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Invoice Factoring Can Save Your Business

By Author: Troy Degarnham
Article: Invoice factoring is the basic practice of selling invoices to financial factoring companies for the purpose of receiving money right away. Smaller companies often fall into the financial trap of not having available resources and therefore sell their invoices to financial agencies in order to gain working capital. This practice does not require the business to swallow more debt and in fact operates in an opposite manner. Small businesses that don’t utilize the financial tool of accounts receivable factoring acquire more debt by waiting for the accounts receivables to be paid.

Invoice factoring is typically used as a measure to avoid falling further into debt. Without this effective financial management tool many businesses have to adopt more loans or alternatively, put up more collateral for existing loans. Invoice factoring is available at a minimal fee, which makes it an attractive substitute to assuming more debt. In fact, accounts receivable factoring fees are usually set up by way of discount and these rates differ from individual company to company. The great advantage to this type of liquidation is that there are no interest fees to pay and the result is most often better profit margins.

There are many financial companies that offer invoice factoring services. The individual agencies will set up a company with the right set of accounts receivable factoring parameters. After the professionals from the invoice factoring agency assess the individual situation, they will set up the receivables to be factored and proceed accordingly.

Financial agencies that offer accounts receivable factoring are located worldwide and support every industry under the sun. Even truck drivers can sell their invoices to an invoice factoring financial service to free up capital fast. One of the most attractive aspects to an accounts receivable factoring agency is that they customize the service to each business’s individual requirements.

There are as many different types of invoice factoring agencies, as they are rates for factoring invoices. Some purchase the invoices no matter what the receivable total is and some accounts receivable factoring agencies will only liquidate invoices that accumulate more than $100, 000. Generally the higher the invoice factoring total is, the lower the rates will be to take advantage of this financial escape. In cases where the total is in excess of a hundred thousand, a solid accounts receivable factoring agency will offer rates that can be as low as two per cent!

There are many different types of invoice factoring agencies. For example, some agencies will only serve those businesses in the medical profession while others only serve purchase order factoring. There are some accounts receivable factoring agencies that are specifically designed to cater to small business and offer many great advantages that a larger agency wouldn’t necessarily offer. Despite the type of invoice factoring agency that is required for every individual business need, accounts receivable factoring typically happens within a 24 hour time period. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com Troy Degarnham is the author and webmaster of http://www.accounts-receivable-financing.info, an informative website about Invoice Factoring. Extensive help and tips on account receivable factoring, factoring companies, asset, small business, non recourse and other factoring financial services.

Posted in Business Financing.

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Understanding The Article Of Incorporation

By Author: David Gass
Article: An Article of Incorporation or Certificate of Incorporation is the set of rules that help govern management, and you file it with the governing authority, which is either the state or the particular regulatory authority. An Article of Incorporation covers the basics of the inception of the company like the board of directors, details about the number of shares, and its ownership. Although the rules and bylaws vary among different states the basic draft remains almost same.

What an Article of Incorporation Covers
Article of Incorporation covers the following necessary details that are to be disclosed while filing for Incorporation:

- The name of the Incorporator or the person, who is organizing the company.

- The details of share holders including the amount of shares they own.

- The details of The Board of Directors.

- The details of the registered officer, the company’s legal representatives, and the authorized signatory of the company.

Key Provisions
The whole process of Incorporation authorizes a group of people coming together to work on a particular segment in a particular manner, as a legal entity. The company proposes to the registrar of Aboriginal Corporations, after the registration and the authorization from the Government authority, that the incorporation is in place and the company is incorporated. By incorporation under the Aboriginal Councils and Association Act of 1976 (ACA Act) a company can reap the following benefits:

- The members of the corporation may not be held accountable or liable for the corporation’s debts, if the promoters disclosed this intent at the time of registration.

- The members of the corporation consider or impose the customs of the state in some cases, or they provide a provision to consider such a tradition and take care not to disturb it.

