Finance & accounting
The company is bust - but corporate card bills live on
January 28, 2010: 2:05 PM ETWhen a company goes under, employees can be stuck with the liability for their corporate credit cards.
Becky, Birmingham, Ala.
My company, an LLC, is insolvent and dissolving. No formal bankruptcy will be filed, and unsecured creditors will not be paid. I know there's potential for my credit card company to serve me with a lawsuit if I am unable to commit to a payoff plan. Can my employees also be held liable? In other words, can employees who charged company expenses on the corporate credit card be sued for the amount they charged on the card?
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How to cut the tax bill on your self-employment salary
If you own your own company, you can skip a salary in favor of distributions, but the IRS still wants its share of the money you take home.
Erin, Kailua-Kona
Do shareholders have to take a salary in an S corp? Can they just take distributions? How about an LLC?
Aug 31, 2009 9:08 AM ETPosted in: Finance & accounting -
When customers abandon their property
A dry cleaner considers turning customers' absentmindedness into a tidy tax break.
Taylor, Jackson, Miss.
I own a dry cleaning business and was wondering what to do with all the forgotten or left-behind clothes. They date back a few months or as far back as a year. I read that by donating them I could get a tax write-off.
Aug 20, 2009 10:22 AM ETPosted in: Legal -
All work and no pay
Handling the client that wants the goods but doesn't want to cough up a check.
Susan Lewis, Lancaster, Calif.
Can we legally hold a client's paperwork if they haven't paid their bill? We do their bookkeeping and they haven't paid in months. We haven't done any additional work for about two months, and now they are asking for their paperwork back. If we send it to them, we will never get paid.
Aug 11, 2009 6:14 PM ETPosted in: Finance & accounting -
Tax tangle: Medical deductions for LLC owners
Business owners can write off many of their health care costs, but complying with IRS rules requires some planning.
Jonathan Cottor, Scottsdale, Ariz.
I have an LLC, and I'm seeking some advice about my family's medical expenses. One accountant told me they can be run through the LLC as a business expense, and I've been paying the insurance premiums and any eligible co-pays and FSA-qualifying-type out-of-pocket costs through the business as an MORE
Jul 29, 2009 12:37 PM ETPosted in: Finance & accounting -
Ready to sell? How to price your business
Your true net profit is the number that potential buyers will want to know.
Susie Pemberton, Centralia, Mo.
Jul 7, 2009 12:13 PM ET
I live in a small town and own a child care facility. My gross income in 2008 was $126,134. Someone's interested in buying it, and they're waiting for me to give them a price. I understand that I need to "adjust" my expense report for 2008, but I'm not sure what to use for MORE -
What to pay the boss's bosses
How much should you pay your company directors? First, take a hard look at what skills they'll need to guide your business.
Paul Dzera, MGBD, New York City
May 21, 2009 2:33 PM ET
What would you recommend for determining board of directors' fee levels (annual retainer, board meeting fees, committee meeting fees, etc.), both in cash and stock options? I have a small public company with revenues of about $30 million. To date, I have reviewed the MORE -
Business triage: Kill what's ailing
Some sales aren't worth winning. If parts of your company are successful and others aren't, it's time to purge.
Sharron Stankiewicz, Ohio
Apr 14, 2009 9:00 AM ET
I own three hearing aid businesses, all listed under the same corporate name but located in different areas. Two of them are going bust. Can I get out of my lease and still keep the one successful business running? What could the landlord do if I simply walked MORE -
My landlord wants rent on a broken lease!
Sorry, it's legal, and you may even have to pay more than just the rent.
Richard Barker, Aprizona Florist, Covington, Ga.
Mar 30, 2009 6:14 PM ET
Our business went south, and as a result we had to break our lease. Less than 30 days later, the landlord rented the space to a new tenant. Six months after that, we were served with papers demanding $12,000, which is the remaining rent on the lease. Is it legal for MORE -
How to get inventory when you're low on cash
For retailers that don't want the overhead of stockpiling merchandise, drop shipping can be a cost-saving option.
Mike, Queens, NY
Mar 27, 2009 11:11 AM ET
I started a home-based wholesaling business six months ago and got four credit cards totaling $18,000. I was scammed out of $10,000 and invested another $4,000 into a Web site and advertising. Now my cards are almost maxed out, and I need the cash or credit to purchase merchandise. Business people tell MORE
