Important Legal Protections For Businesses

Running a business is a complicated endeavor, and managing a business presents a variety of risks.

There are so many different things that you have to keep in mind. From connecting with the right demographics, to understanding how technology changes your business, keeping up with everything can be overwhelming.

However, there’s one thing that you need to make sure that you’re paying as close attention to as possible: the law. There are plenty of ways in which your business can fall into legal hot water, and it’s essential that you’re aware of those issues, so that you can avoid them.

With that in mind, here are some ways to make sure that you’re keeping your business on the right side of the law.

What About Safety?

One of the biggest legal issues that a lot of smaller businesses run into is that of safety.

In-depth content, comment, meet peers: Join Conference Room. Watch the video, join here.

Health and safety might not be the most interesting things in the world, but they are important and you can’t afford to ignore them. The truth is that if something happens to an employee and you didn’t have the right procedures in place to prevent it, you’re the one who’s going to be liable for it.

Here are some practical tips:

Workers’ compensation insurance: Most states require firms to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which covers the medical costs and income payments to employees who are injured on the job. Check with an insurance specialist, so that you pay the correct amount of insurance premiums.

Safety manager: Most businesses have a set of procedures in place to protect the health and safety of workers. However, if your work in an industry that presents more risk, hire a safety manager. Construction companies, for example, hire experts to put safety policies in place, and to make sure that the procedures are enforced on each job site. An effective safety manager can sharply reduce your risk of employee injuries.

Putting the right health and safety procedures in place is far cheaper and easier than dealing with someone like Hadley Law Firm, if your employees end up getting hurt. It’s a simple step that can make a huge difference.

Taxes and Regulation

These issues can trip up a business, not because they’re trying to get around any laws, but simply because they’re not aware of what they’re doing. Things like your businesses accounts and finances can be incredibly complicated, and mistakes that you make can have serious legal ramifications. Here are some common examples:

Tax payments: Businesses may be required to collect sales tax on sales transactions, and to withhold federal and state income taxes from employee payroll. These amounts must be reported and sent to each taxing authority. Companies in financial trouble sometimes use the tax collections to fund business operations, and face fees and penalties by not sending the funds promptly.

Maintaining certifications: A large percentage of professions now require workers to maintain a professional license. Keeping the license active often requires the doctor, lawyer or accountant to take continuing education classes. Some busy professionals don’t maintain their licenses, which creates potential legal liability.

Make sure that you’re putting your finances in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing. Having an accountant isn’t just going to make your life easier, it’s going to offer an extra layer of protection to your business.

If you manage a business and want to increase your productivity, I highly recommend QuickBooks accounting software. Read this article to decide if you need the desktop or online version of the software.

Use online accounting software to dramatically increase your company productivity. Find out more here: QuickBooks Online Edition – Free Trial

Get the Right Advice

Of course, these aren’t the only ways in which you could end up in legal hot water. The best thing that you can possibly do is to make sure that you’re getting the right advice.

It can be very helpful to get in touch with someone who knows the legal side of things inside and out. That might be a judge or a mediator such as Natalie Chase, for instance, or it could be an attorney whom you have hired to represent your business and your interests. In either case, it is going to help you out in a big way.

Connect with a professional legal advisor can help you understand which potential legal pitfalls your business must face, and what you can do to avoid them. Your business is unique, so it helps to get unique guidance on how to deal with these issues.

Thanks!

Ken Boyd

Author: Cost Accounting for Dummies, Accounting All-In-One for Dummies, The CPA Exam for Dummies and 1,001 Accounting Questions for Dummies

Co-Founder: accountinged.com

(email) ken@stltest.net

(website and blog) https://www.accountingaccidentally.com/

(you tube channel) kenboydstl