MLB4S

Different Approach to Financial Planning Addresses ‘Missing Middle’

by admin on February 6, 2023 in Money Service Business

According to popular opinion (opens in new tab), sound financial planning advice consists of two main steps: save for emergencies and save for retirement. After 30 years in the financial services business, I have found this to be misleading. It’s a phenomenon I call “the Missing Middle.”

Just think about how life tends to happen for many people: You get a job and an apartment. You find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with and get married. You start a family. You buy a house. Then…

You need furniture.

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You take out loans for cars.

You buy the new iPhone, replace the water heater and cut the check for tuition.

You pay the minimum on your student loans and hold a small balance on a credit card.

While having this idea in the back of your mind that you must have six months of income in a savings account and you should contribute the maximum to your 401(k).

Before you know it, you have thousands of dollars in savings AND thousands of dollars in debt. And, according to traditional financial advice, you’re right on track.

The Traditional Financial Planning Model

From my experience, the internet, your parents and financial planners alike have all drilled this two-part financial planning model into our heads. In fact, the assumption that saving money in a bank and then focusing on retirement is the way to financial security and independence is so deeply

City to stop collecting waste from many churches, small businesses

by admin on February 6, 2023 in Core Business Services

Approved by council last year, change to come into effect on March 1 and affect around 200 customers

Some local faith groups and small business owners are holding their nose in advance of city plans to stop collecting their waste … at least not without a signed contract and proof of liability insurance, which aren’t currently required in all cases.

City collections of non-contracted, non-residential services are set to end before the new rules come into place on March 1 – something that received council’s stamp of approval almost a year ago.

“Why is there a need for any of it?” questions Carl Visser, chair of the board at Riverside Community Reformed Church, who said he first received notice of the upcoming change earlier this month.

“They’re never coming onto my property,” he added, explaining the church puts its waste on the curb, which is city property, and someone brings the bins back in after the collection truck has been by. “I don’t see why the city needs my liability insurance.”

The church currently uses all three waste streams, with its bins kept in the basement and the appropriate ones delivered to the curb each week.

“It seems whoever drafted this ordinance may have forgotten that there are many small-footprint businesses that are neither legally in the downtown core, nor out in big box land,” Jesse Merrill of Polestar Hearth Baker wrote in a letter to council and circulated to GuelphToday.

“This new bylaw doesn’t make the slightest difference to big box stores who were never on municipal collection routes; it doesn’t affect the many businesses in strip malls with huge parking lots and plenty of room for dumpsters,” he continued. “But it will make a serious impact on many small businesses outside the core, in mixed-use neighbourhoods, with small

What Is ERP? (Enterprise Resource Planning) – Forbes Advisor

by admin on February 6, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

ERP refers to the type of software organizations use to streamline and centralize the flow of information from core business processes. It helps consolidate information for accounting, inventory management, supply chain services and manufacturing into a single hub. Imagine having a customer relationship management (CRM) for managing sales pipelines, a digitized record of financial transactions, a customer service platform for offering customer support and more.

A business without an ERP could manage its operations using separate and isolated systems and tools. While there’s nothing wrong with using different software for organizations, there’s no single source of truth for your business. Separate sources for data and management processes hurt efficiency. You may spend thousands of dollars because of complex basic operations across different systems.

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What Is an ERP System?

ERP systems are the systems that organizations use to manage data and core business operations.

ERPs aggregate, store and interpret data to provide instant insights for small and medium-sized organizations. They provide easy access to data across departments or teams—like finance, marketing or sales—making it faster to get everyone on the same page.

Every ERP solution is unique. It may involve a single system, integrated platforms on the cloud or on-premise or disconnected systems. The features and processes that ERPs manage will depend on the techniques and features within your organization.

Key Components of ERP

Here’s a look at some of the critical components of an ERP system.

Human Resources (HR)

Employees are the lifeblood of any organization. Thus, managing employees from recruitment to final severance is one of the main components of an ERP system. Essentially, this component must cover essential features, such as recruitment, payroll, benefits administration and talent

Want to Make More Money? 10 Experts Share 10 Tips to Grow Your Business

by admin on February 5, 2023 in Money Service Business

Want free advice from experts? Start a podcast.

Seriously, it’s a great way to learn from industry experts and share their key takeaways with your community. As a bonus, you’ll grow your professional network along the way.

When I first started the Launch Your Business podcast my goal was to help other entrepreneurs avoid the many – many – mistakes I made when I first started my business. I knew what content to share because I know what information would have helped me out when I first started.

What I didn’t know was that I’d learn so much during the process and as a result, grow my business as well. So now I’m sharing my top ten takeaways from the guests that have appeared on my show.

Get ready to save and share this one with another entrepreneur who would benefit from the guidance provided.

Pat Flynn: Don’t build your business in secret

This one is from our first episode with Pat Flynn. If you think you have a great idea for a new product, business, or service you should be developing that with your potential customers.

