America is celebrating National Small Business Week all over the country & special events will be held May 4 – May 8, 2015 in cities across the United States & via the web. It is a time that we as consumers can show our appreciation for local business by shopping locally & promoting them by sharing their information with others.

As a small business owner myself, I also thought it would be fun to share a few financial tips that may be helpful to other small business owners. It is another small way to say thank you & show support to my community.

Take Time to Work On Your Business & Not Just In It:
• Financial Statements & Tax Returns both tell a financial story & can be used as a road map or a compass to help guide profitability
• On at least a quarterly basis, Compare your Budgeted/Forecasted Amounts to Actual Results to identity differences (variance)
• Try to determine why there was a difference, if any, & adjust as necessary
• Also compare Year to Year Actual Results – where is your value being created & lost?

Watch The Bottom Line by Protecting your Assets & Managing your Risk:
• On 10/1/15, the financial responsibility (liability) starts to shift for fraudulent transactions to U.S. merchants if they have not upgraded their payment systems to accept EMV Chip Payment Cards. This is true if the card issuing company has added the chip to their card & you have not upgraded your POS system. Rules vary by issuing card companies & products sold. More information can be found from http://www.darkreading.com at : http://t.co/1OqiwTLY0P
• Know your Net Worth & make a conscious decision about how much of it you want to protect by buying insurance & how much you want to “self-insure”

Try Not to Leave Money on the Table:
• Avoid financial pitfalls, fines, & penalties by knowing & applying FLSA laws correctly including classifying Exempt, Non-Exempt, & Independent Contractors & treat them & pay them correctly
• Use the tax laws to strategically plan your business operations to minimize tax expense & keep more money “in your pocket”

Deborah Ann Fox, CPA helps individuals & small business owners build & protect their financial wealth. She is available for in-person, or remote appointments. See http://www.debfoxfinancial.com for more information.