of the IT infrastructure.
Unnecessaryprocesses have no purpose and do not contribute to any corporate goal. They may have made sense in the past but only exist because they have not yet been discontinued; it can hide examples of such reactive power in all specialist areas of the company.
Process Analysis and Process Design
Process management and the change to a process–orientedorganization are complex projects in organizational development. Check on which occasions you intervene in your company or department’s running processes.
What is the reason for the process analysis?
What goals do you pursue with revising, redesigning, or optimizing the processes?
Which departments are affected?
The following template describes the significant steps for analyzing and designing processes in the company. You will find step-by-step instructions and checklists for process analysis and process management in your company.
The following subtasks of process analysis and process design are dealt with in this template:
Delimitation of the considered process (in scope / out of scope)
Clarification of goals and strategies
Description of core processes and sub-processes
Location in the value chain model, according to Michael Porter
Informationresearch for process description (actual analysis)
Processanalysis with strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks
Assignment to process indicators for quality, time, costs
Identification of weak points
Analysis of process errors with the cause and effect diagram
Actionplanning for process design and process improvement
It is helpful for process analysis if you put your processes in a flowchart. With the following template, you can visualize your processes on different levels and with further details.
Process description and process visualization often use standardized models and description languages. It should help to make processes comparable and to standardize or automate them.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.
Maximize Cash Flow with Short-Term Factoring Solutions
Factoring short-term financing converts your unpaid invoices into immediate cash, typically within 24-48 hours, allowing businesses to bridge cash flow gaps without traditional loans or waiting 30-90 days for customer payments. This powerful funding solution provides 70-90% of invoice value upfront, enabling you to meet payroll, purchase inventory, or seize growth opportunities while a third-party factor handles collections.
As the founder of Complete Controller, I’ve witnessed firsthand how cash flow timing can make or break a business—in fact, 82% of businesses fail due to cash flow problems, not lack of profitability. Over my 20 years working with businesses across every industry, I’ve seen factoring transform struggling companies into thriving enterprises and help profitable businesses accelerate their growth exponentially. In this article, you’ll discover exactly how factoring works, when it makes sense for your business, and the concrete steps to implement this funding strategy that has helped businesses achieve 2,000% growth rates while maintaining complete operational control.
What is factoring short-term financing and how does it boost your cash flow?
Factoring short-term financing sells your unpaid invoices to a third-party for immediate cash, providing 70-90% of invoice value within 24-48 hours
Unlike loans, factoring creates no debt on your balance sheet—you’re selling an asset (invoices) rather than borrowing money
Approval depends on your customers’ creditworthiness, not your own credit score or years in business
Funds can be used for any business purpose: payroll, inventory, equipment, marketing, or expansion
The factoring company handles collections, freeing you to focus on operations and growth
How Factoring Short-Term Financing Works for Small Businesses
Cash flow challenges affect businesses of all sizes, but the impact hits small businesses particularly hard. With 39% of invoices paid late in the United States and average collection periods stretching to 67 days despite standard 28-day payment terms, even successful businesses struggle to maintain adequate working capital.
The factoring process transforms this challenge into an opportunity through a straightforward four-step system. First, you submit unpaid invoices from creditworthy customers to your chosen factoring company. Within 24-48 hours, the factor advances 70-90% of the invoice value directly to your bank account. The factoring company then takes responsibility for collecting payment from your customer. Once your customer pays, you receive the remaining balance minus the factoring fee, which typically ranges from 1-5% per month.
Breaking down the true cost (short-term business loans, quick cash loans)
Understanding factoring costs requires looking beyond the percentage fee to calculate the actual impact on your business. Consider a $10,000 invoice with net-30 terms:
Factor advance (80%): $8,000 received immediately
Factoring fee (3%): $300
Final payment: $1,700 (when customer pays)
Net received: $9,700
While the $300 fee represents 3% of the invoice, the immediate access to $8,000 often generates returns far exceeding this cost through inventory purchases, new contracts, or avoided late fees.
Factoring vs. Other Fast Funding Options: What’s Right for You?
Small businesses today have multiple options for accessing quick capital, each with distinct advantages and trade-offs. Understanding these differences helps you select the funding solution that aligns with your specific situation and goals.
Traditional short-term business loans require strong credit, create debt on your balance sheet, and often demand personal guarantees or collateral. Merchant cash advances provide rapid funding but carry extremely high costs and daily repayment requirements that strain cash flow. Business credit lines offer flexibility but require extensive documentation and may take weeks to establish.
