Small Business Archives - Wiss & Company, LLP

What did I do wrong? (Common traps small business owners can avoid)

Written on February 15, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, Startups.

If you’re like most founders, when you first begin the process of starting a company, you’re focused on being compliant in every way. You aim to build a business people want to invest in. But even with the best of intentions, you could overlook some rules that have big implications. Taxes are an area in which new small business owners make frequent mistakes. It’s not intentional, they’re usually just unaware. Let’s talk about two specific tax-related errors many of our clients make...

How can I take advantage of Qualified Small Business Stock?

Written on February 8, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, Startups, Tax.

In the early days of startup formation, it’s helpful to think years into the future — more than five years, to be exact. That’s the minimum term to which the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) tax exemption applies. QSBS is a big incentive for structuring your U.S.-based business as a C corporation (or converting from an LLC) because it’s reasonable to assume your investors will someday want to exit. When they do, they could be looking to qualify for this huge tax break. What...

Storytelling is Serious Business for Businesses Serious About Reaching Goals

Written on October 21, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

Serious business people often think they have to stick to serious business facts to make their points. But introducing storytelling to presentations and meetings is an effective way to deliver a message to an audience rather than lecturing them. Think about your business goals and choose stories that support what you want to do right now. They have to be true, though. As with any other business skill, you can learn to tell stories. There are eight questions to ask yourself to help...

SBA Increases Max EIDL Loan to $2 Million

Written on September 14, 2021. Posted in General Business.

By Travis Miskowitz, Director, CFO Advisory The U.S. Small Business Administration announced major changes to its signature Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program on September 8, 2021. This includes an increase to the maximum loan amount from $500,000 to $2 million and additional permitted uses of the loan proceeds including business debt payments among other enhancements. The program updates are a welcome change as the administration continues to focus on supporting...

Biden Administration Targeting PPP Aid to Smallest Businesses – 2 Week Delay Starting Wednesday Morning

Written on February 23, 2021. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business, PPP, Small Business.

By Travis Miskowitz, Manager, CFO Advisory Early Monday morning, the Biden Administration announced it is instituting a 2-week period targeting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses only. The temporary freeze goes into effect Wednesday morning beginning at 9:00 am, and only small businesses with 20 or fewer employees will be eligible to apply for a PPP loan for the next 2 weeks. The move by the current Administration is an effort to provide much-needed funding...

PPP Processing Delays – More Communication Required from SBA

Written on February 5, 2021. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business, PPP, State & Local Tax Services, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Travis Miskowitz, Manager CFO Advisory When the Small Business Administration rolled out the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, there was an immediate need to stem the losses and financial difficulties that small business owners were facing due to the pandemic and government-mandated shutdown orders. The early days of PPP were fraught with processing issues, incomplete or inconsistent guidance, and a lack of reliable resources for small business owners to reference when applying...

What type of entity should my startup be (a C-Corp or LLC)?

Written on February 1, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, Financial Planning, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

CPA and Partner at WISS & Co., Matt Barbieri discusses the reason he’s doing this podcast (basically to answer all those questions he gets over-and-over) and then answers a question he gets ALL THE TIME from startup founders, which is, What type of entity should our company be? Listen to the episode here… Still need more guidance? No problem! Reach out to a Wiss expert for answers. Contact Us

PPP Flexibility Act Passes Senate, significantly decreases barrier to loan forgiveness

Written on June 4, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

By Travis Miskowitz The Senate unanimously approved H.R. 7010 – Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020. By passing the House bill, the Senate avoids a long and drawn out reconciliation process. The President is expected to sign the bill into law quickly. While the bill provides much needed flexibility to small businesses, there is one change that can significantly impact a borrower’s ability to achieve loan forgiveness. The tersely worded bill provides for only 7 bullet...

Latest PPP Loan Forgiveness Guidance Released: Fails to Address Two Key Requirements

Written on May 26, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

On Friday May 22nd, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department issued two new Interim Final Rules (IFR): one covering Loan Forgiveness and the other covering Loan Review Procedures. The loan forgiveness guidance, which builds upon the loan forgiveness application and instructions that were released May 15th, still does not make changes to provisions for the 75/25 requirement to spend PPP funds on payroll and non-payroll costs, or the 8-week (56-day) covered...

SBA Clarifies Safe Harbor Status for Loans Under $2 Million

Written on May 14, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

By Travis Miskowitz On 5/13/2020, the SBA issued FAQ 46 which grants Safe Harbor status to all loans under $2MM. Small businesses received a welcome update today via SBA FAQ 46 which states that businesses, including their affiliates, that accepted Paycheck Protection Program loans of $2 million or less, will be assumed to have performed the required certification in good faith. The PPP application requires small business owners to certify in good faith that “current economic uncertainty...

Do You Need to Return Your PPP Loan? SBA Clarifies Eligibility Guidance Through FAQ Update

Written on May 1, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

By Travis Miskowitz Update: As of Wednesday, May 6, the safe-harbor deadline for returning PPP funds has been extended to May 14. Complete the application, provide supporting documentation, and you should be well on your way to a forgivable loan. All the better since you must spend the money on payroll costs in order to receive forgiveness. It is called Paycheck Protection after all, right? Not so fast according to recent updates published by the SBA. The SBA has recently issued...

Congress Agrees to Additional Funding for Small Businesses

Written on April 21, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

By Travis Miskowitz This is a developing story and information contained in this article is subject to change. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. Congress has agreed upon a Bi-Partisan deal to provide an additional $484 billion in funding for small businesses, hospitals, and coronavirus testing. The Senate and House are expected to quickly approve the bill with the backing of the White House. The bill is expected to be signed into law as early...

NYC Relief Available for Small Businesses

Written on April 1, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business.

By Tricia Meola In an effort to help small businesses deal with the overwhelming impacts of COVID-19, New York City has launched the following two initiatives: NYC Employee Retention Grant Program Created to help companies retain employees as businesses face decreased revenue as a result of COVID-19 Eligible businesses will receive a grant covering up to 40% of their payroll for two months; maximum funding of $27,000 Eligibility requirements include: Must be located within the...

SBA Preps Banks for Mobilizing Around PPP Applications, Provides Further Clarity Regarding Parameters