Energy Tax Deductions - Time Is Running Out

By Robert Holdsworth

Many businesses have implemented energy efficiency measures in their facilities over the past several years to help decrease operating expenses and aid the local and global environment. What a lot of these companies do not know is that sizeable federal tax deductions are available to them and also that time may be running out.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) provides generous, immediate tax deductions to businesses for making energy efficiency improvements to their buildings. The federal tax incentives center mainly on efficiency improvements to lighting, HVAC and building envelopes and can be as large as $1.80 per square foot.

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended Section 179D and EPAct 2005 so the act will not expire until December 31, 2013. However, that does not mean that time may not be running out for some companies.

For businesses that implemented energy efficiency projects in 2006 it is probable they filed their tax returns before April 15, 2007. If they were unaware of the deductions at that time, they are now at risk of losing those tax deductions forever since the IRS only allows a three year period to amend tax returns.

That means if you have not yet amended your 2006 tax return you have only a few months left to do so!

As an electrical contractor working with commercial and industrial customers you certainly have been thinking about ways to increase your sales and likely how to better utilize your current book of business to that end. You have also most likely been approached by your current customers asking what they can do to reduce their energy costs.

Have you thought about a strategic partnership with an experienced engineering firm that specializes solely in turnkey, energy cost reduction projects on a national level? One that can bring whole facility energy solutions to the table for you and your customers? A company that can provide a fast payback and increase cash flow for your customer?

Bringing in such a company will grow your business as you will be the one who is sub-contracted by the engineering firm to provide the installation services under their management and direction. You can use this approach over and over again with all of your customers and doing so will not only increase your revenues exponentially, it will also transform your customers' impression of you from simply another vendor to that of a valued consultant.

About the Author:

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How Corporate Gifts Can Still Be A Good Investment In A Down Economy

By Nora Jones

Healthy businesses always rely on good relationships with their customers to continue doing well. If the clients are happy and continue to return for services, the company's chances of surviving unstable economy improve significantly. One tried and tested strategy for staying in the good books of your customers is through corporate gifts. These gifts keep the clients happy and do not hurt the company's expenditure account also.

While selecting a corporate gift, the receiver should always be a prime consideration, as the sole purpose of the gift is to please the recipient. The gift may be attached to a promotional initiative, while launching a new product, or simply distributed at regular intervals to keep the client in a good spirit.

The gifts could be as varied as stationery items and timepieces to more high end ones like a bottle of high quality wine. A clever way to remind customers about the company is to emboss a logo on the gift item.

Consider a gift that gives when you are thinking about corporate gifts. More and more people are switching to different ways of thinking and want others to benefit. Buy1GIVE1, KIVA and Change The Present are organisations that can offer gift value to your clients and staff. Check Buy1GIVE1 out at www.b1g1.com.

The gifts must be of exceptional quality or else the strategy will backfire. The quality of a gift plays a decisive role as you don't want the clients to misunderstand the intention of gifting. In times like these when organizations are facing economic problems and are looking out for best deals, it is better to avoid making a bad impression on your clients.

Keeping the present economic situation in mind, corporate gifts have emerged as a dependable marketing tool. If used intelligently, they can help a business keep customer relationships intact through the turmoil of recession.

About the Author:

Discover how Corporate Gifts can enhance your marketing now. Visit us to have some great Corporate Giftideas. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Interested in Taking Your Business Public? How To Go Public Fast 100% of the Time!

By James Scott

There are many ways to use capital without using bank loans, lines of credit and other shady methods like shelf corps and bogus platform scams. If you are truly trying to raise capital for your company here are some simple breakdowns of your options with a quick definition for each one:

PIPE: Private Investment In Public Equity this is used primarily by mutual funds and private investment firms where they buy discount stock in order to raise capital, there are two types of PIPE's traditional where common and preferred stock is issued at a set cap to raise money for the issuer and a structured pipe issues convertible debt.

DPO: Direct Public Offering is when you sell equity shares directly to customers, suppliers and employees.

PPM: Private Placement Memorandum is also known as an offering memorandum takes advantage of Regulation D rule exemptions 504, 505 and 506. This process came into existence with the'33 securities act and popularized in the late'80s, companies can raise money from the public via private placement; there is virtually zero interaction with the SEC after you file form d as long as you stay legal. (most popular form of fund raising).

IPO: Initial Public Offering: extremely expensive, need SOX 404 audits, must have board of directors, quarterly financial reports to shareholders, report heavily to the SEC and 1 out of every 1000 companies that want an IPO actually qualify. I love participating in these but most companies just can't qualify for one reason or the other.

