Quicken app gives small business owners holistic view of money

Business News

Courtesy of Quicken Quicken is launching a new money management product for small business owners that will compete with banks and pull in bank account data from aggregators.The product is being released as an upgrade tier for the company’s personal finance app Quicken Simplifi, which launched in early 2020 to expand Quicken’s demographic to younger users. The company’s flagship software, Quicken Classic, has included business management offerings since 1997 but is not designed to aggregate data from outside sources.”Quicken Classic has had a business tier for many, many, many years,” said Tara Pugh, lead product manager for Quicken Business & Personal. “What we’re doing with Quicken Simplifi… is we’re finally adding that business piece to it.”The new product, named Quicken Business & Personal, is designed to meet the needs of self-employed and small business owners by bringing their business and personal finances together in one mobile interface.”We’re really trying to make this whole process simple,” Pugh said, “so that you as the business owner are investing your time in the things that matter, which is your business, your clients, and growing that business, not managing your accounting system.”Traditionally, managing business and personal accounts requires toggling between, and sometimes paying for, multiple programs. “When you’re newer in business, the reality is that the income that you earn from your business is your personal income,” Pugh said. “Seeing money separated into personal only and business only, for a lot of people, it doesn’t really tell the complete story.” The Quicken Business & Personal product features options for a user to toggle between separate and combined dashboards for their personal and business accounts on the app as needed. Screenshot of a sample profit loss report in Quicken’s Business & Personal app. Since Quicken is hosting all of a user’s sensitive financial data in one place, Quicken uses 256-bit encryption for both its newest product and its core app, Quicken Simplifi. “We follow all of the industry security around banking as well,” Pugh said. “We work closely with the three aggregators that we use, and they are obviously compliant with the banking requirements of aggregating their service.” Quicken uses Intuit as its primary data aggregator; it also uses Plaid and Finicity. Quicken was originally developed by Intuit in 1994 as its first product launch. Quicken then became an independent company through a sale in 2016.Quicken’s product joins a collection of fintech companies, such as Sage, Freshbooks and Xero, offering financial services to small businesses. The banks that many of these small businesses use to facilitate their transactions do not yet have the same kind of in-house offerings for cash flow management for their customers, according to Alenka Grealish, principal analyst in Celent’s financial services practice. Third-party fintech software providers like Quicken are currently ahead of banks in the workflow sector, Grealish said in an interview, because “they are already helping small businesses with workflows, whether it’s managing accounts payable, accounts receivable, and of course the net cash flow. I’ve been advising banks to pay a lot more attention to workflows and offer cash-flow tools, and importantly cash-flow forecasts. Very often the small business fails not because they don’t have a good value proposition business model, it’s because they had a cash shortfall that surprised them… so forecasting is a really important element.”The Quicken Simplifi app currently includes a Projected Cash Flow feature that anticipates upcoming bills. According to a company spokesperson, Quicken Business & Personal includes the same cash flow forecasting and projection capabilities as Quicken Simplifi.For banks, aggregating a user’s financial data the way Quicken is doing offers them an opportunity to, through customer consent, gain more access to additional information they wouldn’t otherwise have. “Business bankers are eager to know whether or not a new client has cash parked at another financial institution (FI) or is an active user of another FI’s credit card,” Grealish wrote in a 2023 Celent report. “Fortunately, thanks to third-party data aggregation partners, FI data is readily accessible. Moreover, thanks to rising use of business apps, additional external data is increasingly accessible and growing in volume.”Data aggregation between banks and third-party financial software providers is becoming common practice in the industry, whether for personal or business accounts.”Banks have been having one-way sync and two-way sync for personal and business for a while,” Grealish said. “They’re much more interested in providing it to businesses, because they’re hoping businesses will pull more data onto their platform and allow them to have better visibility into their cash flow.” Screenshot of a sample spending plan in Quicken’s Business & Personal app. Higher cash-flow visibility would also give banks the opportunity to do cash-flow-based underwriting for small businesses that might otherwise not qualify in a traditional credit underwriting method. “They have great incentive to do it for businesses,” Grealish said. “Getting permission to use it for underwriting, whether it’s simply a small business loan, credit card or credit line or term loan, they’d love to have more data, because more data means more visibility and greater ability to assess risk holistically.”Quicken’s new app feature should give it an advantage over banks in marketing to more entrepreneurial consumers, Grealish said.”Individuals that already use some personal financial management software are pretty diligent,” she said. “It’s methodical to have to do that to begin with, and that’s some fraction of the population. So if they’re running a business, the corollary would be they probably are already using business software. If they’re starting a new business then that would be, ‘Oh, I’m starting a business, and I’m a current customer. Wouldn’t it be great to just know the interface already; I’ll just choose Quicken by default.'”With Quicken adding their Business & Personal feature to their already existing app Simplifi, the company is initially targeting the product to an existing consumer base of individuals who manage their personal finances through Quicken.”The sweet spot is somebody who’s already diligent and comfortable using software for their personal financial management, so of course they’re going to use software for their business financial management,” Grealish said.Next steps for the new Quicken product will include integration with other apps small business owners use so they can consolidate existing data by migrating it over.”Right now it would be a manual process,” Pugh said. “I want to keep building more features, more solutions, a lot more integrations like that. That’ll be something that I’m going to be looking at over the next year, two years: what are the things that we can do to make this product better for our users? We’ll be talking to them… if that’s what they need, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Biden-Harris Administration Awards Additional $210M Tech Hub Grants

