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Future Business Opportunities in Space – Business Ideas

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Space exploration and investment are at a peak not seen since the Cold War. And thanks to the efforts of private companies, there have never been so many investment prospects on offer. We look at some of the best business opportunities in the space industry.

The Space Industry Is Booming, and There’s No Shortage of Business Opportunities

You may not be aware of it, but we are currently living in an era of business opportunities in space exploration and investment that hasn’t been seen since the Cold War.

Following the Moon landing in 1969, enthusiasm for investment in space technology gradually cooled. For decades, shuttles rusted in hangars in the deserts of Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, the US redirected NASA funds to other government projects.

Today, however, interest is once again growing in the potential of space exploration. A number of aerospace company UK projects have seen great success. Investors are once again throwing money at research and development related to space.

As a result, there’s no shortage of business opportunities in space for anyone with the vision to look to the future and see the potential of the space industry. We’re going to look at a few current developments and reliable predictions for how to identify business opportunities in space.

Image from ThisIsEngineering on Pexels

Space Mining Offers Huge Off-Planet Business Potential

Analysis of asteroids has revealed that a remarkable number of alloys and elements could be harvested from them. Given the limited resources on our own planet, business opportunities related to space mining are worth considering. The concept and the industry are still in their infancy. However, it seems certain that we will see notable developments in the near future, along with potential new business opportunities in space.

AI Analysis Is the Only Way to Process Space Data

Big data analytics have already made a big difference in the world of business and marketing. These same AI technologies promise to be incredibly useful when applied to the space industry. In fact, they could be the best business opportunities in space.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW WILL BIG DATA AND AI TRANSFORM THE B2B WORLD?

Scientists are still working on analyzing data sent back from the Challenger probe in 1977. The sheer volume of information and its potential importance mean that experts need to closely examine every single detail.

AI programs can sift through huge amounts of data in seconds to give accurate predictions. And big data analytics can provide a valuable understanding of the massive amount of information from satellites, telescopes, and other space technology. The business opportunities of using AI analytical software are already evident. If you’re looking for reliable solutions in the world of tech investment, AI algorithms are valuable not just for the space industry but for any sphere.

More Information About Space Reveals Impressive Business Opportunities

Image from Pixabay on Pexels

As we’ve already mentioned, there are ample business opportunities for anyone looking to invest in data analysis. But beyond that, access to information itself offers plenty of beneficial options.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO OVERCOME 4 COMMON PITFALLS OF DATA QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Thanks to the internet, people all around the world—not just specialists—can collaborate to solve significant problems and make valuable discoveries. If you can put yourself in a position to monetize space-related data, there are serious business opportunities for you. Whether it means providing a regular publication, harvesting space data and images, or any other way of letting curious people access information, the world is your oyster!

Efficient Fuel Drives the Space Industry

It’s easy to forget that our ventures into space depend on one thing: energy. Every single satellite, shuttle, and rocket requires the most sophisticated possible form of fuel to launch it into space.

In the past, research and development in this area were limited to government agencies. Today, however, it’s anyone’s game. Therefore, opportunities in space industry technology are open to everyone. Elon Musk and SpaceX are the most familiar names, but there’s a whole host of other outfits competing to develop the most effective space technology.

There are many business opportunities with regard to developing effective, affordable, and efficient fuel and energy sources that can be used in the space industry. Most of these have similarly useful applications in civilian and Earth-based fields, meaning that any investment can see significant returns.

Business Opportunities in Space Are Opening Up Now

These are just a few of the possible future business opportunities in space opening up to us as the industry goes through its renaissance. The major difference today, in comparison to the initial Cold War boom in space exploration, is that private companies are now, in many ways, at the forefront. As a result, there are far more business opportunities and no end of different ways to invest in the future. The above should give you a good overview of what to expect in both the short and long term. However, it’s a constantly evolving industry, and only time will tell what future business opportunities may open up.

RELATED ARTICLE: 6 WAYS TO PRODUCTIVELY GROW AND MANAGE YOUR BUSINESS

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This network of specialists offers an option for event planners to survive the pandemic

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7 min read

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Seven years ago, Mauricio Vázquez, Oscar Vega and Daniel Müller wanted to get away from the world of traditional event planning agencies. For this reason, the three friends came together to form a different model to a traditional meeting planner that focused on the specialized follow-up of clients in each step of the planning process.

This is how Yo Planner was born, a network of specialist event organizers that helps its clients in the search, negotiation and operation of specific events such as convention groups, incentive trips and conferences.

“It is a risk to start from scratch, not to have a salary and yet with the experience and the clients that they have brought to the company, they have done very well. Little by little we grew. For almost five years we were approximately 13 people and in the last two months, slightly more than double ”, said Daniel Müller, managing partner of Yo Planner in an interview with Entrepreneur en Español .

The three entrepreneurs began serving previous clients of hotels or agencies who had already worked independently and little by little they were able to bring together people they already knew within this industry and who stood out for their talent.

Daniel Müller, managing partner of Yo Planner / Image: Courtesy Yo Planner

Yo Planner is a model in which it is very similar to direct sales or the thinking of the insurance model, but it is continuously monitored to provide a solid experience that helps to find clients and the expected service. The company only earns from the commission of the suppliers it uses, such as hotels, operators, production companies, DMCs, etc., because when they bring a convention to a hotel their clients receive a percentage of the total payment.

The company offers, among other things:

  • Free and personalized advice for groups, companies, conventions and individuals.
  • Negotiation of the best rates and contractual conditions.
  • Booking engine for groups.
  • Ranking of hotels and cruises.

“We formed this network of specialists, – people who have knowledge about cruises, travel-, of different types of people and ages, who no longer wanted to be in normal agencies or who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, decided to enter with our model ”, says the businessman.

An alternative in the pandemic

The difference that Yo Planner has with traditional agencies is the talent they have. Its network is made up of more than 30 people who are experts in different branches and complement each other to give the client a round experience. His advice does not generate any extra cost since they make commercial deals on behalf of clients to achieve the best price and quality.

“Let’s say that I do the convention of your company; I do business for you. I do everything to get you the best deals with our suppliers. As a customer it does not cost you our services because we are protected by a commission. If the hotel pays me in the end $ 100, 50 goes for the planner and 50 for our company, “explains Müller.

Unlike a traditional agency, Yo Planner specialists do not have a salary, however, they earn from the commissions we have with all providers. For example, one of our planners makes a convention in Cancun, we negotiate for our clients with all the services related to the event (the hotel, the transporter, the activities, the production, etc.) and “in a transparent way to our client does not we increase our prices, we make deals with the best contractual conditions with our suppliers and we earn a commission from these services and therefore also our network ”, says Müller.

