Homebuyer Credits How to profit from tax credits received by new homeowners. Over the past few years, the federal government has been urging consumers to get out there and buy a house. The incentive? A tax credit for new homebuyers. Since the timeframe for the federal credit has now expired, the state of California has announced its own plan. These credits are great for retailers, especially ...

About the CARD The new need-to-know regulations on credit cards and how credit is offered to consumers. In an industry where financing options for consumers are constantly changing, it is important to know the new credit card rules. These regulations not only affect consumers, but they affect businesses, financial institutions and lenders as well. The changes began in May2009 after ...

When They Bring it Back Set Return Policies That Work for You and the Customer. by AllBusiness.com Hassle a customer when he or she tries to return a purchase, and you’ll likely lose a customer for good. On the other hand, there are situations where you may cut off a customer’s returns privileges entirely. Establishing return policies for a retail establishment can be difficult. ...

Choosing Disaster Insurance A named perils policy versus an all-risk policy - which is right for you? By allbusiness.com When choosing disaster insurance, you basically have two choices – a named peril policy or an all-risk policy, also known as a comprehensive policy or an open peril policy. The primary difference between them is that one type of policy covers what is “named” ...

Closing the 2009 Tax Season Tips to help save you stress and maybe even some money on this years taxes. With the end of 2009 fast approaching, it is important to take the necessary steps to close your store’s tax year properly. From deciding when to start preparing to the nitty-gritty details, we have enlisted the help of professionals to sort out all you need to know. Now ...

The Licensing Dilemma Retailers weigh-in on requiring licensing for service technicians. Much has been said about what to do to revive the spa industry since sales began to decline in 2005. Industry-wide sales and service training, as well as business licensing and certification are all ideas that have been thrown around to help boost the industry reputation and hopefully revenues as ...

WHEN OVERHEAD NEEDS TO BE CUT, RENT IS A GREAT PLACE TO START. WITH THE RIGHT APPROACH AND MAYBE EVEN SOME HELP FROM AN EXPERT, YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR LANDLORD TO FIND A RATE THAT HELPS OUT BOTH OF YOU. BY ELLEN BOLAND THE SLOWDOWN IN RETAIL SPENDING has put ‘For Lease’ signs in many store windows. Is this good or bad for spa retailers? Both. No one wants to watch businesses suffer, but ...

WHEN CASH FLOW IS SLOW YOU CAN STILL GET THE SERVICES YOU NEED IN YOUR SPA STORE, POSSIBLY BY BARTERING. BY CRISTINA RIZEN MORE BUSINESSES ARE INVESTIGATING bartering as a way to preserve cash while still moving product. Barter can connect your company with vital goods and services: printing, professional services, construction, equipment, and just about anything else you can think of. If someone sells ...

Email is a 21st-century fact of life, both for business and personal usage. But unsolicited email can be an expensive, unwanted irritant for both senders and receivers. In 2003, President Bush signed into law the CAN-SPAM Act that sets in place some rules and regulations regarding the sending of commercial email. Overview The CAN-SPAM Act attempts to shield consumers from unwanted "mobile service ...

Companies in the spa industry today are looking for every possible advantage to grow their business. Some turn to banks for harder and harder to find small business loans that provide a lower interest rate. Others are looking to make it on the capital they have set aside. But one thing you can do to make sure some of your invested money will make money is to be smart about your taxes. You may already ...

Virginia Graeme Baker Act The VGB Act was passed on December 19, 2007 to help reduce entrapments in pools and spas. Enforcement of the act began December 19, 2008 and requires the following: *All drain covers manufactured, imported, distributed, or offered into commerce must conform to the new ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 standard. This requirement applies to suction outlet covers for all spas, including ...

Running a company comes with a number of challenges, some which involve the services of legal counsel. When you consider worker’s compensation, sexual harassment,contracts, labor laws, marketing and advertising, licensing, termination disputes and so on, you can easily see that securing a reputable law firm could be to your advantage. However, legal situations arise all the time within businesses. Because ...