business – Roth&Co

Back to industry updates

By definition, an entrepreneur is a creator, a producer, an investor. So, it’s no surprise that no matter the size of their business, entrepreneurs yearn for expansion. While it might seem like today’s market is dominated by the Amazons and Facebooks of the world, the reality is that 99.7 percent of all businesses in the United States are considered “small,” totaling 28.8 million organizations with less than 100 employees. Although they likely all share the dream of growth at some point, expansion is a very risky proposition.

While 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 50% fail in their fifth and that number rises to 70% in the tenth. These Bureau of Labor Statistics are consistent over time, suggesting that year over year economic factors do not hold outsize significance over business survival. Strategic planning does, according to Crown Sterling Ltd. CEO Robert Grant. That is because our competitors, perhaps more than any other factor, affect our outcomes. To win at business you’ll need skills, but more so you’ll need to out-strategize the other players in the game.

“Expanding a company doesn’t just mean grappling with the same problems on a larger scale,” writes Sharon Nelton in Nation’s Business. “It means understanding, adjusting to, and managing a whole new set of challenges—in essence, a very different business.” For those leaders who identify a need or avenue for growth there are important things to consider. Effective research, long range planning and a flexible budget are necessities.
A strategic plan answers some important questions, namely, what am I going to achieve by expanding and how will I get there? Some goals may include meet existing customer demands, expand into new markets or increase brand recognition. Your plan will ensure you don’t sacrifice the ultimate goal of increasing sales by sacrificing your current ones.

What do I know and not know about this new venture? Venturing into previously untapped markets is sure to unveil the unexpected. Best Buy didn’t catch on in China because big, bright stores just didn’t capture customers the way lower Chinese prices did. Starbucks underestimated its competition in Israel and bowed out of all their stores after two years. Small businesses should bear in mind that doubling the size of your company tends to increase your bills by a factor of six – budget accordingly keeping in mind the soft costs, like upgrading financial and record keeping software and communication systems.
Plan ahead but strike quickly; if you’ve anticipated a good move chances are that your competition has, as well. He who strikes first, has the advantage. Entrepreneurship is all about pushing forward and playing a step ahead of your opponent is often all it takes.
Play to win.

Back to industry updates

In recent years, external auditors have focused more attention on related party transactions. Although related party transactions aren’t necessarily bad, they do raise some concerns about the risk of misstatement or omission in financial reporting.

3 focal points
Issues with related parties played a prominent role in the scandals that surfaced nearly two decades ago at Enron, Tyco International and Refco. Public outrage about these scandals led Congress to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and establish the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Similar problems have arisen in more recent financial reporting fraud cases, prompting the PCAOB to enact tougher standards on related-party transactions and financial relationships.

PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 2410 (AS 2410), Related Parties, requires auditors of public companies to beef up their efforts in financial statement matters that pose increased risk of fraud. Specifically, auditors must focus on three critical areas:

1. Related-party transactions, such as those involving directors, executives and their family members,
2. Significant unusual transactions (SUTs) that are outside the company’s normal course of business or that otherwise appear to be unusual due to their timing, size or nature, and
3. Other financial relationships with the company’s executive officers and directors.

Subjecting these transactions and financial relationships to enhanced auditor scrutiny may help avert corporate failures. The PCAOB also hopes that enhanced auditor scrutiny will lead to improvements in accounting transparency and disclosures, which will help investors to more clearly gauge financial performance and fraud risks.

From start to finish
AS 2410 requires auditors to obtain a more in-depth understanding of every related-party financial relationship and transaction, including their nature, terms and business purpose (or lack thereof). Tougher related-party audit procedures must be performed in conjunction with the auditor’s risk assessment procedures, which occur in the planning phase of an audit.

In addition, auditors are expected to communicate with the audit committee throughout the audit process regarding the auditor’s evaluation of the company’s identification of, accounting for and disclosure of its related-party relationships and transactions. They can’t wait until the end of the engagement to communicate on these matters.

During fieldwork, expect auditors to be on the hunt for undisclosed related parties and unusual transactions. Examples of information that may be gathered during the audit that could reveal undisclosed related parties include information contained on the company’s website, tax filings, corporate life insurance policies, contracts and organizational charts.

Certain types of questionable transactions — such as contracts for below-market goods or services, bill-and-hold arrangements, uncollateralized loans and subsequent repurchase of goods sold — also might signal that a company is engaged in unusual or undisclosed related-party transactions.

