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1993-04-01
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@706 CHAP ZZ
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R │
│ │
│ U S I N G T H E │
│ │
│ S M A L L B U S I N E S S A D V I S O R│
├──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┤
├──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┤
├──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┤
├──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┤
├──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┤
├──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┼──┤
└──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┘
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: This program is designed to
operate on IBM-compatible personal computer systems
(other than the PCjr.) using DOS 2.0 or higher. A
minimum of 384K RAM is required. A hard (fixed) disk is
recommended; however, the program can also be run from
a single high-density floppy disk drive, as follows:
. A 1.2 MB high-density (5.25 inch)
floppy disk drive; or
. A 1.44 MB (3.5 inch) floppy
disk drive.
If your computer has only 360K and/or 720K flop-
py disk drives and you do not have a hard disk, YOU WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO RUN THIS PROGRAM ON IT.
The program is text-based, so it should run properly on
almost all monitors, whether or not you have a graphics
adapter. If you have a color, the program will take ad-
vantage of the color capability, but it will also run on
most monochrome or black-and-white monitors. We have at-
tempted to make the program functional for virtually any
IBM PC-compatible, DOS-based platform. (However, it will
not run on an IBM PCjr.)
I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE PROGRAM:
There are several general pointers that it may
be helpful for you to remember, when you are using the
Small Business Advisor program:
1. Remember that "HELP" is always at your
fingertips when you are at any of the menus in the
program. Before you press <ENTER> to select a command
from any of the menus, press the "F1" key if you see
"F1-HELP" at the bottom left hand corner of the screen,
and a help screen will appear in the Dialog Box,
describing the use of the selection highlighted on the
menu.
2. Remember that when you want to get out of a
text file you are viewing or from any other operation,
and to return to the last menu you were in, just press
the <ESCAPE> key. Or, in other words, when in doubt,
press <ESCAPE> to stop what you are doing.
3. IF you have obtained a copy of the PRINT/SAVE
utility, you can print out any text file or checklist
that appears on the screen in the large "TEXT VIEWING
WINDOW." Simply press <ESCAPE> (once) and a small box
will appear in the middle of the screen offering you 4
choices: (a) Press <ENTER> to continue viewing the
current text file; (b) Press <ESCAPE> again to exit to
the menu; (c) Press "P" to print the document; or (d)
Press "S" to save the text file to disk as an ASCII file.
(If you are editing one of the 3 worksheets, you will be
able to print or save the worksheet to disk whether or
not you have the PRINT/SAVE utility.)
4. F5 Function Key --Press the F5 key to toggle
color ON of OFF. The first time you run the program, it
will come on in monochrome display format. This is be-
cause some computer systems "lie" to the software by pre-
tending that a color monitor is present, when it is not.
In such cases, the program might attempt to display text
in color, but what would show up if you are actually run-
ning certain monochrome monitors with a color card would
be a blank screen. So, the program assumes NO color, un-
til you press the F5 key to turn on COLOR. (If the screen
goes blank when you press F5, don't panic. Just press F5
again to return to monochrome display mode, and the menu
screen should reappear.)
5. F6 Function Key -- Press the F6 key to exit
from the program (temporarily) to DOS, if you wish to use
any DOS functions for any reason, locate files, format
diskettes, etc., or even to briefly run another program,
if your system has sufficient memory to do so while hold-
Small Business Advisor in RAM. Once you are ready to re-
turn to Small Business Advisor, type the command "EXIT"
at the DOS prompt and press <Enter>, and you will be back
in Small Business Advisor, right where you left off.
6. F10 Function Key -- Press the F10 key to exit
from the program, whenever you see "F10 - Quit" as the
bottom of the screen. Any information you have entered
about your business by using the "DATA" command has al-
ready been saved on disk and will automatically be loaded
into memory the next time you run the program, so there's
no need to save anything before pressing F10 to exit from
the program.
PART II. SUMMARY OF FEATURES OF THE
"SMALL BUSINESS ADVISOR" PROGRAM:
The following is a brief overview of the various
commands and functions in the ADVISOR program. For a more
complete description of any menu command when running the
program, go to the menu where that command appears, use
the cursor keys or space bar to move the highlighted menu
bar to that command on the menu, and then press the F1
key (Function Key 1). If you are in the TAXES Submenu
(where you can do income and estate tax calculations and
projections), you can also select the HELP command on
that menu for a more detailed description of the tax
calculation commands.
