FastUpFront Small Business Blog

For all those female entrepreneurs out there, here are some great resources that I found compiled on the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership site.  Some, like the library and courses, are good for all you entrepreneurs, regardless of gender.  Many of these organizations are great ways to network, in addition to the specific benefits [...]

The most frustrating thing about running a small business is EVERYTHING that is out of your control.  One of these things is when your customers don’t pay you.  Here are some tips on collecting that money which is owed you already, and which you need NOW.  While you are waiting for your money, if you [...]

During my morning surf, I found some directories of Business Planning Freeware and I thought I’d put links up.  I haven’t checked these programs out, so use your own judgement.  Some of them look rather old, but a formula is a formula and it looks like many of these programs could be very useful. Many [...]

By using online finance/accounting calculators and other online tools, you are able to bypass hiring someone to calculate for you AND you are able to recalculate quickly and easily for various situations, projections, and ‘what if’s’.   Bank Rate has the following free calculators for Small Business Owners: • Calculate payments on any loan (incl. [...]

Our customers come to us when they are in a cash flow crunch.  Many of them are running very successful businesses, only the timing of their payables and Receivables is simply a bit out of sync.  Here are 8 things you can do to shorten the time between when your customer wants something, and when [...]

Working Capital = Current Assets–Current Liabilities Just like the human body needs calories to survive, a business needs working capital to continue operations.  Working capital is the money that is on hand for normal business operations. If you have a solid business plan, and business is going well, then you should generally have enough income [...]

1)  Bill Your Customers Your clients won’t pay you unless you ask them to.  Many small businesses only send out invoices when they find themselves short on cash.  If you are taking on a regular client, negotiate a regular invoice schedule.  Scheduled and prompt billing is the first step to improving your business’ cash flow; [...]