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Samuel Thacker

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Member, BFS-USA Group LLC

30 points

Sam Thacker has spent the last 18 years in the banking and finance industry as a commercial loan officer, banking consultant, and business finance consultant. During his career, he has originated over $400 million in working capital, real estate, equipment ...

Sam Thacker has spent the last 18 years in the banking and finance industry as a commercial loan officer, banking consultant, and business finance consultant. During his career, he has originated over $400 million in working capital, real estate, equipment, and subordinated debt loans. He knows first hand the challenges small business owners face in today’s difficult credit climate. He is currently a partner in the Austin Texas based financial consulting firm, Business Finance Solutions which assists small businesses with financing challenges.

Sam has a passion for writing and teaching. He has guest lectured in the University of Texas IC2 program and has taught continuing education classes for Texas CPAs for much of the past 15 years. He currently teaches several classes a month on finance related topics to small business owners at Texas State University’s Small Business Development Center in Round Rock, Texas. Sam has a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University in San Marcos Texas.

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WEB: BFS-USA Group, LLC

July 27, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 16 other people answered this question

Is it better to back up my business's data on a traditional external HD or in the cloud? Pros? Cons?

I use both.
I have bought inexpensive external hard disk enclosures and taken an old but reliable HD and put them in the external enclosures. I have a back up program that does a back up at night to the external drive.
I also subscribe to Carbonite ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

May 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker recommends this answer by Diane Kennedy

Small Business Taxes Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for filing end-of-year taxes?

(1) Have up-to-date financial statements. These are critical for good planning.
(2) Get in touch with your tax pro as soon as possible. Estimate your taxes for the year and determine whether you can (and should) accelerate expenses and push off income to 2011.
(3) With ... more

General Management

Feb. 24, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 3 other people answered this question

Is B&N the culprit for Border's demise? What other factors played into Border's bankruptcy?

Here in Austin TX, Borders was always a better choice than B&N, but then Amazon came along and took market share from both of them. Then came the e-book reader. While Amazon dominates, B&N's Nook is pretty awesome too. Borders didn't really come to the ... more

Feb. 8, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 2 other people answered this question

Are there any other ways to build good credit besides paying credit card and loan bills on time?

1) Make sure your credit files are accurate with dnb.com and http://www.experian.com/small-business/services.jsp. There are a few other industry specific business credit bureaus too, so don't overlook them if you are in an industry that has one.
2) Self report your financial statements when the credit ... more

Financial Services

Merchant Services

Jan. 29, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 6 other people answered this question

Why is accrual accounting essential to control?

When you are seeking a loan from a bank or non-bank lender they are going to want to see you as "accrual" even if you are a cash basis bookkeeper for tax purposes. Too many things can slip through the cracks when you think "cash" ... more

Jan. 27, 2011

Samuel Thacker answered this question

What are the reasons to locate a start up in Austin?

I have lived in Austin since 1978 and work with many start-ups. We do have a very strong community of "been there, done that" people who are willing to help fledglings. Throughout the year there are free or inexpensive events that are held by the ... more

Information Technology

Jan. 27, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 12 other people answered this question

Which financial statement best speaks to the financial health of a business?

My answer comes always from a banker's viewpoint since that is the view that I am used to looking at financial statements. The three components of your company's balance sheet (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows) are all equally important. When a ... more

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker and 12 other people answered this question

What alternatives to Quickbooks are there for the small business?

From a banker's point of view, QuickBooks has come a very long way toward becoming the standard for small business bookkeeping programs. Using a ProAdvisor (as Ruth suggests) greatly improves the quality of your financial statements. Needless to say no accounting program is going to ... more

Accounting Software

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following Ruth Perryman

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Jan. 25, 2011

Samuel Thacker is now following

Sept. 21, 2010

Samuel Thacker and 6 other people answered this question

What is the best small business loan to go after?

Don't rule out going to a Community Development Financial Institution. Called CDFIs there are about 1,000 in the U.S. some are for profit, some are non-profit. All work under rules of the U.S. Treasury. They have been the shining star in the lending world during ... more

Best Small Business Loan

Sept. 21, 2010

Samuel Thacker and 7 other people answered this question

What CRM vendors offer the most seamless Microsoft Outlook integration/plugins?

It seems odd to me that your company would rule out Dnyanmic CRM given the tight way it integrates with numerous MS products including SharePoint, Office, and Outlook and the Exchange server. I used to be a MS CRM (versions 1-3) hater but have come ... more

June 20, 2010

Samuel Thacker recommends this answer by Rebecca Gill

Can a SEO consultant be successful without also being a website designer?

Colin,
There are people who are both and depending on the circumstances you can be one without the other. I started my consulting business as an SEO consultant and I quickly found myself being a WordPress website designer. WordPress and strong web design was the means ... more

Information Technology

Search Engine Optimization

Following 10 Topics

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