Recent deal: A brewery gets ahead with BusinessLoans.ie

BusinessLoans.ie is celebrating helping our brewery client get an unsecured loan of €60,000 for business expansion. They have big plans to grow their business this year and need to get some new kit. Big equipment will be attained separately on asset finance. This first loan will help with smaller items and working capital.

If you’re in the brewing or distilling business you may be interested to know that bigger asset finance companies have specialist divisions dedicated to you. They need to have an in-depth understanding of the tools & kit of your trade; and they know the values of the equipment & machinery that goes in to a brewery or distillery, so they can accurately calculate your finance at the lowest possible rates.

If your business needs finance to grow in 2022 talk to us now on 01 55 636 55 or email hello@businessloans.ie.

Business loans for mergers & acquisitions in Ireland 2021

Now that we are exiting the worst of the pandemic many businesses are considering their options. Government supports have been propping up many, but behind the scenes there are zombie businesses. These are businesses very likely to fail without this support. Many businesses need to work on a health check & evaluation their operations right now. If your business is strong, has cash reserves and an ability to borrow you could engage in the growth strategy of distressed M&A. This can help businesses improve balance sheets, become more resilient & simply take advantage of good deals.

FINANCING M&A

For now, there continues to be low interest rates & government-backed loans on the market. However, this situation will not continue. Supports will dry up and interest rates will rise. BusinessLoans.ie can help you raise unsecured finance from the strength of your company performance; or if you have assets and need more we can organise refinancing to raise more. If you buy a new company we can see what loan quote options it has to ensure it has enough working capital.

THE BUSINESSLOANS.IE VIEW

There are opportunities out there and businesses can grow and save jobs. Preparation is key, especially if you’re buying a distressed business. Your accountant will be invaluable here; or there is free mentoring available from professionals connected with the Local Enterprise Office. You can get sound financial advice & a strategic plan. If you’re a bigger company Enterprise Ireland offers similar supports. If funding M&A is part of the mix we’re here to organise fast finance quotes on 01 55 636 55 or email us at hello@businessloans.ie

BusinessLoans.ie Features in the Sage Ireland Blog!

Rupert Hogan, MD of BusinessLoans.ie was interviewed by journalist Róisin Killeen for the Sage Ireland blog. Over three million customers are managing accounting, finances, payroll, payments, operations and people with Sage Business Cloud. They also provide the best information resources to ensure business owners in Ireland stay ahead.

Rupert Hogan gave insights on key financing concerns for Irish entrepreneurs in the post “Need a small business loan? How to successfully apply for one” and covered the following topics:

• Do you need a loan?

• Grant versus a loan?

• Where can you source a loan?

• Is a credit score important?

• How much can you borrow?

• How long will the loan term be?

• What documentation do you typically need?

• Should you get professional advice?

Read the full post for finance tips such as why “it’s better to be over-capitalised than under-capitalised and it is wise to have a buffer of working capital to help you during difficult times.” Alternatively, if you’re ready to discuss loan quote options that can help your business survive or thrive, we’re here for you 7 days by email at hello@businessloans.ie or call 01 55 636 55.

Business loans: How much can I get?

We speak with a lot of business owners and usually they will ask how much of a loan can they get. The short answer is, it depends on the affordability for repayments showing in the recent bank statements. So if you were looking for €100,000 over 3 years the repayment could be around the €3000 a month mark. If, looking at the bank statements, a direct debit for €3000 looks like it would bounce a lot then the credit team might not pass it.

But it’s more complicated as we exit this series of lockdowns. Some credit teams will take a look at financials from when your business was trading normally pre-pandemic and factor this in to their lending decision; especially if you’re in an industry expecting a boost in trade.

If your accounts are showing a loss the chances of approval for a simple unsecured loan are lower. In this situation other loans can work. If you’re in hospitality and take a lot of card payments your merchant account data could get you an advance equivalent to around a month’s turnover. If you are in manufacturing or an agribusiness and have machinery they can be refinanced to release working capital. If you’ve a book of debtors invoice finance can work.

There are a number of finance solutions on the market and BusinessLoans.ie organises quotes. We never ask you for a fee and we’re happy to talk, find multiple quotes for you to compare and if the deal is right, get you funded fast. Email us at hello@businessloans.ie or call 01 55 636 55.

