If you haven’t prepared this information and need help filing, our friends at A.C.T. Services can help.

If you have already filed or do not need assistance, Time Payroll can make next year’s filing easier. We have developed a system for tracking all of your business personal property right in Employer OnDemand. For a small fee, we can set you up with this service and make tracking your business personal property a breeze. If you’re interested in this service, contact your solutions consultant for more details.

Finally, now is the perfect time to schedule a review of your business personal property insurance. We would be happy to set up a complete policy review for you through our sister company, Time Insurance. If you’re interested in a policy review, just send us an email or call 317-788-9000.

If you’re a fellow small business owner who is anything like me, there are probably at least a few things that immediately strike fear into your heart…  High costs, heavy regulation, and liability exposure are near the top of my list!

I have consulted with many small business owners who want to recruit and retain talent and understand the importance of offering a retirement plan to do so.  However, many don’t understand that a 401k is not their only option.  Many times, for a number of reasons, it’s a poor one!

For starters, 401k’s are expensive!  Heavy regulation and annual IRS filing requirements make them complex and burdensome.  You’ll likely need the help of a 3rd party administrator to facilitate your plan, which can cost you thousands of unnecessary dollars.

Also, as sponsor of your plan, you’re under legal obligation to your employees to ensure there are adequate investment options made available.  This carries with it the unpleasant addition of liability exposure to you.

An often better alternative to the 401k that solves these problems is the SIMPLE IRA.  This plan is specifically designed with the small business owner in mind given it’s only allowable for companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Like a 401k, a SIMPLE IRA offers employees the ability to defer a tax-deductible portion of their salary and provides employers the ability to match a portion of these savings.

Unlike the 401k, however, there is very little in the way of regulation and no dreaded annual filings with the IRS.  It can be easily set up and administered at virtually no cost to the business.  And as opposed to a 401k where your employees are limited to only a few investments options that you’ve chosen (and which expose you to liability), a SIMPLE IRA allows each employee almost limitless investment possibilities and can be held at the institution of their choosing.  Often, they can do better as a result of increased selection, and even better, you’re off the hook if they don’t!  As a business owner myself, I’m always on the lookout for a win-win proposition such as this one!

For questions regarding a SIMPLE IRA, please contact Teeple Wealth Management at (317) 362-6264 or email mteeple@teeplewealth.com.

Check out the gallery below. All photos by Shooting Stars Portrait Studio.

Indiana is currently what the IRS calls a credit reduction state. Several years ago, the state borrowed money from the federal government in order to meet state unemployment liabilities. Since that money has not been paid back in the allowed time frame, employers will see a reduction in their FUTA tax credit. 19 states are currently subject to the FUTA Credit Reduction, with reduction rates ranging from 0.3% to 1.5%. Indiana is currently subject to a 0.9% reduction in credit, making the maximum credit allowed 4.5%. This reduction will occur every year until the loans are paid back, and an additional 0.3% reduction will be applied each year until the reduction is capped or the loans are repaid.

In more practical terms, you will pay more FUTA taxes per employee in 2012 (and probably for several years after that). The amount you will pay will vary depending on the size of your business and your employees’ salaries, but the increase is not insignificant. If you have a good payroll provider, they should have already made you aware of this change and will make the appropriate adjustments. If you process payroll in-house or aren’t sure if your provider has made the necessary adjustments, you’ll want to look in to this situation ASAP.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact one of our payroll specialists. We’ll be happy to help you out.