by eclewis | Oct 10, 2012 | Business News
As mentioned on Facebook, I recently attended a seminar on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and how it affects businesses. While the seminar offered information on businesses of all sizes, this post will deal primarily with small businesses.
PPACA was signed into law in March 23, 2010. It has multiple provisions that are phased in beginning in immediately until 2020. Immediately after passage, multiple groups began attempts to fight the legislation, including through the court system. At this time, the results of some of these attempts have made it through levels of the court system, including the National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which was heard by the United States Supreme Court and decided in June of 2012.
PPACA breaks companies up into three main categories. The first is self-employed individuals – those who are self-employed and have no employees. The second is small businesses – businesses with less than 50 full time employees. The third is large businesses – businesses with 50 or more full time employees.
Self-employed individuals have two options for health insurance under the law. Regarding insurance, self-employed individuals can buy either small business plans or individual plans depending on what is offered in the state. Self-employed individuals can also choose to be uninsured and pay a tax for failure to purchase insurance.
Small businesses are not required to provide health insurance for their employees. In some instances, small businesses can get tax credits if they choose to purchase insurance for their employees. Starting in 2014, small businesses can also purchase plans for their businesses through insurance exchanges, with the idea that the plans will be similar in costs to group plans offered by large employers. (Of course, this is in theory as exchanges are not currently up and running.) However, if a small business crosses from being a small business to a large business (hiring that 51st person), then new regulations come into play, including requiring the business to offer health insurance or pay large fines.
So, where does this leave the small business? Small businesses that didn’t have any insurance advisor now need someone in their rolodex (or the more 21st century version address book online). Prior to bringing on any new employees, and especially one that will increase the number employed by a business to 51 (which may include owners in some instances), small business owners must talk to their insurance agent and CPA to determine if PPACA makes hiring someone else a small financial burden or a huge one.
If you have questions about PPACA or need a referral to an insurance agent that works with small businesses, contact me, Elizabeth Lewis, your small business lawyer, today at 720-258-6647 or by email at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Aug 14, 2012 | Business News, Misc. Legal Tidbits
thedenverchannel.com recently reported that only 5% of lenders have eased their standards to loan to small businesses. This confirms what many small businesses already know – it is tough to get funding. So what is a small business to do when it needs money?
If your business needs a loan to survive, there are several things that you should do as a small business owner first. While these strategies cannot guarantee a loan, they can help you have the best chance to secure funding when you need it.
1. Get your personal credit in order. If you are borrowing money from a financial institution, the institution is going to want to see your personal credit unless your business has substantial assets and financial backing. In most cases, you will need to personally guarantee the loan. If your credit score is low, you have had recent bankruptcies, or you are requesting a large loan amount and have no collateral, you may need to look at other funding sources.
2. Have a good business plan. Banks want to know you have thought about your business. The lending officer will want to see the business plan and know that the financial targets are achievable. As part of the business plan, be able to clearly define where the funds will be used. If you can’t explain your business and its goals (and why you have), a bank can’t determine what type of risk you are.
3. Have good tax and legal records. Make sure you have copies of your Articles filed with the Secretary of State and any periodic reports (and make sure your periodic report has been filed!). Have current bylaws or an operating agreement. Have proper paperwork between the owners of the business. Have intellectual property agreements when needed. Have copies of the business’s tax returns for at least the previous three years (and maybe up to five). If the business is closely held (especially with fewer than four owners), have copies of the owners’ personal tax returns. Make sure all local, state, and federal taxes are current – including employment taxes and unemployment insurance. Finally, do a checks to see if there are any liens or UCC filings.
4. Lastly, schedule a small business checkup with your attorney and your CPA. I can go through all your paperwork and see what is missing from a legal perspective, make sure everything is up to date, and then be a reference for the bank to call with any questions. A CPA would be able to do the same thing from a financial perspective.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me, your small business attorney serving the Denver Metro Area, the Front Range, and beyond at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Jul 31, 2012 | Business News
Effective June 1, 2012, the City of Aurora instituted a new tax on soft drinks and candy. The tax is 3.75% on all soft drinks (any drinks that contain natural or artificial sweeteners that are less than 50% juice) and candy (preparation of sugar, honey or other sweetener with items such as chocolate, fruit, and nuts that forms bars, drops, or pieces)
Businesses have a one month grace period to change their systems and start collecting the taxes. The first monthly tax return that needs to include software and candy taxes should be filed August 20, 2012 and the first quarterly tax return should be filed by October 20, 2012
Prepared food remains taxable in most cases. So if you have a restaurant, coffee shop, or bar that serves food, you still need to collect taxes on everything you sell.
