Author: Marbe Ralozo

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Business

What is An Employee Retention Tax Credit? A Simple Step by Step Guide to Understanding ERTC

The pandemic shook almost every business and employment sector, leading to the laying off of several employees around the states. While thousands entirely lost their jobs and wages, a significant percentage of employers were lucky enough to benefit from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s relief dubbed Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). However, many businesses and individuals still have little understanding of ERTC tax credit and how to claim the relief. This article answers some of the most concerns of employers and companies.

What is ERTC?

ERTC is among the numerous government incentives under CARES Act that boost employers to retain their staff on payroll throughout the COVID-19 pandemic instead of completely stopping their contracts. 

It’s a fully refundable credit that equals 50% of the succeeding wages businesses pay to their workers during the pandemic, up to $10,000 of each employee’s annual wages. That means the highest amount any qualified employer can claim over every worker is $5,000. Even so, there are criteria to meet for any business to claim this credit.

To alleviate the increasing liquidity concerns developing from the companies claiming the credit, the IRS came up with a strategy to disburse the advance credit payments to the qualifying businesses.

How to Qualify for ERTC

The ACT intends to use ERTC to help the businesses that faced challenges during the downturn of the pandemic. As a result, there are criteria for qualifying for the credit, and only eligible candidates can benefit.

Thankfully, the rules are a little lenient, covering almost all forms of businesses, save for government employees and self-employed persons.

A suitable employer can qualify for theERTC tax credit in two main ways. These include:

Number of Employees

In a business with less than 100 workers, all of them benefit from the tax credit. However, only employers who received payment despite being out of service during the coronavirus pandemic and due to the pandemic-related problems will qualify if the company’s employees exceed 100.

Business Closure

Every business that suffered total or partial closure in 2020 due to a government directive over pandemic-related issues qualifies for the tax credit. However, all companies eyeing this model must indicate a noteworthy reduction in their gross receipts during any quarter in the year (2020)

Similarly, the decline must be at most 50% of their gross receipts during the same quarter the previous year (2019).

Additionally, employers benefitting from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan don’t qualify for this relief.

How To Claim ERTC

Every qualifying employer will need to fill their total eligible wages plus any relevant credits in Form 941.

In the form, the businesses report their income and the Medicare and Social Security taxes they withheld from their workers’ paychecks.

The ERTC may not fix all the messes that the pandemic caused, but the program offers relief for businesses that suffered the cruelty of the virus. As a result, it’s essential that every qualifying business check with the IRS and see if they qualify to benefit from the advance.

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Business

Factoring in Fort St John: Is it Good for My Business?

When entrepreneurs are looking for working capital to fund their business, the first option is a line of credit or small business loans. But what will you do if you get rejected for a business loan? You will need to consider other finance options to assist your business in getting an instant influx of working capital. 

One of the effective non-loan types of small business funding is factoring in Fort St John. Also known as accounts receivable funding, factoring is a viable alternative for companies to get money whenever they need it. However, you need to know the possible shortcomings before deciding to work with a factoring firm.

Factoring is complete doesn’t form of cash advance financial solution where businesses get Cash by trading their unpaid account receivable to a factoring firm known as a factor. The factor collects the invoices on behalf of the business. With factoring, rather than getting paid by your clients in the normal ways, your business agrees to offer the unpaid invoices to the third-party company(factor) that offers you funding upfront as a specific portion of the value of the unpaid receivables. 

How Does Factoring Work

Let us assume your business requires quick working capital and has $100000 in accounts receivable for a certain month. You can trade those invoices to a factoring company, which will pay you 75 percent of the value of the unpaid invoices upfront. An extra percentage of payment will follow this after the factor collects payment from your clients. 

Factoring companies generate revenue by retaining a portion of the value of the invoices, mostly 2-6 percent. This means when it comes to factoring in Fort St John, you won’t have to give up part of your income for you to work with a factoring company. In our example, let’s assume that your factoring company charged you 6% of the value of the unpaid invoice; your business will get $75000 upfront. You will also get an extra $19000 within 30 days to 90 days after the factor collects all the payment.

