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The pros and cons of factoring and leasing

By | Finance

Factoring assumes that outstanding invoices are sold to a factoring company. The factoring company immediately transfers the outstanding amount and subsequently collects the bill from the customer. Leasing is best known for car financing but can be used for many more things. In general, when leasing an object, it is borrowed for a fixed fee. In the case of a financial lease, you become the full owner of the object with an operational lease. The leasing company remains the owner until the full amount has been paid. There are advantages and disadvantages to each form of financing. In this blog, we will discuss the pros and cons of factoring and leasing.  

The benefits of factoring for entrepreneurs

 

  1. Liquidity

The factoring company immediately pays out a large part of the amount to be collected. So entrepreneurs no longer have the problem that debtors pay (too) late, but can immediately dispose of the money and invest it again in the organisation.

  1. Capital

Organisations receive more capital through factoring than through a bank loan. As a rule, banks finance about 50 percent of the outstanding accounts, while the percentage of factorisers is much higher (70 to 90 percent).

The disadvantages of factoring for entrepreneurs

 

  1. Privacy

A factoring company takes over almost the entire accounts receivable. Insights into the financial picture of the company help to do this. Not every entrepreneur feels comfortable when sharing annual figures with an external party.

  1. Cost

The organisation loses part of the margin because part of the outstanding accounts will go to the factoring company as payment for the services. The agreed percentage often makes factoring a bit more expensive than a bank loan.

The benefits of leasing for entrepreneurs

 

  1. Scatter

Leasing is linked to the financed object. A separate contract can be made for each object (such as machines, cars, or stock). Therefore, multiple sources of financing can be used. Besides, the costs are spread over a longer period. There is no major purchase cost item, but there is a monthly payment. So you don’t have to save long to buy a new object.

  1. Owner

In the case of a financial lease, the entrepreneur immediately owns the object to be financed. This means that you can immediately benefit from the tax depreciation and the investment deduction. This is slightly different from operational leasing. With this form of leasing, the leasing company remains the owner of the object until the last installment has been paid.

 

The disadvantages of leasing for entrepreneurs

 

  1. Contract

Leasing usually consists of a multi-year contract that is not very flexible. Breaking open a contract in the meantime is virtually impossible or very expensive. This may mean that when an object is replaced, payment must be made for the object that has since been replaced and the replacement. This happens, for example, when a leased machine breaks down and is replaced during the contract period. Although the broken machine is no longer used, it still has to be paid for.

  1. Cost

Leasing an item is more expensive than buying the item right away. Entrepreneurs pay the lease company to spread the payment of the purchase price.

 

Check out SmartFunding website for more information. For advice or questions you can always contact SmartFunding on +31 85 303 56 65 or info@smartfunding.nl . You can always contact one of the SmartFunding advisors directly .  

WBSO: Who is qualified?

By | Subsidy

Any entrepreneur in the Netherlands can be qualified for the WBSO subsidy help. The company can be of any size and can be working in any business field. The WBSO distinguishes between entrepreneurs who withhold payroll taxes (inhoudingsplichtigen) and who are subject to wage tax (belastingplichtigen). This article provides more information about tax regulations and the WBSO conditions.

R&D tax withholding agents

Entrepreneurs are qualified for a reduction in the payroll tax if they conduct business within the meaning of the regulations on corporate tax or employ staff who carry out R&D.

R&D tax withholding agents are entrepreneurs who manage a business that is not a public knowledge institute. They should carry R&D activities and withhold payroll taxes on behalf of their employees. Before becoming an R&D tax withholding agent, an entrepreneur should be issued a payroll tax number from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration.

Holding company / operating company 

Both entrepreneur’s operating company and the holding company have to apply for the WBSO if their employees carry out R&D.

Tax entity 

In case a company hires employees to a third party, they fall under the WBSO only when organising the R&D work at the third party’s company. An exception to this is made for hiring in or hiring out employees. Employees may be hired in or out for R&D, for example, by an employment agency or by companies within a tax entity that carry out work on a specific project. When employees are hired in and out by companies within a tax entity, each employing company needs to submit an application.

Trainees

The R&D hours worked for the WBSO can include hours worked by trainees and students working on their graduation project. However, only if they are employed by the company and all the R&D conditions are met.

