Tag: finance

Quickbooks Online Basics You Need to Know

Register here

Are you an aspiring or established business owner looking to get started with QuickBooks? Are you trying to figure out what you’re doing but keep getting lost? Do you like bagels? Well, then this is the workshop for you!

Who You Are: Although anyone interested in QuickBooks is welcome to take this workshop, it is designed for aspiring and established business owners looking to learn the basics.

What To Have When You Sign onto Zoom: You will need your laptop and possibly power cable. We will be performing exercises together using a sample QuickBooks Online data file.

What You Will Learn: In this SCORE workshop, you will learn how to use QuickBooks Online to record your daily business transactions. (No QuickBooks signup required!) Subjects covered include:

·      Customer sales and payments

·      Supplier purchases and payments

·      Banking and Chart of Accounts

·      Reporting from QuickBooks Online

·      Best practices and common mistakes

Please note that this workshop is only training on QuickBooks Online and not QuickBooks Desktop.

Listen to what others who have attended this workshop have to say about the instructor and the program:

·      The instructor made the topic so accessible because she went through things in a step-by-step process. 

·      The instructor is very personable and knowledgeable and makes a topic that is scary much more understandable.

·      The hands-on practice using the online samples was great and the instructor answered all my questions real time.

·      Great presenter.

·      The online demonstrations really helped me understand how to use QBs.

Presenter

This workshop is presented by Rachell Barnett. Rachel is the owner of Gentle Frog, LLC. She has been using QuickBooks regularly since 1995 and has been certified since 2012. She was recently named to the Top 100 QuickBooks Advisors for 2020. Her website has a wealth of information on it, all of which she developed herself: https://www.gentlefrog.com/ Her passion is helping small businesses with their bookkeeping needs and she can be found on LinkedIn. ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbarnett )

Small Business Flex Fund Info Webinar

Register here

The Washington State Small Business Flex Fund is a new loan program for the smallest Washington businesses and nonprofits affected by COVID-19. To be eligible to apply, small businesses and nonprofits must employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, have annual revenues of less than $3 million per year, and experience a direct economic disruption as a result of COVID-19.

Should you apply? What should you prepare if you decide to apply?

This webinar will provide information about the loan program and application process and help you prepare to apply.

Some of the topics covered will be:

  • The Flex Fund
    • Eligibility
    • Loan Size
    • Use of Funds
    • Term & Interest
    • Step by step in the pre-application portal and moving to the lender’s application
    • What is and is not required to apply
    • What will cause a declined application
  • Key Parts of a Loan Application
    • Short Form Business Plan
  • Underwriting Tips
    • What does a lender look for

Questions will be answered as time allows.

 

Presenters are Steve Burke and Jerry Petrick, Washington SBDC Certified Business Advisors. See more information about Steve Burke at https://wsbdc.org/south-seattle/ and Jerry Petrick at https://wsbdc.org/vancouver-2/

ScaleUp Training Series: The Rebuild Edition

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ScaleUp Business Training is provided through funding from the Washington State Department of Commerce.

This training is focused on teaching proven strategies to small businesses that will increase resiliency and spur growth, even in the face of a global pandemic.
The three-hour online courses are held weekly, allowing up to 100 businesses around the state to improve their strategic thinking and decision-making, create operational efficiencies, and strengthen the bottom line in times of uncertainty.

This 8-week program provides tangible tools to examine strategic alignment, optimize market strategy, and master finances. Participants will also learn how to drive performance using metrics, build organizational systems that increase capacity, and develop strategies for automating important parts of their business.

ScaleUp is delivered in a hybrid of virtual live instruction combined with self-paced learning modules to make the program as accessible as possible for business owners strapped for time. The curriculum is based on the Thurston Center for Business Innovation’s highly respected ScaleUp program, which uses the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac® Growth Venture coursework.

The ideal candidate for ScaleUp: The COVID Edition is the president/owner of a Washington State business that has been in operation for two years and has annual pre-covid revenues in excess of $100,000.

Course topics include:

Organizing and creating business systems to get more done in less time.
● Strategies for increasing revenue.
● Strengthening your product and/or service.
● Creating your own competitive advantage in the marketplace.
● Designing a marketing strategy that increases sales leads.
● Understanding financial statements and key business drivers and metrics.

ScaleUp is a partnership between the Washington State Department of Commerce, Thurston EDC Center for Business Innovation, and the Economic Development Administration.

Tax Essentials for New and Existing Business Owners

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Paying taxes is inevitable. But reporting and paying the right taxes timely is the goal you want to achieve to give you peace of mind and allow you to focus on more important areas, like driving your business forward.

This 2.5-hour workshop will help you learn about:

• Federal taxes imposed on your business.
• Federal taxes you need to report and pay on amounts paid to your employees.
• Federal taxes you need to report and pay based on your business’s profits.
• Washington taxes imposed on your business.
• City and local taxes imposed on your business.
• Record keeping requirements to ensure you are ready for that taxing agency audit.

