Make money,We learn to make money.

By Alan Olsen

Managing cash flow is what separates good companies from the truly successful ones. Indeed, your ability to monitor the cash flow of your business can be the vital difference between profit and loss.

Here are 10 ideas to enhance cash flow:


Assess Your Risk Up Front

When you do work without being paid up front, you are extending credit. Discuss your billing procedures with your customers up front. "We expect payment in 30 days; is that a problem?" If it is, you need to know ahead of time and make an informed decision about whether you really want to loan your new customer money.


Bill Immediately

Customers do not pay for what they have not yet been billed. Although many owners believe they have efficient billing procedures, our experience is that delayed billing is a primary cause of poor cash flow. You cannot bill soon enough!


Bill Thoroughly

Confusing bills provide your clients with an opportunity to delay paying you. Furthermore, be very specific about the payment terms and stick to them. If you expect payment in 30 days, say so; and detail what happens if you are not paid. Do not fear losing business! If you are not now getting paid for work you have done, what is left to lose?


Make Paying Easier

Do you accept credit cards? If not, it is time you evaluated this opportunity. Do you enclose a postage-paid return envelope with your bill to expedite payment?
Have you considered offering discounts for prompt payment? When we work with clients, we look at every aspect of their billing process.


Collect Your Bills

Receivables are loans your company provides to your customers or clients. Unless you really want to be a banker, develop a protocol for your collection effort that begins the moment a bill leaves your company. History has demonstrated that the lack of a well-developed collection protocol is the primary cause of poor cash flow.


Cut Unnecessary Expenses

Reduce the cash that is going out. Carefully examine your fixed expenses. Look at your utility bills and implement a conservation program. Review your insurance premiums to be sure you are not over-insured. How many subscriptions and memberships are really needed?


Time Your Payments Carefully

Review all of your vendor bills to ensure that you are taking advantage of any discounts. We can help you analyze which discounts are best for you. Delay all non-discounted bills as long as possible.


Put Your Cash to Work

First, make daily deposits! Second, make your deposits before the bank stops its daily transactions (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM). If your mail arrives late, get a post office box to speed up delivery. Finally, transfer idle cash into interest-bearing accounts. Even at 2% or 3%, this money adds up.


Evaluate Your Payroll Schedule

Consider changing your payroll from weekly to biweekly or monthly. Reducing the amount of payrolls, in turn, reduces payroll tax deposits. Consider payroll advances to help sway employee resistance.


Plan Ahead

Without exception, planning ahead is the most crucial aspect of cash flow management. Prepare a cash flow budget based on last year's history, and you can begin to develop a game plan.
Talking to your banker before you need money will provide you a better working relationship and better rates. If you need assistance in developing a cash flow budget or if you would like us to introduce you to a banker who understands cash flow, call us today.

Summary
Cash flow management involves analyzing risk and requires both short- and long-term approaches. As a business owner, you know how crucial it is to maintain your profit margins. This guide was developed to assist you in ensuring that cash flow problems do not siphon off those profits unnecessarily.

Although we present a number of ideas here, they are general in nature in order to give a wide variety of insights into managing cash flow. In truth, cash flow management involves analyzing risk and requires both short- and long-term approaches. We will be happy to develop a specific approach for you and your business.

Copyright 2007 ArticleWorld.net Free Articles . All rights reserved.

By Rhiannon Williamson |

We all know that we should be putting aside an amount of money each month and saving towards our futures - right?

Well, if you’re anything like I used to be you get to the end of the month and the cupboard – or the bank account in this case - is bare…if you’re lucky you just have enough to meet your monthly bills but you certainly don’t have anything left to play with.

Well – what if I told you that there were five very simple steps that you – yes you – could take to cut your monthly outgoings, increase your monthly income and thus free up money and create an amount each month that could be squirreled away for a rainy day?

Step One - Trim Everyday Expenses

We all have a mountain of essential payments that we must make every month; these include all our utility bills, our car, telephone, internet and even cable TV bills.

Although we’re all aware of these amounts draining our bank account every month, few of us give a second thought to whether we’re paying too much when often we actually are!

So, here are just a few things you could easily do to wipe off significant amounts from those bills – amounts which will, over time, compound to create a nice tidy little sum thank you!