If you have any questions, please contact me, your Denver Small Business Lawyer, at 720-258-6647, by email at Elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com , or your CPA today!
by eclewis | Jul 26, 2012 | Business News
In addition to the basic startup package offered to small businesses, the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. is pleased to announce that it has business-specific startup packages for those starting a business in the following fields:
- Basic Startup Package
- Website Developers Package
- Programmers Package
- Wedding Planners Package
- Event Planners Package
- Plumbers Package
- Electricians Package
- Contractors Package
- Social Media Consultant Package
- Ghostwriters Package
- Sales Consultant Package
- IT Consultant Package
- Photographer Package
- E-commerce Site Package
The basic setup package starts at $500.00 with specialized packages ranging from $750.00-$2000.00, if you are looking to start a business in any of these areas, the startup packages have the business documents, contracts, and information that you need to do it – plus one on one consulting with your Denver small business lawyer! You can find out more by calling 720-258-6647 or contact us through the website to get more information.
by eclewis | Jul 14, 2012 | Business News
Like many others, I sat and watched as the inferno enveloped homes and dreams as it waged its way over the west side of Colorado Springs. I had watched Hurricane Katrina several years ago demolish New Orleans. However, as I had stayed with my father frequently when he had worked in Colorado Springs when I was (much) younger and as I have friends there, this disaster struck closer to home.
My heart goes out to those that lost their homes and businesses in the Waldo Canyon fire, the High Park fire, and the other fires that have waged across Colorado the past few months. It made me rethink my personal and business disaster recovery plans. To make sure you are prepared for disaster, please make sure you have done the following:
- Know where you personal and business legal documents are. You need to have easily accessible copies of your company documents (such as setup documents, leases, contracts, bank information, credit card information, and insurance paperwork). You need easily accessible copies of your personal documents (such as marriage certificates, social security numbers, passports, driver’s licenses, bank information, property records, credit card information, birth certificates, and insurance information). If possible, you should make sure there is an easily accessible *secure* electronic copy available in case you cannot grab these documents during a disaster.
- Check your insurance policies and make sure you are properly covered. Do you have business interruption insurance? Do you have adequate property insurance? Do you have inventory lists of your business and home? Make sure you have the right amounts of insurance and the right insurance for your situation before you need it!
- Do you have backups of your information? If you do not have offsite backups of your electronic documents, you need it. Research offsite providers and find out the best option for you. Dropbox, Google, and Amazon all offer offsite backups. If you want a physical offsite backup, there are both banks and private companies that offer offsite storage. A note of caution if you do physical offsite backups – you may want to also have a backup in another state! Hurricane Katrina destroyed a whole city so if you kept a backup in a safety deposit box at your local bank, there is a good chance that the local bank would have been destroyed too!
- Have a personal disaster plan. You need a disaster plan for both your family and your business! Personally, you need to know where you will meet loved ones in case of a disaster. As a child, you probably practiced how to get up to your family’s meet up place in case of a house fire. Have you come up with one as an adult? You need a place in case of a close disaster (i.e. we meet across the street if there is a fire in our house), a local place (i.e. we meet at the Starbucks at Main Street if there is a problem in our neighborhood), and a semi-local place (i.e. we meet at the King Soopers parking lot at CITY if there is a problem in our whole area). You need to keep gas in your car, have food and water, and look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Families. Do not assume that water, food, or phones will be available in your area if there is a disaster.
- Have a business disaster plan. On the business side, you need to have your employees and customer information to reach out to in case of a disaster. You need to have a website you can update. You need insurance information at your fingertips. You need to know what you will do if you are closed for a day, a week, a month. If you sell food items and the power is off for 10 hours, should you start giving away food because it is going to go bad? If you provide services and end up in the hospital for a week, do you have a colleague that can provide services to your clients? Do you have business interruption insurance that will pay you if you are closed for a month? Look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Businesses for more information.
You can never completely prepare for a disaster. If you could, it would not be called a disaster. However, you can make plans so that if one happens, you will be protected as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please call or email me.
by eclewis | Jul 9, 2012 | Business News, IP Law, Online/Social Media Law
Identifying Internet Scams
Today was a great day – rain was falling in our state which had been dry for weeks. It was the beginning of a great week. We had just celebrated the Fourth of July and I had been on a slight vacation – partially by chance and partially due to health. I was glad to be back to a full work week.
However, my first week back to work was quickly brought down by a phone call. This person alerted me that someone was using my information to sell items through kijiji.com. This person is stating that she is an attorney located in Denver Colorado and must sell items through kijiji (the Canadian version of our Craiglist’s) such as instruments and machinery. The person is saying that the buyer should go through a site called sell2pal and submit all the money in advance and then the items will be shipped to them.
I have never sold on the kijiji website. I have also never sold to anyone in Canada. Needless to say, this made me realize how easy it is to become a victim of identify theft. So, in addition to saying if you are buying large items though kijiji I recommend you don’t if it is through someone saying they are an attorney in Denver named Elizabeth Lewis, I recommend in any case you do the following:
- Never send money up front – especially large sums of money.
- Make sure you know who you are dealing with. If you are going to be making a large purchase, the person should have a name, number, address, and other information that is verifiable.
- If you are making a large purchase and must put money down, have an agreement to go through any escrow agent to hold the funds before delivery of the item.
- Lastly, if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.
And, finally, if you get contacted by someone saying they are lizzyhome at gmail.com, run the other way. I’ve never gone by Lizzy and am not selling items in Canada. Use some common sense. Do some research. Call the supposed person you are buying from. And, no, I am not selling anything at this time – especially not to anyone in Canada!
