As the world rockets toward an all-digital economy, maintaining good credit is more important than ever. With that said, the use of credit cards has increased for everyday purchases, making them a key to participate in online shopping.A 2015 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that the share of American retail purchases made with cash dropped from 40 percent to 32 percent between 2012 and 2015. That’s an astonishing eight percent change in just three years!Given the importance of credit, it is no wonder that consumers are increasingly worried about their credit scores. Requests for credit reports from American credit reporting agencies have skyrocketed in recent years.Here are five of the most pernicious myths, along with the facts about maintaining your good credit.MYTH #1: YOUR CREDIT SCORE IS A SINGLE NUMBER
A credit report does provide a single number to potential lenders, but it contains a great deal of additional information as well. Your credit report includes details about the loans you have taken out and the credit cards you have been issued. Details about your payment history are included. The report contains a wealth of information for the lender. Lenders count on all of that information when making a determination about whether to extend credit, what your credit limit will be, as well as the types of credit you might be eligible for.America’s three credit reporting agencies almost never report the same score when asked to analyze the same person’s account. There are several reasons for this. Second, different lenders report credit information to different credit reporting agencies. Most lenders report to all three, but many do not. Finally, different lenders may calculate credit scores slightly differently.That’s just for generic scores. You’re also likely to have a different score calculated according to the specific criteria of lenders in real estate, for instance, and/or auto loans, and department store credit cards. the following· Current accounts. Note that credit cards and mortgages are analyzed according to different criteria.· Payment history. Lenders want to know whether you pay your bills on time.· Outstanding credit. Reporting agencies calculate your outstanding balance compared to your total amount of available credit.· New credit. If you have recently opened a bunch of new accounts, that could be a red flag.· Credit history. Lenders want to know how long you have been borrowing.Thus, lenders take much more into account than a single number.MYTH #2: CHECKING YOUR CREDIT REPORT WILL HURT YOUR SCORE
This pestilent myth has a basis in fact. If your credit report shows a great many inquiries from potential lenders, that may indicate you are in financial trouble and shopping around for loans. A flurry of requests for credit reports can be a red flag.The credit reports you request don’t show up as negatives on your history. In fact, many lenders believe it is a positive sign that consumers stay on top of their indebtedness by checking their credit histories at least once a year. It’s part of good credit management. Requesting a credit report is more likely to increase than diminish your chances of getting new credit approved.MYTH #3: THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE IS TO PAY OFF ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS AND CLOSE THEM
This myth is partially correct.Conversely, closing your accounts can have the opposite effect. Lenders and reporting agencies care about how much of your current credit limit you are currently using. That is, they are less interested in how much you owe than in how much you owe compared to how much you are approved to borrow. Sounds complicated, right? Think of it as a ratio. The following example will help shed more light.If you owe $5,000 in credit card debt, that may not be significant if your credit limit across several cards is $30,000. On the other hand, if you have just one card with a limit of $5,000, then the $5,000 in current debt is quite significant and may disqualify you from opening an account with a second lender.When you pay off your credit cards, you are decreasing the ratio of credit used to approved credit. That’s great. When you close the accounts, your approved credit is reduced, and that means future credit purchases will represent a higher utilization of your total approved credit. In other words, closing the accounts actually hurts your credit score.MYTH #4: A BAD PAYMENT HISTORY DOESN’T AFFECT CREDIT SCORES ONCE ACCOUNTS ARE UP TO DATE
Unfortunately, getting caught up on payments doesn’t erase your history of late payments, accounts referred to collections, and bankruptcies. All of that information stays on your report for up to seven years – or longer, depending on the type of bankruptcy.Getting current is still important. It’s a great sign and it reassures lenders that you are serious about paying your debts. Lenders understand that sometimes circumstances cause us to fall behind on payments. What they need to see is that you are committed to repaying what you borrow and that you don’t walk away from debt.Missed payments stay on your credit report for three years. If you are a good customer but you are temporarily having trouble paying your bills, it’s worth calling the lender to see if you can reschedule payments. Many lenders are willing to work with customers to allow a few months without payments as long as they are arranged in advance. These arrangements are not reported to credit agencies and do not harm your credit score.That said, it is still true that a bad payment history continues to affect your credit score for years, even after you have brought the accounts current.MYTH #5: ALL CREDIT REPAIR SERVICES ARE SCAMS
Corrupt companies have given the credit repair industry a bad name. A simple Google search will reveal many companies that promise to erase derogatory information in your credit report for a fee.Reputable credit repair companies do exist, doing a lot of good for a lot of people. They understand the rules about credit reporting and how to use those rules to improve your score.Credit repair services can have incorrect and harmful information removed from your report.Repair services might advise you to petition creditors for goodwill corrections, in which they remove information about a few late payments from an otherwise unblemished account history. effective A reputable agency can also provide reliable advice on prioritizing payments to existing accounts, applying for new credit, paying down your old debt, and much more.Many lenders give extra weight to recent credit activity. Showing a trend toward responsible debt repayment can persuade them to be more forthcoming when extending new credit and favorable terms. Follow your credit repair agency’s advice and you could well find yourself with a higher score and more access to home loans, auto loans, and credit cards than you dreamed possible.

