Blog – Page 5 – ONEBOX FUNDING

April 11, 2019

There are many different types of loans a person can take out, from many different types of lenders. For example, a college student can take a student loan from the government, from a private lender, or from the bank, whereas a new homeowner can take a mortgage out from a whole handful of different providers. Each type of loan and lender has very different payment terms, interest rates, and requirements for eligibility.

Taking out a loan for your business is no different. There are so many different types of business loans, it can be intimidating to know if you’re choosing the right one. In this series, we will talk about the 5 main loans you can take out for your business. Today we will cover one of the most attractive loans taken out by business owners: Equipment Financing.

What Is Equipment Financing?

Equipment financing is a specific loan business owners can take out in order to finance a new piece of equipment, tool, appliance, inventory, etc., to further grow and/or enhance their business. Most businesses, especially those which are considered to be brick-and-mortar, must make rather large purchases of equipment in order to get started on making sales. This type of loan is provided by the usual bank lenders, as well as by private financial institutions. The terms work as most loans do, with a decided upon interest rate, and a set amount of time to pay it back.

Who is Equipment Financing Best For?

This type of loan is great for new businesses and businesses that are growing or expanding into new areas. No matter the size of the entity, there is always some sort of purchase of physical or technological equipment that needs to be made in order for that business to function. Often times, especially if the business is brand new, business owners do not have the working capital to make these huge purchases, and could greatly benefit from a loan that specifically finances their new equipment. No matter the type of company, Equipment Financing can get business owners the money they need to make the big purchase, so they can start making a profit.

The Benefits of Equipment Financing

The benefit of Equipment Financing is that the payment terms are very standard and predictable. Also, the equipment itself serves as nice collateral, so there is no need to put up your own personal assets as such. Plus, having this type of loan can help new businesses build their credit scores in a relatively standard way.

The Cons of Equipment Financing

The biggest con when it comes to Equipment Financing is that your equipment may become outdated before you get a chance to pay it off, requiring you to purchase updated equipment as you continue to pay for the old pieces. Also, some lenders may require higher interest rates or a good credit score to be eligible, but this is totally dependant on each specific lender.

Does it sound like Equipment Financing is the right type of loan for your business? Find out more with One Box Funding here.

by Eli

April 8, 2019

In almost every business, new or old, you can hit roadblocks when it comes to cash flow. Maybe you’ve had a bad month, or maybe you are scaling and you don’t have the working capital on-hand when you need it. Whatever the reason may be, it’s important to have enough funds to keep your business afloat as you work. Taking out a small business loan can be a great way to get the money you need. Here are five signs that your business could be the perfect candidate for a loan.

Your daily ending balances are low.

If you are looking at your balance at the end of the day, and it’s barely breaking even, you might be in need of a small business loan. Especially in the beginning of making a business, or in a period of growth, it’s important to have funds on-hand in case you need to make any quick changes or purchases.

You have more than 8 negative days in a month

Forget about breaking even, what if you are consistently in the red. If you find that you are in the negative for more than 8 days out of the month, you could be looking at trouble in the near future. More than 8 days of ending up in the negatives, makes you a good candidate for taking out a business loan, to help get yourself back on track.

You need cash flow for a new contract

You shouldn’t let a lack of funds get in the way of growing your business. It would be a shame to pass up a new business relationship just because you don’t have the cash to make it happen. If you’ve managed to get yourself a new contract, taking out a business loan for some fast-cash is a fantastic way to make sure you don’t miss an opportunity.

You need new equipment

Just like you shouldn’t let a potential new business relationship slip away for lack of funds, you shouldn’t miss out on a new project because you can’t afford the equipment. A loan for equipment financing can get you the materials, tools, or technology you need to feel comfortable taking your business to the next step.

You don’t have enough money left for payroll

If your business is making you money, but you don’t have enough left over to pay the people who are helping you to make it happen, you’re in a bad situation. Paying your employees the full amount that they deserve is absolutely vital in making sure your business continues to run smoothly and successfully. Taking out a business loan will pad your funds so you make sure your employees aren’t feeling under-compensated.

