5 Proven Essentials – How to get a Small Business Loan

Project Management

For managing your business affairs this definitely will help you, because if your thinking about how to get a small business loan, you will need to show that you are progressive with your professionalism.

• Jira: That is one of the main facets of Jira which gives management the tools to plan and organize efficiently. Team assignments can be prioritized and tracked seamlessly in a very illustrative manner. You also have your typical customizable workflows which fit into the characteristics of the project management bucket. Let me not forget to mention that it can be used with over 3000 apps. So it’s worth taking a look at Jira.
• Smartsheet: If you are a company involved in collaboration, planning and managing tasks, Smartsheet’s Enterprise level  solution might be for you. Smartsheet is one of those platforms that broke out in the early days of  Google launching their web store and since then they have stood out from the crowd, with their attention to detail regarding the true essence of project management as a profession. 
• Zoho Projects: Another cloud-based solution that has proven itself over the years is called Zoho projects. It has always been a strange company for me. The reason why I say that is because I just really can’t stand the brand name. I’ve probably only used Zoho twice and not in a serious way. Adding to that, I was just really testing their platform out and never found any issues. Now, having said that, the truth is that Zoho has been doing really well, when it comes to software development, application development and marketing their brand (which I hate by the way) but, you have to give Jack his jacket, they’ve been doing a great job, from their features, solutions and security, the Zoho Team whoever they are have been ascending Zoho into the major contender stratosphere. 
• Mavenlink: At each stage of the project this platform allows you to do what the other platforms allow you to do, such as manage and customize many of the features. Some of the solutions provided by Mavenlink are project collaboration, project plans, portfolio management, resource management, templates, project accounting, and business intelligence. The Mavenlink supports email, training and tickets.
• Wrike: If the solutions above don’t suit you here is another cloud platform which handles projects and collaboration along with all the features a small business needs to get their house in order to access business loans. You can gain visibility as well if you use Wrike as a tool the right way because it is a cross platform solution and the option to integrate and customize the technology with other well known applications. It is reported that this solution is used by the likes of AirBnB, TGI Friday’s, Esurance and more companies of that kind of stature. 

Accounting

This is the step that usually everyone assumes is the only thing they need to pay attention to for their business, but, again, if you’re thinking of how to get a small business loan this should be a step you would have already taken. Ensuring your accounting cloud services are in place.

• QuickBooks: One of the companies that started out with services dedicated to small businesses which  Scott Cook and Tom Proulx spun off from Quicken. I remember back in 2000 to 2003 when the buzz of QuickBooks began.  QuickBooks was on the heels of Peachtree Accounting which to me was the most popular brand at the time but quickly QuickBooks became an unstoppable force  dominating the emerging Cloud industry when it comes to accounting online. QuickBooks provides you with easy online anytime access with the automatic backup of data, expense tracking  along with the capability to create and send invoices.  today I think this is the best solution for any small business who wants to get off the ground quickly with a strong, sturdy, robust, counting system that allows them to scale on the fly.

• Xero: This accounting software is designed around small businesses to meet their needs on the fly, whether it’s providing them with services on the go, on any device, integrated with many of the well-known business services software-as-a-service apps. I think zero is right up there with QuickBooks when it comes to flexibility scalability and ease-of-use. Xero provides their users with payroll services, banking services, expense management, project management, mobile app capabilities, reporting capabilities, asset management forecasting and much more. Xero definitely gets a thumbs up and is one of the top five Accounting Solutions in my opinion. I’ll definitely recommend any company that is embracing the age of APIs.
• Freshbooks: Over 68 applications have been integrated with Freshbooks. Now compare that to zeros 800 Integrations with apps and quickbooks 650 integrations. So the question is does that make freshbooks any less competitive?  I’ll leave that for you to decide, what I would say though is that it seems freshbooks offers many of the identical services that Xero or QuickBooks provide therefore it’s going to come down to a matter of personal preference. said that I do love  the design and the flow of freshbooks from a visual perspective it seems very intuitive and easy-to-use, but most of all I think they’re leading when it comes to small businesses and that’s for sure, with 60% off for up to 6 months definitely beats out Xero and QuickBooks who only offer a 30 day free trial.

