Recent News

10 Tax Tips for Volunteers

Donating time to a charity can be a rewarding experience — both for you and people (or animals) who benefit from the organization's mission. But your efforts may also provide you with some well-deserved tax breaks if you itemize deductions on your tax return. Although you can't deduct the "value" of your services, here are 10 other tax-saving opportunities that you may be able to take advantage of. 1. Unreimbursed Vehicle Expenses If you take short-distance trips for the charity in your personal vehicle — say, to attend meetings, make deliveries or pick-ups or run other errands for the organization —...

Weathering the Storm of Rising Inflation

Like a slowly gathering storm, inflation has gone from dark clouds on the horizon to a noticeable downpour on both the U.S. and global economies. Is it time for business owners to panic? Not at all. As of this writing, a full-blown recession is possible but not an absolute certainty. And the impact of inflation itself will vary depending on your industry and the financial strength of your company. Here are some important points to keep in mind during this difficult time. Government Response For starters, don’t expect any dramatic moves by the federal government. Some smaller steps, however, have...

Is Your Cloud Provider Still Meeting Your Company’s Needs?

Like many businesses, yours has probably jumped aboard the cloud computing bandwagon … or “skywagon” as the case may be. How’s that going? Some business owners pay little to no attention to a cloud provider once the service is in place. Others realize, perhaps years later, that they’re not particularly satisfied with the costs, features and cybersecurity measures of their cloud vendors. Given the value of the data and documents that you store in the cloud, it’s a good idea to occasionally review your provider and determine whether you’re still making a good investment. Are You Getting These Benefits? As...

2022 Q3 Tax Calendar: Key Deadlines for Businesses and Other Employers

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the third quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. August 1 Report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for second quarter 2022 (Form 941), and pay any tax due. (See the exception below, under “August 10.”) File a 2021 calendar-year retirement plan report (Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ) or request an extension. August 10 Report...

Checking In on Your Accounts Payable Processes

Accounts payable is a critical area of concern for every business. However, as a back-office function, it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Once in place, accounts payable processes tend to get taken for granted. Following are some tips and best practices for improving your company’s approach. Be Strategic Too often, businesses take a reactive approach to payables, simply delaying payments as long as possible to improve short-term cash flow. But this approach can backfire if it puts you on bad terms with vendors. Poor vendor relationships can affect delivery times, service quality and payment terms. A proactive, strategic...

Dodge the Tumult with a Buy-Sell Agreement

Businesses with multiple owners generally benefit from a variety of viewpoints, diverse experience and strategic areas of specialization. However, there’s a major risk: the company can be thrown into tumult if one of the owners decides, or is compelled by circumstances, to leave. A logical and usually effective solution is to create and implement a buy-sell agreement. This is a legal document that spells out how an owner’s share in the business will be valued and transferred following a “triggering event” such as voluntary departure, divorce, disability or death. Buy-Sell Benefits A well-designed “buy-sell” (as it’s often called for short)...