april 2015

DEALER Northeast

The Newsletter of NoRThEAsT EquipmENT DEALERs AssociATioN, iNc.APRIL 2015 c Vol. 17, No. 193www.ne-equip.com

NEDA Salutes our Supporting Advertisers. It is our pleasure to list the names of those advertisers who support NE Dealer each month. We trust their advertisement will be remembered when goods and services are required by you, our dealer members. It is good to do business with companies who are interested in doing business with you and your industry association.

§ 391.25: Annual inquiry and review of driving record. (a) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, each motor carrier shall, at least once every 12 months, make an inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record of each driver it employs, covering at least the preceding 12 months, to the appropriate agency of every State in which the driver held a commercial motor vehicle operator's license or permit during the time period. (b) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, each motor carrier shall, at least once every 12 months, review the motor vehicle record of each driver it employs to determine whether that driver meets minimum requirements for safe driving or is disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle pursuant to § 391.15. (1) The motor carrier must consider any evidence that the driver has violated any applicable Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in this subchapter or Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR chapter I, subchapter C). (2) The motor carrier must consider the driver's accident record and any evidence that the driver has vio-lated laws governing the operation of motor vehicles, and must give great weight to violations, such as speeding, reckless driving, and operating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, that indicate that the driver has ex-hibited a disregard for the safety of the public. (c) Recordkeeping. (1) A copy of the motor vehicle record required by paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained in the driver's qualification file. (2) A note, including the name of the person who performed the review of the driving record required by paragraph (b) of this section and the date of such review, shall be maintained in the driver's qualification file. Also check 391-15 & 391-51. Citation: [63 FR 33277, June 18, 1998, as amended at 73 FR 73127, Dec. 1, 2008]

IN THIS ISSUE:3 OSHA Reporting Requirements4, 6 Association News5 The Three Key Factors That Determine Business and Sales Success8 Industry News9 NEDA Dealer Exchange10 What Kind of Health Insurance Qualifies as Minimum Essential Coverage?11 TwoGreySuits – Manage Your Employees

12 Reality in Your Shop14 Trade-Ins: Take Them Free and Clear16 Tax Tips20 Turning Profits Into Loss23 NEDA - April Specials24 Sample Policy - Computer Usage25 NEDA Sponsored Programs26 Equipment Industry News

ADVERTISER’S:2 Haylor, Freyer & Coon 7 Kioti13 BallastStar15 Fastline Publications15 SouthWestern Association18 Charter Software19 PartnerShip 21 Electronic Merchant Systems27 Federated Insurance

Part 391QUALIFICATIONS OF DRIVERS AND

LONGER COMBINATION VEHICLE (LCV)DRIVER INSTRUCTORS

Northeast Dealer | APRIL 2015 … 3

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter co v ered. It is furnished with the understanding that the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association, Inc., the publisher, is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. Changes in the law duly render the information in this pub-lication invalid. Legal or other expert advice should be obtained from a competent professional. Some of the editorial material is copyrighted and may be reproduced only when permission is obtained from the publisher and the association.

Board of DirectorsOfficers

JOhn e. KOMArisKY, President / Past Pres. 2012Main & Pinckney Equip Inc. / Auburn, NY315-253-6269 - FAX 315-253-5110New Holland, Simplicity, Brillion, Bush Hog [email protected]

JOsh AheArn, First Vice President / Treasurer /NAEDA OPE Dealer CouncilAhearn Equipment, Inc. / Spencer, MA508-885-7085 • Fax: 508-885-7261Kubota, Cub Cadet, Stihl, NAPA [email protected]

rOBerT sPOhn, Second Vice President / Past President - 2005Sharon Springs Garage / Sharon Springs, NY518-284-2346 • Fax: 518-284-2774AGCO, White, Hesston, Gehl, Kubota, Allis, [email protected]

eD hines, Immediate Past President 2014, 2001Hines Equipment / Cresson, PA814-886-4183 • Fax: 814-886-8872Case IH, Gehl, New Idea, Cub [email protected]