Yo Planner does not have offices, so its way of operating has not changed, everything is managed remotely; This part has been worked for seven years since it began.

“In the network the activities that not all of us master are complemented, for example, in the middle of tourism there are too many products and services, which is difficult to know about everything, however, we have experts with whom we can help our clients. There are people who are very good at operating events, who know about congresses, event production, incentive trips, in the same way we have also formed in recent years people who like our model who are travel agents, who do not necessarily have to do a group, an event or a convention, but they do the vacation and tourism part through us, that is also why we have grown ”, says the executive.


Yo Planner Team / Image: Courtesy Yo Planner

Prepare for the “New Normal”

One of the goals they have in the short term is to reactivate the event industry that is now halted by the pandemic. Currently, they are in training and meeting new providers of all the sanitary measures that they are taking with the events. Also learning more about virtual conferences and being prepared for any changes.

“Once it is reactivated, we want to continue developing the network in terms of talent, clients and suppliers. These are the three parts that we see growing, we were working very well in 2019 and what started in 2020, but because of the pandemic everything stopped, we have not necessarily had events, but more people have joined, people who like how we work and that they can continue their career. We have people over 40 or 50 years old that right now it might be very difficult for them to be hired again in a company, with us they have the opportunity not to start from scratch, join a team of professionals and continue doing what they most appreciate. like, the organization of events and trips ”, says Müller.

The managing partner mentions that an entrepreneur is one who has a great capacity for endurance and more at this time, since he considers that the companies that come out of this pandemic are going to strengthen themselves. So it is a point of equilibrium, in which you stopped doing what you were doing to have other income, either with another type of business or job or give everything for your company, believe in the project and continue.

“Keep knocking on doors, that is what any entrepreneur has to do, look for the opportunities that appear, we in this pandemic had the chance to grow because of the people who lost their jobs, there are valuable people, so it is important not to give up, never leave your idea, if you believe in it, is to continue with the desire to get ahead ”, adds Müller.

“We would love for people who are in the tourism or meetings industry and who are looking to continue their career, to join our network, to contact us on our page and also give us the opportunity to get to know our agency. and please give us the pleasure of helping them in their next events ”, concludes Müller.

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Rustam Gilfanov’s 6 Key IT Startup Tips You Need to Know

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Featured image by jirehg from Pixabay

It is not so difficult to come up with an idea for a IT startup. However, it is challenging to come up with an original idea that would generate demand that people would be willing to pay for.

In this article, IT businessman and investor, Rustam Gilfanov, shares simple methods of testing the idea of almost any IT startup, from a small application to a large software product. No matter how much experience you have and how confident you are in your idea, you should never neglect these six key steps.

RELATED ARTICLE: SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING TIPS FOR STARTUPS

1. Conduct Research

The easiest way to research IT startup ideas is to open a search engine and look for information about similar projects. You can even find similar topics on forums or YouTube. Find out whether someone has done this idea before and whether their efforts were successful. If not, check what they did wrong and how you can avoid these types of errors.

It is also worth exploring information about current trends in startups, business models, unit economics, metrics, and marketing.

2. Make Sure There Is Enough Demand In the Market

Most startups fail because of a lack of demand from the market. You need to be sure that your idea will help people solve their real problems. Plus, these problems should be relevant for more than a handful of individuals.

To quickly assess the demand in the market, you can turn to the analysis of search query statistics. Simply enter keywords and get their statistics, demand dynamics, and similar search phrases.

RELATED ARTICLE: STARTUPS: HOW TO START A JUNK REMOVAL BUSINESS

3. Talk to Your Target Audience

Do not regard your friends and acquaintances as your target audience for your IT startup. First, they are subjective. Second, they are not numerous enough. You want to focus on your potential customers. Create a Google questionnaire or a survey on social networks, go to a thematic forum to gather input on your target audience and future customers.

4. Know Your Startup’s Rivals

If you have never created similar products before and have not worked in the target niche, find people who have already succeeded in this sphere. So, by studying the cases of your competitors, you can learn how other companies in the industry solve similar problems and what you can borrow from them. Do not be afraid of competition and do not try to avoid it. It’s also important not to copy existing startups. Always think about how to meet customer needs faster and cheaper.

5. Create a Landing Page

You can do this even without an MVP. All you need is to get a vision of your future product. At this stage, you have to spend money on advertising, but checking the idea will give you more confidence in the relevance of your product. It is enough to register a domain, create a landing page in any site constructor, add a feedback form, connect web analytics and analyze the information received. It is very likely that you will adjust your strategy based on user feedback.

6. Know How to Make Money from Your Startup Idea

Even the strongest idea can end in nothing if you do not know how to make money on your product. You need to understand how to monetize a startup, what potential market size your product has and how many customers you need to attract to reach the break-even point.

Who Is Rustam Gilfanov?

Rustam Gilfanov is a co-founder of an IT company, IT businessman and international investor.In 2006, Rustam Gilfanov, together with his partners, opened an international outsourcing IT company in Kyiv. Today, this company is the largest developer of software for the gaming, marketing and finance industries.

RELATED ARTICLE: 5 KEY THINGS ALL NEW STARTUPS NEED

The post Rustam Gilfanov’s 6 Key IT Startup Tips You Need to Know appeared first on Business Opportunities.

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What Should I Read for Business or Pleasure? The 4 quadrants to Choose Your Next Great Book.

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This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Two weeks ago we talked about the 5 Minute Challenge to start reading. As you know, the habit of reading is one of the definitive habits of successful people. Just as we correctly insist on the need to take care of our body with exercise and a balanced diet, it is essential for the growth of any entrepreneur to take advantage of the power of reading to:

  • Increase your critical and thinking capacity.
  • Activate the brain.
  • Search for new solutions.
  • Arouse permanent curiosity.
  • Stimulate creativity.
  • Take advantage of the time.
  • Raise your coefficient of influence.
  • Keep up to date.

Millions of people around the world have set themselves the challenge of getting into the habit of reading with spectacular results. If you haven’t started, start today.

If you have already started and little by little you are discovering the power of the habit of reading, very soon you will find yourself with an important question: What do I read?

Each person has their own reading itinerary; because each person is unique. Your tastes, your businesses, your interests, your hobbies, are only yours. Although it is always good to ask for the recommendation and advice of someone you trust or admire , it is also true that only you can decide what to read throughout your life.

The habit of reading is not formed with a list of “must-read books” or forced readings that you have to read for no reason. While there are books that I think everyone would benefit from reading, I will not be the one to dictate the titles. I believe that the habit must have two characteristics: first, that it always keeps your spirit of curiosity burning; and second, that it helps you grow as a person, both spiritually and professionally.

