When launching a small business, many entrepreneurs start out as sole proprietors. If you’re launching a venture as a sole proprietorship, you need to understand the tax issues involved. Here are nine considerations:
Is It Time to Upgrade Your Business’s Accounting Software?
By now, just about every company uses some accounting software to track, manage, and report its financial transactions. Many businesses end up using several different types of software to handle different accounting-related functions. Others either immediately or eventually opt for a comprehensive solution that addresses all their needs.
7 Common Payroll Risks for Small to Midsize Businesses
If your company has been in business for a while, you may not pay much attention to your payroll system so long as it’s running smoothly. But don’t get too complacent. Major payroll errors can pop up unexpectedly — creating massive disruptions costing time and money to fix and, perhaps worst of all, compromising the trust of your employees.
Should You Convert Your Business from a C to an S Corporation?
Choosing the right business entity has many implications, including the amount of your tax bill. The most common business structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, C corporations, and S corporations.
Business Owner’s Health Care Self-Insurance and Stop-Loss
For businesses, sponsoring a health insurance plan for employees cost-effectively is an ongoing battle. In the broadest sense, you have two options: fully insured or self-funded.
A fully insured plan is simply one you buy from an insurer. Doing so limits your financial risk while offering the most predictable costs. The other option is what’s commonly known as “self-insurance.” Under this approach, your company funds and manages the plan, usually with the help of a third-party administrator.
Tax Tips for Growing Your Business with a New Partner
There are several financial and legal implications when adding a new partner to a partnership. Here’s an example to illustrate: You and your partners are planning to admit a new partner. The new partner will acquire a one-third interest in the partnership by making a cash contribution to the business. Assume that your basis in your partnership interests is sufficient so that the decrease in your portions of the partnership’s liabilities because of the new partner’s entry won’t reduce your basis to zero.
What Expenses Can’t Be Written Off by Your Business?
If you check the Internal Revenue Code, you may be surprised to find that most business deductions aren’t specifically listed there. For example, the tax law doesn’t explicitly state that you can deduct office supplies and certain other expenses. Some expenses are detailed in the tax code, but the general rule is contained in the first sentence of Section 162 (PDF), which states you can write off “all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business.”
Applying for a Commercial Loan With Confidence
Few and far between are businesses that can either launch or grow without an infusion of outside capital. In some cases, that capital comes in the form of a commercial loan from a bank or some other type of lender.
If you and your company’s leadership team believe a loan will soon be necessary, it’s important to approach the endeavor with confidence. That starts with having valid, well-considered strategic reasons for borrowing. From there, you need to engage your bank or a prospective lender with a strong air of professionalism and certainty.
Tax-Favored Qualified Small Business Corporation Status Could Help You Thrive
Operating your small business as a Qualified Small Business Corporation (QSBC) could be a tax-wise idea.
3 Ways Your Business Can Uncover Cost Cuts
Every business wants to cut costs, but it isn’t easy. We’re talking about clear and substantial ways to lower expenses, thereby strengthening cash flow and giving you a better shot at strong profitability.
Obvious places to slash costs (such as wages, benefits and overhead) often aren’t viable options because the very stability of your operation may depend on them. But there might be other ways to lower expenses if you dig deeply enough. Here are three possibilities.