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Whether you’re doomscrolling on LinkedIn or talking to friends, AI-induced job loss anxiety feels inescapable right now. As companies go full throttle on investing in automation tools, the fear that entire roles can be instantly eliminated feels very real. After the surge in economic activity and tech adoption during the pandemic, tech companies issued mass layoffs after over-expanding. That trend continued in the last few months, with tech giants like Amazon and Oracle laying off thousands of employees. But there have been a few silver linings in the mostly pessimistic discourse around AI and the future of work: A recent surprising bright spot in hiring right now for software engineers. Business Insider reported that companies are hiring more software engineers, with software job listings climbing 30% so far this year. According to tech hiring firm TrueUp—whose data tracks more than 260,000 open roles across 9,000 tech startups and public tech firms—more than 67,000 software engineering job openings. After a stretch of hiring freezes and pervasive layoffs, this might feel like renewed momentum for some, especially since the recent jobs report issued on Friday was more optimistic than expected. “Encouraging to see tech hiring gaining momentum again, especially amid ongoing conversations about AI‑driven job displacement,” one insurance professional commented on LinkedIn. “The data reinforces an important point: while AI is reshaping roles, it’s also creating new opportunities that require human expertise, adaptability, and strategic thinking.” In the same vein, an engineer and AI founder wrote: “It’s getting increasingly cheaper to build custom solutions, which means we might end up with much, much more code that needs to be reviewed and maintained.” Others shared less optimism about the statistic. “The data is real[,] but what the headline does not say is that the jobs driving that number are AI-fueled,” a senior recruiter wrote. “The same quarter that produced this hiring surge also saw 52,050 tech job cuts announced, the worst Q1 since 2023, with AI cited as the leading reason for layoffs across industries.” Another LinkedIn user pointed out that job openings do not equate to jobs filled. “Saying ‘AI isn’t killing jobs’ because software engineering openings are up is like saying the housing market is fine because penthouse listings are booming,” one consultant wrote. Coaching company Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that the tech sector announced 18,720 job cuts in March, and predicted more layoffs to come. Following a bleak few months and the loss of 133,000 jobs in February, the most recent jobs report showed that the U.S. added 178,000 jobs in March, offering a bit of much-needed motivation. AI has completely jolted entry-level roles and internships meant to help young workers kickstart their careers. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates reached 5.6% in December. Even with the increase in job openings for software engineers across the tech sector, young and eager professionals might not feel the reprieve they’re expecting. As companies look to invest in AI, the talent pool—especially among entry-level applicants—has grown considerably, making these available jobs feel more competitive. More job openings don’t necessarily mean job hunting is going to get easier, especially when the bar for skill is getting higher. View the full article

I've been using Pixel phones every day for several years at this point, so I thought I'd discovered every secret menu and hidden feature these Google handsets have to offer—but it turns out I was wrong. Make Use Of enlightened me about the diagnostic tool built into Google Pixels, hidden away behind the number pad of the phone app. Its official name is the Pixel Repair Diagnostics App, and according to Google, it's built into every Pixel phone and tablet. It gives you a dashboard for testing just about every part of your phone's setup, from Bluetooth connections to camera sensors. The Pixel Repair Diagnostics App. Credit: Lifehacker To get to the diagnostics tool, open up the Phone app on your Pixel, switch to the Keypad screen, then type *#*#7287#*#*. You'll be asked if you have reliable wifi, so press Confirm, and you'll get into the app proper—with the screen brightness ramped right up. You can choose to work through these diagnostic tests individually, run related tests together via the Check Group options, or test everything via the Start Test button that appears at the top. The three-dot menu up in the top-right corner gives you access to results for tests that have already been run. There's a lot to work through here: The Visual group alone includes tests for Physical Damage, Display Defects, Backglass Defects, and Camera Defects. Each test differs in terms of what you need to do—so for Physical Damage it's simply a case of checking around your phone, whereas for WiFi the phone will itself try and get online and see if the connection is stable. Some diagnostics require more interactionSome of these tests require more interaction than others. For Light Sensor for example, you'll be asked to cover your phone's light sensor with your hand (it's usually up at the top of the screen next to the selfie camera) while a reading is taken. For Gyroscope, you need to move your phone in a figure-of-8 pattern. When it comes to Display under Screen, you get shown a series of images—some solid colors, others with writing on them—so you can carefully examine the screen and look for any inconsistencies or defects. It's then up to you to either choose Pass or Fail. Also under the Screen heading there's Touch Panel, a test that tasks you with performing various taps and swipes—one of the actions you have to do is use three fingers to drag some colored balls down the screen. The aim is to make sure every part of the display remains responsive. You'll need to manually confirm certain tests have been passed. Credit: Lifehacker For Microphone under Audio, your phone will play a little jingle and attempt to record it through all of the mics your phone has, at the same time. Each microphone recording is then played back, and it's up to you to confirm that they all worked. The Front Camera and Rear Camera tests under Camera are particularly useful, because they test each individual camera in turn by capturing photos and videos from them—so if your phone has three cameras around the back that are normally used in unison, you can separate and test them all individually. This is a useful tool to turn to whenever you think something might be broken on your phone—and if there's a problem, it will tell you where the problem lies. You can quit the app like any other, with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or by pressing the home button, if you're using button navigation). View the full article

Five years ago, while working at Apple as a product designer, Mary Ann Rau decided to electrify her house and move away from fossil fuels. She installed solar, a battery, an induction range, and owned an EV. But there was still one big challenge: her HVAC system. “When it came to heat pumps, I was shocked when I got a quote for $40,000 to install heat pumps in my own house,” Rau says. Today, Rau launched a startup that’s tackling the problem of making heat pumps more accessible. Merino Energy, which just came out of stealth, makes heat pumps that each take an hour or less to install and come with a fixed price per unit of $3,800, including installation fees. For a whole home, the system could be half the cost of a typical mini split installation. (For someone who wants to add a unit to a single room, it’s an even bigger difference, coming in at a third of the cost.) Mary Ann RauBrad Hall Rau left Apple in 2023 and first worked at Quilt, another startup designing sleek mini-split heat pumps. There, she learned about the complexity of installation, a major driver of cost. “I learned that that was really the true bottleneck when it comes to heat pump adoption,” she says. Mini split heat pumps—units that are installed in walls in rooms throughout a house, and then connected to a condenser outside—can each take eight hours to install. Skilled technicians have to add refrigerant to long lines between the mini splits and the condenser. Labor for the whole process is expensive. New window heat pumps are faster to install, but aren’t compatible with some windows. (Rau’s cofounder, Brad Hall, previously worked at Gradient, one of the companies pioneering window heat pumps, but couldn’t install the product at his own home.) They saw an opportunity to design a different alternative. Merino’s design eliminates outdoor units and the need for complicated connections. Instead, it uses two vents in the wall, one to pull air in and one for exhaust. Each unit takes around an hour to install, shrinking the overall cost. Because refrigerant is added at the factory and not on site, that also reduces labor. Adding refrigerant at the factory also means there’s little risk of it leaking; small leaks can be a major source of emissions. “One leaky mini split can erase the benefits of transitioning around 50 homes off of fossil fuels,” Rau says. The team worked closely with installers to understand what needed to change. Part of the challenge with existing heat pumps wasn’t just the installation time, but the fact that HVAC companies were spending valuable hours visiting homes to give quotes that homeowners ultimately couldn’t afford. By offering flat rate pricing, homeowners can decide beforehand if they want to move forward. The approach means that Merino can give installers better margins while still saving homeowners money. The team also carefully considered the product design. “It’s designed to blend into your home like a modern artifact,” says Rau, who worked on AirPod design at Apple. The heat pump is quiet as it runs, and relatively sleek at 7.8 inches deep, “so it doesn’t take up too much space visually in the room,” she says. It also integrates with smart home tech like Apple HomeKit and Google Home, as well as wearables like the Oura Ring. “There are clinical studies that show that you can improve sleep quality and sleep efficiency by reducing temperature by several degrees when you’re in REM,” Rau says. “So if you choose to integrate your Oura Ring with our product, then you will get the benefit of automatic temperature control based off of your sleep cycle.” The company is launching first in California, where there’s strong demand for heat pumps. Los Angeles recently passed a rule requiring landlords to keep indoor temperatures below 82 degrees as extreme heat becomes more common. Many apartments in L.A. still lack air conditioning, making the new tech a relatively affordable way to add it permanently. Merino also makes a simplified version for low-income housing and recently installed it in a Bay Area apartment building for formerly homeless residents The state also has an aggressive goal to install six million heat pumps by 2030. “At the current pace of installation, it would take until 2045 for California to hit its goals,” Rau says. “With Merino, we think that we can actually do it in four years, and that’s because we’re doing installation eight times faster.” The startup opened preorders on its website today, and expects to ship the first products in late 2026. View the full article

