BRB Rules

The Cost of Opening a Dental Office

by Vince Calio8 minutes / November 1, 2021

Congratulations on successfully graduating dental school and earning your DDS or DMD. Statistics indicate that you are going to have a fulfilling and lucrative career, as US News and World Report’s 2021 Best Jobs Report lists being a dentist as the 9th best job in the country.

The American Dental Association estimates that 77% of dental practitioners own their own practice, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary of a general dental practitioner is $180,830.

Before you set up shop, however, you’re going to have to learn about financing, administration and managing an office. You’re also going to need to become very cognizant about managing your own credit score. According to the ADA, starting a new dental office can cost between $350,000 to $550,000, depending on where you want to be located. Additionally, the cost of acquiring an existing dental practice can range from $500,000 to $750,000, according to Wells Fargo’s health care lending unit.

That, combined with the fact that you probably have student debt piled up, means you will have to take the necessary steps to line up financing if you’re looking to start a new practice or purchase an existing one.

Practice First

Before you think about starting out on your own, you may want to try to join a dental practice first. Doing so for a time will have many benefits when you seek to borrow money: it will allow you to establish your name as a dentist – something that a lender would look favorably upon. It will also give you a salary and allow you to start paying off your student debt (regular payments also help when seeking financing), and it will give you practical experience in the business side of running a dental office (i.e. like understanding the complexities of patient management and insurance).

Additionally, if you’re just starting out, practicing with another dental office gives you the opportunity to be mentored by more experienced dentists who can offer you career and business advice. You also need to become a member of the ADA – something that lending institutions often require when you’re seeking financing.

How Do You Assess Costs of a New Dental Practice?

Many new dentists may tend to overspend when starting a practice, so it’s important to itemize what you will need:

Choose a location. This may be the most important decision you make. Your location will largely determine the cost of leasing an office. Real estate in both urban and densely populated suburban areas will obviously be more expensive than a rural area, but you must also factor in your need for patients, so it’s important to heavily research the area in which you want to open shop. What is the location in which you are likely to get the most business for the cheapest office space? What is the competition in that area? Is this a neighborhood in which you want to live or perhaps raise a family?
Price out dental equipment. You’re obviously going to need a dental chair with a spit sink, which can cost up to $15,000, a dental x-ray machine which, according to the type of machine you buy, can cost up to $20,000, and other equipment. Like with any business, you want to find a supplier that you are comfortable negotiating with and that can accommodate your needs at the lowest possible price. Price out each item you will need.
Assess costs of office equipment and software. You’re going to need furniture such as desks, couches and tables for the waiting room, office chairs and most importantly, a computer system. You will also need electronic health records software specifically made for dentists, which range in cost. If you are planning to be a family dentist, you may need to consider turning part of your waiting area into a children’s play area complete with a variety of toys appropriate for kids of all ages.
Create a Website. Every small business needs an optimized website, including dental practices, because the internet is the first place people will turn to when looking for a dentist. Creating a website for your business may be a lengthy but worthwhile process.
Get dental malpractice insurance. Malpractice insurance for any medical practice, including dental offices, is required in almost every state.
Hire Personnel. You are also going to need:

An office manager to keep track of appointments, insurance issues and to greet patients, among other things. According to Salary.com, the median wage for a dental office manager is $37 per hour.
A dental hygienist to handle teeth cleanings, give patients information and help keep track of electronic health records. The average annual salary of a dental hygienist varies from state to state, according to ZipRecruiter. Washington state is the one in which dental hygienists make the most – the average annual salary is $84,957.
A dental assistant to prep patients, sterilize equipment, organize dental tools and assist during dental procedures. According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a dental assistant ranges from $35,000 to $40,000 per year, depending on which state you are practicing in.
An attorney to assist you with establishing your business as a limited liability company (LLC) or other type of establishment and to obtain business licenses in your particular state and community.
Outside vendors to assist you with tasks that you may not be an expert in, including marketing and public relations, IT and optimizing your website.
A financial consultant to give you advice on how to stay invested in your business and manage your money. Believe it or not, there are actually advisors out there that specialize in working with dental practices such as Dental Advisors.

Create a Business Plan

Like any other small business, in order to get financing, you’re going to need a business plan. You many want to get expert advice on how to create a plan, but these plans generally include:

An executive summary of your business and description on why you believe your practice will be successful.
A brief description of your services, be it a family practice or a dental office that specializes in root canals or other types of oral surgery.
A summary of your practice’s management structure. This is especially important if you are opening a new dental office with another dentist.
An analysis of your competition and marketing strategy. This is a brief description of who you will be competing with in your area and how you plan to attract new patients, and
A financial plan. This is the most important element of your business plan when you go to seek financing, and you may want to consider consulting with an accountant on this. The financial plan will give cash flow estimates; your personal financial information and a detailed description on how you will spend your startup money, among other things.

Getting Financing

Seeing the total cost of starting a dental practice may hurt more than a root canal, but you do have plenty of options for financing. Plus, you have a unique advantage in that most dental practices usually end up being lucrative, and therefore, lending institutions tend to look favorably on them.

Many banks actually have lending programs specifically tailored to funding new dental offices, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo. This is different than with most small businesses that often need years in business and a strong cash flow history in order to secure a loan.

Practice loans often range from five to 12 years, and the rate depends on a number of factors, such as your personal credit score, location, and business plan.

While lending institutions are often eager to finance dental practices, however, getting financing isn’t guaranteed. In addition to a strong business plan, banks will look favorably upon you if you have some experience as a practicing dentist.

They want to see a strong personal credit score, so it’s important to make sure that you are up to date on student loan payments, car or mortgage payments and other bills, and have a strong payment history for any revolving credit cards you may have. If your student debt is overwhelming, you may even consider refinancing it to a lower monthly payment.

Remember – You’re not Just a Dentist!

Like any other doctor or medical specialist, as a dentist your first priority will always be taking care of your patients – as it should be. However, it is important to remember that your job isn’t just filling in cavities and performing root canals. If you are looking to open your own practice, your business savvy is just as important as your dentistry skills, and combining both will allow your practice to thrive.

Vince Calio

Content Writer

Vince Calio has been a writer for Kapitus since 2021. Before that, he spent three years operating a dry-cleaning store in Rahway, NJ that he inherited before selling the business, so he’s familiar with the challenges of operating a small business. Prior to that, Vince spent 14 years as both a financial journalist and content writer, most notably with Institutional Investor News and Crain Communications.

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What is a Working Capital Cycle

Manage Your Money

by Brandon Wyson7 minutes / September 3, 2021

The Key Details of the Working Capital Cycle

In the sometimes-lengthy process of turning a product into capital, all businesses are subject to what is called the “working capital cycle” (WCC). The working capital cycle is the amount of time it takes for a business to pay off their liabilities, such as their suppliers, and then begin collecting all cash they receive from sales as profit within one operating cycle. A well-managed working capital cycle often reflects a well-managed business. Businesses with working capital cycles with too many operational stopgaps can lead to low liquidity and a less stable production line. Effectively managing your company’s working capital cycle can give massive insight into your own operations and can better inform your financial decision-making.

Elements of a Working Capital Cycle

A working capital cycle can be separated into three categories, often called Accounts Payable Days, Inventory Days, and Accounts Receivable Days:

Accounts Payable Days: A business purchases raw materials for manufacturing and has a certain number of days to pay suppliers. The number of days in which you must pay your suppliers are your “Accounts Payable Days.”

Inventory Days: A business sells that inventory made from those raw materials to customers over a certain number of days. However many days it takes to sell your inventory are your “Inventory Days.”

Accounts Receivable Days: A business receives payment from customers over a certain number of days via invoice or credit card. The number of days you must wait for invoices and credit charges to become capital are your “Accounts Receivable Days.”