To facilitate the audit process, management should be up-front with auditors about all related party transactions, even if they’re not required to be disclosed or consolidated on the company’s financial statements.

Let’s be honest
Private companies also engage in numerous related party transactions, and they may experience spillover effects of the tougher PCAOB auditing standard, which applies only to audits of public companies. Regardless of whether you’re publicly traded or privately held, it’s important to identify, evaluate and disclose all related parties. We can help you present related party relationships and transactions, openly and completely.

Back to industry updates

In the broadest sense, strategic planning comprises two primary tasks: establishing goals and achieving them. Many business owners would probably say the first part, coming up with objectives, is relatively easy. It’s that second part — accomplishing those goals — that can really challenge a company. The key to turning your strategic objectives into a reality is a solid implementation plan.

Start with people
After clearly identifying short- and long-range goals under a viable strategic planning process, you need to establish a formal plan for carrying it out. The most important aspect of this plan is getting the right people involved.

First, appoint an implementation leader and give him or her the authority, responsibility and accountability to communicate and champion your stated objectives. (If yours is a smaller business, you could oversee implementation yourself.)

Next, establish teams of carefully selected employees with specific duties and timelines under which to complete goal-related projects. Choose employees with the experience, will and energy to implement the plan. These teams should deliver regular progress reports to you and the implementation leader.

Watch out for roadblocks
On the surface, these steps may seem logical and foolproof. But let’s delve into what could go wrong with such a clearly defined process.

One typical problem arises when an implementation team is composed of employees wholly or largely from one department. Often, they’ll (inadvertently or intentionally) execute an objective in such a way that mostly benefits their department but ultimately hinders the company from meeting the intended goal.

To avoid this, create teams with a diversity of employees from across various departments. For example, an objective related to expanding your company’s customer base will naturally need to include members of the sales and marketing departments. But also invite administrative, production and IT staff to ensure the team’s actions are operationally practical and sustainable.

Another common roadblock is running into money problems. Ensure your implementation plan is feasible based on your company’s budget, revenue projections, and local and national economic forecasts. Ask teams to include expense reports and financial projections in their regular reports. If you determine that you can’t (or shouldn’t) implement the plan as written, don’t hesitate to revise or eliminate some goals.

Succeed at the important part
Strategic planning may seem to be “all about the ideas,” but implementing the specific goals related to your strategic plan is really the most important part of the process. Of course, it’s also the most difficult and most affected by outside forces. We can help you assess the financial feasibility of your objectives and design an implementation plan with the highest odds of success.

Back to industry updates

As the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” This certainly rings true in business, as those who best understand their industries and markets tend to have a knack for staying on top. If that person is a company’s owner, however, great knowledge can turn into a vulnerability when he or she decides to retire or otherwise leave the business.

As you develop your succession plan, consider how to mitigate the loss of pure know-how that will occur when you step down. One way to tackle this risk is to implement a knowledge management strategy.

Two types of knowledge

Knowledge management is a formal process of recognizing and treating knowledge as an asset that your company can identify, maintain and share. Generally, a business can subdivide knowledge into two types:

1. Explicit knowledge. This exists in the tangible world and typically includes company reports, financial statements and databases. These items are usually easy to access, extrapolate from and append. For your succession plan, however, you may need to dig deeper into your own confidential files, memos or emails.

2. Tacit knowledge. This is information that resides solely between the ears of a business’s leadership, employees and perhaps even service providers. As such, it’s not easily retrievable. In terms of succession planning, this may be the stuff that you haven’t written down or even talked about much.

Typical categories

Typical knowledge management categories include:

Taxes and accounting,
Financial management,
Strategic planning,
HR, payroll and employment practices,
Sales and marketing,
Customers,
Production, and
Technology.

In addition, knowledge management should account for your company’s intellectual property —trade secrets, for example. Many business owners keep such details close to their vests and even managers may not know the full value of the company’s intellectual property. This could put your business at risk following your departure.

A comprehensive knowledge management effort related to your succession plan will call on you to undertake a full inventory of every category listed above and perhaps others. Gathering your explicit knowledge may entail compiling years’, even decades’, worth of documents, files and writings. This may not be an easy task, but it’s still a matter of straight research.

You’ll likely find capturing your tacit knowledge somewhat more challenging. One idea is to ask a suitable employee or engage an outside consultant to interview you regarding all the pertinent categories. Many business owners find these conversations arduous at first but eventually enlightening and enjoyable.

