Business & self-employed, explained.
Compare financing, card and equipment costs for your business, wherever you work.
Understand the idea behind the numbers
Business cards for ad spend: what you really earn after FX, caps and fees
Paying for Meta, Google or TikTok ads by card? Calculate the net reward after currency markups, reward caps, point values, annual fees and interest, and avoid declined payments that pause campaigns.
Factor rate vs APR: what a business cash advance really costs per year
How to turn a merchant cash advance factor rate into an APR, why a factor rate of 1.3 can mean more than 100% a year, and how credit lines, term loans and invoice finance compare.
Lease, loan or cash? How to compare equipment financing in numbers
Leasing, an equipment loan, hire purchase or paying cash: a worked example with total cost and present value, what flips the answer, and simplified tax notes for the US, UK and Germany.
Bank accounts for freelancers: the three-account setup, the rules and the real costs
Do freelancers need a business bank account? How to separate money, set aside tax, check whether a provider is a bank or an e-money firm, and compare fees by your own transaction profile, with rules labelled by country.
Small business funding by country: where first money really comes from
Start-up and small business loans compared across the US, UK, Germany, India, Brazil and Canada: the funding ladder, public programmes with dates, personal guarantees and what lenders want to see.