Category: Small Business
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How to save money on workers compensation insurance costs
Three primary and effective strategies are available to help small business owners reduce the cost of workers compensation insurance: Qualify for an exemption from coverage Qualify employees for a better rating category Arrange employee benefits to be specifically excluded from taxable wages. (This strategy reduces both wage taxes and workers compensation insurance costs). The details…
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Odd experience with employee benefit documents
Over the years I’ve collected sample employee benefit documents from former employers, the IRS, insurance and investment companies, members of Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc., and my own clients. They’ve been loaned back and forth and changed, mashed, updated and reviewed many times. They used to be posted in an online library but I don’t…
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Tax tip: Avoid Late Filing Penalties
I had a few cases lately where small business organizations filed late tax returns and were then surprised by the size of the IRS late filing penalty. The penalty applies to regular for-profit, nonprofit and charitable organizations. The penalty is assessed even if the organization had no net income. The late filing penalty is applied…
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5 Years Since Sandy
In each of the five years since Sandy I’ve given interviews and written about the story of the recovery of Money Island, New Jersey. Now, finally, at five years the story is taking a turn. I have an interview today and plan to spend some time on a blog post tonight. Here’s a little history…
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The coming revolution in small business health plans
The most dramatic change in small business health plans is expected be introduced by the Trump administration later this week. By relying on executive branch power rather than congressional lawmaking, the administration can effectively revolutionize small business health plans. How is this possible? Isn’t health insurance controlled by state law? Yes but the biggest deterrent…
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Small business problems with ‘bill pay’ services
One of the oddities of modern small business accounting is that banks have promoted services that send paper checks through the postal mail instead of transferring funds electronically. These are called ‘bill pay’ services. Some portion of these paper checks are ‘lost in the mail’ and some skeptical people wonder if this is the reason that…
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Tax reform: “your results may vary”
Investors have cheered the prospect of a tax cut since it first became a reasonable possibility with Trump’s election. The markets reflect that enthusiasm. But now a closer look at the proposed legislation and its uphill battle ahead paint a different picture. First, it is clear that not all large businesses will benefit. Wall Street…
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QuickBooks accountant fees
Business owners using the world’s most popular small business accounting platform naturally want to know the price of professional support. While today’s online accounting significantly reduces the manual labor cost, these is always some requirement for skilled personal support. I am revisiting the topic now because I wonder about resetting my own fee structure: both…
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Features of Freedom Benefits Small Business Benefit Plan 2018
The new 2018 Small Business Employee Benefit Plan, available now, includes more features and options than ever before to allow your small business to offer big company benefits. Features include: · Easy, fast and inexpensive · Allows for inclusion of a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account(FSA), dependent care plan,…