Oh, and if you think about every bill you have I’m sure you’ll come up with many creative ways to reduce all of them.

Your Utility bills – have you considered switching your suppliers? Some suppliers in your area will be cheaper than others and all should give you a free quotation of how much you could be saving based on your previous month’s usage. You may get a further discount if you pay each month by direct debit.

Be aware of the amount of energy you use - switch to energy saver light bulbs, don’t put half a load of washing in the machine, wash-up small amounts instead of using your dishwasher every time and slowly but surely you’ll notice a significant reduction in your overall bills.

Your Car – shop around for cheaper car insurance, combine chores into one journey so that you drop the kids off on your way to work and do your shopping on the way home. The more ‘extra’ journeys you can cut back on the lower your fuel bill, the less often you’ll have to have your car serviced and the lower the mileage on the car when you come to sell it.

Step Two - Cut Interest Payments

According to industry statistics, the average home owner in the UK could reduce their annual mortgage payments by up to £1,600 by just re-mortgaging to a better deal. You need to examine the options available to you!

Next look at your credit cards, store cards, loans and overdrafts and check out the rates of interest you’re paying – obviously the sooner you can pay off all debt and stop accruing new debt the better, but in the meantime you should consider switching to credit cards offering 0% on balance transfers, consider switching to lenders offering lower interest rates on loans and consider switching to a bank with lower account charges for things like your overdraft.

Cut your interest payments right down and free up more cash!

Step Three - Rein in Extravagance

Trust me, I know that this is the least popular of all the steps – but, do you really need that daily cappuccino from Starbucks, could you live without that health club membership that you hardly ever use, what about stopping smoking, cutting back on alcohol consumption and spending a few more quiet nights in than party nights out? If you can’t get rid of your satellite or cable TV could you reduce the packages you subscribe to? If you like to eat out could you reduce the number of times you do it per week?

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that you should give up living your life the way you like it, I’m just suggesting that you could maybe trim a little off the load and live life today whilst at the same time saving for your life tomorrow.

Step Four - Stop Making Bad Investments

There are so many poor performing, rubbish returning, invisible interest paying savings policies out there that banks and financial advisers push upon us that it’s just not funny!

Yet at the same time there are some fantastic inflation proofing safer alternatives that could just net you a nice rate of interest too. You need to look around a little, use the internet as a good starting point and find out what the banks and financial institutions are offering. And if you’re saving money make sure you’re saving tax too – ISA and pension payments can be made tax free!

Oh, and when it comes to insurances – from car, health, home contents and even life insurance – shop around, shop around, shop around! Big name brokers often cost far more and if you buy your home contents and life insurance all in when you get your mortgage be prepared to pay way over the odds!

Step Five - Add Income Strings to Your Bow

Are you entitled to any tax credits, child payments or other benefits? If you’re entitled you should be claiming what’s rightfully yours! Could you, your partner or your teenage children be contributing a little more to the monthly pot by taking on a part time job, doing extra shifts or working the odd weekend?

Think as creatively as possible and make good use of any extra time and energy you have to boost your family’s income…you might even be able to earn extra income from doing the things you love – maybe you could teach an evening class in something you specialize in, maybe you could sell arts and crafts you make as a hobby or perhaps you could just baby-sit your friends children?

Just remember that there are many options available to you and that every single step you take towards reducing your outgoings or maximizing your income will be a step towards a more secure financial future for you and your family.

Good luck!

Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose many articles about international and offshore savings and investments have appeared in financial publications around the world. Visit this link to read her latest articles about Offshore Investment

Copyright 2007 ArticleWorld.net Free Articles . All rights reserved.

By Alan Olsen |

In the year 2002, there were 17.1 million Millionaires in the U.S. By 2013, the number of millionaires will triple due to inheritance. For the rest of you, becoming a millionaire is within reach if you apply a 5 step plan involving the following areas:

Health
Spending
Savings
Investing
Career
Health

Take care of yourself. If your health is no good, you are not going to enjoy the rewards of a solid financial plan. Eat right, exercise daily, and discipline yourself. The most successful investors are those people who have the best discipline to stay with the program.

