A small business owner wears many hats. They have to. Most who start businesses are simply technicians. This means they know how to produce a product or perform a service, but they have never been trained to actually run a business.  The skill to produce something or perform a service does not set one up to be a leader, an administrator or a manager. A typical weakness of most business owners is they are often quite lacking in knowing the business’ financial numbers or other key measurements. Because of their limited time, it is critical that the owner measure the right things. The right things are those measurements that drive behaviors. By this I mean that if knowledge of a particular measurement will cause you take specific action to fix it, it is likely a worthwhile measurement.

Here is an example of this principle at work: A restaurant owner should know their average ticket. This is the average bill each customer pays per visit. If sales on a given day were $7,000 and the number of tables (tickets) was 200, the average ticket is $35 ($7,000/200). If a restaurant in month 1 has an average ticket of $35, in month two it is $33 and in month 3 it is $30, something is happening. Sales may not be down over this same period if the volume of customers increases. If you don’t measure average ticket, you don’t realize that, however. Armed with that knowledge the owner can now look to the right causes of what may truly be a problem, but one that doesn’t reveal itself by simply looking at sales figures. Perhaps servers are not actively selling desserts, drinks and other add-on items which enhance the profitability of the restaurant significantly. Could be that a coupon was being used to bring in new customers so the drop in average ticket was expected.

Figuring out what are the right measurements to pay attention to isn’t easy, but you do need to figure out those few key measurements that cause an owner/manager to take appropriate action. Otherwise you may be missing opportunities to keep your business humming.

If you area parent with college-bound children, you are concerned with setting up a financial plan to fund future college costs. If your children are already college age, your goal is to pay for current or imminent college bills. I’d like to address both of these concerns by suggesting several approaches that seek to take maximum advantage of tax benefits to minimize your expenses. (Please note that the following suggestions are strictly related to tax benefits. You may have non-tax-related concerns that make the suggestions inappropriate. One concern would be the impact on financial aid. Please consult an expert on college financial aid to consider the impact of any of these strategies).

Planning for college expenses. In some cases, transferring ownership of assets to children can save taxes. You and your spouse can transfer up to $26,000 in 2012 in cash or assets to each child with no gift tax consequences. And for 2012, if your child isn’t subject to the “kiddie tax,” he or she is taxed on income from assets entirely at his or her lower tax rates—as low as 10% (or 0% for long-term capital gain).

However, where the kiddie tax applies, the child’s investment income above $1,900 for 2012 is taxed at your tax rates and not the child’s rates. The kiddie tax applies if: (1) the child hasn’t reached age 18 before the close of the tax year or (2) the child’s earned income doesn’t exceed one-half of his or her support and the child is age 18 or is a full-time student age 19 to 23.

A variety of trusts or custodial arrangements can be used to place assets in your children’s names. Note, it’s not enough just to transfer the income, e.g., dividend checks, to your children. The income would still be taxed to you. You must transfer the asset that generates the income to their names.

Tax-exempt bonds. Another way to achieve economic growth while avoiding tax is simply to invest in tax-exempt bonds or bond funds. Interest rates and degree of risk vary on these, so care must be taken in selecting your particular investment. Some tax-exempts are sold at a deep discount from face and don’t carry interest coupons. Many are marketed as college savings bonds. A small investment in these so-called zero coupon bonds can grow into a fairly sizable fund by the time your child reaches college age.“Stripped” municipal bonds (munis) provide similar advantages.

Series EE U.S. savings bonds. Series EE U.S. savings bonds offer two tax-savings opportunities when used to finance your child’s college expenses: first, you don’t have to report the interest on the bonds for federal tax purposes until the bonds are actually cashed in; and second, interest on “qualified” Series EE (and Series I) bonds may be exempt from federal tax if the bond proceeds are used for qualified college expenses.

To qualify for the tax exemption for college use, you must purchase the bonds in your own name (not the child’s) or jointly with your spouse. The proceeds must be used for tuition, fees, etc., not room and board. If only part of the proceeds are used for qualified expenses, then only that part of the interest is exempt.

