In past installments on the Synergy Merchant Services Blog, we have discussed the major impact that the internet has had on advertising. By today’s standards, if you are not being represented online, it is as if you are not being represented at all. Especially to the younger members of the buying public, if you are not online, you practically don’t even exist.

As The Toronto Star’s business reporter, Dana Flavelle reports today, retailers across North America are pretty much being forced to utilize the internet to promote their businesses. Being that we are in the “internet age”, there is a growing number of individuals who flock to the world wide web in order to discover what’s new, what’s on sale and where to purchase items that will keep them up to date with the latest trends.

This was the strong sentiment communicated earlier today in Toronto by Dan O’Connor, the president and chief executive officer of RetailNet Group, at the annual convention of the Canadian retail industry. “There’s a fundamental shift going on,” said O’Connor who also noted that consumers are surfing the net and finding the products they want to buy before they even think about entering a store.

He revealed that even his own highschool-aged children used Facebook in order to shop for their prom dresses. Using the popular social networking site, his kids researched prices and styles, comparing them with friends online before going out to make their purchases. This is a trend, he insists, that is growing. It calls for the attention of retailers everywhere to consider both their advertising and sales practices.

Said O’Connor: “We are in no way suggesting store-based retailing is dead. But we’re going through significant challenges.” As a result, a number of major retail chains have added new services to combat declining in-store sales. Wal-Mart, for example, purchased the online movie distributor, Vudu, when it noticed significant declines in the sales of DVDs and other digital products in their stores.

Other stores such as Sephora, a cosmetic retailer and Macy’s, the popular department store, offer products that are available 24/7 through self-serve kiosks. John Wright, the senior vice-president and managing director of the research firm Ipsos Reid, adds that consumers are becoming a lot more technology-savvy.

“People can shop for cars with their iPad and check out the Blue Book,” explains Wright, adding that “consumers want quality, value, experience. Otherwise they’ll just go somewhere else.” With information so readily available all over the internet, people are getting used to going online before going into the shopping mall.

The internet has also bridged the gap between younger and older consumers, adds Wright, as it provides everyone with the same type of access to information. Especially in the post-recession era, consumers remain concerned about getting the best value for their dollars. Said Wright: “The entire world is still in a recession mindset. Even in Canada concern about the economy is rising and the outlook for the rest of the year is softening.”

Back on February 18th, the Synergy Merchant Services Blog commented upon the Ontario government’s refusal to sanction the hugely popular sport of mixed martial arts as a legalized sport in the province. Meanwhile, the sport’s largest and most successful company, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), has held a number of sold-out events in Montreal’s Bell Centre with another soon to take place in Vancouver.

Featuring an impressive list of Canadians on its roster, the UFC has been championing the cause of getting MMA legal in Ontario. We blogged about this topic a few months ago primarily because of the financial significance of the story. It is widely known that UFC events draw massive numbers and it is expected that hosting one of their events in Toronto will greatly impact the local economy favourably.

Today, our blog revisits this topic as the UFC has taken a major step in bringing their economic juggernaut to Ontario. This past Tuesday, UFC president Dana White visited Toronto to hold a press conference in order to unveil a major announcment. Along with the company’s co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, White announced that the UFC would be opening its first Canadian UFC offices in Toronto.

Former Canadian Football League commissioner, Tom Wright was announced as the one who will be heading up the UFC’s Toronto branch. Said Wright in an article posted by QMI Agency’s Neil Springer earlier this week: “After my family, the most important things – my passions – are sports and my country. The UFC has a very aggressive global expansion plan and it’s great to be a part of the second international office after London (England).”

The announcement unveils a very interesting circumstance. The hugely successful UFC will now be operating one of its offices in a territory that currently deems its sport against the law. Many supporters at the press conference, however, applauded the announcement insisting that the presence of MMA in Ontario would do wonders for the province’s economy.

Springer noted that the Toronto branch will be open for business in June although the UFC is yet to name a location. The office, is expected to open with approximately 15 employees. So already, mixed martial arts is, at the very least, promoting job growth in Ontario.

Of course, getting the sport legalized in the province will be on the top of Wright’s priority list. Said Wright: “This is a process and it takes time. It’s not always consistent time. Depending on the state or province it can take more time. But ultimately the goal is to make a commitment to the entire country and to build a business and brand here.”