R&D taxpayers 

 A self-employed entrepreneur who manages a business within the meaning of the Wage Tax Act and works on R&D for at least 500 hours in a calendar year is qualified for an R&D tax credit. In this case, self-employed is indicated as an R&D taxpayer. A self-employed entrepreneur can submit more than one application, in case they manage a business through more than one company with R&D activities. A self-employed person cannot claim for costs and expenditures, neither can choose a fixed sum. Those entrepreneurs who hire salaried employees for R&D work can also apply for a WBSO tax credit as payroll tax withholding agents.

 

Contac the WBSO Software Specialist if you want to get more information about subsidies and grants for entrepreneurs in the Netherlands

Source: rvo.nl

The WBSO in 8 steps

By | Subsidy

Are you ready to create a valuable business with a team of technological professionals? Do you want to save money on wage taxation and other costs of innovative projects? If the answer is yes, then the WBSO subsidy is what you are looking for. Use your opportunity to apply for financial support from the Dutch government. The WBSO in 8 steps guideline will help you to understand the application procedure better.

Step 1: Intention to conduct research or development (R&D)

One of the biggest considerations in conducting an R&D project is costs. The WBSO subsidy can help you with the project funding. The WBSO lowers the cost of technical-scientific research and development, independently from the results. Almost every company in the Netherlands that plans to conduct R&D is eligible for the WBSO grant. The company can be of any size and can operate in any business industry. An application can be submitted for either of two types of projects:

  • The development of technically new physical products/physical production processes/software;
  • Technical scientific research.

Step 2: An application submission

The WBSO Software Specialist can guide you through the whole application process and provide support with any possible issues. Contact us for more information. 

Step 3: Organization of an administrative record system.

The administrative records for the WBSO have to emphasize the nature of the R&D activities, the content, the progress, and the number of hours of your R&D work. If your first application is for a tax credit on the basis of a fixed sum against costs and expenditures, then you are obliged to keep administrative records of the costs and expenditures actually incurred for each R&D project. If your first application is for a tax credit on the basis of a fixed sum against costs and expenditures, then you do not have to provide a separate administration of the actual costs and expenditures. You have to make sure that you keep administrative records from the very beginning of the project(s), even without an R&D Declaration on your hands.

Step 4: The application check.

After your application has been submitted, consultants from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) inspect it to verify that it is complete. In case your application is…

  • Complete: you receive a confirmation of receipt and technical consultants continue with reviewing the content of your application.
  • Incomplete: you get an opportunity to complement your application with the necessary information or documentation. You have to provide this information to RVO.nl in a specified time period. Your application will not be processed if you do not submit this information on time. Once your application is complete, you are issued a confirmation of receipt.

Step 5: Evaluation of the content of your application.

Technical consultants review the content of your application by looking at the projects listed in the application, and their costs and expenditures, against the relevant laws and regulations.

The positive Decision about your application for the WBSO will be issued to you together with an R&D Declaration. The Decision specifies the number of hours and, where relevant, the costs and expenditures allocated to each project.

The projects that were not approved for the WBSO are also specified and explained in this Decision. The R&D Declaration specifies the maximum amount of the R&D tax credit deduction that you are entitled to apply to the payroll tax number without sub-number (RSIN) specified, in the period to which the Declaration applies.

Step 6: Deduction of your R&D credit from your tax return.

You deduct the granted R&D tax credit from your payroll tax returns.

Step 7: Submission of an actual R&D statement.

You have to submit a statement of the actual R&D hours worked and the actual costs and expenditures incurred within three months of the end of the calendar year covered by the R&D Declaration concerned. On the basis of this mandatory statement, RVO.nl may issue a correction R&D Declaration.

Step 8: Inspection.

RVO.nl consultants may visit your business to make a retrospective inspection of your R&D work, hours worked, and any costs and expenditures against your R&D administrative records. You will get a correction R&D Declaration if any errors are identified in your R&D administrative records. However, consultants may decide to impose a fine in case of violations.

Leader’s 3 survival traits during crisis

By | Business

We all are facing difficulties during these uncertain times. However, it is essential to realize the importance of moving through. Businesses should find ways of making operations stronger after the time of distress. However, it is impossible without a strong spirit of the team, mutual support and confident leaders. Powerful leadership is an essential aspect of survival during hard times. We want to provide you with 3 primary traits that are essential for leaders and can help to keep business alive during the crisis.

