Shannon Vissers

The SBA helps small businesses get low-cost funding for a variety of needs, but applying for an SBA loan can be time-consuming. How long does it really take to get an SBA loan? And how can you speed up the process? Find out in this article.

Live Oak is less traditional than many of its competitors, offering speed and convenience to prospective lenders in all 50 states. However, the convenience comes with some trade-offs, including a limited breadth of products available to a small number of industries.

Celtic Bank is one of the biggest originators of SBA 7(a) loans and SBA 504 loans. It is one of the more accessible bank lenders out there when it comes to business loans, with less stringent requirements than most of its competitors. However, make sure you ask about their fee structure and interest rates before signing any papers.

Knowing your effective rate helps you understand what you actually pay for credit card processing. Here’s how to calculate it, and use that information to find the best rates on merchant services.

Buying a business can be an exciting and rewarding venture, but getting a loan to finance this purchase is tricky if you don’t have spotless credit or an already-established business. Fortunately, alternative lenders have made it easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to secure non-standard business loans, SBA loans, and other types of financing.

After you’ve worked through the details of your 2-3 consecutive statements, it’s worth repeating your effective rate calculation on each one, just to ensure you didn’t miss any charges. You may have also spotted an extra or padded fee here and there that you’re ready to confidently take up with your MSP. You should also be able to locate any anomalies that occurred during a given month (e.g., excessive penalty fees, chargebacks, one-time incidental fees, etc.) that may have impacted your effective rate.

Cashless stores are becoming a hot trend in the retail world as both technology and public health trends impact commerce. Consumers are carrying less cash these days, and digital, cashless payment technologies are becoming more prevalent. Keep reading to learn about the best cashless payment solutions that make it easy for your business to go cash-free.

Chase Bank has some of the best lending rates in the country. Those elite rates are available mostly to an elite clientele. Still, if you have a stable, profitable business and/or a stellar credit rating, it’s not a bad idea to talk to your local Chase Bank loan officer to see if you could qualify.

Paying for purchases has become a lot more complicated in the modern world than it used to be. In this article, we’ll review the various payment methods you’ll want to be able to accept as well as explain how those payment methods are processed so that you can receive your money.

Credit card associations, like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, charge fees for their services every time a credit card is used. If you take credit cards, then card association fees are a necessary evil, since these fees comprise a part of wholesale fees you have to pay in order to take credit card payments. Here’s everything small businesses need to know about card brand fees.