BriAn cArPenTer, NAEDA DirectorChamplain Valley Equipment / Middlebury, VT802-388-4967 • Fax: 802-388-9656New Holland, Case IH, Kubota, [email protected]

rALPh GAiss, CEO and Executive Vice Pres.800-932-0607, Ext. [email protected]

DirecTOrs

scOTT BAir, Director ElectMountain View Equipment, Inc. / Plattsburgh, NY518-561-3682 • Fax: 518-561-3724John Deere AG/CCE, Claas, Kuhn Knight, Kverneland, Stihl, Husqvarna, Frontier, Servis, [email protected]

BrAD hersheYHoober, Inc. / McAlisterville, PA717-463-2191Case IH, JCB, [email protected]

nATe shATTUcK, Past President - 2010Devon Lane Farm Supply, Inc. / Belchertown, MA413-323-6336 • Fax: 413-323-5080Yanmar, Landini, Monosem, Ferris, Simplicity, Stihl, [email protected]

scOT L. sTAnTOn, Past President - 2003Stanton Equipment Inc. / East Windsor, CT860-623-8296 • Fax: 860-627-9832John Deere Ag., Knight, Athens, [email protected]

WenDeLL WALLDrOff, Past President - 2002Walldroff Farm Equip., Inc. / Watertown, NY315-788-1115 • Fax: 315-782-4852New Holland, Hesston, Woods, White-New Idea, AGCO, [email protected]

DAviD WArner, will be completing Jeff Bull's termWarner Tractor & Equipment Inc., Troy, PA570-297-2141Case, Case/IH, Takeuchi, LinkBelt, LandPride, Agr. & Construction [email protected]

NoRtheAst equIPmeNtDeALeRs AssoCIAtIoN

128 Metropolitan Park Drive • Liverpool, NY 13088 800-932-0607 • www.ne-equip.com

OSHA Reporting Requirements:

How Should oFF-houRINjuRIes be Handled? Now that dealers are required to maintain an OSHA 300 Log and the reporting requirements have changed, do you have a reporting protocol in place for all injury circumstances? Unfortunately, injuries happen at all times, even during off-business hours and on the weekends, and even after hours events may need to be reported to OSHA. If an accident does occur, do your employees know when to report and who is responsible for reporting? Let’s take a real-life scenario of how quickly an accident can occur and reporting can be neglected: Imagine it’s a nice Saturday morn-ing and one of your sales people, Bob, is out on the lot checking tractors and is hurt on the job. Im-mediately after the “accident” Bob feels little pain. It is suggested that Bob go to the hospital just in case and Bob departs before the dealership is even fully open for business. The day carries forward with a rush of customers, and within hours, everyone has forgotten about Bob’s injury. Unfortunately, it was far worse than he had initially thought. After his adrenaline wore off he found himself in greater pain and x-rays revealed great damage to his foot; he was admitted to the hospital for surgery. On Monday, Bob doesn’t show up for work, prompting his co-workers to recall his injury. At this point, the safety coordinator is in and realizes that Bob’s injury was never reported to OSHA. New OSHA reporting regulations require that “Within twenty-four (24) hours after an in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees or an employee's amputation or an employee's loss of an eye, as a result of a work-related incident, you must report to OSHA.” In this story line, the dealership is in violation of OSHA reporting requirements. What should be implemented at this dealership to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future? Every dealership should have a safety coordinator. Often times, the safety coordinator is a general manager or on the management team, how-ever, many dealerships have found great success with their safety culture when their safety coordinator is an individual who works closely with the employees who work directly on the shop floor. The safety coordinator is responsible for the safety culture at your dealership, and, in this, case, is responsible for reporting an injury and ensuring everyone knows how to respond in the event of an off-hours incident. A safety coordinator can set up a schedule for those who are respon-sible for reporting and checking in on injured people during every shift. It is never the injured party’s responsibility to report their injury.

continued on page 5

4 …”Committed to Building the Best Business Environment for the Northeast Equipment Dealer”

