Key Bank CD-ROM gives financial answers

SYRACUSE - Finding answers to basic financial questions can be an exercise in frustration for small-business owners. Surfing the Internet often yields an overload of information without providing any specific answers.

To help answer money questions for small-business customers, KeyBank distributes

Created by Columbus Enterprise Development for KeyBank, the ActiveMoney disc is a primer on finding and securing money for small business. The disc includes links to the bank's site as well as to government-agency pages.

Users simply drop the ActiveMoney CD-ROM into a computer's drive, and the program begins automatically. The disc is divided into 10 chapters that cover topics such as where to get small-business financing and how to handle revenues. Each chapter has sub-chapters that explain other topics in detail. The explanations are step-by-step and don't assume any level of knowledge on the user's part.

The separation of topics and use of linking makes ActiveMoney 4 resource for small-business novices as well as veterans. If the user is unfamiliar with a topic or term, ActiveMoney provides detailed information at the click of a mouse. Users that already have that knowledge can skip the explanation.

The first chapter is an overview of the process of finding money for small business. Subsequent chapters address the "so how do I do that?" portion that is often missing from smallbusiness materials. The section includes 31 pages of stepby-step instructions on creating a business plan. The instructions have embedded Internet links that help users reach items such as standard industrial codes to classify their proposed enterprise.

The second chapter is an "interactive money finder" that uses a "how much do you need?" drop-down box and a "what will you use the money for?" box to deliver a list of financing sources. As in other parts of the disc, sub links get users close to the specific information they need.

Other chapters include "finding money sources," "developing a loan package," and special sections that give a closer look at funding options such as venture capital. One section covers government-loan sources such as the Small Business Administration. All the sections move seamlessly from the disc to agency Web pages.

To help with calculations, ActiveMoney has a section of interactive worksheets on which users can calculate figures for applications and other documents.

The finan

cing sections feature tips about popular topics such as "grants" and how free money isn't likely in most businesses' future.

Getting financing is only the first step in ActiveMoney's lineup. There's a chapter about customer credit that explains how business credit works. The credit-card portion takes users from the basic concept of the credit card through a page for ordering credit-card terminals.

Managing money is the final chapter in ActiveMoney. The chapter explains the use of tools such as QuickBooks and Microsoft Money to keep track of a smallbusiness' cashflow.

The interactive CD-ROM has become a handy tool for business-oriented college students. After a student at one St. Lawrence County college showed the ActiveMoney CD-ROM to classmates in his business program, other students contacted KeyBank to get their own copies.

The ActiveMoney CD-ROM puts a lot of information in one place and can be a helpful tool for entrepreneurs or students.

To request a copy of ActiveMoney, contact Yvonne Wheeler, KeyBank Central New York relationship associate for business banking, at (315) 470-5156.