Things to Consider

Factoring is prevalent in those industries where a slow-paying invoice is average. While factoring can be the best option for your business to raise an instant influx of cash, you need to consider the benefits against the drawbacks and costs of factoring in Fort St John.

Benefits of factoring comprise:

Instant Cash: factoring offers your business an instant cash influx. Rather than waiting for up to 60 days for your clients to pay, you can get instant Cash at once. 

These are not loans. Factoring is different from loans, and it doesn’t affect your credit rating or needs you to make any payment. 

Keep your equity: factoring doesn’t force you to sell your portion of your business or share equity like you would do when raising working capital from investors. Rather than securing a long-term loan, factoring will be a one-time decision to get money for your business goals.

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Business

When You Know It’s Time To Find A New Job

Find A New Job

This infographic was created by Goodwill Car Donations

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Investment

Improving your trading mentality within a short time

trading

Professional traders are always one step when it comes to the retail trading business. They do the proper data analysis to find reliable trade signals in the market. To them, trading is more like a business and they never break the rules. But this is only possible when you have a strong mindset. Sadly, novice traders don’t have such a mindset and keep on struggling with the trading profession.

If you wish to become a profitable trader, you must find a simple way by which you can execute the trades with a high level of precision. In this context, we are going to discuss some classic methods by which you can improve your trading mentality.

Trade with long term goals

The novice traders never take the trades in the market with a long-term goal. They keep on following aggressive trading methods and expect to become a winner. But this is not how the professional traders in the retail trading industry. In order to succeed as a currency trader, you should be following core rules and take the trades with a long-term vision. When you will follow such a technique, you should be able to execute high-quality trades with an extreme level of precision, and thus making a consistent profit will become much easier.

Develop a proper routine

Before you start trading the market with real money, you should develop a professional trading routine. Without having a professional trading routine, you will keep on executing the random trades in the market and thus you will be losing money most of the time. If you want to survive as a trader, you must take steps based on logic. This will slowly improve your decision-making skills and make you a good retail trader in the investment world. But do not think that you can keep on earning money by using other people’s trading techniques. You have to have faith in your actions and curate the trading strategy based on your personality.

Trade with a good broker

Without taking the trades with a professional broker, your mentality will never improve. By choosing a professional broker, you will be able to use the best Forex trading software and take the trades with a high level of precision. Never expect that you can become a profitable trader by choosing low-end tools. Those who are trading the market with low-end tools, keep on facing technical issues. Thus, they are not able to concentrate on their mental stability. To make things easier, you should always focus on simple trading techniques and take the trades with a high level of caution. Once you become good at this, you should become more comfortable with your trading approach, and thus making a consistent profit is never going to be a tough task.

Accept the losses

Being a smart trader, you should learn the proper way to embrace the losing trades. Without embracing the losing trades in this market, you will slowly mess things up and quit trading within a short time. To make things easier, start with the 2% risk management rule. Once you become at managing the risk profile, you will stop losing big amounts of money in the trades. This will make you more confident and let you trade this market with a high level of precision. Never expect that you know every bit of detail about the retail trading industry. Keep on following the professional traders and learn more about risk management techniques.

Start meditating

Some of the traders often find it hard to concentrate on the market analysis process. They become extremely biased with their actions and eventually they keep on losing money in the market. To protect your trading capital, you should be following the core rules of investment. And for that, you need to have a stable mind. This is only possible when you keep on meditating on a regular basis. It will slowly help you to gain control over your mind.

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Finance

Types of Forbrukslån (Consumer Loans)

Consumer Loans

Besides having numerous sources like lenders, unions, and banks, there are a few types of consumer loans that will depend on what you are spending the funds on. Even your credit card can be one of the forms but there are other more complex forms like a student, auto and mortgage credits. Each type is administered by state and federal guidelines so there is a limit to the interest rates someone can offer.

