9 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs PayPal

The foundation of a successful business is being able to cater to your customer. One of the components to gaining loyalty is presenting a fast and secure checkout process. For this and other reasons noted below, we believe PayPal is an all-around winner. With flexible payment options, simple setup, and seamless payment, PayPal delivers what business owners need to build a strong customer base. Here are the stats to prove it.

1. PayPal helps you create a better buying experience with fewer screens, fewer clicks, and up to a 44% better checkout conversion.¹

Most people lose patience every time they have to fill out forms and personal information at checkout on each new website. PayPal Express Checkout gives your customers a fast, easy checkout across devices - and can help you close more sales in the process.

2. PayPal attracts up to 5.3% more customers.2

It's not a stretch to say that PayPal customers look for PayPal when they shop online. In fact, research shows that offering PayPal helps attract up to 5.3% more new buyers. Even better: those buyers spend more, which helps small businesses sell more and grow.

3. PayPal is trusted by more than 188 million active accounts.3

Customers recognize the PayPal logo, and brand recognition is a powerful ally to lend credibility to your company. When it comes to their money, customers want to feel comfortable that their payments will be secure and protected against fraud.

4. PayPal lets you accept 25 currencies securely from 203 markets.

Don't wait for payments to come in from a three-week sea voyage across the Atlantic or pay hefty international wiring fees. PayPal is your ticket to selling into more markets and taking your business international.

5. The flexibility of PayPal can help close more transactions.

Not only can customers pay with credit or debit, but they can also get financing on purchases of $99 or more through PayPal Credit. And it's a popular choice among users: about one-quarter (25%) of PayPal Credit buyers said they wouldn't have made their most recent purchase without PayPal Credit. 4 It can be a great way to help drive more sales and get paid upfront, even though your customers have more time to pay.

6. You can start accepting payments online in about 15 minutes.

PayPal is easy to integrate into your business: it only takes about 15 minutes to add a payment button to your website.

7. You may be able to get a loan - without a credit check.

PayPal Working Capital has provided more than $1 billion in funding to over 90,000 small businesses globally. You may be eligible to apply for a business loan after you start processing payments with PayPal. 5 It could come in handy to prepare for busy seasons or to restock inventory. The lender for PayPal Working Capital in the U.S. is WebBank, a Utah-chartered Industrial Bank, and member of the FDIC.

8. In 2014, 2.5 million businesses of all sizes created and sent out PayPal invoices.

We found that PayPal invoicing is an efficient way of organizing all of your payments and staying on top of money that's owed. Dealing with late payments is a whole lot easier, without the need to send a debt collector. PayPal sends your customers an online invoice that they can pay directly via PayPal, credit card, or debit card.

9. PayPal never takes a day off.

Ecommerce never sleeps, and neither does PayPal. The staff is available to provide support 7 days a week. When you have a problem, you can get it reliably fixed without delay.

PayPal's suite of services is a good choice for any small business, from ecommerce beginners to companies looking to expand internationally. PayPal also provides a transparent fee structure and devices for online and offline sales, gaining the respect of entrepreneurs worldwide.

PayPal can be a trusted business partner, starting at $0 a month, and signup takes as little as 15 minutes! Follow this link to start accelerating your business with PayPal today.

1As reported in Nielsen's Online Panel research for activity occurring from July – November 2015, which compared PayPal transactions to non-PayPal transactions on sites that offer PayPal as a payment option. Nielsen measured 125,000 households' online behavior across 10 SMB merchants. Copyright 2016 Nielsen. 2As reported in Nielsen's Online Buyer Insights, which measured online & mobile purchasing behavior 52 weeks pre-/post-PayPal integration to calculate lift in net new customers who completed a purchase using PayPal. Weighted average results across a group of 15 small- and medium-sized merchants; findings are based on actual transactions, measured among ~39MM US Zip11 Households. Study completed January 2016. 3An active customer account is a registered account that successfully sent or received at least one payment or payment reversal through our Payments Platform, excluding transactions processed through our gateway and Paydiant products, in the past 12 months. 4Source: comScore customer survey completed in January 2016, among 3,010 consumers who have used PayPal Credit. 5PayPal Working Capital is subject to credit approval, as determined by the lender, WebBank, member FDIC. To apply for PayPal Working Capital, your business must have a PayPal business or premier account for at least 3 months and process between $20,000 (or, for certain qualifying business accounts, $15,000) and $10 million within those 3 months or within any time period less than or equal to 12 months. PayPal sales include processing on PayPal Express Checkout, PayPal Payments Standard, PayPal Payments Pro, and PayPal Here.

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Landscaping Options to Increase Your Home's Curb Appeal

Home garden and porch

As anyone who has ever sold a house will tell you, you must prioritize curb appeal. Before a potential buyer even considers looking inside your house, they notice the outside first. Does it attract the right kind of attention? Does it take away from the feel you're going for? If you plan to sell sometime soon, you must think about these things. Here are some landscaping options to increase your home's curb appeal, so you can get the best price on your home.

Extensive Plants and Greenery

A barren front yard won't get you the price you want on your home. So, invest in at least a little bit of greenery to keep the surrounding area from looking too dead. Shrubs and bushes tie the house to the lawn that precedes it, and flower beds bring a pop of color to an otherwise drab structure. You can also strategically plant some trees to improve the overall feel of your home's exterior.

