Use these money management tips to potentially help build a stronger financial future for your business
Multitasking, juggling multiple priorities, poor cash flow, and a general lack of time/energy are the primary reasons that small businesses don't thrive. Here are a few business strategies to help your business run smoother.
Separate personal from business
It's tempting to use existing personal credit cards, along with bank and savings accounts, for business purposes, particularly when you're getting started. But a separate setup for business income and expenses helps delineate the two, simplifies tax preparation, and may reduce personal liability.
Consider multiple accounts for your business
One tip for accommodating different business needs — taxes, operating expenses, and an emergency fund — is to find a financial institution that allows you to have linked yet separate accounts or funds. Once you do that, automatically divvy up every invoice payment as needed into various accounts.
Figure out a digital record-keeping system you like
What works for you may not work for someone else, so review the options in software programs to find out what fits your accounting style. Some have a small monthly fee but allow you to generate branded invoices and offer payment collection and tracking, account reconciliation, and custom reports for tax purposes.
Create an expense tracking routine
Recording your business expenses can help reduce your tax burden, but it's also imperative to maintain accurate records. Save receipts and statements, and consider a quick-scan program to keep digital copies. Use your digital record-keeping system to collect data and find a tool that helps you track business-related mileage.
E-pay and e-invoice, if you can
Switching to these options can help you get in the habit of immediate billing and allow people to send you money efficiently. In addition, many online processors integrate with most bookkeeping or invoicing systems to allow for seamless record-keeping collection.
Consider using a tax professional
When you work for yourself, taxes can be confusing and tricky. They involve not only Social Security and Medicare but also 1099s, itemizing, and quarterly payments. Investing in the services of an expert may pay off by saving you time and reducing the possibility of mistakes and fines.
Review your insurance needs
There are many questions you should ask regarding your business and personal insurance coverages. What would you do if you were sued? What if you couldn't work for a month? What will happen to your business when you die? Contact a State Farm® agent to review coverages such as workers' compensation coverage, commercial umbrella insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, business and professional liability insurance, health insurance, and more.
Save for retirement
There are retirement plan options every business owner should consider. Many self-employed people do not have a plan. Take time to review which retirement savings plan option would be best for you.
Plan for the unexpected
What will happen to your business after you are gone or if you become disabled? Business continuation is an important topic to consider for most small business owners. A will or trust does not always address the central problems created when this happens. This is particularly important when there are stockholders or other people who have an interest in your business.
Learn more about State Farm resources available for your small business. If you're ready to get a small business insurance quote, fill out this form, and a State Farm agent will reach out to you.
This post was created by State Farm with Insider Studios.
_________________________________________________________________________
The information in this article was obtained from various sources not associated with State Farm® (including State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates). While we believe it to be reliable and accurate, we do not warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information. State Farm is not responsible for, and does not endorse or approve, either implicitly or explicitly, the content of any third party sites that might be hyperlinked from this page. The information is not intended to replace manuals, instructions or information provided by a manufacturer or the advice of a qualified professional, or to affect coverage under any applicable insurance policy. These suggestions are not a complete list of every loss control measure. State Farm makes no guarantees of results from use of this information.
Neither State Farm nor its agents provide tax or legal advice.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
State Farm Indemnity Company
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
State Farm General Insurance Company
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI)
State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI)
Bloomington, IL
State Farm County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas
State Farm Lloyds
Richardson, TX
State Farm Florida Insurance Company
Tallahassee, FL
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oppenheimer Reduces PT on UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is one of the Best 52-Week Low Blue Chip Stocks to Buy Now. On July 30, Oppenheimer analyst Michael Wiederhorn reduced the price objective on UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)'s stock to $325 from $400, while keeping an 'Outperform' rating, as reported by The Fly. It noted that the company reinstated 2025 adjusted-EPS guidance of $16.00-plus, which can be trough earnings, as UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) returns to growth in 2026 and beyond. A senior healthcare professional giving advice to a patient in a clinic. The 2025 guidance assumes performance at the bottom-end or below target ranges throughout Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, and OptumHealth segments, though the firm opines that such metrics will improve significantly over the upcoming 2 years as UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) re-prices its respective books. The company expects moderate EPS growth in 2026, with acceleration thereafter. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has updated its 2025 outlook, which includes revenues of $445.5 billion – $448.0 billion, net earnings of at least $14.65 per share, and adjusted earnings of at least $16.00 per share. This implies H1 2025 performance and expectations for the balance of the year, including higher realized and anticipated care trends. Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said: 'UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a diversified health and well being company with $450 billion in annual revenue, operating across four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum lnsight, and Optum Rx. Shares fell sharply during the quarter after the company missed earnings estimates and cut its 2025 earnings per share guidance, citing higher-than-expected medical costs in its Medicare Advantage business. Investor confidence was further shaken in early May by the abrupt departure of CEO Andrew Witty and the suspension of 2025 guidance. The company also mispriced its Medicare Advantage business for 2025—a challenge compounded by reimbursement changes and an influx of newly acquired members who had not been properly risk coded. While we acknowledge UnitedHealth's potential to restore profitability in this segment over time through disciplined pricing and benefit adjustments, we chose to exit our position during the quarter in favor of other opportunities. While we acknowledge the potential of UNH as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
