CrackerJack Accounting

I think employee bonus programs are fantastic and every business should have one.  I also think poorly designed bonus programs are bad for business.  What I see, more often than not, are discretionary bonuses that are paid annually, usually around Christmas.
Here’s the main thing I cannot stand about the traditional Christmas bonus program: Employees who [...]

I once worked with a small, growing business that had a couple of magnetic poetry kits on the refrigerator.  Employees would make funny sentences on the refrigerator for all to enjoy.  All was well and good until the company grew to a point that it needed a human resources manager.
Within a week of the new [...]

In my career, I have often held the accounting/human resources/everything else no one wants to deal with position.  So, I’ve been faced with quite a few fun scenarios.  Here are a few…
2) Naked Lady Cake – Once upon a time I worked in a manufacturing environment.  The shop was 99% male (only myself and one [...]

I’m conducting a survey of small business owners to get a better idea of what back office support services are valuable to them.  If you’re a small business owner, I would really appreciate it if would take a minute to complete the survey.  Thanks!
Click Here to take survey

Steve Potestio at 52ltd has a great blog post about hiring and corporate culture.  I think he is "right on the money": http://52ltd.com/blog/.
When I worked at XPLANE, we worked very hard at building our corporate culture and this did make negotiations less money-centric. 
I think it’s important for managers to remember the best resume isn’t [...]

I recently read the book “Fire Someone Today” and I found it to be a great resource for tactical managment advice.  The title will prohibit the book from being displayed in your work library ( unless that’s your style of management…), but it provides good insight nonetheless. 
A couple of my favorites from the book:
Don’t Fly [...]

I’d like to take a moment to explain what the IRS business mileage rate means to small business owners.  It’s quite simple really…it’s the maximum amount per mile you can deduct from taxes if you’re reimbursing using the mileage method.  If you reimburse employees more than this rate, the overage is taxable to them (known [...]