Ready to apply for your business loan? Check out Onebox Funding here for a free quote.

by Eli

April 4, 2019

There are many different types of loans a person can take out, from many different types of lenders. For example, a college student can take a student loan from the government, from a private lender, or from the bank, whereas a new homeowner can take a mortgage out from a whole handful of different providers. Each type of loan and lender has very different payment terms, interest rates, and requirements for eligibility.

Taking out a loan for your business is no different. There are so many different types of business loans, it can be intimidating to know if you’re choosing the right one. In this series, we will talk about the 5 main loans you can take out for your business. Today we will cover one of the most attractive loans taken out by business owners: Small Business Administration Loan.

What Is a Small Business Administration Loan?

This type of loan is actually backed by a branch of the US government called the Small Business Administration (SBA), whose function is to facilitate loans taken out by small businesses. Although these loans are backed by a Federal organization, they are not provided directly by the government. Instead, private financial institutions are the lenders, and the loans are partially insured by this governmental branch. There are a variety of types of SBA loans, ranging in size for small businesses to larger firms. For the most part, these loans can be taken out by business owners with at least a 20% stake in their companies, and are typically provided by large financial institutions, as opposed to smaller lenders.

Who is a Small Business Administration Loan Best For?

This type of loan is very sought after, as the payment terms are quite attractive to any business owner. This type of loan is great for business owners with companies that have already been up, running, and profitable for some time, who need a cash boost. These lendees should have a good credit score, and bank statements to show that they have a steady revenue stream.

The Benefits of a Small Business Administration Loan

The SBA Loan is probably the most attractive type of loan for small businesses because it has flexible payment terms and very low rates. Once a business owner is approved, he will have very low fees, and will even have the option to stretch the payment terms over up to 25 years. Also, because the government is backing part of the loan, banks are much more willing to underwrite it for eligible parties.

The Cons of a Small Business Administration Loan

Because this loan is so attractive, the application process is not as simple as that of other loan types. Potential lendees must provide a lot of documentation, including proof of a good credit score and steady revenue flow, which can take time. Personal collateral is required for an SBA loan, which could but your property at risk. Also, this loan is not applicable for new businesses whatsoever.

Does an SBA Loan sound like the right type of loan for you? Get more information here.

by Eli

April 1, 2019

The majority of businesses experience, at least to some extent, an ebb and flow of successful, booming sales and a slow season. While this is perfectly normal, as supply and demand are constantly changing, the slower periods can be hard. Although your sales are going up and down as the seasons change, those few months of dry-spell can be challenging when utilities and payroll and other expenses, which pretty much remain a constant.

Seasonal business who experience difficulty during times of slower business can benefit greatly from applying for a small business loan. Taking a loan, even a small one, assures that your business has the funds it needs to make it through the slow period until your sales start to rise again. Any seasonal business owner who wants to apply for a small business loan must first complete these 3 steps to assure their loan approval.

1. Submit 12 Months of Bank Statements

If your business is even remotely seasonal, your paystubs throughout the year most likely vary greatly from month to month. Be sure to have at least one full year’s worth of bank statements available to that lender can understand the full picture of what your sales look like, and not just during certain periods of success or slowness.

2. Prepare an Accounts Receivable Report

If your business allows customers to pay with a credit card (which is practically a given in this day and age), you’ll need to have an Accounts Receivable Aging Report prepared to show the lender all of the sales that you may not have received yet in full, if at all. This will give the lender a good idea of what revenue is still yet to come, as well as an understanding of your customers’ payment behavior.

3. Submit Your Most Recent Tax Return

At the end of the day, business loan lenders want to make sure that they will be paid back within a reasonable amount of time. Your most recent tax return is probably the most important thing a lender will want to see before determining if you qualify for receiving business funding from them. They will be looking into your credit history to see if you have bad credit, big losses, or other activity that they might deem a red flag.

Taking out a small business loan during times of slower sales can be a great move for all sorts of business owners. Having working capital on-hand for any situation that comes up gives you peace of mind and a clear head to be able to use your time optimally and efficiently.