Comparing your options (fast funding options, temporary financing solutions)
Invoice Factoring
Funding speed: 24-48 hours
Cost: 1-5% per month
Creates debt: No
Collateral: Your invoices
Best for: B2B companies with solid customers
Short-Term Loans
Funding speed: 3 days to 2 weeks
Cost: 6-25% APR
Creates debt: Yes
Collateral: Business or personal assets
Best for: Planned investments with clear ROI
Merchant Cash Advances
Funding speed: 1-3 days
Cost: 20-50% of advance
Creates debt: Yes
Collateral: Future credit card sales
Best for: Retail/restaurant emergencies only
Business Credit Lines
Funding speed: 1 day to 6 weeks
Cost: Prime + 1-5%
Creates debt: Yes
Collateral: Varies by lender
Best for: Seasonal fluctuations
Real Success: Healthcare Staffing Agency Achieves 2,000% Growth
The transformative power of factoring becomes clear through real-world results. A Pennsylvania medical staffing agency specializing in RN and CNA placements started with just $50,000 in monthly billings but faced constant cash crunches. Despite solid hospital contracts, they struggled with upfront costs for credential verification, background checks, and drug testing while paying staff weekly but waiting 30-90 days for client payments.
After partnering with a healthcare-focused factoring company, the agency’s constraints disappeared overnight. With immediate access to working capital, they could accept larger contracts, hire more staff, and expand into new markets. The results speak volumes: 2,000% growth over the partnership period, with an additional 120% growth by April 2024. Today, they maintain healthy monthly billings well above $1 million, demonstrating how removing cash flow barriers unleashes exponential growth.
This success story illustrates a critical point—factoring serves growing, profitable businesses just as effectively as those facing temporary challenges. The agency wasn’t failing; they were succeeding beyond their cash flow’s ability to keep pace.
Factoring Short-Term Financing: Strategic Advantages and Considerations
Understanding both the benefits and limitations of factoring helps you make informed decisions about incorporating this tool into your financial strategy.
The strategic advantages (small business cash advance, easy approval short-term loans)
Immediate liquidity transforms your business’s ability to operate and grow. Instead of waiting months for payment, you access cash within days, enabling you to take on larger projects and meet obligations confidently.
No debt creation keeps your balance sheet clean for future financing needs. Since you’re selling an asset rather than borrowing, factoring doesn’t impact your debt-to-equity ratio or limit future loan eligibility.
Customer credit-based approval opens doors when traditional financing closes them. Your approval depends on your customers’ payment history, not your credit score or years in business, making factoring accessible to startups and established businesses alike.
Operational flexibility lets you scale funding with sales. Unlike fixed loan amounts, factoring grows with your business—factor more invoices during busy periods, fewer during slow times.
Important considerations
Cost structure requires careful evaluation. While 1-5% monthly fees may seem high, calculate the total cost against the opportunity cost of delayed payments and missed growth opportunities.
Customer relationships may shift when a third party handles collections. Choose factoring partners who maintain professional communication standards that align with your brand values.
Industry fit varies significantly. B2B companies with creditworthy customers benefit most, while B2C businesses or those with many small invoices may find factoring less suitable.
How to Get Short-Term Factoring Financing for Working Capital
Securing factoring financing follows a streamlined process designed for speed and efficiency. Success starts with preparation and choosing the right factoring partner for your specific needs.
Your step-by-step roadmap (how to get short-term financing, online lenders for short-term financing)
Step 1: Assess Your Receivables
Gather invoices from your most creditworthy customers. Most factors prefer invoices from established businesses with solid payment histories. Calculate your average invoice size and payment terms to estimate potential funding amounts.
Step 2: Research Factoring Partners
Look for factors specializing in your industry—healthcare factors understand medical billing cycles, while transportation factors know trucking cash flow patterns. Compare advance rates (typically 70-90%), fee structures, and contract terms.
Step 3: Submit Your Application
Modern factoring companies offer online applications requiring minimal documentation: recent invoices, customer list, and basic business information. Unlike bank loans, you won’t need extensive financial statements or business plans.
Step 4: Review and Negotiate Terms
Pay special attention to recourse vs. non-recourse agreements. Non-recourse factoring protects you if customers default but costs more. Negotiate minimum volume requirements and understand all fees including application, processing, and wire transfer charges.
Step 5: Fund and Grow
Once approved, submit invoices for immediate funding. Most factors offer online portals for easy invoice submission and tracking. Use your newfound liquidity strategically—invest in growth opportunities that generate returns exceeding factoring costs.
