Small Business Profit Maximizer!

CALLING ALL BUSINESS OWNERS!!

My book is FINALLY out! If you’re ready to reinvigorate your cash flow and increase your profit margins, you MUST read The 90 Day Profit Reset. It’s available now in print and Kindle versions from Amazon.

Get yours here >> https://amzn.to/32gCYfv

 

Getting the Most Out of Employee Retention Credit for Massive Payouts

After the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic last March, businesses across the country entered a long period of turmoil and uncertainty. For many of them, this period has not yet ended. However, the passage of the CARES Act in late March of last year, in addition to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act this year, offered businesses a number of opportunities to receive support.

One of these support systems comes in the form of Employee Retention Credit, an admittedly complicated and not necessarily well-understood tax credit that, with proper planning, can provide massive benefits to businesses in the form of sizable payouts.

What is Employee Retention Credit?

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable payroll tax credit for “qualified wages” paid to retained full-time employees. I’ll get into more detail later on, but what that essentially means is that you can receive a refundable tax credit (up to a certain amount) based on money paid to retain full-time employees. 

This provision was introduced under the CARES Act last year, and covered the period from March to the end of December. Thankfully, under the recently-passed American Rescue Plan, the Employee Retention Credit period has been extended through the end of 2021. When all is said and done, this opens up opportunities for businesses to save tens of thousands of dollars in taxes—or sometimes even more.

That being said, in order to qualify for Employee Retention Credit, you’ll have to meet a set of very specific standards, some of which change depending on what kind of business you run. The rules can get fairly complicated, but keep in mind that with a good tax plan and a qualified CPA like me, you can easily make the most of this provision.

How Does Employee Retention Credit Differ from PPP Loans?

First, a brief clarification. I’ve previously discussed PPP loans and the numerous benefits they provide for businesses struggling during this pandemic. While it’s good to know about those, an important distinction needs to be made: Employee Retention Credit and PPP Loans may seem similar, but they are two completely separate things.

In fact, they cannot be used to cover the same wages. Essentially, it's possible to make use of both, but you can’t “double up” on the same expenditures. Keep this in mind during your tax planning preparation, as it’s not only easy to make a mistake, but you could also be missing out on massive payouts if you don’t plan correctly.

With that in mind, if you applied for PPP Loan forgiveness, I suggest waiting for it to go through so you can see where those funds were allocated. Once you determine your eligibility for ERC, you’ll be able to more accurately and effectively make use of the funds—and you’ll be grinning ear to ear around tax time. 

Unlike PPP loans these are not loans and thus do not need to be forgiven. 

How Do I Qualify for Employee Retention Credit?

As stated earlier, there are a number of qualifications you need to meet in order to make use of ERC. Of all of these qualifications, you should familiarize yourself with two in particular, as they’re both the most far-reaching and the most complex.

Primarily, you qualify for ERC if business was suspended, either entirely or in part. For most, the latter applies, especially as many businesses begin to open up at partial capacity. In such cases, this usually counts when at least 10% of your business was suspended, though it depends heavily on the facts and circumstances surrounding the suspension.

Of all the qualifying factors for ERC, this is the most straightforward, and due to the widespread nature of the pandemic, it’s likely that your business qualifies. That being said, it’s once again highly recommended to get a CPA to help you, especially when it comes to the second qualifying factor.

That factor is the Gross Receipts Test, and it’s here where things get much more complicated. Under this test, you can compare your quarterly reports for 2020 to corresponding quarters from 2019 (Quarter 2 in 2020 compared to Quarter 2 from 2019, for example). If during these comparisons you saw a considerable drop (specifically, at least 50%) in 2020—and, under the circumstances, this is very possible—it can be assumed that this was due to COVID. 

I’ll try to demonstrate this in action through a very probable real-world example. Let's say your business didn’t have to suspend operations at all during 2020 due to the pandemic. However, one or more of your suppliers was forced to suspend operations in some capacity. Your hours may not have been affected directly, but an aspect of your business still suffered.

