December 8th, 2009 — sales & marketing | by Wendy Rose
Wow! Business Ready manages to make it through another year and it is all thanks to you! It’s crazy to think that without any marketing we have:
It really has been a true joy and we get excited when we see your comments, feedback and general questions.
As far as the top five blog entries vs. last year (four of the five are the same!) we have:
what is burn rate and how do you calculate it - which doesn’t surprise me given the recession we found ourselves in during 2009;
reimbursable car mileage rate - again, I don’t really get this but I find it amusing that it gets so many hits;
how do I calculate diluted earnings per share - it’s true, once you see the math it all makes sense;
how do I calculate volatility for Black Scholes - this will always be a classic as long as we have to determine fair market value;
what is a W8 BEN? - a new entry to the top 5 as our US customers got tighter on asking for
It was all good fun. As far as us, well, I’ve taken on more clients which has reduced the new product rates and Tanya is handling our European operations out of Portugal which requires a lot of her time. Having said that, we still get really jazzed about helping you out and so this little site, for the little guy, will continue to roll on for 2010 and beyond.
SO, THANK YOU and let’s get your Business Ready!
December 3rd, 2009 — services & support | by Wendy Rose
Inspire: to spur on, impel, motivate. Inspiration: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions - influencing…
Without a doubt every client or opportunity I consider has to inspire me and the vehicle of this inspiration can only be found in the CEO (at my role/level). It seems absurd to have to remind people that inspiration is a key leadership quality! The ability to inspire people to achieve great heights of performance is mandatory for running a small tech company. Passion, purpose, listening and meaning help make leaders inspirational and in turn will get me (the rest of the staff, investors, vendors, etc.) to do about anything for the success of the venture.
seems straight forward … what’s with the emphasis on inspiration today?
I’ve been very fortunate to work with some great CEO’s that inspire me but recently I was approached by an opportunity in which the client wanted me to help (a) raise money and (b) then become their part-time CFO. The idea is interesting and the work would be standard issue but there was something holding me back. And that something was a lack of inspiration. If the CEO doesn’t have passion how can I get them funded? That is the first thing an investor looks for. Also, when you are completely putting in sweat equity inspiration is the only real currency that gets you to show up every day! Why should I work my ass off for someone that is lukewarm on their own idea!?!?
Sure there are loads of management books that I could refer to here to support this thesis but it’s something you already inherently know. Think of this as a reminder.
This CEO is courting some incredible talent in this city to build out her new venture and I’m willing to bet money they will all turn her down because of this lack of inspiration. I have every intention of telling her that’s why I’m turning it down. It’s a shame but it’s a lesson that must be learned.
December 1st, 2009 — general & admin | by Wendy Rose
Who knew payroll changes were going to be such a huge hit on this site (#9 in 2009). So, keeping up with the reference theme here are the changes for 2010:
Per the Canada Revenue Agency (”CRA”) payroll site:
Annual employment insurance to be deducted from employee pay is $747.36 in 2010 (up from $732 in 2009) and the maximum annual canada pension plan amount is $2,163.15 in 2010 (up from $2,119 in 2009). To be clear, the rate at which these amounts are contributed did not change it was the earnings limits that increased which then increased the amount to contribute.
In the United States, the IRS guidance on employment taxes is:
For 2010, the federal rates did not change: 6.2% for social security, 1.45% for medicare, 0.8% for FUTA (when offset by state unemployment payments - the federal rate is actually 6.2%)
As always, please do not forget the employer portion of these payments - and as I’ve mentioned … perhaps it’s time for payroll services?
November 26th, 2009 — general & admin | by Wendy Rose
You may have already noticed that your auditors are a bit more perky (chirpy?) about preparing for their 2009 audits. What you may not know is the reason: effective December 15, 2009 your auditors are being held to a new standard - the Canadian Standards on Quality Control (”CSQC 1“).
Uhm, why do I care?
Fair enough. This doesn’t really apply to us but it will change:
(a) the tone of your audit engagement - which may increase your fees because they are being more thorough; and (b) the “auditors note” at the beginning of your audited financials will be far more robust.
And, finally, I always believe in promoting a collaborative audit process so understanding where your auditors are coming from (e.g. why do they do the things they do?) is always a good thing. If you want to know more check out the Canadian Audit Standards here.