Happy International Women's Day from BusinessLoans.ie

BusinessLoans.ie is celebrating International Women’s Day. The theme this year is #ChooseToChallenge. We choose to challenge the imbalance of lending & investment in female-founded companies. Looking back over the past year & the finance we have helped with, the majority of the loans were for businesses owned and run by men. We need to work harder on being more accessible and are setting a goal to overcome this.

We did help some great female-founded businesses though. Our favourite was a loan for a uniforms business during the pandemic. They were pivoting from their usual hotel uniforms business to helping our nurses and medical professionals battling Covid19 by importing & manufacturing gear to keep them safe.

Wherever you’re at with your entrepreneurship journey there’s help at hand. Check out these 5 essential supports for female entrepreneurs in Ireland. Throughout 2021 we would love to help more female founders in Ireland with business loans to grow their business. We are happy to set up a Zoom and discuss loans as well as help with any useful connections, finance or otherwise, in our network. Get in touch today.

BusinessLoans.ie 2020 Review & 2021 Finance Forecast

The team at BusinessLoans.ie are happy 2020 is coming to an end and we look forward to 2021 with great hope. Now that Brexit is looking settled and vaccines will be administered in the coming months, most businesses can plan for the future once more. This also means that lenders will be more receptive to supporting Irish business.

The alternative lenders were open for business throughout the pandemic but were mostly supporting businesses who were continuing to trade. While the government did a great job in assigning capital to SMEs many business owners found the banks whose job it was to release the funds didn’t approve them; or they felt they were getting the “slow no” with decisions not forthcoming in a timely fashion. Ultimately it led to a small percentage of available funds getting drawn down. This in turn led to extensions of some government-backed lending schemes. BusinessLoans.ie were able to help a wide variety of businesses during this time; from retailers in need of cash flow to uniform suppliers pivoting from hotel trade to frontline workers.

Looking forward to 2021 the alternative lenders will be broadening their scope of industries they can support after the harsh level 5 lockdowns ease and the population gets vaccinated. In early 2021 working capital facilities, invoice finance, asset finance etc. will be business as usual and we look forward to getting your quotes organised. We’re available over the holiday period if you’re making your plans now. Send us a message or call us 7 days on 01 55 636 55.

Achieve your Business Goals in 2021

If you’re like many business owners, you may wish to create goals and growth targets from time to time. In 2021 we’re exiting a pandemic so many businesses are making big changes out of necessity. Every year more than 70% of Irish business owners are expected to make strategic business plans. A considerably lower percentage stick to them. With this post we aim to give you the structure to stay on track.

CREATE BUSINESS GOALS YOU’RE SURE TO ACHIEVE

When we set business goals, it’s done with big expectations and strong intent. However, after a few months the early motivation has disappeared or things have just got so busy, many will find it hard to stay on track. What can be missing is a good plan of action to keep us on the journey to achieving our business goals. Here is a plan to keep you on track:

1. Identify what you want. We sometimes don’t reach our goals because they are not what we want but what others say we should want. For example, you might feel constrained by risk-averse advice but your gut is telling you to move your business in a new direction. As we plan for 2021 we can draw on lessons learned from Ireland’s last crisis.

“What the recession did to many small businesses was make them switch from expansion mode to one where every euro was held hostage. If you are in a mode where you don’t have access to capital, opportunities are lost and you are more risk averse,” says David O’Kelly, partner in KPMG’s corporate finance practice.

2. Assess your financial situation. Once you have set your priorities and know what you want to achieve this year, review your complete financial situation. Include your recent set of accounts, bank statements, cash flow forecast and other information you deem important. The objective is to obtain a complete understanding of your business income and expenses so you can create realistic financial goals.

3. Set SMART Goals. When creating your goals keep this acronym in mind:

Example:

Goal: Prepare for Brexit by moving into new markets. The business will move in to 8 new markets within 3 years. In 2021 it will move into the USA & Canada. We will commence planning now. In 3 months we will launch a marketing campaign and assign a business development manager we aim to get €200k in sales from this market in 2021.