1. The mission should stand

A mission statement is the most important and powerful principle that edify managers and employees why they work for the business and what their collective goals are. Strategy and approaches can change, however, the company’s mission should stay consistent.

2. Leaders have to stay open-minded during a crisis

The whole economic environment will change significantly as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, leaders need to stay open-minded and come up with innovative solutions.

The post-crisis environment will require updated corporate strategy processes and business partners for a company to stay competitive. It is the leader’s responsibility to invent a competitive game plan.

3. Determination is a source of benefits

The coronavirus crisis became a major challenge for companies. They are losing their clients and have limited operation capacities. Nevertheless, a health crisis merely represents one obstacle out of many hundreds that a successful company should be ready to face. Other big threats, for example, can be financial liquidity, technology failure, and operations failure.

However, it is important to remember that business based on passion is fuelled by determination. The crisis is not fatal with smart planning and confidence. It can even improve the way a company operates and relations inside the team.

Crisis setting forces managers and employees to be more creative, to cut needless costs and to focus on active improving the customer segment. As a result, companies should become leaner and meaner, obtain a new ability to outperform rivals with innovative strategies after the crisis setting has gone.

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A guide to managing your team remotely

By | Business

For the majority of the companies worldwide working from home is the only option during the Covid-19 quarantine period. Fortunately, modern technologies make it possible for managers to administer the team and all the work remotely without great effort and expenditures. We want to provide you with a brief guide on how you can manage your team remotely in an efficient way.

Firstly, it is good to understand what challenges can the remote working cause for both managers and employees:

 

Lack of live supervision

Both managers and employees can express concerns about the lack of face-to-face interaction. Managers can worry about the productivity and willingness of employees to work. The remote workers in term can struggle with reduced access to managerial support and communication.

Interpersonal challenges 

Newly remoted workers need time and effort to adjust information and get used to new settings. Even simple requirements can appear to be difficult tasks when working in a home setting. This can cause an interpersonal challenge among remote co-workers. Lack of mutual knowledge about the team members can eventually convert to a lower willingness to understand each other.

 Social isolation 

The feeling of loneliness is one of the main drawbacks of remote working. Lack of informal social interaction with colleagues can reduce an employee’s feeling of “belonging” to the organization. This in term can increase the likelihood of the worker’s decision to leave the company.

Distractions at home

In case of a sudden transition to the remote work, employees have a greater chance to bare unexpected family responsibilities. Managers should understand that this kind of distraction is greater during the unplanned transition of work to home settings.

So how can managers support remote workers?

Managers can take some inexpensive and instant actions to make the transition easier for employees and reduce the chance of decline in productivity:

 

  • Establish structured daily check-ins: 

Daily one-by-one or team call is a regular and predictable form of communication that allows employees to consult with the manager, ask real-time questions and express concerns.

  • Provide different communication options: 

Richer technology benefits remote workers. For example, video conferences are especially helpful for the visual cues that allow for better mutual knowledge. Face-to-face conversations help team members to discuss the work, ongoing news, personal concerns and therefore, reduce the feeling of isolation.

However, it is better to use message platforms (like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) for the cases when quick collaboration is more important than the visual aspect. They benefit time-sensitive communication and make the conversations simpler and less formal.

  • Set “rules of engagement”:

Regulations of the engagement frequency help workers to stay more productive and satisfied. While some alternatives may be better than others, all employees must agree on the set of expectations for communication.

  • Offer encouragement and emotional support:

Especially in the context of today’s situation, managers need to acknowledge stress, anxieties and concerns that can be experienced by employees. It is good for a manager not only to frequently ask for the opinion and feelings of the remote workers but also to listen carefully to the response. The employee’s stress or concerns should stay the focus of this kind of conversation. With this support, employees are more likely to cope with the challenge and dedicate a better focus on work and productivity.

Help your business survive the Coronavirus

By | Business

Despite the global health consequences, the Coronavirus has a negative economic impact on small and scaling up businesses. We want to provide you with bits of advice on how entrepreneurs can protect their business while working from home.

1. Curate sources of your updates

A constant flow of information about the Coronavirus can make you very unproductive. Thus, try to limit your news alerts and keep up only with the most relevant ones. In this way, you will be able to save your nerves and the nerves of your business.