The UFC insists, however, that the opening of their Canadian offices in Toronto is not a direct response to the provincial government’s hesistancy to legalize the sport. Fertitta acknowledges that the growing popularity of the sport in Canada made the opening of offices in the country an inevitability.

Our blog will be paying attention to this very interesting, ongoing situation in the months to come.

It’s not uncommon to see a penny on the sidewalk. It’s just as normal to locate pennies in between seat cushions. These days, pennies are either forgotten about or perhaps, used to fill up charity tins at your local convenience store. Is the one cent coin even really that necessary anymore? According to Canada’s finance minister, Jim Flaherty, the answer is “no”.

Immediately, one may assume that the penny is most certainly required for making cash purchases where exact change may be necessary. However, while this may be true, it is a fact that is apparently not significant enough to protect Canada’s copper coin from its inevitable fate.

As Bryn Weese writes in today’s edition of The Toronto Sun, “the penny’s days are numbered”. Flaherty believes that it’s only a matter of time for the Canadian one cent coin to become extinct. “I think it’s inevitable that eventually the smaller coin – the penny – would be eliminated,” he said earlier today.

This may have some Canadians scratching their heads wondering about the purpose of eliminating the penny from circulation. Weese points out that there are approximately 30 billion pennies currently in circulation. Because so many of them seemingly go unused due to either hoarding, loss or indifference to their value, the Royal Canadian Mint is forced to produced up to 500 million new pennies every year.

Strangely, this process costs the Mint a penny and a half per coin. The obvious financial loss caused by the production of pennies is now prompting the Mint to discontinue the seemingly unnecessary one cent coin.

Added Flaherty: “What we are seeing is hoarding of pennies, so the Mint has to keep producing pennies at a cost of more than a penny. At some point, this will have to end…I remember pennies being useful things. It’s a question of usefulness.”

Perhaps, it makes sense after all to eliminate Canada’s copper coin. Weese reveals that Pierre Duguay, the deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, has reported that the penny has lost a whopping 95% of its purchasing power since it was first introduced back in 1908.

If (although it now seems more like a “when”) the Canadian penny becomes eliminated, it will not mark the first time that such an occurrence has taken place. Weese reports that Sweden, Australia and New Zealand have all already dropped their own respective one cent coins. New Zealand, in fact, also eliminated its own version of the nickel in 2006.

At this point, it may be quite difficult to imagine not having the penny as part of the official currency in Canada. Most would have never thought of dropping the one cent coin from circulation. The inevitability of this happening, however, makes clear that apparently, a penny is no longer enough for one’s thoughts.

It is hot in Toronto! And for the most part, Torontonians don’t mind one bit. Approaching the end of May, Canada’s largest city is still celebrating one of its mildest winters ever. In what appears to have foreshadowed more warm weather, the less-than-wintery winter season has been followed up by a just-like-summer spring season.

Today, Teri Pecoskie of The Toronto Star reports that Toronto has reached record-high temperatures for the second day in a row. Coming off a warm and sunny Victoria Day long weekend, the sunny weather is making it quite difficult for workers to return to their jobs. Most, of course, would prefer to be working on their tan somewhere.

Pecoskie does note however, that Toronto’s hot weather has not brought with it the presence of smog. A rarity in the heavily populated GTA, the smog-free weather is great news for all, especially asthmatics and those with severe allergies or other respiratory issues. Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips explains that the lack of humidity can be attributed to the flowing of hot air to the north from dry southern states like Arizona.

Usually, the Southern Ontario region would be receiving its hot air from the Ohio Valley which brings with it dampness and inevitably, major smog. Thankfully, at this point, Toronto residents may literally breathe easy as they enjoy the 31C heat. Environment Canada reports that today’s temperature, in fact, has broken the record of 30.6C which was set in 1944 and later matched in 1965.

Coming off of two relatively cool summers in a row, Toronto residents are most likely relishing the Hawaii-like heat. And we’re not kidding! Temperatures in both that island state and Florida today were matched by Toronto’s record-breaking numbers. Said Phillips: “It’s kind of fair in a way because the last two summers have been bummers. This one is going to be a hummer.”

Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that the Southern Ontario temperatures reported today are showing a very unconventional pattern. It seems that the more north you head, the hotter it gets! Timmins, Ontario, in fact, hit highs of 35C today.

According to Phillips: “It’s not necessarily unprecedented. We’re not back to the drawing board wondering what is happening to the world. It’s going to be welcomed.” From the looks on the faces (or more accurately the tanned skinned of the faces) of Synergy’s staff today, it is clear that the sunny skies and warm air in Toronto has been welcomed already.

As always, it is important to take precaution when in the sun. One of our team members complained of being sunburned this past weekend. Lack of sunscreen, of course, was the culprit. As Pecoskie writes, “The City of Toronto has also continued an extreme heat alert for a second day.” So enjoy the heat, but do so responsibly. Ironically for some who can’t take the heat, it may be better to get IN to the kitchen…provided that it’s air-conditioned!

We’ve all just come back from a fun and relaxing long weekend. And there’s more than one Synergy Merchant Services staff member walking around the office with a bit of a tan today. The awesome Victoria Day long weekend was one of warmth and sunshine and it seems like many of our team members took full advantage of it.

And that’s just fine by us. We know that a happy staff is a productive staff. Now, of course, this is nothing new to us. In fact, we’ve blogged about this topic in the past. However, as The Toronto Star’s business reporter, Emily Mathieu reports today, a McGill University study has found that this is especially true for entry-level staff members who may have just recently started their positions.

McGill University’s Jody Heymann is the Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy and founding director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy. Her study, entitled Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder, outlines the benefits to businesses of having a motivated and made-to-feel-valued staff of new employees.

Says Heymann: “There are companies around the world that have recognized the value of entry-level employees and are making it an enormous competitive advantage and a central piece of their competitive strategy.”

In her report, Heymann elaborates about how companies can thrive at their lowest levels as long as their staff is healthy, well rested, well trained and motivated in their work. She insists that entry-level workers “carry volumes of institutional and practical knowledge that can streamline operations in most organizations.”

Heymann writes that with certain incentives including advancement or rewards, workers will be encouraged to be self-motivated in such a way that they help the company function more efficiently.

Without flexibility, good wages or opportunities to move up, however, “companies must expect to face high replacement and recruitment costs. When you multiply (those costs) by these extremely high turnover rates for entry level jobs you are talking very high total expenses.”

As a result, Synergy works to ensure that our staff feels that their efforts are recognized and appreciated. Continually offering new incentives and encouraging a fun working environment are just some of the ways that we attempt to motivate our staff. Knowing that this will, in turn, inspire new staff members to feel welcomed and excited about their new jobs, it is our hope to continue to have our company grow in it success.

We know that most of you are basking in the sun today. And why not? Taking advantage of one of Canada’s favourite weekends, a good number of Canadians are either at the cottage or at someone’s barbeque enjoying the extra day off work. It’s Victoria Day today in Canada, although most refer to today as the culmination of the May Two-Four Weekend.

And yes, while this weekend marks the unofficial start of summer in Canada, today actually technically marks the celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday. Wikipedia.org outlines the history of the holiday by noting that May 24th was first acknowledged by Canadian parliament in 1845 after legislation passed to recognize the Queen’s birthday.

There have been numerous ways in which Canadians have celebrated Victoria Day throughout the years. In 1854, Queen Victoria’s 35th birthday was comemmorated by 5,000 residents who gathered at Government House in Toronto to “give cheers to their queen” and by 1866, gun salutes, serenades, picnics, athletic competitions and torch-light processions all made their way into the Victoria Day celebrations.

When Queen Victoria passed away in 1901, the 24th of May was officially decreed as Empire Day throughout Britain. However, over the following several decades, Canada’s official date of celebrating the reigning sovereign’s birthday changed depending on who was being recognized. In 1952, however, this all stopped when the Governor-General-in-Council insisted that Empire Day be acknowledged on the Monday before May 25.

Not long after, Empire Day became known as Commonwealth Day and was moved to the second Monday in March. Since 1977, May 24th has solely been Queen Victoria’s day. And Canadians love her for it! One wonders, however, if the Queen would approve of the modern-day celebrations that are very loosely in her honour.

