Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
My Dad repaired most of our shoes believe it or not, I can hardly believe it myself now. With 7 pairs of shoes always needing repairs I think he was quite clever to learn how to “Keep us in shoe Leather” to coin a phrase!

He bought several different sizes of cast iron cobbler’s “lasts”. Last, the old English “Laest” meaning footprint. Lasts were holding devices shaped like a human foot. I have no idea where he would have bought the shoe leather. Only that it was a beautiful creamy, shiny colour and the smell was lovely.

But I do remember our shoes turned upside down on and fitted into these lasts, my Dad cutting the leather around the shape of the shoe, and then hammering nails, into the leather shape. Sometimes we’d feel one or 2 of those nails poking through the insides of our shoes, but our dad always fixed it.

Hiking and Swimming Galas
Dad was a very outdoorsy type, unlike my mother, who was probably too busy indoors. She also enjoyed the peace and quiet when he took us off for the day!

Anyway, he often took us hiking in the mountains where we’d have a picnic of sandwiches and flasks of tea. And more often than not we went by steam train.

We loved poking our heads out of the window until our eyes hurt like mad from a blast of soot blowing back from the engine. But sore, bloodshot eyes never dampened our enthusiasm.

Dad was an avid swimmer and water polo player, and he used to take us to swimming galas, as they were called back then. He often took part in these galas. And again we always travelled by steam train.

Rowing Over To Ireland’s Eye
That’s what we did back then, we had to go by rowboat, the only way to get to Ireland’s eye, which is 15 minutes from mainland Howth. From there we could see Malahide, Lambay Island and Howth Head of course. These days you can take a Round Trip Cruise on a small cruise ship!

But we thoroughly enjoyed rowing and once there we couldn’t wait to climb the rocks, and have a swim. We picnicked and watched the friendly seals doing their thing and showing off.

Not to mention all kinds of birdlife including the Puffin.The Martello Tower was also interesting but a bit dangerous to attempt entering. I’m getting lost in the past as I write, and have to drag myself back to the present.

Fun Outings with The camera Club
Dad was also a very keen amateur photographer, and was a member of a camera Club. There were many Sunday photography outings and along with us came other kids of the members of the club.

And we always had great fun while the adults busied themselves taking photos of everything and anything, it seemed to us. Dad was so serious about his photography that he set up a dark room where he developed and printed his photographs.

All black and white at the time. He and his camera club entered many of their favourites in exhibitions throughout Europe. I’m quite proud to say that many cups and medals were won by Dad. They have been shared amongst all his grandchildren which I find quite special.

He liked taking portraits of us kids too, mostly when we were in a state of untidiness, usually during play. Dad always preferred the natural look of messy hair and clothes in the photos of his children.

Getting to Know the Features and Advantages of a Pharmacy Software

A pharmacy is a medical shop that provides medication to customers. Pharmacy software is a solution the shop utilises to ensure safe selling of the drugs to consumers and in an effective manner.A drug store keeps in its inventory a large number and variety of medicines. Remembering the crucial details of each is not possible for human workers. Management software can store information like toxicity, side effects, potency, expiry date, etc. and make it easily accessible to the employee.Some Features of a Medical Shop SoftwareThough a management software comes with countless characteristics, explained below are just few of the most important.

Loading of Data

The second the pharmacy begins operation there is a need to access and control a lot of data, i.e., information related to every medicine sold. This requires the mammoth task of manually filling in each detail of each inventory item. Even if the chore is given to a junior employee, it is vital to check their progress. Simply said, a lot of resources are put into just one job and a job that doesn’t guarantee to be 100% accurate because human-errors always happen.A good medical software will come with the feature to extract data from a CSV or Excel file and load it onto the system. With this attribute, the time taken to complete the task is reduced, and there are no chances of errors occurring.

Management of Inventory

Inventory management makes the pharmacy more efficient and decreases operational costs by keeping track of the medicines sold. Out of all features of a billing system, this is the crucial one.Using the software, the inventory of the pharmacy can be tracked automatically meaning an employee doesn’t need to perform the laborious task of handling and monitoring inventory. Their time can be utilised for more beneficial activities. This feature also controls access to the drugs in the store which improves security and enables accurate medicine dispensing.

Point of Sale Integration

The most practical application of a pharmacy solution is POS. The feature keeps a check on the cash flow on all floors of the pharmacy and other chains (if present).

Barcode Scanner

The barcode scanner allows verification of each drug that passes the POS and helps keep track of all sales. It also aids in

retrieval of refill information

verification of dispensed product

Advanced Reporting

Some pharmacy management systems come with a library of report templates. These built-in reports can be employed by workers to work faster. The process is easier for the employee and the information that needs to be tracked and reported is far more accurate.

E-Prescriptions

The application allows the pharmacy to receive new prescriptions from doctors or refill prescriptions directly. Electronic prescriptions make the process of getting the medicine to the patient faster.

e-Signature

The element saves time during the purchase of medicine because it allows the sale to be signed electronically. In one transaction, the employee can electronically track acknowledgment of each prescription sold.

Clinical Integration

Some pharmacies employ many clinical tools such as dosing guides, lab information, and drug interactions. The clinical integration allows the pharmacy software to be incorporated with the tools for better services.

Pill Imaging

The feature guarantees that no incorrect pill is dispensed. At the quality check, the pills are displayed and then compared with those being purchased. The comparison ensures that the right medicine is given. Pill imaging makes for a valuable tool to enhance the accuracy and quality of prescription filling.The Paybacks of a Management Solution for a PharmacyWhen the right pharmacy software is employed, a medical shop delivers the best possible care to patients while increasing profit margins. It frees up precious time and resources which can then be focused on producing more business. A few essential benefits that come hand in hand with a pharmacy management solution are:

The cost of ownership is very low.

The applications of the system are wide-ranging and can be controlled by having different logins for the owner of the pharmacy and other employees.

Each user of the software can have diverse privileges by manually setting the rights of the user.

The software can be customised as per the needs of the shop making it as comprehensive or as narrow as required.

The productivity of the pharmacy increases which, in turn, amplifies profitability.

The sale procedure is considerably sped up through the Barcode scanner because it records details automatically.

More than just a front-end solution, a medical shop solution also takes care of the supply chain.

From alerting when the stock is low to informing the pending expiry date of medicines, the system comes with many useful features.

The analysis, information, and reports the software provides assist in better decision making for the business.

All data is stored in a centralised location and retrieving the data is easy with an interactive user interface.

A software is more than reliable. It is secure that safeguards the sensitive information of the medical shop completely.