Each goal states a specific and written monetary amounts and the time frame in which you plan to achieve the goal. The example above takes the process one step further specifying a milestone to achieve in the year in addition to the long-term goal.

4. Make a plan. Once you’ve specified your goal create a plan to make it a reality. Instead of trying to create the perfect plan, focus on defining the activities you will do to reach your goal. If your plan requires finance to execute it www.BusinessLoans.ie can help by organising multiple quotes to get you the best deal.

WHAT DO YOU TRACK TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS?

A budget. A budget will provide a visual representation of your spending activities, income and expenses.

STEP 1: ADD UP YOUR INCOME SOURCES

The first element of a good business budget is figuring out how much money you bring in on a monthly basis.

Start with your sales figures first and then go further by adding other income sources you use to run your business.

STEP 2: DETERMINE FIXED COSTS

Fixed costs are expenses that are charged the same price each month. As you can imagine, incorporating these is by far the easiest part of creating your business budget.

Review your past bank statements or accounting software reports. You’ll easily be able to spot your fixed bills and the total amount they cost you each month.

STEP 3: INCLUDE VARIABLE EXPENSES

Items that don’t have a fixed price tag each month are called variable costs.

Many of these purchases can actually be scaled up or down depending on the state of your business, using your monthly profit. Your profit each month will be determined by the earnings you’re left with after paying all your costs.

So, if your business does better than you forecasted, you can use the extra funds to increase variable spending enabling you to grow faster.

STEP 4: PREDICT ONE-TIME SPENDS

A great perk of creating a budget is now you will be able to factor in one-time purchases better than ever before. While some of these items may come up unexpectedly, like the purchase of a laptop to replace the one that crashed, others can be budgeted for months in advance, like that business retreat you’ve been eyeing, to protect your business from financial burden.

STEP 5: PULL IT ALL TOGETHER

The first four steps of this post detail the elements of a good business budget, so the last step is simply pulling it all together. Take action by using this handy checklist with specific examples so you can create your budget without any hassle:

INCOME SOURCES:

• Hourly Earnings

• Product Sales

• Investment Income

• Loans

• Savings

• Other

FIXED COSTS:

• Rent/Mortgage

• Utilities

• Salaries

• Internet

• Government and bank fees

• Mobile phone

• Website hosting

• Accounting Services

• Legal Services

• Insurance

VARIABLE EXPENSES:

• Raw Materials

• Contractor Wages

• Commissions

• Advertising

• Other Marketing Costs

• Transportation

• Travel & events

• Printing Services

ONE-TIME SPENDS:

• Computer

• Furniture

• Software

• Office Supplies

• Gifts

Expenses. Closely tracking your expenses helps you commit to your budget and ensures you have extra money towards furthering your business growth. In this regard I can’t recommend highly enough reading the business classic The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch. It will help you identify where your 20% of business efforts are resulting in 80% of your business income and brutally cutting down on wasted resources.

5. Defined steps of achievement. Create a specific plan with defined steps to achieve your goals.

Example:

Goal: Prepare for Brexit by moving into new markets. The business will apply the €3000 savings identified monthly towards the sales & marketing budget of the USA & Canada new market entry. We will also get finance pre-approval for a stocking loan through www.BusinessLoans.ie that we have identified in our forecast will need to be drawn down in 2 tranches in March and July.

Experience a setback?

It’s normal to face challenges and this year Irish business owners have experienced immense challenges. It’s tempting to retreat or give up on your plan. Instead of quitting, adjust the time frame in which you expect to reach your business goal. Alternatively explore some shorter term finance solutions. Talk to us. We can help you find a loan quote solution to stay on track. Or if you need financial advice for the big decisions consult your accountant or reach out to your Local Enterprise Office. Call us 7 days on 01 55 636 55. We have many professionals in our network who may be of use.

References:

https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/the-5-step-plan-to-creating-a-balanced-business-budget

https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/finance-for-smes/time-to-look-beyond-the-banks-1.297542

Business Loans for Retail & Hospitality Exiting Lockdown

Now that we’re exiting Lockdown 2.0 and your business can reopen, there’s a good chance your working capital levels have been depleted. You may need a business loan for cash flow, hiring new staff, covid alterations, equipment or fit-outs. If your business bank statements are imperfect, showing low repayment capacity or have many missed payments you may have been declined the government-backed loans or you might just need approval fast. So what can you do? The good news is, there are a number of alternative finance options in Ireland that may work.

