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Small Biz Operations:
Welcome To Eagle's
Small Biz Operations Center!
Our number one objective is to help
you grow your small business!
There are a wide variety of ways to put together the operations
of your business so that it functions effectively and efficiently.
The model that works best for you will be related to your
objectives, what your product or service is, and your personal
operational style. However, there are a number of functions
that every business needs to address simply as part of doing
business. Here are some topics that you need to know about
to keep your business running with minimal effort:
Latest IRS News: Page
Last Reviewed or Updated: August 27, 2010
IRS
Seeks New Issues for the Industry Issue Resolution Program
IR-2010-93, August 27, 2010 — The IRSis encouraging business
taxpayers, associations and other interested parties to submit
to the Industry Issue Resolution (IIR) program.
Proposed
Regulations Expand the Use of Electronic Payment System and
Discontinue Paper Coupons Next Year
IR-2010-92, Aug. 19, 2010 — Consistent with a Financial Management
Service initiative announced in April of this year, the IRS
today issued proposed regulations to significantly increase
the number of electronic transactions between taxpayers and
the federal government.
IRS
Announces New Return Preparer Application System and User
Fee; IRS Also Releases Proposed Regulations to Amend Circular
230 Rules
IR-2010-91, Aug. 19, 2010 — The IRS announced a new online
application system for compensated tax return preparers is
expected to go live in mid-September.
Interest
Rates Remain the Same For The Fourth Quarter Of 2010
IR-2010-90, Aug. 19, 2010 – The IRS announced that interest
rates for the calendar quarter beginning Oct. 1, 2010, will
remain the same.
IRS
Removes Debt Indicator for 2011 Tax Filing Season
IR-2010-89, Aug. 5, 2010 — Debt indicator is used to facilitate
refund anticipation loans.
IRS
Realigns and Renames Large Business Division, Enhances Focus
on International Tax Administration
IR-2010-88, August 4, 2010 — IRS officials announced today
the realignment and renaming of the Large and Mid-Size Business
(LMSB) division to Large Business and International (LB&I)
division.
News
Release and Fact Sheet Archive
News releases and fact sheets from November 2002 forward and
an archive of news releases and fact sheets in PDF format
back to 1997.
July 2010 IRS News:
IRS
Offers One-Time Special Filing Relief Program for Small Charities;
Oct. 15 Due Date to Preserve Tax-Exempt Status
IR-2010-87, July 26, 2010 — Small nonprofit organizations
at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they failed
to file required returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009 can preserve
their status by filing returns by Oct. 15, 2010.
IRS
Releases Proposed Regulations Related to Fees for Preparer
Tax Identification Numbers
IR-2010-86, July 22, 2010 — The IRS released proposed regulations
that would establish a fee for individuals who apply for a
preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
IRS
Announces Opening Times, Addresses for July 17 Special Assistance
Day for Gulf Oil Spill Victims
IR-2010-85, July 14, 2010 –– Taxpayer Assistance Centers in
seven cities will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central Time
on Saturday.
IRS
Opens Dedicated Phone Line for Gulf Oil Spill Victims
IR-2010-84, July 9, 2010 –– Gulf spill victims can contact
the IRS at 866-562-5227 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local
time.
National
Taxpayer Advocate Submits Mid-Year Report to Congress; Identifies
Priority Challenges and Issues for Upcoming Year
IR-2010-83, July 7, 2010 — National Taxpayer Advocate Nina
E. Olson released a report to Congress that identifies the
priority issues the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will address
during the coming fiscal year.
CPA
Disbarred for Failure to Exercise Due Diligence and Compliance
Problems
IR-2010-82, July 6, 2010 — The Office of Professional Responsibility
(OPR) has prevailed in an agency appeal involving issues which
include the due diligence responsibilities of a CPA under
the Rules of Practice before the IRS (Circular 230).
IRS
Highlights Job Opportunities for New Grads on YouTube
IR-2010-81, July 6, 2010 — The IRS announced the availability
of a new job search tool on YouTube dedicated to helping job
seekers learn about employment opportunities at the IRS.
