Blog
More than half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home, and with this year’s tax season deadlines fast approaching, you may be wondering if your business qualifies for the deduction.
To help business owners understand more about this important deduction, SBA sat down with IRS tax expert, Phyllis Grimes, about what is and what isn’t deductible. This interview is part of a series of short online videos hosted on SBA’s Small Business Learning Center, which offer tips and facts about all aspects of business financing.
Here’s what you need to know.
Have you considered the potential for selling your products or services outside the U.S.? Your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), an SBA resource partner, can help you get started.
The many international trade services offered by individual SBDCs vary, but most often include:
Product/Service Readiness: Determine if your products or services are suitable for export, and what product adaptations may be required.
Export Readiness: Learn if your company meets the key export readiness factors or, what you need to do to become ready.
As I covered in my pervious blog, How to Get Paid for Your Export Sales, each of the four international methods of payments which include cash-in-advance, letter-of-credit, documentary collections and open account can have an impact on your company’s financing needs when filling overseas orders. Those needs can be broken down into either pre-shipment or post-shipment working capital.
There is little doubt that customers respond positively to the attractiveness of your workplace. In addition, it’s been *found that being in a good environment helps to motivate employees and adds to productivity. Improvements to your workspace may be modest or substantial, depending on your needs and your pocketbook. Either way, Uncle Sam can help defray the costs with tax write-offs. Here’s what you need to know.
Deducting repairs
Got a loyalty card in your wallet?
Small business loyalty programs are a great way of showing customers that they are valued. They encourage return business and help you gather information about your customer demographic. Loyalty programs can also boost your marketing efforts. According to Experian CheetahMail, email campaigns that target loyalty program members are more successful – generating higher open rates, transaction levels and revenue. Even emails that invite prospects to join loyalty programs outperform regular email blasts.
Ultimately, any sale is a gift until you get paid. However, understanding how to get paid for an export sale is especially important, since your buyer could be 10,000 miles away. There are four common ways to get paid for an international order. From the most, to the least, secure method of payment for the exporter, these are:
1. Cash-in-advance- New exporters frequently request this method. Their attitude typically is, “I don’t know you very well, but if you send me the money I’ll send you the goods.”