Author: Ken Boyd
Your complete small business tax prep checklist
It’s that time of year again: tax time. Preparing your taxes may seem like an annoying task that distracts you from running your business, but filing …
How to create a business budget
Running your own business presents unique opportunities for you to be your own boss, bring your entrepreneurial vision to life, and direct your financial future. But …
A small business guide to balance sheets
A company’s balance sheet is one of several important financial statements that report on its performance. But to understand the importance of a balance sheet, you …
How to start a small business in California
California can be a great place to start a business, and the state supports small business owners. According to Business News Daily, “California is home to more than 4 …
The ultimate guide to tax deductions for the self-employed
Filing your taxes as a W-2 employee can be overwhelming. But, when you’re self-employed, the labyrinth of paperwork and potential tax deductions creates a tax situation that’s enough to …
How to handle small business insurance claims
Managing a small business involves risk. A fender bender in the company car, or a customer slip on a wet office floor, can create business liability. Whatever’s …
8 ways to bulletproof your business with insurance
Financial losses from a product defect, data breach, serious illness or work-related automobile accident can force business owners to close their doors if they’re not prepared. The …
5 ways to lower your business insurance expenses
It can happen to any small business owner — arriving to work only to find property damage, stolen equipment and months of work undone. Nobody can predict when …
How business size impacts your spending and borrowing decisions
What tools do you need to operate your business? How much funding will you need? Should you carry inventory? The answer depends on the size of …
A small business guide to certified payroll
Certified payroll is a weekly payroll report. If your business works on federally funded projects as a contractor or a subcontractor, you are required to submit …
A small business tool for getting paid on time
Collect more cash in less time. How much would your business improve if you could get cash faster, without a huge investment of time? To reach …
A freelancer’s guide to income taxes
Managing your work as a self-employed person can be hectic. You have to market yourself, deliver a product or service and handle dozens of other tasks. …
What are your true product costs?
What is the true cost of the products and services that you sell? Now, that may sound like an odd question. After all, you generate and …
Pivot your small business: Pro advice on how to refocus for profit and growth
Something isn’t working. You did all the right things when you started your small business. You found a customer problem that needed to be solved, and …
Can I deduct the cost of a home office?
Does your tax return include all of your business expenses? If you’re self-employed and work out of your home, you may not be taking full advantage of …
7 year-end financial moves to make tax season easier
Many people don’t work well under pressure, and you may face a time crunch to complete your personal tax return. It’s never too early to start …
Expert advice to help you manage your payroll taxes
Don’t let the challenge of processing payroll overwhelm you. Filing your business taxes may be the most frustrating process in your business, and it becomes more complex as …
Is it time for your small business to sell products internationally?
Is it time to sell your products and services internationally? The Census Bureau reports that the United States’ exports totaled $2.5 trillion in 2018, the highest on record. …
Can I hire a bookkeeper instead of an accountant for my small business?
You can hire a bookkeeper instead of an accountant. But, does that meet all of your business needs? The answer is important because you need an …
How to manage your small business using a classified balance sheet
You need the right tools to manage your business. One of the most important set of tools is your financial statements, including the balance sheet. Many …
Can our small business write off an expensive asset when we buy it?
Your business uses assets to produce revenue. As assets are used up, you can write off the asset’s cost and post a tax deduction for the expense. When you …
Where does payroll go in my ledger?
Payroll is the most complex accounting process you must complete. Your accounting transactions are posted to general ledger, but is the information accurate? How do you …
Is it time to reevaluate how you manage payroll?
The start of the year is a great time to reassess your business. To grow sales and profits in 2019, you’ll need to process more transactions …
How to calculate your small business’s breakeven point
Sales to a business are like rain to spring flowers. Without it, they wither and die. Finding what works to generate sales and earn a profit …
Can I pay FICA taxes as a self-employed person?
You can pay FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes as a self-employed person. Everyone pays both FICA taxes and income taxes. If you’re an employee, your …
When is your car an actual business expense?
You can deduct the actual costs of using your personal vehicle for business use. How the tax rules work The IRS allows you to deduct the actual expenses …
What is an income statement?
The income statement is a financial statement that reports on company revenue, expenses, and net income as of a specific time period, such as a month or year. …
How contractors can improve their profits
Underpricing your product or service can be dangerous to your bottom line. Nellie Akalp, entrepreneur and founder of CorpNet.com, explains that: “Even though you might land the sale, …
Is ignoring financial statements killing your company growth?
Successful business owners learn from their mistakes. The effort required to operate your business may seem overwhelming, and you have to make a multitude of decisions …
Everything your small business needs to know about managing multiple construction projects
It’s difficult to keep all the balls in the air, when you’re trying to manage your business. It’s great to have a number of projects in …
This budget & planning guide can help your small business thrive
Successful business owners create an annual budget and compare the budgeted amounts to actual results each month. This process is the best way to make smart …
How to calculate job costing totals to increase your profitability
Do you really know how to price your product or service? What assumptions are you making about your costs? Are you pricing your product so low that you’re not making …
Understanding the difference between job costing & process costing
Do you control your business, or is your business controlling you? Gino Wickman, an author and business consultant, finds this lack of control as a common frustration with …
Does your small business need a POS?
Customers demand convenience. If your business can’t make the buying process quick, easy, and convenient, customers will go somewhere else. There are lots of examples that …
What’s the fastest way to get student loan forgiveness?
It’s little surprise that many of America’s 45 million student loan borrowers are looking to loan forgiveness programs to ease their burden. But while loan forgiveness sounds like a dream …
How to plan an international strategy for your small business
Is an international business strategy the next step for your small business? Expanding into new global markets can dramatically boost sales and profits, but it also requires …
How contractors can take charge of job costing
Do you clearly understand all of the costs you incur to create your product or deliver your service? Now, that question may sound odd to you. …
7 commonly ignored financial reports (you should actually pay attention to)
Your time is precious. To succeed in business, you must make smart decisions about using your time, and that includes the time you spend on financial …
Employee theft: Why it happens & how to deal with it
It’s deeply personal. Discovering employee theft can be infuriating. After all, you hired, trained, and trusted the worker to help you grow your business, and that …
Pro tips for managing your cash flow
If you could receive customer payments faster, how would your business improve? Many small businesses struggle with cash collections, and finding enough cash to operate each …
How workers compensation costs impact company profitability
Do you know the true cost of operating your business? Many business owners – even people with years of industry experience — don’t fully understand the …
What is job costing and how can it boost profits for your small business?
If you can’t identify all of your project costs, how can you determine the profitability of the engagement? You can’t. Company owners that conduct business on …
Best practices to help your business avoid tax fraud
As a business owner, you may find it increasingly difficult to file an accurate tax return. The tax code is complicated, and it’s not unusual to …
Does your business need a virtual CFO?
How much help do you need to manage your business? The answer will change, as your company grows and becomes more complex. Many businesses hire experts …
How much is your business really making & spending?
If you can’t answer this question with hard numbers, then you don’t really know. The most successful companies have systems in place to make sure that …
How to prepare for the dry spell in your small business
Twin Lakes Tree and Lawn Care 2019 Budgeted Income Statement Sales $200,000 Cost of Sales Materials $40,000 Labor $70,000 Total Cost of Sales $110,000 Gross Profit …
9 common sales tax errors you didn’t know you were making
Running a business requires dozens of decisions each week and requires owners attention to stay on top of day-to-day operations. With all of the work business …
Business health: How much money are you really making & spending
If you can’t answer this question with hard numbers, then you don’t really know. The most successful companies have systems in place to make sure that …