• Wave: This is one of my favorite accounting platforms because it’s absolutely free. Wave has a simple but yet intuitive design and flow. This is a platform built for entrepreneurs, built for freelancers and built for that business that really doesn’t have that much cash. Wave is a dream come true for a business just getting their feet wet and trying to get off the ground. This is an amazing service, it’s easy to set up, it’s free, it’s available anywhere, you stay organized for the tax season, you can collaborate with accountants and it has top-notch security. What more do you need?

• Zipbooks: Zipbooks seem to be the most simple of them all but very very powerful and useful for what a small business is intending to do, which is tightening up on their spending therefore in a nutshell Zipbooks provides you with their Starter package they’re Smarter package, they’re Sophisticated package and Accountants package. For more info hit the link above. 

Human Resources

• Factorial HR: FactorialHR is an amazing human resource software which provides you with some amazing tools such as time off time tracking document management payroll summaries HR reporting application tracking systems,which in most cases can be customized to your company’s needs. it’s extremely user-friendly, it’s very intuitive and easy to understand,great design and workflow that employees will understand very easily.

• KRONOS: Do you need a solution that is industry-specific that is a bit more granular, that goes into a lot more detail and into exactly the functions of your specific industry? Then Kronos is one of the best options out there to get the job done. Kronos provides you with workforce management time and attendance, employee scheduling, absence management, labor activities, analytics, human Capital Management, benefits administration, talent acquisition, onboarding, Human Resources, talent management, payroll, small and medium-sized business services, compliance and regulations support, then the list goes on. As an addition, some of the industries that they serve are healthcare, manufacturing, retail, higher education, state and local government, police and corrections, distribution, contract services and banking. My observation is that Kronos is very much on the Enterprise side of things but it is still worth a look for the Small business transitioning to a Medium sized business grade Solutions provider and you may have to have some pennies in your pocket to get started, but it’s going to save you some cash in the long run. It’s a great investment for any small business streamlining their Talent and HR management back office.
• UltiPro: Here is another well used HCM cloud solution called UltiPro that provides services I would consider to be Small to Medium size business grade solutions. They provide an end to end solution which is significantly promoted to benefit any C-level executive, Head of department or Manager with solutions such as time and attendance, payroll administration, scheduling, tax management, analytics, reporting, recruiting, onboarding, career development, performance management and business intelligence. I would definitely give this solution a try.
• Infor CloudSuite: A solution built on AWS which is said to provide reliability, performance, scalability, agility and security designed for clients in over 61 zones across 20 AWS regions. Infor CloudSuite provides single sign-on is another feature of their cross platform capabilities which are definitely industry grade. They also use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a conversational user experience.
• Dayforce: Dayforce HCM facilitates the alignment of many elements of HR into a cloud solution. If your employee size is between 100 to 1000, Dayforce is able to handle most of the common and challenging problems facing companies today. A few of the solutions which can be leveraged are payroll, taxes, and professional services. Single employee record, Unified payroll and time, A special feature called team relate (A feature which allows management to track employees engagement on a daily basis), Mobile access,  organizational charts, Clock Solutions and more. Dayforce seems like a winner.

