Sometimes it’s the little details that business owners miss that can lead to major problems. When it comes to paying your employees, knowing what times and activities require payment and which ones do not is critically important. If you get it wrong, you could overpay or expose yourself to legal and financial risks for underpayment. The Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) “establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards.” If … [Read more...]
3 Proven Ways to Increase Sales Without Going Broke
The U.S. Census Bureau tracks a great deal more than just population statistics. They manage many thousands of data series’ including those that measure retail sales in the U.S. These reports and surveys include the: Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey Monthly Retail Trade Survey Annual Retail Trade Survey Quarterly E-commerce Report Business Expense Supplement Together these reports give a comprehensive and robust view of retail sales in the country. The Advance Monthly … [Read more...]
Fighting Back When Your Profits are Under Attack
Mike Periu on How to fire back when your profits are under attack As the economy continues its precarious path forward, consumers and business customers maintain a price-conscious attitude. Many large companies have made the decision to use price reductions, sales and rebates to increase (or maintain) unit sales. This tends to cause a great deal of grief to small business owners who are forced to decide how to respond. In most cases, it would be a mistake to go head to head on pricing … [Read more...]
Is Paid Sick Leave a Good Idea?
There are few things more annoying than sitting next to a coworker who is continually coughing, sneezing and complaining about how badly they feel. If you are like most people, you might think to yourself “why didn’t they just stay home? That’s what I would do.” According to a recent study by Monster.com, the odds are that you wouldn’t stay at home to recuperate. You would instead be part of the 71 percent of workers who go to work even when they are ill. Of the 29 percent that do stay home, … [Read more...]
Dodd-Frank Act: New Compensation Disclosure Requirements Affect Booming Businesses
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act became law in July of this year. I have previously written about some provisions of this far-reaching law such as changes with interchange fees. Given its more than 2,300 pages and broad scope, the impact on businesses continues to be understood with new revelations still being brought to light. There is one little-noticed section of the law whose impact could be significant given the mechanics required to implement it. If you … [Read more...]
New Video Series Helps Ease Pain of an IRS Audit
Few activities can be considered less desirable than an IRS audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Even a root canal may rank slightly above it. Last year, 1.03 percent of tax returns filed were audited. This represents over 1.4 million audits. Over 97 percent of these audits were for individual tax returns, leaving a small percentage for business audits. For small corporations, only 0.85 percent of returns were audited, 0.4 percent of Subchapter S corporations, and 0.38 percent of … [Read more...]
Best Banks for Small Business Ranking
Since 1968, J.D. Power and Associates has conducted thousands of independent and unbiased surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality and buyer behavior. It has rated and ranked a range of products and companies, from cars and boats to pharmacies and moving companies. Many consumers consider the company an authority. They use products or services that rank highly. Business owners get good information, too. A survey of particular interest to business owners is the small-business banking … [Read more...]
Making Conservative Choices in Accounting
When many people think of small business accounting, they think “boring.” They picture an emotionless drone in a poorly lit room entering numbers into a dusty journal or perhaps an outdated computer. It is the antithesis of marketing and sales, which is considered the “sexy” part of business. While accounting may not be the most exciting area of business, it is certainly far removed from the caricature that many portray. Accounting involves critical thinking and strategic decision-making … [Read more...]
Hole-Plugging: State Governments Looking to Your Business to Plug Budget Holes
State governments across the country are facing some of the worst budget deficits in history. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization that provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for idea exchange among legislators, states are facing an aggregate budget gap of at least $83.9 billion for the 2011 Fiscal Year. This estimate is likely to increase materially as the economic recovery fails to materialize. For the 2010 Fiscal … [Read more...]
Crackdown on Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors
I recently wrote about the tax gap and how the IRS is changing some important policies to minimize the difference between what businesses and consumers owe in taxes and what they actually pay. As both Federal and State budgets become more strained, the IRS and state tax authorities sharpen their pencils further to extract as much in unpaid taxes possible. The next target: misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Why all the fuss about misclassification? When workers … [Read more...]