The Consumer Price Index covers food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Over the last year, consumer prices rose 7.9%, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the highest 12-month increase since 1982. Increases  Continue Reading »

Should it matter whether the pilot on your next flight has a bachelor’s degree? Delta Airlines recently asked that question, and management decided to end the requirement for new hires to have a four-year college degree. Although the company still prefers its pilots to have a college degree, Delta recently announced, “There are highly qualified  Continue Reading »

Buyers of businesses generally prefer to arrange for an asset purchase transaction instead of purchasing an ownership interest in the target business entity. Why? The primary reason is to avoid exposure to liabilities — both known and unknown — related to the business that’s being acquired. However, liability avoidance can’t be assured unless the seller  Continue Reading »

Uncle Sam is helping to pick up the tab for certain business meals in 2021 and 2022. Under a Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) provision, the usual tax deductions for 50% of the cost of business meals is doubled to 100% for food and beverages provided by restaurants for the 2021 and 2022 tax years. So,  Continue Reading »

Many employers have been raising wages substantially to maintain operations in today’s tight labor market. That’s most evident in the leisure and hospitality sector, where average hourly wages rose 12% for the year ending October 2021. For many organizations, getting by with paying minimum wage is generally a distant memory. That’s particularly true where the  Continue Reading »

Have you compiled a list of New Year’s resolutions for your small business in 2022? Resolutions don’t have to be limited to your personal life. Consider how you can improve your role as a small business owner in the upcoming year. Of course, everyone’s list will be different. But here are eight common aspirations that  Continue Reading »

Employers and employees may not see eye-to-eye on many topics, including the adequacy of their paychecks. When it comes to wages and salaries, the amounts are relatively cut-and-dried. However, the value of contingent compensation elements — such as health benefits — can be harder to evaluate until claims are filed. New research by supplemental employee  Continue Reading »

Have your customers been complaining about such issues as service disruptions, back-ordered products, unreturned phone calls, curtailed business hours, and unexpected price increases? Thanks to labor shortages, rising costs, and supply chain disruptions for many organizations, complaints are becoming ubiquitous. Even with “help wanted” signs posted everywhere and constant news about business challenges, customers often  Continue Reading »

A price increase is sometimes unavoidable — and now might be one of those times as many businesses are dealing with cost increases, supply chain bottlenecks, and labor shortages. The key to implementing a price hike with minimal loss of customers is timing. It’s hard to be the first one in your industry to raise  Continue Reading »

No matter the size of your construction business, cost codes are essential for tracking where and how you incur project costs. Although a job’s overall cost will tell you what was spent and how much was made, it won’t tell you why you spent the money or earned that profit. Cost codes provide an easy  Continue Reading »