Often a Maine-based small business will be asked by staff members if they can be exempt from federal withholding. There are a few different things to keep in mind when considering this question: If the staff member had no liability the previous year, i.e., they received a refund of all federal income tax paid, they  Continue Reading »

Small business owners often prepare a projected cash flow statement. These set a prediction of the company’s available funds over a specified period of time. The primary goal is to determine whether the business will have enough cash to pay the bills. These statements show, ahead of time, whether it will be necessary to find  Continue Reading »

Small business owners want their companies to grow. An efficient way to do this may be to acquire and merge with another company. But it’s not a sure thing, and usually when it doesn’t pay off, it’s because of management issues, and not market conditions. Read these eight key strategies that could make the difference  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 »

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 »

It can be a complex process to create an effective retirement program that meets the needs of both you, as a small business owner, and your employees. There are business strategies involved, like how to motivate employees to stay at the business, but there are also tax rules at play. On top of everything, you  Continue Reading »

In order for lenders to award credit, they need to see detailed budgets, including cash flow forecasts. These have to include realistic projections, not guesses at profit and revenues. Cash flow projections are especially important as they show how small businesses intend to pay back their loans. Even if a Maine-based small business isn’t looking  Continue Reading »

Many Maine-based small business owners start out with an office in their homes. An important benefit to this is being able to deduct the expense of the office on the tax return. It’s key for home-based business owners to know that in order to receive the deduction, the space must be used regularly and exclusively  Continue Reading »

As a Maine-based small business owner, it may make sense to share employees with one or more related companies, each paying its share of wages and compensation. This might make sense for a number of reasons, but one important one is that a “common paymaster” approach can help save money on payroll taxes for employees  Continue Reading »