Don’t invest too much of your time, energy, and money before you’ve tested your idea with the market. Talk to your audience and get feedback so you can launch with more confidence. Pat shares a step by step process on how to do so during this episode.

Nir Eyal: Time management is pain management.

Look at it this way: You’re either going to deal with the discomfort of getting something done when you don’t feel like it, or you’re going to deal with the discomfort of not moving forward.

In this episode, Nir shared incredible advice for overcoming the lure of distractions, and choosing the long term benefit provided by focused work. After

ERP-driven Business Success and Customer Rights Take Center Stage at Acumatica Summit 2023

by admin on February 5, 2023 in Core Business Services

Cloud ERP Company Surpasses 10,000 Customers, Announces Updated Customer Bill of Rights and Celebrates Customer Success at Annual Event

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Acumatica, the world’s fastest-growing cloud ERP company, today outlined how its community of customers, partners and developers shapes business technology that is responsive to the real-world needs of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). The company announced these valuable impacts and articulated specific rights customers should expect from their technology vendors in an opening day keynote address at its annual Summit event in Las Vegas, Nev., which was attended by more than 2,800 customers, partners and analysts.

The opening keynote address featured Acumatica CEO John Case, who underlined the cloud ERP provider’s dedication to supporting SMBs as they face the challenges of today’s economy. Case noted that, despite the economic environment, Acumatica continues to grow, surpassing 10,000 customers. He credited the continued momentum to the Acumatica Community, which understands the needs of its customers.

“The Summit is a key touchpoint in an ongoing dialogue that takes place throughout the year in community forums, in meetings and at events,” said Case. “It’s the voices of our customers that drive us all forward in everything we do. Summit is a great opportunity to learn from the entire community – our customers, our partners, our people.”

Case also announced an update to Acumatica’s Customer Bill of Rights, which was initially published in July 2019. The new version expands on core principles to reflect the current business environment and the evolving organizational needs of today’s companies. In a blog post published today outlining each of the ten rights, Case wrote that Acumatica “firmly believes that all businesses have certain core rights in their dealings with technology vendors. Beyond just talking about it, today, we are

President Biden Announces Appointments to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

by admin on February 5, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint highly qualified and diverse industry leaders as members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) advises the White House on the reliability, security, and preparedness of vital communications and information infrastructure. These appointees will join previously appointed NSTAC members to provide national security and emergency preparedness solutions by providing innovative policy recommendations backed by a unique industry perspective. In addition to today’s announcement, President Biden also named new leadership to the committee.

Scott Charney, Chair, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Jeffrey K. Storey, Vice Chair, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Johnathon E. Caldwell, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Mark David Dankberg, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Noopur Davis, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Barbara W. Humpton, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Kimberly B. Keever, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Kyle J. Malady, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Kevin R. Mandia, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Maria N. Martinez, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Jeffery Scott McElfresh, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Bryan J. Palma, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Neville Richard Ray, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Corey E. Thomas, Member, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

Scott Charney, Chair, President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

Scott Charney currently serves as Vice President for Security Policy at Microsoft, where he works with public and private sector organizations to develop and implement strategies that help secure the IT ecosystem. Prior to this position, he led Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group, where he was responsible for enforcing Microsoft’s mandatory security engineering policies and implementing the company’s security strategy. Charney currently serves

We’re Interested To See How 10x Genomics (NASDAQ:TXG) Uses Its Cash Hoard To Grow

by admin on February 4, 2023 in Money Service Business

Even when a business is losing money, it’s possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you’d have done very well indeed. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

Given this risk, we thought we’d take a look at whether 10x Genomics (NASDAQ:TXG) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its ‘cash runway’.

Check out our latest analysis for 10x Genomics

Does 10x Genomics Have A Long Cash Runway?

A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. When 10x Genomics last reported its balance sheet in September 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth US$452m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through US$161m. That means it had a cash runway of about 2.8 years as of September 2022. Notably, however, analysts think that 10x Genomics will break even (at a free cash flow level) before then. If that happens, then the length of its cash runway, today, would become a moot point. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

debt-equity-history-analysis — NasdaqGS:TXG Debt to Equity History February 2nd 2023

How Well Is 10x Genomics Growing?

We reckon the fact that 10x Genomics

Global Retail Core Banking Solution Market Report 2022: Increase in Applications for IoT Solutions in Banking Sector Boosts Growth – ResearchAndMarkets.com

by admin on February 4, 2023 in Core Business Services

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Global Retail Core Banking Solution Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Component, By Deployment Mode (Cloud and On-premise), By Organization Size (Large Enterprises and SMEs), By Application, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 – 2028” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

The Global Retail Core Banking Solution Market size is expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 9.8% CAGR during the forecast period.