A legacy preserved

A solid succession plan is imperative to maintaining the future stability and success of your company. Knowledge management can strengthen that plan and help preserve the legacy you’ve worked so hard to build.

Contact us for further information and for help identifying knowledge related to your tax filings, accounting methods and other financial matters.

Back to industry updates

Ask many entrepreneurs and small business owners to show you their financial statements and they’ll likely open a laptop and show you their bookkeeping software. Although tracking financial transactions is critical, spreadsheets aren’t financial statements.

In short, financial statements are detailed and carefully organized reports about the financial activities and overall position of a business. As any company evolves, it will likely encounter an increasing need to properly generate these reports to build credibility with outside parties, such as investors and lenders, and to make well-informed strategic decisions.

These are the typical components of financial statements:

Income statement. Also known as a profit and loss statement, the income statement shows revenues and expenses for a specified period. To help show which parts of the business are profitable (or not), it should carefully match revenues and expenses.

Balance sheet. This provides a snapshot of a company’s assets and liabilities. Assets are items of value, such as cash, accounts receivable, equipment and intellectual property. Liabilities are debts, such as accounts payable, payroll and lines of credit. The balance sheet also states the company’s net worth, which is calculated by subtracting total liabilities from total assets.

Cash flow statement. This shows how much cash a company generates for a particular period, which is a good indicator of how easily it can pay its bills. The statement details the net increase or decrease in cash as a result of operations, investment activities (such as property or equipment sales or purchases) and financing activities (such as taking out or repaying a loan).

Retained earnings/equity statement. Not always included, this statement shows how much a company’s net worth grew during a specified period. If the business is a corporation, the statement details what percentage of profits for that period the company distributed as dividends to its shareholders and what percentage it retained internally.

Notes to financial statements. Many if not most financial statements contain a supplementary report to provide additional details about the other sections. Some of these notes may take the form of disclosures that are required under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles — the most widely used set of accounting rules and standards. Others might include supporting calculations or written clarifications.

Financial statements tell the ongoing narrative of your company’s finances and profitability. Without them, you really can’t tell anyone — including yourself — precisely how well you’re doing. We can help you generate these reports to the highest standards and then use them to your best advantage.

Back to industry updates

With the year underway, your business probably has a strategic plan in place for the months ahead. Or maybe you’ve created a general outline but haven’t quite put the finishing touches on it yet. In either case, there’s a time-tested approach to refining your strategic plan that you should consider: a SWOT analysis. Let’s take a closer look at what each of the letters in that abbreviation stands for:

Strengths. A SWOT analysis starts by identifying your company’s core competencies and competitive advantages. These are how you can boost revenues and build value. Examples may include an easily identifiable brand, a loyal customer base or exceptional customer service.

Unearth the source of each strength. A loyal customer base, for instance, may be tied to a star employee or executive — say a CEO with a high regional profile and multitude of community contacts. In such a case, it’s important to consider what you’d do if that person suddenly left the business.

Weaknesses. Next the analysis looks at the opposite of strengths: potential risks to profitability and long-term viability. These might include high employee turnover, weak internal controls, unreliable quality or a location that’s no longer advantageous.

You can evaluate weaknesses relative to your competitors as well. Let’s say metrics indicate customer recognition of your brand is increasing, but you’re still up against a name-brand competitor. Is that a battle you can win? Every business has its Achilles’ heel — some have several. Identify yours so you can correct them.

Opportunities. From here, a SWOT analysis looks externally at what’s happening in your industry, local economy or regulatory environment. Opportunities are favorable external conditions that could allow you to build your bottom line if your company acts on them before competitors do.

For example, imagine a transportation service that notices a growing demand for food deliveries in its operational area. The company could allocate vehicles and hire drivers to deliver food, thereby gaining an entirely new revenue stream.

Threats. The last step in the analysis is spotting unfavorable conditions that might prevent your business from achieving its goals. Threats might come from a decline in the economy, adverse technological changes, increased competition or tougher regulation.

Going back to our previous example, that transportation service would have to consider whether its technological infrastructure could support the rigorous demands of the app-based food-delivery industry. It would also need to assess the risk of regulatory challenges of engaging independent contractors to serve as drivers.

Typically presented as a matrix (see accompanying image), a SWOT analysis provides a logical framework for better understanding how your business runs and for improving (or formulating) a strategic plan for the year ahead. Our firm can help you gather and assess the financial data associated with the analysis.