Employee Retention – Managing to Keep Your Employees Your dealership employees are a company investment, one that should be pro-tected. Studies found that 83 percent of 900 North American employees polled plan to seek new positions in 2014. While it can be difficult to foster employee engagement, there are solutions that create a positive work environment that drives performance as well as job satisfaction. It is important to engage both the employee base as well as the senior leadership. HR employees are encouraged to listen and interact with employees to understand their level of content. One-on-one conversations can gain much greater information than a survey. Engagement participation from key leaders demonstrates that engagement is important throughout the entire company. The implementation of a task force often creates a strong level of engagement, and also allows the opportunity for every level of the dealership to be represented. A common desire of many employees is learning and opportunities. Educating your employees is an investment in them, keeping employee skills up to speed and engaged. This creates a positive environment as it promotes employee growth and encourages the employees to advance in the company or have skills to use in other circumstances.Employee engagement varies from dealership to dealership, but a good thing to keep in mind is that your employees should understand how their performance and behav-ior makes a contribution. Communicating value and considering employee needs can increase engagement at your dealership, which protects your investment.

~ HR-KPA

NeDA theft Alert On December 29, 2014 the New York State Police – SP Livingston BCI received a complaint of a stolen Kubota RTV Agricultural Vehicle valued at $14,000. The complainant advises that the vehicle, a 2014 Kubota RtV1140 CPX-t, serial # 31674, orange - 4X4 Diesel, was stolen from the Shagbark Tree Farm at 700 Overlook Rd. in the Town of Copake, County of Columbia between December 23 – 27, 2014. The vehicle has been en-tered via the e-Justice NY Integrated Justice Portal as a File 1- Stolen Vehi-cle. Any agency with information rela-tive to this investigation or with similar larcenies is asked to contact SP Livingston BCI – Investigator Behrens at 518-851-3111.(Vehicle pictured is of a similar vehicle, but not the

actual model stolen.)


As a general rule of thumb, you should have a process for handling all workplace injuries. Some facilities have had success as follows:

• If the injury isanemergency, call 911or takethe injured party the emergency room (ER).

• If the injury is not just first aid and not anemergency, the employee should visit the facili-ties designated clinic, physician, or emergency room.

• Anemployeeonsceneshouldnotifymanage-ment or call the safety coordinator immediate-ly.

• Management is responsible for reporting theinjury to OSHA within 24 hours of the injury.

• Within 48 hours of occurrence an accident investigation should be completed.

Not only is it important to have a method to handle injuries during off-hours from an OSHA standpoint, it’s also important because it’s good for employees and good for business.

~ OSHA

oFF-houR INjuRIescontinued from page 3

by JOHN CHAPIN

The Three Key Factors ThatDetermine business and Sales Success

The following three factors are critical to success in business and sales and if you have these in place, your success is virtually guaranteed.

the thRee Key busINess ANDsALes suCCess FACtoRs

FACtoR #1: mINDset Mindset is the most important element because with it, the other two will naturally follow. The most important aspect of mindset is having an expectant, positive attitude. Attitude will determine how far you get in life, how happy you will be, and even how long you’ll live. No one with a negative, defeatist attitude ever achieved anything great. Also, people want to be around and do business with positive, upbeat peo-ple and they will run from negative ones. In addition to attitude, other key aspects of mind-set are: motivation, conviction, confidence, com-mitment, and persistence. All of these really come do to knowing why you’re out there helping people. They require that you have a passion and absolute cer-tainty about what you’re doing. You need to be com-pletely sold on you, your company, and your product and know that people are far better off with you and could be in serious trouble without you. Another important element of mindset is focus.