Spending

It's true, a person will always live up to the amount of income they earn. If you make the money, you are apt to find a place to spend it. The key to successfully saving is to spend less than you make and to also spend more money in areas that will actually preserve wealth.

Savings

A disciplined approach to saving reaps rewards in the future. While saving early in your career, allocate a larger percentage of your savings to stocks. A 35 year old with 10,000 and saving 500 a month will become a millionaire by age 56 if the money invested returns 15% per annum. If the investment rate of return falls to 10% per annum, the millionaire age is moved to 63 years old.

Investing

Focus on an investment portfolio that minimizes your fees and maximizes your returns. If you are not sure about the types of investments, consider low cost index funds such as the S&P 500 or Russell 5000.

Career

No matter how much you position yourself, your career will dictate how quickly you reach the millionaire plateau. You have to move above and beyond your job description; Excel in your performance; Make yourself invaluable to the organization. Align your goals and focus on efforts that make you a valuable employee. You want those merit raises. They will add up.

Check out the Groco Millionaire Calculator to determine how much you need to put away to enter the millionaire class.

Copyright 2007 ArticleWorld.net Free Articles . All rights reserved.

By: Eugene Chan

To be truly wealthy is to have money that lasts forever. This may be a blunt statement, but suddenly coming across a large sum of money does not necessarily mean you have become a wealthy person.

To be wealthy is a state of mind. A person with a wealthy mindset may not necessarily be financially rich just yet but will be soon enough. On the other hand, a rich person without a wealthy mindset will squander the money very quickly.

This could not be more true than those who win the lottery. After a few years, these lottery winners no longer possess the millions they came across so suddenly. An amount of money that should have lasted for at least a generation has been fleeted away.

Case in point is UK lottery winner Michael Carroll who won £10 million in 2002 at the age of 19. It is reported that he had lost all his winnings 18 months later on things such as holiday homes, luxury cars, drugs, parties, jewellery and famously, a rural mansion used none other than as a dodgem car racetrack for his new friends.

What is even sadder are cases of other lottery winners that end up with greater financial debt after their windfalls dry up than they had to begin. Some have even declared bankruptcy to be back where they had started - with nothing.

From this, it is fair to say that being rich does not necessarily mean you are wealthy. A truly wealthy person would still possess the majority of the millions of dollars (if not more) because a wealthy person understands the fundamentals of how to manage their money.

It can even be said that a wealthy person has a good relationship with money. Money sticks with them rather than repel away from them. It is through this understanding of how to manage money that dictates how long you will remain rich, or how soon you will become rich.

A wealthy person knows to save their money. With the money that is saved, they firstly spend on things that earn them an income such as quality businesses, real estate and shares. In other words, the money a wealthy person retains is used to further create more money. The money they earn from their investments is then used to fund a rich lifestyle.

On the contrary, for a (temporarily) rich person that does not have a wealthy mindset, they would have chosen to firstly spend on material things and eventually have no money left.

However, nobody is born with a wealthy mindset and it certainly cannot be won. Importantly, a wealthy mindset is learnt. If Michael Carroll had a wealthy mindset when he won the lottery, he would likely still be living very nicely with most of his winnings intact.

If a wealthy individual were to lose all their money today, it is likely that within a number of years, they would be back to a relatively comfortable financial position. Individuals such as Donald Trump, Martha Stewart and Sir Richard Branson have faced financial setbacks in their lives but were able to rebuild their financial positions because each has a wealthy mindset. These individuals firstly focussed on redeveloping their businesses rather than wasting their remaining fortunes on frivolous items and lifestyle decisions. Today, they enjoy life's luxuries because of their wealthy mindset.

Michael Carroll clearly demonstrates that being rich does not always mean you are wealthy. On the other hand, having a wealthy mindset certainly gives you a greater chance at being rich because you understand how to manage and appreciate money. Each of us can learn to be wealthy. By developing this wealthy mindset, you will ultimately attract more money to you than repel it. Only then can you be rich and truly wealthy.

Author Bio
Eugene Chan is the founder of http://save-money-make-money.blogspot.com which provides practical ideas to save money everyday.

