Returning Value Blog

From utilities and interest expense to executive salaries and insurance, many overhead costs have skyrocketed over the last few years. Some companies have responded by passing along the increases to customers through higher prices of goods and services. Is this strategy right for your business? Before implementing price increases, it’s important to understand how to allocate indirect costs to your products. Proper cost allocation is essential to evaluating product and service line profitability and, in turn, making informed pricing decisions.

If you play a major role in a closely held corporation, you may sometimes spend money on corporate expenses personally. These costs may end up being nondeductible both by an officer and the corporation unless the correct steps are taken. This issue is more likely to happen with a financially troubled corporation.

The issue of raising the debt limit has been resolved, at least until January 2025, and we can all breathe easier now that the United States can continue to pay its debts. Hopefully, in the future, Congress will find a way to eliminate this boondoggle or at least work around it, as was done under 1979’s Gephardt Rule.

Accrual-basis financial statements are considered by many to be the gold standard in financial reporting. But with the increasing cost and complexity of today’s accounting rules — particularly the updated lease guidance that went into effect last year — some private companies are seeking a simpler alternative to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The solution for some is to switch from accrual to income tax-basis reporting.

Your business may be able to claim big first-year depreciation tax deductions for eligible real estate expenditures rather than depreciate them over several years. But should you? It’s not as simple as it may seem.

Three years after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the hospitality industry, like others, is still recovering. Though 2022 saw some significant growth with a public eager to travel for leisure, particularly to locations offering unique experiences, the pandemic has markedly changed business travel patterns and consumer behavior. An ongoing labor shortage and emerging competition from resort hospitality locations have further strained some hospitality markets still adapting to shifting consumer demands.

If you’re starting a business with some partners and wondering what type of entity to form, an S corporation may be the most suitable form of business for your new venture. Here are some of the reasons why.

In a nutshell, according to the SBA, the HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones. The idea is to award at least 3% of federal contract dollars to eligible companies each year.

Manufacturers will continue to face supply chain headwinds in 2023, a cause for concern following a turbulent few years. Economic uncertainty, supply shortages, rising costs, and frustrated customers threaten to impede growth.

Accounting is a critical element when launching a successful business venture. Unfortunately, it’s also an area where startups tend to make mistakes. Here are some common (and avoidable) errors that entrepreneurs should watch out for.