Smart ways to respond to—and reverse—declining profitability
Few things are more unnerving than realizing your business is less profitable than it once was—or than you counted on.
The instinct to take immediate action is understandable. If you’re a physician, responding quickly to urgent situations is second nature. And after all, if your profit is suddenly on a lower trajectory, you may have reason to be concerned that you’re heading toward a personal financial emergency.
How to stop theft in your back office
It’s unfortunate, but even in today’s era of two-factor authentication and hyper-alert security, we still hear stories of physicians being defrauded by their employees. To help protect yourself from financial fraud, consider adopting these five approaches in your practice.
Do your long-term customers know everything about you?
Most business owners would agree that selling to existing customers is easier than finding new ones. Yet many companies squander potential sales to long-term customers because they don’t create awareness of all their products or services. Learn everything you can about your best customers’ missions, plans and operations. Also, instruct your sales staff to regularly ask about whether customers would be interested in products or services they’ve never bought. Our firm can help you identify your strongest revenue sources and provide further ideas for enhancing them.
Act soon to save 2018 taxes on your investments
Do you have investments outside of tax-advantaged retirement plans? You may still have time to shrink your 2018 tax bill by selling some of them. If you’ve sold investments at a gain this year, consider selling some at a loss to absorb the gains. But if you’ve sold investments at a loss, consider selling some that have appreciated, to the extent that the gains will be absorbed by your losses. Keep in mind that tax considerations shouldn’t drive your investment decisions; also consider your risk tolerance, investment goals and other factors. Questions? Contact us!
6 last-minute tax moves for your business
Tax planning is a year-round activity, but there are still some year-end strategies you can use to lower your 2018 tax bill. Here are six last-minute tax moves business owners should consider: 1) Postpone invoices. 2) Prepay expenses. 3) Buy equipment. 4) Use credit cards. 5) Contribute to retirement plans. 6) Qualify for the new “pass-through” deduction. These strategies are subject to various limitations and restrictions, so consult us before you implement them. We can also offer more ideas for reducing your taxes this year and next.
Savvy Strategies for Security Deposits
While they often prove useful to landlords for now in terms of maintaining their properties, security deposits may be a bit of an arcane system in light of new products that are coming to market which may allow landlords to bypass them. This could prove especially useful for residents from foreign countries with decent income but no credit. However, only time will tell if these products will be embraced by landlords.
Where Do You Turn for Capital When Rates Rise?
As banks and other depositories re-assess their lending terms, investors need to cast a wider net when seeking to finance and refinance their properties.
Getting ahead of the curve on emerging technologies
In today’s competitive business landscape, staying on top of emerging technologies is critical. Examples include machine learning to predict customer buying patterns and robotic process automation to automate repetitive manual tasks. Staying informed isn’t as difficult as you might think. Join relevant online communities and check industry-focused publications and websites. When you’re ready to integrate an emerging technology into your operations, forecasting implementation and maintenance costs will be critical. We can help you assess the financial impact.
Year-end tax and financial to-do list for individuals
With 2019 arriving here soon, there are several tax and financial to-dos you should address before 2018 ends. For example: Incur qualifying health care Flexible Spending Account expenses by Dec. 31 to use up these funds or you’ll potentially lose them. Also, max out contributions to retirement plans. Or, if applicable, take required minimum distributions from those plans. If gift and estate taxes are a concern, make $15,000 annual exclusion gifts. Finally, check your withholding and increase it if needed to avoid underpayment penalties. Contact us to learn more.
Can a PTO contribution arrangement help your employees and your business?
As the year winds to a close, most businesses see employees taking a lot of vacation time. After all, it’s the holiday season, and workers want to enjoy it. But some businesses find themselves particularly short-staffed because they don’t allow unused paid time off (PTO) to be rolled over to the new year. There are good business reasons to limit rollovers. Fortunately, there’s a way to reduce the year-end PTO vortex without allowing unlimited rollovers: a PTO contribution arrangement. It turns PTO into pretax retirement plan contributions. Contact us for details.