As Dr. Isolino Doval stated, reading a lot does not necessarily make you a better person. There are people who read a lot and are unhappy, or bad. Wow: Hitler was a great reader. The habit of reading, to put it in some way, is a muscle that you can exercise, and that can give you a lot of strength. How you exercise that muscle and what you do with it will be entirely up to you. Don’t waste time reading junk. My recommendation: read good, original, creative and constructive things that help you grow, and then give you strength to push your business and improve the lives of those around you.

Okay, but what do I read?

I have come across many people with this same concern. What do I read? and the answer is always the same: it depends.

It depends on who you are; what do you like; what are your talents, your interests, your hobbies, your heroes; what is your business and what books have you read before. We are all in a different place. If you’ve never read anything, you may want to start with a classic light novel, like The Little Prince or Momo. Or for an anthology of Arreola short stories or a finance classic like the Richest Man in Babylon. There are thousands of options, but really, really, it depends on what you want and where you want to walk.

To make things easier for me, I designed a quadrant system that allows me, at the same time, to delve into the topics that I am passionate about, stay entertained and discover new things. This reading matrix What do I read? It is reflected in the following graph:

 

The graph is made up of the quadrants that occupy the spaces between two axes : the growth-pleasure axis and the fiction-non-fiction axis.

Then assign a week of the month to each quadrant and voila. It allows us to choose new books and readings that meet our personal and business needs.

It doesn’t matter, for now, if you read one book a week or one a month. The concept remains the same, and follow the quadrants in this order:

First week: fiction + grow

To get the month off to a good start, look for a fiction book – that is, short stories, novels, etc. – that is both exciting and useful. Among these we can find historical novels, fictionalized biographies and essential classics.

Maybe you have a problem with the word “classics” because some teacher in high school forced you to read Homer’s Iliad and do an exhaustive analysis that put your eyes out of your ears, but I hope you soon lose your fear. The truth is that most of the classics are for a reason and many were the bestsellers of their own time. Dickens, Twain, Chesterton, Hemingway, Cervantes, and thousands of classic novels are a good place to start because they are often easy to find, inexpensive and mostly brilliant editions.

Second week: non-fiction + growing up

With the engines running, this week look for a book that will help you grow personally or professionally. Personally, autobiographies are among my favorites; but you will also find great biographies of outstanding men and women; personal growth books to form habits of all kinds: financial, business, health or interpersonal relationships. Little by little you will realize that everything is connected.

Also look for books that help you improve your business skills: communication, sales, programming, accounting or big data. It all depends on what your profession and your business are. School ends when it ends, but education never ends. Advance in your career and grow your business!

Don’t think that this means they have to be boring. If you’re in the right business for you, these books will be interesting, exciting, and engaging.

Third week: fiction + pleasure

This is the “free” week, where you can read absolutely whatever you want; it does not matter if it is a deep or simple novel, or if it is the most cultured classic in the universe. This week it is: read to be happy.

Are vampires in love your thing? The wizards who live in a castle? The London detectives? The ghosts? The love? Ahead! Read what you really enjoy and don’t worry about the rest.

This week is, perhaps, the most important in terms of getting into the habit, because it allows you to have fun, relax, and discover the authors that will become your favorites. Not everything is study and exercise!

Fourth week: non-fiction + pleasure

Personally, my favorite week, where we can learn new things, discover new topics and connect previous knowledge applicable in new areas of knowledge.

The idea here is to explore topics that are not your core business but that connect on some level with your passions, your tastes, your talents or your dreams. It’s a brilliant way to open your eyes to new things, boost creativity, and think outside the box!

If you are, for example, an engineer, this week “engineers” books are prohibited. The same for any profession. This week read about opera, philosophy, dinosaurs, cupcakes, Amazon beetles, or the history of an unknown country. Get out of your usual zone and go on an adventure trip that will fill you with energy and new ideas.

And then … start over:

5 questions and answers: rules for reading

There are some questions that I constantly hear. Maybe they give you an idea!

  1. Can I read what I want? – Yes, but you can also read really cool stuff. Nobody forbids you to play in the garbage can if that is what you want, but you may be interested in visiting the beach or traveling the world. It is not about prohibiting, but about taking advantage.
  2. Do I have to finish every book I start? – No. My personal rule is fifty pages. If the book hasn’t caught up with me then I move on to the next one on the list. There are books that I have left at three pages! You are completely free.
  3. Is there a mandatory book? Nothing is mandatory, but I think there are highly recommended books for each person, depending on their situation. A friend who knows you and likes to read can recommend some classics in your area. Look for ideas at goodreads.com
  4. Paper, digital or audiobook? Many people fight over this, but it is an unnecessary discussion. I prefer paper, but I read a lot on digital and listen to audiobooks in the car. I also prefer live theater, but that doesn’t mean I don’t go to the movies or watch Netflix. They are different experiences for different times: they are all great and are the best gift on almost any occasion.
  5. Are the books underlined? Another capital discussion. It depends on each one. I light up my books, make notes and arrows; but I don’t fold the sheets. Long live freedom. Of course … if they lend you a book, don’t scratch it! And please … give it back!

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Millennials Can’t Get Enough of This Tableware Brand

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Kathryn Duryea didn’t want Ikea dishes, and she didn’t want fancy china. And she bet other people her age felt the same.


4 min read

This story appears in the
March 2020
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The tableware industry is enormous and old — a $7 billion space dominated by high-end legacy brands and low-cost plates from the likes of IKEA. Is there room for more? Kathryn Duryea once worked in brand management at Tiffany & Co., where she was part of that old guard, but then she saw a new opening: “We’re in a moment of women embracing leadership and entrepreneurship, but there’s still a desire to build community at home through entertaining,” she says. That led her to create Year & Day, a modern, minimalist tableware brand that has raised $3.5 million in funding and attracted a celebrity clientele, and is growing revenue 40 percent every quarter. Here’s how she created a new place at a very crowded table.

1. Spot the opportunity.

Duryea had inherited her mom’s beloved dinnerware, but it all shattered during a move. That’s when she decided to build her own collection. “It felt like a right-hand-ring moment: I was a woman of a certain professional stature, and I wanted to treat myself,” she says. But the marketplace wasn’t serving her need. Everything felt outdated, generic, and suited to a lifestyle she couldn’t relate to. She — and other women her age — didn’t want boring everyday dishes and fancy dishes for special occasions only. She wanted tableware for every day and every occasion, and she wanted it to feel like a treat. 

Related: 6 Ways Millennials Have Changed Business Practices

2. Fill in the gaps.

Duryea’s background is in branding and business; she worked with nearly every department at Tiffany & Co., and has an MBA from Stanford. She quickly assembled a small team of copywriters and art directors to help build her brand aesthetic, and she designed her ideal product herself. From there, she knew she needed help. “Production was the area where I had zero expertise,” she says. “So I networked and networked until a friend connected me with someone who could help me navigate that world.” 

