I know I’m starting to sound like the boy who cried wolf, but I swear that I’m getting closer to actually hiring someone to help run the business. While hiring someone has always scared me, I’m starting to see that the real pain point is payroll.

Sure, there are concerns about hiring the right person, making sure I have insurance, and things like that. But the real issue for me is making sure that I’m able to keep up with payroll. Specifically, it’s taxes that are the biggest concern.

Employers in the U.S. who handle payroll have to deal with paying social security, medicare, and federal unemployment tax. They also have to withhold taxes from the employee (which may include state taxes depending on where you are), and the amount is different for each person. In the oh-so-difficult state of California, there’s also state unemployment and workers comp insurance that has to be paid, for even the first employee. Sound like a headache? That’s nothing.

Tax payments should be made with each payroll run. There are quarterly reports due to the IRS and likely something similar to the state, depending on where you are. Different forms are required for different types of taxes. Then there are the W2s at year-end, along with all the paperwork behind the scenes as well. All in all, we’re talking about dozens of different things that I have to remember to do each year. This is insane.

Fortunately, there are a lot of providers that are willing to help with this and it’s not all that expensive considering all the work that needs to be done. In the end, it seems to me that it doesn’t really matter who does it, as long as it’s not me.

I could do this all myself if I wanted, but that’s a huge waste of my time considering that as a small business, I can get payroll basically automated for less than $100 a month. Some options give more control than others — for example, they may require that you manually approve each employee’s hours worked — but ultimately, any solution that helps is probably going to be well worth the money. More importantly, it makes hiring someone seem much less daunting.

Does your company store private data about your customers and vendors, such as their passwords, credit card details, or social security numbers? If so, even a minor security breach could seriously damage your company’s reputation — and lead to lawsuits.

Take Zappos, for example. The online retailer, which is known for its stellar customer service, got hacked in January, and confidential customer information (including email addresses and passwords) was stolen. Many of Zappos’ 25 million customers were supportive, but one customer has already filed a class-action lawsuit against the company.

Small businesses often fare even worse: 70 percent of small firms that experience a major security breach go out of business within a year, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study cited by SmallBusinessComputing.com.

What can you do to prevent data theft? Try these five strategies.

1. Invest in protection. Security-focused hardware, such as Cisco’s branch routers, can detect network intrusions before hackers have the chance to access your data. Norton Security and other anti-phishing software can detect and erase viruses. The best security measure of all, however, is investing in a consulting session with a network security firm to discuss your company’s vulnerabilities and how you can best protect them.
2. Regulate employees’ use of work computers. Data breaches often occur when employees unknowingly download viruses, install unauthorized software, or transfer work files to their home computers. If your company uses Windows computers, you can use the Windows Registry to deauthorize USB and optical drives to prevent file transfers. (Consult an IT expert on how to do this.) Microsoft Outlook also automatically blocks the download of file types that it recognizes as potentially harmful. Additionally, check your employees’ password strength and ask them to change any weak ones.
3. Encrypt your data. According to a recent survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute for Experian, 60 percent of companies that lost information to a data breach had not encrypted their data. To reduce the likelihood of a network security breach and to reduce your company’s liability in the case that one occurs, it’s important to encrypt your files. SecurityProNews, a newsletter for IT managers, features details on encryption programs available for different computer platforms.
4. Screen your vendors closely. If you provide your vendors or any third-party services with access to confidential data, research their policies carefully to make sure that they comply with security best practices. Even if a vendor causes a data breach, customers are still likely to blame your company if they provided you with their information.
5. Create a contract that protects you from liability in case of a security breach. Work with a law firm that specializes in internet issues to create a contract that can keep you out of hot water in case of data theft. The contract should detail your liability (if any) in various legal situations and cap the amount you can be forced to pay in remedies.

Small businesses have a new suitor for their online advertising dollars: Twitter. The microblogging site recently began unveiling its self-service ad platform for small businesses. Slated to launch in late March, the platform will allow advertisers with leaner budgets to access the Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts features.

To kick things off, Twitter is offering $100 in free ads to the first 10,000 small businesses that register with an American Express card. Not an AmEx cardholder? You’ll have to wait until the self-service ad platform rolls out to everyone. In the meantime, if you do some or all of your advertising online, it might behoove you to keep tabs on the platform’s initial performance.

The exclusive deal with AmEx is reminiscent of the card issuer’s previous partnership with Facebook. That arrangement offered local businesses a similar $100 Facebook Ads credit as part of the first two Small Business Saturday campaigns. The Twitter offer requires businesses to follow @AmericanExpress as part of the registration process.