The basis of a good working capital cycle is making sure accounts receivable and inventory days are few enough so you can still pay suppliers on time. A working capital cycle can also be written as the formula:

Inventory Days + Receivable Days – Payable Days = Working Capital Cycle

Positive Working Capital Cycle

In most working capital cycles there are more accounts payable days — the days where payments from clients come in — than inventory and receivable days. This can be due to invoices or credit card processing windows that can take up to several weeks to become capital. Working capital cycles where payable days outnumber the sum of inventory days and receivable days are called positive working capital cycles.

Positive Working Capital Cycle Example: A CD manufacturing company takes 80 days to sell their available inventory during an operations cycle and then takes 45 days for credit card payments and invoices to become capital. The company also has 45 days to pay their suppliers for the raw materials, so their working capital cycle takes 80 days and is positive.

80 Inventory Days + 45 Accounts Receivable Days – 45 Accounts Payable Days = 80-Day Working Capital Cycle

Negative Working Capital Cycle

Despite its name, negative working capital cycles are often anything but a negative impact on a business’s operations. If your business has no gap between when inventory is sold in exchange for hard capital, they very likely would run a negative working capital cycle. The most traditional example of negative working capital cycle businesses are those that only accept cash. A business that deals solely in cash and has no invoices would have a zero Accounts Receivable Days meaning it is possible Accounts Payable Days may be greater than Inventory Days, leading to a negative working capital cycle.

Negative Working Capital Cycle Example: A local farmers market takes 30 days to sell all of their available inventory during one operations cycle. The farmers market only accepts cash and has no invoices. Since the farmers market has all capital on-hand at the point of sale, they have 0 Accounts Receivable Days. The farmers market takes 45 days to pay for raw materials and liabilities, meaning their working capital cycle takes -15 days.

30 Inventory Days + 0 Accounts Receivable Days – 45 Accounts Payable Days = -15-Day Working Capital Cycle

Improving Working Capital with Tactical Financing

One of the most frustrating parts of business operations is waiting for invoices to cash after making a sale. The 30, 60 or even 120 days necessary for invoices to become capital will take a massive toll on a company’s working capital cycle. That number of days is a business’s “Accounts Receivable Days” and by shortening the amount of time an invoice is in limbo, a business can massively improve their working capital cycle.

Invoice factoring is an agreement between a business and lender where the business sells unpaid invoices to a lender who then pays approximately 95% of the invoice’s value up front. In most invoice factoring agreements, it is then up to the lender to collect on the original invoice. When the client’s invoice eventually clears, the lender, or factor, will send a final percentage of the invoice to the business while usually keeping a 3% fee for the transaction.

By expediting the time an invoice takes to become capital, a business can massively increase their cash flow and in turn improve their working capital cycle. There are, however, counterexamples where an invoice factoring agreement may extend a working capital cycle. If an invoice factoring agreement allows for business recourse, then the business, not the lender, is responsible for invoices that go unpaid. This can also be the case if a factoring company is unable to collect, or has a difficult time collecting on an invoice. In these cases, it could be a while until you get that last percent from your invoices. If you would like to learn more about invoice factoring and other business loan options, please see Kapitus’s comprehensive guide detailing the several working capital loans options for small businesses.

Shortening Your Working Capital Cycle

Without becoming a solely cash business there are several strategies to shortening a working capital cycle to increase cash flow.

Reevaluate Manufacturer Options: When was the last time your business checked your supplier’s competition? Depending on your business and operation cycles there are likely several optimizations to your business which could effectively reduce Inventory Days. Is it possible to buy your most frequently used materials in bulk? Have you considered working with emerging manufacturing hotspots like Malaysia or Indonesia? Sit down with your team and think creatively about how your business can take advantage of rising globalism and manufacturing options to keep inventory turnover and quality high. Keep an eye out for local manufacturing options alternatives as well.

Renegotiate Existing Deals: Most modern operation cycles require several cultivated relationships with manufacturers and liveries which should be regularly assessed to make sure your business is getting the best deal possible. When your business buys raw materials from a supplier, how long is your credit period? That credit period is the same as your business’s Accounts Payable Days and by expanding the number of days your business must pay back suppliers in, your working capital cycle will shorten as well.

Kick Up Accounts Receivables Collection: There are several other ways to speed up accounts receivables collection without invoice factoring or financing. By shortening the amount of time between a sale and when that sale becomes liquid your business’s cash flow and working capital cycle will both improve. Consider making an updated A/R Aging Report which consolidates all of company’s accounts receivables data into one place for easy consideration and optimization. Does your business offer payment plans for high-volume purchases? A great way to attract new clients and boost monthly receivables is to offer structured payment plans. Another strategy to maximize your business’s accounts receivables is to increase your client base.

Final Considerations and the Nature of the Working Capital Cycle

Barring very specific industries, having a positive working capital cycle is a good indicator that a business is financially sound. Regarding growth, however, it is often difficult for companies to expand when their operational cycles leave low liquidity and high asset value. This is why several businesses seek financing from banks or private lenders to cover working capital and in turn reinvest in their own operations.

There is no universally ‘good’ working capital cycle because every business’s operations cycle is different. If your business has several long-term invoices, invoice financing could be a great way to kick up your working capital cycle. If your slowdown is on the manufacturer’s side however, you will need to consider wholly different solutions.

If you would like to learn more about your business’s working capital cycle financing options, please get in touch with a Kapitus financing expert who can address your unique situation.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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Tips on Starting, Funding a New Business

Operating Your Business

by Vince Calio11 minutes / August 20, 2021

Bubbles with business related images inside floating above a bird view of the city.

Small businesses are being created now more than ever, thanks to people being laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the advent of online tools aimed at helping budding entrepreneurs. In April 2021, roughly 500,000 people in the U.S. applied for new business applications, compared to just 300,000 in the same month of 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While the current climate may make the decision to start your own business easier than ever before, it certainly doesn’t mean that starting a new business is easy. While creating your small business from scratch does start with a dream, a great idea and some funding, you’ll probably also need online training, business acumen and an understanding of some basic financial and marketing principles to get going.

Mapping Out Your Business

Whether you are launching a construction business, retail store, business services firm or an eCommerce site, before you even think about funding, you’ll need to produce a business plan.

A business plan is a specific outline of your business, what it will entail and how it will make money. If you plan to seek initial investors for your business, be it angel or venture cap investors or through crowdsourcing, you’re going to need one.

Source: Growthink

There are cost-effective online tools out there that can provide you with a template for a presentable business plan, such as this one from Growthink, that can make it easy for you – all you have to do is plug in the text and the program will do the rest for you. The basic ingredients of a plan for a new business are:

Executive Summary

The executive summary should clearly tell the reader what you want to accomplish as a business, and why your business is special. This is often referred to as a mission statement and is extremely important to potential investors. All too often, this is buried in the middle of the business plan but needs to be stated upfront.

Business Description

The business description should include a clear description of your industry, as well as the products or services you are seeking to sell within it. This is your chance to describe why your product or service stands out in the industry and why you think customers will choose it over your competitors.

Marketing Strategy

This part of the business plan requires a meticulous analysis of the market you are trying to sell your product in, and who you want to sell your product or services to. As an entrepreneur, you need to be familiar with all aspects of the market you’re looking to sell in, as well as carefully define your target market so that your company can be positioned to garner its share of sales.

Competitive Analysis

Present a description of what your competitors offer, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how big the market is in which you are trying to sell. Then, clearly explain what gives your business a competitive advantage. Put simply, why do you think consumers will choose your products or services over your competitors?

Design and Development Plan

The purpose of a design and development plan is to provide a description of the design of your products or services, chart their development within the context of production, marketing and the company itself, and create a development budget that will enable your company to reach its goals.

