Category: Running a Business

We’ve all got our own favorite tips, tricks, and tools that help us organize our task lists, assign projects, and manage deliverables. Today, there are more apps and software programs geared toward business owners than ever. I interviewed 10 entrepreneurs to find out what they use to stay on top of everything. Here are 10 of the best organization and productivity tools for entrepreneurs. 1. Monday: Streamline Communication Channels Aalap Shah, founder of 1o8, an e-comm-focused digital agency in Chicago,… Read More

When Congress created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as part of the CARES Act it made unemployment benefits available to the self-employed as well as workers who may not be able to work for a variety of COVID-related reasons. Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) added an additional $600 weekly payment through July 31, 2020 to certain eligible individuals who are receiving other benefits. And Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) extends certain benefits.  All of these programs provide some welcome relief to those… Read More

Having customers who drag their feet on payments can be an accounting nightmare. First of all, your small business needs that revenue to pay expenses. And second, chasing after late-paying clients can be time-consuming or expensive. Certainly, there are collection agencies you can work with to help with the collection process, but you’ll have to give up 25-50% of the amount due to that collection agency. A better solution to collect on what’s owed to you is to use debt… Read More

As a small business owner, paying your own salary may come at the end of a very long list of expenses.  Understandably, you might take less money out when you first start your business and get it profitable, but after a while, you’ll need to determine the best way to pay yourself and how much. There are two primary options: treat yourself like an employee and pay yourself a salary, or take an owner’s draw. Each has slightly different tax… Read More

As a small business owner 20 or so years ago, one of my most confusing and frustrating tasks was reconciling my credit card transactions. They were deposited in my business bank account with a lag of several days from the time the transaction was completed, and at the time, I don’t think I completely understood exactly what a merchant account was or how it worked. I just knew I needed to have one to process credit cards. If your business… Read More