CAPLines Program: Reengineered to Help Meet Working Capital Needs

The new CAPLines program gives small businesses more flexibility to finance the contracts, subcontracts, and purchase orders they compete for and win – both in the public and private sector.  By addressing the short-term and cyclical working capital needs of small businesses, the revolving line of credit will help small businesses manage their cash cycle, scale up and create jobs.

Background

The CAPLines program was reworked to help more small businesses finance contracts through an SBA revolving line of credit.

Today, small businesses often compete for contracts to help them scale up and create jobs.  One of the biggest “growing pains” associated with winning a new contract is the business often does not have the necessary cash on-hand to hire workers and buy materials to help fulfill the order.  CAPLines provides a path for these small businesses to finance contracts while avoiding high-interest rates.

Formerly, CAPLines was an underutilized SBA working capital program.  This year, the SBA engaged over 150 community lenders in all 50 states to uncover ways the program could work more effectively for both SBA lending partners and small businesses themselves. 

Key benefits of the new CAPLines program:

ü  Small businesses can pledge accounts receivable, inventory, contracts, and purchase orders in order to secure an SBA revolving line of credit.  For example, when fulfilling a purchase order request, that same order can be used as collateral to obtain an SBA-guaranteed line of credit to hire more workers and buy more materials.

ü  Small business subcontractors can now obtain an SBA-guaranteed line of credit to finance their work on a contract with a federal prime contractor. 

ü  The SBA will no longer require small business owners without buildings or equipment to use their personal assets as collateral to secure working capital. 

ü  Small businesses working on a contract that requires surety bonding can obtain an SBA-guaranteed line of credit.

In addition, small businesses that use CAPLines will benefit from the new increased SBA 7(a) loan limit of $5 million, which went into effect with the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.  These larger loan sizes will help small businesses that are poised to win bigger contracts and create a significant number of jobs.

If you think that the new CAPLines program might be helpful to you – contact an SBA office near you and ask for a Lender Relations Specialist.

Small Businesses Find Support at Sno-Isle Libraries

Marysville, Wash. — Some of us don’t take technology for granted. Bill Church, owner of Bow Wow Bill’s Dog Services, lives in an area of Arlington that isn’t wired for Internet access. This hasn’t stopped Bow Wow Bill from growing his dog walking and dog training business. He often visits the Arlington Library to use their business resources.

"I can always gain access to research or get in and do the nitty-gritty that needs to be done with my business: invoicing customers, maintaining a social media marketing campaign, setting up my domain name and website, emails," commented Bill. "Sno-Isle Libraries has been instrumental in helping me do all of these things."

Communities thrive when local companies succeed. Whether you’re pursuing a dream of starting a business or you’re an experienced business owner, you can find business services and online tools at Sno-Isle Libraries to help you succeed.

Sno-Isle Libraries is a partner to small businesses by providing access to information that helps make smart business decisions. Sno-Isle’s business services include: public computers and printers, free Wi-Fi, fax machines, computer classes, SCORE counselor sessions, online business databases, and the expertise of librarians to guide research.

Sno-Isle Libraries offers access to many free online databases crucial to business development. Business Plans eBookshelf gives examples of real business plans by entrepreneurs seeking funding. The Business Decision database creates reports on consumer or competitor demographics. For research on gathering client or vendor lists, the ReferenceUSdatabase provides quality information. These online resources, along with how-to videos, are available at www.sno-isle.org/explore/business.

For those who need personalized help, Sno-Isle offers the Book a Librarian service. Librarians will meet one-on-one with a patron for 30 to 60 minutes of instruction on using online resources or finding information.

The Lynnwood Library is Sno-Isle’s regional reference center for business and law and offers free one-on-one consulting sessions with SCORE, counselors to America’s small business. Self-service fax machines are available at five libraries: Darrington, Granite Falls, Lynnwood, Mukilteo and Oak Harbor. All 21 Sno-Isle community libraries have free Wi-Fi, public computers that can be reserved in advance, and friendly librarians eager to help.

For the last two years, Bow Wow Bill has been working hard to expand his business to include the publication of Dog Coach Magazine, expected to launch this fall. All of his online work was done using the library’s free Wi-Fi.

Being a partner in the economic growth of this region and helping local businesses succeed are important parts of Sno-Isle Libraries’ mission. Just ask Bow Wow Bill; with the support of Sno-Isle Libraries, there’s no telling how far he’ll take his puppy empire.

For more information on business services and online resources, visit www.sno-isle.org/business or ask a Sno-Isle Libraries staff member.

About Sno-Isle LibrariesSno-Isle Libraries serves 671,000 residents in Snohomish and Island counties. Sno-Isle has community libraries in Arlington, Brier, Camano Island, Clinton, Coupeville, Darrington, Edmonds, Freeland, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens, Langley, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, Snohomish, Stanwood, and Sultan, as well as bookmobile stops in communities and at senior centers. Services and materials include more than 1.3 million items, reference services, electronic databases and computer equipment, Internet access, outreach programs for the homebound and local daycares, and story times for children. For more information on library services in your area, please call the Sno-Isle Libraries

Service Center at 360-651-7000 or 1-877-SNO-ISLE (1-877-766-4753), or visit the website at www.sno-isle.org.

For more information, contact: For immediate release
Ken Harvey, Communications Director September 1, 2011
360.651.7030 email: kharvey@sno-isle.org