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Do you regularly monitor your company's cash accounts? You should. Even if you leave the job to your bookkeeper or accountant, you should stay aware of where the cash is going and how the spending is approved. Along with inventory “shrinkage,” theft or improper expenditures of cash are among the chief sources of loss for small companies.
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If you change jobs you may have an important decision to make — what to do with your 401(k) plan. You'll have several choices. Unfortunately, the easiest choice is the worst choice: that is, to take a distribution from the old plan and put it in the bank. It may be tempting, because who couldn’t use some extra cash. But if you do, you’ll owe taxes on the balance and usually a 10% penalty as well. You’ll lose the benefits of future tax-deferred growth on your savings. And if you spend the money, you’ll have to start from scratch in saving for retirement.

Instead, consider three options.
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The IRS has increased the standard mileage rates to be used for computing the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business or for driving for medical or moving reasons. The new rates will apply to driving from July 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011.
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Have you taken the time to check your income tax withholding for 2011? It's true that there were no major changes in tax rates or deductions for this year. However, there are still several reasons why you might want to adjust your withholding.
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One of the first decisions you face as a new business owner is whether or not to incorporate the business. The biggest advantage of incorporating is limitation of your liability. Your responsibility for debts and other liabilities incurred by a corporation is generally limited to the assets of the business. Your personal assets are not usually at risk, although there can be exceptions to this general rule. The trade-off is that there is a cost to incorporate and, in some cases, tax consequences.
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Summertime fun can be made even more enjoyable by adding tax savings. Here are some tax-saving ideas to consider.
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Have you heard about solo 401(k) plans? The traditional type of 401(k) retirement plan is now available for self-employed individuals. And it lets you save more than other types of plans.
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August 1 — Deadline for filing 2010 retirement or employee benefit returns (5500 series) for plans on a calendar year. (Normal deadline is July 31, but since that day is a Sunday, the deadline moves to the next business day, August 1.)
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The IRS recently announced that it will adjust its use of tax liens to collect back taxes. A federal tax lien gives the IRS a claim on a delinquent taxpayer‹s property for unpaid taxes.
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