Closing
Deadline Extended to Sept. 30 for Eligible Homebuyer Credit
Purchases
IR-2010-80, July 2, 2010 — Eligible taxpayers who contracted
to buy a home, qualifying for the first-time homebuyer credit,
before the end of April now have until Sept. 30, 2010 to close
the deal, according to the IRS.
IRS
Requests Public Input on Expanded Information Reporting Requirement
IR-2010-79, July 1, 2010 — The IRS today invited comment on
how to most effectively carry out a law change that, starting
in 2012, will require businesses to report a wider range of
payments to contractors, vendors and others, usually on Form
1099.
News
Release and Fact Sheet Archive
News releases and fact sheets from November 2002 forward and
an archive of news releases and fact sheets in PDF format
back to 1997.
Employee Forms
And Taxes - What Are Employment Taxes? Small business
owners often have great responsibilities while operating and
managing a business. Before you become an employer and hire
employees, you need a Federal Employer Identification Number
(EIN). If you have employees, you are responsible for several
federal, state, and local taxes. As an employer, you must withhold
certain taxes from your employees' wages.
Financial Management
- The bookkeeping and accounting systems, recordkeeping, taxes,
collecting money, insurance, budgeting, and managing risk are
all part of keeping your business financially solvent. While
many people consider this the most painful part of running a
business, it needs to handled well if you are going to stay
in business.
Identity Theft
- Business Guide For Protecting Personal Information - Most
companies keep sensitive personal information in their files;
names, Social Security numbers, credit card, or other account
data that identifies customers or employees. This information
often is necessary to fill orders, meet payroll, or perform
other necessary business functions. However, if sensitive data
falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud, identity theft,
or similar harms. Given the cost of a security breach; losing
your customers trust and perhaps even defending yourself against
a lawsuit, safeguarding personal information is just plain good
business.
Independent Contractor
Worker Classification - Determination Of Independent
Contractor vs. Employee Worker Classification It is critical
that you, the employer, correctly determine whether the individuals
providing services are employees or independent contractors.
Generally, you must withhold income taxes, withhold and pay
Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment tax
on wages paid to an employee. You do not generally have to withhold
or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors. Before
you can determine how to treat payments you make for services,
you must first know the business relationship that exists between
you and the person performing the services.
Cyber
Security Alerts - Provide timely information about
current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits. They
outline the steps and actions that non-technical home and corporate
computer users can take to protect themselves from attack.
Sign
up with the United States Computer Emergency Readiness
Team (US-CERT) to recieve these alerts in your inbox. Free
Internet Security documents to help you start and manage your
business!
Cyber
Security Tips - Why is Cyber Security a Problem?
You've heard the news stories about credit card numbers being
stolen and email viruses spreading. Maybe you've even been a
victim yourself. One of the best defenses is understanding the
risks, what some of the basic terms mean, and what you can do
to protect yourself against them.
What is cyber security? It seems that everything relies
on computers and the internet now — communication (email,
cellphones), entertainment (digital cable, mp3s), transportation
(car engine systems, airplane navigation), shopping (online
stores, credit cards), medicine (equipment, medical records),
and the list goes on. How much of your daily life relies on
computers? How much of your personal information is stored
either on your own computer or on someone else's system? Cyber
security involves protecting that information by preventing,
detecting, and responding to attacks. Free
Internet Security documents to help you start and manage your
business!
Internet Security -
Seven Practices for Safer Computing. OnGuardOnline.gov
provides practical tips from the federal government and the
technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet
fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
Access to information and entertainment, credit and financial
services, products from every corner of the world — even to
your work — is greater than earlier generations could ever have
imagined. Thanks to the Internet, you can order books, clothes,
or appliances online; reserve a hotel room across the ocean;
download music and games; check your bank balance 24 hours a
day; or access your workplace from thousands of miles away.
The flip-side, however, is that the Internet — and the anonymity
it affords — also can give online scammers, hackers, and identity
thieves access to your computer, personal information, finances,
and more. But with awareness as your safety net, you can minimize
the chance of an Internet mishap. Being on guard online helps
you protect your information, your computer, even yourself.