If your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds certain amounts, the exemption is phased out. For bonds cashed in during 2012, the exemption begins to phase out when joint AGI hits $109,250 for joint return filers ($72,850 for singles) and is completely phased out if your AGI is at $139,250 ($87,850 for singles).

Qualified tuition programs. A qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan) allows you to buy tuition credits for a child or make contributions to an account set up to meet a child’s future higher education expenses. Qualified tuition programs can be established by state governments or by private education institutions.

Contributions to these programs aren’t deductible. The contributions are treated as taxable gifts to the child, but they are eligible for the annual gift tax exclusion ($13,000 for 2012). A donor who contributes more than the annual exclusion limit for the year can elect to treat the gifts as if they were spread out over a five-year period.

The earnings on the contributions accumulate tax-free until the college costs are paid from the funds. Distributions from qualified tuition programs are tax-free to the extent the funds are used to pay qualified higher education expenses. Distributions of earnings that aren’t used for qualified higher education expenses will be subject to income tax plus a 10% penalty tax.

Coverdell education savings accounts. You can establish Coverdell ESAs (formerly called education IRAs) and make contributions of up to $2,000 for each child under age 18. This age limitation doesn’t apply to a beneficiary with special needs, defined as an individual who because of a physical, mental or emotional condition, including learning
disability, requires additional time to complete his or her education.

The right to make these contributions begins to phase out once your AGI is over $190,000 on a joint return ($95,000 for singles). If the income limitation is a problem, the child can make a contribution to his or her own account.

Although the contributions aren’t deductible, funds in the account aren’t taxed, and distributions are tax-free if spent on qualified education expenses. If the child doesn’t attend college, the money must be withdrawn when the child turns 30, and any earnings will be subject to tax and penalty, but unused funds can be transferred tax-free to a Coverdell ESA of another member of the child’s family who hasn’t reached age 30. These requirements that the child or member of the child’s family not have reached 30 do not apply to an individual with special needs.

The above are just some of the tax-favored ways to build up a college fund for your children. If you wish to discuss any of them, or other alternatives, please call.

Paying college expenses.
You may be able to take a credit for some of your child’s tuition expenses. There are also tax-advantaged ways of getting your child’s college expenses paid by others.

Tuition tax credits. You can take an American Opportunity tax credit of up to $2,500 per student for the first four years of college—a 100% credit for the first $2,000 in tuition, fees, and books, and a 25% credit for the second $2,000. You can take a Lifetime Learning credit of up to $2,000 per family for every additional year of college or graduate school—a 20% credit for up to $10,000 in tuition and fees.

The American Opportunity tax credit is 40% refundable. That means that you can get a refund if the amount of the credit is greater than your tax liability. For example, someone who has at least $4,000 in qualified expenses and who would thus qualify for the maximum credit of $2,500, but who has no tax liability to offset that credit against, would qualify for a $1,000 (40% of $2,500) refund from the government.

Both credits are phased out for higher-income taxpayers. The American Opportunity tax credit is phased out for couples with income between $160,000 and $180,000, and for singles with income between $80,000 and $90,000. The Lifetime Learning credit is phased out (for 2012) for couples with income between $104,000 and $124,000, and for singles with income between $52,000 and $62,000. The phase-out range for the Lifetime Learning credit is adjusted annually for inflation.

Only one credit can be claimed for the same student in any given year. However, a taxpayer is allowed to claim an American Opportunity tax credit or a Lifetime Learning credit for a tax year and to exclude from gross income amounts distributed (both the principal and the earnings portions) from a Coverdell education savings account for the same student, as long as the distribution isn’t used for the same educational expenses for which a credit was claimed.

Scholarships. Scholarships are exempt from income tax, if certain conditions are satisfied. The most important are that the scholarship must not be compensation for services, and it must be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and similar items (and not for room and board).

Although a scholarship is tax-free, it will reduce the amount of expenses that may be taken into account in computing the Hope and Lifetime Learning credits, above, and may therefore reduce or eliminate those credits.