Back to industry updates

Meal, vehicle and travel expenses are common deductions for businesses. But if you don’t properly document these expenses, you could find your deductions denied by the IRS. (more…)

Back to industry updates

Technology is tricky. Much of today’s software is engineered so well that it will perform adequately for years. But new and better features are being created all the time. And if you’re not getting as much out of your financial data as your competitors are, you could be at a disadvantage.

For these reasons, it can be hard to decide when to upgrade your company’s accounting software. Here are three keys to consider: (more…)

Back to industry updates

You’ve probably heard about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing state and local governments to impose sales taxes on more out-of-state online sales. The ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. is welcome news for brick-and-mortar retailers, who felt previous rulings gave an unfair advantage to their online competitors., and state and local governments are pleased to potentially be able to collect more sales tax.

Below please find an up to date list on current rulings by state:

Hover over your state for current updated tax change information, and click a state to be directed to their website for more information (when available)

Back to industry updates

If you see four possible ways for something to go wrong, and circumvent them all- a fifth way promptly develops. Which is why any plan not amenable to change…is a bad plan.
Strong businesses must be prepared to weather the storms that will inevitably come. A company like Coca Cola Co has, which has been in business over 130 years, has seen many such downs turns, but perhaps none quite as precarious as the negative PR campaign against sugar, that in 2004 set the industry on a downward spiral that continues to this day. The recent sugar tax being imposed across the country is the latest crushing hit in a long battle that shows no sign of letting up. (more…)

Back to industry updates

By and large, today’s employees expect employers to offer a tax-advantaged retirement plan. A 401(k) is an obvious choice to consider, but you may not be aware that there are a variety of types to choose from. Let’s check out some of the most popular options: (more…)

Back to industry updates

Congratulations! You have finally decided to start your own business.

Or maybe you have been operating as a sole proprietor and have decided it is time to protect your personal assets from those involved with your growing business.

You now face the choice of whether to structure your business as an S corporation (S corp), or a limited liability corporation (LLC).

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Some business owners — particularly those who founded their companies — may find it hard to give up control to a successor. Maybe you just can’t identify the right person internally to fill your shoes. While retirement isn’t in your immediate future, you know you must eventually step down. (more…)

Back to industry updates

Plan B is never best planned while plagued by panic and the frenzied fear of Plan A’s imminent failure- though it often is.

Business owners study the market and the competition with a growth mindset. The goal is always to stay ahead of the pack by managing risk and leveraging strengths, but managing risk in a disaster is often where the boys are separated from the men.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Do bad sales months often take you by surprise? If so, don’t forget the power of flash reports — that is, snapshots of critical data for quick, timely viewing every day or week.

One specific way to use them is to track bookings vs. shippings. Doing so can help you determine what percentage of volume for certain months should be booked by specific dates. These reports are particularly useful if more than 30 days elapse between these activities. (more…)

Back to industry updates

It’s not uncommon for businesses to sometimes generate tax losses. But the losses that can be deducted are limited by tax law in some situations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) further restricts the amount of losses that sole proprietors, partners, S corporation shareholders and, typically, limited liability company (LLC) members can currently deduct — beginning in 2018. This could negatively impact owners of start-ups and businesses facing adverse conditions. (more…)

Back to industry updates

“That’s just the cost of doing business.” You’ve probably heard this expression many times. It’s true that, to invoke another cliché, you’ve got to spend money to make money. But that doesn’t mean you have to take rising operational costs sitting down. (more…)

Back to industry updates

Every business owner launches his or her company wanting to be successful. But once you get out there, it usually becomes apparent that you’re not alone. To reach any level of success, you’ve got to be competitive with other similar businesses in your market.

When strategic planning, one important question to regularly ask is: Just how competitive are we anyway? Objectively making this determination entails scrutinizing key factors that affect profitability, including: (more…)

Back to industry updates

Many companies offer health care benefits to help ensure employee wellness and compete for better job candidates. And the Affordable Care Act has been using both carrots and sticks (depending on employer size) to encourage businesses to offer health coverage. (more…)

Back to industry updates

They say an important trait for success as an entrepreneur is optimism. The optimist will try far more things and persevere through many more failures because of his unusually positive outlook… there’s also many a pessimist who got that way by financing one. The trick is finding the right balance. Tempered optimism is enthusiastic yet skeptical; passionate about making money and equally so about losing it. (more…)

Back to industry updates

“Blockchain” may sound like something that goes on a vehicle’s tires in icy weather or that perhaps is part of that vehicle’s engine. Indeed it is a type of technology that may help drive business worldwide at some point soon — but digitally, not physically. No matter what your industry, now’s a good time to start learning about blockchain. (more…)

