Below is our collection of the best blogs for small business owners to follow. Read these to learn more about managing money, marketing your products and services, building a customer base, and streamlining your operations. 1. BDC Blog The BDC blog serves as a comprehensive resource hub for Canadian entrepreneurs, offering a diverse range of articles and tools. Covering various topics, from business strategies to financial insights, the blog aims to provide practical guidance and real-world knowledge to support businesses across different stages of development. As one of the top blogs on this ..read more

Free digital tools for small businesses While some of these tools have paid plans, all have free options that let small business owners get more done. Learn how these free small business tools can help your business expand its reach without losing revenue. Google Docs – Google Docs is free word processing software that lets you edit PDFs or Microsoft Word documents without having to convert them. Since it’s cloud-based, collaboration is easy. This means you can invite managers and other staff members to create, comment on, and edit business documentation. HubSpot – Hu ..read more

It’s more sophisticated than a cash register, as it enables a business to accept credit and debit card payments in addition to recording cash and check transactions.  But, a POS can actually do so much more than simply accept payments. These systems also track sales and can generate reports to help you better understand trends and peak sales periods. In addition, nearly every POS uses your transaction data to help manage your inventory, letting you know when you’re running low. Choosing a POS system can be a tricky process. There are many features and points of co ..read more

There are many types of budgeting methods entrepreneurs can follow, but none of them are one-size-fits-all options. The budgeting method that’s best for your business is one that matches your situation, your project plan, and your overall goals. These budgeting methods can show you how to manage your finances to fund that next project and help your business grow. 1. Activity-based budgeting Unlike some budgeting methods for business that rank the importance of expenditures and weight of future plans accordingly, activity-based budgeting (ABB) takes all o ..read more

For these Clover merchants, being a couple working together often means sharing a common vision for the business and playing to each partner’s strengths. Here are a couple of tips for building a business with a loved one from real-life Clover couples who work together. 1. Be resilient and resourceful Brandy Tipper and her husband found themselves in a difficult situation when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. Their 17-year-old son was finishing up his first year at carpentry school when everything was shut down. His classes were cut short and many of the opportunities he was looking ..read more

Below are 10 actionable small business tips for 2024 and beyond that can help you boost sales, cut costs, and accomplish so much more. 1. Join the paperless movement Going paperless isn’t just about saving the environment. It’s also a savvy business decision that can help save you time and money. Buying, managing, and storing paper entails a host of hidden costs that can eat into your profits and your employees’ productivity. 2. Accept all popular payment types Did you know that different age groups prefer to pay in different ways? Make it easy for all of your customer ..read more

Many of the people who leave their jobs are ready to create a business of their own. As a result, on average over 101K businesses were created every year in Canada. What has worked? Some of the most profitable businesses are ones you might not have considered, like tutoring or bookkeeping. For savvy, potential entrepreneurs, one element to consider when starting a business is the average overhead rates by industry. In other words, what are business types that have high profit margins or those with a robust return on investment when you are talking about building a business from scratch? What i ..read more

Let you customers know you accept digital payments In recent years contactless digital payments have become a preferred way to pay for most customers. As less consumers carry cash and more reach for their card or mobile wallets, Amex has developed complimentary signage, at no extra cost to Amex-accepting merchants, to let your customers know that you accept contactless transactions and that they can tap, pay, and go. Visit amex.ca/signage to order complimentary business signage, industry-specific items like reserved signs and cheque presenters, decals to promote contactless payments, downloada ..read more

Gone are the days when customers had to make special trips to the mailbox just to send payments. Clover offers an intuitive and efficient invoicing feature that can streamline your business finances – and it’s included in your service plan as a feature of Clover Virtual Terminal.  With Clover invoicing you can send a payment request, your customers will receive their invoice by email, which provides them with a link to a hosted checkout page for a convenient way to pay by card.  Invoices sent to your customers can be paid as quickly as within a day. Benefits of Clover’s online invoic ..read more