Tuesday, December 25, 2007

ONLINE AUTO LOANS

The Easy Way to Apply

The internet is a great place to find the right lender for obtaining a loan. One can apply online by filling out a simple application and submitting it with just a few clicks of the mouse. Online loans, also known as e-loans, are just one more way to make your search for money to finance your purchase easy and convenient.

Market players in the online loans market :
1. Loan brokers : These are agents representing several lenders. They do not lend money.
2. Direct lenders : They offer you loans directly. These are financial institutions that lend you the money.

Online loan process :
The online loans process works in the following manner :
1. The first step is to fill out the online application form.
2. The lender reviews your creditworthiness and assesses your financial net worth.
3. Based upon the review, the application is either approved or denied.
4. Hard copy of loan contract is sent to the borrower.
5. Documentary evidence maybe called for to support claims made on the application form.

Matters to be considered while applying for online loans :
1. Your credit rating has a very crucial bearing on your ability to borrow and the interest rate. It is always prudent to check your credit score before applying. A high credit score will result in a more favorable interest rate. A low credit score can provide you with a loan, however, the interest rate will be much higher as you pose a greater credit risk to the lender.
2. Comparison shopping should be resorted to in order to find the right lender.
3. Obtaining a pre-approval on your loan application for big ticket purchases, such as a home or a car, would put you on a strong footing while negotiating with the seller. A pre-approved application has the following advantages: the approval is granted for a specific period during which the interest rate at the time of the application does not change even if the market rates fluctuate during the period, the amount available for the purchase and the repayment amounts are known even before you begin the buying process.

Online loans offer the following advantages :
1. The greatest advantage of online loans is that you can apply for it from almost anywhere as long as you have a computer or a laptop.
2. Online loan application forms are generally simple in their structure and are user friendly.
3. They are secure, have a no obligation feature and are free of charge.
4. Online loan applications are highly confidential. Internet hackers cannot simply enter a website and steal your personal information. Most lenders have extensive privacy policies and go the extra mile to protect your privacy.
5. Most websites provide loan calculators which helps the borrower to determine the amount of loan he or she would be eligible for and the repayment amount. The borrower can apply different criteria to determine suitability.
6. The borrower can compare a product offered by different lenders to determine which lender is most competitive.

PROFIT OR CASHFLOW

The word in business is profit. The word is simple to understand. Companies are considered a success, if they generate profits. For small business, however, profits do not necessarily equate to healthy cash flow or even success.

The accounting definition of profit is sales(including credit sales), less expenses. The oversight of the important aspects of "profitability", leads to numerous problems for business owners.The problem with accounting is that assets purchased cash, will reside on the balance sheet, and inflate the profits, artificially,by the very same amount, that the asset was purchased for.

Invoiced credit sales are recorded in sales journals, and a corresponding debit(debtor), is raised for those credit sales. Value Added Tax or general sales tax is charged on that invoice as it is processed.

One major shortcoming in small business, is the lack of credit control. Many business owners lack the skills to collect outstanding debts. Where VAT or GST has been charged, it become payable, regardless of whether the debtors invoice was paid or not. Businesses also pay tax on profits.

Business owners(on the advice of their accountants) are profit driven, and not cashflow driven. This leads to certain interpretations of their finances. If assets exceed liabilities(solvency),current assets, exceed current liabilities(liquidity), they happy. Business owners consider the available amount on their overdraft or business credit card facility as CASH AVAILABLE! Its not available cash, but debt!

Solvency or liquidity should be measured by the amount available cash(bank and cash on hand), exceeding liabilities. All other assets should be be excluded. The reason is that assets ,could be sold far below their market value, if the business had to be liquidated. Cash is the only asset that can be used, without incurring a cost or loss, on conversion.

What about the cash flow statement? The cash flow statement is not compulsory for small businesses, but is viewed is an important tool, for analyzing the business's cash flow. Many tax authorities accept only the income and expenses account. But even the cash flow statement has its flaws. Loans advanced will reflect as "cash from financing activities", thus creating the illusion that the "healthy Bank Balance", means the business is healthy. In an environment of high interest rates, the loan can be risky, and that aspect has to be factored into the reporting. A note on the financial statements, is not sufficient.

Many accountants might not agree, with the above. But its my firm belief that thorough cash management is lacking in most small businesses. Accounting financial statements should only be used for tax or statutory purposes.