In an exception to the rule that a scholarship must not be compensation for services, a scholarship received under a health professions scholarship program may be tax-free even if the recipient is required to provide medical services as a condition for the award.

Employer educational assistance programs. If your employer pays your child’s college expenses, the payment is a fringe benefit to you, and is taxable to you as compensation, unless the payment is part of a scholarship program that’s “outside of the pattern of employment.” Then the payment will be treated as a scholarship (if the other requirements for scholarships are satisfied).

Tuition reduction plans for employees of educational institutions. Tax-exempt educational institutions sometimes provide tuition reductions for their employees’ children who attend that educational institution, or cash tuition payments for children who attend other educational institutions. If certain requirements are satisfied, these tuition reductions are exempt from income tax.

College expense payments by grandparents and others. If someone other than you pays your child’s college expenses, the person making the payments is generally subject to the gift tax, to the extent the payments and other gifts to the child by that person exceed the regular annual (per donee) gift tax exclusion of $13,000 for 2012. Married donors who consent to split gifts may exclude gifts of up to $26,000 for 2012.

However, if the other person pays your child’s school tuition directly to an educational institution, there’s an unlimited exclusion from the gift tax for the payment. The relationship between the person paying the tuition and the person on whose behalf the payments are made is irrelevant, but the payer would typically be a grandparent.

The unlimited gift tax exclusion applies only to direct tuition costs. There’s no exclusion (beyond the normal annual exclusion) for dormitory fees, board, books, supplies, etc. Prepaid tuition payments may qualify for the unlimited gift tax exclusion under certain circumstances.

Student loans. You can deduct interest on loans used to pay for your child’s education at a post-secondary school, including some vocational and graduate schools. (This is an exception to the general rule that interest on student loans is personal interest and, therefore, not deductible.) The deduction is an above-the-line deduction (meaning that it’s available even to taxpayers who don’t itemize). The maximum deduction is $2,500. However, for 2012, the deduction phases out for taxpayers who are married filing jointly with AGI between $125,000 and $155,000 (between $60,000 and $75,000 for single filers).

Some student loans contain a provision that all or part of the loan will be cancelled if the student works for a certain period of time in certain professions for any of a broad class of employers—e.g., as a doctor for a public hospital in a rural area. The student won’t have to report any income if the loan is canceled and he performs the required services. There’s also no income to report if student loans are repaid or forgiven under certain federal or state programs for health care professionals. These are exceptions to the general rule that if a loan or other debt you owe is canceled, you must report the cancellation as income.

Bank loans. The interest on loans used to pay educational expenses is personal interest which is generally not deductible (unless you qualify for the deduction for education loan interest, described above). However, if the loan is “home equity indebtedness,” and interest on the loan is “qualified residence interest,” the interest is deductible for regular income tax purposes, although not for alternative minimum tax purposes. If interest is deductible as qualified residence interest, it can’t be deducted as education loan interest.

Borrowing against retirement plan accounts. Many company retirement plans permit participants to borrow cash. This option may be an attractive alternative to a bank loan, especially if your other debt burden is high. However, the loan must carry an interest rate equal to the prevailing commercial rate for similar loans, and, unless you qualify for the deduction for education loan interest (described above), there’s no deduction for the personal interest paid. Moreover, unless strict requirements are satisfied, a loan against a retirement account is treated as a premature distribution (withdrawal) that’s subject to regular income tax and an additional penalty tax.

Withdrawals from retirement plan accounts. IRAs and qualified retirement plans represent the largest cash resource of many taxpayers. You can pull money out of your IRA (including a Roth IRA) at any time to pay college costs without incurring the 10% early withdrawal penalty that usually applies to withdrawals from an IRA before age 591/2 . However, the distributions are subject to tax under the usual rules for IRA distributions.

Some qualified plans either don’t permit withdrawals or restrict them. For example, a 401(k) cash-or-deferred plan may allow distributions if the participant has an immediate and heavy financial need and lacks other resources to meet that need. IRS regulations name a college education as such a need. To the extent they represent previously untaxed dollars and earnings, amounts withdrawn from a retirement plan are fully subject to tax and are also hit by a 10% penalty tax if they are made before the participant reaches age 591/2 . (Note, however, that you cannot roll over a 401(k) plan “hardship” distribution into an IRA to set up a later penalty-free withdrawal to pay college costs.)