- An indigenous corporation is authorized to operate across states in the whole country.

- There may be provisions for particular domain corporations rendering them exempt from filing annual financial statements.

- The cost of filing for incorporation is less.

- The registrar of Aboriginal Corporations can provide client assistance & support

Key Features
The Registrar and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) document and monitor the laws related to the buying of securities or selling of them. Issues like designating the number of members for a majority, public offerings, and the plan for public offerings, also find attention in the act. They include guidelines related to the proxy solicitation and mergers in the act, and subsequent by-laws. Voting rights, dissolution issues, issues related to dividends for the shareholders, and the division of profits, are adhered to. The act also defines indemnification and the limitation of liability of the directors and the officers, contracts, advancement of expenses, interpretations of bylaws, and the incapability of a few certain provisions.

Additional Help
There are software packages available for entities, which intend to become corporations. This software helps with the required documentation and other compliance related issues, to make the work more smooth and streamlined. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com David Gass is President of Business Credit Services, Inc. His company publishes afree weekly e-newsletter on Small Business Consulting at their web site http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com

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Corporate Resolutions – Why they are needed

By Author: David Gass
Article: A corporate resolution is a formal process adopted by the Board of Directors of a company that authorizes the officers or management of the corporation to undertake actions on behalf of the company. This corporate resolution has the intent of amending the corporations existing terms of reference, by-laws or regulations or to provide exact advice to the corporation’s management on specific matters regarding the operation of the business.

A corporate resolution can cover a wide range of topics and issues and can be used to hire or appoint the officers of the corporation, hire or dismiss employees, or refer a matter to a subcommittee of the Board of Directors for further study and review. It can also be used to approve a major transaction or merger involving the corporation to buy new equipment, property, land or facilities that are required by the company. A corporate resolution might also be required in order to approve the sale of company assets, to issue new stock in the company, or to alter the ownership structure of the corporation.

Corporate resolutions can be placed before the Board of Directors by shareholders, the managers or management of the business, or by the Board of Directors or the officers of the corporation. All corporate resolutions must be passed by a majority of the Board of Directors meeting in session and any corporate resolutions which receive this approval have to be recorded in the minutes of that Board of Directors meeting.

These corporate resolutions have to be filed with the appropriate regulatory body in which the corporation has been registered and all shareholders must receive notice that the corporate resolution has been passed by the Board of Directors. All corporate resolutions which have been approved during the business year must be also presented to the Annual General Meeting of the corporation and the officers of the Board of Directors need to be available to answer questions to the shareholders at this meeting to answer any questions they may have about the corporate resolutions.

Sometimes the impact of a corporate resolution is so great that the company may choose to present the corporate resolution at the Annual General Meeting of the corporation for input by the shareholders before taking a final decision on the resolution of the corporate resolution. This allows the company to answer questions and build support for the corporate resolution before making a final decision.
A corporate resolution is not normally required for the general operation of the business since that has been delegated to the officers and senior management in the original articles of incorporation. It is usually reserved for those major decisions that either have an impact on the ownership structure of the corporation or to appoint new officers to positions within the corporation. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com David Gass is President of Business Credit Services, Inc. His company publishes afree weekly e-newsletter on Small Business Consulting at their web site http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com

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Going Public via Initial or Direct Public Offering: The Role of Your Board of Directors

By Author: Joel Arberman
Article: A company’s board of directors can play an important role in determining the kind of funding a public offering receives. If going public is your goal, the selection of board members should be given especially careful consideration.

The board of directors serves a couple of important functions for a company that has gone public or plans to in the near future. First, the selection of particular board members can send a signal to investors regarding the quality of a company and the expertise behind the scenes. A board that is composed of highly-regarded experts in a field will be viewed much more favorably than a corporation with a board made up primarily of insiders. Knowledgeable outside experts bring connections, expertise, and a lack of bias that cannot be obtained with insiders.