Technology

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced that it plans to award approximately $210 million in implementation grants, ranging between approximately $22 million and $48 million, to six Tech Hub Designees as part of a new round of funding from Congress. In addition, EDA intends to partner with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to extend tailored resources and personalized support to Tech Hubs. This builds on the July 2024 announcement of $504 million for 12 Tech Hubs across America, bringing the total to more than $700 million for 18 centers of excellence focused on jobs and industries of the future.
Credit: Shutterstock
The six latest Hubs selected for implementation grants are among the 31 Tech Hubs designated in October 2023 by President Biden to scale up the production of critical technologies, create jobs in innovative industries, strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness and national security, and accelerate the growth of industries of the future in regions across the United States.
“To out-innovate and out-build the rest of the world, we need to ensure we’re investing in America’s talent and workforce to succeed in a 21st century economy – that’s how America maintains its competitive edge,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “The Tech Hubs Program and this latest allocation of funds are the result of bipartisan cooperation in Congress – I hope that good-faith work will endure so we can continue to invest in these centers of excellence across the nation, which in return, are providing good-paying jobs in industries of the future and helping to strengthen U.S. economic and national security.”
“We are so pleased that bipartisan support in Congress for the Tech Hubs Program will allow us to make even more impactful investments in the future of America’s economy and national competitiveness,” said Cristina Killingsworth, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This implementation funding will empower the six Tech Hubs to spur technology commercialization, create jobs, attract private investment, and fortify their regional economy as a global leader in their respective technology focus.”
These new awardees, all designated Tech Hubs that have not previously received Tech Hubs implementation funds, made a strong case that with targeted investment they can advance a critical technology important to American economic and national security. This new round of awards is funded by new appropriations from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA also includes a provision that could provide the Tech Hubs Program additional funding of up to $280 million in the coming years.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce

Tourism surpasses 4 million visitors in 2024

Travel

Tourist arrivals in 2024 surpassed 4 million for the first time, breaking the previous record of 3,976,777 set in 2019. Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis hailed the milestone as a historic achievement, accompanied by another record: revenue is projected to exceed €3 billion.Arrivals increased by 5.1 per cent compared to 3,845,652 tourists in 2023. December alone set a new historical record, with 133,063 arrivals compared to 123,630 in December 2023, marking a 7.6 per cent increase, according to the Statistical Service.

In a written statement, Koumis said the data “officially seals the tourism success of 2024, a success that belongs to the entire tourism ecosystem of our country.”

Koumis acknowledged the challenges faced by the sector, including the Middle East crisis, economic conditions in Europe, and ongoing issues in aviation. He emphasised the importance of bolstering the sector’s resilience, which includes thousands of businesses.

“We are committed to investing in education and improving our tourism products and services, knowing that we must address emerging challenges, with climate change being the most significant,” he added.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for December 2024, with a share of 23.7 per cent (31,501) of total arrivals, followed by Israel with 17.4 per cent (23,168), Poland with 9.4 per cent (12,473), Greece with 9 per cent (11,969) and Germany with 5.7 per cent (7,535).

For 49.6 per cent of tourists, the purpose of their trip in December 2024 was holidays, for 37.5 per cent visit to friends and relatives and for 12.7 per cent business.

In December 2023, 58.4 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 30.4 per cent visited friends or relatives and 11 per cent visited Cyprus for business reasons.

A total of 168,022 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in December 2024 compared to 153,736 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 9.3 per cent.

The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in December 2024 were Greece with a share of 31.2 per cent (52,344), the United Kingdom with 13.7 per cent (22,995) and Poland with 5.3 per cent (8,956).

The purpose of travel for the residents of Cyprus in December 2024 was mainly holidays, with 65.7 per cent, whilst business reasons were 16.3 per cent, studies 17.6 per cent and other reasons 0.4 per cent.