The statistics may say that the U.S. economy is out of recession, but many small and mid-sized business owners will tell you that they’re not seeing a particularly robust recovery, at least not yet.There are various reasons for the slow pace of recovery among small businesses, but one is becoming increasingly apparent: A lack of cash flow caused by longer payment terms instituted by their vendors. Dealing with slow-paying customers is nothing new for many small businesses, but the problem is exacerbated in today’s sluggish economy and tight credit environment.This is ironic given the fact that many big businesses have accumulated large cash reserves over the past couple of years by increasing their efficiencies and lowering their costs. In fact, several high-profile large corporations have announced recently that they are extending their payment terms to as long as four months, including Dell Computer, Cisco and AB InBev.So here’s the picture: Many large corporations are sitting on huge piles of cash and, thus, are more capable of paying their vendors promptly than ever before. But instead, they’re stretching out their payment terms even farther. Meanwhile, many small businesses are struggling to stay afloat, much less grow, as they try to plug cash flow gaps while waiting for payments from their large customers.How Alternative Financing Can HelpTo help them cope with these kinds of cash flow challenges, more small and mid-sized businesses are turning to alternative financing vehicles. These are creative financing solutions for companies that don’t qualify for traditional bank loans, but need a financial boost to help manage their cash flow cycle.Start-up businesses, companies experiencing rapid growth, and those with financial ratios that don’t meet a bank’s requirements are often especially good candidates for alternative financing, which usually takes one of three different forms:Factoring: With factoring, businesses sell their outstanding accounts receivable to a commercial finance company (or factor) at a discount, usually between 1.5 and 5.5 percent, which becomes responsible for managing and collecting the receivable. The business usually receives from 70-90 percent of the value of the receivable when selling it to the factor, and the balance (less the discount, which represents the factor’s fee) when the factor collects the receivable.There are two main types of factoring: full-service and spot factoring. With full-service factoring, the company sells all of its receivables to the factor, which performs many of the services of a credit manager, including credit checks, credit report analysis, and invoice and payment mailing and documentation.With spot factoring, the business sells select invoices to the factor on a case-by-case basis, without any volume commitments. Since it requires more extensive controls, spot factoring tends to be more expensive than full-service factoring. Full recourse, non-recourse, notification and non-notification are other factoring variables.Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing: A/R financing is more similar to a bank loan than factoring is. Here, a business submits all of its invoices to the commercial finance company, which establishes a borrowing base against which the company can borrow money. The qualified receivables serve as collateral for the loan.The borrowing base is usually 70-90 percent of the value of the qualified receivables. To be qualified, a receivable must be less than 90 days old and the underlying business must be deemed creditworthy by the finance company, among other criteria. The finance company will charge a collateral management fee (usually 1 to 2 percent of the outstanding amount) and assess interest on the amount of money borrowed.Asset-Based Lending: This is similar to A/R financing except that the loan is secured by business assets other than A/R, such as equipment, real estate and inventory. Unlike factoring, the business manages and collects its own receivables, submitting a monthly aging report to the finance company. Interest is charged on the amount of money borrowed and certain fees are also assessed by the finance company.Overcoming Fears and ObjectionsSome businesses shy away from alternative financing vehicles, due either to a lack of knowledge or understanding of them or because they believe such financing vehicles are too expensive.However, alternative financing is not hard to understand-an experienced alternative lender can clearly explain how these techniques work and the pros and cons they may offer your company. As for cost, it’s really a matter of perspective: You have to ask whether alternative financing is too expensive compared to the alternatives?If you’re in danger of running out of cash while you wait to get paid by large customers and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit, then the alternative could be bankruptcy. So while factoring does tend to be more expensive than bank financing, if this financing isn’t an option for you, then you must compare the cost to possibly going out of business.Most business failures occur because the company lacked working capital, not because it didn’t have a good product or service. Unfortunately, this problem is currently magnified for many small businesses dealing with ever-longer payment terms from their large customers. Alternative financing is one possible solution to this common cash flow problem.