There is a lot of information about consumer loans or forbrukslån guide on the internet that can help you to learn everything about it. But, sometimes you might need professional help. It’s important to read everything that is in the documents like terms and conditions, length of the agreement. There are a lot of opportunities that you can use but you need to be careful with numbers.

Most Popular Options

You can basically get funding for most of the things you want to purchase so it’s hard to tell the exact number of types that exist. They differ just on the basis of the repayment period and interest rate. It will also depend on the company or institution and what they have to offer. Some of the most popular options include loans for home equity, payday, cash advances, small businesses, veterans, auto, mortgages, student and debt consolidation.

This is nothing more than combining every debt you have on your credit card and creating one unique debt that is repaid with 1 monthly amount. This is done because you won’t have multiple rates for multiple bills and fewer payments each month. It’s one of the simplest kinds to understand but a very useful one. Read more about it here: https://www.creditkarma.com/personal-loans/i/types-of-loans

Mortgages

They can only be distributed by online lenders, unions, and banks and are meant for buying a household. The trick is that the agreement is tied to the house which is a risk for you if you fall behind payments. A good thing is that they have the lowest rates compared to any other sort. They are viewed as secured loans.

They also last the longest usually from 15 to 30 years depending on the lender, but it’s always a better idea to go as shorter as possible. The interest ranges usually between 2.5% to 5.8% which shouldn’t be acceptable but that will be offered to people with a bad credit score. You should work on your credit history so you can get a better deal. People usually decide to make a deal with national banks instead of online lenders because they are more trusted but it may be a more expensive option.

Auto Loans

Another type of secured loan is auto-related which is tied to the property you are buying. This is great for the banks because they will get something in return if you don’t have money to pay them but it can be risky for you when there is a bad financial month. You probably saw car dealerships promoting their offers which is connect to the credit union or a bank. They usually offer a payment period from 12 to 84 months with an interest rate that goes up to 14%.

Home Equity

Something more complex to understand is the equity you have in your home which means that the home is worth more than you have to return for it. You can ask for funding against that equity which will be used most likely for renovating. This is something that many real estate agents do to improve the aesthetics of the house so it will increase its overall price. Find out more on this link.

The downside is that they are using the home as collateral but with the lower rates that you are paying at the moment for the building. The difference is that the rate is fixed which is beneficial for the borrower considering that many people had issues with increased payments during inflation. Average terms include 5 to 10 years of monthly payments with an interest ranging from 3% to 12%.

These are some of the most popular types that they are always promoting but there are other specialized for small businesses or veterans. One with the biggest rate is the payday type which can get up to 500% because they are short-term. Some of the unions can also create special deals for you if you have a good history with them.

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Business

How Vendors Can End Up Costing More Than Your Project

Vendors

Bad vendors are every project manager’s worst nightmare. They slow things down. They don’t necessarily do things right. And ultimately, they can end up costing more than the project itself. Needless to say, vendors keep project managers up at night. Yet they don’t have to. Competent vendor management is the key.

Vendor management can be handled in-house by the project management team. It can also be outsourced to a company like the Janiko Group. The advantage of outsourcing is freeing up the management team to concentrate solely on the project at hand. They can leave the distractions that come with vendor management to the service provider.

Bidding Jobs Incorrectly

Headaches involving vendors usually start early on. They start when projects are not bid correctly. How does this happen? Incorrect bidding is the result of a combination of things, not the least of which is a poor budget analysis. Project managers don’t know what they have to work with so they don’t know how much they can spend on each part of the job.

Things are further complicated when bids do not require all the necessary information. A thorough bid forces vendors to address everything from scheduling to how they propose to complete the work. To bid a job properly, the person responsible for soliciting bids has to ask the right questions.

Failing to Vet Bidders

The next stage of creating vendor problems is failing to properly vet bidders. Proper vendor management requires that every bidder be scrutinized in detail, ensuring that the eventual winner can be trusted to live up to expectations. A failure to vet bidders equates to a failure to accept the best possible bid.

