Business Finance Articles

Although a business owner spends a lot of time determining how to earn money, the bottom line is equally affected by limiting how much money is spent. Fortunately, saving money is easier than earning it. The best way to start is by examining money-saving strategies in three areas where wise spending improves business. Make the [...]

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audited 1.11% of all tax returns filed in the last government fiscal year. However, business returns with gross receipts of $25,000 or more were audited twice as frequently as the overall rate. An IRS audit requires a time-consuming and frustrating process of collecting detailed business records. There’s no perfect method [...]

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Online invoicing applications offer many features that make accounts receivable quick and hassle-free. Today’s invoicing tools are sophisticated, offering both transactional capability and intelligence, with dashboards and analytical tools that let you see where your money is coming from and where it’s going. There are hundreds of products on the market, many targeted to the [...]

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Every year, businesses receive property tax notices that are ignored at great cost. Tax is assessed on real estate and any property used for business purposes, including equipment. Despite time constraints, you can take simple steps to reduce your property tax assessment. Obtain information about the market value of your property by checking on any [...]

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National statistics may indicate that we’re in an economic recovery, but that’s no reason to get complacent about business costs. There’s still plenty of uncertainty regarding sustainable consumer spending strength. The customers you have today are an opportunity to set aside profit for potential slowdowns in the future. This requires a focus on spending. By [...]

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Learning how to build a workable budget is so frustrating that most business owners skip the process completely. But hoping the numbers will work out is certain to cause greater frustration and possibly failure. There’s an effort required to set goals in a budget. However, the process is much easier when following some basic guidelines [...]

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The credit card reform law that went into effect this year shields consumers from such card-issuer practices as large jumps in fees and interest rates. But the new law applies only to credit cards issued to individuals, not to small businesses. Consequently, small-business owners are more likely than ever to be pursued by credit card [...]

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Successfully converting your business accounting to computer software such as QuickBooks requires careful completion of some essential steps. You will identify errors and have reliable data by developing familiarity with basic financial statements such as the balance sheet and profit and loss report. An accountant can explain these and provide valuable assistance in the accounting [...]

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Business owners create multiple problems when they combine business and personal finances. First, the unfortunate mingling needlessly complicates financial reporting, inhibiting accurate tracking of expenditures and assessment of business operations. Second, failure to separate business and personal records causes a mess at tax time, resulting in extra work to avoid lost deductions and misreported income. [...]

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Employers cannot evade responsibility for deducting employment taxes from wages by simply declaring workers as contract labor. Only independent contractors qualify for exemption from tax withholding by employers. The federal tax code defines the necessary conditions for independent contractor status. States also provide guidance on defining an independent contractor arrangement. Independent contractors basically present themselves [...]

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