In fact, many workers who are easily qualified to take solid positions at big companies choose to work for small companies because they know their leverage and upward mobility will be greater. Their incentives for hard work are the drive to become one of your executives or chief officers. Other employees need stronger, more tangible incentives, like Roth IRA retirement plans and health benefits. Here’s a small list of what you may be able to offer:

Health care and retirement funds. These are some of the first benefits of a job that an employee will be interested in. The reason why is fairly obvious. Health care is expensive; and retirement options give you life-long security. When you offer it you’re showing your employees that you value them and are willing to make an investment in their well-being for the sake of your company. For employees who need dental or vision care, or other, more expensive medical procedures, having this taken care of can be a great relief and will make them want to work harder.

Stock options. If your company has gone as far as an IPO and are a publicly traded business, offering your employees stock options is an excellent way to incentivize them. They will then have a tangible financial reason to aid in the growth of the company. There different types of employee stock options: ‘incentive’, in which they only pay taxes on the stocks when they sell them; ‘non-qualified’, which requires more taxes for the employee and deductions for the employer; and ‘restricted’, which are shares that can be sold only when the company reaches certain benchmarks.

Software/hardware. If your company works with technology you can receive great discounts on computers and related software. Passing on these discounts to your employees can save them thousands of dollars on equipment. While they should be using their new gear on primarily work-related tasks, for many employees tech swag is a huge incentive for working with a particular company.

These are just three ways to incentivize your employees to do great work for your company. They involve varying degrees of financial investment on the part of the employer, but all of them showcase generosity, professionalism, and a marked faith and appreciation in the value of employees.

Transaction fees—All debit cards charge the card holder small fees when they are used on transactions. The cost of these fees depends on a combination of the financial institution that issued the card and the merchant from whom you are making the purchase. As of 2011, Visa and Mastercard were planning to significantly raise their merchant fees, from 8 cents on a $2 purchase to 23 cents, which is only a cent less than the legal limit. Other companies are expected to follow suit.

Account requirements—Another way banks are able to make a few extra bucks off their account holders is to increase the minimum balance requirements and attach corresponding feeds. CitiBank, for example, has effectively eliminated their EZ checking account option and raised their standard minimum account balance to $6,000. The fee for not maintaining that balance jumped to $15 a month, which is double the previous amount. Their mid-tier account requirements and fees also doubled. This is not an isolated case. Banks all across the company are fiddling with their account requirements in order to acquire new fees.

Debit fee—Perhaps in response to the 2010 Durbin Amendment, which famously limited the fees banks could charge merchants, Bank of America had planned a monthly $5 fee last year for debit card use. The customer backlash from the announcement was so severe that BofA cancelled the charge. Since then at least four more banks have cancelled proposed debit card fees, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Atlanta-based SunTrust, Regions Bank. But don’t expect them to just give up. Analysts say that in the long run, banks will bilk the money they want by instituting higher monthly bank account fees, higher ATM fees, and the elimination of debit reward programs.

Bank account fees are nothing new, nor are transaction fees. But being charged money simply to spend your own money via a debit card is a relatively new invention that deserves to be second-guessed. Account holders should also be vigilant of what kind of checking account they are enrolled in and what fees they are incurring.

Blogging—In addition to a website, your small business should also have a blog. On that blog you should post updates about your products and services, as well as anything and everything related to conveying the story and mission statement of your business. Use search engine optimization, marketing, and link building campaigns to make your blog rise higher in page rank and on search engines. Small businesses with active, optimized blogs are much more likely to find core, loyal customers and investors.

Podcasts—Podcasts are becoming extremely popular as they are a good alternative to video content and are easily distributed through Internet radio sites and RSS feeds. Having a podcast for your small business is a great way to position yourself in niche communities and it’s essentially a free form of advertising. Podcasts also reach different markets of consumers that you might not normally be connected to.

Social media—Using social media is a must for your small business. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Pinteres are just a few of the most popular and the list goes on and on and will undoubtedly grow in the 2012. While each social media platform has their advantages and disadvantages, the common thread is the ability to aggressively network with thousands of people and get them talking about your business through clever marketing, discounts, and viral content. Social media is the advertising venue of the 21st century, so not having an online presence with it in mind is tantamount to building your business underground.

The bold new century is upon us and entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed professionals, and freelancers all need to be sure they’re utilizing the tools that our patron saints of technology have bestowed upon us. Blogging, podcasts, and social media offer incredible varieties of options and opportunities for people to fight back against the sluggish economy.

Intuit’s GoPayment,  a credit card device for small businesses announced plans to go global.  GoPayment helps small businesses – and anyone, for that matter, who sells products or services – easily and securely process credit cards payments on the go via smartphone or tablet.

GoPayment is a rival to Square which was founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. The built-in advantage that GoPayment is the community of small businesses who already use Intuit products including Quickbooks and Turbo Tax. Like Square, the GoPayment device is free.

In the traditional IRA, most taxpayers can elect to put up to $5,000 into an IRA annually ($6,000 if you’re over 50), and deduct that from their taxable income. Since this is pre-tax, it lowers your taxable income so it is an immediate tax benefit.

The Roth IRA, There is no immediate tax advantage because the contributions are made with post-tax money. The good thing is when you start withdrawing at 59 ½, you won’t be taxed at all. Another great feature of the Roth IRA is that all contributions can be withdrawn at any time with no tax or penalty.

If you not saving for retirement, start today. You can do it easily by setting up an account with Betterment.  See my earlier article about Betterment.

From the blog Consumerist, here are three recent posts that you may want to read.

It is time to pay off that credit card debt as the average credit card APR is about 15%.