Incorrect bidding and failing to vet sets the stage for spending a lot more than the budget calls for. It sets the stage for cost overruns, budget creep, scope creep, etc.

Not Holding Vendors Accountable

Project management teams that do not properly solicit bids and vet bidders tend to not be so good at holding their vendors accountable. They bring the vendors on board and let them do their thing. Without following up on a daily basis, there is no way to know what they are doing. And if that’s the case, costs start going up in a hurry.

Project managers and coordinators do not have to be micromanagers. They don’t have to dictate every little detail of what a vendor does. But they do have to follow up daily. They do have to pay attention. They do have to hold vendors accountable to their bids and the contracts they agreed to.

Not Analyzing the Budget

The final nail in the coffin is not continually analyzing the budget as a project evolves. Keep in mind that vendors affect the budget as they do what they do. Ongoing budget analysis raises red flags when even the smallest cost overruns occur. It alerts project managers and coordinators to poor quality work that has to be repeated by vendors who don’t get it right the first time.

Vendor management doesn’t begin and end with bid solicitation. It is actually a comprehensive discipline that manages vendors from the moment jobs are first put out to bid until the final analysis of the project is complete. Along the way, vendors are held accountable.

Failing to manage vendors properly can lead to them costing more than the original project. You spend more on their bids. You spend more on cost overruns caused by poor quality work and the lack of attention to the budget. It is not a good situation for any project manager to be in.

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career

The Advantages of Using a CV Creator

Writing a curriculum vitae is often more complex than we think. Especially that you have to manage the time constraints linked to the personalization of different CVs for different positions. It is extremely important to make the resume as attractive as possible to showcase your expertise. A good CV maker will eliminate guesswork from the process and allow you to focus on finding the opportunities you are looking for. Here are the main advantages of using that kind of tool.

Use a CV Creator to Save Time

When you are searching for a job, time become more precious than usually. However, as a professional in a skill-based industry, you know that a quality CV takes much longer time to make. Since each resume must be tailored to each position you are applying for, you have to spend hours tweaking and measuring as opportunities arise. But, thanks to the development of technology, everything becomes possible. You can choose a CV template to download online, enter your information and have the perfect resume.

Use a CV Creator to Have an Effective Structure

When using a word generator software, you might struggle for hours and hours and still not satisfied with the result. At this point, it is essential that all information is well structured and displayed in a consistent manner. Everything should be clear at first glance if you want to highlight your skills in your CV. Are you going to list your skills one by one and waste all of this space? Are you sure you do not forget something important? Online CV creators can help you by making sure you follow the essential guidelines. The main purpose is to prevent important information from being overlooked.

Use a CV Creator for a Better Personalization

Online creation allows you to personalize your CV with creative and interesting multimedia elements. So, you can bring your resume to life using photos and graphics, or add elements to your portfolio that could impress potential employers. When it is time to use a specific executive resume samples, you can customize it to fit a specific position, then deploy it by email or print on the fly. Furthermore, with the various designs and formats to choose from, all that is required of you is to enter the requested information and let the tool do the rest of the work for you. Although, do remember that preparing an excellent CV is not like filling out a simple form. Take your time to build the document properly.

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Business

Basic Guide to Understanding E-Signature Solutions

E-Signature

Lead

The introduction of the systems of electronic document management at enterprises is becoming widespread. Managers are striving to improve workflow and reduce the time spent on processing paper correspondence.

Body

The introduction of the systems of electronic document management at enterprises is becoming widespread. Managers are striving to improve workflow and reduce the time spent on processing paper correspondence. For the maximum benefit from the use of e-documents, it is necessary to think about electronic signatures.

A Brief Introduction to E-Signatures

An electronic digital signature is a special information that is added to an electronic document. It helps to verify whether changes were made to an electronic document after it was signed and ensure that the person who signed this document was identified. It is possible to add an e-signature to an electronic document using a private key and special software.

What is a private key? A private key is a set of symbols in the form of a computer file. At the same time, the private key plays the role of a pen when you are signing a document on paper.

