Author: Complete Controller

To give tax release to business-facing COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security (CARES) performed temporarily reduces the restriction on deductions for business interest expenditure. Here is the story.

TCJA made a new restriction

Before-tax cuts and jobs act (TCJA), some business was subject to the known “earning stripping” policies. Those policies prevailed to restrict deduction by U.S businesses for interest paid to associated foreign entities that were not subject to the U.S income tax. Other taxpayers can usually fully deduct business interest expenditure (focused on other tax law limitations like the at-risk and passive loss rules).

The TCJA moved the business interest removal or deduction playing field. For tax years starting in 2018 and beyond., it restricted a taxpayer’s deduction for business interest expense for the year to the sum of:

• 30% of compensated taxable income 
• Business income revenue

Business interest expenditure is known as interest on debt that is appropriate to a business or trade. Though, the term business or marketing does not include the following expected actions.

• Deal in the real property business
• election services as a worker
• Choosing farming business 
• Selling water, sewage disposal services, electrical energy, steam or gas by a local supply system, or transportation of steam or gas by pipeline, if a particular governing body makes the rates.

Interest expenditure forbidden under the restriction rules is moving on the future tax years treated and identified as business interest expenditure incurred in the carryforward year.

Small business exception

Various businesses have been released from the interest expenditure restriction rules under what we will call the small business exception. Under the exception, the taxpayer is free from restrictions if the taxpayer’s average annual gross income is $25 million or less than that for the three tax years ending with the ongoing tax year. Businesses with changing annual gross income might qualify for the small business expectation for many years but not for others for the following year.

If the average yearly income is typically over the $25 million thresholds, but not much, careful planning might permit you to succeed the small business expectation for some years.

Particular policies for partnerships and S corporations

The interest expenditure deduction restriction rules affect more complex business managers as partnerships, limited liability companies (LLC) have been preserved as affiliations for S corporation and tax purposes.

 The restriction has been measured at both the owner level and the entity level he higher. Policies stop double counting profit when calculating a leader’s ATI to apply restriction policies at the owner level.

IRS planned regs set forth the new rules for applying the business interest expenditure restrictions to membership and S corporation and their owners. The policies are complex and presently come compliance challenges.

Favorable CARES acts change

The CARES act usually permits businesses, if they elect otherwise, to boost the interest expense deduction restriction to half of the ATI tax year starts in 2019 or 2020. The company could also use 2019 ATI to measure the 2020 ATI restriction, which can permit a massive deduction if 2020 ATI is less, which might be the case for various businesses.

For memberships or partnerships (having LLCs treated as a partnership for tax purposes), the 30% of ATI restriction remains in place for tax years starting in 2019 but is half for 2020.

Do not permit partnership business interest expenditure from the partnerships in 2019. The tax year is owed to partners and carried on their 2020 tax years.

Except for a partner who selects otherwise, half of the carried-over partnership business expenditure from 2019 is reducible in members’ 2020 tax year deprived of esteem to do business interest expenditure policies or rules. The remaining half is subject to the simple restriction policies, measured at the partner level, for carried over partnership business interest expenditure. Similar to other businesses, partnerships could elect to use 2019 ATI to measure at 2020 ATI restriction.

Bottom Line

As you see, the business interest expenditure restricts policies are complex. The temporarily relaxed restriction can permit impacted businesses to reduce their federal tax liabilities for 2019 and 2020. Although for partners and partnerships, restriction policies were flexible only in 2020. Your tax advisors could help your business benefit from the related guidelines for business interest expense deductions and assisted with other tax relief measures made available by the CARES act.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Starting a product or service-based business can be quite a daunting task. While you may have the funding and the business plan sorted already, there are sure to be several unpredictable bumps in the road which you will never be prepared for that will require strategies for success.

One of the critical challenges any business faces is the limited budget for many things a business owner might want to change. These changes could include expansion in product or service, improvement of the technology infrastructure, adding amenities to the employee packages, and incentivizing specific clients with the prospect of significant business returns.

These challenges are worsened if your business is financed by someone else who keeps a keen eye on the regular business operations and refuses to invest in your ideas that could potentially increase the risk of losing money earlier than expected. Here are six strategies to make your business a success.

Retaining Profitable Clients

Your approach should be to find your unique selling point and then focus on finding targeted customers for that USP. If you already have a few clients on board, try analyzing their net worth for your business and tweak your services or products accordingly.