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By: Tom Justice

For Starters
When asked to name an effective way of obtaining wealth, a common answer is: "Invest". What is the problem with this answer? Well, the majority of respondents have very little or no money in their savings account. I see the beginning of wealth building in a different light. A saying that almost everyone knows but nearly no one applies is: "A penny saved is a penny earned". In today's culture it is definitely much easier to spend money than it is to save it. The average American is exposed to 247 advertisements in one day! Less than 5% of Americans have at least $3000 in savings and no debt. It is no wonder that most consumers struggle with saving money or grasping the concept of building wealth. We are mentally flogged with television and radio commercials, newspaper and magazine ads, billboards, signs, posters and even conversations. Whatever the method, it all serves one main purpose - to take your money and make it theirs.

Unveiling the Mystery
So with all those statistics and all that advertising, how in the world is it possible to build wealth? Well consider yourself ahead of the game already. By reading this article you are opening your mind to ideas and concepts which could help you to begin the process which is more than can be said for most people out there. A house starts with a single brick and the same is true with wealth building. You have to start with what you can and keep adding to it.

Why not jump in to stocks, mutual funds or other investments right off the bat? Life will continue to happen whether you plan for it or not. So plan for it. You must start with a lump sum of money in your savings account which has been referred to as an "emergency savings". A good figure for this is $1000. You MUST pay your savings first, before anything else. If you do not, your savings will not grow (or it may not happen at all). This extra money will act as a soft landing for any financial falls that can and will occur while you pay down other debts that are road blocking your way to building wealth. You must realize though; this money is first priority but can not be touched - ONLY for emergencies. By following these 2 steps:


1) Stocking up your savings with $1,000 and then
2) Eliminating extra debts (with great fervor), you will prepare yourself for a much easier road to building wealth.

Making it Happen
You have to take action now or this whole savings thing will not happen. First, get a savings account. If you have one, find out what the interest rate is. Many have something like 0.25% to 1% (WHOOPEE!). Remember that you are not trying to make all your money in interest right now but since the money is going to sit you may as well look around. It is possible to land up to a 3-5% interest rate. Another option is a money market account to get a good rate although restrictions sometimes apply for things like early withdrawal fees and keeping a minimum amount in the account at all times. Secondly, as I stated earlier, take your savings off the top on payday. You have to make a painful change as well though. You may have to sacrifice some things to get that initial $1,000. This could mean no eating out or temporarily cutting out an expensive hobby. You also might want to try changing your phone company or downgrading your cable package. I hate this next idea but it is for a good cause: Drop your credit card payments below the minimum (JUST FOR NOW). Anyway, you get the idea. Cut some here - cut some there. Now, take all the figures you cut and add them together. This is what you will put in to your savings account until you reach $1,000. See, when the average person feels like they are getting ahead or even staying even, a setback occurs and sends everything spiraling downward. This is the hard part of building wealth and it is just the beginning (the first brick). However, without this extra money in savings you will tread water until you eventually drown, so stop thinking about it and start acting on it today.
Author Bio
Tom Justice is the webmaster for Clean Credit Online and does all the designing, marketing, SEO and maintenance for the site. He has a passion for personal finance and how the economy and consumers are affected by money. To see how you can use Clean Credit Online to help you with your personal finances please visit www.cleancreditonline.com

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By: Carina MacInnes

If you're reading this right now you probably have been broke, are broke, or know someone who is struggling with being broke. The pain and suffering of being in this state is truly awful. Being broke causes thoughts of despair, feelings of failure, desperation, struggle, lack and need. Being broke prevents us from reaching our potential, from living our lives freely. Being broke prevents us from being wealthy.

How is this possible? Like attracts like. Being broke attracts more experiences of being broke. It is a vicious cycle, once that can very easily be transformed once we understand the fundamental laws of how our mind and spirit interact with the universe.

It is your underlying state of BEING, in this case, being broke, that creates the resultant thoughts and feelings in your mind. As a package, this whole message is broadcast to the universe, which in return gives you more of the same: experiences of being broke.

One of the laws of manifestation is that we must BE before we can DO, and DO before we can HAVE. Of course modern society has twisted this all around. Being broke is a powerful message we are sending to the universe and ourselves. We are in a state of BEING, and it is broke. This will inform our actions to act in ways to continue to be broke, and we will continue to have this condition of being broke in our lives.