Document management

• OnlyOffice: This is a free solution with an entire office suite which features document editing, document management, mail and projects tools. Onlyoffice saves you from having to switch back and forth between applications to get tasks done. There is even your own built-in CRM on the calendar.
• Microsoft SharePoint Online: Much has been written on Microsoft SharePoint Online and  this is definitely a multifaceted solution as Microsoft has several variations of this particular offering and if done very very well worldwide with this solution. You’ll be able to create, store and share content on the web. You’d also be able to build internet sites and create pages, which you will then be able to share across your company.This solution is full-fledged enterprise grade in my book and you may be able to take advantage of some of the pricing available to get you started on the platform.
• Rubex: With Rubex  you can create workflows, instances, helpful.dashboards and automation.Rubex can also name and store your files using information from the files themselves. You can analyse workflows in depth, build templates for folder structures, create lists of document names, share files securely, modify permissions with folder expiration and a few more things many industries will love. 
• Docuware: Allows you to securely digitize your information effortlessly and communicate that to management or otherwise. Docuware is the perfect tool for remote teams through distributed regions. The solution really helps you move away from the traditional  paper based traditional workflows.
• Hightail: Hightail allows you to send large files while collaborating on projects and we know that communication can be misconstrued a lot when it comes to information passing from person to person via email which a lot of times carries unintended tones. Why not prevent having people comment in real time. I would call Hightail a creative visual process to be managed in a collaborative fashion with a customized document management solution specific to digital, visual and artistic document management. 

Supply Chain management

Aligning supply and demand can be a challenge for any business and a small business faces these challenges the same way an Enterprise organization does. Many times a small business is much more vulnerable because they may not have the systems, frameworks, workflows, compliance and policies in place to exploit these efficiencies. Modern Supply chain software is designed to exist in an ever changing environment, which co-exists with customers, suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and partners. The adoption of supply chain management platforms which exist in the cloud can significantly accelerate your business and optimize your processes and supply chain networks. Its a bit difficult to find the differences between the more technical software solutions but my assessment is that it comes down to what you actually need and price. See below the platforms we think are on the top of the list.

• SAP Supply Chain Planning Software
• ORACLE SCM Cloud
• Epicor
• GT Nexus
• Sage X3

3: Get your outstanding Tax Returns done

Okay let’s talk about tax returns for a second have you been thinking about you know getting yourself in shape for a loan you know this is one of the key things that any financial institution is going to ask you for, whether it’s a covid-19 situation or not, at the end of the day a bank is a bank  and a lender is a lender. A are in business to make money  on or manage people’s money, full stop, is that simple.  I’m sure it’s not popular to say about right now but facts are facts therefore this means despite this crisis  lenders are still going to want to know about the Financial Health of your company  before COVID-19 and  one of the best indicators of a business’s health is there financial statement and their tax returns which is an illustration of your financial statement. What actually makes this a solid thing is that people very rarely misrepresent information on this document. So this is a really strong indicator for any financial institution validating the financial situation before providing you with money.

With regards to this year 2020 the due date was March 20th regarding sales tax payments and returns, meanwhile interest and penalties which exist may be waived or pushed to another date  due to the covid-19 pandemic. Check out my New York state tax department on what they had to say about it.

4: Get your Financial Statements done

You know I’ve learned very early in business that what doesn’t get measured doesn’t get managed and it’s very difficult for a business to know where it’s going if it doesn’t know how it’s going to get there. too many businesses place all the emphasis on business operations. I can’t emphasize enough on financial management and good financial management begins with good bookkeeping. It’s really just to the detriment of a business when your finances are not in order or not properly done. The point is, if you are experiencing revenues, then you must invest in some sort of accounting software or a freelance accountant. It’s just common sense and good business. 

5: Create a realistic Sales Forecast

This is typically the activity that most small businesses get engaged in; whether it is outlining the cost of their materials or supplies or how much they are going to sell it for and what the markup is going to be. Some small business owners would then illustrate in a basic way the market size and segments of those markets while arriving at a number by which to calculate future revenues. Most times because of poor bookkeeping or accounting practices, understanding the following is overlooked. 

• Revenue
• Cost of goods sold
• Gross profit 
• Selling General and Advertising / Marketing
• Operating Expenditure
• Total Expenses
• EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) 
• Operating Income/Loss
• Income Taxes
• Net Profit/Loss

 All of the above needs to be forecasted in detail and have supporting assumptions which would help you with building the case that the loan will be put into good use and the company stands to see increased revenue as a direct benefit.