To be safer and more secure online, adopt these seven practices.
Free Internet
Security documents to help you start and manage your business!
Internet
Security Internet Auctions - How Internet Auctions
Work - Rules of the Marketplace Internet auction sites give
buyers a "virtual" flea market with new and used merchandise
from around the world; they give sellers a global storefront
from which to market their goods. But the online auction business
can be risky business. OnGuard Online wants to help buyers
and sellers stay safe on Internet auction websites. Among
the thousands of consumer fraud complaints the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) receives every year, those dealing with online
auction fraud consistently rank near the top of the list.
The complaints generally deal with late shipments, no shipments,
or shipments of products that aren't the same quality as advertised;
bogus online payment or escrow services; and fraudulent dealers
who lure bidders from legitimate auction sites with seemingly
better deals. Most complaints involve sellers, but in some
cases, the buyers are the subject. Whether you're a buyer
or a seller, understanding how Internet auctions work can
help you avoid most problems. How Internet Auctions Work —
Rules of the Marketplace Phishing Payment Options Types of
Fraud Fake Check Scams Target Sellers Tips for Buyers Tips
for Sellers Where to Turn for Help How Internet Auctions.
For
more detailed information on Internet Auctions: How Internet
Auctions Work - Rules of the Marketplace .
Internet Security Laptop
Security - How To Keep Laptops From Getting Lost
Or Stolen. A laptop computer defines convenience and mobility.
It enables you to work from home, a hotel room, a conference
hall, or a coffee shop. Maybe you’ve taken steps to secure the
data on your laptop: You’ve installed a firewall. You update
your antivirus software. You protect your information with a
strong password. You encrypt your data, and you’re too smart
to fall for those emails that ask for your personal information.
But what about the laptop itself? A minor distraction is all
it takes for your laptop to vanish. If it does, you may lose
more than an expensive piece of hardware. The fact is, if your
data protections aren’t up to par, that sensitive and valuable
information in your laptop may be a magnet for an identity thief.
For more detailed information
on Laptop Security: How To Keep Laptops From Getting Lost Or
Stolen.
Internet Security
Malware - Minimizing The Effects Of Malware. Malware
is short for “malicious software;” it includes viruses — programs
that copy themselves without your permission — and spyware,
programs installed without your consent to monitor or control
your computer activity. Criminals are hard at work thinking
up creative ways to get malware on your computer. They create
appealing web sites, desirable downloads, and compelling stories
to lure you to links that will download malware, especially
on computers that don’t use adequate security software. Then,
they use the malware to steal personal information, send spam,
and commit fraud. For
more detailed information on Malware: How to Minimize the Effects
of Malware.
Internet
Security Online Shopping - How To Shop Safely On
The Internet Shopping online offers lots of benefits that you
won’t find shopping in a store or by mail. The Internet is always
open, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and bargains can be
numerous online. With a click of a mouse, you can buy an airline
ticket, book a hotel, send flowers to a friend, or purchase
your favorite fashions. But sizing up your finds on the Internet
is a little different from checking out items at the mall. For
more detailed information on Online Shopping: How To Shop Safely
On The Internet.
Internet Security
Phishing - How Not to Get Hooked by a “Phishing”
Scam; According to OnGuard Online, phishers send an email or
popup message that claims to be from a business or organization
that you may deal with — for example, an Internet service provider
(ISP), bank, online payment service, or even a government agency.
The message may ask you to “update,” “validate,” or “confirm”
your account information. Some phishing emails threaten a dire
consequence if you don’t respond. The messages direct you to
a website that looks just like a legitimate organization’s site.
But it isn’t. It’s a bogus site whose sole purpose is to trick
you into divulging your personal information so the operators
can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in
your name. For
more detailed information on Phishing: How Not to Get Hooked
by a "Phishing" Scam.
Internet
Security Social Networking Social Networking Sites:
A Parent's Guide. "It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children
are?" Remember that phrase from your own childhood? It's still
a valid question, but now, it comes with a twist: "Do you
know where your kids are — and who they're chatting with online?"