Even in 2021, you may qualify when your 2021 quarterly comparisons to 2019 (as this was the last pre-covid year and still counts toward your claim) result in a 25% drop in any quarter or the quarter before. In that case, the pandemic has affected you, and with some help from a CPA (your best option, as this gets complicated), you will most likely qualify for Employee Retention Credit, and this can be a massive amount of money.  For one of my clients, the credit was over $100,000.

One final note: If you run an S-Corp, C-Corp, or a Partnership, you and your spouse (provided they’re on the payroll) can qualify for ERC funds. However, any relatives beyond that—your sister, your brother-in-law, son-in-law, etc.—will not qualify for ERC if they’re on the payroll.

What Else is There to Know About Employee Retention Credit?

Like I said, dealing with Employee Retention Credit can be profoundly complicated, and it’s not recommended to tackle the subject without a CPA. However, there are a few key points you should know before you apply.

First of all, there’s the math. At the time of writing, ERC for 2021 is 70% of an employee’s wages up to $10,000 per quarter for which you qualify. In a business consisting of four people, each one making more than $10,000 per quarter, and you qualify for ERC for all four quarters, that’s $28,000 per quarter and $112,000 for the year in credit alone. It’s in this way that businesses taking full advantage of ERC can see massive payouts.

For 2020, the credit was limited to 50% of employee wages up to $10,000 per year. This limited the credit for 2020 for a business with four people, each making $10,000 per quarter to $20,000 for the year if they qualified for any quarter. 

Most importantly of all, ERC is based on both original and amended 941 forms. Once you make your claim and submit these forms, the IRS has three years to audit them (except for the third and fourth quarter of 2021, as the law extended the audit period to five years). If and when that time comes, you need to be prepared to back it up with documents. Otherwise, you’ll face both financial and legal troubles.

As a quick note: If the situation requires it, you can request an advance in ERC. This, however, like everything else related to this subject, is deeply complicated, and should be dealt with carefully.

While this all may seem to make Employee Retention Credit more clear-cut, please bear in mind that this isn’t always the case. Once again, it’s highly advisable to hire a CPA like me to help you apply for ERC correctly, both to avoid legal complications and to get the most out of your taxes.

One way or the other, this is a massive opportunity that you should not let pass you by. Talk to a CPA, see if you qualify, get your applications in order, and reap the benefits of top-quality tax planning. Good luck, and as I always say, let’s make this our most profitable year ever!

 

How to Make a Customer Remember You and Your Small Business

Today, I want to focus on what it takes to make a customer remember you. Having helped my clients save over 6.8 million dollars over the last five years, I’m an expert in what it takes to be successful in business, and my book The 90-Day Profit Reset is filled with tips, tricks, and wisdom to help boost your business and maximize your profits. Making a customer remember you is actually something I discuss in the book, and for more information, it can be purchased here. 

Make a Customer Remember You—Don't Wait For It! 

Before anything else, one thing needs to be made clear: you should be making your customers remember you. It's not your customer's job to remember you, and because of this, you need to go out of your way to be memorable. If customers did all the work, being an entrepreneur wouldn't be hard, and you wouldn't need to maximize your profits. While this can be exhausting work, the benefits you get from it will be worth it. Plus, it provides extra room for creativity and innovation in all aspects of business, from marketing to the customer experience itself. 

As an example, I’ll tell you about an experience I had over a decade ago. On a Thanksgiving weekend, when we were expecting a sizable number of guests, the toilet in our main bathroom broke. I would need a plumber on very short notice on a holiday weekend—a tall order, to say the least. By some miracle, not only was I able to find one, but the plumber worked quickly, did quality work, and charged a reasonable price. A prime customer service experience all around. 

One year later, Texas suffered an uncharacteristically harsh winter, during which a large number of pipes burst in businesses all around the El Paso area—many of which were actually clients of mine. They needed a plumber, and they needed one quickly. After the incredibly smooth experience of the prior Thanksgiving, I was more than ready to refer that plumber to all of my clients, except there was one big problem: I couldn't remember the plumber's name. To make matters worse, I had paid the plumber in cash, meaning I couldn't even find his name by looking through my financial records. 