Your life experience is an outer reflection of your inner reality. All the thoughts and feelings you hold, consciously and unconsciously, are what create the experience that is your life. Your past created your present, and your present is creating your future.

It can be hard to understand that we are responsible for what we experience. I remember being unhappy, and then experiencing events that I perceived as causing me to be unhappy. Then I would say to myself, I am unhappy because of this... no wonder I am unhappy. I was trapped in my own vicious cycle and had no idea it was me who was responsible for my experiences of unhappiness.

To break the cycle I first needed to know what was broken in order to fix it. It was the message I was sending out. I found there was a very simple way to fix it.

If I notice one day that I am unhappy, and understand that BEING unhappy is the cause of my continuing experience of unhappiness, it is that day that I can choose to change. All I need to do to break the cycle is: choose to be happy. It doesn't take anything from outside myself to be happy. All I have to do is gain awareness, pause, and pull up from within myself the state of being happy, replacing the unhappiness. We all have this capacity.

Choosing is an exercise of free will. You can choose BE happy, healthy, wealthy, whatever you desire. Take a moment and just BE happy. It is possible for anyone to do and a very powerful exercise once you have done it and understood it. If you are being happy, you will do things that make you happy, and you will attract happy experiences into your life. Being happy is the first step towards living a happy life. It seems almost like a riddle, but understanding it unravels the secrets of life.

If you find yourself broke, look within. You'll find you feel broke, and are in a powerful state of BEING. The awareness of this gives you the choice. You can choose your state of being. Imagine what it is like to feel wealthy. Take that feeling and hold it, you are now BEING wealthy. This is how to break the vicious cycle of being broke. By BEING wealthy, you are now transforming the signals you are broadcasting. You are emanating wealth and the laws of cause and effect have no choice but to bring to you what you already are. Now your actions will begin to bring to you the wealth you feel inside.

By being conscious of your states of being, you can choose to change them. The positive results will return to you without fail, following the natural laws of the universe.

Author Bio
Carina MacInnes is an author and entrepreneur who is giving away a free e-course with wealth secrets by her favorite mentor. Receive it now: milliondollarsecret@robotreply.com She offers a powerful way to increase both health and wealth in your life. See her site here: imagineacai.com

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By: Sonia Devine

What is your attitude towards having wealth? Do you believe it is possible to have anything that you want? Or do you believe that wealth and prosperity are reserved only for those other "lucky" people in this world? Okay, please pay attention to this:


There Is No Such Thing As Luck
Take a good look at what you have today; look at how much money you have, your possessions, and your investments if you have any. Are you satisfied, or are you just going through the motions, and settling for second best? Look around at everything you have right now, and then look in the mirror. Because....


Everything you have right now, YOU have created.
Now, this might be a totally foreign concept to you; if so, I want you to open your mind and consider what I have just told you. Maybe it will be a hard thing to accept at first, but once you do, you will unleash an invincible force within you. When we're not getting what we truly desire, it's much easier to blame outside forces than to look inside ourselves..but by blaming others, we give away our power! The honest truth is that what you put your attention on expands.

Do these sound familiar?


The rich get richer and the poor get poorer
There's never enough to go around
I can't afford that
Our family has always been poor - it's in our blood
Money is hard to come by
That's the way it's always been

You will always get what you think you deserve. Have you heard stories about people who rise from a life of misery and poverty and win enormous sums of money on the lottery, only to become flat broke again after a couple of years? At the end of the day, It all comes down to attitude.
What is your attitude towards wealth and prosperity? Do you believe that it has never been in easy reach? Write down your beliefs. Doing this will help you to find what parts of your subconscious mind are stopping you from achieving success and living the life of your dreams. Make a commitment to change your beliefs; it's all up to you. If you want to be wealthy, you need to leave behind your old attitude and develop a new way of thinking. Open your heart and be willing to receive prosperity and abundance, and it will be yours!

Author Bio
Sonia Devine is a qualified professional hypnotherapist and success coach with a caring and committed approach to healing, who lives in Melbourne, Australia. You can find more of her information on attracting wealth, self image, love, relationships, phobias and much more on her website Manifest Your Success.

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by: Grant D. Robinson

Are you on pace to accomplish your important sales and financial goals this year?

