Category: Accounting
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When taxes get ugly
Today I had to advise a small business client – in the strongest and clearest words I could summon – that it was important for him to immediately write a $5,000 check to retain a tax lawyer. Yes, it is a lot of money. I agree that it is not fair that you have to do this.…
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Sample professional payroll service agreement
What do you get when you hire a professional accountant to handle your payroll accounting and wage tax issues? This is certainly a fair question since the level of service seems to vary widely between providers. Some payroll service providers, I understand, do not even put the details of their services in writing. The professional…
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A small business marketing resolution
I’ve written recently how I cancelled a small business marketing firm’s contract because my client did not achieve the specifically stated objective of the marketing program which was to show evidence of one lead generated within the first six months of the program. The lead could have been a phone call, an email or an…
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Which of these is different than the others?
Comments about a marketing services sales video Remember those questions on cognitive aptitude test asking you to identify which item in the group is different than the others? Here’s one I ran across today in a video presentation: Item 1 – Marketing message from a daycare Item 2: marketing message from jeweler Item #3 – marketing…
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Open to new ideas in CPA marketing
It is clear that the first 18 months of my new business marketing has been a flop. The consensus advice “you’re on the right track just keep doing what you are doing” is either insufficient or just plain wrong. There is no logical explanation why my mix of marketing has not generated any new clients…
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Crowdfunding data on small business equity financings
I took time last night to analyze newly released data from the first 50 (more or less) small business equity crowdfunding deals completed in the United States. Some interesting trends are emerging that have significance for investors and issuers; I’m sure I’ll have more to say soon.
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“Is Crowdfunding a Mirage or an Oasis?”
The well respected law firm Blank Rome LLP, headquartered right here in my hometown of Philadelphia, put out a blog post this week titled “Is Crowdfunding a Mirage or an Oasis?”. With all respect, this is the wrong question for a business adviser to ask at this stage of evolution. The structure of business crowdfunding…
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Security warning about Symantec and Norton antivirus
This week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) have issued a statement that all Symantec and Norton branded antivirus products contain multiple vulnerabilities. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to take control of an affected system. All client data and accounting systems under…
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How to run a successful small business crowdfunding campaign
Many small business owners dream about tapping the power of the internet to raise funding for their growth. Yet in reality few people have an understanding of what it takes to be successful in the realm of crowdfunding. Many of my talks and article focus on explaining that many of the same attributes that indicate…
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Business crowdfunding for newbies
If you are curious but mostly unfamiliar with crowdfunding for small businesses, I suggest that these three concepts are the most important points to understand first: Crowdfunding is evolving. It is still not the best financing choice for most small businesses, but that is changing. In the meanwhile, it makes sense to prepare your small…