- How to Calculate Inventory Turnover Ratio
The number of times a business sells and replaces its stock over a given time period is its inventory turnover ratio. The inventory turnover ratio, also sometimes called stock turns or inventory turns, helps retailers monitor and manage inventory. The… read more…
- What Are Current Liabilities?
Current liabilities are short-term business debts that are due to be paid before the end of the current fiscal year. These upcoming charges are reported on a company’s balance sheet. Current liabilities include obligations such as accounts payable and amounts… read more…
- Private Label: What It Is, Examples & More
Private label products are purchased by a retailer from a manufacturer and sold under the retailer’s own brand. Private label brands, also known as store brands, compete with national name brand products, often primarily on price but also sometimes on… read more…
- Guide to Short-Term Business Loans
If you need working capital for your small business over a period of three years or less, a short-term business loan could be right for you. Short-term loans help businesses acquire needed equipment, hire new staff and address cash flow… read more…
- What Is a Sinking Fund?
Say you have a $10,000 loan and are considering how to pay for it. You have two choices to make. One way would be to increase the amount you pay or the frequency of your payments. However, a second way… read more…
- Pros and Cons of a Mixed Economy
A mixed economy is an economy that incorporates elements of both free market transactions and government control. While a mixed economy generally allows private property and prices, it also will typically have sectors or industries controlled or subsidized to a… read more…
- Prenup vs. Postnup: What’s the Difference?
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are both legal documents that address what will happen to marital assets if a married couple divorces or one of them dies. Both agreements describe similar matters, including division of financial assets and payment of alimony.… read more…
- How Does Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) Work?
Some people plan where every dollar of their budget goes. This method is called zero-based budgeting, and it involves allocating every dollar of income to your expenses, debts and savings. In other words, the goal of this method is that… read more…
- What Is a K-Shaped Recovery?
A “K-shaped” recovery is when different sections of an economy rebound from a recession at different rates. This can apply to many different forms of economic analysis, but in practice it most often means that low-income households lag behind high-income… read more…
- Guide to Investing in Value Funds
Choosing the right investment strategy matters when trying to build wealth in your portfolio. Some investors favor growth, for instance, while others look for value in the markets. If the latter approach sounds like your style then investing in a… read more…
- What Is a Glide Path?
Target-date funds can offer a streamlined solution for retirement investing. These mutual funds feature an asset allocation that automatically shifts over time as you get closer to your target retirement date. Each target date fund’s allocation shift is determined by… read more…
- What Is Trade Credit?
Trade credit is an arrangement that allows a business to acquire goods or services from another business without making an immediate payment. This ability to buy now and pay later is an important financing tool for businesses, especially those too… read more…
- Understanding Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)
Accounting rate of return is a tool used to decide whether it makes financial sense to proceed with a costly equipment purchase, acquisition of another company or another sizable business investment. It is the average annual net income the investment… read more…
- A Guide to Interest Coverage Ratio
Interest coverage ratio, or ICR, is used to evaluate a company’s ability to pay the interest it owes on its debts. There is no generally agreed upon standard for what makes a healthy ICR across all industries. A higher value… read more…
- SmartAsset Wins Folio Award for COVID-19 Content
SmartAsset’s editorial content has been recognized as a winner at the 2020 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards! Our COVID-19 series, “Helping Consumers and Businesses Weather Economic Changes,” won the award in the Consumer, News/General Interest category. Additionally, the content series was an honorable mention in the Consumer News Coverage category, alongside coverage from Popular Science… read more…
- How to Calculate Return on Assets
The strength of a company isn’t just about how much money it makes. Investors also want to know how efficiently a company uses its assets, over a set period of time, based on its size and compared to its peers.… read more…
- What Is a Command Economy?
National economies can be run from the top down, so to speak, in what is sometimes called a command economy or they can be run from the bottom up in what is sometimes called a free market. In the former,… read more…
- Best Budgeting Apps of 2025
Maintaining a budget is one of the first steps in achieving good financial health. There are different ways to make and keep a monthly budget, including writing it out by hand, using a spreadsheet or logging your expenses in a… read more…
- What Is Indemnity Insurance?
Running a business or pursuing certain professional career paths often means having the right insurance in place to protect yourself against liability claims. Indemnity insurance is one type of business and professional insurance you may consider purchasing. This type of… read more…
- How Does Capital Budgeting Work?
Capital budgeting aims to highlight the risks and rewards of a business’s major investment proposals to determine if the ideas are really worth it. To do this, capital budgeting attempts to quantify the anticipated costs and benefits of each acquisition… read more…
- What Does a Financial Analyst Do?
When you need financial advice on how to manage your investments or create a financial plan, there are numerous experts who can help. Financial analysts, for example, spend their time diving into economic and stock market data to help create… read more…
- What Is a 501(c)(3) Organization?
The section of the Internal Revenue Service code that describes the requirements for nonprofit entities, including public charities and private foundations, is known as 501(c)3. This section explains the benefits of nonprofit status, including most notably the ability to deduct… read more…
- How to Do a SWOT Analysis for a Business
A SWOT analysis, which is an acronym for a business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, helps business managers think in new ways, sometimes about things they would prefer to avoid considering, such as the business’s weaknesses. When performed before starting a… read more…
- What Is A Lien, and How Does It Work?
Liens are bad news, at least if you’re on the receiving end. A lien is a legal claim placed on someone’s property, whether personal or business. It’s issued to settle a debt or enforce a judgment, or as a guarantee to… read more…
- A Guide to Free Market Economies
A free market economy is one in which prices and earnings are set between private actors and determined by market forces such as supply and demand. These economies can have greater or lesser degrees of government regulation, but it is… read more…