7 WAYS TO KEEP THE DOORS OPEN

     I had a bad experience within the past couple weeks. One of my clients was notified by a significant customer of there inability to pay the outstanding invoices. The company in question was trying to avoid bankruptcy and wanted my client to help in both payment terms and options. We spoke about the situation [...]

6 PROJECTS TO COMPLETE BEFORE THE SUMMER

     It has been some time since I last added to my blog. There are a number of things I could blame but time has been one of them. I was recently asked to help out a friend who has assumed the role of General Manager of a business. He will be traveling this summer and wanted [...]

7 BENEFITS THAT COULD BE TAXED IN 2013/2014

     I just spent the last three weeks helping out my former firm get through tax season. Although the majority of my time was spent reviewing tax returns for quality control, I was taken back by the sheer number of benefits offered to employees and shareholders. Besides the retirement types such as 401K plans, there are a [...]

6 REASONS TO HIRE AN OVER 55 PERSON

   Over the past week I have been involved in a number of meetings and conversations. Most of these have been with small business owners regarding adding people to their businesses. Many are concerned about the cost without enough of a benefit to go along with it. They tell me hiring  people can be a [...]

7 SIGNS THAT THE FIRE WENT OUT

     Recently I have been helping out my old firm with some tax work to make tax season a little easier for them. I apologize for not getting my blog out this time of year but it seems like my time is less every year. I met with a long-term client last week in my helper [...]

6 THOUGHTS ON KEEPING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

     I remember trying to get by in the accounting business with limited staff. After all if I was able to produce the same amount of work or more than the previous year we would normally show a better profit. I was driven early in my career in growing my practice and how to service clients [...]

7 STEPS IN PREPARING FOR A TAX AUDIT

   One of the most intimidating aspects of business is dealing with the taxing authorities. Nothing strikes more fear in a businessperson than the thought of going through a tax audit. It does not matter that it may be for as simple a thing as verifying unemployment compensation and categories. Audits denote penalties, huge tax [...]

6 WAYS TO DIVERSIFY YOUR BUSINESS

     For many years I have consulted with businesses about their problems. Although profitability and growth have been the overriding topics one that often arises is that of diversity. Should I or shouldn’t I have been asked of me so many times I can not count. Obviously each business is different.. Therefore there is no [...]

6 GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESS RECORD RETENTION

     Every January as businesses wrap up the previous year I get the same question. How long must I keep this information ? While it is fresh in our minds here are 6 guidelines to use when retaining business records.    1/ Always back up ALL of your computer files and documents. It is the [...]

7 WAYS TO CONTROL COSTS IN 2012

     Happy New Year to all. I am back from a three-week hiatus and ready to jump into 2012. I had sufficient time to reflect on small business during my break and wondered if it would be better to begin the year with a few cost savings ideas. Although business may be better in the [...]