One of the key aspects influencing the market growth is how well the retail core banking solutions help clients manage their finances over a secure channel and provide flexibility in accessing their bank accounts. Additionally, the use of retail core banking solutions gives low-cost funding to banks, aids in their establishment, and maintains an efficient Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which are all predicted to propel market expansion over the course of the projection year. The sector is also growing due to customer mobile and online banking demand.

Banks are under pressure to implement better tactics that may offer their customers straightforward payment options due to the increasing competition from different mobile payment wallets and other Fintech applications, which is expected to drive the market’s growth. The competitors in the market are also focusing on new product launches to maintain a competitive edge.

Market Growth Factors

Increase in applications for IoT solutions in banking sector

Due to their many high-throughput and productivity-boosting uses, networked technologies like edge computing and IoT devices are gaining significant popularity on the global market. Additionally, many vendors are producing IoT devices, boosting the penetration of linked devices in the contemporary business environment. Radiofrequency identification (RFID), low-energy Bluetooth, near-field communication (N.F.C.), low-energy wireless, LTE-A, low-energy radio protocols, and Wi-Fi-direct are standard protocols and technologies used by IoT systems.

Growing demand

CycurID Technologies Goes BIG

by admin on February 3, 2023 in Money Service Business

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2023 /CNW/ – CycurID Technologies Ltd., (“CycurID” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce their working partnership with Blockchain Intelligence Group, the crypto investigation and training company.

CycurID Technologies Ltd. is pleased to announce their working partnership with Blockchain Intelligence Group, the crypto investigation and training company. (CNW Group/CycurID Technologies Ltd.)

CycurID (pronounced “Secure ID”) Technologies Ltd. is a Canadian-based digital identity management and cybersecurity firm that has developed a reusable digital identity app, imme^TM (pronounced “I’m me”), that uses adaptive Artificial Intelligence, Biometric Authorization and Zero-Knowledge Protocols to provide full privacy of users’ data with no individuals credentials or any data being stored or kept by CycurID or their partners.

Gord Jessop, CycurID’s COO/Co-Founder, said, “We believe that verification and authentication are the foundations of digital trust. For crypto to truly become mainstream and to overcome all of the negative news which pervaded much of the crypto markets in 2022, it is essential that those functions are performed to the highest standards, and that is why we have decided to work with Blockchain Intelligence Group.”

Blockchain Intelligence Group’s solution, QLUE™, powers complex investigations into nefarious activity involving crypto. Last year alone, Blockchain Intelligence Group helped win two major court cases for 10s of millions of dollars and set case law in S. Africa for crypto asset seizure. BitRank Verified^®has risk-scored more than 13.7B addresses to de-risk digital asset transactions.

“Blockchain Intelligence Group believes in protecting the public from bad actors and fraud,” says Lance Morignn, President, Blockchain Intelligence Group. “We are thrilled to support cutting edge innovators like CycurID.”

Jessop stated, “Being able to provide assurance to consumers, regulatory authorities and to anyone involved in the crypto-currency sector that CycurID’s products such as the imme™ Wallet can be relied

2022 fourth-quarter and full-year revenues

by admin on February 3, 2023 in Core Business Services

2022 fourth-quarter and full-year revenues

2022 fourth-quarter revenues of €1.1m (-22%)
2022 full-year revenues of €4.2m, with +2% Software revenue growth and a stable client portfolio compared with 2021
Recognized and increasingly innovative technology
Continued business development and cost optimization strategy

AMA CORPORATION PLC (“AMA”), a pioneer for assisted reality solutions and a publisher and integrator of B2B software solutions for smart workplaces, is reporting its revenues for the fourth quarter and full year in 2022, ended December 31, 2022.

2022 revenues

Consolidated revenues (IFRS) unaudited, in million euros, at constant exchange rates	2022	2021	Change at constant exchange rates
First quarter	1.1	2.2	-52%
Second quarter	1.0	1.8	-44%
First half	2.1	4.0	-48%
Third quarter	1.0	1.3	-18%
Fourth quarter	1.1	1.3	-22%
Second half	2.1	2.6	-20%
Full-year	4.2	6.6	-37%

The AMA Group (“AMA”) recorded €4.2m of revenues in 2022 (unaudited and at constant exchange rates), compared with €6.6m in 2021, with revenues linked to its core business, selling the XpertEye software suite, climbing 2% to €2.5m, while equipment sales (connected equipment and glasses, smartphones) contracted 68%. These trends continue to reflect the wait-and-see approach observed for clients and prospects facing a deteriorating economic environment.

AMA generated these 2022 revenues with more than 490 clients (as many as in 2021), primarily major groups in diverse sectors, including Merck, Alstom, Air Liquide, Boehringer and KPMG.

AMA has continued to work with its main large clients and welcomed 115 new accounts on board in 2022. 87% of the 15 largest clients in 2020 and 2021 (representing more than 50% of bookings) renewed their contracts or placed new orders in 2022. Nevertheless, AMA recorded a reduction in the average basket for its clients, which face an uncertain economic environment leading them to defer or scale back their investments in