Small Business Owners Have A New Government Form To File This Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. - APRIL 22, 2018: A statue of Albert Gallatin, a former U.S. Secretary of the ... [+] Treasury, stands in front of The Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. The National Historic Landmark building is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Treasury. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

There's a new form for companies to know about and file in 2024: the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report. The BOI form came out of the passage of the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021, which aims to increase transparency when it comes to who actually owns and controls individual businesses.

According to a FAQ on the new BOI form, the new form is aimed at supporting "efforts to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures."

Melanie Perez of Confiable CFO says this form should do a lot to curb money laundering and other illicit activities. This is because, ultimately, the BOI form requires businesses to report information regarding the people who make all the decisions and benefit the most from company profits. These people are called "beneficial owners."

Who exactly needs to file this form? Essentially, all corporations, LLCs and businesses that have filed formation documents with the secretary of state will need to take action. This includes single member LLCs, or individual freelancers who run their operation through a formal business structure. This also means sole proprietors who have never established a formal business structure for their company are not required to file the BOI form.

CPA Johan Garcia points out that there are some exemptions that apply to certain types of companies — 23 in total to be exact. The full list of exempt companies and industries that probably do not need to fill out the BOI form includes:

Companies that were created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, will have one year until January 1, 2025 to file the BOI report. Meanwhile, companies formed or registered in 2024 will have 90 calendar days "after receiving actual or public notice that its creation or registration is effective."

Companies formed after January 1, 2025 will have 30 calendar days to file their initial report.

Fortunately, there is a dedicated website business owners can visit to file their BOI form. This form doesn't need to be submitted annually, either. The BOI form can be submitted just once unless the ownership information for a company changes over time. In that case, an updated BOI with correct information about beneficial owners of a company will need to be submitted.

Information requested on the BOI is about beneficial owners only, or people who exercise substantial control over a company or own or control at least 25% of the company's interests. The term "substantial control" is one that may be difficult to gauge, and the government knows this and lists some information that may help clear it up. For example, the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network says individuals exercising substantial control can be:

Information that needs to be submitted on each BOI form for a company includes:

Note that businesses do not have to submit the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of beneficial owners. Submitting the form is also free.

Garcia says that, even though it can be a pain to have to fill out yet another form as a business owner, you can make the process easier by understanding who beneficial owners of a company truly are. For a single member LLC filing the BOI form this year, for example, the only beneficial owner would be themselves.

If there are several beneficial owners, you should start to compile the basic information for each of them far in advance of the deadline (January 1, 2025 or 90 days if the entity is created in 2024).

"You want to avoid any possible filing penalties, though it’s likely that first-time abatements will occur," he said.

While the new beneficial ownership information (BOI) form required in 2024 can seem like a hassle, most companies have nothing to worry about. Not only is filing this form a one-time deal unless beneficial owners change over time, but it only requires you to share basic information about the major players that have a vested interest in a company's financials.

While the deadline for filing this form can seem like forever away if your company existed prior to 2024, your best bet is to get going on the new BOI requirement as soon as possible.

Add BOI reporting to your to-do list as soon as you can make it happen, and you can forget all about this new reporting requirement and focus on running your business instead.

5 Ways Partnerships Can Quickly Improve Your Business’ Bottom Line

There's not a business on the planet that doesn't desire a more favorable bottom line. Fortunately, ... [+] well-implemented strategic partnerships can help boost it.

It’s estimated that 82% of business failures are directly linked to poor cash flow management. Regardless of your level of experience, the quality of your products or services or any other qualifications you might have, if you can’t successfully manage your business’ bottom line, you’re not going to last long.

Enter strategic partnerships. While we typically think of strategic partnerships as being a way to collaborate on key projects or outsource tasks that lie outside your field of expertise, the right partnerships will also have a very immediate impact on your bottom line.

If you’re worried about cash flow, it’s worth noting that the right strategic partners can go a long way in making your operating costs more manageable. For example, by outsourcing certain tasks to a strategic partner, you will often spend much less on a month-to-month basis than if you were to hire a full-time employee to fill that same role.

Of course, this is hardly the only way a strategic partner can help you lower expenses. Many partnerships see the participating organizations share resources in marketing and infrastructure, helping to lower costs for both sides. A more streamlined approach to operations keeps both parties from duplicating activities and their associated expenses, which can strengthen cash flow and enable investments in other areas.

This can greatly reduce your organization’s overall financial risk, giving you greater resilience and adaptability in the face of other market trends.

