Small Businesses

of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value between $3,000 and $150,000 is automatically reserved exclusively for small businesses. However, every set-aside must meet the “Rule of Two,” which requires that there must be a reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from two or more small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. If only one acceptable offer is received from a responsible small business concern in response to a set-aside, the CO is required to make an award to that firm. If no acceptable offers are received from responsible small business concerns, the set-aside will be withdrawn and the product or service, if still valid, will be solicited on an unrestricted basis. For contracts over $150,000, a CO is required to set it aside if there is a reasonable

The cost of purchasing an existing Banking Certificate to use as an offset is determined by the market value and is not controlled by the District. Each year the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is required to publish the cost of all purchases of ERCs that occur in the state. Emission offsets in the District’s Small Banking Account are provided at no cost to qualifying applicants. However, the applicant may incur some costs in order to qualify, particularly if installation of Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) on existing sources is required. These costs and the fact that the District’s determination of no “real” emission reduction is likely for a small business, discourage small businesses from utilizing the bank. According to Mr.

The use of MAS information increases business performance because it provides the information to managers for better decision-making (Lopez & Hiebl, 2015). The reports from MAS provide managers with information about potential risks and implications that can result from decisions (Van Auken & Yang, 2014). Studies show that using MAS in small businesses lowers time and resources spent in forecasting and identifying of business obstacles (Lopez & Hiebl, 2015). Management forecasting assists in decision-making and coordinates between businesses processes, so targets are set and objectives are met (Andreica et al., 2014). Success of a small business depends on how well they manage their resources (Chhabra & Pattanayak, 2014). A crisis is an event that can lead businesses into financial failure if not handled correctly (Ceran et al., 2016). Information from MAS can prevent the crisis (Ceran et al., 2016). There is data that supports that the use of MAS information in decision-making has a positive influence on firm performance (Odar et al., 2015).

International research in both developed and developing countries has documented a consistent pattern of regressivity in tax compliance costs, such that the smallest firms typically face tax compliance costs that are a significantly higher proportion of their annual turnover than larger firms (see more detail below). Anecdotal evidence in South Africa suggested that many of the smallest firms struggle with tax compliance. A number of professional tax practitioners, in interviews with FIAS, stated that they had sometimes turned away potential micro- or small businesses because they “could not afford the fees.” Meanwhile, fear of “making mistakes” on taxes and the perceived risk of heavy penalties imposed by SARS (in addition to unwillingness to pay taxes) were said to be factors deterring formalization of many informal firms.

Behind the thinking for this study is a realisation that the economic and social community mirrors nature in a host of different ways. In nature the vast majority of organisms are small. At the human level, the economy is a kind of eco-system in which the participants, large or small, all interact with each other. The most successful and arguably some of the most important forms of life in the natural eco-system are the micro-organisms. The sciences that have developed our understanding of the role of micro-organisms have already revealed just how important they are to us and the world around us. We hope that the present study will initiate the development of a new way of thinking about the role of small businesses as the micro-organisms within the economic eco-system of the community and that it will be a first step in establishing the principles involved. We believe that having a better understanding of the role of small businesses will not only benefit those businesses themselves but all businesses, whatever their size, and the communities they serve.

The structure of the program is unique. SBICs are privately owned and managed investment funds. They are licensed and regulated by SBA. They use their own capital plus funds borrowed with an SBA guarantee to make equity and debt investments in qualifying small businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration does not invest directly in small business through the SBIC program, but provides funding to qualified investment management firms with expertise in certain sectors or industries.

answers and in the interviews. The largest trend that appeared was the lifecycle of the DB and how different administrators handled the problems that arose concerning new fields, new formats, and updates. The fact that four out of five presses were in the process of some type of migration may be an indication that many presses are going through a period of transition. The data from this study highlights the issues of organizations going through redesign processes. Future work may involve investigating how and why changes are made to the DBs at university presses. More work could also be done to investigate changes in DB management and how these changes relate to the specific needs of university presses and other small businesses. A future study would continue to build upon information about the software that presses use and the problems that DBAs have with administration of systems in the university press environment.

Since the JOBS Act was brought into effect in April 2012, it has become easier for small businesses to raise money online via crowd funding. Crowd funding can now be used as an equity source in addition to the other forms of crowd funding; however, the rules for this are still being determined by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Previously, small businesses were limited to seeking investment from SEC-accredited investors only; now non-accredited investors (i.e., you and I) can invest in a startup to the tune of up to $1 million a year.

Small businesses are a critical component of economies, although they face a myriad of issues, including their literacy in relation to a number of key business issues. In recent years tax literacy has been argued as an important part of financial literacy. Research has demonstrated that a person’s tax literacy is likely to be greater when they are self-employed and operate their own businesses. However, whether this increased tax literacy is sufficient to address the labyrinth of issues faced when running a business is questionable. This article reports further evidence about the tax literacy of Australians who have conducted a business in relation to GST, deductions and their compliance attitude. These findings can build the foundation for future work to explore how tax literacy is an important component of financial literacy for small businesses.

