Are you paying too much for your property tax?
Make sure you’re taking advantage of these legal deductions you are 100% entitled to. I’m always surprised when I meet a homeowner who never knew they were entitled to a significant reduction on the taxes they pay for the home they live in. I’ve met…
Five Fun Customer Perks to Set You Apart in the Marketplace
It’s always fun to surprise and delight your customers. This puts a smile on your client’s face, boosts loyalty, and is fun for your employees too. Here are five ways to surprise and delight your customers with inexpensive perks. 1. Handwritten thank you note. Email…
The Home Office Deduction: Regular Method
Has your friend, neighbor or colleague told you that if you take the home office deduction, it will be a “red flag” to the IRS that will trigger an audit? Well, that is just not true! In order to claim the home office deduction for…
How to Evaluate Your Marketing Spend
One of the most important success factors of small businesses is the ability to generate revenue, and to do that, most businesses need to market their services and products to bring in new customers and sales. The challenge for small business is how to make…
Record Retention…When to Keep, When to Shred
Do you know how long you are supposed to keep documents? Do you know when it’s safe to shred? Having this knowledge is the first step to good recordkeeping. By following these guidelines, you can keep your documents and files organized and updated. Avoid keeping…
Is Your Workplace Family Friendly?
Attracting and retaining talent in your small business can be a giant step toward growing into a mid-sized business. Beyond attracting new employees with salary and benefits, here are several perks, policies, and benefits to consider adding to attract the best recruits for your workforce….
Income Shifting: SAVE Thousands in Taxes
Want to save money in taxes WITHOUT working harder? One way is to shift income from a higher bracket taxpayer to a lower one or even a zero rate-bracket. Typically, splitting the income between family members by hiring them to work in the business will…
Five Tips to Make Tax Time Painless
Tax time is probably not your favorite time of year, especially if you have to pay the government your hard-earned dollars. Here are five tips on how we can make it just a bit less painful. 1. Have patience. Practicing patience will go a long…
Entertainment Deductions: Half the Fun?
Here are some basic rules you need to know to ensure that all your entertainment expenses are deductible: Do you have an ordinary and necessary business reason for the entertainment? Did you have a quiet business discussion before, during or after the event? No discussion,…
How to Write Your Mission Statement
Mission statements are not just for large corporations. As an owner of a small business, you can benefit from going through the exercise of writing your mission statement. It can not only re-connect you with your “why,” it can also communicate an important part of…
1099s—The Ins and Outs
Processing 1099s can be confusing and frustrating. Here are some facts you need to know! General Rule: If you pay someone more than $600 in a calendar year for services, not material/product, then you are required to provide a 1099 showing the amount you paid….