Only time will tell whether Twitter can deliver a return on relatively small ad buys. But the self-service option certainly gives small businesses another choice. Though Twitter has sold advertising for a while, CNBC points out that it previously required minimum budgets and long-term commitments. Soon anyone with a credit card will be able to run a campaign, just like they can with Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and other popular online channels.

In a blog post announcing the expanding platform, Twitter credited small business users as early, innovative adopters of the site as a whole. “They were the first to use Twitter to talk with consumers in real time, and their creativity demonstrated Twitter’s potential as a marketing platform,” the company says. “Today, some of the most effective marketing campaigns we see come from small, local, or internet-only businesses.”

That’s high praise, but consider the source: The new suitor who’s after your advertising budget’s heart.

The last-minute enactment of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (TPTCCA) in December, 011 made it difficult for many employers to ensure they would be able to correctly calculate social security tax withholding for their first payroll runs of 2012. Additionally, the extension of the payroll tax cut last week might leave small business employers wondering about any adjustments they need to make to their employees’ paychecks.

In this infographic, Intuit’s tax expert Mike D’Avolio outlines the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Extension’s timeline, explains its impact on small businesses, and shares important IRS deadlines for employers to make the appropriate adjustments.

Infographic by Column Five

Whoever said that going digital would usher in a paperless era was sorely mistaken. For many of us, paperwork (account statements, bills, receipts, tax forms, etc.) still pours in every day. The longer we put off dealing with this mountain of pulp, the higher it rises.

Here are seven tips for reducing your paper pile — and for bringing some order to your life and small business.

1. Keep what you need and recycle the rest. We tend to hang onto paper documents for future reference, which is largely unnecessary. Consult with your attorney, accountant, and financial adviser to figure out what to keep and what to recycle.
2. Divide and conquer. Start by separating paperwork into two piles, “action items” and “reference items.” If the item requires action on your part, keep it easily accessible. If it doesn’t, file it for later reference or recycling (and see tip #1).
3. Store important documents away from the rest. Avoid the worst-case scenario of being unable to find vital legal papers and insurance files when you need them. Store valuable documents on-site in a fireproof safe or off-site in a safe-deposit box.
4. Create a filing system that works for you. Get rid of existing files you know you’ll never need, and then sort what you have to keep into broad categories, such as “finances” and “employee records,” so that you can easily find what you’re looking for later on. Other filing tips: Design a master sheet of categories for easy reference. Use staples, rather than paper clips, to keep papers together. File mail and bills as they arrive to avoid losing them in the shuffle.
5. Shred it! Don’t let paper that cries out for shredding accumulate in yet another stack on your desk. Keep your shredder within reach and immediately eliminate unneeded items or documents that contain personal information.
6. Schedule a time to open mail. Instead of going through your mail at random moments, schedule a regular time to open correspondence, review its contents, and act as needed. Put your financial obligations first: pay bills and balance the checkbook before tackling other issues. Throw out the advertisements, fliers, and other junk that comes with the bills. Staying on top of this daily chore will free up valuable time for other tasks.
7. Stem the tide of junk mail. Do you still receive magazines that you never read? Did you sign up once for a catalogue and it’s never stopped coming? Cancel your subscriptions and instruct businesses to stop sending those catalogues.  DirectMail.com offers a National Do Not Mail List, where you can register to stop getting mail you don’t want. The list is supplied to mass mailers so they can check it against their mailing lists and remove the names that appear on both lists.

One paperwork-reduction expert advocates the “FAR” approach: file, action, and recycle. Store what you’ll need for later reference in one file, keep action items in another, and recycle the rest. Whatever system you use, addressing the mountain of paperwork now means a lot less stress and wasted time later.

Have you been waiting on many of your clients’ checks for months after their due dates?

If so, you’re not alone: 26 percent of the 1,000 entrepreneurs who responded to the November 2011 Intuit Small Business Survey said that waiting for late customer payments was the most difficult aspect of being a small-business owner. Meanwhile, 25 percent said that they spend as much as three to five hours each week invoicing and chasing down overdue payments. And nearly 75 percent of small-business owners said that improving their cash flow would help their companies.