While the plumber did an exemplary job, he made the fatal mistake of not taking the extra effort to be memorable. Even something as simple as giving me a business card would not only have meant creating a trusting customer relationship, but also would have prevented him from missing out on creating profitable relationships with dozens of clients. Memory lapses like that are extremely common, and unfortunately, this means that outperforming competitors and setting reasonable prices isn't enough. Customers remember you when they need you, and the reality is that they're not going to need you 24/7. This principle of customer retention applies to all forms of businesses. 

It's for reasons like this alone that going out of your way to make customers remember you is a major key in maximizing your profits. It's been proven that it's cheaper to retain customers than it is to get new ones, but if you don't make your customers remember you, you won't be able to effectively do either. 

Make Customers Remember You by Developing a Plan

One study found that most businesses lose customers because those customers didn't feel like those businesses cared about them. It's here that you can take the opportunity to make your customers remember you by offering loyalty programs. You may have noticed that these are extremely common with successful businesses, particularly large retail chains with multiple locations around the world. This isn't something they do because they're so successful—it's one of the elements that got them there in the first place. 

How you develop your loyalty plan is entirely up to you, though it does depend on the kind of business you run. If you find yourself struggling to figure out what would work best, do some research into similar businesses to see how they pulled it off. You could also hire a CPA to see how implementing such plans could potentially affect your finances so you can plan accordingly. 

Make Your Customers Remember You With Newsletters

Newsletters, when used correctly, can be wildly successful when it comes to customer retention, and their multifaceted approach practically makes it easy. Not only do they keep your business in the minds of your customers, but increases the effectiveness of any other programs or events you may be running while simultaneously showcasing products you want to sell. 

Weekly newsletters are great for maintaining contact with customers. Plus, with each one, you can add benefits like weekly specials, unique offers, coupons, and more. Massively successful chains like Michael's, Target, and Walgreens use newsletters to incredible effect, and you can do the same. 

Make Customers Remember You by Engaging Them 

There are countless ways to engage your customers. What grabs attention more than handwritten letters? Nobody else is doing that these days, and while it may seem like a lot of work, they showcase your authenticity while doing something memorable anyway. 

It's also good to check in with your customers when you can. Again, it all depends on the type of business you run, but personally reaching out to customers every few months not only creates new business opportunities, but keeps you fresh in their minds as well. 

Another thing you can do to make customers remember you is personally thank them for referrals. Much like the handwritten notes, this creates authenticity, strengthens connects, and generally builds goodwill all around. To be frank, there are no downsides in doing this, ever. A simple "thank you" can go a long way.

You can also make them remember you by going the extra mile for personal touches. For clients of yours, you can reach out on special occasions like work anniversaries. You'd be amazed at how far things like that can take you. 

At the end of the day, there's no shortage of ways to make customers remember you. My book 90-Day Profit Reset goes into considerably more detail and offers even more ways to stay at the forefront of your customers' minds. One way or the other, don't hesitate to go that extra mile—you never know what you'll miss out on if you don't. Get out there, and make yourself memorable.

Everything You Need to Know About the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (And How to Use It to Your Advantage)

Did you know there’s a Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which is a fund available for restaurants, bars, and other eating establishments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

It’s no secret that restaurants and bars have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Statistics show that over 110,000 restaurants closed last year, overall revenue from the industry dropped over $240 billion, and millions of jobs were erased in the process. “Satellite businesses,” such as restaurants with a customer base made up of employees on their lunch breaks from nearby offices, were hit particularly hard. 

Additionally, many of the restaurants that survived are still only operating at 50% capacity, even in areas that have seen steady recovery. Many people are still afraid to go out to eat, and on top of everything else, food costs are going up due to factors like inflation and the impact the pandemic has had on logistics. It’s been a long and difficult year, but as we begin our return to normalcy, there’s no shortage of support programs out there, and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund is one of them. That being said, if you want to take advantage of it, you’ll have to act fast.

What is the Restaurant Revitalization Fund?

