I know President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 into law, will I as a small business benefit from the $12 billion+ tax breaks? Asked by Charles

The experts answer:

You might. Among the tax provisions included in the bill are:

• A temporary exclusion of 100 percent of the gain from dispositions of certain small business stock
• A temporary reduction in the recognition period for the S-corporation built-in gains tax
• An increase and expansion of expensing on certain depreciable small business assets
• Increased information return penalties

David Kahn, a partner in the Los Angeles and San Diego offices of Latham & Watkins and chair of the Los Angeles office Tax Department, recent shared his thoughts on this with SMBspot. Check out his post on this topic at:
http://smbspot.com/archives/the-small-business-jobs-act-and-you/

I’ve heard a business should never write a check to “cash” is this true? Asked by Mike

The experts answer:

That is true. The fact is that checks written to cash can be bad for your business, even if you as the owner are the only that writes checks. The obvious problem is that a check written to cash, if lost or stolen, can be cashed by anyone.

Even if you’re willing to take this risk, there are other possible consequences. For example, checks written to cash can also be a warning sign for the IRS and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The IRS is concerned about underreported income and they use analytical procedures to determine whether a taxpayer accurately reported income. One procedure is to monitor for an excessive number of checks written to cash. To learn more about this see what the IRS has to say in its Cash Audit Techniques Guide.

Similarly, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement tracks checks written to cash as a warning sign of possible money laundering. This has become more important as anti-terrorism efforts have increased in recent years.

For more on this topic check out this SMBspot posts:
http://smbspot.com/archives/do-you-have-too-many-checks-written-to-cash/

I cannot seem to stay on top of my business emails, any tips? Asked by Bob

The experts answer:

Great question! Did you know more than 300 billion emails are sent daily? It’s no surprise the business owners can quickly be overwhelmed by their email boxes.

Here is a tip: when you open an email, determine the “so what” for the email. Converting each message into an action will improve your productivity. What does this e-mail mean to you and what is it ultimately asking of you? This act is known as processing your email.

Once you’ve identified the “so what,” you need to do one of four things to each email:

1. Delete/archive
2. Delegate
3. Defer (i.e. read it later)
4. Do (response will take longer than two minutes, but you still need to do it)

For more on this topic check out these SMBspot posts:
http://smbspot.com/archives/the-empty-inbox-email-nirvana-for-small-business-communications/
http://smbspot.com/archives/effective-e-mail-management/

Does bandwidth matter when selected an Internet provider for my office of 15 employees? Asked by James

The experts answer:

You bet is does! As a business you need “business grade bandwidth.” For fewer than 30 employees 1.5 megabits of bandwidth is a good starting point.

Sadly, most business owners incorrectly assume that the service they use for home connection will translate to the office, it doesn’t. Entrepreneurs should seek providers who supply “business grade bandwidth” and the related solutions and customer service a business needs.

For more on this topic check out this SMBspot posts:
http://smbspot.com/archives/bandwidth-basics/

I just bought a new PC, so I’ve already got the latest and greatest security software? Asked by Luke

The experts answer:
Yes and no. Off-the-shelf security components that come on PCs aren’t nearly enough to support the security needs of a business. Ideally, even a small business should employ the same “defense in depth” strategy that large enterprises use to secure their internal networks. Properly configured firewalls on PCs and routers are a must. For more on this topic check out this SMBspot posts: http://smbspot.com/archives/small-business-security-threats-four-common-mistakes-to-avoid-mistake-2/