In a news conference on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed American taxpayers can delay paying income taxes for 2019 “on up to $1 million in taxes owed” until July 15th. The three-month reprieve will apply to many pass-through small businesses and entities, and corporate tax filers will also have 90 days to pay “amounts due on up to $10 million in taxes owed,” according to Mnuchin. During this time, filers are not subject to penalties and interest. In the press conference, the Treasury Secretary encouraged Americans who are able, to file their taxes on the previous due date of April 15th as many Americans will receive tax refunds. According to CNBC, as of March 6, the IRS processed more than 65 million in income tax returns. Of those, 52.7 million filers on average received $3,012 in refunds. However, it is recommended for taxpayers to check in on their state’s tax developments as deferrals will vary from state to state in response to the coronavirus. Also announced this week, the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, revealed in a news briefing that he will delay the next quarter of VAT payments owed by firms. The deferral will be until the end of June and is expected to inject £30bn into the economy.
This week, Amazon announced plans to hire an additional 100,000 employees across the U.S. to meet the surge in demand from online shopping amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company is also opening its doors to workers from other industries who may have lost their jobs or been furloughed. In a statement, the company said, “We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal, and their past employer is able to bring them back.” The move comes as consumers are increasingly relying on online retailers, and Amazon is faced with increased demand on multiple fronts.
Amazon continues to dominate as an e-commerce machine, making up 39% of all online orders in the U.S., according to eMarketer, which tracks online retail. As such, many Americans have turned to the company for various goods as they stock up on items and practice social distancing. Additionally, the company is raising pay for all employees in the U.S, U.K, and Canada. This should benefit Amazon affiliates and vendors short term and into the longer term as more people shift to buying online.
Zoom, the conferencing services company, along with a host of remote working apps, has been thrust into the spotlight as remote working and learning is surging for governments and businesses. Universities and schools are widely closed, forcing students at all levels to complete their work on the platforms. Microsoft, Slack, and remote collaboration apps are working at an unprecedented pace to meet the demands on their services. AwwApp, a popular online whiteboard tool designed for business or educational institution use, where users can invite team members or clients to collaborate by sharing a single URL link, has experienced extraordinary growth due to a spike in demand for tools of this nature. Currently, two of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world are testing the service and are in talks to sign long-term contracts with the business.
The Small Business Association has announced it will be offering up to $2 million to non-profits and small businesses in low-interest loans with the option of “long-term repayments with a maximum of up to 30 years.” The assistance is being offered to the over 30 million small businesses that could be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In an address made Wednesday evening, Donald Trump stated this aid will help small businesses through this temporary economic disruption and that he is “asking Congress to increase funding for this program by an additional $50 billion.” On Thursday, the SBA revealed it is offering “disaster recovery loans” to provide working capital for small businesses in designated states and territories. The process for accessing the SBA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Relief Lending can be found at the link above.
In SEO news, Bing has launched an online portal to help educate developers, web site owners, and SEOs on how to get their content and URLs discovered quicker and more efficiently than with traditional crawling methods. According to Search Engine Land, the portal offers an overview of Bing’s indexing and content submission APIs along with details of their unique features, API usage, developer documentation, tips, announcements and FAQs.
New in FE exclusive listings, is an Enterprise SaaS business in the Event Management Software niche that offers solutions for both virtual and physical events. Listed at $963,000 and launched in 2015, the business offers all-encompassing software for event management, allowing marketing and field sales teams to leverage the unprecedented shift to online events due to the coronavirus pandemic. The software, aimed at large global enterprises with high-frequency event needs, provides a complete solution for virtual events with a suite of web and mobile applications providing a clear digital footprint of all attendees and sales prospects. Over its five-year operational history, the software has hosted c.8,800 events. This business presents a solid acquisition opportunity for a new owner looking to take over a scalable B2B SaaS business with a well-trained team staying on post-sale, a sticky customer base with a monthly churn rate of c.1%, and a firm foothold in a rapidly innovating niche. If you are interested in this business, please follow the link above to request a prospectus.
In media news, this week, CEO Ismael Wrixen was interviewed on the Leveling Up podcast with Eric Siu. During their conversation, Wrixen breaks down figure jumps in revenue and deals, why FE International prefers using a cash on success pricing strategy over retainers; plus the quantity ratios, and strategy differences between FE’s handling of deals in E-commerce, SaaS, and content spaces respectively. To listen to the full conversation, tune in here: LU 347: A Look Inside One of the World’s Fastest-Growing SaaS Companies
Have you received your complimentary subscription to SaaS Mag? The quarterly magazine is gearing up to release its next edition, and the editors would hate for you to miss out on behind-the-scenes interviews with SaaS leaders, industry updates & outlooks, and the #SaaS1000 list, the definitive ranking of top performers. Find out which companies made the list. Subscribe for free and we’ll send a copy right to your door.
Continue reading below for more on Amazon, the coronavirus pandemic and more.
Listings
New
SaaS – Enterprise Event Management Software – $500K ARR
- Highly regarded B2B SaaS business in the event management software niche
- Clear market fit with over 1M attendees hosted using the software over 2019
- Highly attractive SaaS metrics with high LTV of c.$67,000
- Glowing user reception with stellar 5-star reviews on third-party review sites
Yearly net profit: $251,000
Asking price: $963,000
- Firm positioning in the lucrative home, beauty and tech niche aimed at a vast Spanish speaking audience
- Vast content library with c.1,000 articles and demo videos helping secure rankings for c.53,000 keywords
- Impressive volume of traffic with c.1,400,000 visitors over the L12M
- Lean and scalable cost structure driving high net margins
Yearly net profit: $36,000
Asking price: $100,000
Sold
Affiliate – Tools & Hardware Reviews – $6.2K gross/mo
Affiliate – DIY & Home Improvement Resource – $1.9K gross/mo
In the News…
Amazon to Hire 100,000 Workers
Amazon announced this week it will hire 100,000 additional workers to compensate for the drastic increase in online shopping orders. Through the end of April, the e-commerce giant plans to add more full-time and part-time openings consisting of delivery and warehouse workers. Amazon employees have also been granted a $2 per hour bonus on top of their current wages which are no less than $15 per hour. Amazon is encouraging individuals who have been laid off due to the coronavirus to apply, including workers in the restaurant, hospitality, and tourism industries.
Demand for Remote Work Apps Surges
With an overwhelming surge in demand for remote work software tools, companies Microsoft, Zoom, Get Report, and Slack, among other smaller providers, will be tested over the course of the pandemic crisis as the world turns to them for solutions. Microsoft reported an influx of 12 million new users just last week, while Slack was able to take on 7,000 new paid customers from February to mid-march. Microsoft saw a shares increase by more than 4%. In response to the situation, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated,“We’re going to learn a tremendous amount and transform how we work together.”
SBA Offers Disaster Assistance Loans
With over 30 million small businesses at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, the SBA is offering some financial relief for small businesses and nonprofits by offering up to $2 million in low-interest loans. On Wednesday, Donald Trump stated, “I am instructing the Small Business Administration to exercise available authority to provide capital and liquidity to firms affected by the coronavirus.” With these funds, small business owners can pay off debts, manage payroll, accounts payable, and other additional bills. According to reports, “these relief loans are 3.75 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for non-profit organizations.”
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