Category: Family-owned Business

As business owners, reliance on employees and vendors to help your dealership run smoothly is par for the course. Sometimes, those vendors and individuals take advantage of situations to increase their profits. Vendor fraud involves payments made to actual or fictitious vendors for personal gain. It is a lucrative industry that can take tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars off your bottom line. Types of Vendor Fraud There is a good chance your dealership has experienced some form of… Read more ›

If you own a successful small business with no employees, you might be ready to set up a retirement plan. Or you might want to upgrade from a more-basic SIMPLE IRA or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan. Here are two options — solo 401(k)s and defined benefit pension plans — to consider if you have healthy self-employment income and want to contribute substantial amounts to your retirement nest egg. Important: This article is geared toward self-employed individuals. That includes sole proprietors,… Read more ›

Sooner or later, your firm will encounter the issue of buying out a partner. This may be due to the partner’s retirement, death or other reasons. The federal income tax rules for partnership payments to buy out an exiting partner’s interest are tricky, but they also open up tax planning opportunities. The Basic Tax Rules Payments made by a partnership to liquidate (or buy out) an exiting partner’s entire interest are covered by Section 736 of the Internal Revenue Code…. Read more ›

If you’re entering into a commercial lease as a landlord or as a tenant, make sure the space is in compliance with public accommodation laws. Otherwise, you could find yourself paying a fortune in structural and design changes. Fortunately, there are tax breaks available to businesses that make building alterations to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The law requires that disabled people have equal, or similar, access provided to the general public if any of the… Read more ›

Let’s say you’re an electrical contractor. One of your employees bumps into an unoccupied scaffold on a construction site and destabilizes it. Which actions should you take to ensure the safety of workers and avoid liability? A. Move everyone out of the way when painters get on the scaffold. B. Fix the scaffold. C. Warn everyone who is at risk. D. Report the incident to the general contractor. If you answered C and D, you’re correct. Responsibility and liability on… Read more ›

In today’s tight labor market, small businesses may need to think outside the box to find employees to fill open positions. In some cases, you may have to sweeten the deal with higher salaries or extra benefits. But you may be able to offset higher compensation costs with a lucrative federal tax credit for hiring members of certain “targeted” groups. Here’s what employers should know to take advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). Targeted Groups The WOTC can… Read more ›

One estate-planning tool that can protect your family and the partners in your dealership is a buy-sell agreement. This legal document may give owners the first shot at buying an interest in the company if another owner pulls out, becomes disabled or dies. Ideally, these contracts are drawn up when a business is launched, or acquired from other owners, but they can be entered into later. Don’t wait too long. If you die or become disabled without an agreement, it… Read more ›

Have you always wanted to buy rental property and become a landlord? As you can imagine, putting up with some tenants can be a pain in the neck. But the discomfort can be eased by the valuable tax breaks available to rental property owners. In fact, favorable tax laws are one big reason why so many fortunes have been made in real estate. Another big reason is that leveraging real estate investments with mortgages can multiply profits. But for purposes… Read more ›

Once you get some legal experience under your belt, you may think about opening your own firm. Setting up and running a law practice can be a daunting prospect, but taking certain steps will help to ensure that your firm grows and remains profitable. Here are some guidelines to help accomplish the task successfully: Develop a strategy You really can’t proceed before you target a specific client base or market and decide how you plan to compete. This means knowing… Read more ›

As a business owner, your auto dealership’s team must be comprised of people you trust to make the right decisions for the company. The reports derived from your accounting team are at the forefront of most major business decisions, so having a suitable controller in place will help ensure your dealership’s financial health and future. The characteristics of a good controller fall into two distinct buckets: technical skills and leadership qualities. On the one hand, at their core, a controller… Read more ›