M A I N M E N U
- - - - - - - -
┌───────── MAIN MENU ────────┐
▄▄│NEW Latest laws, developments│
██│DATA Enter data about company │
██│INDX Quick scan of topic index│
██│KEY Search for key words │
██│TAXES Tax Calculations Submenu │
██│TEST Entrepreneurs' self-test │
██│SCRN Screen colors and texture│
██│USER User manual, general help│
██│XPERT Consult EXPERT for advice│
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
NEW command. This menu selection will give you
a quick overview of recent tax, legal, and other changes
that have been made in the program since most previous
quarterly edition of the program was released. It will
give all users an idea of recent developments and, for a
user who owned a copy of a prior release, a quick thumb-
nail sketch of new features that have been added to the
program in the last 3 months. This text file also gives
you a preview of new features that are currently in pro-
cess, and that will be added in forthcoming quarterly up-
dates of Small Business Advisor.
DATA command. Use this command at any time to
change or enter information about the business you oper-
ate (or plan to start). When you select this command, the
program will proceed to ask you the name of your firm and
a number of other questions about your business. Most of
the questions require simple "Yes" or "No" responses (by
entering "Y" or "N").
When it finishes asking you all the necessary questions,
a detailed checklist of tax and legal pointers tailored
to your particular business will be displayed on screen.
After you exit the DATA command, you can view this check-
list again at any time by switching to the "Checklists"
Menu and selecting the "START" command on that menu. Or,
at any time you wish, you may select the "DATA" command
once more and enter a different set of answers about your
business (or perhaps about a different business, if you
wish). This set of data about your business, as last mo-
dified by you, is automatically loaded into memory by the
program each time you start it up. However, when using
the XPERT consulting menu, the program does not use the
saved information. Instead it will ask much more detailed
questions about your business (or other businesses which
you may also own or be considering).
INDX command. This command displays (in a
"Dialog Box") a broad and comprehensive index over 100
business subjects in an alphabetical list. You can
rapidly scan through this list by using the up or down
arrow (cursor) keys, space bar, or the "Page Up" and
"Page Down" keys. You may also press any letter, from A
to Z, to skip to the alphabetical listing of subjects be-
ginning with the letter you pressed. A small triangle
points at the last index item displayed in the dialog
box. To see information on any subject listed in the
index, just place the pointer in front of the item and
then press <ENTER>. You will find many timely subjects
listed in the Index, such as "CUSTOMS REBATES" (tips for
exporters for getting rebates from the U.S. government);
information on the "WARN" Act rules regarding plant clos-
ings and layoffs; telephone "hotline" numbers to get free
advice from various government agencies that assist small
firms; "PASSIVE LOSS" restrictions; and many other items
that can be very useful to you to explore.
KEY command. This is similar to the INDX
command above, except in this case you can simply type in
one or more key words, and the program will instantly
search an expanded index for the key word(s). If the
program finds a subject you want, it will display what it
has found, and you can press "Y" to see the text file on
that subject, or enter "N" to tell the program to
continue the search.
TEST command. Use this command to give yourself
a quick test as to whether you have the attitudes needed
to be relatively successful in starting your own
business. This is adapted from a multiple-choice test
created by the U.S. Small Business Administration. When
you have answered all the questions, you are given a
numeric score and evaluation.
SCRN command. Use this command to toggle on or
off the "textured" background screens when viewing the
menus. While the textured backgrounds have a nice look
on EGA and VGA color displays, they may look a little bit
strange on some older CGA and monochrome monitors.
Select various color combinations and your choice of tex-
tured or non-textured backgrounds for the main screen. To
select, just keep pressing <Enter> to page through all of
the various color and texture combinations.
USER command. Selecting this menu item loads
the User's Manual you are now viewing. Press the <Esc>
key and then "P" if you wish to print out this manual in
hard copy format.
XPERT command. Select this menu item if you wish
to go to the Consulting Submenu, which provides a number
of complex subject areas on which you can receive "expert
system" help from the program, based on your particular
business's situation. The results of any such "consulting
session can either be printed out as hard copy as well as
saved to disk in ASCII format for further editing or for-
matting with a word-processing program.