Operations and Management Plan

This plan describes how your business will function on a continuing basis. Who, if anyone, is going to be in charge besides yourself? Where will your business function and what kind of equipment and inventory will you need? Who will you need to hire and for what functions?

Put simply, the plan will clearly explain the various responsibilities of your management team (if you plan to have one), the tasks assigned to each person in your company, as well as the capital and expense requirements related to the operations of the business.

If the only employee will be you, you need to clearly spell out what kind of compensation you will need for yourself, as well as the equipment, supplies and space you will need to make your business operate smoothly.

Business Basics

In planning out a new business, you need to learn basic business terms and why they’re important. There are online courses (and many of them are free!) to teach you the basics of managing a business, such as what sales and profit margins are, customer retention and conversion, etc.

In order to successfully launch your business, here are some basic business terms you should familiarize yourself with right off the bat:

Sales Margin

Also known as contribution margin, this metric basically determines what you should be charging for your products or services in order to be profitable. It is the amount of money you charge for your product minus the cost associated with producing your product or service. Those costs include manufacturing costs, advertising/marketing and salaries.

Customer Acquisition Cost

This metric helps determine what each sale costs. Simply add up the cost of marketing and sales — including salaries and overhead — and divide by the number of customers you land during a specific time frame.

Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate is a key metric that essentially tells you if your customers are happy, and will help you determine how quickly you can grow your business. It measures what percentage of your customers have kept coming back over a period of time, and can be calculated over a weekly, monthly or annual basis, depending on your preference.

Customer Conversion Rate

This metric basically tells you whether your marketing and sales efforts are paying off. It is simply the percentage of people who walk into your business or visit your website who end up becoming customers. If the conversion rate is low, you may want to change the way you are marketing or advertising your business. You may want to offer more discounts on your website if your conversion rate is low, for example.

Revenue Percentages

If your small business is like most, you probably have more than one source of revenue. Where your revenue is coming from will tell you about shifting trends in your market and what consumers are spending money on.

For example, if you run a small contracting business, you may get revenue from customers who want to build new homes and revenue from customers who want to renovate their homes. If you notice that, suddenly, many more customers are interested in home renovation rather than new home building, you may want to change your marketing efforts accordingly.

Build a Website

Whether you’re a doctor or a plumber, it is virtually impossible today to run your business without having an online presence. When consumers search for your services, the first place they will search is the internet.

Having an online presence means that potential customers can easily find you via a web search, know what products or services you offer, and what makes you unique. You can even set up your website to make direct sales.

Building your own website does not have to be costly, as there are plenty of do-it-yourself website builders such as Wix and SQUARESPACE that can make it easy. In a previous article, Kapitus offered a step-by-step guide to building your own site.

Potential Funding Sources

When you’re looking to start a business, traditional and alternative small business lending sources are probably not an option, since most require years in business. There are funding sources available to you, however, if your personal savings and help from friends and family members are not enough to start your own business:

Angel Investors

This option is pretty much what the hit show “Shark Tank” is about. Angel investors are individuals who are willing to invest in start-ups or early stage companies, typically between $25,000 to $100,000, in exchange for a piece of ownership. Their hope is that their investments will pay off big when your company either goes public or when your company becomes big enough so that you can comfortably buy out their pieces of ownership for a hefty sum more than the amount that they originally invested.

Source: Angel List

Angel investors are often successful entrepreneurs themselves and can offer mentorship and business advice, and typically want to see a strong business plan as well as your plans for growth before they invest. You can find angel investors from other entrepreneurs, or search online through sites such as Angel List.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is becoming one of the most popular ways to garner funds for startup businesses. It is the practice of raising funds through popular crowdfunding websites.

Setting up a crowdfunding campaign is relatively easy. In most cases, all it takes is setting up a profile on a crowdfunding site, describing your company and its business, and the amount of money you are seeking to raise. In order to attract investors, your business plan and products must seem compelling and differentiating.

One of the best features of a typical crowdfunding plan is that you usually don’t have to give up pieces of ownership in your business, as people who are interested in investing typically do so in exchange for some kind of reward from your business, such as a discount based on the amount donated, or some form of profit sharing in your business.

Equity crowdfunding, however, is when you are selling stock or some other interest in your company in exchange for cash, and requires compliance with federal and state securities laws. In this form of crowdfunding, you should consult with an investment attorney.

Crowdfunding sites usually charge a fee to list your campaign, which will either be a processing fee or a percentage of the funds raised. Some of the most popular sites include Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Crowd Supply, Crowdfunder and SeedInvest.

Grants

There are several private grants available through application for startup and small businesses that could reward you with $10,000 to $150,000 in startup cash, especially if you are launching a woman- or minority-owned business. Additionally, there are some grants offered through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some of these grants usually require a business to be community-related or involve mentorship of some kind, so be sure to carefully examine the requirements before applying.

Small Business Credit Cards

Since traditional and alternative business loans are not typically available for startup businesses, you may want to apply for a business credit card. These types of cards often require a strong personal credit score – not years in business – so they may be a good alternative funding source. Like with any credit card, interest is only charged on the amount borrowed, and these cards often come with perks such as cash back rewards, airline mileage points and discounts with selected retailers.

In the past year, a number of credit card issuers have offered cards that specifically focus on the small business market and do not require personal guarantees, which means use of the card will not impact your personal credit score. One example is Brex, which offers a small business card for early-stage technology companies with professional funding. The credit limits may be substantially higher than traditional credit cards, and they often provide valuable rewards.

Venture Capital

Of course, VC funding is usually thought of first as a funding source for startup companies, but they often have the most stringent requirements. VC managers typically want to see strong business plans, and often require seats on company boards, right of first refusal, anti-dilution protection and high ownership stakes. It is often difficult to obtain VC funding as most fund managers are inundated with funding requests and often only accept pitches through referrals from trusted sources, such as other successful startups and successful entrepreneurs.

Several rounds of funding are often involved, and most VC fund managers are seeking highly profitable exit strategies, such as an IPO or an acquisition, even though most startup businesses do not have any such plans on their horizons. If your startup business does have grand plans of becoming the next Amazon or Microsoft, then VC funding may be for you.

Starting your own business may be a complex, exhausting task that will require hard work and long hours, but in the end, the thought of being your own boss, setting your own hours and not having limits on your compensation to support you and your family may be worth it if you have a dream and a great idea.

Vince Calio

Content Writer

Vince Calio has been a writer for Kapitus since 2021. Before that, he spent three years operating a dry-cleaning store in Rahway, NJ that he inherited before selling the business, so he’s familiar with the challenges of operating a small business. Prior to that, Vince spent 14 years as both a financial journalist and content writer, most notably with Institutional Investor News and Crain Communications.

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How Body Shops Can Increase Profit Margins

Industry Challenges

by Brandon Wyson6 minutes / August 12, 2021

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Body shops can improve efficiency and customer satisfaction by embracing digital services and software solutions, such as digital multi-point inspections and management software, ultimately contributing to increased profit margins.
To maximize profit margins, Body shops should optimize labor costs by investing In experienced and efficient staff, offering competitive pay rates, and providing hands-on training to enhance productivity.
High customer retention is essential for body shops. Implement clear communication flows, referral incentives, and proactive scheduling of regular services like oil changes to keep existing body shop clients returning.

Body shops and the commercial auto repair industry at large pull in billions annually but often run with staggering operational costs from labor, parts, and general overhead. A body shop’s ability to keep revenue up is a means of survival but healthy profit margins are the basis of growth. To run a successful body shop, owners must keep a close eye on the several dozen avenues in which money both comes in and out of their shop. This article is a collection of tactics for body shop owners to maximize their profit margins without sacrificing quality and service.