Lawn Care

As we mentioned, your lawn is one of the most prominent features of your home's exterior. A patchy, dried-up lawn will quickly drive your home's price way down. Some of the best landscaping options for your home's curb appeal involve improving your lawn for the next inhabitant. Overall fertilization, ground aeration, underbrush removal, proper mowing—all of these lawn care tasks contribute to a greener and more lively area that invites people to see your house, rather than stay away from it.

Paved Pathways

There's nothing like a broken and disheveled pathway to make someone think twice about buying a property. Just as you want the entryway in your house to be welcoming, so too should the pathway leading up to the house be inviting. The pathway from the street to your front door provides plenty of real estate to get creative with. You don't have to settle for a boring concrete pathway. Consider something more eye catching, like a cobblestone path or intermittent brick patterns, as a way to better welcome potential buyers.

Usable Outdoor Furniture

Landscaping doesn't just involve the ground you walk on; also included are the items you use as extras to the overall look. Outdoor furniture is one such extra that you don't necessarily need but can look quite attractive if done correctly. Staging is important with outdoor furniture. Old, broken-down pieces will only look like more work to the potential buyer. A few comfortable chairs, a bench, or a table with an umbrella really go a long way to improving your outdoor aesthetics.

A good tip for deciding on curb appeal items is to decide what you personally would want to see as a part of a welcoming home's exterior. You don't need to go overboard, but a little bit of forethought could net you quite a lot of extra cash in the sale.

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Common Mistakes Made When Giving to Charity

Unfortunately, giving back can sometimes go haywire. If you're ready to make a donation, first consider common mistakes made when giving back.

Many people strive to support their community by donating their time or their money. When you find a meaningful cause, you might be quick to cut a donation check. Though it's admirable to be quick to act charitably, you should be wary of several common mistakes made when giving to charity. Being mindful of these mistakes and learning tips for making informed charitable choices can help you make the most out of your generous check.

Acting Quickly Out of Emotion

Mission statements are meant to be compelling. If you're an emotionally driven individual, it's natural to pull out your wallet at the sight of a sad puppy on TV or when informed about food insecurity over the phone. Unfortunately, not all charities are as effective or official as they may seem.

Take your passion for helping others one step further by making sure your chosen charity is legit. Speaking with a representative, reviewing their website and social media accounts, and looking at testaments online can give you a better idea of whether the organization is worth your donation.

Forgetting to Keep Record of the Donation

Don't forget that you can reap some financial perks from giving back! With the proper documentation of your donation, you can acquire a better tax deductible.

If you donate more than $12,400 as a single filer or $24,800 as one of two joint filers, you're eligible to deduct that amount from your taxes. So, when a charity asks if you'd like a receipt of donation, always answer yes.

Donating Unusable Materials

Most charities can utilize a monetary donation—it's the physical donations that usually cause some issues. Providing a local nonprofit with irrelevant materials or gifting them with unusable products are surprisingly common mistakes made when giving to charity.

Always check your intended charity's website for a list of things they do and do not accept. The majority of places will provide a guideline to donating or offer contact information to clarify any questions.

Strictly Giving at Year's End

As more and more people get into the holiday spirit at the end of the year, nonprofit organizations see an influx of donations. While it's great to spread holiday cheer via a monetary donation, it's important to keep that spirit going year-round.

With regular donations, charities can more effectively allocate their annual budget. Setting up an automatic monthly donation with the charity of your choosing can maximize your impact. You can account for a monthly donation by foregoing a costly coffee every once in a while.

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How Much You Should Spend on Home Maintenance

Knowing how much you should spend on home maintenance each year is hard to figure out and may be preventing you from buying your first home. The types of costs you'll incur depend on the house you buy and its location. The one certainty is that you should start saving now. Read on to figure out how much to start setting aside based on the home you own.

The Age of Your House

Consider several factors when budgeting for home repairs. If you've purchased a new home, your house likely won't require as much maintenance for a few years. Homes built 20 or more years ago are likely to require more maintenance, including replacing and keeping your windows clean. Further, depending on your home's location, weather can cause additional strain over time, so you may need to budget for more repairs.

The One-Percent Rule

An easy way to budget for home repairs is to follow the one-percent rule. Set aside one percent of your home's purchase price each year to cover maintenance costs. For instance, if you paid $200,000 for your home, you would set aside $2,000 each year. This plan is not foolproof. If you bought your home for a good deal during a buyer's market, your home could require more repairs than you've budgeted for.

The Square-Foot Rule

Easy to calculate, you can also budget for home maintenance by saving one dollar for every square foot of your home. This pricing method is more consistent than pricing it by how much you paid because the rate relies on the objective size of your home. Unfortunately, it does not consider inflation for the area where you live, so make sure you also budget for increased taxes and labor costs if you live in or near a city.

The Mix and Match Method

Since there is no infallible rule for how much you should spend on home maintenance, you can combine both methods to get an idea for a budget. Average your results from the square-foot rule and the one-percent rule to arrive at a budget that works for you. You should also increase your savings by 10 percent for each risk factor that affects your home, such as weather and age.

Holding on to savings is easier in theory than practice. Once you know how much you should spend on home maintenance, you'll know what to aim for and be more prepared for an emergency. If you are having trouble securing funds for home repairs, consider taking out a home equity loan, borrowing money from friends or family, or applying for funds through a home repair program through your local government for low-income individuals.

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