TAXES command. Enter this command to go to the
TAXES Submenu to do various tax calculations. This
Submenu contains the following commands:
┌───── Tax Calc SUBMENU ──────┐
██│ENTR Enter individual tax data │
██│ITAX Compute indiv. income tax │
██│CTAX Corporate income tax calc.│
██│WILL Estate plan, estate taxes │
██│HELP General help for tax calcs│
██│MAIN Exit back to MAIN MENU │
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
ENTR command. Use this command to scan a list
of personal income tax items (wages, dividends, medical
expenses, etc.) and enter amounts for each that applies
to you for your 1993 individual income tax. While using
this command, you can press the "F3" function key at any
time to do a quick re-calculation of your approximate tax
liability.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CAUTION: THE TAX CALCULATION FEATURES OF │
│ THIS PROGRAM ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR TAX │
│ ADVICE FROM A PROFESSIONAL TAX ADVISER, OR │
│ FOR A FULL-FLEDGED TAX PROGRAM. INSTEAD, │
│ THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES A "SIMPLIFIED" CALC- │
│ ULATION OF YOUR APPROXIMATE 1993 TAX LIA- │
│ BILITY. IN ORDER TO MAKE THE PROGRAM EASY │
│ TO USE FOR PERSONS WHO AREN'T TAX EXPERTS, │
│ IT MAKES NUMEROUS "SHORT-CUT" ASSUMPTIONS │
│ ABOUT MANY VERY TECHNICAL TAX RULES. IF │
│ YOU ARE A PERSON WHO HAS CERTAIN COMPLICA- │
│ TED TAX SITUATIONS, THE PROGRAM WILL N O T │
│ CALCULATE YOUR TAX PROPERLY. ACCORDINGLY, │
│ ASSUME THAT THE RESULTS YOU GET FROM RUN- │
│ NING THE TAX CALCULATION COMMANDS IN THIS │
│ PROGRAM ARE, AT BEST, AN APPROXIMATION. │
│ WHILE IT WILL DO SOME HEAVY NUMBER CRUNCH- │
│ ING FOR YOU, BASED ON A RELATIVELY SMALL │
│ NUMBER OF ENTRIES, BE AWARE THAT THE PROG- │
│ RAM ONLY COVERS FAIRLY "TYPICAL" KINDS OF │
│ TAX SITUATIONS. (HOWEVER, WE THINK YOU │
│ WILL FIND ITS INSTANT TAX CALCULATIONS │
│ QUITE USEFUL, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE │
│ 1993 TAX LAWS, WITH VARIOUS "PHASEOUTS" OF │
│ CERTAIN ITEMS, SUCH AS OF PERSONAL EXEMP- │
│ TIONS AND MOST ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS, ABOVE │
│ CERTAIN AGI LEVELS.) │
│ │
│ THERE IS A VERY GOOD REASON WHY THE INCOME │
│ TAX CODE AND REGULATIONS TAKE UP THOUSANDS │
│ OF PAGES.... COMPLEXITY! OBVIOUSLY, FOR A │
│ TAX PLANNING PROGRAM TO ASSURE A HIGH DE- │
│ GREE OF ACCURACY, IT WOULD HAVE TO ASK YOU │
│ HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL QUESTIONS │
│ IN ADDITION TO THE ITEMS YOU ENTER IN THIS │
│ SIMPLE TAX CALCULATOR. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU │
│ ENTER AN AMOUNT AS A BUSINESS LOSS, THIS │
│ PROGRAM WILL NOT ASK YOU WHETHER THE LOSS │
│ IS ALLOWABLE UNDER THE HOBBY LOSS, BASIS, │
│ PASSIVE ACTIVITY, AT-RISK, OR OTHER RULES │
│ THAT MIGHT DISALLOW THE LOSS. IT WILL SIM- │
│ PLY TREAT THE LOSS AMOUNT AS DEDUCTIBLE, │
│ ASSUMING YOU HAVE CORRECTLY MADE THAT DE- │
│ TERMINATION.... WHICH MAY BE A VERY WRONG │
│ ASSUMPTION, CONSIDERING THE INDECENT COM- │
│ PLEXITY OF THE TAX LAWS. │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
ITAX command. Once you have used the ENTR
command to input your income tax data, use this command
to display a more detailed summary of the results of the
tax calculations. Use the cursor keys and "Page
Up"/"Page Down" keys to scan through this summary.
