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Financing Questions: Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

  • How Can I Raise Money For My Small Business?
  • What Types Of Loans Exist For Business Financing?
  • What Do Banks Look For When Considering A Loan Request?
  • How Do I Write A Good Loan Proposal?

How Can I Raise Money For My Small Business?

Even though, raising capital is the most basic of all business activities, it can be a complex and frustrating process. There are several sources to consider when looking for financing. The primary source of capital for most new businesses comes from savings and other forms of personal resources. While credit cards are often used to finance business needs, there may be better options available, even for very small loans.

Many entrepreneurs also look to private sources such as friends and family when starting out in a business venture. Often, money is loaned interest-free or at a low-interest rate, which can be beneficial when getting started.

Outside of personal resources, the most common source of funding is a bank or credit union. Venture capital firms also help companies grow in exchange for equity or partial ownership.

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What Types Of Loans Exist For Business Financing?

To successfully obtain a loan, you must know exactly how much money you need, why you need it, and how you will pay it back. Your written proposal must convince the lender that you are a good credit risk.

Terms of loans vary from lender to lender, but there are two basic types of loans: Short-term and long-term.

Generally, a short-term loan has a maturity of up one year. These include working capital loans, accounts receivable loans, and lines of credit

Long-term loans have maturities greater than one year but usually less than seven years. Real estate and equipment loans may have maturities of up to 25 years. Long-term loans are used for major business expenses such as purchasing real estate and facilities, construction, durable equipment, furniture and fixtures, vehicles, etc.

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What Do Banks Look For When Considering A Loan Request?

When reviewing a loan request, the bank official is primarily concerned about repayment. To help determine this ability, many loan officers will order a copy of your business credit report from a credit-reporting agency.

Using the credit report and the information you have provided, the lending officer will consider the following issues:

  • Have you invested savings or personal equity in your business totaling at least 25 to 50 percent of the loan you are requesting? Remember, a lender or investor will not finance 100 percent of your business.
  • Do you have a sound record of credit-worthiness as indicated by your credit report, work history and letters of recommendation? This is very important.
  • Do you have sufficient experience and training to operate a successful business?
  • Have you prepared a loan proposal and business plan that demonstrate your understanding of and commitment to the success of the business?
  • Does the business have sufficient cash flow to make the monthly payments on the amount of the loan request?

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How Do I Write A Good Loan Proposal?

A good loan proposal contains the following key elements:

General Information

  • Business name and address, names of principals and their social security numbers.
  • Purpose of the loan: exactly what the loan will be used for and why it is needed.
  • Amount of money required: the exact amount you need to achieve your purpose.

Business Description

  • Details of what kind of business it is, how long it has existed, number of employees, and current business assets.
  • Ownership structure: details on your company’s legal structure.

Management Profile

Develop a short statement on each principal in your business, including background information such as education, experience, skills, and accomplishments.

Market Information

Clearly define your company’s products as well as your markets, identify your competition, and explain how your business competes in the marketplace. Profile your customers and explain how your business can satisfy their needs.

Financial Information

  • Financial statements: balance sheets and income statements for the past three years. If you are just starting out, provide a projected balance sheet and income statement.
  • Personal financial statements on yourself and other principal owners of the business.
  • Collateral you would be willing to pledge as security for the loan.

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frequently asked questions

  • What Is A Virtual CFO & How Can It Transform My Business?
    • a. A Virtual CFO can be a much-needed sounding board, coach, and guide. Outsourced Virtual CFO is generally not just one person, but an experienced team of professionals providing a full-stack Accounting and Finance Department at a fraction of the cost that it would otherwise cost a business to hire even just one full-time CFO internally. The right virtual CFO service team, such as the one at Perpetual CPA, can deliver timely, detailed, comprehensive financial reporting, interpret the financial data, prioritize recommendations, give expert guidance on how to execute those recommendations, and ultimately give a better path to business success.
  • How can a Virtual Accounting Department help small businesses scale and grow?
    • a. A growing number of small businesses are opting to outsource services such as IT, human resources, or accounting. The benefit of a Virtual Accounting Department is that the company can reduce or increase services to accommodate current business needs. Because the service provider has multiple clients they can absorb fluctuations in workflow more easily than the average small/medium business can on its own.

