4 Tools For Startups
 By Amanda C. Garrett

Every startup entrepreneur needs a knowledgeable word of advice occasionally. And every new business needs resources they can tap in good times and bad.

Here are four tools available to AFS Members – at no cost.

1. Guide To Paying Business Debts
SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” and Corporate Turnaround have created a free 16-page workbook, How to Pay Business Debts You Can’t Afford. This valuable resource is designed to help small businesses survive when facing economic and financial challenges.

The guide covers some of the most crucial parts of settling commercial debts, including:

• How to determine a monthly budget to pay past due debts
• How to create settlement offers with real-world information
• How to write settlement letters using fill-in-the-blank templates
• How to negotiate affordable settlements with the toughest creditors
• How to stretch out settlements over time

“The easy-to-understand strategies in this guide have helped settle more than 25,000 business debts,” says Jerry Silberman, CEO of Corporate Turnaround.

2. Online Retirement Calculator
When it comes to planning and saving for the golden years, small-business owners are on their own. But you can get free help from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

EBSA, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, published a guide several years ago entitled “Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning.” Now that 62-page guide is offered online. At the EBSA Web site, www.dol.gov/ebsa, you can complete interactive worksheets that address your retirement age, current assets, expected Social Security, savings, investments, and more. Using the figures you provide, the system calculates your estimated monthly income and expenses for your retirement years.

The Web site provides step-by-step instructions as you work your way through the guide.

3. Answers To Year-End Tax Questions
AFS Members can get answers to all of their tax questions from certified public accountants who understand small business.

Just click ProTax. You can ask your questions online and receive a confidential reply.

ProTax is especially helpful this time of year. With Dec. 31 fast approaching, small businesses need to make smart decisions to reduce their 2008 tax bill. And time is running out.

The CPAs at ProTax can answer questions about:

• How to calculate your vehicle expenses
• How to qualify for the home office deduction
• Which tax forms your startup business must file
• How to take advantage of Section 179 expenses
• And much more

4. Online Tax Savings Center
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has created an online tax savings resource center to help small businesses understand how they can benefit from the 2008 economic stimulus package signed into law this year.

The package includes the following tax incentives for businesses:

• A 50-percent bonus depreciation allowance on equipment purchased and placed in service in calendar 2008
• An almost 100-percent increase in the amount (from $128,000 to $250,000) that a business can expense for equipment purchased and placed in serving beginning in 2008

The SBA’s new tax savings resource center demonstrates the benefits entrepreneurs can gain from the 2008 economic stimulus package. The center, located at www.sba.gov/stimulus, contains three resources on the package:

• Fact Sheet
  The fact sheet provides a clear explanation of the small business tax benefits.
• Deprecation Calculator
  This useful tool provides an estimate of the first-year depreciation available under the provisions.
• Online Seminar
  This brief tutorial summarizes the tax benefits and concludes with the depreciation calculator.

(Posted December 2008)

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