CTAX command. This command simply computes the
federal corporation income tax on an amount of taxable
income you enter. This is simply a handy way to
calculate the tax on corporate income according to the
corporate tax rate schedules in the Internal Revenue
Code. Tax credits, corporate alternative minimum tax,
etc., are not taken into account. (The program assumes
that the corporation is NOT one of a group of affiliated
corporations under common control, which would affect the
tax calculation.) The Environmental Tax of 0.12% on the
Alternative Minimum Taxable Income in excess of $2
million is not computed, since no ordinary mortal can
accurately compute corporate Alternative Minimum Taxable
Income.
WILL command. This command allows you to either
(1) compute the federal estate tax (before credits, other
than the "unified credit") on a single estate in 1993; or
(2) compute estate tax on estates of a husband and wife
on different dates of death for each. The latter
computation is mainly an illustration of the estate tax
that can be saved by leaving up to $600,000 of assets to
someone (children?) other than the surviving spouse when
the first spouse dies, or in a "credit shelter" or
"bypass" trust, rather than leaving the whole estate to
the surviving spouse. In both cases, the program assumes
that the full "unified credit" is available, and has not
been used up to any extent during the lifetime of the
person in question, by gifts, etc. You will need an
attorney to tell you whether such a "bypass" trust is
appropriate in your situation, and to set one up for you
if it is.
We have included this feature in the program
mainly because we have found that many people do not
realize that they can, in many cases, save amounts well
into six figures with a "bypass" trust built into their
wills or by other very basic and fairly simple estate
planning techniques. Once you see the potential savings,
we believe you will be motivated to consult a good estate
planner.
HELP command. This command gives you a more
detailed (but by no means complete) description of some
of the kinds of situations that the tax calculation
commands in this Submenu will not deal with, such as
foreign tax credits, certain charitable contributions
that are subject to a 20% or 30% of AGI (rather than the
usual 50%) limitation on such deductions, etc. Read the
text file that is summoned by this command before using
any of the tax calculation commands.
MAIN command. Enter this command to exit back
to the Main Menu from the TAXES Submenu.
B U S I N E S S S T A R T U P M E N U
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
┌─── Business Startup MENU ───┐
▄▄│MONY Money sources for startups│
██│ENTY Selecting the legal entity│
██│PLAN Develop a business plan │
██│MARK Marketing feasiblty. study│
██│HIRE Hiring & personnel policy │
██│BUY Buy an existing business? │
██│TRAP Traps in buying a business│
██│FRAN Franchises---pros and cons│
██│NEG Negotiating the purchase │
██│CLOS Closing deal--legal points│
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
This menu provides a number of commands to call
up text files with advice on various aspects of starting
or buying a business. It also contains 3 commands (PLAN,
MARK, and HIRE) that allow you to create worksheet
documents (Business Plan, Marketing Feasibility Study, or
Personnel Policies) that you can save on disk or print
out (or do both).
MONY command. Select this command to see advice
regarding sources of financing for a new business, such
as the SBA, venture capital, etc.
ENTY command. This command loads a text file
that discusses many of the pros and cons of each of the
major legal entities you may select as forms of business
organization (proprietorship, partnership, C corporation
and S corporation). While reading this text file, note
that certain key words are highlighted. Press <ENTER> to
see a more in-depth discussion regarding any such key
word, without losing your place in the main text file you
are viewing. When you have finished viewing any such
cross-referenced file, press the <ESC> key (twice) to
return to your place in the main text file.
PLAN command. Helps you to create a basic
business plan document, which you can either print out
(after deleting the instructions in the sample outline)
or save on disk (file name "PLAN.SBE") if you prefer to
finish formatting it on your word processor.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NOTE WHEN USING ANY OF THE 3 WORKSHEET │
│ COMMANDS ("PLAN", "MARK" AND "HIRE" COM- │
│ MANDS): If you are running the program │
│ from a floppy disk drive you MAY not have │
│ room on the diskette to save a worksheet │
│ you create. Thus, you should have a blank │
│ FORMATTED diskette ready before starting │
│ the program, on which you can save your │
│ worksheet files. (The program will prompt │
│ you to insert a diskette in Drive A or B.)│
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
MARK command. Use this command to load and edit
a worksheet that guides you through the process of doing
a relatively simple market feasibility study for a new
product or new business. The worksheet you create can
either be saved on disk (file name "MARK.SBE") or printed
out.
