http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com People new to business and entrepreneurship regularly ask what, exactly, is a limited liability company. And the "what is an LLC?" question is sort of predictable. Most of us know (sort of) what a regular corporation is. We've often worked for corporation... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1254299_15.html 25th November 2009 Businesses operating as Subchapter S corporations may want to adjust salaries paid to working owners given the bad economy. Such an adjustment can save the business and its owners thousands in taxes. But this reset of S corporation salary is tricky. The a... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1215767_15.html 03rd November 2009 Before this author identifies a handful of financial planning errors that best-selling author Dave Ramsey regularly makes, one or two comments should be made. First, Dave Ramsey's general advice to work hard, make your marriage a priority and avoid debt i... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1206877_19.html 29th October 2009 Small businesses and entrepreneurs increasingly favor the limited liability company option for their new businesses. And lots of good tax and legal reasons justify this popularity. Unfortunately, the financial record-keeping required for a limited liab... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1186376_19.html 20th October 2009 Ayn Rand's classic tome, "Atlas Shrugged," celebrates entrepreneurship and free-market capitalism. However, while Rand's book may energize business owners and entrepreneurs, "Atlas Shrugged" displays a naïve view of how to write a business plan. In parti... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1146855_15.html 05th October 2009 Starting your own internet business can seem daunting, but it really only requires a little bit of smarts and some experienced help. Choosing the best entrepreneurial option depends on so many factors: your interests, your background, the available opp... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1102900_15.html 22nd September 2009 As an accountant, many business owners ask me about the difference between an LLC and an LLP. Fortunately for them and for you, the LLC versus LLP question isn't too difficult to answer Usually, the right answer is "Go with the LLC." But let me explain... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1087452_15.html 16th September 2009 Most of the time, an S corporation does not pay federal income taxes. The essential feature of an S corporation is that shareholders pay the taxes on income?not the corporation. However, three situations exist whereby an S corporation may end up paying ta... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1038046_15.html 18th August 2009 Accountants, attorneys and fellow entrepreneurs sometimes will sometimes tell you that a limited liability company offers less legal protection than a traditional corporation. I'm not an attorney. But I have taught graduate-level tax classes about limi... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1037329_18.html 17th August 2009 If you're operating an online business, you'll find it relatively easy to use Quicken. The popular checkbook program makes for easy accounting as long as you follow five simple tips. Tip #1: Tell Quicken you'll be doing business bookkeeping. When yo... http://www.articlealley.com/article_956329_3.html 29th June 2009 Real estate investors sometimes think about using S corporations for real estate investing. And the idea sounds promising. Almost everybody knows that S corporations are popular. And many people even vaguely know S corps deliver some big tax benefits to s... http://www.articlealley.com/article_955677_19.html 29th June 2009 Almost no matter how successful your online e-business becomes, you should still easily be able to use the QuickBooks accounting software program. Simply use the five tips described in the paragraphs that follow. Tip #1: Setup a separate bank account f... http://www.articlealley.com/article_938411_3.html 15th June 2009 Subchapter S corporations can produce big tax savings for some small business entrepreneurs. For one thing, by making the election to be treated as an S corporation, the business pay no corporate income taxes. And working entrepreneurs often minimize thei... http://www.articlealley.com/article_913064_15.html 03rd June 2009 Considering the idea of starting a business? Now may be a great time. But you'll need to address of the following four points: Checklist Item #1: Choose the Right Entity You can operate your business in a variety of ways. Individuals, for example, c... http://www.articlealley.com/article_892328_15.html 14th May 2009 For many businesses, a severe contraction in the economy seems a "black swan" event... an economic crisis so extraordinary as to prove almost un-manageable. But, in fact, recessions and depressions occur regularly. And experienced entrepreneurs know to em... http://www.articlealley.com/article_829495_15.html 19th March 2009 In a dangerous economy, businesses should take every step they can to protect their firm's assets. One great technique for reducing risks is the limited liability company, or LLC, which offers three, significant protections... Protection #1: LLCs Prote... http://www.articlealley.com/article_825030_15.html 13th March 2009 Operating your business as S corporation typically saves tax. You usually avoid paying corporate