We read an interesting blog post written by the kind folks at the Your Business Today site, run by CompuMax. They had several questions about how to accurately incorporate the new HST regulations when billing their clients in the upcoming months. A CRA agent at the HST Answer Line clarified their questions, which may be [...]

BIV has posted an online version of the Subscriber Profile they ran on our Managing Director, Joyce Wishart. BUSINESS LINES Business/Organization Name NALH (Need A Little Help) Bookkeeping Services Ltd. Business Focus/Specialty Bookkeeping – both on-site and remote – Accounting, Tax Returns, QuickBooks Training Business Advantage We tailor our bookkeeping process to each of our [...]

Positioning – The Battle for Your Mind (Paperback) by Al Ries & Jack Trout ISBN: 0071373586 The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, “Positioning” describes a revolutionary approach to creating a “position” in a prospective customer’s mind – one that reflects a company’s own strengths and weaknesses [...]

As an office that deals with a lot of paper, we recognize the importance of taking steps to minimize our environmental footprint.  To help us in this effort, we use Urban Impact to shred and recycle waste paper. To give an idea of how this small step can help make a big difference – in [...]

Earth Day Canada has organized a list of ten actions that you can take to help minimize your impact on the environment. These quick, easy tips will make it a breeze to make lasting changes that make a real difference. Here’s an overview of the tip categories: – Smart Shopping – Simple Savers – Transportation [...]

We recently read an informative article on the Ask the Business Lawyer web site that discusses the need for clarity in the choice of words used in various forms of business communications and contract language. Sometimes, what you say and what you mean can have vastly different interpretations, particularly in a legal setting. Here’s an [...]

BIV has written an interesting article that underscores the uncertainty that most business owners have around the impending HST that will be going into effect soon.  Here’s a snippet of the article: Almost half of all business owners don’t fully understand how HST will impact their businesses, according to an Angus Reid opinion poll. An [...]

The 80/20 Principle – The Secret to Achieving More with Less (Paperback) by Richard Koch ISBN: 0385491743 In 1897, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, in his study of the patterns of wealth and income, observed that the distribution of wealth was predictably unbalanced. He first discovered this pattern in 19th-century England and found it to be [...]

The 4-Hour Workweek (Hardcover) by Timothy Ferriss ISBN: 0307465357 Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan–there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with [...]

Vancouver’s economy is slated to grow 4% in 2010, topping all Canadian cities, according to Ottawa-based think tank Conference Board of Canada. Toronto and Hamilton will follow closely behind with 3.7% and 3.3% growth respectively, according to the Conference Board of Canada’s Metropolitan Outlook Spring 2010 publication. Read the full article on the Business in [...]

The Influential Women in Business Awards recognize successful women in business in British Columbia. The honourees are selected based on their outstanding achievements in business, contribution to their industry, and influence in the local business community. The honourees this year are: Janet Austin, CEO, YWCA Vancouver Ida Goodreau, Corporate Director and former CEO LifeLabs and [...]

NALH client, As You Like It Media, was contracted to film the Alberta’s “Olympic Train” during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games to help get the message out and film the train as it traveled through the spectacular scenery of Western Canada on its repositioning trip to the Lower Mainland. AYLI Media’s journey began with [...]

Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard (Hardcover) by Chip Heath & Dan Heath ISBN: 0307357279 Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of [...]

We found a great article on the SOHO web site about items that small businesses should keep track of in order to maximize legitimate business deductions on tax returns. See below for part of the article, then visit the SOHO web site to read the full article. Opportunities abound for small businesses to cut their [...]

Small-business owners who procrastinate or fail to prepare in May for the 12% HST in July risk a host of negative consequences. Nasty surprises include cash crunches or government penalties for doing things wrong, said certified general accountant Eileen Reppenhagen. “You can’t just switch July 1,” said Reppenhagen, who created the tax tip website Taxdetective.ca. [...]