With an extra focus on family this time of year, we thought it would be a good time to talk about family run small businesses. Working with your family is going to be different than working with others; your family knows every single thing about you, including your strengths and weaknesses, and tend to be a bit more honest than others might be. Whether you are already in business and want to keep thriving, or looking for best tips to start, we have some articles that should help you out.

Payroll taxes are federal, state and local taxes withheld from an employee's paycheck by the employer. These taxes consist of income taxes, unemployment taxes, and deductions for Social Security and Medicare taxes, the last of which are often referred to as "the payroll tax."

Year-end can be a stressful time: from holiday celebrations to wrapping up the books on your small business, you are likely a tired small business owner who is looking for a break. The good news is, when it comes to year-end there are plenty of ways to ask for help, especially if you have a payroll provider doing the heavy lifting on your payroll and taxes.

The end of the year is a busy time for small business owners as they juggle seasonal employees, project deadlines and final sales pushes while also beginning the process of closing the books for the year – while also taking time out for their own holiday celebrations.

Money tasks aren’t usually enjoyable to deal with, and as a small business owner they can be especially stressful. As we are quickly approaching year-end, it doesn’t hurt to spend a few minutes cleaning up your finances and if you’re struggling, finding some new ways to change your spending habits to start the new year on a clean slate.

As a small business owner, processing payroll is just one item on your to-do list, but ever-changing regulations and tax code updates can make it the most time-consuming task in a given week. These tax updates occur at the federal, state, and local levels, and depending on where your business is based and where your employees live, some small businesses have it tougher than others. We’ve started this monthly series to focus on state-specific tax considerations, to help you keep up with what’s changing around you.

With National Entrepreneurs’ Day and Thanksgiving this week, there is a special emphasis on being thankful and practicing gratitude. In addition to this time of year, it’s important to be thankful year-round and can actually lead to better health and well-being, along with delivering positive results for your small business. This week, we found a few articles that help explain these topics in more detail.

Ahead of National Entrepreneurs’ Day, we wanted to find some articles that celebrate the success of small business owners. Being a small business owner is no easy feat, and for those times when you’re feeling a bit discouraged, it can be helpful to look at some stories to see you aren’t alone in your struggles and can succeed. Learn from one small business owner who went from broke to raking in sales, one Uber driver who got creative and turned his vehicle into a product showroom, and lastly check out four more stories that have something to teach you about being a small business owner.

Employee handbooks. How often have you received one of these and wondered if it was worth the time it takes to read? You might thing that most of the information in the handbook is stuff you’ve seen before.

It seems like we are always on the quest for happiness. For some people, happiness comes naturally and others it can take a little more work to find it. There is also always the question about what truly makes you happy. This week, we gathered an article that gives you all of the details on an extremely popular happiness course at Yale. Next, learn the truth about how much money will make you happy, and lastly find out how to refocus on the things that are truly important in your life.

Safety is an important workplace subject that has evolved over the years. As a small business owner, depending on your business, you may be wondering just how much emphasis you need to place on safety. It’s important to remember that while some industries have more to plan around than others, injuries and accidents can be as simple as tripping over your computer cord. By ensuring your small business is as safe as possible, you can protect yourself, employees, and customers from unfortunate situations that can easily be avoided.  

In recent years the workforce has been changing, and more and more people are working remotely. While many people believe that work from home employees are less productive and tend to slack off more, research actually shows the opposite. However, it can easy for remote employees to feel like they aren’t part of a time and that communicating can sometimes be a problem. This week, we found some articles that will better help you understand remote employees and ways to keep them engaged.

As a small business owner, processing payroll is just one item on your to-do list, but ever-changing regulations and tax code updates can make it the most time-consuming task in a given week. These tax updates occur at the federal, state, and local levels, and depending on where your business is based and where your employees live, some small businesses have it tougher than others. We’ve started this monthly series to focus on state-specific tax considerations, to help you keep up with what’s changing around you.

The holiday shopping season is quickly approaching, with Black Friday and Small Business Saturday now being less than a month away. This year, consumers are ready to spend, which is great news for your small business. This week, to help you gear up for the season, we gathered articles about how other small business owners are advertising, the consumer shopping habits for the season, and the 5 online shopping trends to be aware of.

Most people don’t associate the process of running payroll with the concept of “flexibility.” But at SurePayroll, where our focus is entirely on small business payroll, we recognize that flexibility is not a nice-to-have for small business owners, it’s a need-to-have in all aspects of their professional lives.

We are officially one month out from Small Business Saturday! As a small business owner, this is a day to look forward to, but you might not know how best to participate. Last year, we did a two-part series about the history and importance of Small Business Saturday and some things that you should keep in mind as you plan. This year, we are sharing some stats from the 2017 shopping season, providing a recap of what you can do to be successful, and asking for your help in filling out a fast Small Business Saturday survey.

Hiring as a small business owner can be hard and overwhelming. With everything else you have going on, while you might need help, getting the process started can take a while. This week, we found some articles that can help you out and offer advice on hiring on a limited budget, hiring more effectively, and how to find the right seasonal employees for your small business.

At this point, you have learned what employee engagement is, how money may or may not affect engagement, and now you’re ready to learn how to keep employees at your small business engaged. Perhaps you have the money to give everybody raises, but if you don’t, there are plenty of ways that you can still keep employees engaged in the work they are doing. 

For any business to be successful, a solid marketing plan is key. After all, if people don’t know that you exist, or what products or services you sell, how are you supposed to make any money? Marketing can also be confusing, and is an area that is always evolving. This week, we have some articles that will help you better understand marketing, tips for a great plan, and how Generation Z is going to shake up online marketing.

“Money can’t buy happiness.” How often have you heard this saying, and how often have you heard the follow up along the lines of “maybe not, but I would be happier sitting at my beach house with a margarita in hand”? Researchers have spent a lot of time understanding how money affects people, and at what point will they be happy. The same is applied to workers and how much money will make an employee engaged.