The board of directors also serves as a powerful ally to stockholders, particularly when a company’s CEO doesn’t own a controlling share of the corporation. In addition to providing guidance, the board of directors may have the ability to overrule the CEO. In some cases, it can even remove the CEO from the company. Because all major corporate issues go through the board of directors, stockholders are wary of a company with too many insiders on the board.

In preparing for an initial public offering, it may be necessary to establish a board of directors or change the composition of your existing board. To maximize the effectiveness of your board, be prepared to perform a realistic assessment of your current management, along with its strengths and weaknesses. In areas where your management is weak, select board members who are strong. This ensures that board members can be an actual asset to the company as opposed to mere placeholders.

Because the board of directors exists to oversee the corporation and preserve shareholder value, it is important that your board is perceived as objective, if not slightly biased in favor of stockholders. While appointing outsiders is a good start, it’s also important to align the incentives of the board members with those of the shareholders. Providing compensation to board members in the form of company stock is an excellent way to accomplish this. If the board of directors does well when the company does well, the board of directors will be much more inclined to ensure that the company performs well.

While the relationship between management and the board of directors may seem adversarial at times, it’s important to remember that everyone involved has the same larger goal, to ensure the well-being of the company. Unfortunately, numerous opportunities exist for unscrupulous managers to sacrifice the company’s best interest for personal gains, leading to occasionally tense relations for even the most honest managers. Understand why the board of directors exists and learn to consider the board members your allies instead of your enemies. By working together towards the common goals of profit and expansion, your shareholders will grow to trust that your company and your board of directors is acting in everyone’s best interest. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com Joel Arberman is the Managing Member of Public Financial Services, LLC. We help private companies through the process of going public via an initial public offering (ipo)
or direct public offering. Learn more at www.PublicFinancial.com

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Are Your Shipments Accompanied By A Proper Bill of Lading?

By Author: Wade Anderson
Article: A bill of lading is a written certification given by a carrier that accepts specific goods having been received on board in the form of cargo for the purpose of transportation to a place of destination and to a particular consignee.

This form is usually signed by the master of the ship or the shipping department of the company that will transport the goods to the consignee. The term “bill” means schedule of costs of services and “lading” which means loading cargo onto a ship or some other form of transport and together means sending cargo at a specified cost to the sender.

A standardized form of the document comprises a contract for the carriage of goods to meet a number of ends, some of which are:

1. Forms evidence of the existence of a valid contract for carriage of goods on behalf of the consignor and spells out all the terms and conditions of the contract
2. It forms a receipt which is signed by the consignee stating that the goods received conform in description to the goods consigned
3. Though it is a document of transfer, it does not mean that it is a negotiable instrument

There are three main types of this document as follows:

1. Straight bill of lading is also called a non-negotiable bill of lading. In this case the goods are consigned to a particular person and are not negotiable. That means that any endorsee will not acquire any better rights than those of the endorser.
2. Order bill of lading is also known as a negotiable bill of lading. This form will have express wording that states that the goods are to be delivered to the consignee or such person or persons that are assigned as consignees by the original consignee
3. Bearer bill of lading is a form that implies that the goods are to be delivered to whosoever holds the bill of lading. A bearer bill of lading can be negotiated through material delivery.

It most cases of national and international systems, a bill of lading does not mean that it is a document of title; rather it is identification that a consignee or a certain individual has the right to take possession of the goods at the time they are delivered. However, when the goods get lost or are damaged in transit, or if delivery gets delayed or is refused, this form does not become enforceable because of the terms of the privity of contract which do not give a third party the right to enforce the contract. Most often, the legal answer to this problem lies in the fact that it is treated as a principle of subrogation wherein the consignee has the same rights as the consignor, thus granting justice to all parties concerned.

