All business owners need to be aware of their break-even point — that is, the number of units they need to sell in order to cover their operating costs. Once you’ve reached your break-even point, it’s time to celebrate: your business is no longer in the red, and you...

Some small business owners find themselves in the difficult position of running a business that appears to be profitable, but still having no money in the bank. It's an important situation to address. After all, a lack of adequate cash flow is one of the main causes...

It's all the rage to hire casual or fixed-term staff as "contractors" and not put them on payroll.  This is often advantageous to the employer because you avoid expensive things like payroll taxes, workers comp, holiday pay or annual leave, tax withholdings, statutory...

Your business us growing and you’re ready to take the plung and hire an employee.  Congratulations.  There are a number of things that you need to think about, especially as you get started.  Please also note that lows vary by Province – based on where the employment...

When it comes to the overall success of your business, one of the most important decisions you'll face is how to price for the work you do. Charge too much and you could scare away potential customers. Charge too little and you could run yourself out of business....

If your small business operates on a tight budget you might be tempted to eliminate costs that you think aren't necessary. Often small business owners choose to go without business insurance as a way of saving money, but doing so can be incredibly costly in the long...

Nobody wants their business to fail. Although it’s impossible to predict the future with 100% accuracy, a cash flow forecast is a tool that will help you prepare for different possible scenarios in the future. In a nutshell, cash flow forecasting involves estimating...

If you've just started working with Xero, it is normal to make a few mistakes while you’re learning. We see mistakes that are quite common - and unfortunately costly - so you should be aware of them if you want to get the most out of Xero’s powerful cloud accounting...

Owning a small business in the construction industry can be incredibly stressful. In addition to the long days and hazardous working conditions, you have to worry about cash flow issues. It can take a long time to collect on payment from your clients or contractors...

Everyone wants to achieve financial independence. However, until you have enough income-generating assets, you are unfortunately dependent on someone else such as your employer. Investing in properties, when done right, can provide an ongoing income stream and a cash...

Having total control over your finances can give you an amazing sense of freedom. However, it takes a lot of discipline and hard work for you to be able to achieve this. In this article, we will share some of the most useful tips that you can start now to live a...

Yes you do.  If your business is incorporated then you are required to have at least one meeting a year of your shareholders. It's typically called the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and it has a few things that you have to do at it: Receive the financial statements of...

If you have a corporation registered Federally (under the Canada Business Corporations Act) rather than Provincially then you need to file an Annual Return with Corporations Canada (a division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada).  Each return is...

Everyone wants the best for their children, and this includes being rich. Being rich is not just about money-- it is about wealth in all aspects of life. In this article, we will share some life lessons you must teach your kids while they're young to help them grow...

Remember when email was new and novel, and everyone thought it would vastly improve communication while freeing up time? It did improve communication on some levels and freed up employee time at first. Now, however, email has become a productivity killer. Workers have...

Running a business isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It is definitely hard work, but a rewarding journey at the same time and you can probably attest to this yourself.

Sometimes, things also don’t go as planned and you may find your business under financial distress. Suddenly you find yourself falling behind on due dates, suppliers are chasing for payments, and your stress levels are skyrocketing.

Regardless of the nature of your business, you need sufficient cash flow to meet your financial obligations. And the closer you are to not being able to do this, the closer you get to insolvency.

Every small business owner knows how challenging it is to cut down expenses without somehow compromising internal or external quality. Regardless of the nature of your business, the first step to reducing your overhead costs is to take the time to go through every single expense you have. Next, assess which ones are necessary for your business to operate smoothly, what can be trimmed down, and what can be eliminated completely.

In this article, we will give you some smart and practical tips that you might not have considered to lessen your costs while maintaining employee and customer satisfaction.

E-commerce is growing rapidly, and recent research estimates that it will make up over 22% of global retail sales by 2023.

With these statistics and the changes COVID-19 has brought, it’s more important than ever to take your retail business online if you want to stay competitive. It adds another revenue stream and keeps your business humming even while your brick and mortar doors are closed. In this article, we will guide you through launching an online storefront.

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to Canada. If you are not a Canada business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

If you are operating as an incorporated body then you need to keep written records of certain decisions and actions. This is all governed by the Act that you are incorporated under such as the Canada Business Corporations Act or the Ontario Business Corporations Act (each Province or Territory has a local act).

Each corporation is required to have a Board of Directors (often it is a sole Director) and the decisions of the Director(s) and Shareholder(s) must be properly recorded by way of Minute (a written record of decision in a meeting) or Resolution (a written record of a unanimous decision made when a meeting is not held, signed by all the parties eligible to vote at a meeting had it been held).

Countries in recession, unemployment rates rising, multiple economic indicators at their all-time lows, increased market volatility– these are just some of the economic impacts we’re seeing as a result of the pandemic.

As we continue to battle the COVID-19 crisis, it is important for everyone, especially those who have had their income stream affected, to keep their finances in check and proactively find ways to navigate to recovery.

By creating a financial plan, you’ll be able to find out how long you can continue with the current circumstances, but you’ll also be able to work out how to get your finances back on track and be in a stronger financial position. This process may also reveal things you could’ve done to cushion the impacts of the crisis.