How this site makes money
Short version: some links here earn us a commission, they are marked
sponsored, they cost you
nothing extra, and they do not decide who we rank first.
Last updated [LAST UPDATED - set on publish]
Small Biz Primer is reader-supported. When you sign up for a product or service through a link on this site, we may receive a commission from that company. This is an advertising relationship and it is disclosed here and on every page where those links appear, as US Federal Trade Commission guidance requires.
What that means in practice
We write comparison and review pages about things small business owners buy: company formation services, accounting software, CRMs, project management tools, business loans and business banking. Many of the companies behind those products run affiliate programmes. If you click one of our links and then sign up, buy or get approved, the company pays us a referral fee.
You never pay more because of it. The price you get is the company's normal price, and in some cases a better one because of a partner arrangement. The fee comes out of the company's marketing budget, not your pocket.
Where the commissions come from
These are the categories on this site that carry commercial links:
- LLC and business formation services - including our best LLC services comparison and formation guidance. Formation services typically pay a fixed fee per completed order.
- Accounting and invoicing software - including the accounting software comparison and the QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Wave comparison. Usually a recurring or first-payment commission.
- CRM and business software - including our CRM and project management comparisons.
- Business loans and financing - including our small business loans and SBA loan pages. Lenders and marketplaces may pay a fee for a funded application or a qualified lead. We are not a lender, a broker or a loan originator, and we do not take a cut of your loan.
- Business banking - if and when we publish banking comparisons, those will carry the same disclosure.
Current programme list: [LIST THE AFFILIATE PROGRAMMES YOU HAVE ACTUALLY JOINED - e.g. named formation services, named software vendors, named loan marketplaces. Add each one only once you are accepted into it, and delete any you leave.]
How we mark paid links
- Every affiliate link carries
rel="sponsored"in the HTML, which tells search engines it is a commercial link. - Every page containing affiliate links shows a visible disclosure box above the content, before you reach the first link. You should never have to scroll to find out that a page is monetised.
- Buttons and comparison tables that lead to a partner are covered by the same disclosure on that page.
What money does not buy
This is the part that matters.
- Position. Our rankings are decided before commercial terms are discussed. A higher commission does not move a product up a list, and no company can pay to be ranked first.
- Silence. If a product we earn from has a weakness - an expensive renewal, a feature it lacks, poor support - we say so on the page where we earn from it.
- Inclusion. We recommend free and no-commission options where they are the right answer. The IRS issues EINs free, you can file your own formation paperwork in most states, and Wave has a free tier. We say all three, and we earn nothing from any of them.
- Removal. A company cannot pay to have criticism taken down or to be removed from a comparison it comes out badly in.
Our full process is on the how we review section of the about page.
Sponsored posts
Separately from affiliate links, we intend to publish a limited number of sponsored articles paid for
by brands. Every one of those will be labelled as sponsored at the top of the article, and every brand
link inside it will carry rel="sponsored". The terms are public on our
advertise page. As of the last update to this page we have published
[NUMBER OF SPONSORED POSTS PUBLISHED - currently 0] sponsored posts.
Advertising and analytics
We may also run display advertising and we use analytics to understand which pages are useful. What we collect and how is covered in the privacy policy.
Not professional advice
Everything on Small Biz Primer is general educational information about how business formation, financing and software generally work in the United States. It is not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, and reading it does not create a professional relationship. Rules vary by state and by circumstance. Before you make a decision with real money or real liability attached, speak to a licensed attorney or accountant.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think a page is not disclosed properly, tell us at hello@smallbizprimer.com. We would rather fix it than argue about it.