A bill of lading must have the name of the consignor, the consignee’s name, the vessel’s master’s name, the vessel’s name, places of departure and destination, the freight’s price as well as the marks and number of goods shipped. The document is usually made out in three parts. One part is sent on board with the goods to the consignee. The second part is sent either through the postal service or some other similar means and the third part is kept by the merchant or by the shipper.

Separate bills of lading may be issued for inland or domestic transportation as well as for ocean or air transportation or in some cases a through bill of lading can be had that covers all forms of transportation.

Without expending too much effort, time or money, a bill of lading form may be obtained from vendors who sell these quality documents that contain all the salient points of a good document. All that remains is to fill out these documents and have any modifications made to it as are necessary and a completed form will be ready for use without too much effort. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com Wade Anderson is a CPA and operates DigitalWorkTools.com
Legal Forms and Business Documents
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Bill Of Lading

Posted in Import Export.

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Plenty of Shipping Franchises to Choose From

By Author: Art Gib
Article: One thing that will never change is that people will ship packages. In fact, they are shipping packages more often now than ever before. At times they want these packages shipped quickly and don’t feel the post office will be able to do the job. Or they may not trust the post office to ship their package without damage. These are the times that they will search out the shipping stores that are privately owned by a person who has bought into a shipping franchise. These stores seem to be more convenient for many people not only due to quality shipping that is quick but also because their hours are longer than that of the post office.

In this article, we will describe several different shipping franchises that you can use to jump into the shipping business. It’s a great way to go to work on your own and to help out those people who are looking for a good alternative to the post office. First off is PostNet, which offers not only mailing services but copying, and other choices. At the moment, they are one of the hottest choices out there for a shipping franchise due to the variety of services they offer to a customer. Another is the Evans network which will help to set up your business as far as computers and training of employees and also drivers. Another choice would be Parcel Plus, which offers global shipping, parcel and cargo packing plus pickup and domestic shipping. Or the Service Source which is known as having a very reasonable investment to get into the franchise.

Those are not the only choice that you have though. Another is Postal Annex, which is stated as being a proven leader in the shipping franchise business. Still more choices are Postal and Business Centers, MatchPoint, Kwik Kopy, Postal Connections, and even UPS.

With so many choices available to get into a franchise with you can see why you will need to compare each of the choices and figure out what is best for you and your family. Of course different franchise opportunities will cost you a different amount to invest in the business opportunity that they are offering you.

You will want to also compare the different choices and how much they help with the setup of your store and the training of employees. These extra things that a franchise company will offer you could very well make the difference between succeeding in your business and possible failure. So compare wisely and pick the best one for you. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com InExpress USA is another discount shipping franchise that has grown into an international business. They can get entrepreneurs set up quickly with their own store. For more information on this company, visit http://www.inxpressusa.com/franchise.php. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.

Posted in Import Export.

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Do You Build Brand Loyalty?

By Author: Elinor Stutz
Article: Many years ago, a television commercial featured people proudly displaying their black eyes and proclaiming,I would rather fight than switch. They were referring to their loyalty to a particular company brand.

It appears that many companies have lost sight of the importance of customer loyalty and that it is built by offering the best possible customer service. Two examples are sighted below.

The following horrendous customer service story was recently featured in Money Magazine:

A customer purchased what he thought was a disc storage drive. Upon opening the box at home, he instead found a bag of beans. He returned the box to the chain store and asked for another box containing a new disc storage drive which he thought he had purchased.

The Complaints Rep replied the exchange is the responsibility of the manufacturer. The customer wrote a letter to the manufacturer describing the circumstances that took place. The manufacturer responded that the product exchange would be the responsibility of the store.

This left the customer in the middle of a circular argument that could not be fixed and feeling very frustrated.

This savvy customer wrote a letter to the CEO of this well known retail chain. He immediately received satisfaction by receipt of a coupon for a brand new disc storage drive.

