For many business owners, choosing a successor is the most difficult task related to succession planning. Owners of family-owned businesses, who may have multiple children or other relatives to consider, particularly tend to struggle with this tough choice.

Properly prepared financial statements provide a wealth of information about your company. But the operative words there are “properly prepared.” Classifying information accurately isn’t always easy — especially as the business grows and its financial transactions become more complex.

You’d be hard-pressed to find many employees these days who don’t use smartphones for some aspect of their jobs. Even someone who works behind a point-of-sale device may use a phone to interact with a supervisor or log work hours.

Most businesses have websites today. Despite their widespread use, the IRS hasn’t issued formal guidance on when website costs can be deducted.

To say that technology continues to affect how businesses operate and interact with customers and prospects would be an understatement. According to the Business Software Market Size report issued by market researchers Mordor Intelligence, the global market size for commercial software is projected to reach $650 million this year and $1.10 trillion by 2029.

With each passing year, as networked technology becomes more and more integral to how companies do business, a simple yet grim reality comes further into focus: The cyberattacks will continue.

Fraud is a pernicious problem for companies of all shapes and sizes. One broad type of crime that seems to be thriving as of late is invoice fraud.

For a couple decades or so now, companies have been urged to “get on the cloud” to avail themselves of copious data storage and a wide array of software. But some businesses are learning the hard way that the seemingly sweet deals offered by cloud services providers can turn sour as hoped-for cost savings fail to materialize and dollars left on the table evaporate into thin air.

With concerns about inflation in the news for months now, most business owners are keeping a close eye on costs. Although it can be difficult to control costs related to mission-critical functions such as overhead and materials, you might find some budge room in employee benefits.

Your businesses may have a choice between using the cash or accrual method of accounting for tax purposes. The cash method often provides significant tax benefits for those that qualify. However, some businesses may be better off using the accrual method. Therefore, you need to evaluate the tax accounting method for your business to ensure that it’s the most beneficial approach.

Most growing small businesses reach a point where the owner looks around at the leadership team and says, “It’s time. We need to offer employees a retirement plan.”

Often, this happens when the company is financially stable enough to administer a retirement plan and make substantive contributions. Other times it occurs when the business grows weary of losing good job candidates because of a less-than-impressive benefits package.

Whatever the reason, if you don’t have a retirement plan and see one in your immediate future, you’ll want to carefully select the one that will work best for your company and its employees. Here are some basics about three of the most tried-and-true plans.

A strong sales team is the driving force of most small to midsize businesses. Strong revenue streams are hard to come by without skilled and engaged salespeople.

Whether you know it or not, if your business has ever applied for a commercial loan, you’ve likely been subject to “adverse media screening.” Under this commonly used practice, a prospective borrower is “screened against” various media sources to determine whether the person or entity has been a party to any suspicious, unethical or illegal activities.

If you own a closely held corporation, you can borrow funds from your business at rates that are lower than those charged by a bank. But it’s important to avoid certain risks and charge an adequate interest rate.

If your company sells products or services to other businesses, you’re probably familiar with the challenge of growing your sales numbers. At times, you might even struggle to maintain them. One way to put yourself in a better position to succeed is to diversify your approaches, so you’re not limited to a single method by which salespeople interact with customers.

Suppose your adult child or friend needs to borrow money. Maybe it’s to buy a first home or address a cash flow problem. You may want to help by making a personal loan. That’s a nice thought, but there are tax implications that you should understand and take into account.

No one likes to make a mistake. This is especially true in business, where a wrong decision can cost money, time and resources. According to the results of a recent survey, one of the primary ways that many companies are committing costly foibles is buying the wrong software.

If an individual taxpayer has substantial business losses, unfavorable federal income tax rules can potentially come into play. Here’s what you need to know as you assess your 2024 tax situation.

If you own a business, you may wonder if you’re eligible to take the qualified business income (QBI) deduction. Sometimes this is referred to as the pass-through deduction or the Section 199A deduction.

The QBI deduction is:

One popular fringe benefit is an education assistance program that allows employees to continue learning and perhaps earn a degree with financial assistance from their employers. One way to attract, retain and motivate employees is to provide education fringe benefits so that team members can improve their skills and gain additional knowledge. An employee can receive, on a tax-free basis, up to $5,250 each year from his or her employer under a “qualified educational assistance program.”