It is that time again; time to process your payroll. Why not make that headache go away and see what outsourcing your payroll can do for you. It does not matter rather your business is big or small hours can better be spent on the operational and financial aspect of it. Payroll itself can be time consuming, and with law as, changing on a regular basis in this difficult economic time this is just one more thing that you cannot afford to make mistakes that will cost you money. This is because so many factors play into it like; full-time hourly, part-time hourly, seasonal, salaried part-time, and the list keeps going. To top it all off you have vacation accruals and even bonuses to configure, not to mention handling the direct deposits and manual checks. After all that than you have taxes that come up. No wonder just the thought of payroll and getting everything ready for payday can give you a headache.
Take a moment and see how much time and money that you spend processing your payroll. There are many business’ still tracking their payroll for their employees in spreadsheet, hand-written checks or in the worst case not paying payroll at all. Processing the payroll by hand can become a full-time job by itself, not only have to do it weekly or biweekly, and sometimes monthly there are other deadlines and commitments that have to be met. Quarterly and annual requirements, which easily can be forgotten, the potential penalties that you may incur can put your business in financial distress. With all this payroll information in it’s ever changing from; daily posting, hours worked, vacation pay, sick leave pay, accruals, union reports and requirements, employee changes that all have to be recorded into the payroll system. This process may take a lot of time and effort but it also lacks the efficiency. The only easy part of the whole process is the check writing. By streamlining your payroll process, you can save a substantial amount of time and money, and add to the bottom line. Outsource your payroll to a payroll processing company.
There is that light at the end of what seemed like the darkest of all tunnels. After all, just remember that the purpose of a payroll processing company is to utilize the wide range additional tools and professional expertise that can help your company. It can help with things like; efficiency, reduce costs, access the information you need at your fingertips and the most important thing, getting your employees paid on time. So if you want to take the hassle out of processing your payroll, look at outsourcing your payroll and see just how much of a difference it can make for you and your business.
Tag: Save
Time to Save Ourselves – Personal Business Stimulus Has Arrived – Unless You Work at AIG!
As we complete the first quarter, how are we all doing? Many of you are getting there and making it happen and others are still trying the old ways with some success. My hat is off to the hard working business owners and ultimate survivors.
We decided to ask our customers what has been working for them and here is what we found….
More Hours – Many of you are working harder and longer hours. This works for a while, however you must watch your health in this! Our personal machines are designed to work at a certain pace and distance. Make sure your other balance factors are considered no matter what!
Less Pay – Yes we all know that business owners are taking less pay, however many employees are willing to take less pay as long as the company can survive and make the distance. Extra hours for less pay, personal work time and straight time instead of overtime are just a few. It’s good to see the world pulling together to make it work!
Cut Extra Costs – Many businesses have to forgo the extras. Outings, food supplied meetings, extra supplies and high end extras are just a few examples. Companies are also shopping smarter for regular items. This seems to be making our purchasing decisions count. It’s good to be conscious, just don’t be foolish. Newspaper should only be read in the bathroom! (Sorry could not resist! – LOL)
Lower Cost Per Sale – We still have most of our businesses marketing to some degree, they are just being smarter about it. Sometimes this forced exercise is a good one. They are more conscious about lowering the cost per lead or cost per sale. Many of you are joining forces on generating business with Online Social Networks. This is one way. The next is to work customers for referral programs. This has always worked, and we are starting to see a lot more of this effort. Also, more structured programs and intentional efforts are becoming more popular to reward customers for brining in those referrals. Referral Agent and Affiliate Programs are also on the rise. We had half dozen inquiries last week alone on helping to structure these! Also, we are seeing an increase in Joint Venture programs where vendors and partners are joining forces to share resources to accelerate business. If you venture down any of these paths, make sure you have agreements in place. This helps keeps everyone real!
Government Bailout Monies – I am sure most of us have not received ours, although I did hear about some good news for small business in the “Big Package”. However, let’s wait and see what really gets signed and passes through the channel. Now, if you work at AIG – congratulations on the bonuses! Maybe you could spend some of that hiring our small business customers, or shopping and hitting the retail sector. It sure would help out the economy and get us back on track.
In any event, we should not wait for the trickle down effect of this bailout plan, instead, just remember the heart and soul we used when we started our businesses and wake up every day and motivate the troops to focus on what will bring in the most business for the lowest amount.
You know what to do – stop waiting for things to change and make it happen!