A small business loan calculator is a practical tool that helps you estimate your monthly loan payments by inputting key factors like loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. It simplifies the process of comprehending your financial commitments and potential costs associated with borrowing. By using this calculator, you can make informed decisions about financing options. But what specific variables should you consider, and how can they impact your overall loan experience? Key Takeaways A small business loan calculator estimates monthly payments based on loan amount, interest rate, and term duration. It helps users understand total interest paid and overall loan cost over time. Users input desired loan amount, interest rate, and term to generate payment estimates. The calculator can also provide amortization schedules, detailing payment breakdowns throughout the loan’s life. It’s essential to verify estimates with lenders, as results are approximations influenced by input accuracy. What Is a Small Business Loan Calculator? A small business loan calculator is an essential online tool that helps you estimate your monthly payments based on significant factors like the loan amount, term, and interest rate or APR. This calculator allows you to input key financial figures, giving you a detailed estimate of monthly payments, total interest paid, and the overall cost of the loan. Many small business loan calculators additionally generate amortization schedules, breaking down how each payment impacts the principal and interest over time. By utilizing this tool, you can assess your borrowing capacity, typically between 10-30% of your annual revenue, considering your income, expenses, and credit score. How Does a Small Business Loan Calculator Work? How does a small business loan calculator provide valuable insights into your financing options? This online tool allows you to input your desired loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. By doing so, you can estimate monthly payments and the total interest paid over the loan’s life. The commercial loan payment calculator can likewise generate an amortization schedule, showing how each payment is split between principal and interest. You can adjust various factors, like loan amount and repayment term, to see how different scenarios affect your monthly payments. Moreover, it considers your annual revenue and expenses, helping you assess your borrowing capacity. Keep in mind, these results are estimates and should be verified with lenders for accuracy. Benefits of Using a Business Loan Calculator Using a small business loan calculator offers numerous benefits that can greatly aid in your financial planning. This tool helps you estimate monthly payments based on the loan amount, term, and APR, giving you a clear comprehension of your financial commitments. You can explore various loan scenarios by adjusting inputs, providing flexibility in your planning. Benefit Description Cost Insights Calculates total interest paid and total payments, revealing long-term costs. Amortization Schedule Some calculators offer a schedule detailing payment distribution over time. Affordability Evaluation Assists in ensuring your monthly cash flow can comfortably cover estimated payments. Key Variables to Input in the Calculator When using a small business loan calculator, you’ll need to input several key variables to get accurate results. Start with the loan amount, which is the total funds you’re looking to borrow, and then select the interest rate that reflects the cost of borrowing. Finally, specify the loan term duration, as this will determine how long you’ll have to repay the loan and influence your monthly payments. Loan Amount Input Determining the loan amount is a significant step in using a small business loan calculator, as this figure represents the total funds you intend to borrow for your business needs. Inputting the correct loan amount directly influences your estimated monthly payment. Typically, higher loan amounts result in higher payments. Most calculators let you input a range of amounts, helping you evaluate different borrowing scenarios and their financial impact. Here’s a quick overview of how loan amounts can affect your calculations: Loan Amount Estimated Monthly Payment Total Interest Paid $5,000 $100 $300 $10,000 $200 $600 $20,000 $400 $1,200 $30,000 $600 $1,800 $50,000 $1,000 $3,000 Understanding the loan amount is essential for evaluating affordability and comparing various small business loan rates. Interest Rate Selection How do you select the right interest rate for your small business loan? When using a commercial loan calculator, you can input the interest rate as either the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) or a simple interest rate, depending on what’s available. If you’re unsure of the interest rate, you can convert factor rates using specific formulas for a more accurate estimate. Remember, the interest rate you choose will greatly affect your monthly payments; lower rates lead to smaller payments and less total interest paid. Furthermore, be mindful of any fees associated with the loan, as these can impact the true cost and should be included in the APR for a thorough calculation. Adjusting the interest rate in the calculator allows you to evaluate different loan scenarios. Loan Term Duration Selecting the right loan term duration is crucial for managing your small business loan effectively, as it directly influences your monthly payment amount and the total interest paid over the life of the loan. Loan terms typically range from a few months to several years. Longer terms can lower your monthly payments, but they often result in higher total interest costs. By using a commercial loan amortization calculator, you can input different loan term durations to see how they affect both your monthly payments and overall interest. Furthermore, some calculators allow you to select various payment frequencies, which can further impact your repayment structure. Comprehending these factors helps you make informed decisions regarding your financing needs. Understanding Monthly Payments and Total Costs When you’re looking to finance your small business, comprehension of monthly payments and total costs is vital for effective budgeting. A business loan repayment calculator helps you estimate monthly payments by factoring in the loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. Monthly payments typically cover principal, interest, and fees, providing a full picture of your obligations. You can additionally view the total interest paid over the loan term, making it easier to compare options. Loan Amount Interest Rate Monthly Payment $10,000 5% $188 $20,000 7% $402 $30,000 6% $580 $40,000 4% $888 $50,000 5% $1,060 Types of Business Loans You Can Calculate Comprehending the various types of business loans available can greatly ease your financing expedition. One option is an SBA loan, which is partially guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, offering lower interest rates and longer repayment terms for eligible borrowers. If you need larger financing, consider conventional loans, though they often come with higher interest rates and require a solid credit history. Equipment financing is another route, allowing you to purchase equipment with the equipment itself as collateral. Lines of credit provide flexible access to funds, letting you borrow only what you need. Finally, commercial real estate loans are customized for purchasing or renovating properties, usually requiring a larger down payment, making the sba loan calculator a useful tool for evaluating these options. How to Use a Business Loan Calculator Effectively Using a business loan calculator can greatly streamline your financing process, as it allows you to gain insights into your potential loan obligations. To use a business loan calculator SBA effectively, start by inputting the loan amount, term in months, and the annual percentage rate (APR). This will help you estimate your monthly payments and total interest paid over the loan’s duration. Experiment with different loan amounts and terms to find the best balance for your budget. If you’re unsure of the APR, leverage the option to convert factor rates into interest rates for accurate calculations. Finally, review the amortization schedule to see how payments break down over time, and remember to factor in additional fees that may impact your overall loan cost. Alternative Financing Options for Small Businesses Finding the right financing option can be a game-changer for your small business, especially if traditional loans aren’t on the table. Here are some alternative financing options to evaluate: Financing Option Description Pros/Cons Business Grants Free funding but hard to obtain because of strict applications. Pros: No repayment; Cons: Competitive. Personal Business Loans Higher interest rates, suitable for newer businesses. Pros: Accessible; Cons: Costly. Business Credit Cards Revolving capital, potential rewards on purchases. Pros: Flexible; Cons: High interest. Invoice Factoring Sell receivables for immediate cash. Pros: Quick cash; Cons: Fees involved. Invoice Financing Use invoices as collateral for loans. Pros: Fast access; Cons: Debt risk. Utilizing a business loan estimator can help you evaluate these options effectively. Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using the Calculator When you’re calculating potential loan costs, it’s crucial to avoid common pitfalls that can lead to inaccurate results. Using a commercial mortgage loan calculator can be helpful, but mistakes can skew your comprehension. Here are three mistakes to watch for: Entering Inaccurate Amounts or Terms: Make sure the loan amounts and terms you input are correct to avoid misleading estimates. Ignoring Additional Fees: Don’t forget to include origination or documentation fees, as these can greatly affect your total APR. Not Adjusting Interest Rates: Always check if the calculator requires you to input an interest rate or APR; overlooking this can distort your results. Resources for Further Assistance After addressing common mistakes with loan calculators, it’s important to know where to turn for further support as you navigate financing options. The Small Business Administration (SBA) website is a valuable resource for exploring funding programs and counseling customized to your needs. Local chambers of commerce can connect you with lenders and provide information on financing options. Moreover, various grant programs might be available locally, though they can be competitive. Online platforms like Lendio and LendingTree offer tools, including a commercial real estate loan calculator, to help you compare different financing options. Finally, consider working with a business loan broker who can leverage their expertise to find the best financing solutions for your situation. Evaluating Your Loan Options When you’re evaluating your loan options, it’s crucial to compare different loan types to find the best fit for your business needs. Comprehending how payment structures work will help you anticipate your monthly obligations, whereas evaluating total loan costs guarantees you grasp the overall financial impact. Comparing Loan Types Choosing the right type of loan for your small business involves careful consideration of various options, as each type has its unique features and implications. Here are three key types to compare: SBA Loans: Often have lower interest rates because of government backing, making them a cost-effective option. Equipment Financing: Provides 100% funding particularly for necessary equipment, helping you acquire assets without upfront costs. Lines of Credit: Offer flexible access to funds, with interest only on the amount you use, which can be beneficial for managing cash flow. Using a business mortgage calculator can help you evaluate the total cost of each option, including interest and fees, ensuring you make an informed decision that aligns with your financial goals. Understanding Payment Structures Grasping the payment structure of your small business loan is crucial, as it directly impacts your budgeting and cash flow management. A small business loan calculator, like a business property loan calculator, helps you estimate monthly payments based on factors such as loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. Comprehending that monthly payments typically include principal, interest, and any applicable fees gives you an all-encompassing view of your loan’s cost. You can likewise calculate the total interest paid over the loan’s life, which helps clarify the overall expense. Generating an amortization schedule shows how each payment affects both principal and interest over time. Don’t forget to explore early repayment options, as they may save you money on total interest if no prepayment penalties apply. Assessing Total Loan Costs How can you accurately assess the total costs associated with a small business loan? Using a commercial building loan calculator can help you break down your financial obligations effectively. Here’s what you should consider: Loan Amount and Term: Enter the total amount you need and the desired repayment period. Annual Percentage Rate (APR): Input the interest rate to see how it impacts your payments. Additional Fees: Don’t forget to factor in origination and documentation fees, as these affect the true cost of borrowing. Tips for Managing Business Loans Managing business loans effectively is crucial for maintaining your financial health, especially as your business grows and evolves. Regularly review your loan payments and cash flow to guarantee you can cover monthly obligations comfortably. Setting up automatic payments can help you avoid late fees, adding unnecessary costs. Prioritize paying down high-interest loans first to minimize total interest paid over time. If interest rates drop or your credit improves, consider refinancing to lower your monthly payments. Furthermore, maintain open communication with your lender, especially during financial hardships, to explore options for payment adjustments or deferments. Using an SBA loan repayment calculator can help you plan and manage your loan obligations efficiently, making certain you stay on track. Frequently Asked Questions How Much Is a $50,000 Business Loan Monthly? For a $50,000 business loan, your monthly payment depends on the loan term and interest rate. For example, at a 15% interest rate over five years, you’d pay about $1,266.76 monthly. If you choose a longer term, your payments may decrease, but the total interest paid will increase considerably. Moreover, keep in mind any origination fees or other charges, as these can raise your total borrowing costs beyond just the interest. How Does Getting a Small Business Loan Work? Getting a small business loan involves several steps. First, you’ll submit a loan application with required documents like tax returns and financial statements. Lenders evaluate your eligibility based on your credit score, revenue, and debt service coverage ratio. If approved, you receive the loan amount and must repay it regularly, either monthly, weekly, or daily. How Much Can I Realistically Get for a Small Business Loan? To determine how much you can realistically get for a small business loan, consider factors like your annual revenue, credit score, and time in operation. Lenders usually lend 10% to 30% of your revenue. A strong credit score improves your chances of better terms. Furthermore, a debt service coverage ratio of 1.25 or higher is often required for approval. Evaluating these elements will give you a clearer picture of your borrowing potential. What Is the Payment on a $1,000,000 Business Loan? If you take out a $1,000,000 business loan at a 5% APR over 10 years, your monthly payment would be about $10,607. This arrangement leads to a total repayment of roughly $1,276,800, including around $276,800 in interest. Opting for a 15-year term lowers your monthly payment to about $7,908, but increases total interest to approximately $480,000. Remember to factor in any fees or early repayment options affecting your overall costs. Conclusion In conclusion, a small business loan calculator is a valuable tool that helps you grasp your potential loan obligations. By entering key variables like loan amount, interest rate, and term length, you can estimate monthly payments and total costs. This insight allows you to evaluate different financing options and make informed decisions. Remember to input accurate data and consider various scenarios, as this will improve your comprehension of your financial commitments and refine your loan management strategy. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is a Small Business Loan Calculator and How Does It Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A small business loan calculator is a practical tool that helps you estimate your monthly loan payments by inputting key factors like loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. It simplifies the process of comprehending your financial commitments and potential costs associated with borrowing. By using this calculator, you can make informed decisions about financing options. But what specific variables should you consider, and how can they impact your overall loan experience? Key Takeaways A small business loan calculator estimates monthly payments based on loan amount, interest rate, and term duration. It helps users understand total interest paid and overall loan cost over time. Users input desired loan amount, interest rate, and term to generate payment estimates. The calculator can also provide amortization schedules, detailing payment breakdowns throughout the loan’s life. It’s essential to verify estimates with lenders, as results are approximations influenced by input accuracy. What Is a Small Business Loan Calculator? A small business loan calculator is an essential online tool that helps you estimate your monthly payments based on significant factors like the loan amount, term, and interest rate or APR. This calculator allows you to input key financial figures, giving you a detailed estimate of monthly payments, total interest paid, and the overall cost of the loan. Many small business loan calculators additionally generate amortization schedules, breaking down how each payment impacts the principal and interest over time. By utilizing this tool, you can assess your borrowing capacity, typically between 10-30% of your annual revenue, considering your income, expenses, and credit score. How Does a Small Business Loan Calculator Work? How does a small business loan calculator provide valuable insights into your financing options? This online tool allows you to input your desired loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. By doing so, you can estimate monthly payments and the total interest paid over the loan’s life. The commercial loan payment calculator can likewise generate an amortization schedule, showing how each payment is split between principal and interest. You can adjust various factors, like loan amount and repayment term, to see how different scenarios affect your monthly payments. Moreover, it considers your annual revenue and expenses, helping you assess your borrowing capacity. Keep in mind, these results are estimates and should be verified with lenders for accuracy. Benefits of Using a Business Loan Calculator Using a small business loan calculator offers numerous benefits that can greatly aid in your financial planning. This tool helps you estimate monthly payments based on the loan amount, term, and APR, giving you a clear comprehension of your financial commitments. You can explore various loan scenarios by adjusting inputs, providing flexibility in your planning. Benefit Description Cost Insights Calculates total interest paid and total payments, revealing long-term costs. Amortization Schedule Some calculators offer a schedule detailing payment distribution over time. Affordability Evaluation Assists in ensuring your monthly cash flow can comfortably cover estimated payments. Key Variables to Input in the Calculator When using a small business loan calculator, you’ll need to input several key variables to get accurate results. Start with the loan amount, which is the total funds you’re looking to borrow, and then select the interest rate that reflects the cost of borrowing. Finally, specify the loan term duration, as this will determine how long you’ll have to repay the loan and influence your monthly payments. Loan Amount Input Determining the loan amount is a significant step in using a small business loan calculator, as this figure represents the total funds you intend to borrow for your business needs. Inputting the correct loan amount directly influences your estimated monthly payment. Typically, higher loan amounts result in higher payments. Most calculators let you input a range of amounts, helping you evaluate different borrowing scenarios and their financial impact. Here’s a quick overview of how loan amounts can affect your calculations: Loan Amount Estimated Monthly Payment Total Interest Paid $5,000 $100 $300 $10,000 $200 $600 $20,000 $400 $1,200 $30,000 $600 $1,800 $50,000 $1,000 $3,000 Understanding the loan amount is essential for evaluating affordability and comparing various small business loan rates. Interest Rate Selection How do you select the right interest rate for your small business loan? When using a commercial loan calculator, you can input the interest rate as either the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) or a simple interest rate, depending on what’s available. If you’re unsure of the interest rate, you can convert factor rates using specific formulas for a more accurate estimate. Remember, the interest rate you choose will greatly affect your monthly payments; lower rates lead to smaller payments and less total interest paid. Furthermore, be mindful of any fees associated with the loan, as these can impact the true cost and should be included in the APR for a thorough calculation. Adjusting the interest rate in the calculator allows you to evaluate different loan scenarios. Loan Term Duration Selecting the right loan term duration is crucial for managing your small business loan effectively, as it directly influences your monthly payment amount and the total interest paid over the life of the loan. Loan terms typically range from a few months to several years. Longer terms can lower your monthly payments, but they often result in higher total interest costs. By using a commercial loan amortization calculator, you can input different loan term durations to see how they affect both your monthly payments and overall interest. Furthermore, some calculators allow you to select various payment frequencies, which can further impact your repayment structure. Comprehending these factors helps you make informed decisions regarding your financing needs. Understanding Monthly Payments and Total Costs When you’re looking to finance your small business, comprehension of monthly payments and total costs is vital for effective budgeting. A business loan repayment calculator helps you estimate monthly payments by factoring in the loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. Monthly payments typically cover principal, interest, and fees, providing a full picture of your obligations. You can additionally view the total interest paid over the loan term, making it easier to compare options. Loan Amount Interest Rate Monthly Payment $10,000 5% $188 $20,000 7% $402 $30,000 6% $580 $40,000 4% $888 $50,000 5% $1,060 Types of Business Loans You Can Calculate Comprehending the various types of business loans available can greatly ease your financing expedition. One option is an SBA loan, which is partially guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, offering lower interest rates and longer repayment terms for eligible borrowers. If you need larger financing, consider conventional loans, though they often come with higher interest rates and require a solid credit history. Equipment financing is another route, allowing you to purchase equipment with the equipment itself as collateral. Lines of credit provide flexible access to funds, letting you borrow only what you need. Finally, commercial real estate loans are customized for purchasing or renovating properties, usually requiring a larger down payment, making the sba loan calculator a useful tool for evaluating these options. How to Use a Business Loan Calculator Effectively Using a business loan calculator can greatly streamline your financing process, as it allows you to gain insights into your potential loan obligations. To use a business loan calculator SBA effectively, start by inputting the loan amount, term in months, and the annual percentage rate (APR). This will help you estimate your monthly payments and total interest paid over the loan’s duration. Experiment with different loan amounts and terms to find the best balance for your budget. If you’re unsure of the APR, leverage the option to convert factor rates into interest rates for accurate calculations. Finally, review the amortization schedule to see how payments break down over time, and remember to factor in additional fees that may impact your overall loan cost. Alternative Financing Options for Small Businesses Finding the right financing option can be a game-changer for your small business, especially if traditional loans aren’t on the table. Here are some alternative financing options to evaluate: Financing Option Description Pros/Cons Business Grants Free funding but hard to obtain because of strict applications. Pros: No repayment; Cons: Competitive. Personal Business Loans Higher interest rates, suitable for newer businesses. Pros: Accessible; Cons: Costly. Business Credit Cards Revolving capital, potential rewards on purchases. Pros: Flexible; Cons: High interest. Invoice Factoring Sell receivables for immediate cash. Pros: Quick cash; Cons: Fees involved. Invoice Financing Use invoices as collateral for loans. Pros: Fast access; Cons: Debt risk. Utilizing a business loan estimator can help you evaluate these options effectively. Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using the Calculator When you’re calculating potential loan costs, it’s crucial to avoid common pitfalls that can lead to inaccurate results. Using a commercial mortgage loan calculator can be helpful, but mistakes can skew your comprehension. Here are three mistakes to watch for: Entering Inaccurate Amounts or Terms: Make sure the loan amounts and terms you input are correct to avoid misleading estimates. Ignoring Additional Fees: Don’t forget to include origination or documentation fees, as these can greatly affect your total APR. Not Adjusting Interest Rates: Always check if the calculator requires you to input an interest rate or APR; overlooking this can distort your results. Resources for Further Assistance After addressing common mistakes with loan calculators, it’s important to know where to turn for further support as you navigate financing options. The Small Business Administration (SBA) website is a valuable resource for exploring funding programs and counseling customized to your needs. Local chambers of commerce can connect you with lenders and provide information on financing options. Moreover, various grant programs might be available locally, though they can be competitive. Online platforms like Lendio and LendingTree offer tools, including a commercial real estate loan calculator, to help you compare different financing options. Finally, consider working with a business loan broker who can leverage their expertise to find the best financing solutions for your situation. Evaluating Your Loan Options When you’re evaluating your loan options, it’s crucial to compare different loan types to find the best fit for your business needs. Comprehending how payment structures work will help you anticipate your monthly obligations, whereas evaluating total loan costs guarantees you grasp the overall financial impact. Comparing Loan Types Choosing the right type of loan for your small business involves careful consideration of various options, as each type has its unique features and implications. Here are three key types to compare: SBA Loans: Often have lower interest rates because of government backing, making them a cost-effective option. Equipment Financing: Provides 100% funding particularly for necessary equipment, helping you acquire assets without upfront costs. Lines of Credit: Offer flexible access to funds, with interest only on the amount you use, which can be beneficial for managing cash flow. Using a business mortgage calculator can help you evaluate the total cost of each option, including interest and fees, ensuring you make an informed decision that aligns with your financial goals. Understanding Payment Structures Grasping the payment structure of your small business loan is crucial, as it directly impacts your budgeting and cash flow management. A small business loan calculator, like a business property loan calculator, helps you estimate monthly payments based on factors such as loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. Comprehending that monthly payments typically include principal, interest, and any applicable fees gives you an all-encompassing view of your loan’s cost. You can likewise calculate the total interest paid over the loan’s life, which helps clarify the overall expense. Generating an amortization schedule shows how each payment affects both principal and interest over time. Don’t forget to explore early repayment options, as they may save you money on total interest if no prepayment penalties apply. Assessing Total Loan Costs How can you accurately assess the total costs associated with a small business loan? Using a commercial building loan calculator can help you break down your financial obligations effectively. Here’s what you should consider: Loan Amount and Term: Enter the total amount you need and the desired repayment period. Annual Percentage Rate (APR): Input the interest rate to see how it impacts your payments. Additional Fees: Don’t forget to factor in origination and documentation fees, as these affect the true cost of borrowing. Tips for Managing Business Loans Managing business loans effectively is crucial for maintaining your financial health, especially as your business grows and evolves. Regularly review your loan payments and cash flow to guarantee you can cover monthly obligations comfortably. Setting up automatic payments can help you avoid late fees, adding unnecessary costs. Prioritize paying down high-interest loans first to minimize total interest paid over time. If interest rates drop or your credit improves, consider refinancing to lower your monthly payments. Furthermore, maintain open communication with your lender, especially during financial hardships, to explore options for payment adjustments or deferments. Using an SBA loan repayment calculator can help you plan and manage your loan obligations efficiently, making certain you stay on track. Frequently Asked Questions How Much Is a $50,000 Business Loan Monthly? For a $50,000 business loan, your monthly payment depends on the loan term and interest rate. For example, at a 15% interest rate over five years, you’d pay about $1,266.76 monthly. If you choose a longer term, your payments may decrease, but the total interest paid will increase considerably. Moreover, keep in mind any origination fees or other charges, as these can raise your total borrowing costs beyond just the interest. How Does Getting a Small Business Loan Work? Getting a small business loan involves several steps. First, you’ll submit a loan application with required documents like tax returns and financial statements. Lenders evaluate your eligibility based on your credit score, revenue, and debt service coverage ratio. If approved, you receive the loan amount and must repay it regularly, either monthly, weekly, or daily. How Much Can I Realistically Get for a Small Business Loan? To determine how much you can realistically get for a small business loan, consider factors like your annual revenue, credit score, and time in operation. Lenders usually lend 10% to 30% of your revenue. A strong credit score improves your chances of better terms. Furthermore, a debt service coverage ratio of 1.25 or higher is often required for approval. Evaluating these elements will give you a clearer picture of your borrowing potential. What Is the Payment on a $1,000,000 Business Loan? If you take out a $1,000,000 business loan at a 5% APR over 10 years, your monthly payment would be about $10,607. This arrangement leads to a total repayment of roughly $1,276,800, including around $276,800 in interest. Opting for a 15-year term lowers your monthly payment to about $7,908, but increases total interest to approximately $480,000. Remember to factor in any fees or early repayment options affecting your overall costs. Conclusion In conclusion, a small business loan calculator is a valuable tool that helps you grasp your potential loan obligations. By entering key variables like loan amount, interest rate, and term length, you can estimate monthly payments and total costs. This insight allows you to evaluate different financing options and make informed decisions. Remember to input accurate data and consider various scenarios, as this will improve your comprehension of your financial commitments and refine your loan management strategy. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is a Small Business Loan Calculator and How Does It Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