If you have lower credit score and are surprised that you received a credit card offer, don’t be flattered. It is a way debt collectors can resurrect old debt.

How to lend money to family? Short answer. Carefully, and be cool with saying no. Read the long answer which includes making a contract.

File Your Taxes and Pay On Time

Complete  all of the work yet to be completed from the 2011 tax year before filing 2012.  April 17th is the last day to file taxes.

Double-Check Your Income Tax Withholding

If you’re not withholding enough money from your paycheck, then it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll owe on your tax return instead of receiving a tax refund. The Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (Form W-4) will allow you change your withholding amount by changing your claimed tax exemptions.

Prepare, Organize, and Keep Excellent Records

Nothing will help you stay on top of your taxes better than developing an excellent strategy of preparation, organization, and record keeping. It may sound dull, but the benefits can save you a bundle of money.

Don’t Overpay for Unnecessary Tax Preparation

You may think your taxes are complex and find it necessary to go to a tax store to prepare your taxes, but you don’t have to overpay to have your taxes prepared.  Tax software like TurboTax makes tax preparation easy with step-by-step guidance.

Make Estimated Payments

For the self-employed, making estimated tax payments is a very smart way to stay ahead of the tax game. And, if your income is high enough, the IRS can even require estimated payments to be made. Instructions about estimated payments can be found on Form 1040-ES.

Regularly Contribute and Donate

If you have an IRA, 401k, 529 plan, or any other savings/investment accounts, be sure to find out what the maximum yearly contribution limits are and develop a monthly deposit plan to ensure that you can maximize the benefits of those accounts.

Also, consider giving to charity on a more regular basis. Many people/businesses wait until the end of the year to make charitable contributions

These tools will be helpful in calculating tax credits resulting from payment of health insurance premiums.  The first tool is a free web-based tool and can be accessed through the website PaychexInsurance.com. The tool follows the IRS (Internal revenue Service) guidelines and based on employees’ hours, wages, premiums, and employer contributions, it helps to calculate the estimated credit.

Using the second tool, small business owners can assess their eligibility to receive the tax credit and thereby they can file for the same, if found eligible. However, to reap the benefits of the package for the 2012 calendar tax year, business owners have to be a Paychex payroll and Paychex Insurance Agency client for the entire 2012 calendar year.

9. Business Startup Costs
Startup Costs are “amount paid or incurred for creating an active trade or business, or investigating the creation or acquisition of an active trade or business”.   Starting in 2010, business can deduct up to $10,000 for start-up costs, there is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the $10,000 deduction if start-up costs exceed $60,000.

10. Home Office Expenses
If you are working from home make sure that you are using the office regularly and exclusively for business purposes, make a floor plan showing the area you use for your business and the percentage of the square feet of the home.  Also take photo of your home office so it is on file if there any questions later and please keep detailed records of expenses to substantiate your deductions.

11. Charitable Contribution
The itemized deduction for charitable contributions is one of the most frequently used by taxpayers to reduce tax liability. Generally contributions to a qualified charitable organization are deductible, subject to limitations.  A canceled check, bank statement or credit card statement is sufficient proof for small donations.  For donations of $250 or more, obtain a written acknowledgement letter from the charity.  Consider donating things other than cash, deduction for giving clothes, household appliances, cards and other personal property.

Check or credit card. Although a contribution must be made by December 31, 2011, to be deductible in 2011, the taxpayer does not necessarily need to part with his or her cash by that date. Payment by personal check is considered made in the tax year that it is mailed to the charity as long as it is cashed in due course. A contribution by credit card is considered made in the year the account is charged, irrespective of when the credit card balance may be paid off.

Photo: Caramel Apples At Sweet Revenge

Here’s some tips and links for small business retailers this week.

Five Foursquare Tactics To Attract Customers
How To Work Holiday Craft Shows and  Artisan Flea Markets Without Going Nuts
Are you an Etsy seller?  Etsy just launched an iPhone app to track sales
Small Business Saturday is November 26. Tell your customers!

From Raw Story:

Bank of America announced today that they had contracted with author and New Yorker scribe Malcolm Gladwell to headline a series of lectures designed to attract small business owners to the much-criticized bank.

In his presentations, the bank said, “Borrowing from the concepts in ‘Outliers,’ Gladwell examined the unique attributes that define high performance and extracted lessons that small business owners could adapt in their own endeavors.” In Outliers, Gladwell looked at everything from cultural heritage to class privilege to explain why, respectively, Asian students were better at math and Bill Gates is rich.

Bank of America added that “In each market, Gladwell’s presentation was preceded by a panel discussion on relationship capital, a core component of business success” — better known as a sales presentation.

Have you heard?!  Small Business Saturday is November 26. It is a way to support small businesses as you are doing holiday shopping. YouTube has teamed up with American Express to get showcase small business owners’ stories. You can submit you our story by November 15.

You can set bill reminders and do bill payments for utilities like cable, electric, phone.
You can track your magazine subscriptions.
You can keep track of hotel points and airline miles.
You can keep an archive of your bank account statements.
You can also keep track of your Groupon, Living Social

There is also iPhone and Android apps for Manilla.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Manilla.

Every time I hear about a new accounting software, I get excited.  I am hoping for something that makes data entry easier so that both my clients and my self can spend time on analyzing working capital, budgeting and minimizing expenses.  Today I heard about Wave Accounting.  It does bank and credit card imports and it is free!

• Creating and Sending an Invoice
• Recording an Expense
• Creating a New Account
• Creating A New Vendor
• Doing a Profit/Loss Statement
• Creating A Budget
• Find out if you are making money

Please let me know in the comments what you want to know.