To verify the digital signature on an electronic document, a public key (a different set of characters) is used. After generating a digital signature, the public key becomes a part of it and is not used separately.

A public-key certificate is a document that certifies the identity and ownership of a public key by a signer. Such a document is issued by an accredited key certification provider like SignNow, and it exists in electronic form. To verify the digital signature on a document, you must have a signer’s certificate and use a special e-signature platform.

The certificate is used to verify the digital signature on the document. It is not secret and can be freely shared online and through other open communication channels.

As a result, we get the following. One person or organization signs a document using a private key, and another verifies the signature on that document using the public key.

Many of those who have already used the SignNow e-signature service identify it with a small file generated by a computer on a flash drive.

Pros of Using an Electronic Signature

Using an e-signature provides:

  • The legal force of electronic documents

By legal force, electronic documents signed with an e-signature have the same force as documents with a handwritten signature or seal. Every resident of the country has the opportunity to use an electronic signature and carry out legally significant actions through electronic document management.

  • Confidentiality

Using an e-signature, you get additional options for encrypting documents. This ensures the confidentiality of information, which excludes access to it by any person who does not have a private key.

  • Improvement of business processes at enterprises

Electronic document management at enterprises significantly reduces the volume of paper documentation. An e-signature saves employees’ time and costs of enterprises associated with the conclusion of contracts, execution of payment documents, and their forwarding to the counterparty.

  • Conducting business relations at a modern level

The use of an e-signature significantly speeds up the conduct of commercial transactions. This factor eliminates the need for additional meetings and hours of negotiations.

Popular Questions

How long does it take to apply an e-signature to a document?

The procedure of applying an e-signature to a document takes a few seconds, depending on the client’s option for storing the private key.

Do I need to keep the public key secret?

No. A public key is called public because it does not need to be classified. Anyone who wants to verify the validity of your digital signature must use the public key. This key is contained in a public key certificate file, and it is secured against counterfeiting.

Is it possible to counterfeit an e-signature?

No, if the private key is stored correctly by its owner, counterfeiting is impossible. Follow the recommendations on the storage and use of the private key contained in the documentation, and you will be protected from forgery.

Is it possible to discreetly forge the text of an electronic document signed with an e-signature?

It’s impossible. Any unauthorized changes in the document will be instantly detected since verification of the digital signature will show that the document has been changed after signing.

Paper documents with a signature and seal can be stored, but is it possible to store an electronic document signed with an e-signature?

Of course, this is much more convenient. No filing cabinets, storage folders, or staplers are needed for electronic documents. You will not have to waste precious working time flipping through folders in search of a document lost in the archives.

The archive in paper form occupies several shelves. While in electronic form, it fits on a small disk or flash drive, which can be hidden in a safe, placed in a bank depository, copied for reliability, encrypted, etc. In fact, many more operations can be done with it, allowing you to save your information from accidents and malicious intent. Scanning such an archive and finding any necessary electronic document in it is a matter of a few seconds. And at the same time, along with the document, the digital signature will also be preserved in the archive, which, even after years, will confirm its authenticity to you and anyone else.

An electronic digital signature remains an effective solution for everyone who wants to use the latest technologies and be successful in business. Documents signed with an e-signature can be transferred to their destination in a matter of seconds. All participants of electronic document management receive equal opportunities, regardless of their physical location.

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Investment

Silver or gold bullion? Three things you should know about investing in either

Right now silver and gold are very appealing to investors who love being in a bear market. However, these two metals are not equal. When the economy is in trouble, a lot of investors rush to gold. Gold is regarded as a safe haven but so is silver. These two metals have been the most sought-after precious metals in the world. And they have been a symbol of wealth for a long time. They are very appealing when currencies seem to be losing their value.

The pandemic and the resulting drop in the value of the U.S dollar sent the price of gold high. For the first time on recent history gold hit the $2,000 an ounce mark.  Silver also had its rally. It reached a seventh year high of $28 an ounce. That was a 140% jump from lowest low in 2020.