After traveling deeper into space than any other humans, the Artemis II astronauts pointed their moonship toward home Monday night, wrapping up a lunar cruise that revealed views of the far side never beheld by eyes until now. Their flyby of the moon — NASA’s first return since the Apollo era — even included some celestial sightseeing besides yielding rich science. It was a significant step toward landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years. A total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn nodded at them from the black void. The landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14 also were visible, poignant reminders of NASA’s first age of exploration more than half a century ago. In an especially riveting retro throwback, Artemis II shattered the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. NASA’s Orion capsule reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, 4,101 miles (6,600 kilometers) farther than Apollo 13. “It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed. He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.” Artemis II astronauts get an Apollo wake-up message Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell wished the crew well in a recording made two months before his death last August. Mission Control beamed up his message to commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Hansen, before their fly-around began. “Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity’s first lunar visit. “It’s a historic day and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.” The Artemis II astronauts carried up with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that accompanied Lovell to the moon. “It’s just a real honor to have that on board with us,” Wiseman said. Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing. Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that put the astronauts on course for home once they emerged from behind the moon Monday evening. Astronauts lock in on lunar observations Artemis II’s lunar fly-around and intense observation period lasted seven hours, by far the highlight of the nearly 10-day test flight that will end with a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday. Venturing as close as 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) to the gray dusty surface, the astronauts zipped through a list of more than two dozen targets, using powerful Nikon cameras as well as their iPhones to zoom in on impact craters and other intriguing lunar features. Before getting started, they requested permission to name two bright, freshly carved craters. They suggested Integrity, the name of their capsule, and Carroll, commander Wiseman’s wife, who died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman wept as Hansen put in the request to Mission Control, and all four astronauts embraced in tears. “Such a majestic view out here,” Wiseman radioed once he regained his composure and started picture-taking. The astronauts called down that they managed to capture the moon and Earth in the same shot, and they provided a running commentary to scientists back in Houston on what they were seeing. At one point, Koch reported an overwhelming sensation of emotion for a second or two while zooming in on the moon. “Something just drew me in suddenly to the lunar landscape and it became real,” she said. The Artemis II astronauts made their closest approach to the moon and reached their maximum distance from Earth while they were out of contact. Their speed at closest approach: 3,139 mph (5,052 kph). The spacecraft accelerated as it appeared from behind the moon and the planned communications blackout and made tracks for Earth. An Earthrise came into view showing Asia, Africa and Oceania as Mission Control called out: “We are Earthbound and ready to bring you home.” Flight controllers in Houston flipped their mission patches over to signify the return leg. President Donald The President phoned the astronauts following the flyby, calling them “modern-day pioneers.” “Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” the president said, adding that more lunar traveling is coming and ultimately “the whole big trip to Mars.” Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos. Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers) across. Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures. Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028. While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13’s path, it’s most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis. Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity’s Holy Week brought home for him “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis amid “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend. “This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. —Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer View the full article

The workplace has seen its share of technological shifts, but the rise of AI is happening at a much faster pace. What once took years is now unfolding in months, leaving little time for companies or their employees to catch up. A new global study of 2,400 employees and C-suite leaders conducted by Workplace Intelligence and enterprise AI agent platform WRITER finds that 60% of companies plan to lay off employees who won’t adopt AI. Even more striking, 77% of executives say those who resist AI won’t be considered for promotions or leadership roles. AI isn’t just another tool. It’s quickly becoming a baseline expectation for staying relevant at work. This shift is already reshaping how companies evaluate talent. According to the research, 92% of executives say they are actively cultivating a new class of “AI elite” employees, and 87% report that these employees are at least five times more productive than their peers. That productivity gap is creating a two-tier workforce: those who know how to leverage AI to amplify their output, and those who don’t. The implications for career growth are profound. The most valuable employees are no longer just high performers, but those who can combine domain expertise with AI fluency to move faster and scale their impact. Companies aren’t just talking about this shift—they’re enforcing it. At Accenture, senior staff who fail to use AI tools risk missing out on promotions, signaling that AI proficiency is becoming a prerequisite for advancement. Meanwhile, tech giants like Meta are embedding AI usage into daily workflows and performance expectations. Some organizations are also using incentives to accelerate behavior change. KPMG, for instance, has offered financial rewards to employees who develop innovative AI use cases, reinforcing that those who embrace the technology will be recognized. Yet for all the momentum, the reality inside organizations is far more complicated. While 97% of executives say AI has been beneficial, only a minority report seeing significant returns from generative AI (29%) or AI agents (23%). Nearly half of leaders say their AI adoption efforts have been a disappointment so far. This gap between expectation and outcome is fueling pressure at the highest levels. In fact, 38% of CEOs report a high or crippling amount of stress related to AI strategy, and 64% fear they could lose their job if they fail to lead their organizations through the transition. Part of the challenge is that many companies are building the plane while flying it. Despite widespread investment, 39% of executives admit they don’t have a formal strategy in place to drive revenue from AI, and 75% say their existing strategy is more for show than for actual guidance. The result is confusion and fragmentation. More than half of executives say AI adoption is creating internal power struggles, while 78% report tension between IT and other business units. In many organizations, AI usage has become fragmented, with employees experimenting in silos rather than working toward a unified vision. That lack of alignment is also contributing to resistance from employees. The study found that 29% of workers admit to sabotaging their company’s AI strategy, whether by using unauthorized tools, inputting sensitive data into public systems, or refusing to engage. Among Gen Z employees, that number jumps to 44%. For leaders, this behavior represents a real risk. More than three-quarters of executives say employee resistance and misuse of AI poses a serious threat to their organization’s future, especially as 67% report experiencing a data leak or security breach tied to AI usage. Despite these challenges, some organizations are getting it right by treating AI adoption as a business transformation rather than a technology rollout. Marriott International, for example, has focused on aligning AI initiatives with measurable business outcomes, ensuring that investments are tied to growth and operational improvements rather than experimentation alone. The most successful approaches share a few common elements. They empower employees to experiment with AI tools while providing clear guardrails, reducing the risk of security issues. They invest in building AI fluency across the organization so more employees can contribute effectively. They establish governance frameworks for AI systems to ensure innovation doesn’t outpace oversight. And they approach change management as both a top-down and bottom-up effort, recognizing that adoption requires executive alignment and employee buy-in. The message for workers is becoming clear: adapting to AI is no longer a future concern—it’s a present-day requirement. As roles, responsibilities, and performance metrics evolve, employees who fail to integrate AI into their workflows risk falling behind in both productivity and relevance. Those who embrace it, however, have an opportunity to redefine their value and accelerate their careers. For leaders, the stakes are just as high. The organizations that succeed won’t be the ones that simply deploy AI tools, but the ones that rethink how work gets done. That means closing the gap between ambition and execution, turning experimentation into impact, and ensuring that the workforce evolves alongside the technology. Because in the emerging AI economy, the real competitive advantage isn’t just having access to AI, but knowing how to use it. View the full article

AI is transforming companies everywhere. While some research has shown that women are falling behind in terms of AI adoption, at the leadership level women are highly involved in guiding AI strategy. According to new research from Chief, a network for senior women leaders, in partnership with The Harris Poll, women leaders are playing a key role in carefully building AI frameworks. The research, which polled 1,768 male, female, and nonbinary leaders, found that, overwhelmingly, women are driving AI strategy with 80% playing active roles in how it’s being implemented into workflows. Nearly a third (31%) said they were involved in AI governance, ethics, and responsible implementation. Another 25% said they design how humans and AI will work together in the organization, and 24% said they create and build AI solutions. Still, while women seem to be ahead of the game in shaping AI strategy, they are prioritizing responsible and intentional adoption over speed. According to the study, 83% of women agreed with the statement: “Being cautious about AI adoption is a sign of good leadership, not resistance to technology.” Still, the vast majority (68%) said that their organization prioritizes “speed over sustainable workforce implementation.” There’s a good reason for proceeding with caution: 62% of women respondents said their organization doesn’t fully understand “what AI can and can’t do.” Three-quarters said they expect critical thinking to decline if implementation doesn’t happen carefully and 81% said “capable managers” will become a thing of the past if companies don’t invest in their human workforce now. Similarly, a staggering 87% said they’ve already witnessed the fallout of companies focusing too heavily on an “AI only” approach that left employees underutilized. Alison Moore, CEO of Chief, said that doesn’t mean women are “slowing down” when it comes to AI’s implementation. They’re simply “making sure the humans keeping pace with it don’t get left behind in the process.” In other words, while some are ready to go all in on AI, women are leaning into their own critical thinking around AI implementation, so that critical thinking doesn’t disappear. This approach offers hope for the future during a time when AI is responsible for 25% of job cuts, except women are still only 29% of the C-suite. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra headphones have been easy to recommend since their late 2023 launch, but the price held them back. That changes with this open-box deal. Right now, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones in sandstone are down to $242.49 on Woot, compared to about $329 for a new pair on Amazon. Price trackers show earlier dips closer to $279, so this undercuts previous lows. The catch is the “open box” label—these units may have been returned, tested, or repackaged (but they’re cleared to work like new). Shipping is free for Prime members, while others pay $6. The deal is expected to last six days or until stock runs out. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones $242.49 at Woot $429.00 Save $186.51 Get Deal Get Deal $242.49 at Woot $429.00 Save $186.51 Bose has long focused on cutting down low-frequency noise, and these headphones do a good job muting things like traffic, airplane hum, or AC rumble. Mid-range noise gets reduced well, too, though sharper, high-pitched sounds can still come through, notes this PCMag review. That’s normal for ANC, but it’s worth noting if you expect total silence. Compared to older rivals like the Apple AirPods Max and the Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose still holds its ground. Newer models like Sony’s XM6 push ahead, but they also cost more. Outside of ANC, the transparency mode works reliably for letting in voices and street sounds, and the Bose app gives you a clean, easy EQ to tweak audio to your liking. As for its battery life, it's solid but not class-leading. You’ll get around 24 hours on a full charge, or closer to 18 hours with ANC turned on. That’s enough for long flights or a few days of regular use, though some competitors stretch further. Comfort remains a strong point, with a lightweight design that works well for long listening sessions. The main tradeoff here is the open-box condition. If you’re fine with that, this price makes the QuietComfort Ultra far easier to justify. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $224.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $329.00 (List Price $399.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $248.00 (List Price $399.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Universal Music Group saw its shares (AMS: UMG) rise more than 11% on Tuesday, following a proposal from billionaire Bill Ackman to buy the music giant through his investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management. Pershing Square currently owns a 10% stake in Amsterdam-listed UMG. Despite today’s bump, the stock is down about 15% year to date. UMG has an extensive music catalogue and is home to major recording artists such as Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, and Bad Bunny. What would the deal mean for UMG? If approved, the deal would offer shareholders €9.4 billion ($10.9 billion) in cash and 0.77 shares in “new UMG” for each share of UMG they currently own. Overall, this would equal out to €30.40 ($35.11) per share, a 78% premium compared to the closing price on April 2. If all goes well, shares could reach a 92% premium from that date by the end of 2026. Ackman details all of this in a letter to UMG’s board members, on which he sat until last year. The proposal would turn UMG into a Nevada corporation and list it on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)—something Ackman has pushed for since UMG’s 2021 IPO in the Netherlands. “While business performance has been strong, UMG’s share price has languished. Since the public listing in September 2021, revenues and Adjusted EBITDA have grown 60% and 70% respectively, while UMG’s share price has declined 23% from its €25.10 closing price on the first day of its Euronext listing.” How has UMG responded? So far, the company has not publicly responded to the deal. Fast Company has reached out to UMG for comment and will update this post if we hear back. In his letter, Ackman details a number of reasons he attributes to UMG shares’ “underperformance,” including postponing a listing on a U.S. stock exchange. He further points to “uncertainty” around Bolloré Group’s 18% stake in UMG, the lack of a “publicly disclosed capital allocation plan,” and “suboptimal” communication and engagement with shareholders. Plus, Ackman would like to see UMG sell its €2.7 billion ($3.1 billion) stake in Spotify. Ackman continued: “Notably, none of the above issues relate to the company’s execution of its music business, and importantly, all of the above issues can be addressed in a merger transaction.” Stipulations for the deal include a new contract and compensation agreement for CEO Lucian Grange, and a shakeup of the board. The latter would include making Michael Ovitz, cofounder of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the chair, and adding two additional Pershing Square members. This story is developing… View the full article

Something I live by in my role: departmental success means nothing unless the entire company is making progress toward its goals. That thinking changes everything about how I approach my job—from the metrics I care about to the conversations I have with the CEO and leadership team. I’ve moved beyond operating within the confines of a title or a narrowly defined scope. The lines between departments should be artificial, and what truly matters is taking ownership of the company’s success. Historically, the chief marketing officer (CMO) position was often confined to brand management, campaigns, and lead generation. Critical drivers like revenue, customer retention, and renewals were the responsibility of other departments. In my role, I am responsible for aspects of the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to purchase, adoption, expansion, and renewal. This evolution—from thinking in terms of departments to embracing company-wide accountability—is exactly where leadership needs to be. The most effective leaders don’t operate in silos, they take responsibility for outcomes across the entire customer journey and the entire organization. DO YOU THINK LIKE A CEO? The evolving business environment—driven by shifting customer expectations, rapid market changes, and advances in AI—demands leaders who can connect insights across functions and anticipate customer needs. Even if becoming a CEO isn’t your ultimate goal, adopting that mindset will drive you to reach even greater heights. If you aspire to become CEO, the conventional route to that role is evolving. Today, executives who possess deep customer insight, demonstrate strategic vision, and excel at rallying cross-functional teams around a shared purpose are more valuable than ever at the highest levels of leadership. By embodying these qualities, you position yourself much closer to top leadership than you may realize. For instance, the CMO-to-CEO path used to feel like a long shot in most industries. The typical route ran through finance or operations. But consider what is happening right now. Customer expectations shift constantly. AI is reshaping how companies communicate, sell, and serve. Markets evolve faster than annual planning cycles can keep up with. Today, advantage is defined by adaptability. The executives closest to customers, data, and the core narrative are increasingly the ones best equipped to run the company. LEAD BEYOND BOUNDARIES When leaders move beyond departmental boundaries they gain a holistic view of the business. This broader perspective uncovers patterns and opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden. It enables proactive identification of friction points, ensures messaging aligns with customer experiences, and leverages data from every interaction to deliver more relevant solutions. AI makes this even more powerful. Every interaction generates data. Every touchpoint creates insight. With access to the full lifecycle, I can use that data to anticipate what customers need before they ask for it. This approach isn’t about expanding territory or seeking power; it’s about fostering collaboration and aligning the organization around what matters most to customers and the business. It’s about recognizing that customers don’t care where one function ends and another begins—they care about seamless experiences and having their needs met. POSITIVE CHANGE AND COLLABORATION ACROSS TEAMS My current and former CEOs have been instrumental in helping me expand my role and think more broadly about business impact. They helped me realize I needed to stop thinking about staying in my lane and start thinking about how every decision affects company-wide outcomes from revenue to retention and customer lifetime value. That support made all the difference and has prompted me to advocate for a mindset shift that benefits both the organization and its leaders. When I adopted that perspective, I started having different conversations with my peers. I brought different insights into leadership meetings and made different decisions about where to invest time and resources. That shift made me better at my current job. Whether it leads to a CEO role someday is beside the point. READY TO THINK THIS WAY? Look at your goals. Are they department goals or company goals? If there’s a gap, close it—or at least make sure you can articulate clearly how your goals support and align with the company goals. Look at your accountability. Do you own outcomes or activities? Measuring campaigns is excellent; however, you should ensure it’s measured in terms of revenue. Look at your relationships with the rest of the C-suite. Are you seen as a peer, a service provider, a partner, an antagonist, manager, or stranger? The answer matters more than most CMOs realize. If you are seen as a peer and strategic partner by the rest of the C-suite it ensures alignment and credibility. The seat you occupy at the table determines whether the CMO helps set the agenda or simply executes it. I’ve found that thinking like a CEO—regardless of title—changes how I show up. It’s made me more effective and more valuable to my current company. And yes, it’s probably made me a stronger candidate for broader roles if I ever want them. Don’t just get better for the next role. Get better for this one. Melissa Puls is the chief marketing officer and senior vice president of customer success and renewals at Ivanti. View the full article

