Computer financing refers to the various methods business owners use to purchase new computers or computer equipment. Many different agencies, including computer and electronics companies, specialized lending institutions, and banks, offer ways to finance buying new computers or equipment.

The first source for computer financing that a business owner should consider, is the direct manufacturer of computers and computer related products. Companies, such as Dell, Sony, and Apple, usually offer plans that allow a buyer to make small monthly payments on purchases at low interest rates. Monthly payments and interest rates are calculated according to the buyer’s credit report. The better the credit, the better chance a business owner has of paying less. Similar financing can be obtained through retail electronics stores as well, such as Best Buy and Circuit City.

There are lending institutions that deal solely with computer financing. Usually, their terms for financing are more liberal than those of manufacturers and retail stores. Many of these lending agencies do not even require a credit check or a down payment; therefore, individuals with bad credit have a good chance off getting a better deal with these agents.

Banks and credit unions may also have computer financing programs. With banks, however, an individual with bad credit may be turned down or may have to make large payments. Also, approval for financing from a bank could take several days or weeks; with other methods of financing, the approval process usually takes no more than twenty-four hours.

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A large number of small businesses fail each year. There are a number of reasons for these failures, but one of the main reasons is insufficient funds. Too many entrepreneurs try to start and operate a business without sufficient capital (money). To avoid this pitfall, first review your situation by analyzing these three questions:

How much money do you have?
How much money will you need to start your business?
How much money will you need to stay in business?

Use the following categories to compile the needed data to complete a personal financial statement to answer the first question:

Personal Financial Statement

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Working in the money part of a business is always confusing. Some people may call you the bookkeeper and others will say you’re in the accounting department. So what is the difference between the two?

First let’s take a look at accounting. This will help you to better understand what each is and what they do in a business. The accounting department is responsible for many things in a company. It tracks any and all financial transactions with a systematic record process. It performs reports and analyses all financial aspects of the company. The accounting department handles all incoming bills as well as outgoing,. There are some companies, usually smaller ones, which incorporate the bookkeeping method into their accounting.

Usually there is an accountant for the accounting department and they are responsible for overseeing the money for the business. They also take care of taxes for the company as well as any audits that may come up. They keep track of all assets for the company and all accounts receivable and payable.

Bookkeeping in a way is much like the word. All money transactions for a business are kept track of by a systematic method of record keeping. Bookkeeping, however, does not deal with analyzing the financial part of the company. It simply is a method of recording all of the financial transactions. The name bookkeeping came about as a result of all of the records being kept in a large book. The bookkeeper writes down all entries and then posts them to a ledger. This helps to track incoming and outgoing money for the company.

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