Strategic partnerships often take the form of marketing initiatives that are designed to grow the market reach of both parties. Partners who target similar audiences without competing with each other will often participate in joint marketing campaigns. This greatly expands the reach of and potential sales associated with the marketing campaign, as the organizations can introduce themselves to the others’ existing customers while offering an appealing product or service.

The ability to better reach new customer segments can make marketing partnerships a highly cost-effective way to attract customers and drive sales growth. Better yet, loyalty to one brand will often transfer to the new brand discovered as part of the campaign.

As highlighted by HubSpot, GoPro and Red Bull participated in a successful co-branding campaign that was rooted in their shared values that focus on adventure and action sports. Though they offer radically different products, the shared culture and audience made them a natural fit for carrying out joint events in the action sports lifestyle space.

The right strategic partner can also enhance your products or services in a way that makes them more appealing to your target audience, helping to drive increased revenue from your existing customers.

A great example of this came from Matt Hyman, CEO at SpotOn, a restaurant point-of-sale and software company. During a recent conversation with me, he explained, “Every restaurant’s operation is unique, so when an operator wants to introduce a restaurant online ordering system, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach many traditional POS companies take can make it difficult to implement.”

He continued, “Offering customized solutions, as well as a curated selection of integration partners, allows us to be a true partner for our restaurant clients, making it easy for them to find the right solutions for their operation, whether it be online ordering, KDS, employee scheduling or inventory management. In an industry where margins are extremely tight, finding new ways to drive revenue in a profitable manner can often be what keeps a restaurant in business.”

When strategic partners combine resources and expertise, it isn’t just for reducing costs. By sharing their strengths, partners can often accelerate growth in ways that simply wouldn’t be possible when working alone.

The increased resources available to both parties in terms of technology, human expertise, market share and other vital areas allows them to maximize their productivity and efficiency. As Aristotle said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The very nature of bringing together two sides in a joint collaborative effort will unlock new innovations and greater productivity, which will allow you to increase your profits as well.

The most successful strategic partnerships are ultimately focused on how they can create additional value for their target audience. Whether your partnership is trying to enhance the customer service experience or improve the quality of the products you offer to your customers, strategic partnerships that use this as a foundational element will be better positioned to create meaningful change.

As you critically evaluate potential partnerships through the lens of how you can create greater value for your customers, you will be able to identify your areas of strength and weakness, as well as what types of partnerships could have the greatest impact. By adopting a customer-first mindset, you and your partners can focus on the actions that matter most.

The right strategic partnerships can have a wide-ranging influence on your business’ overall financial picture. Whether your partners help you better mange your existing operating costs or increase your potential for growth among current and prospective customers, this much-needed boost to your bottom line will put your business on more stable financial footing and set you up for long-term success.

Richmond Heights holds town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of the recreational marijuana business

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- There has been much talk in recent weeks at Richmond Heights City Council meetings about the pros and cons of allowing the dispensing within the city of adult-use recreational marijuana.

So much, in fact, that Council President Bobby Jordan decided to hold a town hall meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 17) at the Richmond Heights Community Center.

Heading into that town hall gathering, attended by about 50 residents, Jordan’s stance -- a stance shared by Mayor Kim Thomas -- has been to hear from residents and fully research the topic before having council take any definitive action.

Currently, the city is under a council-approved six-month moratorium that does not permit any dispensing, cultivating or processing of recreational marijuana in the city. That moratorium is set to expire on Oct. 19.

After listening to several residents speak Tuesday, Jordan, who personally is against the idea of a recreational cannabis business operating in the city, said he will likely call for a council vote to extend that moratorium another six months while further research is conducted.

As of now, the call for recreational marijuana businesses in Richmond Heights is moot.

Lawyer Lisa Mack led off the town hall by explaining Ohio law pertaining to recreational marijuana, the sale of which was legalized by Ohio voters last November. On Aug. 6, 127 licensed Ohio dispensaries began to legally sell recreational marijuana.

But, Mack said, the licensing phase is over. The state will review the licensed businesses within 24 months, and more licenses may or may not be granted within or after that time frame.

That means that, even if Richmond Heights council lifted its moratorium, it is doubtful any such licensed dispensary could open in the city for at least two years.

During council meetings, Ward 2 Councilman Asu Mook Robinson has been the biggest proponent for allowing the recreational marijuana business to operate in Richmond Heights.

Robinson has argued that, by not allowing the business to operate, the city is cutting itself off from revenue, perhaps a large amount of revenue, that could be used to help Richmond Heights City Schools or senior programs.

