Employment Laws
Every small business owner should know about these Federal and State laws that govern your workplace and affect your relationship with your employees. Read this article by David R. Feakes, Esq.

Model Sexual Harrassment Policy
Use this format to create and publish your company's specific written sexual harassment policies (required for employers with six or more workers).

Paying your Payroll Taxes
Read this article for suggestions that might make this painful chore easier.

Quickbooks ^(TM) Tips
This section of my website is devoted to providing hints and suggestions on using Quickbooks accounting software.

Does It Pay To Be Charitable?
"Giving to charity can be simple or complex. This article discusses the different ways to donate money or goods and the possibility of deducting donations as a business expense.

Meeting Bingo
Do you keep falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here's a way to change all that.

IRS Employer Identification Number.
You are required to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) if you have any employees, have a partnership, corporation, trust, or limited liability partnership (or corporation). You are not required to have an EIN if you are running a business as a sole proprietorship (self employed individual) without any employees. You are also not required to have an EIN if you have subcontractors (not employees) since you can use your social security number to identify you as the person paying the subcontractor. My feeling is "don't get into the IRS' computer unless it is absolutely necessary!" In other words get an EIN only when you absolutely, positively have to have one.

You need to fill out form SS-9 to apply for an EIN. You can get the form by calling 800-TAX-FORM (isn't that cute). You can mail it in or can even call the information in and get an EIN immediately instead of waiting six weeks for the IRS to respond. You also can fax it in. Call your local IRS office to get the numbers. EMAIL me if you're in Massachusetts and I'll email it back.

Deduction for Self-Employed Health Insurance.
You can take a deduction on the front of Form 1040 for health insurance and reduce your federal gross income. In most cases this is the best way to show the cost. However, if you have large medical deductions and can itemized them on federal Schedule A, then you may reduce your overall taxes by not showing the health insurance on the front of your return. Check it out. Questions? call me for an appointment.

FAX those W-4s. Did you know that you are required to fax or mail copies of a new (or reinstated) employees W-4 to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This must be done within 14 days of the persons hiring (or rehiring). Fax the form to 617-887-5049 or mail it to Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 7032, Boston, MA 02204. You must include your name, address and employer identification number, the employees name, address and social security number and the date of hire.

1  Review your insurance policy for its coverage and policy limits.

2  Back up your computer programs and data.

3  Keep a copy of the backup off site.

4  Find a source of temporary equipment to keep your business going.

5  Decide how you would replace your inventory.

6  Decide where you would store that inventory.

7  Find an alternate site for your business or manufacturing.

8  Decide which employees are irreplaceable.

9  Decide where you would find replacement employees if your current employees are unable to work.

10  Train employees to be able to do key functions.

Tips for Check Writing

The next time you order checks, have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. So if someone takes your checkbook, they won't know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name (but your bank will know).

When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. Your credit card company knows the rest of the number and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your social security number printed on your checks. You can add it if it is necessary, but if you have it printed on the checks, anyone can get it.

If Your Wallet Gets Stolen...

Having your wallet stolen puts you at risk of financial loss and other fraud. To protect yourself, place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, and copy both sides of each license, credit card, etc. That way, if your wallet is stolen, you will know what you had in it and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.

If your wallet is stolen, call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. The alert means any company that checks your credit before authorizing a purchase will know that your information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

The numbers are:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Carry a photocopy of your passport when you travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed by stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.

Also, file a police report in the jurisdiction where the wallet was stolen. This proves to credit providers that you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).