As mentioned earlier, most Canadians refer to this long weekend as “May Two Four”. This, of course, not only acknowledges the date on the calendar but the popular cases of beer that contain 24 bottles within them! Today, of course, is a great day for barbeques with plenty to eat and plenty to drink.

We most definitely advocate that you drink responsibly to truly enjoy the extra day off work. Obviously, you don’t want to show up tomorrow morning with a hangover. The sun is shining in Southern Ontario today, so it is a perfect day for celebration. Celebrating wisely, however, is important.

Some enjoy picnics or barbeques celebrating time with family and friends. Many love to go off to see some fireworks in the evening. And many others simply take the extra day off to relax. Whatever you choose to do today, be safe and have fun! Happy Victoria Day Canada!

This is the weekend that Canadians look forward to as soon as the weather starts warming up. Recognized nationwide as the first real long weekend of the spring (the one when the weather is hot enough to really enjoy it), many Canadians head out to cottage country. Victoria Day weekend, also known as May Two-Four Weekend, is upon us.

And while most people are excitedly looking forward to the next three days of rest, relaxation and probably partying too, QMI Agency’s Sharon Singleton reports upon a sombre note in today’s Toronto Sun. People love their cottages but often make no plans for them once they pass on, she writes in her article.

Yes, no one truly likes to plan for what happens when they die, but this seems to be a growing point of neglect among cottage owners. According to Singleton, it can become very costly to not plan for the succession of your holiday home.

Elaine Blades, director for Estate and Trust Products & Services at Scotia Private Client Group, believes that this has a lot to do with the sentimental attachment than many people have towards their cottage homes.

Says Blades: “People don’t know how to address the problem. There are often technical issues, family issues and emotional issues involved. Whereas most people are quite happy to buy and sell their home in the city and take the money, the cottage tends to have that special place in our hearts.”

Apparently, the fond memories that take place at the cottage make it that much harder to think of parting with it. Meanwhile, cottage prices have been going up in the post-recession era. As Singleton points out, this adds to the difficulty of the decision to sell the property as many cottages have been in families for generations. They may also be subject to large capital gains taxes if sold.

Explains Singleton: “Cottages don’t benefit from capital gains tax exemptions available on the primary residence. There are also probate taxes in every province except Quebec that vary from region to region, with the highest set in B.C. at about 1.4% of the value of the estate.”

Shockingly, with a tax burden this large, some may have to sell off their cottages in order to pay the debts. Blades suggests taking out a life insurance policy for the estimated amount of the tax bill. With no tax on the policy, the life insurance benefit should be enough to cover the estate taxes.

This isn’t the kind of fun stuff that one wants to think about this weekend, is it? But it is an important concern that should definitely not be overlooked by cottage owners. For the most part, many simply wish to pass on their cottages to their children. The concern here is that the children may not necessarily want the property or they may not be able to financially cope with the maintenance bills.

Our suggestion is for everybody to enjoy their Victoria Day long weekend. It is a time for fun and enjoyment of the spring weather and country atmosphere. But when you come back from your holiday, you may want to begin planning for the future of your family’s favourite long weekend destination.

Even as the merchant cash advance industry continues to grow in Canada, it is still a concept that is relatively foreign to the majority of Canadian business owners. So, with the Major League Baseball season in full swing, we figured that the great sport would help to make the perfect analogy for what it is we do here at Synergy Merchant Services. Of course, we hope to be able to hit it out of the park with this explanation.

As baseball fans already know, there are a total of four bases on a baseball diamond. Obviously, there is first, second and third base, and finally home plate. To simplify the way in which a merchant cash advance works, one could look at the process as the touching of four bases. Perhaps then, you may call our program a “home run” as we are confident that our program supplies owners with the quickest and easiest way to get money for their businesses.

So how does it work exactly? Well, let’s visit first base. There is, naturally, a qualification process. In order for a Canadian merchant to qualify for a merchant cash advance, the business must be in existence for at least one year.

We also look to see if the merchant meets our minimum monthly requirement of $5,000 on average of Visa, MasterCard and Interac sales. Once a business owner is qualified, we can then move on to second base.

At second, our licensed funding specialists provide a free review of a merchant’s monthly debit and credit sales summaries to help determine how much money can be offered. This is why we look to have a business have at least one year under its belt so that such statements from the previous year may be supplied.