      b. A Virtual Accounting Department can integrate with a company’s own accounting department to create a blended solution or provide a full-stack accounting department, including Accounting Staff, Manager, Controller, and Virtual CFO. By using a Virtual Accounting Department Small business owners don’t have to worry about hiring, training, figuring out compensation, and payroll compliance for the internal accounting team. Also as the business grows and new and more complex accounting and tax issues come up, the outsourced Virtual Accounting Department can provide all the needed expertise to facilitate continued business success.
  • What are the benefits of hiring a CPA firm?
    • a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do a lot more than just crunch numbers and prepare taxes. They provide valuable expertise and strategies to help businesses and individuals achieve their business and financial goals. A CPA firm can help small businesses with management financial reporting, tax compliance, strategic business advice, and much more. Firms like Perpetual CPA, that specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve growth, can also provide Virtual CFO services, that help the business owners have the foresight into the short-term future cashflows and be able to more successfully navigate their business performance.
  • What are the best strategies for small business growth?
    • a. A business growth strategy is, simply, a plan of how a business gets from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future.

      b. Some of the questions to consider when coming up with a growth strategy are:
      i. Where will the business get new customers from?
      ii. How will the business expand into new markets?
      iii. What new products could the business offer?

      c. In reality, what happens with many small businesses, is that they generally achieve a specific level of business activity or sales and then the business growth trend flattens. In those cases, working with a firm like Perpetual CPA, which provides Virtual CFO services, can help small businesses avoid stagnation. Virtual CFO services, aside from providing timely accounting and tax reporting, can also provide valuable insight into the current performance of the business, as well as, foresight into the future cash flows for the business. Perpetual CPA Virtual CFO team helps small businesses interpret their financial information and come up with business strategies to help improve business performance and achieve growth.
  • What are the best strategies for small business risk management?
    • a. A risk management plan helps a business develop a detailed strategy to deal with certain risks that are particularly important for the businesses’ success.

      b. For many small and medium-sized businesses, the easiest way to develop and implement a business risk management plan is to work with a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA. Large corporations invest a lot of resources and time into managing risk, which is a material factor that allows those large corporations to continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year. Small businesses, however, almost never manage any business risks, which is the major reason that over half of all the small businesses do not survive for more than 5 years. Generally, small business owners are not experienced corporate business professionals and lack the needed business knowledge, yet they often have to wear many hats while trying to get their businesses off the ground. In those situations, a CPA firm such as Perpetual CPA, can help small businesses better manage tax compliance risks, cash flow, internal controls, business administration, financial reporting, and much more.
  • What is Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO? / How do Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO services work?
    • a. When small businesses start spinning wheels, it is a good time to consider hiring a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA, which can provide both Strategic Advice and Virtual CFO services.

      b. As a strategic advisor, the CPA firm will work with business management to improve the effectiveness and profitability of the business. They will look holistically at the business and find ways to operate the business more efficiently, increase customers through additional or improved marketing or improve customer touchpoints and service.

      c. As a Virtual CFO, the CPA firm is like a part-time version of a traditional CFO or Chief Financial Officer plus a full Accounting support team. They perform the tasks that in a larger organization would be performed by the CFO, Controller, and Accounting Staff such as preparing and overseeing the budget process, identifying and analyzing current and future trends, and developing strategies for the business growth.
  • How can timely financial visibility and management reporting help with better business decisions and growth?
    • a. A simple way to a successful business is to prioritize the timely financial visibility and management reporting as it means:
      i. Timely financial information and analysis are essential for making informed decisions, evaluating your company’s results, improving financial performance, and ensuring you are on the path to meet your strategic goals.
      ii. Management reporting is a source of business intelligence that helps business leaders make more accurate, data-driven decisions. But, these reports are most useful if they are available timely and the management receives proper interpretation of the business financial information.

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