A cash flow driven business would operate as follows:

* Collect outstanding debtors as soon as possible(The most difficult and problematic, I agree)

* Take substantial cash deposits from customers, before commencing a project

* Bank cash promptly, since cash gets lost or spent very quickly

* Stall creditors, as long as possible

* Start investing 5 to 10% of cash received in a particular month, in different bank savings accounts

* These banking accounts also known as reserves, can be called:

a) A Building Fund(For future expansion)
b) A Tax fund and lastly an Emergency fund (Any emergencies that may occur).The reserves can also be augmented by additional sales, the value of credit card payments, that have been paid up. (Would not hurt, since you used to those monthly credit card payments)

* Before spending cash on any expense, apart from salaries, funds should be set aside for the "reserve accounts"

* The benefits of the reserve accounts are two fold, 1) It creates a buffer, between income and expenses(will exert pressure on overheads/spend less), and 2) The business will gradually build capital in reserves, that the business would have had to source somewhere else, if the need arose.The reserves would grow rapidly, if it remain untouched, for say ,twelve months. This exercise requires discipline, for it to work.

Focus on the cash balance and savings, will ensure a rapid (almost magical) growth of cash! The business will also become less reliant on loans, credit and capital from outsiders.

SEE YOUR BUSINESS EXCEL WITH ACCOUNTING HELP

A known fact in the corporate or the business world is that the accountancy department of any firm or organization is the most vital department. When a business is set up, the person setting up the business thinks about the profits that the firm might make in the future. A successfully running business thinks about making more profits, so that the horizon can be further expanded and the business can further grow. A loss-making firm thinks about turning into a profit-making firm because if it does not happen like that, then the business might have to be shut down. All these concepts of earning more revenue and incurring fewer losses are completely dependent on the accountancy department of a firm. It is this very department of an organization that can help business come out with flying colors. Therefore, a very important decision is to appoint professional accountants who are thorough with their work and can provide the firm with the best financial decisions. However, at times it becomes quite problematic to get all the accountancy work done by the in-house professionals and therefore, one looks out for accounting help.

Opting for accounting help is a good decision because it helps the firm to get the work done at a much faster pace and the cost that is incurred to get this service outsourced is much less in comparison to getting it done from in-house professionals. Bookkeeping or accountancy is a very monotonous job and apart from being monotonous, the main thing is that it requires expertise and accuracy. Firms that provide accounting help have professionals who are experts in their domain of knowledge and have through accuracy in the work. Moreover, due to the technological revolution that has taken place worldwide, the professionals make it a point to do their work using some or the other accountancy software. This helps them to maintain the data for a lifetime. Maintaining financial data is necessary because apart from letting one know about the financial standing of the business, this also helps businesses to expand and have tie-ups with other businesses.

There are many firms that provide accounting help to all sorts of business. Therefore, you as the business owner will need to understand the requirements of your business and then accordingly, approach a firm whose services suit the needs of your business. This is a necessity because if you do not understand the need of your business, then no body will be able to do the same. Moreover, before entering into a deal, it is very important to check the record of accomplishment of that firm. This will help you to have a comprehensive knowledge about the firm and you will get to know what the fields in which the firm excels are.

Once you get a comprehensive knowledge about the firm from which you will be accounting help for your firm, it is very important to make the professionals aware of the needs of your business, so that he can plan out the right things for your business. Therefore, think no more and give your firm the best financial support.

Monday, December 24, 2007

BUDGETING YOUR MONEY WHEN YOU OWN A BUSINESS

One of the most difficult things to do when you start a new business is putting together a budget. Without any financial history on which to base income and expenses, it may seem like guesswork, but as part of any business plan a tentative budget can be established with some thought and anticipation for the future.

In most businesses there are two main categories, income and expense. Under your expense category there can be several sub-categories often falling into two main areas of controllable expenses and uncontrollable. While many business owner claim they can control every expense involved in their business, they are simply kidding themselves as some things such as utility cost, the amount of rent and other so-called fixed costs can, and do change, with the owner having no control.

Other expenses such as payroll, insurance and advertising can be subject to a budget, but they are considered controllable expenses. If the business begins to fall off, you can control some of these expenses by laying off employees and cutting back on advertising. However, living by a budget will help maintain profitability in many respects but can also turn against you in the long run.

Depending on the viability of your business it often is a better investment to bite the financial bullet on employee wages and still provide good customer service to the remaining customers until business picks back up. By trying to everything yourself not only will you burn out quickly, but is no one is taking care of the customers, it will not take long until there are no more customers to care for.

