Small Business

Cloud accounting software maker Kashoo has released a new iPhone app that gives small business owners the ability to manage their finances from anywhere.

The online small business accounting system Xero now has the ability to integrate with Silicon Valley Bank, a technology and start-up focused financial institution, the companies announced on Wednesday morning.

Brad Smith, the CEO of Intuit, which makes QuickBooks, TurboTax and many other personal and small business management systems, met with President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss how big business and government can work together to support small business. Smith joined other leading executives at a roundtable discussion during which the companies will champion new ways of helping finance small businesses to help them grow and succeed.

In the not-so-distant past, the Keogh plan was the hottest retirement planning commodity around. But like fax machines and VHS recorders, Keoghs are now regarded by many as relics. Nevertheless, this type of plan still might fit the bill for certain sole practitioners.

Once upon a time, an entrepreneur with just a handful of employees wouldn’t even think about starting up a 401(k) plan for the business. The administrative costs, as well as the complexity, could turn into a nightmare. But costs have come down in recent years and now the 401(k) is a viable vehicle for an employer of virtually any size.

Increases in small business lending, new business formations and a leading microcap index suggest that the small business economy is continuing to see modest growth, according to the latest SB Authority Index from Newtek Business Services.

Americans love their beer and the booming brewery market is the proof. The number of U.S. breweries more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, from 398 to 869, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most of your clients who are small business owners are consumed with their day-to-day operations. They usually don’t have the time, nor the inclination, to devote to administering a qualified retirement plan for employees, even though they also will benefit from it personally. For these harried entrepreneurs, a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), also called a SEP-IRA, is often the optimal choice of plans.