The U.S. is not officially in a recession. But inflation is up, and interest rates are rising, leading many to expect an economic downturn. As a small business owner or freelancer, it’s okay to feel worried about what the future holds for your company. Don’t stay down for too long though—now is the time to [...] The post How to Prepare Your Business for a Recession appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

If you’ve landed here after Googling “What is a 1099 Form?” because you’ve turned a profit as a small business owner, congratulations! Now begins the slightly less fun, but necessary job of accurately reporting your income for tax purposes. Your income as an independent contractor will most likely be reported using at least one type [...] The post What is a 1099 Form? appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

If it was possible to call up the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office for a discount on tax payments, their phones would probably ring all day. But it’s not, so smart independent contractors have to explore more feasible ways to reduce income tax and keep more of their business profit. This is where tax avoidance [...] The post How to avoid paying taxes as an independent contractor (legally) appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

You did it. You started a business and are officially self-employed! Now, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and grow the company. You could juggle multiple parts of running a business yourself, but it's often easier and faster to outsource these tasks to an app. To help, we’ve put together a list of the [...] The post The 11 Best Apps for Independent Contractors (+ 3 Bonus Tools) appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

Every year, more and more small business owners structure their companies as a limited liability company (LLC). In fact, the number of registered LLCs has grown every year since 2004, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And according to estimates, there were close to 21.6 million LLCs operating in the U.S. in [...] The post A Complete Guide to LLC Accounting appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

By Ending ACH Transaction Fees on Receivables, The Neat Financial Management Platform Quickly Pays For Itself PHILADELPHIA (August 16, 2022)  The Neat Company is the only small business financial management platform to offer inbound ACH/bank transfers at no additional cost. By eliminating the standard 1% ACH transaction fee, a subscription for Neat’s all-in-one financial management platform, [...] The post The Neat Company Is The Only Small Business Financial Management Platform to Offer Free ACH/Bank Transfers appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

It doesn’t matter if you’re a one-person freelance operation—it’s still worth giving your clients the white-glove treatment. According to HubSpot, 90% of clients would buy more from companies with great customer service. As a small business owner or independent contractor, you may not have a dedicated customer support team. That’s okay! Secure repeat customers by [...] The post Client communication: A guide for freelancers and small business owners appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

What do auto-pay, direct deposit and sending your friend $20 through an app all have in common? They are all examples of ACH transfers. The reality of tapping a few buttons on a computer or mobile device and transferring money almost instantaneously is relatively new, but the infrastructure used to complete these types of transactions [...] The post How long does an ACH payment take? appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

More Americans than ever are freelancing. A recent Upwork study showed that 59 million Americans performed freelance work in 2021—36% of the entire U.S. workforce. According to freelancermap’s 2021 survey, the top three challenges freelancers face are project acquisition, irregular income, and late payments. A retainer contract can remedy all three of these issues for [...] The post Everything You Need to Know About Freelance Retainers appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more

Small business owners and creative professionals do not receive enough recognition. The role of the creative professional is very important; as they bring beauty into business, add personality to products, and make everything just a little more interesting. They are the unsung heroes.  At Neat we decided to honor and recognize these amazing individuals [...] The post The Neat Company’s First Annual Top 100 Creative Professionals appeared first on The Neat Company ..read more