There are two ways to budget your business money and that is through set dollar amounts and percentage of income. Many businesses will budget their controllable expenses by the dollar and non-controllable by percentage of income. Obviously a good part of the owner's time is going to be based on bringing money into the business and how much they have to spend on controllable expenses will be in direct relation to income.

For example, a company earning $20,000 a month in income has budgeted six percent for payroll, providing $1,200 for payroll. If the income level rises to $50,000 the budgeted payroll percent does not change but the dollars available for payroll climbs to $3,000. With an obvious increase in business to create the additional income, the owner will probably need the extra help to take care of business.

There are many other expenses that fall into the payroll account such as worker's compensation charges, Social Security tax paid by the employer and paid vacation time or other perks determined by the employer. While a budget may be difficult to establish for a new business, it is a necessary evil for all business owners.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

HOW SAFE IS ONLINE BANKING?

Online banking has become very popular and many people are using their online capabilities to do all of their banking. Those who have used online banking are now comfortable with it have found it to be an easy and fast way to get things done without having to visit the bank. While online banking can get things done fast, many people still wonder if it is safe.

The answer to that question is yes. Yes, as long as you take a few precautions yourself.

An interesting aspect to online banking came to light recently. It seems that those who bank online have a tendency to watch over their accounts better than those who do not use online banking. The reason for this is because those who use online banking have immediate access to their account information, seven days a week. Those who do not use online banking have to rely on their monthly statement to arrive before they can check their accounts in detail.

Having immediate access to their accounts allowed those online users to see if trouble was at hand, especially in the areas of fraud and identity theft. According to MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston, "Victims of cyber crime who tracked their accounts online paid out an average of $551 per incident, whereas those who relied on paper statements paid an average $4,543 per incident."

Even with added security and ease of use, online banking should be conducted with common sense safety in mind. Here are some good tips for making sure your online experience does not go astray.

One of the most important protection measures is a good firewall. A computer firewall is simply a software program that is designed to allow authorized people into your computer data and to keep unauthorized people out of your computer data. The good news is most new computers come with firewalls already installed into the systems. If you use DSL or cable modem you will usually have an extra layer of protection. These types of internet access modems normally have their own firewalls installed in them. Those people with old computers or who use dial up modems may have to buy a separate firewall and have it installed.

The second most important issue with safe online banking or any type of online financial transaction for that matter is the use of anti-virus and anti-spy software. Most of the bigger operating systems companies, such as MicroSoft, will issue periodic updates and users should get these when they become available. Many of these updates contain fixes to previous bugs in the operating system and they can help prevent hackers from getting to your data. You can buy anti-virus and spyware software or you can find free program online. Either way, it is a good idea to keep your computer clean.

Online banking should never be conducted in a public, wireless environment. Many people like to do their banking chores while sipping on coffee at their favorite wireless cafe, but do resist doing that. There is software available that can pick up your information and save it to another's computer. As well, you should not do your online banking through public computers such as those at the library or internet cafes. Again, you put your information at risk by doing so.

An easy way to make sure that you are on a secure page is to look for the small icon of the lock. This is usually shown in the lower right corner of the browser window. In the address bar, look for the https prefix. That "s" at the end means that you are on a secure page. If you do not see it, you are not working on a secure page and may have been relocated to a scam address.

Use the security features you have available and your online banking will be safer and more enjoyable.

HOW TO GET A BANK LOAN

When someone is looking for a bank loan, it means that there is something that they want to buy but are not able to buy it right then. This can be something that is tough for you to figure out, and it might be something that you need. One of the ways that people get things that they cant currently afford to pay for is to get a bank loan to cover the costs. Then they go from there. This is a great way to make sure that they can get things that they want to get, and usually it is easy to get a bank loan. You simply have to follow the process.

The first thing that you have to do to get a bank loan is to apply for one. This is a process that is going to require a lot of information on your part. First of all, you have to know what kind of loan you are looking at, and how much money you are going to need. Next you have to be sure that you are going to be able to pay back the loan, so you have to know how much you want to make payments for. Also, you have to be able to tell the bank what you need the money for, how much money you need, and how you are going to pay them back.

The process of getting a bank loan can take a lot of time, and it can be very frustrating, but it is the best way to do it. If you get loans from other places, you might run into trouble with raised interest rates, extra fees, or even with money being demanded from you that you should not have to pay. Banks are reputable organizations that can afford to loan you money and that will always follow the rules of commerce. If you go with a bank loan, there are going to be rules and regulations that you will know about ahead of time and that cannot be broken. A bank loan is really the best way for you to make sure that you are getting the money that you need, and that you are finding ways to be as productive as you can be.