Malta-based scientists test environmentally friendly anti-biofouling coatings

Science and Health

The growth of microorganisms, algae and animals on the surface of structures in contact with water, known as biofouling, damages boats and marine infrastructures and requires control actions to preserve their integrity. 
Most of the removal actions involve the use of biocides and antifouling coatings containing toxic components. These chemicals contaminate the water column and enter the trophic web. This means that toxic compounds used to prevent organisms from ruining marine structures and equipment have the potential to end up in the fish we eat. An example of these toxic compounds used in the past is tributyltin (TBT). This marine biocide commonly used for its anti-biofouling property is very toxic and scientists found that it accumulates in the organisms’ tissue, and it can disrupt the endocrine system. Due to its toxicity, the European Commission Parliament banned TBT in 2004. Following this regulation, new antifouling products were developed using other biocidal materials such as coatings containing copper oxide. However, these alternative coatings used worldwide still show several forms of toxicity on not-targeted marine organisms. 
A research project focusing on the development of environmentally friendly and cost-effective new antifouling coatings, was funded in 2021 by the MarTERA – ERA-NET Cofund on Marine Technologies. The project is called PRONICARE (transnational cooperation for protecting niche areas from marine corrosion and biofouling by green coatings and new testing technologies) and it’s a joint effort of six partners from Norway, Germany and Malta. The company leading the project, SINTEF AS, together with Bioenvision, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Ankron Water Service, Bioenvision, and the Maltese consultancy firm AquaBioTech Group, are collaborating to develop a sustainable thin coating with functional antifouling and anti-corrosion additives made with high-tech nanomaterial-based formulations. The consortium will assess the performance of the new coatings and their environmental impact. 
AquaBioTech Group is playing a major role in the project by testing the effectiveness of the newly developed anti-biofouling coating. Scientists working for the company are testing the toxicity of the new formulations on different marine organisms. Some organisms utilised in the study are simple species, like bacteria, algae and microcrustaceans that are involved in the first stages of the biofouling process (microfoulers). But the scientists are also testing the newly developed products on more complex species that intervene in the later stages of biofouling (macrofoulers). One of these organisms is the marine mussel Brachidontes pharaonis. Native of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, this mussel has now widely diffused in the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, and it is often found infesting marine structures. 
Detail of a mussel from an experiment performed at AquaBioTech Group (Malta). Arrows indicate the mussel’s byssus threads, used to attach to hard surfaces. The coatings under development reduce the production of these structures.
Mussels have a characteristic byssus thread, a protein filament that allow the individuals to attach to different substrates. Under the effect of pollution and environmental toxicants, the byssus production can decrease or cease, and the attachment to the substrate can be weakened. This compromises the resistance of the mussels to the action of wave and predators.  
AquaBioTech Group is investigating how different coatings developed by PRONICARE partners, decrease the ability of some organisms to attach to marine structures by compromising the production of byssus. Scientists observed that, when the mussels are exposed to some coatings, the byssus production is reduced and there is a minor number of mussels attached to the surface. These results are very promising, and hopefully they will lead to development of a product that keeps boats and marine structures safe without damaging the marine environment. 
The study is also contributing to understand better the mechanisms of biofouling, a very important topic investigated by many scientists around the world. 
Project PRONICARE is funded by the MarTERA partners – Xjenza Malta, Norges forskningsråd – The Research Council of Norway, and Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz and is supported by the European Commission. 
Project PRONICARE is funded by the MarTERA partners – Xjenza Malta, Norges forskningsråd – The Research Council of Norway, and Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz and is supported by the European Commission.

New Children’s Book Set At Oaklawn Park

Arts & Culture, Books

A new children’s book set against the backdrop of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been released. Ollie the Oaklawn Owl: Whoooo’s That Jockey? is the second book in an educational series written by Mary Rampellini of Daily Racing Form. The work is illustrated by retired jockey and award-winning artist Renee Torbit.In his latest adventure, main character Ollie learns about the courage it takes to ride racehorses, the equipment jockeys wear, and why racing silks are different colors.
“Mary’s books provide our youth a great tool to better understand and appreciate one of the most distinguished sports in American history,” Oaklawn’s Louis Cella said. “The lessons in these stories are so important for the future generation of racing fans, and the knowledge kids will take away about our human and equine athletes is invaluable.”

The book is available at Oaklawn Park and online, as well as at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame gift shop in Saratoga Springs, New York.

New Children’s Book Set At Oaklawn Park

Arts & Culture, Books

A new children’s book set against the backdrop of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been released. Ollie the Oaklawn Owl: Whoooo’s That Jockey? is the second book in an educational series written by Mary Rampellini of Daily Racing Form. The work is illustrated by retired jockey and award-winning artist Renee Torbit.In his latest adventure, main character Ollie learns about the courage it takes to ride racehorses, the equipment jockeys wear, and why racing silks are different colors.
“Mary’s books provide our youth a great tool to better understand and appreciate one of the most distinguished sports in American history,” Oaklawn’s Louis Cella said. “The lessons in these stories are so important for the future generation of racing fans, and the knowledge kids will take away about our human and equine athletes is invaluable.”

