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Backups - Do I Need Them?
Yes. Most people think that backups are for the large corporations who really need their backups. That is true, but so do you. Why? What are some of the ways you can back up your computers?
These are some of the questions that we will be answering in this issue of The Corporate Digest.
There are so many situations where a reliable backup becomes critical. Some of the more commonly discussed times are related to a computer malfunction. Either the computer eventually decides to stop working or you have a hard disk failure. In most of these types of situations, you can pull out your backup that you have diligently created and restore the lost data right away. We all have our regular backups, don't we?
Why On-Line Backups?
On-line backups would have been very helpful in recent situations such as Hurricane Katrina or the San Diego wildfires where perhaps your main computer and all of your backups were housed in the same facility and could have been destroyed or rendered temporarily inaccessible.
What are Some of the Alternatives Available?
There are many on-line backup alternatives that are now available. For the larger corporate environments, there are many options available, including those by hosting facilities.
For the smaller corporate environment, the one-person business or home office, there are several very reasonable alternatives. A couple of these that are worth looking at include Carbonite and Mozy. Both of these offer simple on-line, remote backups that are very user friendly. They are both available for around $50 per year, and each has a free trial offer that can give you a good idea of what the service is about.
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| ESOP's
What does that title mean? ESOP is the acronym for Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Essentially an ESOP is a retirement benefit plan that allows a company to be run for the benefit of the employees, but not necessarily by the employees. The tax benefits for a seller to an ESOP are significant.
As long as a minimum of 30% of the company's shares are sold to the ESOP, the owner's gain on that sale can be shielded from tax. In fact, there are ways that it can be permanently sheltered.
Why Would You Want to Sell to an ESOP?
- You are getting to the stage of life where your priorities are changing.
- You start thinking about retiring.
- You want to reward some of the people who have helped you build your company.
- You want to sell, and selling to an ESOP can benefit both the company and you.
One of the keys to selling to an ESOP is that you can benefit by selling at less than you might sell to another strategic buyer. How would you benefit, you might ask? If the proceeds are not being taxed, then your asking price can be lower and your net proceeds might still be higher. |
Consult Levy 