Back to industry updates

The attitudes and behaviors of your people managers play a critical role in your company’s success. When your managers are putting forth their best effort, the more likely it is that you’ll, in turn, get the best performances out of the rest of your employees. Here are three ways to supercharge your supervisors: (more…)

Back to industry updates

We live and work in an era of big data. Banks are active participants, keeping a keen eye on metrics that help them accurately estimate risk of default. (more…)

Back to industry updates

An old business adage says, “Sales is a numbers game.” In other words, the more potential buyers you face, the better your chances of making sales. This isn’t completely true, of course; success also depends on execution. (more…)

Back to industry updates

Employees tend not to fully appreciate or use their retirement benefits unless their employer communicates with them about the plan clearly and regularly. But workers may miss or ignore your messaging if it all looks and “sounds” the same. That’s why you might want to consider getting more creative. Consider these ideas: (more…)

Back to industry updates

Many businesses train employees how to do their jobs and only their jobs. But amazing things can happen when you also teach staff members to actively involve themselves in a profitability process — that is, an ongoing, idea-generating system aimed at adding value to your company’s bottom line.

Let’s take a closer look at how to get your workforce involved in coming up with profitable ideas and then putting those concepts into action. (more…)

Back to industry updates

You’ve probably heard or read the term “big data” at least once in the past few years. Maybe your response was a sarcastic “big deal!” under the assumption that this high-tech concept applies only to large corporations. But this isn’t necessarily true. With so much software so widely available, companies of all sizes may be able to devise and implement big data strategies all their own. (more…)

Back to industry updates

For many years, owners of small and midsize businesses looked at outsourcing much like some homeowners viewed hiring a cleaning person. That is, they saw it as a luxury. But no more — in today’s increasingly specialized economy, outsourcing has become a common way to cut costs and obtain expert assistance.
(more…)

Back to industry updates

Although the drop of the corporate tax rate from a top rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21% may be one of the most talked about provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), C corporations aren’t the only type of entity significantly benefiting from the new law. Owners of noncorporate “pass-through” entities may see some major — albeit temporary — relief in the form of a new deduction for a portion of qualified business income (QBI).
(more…)

Back to industry updates

The recently passed tax reform bill, commonly referred to as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (TCJA), is the most expansive federal tax legislation since 1986. It includes a multitude of provisions that will have a major impact on businesses.
(more…)

Back to industry updates

It’s important to resist the temptation to rely on gut instinct or take shortcuts when budgeting for 2018. Creating a solid budget that’s based on the three components of your company’s financial statements will help you manage profits, cash flow and debt.
(more…)

Back to industry updates

Tax laws for businesses are constantly changing, and they seem to get more complicated every year. Join Roth&Co expert Yosef Klein, CPA to learn the most important tax moves to make before the calendar flips—so you can keep more of your hard earned money and feel confident going into 2018.

Back to industry updates

The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution isn’t coming — it’s here. While AI’s potential for your company might not seem immediately obvious, this technology is capable of helping businesses of all shapes and sizes “get smart.”
(more…)

Back to industry updates

Heshy Katz, Partner at Roth&Co, discusses the importance of innovation in business. He explains how a lack of vision can lead any business to the same fate as Kodak, while constant innovation can lead to incredible gains and profit.

Back to industry updates

Husbands everywhere agree: for maximum attention, nothing beats a good mistake. But nothing perhaps illustrates that better than the response to the Coca Cola company’s stunning announcement, in 1985, that they had reformulated their popular product and relegated the beloved Coke recipe to a locked vault forever…until they pulled it out again – quickly! The whole fiasco lasted 3 months and is considered one of the greatest marketing blunders of all time. The memory still reverberates 25 years later, and its anniversary was celebrated this month with business and marketing publications everywhere rehashing the Coca Cola co.’s epic fail during the cola wars.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Year end can’t get here soon enough for some business owners — especially those whose companies have exceeded their annual budgets. If you find yourself in this unenviable position, you can still cut costs to either improve this year’s financial picture or put yourself in a better position for next year.
(more…)

Back to industry updates

At this time of year, it’s common for businesses to make thank-you gifts to customers, clients, employees and other business entities and associates. Unfortunately, the tax rules limit the deduction for business gifts to $25 per person per year, a limitation that has remained the same since it was added into law back in 1962. Fifty-five years later, the $25 limit is unrealistically small in many business gift-giving situations. Fortunately, there are a few exceptions. (more…)