If you think that quicker payment collection would lead to improved growth for your own small business, try these five strategies:

1. Send out regular automated statements. Set up an automated billing system that will notify your customers when their payments are due and follow up on a weekly basis until the invoice has been paid. This will keep your customers up to date, and the impersonal nature of the automated system should prevent your reminders from causing rifts in the business relationship.
2. Contact the person who handles payments. If you’re working with anyone other than a sole proprietor, ask who handles accounts payable for the company. Send your invoices directly to that person to avoid needlessly waiting for payment simply because your contact forgot to forward your invoice to the proper person.
3. Offer an early payment discount. Some vendors offer their customers payment terms that include a 10- or 15-day prompt payment discount period, in which they might reduce the total payment due by 1 or 2 percent. You’ll lose a little bit of income if clients take you up on your offer — but faster access to capital may be worth the expense, especially if you’d otherwise need to take out a loan to cover operating expenses.
4. Charge late fees. When you contract with clients, include a section related to late fees, in which you state the interest percentage you plan to charge on overdue bills, capping the total amount to 10 percent interest per year. (In some states, this is the maximum interest rate permitted by law.) Talk with a business lawyer to draft a suitable contract.
5. Collect electronic payments. Many customers are quicker to process payments electronically than cut a check. On the online Intuit PaymentNetwork, people typically receive payment within 10 days of sending invoices. This compares to an average of 27 days for collecting payment through all methods. Using this method, you can display a payment link or button on your invoice, website or email and enable your customer to settle bills immediately. You can have payments deposited directly into your bank account for only 50 cents a transaction, no matter the invoice amount. It’s a streamlined way to manage your own payment system, too: “When contractors submit invoices, I can pay them with a click of a button,” says Jennifer Bonfilio, president and CEO of Coast 2 Coast Captioning, who uses the Intuit PaymentNetwork to pay vendors. “It’s fast and easy. No paper, no printing, no checks.”

   Check out this limited time offer – get $25 when you sign up and are approved to receive payments through Intuit PaymentNetwork.

Third-party collection agencies recovered approximately $44.6 billion in post-commission debt in 2010, according to a study done by Ernst & Young [PDF]. In many cases, businesses would have written off that money if it weren’t for the collectors’ efforts.

Using a debt collector has some obvious advantages, but you should be aware of the disadvantages, too. Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons.

The Pros

• Debt collectors can collect when you can’t. Delinquent debtors may not respond to your collection efforts, but put a professional on the job and the bills often get paid. According to Barney Zeng, senior vice president and general manager of Transworld Systems, 80 percent of debt that’s collected within the first 30 days is done so by the original creditor, but once the debt becomes delinquent, a professional debt collector has the advantage. That’s because they’re generally more consistent and assertive, he notes. The Huffington Post says that the collection industry has about a 20 percent recovery rate on delinquent debt.
• Debt collectors free up your time and resources. “Debt collection can be very time-consuming,” Zeng notes, “especially for the small-business owner who would prefer to practice their chosen profession. Contacting slow-paying accounts means sending letters and making phone calls.” He says that you’ll have to make a lot of calls and leave a lot of messages, and to complicate things, most people have caller ID, which makes it tricky if they’re trying to avoid you.
• Debt collectors have tools that you don’t. Effective debt collectors use advanced tools to help locate and communicate with debtors, using new telephone technologies and third-party sources that grant access to debtor information, Zeng says. In addition, they are in constant communication with debtors through written and verbal means.

The Cons

• Debt collectors charge a hefty fee. You’ll pay to have your delinquent accounts professionally collected, but Zeng says that most collection agencies charge a contingency fee — or a percentage of what they collect (from 25 to 50 percent for small businesses, depending on the type of debt). But he stresses that the fee shouldn’t be your only consideration: You should look at the return on your investment, references and referrals for the collection agency, and the amount of convenience it offers. For instance, does the agency have a website equipped with the reports you need? “If you pay a slightly higher fee rate, you might be getting more money collected,” Zeng says. “Said another way, a lower fee rate on zero dollars collected is zero.”
• Debt collectors may affect client relations. A debt collector who lacks communication skills may create ill will between you and your customer. Just because a client is in a financial bind today doesn’t mean that he won’t come back strong in the future. If he’s been treated rudely by someone who represents you, he’ll likely look elsewhere for his needs. Zeng says that debt collectors should “always comply with regulations and be respectful.” His company even sends a thank-you letter to debtors who pay up. But realistically speaking, any account turned over to a debt collector is unlikely to return to you for future business.
• Debt collectors may get you into trouble. Collections for business accounts are not governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act [PDF] — the law that dictates how agencies can collect from consumers. But there are laws and regulations that business debt collectors must follow; every state has its own set of rules. Depending on the situation, Zeng says, an original creditor may be held responsible if the collection agency breaks the law in its collection efforts. For instance, a collection agency must be properly licensed in the states or jurisdictions where it tries to collect, he says. To protect yourself from anything negative a collector might do, he advises that you ask for a hold harmless agreement in your contract with the agency.

