Tax time for small businesses is typically very stressful. With the April 15 deadline approaching, now is the time (if you haven't already) to get started on preparing your taxes. While researching for this week's tax tips and blog, I came across many tax tips that I didn't know about. Check out my Top 10 Tax Tips! File Your Tax Return for Free - The IRS Free File program provides free federal income tax preparation and electronic filing for eligible taxpayers through a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies. Free tax preparation and filing via online software is available to anyone with a 2009 Adjusted Gross Income of $57,000 or less. If that’s you, head to the IRS website and choose from a list of approved tax preparers, and get started. If you aren’t sure which preparer to use, ans... [Read Full Article]

Tips from March 10, 2010Are you collecting the maximum tax breaks from the stimulus law passed last year? Here are the 5 best business tax breaks. Bonus depreciation. Allows a business to deduct 50% of the cost of a new asset in the year it is placed in service. Section 179 expensing. A small business can elect to expense up to $250k of the cost of qualified assets. Net operating losses. Under the new law, most businesses can elect to carry back losses for up to 5 years, instead of the usual 2 years. Discharge of business debt. The stimulus law allows businesses to recognize discharge of indebtedness income over 5 years, rather than all in 2009. Exclusion of gain on the sale of qualified small business stock. Increased to 75% for any gain from a sale between Feb 09 and Jan 11. Daily Overview: Keep the 2009 stimulus law in mind when you are calculating your taxes this year.  Big thanks to... [Read Full Article]

Tips from March 8, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss tax deductions for small businesses. Business Travel – Deduct your transportation, accommodations, and business-related expenses from your taxes. Combining business and pleasure? Only deduct costs that are business related as long as more than half of your trip is dedicated towards work. Equipment – Need new machines, equipment, or other necessary supplies to keep your business running? Deduct these necessities from your business taxes. Rent – Keeping your business under a roof comes at a cost. Deduct your cost for rent to lower your taxable income. Salaries – What you pay your employees is a necessary expense for your business. Keep records of your employee salaries, and changes throughout the year, and deduct these expenses. Daily Overview: “Ordinary and necessary” expenses for your business can be deducted from y... [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics, and the EconomyTech: The Return of Risk-Taking Suddenly, there are mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and investors galore. Will the reenergized industry lead the U.S. out of the Great Recession? BusinessWeek.comManagement and Operations33 Highly Useful Presentation Tools Use these tools for presentations to engage your audience, and get your point across using the latest technology. SmallBizTrends.com Management and Operations [Read Full Article]

Tips from September 24, 2009 The Small Business tips today discuss managing your finances and finding funding. Research your area's development departments, including state, county, and local. They may offer a funding program. Community banks are a good source to contact for funding. They are usually willing to help small businesses, like themselves, out. Ask your bank if there are any revolving loan funds (RLF) you can qualify for. RLFs allot funding for periods when you cannot pay. Visit the US Small Business Administration. Research their funding programs & see if you can qualify for one. Daily Overview: Finding funding is no easy task. Do your research & don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. [Read Full Article]

Small businesses have a lot on their plate when it comes to finances as it determines the state of their business.  Many small businesses have trouble managing their finances, and encounter problems without knowing it. Ironically, many of these small businesses having trouble are making the same mistakes. Learn from these top five financial mistakes small businesses make and keep your business in business.  1. Your Business Has No Financial Policies Established Since there are fewer employees who wear many different hats, policies are important for small businesses to establish rules, regulations, and procedures. It is the same for finance matters. Financial policies provide assurance that everything regarding finances is carried out in the same manner. Policies also encourage efficiency, as each employee learns the policies they are more accustomed to how to handle them.  The important policies to have for your small business include handling petty cash, an employee re... [Read Full Article]

Tips from September 23, 2009 The Small Business tips today cover talking to your bank about financing. Know the facts, including the current state of economy and type of business you run & its success vs. the industry. Prepare documents, files, and reports to have available for banks. Do light research on various ways to finance. Evaluate your business financially. Use legit records and be honest. Know your net worth as well as annual and personal cash flow. Plan ahead and predict the future. Think about previous years and sales trends. Forecast monthly for the entire year. Daily Overview: Be efficient and have all the information ready & prepared to talk to a bank about financing. [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics, and the Economy Consumer Confidence Soars A step towards the right direction, consumers are now looking positively towards the future in regards to spending, housing, employment, and the economy.  CNNmoney.comManagement and Operations3 Vital Business Lessons from Tiger Woods' PGA LossThe big upset of Tiger Woods losing the prestigious PGA tournament has not only created a buzz in the sports world, but in the business world as well. See how Woods' loss translates into business lessons. BusinessKnowHow.comManagement and Operations [Read Full Article]