income taxes, for example. And you also usually minimize Social Security and Medicare taxes. Which is good news. But there's bad news, too. An S corporatio... http://www.articlealley.com/article_822259_15.html 12th March 2009 A big part of the tax savings an S corporation provides stems from lower payroll taxes which, in turn, stem from low shareholder-employee salaries. Reclassifying $10,000 of shareholder-employee salary as, for example, distribution, often saves about $1,50... http://www.articlealley.com/article_819920_15.html 11th March 2009 Recent Internal Revenue Service data show that S corporations represent the most popular form of incorporation. That's understandable. S corporations often save lots of tax for small businesses. Unfortunately, the S corporation's extra accounting compl... http://www.articlealley.com/article_803409_15.html 02nd March 2009 If you run a small business, you're already thinking lots about the recession and what the weakening economy means to your firm. That's good, in a sense. Careful, thoughtful analysis should provide you with lots of ideas about how your business not only s... http://www.articlealley.com/article_799449_15.html 26th February 2009 Almost once a week my CPA office gets the call from some new business owner looking for an accountant. Usually, after a bit of hemming and hawing, the caller gets up the courage to ask about something he's only heard rumors about--those semi-secret ways o... http://www.articlealley.com/article_790093_15.html 18th February 2009 In a tough economic environment, many marketing can be worth considering. But perhaps the best option available to many small businesses is a simple, informational web site. Such a site means potential clients and customers know that you're in business an... http://www.articlealley.com/article_782087_3.html 10th February 2009 Business owners often struggle with whether or not they should form a limited liability company for a new entrepreneurial venture. And that maybe makes sense. Deciding to form a limited liability corporation requires thoughtful analysis. Unfortunately,... http://www.articlealley.com/article_777603_15.html 03rd February 2009 Writing a great business plan is never easy. But by being aware of common psychological traps, entrepreneurs, business owners and managers can improve dramatically the planning process. Accordingly, as you make plans for your business or other ventures... http://www.articlealley.com/article_733959_15.html 04th January 2009 Incorporation of a small business produces tons of great benefits. Often, the small business saves taxes by incorporation. And in almost all cases, the small business owners reduce their business risk by incorporation. In spite of all the great benefit... http://www.articlealley.com/article_727628_15.html 19th December 2008 New business owners sometimes wrestle with the question, "limited liability company versus an S corporation," as they think about starting a new business. But that's too bad. Because the question is surprising easy to answer... The Answer is Always "LL... http://www.articlealley.com/article_707259_15.html 02nd December 2008 The U.S. Treasury now says that S corporations outnumber regular business corporations. But that shouldn't surprise. S corporation tax treatment typically saves thousands of dollars a year in taxes per shareholder-employee. S corporations, unfortunatel... http://www.articlealley.com/article_704347_15.html 01st December 2008 S corporations, according to the Internal Revenue Service, have become the most popular form for doing business in the United States. As a result, business owners and entrepreneurs must know how business planning for an S corporation differs from planning... http://www.articlealley.com/article_698443_15.html 30th November 2008 Thinking about starting a new business? You can always find plenty of reasons to wait. And if you talk with friends and family, almost surely you'll get plenty of encouragement to do something else with your time, money and energy. Maybe the advice wil... http://www.articlealley.com/article_698424_15.html 30th November 2008 Starting an entrepreneurial venture requires cash. Money you spend on things like equipment, supplies and the other stuff necessary to run a business. You can find this money in all sorts of places, but one of the places you can sometimes look is insid... http://www.articlealley.com/article_685726_15.html 11th November 2008 Whether or not you voted for Barack Obama, if you're a successful business owner, you probably want to plan now to minimize the increased business taxes an Obama administration seems sure to implement. A bit of upfront tax accounting and planning could ea... http://www.articlealley.com/article_683881_15.html 10th November 2008 Starting a small business requires cash. And sometimes lots of it. You need cash in the bank just to operate, for example. And you may need to make upfront purchases of expensive fixtures, equipment and machinery. Not surprisingly, then, finding this s... http://www.articlealley.com/article_682743_15.html 05th November 2008 Starting your own small business takes guts. The decision to start your own small business demands that the entrepreneur act courageously, think clearly and take risks. Starting a business in a recession requires double doses of courage, clear thinking... http://www.articlealley.com/article_681735_15.html 04th November 2008 How one writes a business plan in recessionary economy works differently. One needs to approach the business plan from a different perspective. And one must make special efforts to avoid errors that in a good economy one would conveniently get away with. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_677600_15.html 30th October 2008 I accidentally stumbled into a huge fight at one of those small business discussion boards recently. Small business owners were going just nuts about whether business planning is needed, what a small business business plan even is, and who should write su... http://www.articlealley.com/article_676949_15.html 29th October 2008 Extend your tax return to October 15th and you've got good company. Roughly forty percent of taxpayers extend their tax returns. (Anyone can extend by completing the very simple, 4868 form, which is available from the www.irs... http://www.articlealley.com/article_656945_19.html 06th October 2008 As the end of year approaches, many small business CPAs and bookkeepers find their stress levels rising. In only a few short weeks, these accountants know they'll see silly bookkeeping errors in many of their small business clients' books--errors that ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_656944_15.html 06th October 2008 If you're a small business owner, you know all too well you need a decent bookkeeping system, right? Decent accounting and bookkeeping means you know whether or not you're making a profit. And such a system lets you make better decisions about the prod... http://www.articlealley.com/article_628596_15.html 08th September 2008 Weary of paying $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 each and every year for mediocre advice from a financial planner or investment advisor? You should consider employing a do-it-yourself approach to financial planning. By following a handful of steps, you can a... http://www.articlealley.com/article_625086_19.html 08th September 2008 Some CPAs and attorneys say there's an eleventh commandment, "Thou shalt not invest in real estate inside a corporation." And, usually, this proclamation holds true. Investing in real estate within a corporation means you lose many of real estate's tax be... http://www.articlealley.com/article_621664_19.html 05th September 2008 Incorporation offers a small business owners a great way to reduce liability and taxes. Unfortunately, the rules for professionals who want to incorporate are be tricky. Fortunately, one can make incorporating a professional practice like law or medicine ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_616663_18.html 03rd September 2008 The limited liability company option gives the small business owner a great tool for reducing both taxes and legal liability. But the LLC setup process for professionals (doctors, lawyers and so forth) sometimes gets tricky. To ease and expedite the setup... http://www.articlealley.com/article_615343_15.html 02nd September 2008 Are you beginning a new entrepreneurial venture? Or are you a business owner who needs to find a better accountant? Choosing a CPA is easier when you employ the five following tips: Determine Whether You'll Outsource Your Bookkeeping Some businesses... http://www.articlealley.com/article_607861_15.html 22nd August 2008 Starting a business? If you're not careful, you may find that you've terribly complicated your accounting before you even realize what's happened. Fortunately, by following five simple tips you can keep your small business finances clean, lean, and low-co... http://www.articlealley.com/article_602635_15.html 18th August 2008 Business owners often assume that a traditional corporation, or "C corporation," provides a good platform for saving money and growing wealth. As a result, these individuals do their investing inside their C corporations. Superficially, this wealth-bui... http://www.articlealley.com/article_598864_19.html 14th August 2008 Thinking about incorporating your business or investment in Nevada? Consider these seven tips to make the process easier, to minimize mistakes, and to avoid trouble. Tip #1: Don't choose Nevada unless you operate in Nevada Let's get this first tip o... http://www.articlealley.com/article_589329_15.html 24th July 2008 New small businesses often decide to consider the incorporation option, and that's logical. Incorporating a small business usually reduces the business owner's legal liability and often saves the business owner (and any outside investors) quite a bit in t... http://www.articlealley.com/article_586028_18.html 23rd July 2008 Incorporating a business often makes good legal and tax sense. Absolutely. But new entrepreneurs need to know that a handful of incorporation scams often ensnare small businesses. And that is truly unfortunate. Getting entangled in an incorporation sca... http://www.articlealley.com/article_579737_15.html 18th July 2008 Businesses, their owners and investors regularly worry about asset protection. Of course, sometimes, people worry too much about lawsuits and unethical creditors. And, sure, prudent management of a business or investment combined with a good insurance pol... http://www.articlealley.com/article_573780_18.html 10th July 2008 A tricky question that new limited liability company bookkeepers often have concerns how to record correctly the payments made to the owners. Are the payments wages, for example? Partnership draws? Or something else entirely different? Limited liabilit... http://www.articlealley.com/article_570970_15.html 07th July 2008