If you’re going to be successful in business or sales, your focus must be on serving people and always doing what’s best for them. You go above and be-yond, do much more than is expected, and you do everything possible to ensure an outstanding, second -to-none customer experience. It’s not about you or your company, it’s about the customer. The customer always comes first, and while they may not always be right, you’d better go into that conversation deter-mined to do everything in your power to make them right. FACtoR #2: sKILL set Skill set is your ability to ply your trade. As a busi-ness owner, entrepreneur, or salesperson, it’s your ability to get out into the world, interact with people, close deals, and then deliver the goods. If you’ve been in your business for any amount of time, you know what situations you’re going to run into during the day and what people are going to say to you. You have to have well thought out, effective, scripted responses for anything and everything that will come your way during the day. Your responses should be well rehearsed and flow naturally and automatically. You need to do the hard work neces-sary to find effective ways to engage people, present your product, and handle any situation you run into. Also, as there will always be new and better ways of handling various situations, this is a continuous learn-ing process. Finally, skill set requires that you take 100% responsibility for your professional development. Even if you do work for a company, it is still your responsibility to sign up for classes, go to seminars, and read and listen to educational resources in order to advance your professional career. FACtoR #3: ACtIVIty LeVeL The right mindset coupled with the proper skill set will all be for naught if you’re not taking tons of ac-tion and talking to tons of people about how you can help them. If you’re struggling, you have one of three issues: not enough people know you, not enough people are thinking of you when they’re ready to buy your product, or not enough people believe you can solve their problem. Your objective is to make sure as many people as possible know who you are, have con-fidence in you, and are thinking of you at the right time. This will take a massive amount of work. The top people are always focused on what’s most

continued on page 18


NEW MEMBERAssoCIAte membeRsBROADVIEW DISTRIBUTING, LLC7800 Broadview Rd., Cleveland, OH 44134440-340-3000 • [email protected] J.J. SutphinJoin us in welcoming our new Associate Member to NEDA.

ROLLAND GUSTAV KICKBUSH Rolland "Kick" Kickbush, Past President of New york Equipment Dealers Associa-tion passed away recently at the age of 87 in Evanston, IL. He has joined his wife of 47 years, Carol Kickbush, who died in 1998. A long term resident of batavia, Ny, he is survived by three daughters, Karen and her husband, Allan Dennis of Evanston, IL; Julianne and her husband, Morris Haas of Richmond, VA; and barbara Kickbush and her spouse, Kathy Nicol of Pulaski and buffalo, Ny. He is also survived by many other relatives. He served in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II, and recalls his time in Japan handling Army discharge paperwork. Following the war, he took classes at bry-ant Stratton business School in buffalo, N.y., and worked for International Harvester. In the early 1960s he became manager of batavia Farm Equipment for many years. The family will celebrate his life in a Memorial Service at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in bata-via where he was a member for years. Memorial contributions in Rolland’s name may be made to Midwest young Artists, 878 Lys-ter Rd., Highwood, IL 60040 (www.mya.org), a non-profit music school founded by his son-in-law, Allan Dennis, who was Orches-tra Director at batavia High School in 1970-71.

NEDA is sad to inform the membership of the passing of our friend.

Tier 4 Lineup

In 2013, KIOTI® proudly became one of the first manufacturers in the world to bring Tier 4 compliant compact tractors to North America. The excitement continues with Daedong® Eco Technology and a new pack of models including the PX, DK10 series, CK10 series, and the MECHRON® 2200PS & MECHRON® 2240 2 row UTV. You can now offer your customers more power, lower fuel consumption and the features and comforts they want most. Not a dealer yet? Let’s fix that at Kioti.com or call 877.GO.KIOTI.

© 2015 KIOTI Tractor Company a Division of Daedong-USA, Inc.

A Good YearIt’s

to become a KIOTI

dealer.

Kioti.com

Gold Level Status

2014

2014 Gold Level Status Presented to Kioti for attaining an outstanding level of achievement based on dealer ratings from the NAEDA Dealer/Manufacturer Relations Survey

