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Earnouts – Advantages and Challenges
Recently I came across a conversation regarding the advantages of 'earnouts' when selling a company. Earnouts can sometimes be used effectively to bridge a price difference between buyer and seller; but both sides should understand the implications and unknowns associated with this structure.
When considering an earnout as part of your transaction, keep these key issues in mind:
To what degree…Read More -
Wire Fraud–Don’t Be “Whaled”!
Recently, multiple clients were targeted by fraud rings attempting (and nearly succeeding) to have money fradulently wire transferred. Unfortunately, the use of tools like LinkedIn and public company websites has made it easy for thieves to identify the principals and financial leaders of almost any company and set up this simple email scheme. No hacking is required. This type of…Read More -
Attract and Retain Top Talent – Analytics to Support your Mission
Employer optimism continues to grow and so does the battle for top talent. We are seeing business and employment growth in the market at a stronger level than we have in several years. This growth also drives market compensation, competition for talent and the challenge of retaining your best and brightest. Ensuring competitive positioning of your business is important and…Read More -
Significant Change Coming in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a final rule, effective December 1, 2016, updating the regulations governing which executive, administrative, and professional employees ("white collar" workers) are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime pay protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act(FLSA).
In the coming weeks our team will be analyzing this information for our clients and are happy to provide…Read More -
Looking for the Win-Win in Deal Structure: Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale
As a former investment banker for 20 years who now provides pre-transaction advisory services to private business owners, I use plain language to help my clients understand the complex, often nuanced issues that they will need to navigate in selling their business.
One such topic is the fundamental question of whether to structure their M&A transaction as a sale of assets…Read More -
Real World Users Weigh-in and Rate Accounting Software
G2 Crowd, an independent software research and rating organization, recently issued its 2016 report on commonly used accounting software. The results, which are based on input from real world users, are very interesting and should be a great resource for organizations considering new accounting systems. Here are a few impressions from the report:
While Intuit has clearly signaled that the future…Read More -
Key Business Metrics Series: Recurring Revenue
This is the first in a series of articles over the next few months discussing key business metrics relevant to the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry. Each article in the series will briefly explore a different relevant SaaS key metric including the definition, the applicable business context and its use. The focus for this article is CMRR.
Definition: CMRR…Read More -
Improve Workplace Productivity Through Financial Wellness
Companies of all sizes are constantly looking for ways to enhance benefit programs, retain valuable employees, and improve productivity. What if I told you there is one strategy that is emerging across the country that can help address all of these objectives at the same time? This strategy involves helping improve the “Financial Wellness” of your employees.
For those of…Read More -
How will the proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act impact you?
The proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act are on everyone HR professionals mind. The obvious impact is on wages due to the change in the salary threshold. Many organizations will adjust employees’ compensation so it exceeds the new threshold, thus avoiding having to pay overtime, but other organizations may take other approaches to ensure overtime is not paid…Read More -
How to Raise the Capital you Need and Remain in Control
Private equity funds offer a way to get an infusion of capital (and additional business acumen) for your company for a period of time, while letting current management maintain a leadership role in its operation and avoiding a sale to a strategic acquirer.
It's called equity recapitalization, and it typically involves selling a minority or majority stake in your company…Read More -
Employee Stock Option Basics for Growing Companies
Stock options are a common compensation strategy used by start-up and growth-stage companies to attract, motivate, and retain employees, particularly when competing for talent against larger, more established companies. Offering options to potential employees may allow these companies to pay lower base salaries and conserve current cash flow, while providing significant potential upside incentive to employees.
This article provides a…Read More -
Strategic Planning–Are you a Dreamer or a Task Rabbit?
By Jeff Wraley
If forced to make a binary classification of those who struggle with their small business’ strategic planning, I might create these two groups:
The Task Rabbits
I have worked with many business owners who are trapped in day-to-day, keep-the-lights-on-type of tasks. While these individuals are great at keeping their business afloat, they don’t make time for “what…Read More