It would help if you also considered the valuable feedback of your clients to maintain a long-term and retainable business relationship with them. While searching for new clients is pivotal to business growth, retaining the ones you already have is equally vital for the sustainability of your business.

A Pool of Experienced & New Human Resources

Most entrepreneurs believe hiring the most experienced talent from the market is the perfect way to climb to success. Experts believe otherwise. A pool of experienced and new human resources allows you to capitalize on the market experience. This capitalization can occur while training new employees according to your values.

Also, product base helps you project your USPs better in the diverse marketplace.  According to a North American survey, over 82% of entrepreneurs in the region make training fresh employees their priority. They believe that investing in the training of their workforces promises better growth for businesses.

Another finding from the same survey suggests that businesses focus on hiring experienced managers with new employees to delegate key responsibilities to experienced individuals who can foresee possible shortcomings in a business plan while benefiting from the enthusiasm and innovation of fresh blood.

Keep up with the Trends

While digitalization has made businesses easier by clearing the ruffles in the communication between the customer and the business owners and making the marketing of products easy, it has also become more competitive. Every other day, you see a new trend evolving. Be it a service or a product, inspirations and ideas lead to innovative products dynamically, thus making the market quite competitive.

Any business needs to keep up with the changing trends and innovate in their products or services to improve their retention ratios and position themselves among the industry’s market leaders.

Automate Processes

Gone are the days when customer communication, procurement, and advertisement used to be managed on manual sheets and databases. You can save time and money by investing in good accounting, CRM, and procurement software.

These tools will cut down the amount of work to be done and automate processes. With technologically advanced infrastructure and processes streamlined and well-versed, businesses can overcome many challenges with ease.

Grow Business Partnerships

It is not entirely necessary to offer all the services related to your product in-house. A more appropriate approach is to make business partnerships with service-providing vendors. Developing these relationships can help you cut costs significantly.

These savings can be beneficial in the first phases of your business. Hiring staff members for limited work can have a significant impact on your business’ finances. Growing partnerships not only save that extra cost but also establishes your brand in the market.

Consider Acquisitions

If your business has already passed the first phase and you are planning an expansion, it is best to look for potential businesses that you can acquire. The acquisition doesn’t necessarily mean taking over a million-dollar business. You could start small and look at competitor businesses going through an operational crisis.

When considering acquiring another business, you must ensure it is on brand or easily adapted to your brand. If you are looking to expand, it stands to reason that you are successful, and the acquisition would represent what you have already established.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Ahrefs and SEMrush are two of the best SEO tools available on the market. Both can help you in optimizing your website and in keyword research. Digital Marketers worldwide use these tools for their research, analysis, and marketing services.

The SEO tools let you go in-depth about the content and help you with the essential factors behind the content ranking. We have put both leading SEO tools in comparison and put them side-to-side by weighing their pros and cons to help you choose the better option.

Backlinks Analyzation

Based on the link index, if we compare Ahrefs and SEMrush, we will see that both are close, as SEMrush has a slight edge over Ahrefs. If we dig into the details, we will find that SEMrush has a more extensive link index than Ahrefs.

However, it would help if you remembered that the link index size is not the only factor to consider while choosing an SEO tool; you will also want a tool with an improved UI, for that matter. In terms of UI, Ahrefs is the winner as it gives you a relevant short preview of the text around every link. This type of convenience makes it easy for you to know the reason behind the links.

All in all, in terms of backlinking features, both Ahrefs and SEMrush, have their solid stands. While SEMrush has a more significant link index, Ahrefs balances it out with its improved UI.

Technical SEO Audit

If you want your blogs to rank higher against their specific keywords, you will optimize them accordingly. Technical SEO covers the rending, crawling, optimization, and indexing processes and is an important SEO aspect.

You must perform a technical SEO audit from time to time to ensure no issues with the technical SEO on your site, which can become an obstacle in ranking your keywords.

SEMrush offers its Site Audit tool for your website’s SEO audit and gives you an SEO health score as well. It also lists out all the SEO issues of your site and contains over 140 unique checks for SEO problems. Click on the Setup button in the Site Audit section on SEMrush to run a site audit.

