It should go without saying but surprisingly, many business owners become slack about keeping accurate records. This article just serves as a reminder!
If You Want To Keep More Profits, Then Keep Good Records
Posted on December 17th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting | No Comments »
Accounting is an extremely important aspect of any business. If you are a small business and looking to cut costs, accounting software is the way to go. This article shares how to choose the right program for you.
Choosing Accounting Software For Your Business
Posted on December 14th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting | No Comments »
Regardless of what trade your business is in, one of the hardest things to get right is determining what sales tax you’re going to charge your customers. After all, you don’t want to charge too much sales tax and scare them away; yet at the same time, you can’t afford to charge them too little. Here are a few clues to help you get it right.
How to Determine Your Sales Tax Charges
Posted on December 10th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting, Generating More Sales | No Comments »
Have you heard the term "bootstrapping" and always wondered what it was or how to do it? This article explains it all!
Bootstrapping Your Small Business
Posted on December 10th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting, Starting a Business | No Comments »
Regardless of what trade your business is in, one of the hardest things to get right is determining what sales tax you’re going to charge your customers. After all, you don’t want to charge too much sales tax and scare them away; yet at the same time, you can’t afford to charge them too little.
What makes the problem even worse is that there is no actual official sales tax in the United States. So, instead of a nationwide sales tax that would make everyone play to the same rulebook, you might end up charging twice as much tax as a competitor in a different state. The effect of determining a sales tax is left to the business, and this is where it’s so important to get it right.
Location, location, location
Since there is no national sales tax in the US, it can make it pretty unfair for businesses in certain parts of the country. For example, any sales made in Texas to a company with a presence in the state will be liable for sales tax for the Texas transaction. So, in essence, even if all you have in Texas is a small accounts office with one employee, and the actual sale was made through your Chicago sales team’s offices, you’ll still have to pay the sales tax for the resident in Texas.
This is why so many businesses are pushing for some kind of recognized sales tax agreement. Congress is listening - they’re currently looking at the Fair Tax Act, yet that could be some way off. In the meantime, it doesn’t help your business when it comes to trying to determine your sales tax charges. It all really depends whether you’re operating mainly online or offline.
Web Sales versus Retail Sales
With the Internet providing so many of today’s business transactions, sales tax calculations can be a little muddy. However, the general rule is that as long as you don’t have a presence wherever the sale was made from - say an eBay store made a sale to a resident of Florida, but the eBay store owner lives in Dallas - then you won’t have to charge sales tax. For small businesses, this can mean a huge difference.
The reason the waters are so muddy when it comes to online is that many businesses with an online sales presence use third-party merchant accounts. If your customer and your merchant account provider are in the same state, you’ll have to charge sales tax for that area.
Retail sales are a little easier, as it depends on what your state average is for general sales tax. So for example, Alabama’s general tax is around 4%, while Idaho has a 6.4% state sales tax. Depending on what is sold has a big say in the matter as well, with alcohol and prepared food costing more than newspapers or groceries. Alaska has no tax at all, although the local governments usually encourage a 7% charge.
At the end of the day, determining how much sales tax you should charge depends on many variables, and to make sure you don’t over or undercharge, speaking to your local chamber of commerce and tax office can help you make the right decision.
Posted on December 10th, 2007 in Finance and Accounting, Generating More Sales | No Comments »
As the holiday season is one of the busiest for all retailers, it is also during this season (and particularly in the first few days after the holidays are over) that the risk of return fraud runs the highest. So how can your business avoid return fraud this holiday season? We’ve compiled a list that will help, whether your business is an online one or brick and mortar.
4 Easy Steps to Avoid Return Fraud This Holiday Season
Posted on December 7th, 2007 in Articles, E-Commerce and E-Business, Finance and Accounting, Generating More Sales | No Comments »
When you run a retail business, whether online or off, your profit margins can be changed to a great degree by several factors. Having items returned to you is definitely one of them. As the holiday season is one of the busiest for all retailers, it is also during this season (and particularly in the first few days after the holidays are over) that the risk of return fraud runs the highest.
There are several types of return fraud. The most common is a customer who returns an item that they have paid for with a check, but for the return they want cash. Another common return fraud occurs with clothing; the returner has, in fact, worn the item being returned, and they are now returning it for no good reason.
This is also called "renting", and it can mean a big loss for your business as the item may not be available for re-sale (actually this is the biggest problem with returns after the holidays, as retail sales tend to take a massive plunge).
So how can your business avoid return fraud this holiday season? We’ve compiled a list that will help, whether your business is an online one or brick and mortar.
* Conceive and stick to a return policy. Make sure you have a good return policy and that you stick to it. In particular, you may want to limit holiday returns (those purchased before December 25) to a week after the big date; that way you won’t have anyone renting out clothes for the New Year’s parties!
* Use credit - not cash - for returns. The big point of return fraud is for the "customer" to get cash back. Most stores will have some merchandise that will interest a legitimate returner, and store credit should be sufficient recompense for a gift that they don’t need.
* Customer tracking. Creating some sort of system which allows you to track customers, their purchases, and their returns will help in smelling out and avoiding fraud.
Online businesses have an advantage here, as most purchases will be done through credit card or a third party such as PayPal. It’s easy to see what customers are buying and who is doing it, and who is making too many returns.
* Require a receipt. Holiday retail means good bargains, and a good fraud artist will try and receive a present cash price on a holiday sale item. It’s important to know what date you sold the item on, and for how much, in order to avoid losing extra cash.
A few simple procedures can help you maximize the profitability of your business during the holidays and avoid return fraud. Remember, while most people will play Santa during the season, some will play the Grinch and take advantage of unprepared retailers!
Posted on December 7th, 2007 in Finance and Accounting, Generating More Sales | No Comments »
A great reference article!
Small Business Finance Terminology Guide
Posted on December 6th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting | No Comments »
Check this list out, you’ll be glad you did!
10 REAL Freebies For Your Business - No Strings Attached!
Posted on December 6th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting, Starting a Business | No Comments »
It takes more money to start a business than most entrepreneurs initially realize. This leads to increased debt and, for many, bankruptcy. But, don’t worry; there are plenty of good options for any debt-ridden business to keep afloat and start to manage their finances properly.
Small Business Debt Issues and How to Effectively Control Them
Posted on December 5th, 2007 in Articles, Finance and Accounting | No Comments »
