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Business Owners
The Ins and Outs of LLCs
By Joe Erickson, CPA and Viridian Shareholder Limited Liability Companies, commonly known as LLCs, offer their owners (“members”), as the name implies, limited liability protection. LLCs are a relatively straightforward means of structuring a small business, and they are a great option for many business owners. Setting up an LLC For a single-member LLC, you simply…
Read MoreAsset Protection in Estate Planning
You’re beginning to accumulate substantial wealth, but you worry about protecting it from future potential creditors. Whether your concern is for your personal assets or your business, various tools exist to keep your property safe from tax collectors, accident victims, health-care providers, credit card issuers, business creditors, and creditors of others. To insulate your property…
Read MoreChoosing an Entity for Your Business
Now that you’ve decided to start a new business or buy an existing one, you need to consider the form of business entity that’s right for you. Basically, three separate categories of entities exist: partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Each category has its own advantages, disadvantages, and special rules. It is also possible to…
Read MoreTax Planning for the Self-Employed
Self-employment is the opportunity to be your own boss, to come and go as you please, and oh yes, to establish a lifelong bond with your accountant. If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to pay your own FICA taxes and take charge of your own retirement plan, among other things. Here are some planning tips. Understand…
Read MoreRetirement Plans for Small Businesses
As a business owner, you should carefully consider the advantages of establishing an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Generally, you’re allowed a deduction for contributions you make to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. In return, however, you’re required to include certain employees in the plan, and to give a portion of the contributions you make to those participating…
Read MoreRetirement Plans for Small Businesses
If you’re self-employed or own a small business and you haven’t established a retirement savings plan, what are you waiting for? A retirement plan can help you and your employees save for the future. Tax advantages A retirement plan can have significant tax advantages: Your contributions are deductible when made Your contributions aren’t taxed to…
Read MoreTransferring Your Business Interest with a Buy-Sell Agreement
What is a buy-sell agreement? Business succession tool Events like the death, disability, or retirement of an owner don’t have to mean the end of the business. Business succession planning can provide for an orderly transition of ownership and business management, during lifetime or at death. One tool used in business succession planning is the…
Read MoreHow to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Threats
Risk management is a key component in any successful business plan. In today’s world — where data breaches are common occurrences — it’s especially important for business owners to understand the digital risks they face. Are you doing all you can to mitigate the risk of a cyberattack? The importance of cybersecurity Many small-business owners…
Read MoreTesla – How Accounting Can Make a Difference
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve seen and read all the excitement about the Tesla Model 3 and its recent pre-order count at 325,000 (US News) for a car that is slated to be delivered in late 2017 (read most likely 2018). Now that is amazing given…
Read MoreMo Money Preparers Plead Guilty – Is this a real company name?
Yes it is. Apparently there is a real company franchise called Mo Money Tax (apparently with about 300 stores and 18 states) and they were caught with tax return fraud. The owners of this particular franchise plead guilty to falisying paystub (W2) information in order to defraud the IRS. They each face a maximum sentence…
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