There are many benefits to getting a bank loan. First of all, you are going to be able to have the money that you need to get what you want. Also, you are going to have low monthly payments that you can make. And each bank loan that you get and are able to pay off is going to put good marks on your credit score and give you a chance to look even better the next time you apply for a bank loan. Bank loans are perfect for emergencies or when starting a new business. The list of positive reasons for getting a bank loan goes on and on for miles. Quite simply, there are many good reasons to get a bank loan.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

HOW TO ACHIEVE BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT

Speaking of time management, here is the fact that happening in the Internet business industry. If you're a newbie and just get into this type of business, most likely, you will sign up and jump into many newsletters. You may think that by doing this will speed up you making money process, or to achieve your dream of make money from Internet faster, you have strong passion with high enthusiasm and you want to learn everything at once.
Sooner or later, you find yourself become overwhelmed to the point that you don't know where to start, then you become frustrated, and finally you either give up, or keep looking, but you are extremely confused with all those information and product offers that delivered to your email inbox.
If you are already in the Internet business for sometime, or if you are an Internet business expert, still, you will run into those times of being overwhelmed especially if you jump from one idea to another without completing anyone of them. From my own experience, I understand and know that - get into the Internet business is an addiction.
Honestly speaking, I do have that problem! I believe out of there, many people that have an Internet business are facing the same problem as I do - being overwhelmed to the point that what could take you a few hours to do ends up dragging you into a few days, a few weeks or even a few months.
So if you don't have a regular plan of action or a system that you can use to get your projects done, then you need one.
I found that one thing keeps me away from completing projects, products, or things that I need to get done are the distractions; it caused me sometime get into inefficiency time management.
After experienced those unproductive nightmare, finally I found some tips that helps me reduce the amount of time, which normally will take me 3-4 days to finish a project, and now takes me only a few hours or a day to complete.
Those tips works mainly if you are working on your computer, for some people, it may can makes them feel a little bit pressure.
Whether you have a desktop or a laptop, here are the ways you can follow; it works for me; so I hope it works for you too.
When you working on your laptop, don't use electrical plug, because your laptop has battery and it will run out in an hour, or two or three, how long the battery will last is depends on its age. Because you don't have the electrical plug with you, so it will force you be concentrated and get things done as quickly as you can before the battery run out. However, don't forget to save your work often.
If you use electrical plug, on the other hand, you will not have that kind of urgency feeling and you will just drag the things around, since you don't have that much time to searching around your database and think about what kind of content should includes into your project, and how to put them all together, so you can finish the work within little time.
The other way you can use is bring your laptop to the other room or somewhere else where do not have Internet connection and work on your things. If you connect it to the Internet, for sure you will get many distractions and you will unable to put your 100 percent focus into the project. If you have a big desktop, then just unplug your internet, lock your door and turn off your music.
There has a good solution for desktop user, called ecounter, which is free. This program allows you to set the time up as you wish. If you determine to finish a writing project within 20 minutes, then set up your target time, and then you must finish your writing before the clock runs out otherwise it will shut down if you tell it to put your computer into hibernation.
Shut computer down perhaps makes you feel bit harsh, but it is the best way to go because you know it'll turn off, so you have to finish the work within the time, the program will not let you have chance to add more time to the clock.
As I mentioned on above - those tips may make some people feel pressure when they apply to use it, but they are really works. You may feel uncomfortable at the beginning, or feel under lots of pressure, but once you start, you will find those are the really good tips to help you finish your work in a super fast way.
Every time when I use this above methods for my writing project, what used to take me days to brainstorm and all can now take me a few hours, it gives me more time to live my life or spend time on other projects.
So there you go - better time management tips from your Internet business friend

Friday, December 7, 2007

ALL ABOUT FOREX TRADING

Forex trading, short for foreign exchange trading, involves the buying and selling of the many currencies of the world. It does not operate via a central exchange site, like traditional stock market trading, and may, thus, fully function a 24-hour basis.

When compared to other exchanges, the trading market is the largest in the world, even beating the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by over a hundredfold, in terms of daily trading volume, most of which are conducted by private entities and individuals.

Because of the absence of a central exchange, trading happens between two parties directly. Buyers and sellers communicate and trade via the phone, the Internet or other communications networks worldwide.