A few weeks ago, I discussed the Employee Retention Credit, an element of the recently-passed American Rescue Plan. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) is another part of that plan, and as its name suggests, it’s specifically designed to help eating establishments keep their doors open during the pandemic. 

Under the RRF, restaurants that successfully apply will be entitled to funding equal to pandemic-related revenue losses up to $10 MILLION dollars, with no more than $5 million dollars per location. This can generate huge payouts for businesses that take advantage of this opportunity. Recently, I helped one of my clients—the owner of a small restaurant—take advantage of this fund, and they were able to receive over $136,000. If you’re a restaurant owner who was hit particularly hard by the pandemic, this is the real deal.

How do I Apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund?

The first step for putting in your application is visiting the website for the Small Business Administration: https://www.sba.gov. At the time of writing, COVID-19 relief options are on the very front page. Click the link, and from there, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will be one of the first few options you see. Clicking on it will provide further information and give you the option to apply.

Eligible businesses include restaurants, bars, food trucks, food stands, bars, saloons, lounges, taverns, snacks & non-alcoholic beverage bars (such as coffee shops), brew pubs, tasting rooms, tap rooms, breweries, microbreweries, inns, bakeries, and others that incurred pandemic-related losses in 2020. Please note, however, that at least 33% of food and beverage sales need to be on-site in order to qualify.

You will have to fill out and submit a number of forms as well, including a few specifically from the IRS. Make sure you have these forms ready when you go to apply. These forms are listed below: 

• 4506-T Request of Transcript (This is to help prevent fraud) 
• Gross Receipts documentation (more or less of your choosing) 
• 1040 Schedule-C (or Schedule-F if you run a farm),
• 1065 Schedule K1 Return of Partnership
• Bank Statements

• Corporate Returns (if applicable)

• Externally or Internally-Prepared Financial Statements

• Point-of-Sale Forms, Including Form 1099-K

Registration for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund opened up on May 3rd, so it’s still relatively early in the process. That being said, keep in mind that under special provisions of the RRF, during the first three weeks, only “priority groups” are allowed to apply, meaning that for a limited time, the benefits are only open to “women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” who own small businesses. If you belong to one of these groups, act as soon as possible while this period lasts. If you don’t, take this time to get all of your forms in order to make the process smoother when applications are open to you. In any case, please note that it’s highly advisable to have your tax return for last year finished.

What Else is There to Know About the Restaurant Revitalization Fund?

There are a number of smaller details that go into the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, all of which are good to know. More fully-detailed breakdowns can be found directly on the SBA site, but for convenience, I’ll list some of the more notable details here.

One major element of the RRF is that the funds you receive need to be spend for “eligible purposes,” which include:

• Business Payroll Costs
• Paid Sick Leave 
• Business mortgage 
• Business rent 
• Business debt service (both principal and interest), 
• Utility payments, 
• Maintenance payments, 
• Construction of outdoor seating, 
• Business Supplies (various materials, including PPE) 
• Food/Beverages 
• Business Operating Expenses

These provide excellent opportunities to make use of the funds you receive. However, keep in mind that the deadline for spending the funds is March 11th, 2023. In that time, you’re virtually guaranteed to spend that money on everything you need, and you won’t have to pay any of it back.

You also need to keep in mind that your funds are calculated through your gross receipts, which essentially means the money you made from sales without PPP loans. If you have received a PPP loan previously, this is something to consider. Thankfully, the SBA site will help you walk through all of the math, and when you plug in the numbers you need, the site will calculate everything for you. With that being said, it would be best to consult a third-party CPA to look everything over before you crunch the numbers.

It goes without saying that if you own an eating establishment, you’ll want to take advantage of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as soon as possible. Check out the SBA website, make sure all of your documents are in order, and apply for the funds the moment you’re able to do so. As we discussed already, there’s potential for absolutely massive payouts, and if your restaurant was hit particularly hard by the pandemic, this could be another great opportunity to get back on your feet. Stay healthy, stay safe, and as I always say, “Let’s make this our most profitable year ever!”