The book is available at Oaklawn Park and online, as well as at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame gift shop in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The best new books for toddlers, teens and those in between

Arts & Culture, Books

V It is the eve of Beatriz de Luna’s 12th birthday and her mind is filled with fashionable clothes, party entertainers and presents. But church-going Beatriz’s biggest birthday surprise is the revelation that she is Jewish. And in 16th-century Portugal, that means danger. Beatriz’s struggle to come to terms with her new identity is well portrayed, and will speak to 21st-century readers. But the story soon moves on to her adulthood, when Beatriz (concealing her Jewish name, Gracia Nasi), is married to a wealthy merchant, who is also a converso (hidden Jew) – and part of a network helping captured conversos escape the Inquisition. The Girl with the Secret Name by Yael Zoldan (Green Bean Books, £12.99), with its tapestried backdrop of 16th-century Europe, has the historical and emotional heft of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait and the immediacy of contemporary YA, and will bring the (fictionalised) story of a real-life Jewish feminist heroine to a wider teen and YA readership.
For young ones who are reluctant to get out of bed on these winter mornings, Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod’s Baila the Klopper (Kar-Ben, £14.99) will sound the right note. Pre-alarm clock, the klopper would summon the community to morning prayer by tapping on their doors and chanting. Shirley Waisman’s illustrations show an entertaining variety of weary expressions on the faces of villagers awoken by Baila (check out the droopy-eyelidded goat). Bagels, from charred to sublimely chewy, play a key part in the story and the human characters also have an endearing roundness. Age up to six.
There is an heirloom feel to Pandora and the Story Forge by Gaynor Andrews, illustrated by Marie-Alice Harel (Rocket Bird Books, £12.99). Pandora hoards words, forges them, mixes and bakes them, spins them into blankets and tales for children, who themselves become writers. Harel makes spellbinding use of graphics, weaving words into the peachy-toned fairytale illustrations, and the magic is reinforced by printing the rhyming text in a calligraphic font. An unusual gift book for age up to seven.
In Rachel Lynn Solomon’s enemies-to-lovers romance Past Present Future and its sequel Tonight Tomorrow (Simon & Schuster, £8.99) Rowan and Neil, both mainstream Jewish, meet at school and attempt a long-distance relationship at university. They inhabit a world of JSocs, Friday-night dinners and casual antisemitism that will feel more familiar to UK readers than most happy-go-lucky Jewish American YA.

The best new books for toddlers, teens and those in between

Arts & Culture, Books

V It is the eve of Beatriz de Luna’s 12th birthday and her mind is filled with fashionable clothes, party entertainers and presents. But church-going Beatriz’s biggest birthday surprise is the revelation that she is Jewish. And in 16th-century Portugal, that means danger. Beatriz’s struggle to come to terms with her new identity is well portrayed, and will speak to 21st-century readers. But the story soon moves on to her adulthood, when Beatriz (concealing her Jewish name, Gracia Nasi), is married to a wealthy merchant, who is also a converso (hidden Jew) – and part of a network helping captured conversos escape the Inquisition. The Girl with the Secret Name by Yael Zoldan (Green Bean Books, £12.99), with its tapestried backdrop of 16th-century Europe, has the historical and emotional heft of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait and the immediacy of contemporary YA, and will bring the (fictionalised) story of a real-life Jewish feminist heroine to a wider teen and YA readership.
For young ones who are reluctant to get out of bed on these winter mornings, Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod’s Baila the Klopper (Kar-Ben, £14.99) will sound the right note. Pre-alarm clock, the klopper would summon the community to morning prayer by tapping on their doors and chanting. Shirley Waisman’s illustrations show an entertaining variety of weary expressions on the faces of villagers awoken by Baila (check out the droopy-eyelidded goat). Bagels, from charred to sublimely chewy, play a key part in the story and the human characters also have an endearing roundness. Age up to six.
There is an heirloom feel to Pandora and the Story Forge by Gaynor Andrews, illustrated by Marie-Alice Harel (Rocket Bird Books, £12.99). Pandora hoards words, forges them, mixes and bakes them, spins them into blankets and tales for children, who themselves become writers. Harel makes spellbinding use of graphics, weaving words into the peachy-toned fairytale illustrations, and the magic is reinforced by printing the rhyming text in a calligraphic font. An unusual gift book for age up to seven.
In Rachel Lynn Solomon’s enemies-to-lovers romance Past Present Future and its sequel Tonight Tomorrow (Simon & Schuster, £8.99) Rowan and Neil, both mainstream Jewish, meet at school and attempt a long-distance relationship at university. They inhabit a world of JSocs, Friday-night dinners and casual antisemitism that will feel more familiar to UK readers than most happy-go-lucky Jewish American YA.