America’s SBDC Blog

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How To Increase Profits Using More Accurate Job Costing

November 10, 2020
By Ken Boyd –

If you can’t identify and accurately estimate all of your project costs, how can you determine the profitability of the job? It’s simple, you can’t.

Business owners who conduct business on a project or job basis may have a difficult time tracking each individual cost associated with each individual job. However, owners who cannot track total project costs accurately may find themselves taking on work that is not profitable or pricing their work too low. The solution lies in accurate job costing. Estimating the total cost of a job can be easier said than done. We've got a few tips to help you manage and track your job costs for more accurate estimates. Share on X But first, let’s take a look at the difference between job costing and process costing. (more…)

America’s SBDCs Are Celebrating National Veterans Small Business Week

November 2, 2020

National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) 2020 takes place November 2 – 6, 2020. As always, our goal is to raise awareness of veteran small business ownership and encourage communities to support their veteran-owned businesses.

This year offers an important opportunity to support our veteran small business community as they adapt, pivot, and face hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrates, connects and empowers service members (including National Guard and Reserve members), veterans, military spouse entrepreneurs and business owners — past, present and future — during National Veterans Small Business Week. America’s SBDCs provide entrepreneurial resources to support transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses at all stages of small business ownership. Share on X No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey or where you are located across the country, you can find transition assistance, entrepreneurial training, government contracting opportunities, disaster assistance, and access to capital right in your local neighborhood. (more…)

Business for Sale Market During COVID-19: A Paradox of Unique Opportunity and Uncertainty

October 27, 2020
By: BizBuySell –
BizBuy Sell Confidence Index
(BizBuySell Confidence Index — click image for larger view)

New data from BizBuySell’s small business confidence survey and recent business for sale transactions reflects a market driven by opportunity seekers and business owners, either well-positioned to profit or forced to exit.

BizBuySell’s 3rd quarter 2020 Insight Report, a nationally recognized economic indicator which aggregates statistics from business-for-sale transactions, shows a steady upward trend in sales since the pandemic hit. In April, transactions showed a 51% year-over-year decline, shrinking the deficit to 21% in July, and then just 5% fewer deals in September.

The catalyst behind the resurgence appears demand driven. According to BizBuySell’s 2020 Small Business Confidence Study, buyer confidence reached a record high of 60 compared to 53 a year ago. (more…)

New PPP Loan Forgiveness Application 3508S: Will It Help You?

October 20, 2020
By Gerri Detweiler –

If you took out a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $50,000 or less, you may be able to use a new application — Form 3508S — to obtain forgiveness. This application does not make forgiveness automatic, but it will make it easier for some borrowers to qualify for forgiveness.

The big change here is that the application does not require borrowers to calculate a reduction in forgiveness if they reduced employee salaries or wages. The SBA, in the Interim Final Rule announcing this form, notes that this change is likely to have a minimal impact on overall forgiveness:

“There are approximately 3.57 million outstanding PPP loans of $50,000 or less, totaling approximately $62 billion of the $525 billion in PPP loans. Approximately 1.71 million PPP loans of $50,000 or less were made to businesses that reported having zero employees (presumably not counting the owner as an employee) or one employee. To the extent that these businesses have no employees other than the owner… they are not affected by these exemptions.” (more…)