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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

With so much technology available to us today, more and more people are able to set up home-based businesses. Many times, owners of these businesses don’t realize how vulnerable they are to significant money losses if something such as fire, theft or natural disaster were to occur. A survey commissioned by the Independent Insurance Agents  Continue Reading »

When it comes to businesses, there is a great deal of confusion over the legal meaning and significance of fictitious and corporate names. A company is a lot more likely to face a legal trademark challenge now simply because more businesses are operating nationally and coming into contact with each other. Contrary to popular misconception,  Continue Reading »