Category: Business Resources

Paying employees by direct deposit is a win-win. If you’re an employer, completing payroll electronically – via Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions – gives you more control over disbursements, saves time, and helps eliminate the costs associated with paper paychecks. Meanwhile, your employees can be sure their paychecks arrive on time, don’t have to worry about lost or stolen checks, and don’t need to run to the bank every payday. However, because ACH transactions are so common, and highly automated, they’re definitely a target of criminals. In this article, we provide tips for keeping your business safe.

As the owner of a small business, day-to-day operations keep you busy. Whether you're attending to your customers' needs or planning a new product launch, cybercriminals count on these and other necessary tasks to distract you from noticing their nefarious activities. Fortunately, you can protect your business from falling victim to cybertheft — including business wire fraud — by taking a few simple steps.

What’s the cost of doing business? For many businesses, answering that question is harder than it seems. The process for handling expenses varies from one business to the next, and many business owners have less control of expenditures than they’d like. This can lead to wasteful spending and other losses, potential cash flow problems, and a greater administrative burden. If you want…

If you’ve built a business or helped it grow, there’s one thing you can take for granted: You’re good at your job. It’s how you’ve gotten this far. But there’s something else you should know too. Amid the economic turbulence and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, your business’s success depends on far more than your professional expertise. Whether you’re a service provider, farmer, or…

Sometimes, staying highly efficient can come at a price. That’s one of the hard lessons that businesses learned during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many extra-efficient supply chains temporarily seized up as a result of reduced manufacturing activity, changing consumer demand, and distribution and transportation delays. Global supply chains are more complex than ever, and they’re designed for efficiency…

The marketplace is constantly changing. So when it comes to supporting the long-term success of your business, few things are more important than learning to adapt to new market conditions. It’s all about agility. But let’s be honest: Business owners crave stability. After all, once they’ve developed the skills and products to compete in their market, why would they want to continuously…

When business is good and the economy is humming along, business owners have little incentive to change their operations or strategy. But a new crisis has a way of magnifying existing problems. As COVID-19 abruptly ended America’s longest period of continuous economic growth, weaknesses in many companies’ business models became hard to ignore. Coronavirus-related business shutdowns and other disruptions are expected…

The low interest rate environment that currently exists in the United States is a double-edged sword.  On one side, it’s an opportunity for businesses to borrow money at a low interest rate making it easier to expand, purchase equipment or invest in new income earning assets.  But, businesses with a low leverage (i.e. few loans) or strong cash liquidity are penalized with little or no interest earned on the deposits they keep in bank accounts.  The good news is there are opportunities for business owners to maximize earnings on their cash.  Ephrata National Bank has compiled a list of 6 opportunities that could result in your money working harder for you.

A lack of funds to pay for direct expenses is one of the most significant challenges facing the non-profit sector. But non-profit organizations who provide patrons with an online giving option might have a better chance of achieving their annual giving benchmarks. Reducing the time frame between when a donor commits to giving and when they actually give is crucial to successful fundraising campaigns. When someone signs a donor card without providing the donation, there's always a chance they'll change their mind.