If you operate your Maine-based business as a sole proprietorship, a single-member LLC (which is treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes), or a husband-wife partnership, here’s a great family tax planning deal: Hire your under-age-18 children as legitimate employees of the business. It doesn’t matter if they work part-time or full-time. This idea  Continue Reading »

When dealing with accounts receivable, it can be easy to put off having a policy in place to protect your business. As unpleasant as it can be do deal with customers who aren’t paying their bills, it is far worse for your small business to do nothing and hope the issue doesn’t come up. Here  Continue Reading »

As a small business owner, you are always going to have customers who don’t pay their bills on time. Due to unique relationships with customers as well as the varied responses they have to collection efforts, trying to collect the money owed to your business can be a difficult situation. Customizing guidelines for each account  Continue Reading »

It isn’t necessarily true that to increase profits a small business needs to increase sales. Extra cash could already be available. A thorough profit audit can uncover those dollars in every department of your Maine-based small business. Here are five ways to start looking for extra cash:  If you’re interested in borrowing money, you may  Continue Reading »

All small business owners should realize the importance of contracts, since they are part of everyday business, whether it’s the tiny print at the bottom of a bill or an agreement to buy office equipment. Depending on how complex the deal is, contracts with customers may be letter agreements or much larger documents. The key  Continue Reading »

When a small company if forced to shut down, it usually isn’t because they haven’t made profits. Most small businesses face closure because they lack quality cash flow, not because they lack profits or assets. So what should a business owner do? They will face many different situations and be prepared for all of them.  Continue Reading »

When starting a new Maine-based small business, there are a variety of entity choices. Some will be easily ruled out based on the business’ operation. The six basic entities are: 1. A sole proprietorship This is a business owned by one person, who may be the only employee. A sole proprietorship is not a separate legal  Continue Reading »

Maine-based small business owners often face a balancing act when it comes to deciding how much cash to keep in their regular checking accounts. On one hand business owners want to keep the money available for an emergency or great opportunity. But on the other hand, it doesn’t generate any extra income, as banks are  Continue Reading »

It’s one thing to read about other companies facing tough financial times. It’s quite another to experience the pressure yourself. The fact is, however, that many companies are having trouble paying their debts. And small business owners are called daily by lenders who want to collect. Here are some recommendations for talking and negotiating with  Continue Reading »

Small business owners almost always have to ask for a loan at some point. It’s important to remember that when requesting a loan, you will have to deal with the issue of covenants. These are constraints lenders impose on your company to keep it operating within specified financial ranges, and to prevent your small business  Continue Reading »