The Importance of Customer Lifetime Value For Your Small Business

As a business owner, you may have seen the term “customer lifetime value,” but not known what it meant. If your search for an answer brought you here, you’re in the right place! As it happens, customer lifetime value is perhaps the most important number that every business must know. Knowing this number not only changes your perspective on customers, but has a positive impact on how you interact with first-time customers.

What is Customer Lifetime Value?

Essentially, customer lifetime value is what a customer is worth to your business—not just in the money they spend, but across your relationship with them as a whole. For example, how reliable are they as customers? Even if they’re not big spenders, do you see them often? Do they tell their friends and relatives about your business and bring in new customers? Do they know people who can bring you more important business opportunities? The value of a customer can go far beyond what they spend in a day, and with that in mind, it’s critical to nurture relationships of value.

How Does This Look in a Practical Sense?

Business models can vary widely, so when it comes to calculating customer lifetime value, the formulas can get complicated very quickly. With that in mind, however, let’s use a basic example. Let’s say you’re the owner of a hardware store. One of your regular customers is a contractor who visits once a month and spends a minimum of $200 each visit. In those moments, he’s worth $200 to you, but over the course of a year, he’s worth $2,400! And if he’s been a long-time customer of yours, let’s say, for fifteen years, that means his customer lifetime value is $36,000!

My book, 90-Day Profit Reset: Gain Your Independence from Reduced Cash Flow, Evaporating Customers, and Shrinking Margins, contains a worksheet for helping you calculate customer lifetime value. If you want to get into the mathematical side of things, you can find the book here. It includes different options depending on your type of business, whether it be service, retail, or something else entirely. You can buy it in Kindle form or get a physical copy to take notes.

How do I Make the Most of Customer Lifetime Value?

It’s commonly known that keeping existing customers is considerably cheaper than acquiring new ones. Essentially, the money lies in building a relationship with existing customers in any way you can. For loyal customers, you should be dedicating more time to them, seeing what else you can offer them to get more out of your relationship with them.

It’s here that practices like upselling and cross-selling become critical. Normally, it’s hard to upsell and cross-sell new customers, but with existing customers with whom you’ve built trust, it’s considerably easier to get that extra revenue from going the extra mile.

Building a Relationship

One of the best bits of advice I can give you about upselling is to not sell. Even if you’re taking it easy, most customers will be turned off if they feel like you’re trying to squeeze more money out of them. Reaching that next step takes time, patience, and trust. You can build trust by offering certain perks to loyal customers. This can include discounts, free consultations, and most importantly of all, problem solving.

Get to know your customers a little bit—don’t just treat them like walking piles of money. Like everyone else, customers have problems that they want to solve, and if they’re coming to your business, they want to solve that problem. As an example, I’ll tell you a story that demonstrates not only how to do this effectively, but also how to stand out among your competition.

A client came to me looking to straighten out his finances. He told me that he was paying his CPA a certain amount for very specific services, but not much else, and as a result, he wasn’t seeing a great return on investment. I gave him a more realistic estimate of what he had to do, outlining a plan in detail to help this client save money. Almost immediately afterwards, he hired me to be his CPA.

The important factor here is that I wasn’t trying to sell this client on his services—rather, he was solving his problem. The sad thing is that the other CPA didn’t have to lose that client. The other CPA simply treated that client as a customer and nothing else. Had they put in the effort to solve that client’s problem instead of just taking orders, they would have developed a solid relationship, and that client’s customer lifetime value would have increased dramatically. Since I know this, I took the opportunity the moment I saw it. As a result, I not only helped someone out with a problem, but in doing so, I earned a new client, increased my income, and gave my reputation a boost. Most importantly, I did it by not trying to sell a product. I gave them a solution instead, and this is a strategy that has worked for him countless times.

In essence, customer lifetime value is massively important to your business, and hopefully this explanation gives you some perspective on how to make the most of it. Nurturing strong, loyal relationships could be exponentially more profitable than spending time and effort bringing in as many new customers as possible. It’s one thing to be good at selling, but it’s another thing entirely to keep your clients, and if you can do both, you’re virtually guaranteed to be successful.