Kris Fillat, owner of The GoodOnYa Bar in San Diego, Calif., was the February 2011 winner of a $25,000 Intuit hiring grant through the Love a Local Business campaign. This week, the Intuit Small Business Blog caught up with Fillat to talk about how her small business has benefited from the prize money.

“We were coming home from a snowboarding trip, and she [an Intuit representative] called us while we were in the airport, and I freaked out,” Fillat remembers. “I couldn’t believe it.”

According to the health-food advocate and former U.S. Olympic athlete, the grant helped the deli owner not only reward her loyal staffers, but also ramp up production of the popular organic nutrition bars she’s been making for more than 10 years.

Raising the Bar

“Things are great. I’m blown away by what we were able to do with the grant. The grant enabled us to help take the production into this new facility, which is amazing,” Fillat says, noting that the first production run in the new digs took place in mid-January.

The grant helped the company buy wrappers, boxes, and ingredients to make several production runs. The surge in production will help to keep the company growing — and its dedicated employees on the payroll. “We’re a small deli. Some of our employees have been with us for eight to ten years, and they don’t make a lot of money,” Fillat says.

“I just think it’s amazing from a small-business perspective to see a company like Intuit, who we’ve been with the whole time we’ve been in business — through QuickBooks and Payroll as well — helping small companies,” she adds. “And we hope we can do something like that one day.”

What Could Your Small Business Do With $25,000?

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to log on and nominate your small business for a chance to win the next $25,000 Love a Local Business hiring grant from Intuit.

Introducing Americans to a brand from another country is no easy task. Even if consumers are vaguely familiar with its name, tweaking and lots of explanation — whether through a product’s design or packaging — may be necessary. Spending time on positioning can be frustrating when you are eager to start selling. But it’s essential.

Just ask Pierre-Louis Giacotto, who was instrumental in launching the luxury hotel brand Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts. Radisson Blu, which is based in Brussels and run by The Rezidor Hotel Group, operates properties throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. In November, Giacotto unveiled the brand’s first U.S. hotel, the Radisson Blu Aqua, inside a glittery 81-story high-rise tower along downtown Chicago’s lakefront.

The Intuit Small Business Blog recently caught up with Giacotto to talk about how to launch a European brand in America and the importance of hospitality in a business traveler’s life.

ISBB: What do Americans expect in a hotel stay that Europeans don’t? Are there differences between the two demographics? 

Giacotto: Americans expect more technology-driven designs in their hotel experience, as it is becoming a way of life for many of them. We decided to offer more technology than you normally would expect. We partnered with Intellity to provide complete IT access from room service to wake-up call, valet parking, information … all at the touch of a button. We did not however, completely remove the “human” touch, as we have a full-service concierge staff.

Opening a hotel is a huge project with lots of long-term planning and last-minute adaptations. How do you keep staff informed? 

The key to communication is to use as many mediums as possible, because people react differently to different approaches. I had a lot of one-on-one meetings, but I also held town-hall meetings, sent newsletters and memos, and used technology to communicate with everyone. I personally interviewed all employees before they started, and I liked that I was able to share with them, first-hand, my expectations.

How did your European upbringing and experience prepare you for translating (beyond language) directives from the European managers to employees in Chicago? Was it important to have someone like you on hand to bridge that gap?

I hope that my European upbringing and training was one of the factors of me being here. I live and breathe hospitality. I love to be of service to others, and I want my staff to have the same passion. I am known for letting all new employees know that if they are not passionate about serving others, no matter the position, then they should find another job. This notion of service is what we call “hospitality,” and that’s what I am bringing to the table, genuine European hospitality.

Were there challenges to introducing a European brand to the U.S.? Or was Radisson Blu a slam-dunk concept, such as England’s Topshop or Sweden’s IKEA, which were met with enthusiasm and already familiar to many consumers?

I am not sure it is a “slam dunk,” but it definitely has its advantages, as we provide more than a hotel. We provide an entire experience of service and design that you don’t see in standard American hotels. I believe Americans today travel much more than the previous generation did. They are more accustomed to new concepts and cultures. They accept new trends and new concepts much better and with more enthusiasm.

What were some of the challenges in opening Radisson Blu?

Since we wanted to have a one-of-a-kind hotel, with the knowledge that this is the first of many more Radisson Blus to open, it was imperative that we look at all the possibilities: new vendors, new technology, and new products. This process was much more time-consuming… and meant hiring the right people, at the right time, to do the work in a timely matter to meet all the deadlines. We also wanted to ensure that even as we were bringing a product “raised” in Europe, it had to meet the American market standards. We looked at the European standards and decided what we would keep and what we would change or enhance for the market. We now have decisions made for future openings that will enable us to be even more productive.