Ahrefs has recently added the site audit tool, and it helps you crawl the pages on your website and run a diagnosis covering more than 110+ SEO issues. After the audit completes, it shows you the SEO health score, SEO issues, and other critical informational charts with suggestions on how to get rid of those issues. Click on Site audit, then new project, and proceed by entering your domain to run a site audit on Ahrefs.

SEMrush is a better option than Ahrefs considering Site Audit. Rank Tracker is available on both Ahrefs and SEMrush, but which one is better? Let’s find out. Ahrefs gives you an updated ranking report after every three days, and the ranking is pretty accurate. You must enter the keywords once and keep checking now and then for the ranking updates.

SEMrush also gives you ranking updates via its rank tracker but offers added features compared to Ahrefs. It provides you with a visibility score and offers regular keyword updates making it a better option than Ahrefs.

Competitor Analysis

One of the most critical features of any SEO tool is how it gives a competitor analysis. Ahrefs and SEMrush offer impressive competitor analysis tools that make it easier for you to compose your blog’s outline and see how your competitors rank against the respective keywords. Competitor analysis tools can help you a lot in keyword research and LSIs.

Ahrefs offers a competitor analysis by selecting up to four competitors and compare it to your website. It gives you a real-time comparison of your website against its competitors and shows metrics like the DR, backlinks, keywords, etc.

SEMrush, on the other hand, lets you check on your competitors by offering you traffic analytics, organic research, and the market explorer search. Combining all these options, SEMrush enables you to have a detailed comparative analysis. In terms of competitor analysis, we will call it a draw between Ahrefs and SEMrush.

The Winner – SEMrush or Ahrefs?

Ahrefs and SEMrush, both are excellent SEO data and research tools in 2021. Users worldwide trust both tools for keyword research, rank tracking, and more. However, keeping all the above points in mind, one may conclude that SEMrush provides more options than Ahrefs, so you may safely proceed with using it as your SEO tool.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

When a couple comes together in one household, many adjustments must be made to ensure a harmonious partnership. One of the most challenging aspects to handle is the budget and joining of bank accounts. However, if you join yourselves economically, aware of the common mistakes couples make, you can avoid them. Should you combine your incomes?

1. One of the two takes the economic burden

Generally, when couples start planning the combined household economics, they go one of two ways. The couple will combine their incomes into one account or have separate accounts and split the expenses 50/50.

When one person in the couple feels the entire economic burden on their shoulders, the uneven division of the expenses can cause tensions to arise. Unless it is agreed upon, one person should not shoulder all of the economic burdens.

How can you resolve the problem? To make an equitable distribution of the bills, the first thing is to know where the money is going. To gain this knowledge, it will be essential that, as a couple, a budget should be created. The budget will help the couple understand the economic needs of the household and will allow them to develop a fair plan for both partners.

2. Your way of spending affects your partner

Often, when we are single, we have a way of paying our bills or handling the income that works for us. However, when we come together as a couple and the income is combined, there can be vast differences in how each partner handles money and budgeting.

In some cases, this can be an issue in the relationship. If one partner is great with money and sticking to a budget and the other is frivolous, it can cause stress to the partner that is better with money. This stress can also put a strain on the relationship and, in some cases, end it. Most couples will say that they argue most about money.

How can you resolve the problem? Despite differences in how money is handled, both partners need to communicate and find common ground in handling money. It will be a compromise expected of both partners in the relationship. Like any other relationship issue, compromise is vital to a healthy relationship and positive economic status as a couple.

3. Economic contingencies

Many unforeseen issues can arise economically. There are so many economic contingencies that are not planned or folded into the budget. If you are not prepared for these contingencies as a couple, it can cause a disastrous amount of stress and worry.

How can you resolve this problem? The answer to this question is simple. You must have an emergency fund. How much you put into the fund will depend on how much you can save and what you want to be prepared to face.

Some will have the recommended $1000 emergency fund, while others prepare for more significant issues such as unemployment or other loss of income. In those cases, it is recommended that a couple save 3 to 6 months of each income. While there is no way to prepare for unexpected economic strains, having an emergency fund will give you peace of mind.

4. Wasteful Vs. Thrifty

In many cases, one person in the couple is wasteful, and the other is thrifty. This difference in handling your budget can be difficult depending on how far apart you both are on how you spend money or handle the household budget.

