As an entrepreneur, you may have or know someone who has been audited by the IRS. If an audit is in your future, stay calm and understand what the auditor will be looking for…

1) Did you report all of your business sales or receipts?
2) Did you write off personal living costs as business expenses?
3) Does your lifestyle square with your reported income?
4) Did you take cash or otherwise divert income without declaring it?
5) Did you write off personal auto expenses as business?
6) Did you claim personal costs as business expenses?
7) Are you filing payroll tax and making tax deposits for employees?
8) If you hire people you call “independent contractors,” are they really employees?

What Auditors Look for When Examining a Business

Recommended Reading:

• Top 20 Tips for Surviving an Audit
• How to Reduce the Chance of an Audit
• Audit Technique Guides by Industry

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Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing.

They can produce a surge of traffic to your web site or a flood of high-quality sales leads. Campaigns are easy to track and almost everyone reads post cards, even the good folks who throw out all your bulk direct mail!

How can you market effectively by using only postcards? Here are a few important tips to keep in mind:

1) Ditch the Sales Pitch.
2) Get Right to the Point.
3) Send your postcards via First Class mail.

7 Tips for Successful Postcard Marketing

Recommended Reading:

10 good reasons to market with postcards
Marketing With Post Cards
Postcard Printing - Design Postcards Online

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I hope all of you have a safe and joyful Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

When turkeys dream…

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An estimated 45 percent of all e-mail is defined as spam, costing business worldwide $20 billion a year in lost productivity and technology expenses, according to the Radicati Group, a market research firm in Palo Alto, California.

Following are five critical tips which will help you create a more productive workplace that is better protected against spam and phishing attacks—even if you have minimal or no IT staff.

1) Make sure your employees are aware of “phishing” attacks.
2) Educate employees on the how-tos of secure e-mail usage.
3) Protect your business from being “phished.”
4) Let your employees have some control.
5) Choose an e-mail security solution that’s right for you.

Recommended Reading:

What is Phishing?
How to prevent spam

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The Internal Revenue Service recently unveiled the redesign of Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

The redesigned form features an improved layout, plain language instructions, simplified deposit reporting and paid preparer identification. The form is also scannable, which the IRS expects will reduce transcription errors.

“… The IRS wants to simplify its forms,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “The new Form 941 will help achieve that.”

Form 941 is used to report wages, tips and other compensation paid, as well as Social Security, Medicare and income taxes collected.

IRS Unveils Redesigned Employment Tax Return

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Thinking of investing in new technology for your business?

Vendors have recently slashed prices for computers and other technology. “What you used to spend $2,000 for, you can get for $950 to $1,200,” says Alan Pearlman, an attorney and computer consultant. “I don’t think there’s a better time to buy than right now.”

Be on the lookout though. The prices of PC parts are on the rise and will be passed on to you, the consumer.

How can you pay less while getting more than everyone else? Follow these 3 steps:

1) Renegotiate existing contracts for consulting and network services.
2) Make sure you need whatever new technology you do buy.
3) Set up a system to keep doing it.

Finally, keep in mind that newer technology isn’t always better!

Recommended Reading
How to Buy Computer Equipment for Your Business
When Should I Upgrade My Computer Hardware?

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Look around your desk right now. Feeling a little overwhelmed by all of the clutter? If so, don’t you think it’s time to loose some of that weight by getting rid of all the papers and notes you don’t need anymore?

Nancy Van Valkenburg of Utah’s Standard Newspaper, Online Edition offers the following advice:

The first step is to start making those delayed decisions. … suggests clients sort papers into three piles using the F.A.T. system. The letters stand for File, Act and Toss. … advocate positioning files and tools by proximity based on the frequency of your need for them.

… compare an office to a kitchen. A coffee maker or toaster you use every day may be kept on an otherwise clear kitchen counter.

Things to do: Get organized

Recommended Reading
Five Cures for Office Clutter
Organizing Office Clutter
Tips to Tame the Office Clutter Monster

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In business a good reputation can carry your company a long way.

Your reputation alone can actually earn new business without spending a dime on advertising. If people know you are good at what you do or that you have a superior product, not only will they come back for more, they may also tell their friends about it.

About.com offers this comprehensive five part article on what you can do to develop your reputation with clients and potential customers in a variety of ways.

1) Be Prolific
2) Be Ubiquitous
3) Be Generous
4) Be Dependable
5) Be Credible

Recommended Reading:
Do What You Say You’ll Do
How to Gain Immediate Credibility
Word-of-Mouth: The World’s Best-Known Marketing Secret

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