KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwired - September 11, 2015) - H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) continues to add to value to the small business community. Block Small Business, having served clients for more than a year with its unique virtual outsourcing model, is adding access to capital to its existing resources, services and tools for small businesses through its new referral partnership with Funding Circle. A marketplace lender exclusively focused on small business, Funding Circle can help small businesses that cannot get funding through traditional means like large banks, which approve as few as 20 percent of applications. Small businesses, especially service-based ones like many Block Small Business clients, may find getting a loan from traditional lenders to be an obstacle to their business' growth.
Through its partnership with Funding Circle, Block Small Business will be able to direct its clients to a non-traditional lender that could help them purchase inventory or expand and strengthen their business. This partnership adds to the existing services Block Small Business offers its clients in payroll, bookkeeping, bill payment, tax services and accounts receivable monitoring. Block Small Business clients use mobile apps and cloud-based software to upload receipts and scan invoices, which their dedicated Block team of accounting professionals manage.
"I've been outsourcing my accounting to Block to keep my finances in order, which has put me in a great place to grow my business," said Chaz Wolfe, a multi-unit franchise owner. "So it's really exciting to see them partnering with an organization like Funding Circle, which can provide businesses like mine with the capital needed to actually make it happen."
According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses account for half of the private-sector economy and 99 percent of all businesses. Despite their significance to the economy, only half of new businesses survive five years and only a third survive 10 years or more.
"Small businesses face unique challenges, which is where Block Small Business comes in. Because of our technology and expertise, along with our presence nationwide, we can offer superior accounting services to small businesses that wouldn't otherwise have access to this level of support," said Jeremy Smith, director of Block Small Business. "On our first anniversary, partnering with Funding Circle is a natural next step in our commitment to provide small businesses the tools, resources and services that they would not otherwise have access to."
To learn more about Block Small Business, visit http://smallbusiness.hrblock.com/.
About H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world's largest consumer tax services provider. More than 680 million tax returns have been prepared worldwide by and through H&R Block since 1955. In fiscal 2015, H&R Block had annual revenues of nearly $3.1 billion with 24.2 million tax returns prepared worldwide. Tax return preparation services are provided by professional tax preparers in approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices worldwide, and through H&R Block tax software products. H&R Block also offers adjacent Tax Plus products and services. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom at http://newsroom.hrblock.com/.
About Funding Circle
Funding Circle is the world's leading online marketplace for business loans, matching small businesses who want to borrow with investors in the UK and US. Since launching in 2010, investors at Funding Circle -- including 40,000 individuals, financial institutions and even the UK Government -- have now invested more than $1 billion in 10,000 businesses globally. It has raised $273 million in equity capital from the same investors that backed Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb and Alibaba. Find out more at: www.fundingcircle.com