How can you resolve the problem? An excellent way to deal with the disparity of vision about some couples’ expenses is to establish common saving goals. These goals could be saving for a trip, buying a car, or having a baby.  No matter the mutual goals, it is crucial that you agree on the budget that will keep both partners happy and able to stick to it.

5. Talking once about money is not enough

When you come together as a couple, household economics should be discussed immediately. However, communication about money can be uncomfortable, causing one or both partners to avoid the discussion. This avoidance can cause strain on the relationship and economic stress.

How can you resolve the problem? Regular, even daily discussions of household economics can avoid economic disasters and stress over money. The most important thing is that there be regular communication about to avoid.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The present business landscape exists within a rigid regulatory climate that has elevated the companies’ threshold to bear financial losses. Consequently, many businesses go under the burden of losses instead of the profits that they imagined. This loss is where the significance of external audit proves its worthiness to an organization.

An external audit grants impartiality that the internal audit team can never provide. While internal auditors can’t assist but are personally invested in the result of their findings, there are no concerns over the consequences for the external auditors if the company is not satisfied with their report.

This absence of bias is essential for strengthening the credibility of a business’s financial statements and financial health. Business entrepreneurs can hire external audits for the similar reason they appoint an internal audit.

There are significant benefits of having an external audit conducted by a professional accountant to determine your business’s financial status and reputational strength. Here are six reasons external audits can help your business.

Ensures Tax Submission

When you appoint an external audit, you’re exposing your business up for a crucial assessment of whether your company is concerned with all applicable rules and regulations for tax payment. One of the benefits of having such an audit is that the external accountant is not affiliated with your company and can determine the condition of your business without the fear of the result, even if you don’t like the consequences.

For instance, an internal accountant who has been employed in your company for years might not want to deliver distress about tax non-submission and decides to fix the issue later, which could make the situation even worse.

Grants Independent Credibility

Another great benefit that instantly boosts up the confidence of a business owner is the state when financial statements will become more credible when an external source with no stake in your success vets them.

The significance of independence in external auditing is that it provides credibility that is one of the keystones to the success of your business, especially when you’re in the process of developing a versatile reputation within your industry.

External auditors won’t work directly for you, and also, they’re not going to be impressed by any pressure you might put on them to obtain a favorable audit. However, the approval of an external auditor of your financial records is much more credible than that of the internal ones.

Allows Criticism

The significance of independence in external auditing also shows that they observe the business management with a sharp-eyed gaze and determine which parts of your company are spending their valuable money. External auditors often criticize accounting practices and routine operations and idealize efficient plans for you to implement innovative strategies for greater efficiency.

Legislative Compliance

In some cases, your business might require having an external audit due to government regulations. However, it is not necessary to associate audited accounts with an external party. An external audit can assure that you’re complying with the state or federal legislation applicable to your company. This independent review ensures that your business is complying with regulations.

Fraud Prevention

External auditors scrutinize the accounting records of the company without any personal favors or biased judgments. They help to detect any suspected fraud cases by impartial inspection. Financial statements are the unpolished truth for external auditors and protect the business from further loss.

Process Improvements

External auditors provide suggestions to improve internal controls and automate procedures to make them more disciplined. Moreover, these accountants also provide constructive professional counseling sessions related to the company’s comprehensive performance and productivity improvements.

Conclusion

External auditing is the art of considering every financial activity within the premises of an organization. Undoubtedly, it boosts up the confidence of the entrepreneurs as it provides genuine reviews about the company’s well-being and provides a measure to overcome any tricky situation.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

They say no business can attain success without its employees contributing. Entrepreneurs that realize the strength of their employees are likely to succeed. Those who do the opposite may experience mediocre results at best.

To say that your workforce is the beating heart of your business would be an understatement. The workforce is more than that, so entrepreneurs must ensure their employees are happy and satisfied. A satisfied employee can do wonders for the business.

Renowned companies around the world spend heavily on the well-being of their employees. Those employers who don’t invest in their employees find out the adverse effects the hard way. Therefore, well-taken care of employees will take care of your business. Here are six ways your employees can make or break your business.

Employee behavior reflects workplace culture

Every employee reflects their environment. Their behavior reflects the training and culture operated in. The same goes for your employees. If they behave well and show coordination and appreciation towards the company, they did so due to the workplace environment.

