A professional service firm such as an engineering design firm or construction engineering and inspection firm can be thought of as a rocket ship. Looking at the business as a rocket ship, it gets easier to remember and share the elements of developing a successful business.

Like a rocket ship a business has two basic parts, the engines that power the ship, and the guidance systems to set course. Our rock ship has five engines and four guidance systems.

Thinking back to when you first started your firm, if you did not go through the checklist you see below formally, you did so informally.

Business owners and managers have probably never faced such a period of change as we are currently seeing. Change carries great risk, but where there is risk there is opportunity.

There are three principle areas that your management must focus on to survive and prosper in this period of change:

Business owners and managers have probably never faced such a period of change as we are currently seeing. Change carries great risk, but where there is risk there is opportunity.

How to position your business for recovery the right way.

How do we navigate our way through the economic turmoil? How do we ensure that our businesses continue to perform well and provide us with the ability to enjoy a full and rich life outside the workplace? How do we ensure that our businesses will in fact prosper, or at least be positioned to prosper, in the future?

An exit plan for business addresses all of the legal, tax, financial, personal, business, and value problems during the transition of ownership of a private business.  While you're exit planning, your main focuses should be to maximize the value of your business before you leave your company and make sure that you're financially stable enough to be able to leave your business. Are you looking to learn more about exit planning for your business and how you should go about preparing for the process? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know! 

Any number of reasons can lead to a meeting with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It might be your first meeting if you have a new business or if you need assistance with your personal finances and don’t want to use your company’s CPA.

Maybe you’re one of those individuals who meet regularly with a CPA, but you don’t feel satisfied with how things are going, so you’re interviewing replacements.

Read on for tips on how to achieve a win/win meeting.

      If at first you don't succeed, give up and try something else.”
- Homer Simpson

It may seem counterintuitive to joke about throwing in the towel, but the truth is that not every business was meant to succeed. So many of us are given the advice that if we just try hard enough, work smarter, or are resilient, that success is there for the taking.

While it's true that you want to give any endeavor your best shot, you also don't want to lose everything or quit too soon. Many business owners seem to wear their own set of blinders that don't allow them to see when it's time to draw a line and give up.

But businesses do fail and with shocking regularity. If you wait too long, you could lose much more than if you had taken action just a bit sooner. Here are some eye-opening figures about business failures and a list of key indicators that it might be time to shut down your business.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – better known simply as tax reform – allows more small business taxpayers to use the cash method of accounting. Tax reform now defines a small business taxpayer as a taxpayer that has average annual gross receipts of $25 million or less for the three prior tax years and is not a tax shelter.

Eligible employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees during tax years 2018 and 2019 might qualify for a new business tax credit.

This new employer credit for family and medical leave is part of tax reform legislation passed in December 2017.

The intent of the business tax credit is to encourage companies to offer paid time to their employees for family responsibilities, offer relief of some financial pressure. Under the guidelines, employers can get a tax credit equivalent to a percentage of the wages normally paid to employees during any period for up to 12 weeks, who are on family or medical leave.

Employers setting up or updating a leave policy may also be eligible for retroactive credit.

During tax season the same question always resurfaces among executives, business owners, and independent contractors – who should prepare my taxes?

While this question depends on each circumstance, the primary benefits of using a tax professional will always be time savings and improved accuracy. Individuals with more complicated tax needs will obviously benefit more from hiring someone to do their taxes, but everyone will benefit to some extent.