A younger plan participant may avoid triggering the penalty tax by annuitization payouts from an IRA or a SEP. This method doesn’t work for 401(k) type plans. The strategy works because the penalty tax doesn’t apply if annual or more frequent withdrawals are made in substantially equal payments over the life or life expectancy of the taxpayer (or the joint lives or joint life expectancies of the taxpayer and designated beneficiary).

Not all of the above breaks may be used in the same year, and use of some of them reduces the amounts that qualify for other breaks. So it takes planning to determine which should be used in any given situation. If you would like to discuss one or more of the above planning or payment possibilities, or any other alternatives, in more detail, please call.

While all contributions must be substantiated, contributions of $250 or more require a written receipt from the charity. If you donate property valued at more than $500,  additional requirements apply. 

General rules. For a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift, regardless of amount, you must maintain a bank record or a written communication from the donee organization showing its name, plus the date and amount of the contribution.  It’s not sufficient to maintain other written records, such as a log of contributions.

For a contribution of property other than money, you generally must maintain a receipt from the donee organization showing its name, the date and location of the contribution, and a detailed description (but not the value) of the property. You need not obtain  a receipt for a property donation, however, if circumstances make obtaining a receipt impracticable. In that case, you must maintain a reliable written record of the contribution. The information required in such a record depends on factors such as the type  and value of property contributed.

Stricter substantiation requirements apply in the case of charitable contributions with a value of $250 or more. No charitable deduction is allowed for any contribution of $250 or more unless you substantiate the contribution by a contemporaneous written  acknowledgement of the contribution by the donee organization. You must have the receipt in hand by the time you file your return (or by the due date, if earlier) or you won’t be able to claim the deduction.

The acknowledgement must include the amount of cash and a description (but not value) of any property other than cash contributed, whether the donee provided any goods or services in consideration for the contribution, and a good faith estimate of the value  of any such goods or services. If you received only “intangible religious benefits,” such as attending religious services, in return for your contribution, the receipt must say so. This type of benefit is considered to have no commercial value and so  doesn’t reduce the charitable deduction available.

If you make separate contributions of less than $250, you won’t be subject to the requirement to get a written receipt, even if the sum of the contributions to the same charity total $250 or more in a year. Also, if you have contributions withheld from your  wages, the deduction from each payment of wages is treated as a separate contribution for purposes of the $250 threshold.

In general, if the total charitable deduction you claim for non-cash property is more than $500, you must attach a completed Form 8283 (Noncash Charitable Contributions) to your return or the deduction is not allowed. In general, you are required to obtain  a qualified appraisal for donated property with a value of more than $5,000, and to attach an appraisal summary to the tax return. A qualified appraisal isn’t required for publicly-traded securities for which market quotations are readily available. A partially  completed appraisal summary and the maintenance of certain records are required for (1) nonpublicly-traded stock for which claimed deduction is greater than $5,000 and no more than $10,000, and (2) certain publicly-traded securities for which market quotations  are not readily available. A qualified appraisal is required for gifts of art valued at $20,000 or more. IRS may also request that you provide a photograph.

If an item has been appraised at $50,000 or more, you can ask IRS to issue a “Statement of Value” which can be used to substantiate the value.

Recordkeeping for contributions for which you receive goods or services.If you receive goods or services, such as a dinner or theater tickets, in return for your contribution, your deduction is limited to the excess of what you gave over the  value of what you received. For example, if you gave $100 and in return received a dinner worth $30, you can deduct $70. But your contribution is fully deductible if:

•         you received free, unordered items from the charity that cost no more than ($9.70 in 2011 ($9.60 in 2010) in total;
•         you gave at least $48.50 in 2011 ($48.00 in 2010) and received only token items (bookmarks, key chains, calendars, etc.) that bear the charity’s name or logo and cost no more than $9.70 in 2011 ($9.60 in 2010) in total; or
•         the benefits that you received are worth no more than 2% of your contribution and no more than $97 in 2011 ($96 in 2010).

