The two most common causes of fraud in small businesses are when rogue employees or contractors write checks to themselves or deposit checks to their account instead of the company’s account. Those are very unsophisticated schemes and can easily be detected after the fact, but by the time you detect the fraud, the damage is already done. Here are easy techniques to avoid the fraud in the first place.

There are many options available for preparing, sending and filing 1099 forms. They range from Do-It-Yourself to complete outsourcing options. However, all options have a common starting point: your QuickBooks file needs to be up-to-date through the end of 2011 and you need to have the proper information about your vendors on file.