Run a business for any length of time and the importance of cash flow becomes abundantly clear. When payroll is due, bills are piling up and funds aren’t available, blood pressure tends to rise. For this reason, being able to accurately forecast cash flow is critical. Here are four ways to refine your approach:
Whether the customer is always right is debatable, but businesses should put their customers first when developing a strategic plan for next year.
Have you ever received your tax return, only to be surprised by the end result? Have you ever said to yourself: “I wish I would have known that before the end of the year!” ? Here’s a guide on how plan ahead so your tax returns don’t catch you by surprise.
For many small businesses, the grand reopening is still on hold. The rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 has mired a variety of companies in diminished revenue and serious staffing shortages. In response, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has retooled its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to offer targeted relief to eligible employers.
Commercial loans, particularly small business loans, have been in the news over the past year or so. The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program has been helpful to many companies, though fraught with administrative challenges.
Business owners are regularly urged to create and update their succession plans. And rightfully so — in the event of an ownership change, a solid succession plan can help prevent conflicts and preserve the legacy you’ve spent years or decades building.
If you’re struggling to find novel ways to grow your company, know this: There are essentially a handful of proven growth avenues.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has released new guidance intended to expedite the forgiveness process for certain borrowers under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The simplified process generally is available for loans of $150,000 or less, which the SBA reports account for 93% of outstanding PPP loans. The guidance comes at a time when many borrowers are nearing a critical deadline regarding their applications for forgiveness.
The IRS has published new guidance on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The credit was created in March 2020 to encourage employers to keep their workforces intact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notice 2021-49 addresses various issues, particularly those related to the extension of the credit through 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
An accounting system provides a clear view of the overall financial health of a company. Setting up an accounting process is important because it provides organization for a business, provides an understanding of a business’s cash flow needs, and can help identify and implement tax reduction strategies before year end.
Someone might have once told you that human beings use only 10% of our brains. The implication is that we have vast, untapped stores of cerebral power waiting to be discovered. In truth, this is a myth widely debunked by neurologists.
Fun fact: A summer job may enable your teen to contribute to a Roth IRA.
Most business owners would likely agree that strategic planning is important. Yet many companies rarely engage in active measures to gather and discuss strategy. Sometimes strategic planning is tacked on to a meeting about something else; other times it occurs only at the annual company retreat when employees may feel out of their element and perhaps not be fully focused.
A critical deadline is approaching for many of the businesses that have received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created in March 2020 by the CARES Act. If these borrowers don’t take action before the deadline expires, their loans will become standard loans, and the borrowers could be responsible for repaying the full amount plus 1% interest before the maturity date. In addition, some borrowers could face audits.