Unfortunately in today’s texting, video conferencing, blogging and emailing business world you sometimes have no choice.

Do you too find it annoying when you’re talking to someone and they have their head down looking at their mobile phone acting like they’re listening to you?

In a past life when I was working as an executive for a publicly traded company, my typical day consisted of meetings, conference calls, and emails followed up with more meetings. I can remember many nights coming home and wondering what I actually accomplished that day. Some people call this success where I have a slightly different point of view.

Focus on Your Factoring Company Mission

When we first started our factoring company I made a vow that everyone in our company would be on the same page by following our mission which was,

“To Provide Immediate Cash Flow Solutions to Small Businesses with an Unsurpassed Level of Customer Service”.

We all agreed that our mission statement clearly defined our organization, why it existed and its reason for being. More importantly, the mission statement gave us focus.

Keeping the Factoring Business Simple

What initially drew me into the factoring industry was the simplicity of the transaction. Unlike a loan, a factoring transaction refers to an arrangement whereby a factor purchases an account(s) receivable from a business at a discount for a product or service that is completed, delivered, and accepted by their customer. This is about as straightforward of an industry there is.

Now many of you who are in the factoring business either as a broker or direct funder know there is a little more to a transaction than just giving money to anyone who hands you an invoice. We can always talk about the technical things like factoring agreements, notice of assignments and verifications which are all very important. However, at the end of the day, the basic concept is very easy to understand.

Finally, the best way to stay focused on what you do is to just say no. How many of you have received calls from a prospect or broker talking about a transaction that just didn’t make any sense? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to someone looking for funding and they had the most difficult time explaining their business model. My position has always been to walk away from a deal if a prospect cannot explain what they do and how they are paid in less than a minute.

Keep your factoring business simple and focused. As the great director George Lucas once said, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com

A few years ago we had a factoring business prospect referred to us from a broker that was affiliated with our company. The prospect was engaged in the business of logistics, working with several well known automotive companies. His business was growing and he needed cash flow to hire additional employees and take on more jobs.

After gathering the required documents we moved forward with our proposal to fund the prospect. The prospect accepted our terms and we proceeded with funding our new client’s invoices. For the first month or so we were able to verify, fund and collect without any problems. Since the client’s business was growing, he was looking for us to increase his credit line so we could purchase more of his invoices.

It was in the second month of funding when our team noticed that several of his invoices with one of his customers were still outstanding. This development struck us as odd since this particular customer of our client was very strong and the invoices with his other customers were paying in a timely fashion.

We contacted our client to shed some light on the issue and he informed us that he was not aware of any issues with the customer. We followed up with the client’s customer, who surprisingly informed us that they had never changed the payment address to our office even though they signed our notice of assignment.

Why Factoring Companies Use a Notice of Assignment When Funding Invoices

A “Notice of Assignment” is generally a written instruction to the client’s customer that the client’s accounts receivable have been assigned and is payable to the factor. This is an extremely important document for factoring companies. This document protects the factoring company in the event a payment is accidentally sent to the client instead of the factor. Even if the client skips off with your money, this document ensures you are still owed the funds from the client’s customer. Hopefully, you will never have to enforce this notice but it imperative you have it as part of your requirements before funding.

As it turned out, the client received our checks and actually deposited the funds directly in his company’s account. Believe it or not, this happens quite often in the factoring business. Many times, the client’s accountant or bookkeeper will deposit everything that comes into their office without knowing which check is the property of the factoring company.

With this knowledge, we informed the client that all factored funds were the legal property of our company and needed to be returned to our company immediately. Our factoring agreement has a clause that specifically addresses misdirected payments. It basically imposes a huge penalty on the client if the funds are not returned to our office within a twenty four hour period once the client has been notified.

The client informed us he wouldn’t be able to return the funds to us for another week or so. He also stated that since it wasn’t his mistake he had every right to the money to take care of a few expenses and pay us later. We explained to him this was unacceptable since he was now paid twice on his invoices and informed him of the misdirected payment clause in his agreement. He brushed it off saying we would get our money in about a week or so. Finally, we informed him of the notice of assignment that he and his customer signed when we opened his account with our company. We also mentioned that his customer would be receiving a demand payment letter from our legal department explaining the situation and how they owed us the money for the invoices he deposited.