Ready to apply for your business loan? Check out Onebox Funding here for a free quote.

by Eli

March 28, 2019

There are many different types of loans a person can take out, from many different types of lenders. For example, a college student can take a student loan from the government, from a private lender, or from the bank, whereas a new homeowner can take a mortgage out from a whole handful of different providers. Each type of loan and lender has very different payment terms, interest rates, and requirements for eligibility.

Taking out a loan for your business is no different. There are so many different types of business loans, it can be intimidating to know if you’re choosing the right one. In this series, we will talk about the 5 main loans you can take out for your business. Today we will cover one of the most attractive loans taken out by business owners: Short Term Loan.

What Is a Short Term Loan?

A Short Term Loan is just like any typical loan, except for the fact that it must be paid back within a year a less. As with a medium or longterm loan, the decided upon lump sum of money is given upfront to the lendee, and the payment terms are set up upon signing. An interest fee is paid along with the principal balance throughout the period of one year, until the money is all paid back. This is typically done on a weekly basis, as opposed to bi-weekly or monthly.

Who is a Short Term Loan Best For?

A Short Term Loan is excellent for business owners who may not qualify for a line of credit, and who simply need a boost of working capital. This type of loan is great for people who find themselves in urgent need of cash, in as little time possible.

The Benefits of a Short Term Loan

One of the great things about the Short Term Loan is that the majority of applicants will find themselves eligible for it. Often times, even lendees with a very low credit score have the opportunity to take out this type of loan, and with a very quick and easy application process, they will find themselves with cash in hand in no time.

The Cons of a Short Term Loan

Of course, because of the lax eligibility requirements and easy application process, it can be expected that the interest rates will be higher than other types of loans. In fact, Short Term Loans have some of the highest fees of any type of business loan available. Going along with that, the payment terms for Short Term Loans are typically weekly, and certain business might find this difficult to keep up with, especially those whose revenues vary greatly week to week or month to month.

Does a Short Term Loan sound like the right type of loan for you? Get more information here.

by Eli

March 25, 2019

It happens before you can even understand what’s going on. You’ve taken a small business loan here and borrowed some more money there. Pretty soon, you’ve got debt coming at you from all angles. Not only do you owe money to multiple lenders, but each debt comes with its own interest rate and payment terms. When you have multiple due dates for radically different payments, things can get out of control, fast. But all hope is not lost, as there is a great way to get all of your business’s debt under control; this solution is known as debt consolidation.

Debt consolidation, in summary, is a way to take all of your separate loans from separate lenders and combine them into one payment. This single payment will have only one interest rate, and one set of payment terms. There are a number of reasons why debt consolidation can make getting out of debt easier.

Firstly, if you have many different small business loans you’ve taken out over the years, you are probably adhering to the terms of each lender, individually. So, if one loan has a payment due on the 15th of the month, and another one is due 10 days later, you’ll find that making payments takes up a good deal of your time. You might also find that one of the loans must be paid within five years, and another one only gives you a year. Keeping track of all of these separate terms is both stressful and time-consuming. When you consolidate your debt, you can make a one-time monthly payment that you set up with one lender, and then get back to your business.

Along with the multiple loan terms, you most likely have multiple interest rates. While some lenders might have a reasonable rate, many do not. If your loan with the lower interest rate needs you to pay it off in a shorter amount of time, and one with the higher rate gives you a little more leeway, you’ll actually end up paying more money in the long run, because your money ends up trying to keep up with the loan you have less time for, instead of trying to bring down the higher interest that’s ever-accumulating.

It’s important to understand that debt consolidation does not reduce your debt. However, it definitely does help you to pay it off in a much more doable way, to one single lender with one interest rate. Also, although your principal balance stays the same, you most likely will end up paying less money in the long term, when you look at the potential reduction of interest rates.

If you’re ready to start paying off your debt in a financially smart way, check out Onebox funding’s debt consolidation program and see if it is right for you and your business. Don’t let debt drag you down, take care of it today and get back to making your business great.

by Eli

March 21, 2019

There are many different types of loans a person can take out, from many different types of lenders. For example, a college student can take a student loan from the government, from a private lender, or from the bank, whereas a new homeowner can take a mortgage out from a whole handful of different providers. Each type of loan and lender has very different payment terms, interest rates, and requirements for eligibility.

