4Thought Blog

Noncompete agreements are commonly included in business purchase transactions to prevent the seller from competing against the buyer for the term of the noncompete agreement. These arrangements are also sometimes called covenants-not-to-compete or noncompete covenants.

Important: Laws regarding noncompete agreements vary from state to state. For example, courts in California generally reject noncompete agreements because state law makes them unenforceable except in limited circumstances. Because noncompete covenants are generally not allowed in the state, California employers often use confidentiality agreements and other types of contracts to protect trade secrets and other information. Still, in many jurisdictions, noncompete covenants can be enforceable if certain conditions are met.

Noncompete agreements have important tax implications. Here are the details.

With business travel picking up again and summer fast approaching, many business owners may be mulling trips that combine work with vacation or other personal activities.

A quick refresher on the IRS rules related to deducting business vs. personal travel costs can help you reduce your tax bill next year.

Profit growth and business expansion are two key goals for many family businesses. In order to successfully reach your targets, however, you must control the growth.

If you undergo an undisciplined expansion, you'll run the risk of burning through too much cash too quickly, diluting resources, leaving projects unfinished and destroying morale.

Whether you're planning an ambitious expansion, considering a merger or acquisition, developing a new growth strategy, or looking at a few minor tweaks to boost revenue, plan your moves carefully.

As you move forward with the strategy, continually evaluate the game plan by asking the following questions:

Real estate markets are still surging in many parts of the country, especially in some popular travel destinations. If you're thinking about selling a vacation home that's increased dramatically in value, you might be rightly concerned about the tax hit. While the limited federal income tax gain exclusion break is still on the books, it's only available for the sale of a principal residence.

However, a vacation home will sometimes qualify for the gain exclusion break if you've also used the property as a principal residence. Here's an overview of the federal income tax rules for gains from selling a vacation home under three possible scenarios. Beware: The rules can be complicated!

In nearly every U.S. state, property rights — including estate rights — apply to spouses, whether the marriage is a first or subsequent marriage.

Although the laws are complex and can vary dramatically from state to state, you should at least review your estate plan if you've remarried to help ensure your assets will go where you intend.

Here's an overview of how states regard estate plan provisions — and what you can control.

As the midpoint of the year fast approaches, it's a good time for manufacturers to assess their tax status and plan appropriate strategies for reducing their 2022 tax liability.

 Although each situation is unique, here are seven general tax moves that could potentially lighten your manufacturing company's tax load this year.

In today's tight labor market, small businesses — including restaurants, delivery services, retail stores and manufacturers — are struggling to attract and retain top-quality staff.

The conditions are likely to worsen in many sectors as demand ramps up during the summer months. To be competitive with other employers, you'll need to be proactive in identifying candidates with the right fit at a reasonable cost.

Here are seven tips on how to find the help you need before the summer rush begins:

Construction accounting is distinctively complex. Unlike other businesses that rely heavily on a general ledger to track finances, construction companies need to master a project-based approach to accounting.

After all, each of your jobs serves as an individual profit center — with its own scope, timeline, payroll, revenue and expenses.

That's why your accounting software shouldn't function like any other company's off-the-shelf solution. Here are some key features to ensure that your system gives you the right functionality.

From the drive through speaker to the QR code menu, restaurant patrons are familiar with the evolution of technology that streamlines front of house operations.

Recent years have seen increased focus on innovation at the back of house. Though they might not be visible to the average customer, changes underway will have a profound impact on customer experience.

As the restaurant industry recovers from labor shortages, supply chain disruption and other COVID-19 related setbacks of the last few years, adoption of back of house technology can help establishments manage inventory, mitigate staffing shortages and elevate customer experience for a competitive edge.

Restaurants looking to take advantage of today’s wealth of back of house tools can take a strategic approach to innovation that takes return on investment (ROI) and staffing implications into account.

In the face of the “Great Resignation” and rising inflation, organizations are taking a second look at the size of their salary increase budgets.

For the last decade, budgets for merit increases have hovered around 3%. Now, salary increase budgets are on the rise to levels not seen in years, according to BDO’s first-quarter 2022 Salary Increase Budget Pulse Survey.

The average 2022 merit budget set in Q3 2021 was estimated to be around 3%, in line with previous years.

However, as 2022 approached, the talent shortage persisted, and it became clear that salary increase budgets needed to be higher. Merit budget predictions in Q4 2021 increased to just under 4%.