If you really want to become more profitable and improve operations in your company, you have to shift your focus from the following limiting thoughts about technology.

If I buy the latest production software we will be in good shape

We don’t do that here

We are unique, we don’t have competition that use technology to help them generate profits

The plan is in my head, people will steal it off the computer

All I need is more sales to make more profits
You’ve got to get the right mindset by eliminating restricting thoughts, and then you’ll be ready to improve people, processes and profitability.Do you ever wonder how a company can start out with just one idea, a passion and a vision, then 10 to 20 years later have thousands of employees and millions in sales?

What did these companies do to become so successful

Are the owners smarter than you?

Do they work harder than you?

Did they have better equipment or people than you?
No. But they do use better technology tools to drive operation (the people and the process). Operations represent about 60% or 80% of all your overhead costs but they’re the least understood by US businesses.For decades, the Japanese have focused on operations that have driven innovation and a culture of continuous improvement. In the right small business owner hands, operations and technology can be a competitive weapon.Now, ask yourself how can your small company— with just a handful of employees and limited resources — turn operations and technology applications into a powerful weapon to beat competition and learn to grow and thrive!Why invest in technology / What are the benefitsThe bottom line is, if you’re suffering from tight cash flow, exhausted lines of credit and top-line growth, then you have weak operations and have underutilized the technology applications onsite or off-the-shelf that can help you.First step to rapid profit improvement is to start by questioning your employees. They usually know where costly blocks and bottlenecks are hidden.Technology can store employee survey results that help you to plan profitability.Employee Questionnaire(sample)

Are your interests and ambitions being challenged

Does each department in this company have measurable standard designed to increase profitability? Does each area have documentation of process flows and procedures of how it should work?

Does everyone in this company share the goal of improving the company profits? Does the CEO hold town hall meetings about ‘planned profits’?

Are you regularly told when you do good work?

Do you get the help you need to do a good job?

As an employee, do you feel you can trust your direct supervisor/manager?

Are owner/managers open and honest with employees?

Does the company provide you with continual training in areas that will make you a better employee? Has it trained you on how to cut operating expenses or increase revenue to improve profits in your area?

Are your responsibilities generally explained, well planned and organized?

