Entrust Cash Advance Blog

Obama Wants to Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate to 28%: How It Could Impact Small Business

Posted on February 22, 2012 by admin

Today, February 22, 2012, President Barack Obama announced that he intends to lower the Corporate Tax rate from 35% to 28%, a drastic reduction that aims to reduce the amount of jobs that corporations are shipping overseas. Because American corporations face one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world (second only to Japan), the plan is welcomed by Republicans and Democrats alike. In return for the tax break, Obama expects that corporations will relinquish the loopholes and subsidies they currently use to get around such high tax rates. Additionally, Obama’s tax plan imposes a minimum tax on the earnings of corporations who hold operations overseas.

2012 Presidential Series

Because the current tax plan in place allows Corporations to use many loopholes and subsidies to pay much less than the full rate, it could be the case that Obama’s new tax rate actually forces corporations to pay more than they were before. For this reason, several of Obama’s Republican competitors in the 2012 Presidential Election advocate a much lower tax rate, with Newt Gingrinch proposing 12.5% and Mitt Romney suggesting 25%. Whereas the Republican candidates’ focus seems to be on lowering the amount of taxes that Corporations pay, so as to encourage more employment and to inject more money into the economy, Obama’s tax plan appears to be more focused on bringing jobs back to the United States from overseas locations. Another component of his tax plan is to eliminate the tax breaks that manufacturers currently receive for moving jobs or products to overseason locations. Furthermore, the plan aims to make the United States a more appealing place for foreign investors to put their money.

The following is an excerpt from the New York Times’ report of Obama’s announcement, as it pertains to small business:

“Under the current tax system, the United States will soon have the highest statutory corporate tax rate among developed countries, within a system that features a large number of tax expenditures for special interests,” said a senior administration official, who did not want to speak ahead of Mr. Geithner except on condition of anonymity.

“This puts American businesses — especially those in areas like manufacturing that are subject to more intense international competition — at a disadvantage. And this system is also unnecessarily complicated for America’s small businesses.”

Not only does the news of Obama’s tax plan factor into his larger, overall re-election strategy, it comes at a time when many businesses – both small and large alike – have found it difficult to come up with the money they need to pay their taxes. Fortunately, there are alternative small business financing solutions available to help solve the problem of how to get money to pay small business taxes that have already helped many small businesses meet their costs this tax season. Learn more about small business funding options, including our small business cash advance.

Posted in Business, Election Series, Finance, News, Politics, small business tips, Tax Advice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Entrust Cash Advance Now Offering Cash Advances for Canadian Companies!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by admin

Entrust merchant cash advance Canada

Posted in Business, Business Cash Advance, Merchant Cash Advance, News, Small Business | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Truth About Merchant Cash Advances and How They Work to Fund Your Business

Posted on February 21, 2012 by admin

As merchant cash advances become a more and more popular method of small business financing, it is only natural that many small business owners would be skeptical of using these cash advances for their own business. money for small businessAs all small business owners have learned at one point or another, you can’t take offers at face value; you must always read the fine print. In many cases, the offers that merchant cash advance companies make seem a bit too good to be true, and that the product they are offering is actually a scam. This article will clear up several misconceptions about the cash advance industry and explain the truth about merchant cash advances:

1. What is Really Required

Most merchant cash advance providers claim that there are very few requirements necessary to be approved for a cash advance. While this is generally true when compared with SBA-backed loans, there are still several documents that you need to provide in order to be funded for a business cash advance. All merchant cash advance providers require that you provide them with at least 3 months of your business’ bank statements and credit card transactions so they are able to anticipate what your sales will be in the coming months, and thus, how quickly you can afford to pay back the cash advance. Depending on your business’ numbers, you may be asked to provide additional paperwork further into the process of getting funded, but this mostly takes the form of photocopies of official documents like your state-issued ID or your business’ lease. In most cases, your business’ credit will be pulled, but bad credit is not a determining factor in whether or not you will qualify for a cash advance.

Interest Rate?

One of the most common misunderstandings about merchant cash advances is that “the interest rate must be very high to pay back such a big cash advance.” What business owners who make these claims don’t understand is that merchant cash advances don’t have interest rates, making them distinct from a loan. This is because your payback rate is a fixed percentage of your future credit card receivables – so the same percentage of your sales is taken on a consistent basis as payback. This is the primary reason for which a merchant cash advance is not considered a “loan,” although the two are similar in many other ways.

merchant cash advance advantages

Here are several ways that merchant cash advances differ from other forms of small business lending.

Business Cash Advance Providers Will Not Put You Out of Business

This myth about merchant cash advances could not be any further from the truth. Why? Because the repayment takes the form of the business’ future credit card receivables, merchant cash advance providers get paid when the business gets paid. So if the business that received a cash advance is consequently forced to go bankrupt or close, the cash advance provider would lose a lot of money. Clearly, this scenario would not be in a merchant cash advance provider’s best interest.

So What’s the Catch?

With all this being said, it seems puzzling why one would not apply for a business cash advance as a way to seek out funding for their business. Well, the catch about merchant cash advances is that, because qualifying and approval is so much easier for cash advances than it is for different forms of small business lending, the money that the cash advance provider gives your business tends to be expensive. However, this fact does not deter most small businesses from applying for another cash advance. At Entrust Cash Advance, we have an 87% renewal rate among our clients. Clearly, the state of small business lending is such that the pro’s greatly outweigh the con’s of merchant cash advances.