OTCBB: Over the Counter Bulletin Board is an electronic quote system that is the next best thing if you can't go public via IPO, there is minimal red tape to start-ups and small businesses and is legitimized by the stringent ongoing reports to the SEC which keeps investor confidence high (these are extremely solid and I suggest this structure to companies when I am hired by their company or legal team as a consultant as a fast, easy way to raise big capital from the public otc)

Pink Sheet: you can look at pink sheets as the Burger King, while the OTCBB is McDonald's, they are competing OTC mechanisms. Pinks sheets are commonly referred to as penny stock and notorious for 'pump em' and dump em' controversies and a lot of crooked people are involved with this platform. This is not a long term process that will allow one's company to grow, pink sheets companies are typically short lived but it is cheap to set up but not a professional structure that could be upgraded in time to an IPO.

Reverse Merger: a group funds the filing and creation of a public shell, they then sell that shell to a company that wants to go public, the established company merges it's entity into the public shell. The sellers retain around 30% equity after they charge an upfront fee of 300k to 1m. 99% of reverse mergers are successful with the merger, but unsuccessful to bring them to trade and the entity basically just fizzles out.

Taking your company public is actually quite simple and inexpensive when you have the right consultant putting the structure together for you. There are countless ways to raise capital quickly and easily. It's important that you understand your options before you waste time entering into the red tape infested banking system for a loan.

About the Author:

Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

Private Placement Memorandum Basics: A Must Read If You Are Raising Capital

By James Scott

Are you a business owner raising capital with a Regulation D Rule exemption (504, 505 or 506) also referred to as a Private Placement Memorandum, PPM or Offering Memorandum? If you are using this mechanism to raise capital then you'll, no doubt, have to have a solid comprehension of the most distinct and important part of the Private Placement Memorandum referred to as the 'Offering Circular'.

When your consultant or attorney is asking you for details on everything from business location to management, from dividends to risk details, you need to make sure that this information is complete and accurate. You'll need to audit the documents after they are completed. A solid Offering Circular has kept countless companies from being sued by investors that didn't get the investment return they were anticipating.

While the business plan is meant to grab the initial attention of the investor or funding source, the Offering Memorandum is meant to spell out the down and dirty details of the venture so that you are protected from lawsuits down the road, while simultaneously exposing the various ins and outs of your venture to give a 'reality check' to the investor before they hand over the cash.

The offering circular needs to be powerful yet very compact without the redundancies of using space to say the same things over and over again to pull the investors attention from the negative to the potential profit margins or management's impressive pedigree. With all this said, yes it's true the offering circular is one of the parts of a PPM spells out the technical aspects of the enterprise with a focus on inherent risk of investing but this can be done in a balanced way to also demonstrate the positive aspects of your venture by giving solid descriptions of your management team and, in place, distribution centers and contracts in place ready for capitalization.

When authoring the offering circular demonstrate the risks with a well balanced demonstration of the system in place to overcome these risks and dominate your market niche.

About the Author:

Call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183 if you would like to talk to someone about yourOffering Circular, Want to Take Your Company Public We Can Help!

Things To Consider Before Hiring A Plumber

By Scott Rodgers

Hiring a plumber is serious business. Even if you are an experienced do-it-yourselfer you may need to someday hire a plumber. As a trained professional, plumbers are equipped to handle almost any plumbing problem that may arise. Unfortunately, not all plumbers are created equal. When hiring a plumber, there are a few things that you should consider.

Before hiring a plumber, you should always make sure that they are licensed and insured. If a plumber has a license, it guarantees that he or she has been professionally trained and tested by the state.

It is also very important to hire an insured plumber as accidents can occur anytime while working. In such a situation if the plumber is not insured you will have to pay the entire cost for the damage.

In order to be licensed and insured, a plumber must have a significant amount of experience, but that does not mean that everyone on the plumbing crew does. When contacting a plumbing company, inquire specifically about the service professionals who will be visiting your house.

A quick way to find a reliable plumber is to ask friends, neighbors etc. This way you can get names of some trustworthy plumbers easily. You can even ask the plumber for some references and the recent projects he has taken up. Taking to his customers, you will come to know about their satisfaction level and the service level which will help you to decide easily.

Most of the plumbers charge hourly. Then you might think that one should always go with the plumber with the least rates but that is not the right way to choose a plumber. Many count drive time in those hours while some do not. Also, the rates also depend on the experience and the number of service professionals that are sent on the job.