Behaviorists believe that organizational culture has a profound impact on employee behavior. It either makes them more efficient or relatively inefficient. Employee behavior can give others a fair bit of an idea about what your company is all about.

Communication efficiency

Employees that have excellent communicating skills are likely to make a fantastic impression. Their proficiency shows that the company has invested in them and ensured that they excel at communicating. Not only that, but they should be able to understand difficulties while speaking and ways to overcome each of them without getting overwhelmed.

Motivated and encouraged

Your employees can become excellent ambassadors for your business if they are motivated enough. Such employees can potentially promote your company to the world like true ambassadors. Employee efficiency is a telltale sign that the company has invested well in them. Train them well, and they’ll become brand promotion on foot for your business.

Leadership communication

One of the best ways to turn your employees into business ambassadors is by engraving your business’s core values. Do this by including these in your employees’ daily operations, and soon, you will see that they are more connected with the company than before. Keep in mind that employees are better connected when they are engaged at the individual and corporate levels.

Linking regularly with company executives, managers and leaders make them more confident. Teaching employees about brand messaging and persistently continue it will further refine them. They’ll likely reiterate that with their teams. Keep in mind that employees have more external influence compared to upper-tier roles like managers and executives. This influence means that your employees engage with the outside world and show the type of business they are a part of.

Brand knowledge and awareness

Did you know that your employee ambassadors can bring in plenty of revenue for the business as well? Employee ambassadors use their enhanced brand awareness and extra knowledge of business and products. They can attract clients and customers during trade fairs using their proficient understanding of the business. They may not be salespersons, but they can fulfill that role effortlessly.

Act as influencers

Businesses tend to invest heavily in hiring influencers and use them as brand ambassadors. Such companies often overlook the fact that they have more credible people for the job – employee ambassadors. No matter how disconnected your employees may appear, they are bound to become business ambassadors willingly or unwillingly.

In other words, they can no longer choose not to be the brand ambassadors. Would it not be more affordable than hiring influencers or purchasing testimonials? Also, training your employees as brand ambassadors is the way to go. They’ll be better at this as they know what to do and how.

They’ll add more credibility as ambassadors as they know the business inside out. They know its core business values, which puts them in an excellent position to become brand ambassadors. Once trained as brand ambassadors, your employees can promote business through social media.

Consistently promoting the business will help the company as well. Soon, brand ambassadors have enough experience for promoting the brand online. Invest in your workforce, and some of them will turn into brand ambassadors.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

When you are attempting to purchase a home, chances are you will need to get financing. While some can afford to pay cash for their home, in reality, most homeowners will need to obtain a mortgage loan. There are many things to understand about mortgages before obtaining one.

There are contracts, calculations, and negotiations. However, before anything can be finalized, once you have found the home of your dreams, it is essential to understand the terminology. Here are five easy-to-understand mortgage terms every potential homeowner needs to know.

Amortization

When paying a mortgage, you are paying the interest and the principal (the actual amount of the loan.) Amortization is the term for how those payments are split into monthly payments for the loan length. The first few years of the mortgage, most of the payments are going towards interest.

Once the interest is paid down, the payments will be going towards the loan balance. The amortization has to be adhered to at a minimum to maintain good credit and payment history. However, if you pay more than the set payments, you can reduce the interest and pay less for your home.

Down Payment

The money you pay upfront to lower the principal amount of the loan is known as the down payment. Some mortgage companies, banks, or lenders will require a minimum amount as a down payment. At the same time, others will not require a down payment to secure a loan.

Your credit score can affect the minimum required down payment as well. You can also lower the mortgage payments by making a larger down payment. The more you can pay upfront; the less the home will cost you overall. Therefore, you must put as much down on your home as possible. Most financial advisors and lenders will recommend you put at least 20% of the principal down, if possible, and some lenders will require that amount as a minimum.

Escrow

Escrow is an amount of the mortgage that is not accruing interest. Your lender sets up an escrow account to gather funds to pay property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA dues on the homeowner’s behalf. Though this account is not accruing or charged interest, it is added to the monthly mortgage payment.

Mortgages do not automatically have an escrow account. Escrow is negotiated, and if your mortgage does not include an escrow account, you will be responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance, and other fees that the escrow account would cover. These fees are subject to change over the life of the loan; therefore, if you have an escrow account to cover these payments, your mortgage payments can fluctuate up or down accordingly.