Merchant Cash Advance

If your business uses a card machine then a merchant cash advance is a fast finance solution. Every month you should receive a merchant services statement. The application and approval process is quick. You will need to get 12 months merchant statements & 3 months business bank statements to get approval feedback. So you may be thinking, how much can my business qualify for? It depends on the repayment capacity indicated by looking at the bank statements, as well as the turnover you’re doing monthly on the card machine. The credit team will look at how you were trading before covid as well as now and hopefully make a loan offer. A good rule of thumb would be expect an offer to be the equivalent to one month’s turnover, pre-lockdown drop-off.

How the loan is repaid is different than a typical loan. The finance company sets up a repayment of a small percentage of the daily income of the card machine. It could look something like 7%. That means if you took in €1000 one day they would take €70 towards the loan repayment. The credit teams are aiming to set a percentage that gets the loan repaid in around a year. They are often happy to renew the facility with you again in future once they see it’s being paid down. This type of repayment shows flexibility for times when business is quiet. The cost of finance is often comparable to rates for overdraft facilities many SMEs are quoted for.

Simple Unsecured Loans

If you have 2 years accounts (both in profit), 6 months bank statements (a dip in turnover is OK during Covid times but not too many missed payments and showing repayment capacity) & an up to date tax clearance certificate you could qualify for a simple unsecured loan from alternative lenders. This means you can get a fast quote, usually within 24 hours. The rate will generally be from 6% to 12% (the credit team will grade it A, B, C or D depending on the strength of the numbers they have crunched).

Asset Finance

If you need new items to help your business trade there are a number of options. We know of options for financing items such as big outdoor shelters, food trucks & commercial kitchen equipment. You would be surprised the amount of items that go in to a refurb or fit-out that can be financed.

We’re always happy to answer any questions you have & organise fast finance quotes. Call us now on 015563655 Always seek financial advice from your accountant or the Local Enterprise Office. Or we have professionals in our network we can introduce you to.

Business Loans & Recurring Revenue in Ireland

Did you know that you can release cash flow from future recurring revenue? There is a new finance solution that enables Irish businesses to get working capital from upcoming revenue & on a revolving basis. You can release up to 70% in advance, month after month.

BENEFITS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

• Create a recurring revenue stream

• No personal guarantees

• The cost is agreed in advance

CRITERIA TO ACCESS FUNDING

• Your business is trading at least a year

• You have a minimum annual turnover of €1m

• You have an average monthly turnover of €100k

If recurring revenue finance is of interest we’re here to guide you through the process. You can be onboarded in 48 hours & have peace of mind to release working capital automatically every month. Talk to the business loans team today on 01 55 636 55 or web chat via the portal in the bottom right of this screen now. We’re here to help, 7 days.

3 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Chances of Loan Approval

If you’re looking for business loans in Ireland during Covid lockdown level 5 you may be overwhelmed with the number of supports, grants, government-loans and alternative finance options. It’s best to seek expert advice from your accountant or business advisor. If budget is a concern the Local Enterprise Office has great advice and mentoring too. BusinessLoans.ie is here to get you business loan quotes quickly & we never ask you for a fee. It’s best to take action before things get bad. Ensure you have enough working capital. Many loan options are flexible or don’t have an early repayment penalty. This means you can incur minimal expense by ending the loan early, once a time of business pressure has passed.

BusinessLoans.ie has three top tips for getting that loan:

1. Act before your bank statements get too tight.

2. Keep a steady minimum level of cash in the account. Don't be caught out by the number of days a in a month that a direct debit would fail. Having a bank overdraft facility in place is not a bad thing because it can show more affordability to make loan repayments.

3. Directors; don't pay yourselves excessively. It sends out the wrong signal to your lenders.

We are here for you 7 days and can get multiple loan quotes for you to compare. Use the web chat box in the bottom right of this page or call us on 01 55 636 55 now.