Once these statements are reviewed, our funding specialists provide a quote that includes exactly how much money the merchant is approved for, what it will cost and exactly what percentage of their future credit and debit sales will be used to repay the cash advance. All of this information is provided so that the merchant receives a clear idea as to how the program works before they agree to anything.

Unlike with banks, there is no collateral required nor is there a fixed repayment schedule. That brings us to third base. At third, a merchant receives the cash advance. This process takes approximately five business days. The quickness in which we are able to supply the funds is another reason why we believe that our program gives business owners the quickest and easiest method of attaining extra working capital in Canada.

Of course, we may now head home. Once we have rounded the bases and provided our clients with their cash advances, the final step in the process takes effect. As we mentioned before, the best part about our program is that there is no fixed repayment schedule. The cash advance is repaid through a simple automated process that requires no effort on the part of the merchant.

No cheque needs to be cut. No balance needs to be transferred. With each daily batch out, a small percentage of the credit and debit transactions made comes back to Synergy as a payment. It does not matter how long it takes for the money to be repaid. There is never a late fee as there is no such thing as being late. We only get paid when the merchant makes a sale. If there are no sales, there are no payments. Now, how’s that for a “home run” idea?

As residents of both Ontario and British Columbia are by now, well aware, Harmonized Sales Tax is taking effect as of July 1st. However, it has been anything but harmonious in either province as protesters have been imploring each province’s respective governments to reconsider the new tax.

Purporting to make life easier for retailers and apparently, consumers, the HST will combine the Provincial Sales Tax and the Goods and Services Tax into one. However, with the expectation that this will only make everyday necessities unfairly more expensive, many are petitioning against its implementation.

Just last week, our blog visited the topic of the growing concern in Ontario that the cost of alcoholic beverages will be spiking due to HST. More importantly though, is the fact that many believe that the new tax will quite simply make it harder for people to make ends meet. This, according to retired Ford Motor Company employee Jerry Gervais, will be especially hard on seniors.

In yesterday’s Toronto Sun, Sharon Lem wrote of the more than 300 signatures that Gervais has collected to petition against HST in Ontario. Said Gervais: “Everything is going to be taxed and it’s going to hurt everyone – even (Ontario Premier Dalton) McGuinty admitted it’s going to hurt. We need to get organized and have one petition to fight this.”

Gervais isn’t the only one working to fight off the impending Harmonized Sales Tax in Ontario. There are numerous online petitions in existence in addition to the one he has started. In British Columbia, the fight has been raging for months.

As Lem reports, The Fight for British Columbia Against the HST, which is a non-partisan group led by the province’s former premier Bill Vander Zalm, has accumulated over a half million signatures on a petition opposing the government’s decision to introduce HST to B.C. residents.

Lem notes that such an action may actually make a difference. She writes that in British Columbia, “if opponents of an issue collect enough signatures on a petition from each of the province’s 85 electoral ridings, they can reverse legislation and throw the issue open to a referendum. HST opponents in British Columbia are getting close to reaching the number of signatures required to reverse the B.C. tax plan.”

Back in Ontario, Gervais’ fight lives on even though, at this point, it is inevitable that come July, the 13% HST will take effect. It is no secret that certain expenditures will become more costly. Haircuts and real estate are two examples listed by Lem that do not currently charge PST. They, of course, will be subject to the HST which combines both the PST and GST taxes.

Only time will tell if Gervais along with other Ontario residents will be as successful as Vander Zalm’s B.C. group. Chris Delaney, the lead organizer of that group, insists that Ontario can have the same influence on its government.

Said Delaney: “People in Ontario should know that their legislation is not carved in stone and a new government can repeal it. That happened in Saskatchewan in 1991 with their HST.”

The acceptance of Visa, MasterCard and Interac cards as methods of payment is extremely popular with merchants all over Canada. And why wouldn’t it be? These days, Canadian consumers are using plastic to pay for items and services more than ever before. In fact, it’s quite surprising to walk into a store in this country that does not except either credit or debit payments.

As a QMI Agency report on The Toronto Sun’s website indicates today: “Debit transactions now account for 60% of all card payments in Canada.” So naturally, it would make sense for any merchant to begin a relationship with a processor if one has not done so already.