Save Your Small Business – 10 Crucial Strategies to Survive Hard Times Or Close Down & Move On
If there were ever a timely business book, “Save Your Small Business: 10 Crucial Strategies To Survive Hard Times or Close Down & Move On” by Ralph Warner and Bethany K. Laurence is certainly it. Promoted as a road map to small business survival, Warner and Laurence provide simple, no-nonsense, steps that can make a huge difference in running, saving, or if needed closing, your small business. Running a small business has always been hard, but currently it can be brutally agonizing, if not downright scary. This guide may just provide you with the information to make today’s bad economy, or bad economies in the future, opportunities so that in good times your business will be poised to thrive.
The book starts out saying it will be your small business companion, and recommends you create a business survival plan, prepare a current profit-and-loss statement and cash flow analysis, and establish an advisory board. It the delves into chapters that will provide the tools to help you decide whether it makes sense to continue, hibernate, close, or sell your business and offers some strategies you can implement to get your business back on track.
Chapter One: Can You Save Your Business? This chapter discusses topics such as planning for short and long term, selling your business, putting your business in hibernation, and saving your business. It also looks at some special considerations for retailers, services, construction, restaurants, wholesalers and importers, and franchises.
Chapter Two: Don’t Ignore Bad News. Why you can’t wait, cutting costs, changing direction, quitting and selling are addressed. There are also strategies on determining how much to cut expenses and acing slowly to reverse cutbacks.
Chapter Three: Control Your Cash Flow. This area can be one of the most important, especially for the small business. Topics include: Keeping paying your bills on time, how to create more cash, and what not to do, such as using merchant cash advances, maxing out credit cards, and borrowing against your house.
Chapter Four: Minimize Liability for Your Debts. Are you personally liable for business debts? Liability for jointly owned debt. What can creditors do if you don’t pay? Prioritizing debt payments, including payroll, taxes, utilities, and many more.
Chapter Five: Concentrate on What’s Really Profitable. Face it, the goal of a business is to make a profit. This chapter looks at getting a quick profits plan on paper, making money in a service business, and making money in retail or manufacturing. It is a short chapter, but if it gets you thinking about making a profit, it has done its job.
Chapter Six: Innovate on a Shoestring. Invention, Copying, Serendipity, and Making Innovation a Continuous Process are addressed in this chapter. This chapter may inspire you to brainstorm the next wonder gadget that every household must have. Depending on your business, this may be what you need.
Chapter Seven: Identify Your Customers. Before you can create an effective marketing plan, you need to know who your likely customers are. This chapter discusses aiming at the bull’s eye and filling in your target. Topics include current customers, need, price, access, and experience.
Chapter Eight: Don’t Waste Money on Ineffective Marketing. If we only knew which of our marketing efforts were producing the best results. This chapter helps you determine things about your marketing such as: Marketing the right products or services to the right people, not spending big dollars on advertising, asking long-term customers for support, encouraging customers to recommend your business, using paid listing effectively, marketing on your own website, and holding a “trying to stay in business” sale.
Chapter Nine: Handle Layoffs Fairly – And Keep Your Best People. Laying people off is often one of a business owners most dreaded tasks. This chapter provides guidance in this area by looking at: Making a wise layoff plan, the logistics of a layoff, and keeping the great people you hire. Some very good advice for this unfortunate part of business.
Chapter Ten: Don’t Work Too Much. What? If your business is floundering, you must work more, right? This chapter tackles the subjects of the importance of a sane schedule and how to work less and make more. Priorities and delegation are the keys the authors discuss.
Chapter Eleven: Work With Your Best Competitors. The four areas this chapter covers include: Treating competitors with respect, getting business from competitors, working for competitors, and working with competitors.
Chapter Twelve: How to Close Down Your Business. Most people don’t ever want this to happen, but the reality is that it does. This chapter offers some good strategies if you decide it is time to close the business and do something else. Topics include things like creating a closing team, looking at contractual obligations, dealing with landlords, collecting bills and selling off inventory, notifying and paying employees, liquidating assets, notifying creditors and customers, paying your debts, paying taxes, and dissolving your business entity. This is not a pleasant topic, but unfortunately an important one if you find yourself having to go this direction. The book provides guidance in the process.
Chapter Thirteen: Dealing With Debt: Bankruptcy and Its Alternatives. Introductory chapter on these topics with some good advice, but you will need more resources if you choose to go down the bankruptcy path, or better yet, seek counsel from a qualified professional.
Appendix A provides guidance on preparing a profit and loss forecast and a cash flow analysis. There are more complete references on these out there for sure, but this short bare bone basics on them will get you started and at least help you determine where you are at.