Many investors will invest in gold and also put a small percentage of their assets in silver. This is done to keep their investment portfolios as diverse as possible.

These two precious metals have the same high and low cycles but there are a couple of differences to consider when deciding whether to buy silver bullion Brisbane or gold bullion.

#1. Gold is more expensive because there is only a finite amount of gold available in the world. To add to that, gold mining is not only expensive but dangerous. The gold mining industry has to spend billions keeping mines open and operational.

To illustrate how rare gold is consider that in 2019, only 3,300 tons of the yellow metal were mined compared to over 27,000 tons of silver.

#2. The high use of silver in industry makes gold a better choice as a hedge.

Both metals tend to move in the same direction but the demand for gold and the price outpaces that of silver in a recession.

The demand for silver is driven by its industrial uses and it’s wide use in electronics. Silver is also used in solar panels and automobile industries and when these industries grow, the demand for silver also grows. However when the weakening of the economy affects these industries, it affects the demand for gold an the price can fall. When production rises, the silver price goes up but when it falls, so does the price of silver.

The price of gold usually goes up when stocks fall. For instance, in December 2007, when the so called great recession began, the S&P 500 fell by 37% between December 2007 and May 2009 and the price of gold went up by 24%.

#3. Silver is very volatile

The fluctuations of gold prices over the short-term get plenty of attention but gold is very stable in the long-term.

Because the silver market is so small in relation to gold, it makes it more susceptible to extremely wild price swings. The volatility of silver is also affected by the act that over 70% of the silver supply is produced as a byproduct of other mining operations like copper mining. This makes it less responsive to the demand.

Silver will be more appealing to someone who is looking to speculate on short-term variations. It isn’t as appealing as a long-term hedge.

There in lies the answer of whether you should buy silver bullion Brisbane or gold bullion. Savvy Investors buy just about enough silver for the short term because it is more liquid and they will keep their gold for as long as possible.

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Business

Why E-Commerce Platforms Need Better Web Design

E-Commerce Platforms

E-commerce businesses have tons of potentials, especially with more people having access to the internet. Instead of going to local stores, they prefer buying items online. Selling quality products is key to attracting more people to buy. However, a better web design also plays a role. These potential customers don’t go to a physical store for shopping. The website is their shopping space. They have to feel comfortable with it. Below are the reasons for investing in web design and how a web design agency in Oxford like XIST2 can help.

Potential customers want a convenient online experience 

When people search for products to buy online, they want to find the item right away. If the website is confusing, it will take time before finding a suitable product. Others even have to go through several pages before finishing the transaction. Web design experts can fix these issues by simplifying the page. Users won’t have a hard time searching for information and paying for the desired items.

The bounce rate will go down

When users enjoy browsing the page, they will stay. They have a reason to look for information across different pages. They also know that staying will give them more ideas. The bounce rate could go down as a result. Having a low bounce rate means that more users decide to delve deeper into what the business offers. Eventually, this low bounce rate will lead to an increase in conversion rate.

There are more competitors 

With more resources available, companies can create better websites. There are advances in web design technology that make it easier to create more stunning websites. If other companies have more appealing pages, they can take the lead. They can convince more people to buy their products. It will leave your business behind. If you want to be more competitive, you should invest in web design.

It’s everything you have

The main website is where all transactions happen. You have to ensure that it looks good and easy to use. Even your search engine optimization efforts also lead back to the main page. If it’s problematic, you can’t expect everything else to do well. It’s like having a brick and mortar store. If it looks terrible and disorganized, most customers will leave. They will look for a store that offers a better shopping experience. You can say the same about online stores. If they don’t appeal to the users because of bad web design, they won’t buy from you.

Given these reasons, it makes sense to invest in web design. Some experts know what to do. They can work with you in determining which designs suit your brand best. While they’re the experts, you will have a voice in the process. You can decide if you will pursue the suggestions or you wish to tweak some portions. It helps if you work with seasoned design experts who will give you excellent ideas and ensure the best results.