The straight line

If your company routinely extends credit, you’re in the business of lending. That means you need to become an expert at judging credit relationships before shipping the goods or performing the services. Bankers have a saying: “We never made a bad loan.” What they mean is that every loan is good — until the first payment is due....

It’s a delicate balance, but employers must verify that prospective hires are legally able to work in the U.S. and they can’t discriminate based on national origin. Steep penalties come with failure to comply. For example, fines for recordkeeping violations run from $110 to $1,100 each. Fines for knowingly employing an unauthorized alien range from $375...

Does your small business engage in qualified research activities? If so, you may be eligible for a research tax credit that can now be used to offset your federal payroll tax bill. This relatively new privilege allows research credits to benefit small businesses that may not generate enough taxable income to use the credits to offset their federal income tax...

Parents, children and educators all generally agree that the Internet can, and does, play a positive role in enriching children’s lives. But the benefits are clouded by the specter of pornography, predators and commercialism. Addressing those concerns, the U.S. has passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to regulate the personal data that can be collected on...

Here’s a simple way to check and see if your company is fulfilling its promises. Print out the following questionnaire and ask all employees, except your sales staff, to fill it out. When completed, analyze the results and — if needed — implement a plan to revise your sales process. For more information about improving your company’s process,...

Do you provide car rides through a mobile app, rent out your spare room using an online platform or repair computers for local businesses on demand? If so, you may be considered part of the “sharing economy” (also known as the Gig or on-demand economy). Participation in this emerging method of distributing services can be a...