Right now, as a matter of fact, may just be the best time to start accepting Visa, MasterCard and Interac cards as “all of Canada’s major credit and debit companies as well as payment networks and processors have signed on to the federal government’s voluntarily code of conduct.”

Today’s QMI article reveals Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s announcement that The Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada will be implemented officially as of August 16, 2010.

Originally introduced in April after several months of debate on how to regulate the credit card industry, the new code intends to make fees and rates practically undetectable by both business owners and consumers who either accept or use the cards as methods of payment.

Said Flaherty: “This is an important step forward for merchants and consumers. I am particularly pleased that we were able to work constructively with industry to launch this code voluntarily and thereby avoid imposing a new regulatory burden on businesses.”

As well, the new code of conduct guarantees those who cancel their contracts with card issuers will be able to do so free of penalties in the event that rates increase. In addition, retailers will be granted the ability to accept credit card payments from specific networks without being forced to also accept that network’s debit cards.

Essentially, the code will implement a policy that protects issuers and consumers from a potential monopoly on the credit and debit card industry by any one company. Of course, there are a number of credit and debit card issuers out there, and consumers are no strangers to swiping the particular cards of their choice to buy items.

Therefore, it is wise for business owners to have a relationship with a processor that will allow them to accept these cards in their stores. Not to mention, the acceptance of Visa, MasterCard and Interac payments in your store brings you one step closer to being eligible for a merchant cash advance!

Synergy Merchant Services continues to add to our ever-growing staff, and we’re pretty excited about continuing to grow our company. If you are seeking employment and live in the Toronto area, give us a call at 1-866-299-0101 to book an interview. You never know, Synergy just may be the place that will help launch your career in the merchant cash advance field.

We are proudly maintaining our efforts to foster employment growth in Canada knowing that it is a necessity for the nation to follow through on its mission to work its way out of the recession. One of the world’s leaders in rebounding from the global financial crisis, Canada is diligently improving its rate of providing more job opportunities to hard-working Canadians.

This has been evidenced by a QMI Agency article from earlier today that revealed the findings of the recent Canadian Job Market Report. Published by CareerAIM.com, the report predicts that Canada’s employment rate is poised to continue growing throughout May and June. Based on positive results found in an April study, the report estimates that the nation’s best hiring months are ahead.

According to the report, Canadian job postings increased by 1.9% to 200,924 advertisements. This is a 15.3% increase from April of last year. In fact, a Statistics Canada labour report notes that the number of jobs added by Canadian employers last month was nearly four times more than what economists had predicted.

Interestingly, Canada’s littlest province, Prince Edward Island posted the highest gains with a whopping 43.1% increase in new job ads. Newfoundland and Labrador followed suit with nearly 20% more ads posted for job opportunities. Ontario, meanwhile, had a 0.8% increase in job ads.

QMI’s article points out, however, that not all provinces were able to contribute to Canada’s employment opportunity gains in April: “The number of ads fell in three provinces, led by Saskatchewan with a 1.2% fall from last year. Alberta had a drop of 1% and postings in Quebec fell 0.9%.”

Evidently, the nation is not quite out of the woodworks yet, as they say. By all means, there remains much room for growth throughout Canada as it continues to recover in the post-recession era. That being said, it should once again be acknowledged that Canada is among the leaders of the world in rebounding from the financial crisis that struck the globe.

We will attempt to keep our own doors open to allow for opportunities to be provided for those seeking employment in the merchant cash advance field. For many, Synergy has provided an excellent introduction into the industry. Just as importantly, we have padded the stats for job growth in Canada. As always, we’ll keep an eye on further developments.

Is there really such a thing as having “enough money”? It would be an amazing experience if such a thing was ever true. If we all had “enough money”, we wouldn’t need to go into work every day. Nevertheless, many clients who first hear about our merchant cash advance program insist that they have “enough money”.

Well, we completely understand that perhaps, as the owner of a small or mid-sized business in Canada, you may not want to involve yourself in something that is foreign to you. And our licensed funding specialists usually discover, after having conversations with such owners, that they most certainly could use some extra working capital.

