Every business wants to increase productivity. Luckily, you live in an era when excellent tools are literally at your fingertips. Sometimes, you only lack the implements you need because you don’t know what’s available. Here are three productivity tools that every small business needs.

CRM Software

Customer management is a massive, critical aspect of any business. It can get overwhelming to keep large amounts of customer data organized, manage direct customer marketing, and keep up with customer relations on your own. With Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, you don’t have to; the software does it for you. CRM software streamlines, automates, and tracks everything relating to your customers. With a CRM system to organize and categorize your clients, you won’t ever drop a good lead or lose a loyal customer again.

Storage Space

Businesses store a lot of data. The cloud can help you save time and storage space. Cloud storage allows your data to be accessed by the entire team. It also gives you far more storage space than most physical storage tools can. Furthermore, cloud storage provides instant access to the data you need. There are many options for cloud storage providers. Look for important features, such as collaboration tools and automatic backups. Your cloud storage should also offer high levels of security with encryption services. Microsoft OneDrive provides excellent cloud storage. It is affordable, offers unlimited storage on unlimited devices, and encrypts your data for safety.

Accounting Software

Your time is too valuable to be spending it on mundane tasks like number crunching. Accounting software will free you up to work on more important aspects of business. Accounting software can track your business expenditures, monitor your earnings, assist with tax filing, and more. With accounting software, you can trust that your finances are being managed accurately, free from human error. Once again, there are many options to choose from. Look for user-friendly accounting software that is cloud-based, can be integrated with third-party apps, is accessible through both a mobile app and a web browser, allows for multiple users, and is affordable. One popular accounting software used by business owners and accountants alike is Intuit’s Quickbooks.

If you are ready to scale up on your business, you need to take advantage of the many tools that can help you manage your company more efficiently and effectively. Three of the best tools to start with are CRM software, cloud storage, and accounting software. You will be amazed at how much more time you will have to focus on the core aspects of your business.

Check out this article on how to save on taxes for your small business!

In the rat race of today’s corporate world, competition for skilled employees has never been higher. As a result, those employees want jobs with the best benefits possible. This can be difficult for smaller businesses – but absolutely worth the effort. If the time has come for you to reexamine and revamp the benefits of your company, here are some ways to begin.

Shop Around for a New 401(k) Provider

There are many kinds of providers and retirement plans, so it’s very important to find the one that works best for you. They also cost a substantial amount – so make sure to start by determining what is within your financial means. Other factors to consider are the scope of your business and how your 401(k) plan will affect your company’s culture and profits. Make sure to do your research and read reviews! At the end of the day, employees want a 401(k) that is fair for their position.

Review Your Health Plan

One of the first concerns many potential employees have is what sort of health plan they will receive when beginning at a given company. To provide your employees with the best insurance possible, do the same research as you would for a 401(k) provider, in case there could be a possibility of switching insurance. Review the plan you already have and gain an understanding of both its dental and general medical coverage. It should include at least some aspects of both, because legally health insurance companies must offer dental coverage for children. If you desire an upgrade in coverage, talk with your company to see if that would be possible.

Tailor the Benefits to the Needs of the Employees

As obvious as it may sound, you do not want to simply throw a benefits package at your employees and then let them deal with whatever advantages or disadvantages on their own. Depending on modern-day trends, your location, and the common needs of your employees, you should actively seek out benefits that are tailored to them – i.e. flood insurance if you are located in a coastal area, or better family options if your employees tend to have children. Communication with current and past employees is key to really understand what they are looking for.

Ideally, a company should be a kind of community, with its own culture and manner of growth. Employees will come and go. But if you want the best available of those who come, and you want to create the kind of community that has a positive impact on people’s lives, then the time for the revamp of company benefits is here.

Check out this article on how to save on taxes for your small business!

As a small business owner, one of your most difficult responsibilities is managing your finances in a way that benefits your business. Unfortunately, there are a lot of expenses that your business has. So, you want to make sure that you save money wherever you can, and one of those areas where you can save is on taxes. Here are a few different approaches that will help you to save on taxes for your small business.

Deduct Business Expenses

First off, remember that you can save and reduce your taxes when you deduct business expenses that you have. It is important that you’re aware of the different costs that your business has that could qualify as tax deductible expenses. There are many different deductions that you need to be familiar with, such as startup costs, inventory costs, insurance, office supplies and furniture, travel expenses, company entertainment, and more. Your employee wages can even be deductible, including bonuses and commissions. Once you’re aware of which expenses are tax deductible, make sure that you keep track of them meticulously. If you do so, you could get a nice return or deduction when your taxes are submitted.