Posted in Business, Business Cash Advance, Business Funding, Cash for business, Merchant Cash Advance, Money for business, small business cash advance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three Misconceptions About SEO and Social Media Marketing for Small Business

Posted on February 20, 2012 by admin

If you’ve paid any attention to marketing news over the past couple years, you might have noticed that most sources now recommend “SEO” and “Social Media Marketing” as the primary vehicles through which to promote your small business. However, many small business owners who have been in business a long time continue to write off social media because they believe it to be a fleeting trend made for some newer, younger businesses. However, what these business owners don’t realize is that almost every small business could benefit from social media because nearly every demographic of customers is now spending a good amount of time on social media websites or mobile app. This means that any marketing strategy which ignores social media is missing out on a great place to cultivate relationships with existing customers and reach out to a larger potential customer base. Here are three common misconceptions about social media and the truth about how it can actually help generate funds for your business:

Social Media Marketing

1. Facebook and Twitter Are for Kids

Many business owners feel that social media websites like Twitter and Facebook are a “waste of time” or simply “made for kids.” What these business-people may be ignoring is that people of all age groups now spend hours and hours on these sites every day. While it may be true that Facebook originated as a website meant for college students, over the past couple of years, the site has evolved such that many older individuals use the site with frequency. Furthermore, other business people write off sites like Twitter because they think they are too hard to understand or only made to be used by the “computer savvy.” However, not only are the sites much easier to use than they appear, but also, this mentality will prevent you from accessing hundreds of thousands of potential customers of all ages who use the site on a daily basis.

2. Signing Up for Social Media Sites is Enough

Another common misconception is that to simply have a social media presence for your site will be sufficient to start generating new customers and new profits for your business. Like everything else in the small business world, making money from social media takes a lot of work and a lot of patience. You may have to implement creative marketing strategies, like coupons, competitions, or advertising campaigns to begin to see results from any social media marketing plan.

3. You Can Pay Search Engines to Rank Higher

One widespread misconception about SEO (search engine optimization) is that having your page displayed on the first page of popular websites such as Google or Bing can be achieved by simply writing a check to these search engine companies. Anybody who holds this belief fails to realize that any search engine that took payments to rank certain businesses higher than others would quickly lose credibility among the very people using the search engine to find legitimate, credible results. What these business owners may be thinking of is Pay Per Click advertising, which does indeed mean paying search engines to be displayed on their results page – but only under the “Ads” section.

Posted in Business, Marketing, Small Business, small business tips | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Five Ways to Simplify Your Life as a Small Business Owner

Posted on February 17, 2012 by admin

Most small business owners decided to start their own business because they believed it would allow them the freedom and flexibility to set their own schedule, make their own decisions, and only work as much as they wanted to. They might have thought that running a small business would give them more personal time and the opportunity to explore other activities outside of work. However, the nature of running a small business is such that most small business owners quickly discover that their business is controlling their entire life, and that they are working much harder than they ever did at any previous job. This is why it is always crucial for business owners take a step back and consider ways in which they can simplify their lives, practice better time management, and be more focused on the issues that are truly pressing at their business.


Here are five tips that will help you if you find yourself in this predicament:

1. Quit Sweating the Small Stuff

Don’t let the minutia of owning and operating a business get in the way of you working effectively to achieve larger goals. While the small details of your business are certainly important, you can’t let them hold you back from the more large-scale projects and tasks that you must accomplish. The lesson applies to perfectionists too: you will either have to let the small details and problems wait, or you will need to expand your staff to take care of them for you.

2. Set Concrete Goals

One way to deal with the issue of having too many projects to deal with at the same time is to set concrete goals and follow timetables. Once a week on Monday mornings, or every day – if necessary – write down a list of the goals you hope to accomplish that week or day. Keep your goals realistic. Remember how much time you have and who is helping. No matter what issues may arise, ask yourself a few times every day, “Am I doing what I need to to accomplish my goals for the week?”

3. Stop Planning, Start Doing

There is at least one new study, blog entry, book, or Podcast published every week to help small business owners achieve success. Especially when it comes to small business marketing – a rapidly evolving and expanding field – it seems like there is way more information out there than any small business owner could feasibly comprehend and follow. This is why it is more important to take a look at what has actually worked to produce money for your business, and to use this knowledge as your own framework for success. You know your own business better than any author does, no matter how reputable they may be.

4. Allocate a Certain Amount of Time To Your Personal Life Every Week

No matter how pressing the issues confronting your business may be, there is nothing more important than your own health and happiness when it comes to running a business well. Balance is extremely important. If you are feeling overworked, exhausted, or overly stressed out, your emotions might begin to affect the way you work and the people with whom you work. There is nothing worse than snapping at a staff member or a customer because you aren’t tending to your own well being. Give yourself a certain amount of time every week to spend with people you love, or doing the things you love, to help clear your head from all the work-related stress.

5. Make Your Workplace Your Happy Place

Regardless of how much you choose to follow the preceding four tips, the fact remains that, as a business owner, you will be spending a very large portion of your daily life in your workplace. This is why it is crucial to make sure that you enjoy your surroundings as much as possible. Hang up pictures of the people you love, bring some of your favorite or most sentimental pieces of art from home, or decorate in whatever other way makes you feel comfortable and at peace. Buy yourself a comfortable chair or invest in a nice sound system to play your favorite album (if the nature of your business permits it). Personalizing your work space and making it somewhere you like to spend your time will reflect in your work ethic and attitude more than you may realize.

Posted in Business, Business Cash Advance, Small Business, small business tips, Tips and Advice | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment