This is a quick guide to preparing for an Appraisal so you do not have to pay “Stupid Tax” in other words extra money because you made a mistake. First, for more information visit our website at www.certifiedconsultinggroup.com. We have prepared a Free 1 page Equipment Appraisal Cheat Sheet for you and a in depth 20 page eBook that will give you the edge you need when dealing with an Appraisal.

In today’s Banking and Business Buy / Sell environment many times you will need an Appraisal. With that in mind here are a few of the primary things you should know.

Define your need & choose your appraisal value (There are 12 total—these are the most used)

• Fair Market In Continued Use—Highest values based on market data, includes adjusted install and tweak in costs.
• Orderly Liquidation—Price you will receive selling your equipment over time to an interested buyer, Mid Value Range
• Forced Liquidation—Commonly referred to as Auction Value—Lowest Market Based Value
• Scrap—How much is it worth based on weight.
• Your Need will define the value you want your equipment to come in at: Low, Mid, or High Values

Prepare your Asset / Depreciation / Equipment List
Create your own “Perfect Asset List” with the following components to make sure you receive the highest values possible for your equipment.  Don’t leave this to an “Appraiser” that may be an Accountant or Auctioneer in disguise that has never seen your type of equipment before.  Make sure you give an asset list that specifically describes every piece of equipment with the following: Make, Model, S/N, Age, Condition, New Cost, Specifications, Options, & Hours / Miles.  We find that this one thing will make sure that an “Appraiser” will not miss that $10,000 option your specific machine has.

Interviewing the Appraiser—Questions to Ask

1. Are you Certified? By who? Do they test? What Designations do you hold?

2. What is your Appraisal Education background? What experience do you have with my type of equipment?

3. Can you meet my deadlines? How long will the process take?

4. Are you USPAP Compliant?

5. What Approach to value do you take and is it documented?

6. What values can I expect to receive? (Fair Market, Orderly, Etc.)

7. How do you charge and what are your fees?

A Certified & Professional Appraiser will easily be able to answer these questions and more.

Tip: 99% of Auctioneers, Dealers, and Accountants are NOT CERTIFIED!

To Learn More about:

• Negotiating the Fee!
• What Appraisers Actually do!
• And 11 Secrets of Appraisers
• Also—A deeper understanding of the topics discussed in this guide

Download our FREE 20 Page eBook

in our Next Issue: The Quick Do’s and Don’t of a Site Visit

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA CSBA – Author of “Secrets of the Machinery Appraisal Industry – A Blueprint to saving Time and Money”

President of Certified Consulting Group

The Recession is Over, Now What? A Machinery Appraisers View

So what should companies be doing now?

Here are some of my thoughts on where a company should head in this post recession – pre-normal time frame.

First the negative, if a company has made it this far they have cut, shaved, tweaked, and generally changed their business. They probably have a firm grasp on their financial situation and are currently starting to feel a pinch because their customers are coming back but the lending is still lean and therefore capital for growth is tough to come by. Some businesses have found that in this time frame AR lending / Factoring and paying a lending Broker to find the money is the only way to get the capitol they need to place orders from vendors. Also something to note; several of the smaller Regional or Community Banks are starting to loosen funding quicker than the larger Banks (At least in Small Business Lending).  The obvious problem some of the lenders face is most businesses that have survived are pretty beat up – Sales are Down, AR is dated, and the three year track record is a downward slope. But when you compare that to the businesses that fail I would say that’s a great trade considering the whole Nation and even the World felt the same things.

Second the Positive, due to the fact a company has made it through this Recession they are the last one standing. The Customers have fewer places to buy from and therefore the next few years will have some fantastic growth opportunity for the companies left standing.

Here is the Main Issue;  Most of these companies will try to come back to life and return to business as usual. The problem with that thinking is the rest of the world is in Innovation Mode – they are taking all of the ideas, mistakes, and research and expanding their thinking. Countries Like China and Brazil are in explosive growth and innovation mode and currently America is lagging far behind. I have heard it blamed on everything from Banks, the President, and even 9/11 (10 years of free blame there). The reality is that companies who take this opportunity to innovate will leap ahead of the crowd over the next few years, and the companies who don’t will become dinosaurs.

So, I realize this isn’t your normal light and fluffy blog article – but being in the Machinery Appraisal Industry allows me to see a large expanse of industry and banking situations, and I must say sometimes its very dismal. Rarely do I see a company willing to step outside of its normal thinking and strive to innovate. But when I do see these companies its like a Fireworks Display – Bright and Fantastic.

Nathan Bazzle CMEA – President of Certified Consulting Group [a Nationwide Appraisal Company]

Download our Free eBook – Secrets of the Machinery Appraisal Industry – a Blueprint to Saving Time an Money

How does the new 1099 law affect me and my business?

You need to start now to make next year go smoothly.  Although the law doesn’t take effect until 2012, your prep should have started January 1^st.  So you could already be behind.

As the law reads now, you must have a W-9 form from all of your vendors from whom you purchase over $600 in goods or services.  Some examples would be the individual who cleans your office, your computer person, your lawyer, your accountant and even American Express and Visa.  Sounds crazy doesn’t it?  Well it is, but it is the law.

So what is a W-9?  You can find a blank one at http://www.irs.gov.  It should be in the left 1/3 of the screen.  Just click on it and it should pop up for you.  Hit print and poof you have a blank W-9 that you can give to your vendors.

So why start now if you have until January 31, 2012 to collect this info?  If you purchase a computer or a service in January of 2011, are you going to remember in December? Can you find the person you purchased it from, if you did not get it from a chain store?  Yes, you would have to have the chain stores’ Tax Identification Number (TIN#) also.

Now that you are confused, let’s make your life easier.

Not only do you have to get everyone’s TIN# you must also give yours out.  Your customers should be asking for yours also.  Don’t wait for them to ask, be proactive.  You know they won’t ask for it when it is convenient for you.  It will be at the least convenient time.  So make it at your convenience.  You can either fill out a W-9 and mail it with your invoice to them or as we have done, provide it on your invoice somewhere.  Your invoice is not signed like a W-9, but it should do the job.  If you choose to send a W-9, I would print one from the above website, fill out all the information, sign it and then make copies as needed.

This is the law as of February 1^st.  We are hearing that this may all change by the time next year rolls around, but why wait?  Be proactive.

Have a profitable year.

Guest Writer:

Bradley K Deck

Allman Johnson Company, LLC

317-843-1040

Bradley works for Allman Johnson Company LLC an Indianapolis based Accounting / CPA Firm

While reading the Indianapolis Business Journal Blog entitled  Online site: Indianapolis business sales recovering I could not help but think that Machinery Appraisals can be an indicator of Economic Growth.

Here is the Article by Norm Heikens and my thoughts afterward.

Sales of small businesses recovered in the Indianapolis market last year, according to BizBuySell.
The San Francisco-based website recorded 29 businesses sold in the Indianapolis metro area in 2010, twice the 14 of 2009 and identical to the number of closings in 2008.
The small sample size makes it difficult to read too much into the numbers, said Mike Handelsman, group general manager for BizBuySell, which lists businesses for sale and is the largest company of its kind.
Nevertheless, Handelsman said Indianapolis clearly is bouncing back faster than the nation, based on the numbers it tracks. Businesses haven’t sold well the past couple of years because bank financing has been hard to come by, but also because owners haven’t wanted to let their companies go for fire-sale prices. In Indianapolis, Handelsman said, it appears that “People got very real about what their businesses were worth and got less than what they were asking for them, and therefore more were sold.”

As a local Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraisal company we have seen an upswing in equipment appraisals. These are coming from local Indianapolis Banks for loans and from private companies in Buy / Sell agreements. We feel this is partially due to Americans telling President Obama they want stricter financial controls in the future, partially due to the SBA loan discounts that ended December 31, and on a good note we are also seeing local Banks starting to increase lending.

Another interesting thing to note is equipment values are starting to move upward due to excess in the equipment market starting to dwindle.

Read into that what you will…

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA

President of Certified Consulting Group

Here is an article written by Dan Lacy of DynastyBuilder.com that highlights the new Small Business Law and how it impacts the SBA Lending Practices.  A couple of thoughts here, 1st the usual fee charged by the SBA is 3%, so by waiving this a Business can save big before December 31st, 2010. Also be sure you correctly choose your appraisers – The wrong Machine Appraiser can impact your loan value by nearly 25% see our Blog Real Values Equal Real Money for Business Owners.

Here is Dan Lacy’s Article

Small Business Bill Becomes Law

President Obama signed into law HR 5297, the small business bill.  This bill is to make financing easier for small business (the backbone of the US economy).  Many of the provisions end 12/31/2010 which is a very short window for a government program, so if you want to take advantage of this, find a bank that is participating and act fast.