Winner

News Helping Dealers Succeed

INDUSTRY


In a world where we’ve gotten quite used to knowing about and responding to an event almost immediately as it occurs, it only makes sense to use the same approach when tracking and responding to information related to your business. For example, in the same way that you might quickly react to news that could affect the price of a stock you own, take action after being alerted to suspicious pur-chases on a credit card, or reply to an influx of social media posts about your company is how savvy business owners are now managing their dealerships. The key to this approach is to use a business system that processes your data in “real time,” which, according to Wikipedia is “information that is delivered immediately after collection.” The ability to track and analyze real-time data offers dealer principals, managers, and owners speed, flexibility, and competitive advantage. Continuously re-freshed data viewable on their on their system dashboard provides business owners with an instant read on their business, reflecting business changes as they occur. Real-time dealership management systems respond to the way that equipment dealers want to manage their business. Users of traditional business systems must wait for data to accumulate, and then be sorted and extract-ed, resulting in a picture that is out-of-date. What most managers want—and need—is a view of what’s happening within their business operations, as it happens. (Walker, Diana. "Benefits of Real-time Analysis." Information Age, 19 May 2006. Web.) One of the most important applications for real-time data is a CRM (customer relations management) system, ideally a component of the dealership management sys-tem. Up-to-the-minute information about customers, such as their customer purchase and service history, can be used to make better and quicker business decisions, often within the span of the customer interaction. Access to real-time analytics also provides better sales insight by letting sales managers see exactly how the sales team is performing. It also has a huge impact on the ac-counting process. “Real-time accounting in a business sys-tem means that transactions are processed as they occur," says Melissa Amen, Business Development Manager, Char-ter Software Inc. "In a batch system, transactions may not post until the end of the day, leaving you with the unsavory options of either having to dig through piles of paper or wait until the next day to find what you need,” says Amen. “Plus, in a real-time system like ASPEN, the data is right at

your fingertips, and the ability to drill-down to transaction detail provides so much flexibility,” she adds. To truly take advantage of real-time analytics, man-agement and staff need to be ready to act on the data as quickly as it is received—and there is a lot of data pouring into the dealership, all day long. Craig Houseknecht, VP of Operations, MTE Turf Equipment Solutions, says, "With three locations, it can be difficult to keep track of what is going on in multiple parts departments, multiple service departments, managing inventory, etc. Access to the real time data in ASPEN helps us to do our jobs every day by al-lowing us to see a lot of things we wouldn't otherwise be able to see." Read more on Charter Software’s website chartersoft-ware.com/real-time-analytics to see “real-life” examples of how equipment dealers are relying on access to real-time data in ASPEN to make better business decisions. To re-quest the full white-paper business article, “Real-Time Data in the Dealership,” email: [email protected].

Live This Day As If It Were your Last When are you going to die? In fifty years, ten, five, today? Last time I checked no one had told me. I often wonder, when listening to the news, did that person who dies in an auto accident on his way home from work remember to tell his family how much he loved them? Did he live well? Did he still have things in his "in basket" that weren't done? The truth is none of us has an idea how long we have to live. Sadly, however, we act as if we're going to live forever. We postpone things that, deep down, we know we want to do - telling the people we love how much we care, visiting a good friend, taking that beautiful hike, running a marathon, writing a heartfelt letter, going fishing with your daughter, learning to meditate, becoming a better listener, and on and on. We come up with elaborate and sophisticated rationales to justify our actions and end up spending most of our time and energy doing things that aren't that important. We argue for our limitations and they become our limitations...Life is too important to take too seriously...please don't forget the most basic strategy of all, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff! If you want to learn more about the power of PEOPLE SOLU-TIONS THAT DRIVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, contact: JP Horizons Inc.,Painesville, OH 44077, 440-352-8211, e-mail: [email protected] visit their website: www.jphorizons.com

What Is a Real-Time Data, and Why is It Important in a business System?


Please fill out below andsend to NE Dealer editor:[email protected].

Any questions can be directed to the NEDA Office at 1-800-932-0607.

BUY SELL TRADE GIVE AWAY (Please check one)

Company Name ___________________________________________________________

Contact Person (if necessary) _______________________________________________

Phone_______________________________ Email ______________________________

Please use the following space to include all pertinent information to complete exchange (including make, model, condition, price, etc.).