You will also find that some plumbers charge a flat rate for certain jobs, rather than charging by the hour. Depending on what the rate is, this type of charging could be easier on the pocketbook than hourly rates.

Apart from other considerations, an important thing to remember is to get a written estimate from the plumber before starting the work as everything should be absolutely clear in the beginning itself.

About the Author:

Scott Rodgers is a well-known author who has been providing great guidance on plumbing works all across the nation. His incredible knowledge has, in fact, sparked significant rise in revenue for talented plumbers across the nation. For more plumbing tips on bathtub issues and toilet clogs, just visit eLocalPlumbers.com.

College Football Flashback: 2008 SEC Championship Game

By Ross Everett

The Florida Gators rampage through the SEC reached its culmination with a 31-20 victory over #1 ranked Alabama in the conference championship game. This victory set the stage for the Gators' appearance in the National Championship Game.

The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly counterpunched, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida responded in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips' yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained the momentum in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them down for the count in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.

As was the case more often than not during Floridas run to the BCS title game, Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer wasnt hesitant about praising Tebow effusively in his post game comments:

"I've had some great players, and I've got some great players on this team. But I've never had one like this. Tim's got something special inside him. I'm not talking about throwing. I'm not talking about running. I'm talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.

Alabama coach Nick Saban concurred:

"He's a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he's going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them."

The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden make no mistake that they're tough:

"Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We're just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time."

Even in defeat, it was impossible to overlook the remarkable resurgance of Alabama football. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a'-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

MMA Flashback: Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title Changes Hands As Sobral Tops Southworth

By Ross Everett

Renato Babalu Sobral defeated Bobby Southworth by TKO to become Strikeforce light heavyweight champion at the 'Destruction' card. Despite leaving with the belt around his waist, it wont be the centerpiece of Babalu's highlight reel with the way it transpired.

A -350 wagering favorite despite his challenger status, Sobral was expected to use his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and vast experience against superior competition to dominate the tough but limited Southworth. It didnt happen that way, as Southworth easily got the better of things in the first round.

The first round displayed Southworth's style in microcosm, with much of the frame spent pushing Babalu up against the cage or on the ground inside his guard not really doing much. Sobral did get a clinch against the cage wall and rocked Southworth with a hard elbow strike that not only busted his nose but opened a huge cut over his right eye.

Upon seeing the gusher of blood Referee John McCarthy brought the ringside physician over to take a look. The doctor took some time to examine the cut, but eventually the round resumed following the consultation with only a few seconds remaining. As Southworth's corner futilely worked on the gaping wound during the break the doctor once again took a look and better realizing the severity and placement of the cut recommended to McCarthy that the fight be stopped. The veteran official complied, awarding Sobral the TKO victory and the championship belt.

The other half of the co-main event was decided in much more decisive fashion as Scott Smith knocked out well traveled veteran Terry Martin in a mere :24 seconds. The rap against Martin has always been that hes a slow starter, but he had the right gameplan in theory as he pushed Smith to the cage wall right after the opening bell. Unfortunately, Martin didn't adequately close the distance against a fighter dubbed 'Hands of Steel' and was caught with a perfectly placed punch that knocked him out cold.

In the semifinal event, Duane 'Bang' Ludwig defeated Yves Edwards by unanimous decision in a very closely contested bout. Edwards was originally slated to face lightweight champion Josh Thomson until a toe injury necessitated his withdrawal. Ludwig took the fight on two weeks notice, and after a takedown clinic by Edwards in the first began to control the fight with his superior standup skills. Edwards' superiority on the ground in the first two frames wasnt enough to sway the judges who obviously favored Ludwig's more effective striking. All three judges scored the contest 29-28 Ludwig, and he may have earned himself a championship match as a result.

Earlier in the evening, Kim Couture made short work of overmatched Lina Kvokov as she TKOd her foe in 1:44 of the first round. Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture, gained even more notoriety for the courage she displayed in her professional debut last June. After having her jaw broken early in the first round, she refused to throw in the towel and went the distance despite a horrific injury. She had a much easier time here"despite the fact that both fighters entered with 0-1 records Couture was significantly more polished as she put Kvokov on the defensive from the outset with her sharp punching combinations. Kvokov kept displaying the rookie mistake of trying to turn away from Couture's blows which prompted commentator Bas Rutten to question if she wanted to continue the fight. She recovered momentarily and survived the initial onslaught. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as Couture launched another barrage of punches prompting the referee to step in and wave off the non-competitive affair.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer who has written on sports gambling and how to successfully bet on NFL football. He has appeared on TV and radio talking about boxing, hockey and NFL pointspreads. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a ferret.