Image Credit: Courtesy of Year & Day

3. Defend your vision.

To appeal to her target customer — young, professional, socially minded — she wanted to create an ethical supply chain. She toured nine factories in Europe to find her match, armed with an obsessively detailed pitch deck to convince storied suppliers to work with her. But once she had an agreement, she still had to fight for respect. “Our supplier kept pushing our product back,” she says. “My husband and I were overseas for a wedding, and I showed up unannounced at the factory because I was like, I still haven’t seen samples. That got the process moving.” 

Related: Larabar’s Founder Stocked Shelves at Whole Foods to Learn About Retail

4. Invest in experience.

Year & Day would sell direct to consumer, but Duryea wanted to do more than just present a bunch of dishes, glasses, and flatware online. She wanted to help shoppers understand their own needs across multiple categories. “That’s why we did not build on Shopify,” she says. “We couldn’t get that kind of customer-focused functionality.” She met with more than 50 web design firms before partnering with one called Dynamo, which helped build, for example, a playful quiz to guide customers to their ideal product combinations, which has been taken more than 100,000 times.

Related: 8 Examples of Brilliant Instagram Marketing

5. Target ideal influencers.

Ahead of launch, Duryea saw Eva Chen — a fashion exec and personality with 1.3 million Instagram followers — post that one of her life goals was to have matching dinnerware. When we launch, we’re sending this to Eva, Duryea thought. She did, and Chen unboxed her plates on Instagram, helping Year & Day’s visibility skyrocket. “I credit her with breaking the brand,” Duryea says. Mandy Moore, Cara and Poppy Delevingne, and others soon followed.

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How to Improve Efficiency in a Law Company – Technology

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Law firms’ archaic practices are rapidly giving way to innovation as the American Bar Association approves new technologies, including AI, for their work. In fact, the entire industry is set to experience continuous change. With so much disruption afoot, how can a modern law company become more efficient?

The basis of competition in legal work today resides in efficiency. Client expectations and impatience drive demand higher and higher as transparency and profitability come into view for law firms. Below are some practices the most successful law firms are putting into place.

1. Rely on Self-Analysis and Process Optimization in Your Law Company

Track the Time Your Legal Work Takes

The key to efficiency is knowing your firm. Having each member of the team track their time allows you to understand exactly where you experience inefficiency and bottlenecks. Next, investigate further the areas that cost your firm excessive non-billable hours. For example, you could be draining profits by waiting for someone to draft contracts or proofread documents. You can easily fix this problem with legal contract analysis software.

Let Team Members Learn from Each Other

In most law companies, lawyers, paralegals and support staff fall into silos when they need to be productive. They rarely get to view the finer details of each other’s working days. But individuals have a great deal to learn from each other. Therefore, encourage cross-departmental practice sharing. Additionally, allow your team the latitude to pick and choose improved solutions.

Follow the Buyer Journey

Do you know how clients find your law company and what they go through to attain your services? The user experience (UX) journey can be a powerful tool to uncover exactly where clients endure the most frustration. Smoothing this journey demonstrates client care and addresses lapses of efficiency within your client acquisition system.

2. Be Proactive with Your Law Company’s Onboarding Practices

Few things stifle profitability in a law company more than sacrificing billable hours to administrative and other non-billable work. Unfortunately for firms, the reluctance to take on new associates diminishes earning potential. This is because it caps the availability of income-generating hours.

Circumvent this problem by hiring administrative and legal staff before it becomes a critical need. Otherwise, delaying the hiring process creates a logjam and diminishes productivity. Rushing into last-minute hires typically makes for a sloppy onboarding process, but hiring proactively means you do it right the first time.

If there is insufficient work in your law company to employ a team member full time, consider the sub-contracting option. Hired experts specialize in marketing, accounting, taxation, and other services. Their specialties allow them to deliver quickly and cost-effectively.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO IMPROVE REMOTE WORKING FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES

3. Automate Your Law Company’s Work

Utilize Cloud Applications

If you run a law company that still uses a fax machine or even Microsoft Word, you are in danger of becoming a dinosaur. Mutually accessible cloud technology has rid us of the need to send documents to and from each other for editing and reviews. Google Drive and other cloud-based settings allow all necessary contributors access at any given time without delay.

Benefit from Efficient Project Management

Firm management is a precarious business. Long, labored meetings, individual conversations, and chasing team members down for progress reports takes law company management away from what they should be doing—winning business and making money. In contrast, project management software allows managers to quickly check the status of all important cases with a swift click.

Digitize Billing and Accounts

If you add up the days it takes to post an invoice and eventually receive the check in the mail, what do you get? Inefficiency. Tracking earnings and reconciling invoices efficiently is a real problem for many law companies. But digitizing the entire payment system creates an expectation of fees, transparency, and accountability. This encourages your clients to trust you and pay on time.

Incorporate Document Preparation Software into Your Law Company’s Processes

Maintaining a healthy rate of response can be the rock inefficient firms perish on. Even before you switch to digital systems, clients expect their business to be attended to immediately. But some firms struggle just to keep up, with non-billable tasks causing massive damage to their profitability. To minimize the time consumption of essential but repetitive tasks, forward-thinking practices are switching en masse to using due diligence, research, and legal contract analysis software.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW BUSINESSES MAKE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN 2021

4. Invest in Your Legal Team

While outsourcing is certainly an option, sometimes it can be costly. But investing in staff training eases cost inefficiency woes and develops talent currently at your disposal. An additional benefit of staff training is enhanced engagement.

Investing in personnel development shows team members they are valued and important to the firm. In turn, this gives everyone a stronger sense of purpose and collectivism which begets better productivity and results.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR BUSINESS MEETINGS

In Conclusion

The entire legal sector can rightfully be accused of resisting change for many decades. The technological infusion has been remarkably slow and clients were all too happy to go along with things.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately for law companies, however, those days are over. Transparency and digitization have become more widely available in recent years and tolerance for inefficiency has plummeted. As clients lose patience with slow response rates and lawyers’ resistance to technology declines, those law companies that adopt more efficient models of business will win the competition against other, slower law firms.

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Bitcoin exceeds $ 47,000 and sets a new record

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This level achieved that the digital asset will exceed its record set on Monday, February 8, after Tesla announced the investment of 1.5 billion dollars in the cryptocurrency.


1 min read

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.


Bitcoin surpassed $ 47,000 on Thursday, February 11, and set a new record. The cryptocurrency rose 7.9 percent and reached a price of $ 47,837.74.

This level achieved that the digital asset will exceed its record imposed on Monday, February 8, after Tesla announced the investment of 1.5 billion dollars in the cryptocurrency.

