APP COMPARE: Financing Solutions Mini-series Part 1

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This article begins a mini-series within our broader APP COMPARE series. In this mini-series, we will be looking at Solutions and Apps that help you and your business with all types of finance needs. Small businesses ranging from retail to manufacturing, professional services to technology companies, sooner or later need some sort of financial assistance. Many of the Solutions and Apps that will be featured in the APP Compare mini-series are designed to provide you with financial alternatives.

In addition to funding sources, there are a variety of other 'financial related' services/industries that we will outline for you within this mini-series as we proceed through our rank-n-file.

There are a number of Apps in this category, too many to include all of them within a single 'App Compare' article, so each installment of this mini-series will encompass a handful of randomly selected Apps (presented in alphabetical order within each grouping), without regard to any assessment of their performance, and as with our other 'App Compare' articles, no side-by-side comparisons or rankings will be provided. (For further clarification, see the Editor's commentary at the conclusion of this, and each 'part' of this mini-series with regard to Apps included therein.)

American Express

American Express® Card acceptance has changed. You can now accept American Express Card transactions with the ease and speed of other card brands. American Express has enhanced their policies to work more smoothly for you, and your business, so you can make more happen. American Express cards, including American Express Open and American Express Blue, offer a variety of business-friendly financing options that can help your business succeed.

And did you know that as the owner of an American Express Card you can enroll your Card in their ‘Connect to American Express Business feature’ so that all of your Card transactions are automatically transferred to your QuickBooks® Online account daily?

For more information see the American Express landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

BlueVine

BlueVine provides small businesses with financial capital when they need it, so they don't have to worry about making payroll or investing in growth. They also serve small businesses with speed, simplicity and transparency. That means no long waits, paperwork or hidden fees that typically occur with other financial lending sources.

BlueVine offers both lines of credit and invoice factoring for small businesses. You can typically get approved within 24 hours of applying, then draw funds whenever you need them, and replenish your credit as you repay.

For more information see the BlueVine landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Capital One Connect

No, Capital One Connect isn't what you are thinking, this isn't another 'sell you on a credit card' advertisement. Capital One Connect is actually a 'Rewards Finder' from Capital One that syncs with your QuickBooks Online account and scans purchases made at each of your vendors over the past year. Rewards Finders scans your vendors and lists opportunities where you could have earned rewards if you had in fact used your Capital One 'Spark' Business Credit Card (so see, you already need one of their cards to use this service.)

Again, the purpose of these App Compare features are to make you aware of Apps you might not know even exist, and this is a good example, one reason is that this App is actually still in 'Beta,' but you can find out more by seeing the Capital One Connect landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Fundbox

Fundbox simplifies the way small businesses pay and get paid. They use technology and common sense to give businesses access to funding, with no paperwork or personal credit check required to get started. Fundbox provides credit limits up to $100,000 and can transfer funds as soon as the next business day. With Fundbox, businesses have more control over their finances and are better able to succeed and grow.

It's easy to connect Fundbox to QuickBooks Online and then ‘clear’ accounts receivable to free up assets waiting in the wings. You will have the funding you need right now, in the blink of an eye, with payment terms you can live with. With Fundbox, businesses have more control over their finances and are better able to succeed and grow.

For more information see the Fundbox landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

QuickBooks Capital

QuickBooks Capital from Intuit is designed to help small businesses get the capital they need to succeed. This product allows small businesses to use their QuickBooks data to get credit for open invoices, work in progress, total inventory and ongoing projects.

The application process is embedded within QuickBooks (online) so that small businesses can access funding at the best rates to grow their business. QuickBooks Capital works with trusted partners to make it easy to match each small business with the right provider to get funding in as fast as one day.

For more information see the QuickBooks Capital landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Editor's Comments:

As I mentioned in the introduction of this article, there are way too many Apps of this category to include all of them within a single article and remain true to our editorial guidelines regarding feature length. As such, we have limited the number of Apps within this article and will do so in future installments within this mini-series. I randomly selected Apps and have presented them within this feature in alphabetical order without regard to any assessment of their performance, and with no side-by-side comparison or ranking. The same will be true of all the Apps include in the future features within this topic and the APP COMPARE series overall.