Tag: owner
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Prepare for Valuation Issues in Your Buy-Sell Agreement
Every business with more than one owner needs a buy-sell agreement to handle both expected and unexpected ownership changes. When creating or updating yours, be sure you’re prepared for the valuation issues that will come into play. Issues? What issues? Emotions tend to run high when owners face a “triggering event” that activates the buy-sell.…
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Close-up on the New QBI Deduction’s Wage Limit
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides a valuable new tax break to non-corporate owners of pass-through entities: a deduction for a portion of qualified business income (QBI). The deduction generally applies to income from sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, and, typically, limited liability companies (LLCs). It can equal as much as 20% of…
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Ask the Right Questions About Your IT Strategy
Most businesses approach technology as an evolving challenge. You don’t want to overspend on bells and whistles you’ll never fully use, but you also don’t want to get left behind as competitors use the latest tech tools to operate more nimbly. To refine your IT strategy over time, you’ve got to regularly reassess your operations…
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The TCJA Changes Some Rules for Deducting Pass-through Business Losses
Tax losses generated buy businesses are not uncommon, but the losses that can be deducted are limited by tax law in some situations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) further restricts the amount of losses that sole proprietors, partners, S corporation shareholders, and, typically, limited liability company (LLC) members can currently deduct — beginning…
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Four Ways to Encourage Innovation in Customer Service
When business people speak of innovation, the focus is usually on a pioneering product or state-of-the-art service that will “revolutionize the industry.” But innovation can apply to any aspect of your company — including customer service. Many business owners perceive customer service as a fairly cut-and-dried affair. Customers call, you answer their questions or solve…
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Could Your Next Business Loan Get “Ratio’d?”
We live and work in an era of big data. Banks are active participants, keeping a keen eye on metrics that help them accurately estimate risk of default. As you look for a loan, try to find out how each bank will evaluate your default probability. Many do so using spreadsheets that track multiple financial…
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Seven Ways to Prepare Your Business for Sale
For some business owners, succession planning is a complex and delicate matter involving family members and a long, gradual transition out of the company. Others simply sell the business and move on. There are many variations in between, of course, but if you’re leaning toward a business sale, here are seven ways to prepare: Develop…