With tax season upon us, it’s important to understand the options, requirements and pitfalls of filing for your business. For most people, business taxes are much more complicated than family or personal taxes and for that reason, getting help is well advised. However, if you’re hoping to avoid meeting with a tax professional, here are some tips for tackling your taxes on your own.

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When considering entrepreneurship, it’s important to consider how your business will take shape. Recently, LLCs have gained popularity, as the structure allows for less personal responsibility and more protection. While an LLC provides a great deal of flexibility, its disadvantages include careful records-keeping, significant paperwork, and cost of implementation. And for all you West-Coasters, it should also be noted that the state of California levies a franchise tax on all LLCs and does not allow LLCs to offer licensed professional services – this includes architects, landscape architects, chiropractors, lawyers, accountants, etc. If you’re currently weighing your options or just looking to restructure, LegalZoom does a good job of outlining the advantages and disadvantages of an LLC compared to a sole-proprietorship.

Looking for the next step in managing a small business? The answer may just be in the palm of your hand.

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Over the past few months there have been a number of changes in the personal/small business banking world. Fees are popping up and banks are changing terms and conditions. I am not sure about you but myself and a number of my colleagues find this extremely confusing and frustrating. In a perfect world everything would work seamlessly with your finances (with WorkingPoint here to help!) but unfortunately this is not always the case. If you are contemplating switching banks, or simply have an interest in knowing how you should have a look at this informative article from the guys over at Consumerism Commentary. It is a checklist of things to do if you want to make a change.

Have a look at: http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/bank-switch-kit-checklist/

In addition if you are looking for a new account here are a few URLs that might be helpful, they helped me out a lot when I made the switch (I was tired of ATM fees!):

Find a Better Bank: http://www.findabetterbank.com – fill in a quick questionnaire and get a list of banks that fit the bill – easy! It shows local and web-based options.

Google Advisor: https://www.google.com/advisor/home – filter by features. You can compare Credit Cards, CDs, Checking and Savings accounts.

Have you recently made a switch? Have you find something amazing that you want to share? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks,

WorkingPoint Team

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope the end of the last year was both productive and fruitful. As we enter the Year of the Dragon, I wanted to take a quick look at an area of interest for us here at WorkingPoint – funding and growing your small business.

The current environment is far from friendly to small businesses like our customers – cash is scarce and many business owners who have excellent credit and a great idea and unable to pursue their dreams because they can’t raise the capital required. Over at Entrepreneur.com they are doing a four part installment on the outlook for small businesses in 2012. I found this part interesting, especially regarding the increase in the usage of crowdfunding as a viable means to raise the cash you need, indeed “One business raised almost a $1 million from more than 13,500 backers in December 2010, setting a record.” Also of interest is the fact that more and more people are turning to small community banks for loans, eschewing the national chains.It is going to be a tough year from the look of things, but the general sentiment is that we are through the worst.

What do you think of the year to come? How are you raising funds this year to grow or start your business? Let us know in the comments.

Top Sources of Small-Business Financing in 2012 (Entrepreneur.com):  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222540 (Part 1: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222539)

Do you own your own business? Sell goods or services? Have a website? Read on this post might just be for you!

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On November 15, 2010, President Obama declared November 19 the first ever, Entrepreneur Day. This holiday is set to honor those Americans who are fueling new economic growth during this troubling economic times by starting a new business, starting a small business, running a business. It’s purpose is to honor entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship in all it’s forms!   WorkingPoint was recently lauded in the NYT Small Business Blog and YoungMoney.com for being “a truly stripped-down, intimidation-free means for getting organized.” that simply blows our competitors out of the water when it comes to starting and running a new business.

According to YoungMoney:

“WorkingPoint – which is based in San Francisco – is a small company itself. It has only five employees, so it knows the challenges that a small business faces.
And it was with those challenges in mind that the company’s developers made an accounting program that streamlines the entire practice of bookkeeping. All the actual number-crunching happens in the background; the user only sees invoices and profit-and-loss statements. Other kinds of web-based accounting software are available. The Times tested one program called FreshBooks; another offering from a company called Wave Accounting debuts this week. And there are desktop stalwarts like QuickBooks and Xero. But, the Times concluded, nothing matches WorkingPoint‘s program for ease of use. Already, 50,000 small businesses have signed up to use it, so the company must be doing something right.Different firms will have different software needs, and it may be smart to try out a number of options (including, yes, QuickBooks). But for entrepreneurs who are less than savvy when it comes to accounting, WorkingPoint‘s program looks like a good bet.”

On this day which celebrates entrepreneurs we are so happy to be recognized for helping people to start and run their businesses better! We are proud that we can help to heal the failing economy and to support small businesses which make up the bulk of new jobs being created and which drive innovation in so many fields!

What can you do on National Entrepreneurs’ Day?

1. Thank. If you know an entrepreneur, thank them for the ways in which they’ve made an impact on our economy thus far; the simple act of giving thanks can strengthen a connection or start a new one. If you’re an entrepreneur yourself, thank the individuals who brought you to where you are today. This is what National Entrepreneurs’ Day is all about.
2. Mentor. Perhaps there was someone who urged you to start your first business or helped you bring your first big idea to life; if so, they’ve played a part in making you the entrepreneur you are today. Return the favor and find an entrepreneur you can mentor through thick and thin.
3. Give. Kiva is an organization that promotes micro lending to alleviate poverty around the world. With corporate and institutional partners from Google to Ashoka, you can feel confident that your donation is going to reach a deserving entrepreneur somewhere in the world, and that, in turn, your donation will serve as a catalyst for change (if you doubt this, might I remind you that anything is possible?).
4. Pay it forward. You can help support fellow entrepreneurs by paying it forward with products, services, and/or your time. What’s easy for you may not be easy for another aspiring entrepreneur. Remember: a little help can go a long way.

Hello All,

As promised we are continuing to roll out new features into your WorkingPoint account. In mid-October we introduced customizable templates for your invoices.

Today we are excited to announce that you can now Track Time spent working on projects, along with your hourly rate, and apply it to invoices.

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Hello All,