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You have plans to expand your business. You’ve outlined everything that you want to do, and now all you need is the money to take these plans off of the paper and put them into existence. You’ve already gone the bank route before, only to find that your credit score was not high enough, and you did not have sufficient collateral. Plus you would rather not have to deal with making fixed monthly payments.

So this time you decide to seek out a merchant cash advance. After contacting a lender, completing a short application, and submitting the last four months of your business’s credit card statements and a copy of your business’s lease, your information was reviewed and soon after, your bank account was funded. You understand that a small percentage of your business’s future credit card sales will go towards your repayment and you are rejoicing in the fact that you never have to remember to make a payment, and if your business’s sales are low, your business cash advance payments will also be lower. Now, the only thing that is left to do is put your newly acquired funds to use.

Most small business owners are aware that budgeting is one of the most important aspects of business management. A budget is an itemized allotment of funds for a given period. It helps you to decide how much money is needed for specific tasks and to delegate the appropriate amount of money for task completion. Therefore, making a budget for your business cash advance could make a world of difference. Below is a compilation of tips that can help you to create a budget that will allow you to get the most out of your
business cash advance.

Make a Spreadsheet

Investopedia offers “Six Steps to a Better Budget,” one of which is; make a spreadsheet. Making a spreadsheet before attempting to make purchases can be a great help. It allows you to view how much money you have, and what you plan to spend, neatly and on paper. Using a spreadsheet is a way to create an organized budget.

Don’t Let Your Budget Constrain You

In an article titled “8 Ways to Make Your Budget Work” for Microsoft’s small business center website, author Jeff Wuorio advices small business owners to “Use your budget as a form of restraint, not constraint!” A budget should be used as a guideline, to keep you on task. But sometimes things may come up that were not budgeted for, but if purchased, will end up benefiting your business. “It’s often impossible to budget for a valuable last-minute seminar or a trip to a trade show to make valuable contacts,” writes Wuorio. Use your own judgment to determine when it is okay to spend money on things that may not be in your budget.

Overestimate

When it comes to budgeting, it is best to overestimate a cost then to underestimate it. If you end up spending less than you planned, you will have money left over, but if you end up spending more than you planned, you will come up short. Which would you rather do? Usually, budgeting consists of lots of educated guesses, so when doing so, make sure to leave your self a nice cash cushion, to help prevent going over budget.