Credit Counseling Or Bankruptcy: Which Is Best For You?

Both have their pros and cons, so which road to take depends largely on the individual and how severe his or her financial problems have grown. The options are credit counseling and debt management services, or bankruptcy. When you get to the place where you cannot pay your bills and have money left over for food and other necessities, there are some hard decisions that have to be faced. At the same time, salaries, especially in the lower ranges, have utterly failed to keep pace.

Inflation has impacted nearly every facet of daily life including food, gas, rent, clothes, utility bills and more. People often get to a place where they simply can?t pay their bills, especially in today?s economy which is not particularly sympathetic toward the poor or even the middle class.

Some guarantee confidentiality, and unfortunately, others do not. Some services are certified or accredited, and others are not. The services vary considerably, for example some charge fees and exist to make a profit, while others are strictly operated by volunteers and don?t charge fees for their services. There are numerous credit counseling/debt management services available, both in most local communities and over the Internet.

If your debt situation has not yet reached a point of no return, credit counseling and debt management may be the best option for you. This is the way it works:

? Check out a variety of counseling services, both in your community and on the Internet to determine which best suits your needs. Avoid those that charge high fees, do not guarantee your privacy and that don?t have any credentials or accreditations to offer.

? Make an appointment with the agency of your choice. When you go to the appointment, take as much of your paperwork and documentation with you as possible, i.e. proof of your expenses and income, along with verification of the debts you owe.

? The counselor will review your situation and develop a plan to help you pay off your bills. Legitimate counseling services can often persuade your creditors to take less than the total amount you owe and arrange for longer periods of time to pay the debt off.

? Instead of paying your bills directly, in most cases, you make one monthly payment to the counseling service, which then distributes that amount among your creditors according to the agreements they have worked out. The arrangement leaves you enough money to live and halts collection procedures. Over a period of time, all your bills are paid in full and you essentially have a new start, provided you don?t get yourself back into additional debt in the meantime.

On the other hand, if you have too much debt and your creditors are not inclined to work out payment arrangements with you, the best possibility may be declaring bankruptcy. There are numerous bankruptcy attorneys and, again, it behooves you to shop around to obtain the best possible services at the least possible price.

It is wisest to work with an attorney who does a lot of bankruptcy work because he or she will be most familiar with the rules and regulations as well as with the judges and bankruptcy trustees who work in the local system. A good attorney will know what the trustees and the courts will allow and what they won?t, and will be able to advise you as to your best options.

There are advantages and disadvantages, as well as eligibility requirements, for both types of bankruptcy and the bankruptcy attorney can best advise you which option will work better in your particular situation. The court simply works out a repayment plan and instead of paying the money to your debtors, you pay it to the bankruptcy trustee who then distributes it to the bankruptcy trustee who then distributes it to the creditors. In a Chapter 13, nothing has to be given up, but the debts have to be paid in full.

The debtor generally has to give up anything of value that can be sold to pay his or her debts, although in most cases a person?s home and their primary transportation are exempted. Chapter 7 is a complete discharge of all nonsecured debts, and some secured ones, generally including everything except taxes and school loans. Those are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. There are two kinds of bankruptcies available to individual debtors.

The most important thing is, once you are out of debt, carefully manage your money so you don?t land back in the same situation again. The bottom line is, you don?t have to continue suffering; there are ways to get out of the debt situation and begin again. Both can stop collections procedures and eliminate annoying and harassing phone calls from collectors. Whether you choose credit counseling or bankruptcy, either one can help you eliminate debt and get back on your financial feet.

Credit Card Processing Options For Home-based Business Owners

Well, now you can thanks to e-commerce and the internet. Are you the owner of a home based business that wants to be able to accept credit cards payments from clients or customers, without all the high fees that typically go along with it?

Special Options for Home-Based Businesses

With proper research you will be able to find that many merchant account providers also now have special packages for the specialized industry of home-based businesses. No one knows your business like you do. Therefore, you should carefully research any and all possibilities before making a decision on what way is the best to accept credit card payments for services rendered. Though there are pros and cons to be weighed and considered, the option of being able to accept credit cards from clients and customers is a huge convenience for you both.

For home based business owners, it has been a difficult and lengthy process in the past to receive payments from clients or customers; but by having a merchant account, you can now accept payments through a banking institute, independent sales organization, or by a third party such as PayPal. Home-based businesses must be approved in order to establish a true merchant account through a banking institute or independent sales organization. An underwriting process is necessary, and it will also involve using your personal credit rating, and this will be reviewed and evaluated. Many merchant account providers offer high approval rates, and special account options for home-based businesses.