How to Take Labor Margins and Staff Management into Account

While parts and facility costs will affect a body shop’s profit margins, staff and labor costs are just as important — if not more so. Having high-quality and efficient staff is the most concrete way to increase profit margins as experienced mechanics and technicians are likely to complete jobs faster and with fewer errors. Be certain that your shop’s pay rates are competitive and attractive to experienced workers and reassess your shop’s training structure to be more hands-on. Find out if your state offers subsidized training for auto workers as you may be able to send your staff for specialized training at a reduced cost; some vendors and suppliers are known to offer similar services. Get a general idea how long common procedures like coolant flushes or even more intensive repairs take your staff and use that information to price your services.

Instead of focusing on products and parts, remember that the knowledgeability and skill level of your staff is the basis of a good repair. According to Body Shop Business, labor profit margins for body shops often range between 50% and 65% while margins on parts go from 20% to 28%. Investing in good labor and maintaining a happy, productive staff is one of the best ways to put a body shop in the direction of better profit margins.

Improve Your Retention Rate

A trend report on customer retention from Invesp found that while businesses have about a 20% chance of pulling in a new customer, they have a 60% to 70% chance of bringing back a repeat customer. This is especially true for body shops as vehicle owners should never be a one-time sale. Cars require regular maintenance, so body shops ought to be certain they are homing in on customers that are already in their shop just as much as potential new sales. There are several key strategies to keeping your current customers engaged and willing to return for future services.

Candid and Clear Communication – Be certain that your staff regularly communicates with clients during a job. Make sure that your shop’s training and onboarding procedures are specific about keeping customers in the loop and being transparent about all steps in a repair. It’s also important to continually assess your upselling practices – making sure not to upsell them unnecessarily. Defeat the long-standing myth that independent body shops nickel-and-dime their customers by being candid and explaining why each step of a procedure is necessary.

Testimonials and Referral Incentives – Your existing customers have the potential to be your body shop’s best advocate and marketing tool. Consider offering discounts on basic services like oil changes or coolant flushes in exchange for customer referrals.

As your shop grows, it pays to be on top of your online reviews and to establish processes that help you solicit and respond to them. Consider asking customers to leave a positive review after a successful visit.

Remember that not all reviews are going to be a ringing endorsement for your company, so be certain to directly address bad reviews. Whether good or bad, give personalized responses to reviews as often as possible. Part of the appeal locally run body shops enjoy comes from the personal touches that can be brought to a customer experience. Overall, make sure that your shop’s personality shines through in your online presence just as well as it does in your physical shop.

Plan Future Appointments for Regular Services – While many body shop visits are specifically problem-based, services like oil changes can and should be scheduled in advance so customers keep your shop in mind when it is time for regular servicing to their vehicle. Capitalize on necessary procedures like annual inspections stickers and coolant flushes to keep regular customers as regular as possible.

Digital Services and Software Solutions

Body shops have modernized in parallel with the vehicles they repair. As car companies continue to integrate increasingly complex computer systems and unique parts into vehicles, body shops have shown continued resiliency in their ability to keep up with consumer expectations. Another consumer expectation that body shops met in stride was the demand for digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital multi-point inspections and procedures are a win-win for consumers and body shops alike as consumers can clearly see their vehicle’s condition and body shops can more meaningfully demonstrate what repairs are necessary or not urgent.

There are several companies that offer digital interfaces for multi-point inspections; one of the most well-known is Bolt On Technology whose digital inspection program allows easy photo integration and tablet use for technicians and mechanics. Compared to traditional paper inspection forms, digital interfaces provide numerous time-saving benefits for your mechanics while giving customers a streamlined look at their vehicle’s servicing needs.

Another software solution that body shops looking to tighten their bottom line may want to consider is management software like ProfitBoost, which allows shop managers and bookkeepers to consolidate parts and labor expenditure figures into an easy-to-read single platform. ProfitBoost gives shops the ability to quickly assess their spending and determine where they can expand or retract to help their bottom line.

Profit Margin Overview and Final Considerations

With overhead and parts costs as a constant necessity, it is a relentless balancing act for even the most successful body shops to keep their heads above water. There is no gimmick or guaranteed trick to increase a shop’s profit margin, but a valuable first step is making sure that your shop offers personalized and professional services at the highest caliber possible. When you make business decisions around this primary goal, you can expect profits to follow.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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Small Business Acquisitions and How to Finance Them

Operating Your Business

by Vince Calio8 minutes / August 5, 2021

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When looking to acquire and merge another business, you should consider collaborating with M&A advisors or accounting firms to navigate the due diligence process, evaluate potential targets, and assess acquisition feasibility.
Create robust business plans for the merged entity, including efficient management structures, aligned mission statements, debt absorption strategies, and income projections, to secure financing for the acquisition.
Generally, the best type of financing for a small business acquisition would be an SBA loan, with the most common being the 7(a) loan. However, SBA loans come with very strict requirements so you should also look into a standard business loan as a back up option.

Acquiring another business can be a complicated task, but one that could very well be worth the effort to ensure the survival of your small or micro business.

The time may also be right for considering an acquisition, as interest rates are low, making borrowing for an acquisition relatively cheap. Additionally, according to the most recent NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, the net percent of owners raising average selling prices increased 10 points to 36%, the highest reading since April 1981.

While deal volume is not back at a pre-pandemic level, according to the NFIB, sectors such as liquor stores, home improvement businesses, e-commerce sites, medical businesses, manufacturers, and distributors are seeing high activity.

Reasons to Consider an Acquisition

One reason you may consider acquiring another business is that, now that we are (hopefully) in the waning days of the COVID-19 pandemic, your business may very well have taken a financial hit, and you may need to scale up by purchasing a similar business if you wish to survive going forward.

Purchasing a similar business would give you an entirely new stream of revenue and a new pool of clients, as well as increase branding in your market – even if you’re a microbusiness such as an independent restaurant or retail store owner. If you’re an accounting or law firm or other type of business services firm or medical practice, it may even increase your client base to other regions of the country, depending on the location of the business you are seeking to purchase.

Another potential reason to make an acquisition is that you may want to complement your business by offering additional services. For example, if you own and operate a construction firm that specializes in building houses, you may want to purchase a company that specializes in masonry and paving work so that you don’t have to subcontract that work whenever you build a new home.

Due Your Due Diligence

If you’re interested in making a strategic acquisition, your first task will be to work with an M&A advisor or even an accounting firm. While most banks are not interested in M&A advisory work for small businesses, there are several advisors that do specialize in handling acquisitions for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Talk to your advisor about:

Why you want to make an acquisition;
What type of company you are seeking to purchase;
The location of the company in which you wish to purchase;
The feasibility of merging your company’s balance sheet with the acquired company;
The value of similar businesses in your industry and in your geographic location;
A realistic amount you wish to spend on an acquisition;
The logistics of merging your company with another, and
How to fund the acquisition through debt.

A reputable M&A advisor should be able to do the due diligence for you and find you a list of companies in your area that may be a compatible target for an acquisition based on their business models, revenue, management structure and other factors. The advisor should also come up with a fair value of the acquisition target based on the financials of the target business.

Create a Combined Business Plan

Once you and your M&A advisor has found an acquisition target that meets your criteria and agrees to be acquired, you will have to produce new short- and long-term business plans for your new, combined entity in order to get financing to fund the acquisition. The basic ingredients of a business plan for a newly combined business typically include:

#1 Creating a New Management Team, Staff

Discuss with the head of the company that you are looking to acquire the logistics of combining your staff. Start with who will oversee the new company, and what functions each of you will have. If you are a microbusiness and the new company will only have 6 or 7 employees, then combining your respective workforces should not be too challenging. If your newly formed company will have 20 or more employees, you may wish to create new departments with new department heads, with each serving a different function.