If you made a contribution of more than $75 for which you received goods or services, the charity must give you a written statement, either when it asks for the donation or when it receives it, that tells you the value of those goods or services.  Be sure  to keep these statements.

Cash contribution made through payroll deductions. A contribution that you make by withholding from your wages may be substantiated by a pay stub, Form W-2, or other document furnished by your employer that shows the amount withheld for the  purpose of a payment to a charity. You can substantiate a single contribution of $250 or more with a pledge card or other document prepared by the charity that includes a statement that it doesn’t provide goods or services in return for contributions made  by payroll deduction.

The deduction from each wage payment of wages is treated as a separate contribution for purposes of the $250 threshold.

Substantiating contributions of services.Although you can’t deduct the value of services you perform for a charitable organization, some deductions are permitted for out-of-pocket costs you incur while performing the services. You should keep  track of your expenses, the services you performed and when you performed them, and the organization for which you performed the services. Keep receipts, canceled checks, and other reliable written records relating to the services and expenses.

As discussed above, a written receipt is required for contributions of $250 or more. This presents a problem for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the course of providing charitable services, since the charity doesn’t know how much those expenses were.  However, you can satisfy the written receipt requirement if you have adequate records to substantiate the amount of your expenditures, and get a statement from the charity that contains a description of the services you provided, the date the services were  provided, a statement of whether the organization provided any goods or services in return, and a description and good-faith estimate of the value of those goods or services.

Please call me if you have any questions about these rules. Together we can make sure that you’ll get all the deductions to which you’re entitled come next filing deadline.

If you are planning to make a relatively substantial contribution to a charity, college,  etc., you should consider donating appreciated stock from your investment portfolio instead  of cash. Your tax benefits from the donation can be increased and the organization will be just as happy to receive the stock.

This tax planning tool is derived from the general rule that the deduction for a donation of property to charity is equal to the fair market value of the donated property. Where  the donated property is “gain” property, the donor does not have to recognize the gain on  the donated property. These rules allow for the “doubling up,” so to speak, of tax benefits:  a charitable deduction, plus avoiding tax on the appreciation in value of the donated property.

Example: Tim and Tina are twins, each of whom attended Yalvard University. Each  plans to donate $10,000 to the school. Each also owns $10,000 worth of stock in ABC,  Inc. which he or she bought for just $2,000 several years ago.

Tim sells his stock and donates the $10,000 cash. He gets a $10,000 charitable deduction, but must report his $8,000 capital gain on the stock.

Tina donates the stock directly to the school. She gets the same $10,000 charitable  deduction and avoids any tax on the capital gain. The school is just as happy to receive the stock, which it can immediately sell for its $10,000 value in any case.

Caution: While this plan works for Tina in the above example, it will not work if the stock has not been held for more than a year. It would be treated as “ordinary income  property” for these purposes and the charitable deduction would be limited to the stock’s  $2,000 cost.

If the property is other ordinary income property, e.g., inventory, similar limitations  apply. Limitations may also apply to donations of long-term capital gain property that is  tangible (not stock), and personal (not real estate).

Finally, depending on the amounts involved and the rest of your tax picture for the  year, taking advantage of these tax benefits may trigger alternative minimum tax concerns.

If you’d like to discuss this method of charitable giving more fully, including the  limitations and potential problem areas, please give me a call

My good friend Bob Ahearn, a personal injury attorney with offices in Quincy and Marshfield, wrote this brief article regarding personal injury claims that I think everyone should know. On with the article:

Here are 4 things you may not have known about a Massachusetts personal injury claim:

1. The statute of limitations for most personal injury claims, such as auto accidents, is 3 years.  That means you must file a lawsuit within 3 years or you forever lose your right to pursue that claim!

