The Rea Report Summer 2015

Volume 15 | Issue 3 | Summer 2015 www.facebook.com/ReaCPA www.twitter.com/OhioCPA www.twitter.com/ReaCPA bit.ly/rea_linkedin (LinkedIn) plus.google.com/+Reacpa (Google+) www.deardrebit.com (blog) www.youtube.com/ReaAssociatesOhio 2 Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends Stay Present In Your Business With The Help Of Advisors 3 Rea Report Survey Reader Feedback 3 5 Ways To Save Don’t Ignore These Tax Write-Offs For Your Small Business 4 Bright Client: Guggisburg Cheese Where Traditions Are Built Wheel by Wheel 6 Know & Grow: Controlling Value Through Risk Reduction Strategies 8 Infographic: 10 Major Risk Areas Seen In Businesses Today 9 A Primer On Private Equity Firms 10 Don’t Get Blown Away By A Cash Windfall 4 Tips For Managing Sudden Wealth REDUCING RISK (PART 3 of 5) (And Risky) Five Common Oversights Business Owners Tend To Sweep Under The Rug – But Shouldn’t T he customer comes first – always. From the time you turn on the lights in the morning, to when you lock back up at night, your top priority is to meet your customers’ needs while running a business that makes them want to keep coming back. But you also have to find time to fulfill your obligations as an employer and stay out of hot water with the authorities. With your focus split between running a business and complying with regulations, how sure are you that something isn’t falling through the cracks? Would you be willing to bet your business on it? 5 Bright People Rea’s Employee Highlights IGNORANCE is BLISS EXPENSIVE Here are five major responsibilities business owners tend to overlook. Don’t underestimate the importance of these responsibilities. If you do, you might find yourself facing steep fines or other unpleasant consequences. 1. Sales tax Sales tax responsibility is tricky stuff. While the guidelines are a moving target, all sales tax liability is built around two main concepts – nexus, or connections that your business has with other states; and sourcing. In order to determine your tax obligations, first determine where you have a presence in terms of personnel and products – where do you have people, inventory and property? What states do you visit for sales, installs, or support? >>> By Joe Popp, JD, LLM, tax manager (Dublin office), Paul McEwan, CPA, MTax, AIFA, principal and director of benefit plan services (New Philadelphia office), & Brian Kempf, CPA, senior manager (Millersburg office) Wherever you have nexus, you must abide by that state’s tax laws (e.g. filing a return). The state a sale is sourced to is typically based on the state where possession is received for tangible products. For services, it’s either the state where the service is performed or where the benefit of the service is enjoyed by the customer (which varies by state). Additionally, volume of sales typically determines the frequency with which you’ll need to remit taxes. Large volumes require monthly continued on page 11 Small Business Corner THIS IS PART THREE OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ABOUT WAYS YOU CAN REDUCE RISK WITHIN YOUR SMALL BUSINESS Read parts 1 & 2 at www.reacpa.com/ small-businesscorner-series