2. Use your social channels for good news

This is a difficult time for the whole world and unfavorable news is covered daily in all the broadcast channels. As a business, you can use social media and give a positive vibe to your audience. Think about the warming moments, success stories, heroes, leaders that you can share with people and make them feel happier and closer to your brand.

3. Educate yourself

Use this variety of online educational sources to expand your entrepreneurial knowledge about the crisis, finance, marketing and new business strategies that can be tested after the time of distress.

4. Forecast your risk

It is important to create a possible scenario of the outcomes for your business. Consider the worst-case scenario and work from it. What can be the most vulnerable aspect of your business? What measures can be taken to avoid it? How to fix it in case of emerging? You should be set up with all the necessary steps in terms of redundancies, cost-cutting and predictive mapping.

5. Reduce your expenditures

Cost-cutting should be done today. Eliminate any non-essential subscriptions, reduce online sponsored posts, minimize travel, pause any large costs that could be undertaken later on.

6. Do not rush with firing decisions

Employees still have notice periods and can claim unlawful actions if you are not careful. Redundancy is a painful decision that should be considered as the last resort. Ask your team and staff members if they voluntarily wish to compensate a pay cut or explore if they agree to donate back to the business their upcoming holiday. You can consult with free legal advisors that work with employment law or HR about the best decision for your company by phone.

7. Over-communicate with your team

Remote working can be successful; you just need to keep the team spirit. Talk with each other daily, update with news, organize online activities, organize group video talks. Besides, keep all your social channels active and ensure that your team has a clear route through them with a daily plan of action.

8. Explore the opportunities

Flexible working is an opportunity to demonstrate teamwork and test new strategies. Although this feels hard and fast, the advantage of working from home can introduce new ways of working within the company.

9. Work together

We are all together in this. There are no correct ways of doing things and there is no definite outcome. It is stressful, unknown and difficult. However, you should stay patient, thoughtful, attentive, and work with people, not against them. If there was ever a time to lean this, it is now.

Expanded BMKB scheme

By | News | No Comments

The Guarantee for SME Loans (BMKB)

The Guarantee for SME Loans (BMKB) will have a faster expansion scheme because of the Coronavirus issues. The easing measure will increase the size of the BMKB pledge loan from 50% to 75%. This makes it more manageable for banks to grant credit. Moreover, companies have an opportunity to borrow more money earlier. Besides, the scheme will be further expanded compared to a previous announcement; it will additionally apply to Bridge loans and Overdrafts with terms of up to two years.

Essential for the liquidity of smaller entrepreneurs.

The State Secretary Keijzer explained: “The BMKB can be used by companies for a bridge loan or overdraft (the amount that they are allowed to overdraft). The expansion is essential for the liquidity of smaller entrepreneurs who miss out on income or production due to the Сoronavirus. The suppliers, travel agencies, but also companies that can no longer obtain raw materials from abroad”.

€ 300 million in additional financing is already available immediately.

The government estimates that with this first step, € 300 million in additional financing will immediately be made available to SMEs that are affected by the Coronavirus. The extension will take effect from Monday, March 16, 2020, and will be a part of a package of measures already announced last week by the government to deal with the economic consequences of the Coronavirus. Entrepreneurs affected by the corona issue can also apply for working time reduction and postponement of payment/reduction of provisional assessment of taxes. Self-employed people can appeal to the Self-employed Assistance Decree (BBZ).

What is WBSO Subsidy and who can get it?

By | Subsidy | No Comments
WBSO: Save money on hiring developers with government support

Creation of a valuable business requires a lot of effort and money. Especially, if you are interested in team of professionals in the fields of technology or engineering. However, it is nice to remember that the Dutch government actively supports local enterprises with grants like the WBSO subsidy.

What exactly is the WBSO subsidy?

The WBSO stands for the “Research and Development tax credit”. This subsidy helps companies to reduce wage tax, national insurance contributions and other costs of the innovation projects. The grant is provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to entrepreneurs who plan to invest in research and development.

For whom is the WBSO?

The WBSO subsidy is intended for the companies registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and who hire researchers for R&D projects. To be able to apply for the WBSO a company should meet several requirements:

  • It should experience new technological development accompanied by technological problems
  • the R&D activities should not be started yet
  • the R&D activities should be organized inside the company

More information about the official conditions of eligibility can be found on the website of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. However, it is also possible to scan your profile on our website and get an immediate advice from the specialists.