Interest Rate

An interest rate is a percentage determined by the loan amount, your credit score, and the lender’s predetermined rates. Whether a mortgage, a car loan or a credit card, every type of credit generally has interest attached.

When negotiating a mortgage, the interest rate must be an essential part of the negotiations. The interest is where the lender makes their money. Therefore, the lender will want to get the highest interest possible to maximize their profits.

Here are the two types of mortgage interest rates to help when negotiating your mortgage.

Fixed Rates

Fixed interest rates do not change for the entirety of the mortgage loan. For example, your interest rate is a 5% interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan; you will never pay more than 5% interest on the loan.

Having a fixed interest rate is a benefit when creating your budget, as it will give you a fixed monthly payment for the lifetime of the loan. However, it does not benefit you if you are making higher than minimum payments. 

Adjustable Rates

Adjustable interest rates will fluctuate depending on the current market. Many adjustable interest rate mortgages have a fixed interest rate for the first five to ten years. After this fixed interest rate period, your interest rate will be adjusted every six months to a year.

The adjustable rate can benefit if you make more significant than your monthly payments because you will be paying more of the principal. The other advantage of this type of interest rate is that there is still a fixed interest period. During this time, it can be beneficial if you refinance or sell.

Loan Servicer

The loan servicer is the company that is accepting your mortgage payments. The loan servicer will be responsible for providing your mortgage statements every month, managing an escrow account if you have one, and processing your payments.

The loan servicer will also be the company you will direct all mortgage questions and concerns to for the loan’s lifetime. If you have an issue with your mortgage, are looking to sell, or have questions about interest, payments, or escrow, you will contact the loan servicer.

Conclusion

While there are other terms that you may experience when purchasing a home through a lender, these terms are the most vital to know and understand. If you have a strong understanding of your mortgage and all it entails, you will get the best rates possible.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Not every person has a budget though every financially responsible adult should. For those that do have one, if you are not meeting that budget, you are likely overpaying for some of the bills or other items you purchase. When creating a budget, you should look for ways to lower your bills rather than cutting the sources out completely. Here are three budget items you can lower your payments on and how to do it.

Cable or Satellite Dish

Entertainment is the number one area most people overpay. Many get cable packages with hundreds of channels, and studies show that people generally regularly watch about seventeen of them. There are a few ways you can save money when it comes to cable.

Get a smaller cable package: Knowing that most people only watch a handful of channels, you should assess what channels mean the most to you and get a cable package that includes those channels and as few channels more as possible.

Use cable services you can customize: A few services will let you completely customize the included channels, so you can choose to leave out channels you never watch and keep only the ones you do.

Cut out cable altogether: Many have “cut the cable” and never regretted it. You can have multiple streaming services which generally carry many of the shows you love. If you add up the monthly subscriptions with access to hundreds of movies and shows, you can have them all and still pay far less than cable. Also, you can choose when you watch the shows.

Car Payments

Many people overpay for their car and often because car salespeople are good at what they do. You can, however, beat them at their own game with a few pro tips.

Never purchase payments: Often, when in the negotiation process, a salesperson will at some point ask you what kind of payment you can afford. Never give the maximum you can afford, and be sure they don’t come back and give you only the car payment and length of the loan. Even if the payments are comfortable, you may have agreed to pay significantly more than you should because of the length of the loan. Be sure to ask for the total cost of the car and the interest rate.

Get a Loan Yourself: Many people don’t realize that they can go to their banking institution and get a preapproved loan for a certain amount if they have decent credit. They can then look to purchase a car for that amount or lower using that preapproved loan. This is a way to get a low-interest rate and no hidden costs in the car purchase because you strictly negotiate the price.

Boost your Credit: The higher your credit score, the lower the interest. Having a good or excellent credit score gives you the negotiating power to get the lowest interest rates on your car loan possible. You can sometimes save thousands on your car purchase by having a low-interest rate.

Utilities

Of course, there are so many areas of life we can save or be more frugal, but utilities are an area most of us can stop overpaying. Here are a few ways you can save on your utilities.

Cut your usage: We all have been guilty of leaving lights and electronics on when not in use, but you can also cut your usage in other ways besides remembering to turn things off. Many utility companies now offer thermostats built-in money-savers such as automatically adjusting the temperature for a few hours a day while working or less likely to need cooler or warmer air. You would be amazed at how that adds up.