2. If you think your lawyer is not doing a good job on your case, you can switch at any time. Your current lawyer’s fee is probably a Contingent Fee, typically 33%. What this means is that your lawyer only gets paid if you settle your case or receive an award. The attorney’s fee is contingent on recovering money for you. When you change attorneys, the fee is still 33% with the new attorney. Your new attorney will have to reimburse your prior attorney for expenses incurred and for the time spent on the case OUT OF HIS/HER 33%.  So there is no harm in switching lawyers, you will still only pay 33% as a fee.

3. If your case is worth more than $25,000, your case should be filed in Superior Court. If your case in worth less than $25,000, your case should be filed in District Court. Recently, in Massachusetts, the Small Claims Court limits were increased to $7,000. So if your personal injury claim is not worth more than $7,000, you can file it in Small Claims Court.

4. In Massachusetts, in order to be eligible to bring a claim for personal injury related to a car accident, you must incur at least $2,000 in medical bills.  This is typically referred to as being “tort eligible” in Massachusetts.   If you do not incur at least $2,000 in medical bills, you are not tort eligible and you cannot bring a claim for pain and suffering.  There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as if you have a permanent scar or a broken bone you automatically are entitled to bring a claim as these are considered serious injuries.

There are many rules and pitfalls in personal injury claims in Massachusetts. Having practiced personal injury law in Massachusetts for over 21 years, I am well aware of how a claim should be pursued and the rules that govern personal injury law.

Thank you to Bob for this useful information. If you’ve ever been injured in an accident AND it wasn’t your fault, please give a call to Bob today. He gets my highest recommendation for professionalism. Bob handles all of his cases personally (no clerks or paralegals). You can best reach him by phone at (617) 773-8890.

I have seen success in many forms: Financial, professional, familial, you name it.  The common characteristics of success are based on some level of technical ability to be sure.  But the real determinant of success in my travels has been attitude. What are you willing to do to get where you want to go?  How hard are you willing to work? How much practice? How much effort?

While truly successful people have goals, they don’t spend a lot of time documenting them. They know what they are. They use their precious time going after them. Working to achieve them.

A lot of things happen when you put your head down and just start working hard toward a goal. One thing is that time passes very quickly. This can seem constraining, not having enough hours in a day, but if time seems to pass quickly while you are working on a goal, chances are you are super-focused and that is almost never a bad thing.

Knowing your goals is not a bad thing but I think it can be counterproductive to spend too much time thinking about them.  You may find yourself spending too much time evaluating or thinking about today’s progress  or this week’s progress. That might cause negativity to creep in if you are evaluating yourself so often that you become hypercritical of your progress.

Analogy – If you had to swim across a one mile lake, and you have never done anything like that before, would it potentially be problematic to be stopping often to check your progress? To look up at your goal (the opposite shore) may have the effect of impacting your will to succeed if somehow your progress doesn’t match your expectation. Before you know it, you are no longer working hard, no longer driven, possibly in trouble of not achieving.

I think that once you have your goal in mind, just start working hard toward it.  Remove as many distractions as possible, have an attitude that you simply won’t allow yourself to not achieve that which you want, put your head down and get going.

In the end, you may find that you passed the goal you had in mind and achieved more of yourself than you thought possible. Boy does this video speak to that:

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

Great song by The Lovin’ Spoonful which is also one of the coolest band names in rock.

This entry is brought to you by summer in the city. Specifically, it’s about 97 degrees outside so my original plans are scrapped and here I am. So what are the things you should be doing when your original plans are scrapped? This could be a result of a canceled meeting, you finshed something ahead of schedule, who knows. The point is that you have some open time and you want to be productive.

These are ideal “On the business” opportunities. “On the business” means when you are doing things to help the business as a whole to grow, be more efficient, to decide direction and strategy, etc. The best way to get right on something like this is to have a working list of your “on the business tasks.” Prioritize the list and jump on #1 when open time presents itself.