It is important that we make something clear, because the concept of the merchant cash advance has often been misinterpreted. Our mission at Synergy Merchant Services is to assist Canadian business owners by helping their companies grow. To be very honest, we are not in the business of “saving” businesses from bankruptcy or debt.

So there are times when business owners feel that by expressing that they have “enough money”, they are communicating that their companies are not in financial trouble. It has never been our intent to imply that about any business. Our funding specialists have gained a lot of experience getting to know that the most successful business owners are the ones that are best suited for our program.

We believe that an owner of a company that is doing great business will best know how to utilize our merchant cash advance program to turn an even greater profit than he or she is used to. And while our cash advances can be used for literally anything the business owner wants, we know that they are best used when the money is invested back into the business.

Take, for example, a restaurant owner who has a very successful bar and grill operation. He gets tons of patrons, especially on the weekends and days when a major sporting event is taking place. By all accounts, he is successful and could rightfully claim that he has “enough money”.

However, he knows that if he were to add or expand a patio outside of the restaurant, he could entertain hundreds of more customers throughout the summer season. He could, potentially use his own money to construct this patio. But doing so, of course, would force him to dip into his personal savings and/or use money that would generally be used for payroll and inventory among other things.

Instead, he decides to not use his own money and put a merchant cash advance towards the cost of the patio. While not spending any money of his own, the owner now has a new patio installed that significantly increases the amount of sales his establishment makes.

The payback process is as easy as continuing to process credit and debit sales as his restaurant does regularly. Therefore, once the repayment of the cash advance is made, that owner is instantly earning greater profits than he ever has before without having to use his own cash.

This may sound like a random example, but it’s the truth. It has happened before, and it could happen for you. Whether or not you feel you have “enough money”, you may still want to consider the cash advance option to bring your business to the next level.

As we reported on the Synergy Merchant Services Blog back in December, Harmonized Sales Tax is set to take effect in both Ontario and British Columbia on the first of July this year. Now, under two months away from HST becoming the norm in both provinces, citizens are growing more agitated as they await the impending increase of everyday costs.

Interestingly, one of the few items that would be decreasing in price due to HST – alcohol – will be going up! As Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, Robert Benzie reports today in The Toronto Star, HST would have actually lowered the tax rates on booze by dropping the existing 12 per cent tax to 8 per cent on July 1st. However, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is implementing an increase in the cost on alcohol to effectively even things out.

As well, both LCBO and beer stores will be joined by restaurateurs and bar owners in increasing the cost on drinks. As Benzie writes, apparently, Ontario “Premier Dalton McGuinty wants savings passed on to consumers (but) the LCBO has a policy of ’social responsibility’ which prevents them from bringing prices down to a level which would encourage alcohol abuse.”

We can picture a collective rolling of the eyes all across Ontario. Citizens, of course, are expecting a reduction on alcohol in the midst of all of the increased costs that HST will bring. Instead, they will have to encounter what is being reported as a 7.5 per cent mark-up on alcoholic beverages. This will supposedly keep prices relatively the same as they are now.

“It’s counter-intuitive,” says an anonymous industry official in Benzie’s article, “Tax rates are decreasing because of the harmonization, but the prices on the shelf are actually going to be increased. And that’s going to surprise consumers. They should be expecting a reduction.”

Benzie provides an example of how the mark-up will impact customers: “a 750 millilitre bottle of Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, a popular Australian red wine that currently retails for $16.35, should be dropping in price to $15.80 thanks to the HST. However, sources say the retail price will jump to $16.45 — only a dime more than it is now, but 65 cents higher than it needs to be.”

Don’t be surprised if LCBO stores throughout Ontario are jam-packed in the days before July 1st. Firstly, to celebrate Canada Day but secondly, and perhaps more significantly, so shoppers can get their hands on as much booze as they can before the price hike. Quite honestly, if the LCBO is attempting to deter increased drinking, their new price policy may not be such a good idea in the short-term.

Nevertheless, residents of both Ontario and British Columbia will have more important things to concern themselves with starting in July. Thinking about how to limit spending in order to afford life’s necessities under the new tax will be of high importance. Let’s hope people don’t try to drown their sorrows with hard drinks as a result. Considering that, perhaps, the price hike isn’t such a bad idea after all.

