Sales and use tax can be a very confusing topic. It is also an area the Wisconsin Department of Revenue likes to audit. Below are a few quick tips to help ensure you are complying with the sales and use tax rules.

Summer is the time for vacations. However when you are an owner or a key employee for a small business – this may pose a risk! What happens if you get sick or have an accident? Is your advisory team prepared? Do you have an advisory team? Emotions run high during this time and a written carefully thought out plan will help keep your customers, employees and vendors and maintain the value. It is estimated that 25% to 40% of businesses who experience an emergency never recover.

As I write this a storm is rolling in bringing with it rain, thunder and flashes of light. I love to stop and listen to a good strong rain pound against the rooftop. The lightning bolts sizzle through the air and the crashing of thunder demands our attention. As a child I was afraid of the noise, but my mom would say that the gods were just bowling. Rain is good, it washes away the dust and makes my garden grow. It’s refreshing and brings with it a key essence we need to live. The thunderstorm kicks up a sense of danger and then it is followed by a beautiful rainbow.

Most people do spring cleaning around the house and the yard, but have you ever thought of applying it at work? Have things gotten stale or obsolete? Have you let little things slide that are now causing big problems? Maybe you are still doing things – because you have always done them that way. Here are seven business spring cleaning ideas to get you started:

The heaviness of winter is coming to a close. Windows are finally being opened to let the fresh air breeze through the house. As the temperatures rise the layers of clothes are being peeled off and put away until next year. The cobwebs in my mind are being dusted away. There is a sense of energy building. Now that tax season is over I can spend my time with more variety. Wow, there is life after tax season!

Financial success can be found in a variety of ways. The best way to achieve it depends on your current situation. Success can be found through a rewarding job, building a business, making an investment, funding a retirement account or a combination. Unless you are specific, how do you know when you will achieve financial success? The clearer you are on what you desire the better the chance that you will succeed. Creating a vision and setting expectations requires education, planning and preparation.

Every accounting software program provides standard financial statements. This is the universal measurement of business success. The statements can be used for more than just preparing your taxes and they are not just for accountants and bankers. Prepared and used correctly they can provide key information to manage your business.

The one thing that is constant in life is change. Every day we grow and change. However this April is packed full of change for me.

Competition is tight in most businesses, customers have plenty of options. We are bombarded with marketing messages everyday – on television, radio, print and internet. Messages telling us that if we just buy their product or service – we will be wealthier, happier and healthier. As a small business owner how do we overcome the messages encouraging our customers to switch? Plus maintain a profit to stay in business?

Many years ago I found myself in Boston on St. Patty’s day. I was there for work and stayed the weekend. I made arrangements to meet a friend of a friend to get a tour of Boston. She was a Boston native and turned out to be a great tour guide. The day started with a cold wet morning.