Staffing redundancies, such as two people from each respective company essentially serving the same purpose, may be a red flag in the eyes of a prospective lender, so make sure your new staff structure is as efficient as possible. These factors will be crucial in the contingency –or 12-month plan– that you will need to present to a prospective lender to finance your acquisition.

#2 Creating a New Mission Statement in Line with Your New Capabilities

Your new company’s mission statement should detail the new array of products that you offer, how employees approach their work to reach goals and why your new company is improved in the way it provides products and services as a result of the acquisition.

Next, ascertain the capabilities that your new entity has to offer in terms of sales. For example, the company that you are acquiring may offer eCommerce capabilities, while you have more retail locations. Post acquisition, your new company will offer both and your mission statement needs to reflect this. Your new company may now offer business-to-business, business-to-consumers capabilities or combinations thereof as a result of the acquisition. In addition to being a key component of your mission, these factors should be the benchmarks for your five-year business plan.

#3 Showing That You Can Absorb Debt

Typically, the company that you acquire will have some debt that you have to absorb. In order to get financing for your acquisition, you have to convince the lender that you can handle that debt, especially since you are using debt to finance the acquisition.

Joshua Jones, Chief Revenue Officer at Kapitus, said the ability to take on new debt is key to acquisition financing.

“The [lending] bank is going to say, ‘does this asset (the acquired company) cover the new debt service on that business?’” said Joshua Jones, chief revenue officer at Kapitus. “Because now, you’ve just applied a whole new payment (through the financing of the acquisition) and the best way to show in your business plan that you can absorb that debt and increase your gross profit is either through efficiency gain or scale.”

#4 Projecting Gross Income of the Newly Formed Company

Work closely with your accountant or M&A advisor to project a 12-month income. There are various ways to project income, and it is typically far more complicated than simply adding the gross income of your company to that of the company you are acquiring, so talk to a financial expert on this.

“An effective planning tool is through the use of projections,” said Michael Kuru, a CPA specializing in family-owned businesses. “When a business is acquired, there is a strong indication of the gross income that should be generated. The experienced business owner should have an idea as to the underlying cost to generate that income.’

Obtaining Financing for an Acquisition

Generally, the best type of financing for a small business acquisition would be an SBA loan, with the most common being the 7(a) loan. You may also want to consider a business loan, since the requirements for a SBA loan are typically stringent, require a high credit score, and are generally not easy to obtain.

According to Jones, however, “An SBA loan will always be the most seamless with the acquisition strategy because it is going to provide the length of payback that’s more applicable to an owner buying a business and having the available profits to pay down the loan as a percentage of profits over time.”

SBA loans are typically offered by two different entities – a brick-and-mortar bank, or an accredited non-bank SBA lender (of which there are only 14). Many alternative lenders such as Kapitus do not directly provide the SBA loan, but have built a wide array of accredited lending partners and uses modern technology to underwrite, approve and manage the loan disbursement and repayment process, often in a timeframe that is much quicker than that of a traditional lender and often has fewer requirements.

Executing an acquisition could be an expensive and extremely complicated task. At the very least, however, buying another small business could help your business survive in the post-pandemic world. At most, an acquisition could help you thrive as it would allow your company to expand, scale up products and offerings, and ultimately pull in new business.

Vince Calio

Content Writer

Vince Calio has been a writer for Kapitus since 2021. Before that, he spent three years operating a dry-cleaning store in Rahway, NJ that he inherited before selling the business, so he’s familiar with the challenges of operating a small business. Prior to that, Vince spent 14 years as both a financial journalist and content writer, most notably with Institutional Investor News and Crain Communications.

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How to Increase Income for Your Commercial Cleaning Business

Industry Challenges

by Brandon Wyson8 minutes / August 2, 2021

Strategies to Increase Income for Commercial Cleaning Companies

Commercial cleaning companies were not spared from the tumultuous times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. As offices closed and in-building personnel-limits began, most cleaning companies had their revenue cut to the bone. There are, however, several strategies that commercial cleaning companies can use to help increase cash flow and profit to help them recover, while also helping them during future slow seasons. Cleaning companies that capitalize on current customer trends and adopt new methods first are likely to see those changes translate into profit. In this article we will cover a collection of profit-boosting strategies aimed to kick commercial cleaning companies to the next level of profit.

Post-Pandemic Location is Key

As businesses adjust to post-pandemic office life, commercial cleaning companies may consider changing their area of operation to a new business hotspot. A side effect of businesses accepting remote work is an increased rate of headquarter relocation to cities with kinder tax codes or lower rent. Relocating your cleaning company to a post-pandemic tax haven like Seattle or Cincinnati can both help your own bottom line and open you to a new market of post-pandemic modern office spaces.

If you would like to learn more about the best cities for post-pandemic relocation, consider Kapitus’s comprehensive guide showcasing some of the top cities for relocation.

Another aspect to consider when choosing a new location, or when coming up with ways to improve in your existing location is assuring short travel time from your warehouse or office to the client. Working within a certain mile radius and/or using compact vehicles can both decrease your travel time and working in a metro area is one of the best ways to make sure your clients are grouped together in a convenient way for your staff. An added bonus – save some money on gas and other travel related expenses!

Separate Your Company from the Competition

While relocating to a city is one way to increase business, one certainty that comes along with a a move is the fact that competition will increase in parallel. Instead of having potential customers consider your cleaning business one of several options, separate yourself as the only option for a particular type of service. Depending on your company’s region and potential clientele, certain cleaning niche markets may be ripe for the taking.

Defining a niche will also work as a great pivoting tool in your existing location.

Businesses that specifically service offices may benefit from expanding their window cleaning options as well as offering in-depth restroom cleaning services. Another avenue for commercial cleaning services is to market your niche toward colleges and universities. Another potential niche could even be unattractive cleaning services such as trauma cleaning or post-death services. The COVID-19 pandemic massively drove up interest in intensive sanitation services. Marketing your company as both a cleaning and sanitation service could be a key method to making your cleaning company even more attractive than the competition.

The bottom line is: Stepping into more specialized markets is a key method to making your business more appealing than a general cleaning company. But, take note: many specialized cleaning fields require specific training and equipment, so do your research and learn what the clients in your community are looking for.

Strengthen Your Bid Customization Based on Long-Term Client Needs

When preparing your bid packet, there are certain strategies to make your company more attractive to long-term clients or those with high square-footage offices. When calculating your monthly rate for cleaning services consider what factors drive your rate. Long-term clients – like universities – may be interested in finding a company that charges by room rather than square footage; while offices with one large room will certainly be interested in square-footage rates. Long-term clients are most often either established businesses or government offices. Being that such offices work standard workdays, it may be effective to play up your company’s ability to work very early or very late hours.

One of the most effective means to impress a potential long-term or high-return client is after your first consultation, find their areas of elevated expectations like – kitchen or restroom cleanliness – and put specific language about their needs in the first draft of a prospective contract.

Is it Time to Reassess Your Rates?

Commercial cleaning companies should regularly compare their rates with local competition to see if they are still competitive. You need to be actively aware of competing prices. You need to also determine which companies offer the same services as you and consider ways to make your company the better deal.

In the event you lose a bid for a cleaning contract, reach out to the prospective customer, and ask which company they chose and what about your package dissuaded them. Your existing customers can also be a helpful resource in determining your rates. Create a customer survey asking which of your services are most and least effective. Rates should be determined on an individual and local level, as depending on the region in which you operate, identical services can have massively varying prices. Regularly watch pricing trends and be certain that your company is as competitive as possible.

Reduce Operational Costs

Commercial cleaning companies have exceedingly high overhead and operational costs. Keeping a steady flow of materials, trained staff and equipment can massively cut down on a company’s profits. There are, however, several methods cleaning companies can employ in order to assess your own overhead and see where profits may be slipping through operational gaps.