HIRE command. Use this command to load and edit
a personnel policies summary for your new business,
establishing the policies you will follow regarding such
matters as overtime work, sick leave, fringe benefits,
working hours, etc. The worksheet you create can either
be saved on disk (file name "HIRE.SBE") or printed out.
BUY command. This command calls up a text file
with advice regarding the pros and cons of buying an
existing business vs. starting a new business from
scratch.
TRAP command. Outlines some of the major traps
to avoid when considering the purchase of an existing
business.
FRAN command. Discusses pros and cons of buying
a franchised business operation.
NEG command. Offers advice regarding negotiat-
ing the purchase of an existing business, if you go that
route.
CLOS command. Outlines various legal and tax
matters that you should consider before and after closing
the purchase of a business.
T A X I N F O M E N U
- - - - - - - - - - -
┌─────── Tax Info MENU ───────┐
▄▄│INTX Income tax, estimated tax │
██│WITH Withholding income taxes │
██│FICA Social Security (FICA) tax│
██│UNEM Unemployment taxes │
██│S/E Self-Employment tax │
██│EXC Excise taxes │
██│SALE State sales and use taxes │
██│PROP Real & pers. property tax │
██│INFO Information returns (1099)│
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
This menu provides you with current information
on a wide variety of business taxes that may apply to
your firm. Each command in this menu calls up
information on a different category of federal and/or
state/local taxes.
INTX command. Gives you timely information on
business income tax requirements relating to
proprietorships, partnerships and corporations, including
current tax rates and returns that must be filed, if
any. If you have entered data (using the "DATA" command)
about you firm, indicating that your firm is set up as an
"S corporation," this file will discuss the pros and cons
of S corporations; otherwise, when referring to corpora-
tions, it will only discuss "C corporations."
WITH command. Information on current federal
withholding tax requirements, when and how tax deposits
must be made, and various withholding and information
returns that must be filed with regard to wages paid and
taxes withheld.
FICA command. Information regarding current
FICA (Social Security Tax) rates, withholding and payment
requirements, tax return filing rules, and tax planning
suggestions for reducing FICA taxes.
UNEM command. Information and advice regarding
FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax) and state unemployment
taxes, experience ratings, and tips on reducing your
state unemployment tax costs.
S/E command. Discusses basic tax rules for
calculating, paying, and avoiding (if possible) the
federal self-employment tax on your profits from an
unincorporated business.
EXC command. Summarizes all of the numerous
federal excise taxes that apply to various types of small
businesses.
SALE command. Discusses state sales taxes in
general, how states that you don't do much business in
may still try to tax you, whether your state imposes a
sales tax (or similar gross receipts tax) and specific
information on the sales tax law in your state (for some
states).
PROP command. Information on real property
taxes and on business personal property taxes that may
apply in the state you have told the program you are
doing business in.
INFO command. Provides guidance regarding all
of the major kinds of federal tax "information returns"
(1099's mainly) that you may be required to file, when
you are exempted from filing certain forms, and which
ones you must file with the IRS in "magnetic media"
format, rather than filing the actual paper forms.
L E G A L M A T T E R S M E N U
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
┌───── Legal Matters MENU ─────┐
▄▄│LIC Licensing requirements │
██│NAME Business name registration│
██│COMP Workers' Compensation laws│
██│WAGE Wage-hour, child labor law│
██│OSHA Safety & Health regulation│
██│EBP Employee ben. plans--ERISA│
██│FAIR Fair employment laws │
██│IMMI Immigration laws -- hiring│
██│SEC Securities law/regulations│
██│EPA Environmental regulations │
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
This menu, as the name suggests, provides you
with a concise, current, and useful overview of laws and
government regulations that are likely to apply to your
small business, other than tax laws.
LIC command. This command provides you with
information on federal, state, and local licensing
requirements that may apply to your small business.
NAME command. Covers various aspects of the
name you use for your business or product, including
registration of fictitious business names, tips on
selecting a name, and federal trademark protection.
COMP command. Discusses Workers' Compensation
laws as they apply in the various states, how the
Workers' Compensation system operates, and whether
employers are required to obtain Workers' Compensation
insurance coverage in your particular state.
WAGE command. Provides you a summary of federal
minimum hourly wage, overtime pay and child labor laws.