“Save Your Small Business” is a good guide for the struggling small business owner, and also provides information for the small business owner who doesn’t want to fall into hard times. Educating oneself regarding business is crucial for small business success. This is one more Nolo title that will help small business owners hopefully survive, but also liquidate and close with less pain if that is the course that must be taken.
Hire A Team of Dedicated Designers & Developers – Save Time and Money
Designing, development and maintenance of a web page is a complex and costly process. So if you are planning to develop and run a website you might have considered various alternatives of hiring professionals. Usually, the first option that many people consider for developing their own website is to hire in-house professionals, but this has its own disadvantages. Whereas concept like outsourcing is gaining popularity at tremendous pace. In fact, hiring full time dedicated web designers and web developers from specialized firms have emerged as best options in saving a lot of time and cost. Today hiring a team of dedicated web designers and developers can let you enjoy numerous benefits like:
o You can be benefited with hire on demand policy i.E. To hire a resource just when you need it and for the duration you need it.
o You can monitor quality and progress with direct communication channels. Usually dedicated resources will be connected with you via online chat, email or client support system
o You can just relax and be sure of your work done with quality and as desired with full time designers and developers. By the time you can concentrate more on core business activities instead of project development
o You can hire highly skilled professionals easily having vast expertise in this field.
o You can have better control on your projects as professional it outsourcing company and maintain complete transparency on your project growth along with regular update on the progress in real time.
How dedicated resources can work for you?
o Dedicated professionals work on hourly or monthly basis completely for which you will pay them
o Professionals are highly skilled and maintain high standard of work.
o You get regular updates on work status.
o You pay comparatively lower and transparent amount for the services.
o You do not need to burden yourself with issues like hr, payroll and infrastructure.
o You do not need to spend your time, effort and money for arranging resources for the professionals to work for. You can hire an offshore it office for at free of cost. All you need is to pay for the services.
o Dedicated web designers and developers are scalable and agile in terms of requirements.
While we are talking about outsourcing, it is just impossible to ignore India’s highly skilled and proficient web designers and developers. The key point to note is that in recent times many Indian it web solution companies have seen a huge upsurge in service providers offering dedicated web designing and development services. Mostly all of them take full responsibility of website maintenance and thus hiring dedicated designers and developers can give you a good return of the invested money. So if you want your website to be competent in terms of technology, it is always better to take help of expert web designers and developers. By following this simple yet effective approach you can easily concentrate on other important issues like business expansion and growth.
How Can a Trademark Save Your Company?
A trademark represents your business. You can trademark a brand name, logo, symbol, and even a sound that refers to your business.
A trademark depicts others that your company owns the products or services you offer in an exclusive manner. Customers are at times driven into purchasing a product by its brand name so it is important to make the brand stand apart by first having a unique trademark. Recognizable symbols help to create healthy relationships with customers and maintain loyal repeat buyers.
Your need for a trademark registration depends on the scale in which your business is established or growing. If your trading operations take place in one state only and there is no interstate trading going on, then you do not require a registered trademark.
When you acquire a business license from the state you trade in, you gain legal rights to your Company’s name. No other person or company can use your business name unless allowed to.
But if you want to expand your business and you start trading in other states as well, your trademark will not be protected. In this case, you will have to register your trademark which will ensure protection as well as authenticity to your brand. Registering your trademark helps prevent problems like doing business in states with companies that are operating under the same trademark.
You may also be inclined to register your trademark if you provide goods or services on the internet. E-commerce merchants often trade with customers outside their business’ home state. A registered trademark will protect your company’s identity when conducting online business in other states.
The several benefits of registering your trademark:
- Communication: A trademark makes it easier for you to communicate your ideology with your consumer base. Certain designs or words in your logo may prove to be effective in selling and marketing your products. Usually, consumers associate with certain intellectual and emotional messages that come across via your trademark.
- Valuable Asset: With time and the pace at which your business grows, the value of the trademark appreciates subsequently. There are times when trademark as an asset grows to such a level that it surpasses the overall value of the company. It can then be sold, provided on a lease or used as a security while procuring loans.
- Availability: A trademark helps customers to recognize a particular company. In a competitive world when several others are offering the same service or selling the same good as you are, it is difficult to stand out. Here, trademark comes to your rescue. It captures the attention of the customer and makes them less likely to shift to another brand. They also know who they are dealing with, hence, is less likely to shift to an alternative.
- Recognition: When a customer looks for your products on the online portal, a unique registered trademark helps the portal to filter results and display your name on the top. The filtered results which display your name on the customer’s screens happens only when there is higher traffic for your products, which translates into higher rankings thus fetching in more customers and more brand recognition.
- No Expiry Date: Your trademark does not expire as long as it is being used. Once registered, there is no provision for a renewal.