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What Kind of Health Insurance Qualifies as

mINImum esseNtIAL CoVeRAge?

heALth INsuRANCe ... AFFoRDAbLe CARe ACt ... meDICAL

The individual shared responsibility provision requires you and each member of your family to have basic health insurance coverage – also known as minimum essential cov-erage – qualify for an exemption, or make an individual shared responsibility payment when you file your federal income tax return. Many people already have minimum essential coverage and do not need to do anything more than maintain that coverage and report their coverage when they file their tax returns. Most taxpayers will simply check a box to indicate that each member of their family had qualifying health cov-erage for the whole year. Here are some examples of coverage that qualify as minimum essential coverage:

emPLoyeR-sPoNsoReD CoVeRAge•Grouphealthinsurancecoverageforemployeesunder

* a governmental plan such as the Federal Employees Health Benefit program

* a plan or coverage offered in the small or large group market within a state

* a grandfathered health plan offered in a group market

•Self-insuredgrouphealthplanforemployees•COBRAcoverage•Retireecoverage

INDIVIDuAL heALth CoVeRAge:• Health insurance purchased directly from an insur-

ance company • Health insurance purchased through the Health

Insurance Marketplace •Healthinsuranceprovidedthroughastudenthealth

plan

CoVeRAge uNDeR goVeRNmeNt-sPoNsoReD PRogRAms:

•MedicarePartAcoverage•MedicareAdvantageplans•MostMedicaidcoverage•Children’sHealthInsuranceProgramorCHIP•MosttypesofTRICAREcoverage• Comprehensivehealthcareprogramsofferedbythe

Department of Veterans Affairs • Department of Defense Nonappropriated Fund

Health Benefits Program •RefugeeMedicalAssistance

U.S. citizens, who are residents of a foreign country for an entire year, and residents of U.S. territories, are consid-ered to have minimum essential coverage for the year. For more information on the types of coverage that qualify as minimum essential coverage and those that do not, as well as information on certain coverage that may provide limited benefits, visit the MEC page on IRS.gov/aca.

Glaucoma leads to blindness by damaging the optic nerve. Ele-vated pressure in the eye is a risk factor, but even people with normal pressure can lose vision to glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steal sight without warning. Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images from the eye to the brain. Adult glaucoma falls into two categories—open angle and closed angle. This is marked by an increase of intraocular pressure (IOP), or pressure inside the eye. When optic nerve damage occurs despite normal IOP, it is called normal tension glaucoma. Secondary glaucoma refers to any case in which another disease causes or con-tributes to increased eye pressure, resulting in optic nerve damage and vision loss.

signs and symptoms In the early stages of the disease, there may be no symptoms. Glaucoma is painless, and patients do not realize they are losing their vision until the later stages, when the damage is irreversible. When symptoms do appear, usually after the disease has pro-gressed, they are in the form of: • Lossofside(peripheral)vision • Difficultyfocusingonclose-upwords • Seeingcoloredringsorhalosaroundlights • Headachesandeyepain

• Frequentchangesofcorrectivelensprescriptions • Difficultyadjustingeyestothedark

Risk Factors Anyone can get glaucoma, but some people have a greater risk of developing the condition, including:

• Peopleoverage40whohavenothadregulareyeexams• Anyoneovertheageof60• Peoplewithfamilyhistoriesofglaucoma• Thosewithabnormallyhighintraocularpressure• PeopleofAfricandescent,especiallythoseovertheageof40• Diabetics• Thosewithmyopia(nearsightedness)

• Peoplewhohaveundergonelong-termsteroidorcortisoneuse• Peoplewithpreviouseyeinjuries

Prevention and treatment There is no cure for glaucoma yet. However, medication or sur-gery can slow or prevent continued vision loss. The appropriate treat-ment depends upon the type of glaucoma as well as other factors. Early detection is vital to stopping the progression of the disease. Be suretogetregulareyeexams(everytwoyearsuntilage60,andan-nuallyfromage60on).