The truth is, a good majority of US Organizations have been unable to grow their businesses this year. They are not reaching their sales and financial goals and many have all but given up.

Is this you? Are you now looking to next year to be the year you shatter previous productivity, sales and revenue records?

Regardless of whether you are on pace to meet your goals or not this year, it's a great idea to start preparing for your best year ever; but you will need to prepare.

You've surly realized, it takes much more than just setting a goal to accomplish it. The mere act of putting the goal on paper, sharing it with your managers and giving the extra effort to accomplish the goal is really secondary to the preparation required.

Before you begin to work toward an objective, you must insure all of the past barriers that stood in the way of prior goal accomplishment are eliminated. If they aren't, the unfortunate fact is, you'll fail to meet the objective once again… for the same reasons as before.

The following are the three keys market leading organizations have used to grow their businesses. I suggest you consider them to take your organization to the next level of success also.

1. Operational Systems

There are two types of systems in your organization. The first is your operational systems, including:

1. Vision & Mission 2. Financial & Budgeting 3. Production, Manufacturing & Distribution 4. Sales & Marketing

All four of these systems are in place for one reason: to efficiently grow your business. They are the standards to how your organization operates from day to day. More importantly, they are the standards to how your workforce operates from day to day.

To improve productivity this quarter and prepare for your best year ever, it is vital to analyze your operational systems. In the next month, recognize what current productivity barriers must be eliminated, what operating expenses must be reduced, what unique cultural standards must be maintained and what marketing promises must be upheld.

2. Managerial Systems

In answering the previous questions, most organizations realize an important fact. Changes to operational systems are almost always made to improve the productivity of their workforce. But the truth is, these changes alone rarely help.

Organizations failing to accomplish their goals tend to make irrational decisions. They feel if they rewrite a vision, increase spending on technology, reorganize production procedures or alter their marketing messages, workforce performance and profits will magically improve.

However, the opposite is usually the case. The changes usually end up harming efficiency, production and morale. The usual outcome is, those employees who naturally performed the job they were hired to do before the changes, still naturally do. Those who failed to produce before the expensive operational modifications, still underachieve.

The second type of system in your organization is your managerial systems. The five most important processes of your managerial systems are: recruiting, hiring, training, developing and retaining (productive employees). When you create a successful managerial system, your hiring success rate, employee motivation and the effectiveness of your leaders will naturally improve.

To prepare for your best year ever, there is only one question to ask yourself: Why haven't we been able to hire, develop and retain TOP Performing employees in every position.

3. Focus on People

Market leading organizations realize "people" are the key to growing a business and meeting goals. The more productive their individuals are, the more productive their teams have become.

A recent study of over 2,200 managers by Watson Wyatt Worldwide in Human Resource Executive Magazine found: Of the hundreds of management functions, "Selecting Staff" and "Retention" are the second and third most important management functions in business today. Recruiting was rank fifth.

Since almost three of four new hires fail to meet our expectations within the first year and managers are forced to constantly replace underachievers, recruiting is the number one management expense in business today. Although selecting staff and retention are rated very important, they rank 36th and 44th in management effort and spending respectively.

Although executives understand the importance of Top Performers in every position, their time, energy and financial priorities have become operational. With the amount of organizations failing to meet their goals or grow their businesses, it should be apparent that this strategy just doesn't work.

Hiring Top Performers for every position in your company, the first time, is the only way to insure your productivity and profits will improve. Traditionally, Top Performers are five to eight times more productive then their counterparts.

You've probably learned the hard way, no modification to an operational system will ever increase your organization's performance five to eight times. If you are like the most effective executives, you'll understand this and will double or triple the productivity and profits of your organization by giving your managers the tools to hire, develop and retain your greatest value; your people.

Great customer service, work ethic, motivation, productivity and sales success comes from employees that fit your culture, their team and the job they were hired to do. Whether it takes developing your underachievers or replacing them with someone who will naturally produce, it is now time to focus on your people to prepare for your best year ever.

About The Author

Grant D. Robinson is the President of People Values and the Author of the Market Leadership System. To improve your “Hiring Success Rate” of TOP Performing Employees, watch a free, 5-minute, on-line video at: http://www.peoplevalues.com.

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