While choosing a brand name, the owner must keep in mind that it must justify your product. Thorough research must be done in order to avoid probable cases relating to infringement.
All the above points cater to the question why a company needs a trademark to save itself.
These 4 Last-Minute, Year-End Tax Strategies Can Save You Money
FSI Tax Corp is alerting taxpayers to end-of-the-year actions they can take to reduce their 2006 tax bills. After the New Year, it will be too late to take advantage of many tax-saving opportunities, such as reducing 2006 income, exploring available tax credits and pursuing all legitimate 2006 write-offs.
1. Minimize your income
Because you are taxed on your yearly income, the simplest way to decrease your tax bill is to decrease your income. It may not sound like that’s a strategy that could save you money, but postponing income until 2007 can reduce your taxable income for 2006.
If you have clients, you can delay your invoices or push back due dates until after January 1, 2007. Unless a financial hardship requires immediate funds, wait a couple of weeks. It won’t count as income if you don’t receive it during this year, but you will still receive what you are owed. You will give your clients a needed break over the holidays and your patience will pay off in April. If you are an employee, see if your employer can delay your holiday bonus until after the New Year.
2. Tax Credits
People tend to focus on deductions more than tax credits when it comes to planning for tax season. However, there are many tax credits available that, if you qualify, can save you a lot on your tax bill. Below is a list of tax credits; detailed explanations of each credit can be found on the IRS website.
• Retirement Savings Credit: Available to low to moderate income level taxpayers who contribute to a retirement savings account. This credit can save up to $1,000 or $2,000 if filing jointly.
• Credit for Elderly or Disabled: Taxpayers earning a limited income may qualify for this credit if over 65 years old or permanently disabled.
• Adoption Tax Credit: If you adopted a child this year, you may be eligible for this credit which repays adoption expenses up to $10,639 in 2006 or about $5,000 for each adopted child.
• Child Tax Credit: Low-income parents with children under 17 years old may qualify.
• Child and Dependent Care Credit: This is for parents who have children under 13 and place their children in daycare or with babysitters so the parents can work.
• HOPE Credit: Students may qualify for a tax credit of up to $1,500 for tuition and fees assistance.
• Lifetime Learning Credit: A credit of up to $1,000 for which students (including part-time students) and students not in school due to pursuing a post-secondary degree or for a business purpose may qualify.
The Energy Tax Incentives Act was signed into law in August, and while critics of the law argue it is aimed at providing benefits to big energy companies, it also includes tax credits for consumers. Under the new law, taxpayers can take a credit for:
• Energy efficient home improvements, like insulations of windows and doors.
• Solar energy equipment for residences.
• Hybrid, fuel cell and other energy-saving or alternative energy using vehicles.
• Other energy equipment purchases, such as electric heat pumps and water boilers.
3. Deductions
In addition to delaying income and taking advantage of tax credits, loading up on deductible expenses in 2006 can also reduce your taxable income. Taxpayers need to be careful to only include legitimate deductions because every deduction will be scrutinized by the IRS. Here are a few ideas:
• Prepay your state and local taxes. If you withheld state and local taxes this year, and you plan to itemize, it would be advantageous to prepay the taxes now and the payment will count as a federal deduction.
• Increase your 401(k) contribution to cut your taxes and increase your retirement savings. Some 401(k) plans permit “catch-up” contributions in lieu of yearly contribution maximums. According to SmartMoney.com, a taxpayer in the 28% tax bracket can save $280 by contributing an extra $1,000. You are getting paid to save!
• Include additional deductible mortgage interest by paying January’s mortgage bill now.
• Don’t postpone paying tuition and university fees. Pay for next year’s education now and save. In some states, contributions to your 529 college savings plan can also be deducted.
4. Donate to Charities
The holiday season is a “season of giving” and a great time to donate to your favorite charity. Not only does it feel good to give to the less fortunate, but you can help yourself by donating before January 1st and including the contribution on your 2006 tax return. For more information on charitable donations visit [http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0],,id=164997,00.html.
You can also donate stock to charity, avoid paying taxes on the appreciation and deduct the full value of the stock.
For taxpayers looking for maximum generosity and time to consider how to give back, a donor-advised fund may be the answer. For a contribution of at least $10,000, you can deduct the entire amount now and disperse the funds over time.
In a Nutshell
There are many ways to work the tax system in your favor, as long as you are willing to roll up your sleeves and dig into the details. These last-minute, year-end tax tips are a good starting point.
Contact:
FSI Tax Corp.
9212 Berger Rd.
Columbia, MD 21046
1-877-437-4669