MRNA Earnings: Moderna Stock Slumps 10% on Lower Covid Vaccine Demand
Shares in drug giant Moderna (MRNA) plummeted nearly 10% today after it reported a drop in Q2 sales. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. The company reported earnings for the period of -$2.13, beating expectations of -$3.03 but also recorded a 41.1% drop in year-over-year sales to $142 million. However, that still beat forecasts of $128.3 million. Sentiment Hit Investor sentiment was also hit by the company dropping its revenue guidance for the full year to $1.85 billion at the midpoint from $2 billion, a 7.5% decrease. It blamed the 'timing of shipments.' The decline was primarily driven by lower Spikevax COVID vaccine sales, which totaled $114 million in the quarter. Moderna said demand is expected to be concentrated in the second half of the year, aligning with the fall and winter seasons as the vaccine continues to transition into a seasonal respiratory product. It also reported 'negligible' RSV vaccine mRESVIA® sales in the second quarter of 2025. The figures continue Moderna's difficult year in comparison with its peers – see below. 'In the last three months, we advanced our pipeline with positive Phase 3 flu vaccine efficacy data and expanded our commercial portfolio with three new U.S. FDA approvals to drive future sales growth,' said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. 'Looking forward, we have important catalysts over the next six months across our infectious disease and oncology programs that will help us deliver on the promise of our mRNA platform for patients.' Future Hopes This includes Intismeran autogene, a personalized cancer therapy which is being developed in collaboration with Merck (MRK). This includes two non-small cell lung cancer Phase 3 studies and Phase 2 studies for high-risk muscle invasive and high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Cost of sales for 2025 is expected to be approximately $1.2 billion. Full-year 2025 research and development expenses are anticipated to be $3.6 to $3.8 billion, lowered from previous expectations of approximately $4.1 billion. Year-end cash and investments for 2025 are projected to be approximately $6 billion. Recently, Moderna announced an organizational restructuring that will reduce its global workforce by approximately 10%. The company anticipates a total headcount of less than 5,000 by the end of the year. Better news came today for the group after Pfizer (PFE) and its German partner BioNTech (BNTX) lost their bid to overturn a ruling that their COVID-19 vaccine infringed one of Moderna's patents at London's Court of Appeal.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
What can retirees do to deduct medical expenses?
Dear Liz: My wife and I, both in our early 90s, are fortunate to have good health insurance. However, we have significant expenses that are not covered. As you might expect, we are retired and receive income from Social Security, pensions, annuities and investments. Are we eligible to use flexible health accounts funded with pretax dollars? If so, what's the best way to set that up and how would we pay those uncovered health bills? Answer: Unfortunately, you don't have access to pretax accounts that could help you pay medical bills. Flexible spending accounts are offered by employers, and contributions are limited annually (in 2025, the limit is $3,300). Health savings accounts have higher limits but require you to have a qualifying high-deductible health insurance plan. Once you're on Medicare, as you two presumably are, you are no longer allowed to contribute to an HSA. You might be able to deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. To claim the deduction, you would need to have enough itemized expenses to exceed the standard deduction, which in 2025 is $34,700 for a married couple filing jointly who are 65 and older. (The standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly is $31,500, while people 65 and older get an additional deduction of $1,600 each.) There's also a new, temporary $6,000 deduction for people 65 and older that is available whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. This bonus deduction begins to phase out for adjusted gross income above $150,000 for married couples filing jointly and disappears at AGIs above $250,000. This deduction is set to expire after the 2028 tax year. Dear Liz: I was perplexed by your column in which you pooh-poohed pay-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts in favor of trusts. But you gave no specific explanation. Rather, you said trusts 'generally allow a smoother, more organized settlement of the estate than other probate-avoidance options.' Would you please explain what is smoother and more organized than POD and TOD transfers? (Beneficiary deeds fall into the same category as POD and TOD, to my way of thinking.) These transfers simply involve a copy of the death certificate and some minimal paperwork. What could be simpler? Answer: The fact that you asked this question suggests you may not be familiar with the many ways these transfers can cause unintended problems. An estate planning attorney could fill you in. One issue covered previously in this column is the fact that the person settling the estate typically needs money to pay final bills. If all the funds in the estate have been transferred to beneficiaries, the executor would have to beg for money to be returned (with no guarantee beneficiaries will cooperate) or pay the expenses out of their own pocket. Another obvious issue is unequal distribution if you have more than one heir. Account values can change over time, leading to sometimes dramatic differences in what the beneficiaries receive. Speaking of change, it's the one constant in life. A living trust allows you to easily update your estate plan in one centralized place as circumstances change. Altering beneficiary designations can take a lot more work, and it's easy to miss an account if you have several. Beneficiary designations offer limited contingency planning. If the beneficiaries die before you or otherwise can't inherit, the account could come back into your estate and be subject to probate. Also, many people forget to update their beneficiaries after major life changes, which can mean the wrong people inherit. More than one ex-spouse has received retirement funds or life insurance proceeds because the beneficiary form wasn't updated. Another unfortunately common occurrence is an inheritance that disqualifies a disabled beneficiary from receiving government benefits. You also can't control how money is spent with a beneficiary designation, which can be a problem if the beneficiary is a minor, an addict or a spendthrift. Plus, people get sued. Beneficiary designations offer no protection against creditors, while a properly written trust can help protect your assets and your heirs' inheritance. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the potential issues with beneficiary designations. They can be a solution for people with limited funds who can't afford to pay an estate planning attorney, or when they're part of a coordinated estate plan. Many people set up a trust for real estate and financial accounts, for example, and use beneficiaries for retirement accounts, notes Jennifer Sawday, an estate planning attorney in Long Beach. The more money you have and the more complex your situation, the more you — and your heirs — would benefit from expert, individualized advice. Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner®, is a personal finance columnist. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the 'Contact' form at