Purchase in Bulk: Suppliers that service cleaning companies traditionally offer bulk services at a discount. Determine what materials your staff uses most and invest in bulk purchasing in order to keep long-term profits high.

Increased Training and Management: Consider implementing training regiments beyond initial onboarding. Keeping your staff up to date with new machinery and finding where they work best through personalized training can help you and managers better decide where certain staff work effectively. Putting staff on jobs where they work efficiently is a clear-cut way to ensure materials aren’t wasted and machinery lives longer.

Workloading Software: Efficiency is key in the cleaning industry. There are several software solutions aimed at increasing productivity and in turn reducing expenses. Workloading software considers how long a certain cleaning task will likely take and create simulated schedules with maximum productivity. The most well-known workloading software created for cleaning companies is InfoClean. InfoClean allows users to input their own production rates and also allows easy comparison of staffing plans and cleaning techniques.

Tactical Financing to Increase Cash Flow

Commercial cleaning companies are often paid by invoices from their clients which may not become liquid for 60 to up to 120 days. Cleaning companies with a density of unpaid invoices may consider invoice factoring services. Invoice factoring is an agreement between a business and a lender who, in this case, is acting as a factor. Factors will buy a business’s unpaid invoices outright and pay approximately 95% of the invoice’s value immediately. The factor will then be responsible for collecting on the invoice when the customer eventually pays out. When the customer pays the factor, the factor will then pay a piece of the 5% to the business while also keeping a cut for services rendered.

If a company is doing business with a large number of unpaid invoices, it is likely that the expedited cash flow of invoice factoring services could be a key part of your business’s growth. For companies who deal with one or two large clients especially, invoice factoring can help fund expansion that would regularly take much longer.

Another financing option to consider is equipment financing. While several cleaning companies choose to rent equipment like iodizers or carpet blowers, buying machinery through financing is an effective way to both get your staff familiar with specific machinery models and appear more prepared to potential clients. Equipment financing can also cover new vehicles or even office furniture for budding companies. A modern piece of equipment quickly becoming a necessity due to COVID-19 is the electrostatic sprayer. Often called ESS, electrostatic sprayers are one of the most effective sanitizing tools for both surfaces and droplets, but the machine itself is exceedingly expensive. By having an ESS in your arsenal, your company can more meaningfully assert themselves as a cleaning company with attention to sanitation as well.

If you would like to learn more about your cleaning company’s financing options, consider getting in contact with a Kapitus financing expert who can address your unique situation.

Final Cash Flow Considerations

Maintaining profitability for a commercial cleaning company is a uniquely difficult balancing act of high overhead costs but equally high returns. There is no one strategy to becoming a profitable business, but a meaningful first step is determining what your business does best and how to do it even better. Consider the strategies above as a check list and see which pieces work best with your unique business.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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What Are SBA Loan Collateral Requirements?

Manage Your Money

by Brandon Wyson5 minutes / July 14, 2021

KEY TAKEAWAYS

There are multiple types of SBA Loans, including 7(a), SBA Express Loans and EIDL Loans. SBA loans, the most popular of which is the 7(a) loan, will typically use assets like real estate and inventory as collateral for security.
SBA loans, the most popular of which is the 7(a) loan, will typically use assets like real estate and inventory as collateral for security.
SBA EIDL loans, designed for disaster relief, may require collateral for loans over $25,000 based on individual circumstances.

Those seeking an SBA loan are likely familiar with the association’s sometimes confusing collateral requirements. Small business owners are required to name some amount of collateral when applying for an SBA loan, but it can be difficult to determine ahead of time how much collateral may be expected to finalize a loan or what necessarily constitutes collateral.

While there are several kinds of SBA loans, most common are 7(a) loans. Another kind of SBA loan currently in high demand is EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loans). While 7(a) loans can be requested for any reason, EIDL are specifically disaster loans which have recently gained prominence as a form of pandemic relief. EIDL and 7(a) loans both have different collateral requirements. This article will explore exactly what each of these loan types require from borrowers in the form of collateral as well as other requirements of note.

What Constitutes Collateral?

Before discussing collateral requirements, it is important to understand exactly what collateral is and what lenders and the SBA generally consider acceptable forms of collateral. Collateral, in its simplest forms, is an asset that a lender accepts as a form of security on a loan in the event of non-payment or a default.

Examples of Generally Approved SBA Loan Collateral include:

Commercial or personal real estate
Accounts receivable
Standing inventory
Business vehicles
Equipment, and machinery

SBA 7(a) Loan Collateral and Requirements

SBA 7(a) loans are one of the most frequently sought loans by American small business owners and fall under three categories: Standard (7a), 7(a) Small Loans, and SBA Express. All collateral policies for 7(a) Small Loans and Express Loans are also true for Standard 7(a) loans up to $350,000.

7(a) Collateral Requirements

Loans up to $25,000 are unsecured and require no collateral.
Loans between $25,000 and $350,000 must follow collateral policies for similarly-sized non-SBA-guaranteed commercial loans.
Loans larger than $350,000 require the maximum amount of collateral possible from the borrower to fully secure a loan. The borrower must meaningfully demonstrate they have put forward all available collateral.
If a lender believes fixed assets do not fully secure a loan, they may also consider trading assets at 10% current book value.

Notable Variations

Both 7(a) Small Loans and SBA Express loans offer up to $350,000, but the SBA will only guarantee up to 50% of the loan amount for Express Loans. Guarantees for Small Loans are either 85% for loans up to $150,000 and 75% for loans greater than that.

7(a) Loan Additional Information

Applicants for SBA 7(a) loans must agree to an ABA (All Business Assets) lien. This means that all of an applicant’s business assets will be put as collateral for the SBA 7(a) loan. 7(a) applicants may also be subject to a UCC-1 (Universal Commercial Code) lien which gives a lender the legal right to access a business’s assets in the event a business defaults on their loan.

In addition to collateral, every person who owns at least 20% of an applying business must also sign a personal guarantee when seeking SBA 7(a) financing. A personal guarantee is an acknowledgement that the party signing is personally responsible for paying back a loan. Personal guarantees are essentially extensions of collateral. Instead of naming specific assets, however, an applicant agrees to use any assets necessary to pay back the loan.

When applying for an SBA 7(a) loan the lender will have the applicant fill out the “SBA Eligibility Questionnaire for Standard 7(a) Guaranty.” Which allows a lender to individually assess if an applicant has sufficient holdings to secure collateral.

SBA EIDL Loan Collateral Requirements

Unlike 7(a) loans, the SBA EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) program is exclusively distributed to small businesses that are suffering from a temporary loss of revenue due to a declared disaster. The EIDL program is currently accepting applications from businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EIDL program has different collateral requirements than a 7(a) loan, notably because EIDL is a form of aid. Loans made through the EIDL program under $25,000 are still unsecured. Loans over $25,000, however, will require some form of collateral. Because the program often deals with disaster relief, the EIDL program will not turn away an applicant because they do not have a certain collateral value. If an applicant pledges the collateral available to them, a lender will often consider that collateral sufficient.

EIDL program applicants seeking loan amounts greater than $25,000 must also consent to a UCC-1 lien being placed on their business. Businesses applying to the EIDL program requesting more than $200,000 also require a personal guarantee from each person with a 20% or more stake in the business.

Collateral Overview

The SBA intentionally leaves collateral requirements vague in all loan programs. Necessary collateral is determined on an individual level between a lender and an applicant. More important than a dollar amount, however, is a business owner’s ability to demonstrate that they are committed to repaying a loan. Collateral in combination with personal guarantees and UCC-1 liens are mechanisms to assure loan programs are not taken advantage of or used unnecessarily.

