December 3, 2021

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Your December 2021 Compliance Calendar

December isn’t just crunch time for retailers or a time to appreciate employees after a year of hard work—it’s also rife with benefits and tax deadlines and to-dos. Our compliance calendar can help keep you on track with your year-end obligations so you don’t miss a beat. Read the full blog here.

Interested in more end-of-year tax planning tactics, from better bookkeeping to last-minute deductions? Check out this post from our partners at Bench.

Happy team, happy holidays

Speaking of appreciating your team, letting your employees know their effort and contributions are valued can go a long way towards their satisfaction and retention. That said, with the pandemic still ongoing, celebrating your 2021 wins in person can be tricky. 

If you decide to host a holiday party this year, here are four tips you may want to consider:

  1. Look for venues outdoors—if weather in your location allows—or large, well-ventilated indoor spaces.
  2. Ask anyone who is under the weather to stay home, but make sure there’s a way they can participate remotely in raffles or gift-giving.
  3. Make it clear that the holiday party is completely voluntary and that no business will be conducted during this time, so there’s no pressure to attend.
  4. Host a virtual party instead or as an alternative option. You could provide gift cards to local eateries or food delivery services, organize a home decorating or ugly sweater contest, and facilitate interactive games.

You can also refer to the CDC’s guidance on holiday celebrations.

Culture Creep

No matter how big your business is, if you don’t intentionally create your company’s culture, your employees will create it for you. Company culture is defined by what your team actually does, not what they say they’ll do, as well as what you allow to happen. As you scale, both factors become harder and harder to keep a close grasp on. 

Inc. columnist Jeff Haden shares his top recommendations for scaling culture right along with your team as it grows. Read more here.

Watchlist

DEC 9: Your Business May Qualify to Save Thousands with the R&D Tax Credit

If you develop new products, reduce uncertainty through innovation, or use hard sciences, you may qualify for up to $250,000 a year in tax credits. On December 9, Ardius CEO Joshua Lee will be discussing everything you need to know about the R&D Tax Credit. Register here.

DEC 15: Vaccines & Variants: A COVID-19 Update for Employers

A lot has changed for COVID-19 in the past couple of months. Between vaccine mandates, the Delta variant, mask mandates, mask mandate bans, and changing guidance from the CDC and OSHA, there’s a lot to keep up with. We’ll talk through the current state of the pandemic and how you can continue to stay on top of COVID-19 in your workplace. Register here.

Find the latest relief options in our Small Business Relief Finder.

Want more news and resources? Check out past editions in our archive.

Mohini Kundu Mohini Kundu is a freelance writer and editor. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and started her career at The Huffington Post before moving into tech where she worked as a content marketer for 7 years. She writes about several topics including psychology, business, finance, and environmental issues.
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