This was not the way we wanted the situation to play out, but unfortunately the client left us no other choice. Think about, if this legal document had reached his customer it would have portrayed him in a very negative light and severely damaged his relationship. Needless to say, we received our funds from the client (along with the penalty) the next day. We also ceased funding this client because we felt that when given the choice to do the right thing, he chose not to do so.

Always have a notice of assignment perfected with all customers you fund to ensure that any misdirected payments will be paid to you, the factoring company.

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com

Consider the average number of times per month someone searches these terms online:

• Receivable Financing – 12,100
• Invoice Factoring – 14,800
• What is a Factoring Company? – 18,100
• Factor Company – 27,100

(Source: Google Adwords™ Keyword Tool. *GOOGLE is a trademark of Google Inc. and not associated with this site or author.)

There is no question that the buying and selling of invoices is a people business. You need to cultivate a relationship, but…

  before there is a relationship, you need to meet each other.

More and more businesses are turning online to meet their researching needs… for everything. Finding a company to factor invoices is no exception.

So, how do you help give your factoring business an edge online?

Try these three things…

1. Have a Great Factoring Website

A quick, ready-made, one page site from “Website Tonight” on GoDaddy might seem like a good idea. Sure, it may be better than nothing…but not much.

At a minimum you are going to want to create a professional presence and a way for people to contact you. Professional, effective, and search-optimized sites can now be built for as little as $349.00 (Check out ExposureOne.com for affordable website ideas).

2. Claim Your Google Places™ Business Listing

Make sure you are on listed on Google Places™ for business. If you have been around as a factoring company for some time, you probably already have a “Places Page” created in Google* search – and just not claimed it. For some great info on setting up your page, go here Google Places Help for Small Business.

3. Be Social

There are plenty of forums and social media sites that have a variety of factoring related discussions going on. These include questions from new brokers as well as potential clients. To be seen and heard you can create a profile and check in with them (at least on a weekly basis) to contribute and interact. You can read more tips at Factoring Training: Social Media and Small Business.

No matter how you cut it, there are deals to be had online. Your business income may very well be determined by your ability to gain more clients from this media. It doesn’t take a lot of work – and very little ongoing work.

Now is as good a time as any. If you have been putting off starting (or improving) your online factoring business presence, why not start today?

Whether you work in the factoring industry as a direct funder or consultant, we all know that quality customer service is a cornerstone for any company’s long term success. Lately however, it seems that customer service is measured more on speed than any other factor.

Factoring Company Due Diligence vs. The Need for Speed

As important as speedy funding is to the customer, thorough due diligence is even more important to the funder. So often we receive calls from brokers and prospects requesting funding in a day or so to meet payroll or pay a supplier.

Sound familiar?

As much as we would like to fund every prospect that comes to our company, there are several extremely important questions that every factoring company should ask early in the due diligence process:

• How long has the client been in business?

• Can they provide current financial statements and tax returns?

• Are there any UCC-1 financing statements in first position on the client?

• What is the credit history of both the client and account debtor?

• How is the client’s company organized?

• Can the client provide an aged invoice schedule for the customers they would like to factor?

These are just a few samples from our company’s due diligence checklist. Depending on the type of industry being factored, a factoring company’s checklist may vary.

Our experience on gathering these types of documents can range anywhere from two days to a few months. Much of the process is dependent on the willingness of both the client and account debtor to provide the information requested in a timely and presentable manner.

Solving the Factoring Puzzle

A colleague of mine compared the due diligence process to putting together a puzzle that never gets fully completed. You try to get as many pieces of the puzzle to connect in order to form a clear enough picture to move on to the next step.

In the race to get every deal funded, you will find many factors will try to slow the process for very good reason. Unlike banks and other secured lenders, factors advance cash to qualified clients based on a piece of paper in the form of an invoice.

Sure, the returns are high and so is the risk.

