âہ“ I sure would like to write off my vacation.â€Â This is a common thought among the self-employed as well as the employee. As long as your expenses are necessary and ordinary for your business or trade, you can deduct them, or portions of them. These expenses include round-trip travel expenses and the cost of education for improving or maintaining …
 The 2013 Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday is May 25 and May 26! On these 2 days, eligible purchases will be exempt from the 4% state sales tax. This exemption applies to the first $1500 of the purchase price of each item. Eligible items include: self-powered light sources, such as flashlights and candles batteries(AAA,AA,C,D,6volt, 9volt)Automobile batteries are ineligibile cellular …
One of the most valuable business deductions, yet most overlooked deductions, is the home office. Often business owners fail to claim their home office because keeping track of the expenses is time consuming and because they are afraid it sends a  “red flag” to the IRS. Did you know that the IRS has released new guidelines for deducting your home …
I think we would all agree that economically, times are hard. Are you like one of the many businesses struggling to remain profitable, or even keep your doors open? Ã‚ Are you trying to find ways to deal with economy in unique ways? Ã‚ The following ideas are technology-based and easy to implement. Technology, during these economically hard times, is a great way to help …
Businesses in the construction industry face challenges every day that most other type of companies do not. Construction contractors have complicated accounting rules when reporting long term contracts and spec homes. In addition to the complicated income tax reporting that is sometimes required there are many other factors effecting things day to day like subcontractors, payroll, job costing, and estimating …
Residential Energy Tax Credits for 2012 Are your high utility rates making you think about âہ“going green†and making your home more energy efficient? This is the perfect time to do so especially if you want to take advantage of the residential energy tax credits available to homeowners. The Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit is available to individual taxpayers to …
Lenders will want to see documentation that supports all of your information. There are many types of documents that can be included, but there are several that are considered to be the most common. Personal resumes should be included for all owners and anyone in management. Each resume should be a one-page document that includes work history, educational background, special …
Note: This portion of the business plan should not be completed until the organizational and marketing plans have been completed. The financial plan is the analysis of measurable figures for a business plan. The organzational and marketing plans are put together and from this we calculate the projected financing Ã‚ costs. The following two pieces of information need to be included only if you …
An effective marketing plan will address the details of sales, advertising, PR campaigns, and market analysis. Keep in mind that a plan in this technology age should include online strategies as well as traditional strategies. Who will be responsible for your in-house marketing, and who will you use for outsourced marketing campaigns? Identify your target market and competition, along with trends in …
We have previously discussed the importance of every business having a good business plan. This plan is of particular importance if you, the business owner, are looking for any type of financing and/or investors. The focus of the last blog was the summary and what information to include in the summary.  Today we will focus on the second part of your …
