Last April, I wrote about getting ready for EMV cards. (EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, Visa.) As a reminder, starting October 1, liability for fraud on customers' cards shifts from the credit card companies to merchants who do not process in-person payments using chip technology.

Most of us are now joined at the wrist to our iPhones and Androids, which is quite a phenomenon considering that the iPhone was only introduced in 2007. We also tote tablets and can process payments for transactions on the fly with Square or other devices or apps on our electronic devices. However, using smartphones and other devices in business raises a number of issues.

 

What do you do when a worker shows up drunk or stoned? The possibility of this happening at your company is nothing new (alcohol intoxication didn't even diminish during Prohibition), but with the growing number of states permitting marijuana use for medical or recreational purposes, the possibility is even greater now.

Many of us spend most of our waking hours in our workspace. Whether yours is an office, a workshop, a store, a restaurant or bar, or other facility, there are small tweaks you can make that will have a big impact on how you (and your staff) feel, and perform.

Tell it to the judge should be the last thing you do to resolve problems you're having with suppliers, customers, employees, landlords, or your co-owners. Litigation is costly, lengthy, and acrimonious, and should be avoided if possible.

There's been a lot of media attention of late to paid time off. By executive order, starting in 2017, federal contractors must give their workers one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 7 days annually.

On September 17th, the Federal Reserve announced that it would not increase interest rates. There's been no increase since the current rate was set on December 16, 2008. Rates could be hiked slightly in October or December.

CNN came out with a list of the top 10 cities in the U.S. for businesses. It's interesting to know which cities made the list, but it's more important to know why. 

This year Labor Day in the U.S. falls on September 7. It is a federal holiday created in 1894 (www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm) in response to unions' urgings. This year's event emphasizes treating workers with dignity. Here are some interesting factoids about the labor market in the U.S. today.

The Coca Cola formula and KFC recipe are two of the most valuable, closely-guarded trade secrets around. But you don't have to be a large corporation to have highly valuable trade secrets. Information that your business has created in order to function may be trade secrets. Examples of trade secrets include customer lists, supplier lists, pricing and margins, formulas, and other methods of operation. This type of intellectual property (IP) is valuable to you only as long as you keep it secret. Here are some ways that you can protect this highly-valued property.

An important key to business success is managing cash flow so you have enough money on hand to pay bills when they come due.  In order to do this, you need to budget for expenses, and expect to have unexpected (or not so obvious) costs. Here are some hidden costs that can drain your cash ... unless you plan for them.