So next time the factoring company asks for some more information to get the prospect qualified, understand it’s not always the first one to finish the race that comes out the winner.

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com

You have a client in need of cash flow who has been in business for a year, has three large customers and gets paid in less than 30 days. Eager to help this entrepreneur get the cash he needs to expand, you refer this small business owner to one of your factoring partners immediately.

The factoring company tells you that they are interested in pursuing the lead, and they’ll have an update for you as soon as they reach out to the prospect. The next day, you get a phone call from the factoring firm telling you that they are no longer working the deal.

Has this ever happened to you? If you answered yes, then I have some good news for you. There’s a simple way to drastically reduce the chances of the above situation ever happening again. All you have to do is ask three key questions before referring a lead to a factor.

#1: Have Your Receivables Been Pledged as Collateral to Another Lender?

The answer to this question can dramatically change how a factoring company views a prospect. Simply put, if the answer is ‘yes,’ the deal just got less interesting.

In order for a factoring company to purchase invoices, it uses the company’s accounts receivables as collateral. If the business owner has a loan (or is working with another factoring company), then that lender has most likely already filed a UCC-1 and claimed the borrower’s accounts receivables as collateral. (NOTE: A UCC-1 is a legal document that a creditor files to give notice that it has an interest in the personal property of a debtor.)

Discovering that a potential factoring candidate has a UCC-1 is problematic for a new factoring firm because it cannot fund on invoices if another entity is already entitled to them. In some instances, a factoring firm can structure an agreement where the previous lender is willing to release its ownership rights on the receivables, leaving them clear for the new funding source to use as collateral.

#2: Do You Owe Any Past-Due Taxes?

If your prospect answers ‘yes’ to this question, the next thing you need to ask is by how much? In general, a business that is behind on its taxes is not a good thing. However, how much or how little it owes will give the factoring company a better idea of how invested it would like to be in the deal.

When the IRS learns that a business is behind on its taxes, it files a lien on the company’s assets, including physical assets (property, computers, fax machines, etc.) as well as liquid assets (bank accounts, accounts receivables, etc.). This is the IRS’s way of getting a business owner’s attention because if the owner doesn’t pay the IRS what is owed, the next step is to levy on those assets.

When the IRS goes through with the levy, it claims the accounts receivables and other assets to compensate for the back taxes. In this situation, a factoring company cannot fund because the accounts receivables no longer belong to the factor. In other words, when the IRS levies on a company’s assets, all of the payments for the receivables which the factor initially purchased now go to the IRS instead of the factor. Translation – The factor never gets paid what it’s owed.

There are some situations in which the prospect, factoring firm and IRS could arrange a payment plan when taxes are past due. However, in general, if a company owes the government money, the risk level is usually too high for a factoring firm to want to stay involved.

#3: Who Are Your Customers?

Factoring brokers should pay very close attention to how their prospects answer this question because there are a couple of “entities” that simply cannot be factored. In a nutshell, the accounts receivable factoring model works best when smaller, less-established companies are selling to or providing services for larger, creditworthy companies. As such, a factoring firm is able to extend credit to the smaller entity, which may have little or no business credit history, based on the fact that its customers are financially sound enough to pay their bills in a timely manner. This ideal factoring model breaks down any time the above conditions are not met.

The most common factoring deals that get turned down immediately because of who they bill are companies that are paid by private consumers and extremely slow-paying clients. For the latter example, it’s important to note what the standard industry payment terms are to determine if the customer is a slow payer. For example, in the medical staffing industry, it’s typical to see net-60 terms, whereas in another industry, net-60 might be considered too past due to purchase.

Incorporating these questions into your initial information gathering process will help you weed out some of the less desirable deals before you approach a factoring company, saving you, your prospect and the factor some time and effort. It will help the referral process run more smoothly, and it will help you better understand your clients’ current financial state so that you will be better equipped to help them with their cash flow.

Nikki Flores is a Consultant Liaison for PRN Funding, LLC, which is an extraordinarily focused niche player in healthcare factoring.