US rapper had been due to perform at Wireless Festival in London in July View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung ViewFinity S50GC 34-inch Ultrawide Monitor is down to $199.99 on Amazon, a drop from $349.99 and the lowest price it has hit so far, according to online price tracking tools. That alone makes it worth a closer look if you’ve been thinking about an ultrawide. Samsung 34" ViewFinity S50GC Ultrawide QHD monitor (2023, black) $199.99 at Amazon $349.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal Get Deal $199.99 at Amazon $349.99 Save $150.00 What you’re getting here is a 34-inch display with a 3440×1440 resolution, which translates to a lot more horizontal room than a standard monitor. In day-to-day use, that means you can keep multiple windows open—say, a browser, a doc, and a spreadsheet—without constantly switching between tabs. The 21:9 aspect ratio also makes a noticeable difference if you edit videos or work with timelines. Unlike most ultrawides, it’s a flat panel, not a curved one. Some people prefer the curve because it pulls the edges of the screen toward you, which can feel more natural on wider panels. Here, the edges sit a bit farther out, but unless you’re sitting very close, it’s not a major issue. What you do get in return is a VA panel with strong contrast—blacks look properly dark instead of washed out, which helps when you’re watching movies or playing games in darker rooms. You also get useful extras like Picture-in-Picture, auto brightness via a light sensor, and standard ports (DisplayPort and two HDMI). The 100Hz refresh rate is also a step up from the usual 60Hz, so scrolling feels smoother and casual games look a bit more fluid. Pair that with its Adaptive-Sync (48–100Hz) support, and gameplay stays tear-free if your GPU can keep up. That said, like most VA panels, you can run into some ghosting in darker, fast-moving scenes. Brightness tops out at 300 nits, which is fine for indoor use, but its HDR10 support doesn’t add much in practice. Color, too, is decent for everyday use, but it might not hold up as well for color-accurate work. You might also spot minor brightness inconsistencies across the screen, but they’re subtle. At this price, it’s a reasonable pick for productivity and casual entertainment, but not the best fit for color-critical work or fast-paced gaming. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $224.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $329.00 (List Price $399.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $248.00 (List Price $399.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

It’s a good day for America’s largest health insurance stocks. The biggest players in America’s private, for-profit health insurance system, including UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), and CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS), are all seeing their share prices rise after the The President administration announced it will backtrack on earlier proposals and increase Medicare insurer payments significantly more than expected. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that manages America’s government-funded health programs, including Medicare, announced that it would increase payments to Medicare insurers by a net average of 2.48% in 2027. This increase is significantly more than the original 0.9% increase that the CMS said it would implement in 2027, and comes after intense lobbying and pushback from the private insurance industry when that sum was announced in January. The revised Medicare Advantage payment rate announcement sent health insurance stocks surging, and means that an additional $13 billion in Medicare Advantage will be made to private health insurers in 2027. As noted by Reuters, a Medicare agency official also confirmed that private insurers would get an additional 2.5% benefit in 2027. This is due to “a change to risk assessment payments related to health status,” the news outlet reported. That means insurers will ultimately see up to a 5% payment bump in 2027. Private health insurance stocks jump After the CMS announced its revised 2027 Medicare Advantage payment rates, the stock prices of America’s major health insurers soared. And the reason why is clear: an extra $13 billion funneled into their coffers means the companies will have a year of financial growth. As of the time of this writing, investors continue to reward health insurance stocks on the news. All of the following companies are currently up in premarket trading: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH): up 5.4% to $296.83 Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM): up 9.1% to $199.50 CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS): up 6.2% to $77.82 Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC): up 3.9% to $36.79 Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE: ELV): up 4.9% to $317.47 Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH)L up 3.6% to $148.45 Today’s rise in health insurance stocks goes a long way toward correcting an earlier sector-wide bloodbath, which followed the CMS’s announcement in January that it intended to raise 2027 Medicare insurer payments by just 0.9%. At the time of that announcement, around $100 billion was wiped off the market caps of America’s largest health insurance companies, notes the Wall Street Journal. What does the 2027 Medicare insurer payment rate mean for patients? While America’s largest for-profit health insurers are the biggest beneficiaries of the revised Medicare insurer payment rates for 2027, the increased rates do help the millions of Americans who rely on Medicare. The increased payments make health insurance companies less likely to change plan terms, which could have negatively affected a person’s health insurance benefits. That means most monthly premiums should remain stable, while extra benefits like dental and vision should stay the same as well. (Insurers had warned that these could be eliminated if rates did not rise.) As for why the The President administration acquiesced to the health insurers’ demands, the upcoming midterm elections likely played a role. Had the administration not increased payments, insurers might have started warning Medicare recipients later this year that their 2027 plans could change. And with Americans already feeling the pain in their wallets from the never-ending rising costs of living, enrollees likely would not have taken kindly to seeing their Medicare benefits diminish as they head to the polls this November. View the full article

For decades, NBCUniversal’s “The More You Know” campaign has promoted the idea that knowledge is always a public good. And there’s certainly truth in that. But we’ve all watched as a movie character who starts to know too much soon meets their demise. As we navigate a reality inundated with an ever-growing amount of information, data, and artificial intelligence, I look to the recent unveiling of Banksy’s identity to see that we must reconsider the ‘more you know’ mentality. Reuters published an investigation revealing Banksy’s identity, arguing the piece was a matter of public interest. I was surprised by the backlash that followed. While plenty of people flocked to the article, others actively avoided it simply because they prefer not to know. Perhaps the same part of us that is awed by a good magic trick and motivated to hypothesize about its secrets also revels in the mystery of Banksy. Indeed, his anonymity was critical to his impact. Obscurity allowed his work to be interpreted detached from his own socioeconomic, political, and personal identities, creating resonance with a broader audience. Now that audience has the opportunity to know the decades-old secret. Yet, in an attention economy built entirely on information consumption, people were opting out. Deliberately. THE OPT-OUT MOMENT In another opting-out moment, Anthropic refused to remove two restrictions from its Pentagon contract: no mass domestic surveillance and no fully autonomous weapons. Ultimately, it lost the $200 million contract to a competitor that met the requirements. And users noticed. The day after OpenAI announced its Pentagon deal, ChatGPT uninstalls spiked 295%. The day Anthropic refused the deal, Claude’s installs surged 37%, and it rose another 51% the following day. For the first time, U.S. downloads of Claude surpassed ChatGPT, and Claude rose to number one in Apple’s US App Store. By saying no, Anthropic didn’t just earn goodwill. It earned market share. Restraint, in this case, became a competitive advantage. As builders of mobile apps and web products, it is common for our clients, of all sizes, to want to gather as much user information as possible. For 20 years, the dominant product logic has been to collect everything you can, maximize engagement, and optimize for the individual transaction. More data. More reach. More features. AI models are far more knowledgeable and capable than the last and the assumption was that capability equals value. As AI advances, its vast data collection is astounding, and its ability to put that data to use in human-like ways is already remarkable. Whether that is composing music, creating images and film, or formulating business strategies, do we have the restraint to resist turning to it for everything? How can that restraint be utilized as a true product or brand differentiator? WHAT DO USERS WANT? Users are asking different questions now. Not just ‘what does this product or information do for me?’ but ‘what does this do to us?’ And they are deliberately choosing where to invest their attention based on the answers. We’re seeing a shift toward smaller, more intimate digital spaces, and trusted brands as a result. I’ve noticed another shift within our conversations with clients. The classic line of questioning around ‘what should we build?’ is accompanied by a new one, “What should we never do?’ My recommendation to product teams is to scrutinize every bit of data and establish a clear purpose for everything captured. Furthermore, be transparent and straightforward about that with users. Work out your true answers to the harder questions on everything from user data to AI strategy to brand values. Let those answers guide your business and product decisions. Here are some questions worth sitting with if you’re building a digital product right now: What does your product choose not to collect, and do your users know that? Can you provide a compelling user experience without this data? A comparable experience with less data? Is there a principled ‘no’ your product could take that would build more trust than any new feature? Whose side is your product on when the interests of your individual user and a different group conflict? The instinct can still be to collect more, track more, and optimize more. For now, that still works. But something is shifting in what users trust. And trust, once lost, is the hardest product problem to solve. If you’re building a digital product right now, this shift is worth paying attention to. Because I believe the apps we’ll be using in five years won’t be the ones that keep embracing the ‘more’ mentality. We’ll use the products that deliberately choose to know less. Brad Weber is the CEO and founder of InspiringApps. View the full article

Whether intentionally or not, companies build walls. Different business units use metrics that may not align with those of others. And, if it’s an international organization, data-sharing regulations can add extra borders between teams, preventing efficient collaboration. Early in the days of generative AI, I asked a chief information officer (CIO) how many data scientists they had. Most are lucky to have one or two, but he answered 800. He didn’t know exactly what they did though, because they spanned multiple business units that didn’t work together. We helped them establish an AI Center of Excellence (CoE), where groups share knowledge. The result? Several data scientists discovered they could solve a problem that had stumped them before. Siloed communication stood in the way of progress. It spoke to an underlying data problem, though. Each data scientist had a treasure trove of information. We helped make that data accessible to everyone else, which made much more possible. That’s the principle behind data centricity—and it’s the key to harnessing AI. BENEFITS OF A DATA-CENTRIC MODEL Every company needs an AI strategy. According to McKinsey & Company, 88% of survey respondents said they use AI for at least one business function. If you consider companies planning to integrate AI, that percentage grows. However, looking at companies with effective AI strategies, it sinks like a stone. To be successful you need a strong business case and must approach the development of an AI application as if it were a traditional enterprise app instead. But that’s where companies need to diverge from the norm. Instead of treating infrastructure as the foundation of your AI strategy, focus on your data estate and see how you can mold your infrastructure to extract value out of it. Whether it is in the cloud or a data center, the location of the data isn’t as important as the data itself to determine next steps. Over the years, a data-centric approach hasn’t always been right. You’d have built around developer experience, hosting, application services, things predicated on data but not necessarily centered on it. Times change, though. Data has since become the new oil. Large Language Models (LLMs) are incredible tools, but not silver bullets. You can’t just point an LLM at multiple data lakes and extract value. Each data repository may be structured differently, with their own security controls. The idea is to develop a system that enables access to data across these locations while maintaining security and controls for each. Here’s an example: A company collects data from hundreds of partners. Partner A has its own way of sending it in, relative to Partner B, and so on. The data takes different forms: product lists and bundles, pricing information, etc. Under a process-driven model, you’re unpacking and repackaging the data whenever a client is up to renew their contract with a partner. With a data-centric model, you enable AI systems to access these locations and extract value without having to normalize the data. Making it available to AI is key to unlocking the value across your data estate. THE SHIFT TO A DATA-CENTRIC MODEL More than 100 years ago, sociologist William Ogburn coined the term cultural lag. It basically states that technology matures faster than culture. If you try to transform your whole data center from one operating model to another immediately, you’ll experience cultural lag firsthand. Most companies already have experienced it for themselves, transitioning from data center to cloud. Whenever there have been any of these transformational shifts, the successful ones have started off with a clean slate—which very few established companies can do—or they: 1. Start small. 2. Prove the value. 3. Accelerate once they do. If value materializes, rinse and repeat. If it doesn’t, you’ll have gone about it carefully and should be able to retrace your steps and course-correct, maybe with the help of a partner who has been through it before. For teammates in our solutions integration centers, in marketing, finance, etc., AI is a powerful tool we’ve played catch-up on, too. Having gone through many of the same data problems after adopting AI early, we’ve turned lessons we learned as “client zero” into repeatable processes to help ourselves and create solutions to help drive clients’ digital transformations forward. “So how do you start?” CIOs must take the lead: Break down walls and build bridges between departments. Find opportunities to start flipping the equation to data first, but don’t forget your processes and that your people are what will make the magic happen. You’ll find it leads to measurable business success leveraging AI, all through your data. Juan Orlandini is the chief technology officer of North America for Insight Enterprises. View the full article

If you read the headlines, you’d think the music business is a technology business. We talk about demand-side platform (DSP) market share, algorithmic discovery, and the looming threat of AI-generated songs. We treat artists like software founders and songs like lines of code—versioned, optimized, and endlessly iterated. That conversation isn’t wrong. But it’s incomplete. Yes, IP protection in an AI-driven world is critically important. Creators and IP owners deserve safeguards, attribution, and fair economics as machines learn from human work. We need clear rules of the road. But even if we get copyright exactly right, it won’t solve the deeper shift underway. While venture capitalists chase the next Spotify, a quiet counter-revolution is brewing. As AI pushes the cost of creating “perfect” music toward zero, the value of music is inverting. We are entering the era of the human premium, where the industry’s most durable IP is no longer the song itself, but the undeniable reality of the person performing it. THE END OF THE CONTENT ECONOMY For the last decade, we optimized music for distribution. We built pipes—streaming services, social platforms, and recommendation engines—to deliver content as efficiently as possible. Scale was the strategy. Noise is flooding those pipes. When a model can generate a “sad pop ballad in the style of Adele” in seconds, the market value of a sad pop ballad collapses. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s abundant. We are already seeing the early signs of content inflation: more music, more noise, and less meaning. Here’s the paradox: As “perfect” audio becomes cheap, verified humanity becomes expensive. The economic moat of the future is the inseparable bond between the intellectual property and the person performing it. AI can manufacture a perfect song, but it cannot manufacture the human relationship that gives that song its value. THE RETURN TO RELATIONSHIP As content becomes infinite, our trust in it plummets. When we can’t distinguish between a real voice and a synthetic clone, we stop valuing the audio itself. We start looking for the source. This shifts the industry’s center of gravity from consumption (streaming) to connection (believing in people). The value isn’t just in the song; it’s in the shared experience of that song with a living, breathing human. That is why live music revenue is skyrocketing while streaming growth slows. It isn’t just inflation; it’s a flight to quality. Fans are voting with their dollars for the one format that cannot be faked. They are paying a premium not for the music, but for the proof of life. An AI can write a breakup song. It can compose melodies, generate voices, and even simulate vulnerability. But it cannot have a breakup. It cannot lose custody of the kids. It cannot spiral publicly, recover privately, and show up changed. The durable IP is the intersection of a great song and a real life. Audiences aren’t paying for the audio file. They’re paying for context. They’re paying to believe that someone else actually lived the pain they’re feeling. THE FUTURE IS HIGH-TOUCH The music business isn’t dying. It’s polarizing. AI will swallow the low-end market—background music, functional audio, and jingles. That’s inevitable. But the high-end market—the business of identity, touring, community, and deep fan partnership—will expand dramatically. Music is becoming a luxury good again. Not because it’s expensive, but because it’s human. The new luxury is human accessibility to everyone. Brands and investors should stop hunting for the next viral moment and start looking for the next human movement. The algorithm can predict what we want to hear. It can never predict who we want to become. And that’s where the future of music lives. Logan Mulvey is the CEO of GoDigital Music. View the full article

