Why Should You Consider Outsourcing Your Marketing?

Most small businesses believe marketing to be a simple and straightforward operation, such as coming up with a fancy brochure, website or flyer. After all, how hard can it be? Typically, smaller companies tend to see marketing as a one-man operation or it’s something that can easily be done in the owner’s spare time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Outsourced marketing allows you to benefit from established marketing professionals who can provide the essential information to reach your full market potential. What are some of the benefits of outsourcing your marketing functions?

Time is money—we are all familiar with the saying “time is money”. Outsourcing your marketing saves you precious time and/or allows key personnel to concentrate on other essential functions.

Lower cost structure—perhaps the single biggest benefit of outsourced marketing is the fact that it represents a fraction of the cost of having a full time employee or department. Without the overhead, you have the flexibility to pay for what you need, when you need it.

Ease of use—using an outsourced marketing service allows you the flexibility to use them when you need them. Do you have a special marketing initiative and need to see how it’s received before doing more? Have you tried approaches in the past that you thought would work, but didn’t produce the desired results? Well, with outsourced marketing, you have the flexibility to try new approaches without having to commit yourself long-term. You also benefit from being able to explore a number of different initiatives and approaches.

With today’s constantly changing business environment, companies must do everything to stay one step ahead of their competition. Marketing is a continually changing process that amalgamates every one of your company’s best attributes into one cohesive business message. It’s the ultimate plan in motion. It’s everything you need to answer your most pressing question: How do we grow and where are we going?

Contact Custom Business Services at 315-258-8780 for further information on how our team can be of assistance to you.

5 reasons to buy life insurance, even if you’re single and debt-free

Not every single, debt-free person needs life insurance. But the vast majority do, for a wide variety of reasons.

You don’t want someone else to have to pay your end-of-life and funeral expenses.

Without some kind of protection, even a small term life insurance policy, your parents or other relatives will end up paying your funeral costs, if you die unexpectedly. There can be other end-of-life expenses too, like hospital bills or other costs associated your home, work or personal life.

If you’re young and healthy, you’ll get the best rates.

Purchasing life insurance when you’re young and healthy (and can breeze through underwriting) may also be cost effective. That’s because, as you get older (and potentially less healthy), the rates you’ll pay will increase. Why not lock in low rates now? Buying young can also protect your future insatiability, since insurance companies often let you convert from one policy to another or add coverage at a later date, without having to go through most of the underwriting.

You want to leave a legacy.

You may not have children, but what about nephews, nieces or someone else who depends on you? Make sure they’re taken care of if you’re no longer around. Or, for a small premium, you could leave a legacy to a favorite charity or cause. Life insurance benefits are typically tax-free to the beneficiary.

You may not be single or debt-free forever.

Many life insurance policies allow you to trade up or add coverage, so buying a small policy before you get married or buy a home may be a good idea. Again, the sooner you purchase life insurance, typically the lower your rates.

You make too much to qualify for a Roth IRA, but still want to save more money for retirement.

If you make too much income to qualify for a Roth IRA, but have already maxed out your other retirement plans, you may want to consider life insurance. You can pay premiums and your money has the potential to grow tax deferred, similar to a retirement plan. And, if you do it correctly, you can take loans from the policy income tax-free.

Want help figuring out if you need life insurance?

Contact your financial professional to review your specific situation. He or she can help you decide whether you need life insurance, and if so, what kind and how much you’ll need.

What can I legally deduct from an employee’s paycheck?

Are you currently deducting the sale of your company’s products and services purchased by your employee from their paycheck?  Have you given your employee a payroll advance/loan and are currently deducting payments from their checks?  Are you sure this is legal?

As of November 6, 2015, Section 193 of the NYS Labor Law has been amended and clarified the meaning of deductions “for the benefit of the employee.” The deductions would benefit the employee by providing financial or other “support” for the employee, his or her family, or a charitable organization designated by the employee.  This “support” must fall into one of the following categories:

• Health and welfare benefits
• Pensions and retirement benefits
• Child care and educational benefits
• Charitable benefits
•  Dues and assessments
• Transportation
• Food and lodging

As of November 6, 2015 the following deductions are no longer “authorized” from an employee’s wages:

• Repayment of loans, advances and overpayments that are not in accordance with the regulation
• Employee purchases of tools, equipment and attire required for work
• Recoupment of unauthorized expenses
• Repayment of employer losses
• Fines or penalties for tardiness, excessive leave, misconduct or quitting without notice
• Contributions to political action committees, campaigns and similar payments
• Fees, interest or the employer’s administrative costs

The changes to Section 193 of the NYS Labor Law will also change the way an employer may recover overpayments of salary due to mathematical or clerical errors and repayment of wage advances.  These deductions are still possible, but need to be handled in a specific way. When in doubt of this regulation, please consult with our Payroll Manager or with our Human Resource Generalist. 

