Insurance and Credit

There are a number of things which you can do to prepare your business for sale; here is our advice. Preparing your company for sale is the only way to maximizing the amount of money a buyer is willing to pay.

When planning to sell a business, it is important to remember that selling a business can take up to 12 months and may involve on-going commitment during a transition period.

1. Value your business

Realism is key – there is a need to understand the market value for your company and use this information as gauge offers within the process itself. Any company valuation must be objective, related to your industry and from an independent source.

A valuation will give you a base-line for gauging buyer offers and will give you an idea of what you can expect to net from the sale. It will also tell you your business’s market position, financial situation, strengths and weaknesses.

Obtain a valuation from an accountant or an experienced business broker. The organisation performing the valuation must have access to current accounts and forecasts. Most importantly, any business broker needs to understand current industry sentiment and having a clear sector understanding is imperative.

2. Accounts

Potential buyers will generally require three years of historic accounts. The better prepared and more professional your accounts, the better the impression you’ll make. Solid accounts also make the buyer’s due diligence more straightforward.

3. True profitability?

Small and Medium sized businesses often put through their book a number of non-operational costs. It is imperative to understand these costs and have the necessary justification to argue why they should be excluded.

Expenses which do not recur should be excluded from the cash flow.

4. Financial information

An early conversation with a financial advisor to understand both the personal and corporate tax situation is imperative. An understanding of your tax situation will impact timing and may influence deal structure.

5. Documentation

Review your incorporation papers, permits, licensing agreements, employment contracts, leases, customer and vendor contracts. Make sure they are readily available, current and in order.

6. Succession planning

Buyer support post sale must be considered. A succession plan must be in place before the business is advertised or potential buyers are approached. An area for particular attention is to show the potential buyer how the daily activities of the sellers will be accommodated.

7. Divestiture motivation

Buyers always want to know why you are selling. Be prepared to articulate your reasons and make sure they are genuine.

8. Advisory Team

Use a sector-specific business broker who will be able to advise you before and during the selling process. We recommend that you contact business brokers, legal representatives and accountants who are proficient in mergers and acquisitions at least 3-6 months before you wish to start selling your company.

Finally, always keep focused on running your business. It is all too easy to let the performance of the business decline because you’re too focused on the sale of your business. This will only give buyers additional negotiating power to lower their offers. A great advisory team will let you focus on running the business while they get on with the job of selling it for its maximum value.

Debit card is the best way to lead an ideal debt free life. By getting a debit card from a recognized company like Visa or Master card is exactly like using a credit card, with an advantage of not paying any additional charges for the services. A debit card is like having a prepaid credit card wherein money from your account is used.

It is a very common misconception that debit cards are not as safe as credit cards. A debit card brings with itself a bouquet of advantages like no annual or monthly charges or rate of interest that the cardholder needs to pay. In addition the debit cards are directly linked to the users bank account hence avoids debts from incurring.

Many credit card holders dont realize but they do land up paying a huge amount of money just to own a credit card. It is no surprise that debit card usage turnover surpassed over trillion dollars in the preceding year.

If you are a debit card holder then there can never be any late payment charge or over the limit fee because of the simple fact that the amount of money in your bank account would be the amount you spend. Debit cards are definitely hassle free means of spending the money without ever going overboard resulting in incurring debts.

A Debit card helps both ” to send money and receive money easily. It is extremely important to always remember your PIN and never carry it along with your debit card. In an unfortunate incident of a card loss, you must report it immediately to freeze any unauthorized transaction.

It is important to keep a tab on your bank statements to check for any misusage of your debit card. When processing your information online, you must ensure that the site as well as your internet connection is secure. If you feel suspicious about anything while entering your personal information, you must contact your bank to assure that everything is legitimate and alright.

There are a lot of debit card scams going on where in a device called skimmers is attached to the card swiping machine which gives access to the offenders to attain your personal and bank information. You should be careful when the debit card is being scanned.

Using a debit card shall help you attain a better track record but would also keep your liabilities under check. Indeed a debit card does have its advantages but you should also be careful while using it.

Hackers broke into a computer at Wyndham Hotels, in July 2008. They were able to steal tens of thousands of customers’ credit card records, card numbers, including guest names, expiration dates and highly sensitive data from the cards’ magnetic strip.

It’s a company’s worst nightmare, particularly in the face of an economic downturn, and to make matters worse, Wyndham didn’t realise the theft had occurred until September. The company remains unsure about how many individual credit card accounts were negatively affected by the Wyndham incident, however, it’s safe to say today most holiday-makers will think twice before paying for their vacation on credit!

So exactly how did such a crime occur? The fraudsters involved in this affair had clearly devised a sophisticated plan to steal the information, but the truth is, thousands of hackers steal credit card information every day, using much simpler tactics.

There are two main strategies hackers use to access credit card information: through password theft, or via a virus or Trojan horse.

Password Theft

Cracking someone’s password is the most common method that hackers use to bypass security software, and access data such as your credit card information.

A password is really just a simple string of letters, numbers and special characters – and, subsequently, there are a finite amount of combinations that can be created. A powerful computer will be able to eventually crack any password, no matter how long or complicated it is, but you can do your best to thwart their efforts.

To protect yourself as a consumer, your best bet is to create the strongest password possible. This means a unique combination of letters and numbers, special characters if you can remember them, and even a mix of lower and upper cases if possible. The stronger your password, the longer it takes for the computer to crack – and the longer it takes to crack, the greater the risk of the hacker getting caught. Easy passwords will get cracked first, so aim for complex, long and unusual combinations.

Worms, Viruses and Trojan Horses

Viruses appear in all shapes and sizes, and have many – mostly nasty – purposes. Some viruses are written to delete your files, and others are written to send out lots of spam – but the absolute worst viruses will infect your computer and collect valuable information. These are called Trojan Horses.

A Trojan Horse will typically install itself and run covertly in the background, and the user of the computer – that’s you – is none the wiser that it’s even there. It sits silently and collects data on everything you are doing, from logging into your internet banking to making online purchases, and then sends that information back to its creator.

The thing about Trojan horses is that you must open the virus for it to activate – so if you practice extreme caution when web browsing and opening emails, you should be able to avoid an infection.

For example, if you receive an email from ‘Jenny Shields’ with an attachment that says ‘Great_picture.exe’, and you don’t know anyone called Jenny Shields, then delete the email immediately. When surfing the worldwide web, should a bright and flashy pop-up demand your attention to claim a prize, don’t click on it – it’s most likely to be a scam. Practicing common sense will almost certainly help you avoid becoming a victim of fraud or infection.

You should also consider using anti-virus and anti-spyware software to help keep your identity safe. Usually, this software will search for viruses on your computer and in your inbox. It’s available for free, and the protection it offers could save you a lot of time, money and hassle in the long run.

By enforcing these simple rules into your day to day routine and using a trusted credit card can instantly lower the risk you’re at from fraudsters infiltrating your life!