When managing a retail business, choosing the right accounting software is vital for effective financial oversight. These solutions offer fundamental features like inventory control, real-time updates, and seamless integration with point-of-sale systems. By automating processes such as sales tax calculations, you can streamline operations and improve decision-making. As you explore various options, consider how these tools can transform your financial management practices and support your business growth in an increasingly competitive market. Key Takeaways QuickBooks offers robust features for real-time inventory tracking and seamless integration with various POS systems, ideal for small to medium retail businesses. Sage Intacct provides advanced financial insights and multi-entity accounting, making it suitable for complex retail structures with automated workflows. Brightpearl centralizes inventory management across multiple sales channels, automating order fulfillment to reduce manual errors and enhance efficiency. Retail accounting software enhances cash flow management through automated invoicing, expense tracking, and real-time financial insights for informed decision-making. Look for solutions that prioritize real-time inventory updates, seamless POS integration, and robust reporting tools to optimize retail operations. Overview of Retail Accounting Software When you run a retail business, having the right tools to manage your finances is crucial, and retail accounting software is particularly designed to address these needs. This software offers unique features customized specifically for retail operations, such as sales reconciliation, inventory management, and support for multiple locations. It helps you efficiently handle large transaction volumes, ensuring accurate financial reporting. The best accounting software for retail business allows for real-time revenue and expense tracking, automates tax compliance, and integrates seamlessly with your POS systems. These capabilities let you monitor daily sales and streamline operational processes effectively. Furthermore, many platforms provide budgeting and financial forecasting tools driven by AI, helping you predict seasonal fluctuations and optimize stock levels. Popular choices like QuickBooks, Lightspeed, and Sage Intacct offer user-friendly interfaces and customizable dashboards to improve your overall experience and functionality. Key Features of Retail Accounting Solutions When choosing retail accounting solutions, you’ll want to focus on key features like inventory management capabilities and financial reporting tools. Effective inventory management helps you track stock levels in real time, ensuring you can meet customer demand without overstocking. Furthermore, robust financial reporting tools provide insights into your business’s performance, allowing for informed decision-making and strategic planning. Inventory Management Capabilities Effective inventory management is crucial for retail businesses, as it directly impacts profitability and customer satisfaction. Retail accounting solutions offer real-time inventory updates, ensuring stock levels are accurate with every sale and order. This feature helps you avoid over- and understocking situations. Advanced tools like bin location tracking and bar code scanning improve organization and stock rotation through FIFO (First-In, First-Out) methods. With extensive management capabilities, you can handle multiple vendors and streamline ordering from a centralized interface, boosting operational efficiency. Automated inventory forecasting, driven by AI insights, helps you predict seasonal changes and optimize stock levels, reducing excess inventory. Integration with POS systems and ecommerce platforms allows seamless synchronization of sales and inventory data, providing a complete view of your financial performance. Financial Reporting Tools Comprehending financial reporting tools is essential for retail businesses aiming to maintain control over their finances and make informed decisions. Retail accounting solutions offer real-time revenue and expense tracking, allowing you to monitor daily sales and costs effectively. Automated financial reporting simplifies tax calculations, generating precise reports based on location, which reduces errors and guarantees compliance. Integrations with POS and inventory systems enable seamless syncing of sales and payroll data, providing an accurate financial overview. Customizable dashboards and flexible reporting capabilities help you analyze profit margins, sales trends, and inventory performance. Furthermore, budgeting and forecasting tools utilize historical data to predict seasonal fluctuations, optimizing stock levels and improving cash flow management for your business’s success. Benefits of Using Accounting Software in Retail Using accounting software in retail streamlines financial management by automating complex tasks like inventory control and sales tracking. This efficiency not merely reduces errors but additionally helps you make informed decisions based on real-time data. With improved visibility into your finances, you can improve inventory control and finally drive better business outcomes. Streamlined Financial Management When retail businesses adopt accounting software, they often find that streamlined financial management becomes a significant advantage. This software enables real-time tracking of revenue and expenses, allowing you to make timely decisions based on current financial data. By integrating with POS and inventory systems, it automates data syncing, minimizing manual errors and providing a holistic view of your financial performance across multiple sales channels. Automated reporting features help simplify tax compliance and financial analysis, making complex calculations more manageable. Furthermore, budgeting and forecasting tools use AI-driven insights to predict seasonal fluctuations, improving cash flow management. For retail chains, multi-location support centralizes financial reporting, enhancing operational oversight and making it easier to manage diverse revenue streams. Enhanced Inventory Control Effective inventory control is crucial for retail businesses, and accounting software can greatly improve this aspect of operations. With real-time updates, stock levels remain accurate, minimizing the risk of overstocking or stockouts. Automated features like bin location tracking and FIFO systems streamline order fulfillment, enhancing operational efficiency. By integrating with POS systems, accounting software guarantees seamless data synchronization, providing a thorough view of inventory across multiple locations. This visibility aids in effective stock replenishment. Smart inventory forecasting tools leverage historical sales data to predict future demand, optimizing inventory levels and reducing carrying costs. Furthermore, automated alerts for low stock levels help you avoid lost sales and guarantee timely restocking, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. Improved Decision Making Accurate inventory management not just improves operational efficiency but furthermore lays the groundwork for better decision-making in retail businesses. By utilizing accounting software, you gain real-time access to revenue and expense data, allowing you to make informed decisions that improve cash flow management. Integrated tax compliance features automate calculations, reducing errors and ensuring timely submissions, which is crucial for operational integrity. If you manage multiple locations, consolidated financial reporting provides an all-encompassing view of performance metrics, aiding strategic decisions. Advanced budgeting and forecasting tools analyze sales trends, helping you optimize inventory levels. Finally, customizable dashboards offer insights into profit margins, enabling you to identify opportunities for cost reduction and revenue improvement effectively. QuickBooks: A Popular Choice for Retailers Many retailers are turning to QuickBooks as their go-to accounting software due to its robust features customized for the retail environment. QuickBooks offers real-time inventory updates, allowing you to track stock levels accurately and make informed purchasing decisions. Its seamless integration with various POS systems and ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify and BigCommerce, helps manage sales and inventory across multiple channels effortlessly. The software includes automated sales tax calculations and financial reporting tools, which streamline compliance and reduce the risk of errors during tax season. You can take advantage of customizable dashboards that provide insights into sales performance, enabling you to optimize product offerings and drive profitability. With its user-friendly interface, QuickBooks is particularly suited for small to medium-sized retail businesses, offering robust accounting capabilities without extensive training requirements. This combination of features makes QuickBooks a popular choice among retailers looking to improve their accounting processes. Sage Intacct: Advanced Financial Management With Sage Intacct, you gain access to real-time financial insights that empower you to make data-driven decisions for your retail business. Its multi-entity accounting features are ideal for managing complex financial structures, especially if you operate multiple locations or franchises. Furthermore, the advanced workflow automation capabilities streamline accounts payable and receivable, reducing manual work and enhancing overall financial accuracy. Real-Time Financial Insights How can real-time financial insights transform your retail business? With Sage Intacct, you gain access to customizable dashboards that allow you to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics instantly. This capability supports informed decision-making, enhancing your operational efficiency. By integrating seamlessly with over 350 applications, Sage Intacct centralizes your data management, ensuring accurate financial reporting across various locations. Furthermore, advanced automation streamlines accounts payable and receivable processes, reducing manual errors and saving time. Its built-in financial forecasting tools help you anticipate trends and optimize inventory purchasing, eventually improving your cash flow management. Feature Benefit Customizable Dashboards Instant KPI tracking Seamless Application Integration Accurate reporting Advanced Automation Time-saving financial processes Multi-Entity Accounting Support As businesses expand and operate across multiple locations, managing financial operations efficiently becomes crucial. Sage Intacct offers robust multi-entity accounting capabilities, allowing you to oversee various subsidiaries or locations from a single platform. Centralized financial reporting simplifies data tracking. Streamlined consolidation improves reporting across entities. Real-time visibility into performance metrics aids in decision-making. Automated inter-entity transactions reduce manual errors and save time. With customizable dashboards and flexible reporting options, you can analyze financial data specific to each entity, driving efficiency and profitability. This software supports complex financial structures, making it easier to meet diverse operational needs during ensuring accurate financial management across all your business locations. Workflow Automation Benefits When businesses implement workflow automation through Sage Intacct’s advanced financial management capabilities, they can streamline numerous financial processes, greatly improving efficiency. The automation of accounts payable and receivable reduces manual data entry, freeing up valuable time. Customizable dashboards offer real-time insights, enabling informed decision-making. With over 350 software integrations, Sage Intacct guarantees seamless connectivity, keeping financial data synchronized. Its automation engine optimizes cash flow management by providing alerts for overdue invoices and automating payment scheduling. Moreover, AI-driven financial forecasting helps predict seasonal fluctuations, allowing you to adjust inventory levels effectively. Benefit Description Streamlined Processes Reduces manual data entry and improves efficiency Real-Time Insights Customizable dashboards for informed decisions Seamless Integration Connects with over 350 applications Optimized Cash Flow Alerts for overdue invoices and payment automation Brightpearl: Comprehensive Retail Management Brightpearl stands out as a thorough retail management solution that simplifies the intricacies of running a retail business. By integrating seamlessly with ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, it centralizes your inventory management across multiple sales channels. Key features include: Automated order fulfillment processes that streamline shipping and accounting, reducing manual errors. Advanced inventory management tools that provide real-time updates and smart forecasting, helping you avoid over- or understocking. Robust financial management features that offer customizable dashboards, giving you real-time insights to improve decision-making. Multi-entity accounting support, making it suitable for businesses with complex financial structures and multiple locations. With Brightpearl, you can optimize your operations, making informed decisions that improve your financial health and boost efficiency in your retail business. Integrating POS Systems With Accounting Software Integrating your POS system with accounting software can greatly streamline data synchronization, allowing real-time updates of sales and inventory information. By automating these processes, you can improve inventory management and reduce the risk of manual errors, making your operations more efficient. This connection not just simplifies your workflow but furthermore provides essential insights into your business’s financial health and sales trends. Streamlined Data Synchronization Streamlined data synchronization between your point-of-sale (POS) system and accounting software can greatly improve your retail business’s operational efficiency. By integrating these systems, you guarantee real-time synchronization of sales data, which helps in tracking revenue accurately during minimizing manual data entry errors. This integration not only facilitates automated sales tax calculations but additionally improves the accuracy of your financial reporting. Here are some key benefits: Real-time updates to stock levels in your accounting system Simplified setup with popular accounting solutions like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct Improved insights into sales performance and cash flow management Reduced risk of tax-related errors, guaranteeing compliance with local regulations Integrating your POS with accounting software is crucial for efficient operations. Enhanced Inventory Management When you connect your point-of-sale (POS) system with accounting software, you reveal the potential for improved inventory management that can greatly benefit your retail operations. This integration allows for real-time inventory updates, ensuring accurate stock levels across all sales channels with every transaction. It likewise streamlines sales reconciliation by syncing sales data from the POS to your accounting platform, which minimizes manual entry errors and saves time. By enhancing inventory management, you gain valuable insights into sales trends and inventory turnover, helping you make informed purchasing decisions. Many accounting solutions, like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct, offer built-in compatibility with popular POS systems, facilitating seamless data synchronization and improving operational efficiency for your business. Managing Multi-Location Retail Operations Managing multi-location retail operations requires a strategic approach to guarantee efficiency and profitability across all stores. Centralized financial reporting is crucial, allowing you to analyze real-time data and make informed decisions. Integration with POS systems guarantees seamless synchronization of sales data, which improves revenue tracking and inventory management. Consider these key features when managing multi-location operations: Centralized financial reporting for real-time data analysis. Integration with POS systems for accurate sales and inventory tracking. Advanced budgeting and forecasting tools that utilize AI for seasonal predictions. Automated reporting features to simplify tax calculations and compliance. Automated Financial Reporting and Compliance Automated financial reporting and compliance play a vital role in modern retail accounting, as they simplify the often complex processes of generating fundamental financial documents. By using retail accounting software, you can streamline the creation of important reports, greatly reducing manual effort and minimizing errors. Platforms like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct offer automated tax compliance features, calculating sales tax based on location and generating accurate tax reports for regulatory requirements. Integration with point-of-sale systems guarantees real-time sales data is captured and reconciled, providing a more accurate financial overview and enhancing compliance with reporting standards. In addition, customizable dashboards allow you to visualize key financial metrics and compliance data, facilitating timely decision-making. Leveraging AI-driven insights for budgeting and forecasting helps you predict seasonal sales trends, optimize inventory levels, and guarantee effective compliance with financial regulations, ultimately supporting your retail business’s growth and stability. Inventory Management and Accounting Integration Effective inventory management and accounting integration is crucial for retail businesses aiming to maintain accurate financial reporting and efficient operations. By utilizing software that combines these functions, you can streamline your processes and make informed decisions. Real-time updates of inventory levels and sales data improve accuracy in financial reporting. Automation of inventory updates minimizes manual errors, ensuring current stock valuations in accounting records. Tools like Sage Intacct and QuickBooks offer automated expense tracking and inventory valuation for better insights into profit margins. Integration facilitates streamlined financial processes, including accurate tax calculations and budgeting by synchronizing sales and inventory data. Enhancing Cash Flow Management With Software During maneuvering the financial terrain of a retail business, you need robust cash flow management software to help you keep expenses in check and optimize revenue. Effective software automates expense tracking and categorization, enabling you to quickly identify spending patterns and areas for cost reduction. With real-time financial insights, you can forecast cash flow needs, guaranteeing timely inventory purchases that minimize stockouts or overstock situations. Integration with POS systems guarantees that your sales data accurately reflects in cash flow reports, giving you a thorough view of revenue and expenditures across all sales channels. Automated invoicing and payment reminders facilitate faster collections, improving cash inflow and reducing the time you spend on manual follow-ups. Furthermore, advanced analytics tools allow you to simulate different cash flow scenarios based on seasonal trends, enabling better financial planning and resource allocation, which is vital for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Choosing the Right Software for Your Retail Business Selecting the right accounting software for your retail business plays a significant role in managing your operations effectively. To guarantee you make the best choice, consider the following key factors: Real-time inventory management: This helps maintain accurate stock levels, preventing over- or understocking. Seamless integration: Choose software that works well with your existing POS systems and ecommerce platforms for centralized data management. Robust financial features: Look for automated reporting and tax compliance tools to simplify accounting tasks and improve financial accuracy. Scalability: Opt for software that can grow with your business, accommodating evolving financial needs without major changes. Tips for Successful Implementation of Accounting Software Implementing accounting software in your retail business can seem intimidating, but with a structured approach, you can streamline the process effectively. Start by evaluating your business needs to select software that includes crucial features like multi-location management, POS integration, and real-time inventory tracking. Next, plan a phased implementation; begin with key functionalities to minimize disruption, then gradually integrate additional features based on user feedback. To boost adoption rates, provide thorough training for your staff, making certain they’re proficient in using the system. Utilize data migration tools and support services from your software provider to guarantee a smooth shift of financial records and minimize data loss. Finally, establish ongoing support by scheduling regular check-ins with the provider and creating user groups for feedback. This proactive approach will help you address issues post-implementation and continuously optimize your use of the software, leading to long-term success. Future Trends in Retail Accounting Solutions As retail businesses evolve, staying ahead of the curve in accounting solutions becomes crucial for maintaining efficiency and competitiveness. Future trends in retail accounting solutions are shaping how you manage your financial operations. Here are some key developments to watch: AI Integration: Improved predictive analytics will help you forecast trends and manage inventory by analyzing historical sales data. Cloud-Based Solutions: These offer real-time access to financial data, enabling seamless collaboration across multiple locations and devices. Automation: Routine tasks like invoice processing and expense tracking will be automated, reducing manual errors and improving operational efficiency. Data Security: Advanced encryption and authentication protocols will protect your sensitive financial information from cyber threats. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Accounting Software for a Small Business? When you’re looking for the best accounting software for your small business, consider options like QuickBooks Online, which offers thorough features and real-time inventory updates. Xero is user-friendly and supports collaboration, whereas FreshBooks stands out in invoicing and expense tracking. If you want a free solution, Wave Accounting allows unlimited invoicing and basic reporting. For advanced needs, Sage 50 provides robust desktop capabilities and inventory management tools, catering to complex accounting requirements. What Software Do Retail Stores Use? Retail stores typically use dedicated accounting software like QuickBooks, Lightspeed, and Sage Intacct. These programs offer features such as real-time inventory tracking, sales reconciliation, and multi-location support customized to retail operations. Integration with Point of Sale (POS) systems streamlines data synchronization, reducing manual errors. Many solutions automate reporting and tax compliance, simplifying financial management. Furthermore, cloud-based platforms improve accessibility, allowing multiple users to collaborate on financial data in real-time across various locations. Is Quickbooks Good for Retail? QuickBooks is a solid choice for retail businesses. It offers real-time inventory updates, helping you manage stock levels effectively. The software integrates with various POS systems and e-commerce platforms, streamlining operations across sales channels. You’ll appreciate the automated sales tax calculations and customizable reports that simplify compliance and provide valuable insights. Plus, its user-friendly design makes it accessible, regardless of whether you lack extensive accounting knowledge, as well as supporting future growth as needed. Is Xero or Quickbooks Better for Small Business? When deciding between Xero and QuickBooks for your small business, consider your specific needs. QuickBooks offers robust features like inventory management and payroll, making it ideal for complex accounting tasks. Conversely, Xero shines in collaboration with its multi-user access and AI-driven automation, even though its inventory tracking isn’t as strong. In the end, if you prioritize extensive features, QuickBooks might be better, whereas Xero suits businesses that value real-time insights and user-friendliness. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right accounting software for your retail business is essential for effective financial management and operational efficiency. Solutions like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct offer features customized to meet the unique challenges of retail, enhancing inventory control and cash flow management. By grasping the key benefits and implementing the software successfully, you can streamline your processes and support your business’s growth. Staying informed about future trends will likewise help you adapt and thrive in a competitive market. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best Accounting Software Solutions for Retail Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When managing a retail business, choosing the right accounting software is vital for effective financial oversight. These solutions offer fundamental features like inventory control, real-time updates, and seamless integration with point-of-sale systems. By automating processes such as sales tax calculations, you can streamline operations and improve decision-making. As you explore various options, consider how these tools can transform your financial management practices and support your business growth in an increasingly competitive market. Key Takeaways QuickBooks offers robust features for real-time inventory tracking and seamless integration with various POS systems, ideal for small to medium retail businesses. Sage Intacct provides advanced financial insights and multi-entity accounting, making it suitable for complex retail structures with automated workflows. Brightpearl centralizes inventory management across multiple sales channels, automating order fulfillment to reduce manual errors and enhance efficiency. Retail accounting software enhances cash flow management through automated invoicing, expense tracking, and real-time financial insights for informed decision-making. Look for solutions that prioritize real-time inventory updates, seamless POS integration, and robust reporting tools to optimize retail operations. Overview of Retail Accounting Software When you run a retail business, having the right tools to manage your finances is crucial, and retail accounting software is particularly designed to address these needs. This software offers unique features customized specifically for retail operations, such as sales reconciliation, inventory management, and support for multiple locations. It helps you efficiently handle large transaction volumes, ensuring accurate financial reporting. The best accounting software for retail business allows for real-time revenue and expense tracking, automates tax compliance, and integrates seamlessly with your POS systems. These capabilities let you monitor daily sales and streamline operational processes effectively. Furthermore, many platforms provide budgeting and financial forecasting tools driven by AI, helping you predict seasonal fluctuations and optimize stock levels. Popular choices like QuickBooks, Lightspeed, and Sage Intacct offer user-friendly interfaces and customizable dashboards to improve your overall experience and functionality. Key Features of Retail Accounting Solutions When choosing retail accounting solutions, you’ll want to focus on key features like inventory management capabilities and financial reporting tools. Effective inventory management helps you track stock levels in real time, ensuring you can meet customer demand without overstocking. Furthermore, robust financial reporting tools provide insights into your business’s performance, allowing for informed decision-making and strategic planning. Inventory Management Capabilities Effective inventory management is crucial for retail businesses, as it directly impacts profitability and customer satisfaction. Retail accounting solutions offer real-time inventory updates, ensuring stock levels are accurate with every sale and order. This feature helps you avoid over- and understocking situations. Advanced tools like bin location tracking and bar code scanning improve organization and stock rotation through FIFO (First-In, First-Out) methods. With extensive management capabilities, you can handle multiple vendors and streamline ordering from a centralized interface, boosting operational efficiency. Automated inventory forecasting, driven by AI insights, helps you predict seasonal changes and optimize stock levels, reducing excess inventory. Integration with POS systems and ecommerce platforms allows seamless synchronization of sales and inventory data, providing a complete view of your financial performance. Financial Reporting Tools Comprehending financial reporting tools is essential for retail businesses aiming to maintain control over their finances and make informed decisions. Retail accounting solutions offer real-time revenue and expense tracking, allowing you to monitor daily sales and costs effectively. Automated financial reporting simplifies tax calculations, generating precise reports based on location, which reduces errors and guarantees compliance. Integrations with POS and inventory systems enable seamless syncing of sales and payroll data, providing an accurate financial overview. Customizable dashboards and flexible reporting capabilities help you analyze profit margins, sales trends, and inventory performance. Furthermore, budgeting and forecasting tools utilize historical data to predict seasonal fluctuations, optimizing stock levels and improving cash flow management for your business’s success. Benefits of Using Accounting Software in Retail Using accounting software in retail streamlines financial management by automating complex tasks like inventory control and sales tracking. This efficiency not merely reduces errors but additionally helps you make informed decisions based on real-time data. With improved visibility into your finances, you can improve inventory control and finally drive better business outcomes. Streamlined Financial Management When retail businesses adopt accounting software, they often find that streamlined financial management becomes a significant advantage. This software enables real-time tracking of revenue and expenses, allowing you to make timely decisions based on current financial data. By integrating with POS and inventory systems, it automates data syncing, minimizing manual errors and providing a holistic view of your financial performance across multiple sales channels. Automated reporting features help simplify tax compliance and financial analysis, making complex calculations more manageable. Furthermore, budgeting and forecasting tools use AI-driven insights to predict seasonal fluctuations, improving cash flow management. For retail chains, multi-location support centralizes financial reporting, enhancing operational oversight and making it easier to manage diverse revenue streams. Enhanced Inventory Control Effective inventory control is crucial for retail businesses, and accounting software can greatly improve this aspect of operations. With real-time updates, stock levels remain accurate, minimizing the risk of overstocking or stockouts. Automated features like bin location tracking and FIFO systems streamline order fulfillment, enhancing operational efficiency. By integrating with POS systems, accounting software guarantees seamless data synchronization, providing a thorough view of inventory across multiple locations. This visibility aids in effective stock replenishment. Smart inventory forecasting tools leverage historical sales data to predict future demand, optimizing inventory levels and reducing carrying costs. Furthermore, automated alerts for low stock levels help you avoid lost sales and guarantee timely restocking, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. Improved Decision Making Accurate inventory management not just improves operational efficiency but furthermore lays the groundwork for better decision-making in retail businesses. By utilizing accounting software, you gain real-time access to revenue and expense data, allowing you to make informed decisions that improve cash flow management. Integrated tax compliance features automate calculations, reducing errors and ensuring timely submissions, which is crucial for operational integrity. If you manage multiple locations, consolidated financial reporting provides an all-encompassing view of performance metrics, aiding strategic decisions. Advanced budgeting and forecasting tools analyze sales trends, helping you optimize inventory levels. Finally, customizable dashboards offer insights into profit margins, enabling you to identify opportunities for cost reduction and revenue improvement effectively. QuickBooks: A Popular Choice for Retailers Many retailers are turning to QuickBooks as their go-to accounting software due to its robust features customized for the retail environment. QuickBooks offers real-time inventory updates, allowing you to track stock levels accurately and make informed purchasing decisions. Its seamless integration with various POS systems and ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify and BigCommerce, helps manage sales and inventory across multiple channels effortlessly. The software includes automated sales tax calculations and financial reporting tools, which streamline compliance and reduce the risk of errors during tax season. You can take advantage of customizable dashboards that provide insights into sales performance, enabling you to optimize product offerings and drive profitability. With its user-friendly interface, QuickBooks is particularly suited for small to medium-sized retail businesses, offering robust accounting capabilities without extensive training requirements. This combination of features makes QuickBooks a popular choice among retailers looking to improve their accounting processes. Sage Intacct: Advanced Financial Management With Sage Intacct, you gain access to real-time financial insights that empower you to make data-driven decisions for your retail business. Its multi-entity accounting features are ideal for managing complex financial structures, especially if you operate multiple locations or franchises. Furthermore, the advanced workflow automation capabilities streamline accounts payable and receivable, reducing manual work and enhancing overall financial accuracy. Real-Time Financial Insights How can real-time financial insights transform your retail business? With Sage Intacct, you gain access to customizable dashboards that allow you to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics instantly. This capability supports informed decision-making, enhancing your operational efficiency. By integrating seamlessly with over 350 applications, Sage Intacct centralizes your data management, ensuring accurate financial reporting across various locations. Furthermore, advanced automation streamlines accounts payable and receivable processes, reducing manual errors and saving time. Its built-in financial forecasting tools help you anticipate trends and optimize inventory purchasing, eventually improving your cash flow management. Feature Benefit Customizable Dashboards Instant KPI tracking Seamless Application Integration Accurate reporting Advanced Automation Time-saving financial processes Multi-Entity Accounting Support As businesses expand and operate across multiple locations, managing financial operations efficiently becomes crucial. Sage Intacct offers robust multi-entity accounting capabilities, allowing you to oversee various subsidiaries or locations from a single platform. Centralized financial reporting simplifies data tracking. Streamlined consolidation improves reporting across entities. Real-time visibility into performance metrics aids in decision-making. Automated inter-entity transactions reduce manual errors and save time. With customizable dashboards and flexible reporting options, you can analyze financial data specific to each entity, driving efficiency and profitability. This software supports complex financial structures, making it easier to meet diverse operational needs during ensuring accurate financial management across all your business locations. Workflow Automation Benefits When businesses implement workflow automation through Sage Intacct’s advanced financial management capabilities, they can streamline numerous financial processes, greatly improving efficiency. The automation of accounts payable and receivable reduces manual data entry, freeing up valuable time. Customizable dashboards offer real-time insights, enabling informed decision-making. With over 350 software integrations, Sage Intacct guarantees seamless connectivity, keeping financial data synchronized. Its automation engine optimizes cash flow management by providing alerts for overdue invoices and automating payment scheduling. Moreover, AI-driven financial forecasting helps predict seasonal fluctuations, allowing you to adjust inventory levels effectively. Benefit Description Streamlined Processes Reduces manual data entry and improves efficiency Real-Time Insights Customizable dashboards for informed decisions Seamless Integration Connects with over 350 applications Optimized Cash Flow Alerts for overdue invoices and payment automation Brightpearl: Comprehensive Retail Management Brightpearl stands out as a thorough retail management solution that simplifies the intricacies of running a retail business. By integrating seamlessly with ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, it centralizes your inventory management across multiple sales channels. Key features include: Automated order fulfillment processes that streamline shipping and accounting, reducing manual errors. Advanced inventory management tools that provide real-time updates and smart forecasting, helping you avoid over- or understocking. Robust financial management features that offer customizable dashboards, giving you real-time insights to improve decision-making. Multi-entity accounting support, making it suitable for businesses with complex financial structures and multiple locations. With Brightpearl, you can optimize your operations, making informed decisions that improve your financial health and boost efficiency in your retail business. Integrating POS Systems With Accounting Software Integrating your POS system with accounting software can greatly streamline data synchronization, allowing real-time updates of sales and inventory information. By automating these processes, you can improve inventory management and reduce the risk of manual errors, making your operations more efficient. This connection not just simplifies your workflow but furthermore provides essential insights into your business’s financial health and sales trends. Streamlined Data Synchronization Streamlined data synchronization between your point-of-sale (POS) system and accounting software can greatly improve your retail business’s operational efficiency. By integrating these systems, you guarantee real-time synchronization of sales data, which helps in tracking revenue accurately during minimizing manual data entry errors. This integration not only facilitates automated sales tax calculations but additionally improves the accuracy of your financial reporting. Here are some key benefits: Real-time updates to stock levels in your accounting system Simplified setup with popular accounting solutions like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct Improved insights into sales performance and cash flow management Reduced risk of tax-related errors, guaranteeing compliance with local regulations Integrating your POS with accounting software is crucial for efficient operations. Enhanced Inventory Management When you connect your point-of-sale (POS) system with accounting software, you reveal the potential for improved inventory management that can greatly benefit your retail operations. This integration allows for real-time inventory updates, ensuring accurate stock levels across all sales channels with every transaction. It likewise streamlines sales reconciliation by syncing sales data from the POS to your accounting platform, which minimizes manual entry errors and saves time. By enhancing inventory management, you gain valuable insights into sales trends and inventory turnover, helping you make informed purchasing decisions. Many accounting solutions, like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct, offer built-in compatibility with popular POS systems, facilitating seamless data synchronization and improving operational efficiency for your business. Managing Multi-Location Retail Operations Managing multi-location retail operations requires a strategic approach to guarantee efficiency and profitability across all stores. Centralized financial reporting is crucial, allowing you to analyze real-time data and make informed decisions. Integration with POS systems guarantees seamless synchronization of sales data, which improves revenue tracking and inventory management. Consider these key features when managing multi-location operations: Centralized financial reporting for real-time data analysis. Integration with POS systems for accurate sales and inventory tracking. Advanced budgeting and forecasting tools that utilize AI for seasonal predictions. Automated reporting features to simplify tax calculations and compliance. Automated Financial Reporting and Compliance Automated financial reporting and compliance play a vital role in modern retail accounting, as they simplify the often complex processes of generating fundamental financial documents. By using retail accounting software, you can streamline the creation of important reports, greatly reducing manual effort and minimizing errors. Platforms like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct offer automated tax compliance features, calculating sales tax based on location and generating accurate tax reports for regulatory requirements. Integration with point-of-sale systems guarantees real-time sales data is captured and reconciled, providing a more accurate financial overview and enhancing compliance with reporting standards. In addition, customizable dashboards allow you to visualize key financial metrics and compliance data, facilitating timely decision-making. Leveraging AI-driven insights for budgeting and forecasting helps you predict seasonal sales trends, optimize inventory levels, and guarantee effective compliance with financial regulations, ultimately supporting your retail business’s growth and stability. Inventory Management and Accounting Integration Effective inventory management and accounting integration is crucial for retail businesses aiming to maintain accurate financial reporting and efficient operations. By utilizing software that combines these functions, you can streamline your processes and make informed decisions. Real-time updates of inventory levels and sales data improve accuracy in financial reporting. Automation of inventory updates minimizes manual errors, ensuring current stock valuations in accounting records. Tools like Sage Intacct and QuickBooks offer automated expense tracking and inventory valuation for better insights into profit margins. Integration facilitates streamlined financial processes, including accurate tax calculations and budgeting by synchronizing sales and inventory data. Enhancing Cash Flow Management With Software During maneuvering the financial terrain of a retail business, you need robust cash flow management software to help you keep expenses in check and optimize revenue. Effective software automates expense tracking and categorization, enabling you to quickly identify spending patterns and areas for cost reduction. With real-time financial insights, you can forecast cash flow needs, guaranteeing timely inventory purchases that minimize stockouts or overstock situations. Integration with POS systems guarantees that your sales data accurately reflects in cash flow reports, giving you a thorough view of revenue and expenditures across all sales channels. Automated invoicing and payment reminders facilitate faster collections, improving cash inflow and reducing the time you spend on manual follow-ups. Furthermore, advanced analytics tools allow you to simulate different cash flow scenarios based on seasonal trends, enabling better financial planning and resource allocation, which is vital for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Choosing the Right Software for Your Retail Business Selecting the right accounting software for your retail business plays a significant role in managing your operations effectively. To guarantee you make the best choice, consider the following key factors: Real-time inventory management: This helps maintain accurate stock levels, preventing over- or understocking. Seamless integration: Choose software that works well with your existing POS systems and ecommerce platforms for centralized data management. Robust financial features: Look for automated reporting and tax compliance tools to simplify accounting tasks and improve financial accuracy. Scalability: Opt for software that can grow with your business, accommodating evolving financial needs without major changes. Tips for Successful Implementation of Accounting Software Implementing accounting software in your retail business can seem intimidating, but with a structured approach, you can streamline the process effectively. Start by evaluating your business needs to select software that includes crucial features like multi-location management, POS integration, and real-time inventory tracking. Next, plan a phased implementation; begin with key functionalities to minimize disruption, then gradually integrate additional features based on user feedback. To boost adoption rates, provide thorough training for your staff, making certain they’re proficient in using the system. Utilize data migration tools and support services from your software provider to guarantee a smooth shift of financial records and minimize data loss. Finally, establish ongoing support by scheduling regular check-ins with the provider and creating user groups for feedback. This proactive approach will help you address issues post-implementation and continuously optimize your use of the software, leading to long-term success. Future Trends in Retail Accounting Solutions As retail businesses evolve, staying ahead of the curve in accounting solutions becomes crucial for maintaining efficiency and competitiveness. Future trends in retail accounting solutions are shaping how you manage your financial operations. Here are some key developments to watch: AI Integration: Improved predictive analytics will help you forecast trends and manage inventory by analyzing historical sales data. Cloud-Based Solutions: These offer real-time access to financial data, enabling seamless collaboration across multiple locations and devices. Automation: Routine tasks like invoice processing and expense tracking will be automated, reducing manual errors and improving operational efficiency. Data Security: Advanced encryption and authentication protocols will protect your sensitive financial information from cyber threats. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Accounting Software for a Small Business? When you’re looking for the best accounting software for your small business, consider options like QuickBooks Online, which offers thorough features and real-time inventory updates. Xero is user-friendly and supports collaboration, whereas FreshBooks stands out in invoicing and expense tracking. If you want a free solution, Wave Accounting allows unlimited invoicing and basic reporting. For advanced needs, Sage 50 provides robust desktop capabilities and inventory management tools, catering to complex accounting requirements. What Software Do Retail Stores Use? Retail stores typically use dedicated accounting software like QuickBooks, Lightspeed, and Sage Intacct. These programs offer features such as real-time inventory tracking, sales reconciliation, and multi-location support customized to retail operations. Integration with Point of Sale (POS) systems streamlines data synchronization, reducing manual errors. Many solutions automate reporting and tax compliance, simplifying financial management. Furthermore, cloud-based platforms improve accessibility, allowing multiple users to collaborate on financial data in real-time across various locations. Is Quickbooks Good for Retail? QuickBooks is a solid choice for retail businesses. It offers real-time inventory updates, helping you manage stock levels effectively. The software integrates with various POS systems and e-commerce platforms, streamlining operations across sales channels. You’ll appreciate the automated sales tax calculations and customizable reports that simplify compliance and provide valuable insights. Plus, its user-friendly design makes it accessible, regardless of whether you lack extensive accounting knowledge, as well as supporting future growth as needed. Is Xero or Quickbooks Better for Small Business? When deciding between Xero and QuickBooks for your small business, consider your specific needs. QuickBooks offers robust features like inventory management and payroll, making it ideal for complex accounting tasks. Conversely, Xero shines in collaboration with its multi-user access and AI-driven automation, even though its inventory tracking isn’t as strong. In the end, if you prioritize extensive features, QuickBooks might be better, whereas Xero suits businesses that value real-time insights and user-friendliness. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right accounting software for your retail business is essential for effective financial management and operational efficiency. Solutions like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct offer features customized to meet the unique challenges of retail, enhancing inventory control and cash flow management. By grasping the key benefits and implementing the software successfully, you can streamline your processes and support your business’s growth. Staying informed about future trends will likewise help you adapt and thrive in a competitive market. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best Accounting Software Solutions for Retail Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

