LBMC | Accounting, Tax, Audit, HR, Staffing, Technology | Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, TN

If you can't afford to offer employee benefits on your own, why not join forces with a PEO?

In the late 1990s, Seth Miller was looking for a way to provide better benefits at Miller Systems Inc., the small Boston IT consulting company he founded in 1995. "We just couldn't get dental insurance being the size we were," says Miller, 32. "But to compete for the best people, we needed to have big-company benefits." read more »

Creating a "People Strategy" for Your Business

Hiring the right people and managing them well is essential to your business' success. Here are 6 tips for developing an effective HR strategy.

Many entrepreneurs will admit they're great at producing their product or providing a service, but they aren't natural-born managers. There's no shame in that—entrepreneurs are a breed of their own. But without an effective people strategy in place, you run the risk of joining others who had a great idea but—like a bad golf swing—had no follow-through. read more »

FUTA Tax Credit Reductions

The Unemployment Insurance or UI Trust Fund is primarily financed by employer taxes levied on each states taxable wage base. Additionally, employers pay a Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). The FUTA rate is 6.2% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual wages. If the employer’s state program is in compliance with the federal requirements, they receive a tax rate credit of 5.4% which gives us the .8% rate (or a maximum of $56 per worker) that most employers are familiar with. read more »

PEOs Eliminate an Employer's COBRA Administration Nightmare

Federal extension creates an administrative nightmare. Employers must notify laid-off workers or face penalties. read more »

Employee Spotlight – Terri Mangrum

This month we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to our Flexible Benefits Plan Administrator, Terri Mangrum. Terri has worked with the LBMC family for the past 15 years. She initially began her career with Lattimore, Black, Morgan, and Cain, PC and LBMC Employment Partners Benefits Groups before joining LBMC Employment Partners. Terri provides the administration of medical Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans, dependent care FSA, health reimbursement accounts, and other qualified flex benefits. read more »

ARRA HITECH Final Ruling Webinar Now Available!

The Final Rule for the ARRA - HITECH EHR Initiative was announced on July 13th. ARE YOU READY?

The Final Ruling webinar is now available: CLICK HERE to view this latest update. read more »

Shop Tax Free in Tennessee August 6-8

August Sales Tax Holiday Provides Big Savings for All Tennesseans read more »

Final HITECH Ruling was released July 13!

The Final Rule for the ARRA - HITECH EHR Initiative was announced on July 13th. This defines the final compliance specifications for the ARRA HITECH EHR/EMR initiatives for both hospitals and eligible providers that wish to comply with the first phase deadlines for 2011 and 2012. No more procrastination, time is of the essence. The Final Ruling contains 864 pages and there are significant changes for the meaningful use criteria. The original guidelines were restructured to include 15 Core (mandatory) items read more »

Employers Cite Problems with Intermittent Family and Medical Leave Benefit

Employee abuse of the intermittent leave benefit is the top complaint of employers that are subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a recent survey of 450 WorldatWork (WAW) members found. More than two-fifths (42 percent) of the human resources management respondents cited this problem. The survey was sent electronically to 12,080 WAW members and posted on the organization’s Web site, after the Department of Labor released proposed amendments to FMLA regulations on February 11, 2008. read more »

A Pet Projects Program Can Make Good Use of Extra Time

When it comes to the average eight-hour work day, most employees will tell you there’s usually a lull in their day that they spend surfing the Internet, checking their e-mail or making phone calls to check on the family.

Employers can make good use of their employees’ "extra" time by creating a Pet Projects Program at their company. read more »