Small business owners face many finance challenges, especially in tough economic conditions. The strategic environment of SMEs influences the financing, establishment, and implementation of financial strategies (Liu, 2010). Kuo, Chen, and Sung (2011) acknowledged SMEs have less access to the capital needed for startup, growth, and survival, which could unfavorably affect economic growth. Although small businesses provide significant contributions to the economy, small businesses are extremely vulnerable to economic downturns (Di & Hanke, 2012). Byrd, Ross, and Glackin (2013) stated the survival of small business rest with ability to get credit and commercial banks are the most important institutional supplier. Furthermore, the small banks were unable to lend to fulfill the Federal Reserve risk-based capital requirements. Government intervention and the growth of credit suppliers caused the growth of the small business credit market over the last 20 years (Servon, Visser, & Fairlie, 2011). Kuo et al. (2011) noted governments use loan guarantee schemes to assist SMEs in raising external finance. Seghers, Manigart, and Vanacker (2012) acknowledged some entrepreneurs are oblivious to government programs for start-up businesses. Since entrepreneurs are unacquainted with government programs, entrepreneurs cannot judge utility and determine if businesses are eligible for such programs.

We attacked several issues in order to solve the problems described above. The first issue was that of addressing different machines with the same IP address on different private networks. To solve it we developed a novel form of network address which enables us to both access the machine at the private network behind the internet gateway and at the same time keep the network infrastructure secure from out- side tampering. In addition to that packets are encrypted across the untrusted environment and deliv- ered through a firewall to the addressed machine with- out compromising the small businesses network secu- rity.The next challenge was related to changing as lit- tle as possible of the original management software. Due to the architecture of the software used (ITDirec- tor) this was rather easy to achieve. Another require- ment was that new system has to use existing holes in the firewall and existing hardware at remote sites (no new hardware required).

international tax agreements with other countries. We therefore have a key role in helping Canadian business and industry compete in world markets by ensuring they have a fair environment in which to trade. Finally, we are responsible for protecting Canadian society against the illegal movement of goods and people across Canada’s borders. We are committed to helping small businesses in Canada. We recognize that, as entrepreneurs, you are very busy making your business

The article presents the results of the analysis and systematization of publications on the competitive behavior of small businesses in the innovation economy. It is shown that the adoption of innovation activity in small firms is an effective way of mass replication of innovations and is connected with the non-linearity of the innovation process, the need for the accumulation and constant search for new knowledge and the successful adaptation to a changing business environment. In accordance with the presented in the article approach to the analysis of the competitive behavior of a small firm there were highlighted the motives (reasons) incorporating different forms of imitations in its innovation activity, individual objects of imitation, the range of factors affecting the success of the business. Suggestions put forward in this article are the basis of the author’s model of the impact made by innovative solutions on the performance of small businesses using imitations of varying degrees of creativity.

As a small-business leader, you’re aware of the importance of retaining your employees and your company is likely taking strides to better care for your current employees. To contain costs when it comes to benefits, look to private exchanges, the government Figure 7: Percentage of small businesses with self-funded and

Microsoft Office 365 for small businesses is a set of Web-enabled tools that lets you access your e-mail, important documents, contacts and calendars from virtually anywhere and on almost any device. Designed for organisations with 5 to 50 staff, the service brings together online versions of the best communications and collaboration tools from Microsoft plus Microsoft Office Web Apps at a price that small businesses can afford. Office 365 works seamlessly with the programs you already know and use — Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. This is the much-anticipated cloud service that gives small businesses the capabilities and efficiencies to grow and target more rapid success.

At one time, only large companies could afford to have servers because of the cost and complexity of buying, maintaining and administering these special computers. This is no longer the case. New technologies, designed specifi cally for small businesses like yours, provide solutions at lower costs with simplifi ed server administration and maintenance. This allows any business to take advantage of the benefi ts of server computers and client/server networking. So, what can a server do for your business and what benefi ts do you gain?

Order No. 71 requires at least 25 percent of the total dollar value of State contracts to be set aside for eligible small businesses. This percentage goal is an overall program goal for each State contracting agency. State contracting agencies are expected to apply their business judgment when establishing set-aside goals for individual contracts. The rules in this chapter, which expire September 4, 2008, were jointly promulgated by the New Jersey Commerce Commission and the Department of the Treasury. Pursuant to P.L. 2008, c. 27, effective July 1, 2008, the New Jersey Commerce Commission was abolished and its responsibilities under this chapter were

74% of businesses offering apprentices offered them to 16-18 year olds and 19-24 year olds in 2012, compared to just 47% offering apprenticeships to those aged 25 and over. Small businesses were less likely to offer apprentices to the 25 and overs; with 41% of those offering apprentices with 2 to 4 employees offering them to those over 25, compared to 58% of those with 100 or more employees.

Although entrepreneurs often put technology investments aside, assuming they won’t see an immediate return, they can put those concerns to rest regarding the cloud. That’s the message that emerged from the recent Leger research conducted on behalf of Primus Telecommunications. The survey, Embracing the Cloud: Cloud Ser vices Create Small Business Edge , provides a revealing snapshot of attitudes toward the cloud held by IT decision makers at Canadian businesses with fewer than 100 employees. While the majority of Canada’s small businesses started using cloud services only within the past two years, a remarkable 94% report experiencing at least one improvement. The most frequently mentioned benefits are increased mobility, better flexibility for workers, and greater collaboration. An impressive 86% of survey respondents say their business processes have improved thanks to the cloud, and nearly half have seen unexpected positive business changes.

SCORE Philadelphia- Part of national nonprofit dedicated to helping America’s small businesses, SCORE offers free mentoring, advice, materials, and classes to small business owners. We highly suggest any new small business owner schedule a time to speak with a SCORE representative to discuss starting a business.