Small time operator : how to start your own business, keep your books, pay your taxes, and stay out of trouble / Bernard B. Kamoroff, CPA.

Includes index.

Preface : be your own boss -- 1. Getting started -- Basics -- Business terminology -- Business location -- Financing -- Legal structure -- Sole proprietor -- Choosing a business name -- Licenses and permits -- Sales tax -- Federal regulations -- Insurance -- The business plan -- 2. Keeping records -- Business bank accounts -- Understanding recordkeeping -- Recording income : your customer's income record -- Recording income : your income record -- Credit sales -- Recording expenditures -- Petty cash -- Financial management : using your financial records -- Cash flow -- Inventory control -- 3. Growing up -- Business growth -- Hiring help : how to save time and money by not becoming an employer -- Steps to becoming an employer -- Partnerships -- You, incorporated : corporation primer -- Limited Liability Company (LLC) -- 4. Taxes -- Tax calendar for businesses -- Business expenses -- Deducting business expenses -- Business assets -- Retirement deductions -- Estimated tax payments -- Barter -- Net operating losses (NOL) -- Year-end tax strategies -- Tax credits -- Tax software -- Failure to file a tax return -- The Internal Revenue Service and you -- Federal excise tax -- State and local taxes -- 5. Home-based business -- Starting a home-based business -- Outgrowing the home -- 6. Online operations -- Web sites -- Selling online -- 7. The on-demand economy -- 8. T.C.B. : take care of business -- How to balance a bank account -- Balance sheets -- Professional help -- Accepting credit and debit cards -- Married couples -- Multiple businesses -- Importing and exporting -- Buying a business -- Franchise businesses -- "Business opportunities" -- Freelancers -- Pricing -- Trademarks, patents, and copyrights -- Contracts -- Filing your business records -- How to avoid crooks and how to collect what you're owed -- Employee-owned businesses, cooperatives, and collectives -- Managing your business -- The future of small business.

Kamoroff details how to set up a small business. He addresses how to get permits and licenses, secure financing, find a location, create a business plan, establish a bookkeeping system, hire employees, file taxes, and do business on the Internet.