A common question we receive at Circl is why a business would need (yet another) financial tool. As small business owners ourselves -- with experience navigating the myriad bookkeeping, payroll, and tax services available -- we understand just how complicated and overwhelming it can feel at times.
 
 
#### So, what’s great about Circl, and why should you use it?
 


Circl is designed to complement, enhance, and simplify the financial services you already use. Unlike financial accounting software, which keeps track of your day-to-day transactions, Circl provides a big-picture look at your business’s financial wellness. 
 
 
#### Think of it as a health checkup -- for business. 
 


Similar to getting a physical at your doctor’s office or tracking your health via a fitness watch, Circl gathers all the bits of financial information, assembles that data in meaningful ways, and creates expert, easily understandable reports of how your business is doing. We call this your Business Health Score, and it is so useful.
 
 
#### What’s a Business Health Score?
 


The Business Health Score is a number (0-XXX) that quantifies your business’s performance, so you can understand how well it is doing at a glance. Use it to quickly compare today’s number to last week’s, last month’s, or against other SMBs in your industry or area, and make adjustments to your goals or game plan as necessary.


Just as maintaining good physical and mental health leads to a longer, healthier life, your business’s health is crucial to its long-term success. To sign up for your free Business Health Score and get started on your path to financial wellness, join Circl today.
 
 
*Additional Reading: Four Ways Circl Makes Running Your Business Easier*


*Circl is here to help. To ask a question, send us an [email](mailto:support@joincircl.com).*

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The Big Picture - A Financial Checkup for Your Business

> In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.
—Albert Einstein


A **good strategy** for navigating difficult times is to focus on the lessons or opportunities that can be found amid the crisis; this certainly rings true for 2020.
2020 will be remembered as the year the COVID-19 pandemic created a global health crisis and brought the world’s largest economies to a halt. Despite the setbacks, it’s also the year Circl was born.
As small business owners, our founders Rita and Duncan MacDonald-Korth experienced firsthand how the global pandemic was affecting small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs), leaving them vulnerable to unexpectedly low cash flows and dangerously close to permanent closure.
That’s when Rita and Duncan realized they wanted to help. Because they had felt it themselves, they knew that there was a strong sense of kinship among the small business community. They understood that virtually anyone who has ever started or run a business can relate to the inherent struggles, as well as the persistence and ingenuity necessary to overcome them. They believed that navigating COVID-19 as an SMB would be unprecedented, yes, but no less impossible than the many challenges business owners face daily.
**The small business community is a true community**, one that Rita and Duncan knew they could assist by responding to the crisis. But how?
 
 
#### The COVID Loan Tracker
 


While the government had launched the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) early on to help SMBs weather the COVID-19 storm, Rita and Duncan realized that there was no reliable source of information regarding the loans: who was receiving them, how much they were receiving, how long it took to get approved, or how to navigate the often-confusing process.
**Bingo. Here’s how they could help!**
Rita and Duncan then built the [COVID Loan Tracker](https://www.covidloantracker.com/), a community-driven information center supplying self-reported data on business owners’ PPP loan experience, which has since expanded to include more than 50,000 SMBs across all 50 states.
 
 
#### Circl
 


The COVID Loan Tracker proved to be a success; it delivered on its mission to inform entrepreneurs about when and where PPP and EIDL (Economic Injury & Disaster Loan) money was flowing, which was fantastic. But, Rita and Duncan soon realized that the needs of SMBs were much greater. What else could they do to help?
After reviewing information self-reported by business leaders, Rita and Duncan saw another opportunity to serve their community.
SMBs didn’t just need data, they realized – they also needed tools to help them make sense of that data. They needed tools built for their needs, by an organization equipped to understand and deliver them.
And so, Circl – a business health and financial wellness platform bringing big data to small- and medium-size businesses – was born.


**Welcome. We’re glad you’re here!**

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Crisis and Opportunity: The Story of Circl

It’s almost impossible to overstate the difficulty of launching and maintaining a successful small- or medium-size business. And as helpful as technology can be, it can also make daily processes more confusing or cumbersome, especially if you are accustomed to managing your business IRL -- that means ‘in real life’. 

At Circl, we’re committed to not only helping you make your business successful, but also to streamlining that process, eliminating unnecessary difficulties in order to save you precious time, money, and energy.

Here are four ways Circl can make running your business easier:
 
 
#### Quantified = Simplified
 

Circl simplifies mountains of data into a single Business Health Score you can understand at a glance. Use it to quickly and easily compare today’s score to last week’s, last month’s, or against other SMBs in your industry or region. 

A sudden or significant change in your Business Health Score could indicate the need to dive deeper into your business’s finances and potentially make changes (or even a few phone calls to clarify what’s occurring). And if your numbers are high and stable, you can feel confident taking the time to focus on other aspects of your business or life outside of your (all-)day job.
 
 
#### Save Time (and Money)
 

Our smart dashboard keeps your business’s portfolio beautifully organized in a single workspace that’s always right at your fingertips. Access the information you need instantly, without having to visit multiple sites or perform complex formulas and financial analyses on your own. Remember, time is money, and our organized smart dashboard is here to save you both.
 
 
#### Freedom to Bank Wherever
 

We believe SMBs should have the freedom to decide which bank is best for them, so we’ve designed Circl to work with any financial institution, as long as it’s in the U.S.
 
 
#### Built-in Professional Community
 

Circl grew out of the COVID Loan Tracker community, a group of 50,000+ small- and medium-size business owners offering their PPP loan experience and support to fellow entrepreneurs. We are proud to be an integral part of this growing community and hope you’ll join us on your path to business health.
 
 

*Have a question? Circl is here to help. Kindly [email](mailto:support@joincircl.com) us, and we’ll get back to you shortly.*

*[Sign up](https://www.joincircl.com/register) to join Circl today, and get started on your path to business health.*