Why do you need the WBSO subsidy?

The WBSO grant can help entrepreneurs with the technical aspects of production and development. A company can apply for the WBSO if it manages the majority of the technical solutions itself or it wants to test the prototype. Therefore, the WBSO subsidy is suitable for every type of company.  However, it is most widely used among enterprises in the IT sector or manufacturing industry. The subsidy gives benefits of reduced wage taxes or other R&D expenditures (including costs incurred for machine hours or prototypes). The grant is especially valuable for startups.

What is happening after the grant is received?

In addition to maintaining an hour administration, you should be able to provide information about the WBSO costs incurred. You have to report once a year how many hours and costs you have incurred in total and which employees have worked on the projects.

Apply for the WBSO subsidy! It is a good opportunity for your business to grow. Although, if you are not sure about the necessary application steps and need help you can get in touch with us and we will guide you through the whole process. 

What is Research & Development activities for the WBSO?

By | Subsidy | No Comments

R&D activities differ from organization to organization. Although these activities are generally of high risk and uncertain amount of investment, they are crucial for the product development and expansion of market shares.  The companies in the Netherlands have a chance to apply for subsidies and government grants to cover the R&D expenditures, however, these activities have to be qualified.

Generally, R&D activities that can qualify for the tax credit fall in one of these four categories: 

1. New product development 

2. New process development 

3. Incremental product development 

4. Incremental process development 

 Terms like “new” and “incremental” refer to the individual enterprise, but not to the whole industry. 

Examples of qualified activities include:

  • Design and development of new products/manufacturing process 
  • Product experimentation and modification 
  • Research of new applications for existing products;
  • Testing for conformity with domestic/foreign regulation standards
  • Improvement of a prototype of new products 
  • Work automatization 
  • Improvement of manufacturing/production technologies
  • Software development 

Activities are unlikely to be considered as R&D and therefore cannot be qualified for a tax credit if they relate to the general expenditures that a company would undertake without R&D. 

Examples include:

  • Testing or analysis of activities for quality control 
  • Routine data collection
  • Testing and qualification of production lines;
  • Production modifications without technical uncertainty
  • Market research for advertising or promotions;
  • Research that is funded by a third party
  • Any other activities that do not fall into four mentioned categories 

Certainly, rules and conditions for R&D regulations can differ depending on the country, region and industry, hence a company can require external help to make the right conclusions. You can get in touch with us or use the WBSO scan to be sure that your company and activities are eligible for a tax credit. 

Growth hacking tips for startups and scale-ups

By | Business | No Comments

1. Experiments is everything

It is often hard to be right if you are working online. Gut feelings of the marketers usually appear to be wrong, so only data and numbers can help to prove the assumptions. Thus, it is wise for companies to spend time and resources on experiments’ conduction. In a controlling experiment setting, it is their main and the only target to study consumer behavior and find the best method of revenue maximization through the acquirement of new customers.

2. Tracking is important.

Tracking is crucial for business growth. However, it is important to track metrics that can actually help with new partners or customers generation (as engagement rate of social media posts, the website bounce rate, conversion rate) instead of visual performance indicators (as to reach or impressions)

3. Use tools

Growth hacking is based on the usage of handy and modern tools that can help you test all the assumptions in swift time. Surf the Internet to uncover which ones you can use for website creation, automation, social media planning or even persona revealing of the potential leads or customers on LinkedIn.

4. Make it look like human

Automation is a very important part of scaling business, however, people still appreciate human factor and trust business more if they feel a human interaction. Thus, do not be scared to make a mistake or actually aim at making mistakes in your automated messages and emails to create a feeling of human synergy.

5. Catch them in 5

You have only 5 seconds to impress your potential customer on your website or social pages. So make a message about your product vivid and clear. The image and design are not everything, copywriting is extremely important in this catching business. Each copy or caption work towards selling the unique point of your business.

6. Psychographics personas

A buyer persona is a profile of your ideal customer based on real data. However, you cannot get a full understand of your customers with only information about their demographics. It is important to understand things like emotions, values, interests, desires, goals, hobbies, habits and other relevant aspects of their psychological characteristics to understand what and how they want it.  

 

The content comes from the course during one of the Startup Boot events.