According to El Financiero , eToro analyst Simon Peters commented that these types of assets were entering the realms of traditional finance at an astonishing rate.

Image: Depositphotos.com

On the other hand, Mastercard, described them as “stable coins” that constantly combine their value with other assets such as the US dollar.

Mastercard has given cryptocurrencies new credibility this week by announcing that it intends to start supporting payments using them on its network this year.

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10 Must-Have Features Your Business App Should Offer – Technology

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The use of business apps is the latest frontier for both small-scale and giant entities. The average consumer devotes three hours and 15 minutes of their daily time to smartphones. For the millennial generation, they can spend up to five hours. Consumption-wise, these people prefer online purchases compared to visiting physical stores.

Businesses with apps that offer convenient and intuitive shopping experiences tend to attract a larger amount of online consumers. How do you tweak your business app to reflect a prospective customer’s expectations?  How do you bridge the gap of reliable user convenience? Here are ten key features you should consider.

Simple and Intuitive Navigation

Besides an business app becoming obsolete, users will also delete it if the navigation is a bit complex. Intuitive navigation and a good user experience are among the main factors that users look for when choosing which app to keep. For a simple user experience, you should consider minimizing clicks and actions.

You should also note that mobile phone users prefer scrolling more than clicking on items. You might also want to make the field entries as minimum as possible, without limiting functionality. One way to achieve this is by working with a professional business app creator. These platforms are easy to use, even for those with limited coding knowledge. All you need to do is visualize what you’d like your app to look like along with all of its functionalities.

Tailored Experience

One of the main reasons why businesses develop apps is to customize a unique user experience for every consumer. For instance, users don’t have to browse through all the search results while you can help them filter specifics. Other features that can enhance a customized experience include demographics and the user’s current location.

Seamless Check-Out System

Check-out is the most arduous process for any online shopper. Remember, here is where you may need to gather even more information compared to the sign-up process. The catch is in keeping the information fields as few as possible. Consumers would appreciate it if you only ask for relevant information.

An excellent example of a seamless check-out system is the one that auto-fills basic information. That includes username, location, and even zip code. Make it easy and simple, and customers will be glad to complete their purchases.

Social Integration or Simple Sign-Up Process

Not every customer will find it comfortable giving out their personal email addresses on the first day of signing up in your business app. If they don’t give a generic email, they will just hit “uninstall” and call it a day. It helps if you give them multiple sign-ups and login options like social media.

Facebook is more prevalent in app sign-ups. Most importantly, ensure you keep them signed in after they log in for the first time. That way, you’ll win the hearts of consumers who find it hard to remember strong passwords. 

Leverage Analytics

When incorporating analytics, you don’t have to leverage features that may make a customer feel uncomfortable. For instance, most business app users shy away from sharing their location because of privacy and personal reasons. Even so, you can still track and monitor user experience and their actions.

Such information is vital for small businesses since they can leverage it to improve user experience. You can also use the data to give tailored services like discounts and special offers. If you want to collect any other information that may seem controversial, it will help if you have the customers’ content when they sign up.

RELATED ARTICLE: A BRIEF GUIDE TO WHATSAPP FOR BUSINESS

Feedback System

It is imperative that you hear from the customers’ perspective on how they find the app or the services your business offers. You should note that users from varying regions may experience the app differently. Having a viable feedback system ensures that unsatisfied users can report bugs or network outages.

They can also give suggestions or criticism that can help you improve the app’s features. A streamlined feedback system can be anything you deem user-friendly. For instance, you can try links to email, transactional emails, suggestion tabs, or in-app surveys.

Offline Capabilities

It can be quite frustrating for consumers when they can’t make purchases because of poor signal. In most cases, customers will even shift the blame of poor network coverage to your mobile app and end up uninstalling it.

You can mitigate this risk by developing an interactive mode that picks up even when the customer is offline. That way, customers can always engage with content or continue window shopping, whether online or off.

Offline capabilities sum up a positive user experience. Consumers will also likely spend more time on your app by keeping it running in the background.

Maintain Relevance

Although you may want to be as unique as possible, staying relevant is key. Otherwise, content and images that don’t resonate with consumers’ expectations will scare away even the potential long-term users.   

When advertising your product and services, publish content that is relevant and adds value to the customer. You should note that app users are looking forward to more than just a mere business representation.

RELATED ARTICLE: IS A MOBILE APP A GOOD IDEA FOR MY SMALL BUSINESS?

Over-the-Phone Interaction

How do you want your customers to connect with you when it’s urgent? Remember, your app is for phone use. So it will help if you include a tab that directly calls your business’ phone number because making calls is the core-function of any mobile device. Consumers often resort to laptops, mainly when writing emails.

Fast-Loading Content and Images

Lastly, you might also consider investing in a high-speed app for instant content and image loading. Millennial consumers are picky and impatient, thanks to overwhelming options of business apps in the industry. No one will stick around waiting for items to load.

Moreover, an app with poor loading speed will likely attract negative reviews from unsatisfied customers. The last thing you need when you just started out is scaring potential long-term buyers away.

Change Your Business Outlook

Having a business app that reflects all the above features gives you the power to connect with consumers in an unrivaled manner. You’ll enjoy a higher engagement level, especially with loyalty programs such as rewards and personalized discounts. It is also imperative to note that incorporating a business app puts your business ahead of the eCommerce revolution.

It is high time for your business to shift to in-app purchases and brand awareness. Besides spreading your reach better, you’ll likely attain a positive ROI. Don’t keep your consumers waiting.

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW BUSINESSES MAKE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN 2021

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Do You Want to Read More But Can’t? Start With the 5-Minute Challenge

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This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


It is a statistical fact: the most successful men in the world read and read a lot.

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Mark Zuckerberg at least one every two weeks (25 per year). Warren Buffet reads between 500 and 1000 pages a day from the age of eighteen. Elon Musk doesn’t keep an account, but he’s an avid reader; When asked how he learned to build rockets, he replied: “I read books.” Oprah Winfrey founded a book club that discusses one book a month and has millions of members.

Steve Siebold , a billionaire who has interviewed more than 1,200 millionaire and successful people, says there is a hobby that 100% of them share. It is not the golf, it is not the cars, it is not the mansions. You guessed it: everyone reads . And a lot.

Bill Gates always reads on paper. Richard Branson is a fan of the Kindle. Stephen King enjoys audiobooks. Are there differences? Many. Does it matter? In the end, no.
Nelson Mandela had to defend his right to read in court while he was in prison for twenty-four years. He didn’t ask for better food, television, or pillows; but books. Carlos Slim is a passionate reader of biographies and finances; Bill Gates enjoys books about the future; Barack Obama reads classics and history. Zuckerberg is a science fiction reader. Branson loves memories of great men and self-help. Everyone has their favorites: don’t feel obligated to read what others want. Read what you are passionate about and make you grow.

