Even in a dismal, dog-eat-dog economy, small business owners tend to define their situation in one of three ways: Sinking Ship, Staying Afloat, or –here’s the surprising part – Riding High. Sinking or barely staying afloat is easy to understand. But it’s the “Riding High” businesses that capture the imagination.
How do they do it? How many of them are there? Where do they come from? Read the full entry
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Toby Richards, general manager of Community & Online Support, Microsoft Corp.
Editor’s note: One of those over-used business buzz words so often heard these days is “community.” Usually it means something to do with social media – like Facebook, LinkedIn and others – where business owners and their customers are starting to communicate with each other more and more. So why should community really matter to business owners? Is it just because circles of customers and prospects are meeting up more and more online to talk about things important to your business, including you, your products and your services? And what can business owners do to more effectively connect with customers and prospects online?
What Works for Business asked Toby Richards, general manager of Community & Online Support for Microsoft, to weigh in on those questions. His guest post follows. – Daniel Kehrer Read the full entry
Having a presence on the mobile Internet is increasingly vital for a local business. Millions of consumers now search on their iPhones, Blackberries and other mobile devices to find what they need. In its first year, for example, the DexKnows.com mobile app saw local business searches skyrocket.
But standard websites don’t convert well to tiny mobile phone screens – they are slow, hard to read and hard to load. To gain traction with mobile consumers you need a streamlined site designed specifically for the mobile web – a costly and time-consuming step most local businesses have delayed taking. Read the full entry
Facing a still-difficult economy and a flurry of tax changes, business owners must be especially alert to new tax pitfalls and opportunities. To help our small business readers, Business.com collected top tips from leading small business tax experts coast-to-coast. This is the last in our series.
Small Business Tax Tip #10: Don’t Expect More Tax Relief. “Read my lips,” says Chris Province, CPA and partner in the firm Armanino McKenna, in San Ramon, CA, “Don’t look for relief on taxes anytime soon from Washington, or state governments.” Tax rates will be going up, according to Province, who recommends that small business owners consider what they can do to minimize taxes now and in future years when tax rates go up.
For the latest small business tax solutions and advice, including tax services, accounting software, accounting firms and CPAs, visit the Accounting channel at Business.com.
Facing a still-difficult economy and a flurry of tax changes, business owners must be especially alert to new tax pitfalls and opportunities. To help our small business readers, Business.com collected top tips from leading small business tax experts coast-to-coast. What Works for Business will run a new tip daily for the next 10 business days.
Business Owner Tax Tip #9: Don’t procrastinate, counsels Larry McKoy, Senior Tax Partner, Goodman & Company, Richmond, VA. ”Many companies are probably more worried about the economy than about their taxes right now, but that could be a mistake. As bad as the economy is, you need to know your options before it’s time to pay your taxes. Even if you had a bad year, you may owe taxes (surprise!) or you could get significant refunds of much-needed cash from net operating losses. So don’t avoid your accountant.”
Check back tomorrow for the next expert Tax Tip in our series. For the latest small business tax solutions and advice, including tax services, accounting software, accounting firms and CPAs, visit the Accounting channel at Business.com.
If your business gets whacked by severe weather, take heart. A standard business owners policy, called a BOP, provides coverage for a wide range of weather-related disasters, such as burst pipes, wind and rain damage, and damage to buildings caused by heavy ice and snow, among others.
Business owners who suffer damage due to power outages may also look to their property insurance coverage or a type of business insurance called a “boiler and machinery” policy (which actually cover all kinds of items) to recover losses. These policies may even cover personal effects of you and your employees up to the policy limit (usually $2,500), but only if you’ve added “Personal Effects and Property of Others” coverage to your policy. This coverage does not include theft, however, even if theft is a covered cause of loss under the policy. Here are other critical things to know: Read the full entry
Facing a still-difficult economy and a flurry of tax changes, business owners must be especially alert to new tax pitfalls and opportunities. To help our small business readers, Business.com collected top tips from leading small business tax experts coast-to-coast. What Works for Business will run a new tip daily for the next 10 business days.
Business Owner Tax Tip #8: “Take a trip on your P&L to find hidden treasure” says Bruce Zicari, a CPA in the small business advisory practice at Pittsford, NY-based Bonadio Group. “There’s a line on your P&L statement that has a ‘hidden’ deduction opportunity that could generate a big tax advantage and put cash back into your pocket. Basically, it’s a way to move certain capitalized items that are currently being written off through depreciation and reclassify them as a repair. Instead of taking small amounts of depreciation yearly, you get to write off the whole item this year. But Zicari says the clock is ticking on the opportunity to expense these previously capitalized items. “The maneuver is well worth taking, and you should be starting your journey now, as the IRS will most likely be closing the road in the near future.”
Check back tomorrow for the next expert Tax Tip in our series. For the latest small business tax solutions and advice, including tax services, accounting software, accounting firms and CPAs, visit the Accounting channel at Business.com.
Finding the right tax forms quickly and getting business tax questions answered accurately are tricky problems for many business owners. Some of the best help actually comes from the Internal Revenue Service itself. Contrary to popular belief, the IRS, and its website in particular, is a great place to find accurate tax answers. The agency has a special Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center online that provides easy access to all of the forms, publications and tax matters vital to different types of small businesses and the self-employed.
Filing Season Central is a nicely organized help center for filing your business returns. One popular feature is a roundup of the many tax law changes affecting small business, along with tax tips. Another item you’ll find helpful is the 2010 Tax Calendar for Small Business. It’s a PDF file with a complete rundown of forms and deadlines due throughout the year. Read the full entry
Facing a still-difficult economy and a flurry of tax changes, business owners must be especially alert to new tax pitfalls and opportunities. To help our small business readers, Business.com collected top tips from leading small business tax experts coast-to-coast. What Works for Business will run a new tip daily for the next 10 business days.
Small Business Tax Tip #7: Expect more extensions, says Kimberly Lawrence, with Joseph Decosimo & Co. in Chattanooga, TN. “As 1099 reporting is allowed to move closer and closer to a tax deadlines, more small business owners can expect their business and individual returns to be extended. We educate our clients about the possibility of extending their returns due to the increased compression period in receiving this information so close to tax deadlines. We also assure them that there is no increased risk of their return being selected for examination by extending.”
Check back tomorrow for the next expert Tax Tip in our series. For the latest small business tax solutions and advice, including tax services, accounting software, accounting firms and CPAs, visit the Accounting channel at Business.com.
Facing a still-difficult economy and a flurry of tax changes, business owners must be especially alert to new tax pitfalls and opportunities. To help our small business readers, Business.com collected top tips from leading small business tax experts coast-to-coast. What Works for Business will run a new tip daily for 10 business days.
Small Business Tax Tip #6: Bank on a C-corporation Comeback: According to John Smolke, CPA with Seattle-based Peterson Sullivan, “The prospect of increased future tax rates means business owners should consider the most appropriate form of business operation. C-corporations may make a comeback if individual tax rates are increased to 39.6 percent; if a surtax of 5.4 percent is imposed on high AGI taxpayers; or if additional Medicare taxes are imposed on high-income taxpayers. Paying taxes at C-corp rates may make the most sense, especially during the years when the business needs to build up its equity.”
Check back tomorrow for the next expert Tax Tip in our series. For the latest small business tax solutions and advice, including tax services, accounting software, accounting firms and CPAs, visit the Accounting channel at Business.com.