A $15.00 Minimum Wage World

I know as a busy business owner or taxpayer, taking the time to truly contemplate the impact of skyrocketing the minimum wage overnight is easily dismissed by more pressing matters of the day. I need to ask you though to STOP and really think about it.

Each full-time employee currently working at $8.75 would be paid $13,000 more in wages, but don’t forget, FICA, Worker’s Comp, and other insurances and benefits based on payroll dollars. The current employee at $12.00 will cost over $6,240 more a year and so on.

For the average 10 employee business the increase is estimated to cost well over $30,000 in wages, benefits and inflationary increases in just the first year.

Doing this in such a reckless manner will put thousands of people out of jobs or push them under the table and will cause the middle class to shoulder the burden yet again.

Some think this can’t pass, think again, our downstate representatives want it and they have the votes…. take the time to write your NYS Legislators and voice your opinion before it is too late.

Web Presence

In this day and age, it is critical that companies have a web presence because more people use the internet as opposed to than any other media (TV, radio, newspaper, phone books, etc.).  According to the US Census Bureau, 83.8 percent of US Households reported computer ownership.  The fact remains that all companies from sole proprietorships to the Fortune 500 need a web presence.

What does it mean to have a web presence?  Most will answer this question by stating a company has a website.  While that is not wrong, it is not entirely correct.  Yes, a website is generally the predominant tool of your web presence but with the increase of Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and LinkedIn) it has added another dynamic to your overall web presence.  Lastly, add listings such as online yellow pages, business directories (Manta, Hoover, etc.) and company memberships (trade organizations, chamber memberships, etc.).  Add these all up and it creates your true web presence.

Now that you know what it is, it is important to make sure you control your web presence.  Does the audience you are looking to attract find your website?  How are people talking about your company on Social Media?  Is the information posted on third-party sites complete and accurate?

Contact our Web Consultant team today and they can assist you in all facets of your web presence.  Please contact 315-258-4315 for more information.

Do you know all 53 Federal Laws that apply for even 1 employee?

Are you aware that once you hire your first employee for your company you are now required to abide by 53 federal laws? This does not include any state laws applicable to your type of business based on the state the business is in.

You may not realize there were this many laws pertaining to a single employee, but you may be even more surprised to hear that there are currently a total of 74 federal laws that you may need to be compliant with depending on the number of employees in your company.  Below is the breakdown of the laws you should be following. 1 – 14 employees 53 federal laws

• 15 – 19 employees 63 federal laws
• 20 – 49 employees 67 federal laws
• 50 – 99 employees 73 federal laws
• 100+ employees 74 federal laws

The job of staying current and informed on changes to these laws can be a full time job in itself.  Why not let someone whose full time job it is to stay current and informed handle this part of your company for you.  Outsourcing your Human Resources with the professional HR team at Custom Accounting Services would save you time and could potentially save you from penalties or lawsuits from former employees.

Employee or Subcontractor, how do I know which to classify a worker I am using?

The penalties for misclassifying an employee or a contractor can be very stiff.  If you are found to have “willfully” violated the Fair Play Act, you could be subject to civil penalties of up to a $2,500 fine per misclassified employee for a first violation and up to $5,000 per misclassified employee for a second violation within a five-year period.  You could also be subject to criminal prosecution for violations with a penalty of up to 30 days in jail and up to a $25,000 fine and debarment from Public Work for up to one year, and that is just for your first offense.

The New Standards for assistance with this question presumes that all workers for an employer are “employees” unless they meet all 3 of the criteria that have now been established. 

In addition to this standard, for all sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations and other entities, a 12-part test has been created to assist with determining if an entity should be considered “separate business entity” from the contractor for whom it is providing a service.  If an entity meets all 12 of the criteria, it will not be considered an employee of the contractor but instead will be considered a separate business that itself will be subject to the same criteria.

Last year, did you employee a worker as a subcontractor and wasn’t sure if that was correct?  Did you issue a 1099 for that person instead of a W-2?  

The time to issue 1099s and W-2s is just around the corner. Let the professional team at Custom Accounting Services clear up any confusion for you. 

Contact us today at 315-258-8780 for further information on how our team can be of assistance to you.