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. Periodically, you hear about a huge loss caused by an employee who’s been quietly embezzling cash for years. But

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.

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. The revised rates are 55.5¢ per mile for business driving and 23.5¢ for medical and moving driving. The rate for charitable driving is fixed by law and remains at 14¢ per

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. For example, if you’ve bought a house for the first time, the deductible mortgage interest could cut your taxable income. That means you might need less tax withheld from your paycheck every month.

If you provide care for stray or feral animals in your home for an IRS-approved charity, you may be able to take a tax deduction for your out-of-pocket expenses. A recent U.S. Tax Court judge ruled that a taxpayer who fostered feral and stray cats in her home could deduct amounts she spent for food, veterinarian bills, litter, and other unreimbursed expenses incurred to help the charity in its mission. An important requirement for such expenses

Unemployment compensation can provide a welcome buffer while you’re transitioning to a new job. But with the help comes a tax effect, because the benefits provided under federal or state laws are usually includable in your income in the year you receive them. As a result, depending on the amount of unemployment benefits you expect to receive, you may want to complete Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, to have federal income tax withheld from your benefits.

In business, making pricing decisions is always tough – and even more so when the economy is slow and sales are slipping. It’s tempting to cut prices hoping to generate higher sales volume. But sometimes that just produces lower margins on a low volume. What do you do if you’re being squeezed by cost increases? Can you increase prices in a slow economy? How do you respond if your customers complain? Can you justify holding prices