There is no doubt: the most successful men in the world read. It’s one of their definitive habits: they don’t read just for entertainment, but above all to learn and keep growing. They put aside the fad novel or the gossip magazine and look for something they are passionate about – and they keep learning.

From “education” to “self-education”

We have heard many – but many, many times – “Education is going to change Mexico .” And it’s true. But we also always imagine that this “education” has to do with governments, unions and educational projects. Actually, for all of us, it has to do with something simpler: what we have on the bureau next to our bed.

Bill Gates puts it very simply: if you had the opportunity to speak for ten minutes with the wisest, most successful, or most brilliant men in history, would you take advantage of it? What would you ask them? Now realize that you can do it, because they wrote what they think. Am I going to let only others take advantage of that wealth? He would have to be crazy.

Every New Year’s bell tolls, millions of people in the world make different resolutions: to run more; eat less; save more… And they are all good purposes. However, he has heard of few people who have set out to READ more .

That is why today I propose it to you. Why wait for the new year? Whether you’ve been kicking the habit or never had it, I’m sure you know that the habit of reading can transform your life in ways you’ve never imagined, expanding your horizon with endless professional, intellectual, and personal possibilities. Maybe you don’t know where to start, or maybe you have a lot of books that you want to read, but you haven’t had time.

Even though I love reading, I realized after the birth of each new child (I have four!) And with a lot of work in the office and at home, that suddenly days and weeks went by without my reading progress. . I had to make the decision to read again. This is what I did.

I propose this challenge to you. The habit of reading is like any other: we must consciously desire it and accustom our body and mind to do it “automatically”. The difficult thing is to start and then… the difficult thing will be to quit.

These are the ten steps of the LEE FIVE MINUTES challenge.

1. CHOOSE A BOOK THAT FITS YOU. It can be a novel or an interesting topic; but it must be a book that has an order and sequence from beginning to end (not a comic, a magazine, or an encyclopedia). The Hobbit serves the same as Little Capitalist Pig . Preferably not too long. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend: The Little Prince , Momo , The Prince and the Beggar or The French Delegate .

2. READ FIVE MINUTES A DAY. No more. Not less. You don’t want to run marathons before running a hundred meters. You will arrive.

3. TRY IT TO BE AT THE SAME TIME. I like to read in bed, before going to sleep; but you choose the time you prefer: after eating; when you arrive at the office or at the time you want. Try to keep it the same time, but if one day you can’t keep your schedule, just READ FIVE MINUTES at some other time.

4. DISCONNECT THOSE FIVE MINUTES. Don’t make the mistake of reading on your smartphone. Better put it in silence and, for a while, disconnect and let yourself be immersed in the book.

5. NEVER, FOR ANY REASON, STOP READING FIVE MINUTES A DAY. Even if you go to bed at one in the morning; even if you are traveling; Even though you’re busy, even if you’re sick I’m absolutely sure that five minutes you get them. For five minutes you are not going to stay up any more or stop doing your job.

6. SHARE YOUR OWN CHALLENGE WITH ANOTHER PERSON. Tell your wife, your mom, or your best friend what you’re doing, or better yet, both of you do it. Help each other not to miss five minutes of each day.

7. IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR BOOK, CHANGE IT. It is not punishment: it is an adventure. My usual mark is this: if on page 50 you haven’t caught me, I’ll quit. There are so many books waiting!

8. DO IT FOR THIRTY DAYS. Put a little leaf, if you want, behind the door of your room and mark the days you take away. Every day think what is five minutes? And do it.

9. ON THE THIRTY DAY GIVE YOURSELF A PRIZE, IF YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IT. Agree with your wife or your friend the award and, if you have achieved it, go to the movies or buy yourself that shirt that you love.

10. KEEP AHEAD. What else in the world would you like to discover? Planets, history, insects, politics? Find your favorite topics and authors – they are wonderful veins of culture.

How does it work?

The motor principle is very similar to financial savings. By saving small coins, you soon realize that, little by little, you save a lot. Books, at first, can be dry and seem long. But in reality they are not. On average, a medium book can be read, in a row, in three to four hours. It is very likely that in these thirty days you have read an entire book, almost without realizing it!

It is also very likely that, within a few days, you want to read MORE than five minutes a day. For the first thirty days, try not to read more. Staying with the desire will make you return to reading tomorrow with more emotion.

In the second month it goes up to 10 or 15 minutes. If you do this for a full year, by the end you will have easily read fifteen or twenty books. Once your brain is used to it, you can read for hours without a break and devour entire books in an afternoon. That’s very good. But remember: you will be a reader if you can read at least five minutes each day throughout your life. If you always have a book with you, you will find valuable time while you wait for an appointment or at the restaurant.

Then intersperse fiction books with books on other topics. There are also pages, clubs and spaces where you will find other readers and new recommendations. If you have to spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in gyms to maintain your body, isn’t it fair to do the same to exercise your mind?

So tell me do you have five minutes?

Do you read almost nothing today? Start with five minutes a day. Very little? Do you read junk? Don’t worry, but look for things that you are passionate about and get lost for a while. Not sure where to start? Classics are classics for a reason; Or you can also search the internet for lists of books recommended by all the people I mentioned. You have no money? There are literally thousands of sites and libraries where you can get free books. Don’t you like the book you are reading? Close it! There are too many great books to waste time on junk.

Habits become our destiny. Build a habit that allows you to always grow, always learn, and then choose content that will keep you hungry, curious, and passionate. You will see how soon it will be impossible for you to leave it. Welcome to the fifties club.

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How to Obtain the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) Under the Second Round of Covid Relief (Updated)

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15+ min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Last Updated on February 10 at 6 p.m.

For the average small-business owner, it’s hard enough to understand how to get a piece of the latest round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money, let alone how to access the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC or “Credit”).

In fact, under the CARES Act (the first round of relief signed into law in March of last year), employers were not allowed to obtain both a PPP loan and claim the Credit. Thus, most small-business owners gave up on even learning about or considering the ERTC.

However, under this second round of overall coronavirus aid, business owners are able to get aid from BOTH provisions. Yes, you can tap into the PPP and claim the ERTC!

Thus, the ERTC is a critical provision in the massive 5,500-plus-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 for small-business owners to understand and possibly utilize.

Which companies qualify?

