The straight line

Quality is undeniably the single most important facet involved in retaining your clientele. Improving satisfaction is critical to boosting profits and quality is the key to keeping customers happy. But how do you define quality and inject it into your relationships with customers? By living it.  Your company’s commitment should be to meet or exceed your...

Want to borrow money from your retirement plan? Not so fast. Retirement plan loans can be a viable way to get money in a crunch, but you need to follow the rules about repaying them. If you don’t, it could lead to unfavorable tax consequences, as two taxpayers recently learned the hard way in U.S. Tax...

If you’re headed back in the classroom, or thinking about it, you might be wondering if the tuition expenses are tax deductible. To be considered work-related education for business deduction purposes, the training must meet one or both of the following standards: Standard No. 1: The education is expressly required by applicable law or regulations in order...

The tax law allows you to deduct your personal losses resulting from casualties and thefts within certain limits. And a “theft” for tax purposes isn’t strictly limited to house burglaries or stolen cars. However, as you will see from several U.S. Tax Court cases, the deduction can hinge on the application of state law. Basic ground...

Could your data be hacked? Unfortunately, every organization — including for-profit businesses, not-for-profits and government agencies — is vulnerable to cyberattacks today. Examples abound. In September, Equifax reported a data breach that exposed the credit histories and other information of 145.5 million Americans. Shortly thereafter, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported a hacking incident that...

In today’s economy companies in many industries are forced into massive layoffs to ensure their survival. While those cutbacks are necessary, the decision to let a significant portion of your workforce go carries potential legal, financial and public relations consequences. When faced with downsizing, you need to minimize anxiety and disruption while maximizing the morale of...