Key provisions are as follows:

The key SBA provisions of HR 5297 are noted below:

7A program – The proceeds of SBA loans can be used for most business purposes. These may include the purchase of real estate to house the business operations; construction, renovation or leasehold improvements; acquisition of furniture, fixtures, machinery, and equipment; purchase of inventory; and, working capital.

• Increase to maximum SBA 7a loan amount to $5,000,000 (permanently)
• 90% guarantee through December 31, 2010
• Fee waiver for the rest of 2010 (subject to available funding)

504 program – This program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to acquire fixed assets (such as real estate or equipment) for expansion or modernization. It is designed for small businesses requiring “brick and mortar” financing, and is delivered by CDCs (Certified Development Companies)-private, non-profit corporations set up to contribute to the economic development of their communities.

• 504 Debenture increase to $5,000,000 for most applications and $5,500,000 for manufacturers (permanently)
• Two year window for refinancing debt
  • Property must be owner occupied (51% or greater)
  • Debt must be at least two years old
  • Borrower in operation for the entire two year period
  • Proceeds of which must have been used for 504 eligible fixed assets for the benefit of a small business concern
  • Payments must be current for at least one year prior to application
  • Maximum LTV on the existing property is 90%
  • With additional collateral, the maximum LTV on the existing property is 125%
  • Federally guaranteed debt is not eligible for refinancing (7A, 504, USDA)
• Two year extension of the First Mortgage Pool (FMP) program from the date of the first pool issuance – first pool issuance expected to be September, 2010
• Fee waiver for the rest of 2010 (subject to available funding)

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA CSBA

President of Certified Consulting Group

Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser

Certified Senior Business Analyst

As a Machine Appraiser I have closely watched the new Small Business Bill and how bankers and lending institutions are reacting to it. For an example over this past week I have met with 7 different SBA Specialists in different banks that are extremely busy. The reason – Business Owners need to get the SBA Loan done before December 31, by doing this they will save 3% of the loan value in fees. What does this mean for Machinery Appraisers – Appraisals and lots of them. Every SBA Loan over $250,000 has to have the collateral appraised by a Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser.

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA

President of Certified Consulting Group

The Marketing you are handing out right now will expire and be trash in 6 months…

We do many Business Valuations and Machinery Appraisals because of our website, marketing we have handed out live,  and through 2nd and 3rd degree connections when it finally comes back too us (sometimes this is years later). Also our clients tend to use us years apart like at times of growth (getting Loans or Buying / Selling their business) – Or during hard times when a CPA or Lawyer is usually involved. With that in mind it is ULTRA important that our Marketing material has the right information on it no matter when it finally gets to the client.

Here are 3 Things you should do to make your marketing NEVER expire:

WARNING: You May not like what you hear

1. GET YOUR OWN NUMBER: Do not use the companies 800 number or your desk number unless your OWN the company, Even then I would suggest getting a Google Voice Number that can be your permanent number that you can route to any other phone. Why spend all the time marketing and handing out cards that odds are will be a bad phone number in less than 3 years.  Or if you are an employee do you dare send your favorite customers through the 800 number. Here is a test – call your own 800 number and act like a customer and see if you can easily get routed back to yourself.

2. GET YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS: Same reasons as above, but also add domain name changes and other things like hacked corporate accounts and all of a sudden your customers can’t reach you.  Here I suggest using a Gmail account – Yes I know its a free account but in my experience Gmail has better spam filters built in than most corporate filters. Also almost all corporate accounts can be routed to Gmail, your data phones play better with Gmail, and ultimately you never miss another email. Here some of you are saying “But I switch my email often to stop spam”, WHAT? Here is a suggestion, unsubscribe from all the retailers adds, filter the annoying sales people you are never going to give business too anyways, and keep that line of communication open to your current and future customers.

3. GET YOUR OWN WEBSITE: Oh this one scared half of you to death.  Imagine this: You highlight how wonderful the offer of the month is, talk about how you will provide some type of ultimate customer service on your widget, and … (wait for it) have them actually call and sign up with YOU – not a random customer service person on an 800 number. Or worse yet your Corporate site is a static information dump and the potential customer gets bored and clicks on that shiny google adwords offer (your competitor). I see a Salesman of the Year Awards in your future.

There are many more things to do down this road and I may write about them later or you can just call me on my Google Voice Number 317.324.8026 and we can talk about them.

These will get you started – Do these 3 Things and get new Business Cards printed NOW. Yes, you may have to buy your own business cards and maybe even your own flyer’s – but it will be worth it.

