The Future Business

Cybersecurity should be top of mind for small businesses. One well-engineered attack can ruin an entire small business, lock owners out of their income stream, and cause them to be fined by the FTC

A cyberattack comes with physical losses, fiscal losses, and the loss of customer and employee trust. With such high risks to their livelihoods, small business owners must take cybersecurity seriously, whether their company is a start-up or further along its growth journey.

Did you know that your small business could be fined for a cybersecurity violation? Did you know that you must have a reasonable cybersecurity posture and policies? Did you know that you must protect not only your customers but also your employees? Many small business owners do not.

“I have a lot of friends that have small businesses. None of them were concerned about cybersecurity, and none knew what to do about cybersecurity,” explains Rustin Scott, Director of Information Security and DevOps, Markaaz. “If you do not have proper cybersecurity protections for your business, employees, and customers, you could face a hefty bill if a cybersecurity breach happens. The FTC has full regulatory oversight permissions to fine any business that does not have

Your small business credit score determines whether or not you’ll be approved for new credit, your interest rate, and how much you’ll pay to borrow money.

Banks, lenders, and other financial institutions use your small business credit score to determine if you’re a risk or a safe bet when extending credit. 

Your small business will most likely require financing at some point. Whether it’s getting a loan from the bank, applying for an invoice financing program through vendors like Amazon, or partnering with another company to expand your reach. Any time you borrow money as a business owner, the lender will check your credit score. So the better your score, the easier it will be for you to get financing for your small business. 

Why do businesses need a credit score? 

A business credit score is essential for several reasons. It can help you get a business loan, a line of credit, or other financings. It can also help you get better terms on loans and lines of credit. Also, a good business score may help you get a lower interest rate on a loan or line of credit. 

Benefits of a strong business credit score 

A good business credit

We speak to credit score expert Paul Ryan to discover what a business credit score is and how you develop, maintain, and use your score

A business credit score is very similar to a personal credit score. Just like a personal credit score, your business credit score is an official measure of whether your business is likely to repay its credit, loan, or debt. Companies, including Equifax, Dun and Bradstreet, and Experian, create and update these scores based on your business payment history and cash flow. With a good business credit score, you can fund your business growth and operations far more easily. 

“Credit score companies look at the business’s payment history. They check if you are paying on time and confirm whether your business might be a little late in paying its credit or, worst case, delinquent. That’s the number one check credit agencies check,” said Paul Ryan, Business Solution Architect, ProSource. “I advise organizations to ensure that any type of credit you use is provided to the credit agencies. These include credit, leases, credit cards, and any other vendors or other payments that may not be applied to a credit score automatically.”  

Establishing a line of credit is

We’ve explained why your business credit score matters — it can help you secure financing, receive better insurance rates, and negotiate the terms of your lease. Now we’re focusing on the ways you can improve your business credit score, so you can enjoy those benefits and more.

Basics for Building Business Credit

To build positive business credit history, you should follow many of the same principles for building personal credit. We’ll go over them here, along with business-specific tips.

1. Make sure your personal credit is separate from your business credit. 

To establish good business credit, you’ll first want to make sure your business credit profile is actually established. That means opening a commercial banking account to keep your business’s funds separate from your personal funds. From there, you can apply for and receive business funding separate from your personal credit.

2. Pay early or on time.

Once you’ve been approved for business credit, it’s critical that you make all payments for your outstanding debts on time. This will be the most impactful part of your business credit score. Not only will you improve your credit score by paying on time, but you won’t have

Whether you have a dedicated IT team, sell your products online or simply use a computer for work tasks, it’s important to follow the latest security guidelines to help protect your data. Although security threats are ever changing, you can help safeguard information with a few solid tactics. Read these everyday tips we follow at The Business Backer to help keep your business more secure.

Follow Password Safety Best Practices

Weak passwords are one of the biggest security vulnerabilities when it comes to cyberattacks and account takeovers. In order to avoid password-related breaches, you may want to set up network guidelines to require a new password every couple of months, or talk to an IT professional to help set up password regulations for your work computers. Ideally, all computer users should regularly update all passwords used with a combination of letters, symbols and numbers. You can make managing passwords easier and more secure with the following technology:

• Two-Factor Authorization: This option requires an additional step, like entering a code from a trusted device, to verify the identity of the user upon login.
• Password Manager: You can use an encrypted password manager to

When you apply for a small business loan, you may be asked to provide an EBS, or electronic bank statement. Generally, a special type of software is used to interpret and transmit data from an EBS file to other financial technology. This software, sometimes referred to as a data transfer service, helps provide a safe way to send information across financial institutions, lenders and other services. The Business Backer uses Plaid, a secure data transfer service that can quickly connect to your bank account for fast and easy transmission.

Why Was I Asked To Provide an EBS?

Lenders generally ask you to provide bank statements, financial data and/or link to a data transfer service in order to verify the information provided on loan applications, as well as to make sure that you can reasonably afford to take out the loan. Using an electronic bank statement can help save time when you apply for a loan when compared to other document submission methods.

What Is Plaid?

Plaid is a popular data transfer service that safely and securely transmits data from your bank account when needed, like when you apply for a loan or

Funding your business with outside capital is often necessary to help it grow and realize its full potential. If you’re in the market for small business capital, you may quickly realize there are many funding methods available. Read our guide to learn what to look for when choosing the right financing method for your company.

Determine Your Funding Needs

There are a few different types of business financing available to suit your funding needs. One of the main differences is whether you need ongoing capital from some type of revolving credit, or a larger lump sum from a small business loan.

Additionally, the funding timeline varies widely by lender. Small business creditors like The Business Backer work hard to make the funding process as easy and efficient as possible. Other business lenders, including banks and credit unions, can take much longer to review applications and fund approved borrowers.

Assess the Available Business Funding Options

You may qualify for more than one type of loan to help fund your business. Some businesses choose to leverage more than one financing method to manage larger business expenses and pay for everyday costs. Some business funding

When you apply for small business funding, lenders take a variety of factors into consideration before making a decision. Details such as your credit score, time in business and revenue are important, but what you may not have considered is your business’s cash flow. Read our quick guide to learn more about cash flow and how it can impact a small business loan application. 

What Is Cash Flow?

Cash flow is defined as the net amount of money transferred into and out of a company over a set time period. A positive cash flow indicates that more money is moving into the company than out of it, whereas a negative cash flow means that the business is spending more cash than it generates in revenue. Read this guide to learn how to calculate cash flow and access free cash flow statement templates.

How Does Cash Flow Affect My Loan Application? 

Small business lenders typically ask for bank statements and other financial data to determine whether you have positive cash flow and can afford to take out the loan. If you have a history of positive cash flow, you’re more likely