To observe a SpaceX launch in person, as I did in February, is to witness a stunning and galvanic event. Two of the company’s greatest feats occur in quick succession. First, there’s the launch itself, with the rocket ferrying its payload—perhaps its own Starlink internet satellites, or ones for other businesses and the government, or even humans—and painting the night sky a blazing orange. Then there’s the second act, one that changed spaceflight forever. It begins with a wary silence, and then, suddenly, there’s the rocket’s first-stage booster returning to Earth, announcing itself with a sonic boom and ferrying down from the heavens. It descends, before hovering and then landing—vertically!—back on the launch pad. Usually, it’s in decent enough shape that with a few tune-ups, it’s ready to do the whole sequence all over again, which allowed SpaceX to do more than 160 launches in 2025, and sometimes two in a single day. The operation might appear miraculous, but it’s not. With smart engineering, the extraordinary becomes ordinary. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, didn’t invent rocket science, but it arguably invented rocket science at scale. The company’s engineering coups have vastly lowered the cost of reaching space, unlocking myriad new lines of business, from selling a ticket to space on one of its launches to connecting (almost) anyone to Starlink, its global satellite internet service, which reportedly has a 97% market share and is driving the majority of what Reuters estimated to be about $16 billion in revenue in 2025. Mars may remain a stretch goal, but the $1.8 trillion space market, as the World Economic Forum projects it to be by 2035, runs through SpaceX. Although these achievements have allowed SpaceX to reshape humanity’s journey into orbit in its own image, they overshadow what could be the company’s most impressive, and most iterable, legacy: A growing universe of former employees have founded companies dedicated to solving the next generation of very hard engineering challenges. By applying what they learned at SpaceX, especially its once-heterodox approach to problem-solving, they’re seeking to remake much of the industrial economy—and potentially become the next SpaceX. The breadth of these ideas is vast, and they’re audacious enough to stand alongside SpaceX’s efforts to perfect its Starship megarocket and build orbital data centers. They range from transforming core technologies like radar to reinventing factories for the age of AI and robotics to building a “railroad to Mars” that will be the space equivalent that railroads served in the 19th century. “A lot of this has to do with Elon and his personality and his ability to attract these types of people,” explains Robert Rose, who led software development for the Falcon 9 and is now building a system for autonomous aircraft (Reliable Robotics) and running a cargo airline that’ll deploy it (Reliable Airlines). “But he also just created an environment that those types of people want to be in.” When I ask Max Benassi, a former SpaceX propulsion engineer who went on to cofound Apex Space to reimagine satellite manufacturing, to describe his time at the company, he says, “We were solving some of the hardest problems that had never been solved before.” That’s the ethos internalized by a fleet of hundreds of alumni who now make up SpaceX: The Next Generation—and who aim to follow suit. As SpaceX prepares to go public—at a valuation that could surpass $2 trillion—this group not only helped get SpaceX there but they reveal everywhere else it’s making an impact. In this Fast Company exclusive, subscribers receive: The full dataset of 400-plus SpaceX employees turned founders, the largest public dataset of its kind An interactive map depicting where 64 companies founded by SpaceX alums are establishing a new industrial hub in the U.S. Where 54 companies founded by ex-SpaceX employees are seeing opportunities in the new space economy Which “extreme” company values most influence SpaceX veterans as they tackle new problems Why investing in SpaceX-y startups is still a non-consensus bet What mindset turned SpaceX into a multitrillion-dollar company The organizational psychology that’s given Musk and his businesses such immense influence Beyond space Across the deep well of companies founded by SpaceX alums, you’ll notice that many are tackling problems that to a nonexpert might seem to teeter along the edge of what’s currently imaginable. There’s Airhart Aeronautics, cofounded and led by Nikita Ermoshkin, a former SpaceX avionics systems and integration engineer, which is building personal airplanes designed with a simple control panel that (the hope is) anyone, basically, could fly. At SpaceX, Jaret Matthews was a mechanism group leader for the Dragon spacecraft. His company, Astrolab, is currently developing commercial planetary rovers that could soon land on the moon, and one day traverse the Martian surface. Notably, most SpaceX alumni founders don’t stay in the space industry. Only about 17% of them are now pursuing opportunities there. Still, lessons carry over. Tamir Blum, a SpaceX alum who designs vehicles for agriculture through his company Kisui, notes that, like space vehicles, farming rovers also have to navigate difficult and “unpredictable” environments. Blum is an exemplar of how even more Earthbound founders tend to remain focused on challenges rooted in the physical world, devoting their efforts to remaking agriculture, construction and housing, energy, manufacturing, and transportation. Some also focus on defense applications and weapons development, and seek to follow in SpaceX’s footsteps of capitalizing, sometimes heavily, on U.S. government contracts. Many of the companies have clustered around where these employees used to work. Until 2024, SpaceX headquarters was in Hawthorne, California, south of Los Angeles. (Its Falcon mission control is still located there.) In the process, they’re creating a new industrial sector for the United States. See our map above to explore where. This focus on manufacturing is also notable because hard-tech startups tend to require far more startup capital than simpler software-based businesses. It’s far easier to spin up an enterprise software company than it is to, say, build a factory and produce real hardware that works (and passes safety certifications). Even many of the enterprise software companies founded by SpaceX alums remain in the orbit of fabrication and hardware engineering issues. These include startups working on AI-enabled chip design (Bronco AI) and workforce agents designed for engineering teams (Navier AI). First principles, then scale Want to solve a big problem? Start by breaking it down into smaller pieces, until you’re down to the core components. Sure, a rocket is made of engines and fuel tanks, but if you think more deeply, it’s actually made of raw materials. This is the first principles approach that’s integral to SpaceX’s pedagogy. In the SpaceX mindset, fixing a problem begins with reducing it to its simplest constituent elements, not making piecemeal or marginal improvements to whatever solutions currently exist. This approach has plenty of corollaries. One is the “idiot index,” a Musk idiom meant to explain how much an industry might be paying (in his view, overpaying) for turning core materials into a finished project. Another sequela: Question everything, including supervisors and requirements. The motive, ex-SpaceX employees explain, is to disrupt the normal way of doing things so that you have a far more creative source for innovative answers to problems. As a result of this kind of approach, NASA says the cost of sending a kilogram of payload to low-Earth orbit has dropped from about $55,000—on the space agency’s Shuttle—to less than $3,000. “Nobody’s really going to stop you if you want to try things,” says Karthik Gollapudi, who worked as a Dragon flight software lead before starting Sift, a company that develops software for vehicle telemetry. “Try a lot of different things and learn really quickly, as opposed to being very slow and methodical. Sometimes you iterate your way to success faster.” Interns Welcome: 94 former SpaceX interns have gone on to found a startup. Of those, 15 did two internships, and one person (Haley Weinstein) is a three-time intern. The relentless push to question requirements (and the expertise of longtime aerospace institutions) could come with downsides, says Scarlett Koller, who worked as a certification engineer on life control systems before eventually creating Mithril, a startup that designs antenna technology for space. “SpaceX always has a massive chip on their shoulder, about [how we] all don’t get caught up in requirements, and we’re not like traditional aerospace,” she tells me. “There was a lot of dismissing of expertise, especially if it came from a source that was perceived as slow or outdated.” Still, many people have joined SpaceX after working at NASA or Boeing and Northrop Grumman, traditional space and defense firms. These include some of SpaceX’s best-known alumni, such as Laura Crabtree (cofounder and CEO of Epsilon3), Brogan BamBrogan and Jeff Overbeek (founders of Ethos Space), and Tom Mueller (SpaceX’s first employee and founder of Impulse Space). Betting on young people One way SpaceX avoids employees with preconceived notions is to “hire a lot of interns, a lot of young folks,” says Sift’s Gollapudi. What’s so special about a SpaceX internship? First, to get one often requires undergoing the same interview process as those conducted for full-time positions. (Want a sense of what a SpaceX interview is like? Check out Snubber, founded by former SpaceX intern and employee Arpita Bhutani, a practice platform for getting highly technical jobs at SpaceX, Anduril, and other hard tech companies.) Interns are also given real work to do. It is neither menial scut work nor a glorified summer camp like internships in some white-collar career tracks. Gollapudi’s cofounder, Austin Spiegel, worked on SpaceX’s proprietary enterprise resource planning system as an intern. Lewis Jones, cofounder of Cosmic Robotics, was an avionics mechanical design engineer during his internship. And so it goes. The benefits are mutual: A SpaceX internship can prove transformational in changing the trajectory of a career. Michelle Lee originally thought she would pursue a career in chemical engineering, but after interning at SpaceX in 2015, where she focused on vehicle engineering, she realized she wanted to build for the physical world—and take on a far more enterprising challenge. “If you have an incredibly ambitious mission, like, ‘We’re going to colonize Mars,’ and you get a group of very smart people together, you basically can bend reality,” she tells me. Lee is now trying to bend reality in her own way as founder and CEO of Medra, which aims to scale the production of scientific research, and new discoveries, through artificial intelligence. Her idea: You can accelerate the pace of research by automating one of the fundamental inputs—lab work—with robotics. Fast Company ultimately identified 94 former interns who have gone on to found companies, 33 of whom first worked at SpaceX full-time. Vertical integration, horizontal organization, infinite expansion The people who succeed at SpaceX, whether they started working there while still teenagers or after a career at Boeing, are experts at identifying chokepoints in a process, solving them, and therefore accelerating development. “We didn’t accept the status quo in manufacturing,” says Jordan Black, who worked at SpaceX from 2018 to 2023. During his final years there, he focused on vehicle components, where “one of the biggest blockers was how quickly we could design or manufacture wire harnesses, whether internally or with external partners. . . . It made me question who was solving this problem.” When he realized that no one was, Black started Senra Systems with fellow alum Benjamin Shanahan to develop better wire harnessing, a component used in everything from cars to rocket ships, to enable hardware to be built more quickly. In January, Black, who’s CEO, announced that Senra is expanding significantly, opening an 80,000-square-foot factory in Cypress, California, a 5x increase in its production footprint. Indeed, a significant subset of companies founded by former SpaceX employees are focusing on rebuilding components, including radars, antennae, and other satellite parts, that choke up manufacturing and aerospace supply chains. Consider Benassi’s Apex, which now has a factory in Southern California devoted to building satellite buses along a slick production line, similar to SpaceX’s own approach to rocket assembly. “The more twists and turns you have to take, the harder it is, right?” says Benassi, who serves as CTO. “Imagine going through a maze versus if you were just walking a straight line. That’s about as simple as it gets, as fast as it gets.” To manufacture and improve at scale, Apex places heavy emphasis on vertical integration, including making critical components like batteries and power systems in-house. A preference for vertical integration has long been linked to SpaceX, but also hastened by consolidation trends in the aerospace industry and declining demand for aerospace defense spending after the Cold War. Converting doubt into fuel Contravening convention inevitably attracts guffaws from rivals and the media and draws ire from regulators, which helps SpaceX employees build what they describe as, essentially, a high tolerance for haters. “It was just a constant stream of negativity from the rest of the U.S. space industry, the Russians [were] making fun of us constantly. . . . It just felt like the world was against us,” says Reliable Robotics’s Rose, who started at SpaceX in 2009. So when the Falcon 9 became the first orbital-class rocket booster ever to land vertically in 2015, he recalls an “Oh my god kind of sensation, this weird, euphoric feeling that we can do anything.” At Reliable Robotics, Rose has been emboldened to pursue the daring and futuristic goal of developing autonomous, remotely operated aircraft. “We have an entire aviation industry that thinks what we’re doing is either totally impossible, never going to get certified, [or that] nobody’s going to buy it,” he says. “Pilots aren’t going to allow it. Everybody’s going to fight against it.” Because of his experience, he says, he’s “able to quickly switch that off. Like, this isn’t helpful.” Extreme SpaceX values Tyler Habowski is working on the problem of mimicking human hands at his startup Kyber Labs, a sort of final frontier of manufacturing dexterity. He recalls, as a child, hearing his parents, who both worked at Boeing, complaining about how other divisions were creating problems for their respective teams. He juxtaposes this mentality to the attitude at SpaceX, where he worked for five years as a mechanical design engineer. “If you’re a responsible engineer, you’re not just responsible for your part, you’re responsible for the entire thing,” he explains. While SpaceX believes in the principle of “extreme ownership” (a trait it shares with its fellow founder factory Palantir), it’s not to the exclusion of how one team’s work depends on, and integrates with, whatever other teams are working on. That means asking better questions of the teams working adjacent to you, being prepared for failure, and integrating conservatism into your expectations. The five most notable SpaceX feeder colleges: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Colorado School of Mines, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Harvey Mudd College, and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Another SpaceX value that alums say they bring to future organizations is to learn as much as possible from the experiments you conduct. This comes with an emphasis on understanding how systems might work in real-world conditions, as soon as possible. “The pace of execution—build, test, improve—and the willingness to take on extremely difficult engineering challenges had a lasting impact,” says Kisui’s Blum. He says Kisui has worked on more than 10 different versions of its farming rover, Adam, over the course of three years in pursuit of strong off-road performance. In a similar vein, Apex’s Benassi says his company tests hardware performance on-site, particularly final mechanical vibration testing, to support vertical integration. When Habowski pitches investors on Kyber, he says he’s distilled what his company has taken from SpaceX as part of his slide deck, including: “mission clarity” “scrappy innovation” “vertical integration” Medra’s Lee has also delineated her company’s values, and she acknowledges that such principles as “why not faster” and “challenge all constraints (except physics)” come directly from what she learned at SpaceX. The value of the SpaceX badge Another way in which the SpaceX method of thinking and doing will ripple through the economy is via investors, some of whom are also SpaceX alums. After all, they’ve seen up close how transformative working there can be. Interlagos, founded by Achal Upadhyaya and Tom Ochinero, places a heavy emphasis on manufacturing and science-focused businesses. Among the alum-led companies Interlagos has invested in are Benassi’s Apex and Reed Ginsberg’s Shinkei, a novel robotics company that enables fishermen to kill their catch at sea and preserve peak freshness. Innovation Endeavors, while not founded by SpaceX alums, hosts meetups with people who worked at the company and are now building their own. Cantos Ventures is another firm early to the potential in ex-SpaceX enterprises, backing not only Shinkei but also the nuclear reactor startup Radiant, founded by Doug Bernauer, and the hypersonic weapons manufacturer Castelion, started by three alums: Bryon Hargis, Sean Pitt, and Andrew Kreitz. Recruiters are another vector by which the SpaceX ethos is spreading. Half a dozen former SpaceX employees, most of whom worked in technical recruiting while there, have set up shop to help companies find and vet high-caliber talent. Yet having SpaceX on your résumé is not yet a surefire path to being funded for your next venture. Although one website tracking SpaceX-led ventures, Alumni Founders, calculates that SpaceX graduates have raised nearly $12 billion in total, founders are mixed as to its current value. Sift’s Gollapudi, who has raised $67 million to date, per PitchBook, notes that the SpaceX mentality can sometimes be an acquired taste for investors. “A lot of venture capital tends to be very pattern-matching oriented,” he argues. “First principles thinking isn’t always pattern-matching . . . it’s more about how to get to the goal the fastest.” Alums say that working at SpaceX means having the ego beaten out of you, because there’s always someone smarter than you, humbling you, in the room. They often describe the company culture as “logic first,” a principle that shapes how employees talk to each other: Ideas matter more than titles, and criticisms come before compliments. Conversely, Kyber’s Habowski, who’s raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding, says he’s been encouraged to emphasize his SpaceX credentials far earlier in his pitch deck. With SpaceX’s public offering on the near horizon, there’s a strong likelihood that the wealth it creates will give many more SpaceX employees the ability to pursue their own startups (and invest in their fellow alumni’s ideas). It will also give the hundreds of companies currently run by former SpaceX employees the opportunity to prove that their fantastical efforts are, in fact, plausible. “Time is like the great equalizer in that case,” Gollapudi notes. “All these X-basis companies, you see them compounding, and maybe they aren’t as hyped out of the gate, but they compound, and in the long term, they’re in a much better place.” —Additional research by David Lidsky View the full article