Some of my best clients have been with me for over 30 years, and he knows it’s relationships like these that launch businesses to new heights. By solving problems for them instead of blindly selling, my best clients consider me almost “free” because I save them more money than it costs to hire me, and these relationships are mutually beneficial in a huge way.

Remember that your customers are worth more than how much they spend in one day. Spend time with them, work to solve their problems, and build trusting relationships with them to get the most out of your business. With this in mind, go out there, and make the most of customer lifetime value—you have the tools you need to succeed. As I always say: “Let’s make this our most profitable year ever!”

What Does Paid Sick Leave and Coronavirus Mean for Your Small Business?

Almost exactly a year ago, Congress passed the CARES Act to provide relief for Americans during the Coronavirus pandemic. This $2.2 Trillion stimulus package provided billions to state and local governments, a Paycheck Protection Program, direct payments to individuals, and an increase in unemployment benefits. In addition to the CARES Act, Congress also passed the FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act), which contained special provisions for paid sick leave in regards to the coronavirus. 

As a business owner, you are likely wondering what this means for you, your business, and your employees. In this guide, we’ll be breaking down what paid sick leave for the coronavirus means for you, how it works, and how this will affect you when tax season comes along.

What Qualifies an Employee for Paid Sick Leave? 

Obviously, this law doesn’t cover basic sick leave, and is geared specifically towards the coronavirus. In short, paid sick leave for coronavirus is applicable to employees who are unable to work due to federal, state, or local lockdowns. There are a number of rules that apply here, so we’ll go over a number of them right now.

• If an employee tests positive for coronavirus, they qualify for paid sick leave, even if they’re asymptomatic.
• If an employee is asymptomatic but is being advised by a health care professional to quarantine, then they qualify.
• If an employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is awaiting a diagnosis (a positive test, for example), then they qualify.
• If an employee has to care for someone under lockdown orders, like a child (especially if they’re young and the schools are closed) or an elderly person, then they qualify. The person being cared for must also be subject to quarantine or shelter-in-place orders.
• If an employee is experiencing substantially similar conditions to COVID-19 as specified by the Secretary of Health, then they qualify. However, please note that at the time of publication, no such conditions have been identified.

It’s strongly advisable to take all the necessary precautions you need, but the unfortunate reality is that sometimes, this won’t be enough. Be careful, take care of yourself and your employees, but be prepared for the worst.

How Much do I Have to Pay for Paid Sick Leave?

This number will vary, but there are specific guidelines in place in regards to how much you need to pay your employees when they take paid sick leave due to COVID-19.

Full-time employees (40 hours a week) will be covered for a two-week period of up to 80 hours. For example, if one of your employees makes $10 an hour, they will receive $800 of paid sick leave—two weeks’ worth of their time.

Part-time employees will also receive two weeks’ worth of pay. However, since their hours often vary and are not set, they will receive an amount based on the average number of hours they work over two given weeks. Much like the aforementioned full-time employee, let’s say one of your part-time employees makes $10 an hour. If the average number of hours they work over two weeks evens out to 29, then they will receive $290.

Different businesses have different needs and widely varying salaries. With this in mind, there are many employees who might make far more then $10 an hour. With this in mind, please note that the limit under the FFCRA (we’ll discuss that “limit” later) is $511 per day, up to $5,110 overall. 

Are There Exceptions? What if I Can’t Afford Paid Sick Leave?