Laying out strict financing requirements and cutoffs ignore the nuance of small business and may needlessly dissuade applicants. The most important step for a small business seeking a loan is discussion with a trusted financing expert. If your small business is interested in learning more about SBA loans and funding opportunities, get in touch with a Kapitus financing expert who can assess your options based on your unique situation.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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What Are The Best Types Of Corporate Loans

Manage Your Money

by Brandon Wyson6 minutes / July 8, 2021

corporate loans to suit your business situation

Corporate loans are one of the most effective financing options for companies seeking to fund a new project or simply improve their cash flow. A corporate loan accounts for any kind of financing offered to a business, not an individual. There, however, are several kinds of corporate loans, all with their own terms and requirements. Exploring the various types of corporate loans offered to businesses can be massively advantageous to those looking to make the most of their financing.

Commercial Loans

Commercial loans stipulate that funds distributed by a lender may only be used for business purposes. Commercial loans act as an umbrella term for several purchase-specific business loans including commercial real estate loans. Commercial real estate loans can apply when financing any real estate purchase that will be used solely for business purposes; this can include general office spaces, retail locations and even apartment complexes. Commercial loans generally require considerable collateral from the business, almost always including the real estate or item being financed.

Commercial loans are generally reserved for larger companies since they are often used to fund large operations and have larger upfront costs.

Acquisition Loans

Acquisition loans are loans given specifically for financing a business’s purchase of a large asset from another business, or another business outright. Among the several types of corporate loans, acquisition loans often have the shortest window for both distribution and repayment. Acquisition loans, like commercial real estate loans, may only be used when purchasing an agreed upon asset, in this case another business or another business’s asset. Acquisition loans are often only given to businesses that do not have the liquidity for an acquisition but can meaningfully demonstrate to a lender that they have the capacity to take on the acquisition often through extensive collateral.

Term Loans

Corporate term loans are agreements between a lender and a business where a lender gives a specific amount of money with a fixed repayment schedule. Term loans are most often used for financing one-time purchases like equipment or vehicles, but they are also used as basic working capital. Term loans can have either a fixed or floating interest rate; floating interest rates will change depending on if an underlying index rises or lowers. Depending on the agreement, term loans can either be taken out in a single payment or in several smaller increments.

Revolving Credit

Similar to term loans, corporate revolving credit gives businesses access to a specific amount until the terms of the agreement end. Unlike term loans which pay out in capital, revolving credit allows businesses to draw and pay in the credit amount as many times as they like. Revolving credit is essentially a maximum loan balance that businesses can treat very similar to a line of credit, but revolving credit agreements are open-ended and do not have a specified end-date.

Self-Liquidating Loans

Self-liquidating loans refer to loans that finance projects, the revenue of which is then used to repay the loan. Self-liquidating loans are most often used by seasonal businesses or businesses with trackable busy periods. Self-liquidating loans can be used to buy inventory or machinery in preparation for a busier season. Once seasonal customers decrease and the need for working capital decreases, the business can use the increased profits made available by the loan to pay back their lender. To qualify for a self-liquidation loan, businesses often need to demonstrate through accounts-receivables records that their business has a cyclical busy season or many seasonal customers that would justify self-liquidation.

Asset-Conversion Loans

Asset-conversion loans act almost identically to a self-liquidating loan but are repaid by liquidating a business asset like accounts receivables, equipment, or inventory. Asset-conversion loans expect that whatever asset that would be liquidated to repay a loan is also put up as collateral. Asset-conversion loans, then, are traditionally in the amount equal to the value of the business assets put up as collateral.

Cash Flow Loans

Cash flow loans are used to fund daily operations like inventory, payroll and even rent. Cash flow loans are traditionally paid back with incoming funds. Before being approved for a cash flow loan, lenders traditionally consider a business’s accounts receivables and existing cash flow and then propose the terms of the loan to the business owner. Cash flow loans typically have more lenient credit requirements and require little collateral. Because of the loan’s higher risk, cash flow loans have comparably high interest rates and sometimes require blanket liens as part of the loan agreement.

Cash flow loans also have comparably high originations fees. The several increases in rate seen in traditional cash flow loan agreements come in exchange of the target business’s lack of assets or credit history.

Working Capital Loans

Working capital loans cover the same day-to-day expenses as a cash flow loan but are generally much longer agreements and used by larger businesses who may have cyclical clients or trackable busy and slow seasons. Working capital loans can last upward of 25 years especially when secured with a bank. Banks generally offer the most generous rates, but applying businesses must have a long-standing history of profitability, good credit, and a detailed history of positive balance sheets. To maintain liquidity during slow times, a working capital loan agreement may increase cash flow during and ease the burden of slower seasons. Working capital loans, then, are often reserved for businesses that can meaningfully prove to banks or private lenders that their existing assets, good credit, and long history of operation justify long-term financing.

Bridge Loans

Bridge loans, also called interim loans, are given to businesses often as a short-term loan before they secure long-term financing. Bridge loans essentially bridge a gap in capital so a business can reach a certain goal or new financing terms. Since bridge loans are created with a short-term goal in mind, the loan’s interest rates reflect traditional short-term financing; they have generally high interest rates and are often backed by collateral. An example of when a bridge loan could specifically benefit a business when acquiring new office space. A bridge loan could free up liquidity to purchase a new office space while the business owners wait to sell their old space. The most common corporate use of bridge loans, however, is when waiting on finalizing long-term financing. Bridge loans have comparably fast application-to-approval time in exchange for their higher interest rates and shorter terms.

Corporate Financing Options

With several options for corporate financing, businesses should do their research and determine which type of financing is best suited for their needs. For example: While commercial loans can be used for a wide variety of financing possibilities, more pinpointed, short-term financing like bridge loans or cash flow loans may better suit specific circumstances.

The most effective way to learn what corporate financing option is best for your business is to get in contact with a financing expert. If you would like to learn more about your options when seeking a corporate loan, get in touch with a Kapitus specialist who can address your unique situation.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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How SBA Loan Forgiveness Works

Manage Your Money

by Vince Calio5 minutes / July 6, 2021

George Washington on a dollar bill, mouth covered with default? sign

Not every small business owner is going to succeed on their first try, as roughly 20% of small businesses, on average, fail in their first year of operation according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This past year has seen even worse with approximately 140,000 small businesses failing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to learn from your business failure and move on. After all, as author Sinclair Lewis once wrote, “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” So, if your small business failed to take off the way you hoped and you have an outstanding SBA loan, there is some good news: there are steps you can take to have at least some–if not all–of the loan forgiven.

No matter what type of SBA loan you took on for your business, be it a 7(a) loan or an SBA Micro Loan, if you have defaulted on a payment, you should talk to an attorney who specializes in dealing with the SBA, and consider applying for the SBA loan forgiveness program.

But, before you begin the process, there are several factors to consider when dealing with a delinquent, non-PPP SBA loan:

#1 Renegotiating With Your Lender

If you miss an SBA loan payment but are still holding out hope for your business, you’re going to get charged a late fee, so it is important that you keep a record of your payments as some lenders might not even alert you when you’ve missed a payment. Lenders generally don’t like to lose customers or money, so they most likely will seek to collect from you before they contact the SBA.

Some lenders may attempt to renegotiate the terms of the loan by offering a new loan repayment plan. If your business has been struggling due to the pandemic but is ready to get back on its feet soon, this may be a viable option for you as some lenders may offer interest-only payments until a new loan restructuring is complete.

#2 How Does it Work?

If your business is no longer viable and/or you cannot renegotiate with the direct lender and apply for loan forgiveness, the first thing you need to understand is that applying for it will not guarantee that the entire loan amount will be forgiven by the SBA.