Receiving Funds From Credit Card Payments

When the process is completed the home-based business owners can automatically deposit funds received from credit card payments directly into their account. There are fees that are charged by an Independent sales organization or banking institute, and while they are not as low as the third party provider they are often worth the ability of accepting credit cards. With higher sales volumes, the fees charged by Independent Sales organizations or banking institutes will be less compared to the third party providers-so you have yet another incentive for increasing your business!

Third Party Providers

When using a third party provider, the funds will get deposited into the merchant account, and then you can transfer it to your account. The entire process may take up to several days. Additionally, using a third party provider means you run the risk of never receiving the funds from your transactions, as they are often fraudulent businesses.

Merchant Accounts Through Banks

There are both positives and negatives associated with a merchant account through a banking institute, as well. Some advantages include the fact that banks are considered to be secured and dependable, and fees associated with setting up your merchant account are considerably lower for the long-standing business owner and owners with good credit. Many banking institutions do not like to open merchant accounts for a business seeking to accept credit cards over the internet. You will have to go and speaking informatively about your business and your goals and why it would be profitable for you to be able to accept payments on line. Banking institutions are more likely to close a merchant account if there are any charge backs.

Independent Sales Organizations

These types of organizations will charge higher fees and you do need to watch them carefully to make sure that you do not pay for the same fees over and over again, but they can be a good option for people and businesses that are otherwise unable to accept credit cards. Independent Sales Organizations accept businesses that wish to collect online payments and they do accept high risk businesses. Independent Sales Organizations go through a bank for the merchant account. Business owners wishing to open a merchant account with less than perfect credit typically use Independent Sales Organizations.

Be sure to ask questions up front about any fees that may be associated with obtaining a merchant account. Most of the merchant accounts have done away with all the application, set up, monthly and annual fees. Many merchant accounts that are now available for the home-based business owners have a high approval rate, and most are approved within twenty-four hours.

Pros And Cons Of Using Freight Factoring To Increase Your Business

There are drivers' salaries to be paid, fuel and repair bills to be cleared and you might also need to keep a tidy amount ready for unexpected expenses, in case any of your trucks breakdown en-route to their destination. Every business requires an uninterrupted flow of cash to meet all related expenses and this is especially true in the trucking business.

However, there are some pros and cons to be kept in mind, before you rush to tie-up with any freight factoring company. These companies can also take over your collection activity by collecting the payment from your clients on the due date and thus this method of finance is flexible and can provide you with an opportunity to flourish in your trucking business. In this process, a freight factoring company will 'buy' off your credit invoice that you have issued to your client and pay you the amount of your invoice minus a 'factoring fee', which could range between 1.5% to 5%.

Freight factoring can solve all these problems.

Pros:

The biggest advantage of entering into a freight factoring arrangement is that you will get your invoice amount immediately, even if you have issued a credit invoice. This will improve your cash flow and help you to meet your expenses, take on larger and longer hauls and even put into action any expansion plan that you might have nurtured. You will also require fewer documents and no collateral, without which you would not have gotten a bank loan anyway, even if you did wish for one.

The freight factoring company could, at an additional cost, also handle your receivables department, thus freeing your mind and staff from the trouble of running after your clients for your money. Since the incoming amount only depends on the value of the invoices that you 's ell' to the factoring company, you will not need to worry about any monthly installments or interest rates, which would have been the case, if you had taken a traditional loan.

Cons:

It is essential to conduct a thorough survey of the freight factoring industry, before you tie-up with a particular factoring company. The factoring company should be able to handle your account efficiently and should make your payments within the stipulated time for you to enjoy the benefits. Their staff should be available to hear your queries and should also be courteous and polite, while handling your queries. Some of your clients too might not like the idea of answering to a third party in financial matters.

You will therefore need to placate them, if you do not wish to lose them as your clients. If you are already working on wafer-thin profit margins, then by paying the 'factoring fee', you will only end up transferring your profit to your factoring company. This might prove to be disastrous for your business in the long run. If the factoring company is retaining a certain amount of the invoice as security against bad debt, then that too could prove to be troublesome, in case of any dispute with the company or your client.

Therefore, even though freight factoring seems to be an answer to all your financial woes, by not paying heed to the above points, you could end up in even more trouble.

Thus, it is important to study the pros and cons of this mode of finance, in order to avoid any pitfalls associated with it.