Building Long-Term Success with Strategic Factoring
Smart businesses view factoring as more than emergency funding—it’s a strategic tool for managing growth and building financial strength. The global factoring market’s expansion to $4.6 trillion by 2031, growing at 9.4% annually, reflects its mainstream adoption across industries.
Consider InWest Printing’s experience. After 14 successful years, they landed a contract printing admission forms for 92 hospitals—a transformative opportunity requiring $150,000 upfront with only $5,000 available. Banks rejected their loan application, but factoring saved the day. The funding covered supplier costs, enabled them to fulfill the massive order, and ultimately improved profitability so significantly they reduced factoring dependence over time.
Graduating beyond factoring (best short-term financing options for startups, short-term financing for working capital)
Successful factoring relationships often follow a natural progression:
Phase 1: Crisis resolution—immediate cash to meet urgent needs
Phase 4: Strategic use only—selective factoring for specific opportunities
This progression demonstrates factoring’s role as a bridge to stronger financial positions, not a permanent crutch.
Final Thoughts
Throughout my two decades leading Complete Controller, I’ve seen factoring transform businesses from cash-strapped operations into thriving enterprises. The key lies in viewing factoring not as a last resort but as a strategic tool that unlocks growth potential hidden in your receivables.
With 82% of businesses failing due to cash flow problems and 39% of companies maintaining less than one month’s cash reserves, the margin for error remains dangerously thin. Factoring provides the breathing room businesses need to operate confidently, seize opportunities, and build sustainable success.
The path forward is clear: evaluate your receivables, research reputable factors, and take control of your cash flow. Your invoices represent real value—factoring simply accelerates access to money that’s already yours. Ready to transform your cash flow and accelerate your business growth? Contact the financial experts at Complete Controller for personalized guidance on implementing factoring and other strategic financial solutions tailored to your unique business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Factoring Short-Term Financing
How quickly can I get funds through factoring compared to a traditional bank loan?
Factoring provides funds within 24-48 hours of invoice submission, while traditional bank loans typically take 2-8 weeks for approval and funding. The speed difference occurs because factors evaluate your customers’ credit rather than conducting extensive reviews of your business finances.
What happens if my customer doesn’t pay the invoice I’ve factored?
This depends on whether you have recourse or non-recourse factoring. With recourse factoring, you must buy back unpaid invoices or replace them with new ones. Non-recourse factoring protects you from customer defaults, though it costs approximately 0.5-1% more in fees.
Will factoring hurt my business credit score or banking relationships?
Factoring typically doesn’t impact your credit score since it’s not a loan—no debt appears on your credit report. Many businesses actually improve their creditworthiness by using factoring proceeds to pay bills on time and maintain healthy cash positions.
Can I factor invoices from just one customer or do I need to factor all my receivables?
Most factoring companies offer spot factoring, allowing you to factor individual invoices or customers as needed. However, whole ledger factoring (factoring all invoices) often provides better rates and terms due to risk distribution.
What’s the minimum revenue or invoice size required for factoring?
Requirements vary by factor, but many accept businesses with as little as $10,000 monthly revenue. Individual invoices typically need to exceed $500-$1,000 to be cost-effective. Smaller invoices can be bundled together for factoring.
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.
Jennifer BrazerFounder/CEO
Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.
Brittany McMillen is a seasoned Marketing Manager with a sharp eye for strategy and storytelling. With a background in digital marketing, brand development, and customer engagement, she brings a results-driven mindset to every project. Brittany specializes in crafting compelling content and optimizing user experiences that convert. When she’s not reviewing content, she’s exploring the latest marketing trends or championing small business success.
Accounting Tips – How do Small Business Owners Make Bookkeeping Easier & Efficient?
Small business owners have a lot on their plate, and among the many tasks they have to take care of, accounting is undoubtedly one of the most crucial. Your trade records can be seen as a report card that reflects how well you are performing your bookkeeping duties. While some entrepreneurs may enjoy poring over spreadsheets and analyzing financial data, many others may find it to be a daunting task, especially if they are not comfortable with numbers.
However, regardless of how you feel about accounting, it’s a duty that no business owner can afford to ignore. Failing to keep accurate records can lead to severe consequences, such as inaccurate tax filings, financial discrepancies, or even legal issues. Therefore, it’s essential to stay on top of your finances and ensure that your accounting practices are up to par.