After attending this workshop, you should also consider attending the “Tax Saving Strategies for Small Businesses” workshop which will allow you to take your knowledge from this workshop and drive your taxes lower to save you money!!

Presenter Description

This workshop is presented by Joe Heinrich, a SCORE Mentor, who is a retired CPA having worked for 12 years with KPMG, an international accounting firm, and 22 years with Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. in various finance executive positions. Over the past 10 years since his retirement, Joe has help hundreds of small business owners make their businesses more profitable, eliminated problems with their accounting, assisted them in obtaining financing for their business and helped them save thousands of dollars of Federal and Washington taxes.

Startup425 Foundations: Small Business Finance

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Have a great idea for a product or business? Not sure how to get started? Join Startup425, the King County Library System, and seasoned professionals from SCORE for a series of online seminars focused on bringing your ideas to reality, from business plan preparation to financing, marketing, and networking. Making adaptations to address the economic conditions created by COVID-19 will be highlighted.

Each session will focus on a different aspect of the startup process, and participants may choose to attend one, multiple, or all sessions, depending on individual needs and interests.

Participants will exit the series with the skills and tools necessary to start or grow a business. They will be furnished with information on the resources available to assist in further refining business plans and strategies, pitching to financing partners, marketing a product or service, and building a support system of peers and mentors.

Small Business Flex Fund Info Webinar

The Washington State Small Business Flex Fund is a new loan program for the smallest Washington businesses and nonprofits affected by COVID-19. To be eligible to apply, small businesses and nonprofits must employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, have annual revenues of less than $3 million per year, and experience a direct economic disruption as a result of COVID-19.

Should you apply? What should you prepare if you decide to apply?

This webinar will provide information about the loan program and application process and help you prepare to apply.

Some of the topics covered will be:

  • The Flex Fund
    Eligibility
    Loan Size
    Use of Funds
    Term & Interest
    Step by step in the pre-application portal and moving to the lender’s application
    What is and is not required to apply
    What will cause a declined application
  • Key Parts of a Loan Application
    Short Form Business Plan
  • Underwriting Tips
    What does a lender look for

Information session for new applicants to HSFC funding

Interested in learning more about City Human Services Funding to support your programs? Every two years, 16 cities in King County partner to allocate city funding through one joint application. This partnership is called the Human Services Funding Collaborative. You are invited to join us to learn more about City funding opportunities that will open in the spring of 2022.

This information session is primarily for new agencies who have never applied before, but currently funded agencies with new staff may also benefit. Please share with others you think may be interested.

Topics covered will include:

  • What are funding priorities?
  • What are minimum requirements to apply?
  • What kinds of questions are asked in the application?
  • What is the timeline for the next funding cycle?

Wednesday, September 22 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

To join the meeting: Join live event  

For more information email questions@share1app.org

September Grant Writing Clinic

A joint venture between Communities Rise and the Puget Sound Grantwriters Association (PSGA) brings you a free service to increase your chances of receiving grant funding!

This grant writing assistance program from Communities Rise is designed to support community-based organizations that serve communities impacted by systemic oppression and do not have the internal capacity to hire a grant writer or have staff dedicated to grant writing.

Up to 2 members from an organization may bring a request for proposal (RFP), application guidelines, draft proposal, a proposal not funded, or questions about grant searching, and an experienced grant writer will give you individualized guidance. Preference is given to orgs led by communities of color or other communities impacted by systemic oppression.

These services are free of charge and available by appointment only. Email grantwriting@communities-rise.org questions or to schedule!

Can’t make this one? Grant writing consultation happens at CR on the first Monday of each month (except holidays), contact us today to schedule for a future date.

*Please note that all clinics have been moved online until future notice*

Funding Still Available: SBA EIDL Program Update

Register here: https://pxlme.me/EIDLupdate2

 

We will provide simultaneous interpretation to assist non-English speakers. Indicate language preference when registering.

 

Small businesses and nonprofits still have time to apply for long term 30-year, low interest loans and small grants through the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program.

 

Join representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as they provide updates and share everything you need to know about these EIDL programs. Translated versions of the EIDL application will also be available for notetaking during the webinar.

 

General EIDL Program Overview:

  • 30-year loans for up to $500,000 at a 3.75% fixed interest rate (2.75% for nonprofits) with no pre-payment penalty
  • Two grant programs, the $10,000 – Targeted EIDL Advance and the $5,000 -Supplemental EIDL Advance are earmarked for businesses in low-income communities. To be considered for these grants, an organization must apply for a loan. Organizations can be awarded grants even if they are denied a loan or decide not to accept it

 

Expected updates to the EIDL Program include:

  • Raising the maximum loan amount from $500,000 up to $2 million while also increasing the aggregate loan cap up to $10 million
  • A waiver of affiliation rules (that mirrors that of the Paycheck Protection Program)
  • Funds can now be used to pay down prior commercial debt and make monthly payments towards federal debt (including principal and interest payments)

 

We will host a Q&A session as time allows – feel free to submit your questions in advance when registering. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please register to receive an email link to the recording.