Limit will apply to all plan 2 loans as well as plan 3 postgraduate loansView the full article

Revised goals involve net revenue and value of assets clients entrust to Citi as business has lagged Wall Street peersView the full article

On the corner of a tree-lined street in northeast Omaha, Nebraska, two modern and minimalist residences are resetting the standard of what a new house should look like. Their bold orange and navy blue exteriors and spare, geometric forms set them apart from the more conventional gabled houses down the street. The biggest difference, though, is their size. At just 802 and 618 square feet, the two houses are significantly smaller than the average new American home, which has a median area of more than 2,100 square feet. The houses are the first two iterations of OurStory, a housing system envisioned as a replicable, accessible, and above all affordable approach to building homes. Using hyper-efficient spatial layouts and quickly manufactured prefab parts, the houses are designed to be built fast and inexpensively for anything from an age-in-place forever home to a backyard accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to a remarkably enticing option for a first-time homebuyer. They’re resetting the standard for starter homes in the U.S. The OurStory houses are a collaboration between the nonprofit Partners for Livable Omaha and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture’s FACT studio, which engaged architecture students to design and build the first two homes. Construction is expected to wrap up by August. The larger house has already sold for just $190,000­—$90,000 less than the median sale price of homes in the city. The smaller house will likely be even more affordable. Not just more housing, more variety Omaha, like many cities, has a shortage of affordable housing. The city estimates that it needs 30,000 new homes for low- and middle-income residents by the end of the decade. The OurStory project was launched partly to fill that gap, but also to address another kind of housing shortage: the low variety of housing types on the market. Of the 48 building permits issued for single family homes in the last month in Omaha and surrounding Douglas County, only six are smaller than 2,000 square feet, and none are smaller than 1,000 square feet. Jessica Scheuerman, executive director of Partners for Livable Omaha, says there’s a need for a wider range of housing types, from smaller footprints to homes designed for aging in place. Scheuerman realized the extent of the need after seeing her mother struggle to find appropriate housing on a fixed income, and thought there should be a bigger range of options. “When you design and plan for the aging community, everybody benefits,” she says. In 2024, she reached out to architect Jeffrey Day, a practicing architect and professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Architecture, to think about what a solution could look like. The two had worked together before on other projects, and they agreed that a modest aging-ready house could be a good assignment for the university’s design-build students. The project could also have legs. “The goal has always been to think about this project as a prototype that could be replicated multiple times, and in different configurations,” Day says. For Scheuerman, making the houses suitable for aging in place was one priority. Before founding Partners for Livable Omaha in 2020, she’s been a longtime vice president of Partners for Livable Communities, a Washington D.C.–based nonprofit that has worked for nearly 50 years to improve urban planning and design to create places where people can thrive. Aging in place is one of its main focus areas. So when the design of the OurStory houses got started, Scheuerman stressed the need for the design to include some of the basic tenets of aging-ready housing, from a zero-step entrance to wheelchair accessible hallways and doors. “We need to stop treating older adults like they’re invisible and the built environment is not for them,” she says. A flexible kit of parts Those aims were just the start. Under the guidance of Day, who runs his own Omaha-based architecture practice, Actual Architecture Company, the University of Nebraska design-build students expanded on the brief to turn the project into a shape-shifting and highly refined version of a small home. The team also decided the houses should be designed using a kit of parts, with prefabricated structural insulated panels making up the walls of the homes to speed up the construction timeline and bring down costs. Inside, the students dialed in on the least flexible parts of a house, the kitchen and bathroom. Requiring a lot of plumbing and electrical work, these rooms can make up a significant amount of the cost of construction depending on where they’re placed. So the students placed the spaces right next to each other, sharing a wall where all that infrastructure could be concentrated. “It has a lot of the electrical and all the plumbing in that one 10-foot wall,” Day says. This wall, along with the house exterior walls and room dividers, can all be built in a factory, and students are now doing some of that prefab construction work themselves. “Someone could be putting a foundation in while the interior components are being fabricated in a shop,” Day says. “Everything comes together on the property to reduce construction time, and therefore cost.” Taking this approach lent flexibility to the house design, which evolved in a major way from its earliest inklings. Originally planned as a single house for that corner lot in northeastern Omaha, the project got an unexpected alteration when a visiting official from the city’s planning department suggested subdividing the lot and making it into two houses. “And we’re like, ‘I didn’t know you would let me do that,'” Scheuerman says. “Like, ‘you’re gonna let me do that?'” Now a two-house project, the students used their kitchen-bathroom wall as the central point of the designs and worked their way out from there. The larger house became a two bedroom, and the smaller a one bedroom. One has a peaked roof and the other a single slant, with extra room in a loft area. “The system has certain components that can be configured in different ways,” Day says. That means the design can be more than just the aging-in-place housing Scheuerman initially set out to create. “Everyone puts an overlay on it,” she says. “People see this product, and they see artist housing, or they see rental income with an ADU. Or they see a solution for a problem that they have.” Scheuerman envisions the first two houses as prototypes but they also prove that this approach is financially viable. The homes have been partly funded through philanthropy, including from the Lozier Foundation, material donations from window and door manufacturer Pella, and grants from the state of Nebraska’s Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund. The local nonprofit community bank Spark Capital provided financing to complete construction, with up to $100,000 in forgiveness for nonprofit developers like Partners for Livable Omaha. Scheuerman says the total cost to build both homes will be about $540,000. That exceeds their total sales prices but still manages to pencil out due to the loan forgiveness and grants that helped offset land and development costs. Without taking those offsets into account, the homes are still more affordable than the median home in the city. Scheuerman says future builds will likely be less expensive, based on lessons learned with these first two homes. “At the end of the day, this project is pointless if the numbers don’t work,” Scheuerman says. “So we had to spend a ton of time being educated by the lending community, and by the appraisal community, and by the mortgage community. And they had some notes for the students, which ultimately made the design better.” Into the developer’s seat Scheuerman says proceeds from the sale of the two houses will be reinvested in land to build more. But she doesn’t want to build alone. Getting others to follow the model is a central part of the project, according to Scheuerman, and she says the combination of small size and prefabricated construction puts these houses at a price point where they can be feasibly financed by a wide range of people. “There is a segment of the population that can come to market right now. They have high home equity or cash on hand,” she says. “We know people are ready to go, and we want to meet that market.” To open that door, Day’s students are developing a catalog of different designs using this system, offering them up as pro-bono plans for people to apply to their own small house development projects. Funding from the American Institute of Architects and AARP helped start that work, and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund is supporting the catalog’s ongoing development. It should be available online this summer, and Scheuerman says it will be like a modern-day version of the housing that once appeared in the Sears catalog: affordable to build and easily accessible. “Real estate development is our shared responsibility, and communities need to be empowered to get into the developer’s seat,” Scheuerman says. In less than two years, the OurStory houses have gone from idea to nearly completed homes. It’s a scalable approach that could start to chip away at the housing shortages plaguing Omaha and cities like it. “I double dog, triple dog dare you to build one,” she says. “That’s how easy we’re trying to make it.” View the full article

America’s stance on gun rights has always been complicated. On the one hand, people fight vociferously for their Second Amendment rights. On the other, 47,000 people died due to gun-related injuries in 2023 alone. That uneasiness reaches beyond the right to bear arms. It’s increasingly affecting people’s ability to pursue a seemingly unrelated hobby: 3D printing. State lawmakers across the United States are debating—and in some cases nearing passage of—rules that would require 3D printers to include mandatory “print blocker” software. These systems would scan files and refuse jobs they think might produce firearm parts. Washington’s HB 2321 would require printers or slicers to screen files and reject potential printouts that could be used in a weapon. California’s AB 2047 would require manufacturers to attest that each model sold in the state includes a certified firearm blueprint detection algorithm. New York lawmakers are now pushing similar printer-side blocking requirements. The stated aim is to stop 3D-printed ghost guns. But in doing so, legislators are trying to solve a crime problem by redesigning a general-purpose manufacturing tool. “What they’re talking about doing is banning certain kinds of shapes,” says Kyle Wiens of iFixit, an outspoken opponent of the proposals. “We are starting to really dangerously undermine a lot of assumptions that go into how we make and use technology,” says Wiens, who describes it as “a little bit of an imaginary problem.” He’s not alone. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights group, has made clear its opposition to print blocking. It calls the idea “wishful thinking” that wouldn’t deter people from printing firearms or their parts, and instead would make it far more difficult for law-abiding users to take advantage of a growing technology. Today, 3D printing is widely used not just by hobbyists but for parts prototyping, small-batch manufacturing, and in medicine for anatomical structures, surgical templates, and implants. Around one million 3D printers were sold worldwide in the first three months of 2025. Just 325 3D-printed guns were recovered at crime scenes in 2024, out of roughly 350,000 firearms used in crimes across more than 50 U.S. cities between 2020 and 2024, according to the gun control advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety. That disparity, says Michel Weinberg, executive director of New York University’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy, means any action will be “incredibly small, if existent at all” in addressing the use of 3D printing for gun manufacture. The proposed rules would place a broad, general-purpose tool under suspicion by default. Critics argue this approach treats every user as a potential criminal and every file as something to be checked, flagged, or refused—chilling legitimate experimentation while doing little to stop determined bad actors. “There must be dozens of more effective interventions than this,” argues Weinberg, “before you even get to the downsides.” And those downsides are significant. Beyond questions of effectiveness, there are broader rights concerns. The EFF notes that many printers lack the computational power to analyze files locally, which could push enforcement toward cloud-based scanning. (To grasp the scale of the potential overreach, imagine having to hand over information about whatever you want to print on a standard paper printer to an unknown authority.) Cloud-based checks would also introduce privacy risks and vendor lock-in, tying users to proprietary software, making open-source alternatives harder to use, and potentially criminalizing workarounds or the thriving secondhand market for 3D printers. Despite those concerns, lawmakers appear to be moving ahead. The reason, Weinberg suggests, is that many believe something must be done to address gun violence—and 3D printing, while a small contributor, is visible enough to act on. “The people who are advocating for this, on balance, think that any incremental step to reduce the ability of a 3D printer to make a firearm is worth taking,” he says (never mind that the policy would impose on the privacy of tens of thousands of users of 3D printers). iFixit’s Wiens hopes policymakers pause to consider both the implications and the underlying rationale. “We should not be regulating based on our imaginations,” he says. “We should do it based on the actual threat model.” View the full article

In 2025, less than half (48%) of U.S. employees said they trusted their senior leaders, and 40% reported distrust of their leaders and colleagues, signaling a broad erosion of workplace trust. And when you add AI to the mix, things aren’t looking good. In a 2025 YouGov survey, only 5% of Americans say they trust AI. Meanwhile, in late 2025, McKinsey found that 78% of U.S. companies report using AI in at least one business function (up from 55% just a year earlier). Put simply, we’re in an AI-accelerated trust recession. BUILDING VULNERABILITY-BASED TRUST Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, shares that vulnerability-based trust creates confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In practice, vulnerability-based trust is when you and I feel we can say something like “I don’t know” or “I made a mistake” and know we will still be treated with respect and not feel embarrassed or worse. Here are three ways you can foster vulnerability-based trust with your team. SHARE YOUR FAILURES The quickest way to build trust is to go first: by sharing your own vulnerabilities, shortcomings, or failures. Trusted leaders quickly acknowledge when they need help and (equally importantly) acknowledge their mistakes; they don’t pretend they are all-knowing, and they don’t get defensive when asked a question or offered advice. This matters because trust drops when leaders appear overly confident. According to Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer, trust in business leaders declined in the U.S., particularly when leaders were perceived as withholding information or overpromising on emerging technologies like AI. In practice, this can look like saying, “I made the wrong call on this timeline,” or “I relied too heavily on that AI output without validating it.” In meetings, go first in naming what you would change. BE TRANSPARENT Transparency becomes critical when AI influences workflows. In PwC’s 2025 Global Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey, only 50% of employees said senior management does what it says it will do. That gap widens when employees don’t understand the reasoning behind decisions. For example, when a team hears, “We’re implementing AI to improve efficiency,” they may interpret that as “We’re preparing for layoffs.” To reduce speculation and increase trust, clarify both the outcome and intention. For instance, if you’re introducing AI tools to the workflow, you can clarify, “We’re introducing this tool to reduce admin work by 20% and not to reduce headcount. Here’s how success will be measured.” PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BIASES Bias erodes trust faster than almost anything else. Employees are significantly less likely to trust leaders when they perceive decisions as unfair or inconsistent, even if the outcomes are objectively neutral. In an AI context, this matters even more. If a team member questions an AI initiative, it’s easy to label them “anti-technology” or “resistant to change.” But that assumption can erode trust faster than the technology itself. Instead, pause and ask: “What concerns are you hearing from others?” and “What risk do you see that I may not be seeing?” While AI is accelerating at machine speed, trust moves at human speed. If you want your AI strategy to succeed, start by making your leadership more vulnerable, transparent, and fair than ever before. View the full article