Taking out a loan for your business is no different. There are so many different types of business loans, it can be intimidating to know if you’re choosing the right one. In this series, we will talk about the 5 main loans you can take out for your business. Today we will cover one of the most attractive loans taken out by business owners: Merchant Cash Advance.

What Is a Merchant Cash Advance?

A Merchant Cash Advance is technically not considered to be a loan. Essentially a lump sum of cash that’s given immediately over to the lendee, in exchange for a promise of a cut of future daily credit/debit card sales, plus a fee decided upon by the lender.

Who is a Merchant Cash Advance Best For?

Although this is not a necessary criterion, businesses that make the majority of their revenue from credit or debit card sales are the best candidates for this type of loan. Retail stores and restaurants, for example, can expect that many of their customers will pay with credit.

The Benefits of a Merchant Cash Advance

One of the most attractive things about a Merchant Cash Advance is the speed. After a relatively quick application process, where you will need to present documents such as your driver’s license, bank statements, credit score (even low scores are usually accepted), and tax returns, you will immediately reap the benefits of a lump of cash, in hand. Another advantage is that, during your slower months, you will pay less money back to the lender, as they take a percentage of your credit sales each day. If you make less, you pay less. Also, a Merchant Cash Advance does not require collateral, so you do not need to put up your house, car, or equipment in order to get your funds.

The Cons of a Merchant Cash Advance

While it’s always a good thing to make a lot of revenue that month, you will end up paying more back to the cash advance, as they have taken a set percentage of your daily credit/debit card sales. Also, since there is no interest and rather a fixed rate of your daily credit card sales, there is no advantage to paying off your Merchant Cash Advance early. As with a regular loan that accrues interest, there will be no benefit to you if you pay it off earlier rather than over the entire term.

Does a Merchant Cash Advance sound like the right type of loan for you? Get more information here.

by Eli

March 18, 2019

In today’s world, many, if not most business owners have an online presence. Even if they are considered to be “brick-and-mortar” businesses, the majority of businesses have a least a simple website so they are locatable online. With more and more companies moving towards the direction of eCommerce, the importance of having an easy-to-use website is becoming something of a requirement.

If you don’t use your company’s website for more than just to exist on the internet, as long as it looks nice and has the information you want on there (essentially what you do and how to find you) you can get away with having a mediocre site. However, if you are making at least some portion of your money from online sales, you will need your website functioning at its utmost capacity. There are 3 main things to think about when it comes to your online shop.

1. What is the User Experience (UX) Like

When a user gets to your website, their experience needs to be excellent from entrance to purchase. If your website is the slightest bit confusing or unappealing, there is a good chance that the user will get frustrated and exit your site before he or she has the chance to buy. Can your users find the items they are searching for easily? Can they easily find their cart? Is the payment process simple and efficient? These are all questions to ask yourself when designing the UX of your website.

2. How is My Customer Service Center?

Often times, while doing online transactions, there are bumps in the road when it comes to your customers’ buying experiences. This is fine, and it’s even to be expected, but when an issue does come up, there needs to be a quick solution to your customer’s needs. You must make sure that there is someone available if a customer receives a damaged or incorrect item, or was charged the wrong price for it. Maybe he or she has questions about how to properly use the product. A good customer support section has multiple ways to get in contact with a representative (phone, email, live chat, etc.) and even an FAQ section providing answers when users have concerns, not during working hours.

3. Do I have a Reliable Host Site

You don’t need to be totally tech-savvy to know that it’s a bummer when your page loads slowly or drops out in the middle of a shopping experience. Having a reliable host company hosting your website is very important for the user experience and for your potential sales. If a user enters his or her credit card information, clicks “buy, and the page loads slowly and then drops out, they don’t know if their card was charged or not. This creates problems for everyone and is bad for business.

By checking these three things, you’ll be well on your way to a great online shopping experience for your users, and some nice sales numbers for your company as well.