Payment plans: Many utility companies have payment plans in which you pay the same amount every month at a fixed rate. This payment plan is generally an average calculated by the previous year’s usage. If you don’t use as much as you paid, you get the money back or get it as a credit on our account at the end of the year. If you overuse, you will have a balance due. Most find they will use less with this type of payment arrangement.

Conclusion

There are other areas in the budget you can cut down on, such as groceries and gas. However, these three areas of the budget are the simplest to get adjusted. While you may not be able to make significant cuts in your expenses, every little bit helps when operating on a tight budget.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

During the technological era, the outburst of data during the technological age has undoubtedly helped businesses grow and make decisions that have worked out positively for them in the short term and the long time. Thanks to the evolution of data collection applications and browsers, businesses now collect information about their audiences that help them make decisions driven by predictive algorithms. As the world continues to go digital by the second rapidly, these algorithms are also going rogue to keep up with the pace. 

What Are Predictive Algorithms?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged and advanced into all walks of life. Robots that perform complicated surgeries to helping brands understand their audiences, AI is employed by businesses everywhere. Predictive algorithms provide essential insights, process data into understandable trends, and help humans power through the clutter of data and information present online. Algorithms are based on data collected through real-time human activity and help businesses provide quick solutions to public queries in prompt services. 

Take, for instance, the introduction of the story feature by Snapchat in 2011. Because of the popularity of this feature among its audience, all other social media applications added this interactive detail to their programs. This trend caught up that a business networking application like LinkedIn also recently introduced its story feature. 

Predictive algorithms are not a new phenomenon. Weather reports are based on data-driven approaches and have seemed to work well for ages now. With the help of advanced AI, the climate industry has performed even well. It has also helped the construction and other related industries time their projects just so, for instance, rain does not tarnish the foundation laying at the start of constructing a building. 

How Do Predictive Algorithms Work?

Before you start working with algorithms, you must have a goal in mind. Do you wish to gauge a piece of content in terms of its performance? Or do you want to drive sales through an ad? Define your outcomes before you invest in predictive analysis software. 

Once you have set a goal, the next step is to collect data from sources such as ERP and CRM systems, et cetera. Data collection is not enough because to be able to use data. Further, you need to be able to read it properly as a source of information. This step is where data mining comes, whose primary purpose is to channel all raw figures into usable facts to help with the actual decision-making process. 

The final step is to employ predictive analytics software to provide insights and statistics by interpreting results. The analysis may also recommend courses of action you can take in terms of decision trees. In essence, after you have helpful information presented to you in bar charts, graphs, and tables, you can make decisions that will most align with the need of the hour for your business. 

Examples of Predictive Algorithms

As mentioned earlier, organizations and businesses use algorithms, a by-product of Artificial Intelligence, to make all kinds of decisions. The way that some major, thriving industries use this tool for their benefit is given below. 

The Healthcare Industry

Doctors and medical health professionals, at large, come across many extensive and minor procedures, prognoses, and diagnoses, et cetera, daily. Algorithms built are based on patients treated historically, implemented to look for life-threatening perils to understand the severity of the cases and reduce the redundancy of most tasks and risks while dealing with complicated patients. 

The Manufacturing Industry

This industry uses expensive, extensive heavy machinery that could be a liability for a company if something were to go wrong. Such machinery often has sensory devices that receive and analyze real-time data to deem activities as harmful or safe. For instance, imagine using a bulldozer for a task that could be carried out using lighter machinery. 

The Sports Industry

The sports industry often uses predictive tools to gauge the performance of players in the long run. These analyses help even small-time teams set contracts for specific players, price them, and even help managers examine aspects like a player and team analysis. 

Advantages of Predictive Algorithms

• Make informed decisions that will help save essential resources like time, money, and resources
• Improve performance of employees, managers, businesses, and the organization in the face of evolving technology
• Analyze what works better for a particular business, for instance, what content will drive engagement from the audience when to run digital advertisements, and so on.
• Providing valuable insights to companies and organizations they can use to devise long-term and short-term strategies

Challenges of Predictive Algorithms

While the advantages of Artificial Intelligence and predictive algorithms are plenty, the challenges faced by users are essential to address before you sign up for the process. It is important to remember that you need to get your whole team on board. 

