Time Sheets on the Run
If your employees work at home or move around between locations and if they are paid by the hour, you may be able to use mobile time sheets and Application Service Providers offer them. Basically, you aren’t expected to buy anything other than standard gear such as a mobile phone. While initially developed for blue…
Cell Phone Theft Costs Time and Money
Cell phones are an essential business tool, and while the technology lets you keep in touch 24/7 from nearly any location, there are some serious security issues. As the phones, and telecom-capable personal digital assistants (PDAs), have become increasingly smaller, they have become easier to lose and steal. Moreover, with their growing capabilities for storing…
Keep the Long-Term in Mind When Instituting Changes
Profit growth and business expansion are two key goals for many family businesses. But in order to successfully reach your targets, growth must be controlled. If you allow undisciplined expansion, you run the risk of diluting resources, leaving projects unfinished and destroying morale. Whether you are planning an expansion, developing a new growth strategy or…
Not-for-Profit Volunteer Expenses
Question: Our organization is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that relies on volunteers. Sometimes our volunteers incur significant transportation and other expenses in connection with the performance of their volunteer services. We would like to pay for some of those expenses, either directly or by reimbursement, to relieve their financial burden. If we do, would the…
No Current Deductions Before Business Commences
Starting up a business and wondering about how tax deductions will be handled? The most important thing to understand is that most expenses incurred before a business begins functioning cannot be deducted or amortized until the year when the business does become active. Business Expense Basics Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code allows current…
Uncashed Payroll Checks: Handle With Care
Small business owners may have the best of intentions when, instead of cashing their paychecks, they let them stack up in a drawer. If cash flow is tight, the owner may see this as a way to ease the crunch. This strategy may work on a short-term basis, but suppose the owner unexpectedly dies? Depending…
Navigating the Shoals of 401(k) Hardship Withdrawals
Permitting hardship withdrawals is a mixed bag. On the plus side, some employees might not agree to join the plan if they lack the freedom to tap their accounts in a crisis. On the negative side, allowing withdrawals may cause some employees to look upon the plan as more of a short-term savings vehicle. Also,…
Dependent Eligibility Audits Emerge as Cost Cutting Tool
As employers search for ways to contain employee benefit plan costs, many are undertaking dependent eligibility audits. The logic and the potential cost savings are compelling. Why pay for something — in this case, coverage for someone not entitled to it under the terms of a benefit plan — if you don’t have to? According…
Five Steps to Generate New Ideas
The process of improvement always begins with an idea. “Think of an idea like money in the bank,” said Donna Greiner, author of The Basics of Idea Generation. “Once you acquire the habit of producing ideas… they quickly compound… Like interest on a bank account, your ability to generate ideas grows exponentially.” “Ideas are the…
Business ID Theft: Is Your Data at Risk?
The IRS and state tax authorities have made significant strides in curbing individual identity theft over the last two years. But cyber attacks against businesses are on the upswing. Here are some simple ways business taxpayers can help protect their data from hackers. Trends in ID Theft The IRS recently announced that the number of individuals reporting identity theft in…