Has the world of business travel changed amid economic recession? How have hotels, including yours, responded to still meet guests’ needs?

Guests are much more savvy when it comes to traveling, shopping, dealing, and comparing. There are far more tools for them to use and study before making purchases. Therefore, we need to be the ones providing the information to guests — and not rely as much on others, who may not give the entire story or all the information.

We put a big emphasis on our brand image, what we put out there. People use the internet for many things, and we need to see what people are saying about us and we need to respond. That shows commitment to quality and to improving our product to better meet the needs of our guests. People are looking for deals, but they can also see when we offer value.

The importance of small businesses to the nation’s economic recovery has been the focus of serious debate in the 2012 presidential race, which made us wonder: How many U.S. presidents have had actual experience leading a small business? How many have done well in their ventures?

Here’s a look at ten U.S. presidents and their forays into entrepreneurship.

George Washington (1789-1797). A year after leaving office, the founding father built a whiskey distillery on his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. A decade later, the distillery ranked among the largest in the country, producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year. Washington also operated commercial fisheries and expanded the family property from 2,000 to 8,000 acres. His mill produced flour and sold it (along with the whiskey) under the name George Washington’s Gristmill & Distillery, making these among the earliest branded food and spirit products.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865). The president who led the country during the Civil War was originally a lawyer and an entrepreneur. In 1833, he and a business partner opened a general store in New Salem, Ill. The venture faltered a year later, and Lincoln was stuck with his partner’s $1,000 debt. Lincoln understood that failure in business offered powerful lessons about character building and persistence. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure,” he once said.

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). The 17th president of the U.S. owned a tailor shop in Greeneville, Tenn., a popular place to gather and discuss politics. He also saw the value in owning land: With the help of his wife, Eliza, Johnson invested wisely in the purchase of local real estate and farmland.

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923). Long before becoming president in 1921, Harding studied the newspaper trade in college and, with partners, purchased the Marion Daily Star in Ohio. By the time he was 23 years old, Harding owned the newspaper outright. Its success helped fund his presidential bid, and in 1923 he sold the paper for $550,000 (in today’s figures, roughly $7 million). The Marion Star, still published today, is now owned and operated by Gannett Co.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933). A graduate of Stanford University, Hoover began his career as a mining consultant and invented a process to extract zinc that was lost during the mining process. His firm, Zinc Corp., eventually opened offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, and St. Petersburg (Russia). Zinc Corp. was a predecessor company of the Rio Tinto Company, now part of the Rio Tinto Group. As a self-made millionaire, Hoover believed strongly in “rugged individualism” and “self-reliance” as keys to success in business.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945). A victim of polio, Roosevelt raised funding to turn a hydrotherapy treatment program in Warm Springs, Ga., into a healing center for other polio victims. Today, the spa — known as the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation — is dedicated to service, technology, education, and R&D that benefits people with disabilities.

Harry Truman (1945-1953). The nation’s 33rd president returned home after serving in World War I and, with a partner, opened the Truman and Jacobson haberdashery in Kansas City in 1919. Although the store closed three years later (due to the postwar recession), Truman never declared bankruptcy and eventually paid off the business’s loans. His experience as an entrepreneur influenced his views on leadership and responsibility. “I learned that a great leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do and like it,” he said.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981). One-term president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter started his career on the family peanut farm after a stint in the U.S. Navy. In the years that followed, he expanded the farm into a multimillion dollar business, including warehouses, a peanut-shelling plant, and farm equipment and supplies. Carter took pride in being known as “the peanut farmer from Georgia.”

George H.W. Bush (1989-1993). The first President Bush started the Bush-Overby Oil Development company in 1951. He later co-founded another venture, the Zapata Petroleum Corp., which made him a millionaire. “The fact is, prosperity has a purpose,” Bush said, accepting the Republican nomination for president in 1988. “It’s to allow us to pursue ‘the better angels,’ to give us time to think and grow.”

George W. Bush (2001-2009). Like his father, the 43rd president was closely involved in the oil and gas business. He started Arbusto Energy (later renamed Bush Exploration) in 1978. After the business merged with Spectrum 7 Energy Corp., he served as chairman and CEO. Using funds from his oil ventures, Bush and a group of investors in 1989 purchased a controlling interest in the Texas Rangers baseball team. He served as the team’s managing general partner before resigning in 1994 to run for state governor. (He held onto his minority stake in the team until 1998, when he sold his share for $15 million.)

Clearly, some presidents were more successful than others in their business endeavors. Nonetheless, perhaps Ronald Reagan summed it up best when he said, “Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.”