  • Any sole proprietor, limited liability company (LLC), S-Corporation or C-Corporation is eligible, if they meet the additional criteria to qualify.
  • Any company with less than 500 employees (Full-Time Equivalent employees, FTE) as of December 2020 may participate in the program and apply for the ERTC. (Previously, only business owners with less 100 employees could participate.)
  • In order to claim the Credit, a business must have experienced a decline in gross receipts by more than 20% in any quarter of 2020, compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Related: New Stimulus Bill Includes Second Round of PPP Loans for Small Business and Forgiveness Rule Changes Favorable to Borrowers

The following Diagram illustrates the five steps to compare and calculate if you qualify:

 

How much is the Credit?

  • The credit is 70% of Qualified Wages for the allowed amount, per quarter, paid between January 1, 2021 and before July 1, 2021.
  • Each employee’s allowable wage amount is $10,000 per quarter in 2021, excluding any owner and their family member’s payroll with combined ownership in the company of 50% or more (more on this below).
  • So, the maximum any employer may receive as a credit per un-related employee in 2021 is $14,000 ($7,000 per quarter). (This does not take into account coordinating this credit with PPP. More on that below.)
  • But also, don’t forget about qualified wages paid between March 13 and Dec 31, 2020! The credit is 50% of qualified wages paid during this period, but only up to $10,000 per employee of annual wages paid (more on this below, along with the rules regarding owners and their family members’ payroll amounts).
  • Thus, the maximum any employer may receive as a credit per employee in 2020 is $5,000. (More below on the possibility of going back and getting the credit for 2020.)

Example: XYZ Enterprises, LLC (taxed as an S-Corporation) plans to have two full-time employees in 2021 that will each be paid $9,180 ($18 an hour) during first and second quarter of 2021, including three part-time employees in the first quarter and five part-time employees in the second quarter that will each be paid $3,060 ($12 an hour) a quarter. The Corp will pay health-insurance premiums for the two full-time employees, pre-tax, of $500 per month, or $3,000 per quarter for both of them combined. Thus, total Qualifying Wages of the employees and the calculation for the ERTC is set forth below in Table 1 as follows:

* More below on how this amount works in conjunction with the PPP, and if an employer can go back to 2020.

What payroll is considered Qualifying Wages for the ERTC?

Qualifying Wages is a critical term to understand, in addition to what it includes when calculating the ERTC. It’s more than just gross pay. First, Qualifying Wages includes both full-time and part-time employees’ payroll amounts.

Next, you are allowed to add any qualified health plan expenses/premiums you paid on behalf of the employee to this figure. This generally includes both the portion of the health-insurance cost paid by the employer and the portion of the cost paid by the employee with pre-tax salary-reduction contributions.

However, the qualified health plan expenses do not include amounts that the employee paid for with after-tax contributions. More here at the IRS website on how to determine and calculate Qualifying Wages.

Can you the Owner get the Credit for your personal payroll or profit?

This is the golden question, isn’t it? Regrettably, the answer is somewhat in a gray area. All we know regarding this particular detail comes from the IRS.gov Newsroom and the FAQ section regarding the ERTC.  

For sole proprietors, the answer is no. The IRS in FAQ #23 makes it clear that they are not going to allow the ERTC for sole proprietors under their interpretation of the CARES Act. They also clearly state that the FAQ section has not been updated under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020. Most professionals agree that the new legislation doesn’t change the rule for sole proprietors.

However, FAQ #23 does not address corporations, or more specifically, S-Corporation owners. In fact, FAQ #59 states that S-Corporations are allowed to take the ERTC for their employees (assuming the business owner complies with all the other rules, including not claiming payroll for the ERTC that was covered with PPP money).

FAQ #59 further states that payroll for “related individuals” of the S-Corporation owners cannot be used for calculating the ERTC. However, it conspicuously does not state that the “owner” is considered a related individual.

So, when it comes to the action owners of S-Corporations holding 50% or more of the stock, the safe bet is to consider them a “related individual,” and thus the owner cannot receive the ERTC on their own payroll. This cautious interpretation would fall in line with other rules in the code regarding self-dealing or prohibited transactions (i.e. Section 1372 of the Internal Revenue Code requires that 2% or greater shareholders be treated as partners in a partnership for this purpose, making them self-employed individuals instead of employees).

Thus, for purposes of this article and the advice we are giving our clients, until we see definitive guidance and a stance from the IRC on the issue of payroll for owners of an S-Corporation owning 50% or more of the entity, we would not claim the ERTC on their wages.

But what we do know, according to IRS FAQ #59, any and all payroll for a “related individual” cannot be used in determining the allowable ERTC in 2020 or 2021. These individuals include any of the following with a relationship to an owner of the company who owns 50% or more in value of the outstanding stock:

  • A child or a descendant of a child;
  • A brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister;
  • The father or mother, or an ancestor of either;
  • A stepfather or stepmother;
  • A niece or nephew;
  • An aunt or uncle;
  • A son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

In summary, if you aren’t employing a third-party unrelated to you personally, it would be advisable not to try and claim the ERTC, even if you meet all of the other qualifications.

What happens if my company had a recovery later in 2020 or 2021?

Finally, be aware that if your company actually had a significant business recovery before the end of the 2020 or has one in 2021, your eligibility for the ERTC may end.

Under the new Covid law, a business owner is no longer allowed to take the ERTC in the quarter immediately following a quarter where their quarter gross receipts exceed 80% compared to the same calendar quarter the year before.

For example: If a business has a 2020 second quarter where revenue is down 33% compared to the same quarter in 2019, the business qualifies for the ERTC in first and second quarter of 2020 and would continue to qualify for the rest of the year. However, in fourth quarter, revenue in the business is up by 82% compared to the same quarter in 2019. At this point, the company no longer qualifies for the ERTC in fourth quarter 2020. In fact, the company only qualifies up to the point where sales increased above the 80% threshold and is limited to claiming the ERTC for qualified wages in first, second and third quarter 2020. See the following illustration Diagram 3.

Additionally, this same rule applies into the first and second quarter of 2021. Thus, if you have a dramatic upturn in sales (80% rule) in second quarter 2021 compared to second quarter 2020, then your eligibility for the ERTC would end with first quarter 2021.

How does the ERTC work with PPP?

The good news is (and it’s significan), under the new legislation, business owners are entitled to both the first and second round of PPP and the ERTC. However, PPP funds and ERTC cannot be used to cover the same payroll costs. But all is not lost; it just gets tricky.

If a business owner plans carefully and does good record keeping and accounting, they should be able to maximize the benefits of both PPP and ERTC, creating thousands of dollars in tax-free money!

First, let’s assume a business owner qualifies for the second round of PPP under the new 25%-reduction-in-sales rule. 

Next, since the threshold to qualify for the ERTC is lower than that of the PPP (a 20% rule), it’s then obvious the business owner would thus qualify for both.

