For example, suppose you are managing a store that employs sales clerks. You could analyze your sales records and find when your busy periods occur. Then hire an additional clerk for the busiest times of the day. If you observe an employee who seems to have too much free time, you should consider increasing that employee’s duties. If you don’t have additional work for that employee, you may need to cut back the hours or eliminate the position completely.

For more help on hiring, you may want to read this helpful article. As part of your hiring process, if you are starting a new business, you must attend to certain federal and state regulations. You need to get a federal employer identification number (FEIN), register with your state’s labor office, and obtain worker’s compensation insurance.

For help with federal tax requirements, the IRS has put out two publications, the Employer’s Tax Guide, Publication 15, and the Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide, Publication 15a. [4] X Trustworthy Source Internal Revenue Service U. S. government agency in charge of managing the Federal Tax Code Go to source You can find both publications at the IRS publications page, at www. irs. gov/forms-pubs.

Anti-discrimination policies. Compensation and payroll schedules. Work schedules. Expected standards of conduct. Safety and security. Acceptable computer/technology use policy. Media relations. Leave policies and other employee benefits.

Regularly scheduled staff meetings. Written newsletter or other bulletins. Regular informal email communications. A company bulletin board (either a real physical bulletin board or an online virtual site). A shared calendar of events.

Cash method. This is generally better for small businesses. You will count your cash as an asset when you actually receive it. Similarly, you measure your expenses when you actually pay them. Accrual method. Larger business tend to prefer this method, which works more on an invoicing system. You count the asset when a sale is made, whether or not you actually receive payment at that time. You will measure expenses when you receive the item, not at the time of actual payment.

QuickBooks or QuickBooks Online PeachTree Accounting Sage Live NetSuite Zoho Books

If your accounts do not reconcile, you need to examine your accounting system more closely and discover the error. If you do this monthly, you can often catch mistakes while they are small and can be corrected. If not, your business can face big problems.

Reach out to a new customer base. Expand your hours of service. Increase manufacturing and sales. Change your advertising schemes. Hire more staff.

For help with specifically writing a marketing plan, check out Create a Marketing Plan.

If an employee raises a complaint or concern, you should listen carefully to the problem. If another employee is involved, you should then give that person an opportunity to speak to you. Refer to the employee handbook, if that can help address the situation. You may not be able to satisfy everyone involved. At least be fair and reach a conclusion that is best for the company as a whole.

For example, suppose your business supplies personalized stationery to other offices, and a customer refuses to pay for a shipment because the quality is poor. If you disagree, you should balance the price of that one invoice against the costs of suing for collection and losing that customer’s future business. It may be better for your business to lose the value of one shipment but keep a longstanding satisfied customer.

Fire extinguishers. Smoke alarms and detectors. First aid kits. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Access the SBA website at www. sba. gov. You can call the general SBA Answer Desk at 800-827-5722. Every state has one or more local district offices. You can find a listing of these district offices at https://www. sba. gov/tools/local-assistance/districtoffices.

Find IRS publications at www. irs. gov/forms-pubs. Find links to local IRS offices at https://www. irs. gov/help/contact-your-local-irs-office.

You can find out about joining the U. S. Chamber of Commerce at www. uschamber. com. You can locate your local Chamber of Commerce by searching online for the name of your community and the phrase “Chamber of Commerce. ”

Becoming an accredited member of the BBB increases consumer trust in your business and often leads to increased income. [18] X Research source

You may find a group of like-minded managers and create a weekly or monthly networking group.