Business Owners – Instead of being mad over this think of all the extra sales you and your people will make and the fantastic customer service that will be provided because your people are easily accessible. The customers can actually call you from that piece of marketing that’s been sitting in their desk for 2 years just waiting for a need.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to email someone or call them and the email or number are dead because an IT guy shut it down after the person left.  Another thought is that employee will not go into the same field and can then refer that business back to you.

I have seen so many moves in the past few years especially in Sales, Commercial Lenders, and Managers. That I know a lot of Business is slipping past in a time where you need to make as many sales as possible. Take this advice as you will, but know that as I meet top level sales guys and top level professionals they are more and more often having their own information on their own cards.

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA CSBA
Nathan is the President of Certified Consulting Group – A Business Valuations and Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraisal Company.  Find more from Nathan at www.certifiedconsultinggroup.com

Today President Obama signed a bill to provide $42 billion in loan incentives and tax cuts for small-businesses.

“It was critical that we cut taxes and make more loans available to entrepreneurs,” Obama said. “So today after a long and tough fight, I am signing a small business jobs bill that does exactly that.”

Obama first proposed the bill in January, but the legislation was stonewalled by deficit hawks. The House passed the legislation last week in a 237-187 vote with just one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones, of North Carolina, joining the majority; the Senate passed the bill in a 61-38 vote on Monday with two Republican senators, George Voinovich, of Ohio, and George LeMieux, of Florida, joining the majority.

(read the whole article on The Street )…

Now to add something interesting – I have been contacted by two Banking institutions already today to move forward on Machinery Appraisals here in Indiana that have been waiting on this bill to pass.  It amazes me and I am glad for the fact that Banks are seeing this as positive momentum.  Over the past 2 months I have also seen several banks in the area starting to open up more funding for local small business even before this bill passed.

Its too early to say if this is a shift to easier loan acquisition for small businesses owners desperately in need of capitol for growth – but its definitely a step in the right direction.

Nathan Bazzle, CMEA, CSBA

certifiedconsultinggroup

Nathan
Provides Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraisals and Business Valuations in the Southern
Indiana Area. To see more information on this topic or to contact Nathan
Directly visit www.CertifiedconsultingGroup.com

While reading a favorite blog in my industry i came across a very timely article I wanted to share.  All I can say is Outstanding Post – as a fellow Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser in Indianapolis this type of basic and fundamental information is great to share as it is affecting all of us across the country. I know here in the Indiana / Midwest area business owners are seeing substantially less dollars for their business – usually a lot of this has to do with the capitol assets taking such a beating these past few years. Another thing to consider is that now may also be a great time to sell – the economy has created a lot of investors looking to give a cash infusion to a good core business and grow it either for a sale later or because it is easier to buy a business vs. starting a new one in certain situations.

Here is the Post:

Financial Advisors Urging Business Owners to Know the Value of Their Businesses

Because of the economic downturn, many business owners are reluctant to think about the value of their businesses. Fearful that their businesses have lost value, it’s the last thing they want to hear about. An article in Financial Advisor suggests that many business advisors are urging their clients who own businesses to have their businesses valued in order to gauge their business health and for planning purposes, including adjusting estate and succession plans.

Business owners have different reactions when they find out that their businesses are worth less than they once were. Some decide to delay selling their business, and others use it as an opportunity to make necessary changes. One business owner who was interviewed said that he was glad to know the value of his business because it enabled him to determine steps he needed to take to improve the business and prepare to potentially sell it within 10 years.

According to experts, some businesses are worth 30% less than a few years ago, and they argue that understanding the value of a business can help owners determine whether or not they should sell their business or bequeath it to the next generation. On a positive note, a lower valuation can benefit owners in terms of taxes right now. The article highlights the fact that if owners are planning to pass on the business to their children, now might be the time to do it, since estate taxes are “expected to rise next year and new restrictions on use of trusts could also be coming soon.”

By: Present Value

Certified Consulting Group Blog Written by Nathan Bazzle, CMEA

This 20 minute conversation between Colin Clark of Tribeswell.com (Creator of Certifiedconsultinggroup.com) and Nathan Bazzle – Certified Appraiser covers the following:

The 3 paths of Traffic to your Website – What ways a Business Owner can drive Traffic to their Website

The Impact of Blogging on your Website

Creating a Social Media Strategy – How to view Social Media and how to interact with Social Media

3 Paths of Traffic to your Website