Social networking sites have morphed into a mainstream medium
for teens and adults. These sites encourage and enable people
to exchange information about themselves, share pictures and
videos, and use blogs and private messaging to communicate
with friends, others who share interests, and sometimes even
the world-at-large. And that’s why it’s important to be aware
of the possible pitfalls that come with networking online.
For
more detailed information on Social Networking: a Parent's
Guide.
Internet Security
Spam Scams - 10 Scams to Screen from Your Email;
While some consumers find unsolicited commercial email — also
known as “spam” — informative, others find it annoying and time
consuming. Still others find it expensive: They’re among the
people who have lost money to spam that contained bogus offers
and fraudulent promotions. Many Internet Service Providers and
computer operating systems offer filtering software to limit
the spam in their users’ email inboxes. In addition, some old-fashioned
‘filter tips’ can help you save time and money by avoiding frauds
pitched in email. OnGuard Online wants computer users to screen
spam for scams, send unwanted spam on to the appropriate enforcement
authorities, and then hit delete. For
more detailed information on Spam Scams: 10 Scams to Screen
from Your Email.
Internet Security
Spyware
- How To Recognize Spyware, Avoid It, And Delete It! Just
when you thought you were Web savvy, one more privacy, security,
and functionality issue crops up — spyware. Installed on your
computer without your consent, spyware software monitors or
controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up
ads, redirect your computer to websites, monitor your Internet
surfing, or record your keystrokes, which, in turn, could lead
to identity theft. Many experienced Web users have learned how
to recognize spyware, avoid it, and delete it. According to
OnGuard Online, all computer users should take preventive steps
to avoid spyware, get wise to the signs that it has been installed
on their machines, and then take the appropriate steps to delete
it. For more detailed
information on Spyware: How To Recognize Spyware, Avoid It,
And Delete It!
Internet Security Wireless
Security How To Secure Your Wireless Network Increasingly,
computer users interested in convenience and mobility are accessing
the Internet wirelessly. Today, business travelers use wireless
laptops to stay in touch with the home office; vacationers beam
snapshots to friends while still on holiday; and shoppers place
orders from the comfort of their couches. A wireless network
can connect computers in different parts of your home or business
without a tangle of cords and enable you to work on a laptop
anywhere within the network's range. Going wireless generally
requires a broadband Internet connection into your home, called
an "access point," like a cable or DSL line that runs into a
modem. To set up the wireless network, you connect the access
point to a wireless router that broadcasts a signal through
the air, sometimes as far as several hundred feet. Any computer
within range that's equipped with a wireless client card can
pull the signal from the air and gain access to the Internet.
For more detailed information
on Wireless Security: How To secure Your Wireless Network.
Legal Management
- You don't need to have a lawyer in house, but you definitely
need to make certain that all the operations of your business
are legal. Some of the issues to consider are business licenses,
determining the correct
legal form of your business, alliance agreements,
copyrights, trademarks, patents, contracts with suppliers,
and employment law. Free
Legal Downloads to help you start and grow your small business!
Management of the Business as a Whole - Someone needs
to be in charge of keeping the business functioning on a day-to-day
basis and planning for its future. The manager, CEO, boss -
whatever you want to call that function - sees that the business
objectives are met. Planning, organizing, staffing (human resources),
directing (leadership), and controlling are the traditional
realms of management. Learn what those functions really involve.
Marketing - Marketing involves getting the message out
to customers about your product or service. The traditional
nomenclature in marketing are the four P's: product, price,
promotion, and place (distribution). Each of these functional
areas involves a lot of coordination and planning to arrive
at the best advertising, public relations, and sales package
to best present your product or service to the customer.
Office Management - You have to have a place to operate
your business and the proper equipment to accomplish its tasks.
Putting together the right space, furniture, and equipment to
make your business operate efficiently is something that needs
careful consideration.
Production - Whatever your business, you are producing
something that you hope to sell. That means you need to have
a production process in place that will help you make certain
that you have a quality product when you need it, produced the
way you planned it. Lackadaisical production is costly. There
are some standard production models that can help make this
part of your business operate efficiently and economically.
Let's
get started today!
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