Moreover, some business owners are determined to work harder to manage their finances but end up getting stuck in the daily grind and losing sight of the big picture. They may focus too much on the day-to-day tasks and fail to plan and execute long-term strategies that can help their business thrive. It’s crucial to strike a balance between managing the daily operations and working towards achieving your long-term goals.
In conclusion, accounting is a critical aspect of running a successful business. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your financial records are accurate and up-to-date. Whether you enjoy crunching numbers or find it to be a chore, it’s a task that cannot be ignored. By staying organized, planning ahead, and seeking professional help when needed, you can ensure that your business is on the right track to success.
Individual trade and private finances
Co-mingling prices and profit is a standard blunder in small firm accounting—and one that will create massive jumbles for your trade-in prospect. Start an enterprise treasury account as early as you determine to run with your startup, and arrange an individual company balance card. It does not only distribute your reports but also improves your company’s credit grade.
Do a periodic survey
At the top of the per area, get an in-depth survey of your bookkeeping and finance reports. Watch for drifts, such as rising or dwindling exchanges, year-by-cycle ROI (return on investment), or an advance in late-paying clients. Chat with your bookkeeper. They may encourage you to stare at a significant idea to be ready for better future money requirements, such as purchasing extra material or driving to a more prominent position.
Observe your operators’ minutes with time-monitoring software
Use cloud-based monitoring software that will track the working time of your employees. It also lets workers do the timer in and out on their cell phones, tablets, or desktops. But it stores their troubles and addresses your experience more naturally by automatically monitoring with time, PTO, and much more. You can detect time tracing software composed merely regarding any business. Pick one that serves with your accounting software, and staff will be eased further.
Wait on the head of tax final time
To evade growth, grabbed small, form, and fixed wages for any expected tax proposals. Return on the assigned time so you don’t risk penalties. The IRS web’s tax calendar for trades can sync with your cloud-based schedule. This way, you never drop a final time; it can also convey your prompts a week or two before a refund is due.
Conduct periodic fiscal treatments
If you don’t keep up with your accounting, you may end up with bounced checks, late payments, or discrepancies in your records. Check your records weekly to ensure accuracy.
Keep your business bank account separate
Business owners mostly use their personal and professional credit cards for business expenses or personal. This miss-match or hodgepodge of financial activity leaves you at tax-rising risks, liability issues, and economic mismanagement. It always falls upon your business and personal experiences or events. The precaution to keep yourself and your business from this headache is keeping the business bank account separate from the personal account. This practice will also help you track your spending, saving, and investing. You can also improve your financial predictions, business plans, and budgeting process. You can also manage tax deductions for shared expenditures such as mobile phone bills and vehicle expenses. Such events include business loans and investor funding.
Leverage from digital tools
Bookkeeping is a necessary business process, so it must be error-free. You can get help from digital apps, automation, and software.
Third-party apps
Business management programs
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.
As modern technologies continue to emerge, companies must prioritize digitization to enhance the customer experience. There are several crucial factors to consider when developing a digital customer experience strategy. What are these factors? And how can we leverage digital tools to optimize the customer experience?
The User Experience
Facilitating navigation and access to digital content is crucial for ensuring exceptional user experience (UX) on digital platforms. To provide your customers with a positive digital experience, it’s important to understand their objectives, intentions, and journey. Are they visiting your site to find information or make a purchase? Which pages of your site are the most visited? And why are they leaving your website? By knowing your customers well, you can create a user-friendly website that meets their needs and helps them achieve their goals.
By answering all these questions, a company can easily lead improvements and optimizations in the digital journey of these customers and thus better engage and retain them.
The Competition
Buyers have a wide choice of products and services with the Internet and all digital technologies. They will review several offers before making a purchase. Companies and brands must stand out and find differentiation to convince consumers.
Good customer knowledge, identifying the most critical product and service attributes, and a strategy of constant optimization of the digital experience allow brands to stand out.
Companies must also work on their e-reputation to differentiate themselves from the competition. Responding to consumer reviews and monitoring comments on social media is of utmost importance.
The Conversion Phases
A secure payment platform is essential to optimize your digital conversion rate. This reassures customers who do not hesitate to make their purchases. However, even if this means optimizing the conversion process and improving the digital customer experience, it is not enough to increase conversions.
The company must question its buyers and identify the abandonment factors online (delivery form too complicated, poor navigation on the site) and offline (costs and delivery times too long, the carrier not incredibly careful). After browsing the website or the mobile application, the steps must also be considered to optimize the digital customer experience and the digital purchasing journey.