Also covers state minimum wage laws, where the state
minimum wage differs from the federal, and other
miscellaneous state labor laws that may apply in your
state.
OSHA command. Covers federal Occupational
Safety and Health Act ("OSHA") basic requirements that
apply to small businesses.
EBP command. Discusses and provides extensive
charts of IRS, Dept. of Labor and other legal and
reporting requirements that your business must meet if
you provide employee fringe benefits or pension plans for
your workers.
FAIR command. Discusses federal (and some
states') fair employment or anti-discrimination laws that
apply to employers, EEO filings, and certain exemptions
for small employers.
IMMI command. Gives you up to date information
on the new requirements you must comply with every time
you hire a new worker, under the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986, and warns you of the huge penalties
that can apply if you fail to comply with this new law.
SEC command. Gives you a concise overview of
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulations (and
exemptions) that may apply when you offer to sell stock
or securities in a new corporation or partnership in
order to raise capital. Also discusses state "blue-sky"
law requirements applicable to sales of securities.
EPA command. This command gives you informa-
tion on federal environmental laws and regulations that
may now (or soon) apply to your business, including basic
requirements for air quality operating permits under the
Clean Air Act of 1991, how to avoid potential environmen-
tal cleanup liability under the "Superfund" laws, and in-
formation on a wide variety of other federal laws regard-
ing the environment.
C H E C K L I S T S M E N U
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
┌────── Checklists MENU ──────┐
▄▄│LEASE Signing a business lease │
██│ACQ Acquire existing business│
██│EVAL Evaluating a franchise │
██│START Startups: Your checklist│
██│CTRL Internal finan. controls │
██│FLOW Maximizing your cash flow│
██│INDEP Independent contractors? │
██│DISAB Hiring checklist -- ADA │
██└───────────────────────────────┘
█████████████████████████████████
This menu, as you might guess, provides a number
of checklists that will be helpful to a new or existing
business.
START command. This startup checklist may be
one of the most useful features in this program.
Selecting this command causes the program to create a
detailed and lengthy tax/legal checklist for your new or
planned business, tailored to your situation by use of
artificial intelligence techniques. To create this
"Startup Checklist," the program uses the information you
have previously entered about your business, such as the
state in which you do business, the number of employees,
the amount of your gross sales, type of business, whether
you export, whether yours is a franchise, whether you are
incorporated or not, and other information. As you scan
through the checklist, you will see a pointer which
points to each item listed and asks "MORE ?".
If you want more detailed information on such
item, simply press <ENTER> and a text file will be loaded
with background information on that subject. When you
have read the background file, just press the <ESCAPE>
key (twice) and you will return to where you were in the
Startup Checklist. You may print out the entire checklist
(or any text file you are viewing) on your printer, if
you wish. Simply press <ESCAPE> (once) and select the
"P" (for Print) option in the small box that appears on
the middle of the screen. Or, if you wish to save the
checklist on disk as an ASCII file, for further editing
by your word processor program, or for incorporation into
a larger document, press "S" (for "SAVE") instead of "P"
and you will be prompted for a filename under which you
may save the checklist text file.
LEASE command. This command provides you with a
checklist of points you need to consider before entering
into a business lease agreement.
ACQ command. If you are acquiring an existing
business, this checklist will give you a lengthy
checklist of legal, tax and practical matters you need to
consider before concluding such a deal, including some
new tax compliance requirements that can cost you some
horrendous penalties if you fail to file the required
forms with the IRS regarding the purchase price
allocation.
EVAL command. A comprehensive checklist for
evaluating a franchise opportunity.
CTRL command. An internal financial controls
checklist, to help you to determine whether your internal
controls are sufficient to reduce risks of employee
fraud.
FLOW command. A cash flow checklist, with a
number of proven ways of projecting, controlling and
maximizing your business's cash flow, which can be vital
to business survival.
INDEP command. Provides guidelines and an ex-
tensive checklist (used by the IRS) for determining for
tax purposes whether a worker is an employee or an
"independent contractor," which can have serious legal
and tax ramifications if you make a wrong determination.
DISAB command. A checklist that you, as an em-
ployer, should fill out as part of the hiring process for
any potential employee of your company who has any kind
of disability (as defined in Americans with Disabilities
Act), to ensure that you have gone through all the proper
considerations in the process of deciding whether or not
to hire such person. You can print out this checklist and
use it as a "fill-in-the-blanks" form.