Education: AA Liberal Studies, Limestone University
Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader’s Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
One form of relief offered to small businesses is the Employee Retention Tax Credit. First introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this tax credit could be claimed by eligible employers on quarterly tax returns. This program was expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law in December 2020, making the credit accessible to more employers.
The SBA offers a variety of loan programs that vary according to business needs. Its flagship program is the 7(a) loan program, which offers loans for most general business purposes. However, it also offers special programs such as microloans and disaster loans. Find out more about SBA loans, including who qualifies.
QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software. It has the complex accounting capabilities that small business owners need and supports numerous integrations. Quickbooks Online has a lot to offer in terms of features, accounting, and usability.
A credit card refund fee is a penalty fee on refunded transactions and are charged by credit card processing companies. In most cases, merchants will not have to pay a credit card refund fee, but they will not be refunded the processing costs they paid during the initial transaction.
One of the most important decisions you make as a small business owner is how you will accept payments from your customers. Will you stick with the traditional cash register, or would a modern point of sale (POS) system be a better fit?
If you don’t have a credit score, a credit card is the best way to kick off your journey to creditworthiness. Check out our favorite credit cards for no credit!
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of whether debit card merchant fees are worth the cost, but for the majority of retailers, the answer will probably be yes. Due to a combination of regulation and fraud protection, debit card transactions are frequently cheaper for merchants to process than credit cards.
Want to run a catering business, but aren’t sure where to start or get the funds? Learn everything you need to know to get started in our step-by-step guide!
If you’re new to the world of credit and debit card processing, you may be wondering what interchange fees are and how they impact the cost of processing transactions and maintaining a merchant account for your business. We’ll also show you how these fees fit into each of the different processing rate plans that your merchant account might use.
A cross border fee is a credit card processing fee charged whenever a merchant in one country (e.g., the US) accepts payment from a customer whose card originates from another country (e.g., Mexico). Cross-border fees are fixed, non-negotiable fees set by card networks.
US Business Funding offers many different financial products to help business owners score the capital they need. It is a great choice for equipment financing, SBA loans, or working capital loans. US Business Funding has earned a 95% approval rate and 60-second approvals.
A $10,000 business loan is a fairly small amount, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for many businesses to receive one. Many online lenders have short applications and can fund as quickly as the same business day of approval. Lenders may evaluate factors including personal credit score, monthly or annual revenue, and time in business to determine if you qualify.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