NOTE: Stated otherwise, if a business owner qualifies for PPP under the sales comparison test, then they automatically qualify for the ERTC. They also need to then “coordinate” the two benefits in taking advantage of them both to the greatest extent possible.

In order to exploit both benefits, it’s important the business owner take into account the following points and then a three-step strategy:

  • The application deadline for the latest round of PPP is March 31, 2021. (It might behoove a business owner to delay applying for PPP up until the deadline in order to maximize their ERTC benefit.)
  • Remember, 40% of PPP monies can be used for items other than payroll, such as mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to Covid-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020 and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations. (Thus, it’s critical to use no more than the 60% of PPP money for payroll since those payroll dollars can’t be used for the ERTC).
  • Next, PPP money must be spent on payroll and qualified expenses over 24 weeks from the day the disbursement is received. This is referred to as the ‘”Covered Period.” (A business owner will more than likely want to use every week of this period rather than spend the PPP money quickly, in order to get the most out of the ERTC.)  
  • Finally, keep in mind that the ERTC is up to 70% of $10,000 of qualified wages paid to each employee in each of first and second quarter 2021 only — not in third or fourth quarter. (However, PPP money can be spent in third and fourth quarter because of the 24-week period.)

Strategy:

  1. The business owner should only used 60% of their PPP funds for payroll (if possible) and the rest on qualified expenses.
  2. Next, they should spread out the PPP money used for payroll as long as possible (within the 24-week period), and if they haven’t already applied for the PPP, maybe wait until the end of March, but not miss the application deadline.
  3. Then, the business owner should max out the ERTC credit in the first and second quarter with payroll expenses not used with PPP money.

Here is an example to illustrate how this strategy could potentially be used.

For example: Assume a business owner (not in the accommodation or food service industry) qualifies for both the second round of PPP and the ERTC. They receive $80,000 in PPP funds on February 1, 2021. Presumably, since they received $80,000 in PPP funds, their average monthly payroll would have been $32,000 ($80,000/2.5). Their 24-week Covered Period would also then be from February 1–July 19, 2021. Further, we want to assume that the business owner has the ability to spend 40% of their PPP money on other expenses than payroll. This would require that only $48,000 (of the $80,000) must be spent on payroll over the 24-week period. Thus, the business needs to spend approximately $8,000 a month on payroll out of the PPP money over that period. If it can meet this minimum, then the entire PPP loan should be forgiven. Finally, we need to know the number of employees and their expected payroll over the time period they are eligible for the ERTC and need to spend the PPP money. See the table of employees below (Table #2) and the diagram of allocating payroll during the time periods (Diagram #3).  

I think it’s important to recognize that placing any PPP monies received into a separate bank account and carefully tracking what expenses they are used for is absolutely critical to staying out of hot water in a potential audit.

Also, one last nuance to keep in mind when coordinating the payroll expenses for PPP and the ERTC: Qualified Wages include payroll costs for group health-care benefits paid pre-tax by employees, such as the employee share of their health-care premium. Moreover, ERTC guidelines do not prohibit including in Qualified Wages expenses accelerated for group health benefits paid in first or second quarter. These are different rules compared to the PPP program and need to be taken into account when calculating which payroll costs for the ERTC and which ones are paid for with PPP money.

Can a business owner go back and claim the ERTC for 2020 if they didn’t already do so?

Yes. However, the business owner needs to meet one of the two tests set forth previously in the CARES Act in order to qualify for the ERTC in 2020 (NOT the new “20% reduction in sales rule” hat only applies for the 2021 credit). 

Under Section 2301(c)2 of the CARES Act, a business owner qualifies for the ERTC in 2020 if the business meets either one of the following two tests:  

  1. You are eligible for this credit if a government order fully or partially suspended your operations during a calendar quarter due to Covid-19 (you have a high likelihood that you experience this in your business in 2020); or
  2. Your gross receipts for a calendar quarter in 2020 are shown to be 50% less than the gross receipts from the same quarter in the year 2019.

Of course, the 50% reduction in sales test is certainly more onerous and may scare some business owners off, causing them not even try to apply for the credit. However, I think most businesses will be able to meet Part 1 of the test and make the 50% test irrelevant. A reasonable interpretation of that statute would mean that even “1 DAY” of a required government shut down of your business in 2020 would allow your business to qualify for the ERTC in 2020. 

Now one more thing to remember: The ERTC is worth a different amount in 2020, and that of the first two quarters of in 2021.  

For wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, the ERTC can be applied to 50% of qualifying wages up to $10,000 of annual wages. This means a maximum of $5,000 per employee for the entire year of 2020 (not per quarter), could be credited back to your company if it qualifies.

How do I receive this credit?

Let me first start by stating what you don’t do to get this credit:

  • You don’t apply through your bank.
  • It has nothing to do with your PPP application process.
  • You don’t apply through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
  • You don’t even send the IRS a specific application for the ERTC (unless requesting an advance).

The ERTC is a refundable tax credit that is typically claimed when eligible employers report their total qualified wages for purposes of the ERTC for each calendar quarter on their federal employment tax returns (Form 941: Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return).

However, employers that want to reduce their payroll deposits in anticipation of receiving the credit, or want to receive a payment in advance from the IRS, may submit a Form 7200. This means potentially having the ability to get the tax credit back early in the form of a check from the IRS.

The IRS has a dedicated web page, “How to claim the Employee Retention Credit FAQs,” explaining how and when to file certain forms. Nonetheless, it’s advisable you speak with your tax advisor or payroll company to make sure you coordinate the application and payments, especially if you also plan on utilizing PPP funds.

Presumably, if a business is going to go back and claim the ERTC for 2020, it would need to first determine which payroll was paid for with PPP funds and then calculate which qualifying wages would be eligible.

Next, the business owner would go back and amend the appropriate quarterly Form 941s for 2020 and claim the credit. However, the IRS has not given specific guidance on this procedure.

Related: The IRS Increases 2021 Contribution Limits to SEP IRAs and Solo 401(k)s for Business Owners

In summary, the ERTC is an opportunity for business owners with W-2 wages for employees to obtain some significant help from the government. A business owner should carefully determine if they qualify and seek out professional guidance from their tax return preparer and/or payroll company to make sure the proper forms are filed. Be careful to not leave any money on the table under this new legislation if you can help it. Get involved in the process. You are the captain of your ship!

Mark J. Kohler is a CPA, Attorney, co-host of the Podcast MainStreet Business and author of the The Tax and Legal Playbook- Game Changing Solutions For Your Small Business Questions, 2nd Edition, and  The Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Freedom: What Wall Street isn’t Telling You. He is also a partner at the law firm Kyler Kohler Ostermiller & Sorensen, LLP and the accounting firm K&E CPAs, LLP. 

 

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