Inbound Marketing: Sharing News and Relevant Web Content
Digital communication channels are an excellent platform for building customer loyalty. Social media is ideal for informing customers of the launch of a new product or service or any other news concerning their brand. These digital resources make it possible to create communities of buyers and forge an e-reputation. They are called strategies that involve attracting clients inbound marketing implicitly. These new digital advancements have caused a move in client desires, bringing about another present-day purchaser.
Assistance
Consumers are increasingly inclined to want to solve the problems they encounter with a product or service themselves. Therefore, websites must have support sections and online tools (chatbot, FAQ, video, tutorial, etc.) so that customers can find answers to their questions. These sections are essential to provide an optimal digital experience and improve customer satisfaction.
The Loyalty Process and Recommendation
Once a customer has purchased a digital channel, it is essential to encourage them to share their opinions on their digital experience and express their satisfaction level. Today, the comments of buyers have the most weight in consumers’ purchasing decisions.
For brands, the Internet and digital technologies offer many possibilities for loyalty. Digital tools enable automating customer reminders, targeting the correct times to contact consumers, and offering personalized offers and relationships. These technologies also facilitate the collection of data and information on its customers and Internet users. However, it is by knowing their customers and their behavior that a brand can offer them an optimal digital experience. It will be able to optimize its digital return on investment.
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.
The representative work contract has changed, convincing business pioneers to fabricate associations that connect with workers as delicate, enthusiastic, imaginative patrons. Two years of examination and conversations with several customers recommend five significant components and basic systems that cooperate to make associations “compelling.”
Following quite a while of corporate talk about the war for ability, the fight is finished, and knowledge has won. Today, representatives have expanded dealing power; the activity advertises exceptionally straightforwardly, and pulling in top-gifted specialists is a profoundly severe movement. Organizations are presently putting resources into examination devices to make sense of why individuals leave, and the subjects of direction, commitment, and culture burden the brains of business pioneers all over the place.
The worker work contract has changed: People work more like free operators than before. To put it plainly, the level of influence has moved from manager to worker, driving business pioneers to figure out how to construct an association that draws in representatives as delicate, enthusiastic, inventive supporters. We call this a move from improving representative commitment to an emphasis on building an influential association.
A local manager is the one who heads an operational unit of the company. He often has a leading role in the engagement of the employees of his team. Thus, a survey was conducted of 1,016 representative local managers. If the survey shows a strengthening of the commitment of the company’s employees, it also displays breaks linked to a lack of means.
Local Managers: Pillars of Employee Engagement, Not HR!
Opinion Way sought out who is responsible for developing employee engagement in the business. For 47% of local managers, this is quite the management role. Forty-four percent believe that the entire company must develop the commitment, while only 27% of those surveyed believe that this is entirely the role of the human resources department. The HR department is, therefore, far behind the managers and the employees themselves. In addition, according to the survey, the proximity manager is the crucial player in engagement for 47% of respondents.
89% think it is a task close to their hearts.
And Yet, The Employees are Engaged in the Business!
It is the managers who say it. The employees’ commitment is manifested by the spirit of initiative and constructive and by the adhesion to the company’s strategy and its motivation. Today, being a workaholic is no longer synonymous with commitment. Eighty-one percent of local managers believe that their employees have an elevated level of commitment. Eighty-five percent even think that employees are proud to work within the company, and 83% believe they align with its values and culture.
Difficulties in Developing Employee Engagement
Local managers encounter great difficulties in developing employee engagement. For 44%, the main obstacle is combating habits and resistance to change. Forty-two percent of respondents believe that it is a lack of resources. Then, other difficulties, such as employees’ lack of development perspective and time devoted to them, intervene. Managers are also very poorly equipped. Sixty-three percent of the tools allow, however, to promote teamwork.
The Observatory considers that employee engagement is a maximum of five devices. There are digital tools such as messaging or social networks, management training, bonuses, internal surveys, and the organization of events.
However, the survey expresses a lack of support from business stakeholders. The human resources department does not seem to support managers in developing engagement. Fifty-six percent of local managers feel that the HR department supports them. Their support, therefore, comes from the N + 1 or management. This gap widens in large companies where the human resources department helps even fewer managers. Without support and with few HR tools, it is difficult for local managers to develop the commitment of their teams. To successfully build engagement, you must act on different levers—recognition of the individual’s work and the excellent atmosphere at work.
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.