PRN Funding exclusively factors the accounts receivable of companies that sell goods or provide services to healthcare providers.

Over the last year I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of writing several articles for Factoring Investor on the topic of how you can get involved in the factoring business.

In my July 2011 article, “Starting Your Own Factoring Business”, I discussed several resources to consider if you wanted to pursue your own factoring business as a direct funder. In our November 2011 article, “A How To Guide for Factoring Brokers”, we discussed selling points for brokers to use when approaching potential clients in need of cash flow. We even went as far to supply an instructional guide to help new brokers better understand the industry.

Fast forward to today and I am happy to report that we have received tons of feedback from interested parties wanting to get involved in the factoring industry. I can also report there are some fantastic folks out there which makes me feel confident that our industry’s best days are ahead of us. However, I do feel the need to address several recurring questions that I receive from both new brokers and funders.

1. Where do you find new clients for factoring?

This isn’t always the first question I receive but I can tell you it comes up in almost every conversation. Listen, if there was a magic wand to wave that could find new clients, we would all have one.

Your marketing plan is crucial to your success and it will either make or break your factoring business.

It doesn’t need to be a formal plan consisting of hundreds of pages of text with graphs and charts, but you do need a path to follow or you will get lost very quickly. Maybe you have experience with a specific industry or maybe you prefer to work with a particular client profile.

No matter what path you choose, find your niche and figure a way to penetrate it. There are endless resources you can utilize on the internet to research industries, markets, planning, you name it. It is up to you to figure out how to reign in this information and put it to use to grow your business.

2. Can I work in the factoring business part-time?

Of course you can. Although, I find this option is more suited for brokers than direct funders.

Our company’s experience has taught us that clients are demanding and rightfully so. While our office hours are typically Monday through Friday, I cannot tell you how many emails and calls we answer after hours and on weekends. When a business owner is trying to get his invoices funded to cover that week’s payroll you can understand why they are trying to track you down. Conversely, your company may have a limited number of clients or you only fund on certain days of the week. If this is the case, you may be able to manage your book of business on a part-time basis as a direct funder.

 3. Where do you go to find more information about the factoring business?

For those new to the factoring industry there are many associations, professionals and publications that provide educational guidance and useful information about the factoring industry.

To start, “Factoring Investor” is a great resource for information about the factoring industry. There are fantastic posts from “Factoring 101” with different points of view from a variety of experts in the industry.

The International Factoring Association is another great resource. They have a huge library of materials you can purchase for your business from legal documents to recorded teleconferences that can be downloaded.

Finally, I would recommend reading a series of books written by Jeff Callender collectively called the “Small Factor Series”. This series is made up of six books that pretty much tell you what you need to know about factoring account receivables.

At the end of the day it is up to you to determine how far you would like to go in this business. From my perspective there has never been a better time to get involved in the invoice factoring business. Chart your own course, plan accordingly and most importantly, enjoy the ride.

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com  or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com.

Factoring News

Leading Factoring Company Acquired by Triumph Savings Bank

Membership interest of Advance Business Capital LLC, one the nation’s leading finance companies in the for-hire transportation arena, has been acquired by Triumph Savings Bank, SSB.  Formerly know as Equity Bank, Triumph is moving out of the restructuring phase and now  looking to grow the institution by acquiring specialty finance companies like Advance Business.

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9130992.htm

Factoring Service Demand Drives Record Setting 2011 for Liquid Capitals

Liquid Capital, the only full-service factoring company in the franchising industry, grew by 45 percent in the U.S. from 2010 to 2011, and saw an increase of 20 percent in Canada, following a trend that started in 2009 with a 30 percent year-to-year increase in volume.

The increased demand for Liquid Capital’s factoring services mirrors a worldwide trend that shows factoring volume is up 62 percent over the last five years. Factoring provides businesses across an array of industries with immediate financing secured by credit-worthy account receivables.

“The variety of industries we serve is proof that tightened bank lending restrictions are affecting every type and size of business,” said Brian Birnbaum, founder and director of Liquid Capital. “Statistics show that nine out of ten businesses that apply for a bank loan are getting denied—and that’s why they’re turning to us.”

