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Quick Answer: The core business succession planning best practices come down to three things: giving yourself a 2-to-5-year runway, setting up your team to run the day-to-day without you, and cleaning up your financials. Before you sign any paperwork, you'll want...

Quick Answer: Prepping your books for equipment write-offs requires gathering itemized invoices or loan agreements and logging the exact date each asset becomes fully operational. Finalizing these records mid-year creates an audit-proof fixed-asset ledger,...

Quick Answer: A midyear review of small business profitability is a strategic financial assessment that compares your year-to-date revenue and expenses against your initial annual goals. Doing this diagnostic check in June or July allows business owners to stop...

Quick Answer: When you dispose of broken business equipment, its depreciation stops immediately, allowing your bookkeeper to record the remaining book value as an instant financial loss on your ledger. Properly removing these ghost assets from your books corrects...

Quick Answer: Selecting the optimal entity type for business success requires matching your structural framework to the daily operational workflows and financial risks of your specific industry. A mismatched setup can choke your cash flow with unnecessary...

Quick Answer: Small business owners can minimize credit card processing fees by switching from a flat-rate provider to an interchange-plus plan, which passes the true wholesale cost of a swipe straight to you. You can trim costs even further by routing large...

Quick Answer: The Section 45S tax credit allows eligible small businesses to offset up to 25% of paid family and medical leave wages or commercial insurance premiums under permanent federal guidelines. To claim these savings, your business must have a formal,...

Key TakeawaysPaid summer interns must be classified as W-2 temporary employees rather than 1099 independent contractors because they operate under your direct supervision and training. To legally hire an unpaid intern, your program must pass the strict DOL...

*This guidance is based on CBP’s April 2026 CAPE/IEEPA refund guidance, current ACH refund enrollment rules, and general federal tax recovery principles as of May 15, 2026. Your facts may require coordination with your customs broker, trade counsel, and tax...

Key TakeawaysAs of April 20, 2026, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool is the exclusive electronic system for reclaiming IEEPA tariff duty payments. Importers must have an active ACE Secure Data Portal account and an authorized...

Key TakeawaysOnly the Importer of Record (IOR) or an authorized customs broker can claim a refund. If a carrier like UPS or FedEx is the IOR, you must coordinate with them rather than filing directly with the CBP. Refunds are exclusively for IEEPA-related tariffs...

Key TakeawaysThe IRS business rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents per mile, a 2.5-cent increase from the previous year. To keep your options open, you must choose the standard mileage method in the first year your vehicle is used for business. If you start with actual...