We see you rolling your eyes again.

Although we have proudly proclaimed this before, it is only right we do so again. Canada’s economy is among the strongest in the world. Following the recession, our great nation continues to prove its rebounding prowess in a number of ways. Most notably, the nation’s economy is bouncing back thanks to the addition of numerous new employment opportunities.

As evidenced by QMI Agency’s Sharon Singleton in an article appearing on The Toronto Sun’s website last week, Canada is adding jobs at a noticeably high rate, In the month of April, the nation increased its employment by 109,000 which was four times the pace that economists had predicted. Bringing the national unemployment rate down by 0.1 percentage points, it now sits at 8.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Interestingly, two-thirds of the job increase was among males over the age of 25. However, Singleton writes that “despite the huge gain in employment for men over 25 in April, employment in this demographic still remains 137,000 below its October peak.”

Nevertheless, she notes that these statistics provide further evidence that Canada is a world leader in rebounding from the recession. The nation’s economy, in fact, has grown by nearly 6 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

Canada’s growing employment rate has urged HSBC to consider the country a “juggernaut” in the field. BMO regards the nation as a “jobs machine”. As far as we’re concerned, Canada is simply “awesome”. Perhaps the number one complaint among Canadians during the height of the recession was the numerous loss of jobs. And rightly so, the country is turning things around by bringing Canadians back to work.

BMO Capital Markets Deputy Chief Economist Doug Porter had this to say: “Just as the rolling European crisis looked like it could ice the Bank of Canada for a spell, the domestic economy has served a rather loud warning that it needs tending to as well. April’s dramatic surge certainly tips the odds back in favour of the Bank beginning to hike rates in June, although clearly the global financial backdrop can still weigh back in.”

So far, reports Singleton, the Canadian economy has added 285, 000 jobs since July of last year when the recession was slowly meeting its end. The largest increases took place in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and British Colombia based on reports from StatsCan. All in the private sector, there were 65,000 part-time and 44,000 full-time jobs created in April.

Synergy Merchant Services, in fact, is happy to report that we currently house our largest staff in the company’s history, having added several positions over the past couple of months. We would like to publicly welcome all of our new team members in hopes that they will be joined by many new employees in the future.

One of the best aspects of Synergy Merchant Services’ cash advance program is the fact that we have such great relationships with merchant processors throughout Canada. Our relationship with Moneris – Canada’s largest processor of debit, credit and gift card transactions – for example, allows for us to be the leader in this industry.

Working with processors throughout Canada allows for us to provide small to medium-sized businesses in the country the opportunity to get their hands on extra working capital quickly. In fact, we are confident that our merchant cash advance program is the quickest and easiest way for owners of small and mid-sized companies in Canada to get money.

You may be wondering what their processors have to do with it. And if so, we’re glad you were wondering that. Firstly, our relationships with companies like Moneris allow us to assess just how much money we can advance to a business owner. We base this number on a merchant’s monthly credit and debit transactions.

Without requesting collateral, liens or even the standard credit check, Synergy is able to determine exactly how much of a cash advance can be offered and what it would cost. We do this by simply reviewing the statements provided to a merchant by his or her merchant processor. Our ties with many of these processors allow for this process to be a simple one.

Secondly, these relationships allow for our clients to enjoy the usually painstaking process of paying the money back. The repayment of the cash advance just so happens to be our program’s greatest feature. And it is because of our relationships with their processors that we can offer it.

Through a seamless, automated process, merchants pay back their cash advances through a small percentage of their future credit and debit sales transactions. What that means is they never have to worry about cutting a cheque or transferring a balance from their bank accounts. There literally is no such thing as ever being late as there is simply no fixed repayment schedule.

There are other merchant funding operations out there, of course. But they don’t enjoy the type of relationships we do with processors across Canada. As a result, many of them require the opening of a “lock-box” or third party bank account that a merchant’s daily batch outs are placed in. What this does is force a merchant into wait an extra day or two to have their money deposited into their own bank account so that the funders may retrieve their percentage first.

Our program offers the easiest way to not only get money, but to pay it back without worry. So what are you worried about? Give one of our licensed funding specialists a call and discover just how easy it may be for you to get the working capital you need to help your business grow. We promise to provide an easy process.