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There are several tax benefits for individuals that are currently available that will be expiring at the end of the 2011 tax year. Not only will you want to make the most of these opportunities while they are still available, but you will want to factor these changes into your tax planning for 2012. Read More »
Excel spreadsheets are a powerful tool for businesses. You can use them in many ways to track and analyze business data. You can also format them to provide very professional looking reports, including a variety of charts and graphics that are created from your data. For the average user, there are several functions in our Excel program that we use on a regular basis, and then there are others that we only use occasionally. It can be easy to forget some of what we’ve learned when we don’t use it on a regular basis. We can also get in a rut of doing things a certain way and not realize that there are new shortcuts available that we are overlooking. That’s where some of the great Excel tip websites can be very helpful. Read More »
The red tape and regulations associated with exporting goods has kept many small businesses from considering international marketing. Frank Lavin, CEO and founder of Export Now, is determined to change that. He’s founded a company that will handle all the logistics and make it easy for small U.S. businesses to market their goods to hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers. Read More »
With long established businesses closing and others struggling to keep their doors open, you would think that this would be worst time to start a new business. However, history shows that some of the most successful businesses started during poor economic times, Disney and Microsoft, to name two. Read More »
For some businesses, worker’s compensation premiums are not a big item on their agenda. They have minimal risk factors and little changes in their payroll numbers during a year. But for others, the work comp insurance audit at the end of the insurance cycle can mean a big catchup premium to pay. If you aren’t calculating and accruing this anticipated expense throughout the year, the amount can often take you by surprise. Financial surprises that dip into your cash flow are never easy to deal with. Thankfully, there are ways to keep that final premium number from being a surprise. It’s through accruals.
Each year when your work comp policy is renewed, you are provided with the premium rates for each of the different categories that your workers fall under. These rates are applied to the estimated payroll for each of the categories to determine your estimated insurance premium for the year. At the end of the year, during your work comp audit, the insurance company will apply these rates to your actual payroll totals for each category to determine your true annual premium. If you’ve added workers, given significant raises or performed work under a new, higher rated work category, your premium will likely be much higher than the original estimate.
The way to prepare for this added expense is to set up an accrual system which calculates the amount of work premium due on each payroll processed. Many payroll software systems include this as one of their optional functions. By applying the work comp rates (less any discounts) to the payroll, by labor categories, you can keep a running total of your estimated work comp premiums. With the ability to compare your accrued work comp premiums against the estimated premiums, any overages can be planned for ahead of time. Read More »