Here are some on the business examples:

• Write up a one page vision of how you want your business to look in 3 years.  I call this a vision statement. It is hard to take your business anywhere without a defined destination. Let everyone know who can help you get there what your vision is. It will definitely change over time so this isn’t a one time deal.
• Thank existing customers. This may mean dropping by your top customers just to say thanks. A thank you card, thank you gift goes a long way.
• Create an informal, brief survey for your customers to complete. Never assume you know what your customers think of you.  Ask them. They may not want to tell you to your face so a survey is a great way to get to the truth. Again keep it brief and always ask one question in that survey. ALWAYS ask: “If there was one aspect of our service to your company that you could change if you could, what would be that one thing?”  The answers to this question are gold because it tells you what matters to your customers and what they think you could do better at. What a golden opportunity to show your customers how much you care.
• Plan a retreat for your team, or if you are self-employed, for yourself.  Get away and talk about the business in a less formal, fun atmosphere. If you know someone who can moderate this (HINT HINT), it is a great opportunity to hit reset on your business and get re-invigorated.

There are a lot of things you can do when summer in the city halts your plans.  Its the business that implements the most little improvements to their businesses that win.

Make that list cuz its going to be a boiler these next few days!

Larry

Dictionary

Thesaurus

Physician’s Desk Reference

TV Guide

All of these are reference materials that serve well those who need them. When spellcheck fails (it does more than you should be comfortable with), you can just go to the dictionary and make sure you have the right word attached to the right spelling. What is that funky looking rash on your elbow? You can play doctor and check out the Physician’s Desk Reference and mis-diagnose yourself with Malaysian Boogie Woogie Cannotpronounce-itis. When I was a kid, a staple of my Christmas wish list was the latest edition of the World Almanac. I think my mom was psyched to get it for me if for no other reason than the fact that I would sequester myself in my room for days learning all sorts of minutae. “Hey mom, didja know that Detroit sits on top of a huge salt mine?” My mom mastered the “Oh realllly? That’s neat!” response. And off I would disappear for another half hour.

BFF

My reference weapon of choice these days is the U.S. Master Tax Guide (USMTG). Over 1,000 pages of fun-filled tax facts, figures and even authors’ opinions (accountants love that stuff because we love to have opinions about things – see audits). This is the Almanac of Tax, The Old Testament of the IRS, The Encyclopedia Taxedia. If you don’t have one of these by your side during tax season, you are at a decided disadvantage. What I didn’t know when I  received my first one was how truly useful it would become. How useful? Since you asked (you didn’t but whatever):

• Quick verification tool – When you think you know something regarding a tax law or rate, but would rather not risk that 3% chance you’re off base, you can quickly pick up the USMTG and get your answer. To go the conventional route for research can be a time killer. Tax law is complex. You could fill a public library just with tax information and research. The benefits of having a handy single guide right next to you to answer the basic stuff is huge.
• Client call enhancer – Win friends and impress clients with how fast you  can answer thier phoned-in tax questions. If you know the USMTG well, you can give the direct impression you knew the answer to their question, not that you were able to quickly look it up. Thats neat!
• Fly swatter – This use came into play this week as I had a succession of nights being terrorized by flies circling the tower of my head while trying to work. The USMTG isn’t large per se, but if you connect on the target on a hard surface, those 1,000+ pages of mass means that there won’t be anything left to autopsy on Frankie The Fly. It is a bad weapon of choice on lamp shades, stereos and friends. Just take my word for it.
• Leveler – Something got knocked off the bottom of my oak file cabinet during my last move. The Leaning Tower of Vertical Files just doesn’t look right like that. Enter the 2009 edition of the USMTG and voila, my files have a sense of balance again!
• Crossword backboard – It’s not the best solution but if you need something to put your crossword puzzle on to write in a pinch, The USMTG can do the job.

So what is your right hand man/woman reference? Nothing will ever replace a dog for companionship, but a reference guide that works for your business might be a super handy tool.

A new beginning in many ways. The goal of this blog and of this site is to be a resource for small business owners and folks interested in seeing the entrepreneurial spirit promoted, applauded, recognized and advised.

You’ll get opinions, resources, advice, stories and much more.

At the end of the day, I want to crunch those preconceptions you have about beancounters like me.

I hope this is as cool as I think it can be.

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