{"id":31916,"date":"2020-09-17T22:15:54","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T02:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/?p=31916"},"modified":"2020-09-17T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T02:16:53","slug":"protect-finances-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Operating a small business, especially for the very first time, can be risky. And not just for the business\u2019 finances, but for your personal wealth, too. However, there are many ways to manage that risk.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few that you need to keep in mind.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Separate business and personal finances<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even if your operation starts out small, it\u2019s a good idea to separate your personal and business finances. Having a bank account specifically for business not only displays professionalism, but it also helps with money management.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancesmb.com\/why-separate-business-personal-banking-2951179\">The Balance adds that it makes filing taxes<\/a>\u00a0much easier because you don\u2019t have to sort through personal and business transactions. It\u2019s critical to keep accurate bookkeeping for general financial management purposes and also for special cases, like an IRS audit. Though not every business gets audited, it\u2019s important to be prepared. You can avoid a personal audit by keeping those accounts separate, and you can protect your personal assets in case of litigation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Choose the right business entity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Mixing business with personal funds usually only applies to sole proprietorships, but not to limited liability companies or LLCs. This is a type of business entity that operates kind of like a corporation. The requirements are more formal than a sole proprietorship and are set up to limit the liability of the owner. This simply means that the owner (or owners) is\/are not legally responsible for lawsuit settlements, debt, and any other issues that can happen when you own a business.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, it\u2019s not too complicated to start an LLC.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zenbusiness.com\/form-llc\/\">ZenBusiness outlines five simple steps to forming an LLC<\/a>\u00a0whatever state you are in \u2014 from choosing your official business name, to registering for an employer identification number with the IRS. The process also involves hiring a registered agent who can help you complete all of the other requirements and paperwork.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Get the right insurance<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Getting insurance is non-negotiable for businesses \u2014 you simply must have it. Even with every kind of precaution in place, you cannot control outside factors like the weather or theft.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smallbiztrends.com\/2020\/05\/types-of-business-insurance.html\">A guide to insurance needs by Small Business Trends<\/a> lays out the different types you might need. One of these is general liability insurance, which has a wide coverage, including medical fees from injuries and property damage. You also need workers\u2019 compensation insurance if you have a small amount of staff. This provides financial coverage for employees who experience work-related harm like accidents. Another type of insurance worth looking into is cyber insurance \u2014 critical if you handle sensitive data. It can protect you from the financial consequences of cyberattacks as these are becoming all too common among small businesses.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Set up an emergency fund<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ve heard of having a rainy day fund for personal finances. For businesses, it\u2019s also ideal to set up an emergency fund that can cover several months of \u201crain\u201d or, to be more precise, drought. As a business owner, you can\u2019t guarantee that the profits will flow steadily, or that you won\u2019t run into any emergencies. You need to have a financial safety net to handle these situations, just in case.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/forbesfinancecouncil\/2020\/02\/12\/13-tips-for-building-up-your-business-emergency-fund\/#1b6818f12120\">Some emergency fund tips from an expert panel on Forbes<\/a>\u00a0highlight that you need to plan your finances with an emergency fund in mind. Regularly transfer a small percentage of your revenue to a savings account specifically for your business\u2019 emergency fund. It\u2019s even better if you can automate this process, so it becomes a key practice for the business. Go through a re-evaluation process regularly, maybe every quarter, so you know exactly how much you spend, make, and save.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Have proper money management techniques in place<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even with all those protective measures in place, nothing beats implementing the proper financial strategies. For that,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/money-management-tips-for-small-business-owners\/\">our \u2018Money Management Tips for Small Business Owners\u2019 is a useful guide<\/a>. It can help small business owners monitor cash flow, cut down on expenses, and maximize revenue. Ultimately, ensuring that your business remains healthy even through difficult times is the biggest financial guarantee you can get.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business Operating a small business, especially for the very first time, can be risky. And not just for the business\u2019 finances, but for your personal wealth, too. However, there are many ways to manage that risk. Here are a few that you need to keep in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-small-business","category-uncategorized","wpautop"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business | The Amateur Financier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Roger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Roger\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881\"},\"headline\":\"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-18T02:15:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-18T02:16:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":696,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Small Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business | The Amateur Financier\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-18T02:15:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-18T02:16:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/protect-finances-small-business\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Amateur Financier\",\"description\":\"Thoughts on Money, Investing and Life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881\",\"name\":\"Roger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Roger\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/amateurfinance\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business | The Amateur Financier","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Roger","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/"},"author":{"name":"Roger","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881"},"headline":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business","datePublished":"2020-09-18T02:15:54+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-18T02:16:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/"},"wordCount":696,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg","articleSection":["Small Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/","name":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business | The Amateur Financier","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2020-09-18T02:15:54+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-18T02:16:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/protect-finances-small-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/","name":"The Amateur Financier","description":"Thoughts on Money, Investing and Life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08574c7c42732c7cc4346dc3fec0e881","name":"Roger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c306e77aa0a82a330bf778f6c4f8fe4742257b9c7d461be78b15a422b0bab592?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Roger"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/amateurfinance"]}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-scaled.jpeg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-300x200.jpeg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-768x512.jpeg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-1024x683.jpeg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-1536x1024.jpeg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pexels-photo-209224-2048x1365.jpeg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Roger","author_link":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How to Protect Your Finances When Handling a Small Business Operating a small business, especially for the very first time, can be risky. And not just for the business\u2019 finances, but for your personal wealth, too. However, there are many ways to manage that risk. Here are a few that you need to keep in&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31916"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31919,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916\/revisions\/31919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamateurfinancier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}