Get Your Incentive Reports Right The First Time

The other day, I noticed a gentleman shooting arrows at a target. It was amazing to see that he was able to hit his mark, even from a far distance.

His ability to successfully hit his target probably came from the following:

·         Learning from others’ experiences
·         Determining which type of bow was best
·         Implementing the tools and skills he learned

I immediately thought about economic incentive programs like QTI. I can appreciate that there are a required targets a business must hit before it can qualify for its annual QTI payments. Unfortunately, many businesses miss their QTI target goals because their aim is off. 

Typically, a business being awarded an economic incentive award is celebrated. This is for a good reason. The community is excited that a business has made a decision to grow here. However, it is imperative that the business owners understand that the business must hit all of its incentive goals in order to receive the scheduled award payments.

Just like someone participating in the sport of archery for the first time, a business must learn the rules of the game.

To successfully hit a QTI target on the first try, the following must be done:

• Learn from others who’ve had experience with the QTI program
• Determine why one method of documenting QTI goals is better than another
• Master the skills needed to track and report QTI project results
• Implement the tools and skills learned to accurately prove to the State that the QTI goals have been met

Knowing ahead of time what is required eliminates the “unknown”. When it comes to any economic incentive project, a business must ensure that its target goals are in sight at all times. For this reason, I usually recommend that my clients start aiming at their QTI target goals at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting until the report is due to determine whether they meet their goals. By then, it may be TOO LATE.

Does the Cost of An Incentives Consultant Outweigh The Benefits? Part II

In my earlier post, I discussed how a business may consider using an Incentives Consultant to help guide them through the incentives process. To continue this discussion, I urge you to consider the potential consultant's experience with tax incentive programs and their associated requirements.

After your project has been approved by the grantor agency and an agreement has been negotiated, you may wish to continue your relationship with your current consultant, hire a new consultant, or utilize your staff to monitor and prepare the required compliance reports.  Whichever strategy you choose for this stage, ensure that the person(s) assigned to your project is truly knowledgeable of your project’s compliance requirements.  This is extremely important, as this is the part of the incentives process where you begin receiving your scheduled payments.  Again, in order for you to achieve any benefit, your consultant should be knowledgeable of economic development incentives and their requirements.  Your consultant should also be efficient, to ensure accurate and timely reporting. Essentially, your consultant’s goal is to ensure that you maximize your incentives payments.

Based on my experience, a business may be justified in hiring a professional consultant to assist with obtaining government incentives. A business should also consider whether it is better to use a consultant to assist with the monitoring and reporting functions of the business' compliance requirements. If your consultant adds value to the incentives process for your company, I believe the benefits outweigh the cost.

If you believe an incentives consultant will make participation in the incentives process, contact me at info@marlynnconsulting.com.

"Top economist: Florida economy ready for takeoff"

Florida Trend article, "Top economist: Florida economy ready for takeoff" written by Dale White (Published: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 6:29 a.m.) highlighted a cautiously optimistic picture of Florida's economy.

Click the link to read the full article: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110202/BREAKING/110209967/2055/NEWS?Title=Top-economist-Florida-economy-ready-for-takeoff&tc=ar

I believe this article should interest Florida businesses, as it gives us hope that Florida's economy is rebounding and the likelihood of job growth is high.  I am optimistic! 

For small businesses, this is also good news!  A growth in the State's economy usually produces new growth opportunities for small businesses.  Have you considered the wealth of new opportunities that may occur for your business?  Attracting these opportunities, of course, may require some creativity on your part.  Have you considered how your business will rebound? 

Will you need to hire new employees?

What about training for your existing employees?

As you think about the endless possibilities (get creative), remember that the State provides funding in the form of tax credits, tax refunds and grants to assist businesses with their growth and training efforts.

ASK ME HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM FLORIDA TAX INCENTIVES.  Email me at info@marlynnconsulting.com

Presentation: City of St. Mark's Commission Meeting

Last night, I participated at the City of St. Mark's monthly Commission meeting.  I presented on Florida economic incentives (i.e. tax breaks in the form of credits, refunds and grants).  It was an amazing experience.  My goal was to inform smaller communities about the availability of these incentives and briefly describe some of their benefits. 

My BIG questions: If I offered you a check for $25,000 for training your employees, would you take it?  What if you had to do the training anyway, would the $25,000 check encourage you to get a move on it?

The responses: What's the catch? It's free money, sure I would take it!

Ultimately, what I wanted to get across to the audience was, the money is available each year.  As small business owners, we have to be willing to get help.  No man is an island.  We cannot exist in a vacuum.  And, although some business owners may consider this a hand-out, when you think about it, it is really your money.  If you pay taxes, consider a tax incentive as the government returning some of your money back to you to help with your growth and training needs.

So, I ask this question again, "If I offered to give you a check for creating, retaining or training your employees, would you take it?"

SURE YOU WOULD!!! 

Why not start now? Email me at info@marlynnconsulting.com so we can discuss how you can start receiving money from to help your business grow.

Need Money For Your Business?

Are you familiar with Economic Incentives?

Has your business participated in any tax incentives in the past?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with tax incentives, here is a simple explanation of what an economic development incentive is:

Economic incentives are simply tax breaks provided by the government to stimulate the local economy and encourage business growth.  Economic incentives are commonly available as tax refunds, tax credits, or grant reimbursements.  There are a number of Florida tax incentives, which include tax refunds like QTI (Qualified Tax Refund) and Brownfield Redevelopment; discretionary payment programs like Quick Action Closing Fund (QACF) and HIPI (High Impact Performance Incentives); tax credits like Enterprise Zone, Capital Investment and Commmunity Contribution Tax Credit (CCTCP); and training grants like Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) and Quick Response Training (QRT).

Other programs include, but are not limited to The Economic Gardening and Black Business Loan Programs.

Contact me by email info@marlynnconsulting.com if you wish to find out if you qualify for a tax break under economic incentives.