If you run an eCommerce shop in 2025, your payment processor feels less like a vendor and more like a business partner you’re sort of stuck with. Square is the friendly neighborhood option: quick sign-up, clean hardware, and a website in an afternoon. Luqra walks in more like the quiet numbers nerd in the back … Read more
Most founders can relate to the feeling of excitement and optimism that comes with starting a business. But once you’re in the weeds with messy day-to-day operations, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows — especially the finances. If you’re looking to secure funding from investors, you’ll need proper financial management, including compliance with tax laws … Read more
If you have been trying to turn a messy influencer marketing strategy into a more organized plan, you have probably come across Upfluence. This influencer marketing platform is great for a lot of things, from managing influencer communication to tracking results. However, if you need something different (maybe more affordable or more specific) there are … Read more
If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the many SMBs that use Stripe to manage payments. It’s one of the most popular payment solutions for a reason — it supports over 100 payment methods, is designed for both in-person and online payments, and has strong international capabilities. While Stripe has several powerful features, it’s … Read more
“We need 40 sweatshirts in hand by the end of the month. Can you take care of this?” Receiving this email on the 1st of the month might have you raising an eyebrow. Receiving it on the 12th will get your heart pumping. When I was tasked with finding a screen printing company to handle … Read more
Stripe and Luqra both promise to move money from your shopper’s cart to your bank account with no fuss. But what about when the going gets tough? When your volume spikes, when a chargeback cluster hits, or when a bank’s risk team gets nervous? How they perform when the stakes rise can be the difference … Read more
Managing payments in 2025 feels like picking a pit crew for your checkout. You need speed, clean handoffs, and a support team that won’t panic when a fraud or chargeback spike hits when you least expect it. Who has the best rates might seem more important, but what really saves margin is the boring stuff: … Read more
If you run an online store in 2025, there’s a good chance that Stripe is running your checkout. But as a CPA, I see many of my clients asking the same question: “Is Stripe still worth the headaches… or is it time to move on?” As it turns out, many merchants are quietly moving off … Read more
Payments sometimes feel like plumbing: invisible and seamless when it works, but a flood of problems when it doesn’t. Luqra wants to change that by bundling up all the messy bits into one interface that puts you in the driver’s seat — a single pane of glass that contains the payment gateway, merchant services, chargebacks, … Read more
PartnerStack is a B2B partner ecosystem platform that helps businesses manage affiliates, referral partners, and resellers from a single dashboard — automating much of the administrative work involved in running partnership programs. But it’s far from the only option available, and it may not fit your specific use case. Different solutions cater to different needs, … Read more
If you’re running (or thinking of launching) an affiliate or partner-marketing program, you’ve likely heard of Everflow and Impact. They’re two of the biggest tools in the space, but they aim at slightly different users, and each has its strengths, downsides, and trade-offs. I’ve tested both, so you can get a clear picture of which … Read more
ZipBooks is a clean, lightweight ledger. It’s free to start with, has friendly invoicing, easily connects to banks, and creates basic reports. For a lean service shop or solopreneur, it’s hard to argue with the value. But as your volume or headcount start to increase (or if you need to easily defend yourself against an … Read more
FTC Disclaimer: We do make money from this blog and may receive compensation for this work in the form of commissions, fees and complimentary product access. Review our full FTC disclosure here. I tested the top shipping platforms like Shippo, ShipStation, Easyship, and more. Here’s what actually works when you’ve outgrown Pirate Ship. If you’ve … Read more
Let’s be honest: most start-ups don’t die from competition, they bleed out from spreadsheet paper cuts for things like mistimed revenue, mystery COGS, and data tables that live in a Dropbox labeled “final_final(3).xlsx.” These issues don’t stem from being bad at math, they’re from not keeping a leash on your accounting. And when the dollars … Read more
CAKE is a powerful and well-known platform, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all solution for every digital merchant, especially as affiliate programs are becoming more diverse and tech stacks are piling up all over the place. Businesses need flexibility, automated workflows, and integrations that GetCAKE may or may not provide, but there are more … Read more
In today’s crowded online world, it can be tough to get noticed. When I began building my e-commerce brand, I tried all kinds of marketing techniques and ended up spending a considerable sum on online ads, which never translated into sales. Eventually, I turned to affiliate marketing and immediately wished I’d tried it sooner! Instead … Read more