by Leif Jensen | Mar 11, 2019 | General |
Do you have any employees? Can I see you HR Manual? The first question is one that I often ask prospective clients. The second question is asked if the answer to the first question was an affirmative. Then I am usually told that they do not have one in place. If they...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 6, 2019 | General |
One of the most important roles for a company’s Board of Directors is to set policy under which management takes action to manage the affairs of an organization. Yes, even for small start-up businesses. Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices and...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 5, 2019 | General |
I am a believer in Boards whether it is a Board of Advisors or Directors. Business owners, especially those running small businesses should not be making all of their own decisions. They should be getting input and advice from knowledgeable and trusted advisors,...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 4, 2019 | General |
There has been much written about financial dashboards for several years, and when I discuss them with clients they nod their heads stating that QuickBooks has one all set-up for them. So why should they care? QuickBooks does not have a dashboard per se it has a...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 27, 2019 | General |
What are you annual or long term goals? This is assuming that you have made them. Do you want to: Ramp up productivity in your business? Reduce ongoing business expenses?Hire your first employee?Create a new customer service process?Increase traffic on your...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 26, 2019 | General |
Annual reports, those are the annoying forms that you have to fill out by hand and send in to the IL Secretary of State with a check a month or so before your corporate anniversary. Most people don’t give them much though and jot down either a copy of the prior...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 25, 2019 | General |
What are your businesses Key Performance Indicators (KPI)? What do you use to measure your business? Financial KPI is a measurable value that indicates how well a company is doing regarding generating revenue and profits. Monitoring KPIs comparisons shows...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 20, 2019 | General |
Clients are always a bit surprised when I ask them about their marketing plan and their client and product pipeline. This is usually because they have neglected this aspect of their business. They have been spending their time “in” their business and not...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 19, 2019 | General |
How important is social media to a small business? With the proliferation of businesses that are calling and e-mailing me looking to take over the management of this function, makes it seem critical to a small business. My firm does have what some consider a strong...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 18, 2019 | General |
I have been receiving e-mails from a consultants who are attempting to solicit business by promising to help me grow my business exponentially. Being a business owner who continues to want to grow the firm I have skimmed some of these e-mails. I have been...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 13, 2019 | General |
LLC or S-Corp, these tend to be the options of choice by most small business operators. If consulting an attorney the choice is an LLC, if an accountant the preference is usually an S-Corp, or an LLC with an S-Corp election. If this is on the table I...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 12, 2019 | General |
I recently met with a prospective client who has started down the road of becoming an entrepreneur. While still working full time they have started working as a side consultant for a business. They will be paid on a 1099-M and they will be reporting their income...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 11, 2019 | General |
I have a client who decided to be more than an entrepreneur. He decided to open three businesses simultaneously, so is now a multipreneur. Granted, the three businesses are all tied together so there is some vertical integration, but each is a standalone...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 6, 2019 | General |
There has been a lot of talk over the year about the benefits of vertical integration and synergy within businesses. But, when confronted with it suddenly and from an unexpected source, it is a wonder. Whenever I have the opportunity to get food from EL Milagro I do...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 5, 2019 | General |
We have a multiple clients who had made the switch from one version of QuickBooks (QB) to another. Two were using QB online and switched back to a desktop version and two others used the Apple version and went to PC desktop. The online people are very happy with...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 4, 2019 | General |
Do you have a data backup policy to ensure your business continuity in the event of a disaster, error or computer failure? Even with a backup system and plan in place, I once lost data that needed to be recreated several years ago. I remember how much fun...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 30, 2019 | General |
Many companies collect personal information from their customers, including names, addresses, and phone numbers; bank and credit card account numbers; income and credit histories; and Social Security numbers. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act requires companies defined...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 29, 2019 | General |
The IRS has the following suggestions and following steps to help protect businesses from identity theft. Respond to questions prompted by software to provide additional information to help verify the legitimacy of the tax return. These questions include the...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 28, 2019 | General |
Surprise small businesses are also at risk for identity theft. Businesses and their employees can and have had their identities stolen and their personal information used to open credit card accounts or file fraudulent tax returns to obtain false refunds. In the past...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 23, 2019 | General |
Traders are those who approach trading investment property as a full-time business: rather than as a hobby and generally receive their primary income from their trading activities. Their trades are frequent, regular, continuous, and substantial. They trade solely for...