• Utilizing the system to its maximum capacity requires a team familiar with the statistical model of the algorithms
• Some analytic tools can be challenging to manage
• Adoption of the new tool will take time because of the constant innovation of technology
• Decisions and solutions can be biased based on historical data. For instance, if a brand happens to sell more during a breast cancer campaign, the predictive analysis might produce insights related to this event in the short term. 

Predictive algorithms and analysis are on the rise given the constant innovation technology. Businesses and people want to get instant results and hit the right nails with their devised strategies and policies. This branch of artificial intelligence leverages statistics, data mining, modeling, and algorithms to make better decisions that help businesses thrive.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Business models have evolved over the years, from manufacturing and distribution to the partnership and knowledge era. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has profoundly changed the meaning of ideas, creativity, and technologies over the years. As a result, corporate models are changing ever further. When company sectors experience a significant and drastic change in the quantitative balance of intelligence strength, AI applications and deployment provide each business enterprise with new opportunities as it does obstacles.

AI is now changing industry and trade across borders. AI has leveled the playing field for countries and provided their businesses with a rare opportunity to step forward and expand, whether they are rich or poor, industrialized or growing, small or big. However, access to technology and software is consistent; the question is how each company uses the information — for which intent and target. While innovative technology helps to level the playing field for companies across sectors in terms of their ability to access intelligence from growing digital data and information, it is essential to consider the other criteria that will help determine individual and joint performance in improving AI capabilities for businesses.

The coming data challenges

Businesses around the world will face unprecedented obstacles and improvements in the coming years. The development led by automation is the only constant in such transitions. Development in AI-driven automation means more informative data from connected devices, social media, market data, and other sources, which increases the ability to revolutionize business models. Over the years, digital data has developed at an astounding rate across nations. It is essential to understand:

• how this modern data-driven knowledge reality opens an entirely new landscape of possibilities and threats for each sector across countries.
• What would the expected implications for each industry (existing and emerging) be?

Businesses are starting to realize the ramifications of the emerging AI-driven automation landscape, extending well beyond limited artificial intelligence applications. Although the relationship between data, knowledge, and intelligence is complex and indirect, the power and speed of AI-driven automation improvements predicted in the coming years will present each company with opportunities and challenges for its productivity. It will be fascinating to witness how AI modifies the global business power dynamics.

Business model transformation

Today, businesses can gather more data, gain the requisite information, and innovate as it becomes more connected. As a result, we are likely to see a much-needed industry evolution: quicker marketplaces, learner activities, vibrant companies, rising earnings, informed customers, and dynamic businesses.

How is AI transforming business models? Although businesses in diverse sectors and countries are at various stages of AI adoption, it appears that the current approach to AI strategy is overly limited. Companies use AI to improve customer service, evaluate data, and forecast output to automate workloads, trading, and other tasks. The current trend in AI application and adoption does not sufficiently adapt to rapidly changing intelligence capabilities. Furthermore, corporations often cultivate an atmosphere of distrust and hostility toward one another within their respective sectors and nations. Cultivation may be one of the factors preventing a standardized approach to data processing and information access.

Furthermore, countries lack basic digital data technology. In contrast, a lack of modern technology discourages data opportunities and developments, making it challenging to meet customer and knowledge needs — leaving companies with obsolete data, information, and intelligence. AI not only changes the way companies operate, but the standard thinking and sense of partnership, competitiveness, and creativity have also profoundly changed. However, most AI programs generate a competitive advantage by identifying a whole new opportunity, improving existing activities, providing a business niche that has been overlooked, or developing new markets. The connected devices that feed a continuous stream of data regarding functionality, use, demand, and more to a central location can generate even more interesting and competitive transformations. Transformations will take us to a critical point: How will integrating the Internet of Things transform market models with newly developed interfaces for brands to interact with their customers?

Bottom line

Artificial intelligence for any company is an essential part of the future. The new developments in automation led by AI represent imperative changes in the AI domain, which are about reconfiguring priorities, leverage, and investments in global enterprise policy. Although market automation provides exciting prospects quickly, it also poses significant safety risks. Given how nations manage their essential data resources through cyberspace, Squarespace, Geospace, and space (CAGS), the future of artificial intelligence-led market transformations must focus intensely on advancing data projects to collect more knowledge to develop the AI environment further.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.