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Business for Sale Market During COVID-19: A Paradox of Unique Opportunity and Uncertainty

October 27, 2020
By: BizBuySell –
BizBuy Sell Confidence Index
(BizBuySell Confidence Index — click image for larger view)

New data from BizBuySell’s small business confidence survey and recent business for sale transactions reflects a market driven by opportunity seekers and business owners, either well-positioned to profit or forced to exit.

BizBuySell’s 3rd quarter 2020 Insight Report, a nationally recognized economic indicator which aggregates statistics from business-for-sale transactions, shows a steady upward trend in sales since the pandemic hit. In April, transactions showed a 51% year-over-year decline, shrinking the deficit to 21% in July, and then just 5% fewer deals in September.

The catalyst behind the resurgence appears demand driven. According to BizBuySell’s 2020 Small Business Confidence Study, buyer confidence reached a record high of 60 compared to 53 a year ago. (more…)

New PPP Loan Forgiveness Application 3508S: Will It Help You?

October 20, 2020
By Gerri Detweiler –

If you took out a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $50,000 or less, you may be able to use a new application — Form 3508S — to obtain forgiveness. This application does not make forgiveness automatic, but it will make it easier for some borrowers to qualify for forgiveness.

The big change here is that the application does not require borrowers to calculate a reduction in forgiveness if they reduced employee salaries or wages. The SBA, in the Interim Final Rule announcing this form, notes that this change is likely to have a minimal impact on overall forgiveness:

“There are approximately 3.57 million outstanding PPP loans of $50,000 or less, totaling approximately $62 billion of the $525 billion in PPP loans. Approximately 1.71 million PPP loans of $50,000 or less were made to businesses that reported having zero employees (presumably not counting the owner as an employee) or one employee. To the extent that these businesses have no employees other than the owner… they are not affected by these exemptions.” (more…)

5 Legal Issues When Managing a Remote Team During the Coronavirus

October 13, 2020
By ComplyRight –

Virtual Offices

More and more businesses are allowing employees to work remotely due to the COVID-19 crisis. While this approach makes sense, it can open the door to increased legal problems. Business owners and managers must oversee the remote worker arrangement carefully to avoid obstacles. Here are five risky situations to consider. Share on X

#1: Managing Non-Exempt Workers Remotely

Supervising exempt (i.e., “salaried”) and non-exempt (i.e. “hourly”) workers presents challenges. Let’s look at some important issues surrounding non-exempt employees first. (more…)

How to Accept Credit Card Payments

October 5, 2020
By Susan Guillory –

Accepting debit and credit card payments in your business can help you make more money. The more payment methods you offer to customers, the more likely they are to shop with you.

But if you’re new to running your own business, you may not know how to accept credit card payments or what your credit card processing options are. How do you process a transaction? What are the fees?In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of accepting debit and credit cards, selecting a merchant account, and using different types of payment gateways, depending on whether your business is brick-and-mortar, online, or mobile. Share on X (more…)

Business Documents: How Long to Keep Business Records

September 29, 2020
By Susan Guillory –

You know that good recordkeeping is part of running a small business, but you aren’t sure how long to keep business records and documents. The last thing you want to do is shred some business documents that you later need… but at the same time, you don’t want to hang on to a lot of paper unnecessarily.

In this article, we look at different types of business records, why it’s important to hang on to some of them longer, and what the timeframe is for keeping them.

What are Business Records?

“Business records” is a broad term that encompasses any documents, invoices, or receipts that are involved in running a business. Let’s look at different categories of business records.

Accounting Records

There are a variety of financial records and reports that you use in bookkeeping, including: (more…)