A number of pointers come to mind in reading this story:

If the CEO were smart, he would review the company return policies. Due to the finger pointing between the store and the manufacturer, the CEO had to intervene to settle the matter thus taking his time away from more valuable pursuits. This particular time waster needs to be dealt with across all of his stores to avoid these costly interruptions in the future.

The next problem the CEO needs to fix is to make it a policy for customer service representatives to immediately take care of all unusual situations and satisfy the customers within reason. By taking care of problems immediately, they will prevent the spread of bad word-of-mouth.

Think about it – this story landed in Money Magazine and the name of the company was mentioned several times.

Analytically speaking, the cost of exchanging a disc storage drive for a sack of beans would have been far less costly than the loss of the complaining customer and all of the people he told, they told, and some of the readers of Money Magazine.

Review all of your policies when it comes to customer service. You will find cost cutting measures, improve client relations and enjoy many more Smooth Sales!

The next example is of an airline trip gone very wrong. Due to bad weather, the first leg of the journey was delayed by 90 minutes. Passengers were told, Do not worry. Over 30 passengers are on the next flight and you will not be left behind. This statement was anything but true.

Not only was the flight not available, it was completely cancelled. And this was one cancelled flight among many at the connecting city. The customer service line was extremely long and only two customer service reps were on hand. The wait in this long line was two hours from start to finish.

When it was finally her turn, this customer was told to Run to the next airline in another terminal to try to get the last seat. The person behind the counter smiled and said, I am putting you on the flight but you have to Run to customer service to let them know.

There was another two hour line in which I was expected to wait. When I finally made it to the counter, the service rep said I was not in the computer and accused me of lying.

I firmly suggested she call the person at the gate. Finally, a seat was confirmed on the midnight flight and I was told to Run back to the gate. A lot of exercise in running was had that night, but it entailed yet another 90 minute wait.

My opinion is these employees are not properly trained. They tell the customers what they want to hear rather than the truth. It is easier to work with the truth, particularly in stressful situations so that you know what you can count on. And as for brand loyalty to these airlines, I feel none. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC and author of Nice Girls DO Get the Sale trains others on her proven relationship selling techniques through services and products. Her book sells worldwide. Services include training, coaching, and speaking.
Products
suit all learning styles.

Visit Smooth Sale or call 800-704-1499.

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What To Consider When Starting A New Home Business

By Author: Donald Pope
Article: Starting a new home business can be both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. You are finally venturing out on your own and starting a career with something you enjoy. When starting a home business, there are a number of things you will have to take care of. Because of this, there are some things you will want to consider prior to starting your new business from home.

The first thing you want to think about is whether you are going to make this your sole career or if you are going to do this part time. There is nothing wrong with starting a business for part time work. But you have to realize it will take much longer to build up a business online if you are just working part time.

Once you have determined this, it is time to consider what type of business you are going to start. You obviously want to enter a field that has public demand so that you stand a chance of generating a business. However, at the same time it is vital you do not get into something that has too much demand. The internet is flooded with competition, but you want to give yourself as good of a chance to succeed as possible.

While you want to gear your decision around the public, you also want to take into consideration your wants and needs. If you are going to start a new home business, you might as well start one that you are interested in. You finally have the opportunity to do what you want, so take advantage of it.

As soon as you know what field you are going to start a business in, it is time to lay out a plan. Inside of your plan should be what products you will sell, who your target market is, how you will reach this target market, and how you intend on creating your web site. In addition to planning out all of this, you want to set a general timeline for when you would like to have these steps completed.

The last step to starting a new home business is purchasing a domain name and hosting company. The domain name is what acts as your identity and the hosting company provides you with space on the internet. Once you have these two things set up, you will have a live and active web site. From there, it is up to you to devote the time and energy it takes to create a quality web site people will enjoy. Syndication Source: ArticleMind.com Donald Pope creates Online With Absolute Marketing Everyone Makes Money and for passionate people who want a peice of the online Trillion Dollar Industry. More information http://starthere.blackbeltrecruiting.com

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