Financial statements shouldn't be your first line of defense in identifying business problems. The core financial statements—income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement—are required for understanding the performance of your business at a specific point in time or over a period of time. But these statements by themselves aren’t enough to spot potential problems early on. Usually by the the time an underlying business problem affects your financial statements, the damage has been done. … [Read more...]
Don’t Be Afraid of the Big, Bad Financial Statement
Financial statements can be a small-business owner's best friend. Don't avoid them. Many small-business owners have a natural aversion to finance and financial statements. Unlike sales or product development, which are considered core to success, finance is seen as a necessary evil that's best left to accountants and “numbers guys.” Part of this perception is the fault of the finance industry itself, which loves to use jargon. The income statement, for example, is also called the operations … [Read more...]
What the Dive in Worker Productivity Means for Your Business
Worker productivity takes an unexpected fall. Expect your labor costs to go up and your margins to go down. Worker productivity is a key factor in determining your company’s profitability. As your employees become more productive, they deliver the same output in less time and for less expense, boosting profits. Everything has a limit though, and at some point your ability to squeeze more output out of the same workers will end. At a national level, it looks like we have reached this … [Read more...]
Latest Job Growth Numbers Could Signal Economic Momentum
ADP announced that business added 215,000 new jobs during December, significantly more than economists expected. What does the latest job Growth Numbers mean for small business? According to ADP, one of the largest payroll processing companies in the country with over $10 billion in revenues, U.S. companies hired 215,000 workers during December. This is significantly more than the 140,000 workers economists had expected. Such strong hiring is a positive sign, especially considering that the … [Read more...]
4 Proven Tactics to Get Paid on Time
Late payments from customers can cause serious cash flow problems. Follow these four tactics to make sure you Get Paid on Time. Late payments from customers can cause serious cash flow problems at your business. If you you need customer cash for regular expenses like rent and payroll, late payments can lead to late payment fees, interest costs on borrowed money and anxiety among your staff. It also increases the risk of nonpayment if the delay becomes extended. If you want your customer to … [Read more...]
New Minimum Wage Laws in Effect Across the Country
Ten states have increased their minimum wages for 2013. How will that affect your business? As of January 1, 10 states increased their minimum wages by between 10 cents and 35 cents per hour. Analysts expect these boosts in minimum wage to affect more than 1 million workers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Rhode Island is the only state where an increase was made by choice by the governor; the other states' increases were … [Read more...]
Protect your money against future bank failures
Finance expert Mike Periu on measures you need to take now to protect your money against future bank failures. The Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program extension bill has died in the Senate. This means that the TAG renewal program will expire at the end of the year. Beginning on January 1, non-interest bearing accounts at participating banks will no longer have the unlimited protection that the TAG program provided against bank failure. Small banks and small business owners lobbied for … [Read more...]
Alternative Minimum Tax Nightmare Only Weeks Away
Finance expert Mike Periu on the IRS' recent warning to Congress about the need to address the Alternative Minimum Tax issue. Steven T. Miller, Acting Commissioner of the IRS, has warned Congress that failure to address changes in the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) that would take place under the fiscal cliff will have devasting consequences for tax filers. The AMT is a second way to calculate your tax liability that limits deductions and ensures that more people pay more income taxes. Its … [Read more...]
Small Business Payroll Processing Could See Major Disruption in 2013
Finance expert Mike Periu on the upcoming complexities of Small Business Payroll Processing. The American Payroll Association has warned that further delays in Congress to determine future tax rates could lead to widespread confusion in early 2013 among small-business owners who need to calculate withholding taxes on their employees' pay. According to the APA, the majority of small-business owners process their own payroll. If a decision isn't reached by December 14th, it's unlikely that owners … [Read more...]
Tax Increases for Successful Business Owners a Near Certainty
Finance expert Mike Periu on tax increases ahead for small business owners. President Obama held his first press conference in 8 months yesterday. Among the topics covered by reporters was income tax increases relating to fiscal cliff negotiations. The President indicated that a key component of his position for this negotiation and a tenant of his second term will be to increase income taxes on households earning more than $250,000 per year. It appears that this tax increase will happen no … [Read more...]