From the AllBusiness.com Finance & Accounting Center
Your invoices may be the most important documents in your business; without them, you won't be paid. Your invoices should always include the following information:
Outsourcing payroll isn’t just for big companies–small and large businesses alike can enjoy the convenience, cost savings and peace of mind that outsourcing can create. Here are a few of the benefits outsourcing provides.
"Social bookmarking" sites allow you to create online bookmarks or favorites. You can access your Web-based list from any computer. You can create a profile in these link sharing sites to find and share Web content easily with people who have similar interests. You can also add buttons/icons to your Web site or blog, so people can easily submit your pages/posts to these sites & drive more traffic your way.
A lease is an agreement in which you have the use of a piece of equipment, but don’t own it. Today eight out of 10 businesses in the United States lease equipment, and approximately one-third of all new equipment is leased. How do you know if leasing is right for your business? What goes into the decision-making process to lease? How should you proceed once you have made the decision? The answers to these questions will enable you to realize the full benefits equipment can bring in running your business while maximizing the return on your equipment budget.
Equipment Costs
Credit card processing equipment costs depend on your requirements. Businesses that process cards online won’t need any equipment at all–credit card processing software takes the place of a magnetic swipe machine or card reader. If you’re processing cards at a retail store or a business where cards will be physically present, you’ve got a few options:
When in doubt, reboot.
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Before you consider an issue a real computer support problem and call your computer consultant, always reboot first.
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Exit out of whatever files and programs you're working on. Then run through a Shutdown and Restart sequence to reboot your PC.
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If you suspect the problem involves something hardware-related, such as a network card, modem, mouse, keyboard or sound card, go one step further. Shutdown your PC. Turn the power off for a minute or so and then power your PC back up again.
Find the best employees without breaking your budget
1. Consider immigrants. Many are talented people who will accept less pay because they don’t speak English. (But pay them fairly!)
2. Keep an eye out for displaced “Mommy Trackers”—smart women who’ve left corporate executive positions to start a family or be closer to their children. They can make excellent part-time executives.
3. Investigate employee-leasing and temporary-help services.
Know when and how to pay yourself.
1. Don’t pay yourself so much that you cripple your company or so little that you trigger IRS scrutiny and penalties.
2. Understand how your company’s legal structure affects your compensation and taxes. Your salary and bonuses are taxed one way; distributions to you as a shareholder are taxed another.
3. Find out what the market rates are for CEOs in your industry and your size of business. Your trade association can help.
4. Seek advice from the best accountant and lawyer you can find.
Published Dec. 11, 2011
The nitty-gritty of tracking cash isn't very exciting. And few entrepreneurs enjoy pestering customers to pay
their bills. But falling into a cash flow predicament is no fun, either. That's why it's essential that even those allergic to budgeting learn the basics of managing cash flow.
Published Dec. 10, 2011
What "goodwill" means and how it's created.
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