The COVID-19 virus has made fast, drastic changes to how we live and work. State-mandated business closures are creating challenges and generating many questions on how to preserve business continuity during this period. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which takes effect on April 2. The bill expanded paid sick leave and unemployment benefits, impacting employees and employers, among other provisions.

Qualified small businesses are now eligible for up to $2 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) after President Trump called for an additional $50 billion in funding to the SBA’s lending program from Congress in response to COVID-19. While the SBA waits for the $50 billion to be approved, they can deliver an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration in response to the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act recently signed by the president.

The word “concentration” is usually associated with a strong ability to pay attention. Business owners are urged to concentrate when attempting to resolve the many challenges facing them. But the word has an alternate meaning in a business context as well — and a distinctly negative one at that.

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a great opportunity for reflection and planning. You have 12 months to look back on and another 12 ahead to look forward to. Here are five ways to strengthen your business for the new year by doing a little of both:

Device policies pertaining to smartphones and other technology tools are evolving. Loose “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies are giving way to stricter “choose your own device” (CYOD) or “corporate-owned, personally enabled” (COPE) policies. A CYOD policy lets employees buy a device for combined personal/work use from a company-approved list. Generally, the employee owns the device while the business owns the SIM card and any proprietary data. Under a COPE policy, the employer buys and owns the device, which is intended for business use. The cost is higher, but it comes with greater control. We can help you analyze the potential costs of a device policy and make the right choice.

There may still be opportunities to reduce your company’s 2019 tax bill.

The best salespeople are closers, who seal the deals and pull in the revenue that drives a company’s bottom line. And they all have these three things in common.

The 2019 Minnesota MANUFACTURING CONFERENCE Strengthen. Unify. Educate. Wednesday & Thursday, October 16 & 17, 2019 Minneapolis Marriott Northwest 7025 Northland Drive, N., Brooklyn Park, MN 55428 The Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association (MPMA) and the Manufacturers Alliance are co-hosting The…

Ask many entrepreneurs and small business owners to show you their financial statements and they’ll likely open a laptop and show you their bookkeeping software. Although tracking financial transactions is critical, spreadsheets aren’t financial statements. In short, financial statements are…

Speaker Mel Enger, LB Carlson: Planning for Profits on What You Have

Mel is the president of LB Carlson, and the managing partner of the Minneapolis office…

On October 25th, LB Carlson was a sponsor for the MPMA Manufacturing/NEXT 2018 meeting featuring Titon Gilroy as the keynote speaker.  His powerful message was “Inspiring the Next Generation of Manufacturers” by engaging the younger generation through the utilization of…

Carlson Advisors, LLP Announces Name Change and Move of Minneapolis Location Effective July 1, 2018, we are changing our name to LB Carlson, LLP. The name LB Carlson was selected in honor of the firm’s founder Lawrence ‘Lary’ B. Carlson….

A manufacturer’s current accounting policy related to revenue recognition could change in the upcoming months with the recent passage of new revenue recognition standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.  Previously, the standards treated contract and other manufacturing arrangements as…

A good basketball team is at its best when its top players are on the floor. Similarly, a company is the most productive, efficient and innovative when its best employees are in the right positions, doing great work. Unfortunately, it’s…

Many companies reach a point in their development where they could benefit from an advisory board. It’s all too easy in today’s complex business world to get caught up in an “echo chamber” of ideas and perspectives that only originate…