Also voting in favor of allowing the recreational cannabis business in the city were Ward 3 Councilwoman Cassandra Nelson and Councilman at-large Daniel Ursu. Both have stated that a state-licensed cannabis business is a safer choice for those who will use marijuana as opposed to buying from an illegal seller. Nelson also noted,like Robinson, that revenues could be gained and used to help residents.

Nelson was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, while Robinson and Ursu were not.

Another speaker at the town hall meeting was Richmond Heights’ financial adviser David Conley, president of Rockmill Financial Consulting.

Speaking about the talk of the city gaining a potential financial windfall from recreational cannabis business, Conley said, “Lots of communities are trying to figure out if there’s an upside to allowing this recreational business into those communities purely from a financial perspective. In other words, are they going to get a windfall from property taxes?

“The answer to that question is, it’s unknown. There are a lot of questions to be answered.”

The state is charging a 10-percent excise tax on the sale of recreational marijuana, with communities who host those businesses receiving 36 percent, or at least a portion of that 10 percent.

Conley said that the 36 percent goes into a fund managed by the state’s tax commissioner’s office, which can use it to cover its operating expenses.

“There’s no cap for those expenses, so who knows how much comes off of the top before the net amount is left over to be distributed back to the host communities,” Conley said. “That, alone, creates a lot of unknowns about what would be left over.”

As an example, Conley said that if the 10-percent excise tax generated $300 million throughout Ohio, 36 percent of that $300 million, or $108 million, would go to the host community fund. After an unknown amount of administrative fees are subtracted from the $108 million, left over would be an amount to be divided among all 88 of Ohio’s counties, leaving about $1.2 million per county. That amount would then be divided among the host communities.

“I can just assure you that this is not the Holy Grail of tax revenues for a community,” he said.

Conley also mentioned that legal dispensaries will also face competition from illegal sellers, which could well decrease legal sales.

Dispensaries cannot open within one mile of another dispensary and must be separated by at least 500 feet from schools, churches, parks and libraries.

Because of these parameters, it appears that Richmond Heights, at 4.5 square miles, might only be able to accommodate one dispensary, especially as one is already located at its border. The INSA dispensary is located at 27751 Chardon Road, just across the border in Willoughby Hills.

Among residents in attendance at the town hall, there was a split as to whether the recreational marijuana business should be permitted in Richmond Heights.

Rachel Scott, of Highland Road, said she opposed such businesses from religious and practical perspectives.

“We chose Richmond Heights because we felt it was a safe city to live in,” she said of herself and husband, Willie, who also spoke against the businesses. “We also felt our children would be able to thrive here.”

Parents, she said, are going to have to explain to their children when they see the dispensaries why people are entering them. Considering such conversations, she said of recreational marijuana, “Some things are not worth the cost.”

Resident Russell Johnson said he was a Cleveland police officer for 26 years and worked enforcing narcotics laws.

“I’m not against there being a dispensary (in Richmond Heights)” he said, stating, however, that his beliefs should not be forced onto others.

Johnson said that even if a recreational business brings to the city just $10, it would be $10 gained and not lost.

He said that, several years ago, city leaders at the time did not allow a UPS shipping center to locate in Richmond Heights, so it went on to open in neighboring Highland Heights, a move that cost Richmond Heights much tax money.

“Don’t close the door to business,” he said.

Resident Len Thompson said he has enjoyed marijuana for many of his 66 years, but his grown children do not now drink or smoke. He said that what he was hearing from those against the recreational marijuana business was mere “fear mongering.”

Meanwhile, resident Danny Thomas, a former probation officer and husband of Mayor Kim Thomas, said, “I can guarantee you, it’s going to bring some crime, some robberies. Why invite that?” But, Thomas said, it is up to to residents to ultimately decide what they want.

As for Mayor Thomas, she, too, said it is up to residents to decide. She said she agrees with Jordan, however, that the city should take its time in gaining all the facts it can before making a decision.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Tracy Justice and Councilwoman at-large Juanita Lewis attended the meeting and told residents of their opposition to the business operating in Richmond Heights. Justice mentioned that many jobs require drug testing, and that recreational marijuana would legally be available locally to those 21 and older.

“We know 21-year-olds don’t make the best decisions,” she said.

Lewis said she was against recreational marijuana sales for religious reasons, but noted that residents should decide.

Jordan said that another town hall meeting on the subject will likely be scheduled for next spring.

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Ward 3 meeting Sept. 28

Ward 3 Councilwoman Cassandra Nelson will hold a ward meeting, open to residents of all wards, from 3-5 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Richmond Heights Community Center, 27285 Highland Road, in Richmond Heights Community Park.

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