Once you apply, the SBA will evaluate your case and step in only after the direct lender has made every effort to collect on the defaulted loan. Afterwards, the SBA may purchase back 50% to 85% of the loan, and then turn directly to you, the borrower, to pay back the remaining balance. If you cannot pay back the remaining assets in full, you can submit to the SBA an “offer in compromise,” wherein you agree to pay back some or none of the loan, depending on your circumstances.

This is the area in which you need to consult with a finance specialist or attorney who specializes in SBA loans, because the attorney can argue on your behalf that your loan should be fully forgiven. If you cannot pay back the remaining portion of the loan that the SBA states that you owe, it may actually seize your assets, which obviously is not a pleasant option.

#3 Drawbacks of SBA Loan Forgiveness

Applying for SBA loan forgiveness requires some unpleasant steps.

First, you must dissolve your business entirely and liquidate all business property. This means selling everything related to your business, including equipment, computers, office furniture, etc.
Second, be aware that asking for SBA loan forgiveness will make it difficult for you to obtain an SBA loan when you move on to your next venture.
Third, asking for SBA loan forgiveness will negatively impact your business credit score and, potentially, your personal credit score if you were the guarantor of your business. This will make it more difficult to raise financing from both traditional and alternative business lenders in the future.

#4 Would it be Better to File for Bankruptcy?

Every business situation is unique, but if there is truly no hope for your small business, chapter 7 bankruptcy may be an option to explore. This type of bankruptcy would allow you to keep your assets and stop collection on any outstanding debt from business credit cards and loans.

It is also very complex and costly, however. Chapter 7 would require court filings, as well as follow any legal procedures required under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, which was enhanced under the CARES Act passed in March 2020. Legal fees and court appearances will add up and a court may still decide that you have to liquidate some of your assets to pay off a portion of debt still owed to your creditors.

Again, this is an option you should discuss at length with a bankruptcy attorney or finance specialist.

Keep Moving Forward

Once your SBA loan has been forgiven or wiped clean, do not be discouraged. The day will come when you can try running your own business once again. Learn from your mistakes and come up with another great idea for a new business! Remember, financing options will still be available to you even if you need loan forgiveness or declared bankruptcy.

Vince Calio

Content Writer

Vince Calio has been a writer for Kapitus since 2021. Before that, he spent three years operating a dry-cleaning store in Rahway, NJ that he inherited before selling the business, so he’s familiar with the challenges of operating a small business. Prior to that, Vince spent 14 years as both a financial journalist and content writer, most notably with Institutional Investor News and Crain Communications.

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What Are The Best Long Term Working Capital Loans

Manage Your Money

by Brandon Wyson6 minutes / July 1, 2021

Loan options for securing working capital

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Banks generally offer are a good long-term capital loan options, but they have strict requirements, lengthy approval times, and possible prepayment penalties, making them suitable for established businesses with strong financial histories.
Private lenders provide competitive rates and flexibility on repayment schedules and term length. They rarely enforce prepayment penalties, typically offer quicker funding and are a good choice for businesses seeking more flexibility.
SBA loans offer terms similar to banks and typically come with lower interest rates. However, they come with strict requirements and a complex application process. They can be a viable option for businesses who do not have an immediate need for financing.

Maintaining a steady flow of working capital, otherwise known as operating capital, is the basis of a successful business. Many businesses, however, may have trouble keeping a steady flow of working capital even though they are profitable . Companies with seasonal highs, cyclical customers, or only a few clients accounting for large percentages of income may find their working capital is uneven. An effective means to securing an even flow of operation liquidity, then, is seeking long-term working capital financing, which businesses can use to cover daily operational needs including payroll, ordering, and even rent.

As businesses look for ways to secure annual operational costs, it is important to understand what long-term options are available and which is best suited for the unique situation of the business. Starting a relationship with a financial institution can also be lucrative for businesses seeking other financing services like invoice factoring or specific equipment financing, as those services are likely to be offered by banks as well as private lenders.

Types of Long-Term Working Capital Loans

Bank Loans

While banks generally offer the longest-term capital loans at comparatively low rates, these loans often have exceedingly strict requirements for applying businesses. Before approval, banks will typically want to see that the applying business has a long-standing history of profitability, good credit, and a detailed history of positive balance sheets. Bank loans for securing long-term working capital often have terms from as short as 3 years to as long as 25. Banks, however, often take the longest in distributing approved funds, sometimes as long as 60 days . In addition, they will sometimes enforce a prepayment penalty so be sure to thoroughly read and understand your contract before signing on the dotted line.

Private Lender Loans

Seeking a private lender to secure a long-term working capital loan is often a great alternative to banks since private lenders can offer competitive rates and more flexible requirements in exchange for shorter terms. Private lending working capital is often underwritten by a private investment bank, or individual, and tends to have more flexible repayment structures. Unlike traditional banks, private lenders very rarely implement prepayment penalties if a business repays a loan in full after 6 months. Private lender loans often have competitive rates, and terms up to 2 years. Private loans have some of the quickest funding time, even as little as hours after approval.

SBA Working Capital Loans

SBA loans are provided by traditional lenders like banks or even private lenders, but they are secured by the Small Business Association, meaning that if a borrower fails to pay back a loan, the SBA will cover a portion of the losses. SBA-guaranteed loans often have terms as long as banks, 3 to 25 years. But, because these loans are guaranteed by the government, they have very strict requirements and an intensive application process. Depending on a chosen lender, funds can become available anywhere from the day of approval to multiple months.

Asset Based Working Capital Loans

While asset-based financing is usually associated with short-term funding solutions, a company can still seek long-term working capital financing with their existing assets. Instead of using invoices as collateral, larger assets like real estate paired with equipment can lead to agreements that secure long-term capital. When dealing with an asset-based lender, there is no universal rule to determine how much asset collateral a business may need to secure a loan, but long-term capital often requires long-term commitment of assets like commercial real estate, vehicles, equipment, or even intellectual properties. Most asset-based, long-term working capital loans have terms from 1 to even 30 years. Asset-based financing agreements tend to take slightly longer to reach a borrower, often 1 to 2 weeks after approval.

FinTech & Online Loans

FinTech, or financial technology lenders, are likely the best way for start-ups or businesses with a less than stellar credit and revenue profile to find long-term working capital financing options. Fintech loans typically have very easy application processes and businesses can often get same day approval on one of several FinTech financing options. After finalizing an agreement, a business owner can have gone from application to capital in as little as a day. FinTech loans vary significantly by lender. And the sheer density of marketplaces and options means that rates are regularly subject to change. Terms often can range from 6 months to 5 years and as explained, FinTech loans are often the fastest way to secure capital with the least up-front revenue.

Cash Advance

While not the best option for every business and every situation, Merchant cash advances are an unexpected, but viable, option for long-term working capital. Cash advance lenders can sometimes increase terms to levels that compete with traditional long-term working capital loans. Cash advances, however, are not loans. By agreeing to a long-term working capital deal with a cash advance lender, a business owner is selling a piece of their own future revenue at a discounted rate. By extending a payback period by 12 or 24 months, a cash advance can act quite similar to other long-term working capital options. Unlike short-term cash advances, long-term agreements generally demand that borrowers have good credit and balance sheets.

Choosing a long-term financial strategy is often daunting. Depending on your business’s size and field of operation, certain financing options may prove more helpful than others. If you would like to learn more about your long-term working capital options, feel free to speak to a Kapitus specialist who can address your unique situation.

Brandon Wyson

Content Writer

Brandon Wyson is a professional writer, editor, and translator with more than nine years of experience across three continents. He became a full-time writer with Kapitus in 2021 after working as a local journalist for multiple publications in New York City and Boston. Before this, he worked as a translator for the Japanese entertainment industry. Today Brandon writes educational articles about small business interests.

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