Source: http://www.pr.com/press-release/386885

Factoring Conferences 2012

FactorFox Announces First Conference April 16-18, 2012

FactorFox, a leading web-based software provider for factoring companies and their clients, will be holding their first ever conference. It is scheduled to occur just prior to the IFA Conference in Huntington Beach, CA.

Registration is open to current FactorFox subscribers, those with trial subscriptions, and anyone considering using the software in their factoring business. Cost is $150 for the first person from a company and $100 per person for additional attendees from the same company. For more information visit FactorFox Conference.

18th Annual IFA Factoring Conference April 18-21, 2012

Want to mingle with over 600 factoring company professionals and 45 exhibitors? Then it is time to make plans for the Annual Factoring Conference at Hyatt Regency Resort in Huntington Beach CA from April 18 -21, 2012.

Hosted by the International Factoring Association, this is the world’s largest conference dedicated to banks and finance companies offering factoring and receivables financing.

There are numerous speakers, round tables, receptions, and even opportunities to earn CPE and CLE  credits.  Sponsors include RMP Capital, Bibby Social, Tax Guard, and other exhibitors.

Registration is available online for $1045 for the first attendee and $995 for additional attendees.  The factoring conference is also open to non-members for an additional $100 per attendee.

For more information visit IFA Factoring Conference 2012

With traditional financial institutions continuing their stranglehold on lending to businesses, the factoring industry has experienced a renewed interest from companies seeking additional capital to fuel their growth and maintain even cash flow.

Believe it or not many businesses are doing quite well in the current economic climate despite all of the negative news we read on a daily basis. Companies like Apple and Google continue to have record profits and their stock prices continue to climb.

We’ve also seen an influx of initial public offerings from internet startups such as LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon and Zillow. With any new IPO, only time will tell how well these companies will perform in the months and years to come. Coming from a person that took a company public a few years ago, get ready for 10-Qs, 10-Ks, earnings calls and every other disclosure required by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Economic indicators are showing positive signs as well. According to the United States Department of Commerce, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the third quarter of 2011. Earnings statistics in Q3 2011 were quite impressive. Based on 443 companies of the S&P 500 index, 76 percent of stocks reported higher earnings per share compared to Q3 2010. Also, 69 percent of S&P 500 topped earnings estimates.

As much as we would like to revel in all of this good economic news, it still needs to be tempered with a dose of reality. The housing market continues to struggle to gain any traction. It is estimated the home values lost over 700 million in 2011. The national unemployment rate is around 8.6 percent with several states such as California and Nevada still in double digit figures.

So what does all of this news mean for the average factoring company?

We take the position that factoring is a valuable tool for businesses in both good times and bad. Whether companies are expanding or maintaining their current structure, accelerated cash flow through factoring is always a viable solution. We advise our clients that if their company’s profit margins allow them to absorb the cost and increase sales, the margins will increase and be a win for both the factor and the client.

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com.

The Accounts Receivable Factoring Alternative

Fortunately, there is an excellent alternative underutilized financing option that can keep a company’s cash flow going – private duty care accounts receivable factoring. As opposed to a more tradition form of financing, such as a small business loan, private duty care accounts receivable financing is not a loan at all. In this type of funding arrangement, a factoring firm purchases the rights to the private duty agency’s invoices, advances cash immediately on those invoices and then collects on them.

The best part about accounts receivable financing is that credit decisions are based on the creditworthiness of the private duty agency’s customers (i.e. Medicaid, VA or other governmental agency,) rather than the agency itself or the business owner’s personal credit. This allows the business owner to leverage the higher quality of their customers’ credit in securing funds. (NOTE: Private duty care factoring companies cannot purchase invoices that are payable directly by individuals because evaluating the credit of an individual is far more difficult than leveraging the government’s creditworthiness).

Keep in mind that many private duty care factoring companies can also work with start-up companies. In addition, small and large companies that are going through a rapid growth phase can also factor their private duty care receivables. What’s more, many factoring firms are able fund receivables without requiring the private duty agency owner to sign a personal guarantee, which lets the owner protect his/her personal assets. What’s more, private duty care factoring arrangements tend to provide generous lines of credit because factors are able to set credit limits and increase their funding as their clients’ businesses grow.