Back to industry updates

Two valuable depreciation-related tax breaks can potentially reduce your 2017 taxes if you acquire and place in service qualifying assets by the end of the tax year. Tax reform could enhance these breaks, so you’ll want to keep an eye on legislative developments as you plan your asset purchases.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

If you own a profitable, unincorporated business with your spouse, you probably find the high self-employment (SE) tax bills burdensome. An unincorporated business in which both spouses are active is typically treated by the IRS as a partnership owned 50/50 by the spouses. (For simplicity, when we refer to “partnerships,” we’ll include in our definition limited liability companies that are treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes.)

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Are you the founder of your company? If so, congratulations — you’ve created something truly amazing! And it’s more than understandable that you’d want to protect your legacy: the company you created.
But, as time goes on, it becomes increasingly important that you give serious thought to a succession plan. When this topic comes up, many business owners show signs of suffering from an all-too-common affliction.
(more…)

Back to industry updates

“We love our customers!” Every business owner says it. But all customers aren’t created equal, and it’s in your strategic interest to know which customers are really strengthening your bottom line and by how much.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

When did you last Google your not-for-profit’s name or check to see if your website is among the top search results for relevant terms? Many organizations optimize their sites for search engines when they first launch and never revisit their search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for online obscurity.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

If you acquire a company, your to-do list will be long, which means you can’t devote all of your time to the deal’s potential tax implications. However, if you neglect tax issues during the negotiation process, the negative consequences can be serious. To improve the odds of a successful acquisition, it’s important to devote resources to tax planning before your deal closes.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Your not-for-profit has probably spent a lot of time and effort attracting board members who have the knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to make a difference to your organization. Unfortunately, what begins as a good relationship can sour over time, and you may find yourself in the tough position of having to “fire” a board member.

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Is business going so well that you’re thinking about adding another location? If this is the case, congratulations! But before you start planning the ribbon-cutting ceremony, take a step back and ask yourself some tough questions about whether a new location will grow your company — or stretch it too thin. Here are four to get you started:

(more…)

Back to industry updates

Many business owners are accustomed to running the whole show. But as your company grows, you’ll likely be better off sharing responsibility for major decisions. Whether you’ve recruited experienced managers or developed “home grown” talent, you can empower these employees by taking a more collaborative approach to management.

(more…)

Ready, Set… Grow

Transparency is key with related party transactions

An implementation plan is key to making strategic goals a reality

Using knowledge management to develop your succession plan

Financial statements tell your business’s story, inside and out

Refine your strategic plan with SWOT

Business deductions for meal, vehicle and travel expenses: Document, document, document

3 keys to a successful accounting system upgrade

UPDATED: E-Commerce Tax Law Change by State

Surviving the Storm

Finding a 401(k) that’s right for your business

Should your business be an S Corp or an LLC?

Could a long-term deal ease your succession planning woes?

Failing to Prepare or Preparing to Fail

Bookings vs. shippings: A sales flash report primer

The TCJA changes some rules for deducting pass-through business losses

Cost control takes a total team effort

Say, just how competitive is your business anyway?

Manage health benefits costs with a multipronged approach

Quality Control

Blockchain may soon drive business worldwide

3 ways to supercharge your supervisors

Could your next business loan get “ratio’d”?

Building a sales prospect pipeline for your business

It’s time to get more creative with retirement benefits communications

Turning employee ideas into profitable results

Big data strategies for every business

Not necessarily a luxury: Outsourcing

New tax law gives pass-through businesses a valuable deduction

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Key provisions affecting businesses

Make budgeting part of your New Year’s resolution

10 Tax Moves You Should Consider Before Year End

Get smart: How AI can help your business

Innovate or Stagnate

Leadership For A New Generation

Cutting costs when you’ve gone over budget

Getting around the $25 deduction limit for business gifts

Reduce your 2017 tax bill by buying business assets

2 ways spouse-owned businesses can reduce their self-employment tax bill

Don’t Let “Founder’s Syndrome” Impede Your Succession Plan

How Profitable Are Your Customers?

Make Sure Your Nonprofit’s SEO Strategy Keeps Pace With the Web

Tax Planning Critical When Buying a Business

Is One of Your Nonprofit’s Board Members Causing Trouble?

4 Tough Questions to Ask Before Expanding to a New Location

Listen and Trust: The Power of Collaborative Management