In addition, trading forex is also speculative, meaning, they are based on expectations on whether a certain currency would rise or fall, depending on current market conditions. It is risky business, but the returns have often proved themselves worth the risk.

Basic forex trading

Forex trading involves the buying and selling of two currencies at the same time. This combination is often dubbed a cross, because it occurs between two moneys; for instance, the US dollar/Japanese Yen. The highest traded currencies in forex are the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the UK pound - the "majors".

Trading normally occurs in the spot market, which is the largest because of its volume. Here, trades are made and completed directly and on the spot. You don't have to wait too long to settle.

Advantages of forex trading

1. No 4pm trade closing time.

When you're trading forex, you have 24-hours to do so from Sunday night to Friday night. This opportunity allows you to retract your moves and react immediately when a currency suddenly goes up or down. Breaking news are vital to trading.

2. Very liquid.

It is easy to convert your trades to cash in the market, especially if yours involves one of the majors. The high liquidity helps ensure that spreads are narrow and prices are stable throughout the period.

3. Strong potential for profits

This is particularly true with falling currencies. Because trading involves two currencies, when one rises, the other naturally falls. When a currency depreciates, it could be the perfect time to buy into it so that you can sell it for a hefty profit when it's its turn to appreciate.

4. The higher the currency's liquidity level, the cheaper it is to trade it.

This is why most forex trading patrons opt to trade majors, because they have the highest liquidity. In addition, trading is also more attractive to some money movers because of the absence of a commission. Thus, currencies are actually traded for their real merits and not because they come with misleading incentives.

There's a lot more to learn about trading and the above merely scratches the surface. To be able to further understand what forex trading is and how it can help you grow your coffers, it is advised that you speak to an expert who more likely has all the answers to your questions. Or, yet, ask somebody who's already had experience with forex trading.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

STOPPING SPAM

Spam has existed for about as long as the Internet has. Across the Internet there are various ways in which spam can be posted. Spam in the form of emails remains the most dominate type of spam present on the Internet. 90 billion spam emails sent daily worldwide; a figure that that has more than doubled since 2005 at which point it stood at 30 billion.

As well as spam emails, spam can be seen across the Internet in the form of various aspects of media such as, websites, guestbook's, forums and link spamming, Link spamming is when a normal link is manipulated to take you to a spammer's site so that the site gains more hits and therefore increases the sites page rank. As well as this, links can be manipulated and placed on websites where the links tag looks innocent but when it is actually clicked it takes you to sites containing, for example adult content.

These along with email spamming happen on a regular basis, as you're probably already too much aware of. Even if you have never posted in a chat room or forum but merely signed up to one, your details are still there, making it possibly for spammers to get hold of them in a way that is known as harvesting. Spammers use chat rooms and forums and 'harvest' email addresses that are posted on the site or that appear as member's username. Due to this it is advised that if you need to give your email address out that you replace characters with words; for example yourname@domain.com should be written as yourname[at]domain[dot]com; this stops the spammers being able to harvest your email address.

An Anti-spam campaign that has recently been running to try and stop spammers altogether is one that involves downloading a screensaver to your PC, which has a statement referring to stopping spam. This screensaver, when idle on your PC, sends a lot of data traffic to website that sell the goods and or services that are mentioned in spam emails. The idea behind this was to get these spam sites running at a 95% capacity and to generate lengthy bandwidth bills for the spammers that are behind the sites.

This screensaver has apparently been downloaded more than 90,000 times and has already caused two big spam sites to go offline. Although this shows that the anti-spam campaign is working there is a chance that by doing this you are setting yourself up for more attacks in return to downloading the screensaver. Many discussion groups have also said that doing this could be a dangerous precedent which might cause vigilantism.

Downloading such a thing could also slow down your Internet connection and there is no guarantee that other sites that have nothing to do with spam won't be targeted. Due to this I would recommend that the best possible way to fight spam is through the use of a decent anti spam software package.

Anti spam software packages will stop spam emails reaching your email account; filtering out emails that are from your contacts and that are also seen as safe emails from genuine people that want to contact you or your business.

As well as protecting your email account from spam messages, an anti spam filter system should also block 100% of viruses that could cause devastating harm to your business, including the loss of data. Outbound as well as inbound virus filters are another key feature to an anti spam system, which protects your company reputation by stopping your company spreading viruses unknowingly.

Anti spam filters/software are essential to the smooth running and operation of businesses, making them a wise investment before the damage of spam takes effect.

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