As it happens, there are exceptions for paid sick leave for businesses under very specific circumstances. The most notable examples are:

• If you have work for your employees to do. This may cause some to scratch their heads, but the explanation is simpler than it may seem. Basically, if you shut down your business (or were forced to shut down by legal restrictions), you don’t have to pay sick leave, since there is no work for your employees to perform. However, if you’re still operating your business (hopefully with the necessary precautions in place), you need your employees to perform their tasks, they will therefore qualify if they need to take sick leave. This also applies if you’re open and your employees can work from home. In reality, this qualifier doesn’t make a difference for most businesses, but the information is still good to know going forward.
• If your business has fewer than 50 employees. The law applies to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, but for particularly small businesses with less than 50 employees, they are not required by law to pay for sick leave. This is likely a relief to read if you’re a small business owner.
• If you cannot pay sick leave without jeopardizing your business as a going concern. In particular, this exception applies when “such leave would cause employers’ expenses and financial obligations to exceed available business revenue and cause small employers to cease operations at a minimal capacity at the absence of the employer” being able to prove that the “employee requesting such leave will pose a substantial risk to the financial health of the business,” or if the employer can’t find a replacement employee to do the work. Essentially, if you literally can’t pay sick leave without your business going under, you’re off the hook. However, you MUST have documentation to prove this should the Department of Labor ask you for proof. 

Where Does This Money Come From? Do I Get it Back?

If you’re worried about having to pay too much sick leave for coronavirus, don’t be—when tax season comes by, you’ll be getting the money back! As an employer, when you fill out your 941 form, you’ll be getting a dollar-for-dollar credit on your payroll taxes. The aforementioned $5,110, for example, is all coming back to you, so don’t fret if you have to pay that much. Keep in mind that this is retroactive—the law was passed in March 2020, so if you paid sick leave for coronavirus before then, you can still apply for that tax credit.

Regardless, these tax laws can be complicated, so if you’re struggling to make sense of it, don’t hesitate to hire a professional CPA to help you along the way. In summary, if one of your employees has to take sick leave due to coronavirus, you have to pay for it (with a few exceptions). However, you will be getting that money back in the form of payroll tax credits up to $5,110. Be mindful, be safe, and like I always say: “Let’s make this our most profitable year ever!”

SBA changes PPP rules to Finally Help Sole Proprietors, independent contractors and the self employed. But Hurry--Time Running Out!

In Today’s video you’ll learn about the new PPP rules issued by the SBA can greatly help sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed.

Before the SBA changes many small business owners who didn’t have payroll had to calculate on net income now can use gross sales.

If you already filed under old rules- Tough luck. But if you haven’t can make a big difference.

Example – before one of my clients didn't qualify because their net income was zero after depreciation write-offs. Now we can use gross income of $150K and qualify for $31,250 in PPP loans.

Must use the new forms (2483-C for the first draw and 2483-SD-C for the second draw)

Warning- SBA has announced that they will look closely at loans of $150K or more to make sure you had a real need for the funds.

Forgiveness rules are the normal rules for sole proprietors that I covered in earlier videos.

All of this is very confusing so get help if you think this is something that will help you

 

 

Referrals the Right Way- Part 1

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…

The most valuable asset a business has is its existing customers.

But what is a business’ second most valuable asset? Customers by referral! If you want your business to grow and your sales to increase, use your current perfect customers to bring in even more new perfect customers.

In other words, when we use our loyal customers to gain more loyal customers, we create a system that guarantees sales, and our business grows exponentially because of it. Sometimes, however, this is easier said than done.

In my decades of experience, I have become an expert in the art of referrals, and there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Don’t waste your precious time and money on strategies that won’t help your business grow.

Let’s have a conversation and make sure we prioritize the right customers so this year can be our most profitable one yet!

 

 

Referrals the Right Way - Part 2

Had a glitch that shut down my live video. Here is the completion of how to get referrals the correct way

 

 

How the 8020 Rule Can Massively Increase Profits

Do you want to improve your profit and re-engage customers?

Obviously, the answer is yes, but how do we do this while juggling a cacophony of other tasks and obligations as busy entrepreneurs? The best way to grow profits is with the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80% of your output comes from only 20% of your input. In other words, if we want to grow, we only need to focus on the top 20% of our customers and 80% of our profits will grow.

Especially during the times in our lives in which we have other obligations that take us away from focusing on our business, the 80/20 rule can help.

By focusing on your growing your top customers, you can double or triple your revenue without having to search for new prospects or develop new services.

Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to grow your profits. Just make sure your focus is in the right spot!