Set Up a Retirement Plan

Next, another way to save on small business taxes is to set up a retirement plan. There are lots of different kinds of retirement plans, and many of them can actually provide tax benefits and advantages for small businesses like yours. However, you’ll want to make sure that you end up with the plan that will be the most beneficial for your financial situation. For example, A SEP-IRA comes with fewer onerous regulations than a 401(k) plan. On the other hand, maxing out on certain retirement contributions can help save on taxes. So, take the time to research what option will be best for you.

Hire Family

You might not be aware of this savings approach, but you can actually save a significant amount on taxes by employing a family member. If you hire a family member, be that your child, your aunt, your cousin, or your husband, you’ll be able to save on taxes. All family members have the potential to be entirely sheltered from taxes with regards to their income. Some may have a reduced tax rate, and some may not be taxed at all. Even though hiring a family can be tricky at times, it can pay off financially.

So, if you’re worried about the amount of money the government sucks out of your small business every year, don’t lose hope. Remember, you can deduct business expenses, set up a retirement plan, and hire family members to save on small business taxes. Make sure that you do some additional research to find the other saving options that are available to you.

Check out this article on how to keep up with eCommerce competition!

Running, managing, and operating a business is one of the best career pursuits that you can follow, allowing for financial independence and freedom, as well as time and location freedom in ways that very few successful workers can achieve. But just because running a business can be lucrative doesn’t necessarily mean that it is going to be exciting all the time. There are a lot of fun things about running a business, but each fun thing comes with three tedious tasks that must get done. Here are three boring but critical parts of running a business that you must focus on for success.

Legal Compliance

The first boring but critical part of running a successful business is checking for legal compliance at your business. Your business cannot operate successfully unless you are following all legal regulations and requirements for your business. As the operator of your business, you are directly responsible for ensuring that your business always follows all laws and regulations. Dedicating time to making sure you are doing things properly and legally, a lawsuit can be catastrophic for a business, and staying on the right side of the law will leave you more time to work on growth.

Accounting Tasks

Another boring but critical aspect of running a business successfully is accomplishing all accounting tasks. You need to keep track of your books, knowing every penny coming in and every penny coming out of your business to pay taxes properly and save as much money as possible. You also need to manage things like payroll. Managing payroll requires you to follow federal, state and local laws. Hiring a professional accountant for your business can be a great way to ensure that your accounting tasks get done properly and on time.

Inventory and Stock

The final boring but critical part of running a business is keeping track of inventory and stock. If you are a business that is selling a product or requires any sort of equipment or supplies to operate, then you need to keep a constant eye on the inventory and stock levels of the products you are selling and the products you need to operate. This will help you make sure you are never running out of essential equipment and are always ready for business.

Running a business is not going to be the most fun experience in the world. But for all the tasks that are tedious and challenging, there are a dozen benefits to running your own business that outweigh the bad. Make sure you aren’t neglecting any of these three important but boring tasks at your business.

Check out this article on how to prepare for the worst at your business! 

Starting a business is surprisingly much easier and simpler than many non-entrepreneurs imagine. But just because it is relatively simple to start a business, that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily easy to set up a business properly. What many first-time business owners end up discovering is that setting up a business is easy, but they end up making a lot of legal mistakes that can seriously impact their success. With a little bit of research and planning, you can avoid these mistakes with your first business. Here are three legal mistakes first time business owners make and how you can avoid them.

Failing to Register

The first legal mistake that many first-time business owners make is not registering and licensing their business. Unless you are going to be doing business under your own name and as a sole proprietor, then you are almost always going to need to register your business. Registering your business simply announces to the government the name of your business, allowing you to sign contracts, make bank accounts, and do business under the name of your business. Licenses, on the other hand, are legal permission to operate. Different states, cities, and counties have different regulations on licenses, and what types of businesses need what licenses. Make sure you have it all squared away before starting business.

Choosing the Wrong Structure

The next legal mistake that many first-time business owners make is choosing the wrong business structure for their business. Structuring your business properly is one of the most important things that you need to do as a business owner. Your structure type will determine how you are taxed and what level of personal liability you have to your business debts and lawsuits. An LLC is the most popular type of business entity. An LLC offers limited liability protection so that your personal assets are at least somewhat protected.

Not Having Insurance

The final mistake that many first-time business owners make is not having business insurance. While business insurance, especially for very small businesses, may not be a legal requirement, it can protect you from the law and is always a good idea. Business insurance helps to protect your business from lawsuits and other issues that might come up, and help your business stand up to these issues. Don’t do business without business insurance.

Running a business is never easy, especially if it is your first time. But you don’t have to make the same mistakes that most first timers make. Simply follow this advice, and you will be prepared to avoid the costly legal mistakes that many first-time business owners make.

Check out this article on how to prepare for the worst at your business!