FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Robert J. Greene, CPA, CMA
Phone: (845) 889-4439
Fax: (845) 889-8161
cpa1@hireyourspouse.com
http://www.hireyourspouse.com

SMALL BUSINESS EXPERT REVEALS THE SECRETS:

Staatsburg, NY -- April 15 actually marks the beginning of tax season for savvy business owners who recognize that a pro-active, strategic approach to business planning and taxes can add thousands of dollars to any bottom line.

Here are 11 of the smartest things any business owner can do to make more money, reduce expenses, and keep more of their earnings, from tax expert Robert Greene, CPA and CMA (http://www.hireyourspouse.com).

1. Get your business checkbook and finances on computer.
   Are you the last person in North America still using a paper checkbook system? Now is the time to move your business checking onto the computer with a software package like Quicken, Quickbooks or Microsoft Money. These systems are relatively inexpensive and easy to use. You'll save time, significantly reduce errors and make end of year reporting and analysis easier for you and your accountant.

2. Do a complete expense evaluation.
   Take a critical look at expenses like insurance (all policies, business and personal), supplies, phone costs, interest, taxes (see items 3 and 11), labor, etc. Almost everything can be reduced. A thorough evaluation can change the entire profitability of a business.

   Are you accounting for all of your expenses? For too many small business owners, out-of-pocket petty cash disappears from the information stream, and the tax deductions are lost forever. Keep track of cash spent on tolls, parking, newspapers, magazines, books, taxis, phone calls and the like by paying what you can by check or credit card. For items that require cash, pay yourself back every month by writing a check from the business account to the personal.

3. Get a second opinion. - Click here for more information.
   Would you have surgery or make a major car repair without a second opinion? Taxes are your single biggest expense. They are also more complicated than ever before. Having a second opinion from a trained CPA, preferably one with auditing experience, doesn't cost much and could save you plenty. This is part of how to do skillful and strategic tax planning, so that you can keep more of what you earn.

4. New business development costs.
   vertising, marketing, public relations and new business activities are critical elements for any business. Evaluate your return on new business investment. If existing programs are working, increase them to get even more business. Be open to trying avenues you thought were only for big companies, like Yellow Pages or 800-numbers, and don't be afraid of new ideas for small companies like web sites or classified ads in national publications.

5. Take Inventory -
   If you have inventory, you need an annual inventory evaluation, regardless of volume. Evaluate turnover of individual items or product groupings and develop an inventory turnover ratio to compare numbers from one year to another. Discontinue slow-moving items and replace with profitable ones. Stock that does not move at all takes up space and costs money. Return it for a credit, give it to a charity for a deduction, or throw it out.

6. Evaluate profitability of relationships with clients and customers.
   Clients who take up too much time or are slow paying cost money. Change the relationship and/or raise their fees to make them profitable. For instance, clients who don't pay on time should only get services after paying in full, in advance. If they value your product or service, they will stay and become profitable. If not, they leave and you can pursue clients who are profitable. Make the decision to manage your business and not be managed by clients.

7. Get organized and focused.
   Install a new bookshelf, throw out old, outdated books, papers and files: all the things you thought you'd review in your spare time. Maintain required tax files and financial data, but get rid of what you don't need and organize what you do.

8. Get new input from a fresh, outside source.
   Read a new business book, listen to new audio tapes, get a business sales coach - implement something new to keep you and your business evolving in a positive and progressive way. The new adage is "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."

9. Have a business conference with your accountant.
   Accountants can and should do more than your taxes. They already know the business and have the data to give you a fresh perspective. Discuss this in a formal planning meeting to evaluate where you are and where you're going, not when they come in to do payroll and have a few spare minutes. They see trends among their own clients, and will be able to give you in-depth insight into expense reductions, marketing strategies that have worked well for other clients in similar situations, etc.

   Also, ask your CPA about cost accounting. Do you really know what it costs you to do business? Traditionally done in manufacturing settings, cost accounting will tell you what your profitability levels are - or point to pricing changes you need to make. Small business owners often overlook this valuable tool.

10. Open the floodgates to cash flow with credit cards.
    Small business owners are wrong to think that this only makes sense for bigger operations. The costs for machine lease or purchase and fees become insignificant if paying by credit card makes it easy and fast as possible - and more comfortable - for customers to pay you. Shop around for different credit card companies, because rates and service fees vary.

11. Hire Your Spouse! By using the Spouse Employment Contract, or SEC, this powerful financial tool will help you create as much as $10,000 in legitimate tax savings each year. Possible employee benefits include items such as: Medical insurance, $6,000; uninsured medical expenses, $4,000; childcare and dependent care, $5,000; car expenses, $5,000; a second Simple IRA, $6,000. That $26,000 a year doesn't even begin to touch on all deduction possibilities! See hireyourspouse.com for details.

The SEC is based on a 1994 private letter ruling where the IRS allowed a self-employed professional to hire his/her spouse as an employee and provide medical insurance to the spouse and the spouse's dependents as an employee benefit, 100% tax deductible and at no tax cost to the employee/spouse. One significant requirement: a contract between employer and employee/spouse must be in place beforehand to document and define the employer's contractual obligations and the employee's job responsibilities.

Robert Greene is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant. Before building his own professional practice, Greene worked at accounting firms in the New York metropolitan area. For 5 years, he audited other CPA's, as part of the professional policing activity of the prestigious American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has been a practicing CPA and accountant for 15 years, and is based in Dutchess County, New York with offices in New York City and Long Island and clients in fifteen states. Robert Greene can be reached at 800-834-3285, or by fax: 845-889-8161.