So How Does Private Duty Care Factoring Work?

Let’s say that the owner of a private duty care agency sent employees into an elderly person’s home to assist that person throughout his/her daily activities. The agency owner then bills Medicaid for the services provided. Because it takes time between when the agency owner sends the invoice and when Medicaid actually pays for the home care services, the agency owner can sell that invoice to a private duty care factoring firm and receive roughly 80 percent of what was invoiced immediately. In turn, Medicaid payments are sent to the factor. Once the factor is paid, the firm will deduct its fees and return the balance back to the agency owner.

Factoring firms come in all different shapes and sizes, and they are spread out all over the country, and each offers their own twist to the invoice funding model. Therefore, it’s important to take the time to research factoring companies and select the best one to meet your private duty home care agency’s financing needs.

In a time when more banks and credit card companies are saying “no,” private duty home care agency owners should look into accounts receivable factoring as a viable alternative financing option.

Nikki Flores is a Consultant Liaison for PRN Funding, LLC, which is an extraordinarily focused niche player in healthcare factoring.

PRN Funding exclusively factors the accounts receivable of companies that sell goods or provide services to healthcare providers.

Sooner or later, your efforts are going to turn to the Internet to find ways to leverage new clients.

In the beginning you will be faced with two big options…FACEBOOK® or GOOGLE+1™.

There seems to be a lot of confusion out there on whether your business should be using Facebook or Google+1 as a way to bolster up some marketing efforts.

Although both Facebook and Google+1 should have a place in your efforts (you don’t have to pick just one), most likely, one outshines the other as a good fit.

Here are a couple things to pay attention to when marketing your factoring company online.

If you are looking for interaction, you want Facebook.

But this assumes TRUE interaction. In other words, just because you have 3000 Facebook fans doesn’t mean they are reading anything you are putting up.

Are they leaving comments?

Are they sharing your posts?

If they are leaving comments, hitting the “like” button, and interacting, Facebook may be well suited for you. You just need to find a way to convert them to clients. If there is not a lot of interaction, you may just be wasting your time.

Fans work well when the “page” is a product or celebrity – not so much a company. A “company” is just too broad.

For example, how many raving fans would there be if I had a fan page on “Farms?” I am sure I would have some. Now, how many fans would I have if my page were the subject of “bacon.” – lots I imagine (who doesn’t like bacon) – and it is way more targeted.

The other downside on Facebook is that your efforts are limited to your ability to keep the content coming – and it won’t, for the most part, help you in the search rankings.

So, if you have interaction, go with Facebook. Otherwise think of Google+1.

Are you looking for “hands off” marketing?

Google+1 has two big advantages over Facebook when it comes to increasing your Internet exposure (and hopefully factoring business).

One, it does not require an ongoing amount of content from you. If people click the “+1” button their additional “circles” will be in on the action. It doesn’t require more content from you or more people “sharing” like Facebook.

Secondly, that little plus button can help you in the search rankings. Although Google does not formally release all the ins and outs behind their programming, one thing is clear: the more people “+1” your site, the higher up you may get in the search rankings.

As popular as Facebook is, it has yet to make a big “business” impact. Many Fan Pages are dead on arrival and do nothing for actual business.

Google +1 seems more in the thick of it when it comes to business. If someone is searching for your company the +1 can give you some extra credibility (Facebook can’t really help you there).

(Note: FACEBOOK is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. and GOOGLE is a registered trademark of Google Inc. This article was written based on research and professional experience.  This author, company, and website are not endorsed by or affiliated with either FACEBOOK, Inc. or GOOGLE Inc).

So, who is right for your factoring business?

As we mentioned in the beginning, we really thing you need to keep both on your radar…but for now, we give the edge to Google +1 if you are talking about getting more business.

Facebook is personal. But until users can separate business from personal on Facebook (as in two separate accounts) the business side just seems to be an after thought.