Is poor performance tolerated by management? i.e., worker performance, operations bottlenecks and customer relations.
The following are other ways business productivity software drives business processes more efficiently to gain optimal results:Create an open and communicative environment.By storing appraisal information within a formal database, managers can more easily communicate business strategy and create measurable goals for their employees that will support overall company objectives. In allowing employees to see the whole picture and understand better how individual goals fit into the company’s business objectives. This can create a energized and engaged employees, thereby raising the business productivity of the company.Motivate your employees using technology.Based upon the information gathered in an online performance evaluation, managers can compare current skills with those required for advancement or other recognition or reward opportunities that present themselves as the manager tracks progress on employee goals throughout the year. You may also find you need to redirect employees to different departments if you feel their business productivity could increase elsewhere. If there are impediments to better performance, the company should review why it is happening and try to eliminate these through better allocation of resources or additional training.Monitor business productivity and employee progress on goals.Business productivity software solutions enable managers to more easily track progress during every phase of goal completion and offer immediate reinforcement or coaching to keep performance and deadlines on track in daily operations, and utilize performance measurements for strategic planning.Electronic CommerceThere are many business applications related to e-commerce, from setting up your online storefront to managing your supply chain to marketing your products and services. These technologies fall into three main categories:Business to Business(B2B)

Purchasing indirect supplies

Look for catalogue-based websites offered by suppliers for corporate purchases, similar to business-to-customer websites, for purchasing indirect supplies such as office furniture, pens, paper, and general office equipment.

Leveraging your existing Web presence

Improve your existing business-to-customer e-commerce website. Greater sophistication can be added into your online store to target your business clientele.
Business to Customer(B2C)The global reach of the Internet has allowed many businesses to sell their products and services online, both at home and abroad. An electronic storefront is a website with many pre-built e-commerce components like electronic shopping carts and secure payment gateways that you can use to set up an online store.Internet MarketingEverything you do to promote your business online is Internet marketing. For example, Internet marketing strategies include (but are not limited to) website design and content, search engine optimization, directory submissions, reciprocal linking strategies, online advertising, and email marketing.How to Implement Technology to increase profitsIT implementation can be a valuable tool for increasing workplace productivity, but without a careful selection of the right technologies for your specific industry and comprehensive employee training, it can also serve to reduce productivity, profitability and employee satisfaction. The return on investment will depend on whether the technologies implemented are right for a given business’ needs and how prepared employees are to use them.Step 1Brainstorm a list of business process improvements you may be able to realize from a technological implementation. Your list should include three categories: improvements that you know to be possible, and which are core requirements for your expense; a wish list of things you would like to have, but which may be future development efforts; and a list of things which would transform the way you do business, but which may not be possible. These three targets provide you with a present-day implementation goal, as well as a future development target–and it may be that your transformational goals could be far easier to reach than you expect.Step 2Determine whether you intend to develop these technologies using in-house resources, or through outside consultancies. Nearly every major workflow technology requires extensive customization, implementation procedures and training. Small businesses can sometimes get by cheaply using staff members technologically proficient–but mistakes made at the beginning of the process can ramp up costs later on when you turn to professional outside support.Step 3Avoid specifying particular technologies if you do not have the technical expertise to evaluate them properly. The purpose of the managerial process at this stage is to define goals and budgetary constraints; non-technical managers who wed themselves to specific technologies too early can miss out on substantial cost savings, and choose a technology not the best suited for the work.Step 4Circulate your request for proposals among outside consultants and implementors, or establish an internal process for doing the same among your staff if you are keeping the work in-house. Major technological implementations will not succeed if they are added to the existing workload of an employee. Proper technological implementations can be more than a full-time job in and of themselves. Staff members shifted to technology implementation should have their existing duties moved to other staff resources.Step 5Negotiate a time frame, budget and implementation benchmarks with your external or internal staff resources. If you are working with an outside consultant, your contract should include protections against running over budget and over schedule. Likewise, the consultant will protect his own firm by setting specific terms of the work to be completed, and charging you extra if you change them over the course of the contract.Step 6Develop an implementation timetable, including the following steps: test deployment to review the work; training, if necessary; a transition phase from the current workflow to the new technology; and production deployment of the completed technology. This last phase is typically followed by an iterative process, in which improvements to the technology are collected from the staff who have direct experience working with it. When budget and time allow for it, apply a new cycle of upgrades to your technology to ensure that you are getting the most out of it.