Want to learn more about choosing the right small business loan for your business? Find out what Onebox Funding can do for you here.

by Eli

March 14, 2019

Creating your own business is one of the most difficult, yet extremely rewarding thing you could do in your working life. Although by now there have been more attempts are creating start-ups than we can even count, not all of them have been successful. In fact, according to a study done by Statistic Brain, the failure rate of all U.S. businesses after 5 years in action was 50+%. That number increased to 70+% after 10 years.

These numbers may seem discouraging, but it’s important to remember that not every business owner has the right tools to be successful. Here, we’ll talk about the 3 most effective habits of successful business owners so you won’t find yourself falling behind when it’s time to take your business to the next level.

1. Creating Strong Networks

It might be tempting to want to keep the entire workings of your business within your own control, especially for those who are strong-willed and don’t work well with others. However, the most successful business owners understand that no one person is excellent at everything. Therefore, they surround themselves with a “dream team” of intelligent people who are very skilled at the things they might not be as strong in. By having a strong network of people with a wealth of knowledge to help you, you will be much less likely to miss something important.

2. Seeing Problems as Potential Opportunities for Growth

It’s easy to get discouraged when your original business strategy isn’t going as planned. However, the most successful business owners understand that there will always be failures and mess-ups along the way. Instead of becoming angry or discouraged when an issue comes up, successful merchants are able to look at the situation from a well-rounded point of view. They see it, not as a problem, but instead as an opportunity to make their business even better and as a learning experience of what works and what doesn’t This positive attitude is absolutely vital for a successful business.

3. Taking a Well-Earned Break

This one might seem confusing to some. How can you continue to grow your business if you are off in the Bahamas ignoring it completely? The most successful business owners know that taking a complete vacation from your business is actually the best thing you can do for it (and for your own mental health). After such a long time of sleepless nights and the stress of running a new business, it’s only human that we start to experience burnout. When you’re burnt out, you’re much less able to make well-informed decisions when it comes to your company. Do yourself, and your business, a favor and take the time to keep yourself rested and at optimum health. Having a clear head will save you a lot of grief in the long run, even if it means a few days of rejuvenation.

Want to learn more about choosing the right small business loan for your business? Find out what Onebox Funding can do for you here.

by Eli

March 11, 2019

Taking out a small business loan is an excellent idea for new business owners who don’t have the cash on hand to their new company up and running, or to take it to the next level. With so many options of how to use your new funds efficiently, it might seem intimidating to choose the best use for your business. Here are the main uses of small business loans, and how they can help benefit you in your new business.

1. Equipment Financing

Almost every new business needs some sort of equipment, technology, or system put in place in order for it to get off the ground and start running. Whether you need a big brick oven for your pizza shop, a VOiP system for your call center, or even a new laptop to start your freelance writing career, you need cash to purchase these items. It’s no secret that a brand new 4×4 to carry all of your materials or a few tons of wood to begin your construction business will cost you a pretty penny. A loan for equipment financing gives you the money right there to buy the items needed to actually do your business.

2. Merchant Cash Advance

A merchant cash advance is not exactly a small business loan, but it does give you an advance of money that business owners can use for whatever business expenses they may run into. Like a loan, a lender will advance you the amount of funds you’ve requested, as a cash advance, however, the application and payment processes work a bit differently. There is no collateral needed to get an MCA, no matter your credit score. Also, the cash advance is paid back daily to the lender, as a percentage of your business’s daily sales, along with a fee.

3. Debt Consolidation

Maybe this isn’t your first go at starting up a new business, or maybe you’re being dragged down by loans from other business endeavors you’ve embarked on. Whatever the reason may be, many new business owners find themselves hesitant to try their projects again or to start something completely new because they are already weighed down by past loans they’ve taken out from different lenders. Most likely, these other loans have their own individual interest rates and fees, and the costs can get out of hand, quickly. Luckily, a small business loan for the purpose of debt consolidation is a great way to get all of your affairs organized. With this money, you can pay off all of your other loans, and then have only one to worry about, with one interest rate and one term of payment to one single lender.

Whatever your reason may be, taking a small business loan is a great way to get the cash you need, fast. Don’t let a lack of funds get in your way of creating your dream company. Take advantage of a small business loan today.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.