Buy-sell agreements help protect small businesses with multiple owners if an owner dies, becomes disabled or chooses to leave the company. They should dictate who can buy the departing owner’s interest, when, how and for how much. It’s best if these contracts are created when a business is started, but they can always be entered into or  Continue Reading »

A small business owner can sometimes feel like their company is having trouble doing things right the first time. Or they may be starting a new business and need help with the complexities involved in turning a profit. These are times when it may be useful to get some coaching. Small business owners and their  Continue Reading »

Crider v. Crider, 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 416 (Aug. 26, 2014) In a recent divorce case involving a series of family businesses in which the husband owned interests, the trial court faced considerable hurdles to arrive at a valuation of the marital estate. A small army of experts gave conflicting opinions on how to account  Continue Reading »

Historically, small businesses that wanted their employees to have health coverage without the hassle of a company health plan had the option of reimbursing workers for the cost of buying their own coverage or some portion of it. As long as the employee provided evidence that they used those funds for that purpose, the dollars  Continue Reading »

Appropriate adjusting entries turn a company’s books from a simple list of transactions into a far more accurate reflection of how the business is doing. Small business owners sometimes think that as long as someone is recording every sale made and every expense paid, everything is being recorded properly. But some important items don’t get  Continue Reading »

The S corporation is a popular business structure that’s available only to privately held businesses. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, about 44 percent of small companies have chosen to operate as S corporations. Maine-based small business owners may elect S status to retain the limited liability of a corporation, and  Continue Reading »

St. Alphonsus Diversified Care, Inc. v. MRI Associates, LLP, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 200 (Aug. 4, 2014) A recent lost profits case that revolved around a hospital’s breach of a partnership agreement’s noncompete clause raises issues about the right measure of damages and illustrates how an expert’s testimony succeeds in fending off various forms of attack  Continue Reading »

Even in good economic times, Maine-based small business owners can find it difficult to grown their profits. There’s a lot to be gained by learning how to become more profitable without growing the company bigger. Consider a Profit Audit Most small businesses have marketing plans, and even business plans that they can show to bankers.  Continue Reading »

For Maine-based small business owners, there are benefits of using direct deposit to pay employees. Some employees, however, may not fully trust banks, or want to have paper checks in their hands on payday. Some ways to increase participation, and therefore maximize benefits are: Tell employees that it will save time and hassle. They won’t  Continue Reading »

Browne v. Browne, Jr., 2014 Tenn. App. LEXIS 521 (Aug. 27, 2014) Another instance of “splitting the baby”? In a divorce proceeding, both experts used the capitalization of cash flow method but reached vastly different results in valuing the husband’s closely held company. One key difference was the cap rate, which they both generated with  Continue Reading »