~ Submitted by Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. 315-451-1500

Vision Care: glaucoma


MANAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES TO ACHIEVE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS

Employees want to contribute to their company’s success and it is the company’s responsibility to make that happen. The TwoGreySuits HR service that NEDA is offering to our members for just $325 per year contains all the guides, documents, direction and communication tools you need to develop a robust performance management system in your company. This may be the missing tool you need to align employee performance to business goals. First, explore the HR Power Centre at www.twogreysuits.com. It contains everything you need for effective people management. And, when you need answers fast, you can talk to a senior HR Professional 24/7 through the HR Hot Line. Signing up is hassle free. Just click on the URL below and you will be taken to NEDA’s customized sign up page. Fill in the information including the association code which we will provide and you will receive immediate access to the TGS System. NEDA will invoice you for the subscription fee. Sign up today and receive John Walker’s “Technician’s Articles” absolutely free. This is a $59.99 value that is being offered to you from John Walker.

https://neda.twogreysuits.com/sign-up

For more information or questions, please call Dave Close or Ralph Gaiss at the

Association at 800-932-0607


Need FOrms?NEDA can supply your dealership with top quality and competitively priced customer printed invoices, statements, checks, work orders, counter tickets, laser forms and other business forms and supplies.Contact Kelli at the NEDA Office - 800-932-0607 for a FREE quote on all your forms and supply needs.

This is the second installment of a two-part article that began in the NE Dealer March issue.

There have been times when we have asked the dealership’s equipment sales personnel: “What do you think of your dealership’s quality of service?” So many times the sales person’s “body language” immediately conveys his answer and unfortunately this answer is all too often picked up by the customer. Good help is hard to find! As often as that phrase is repeated, we will a give you something to remember. Good help is hard to find, but for those of you who don’t work constantly and consistently, taking advantage of outside sources and thinking outside the box, we can tell you that it absolutely won’t get any better in the future. Successful recruiting dealers have discovered just how important people are to their business and have decided they can no longer recruit personnel in the future as they have done in the past. Successful dealers have discovered that the adage: “If you think hiring good people is expensive, then try hiring bad people for a true comparison!” For years, if you mentioned to a dealer that he should consider going on the outside to a recruiter in order to find better personnel, the dealer would “roll his eyes” and say to you: “That will cost an arm and a leg”, never realizing just how much time was being spent by his managers to source personnel. Generally the people hired lasted little more than two to three months, or even worse you hired them, held them in the position for as long as a year, truly realizing you had made a mistake. Over the years we have experienced dealers who have accepted mediocrity because they truly began to believe that they just could not find someone better to do the job. Our term: these dealers are being held hostage! Why is it that so many principals, owners and managers in business are afraid to take the necessary steps to remove inadequate personnel and or personnel who continually flaunt the rules? We sometimes believe it would require an employee to commit three cases of excessive fraud or theft before the decision was made to terminate the individual. Many express the fear that to hire a replacement will be: 1) too expensive and, 2) the price you would have to pay to attract that individual would cause the entire department to expect pay scales to increase

dramatically. Read our article written several years ago: Where are the great ones going (staying) and Why? Today equipment dealers recognize the term Mega Dealers. These are generally classified as dealers with five or more locations. These dealers, for the most part, recognize the extreme need for someone to perform the function of the dealership’s Human Relations Manager; someone who is responsible for hiring, terminating, training, paying for performance, etc. We maintain that hiring dealership personnel is a full time job requiring continuous effort to put together a package that has the where-with-all to attract, hire and hold the best employees possible for the dealership. You can be assured that hiring professional technicians will only do three things for your dealership: 1) Increase your sales, 2) increase your profitability and, 3) improve dramatically your Customer Satisfaction indexes. Remember: When hiring anyone to fill a position in the dealership, always look for professionals with strong work ethics who are looking for a long term career and not just a paycheck or not just a job. WoRK ethICs, INtegRIty, INteLLIgeNCe and eXPeRIeNCe: If you cannot find a candidate with superior work ethics, integrity and intelligence, all of the experience in the world will not make up for the first three mentioned character traits! Contact us at: [email protected] if you would like more information on hiring product support personnel . . . we have a wealth of written material on this area of your business . . .

REALITYin your shop!

the AFteR mARKet sALes FoRCe

BY JOHN WALKERPresident,AfterMarketServicesConsultingCo.,Inc.–817StockbridgeDrive,#399,Ft.Mill,SC29708•Cell918-230-0791

www.amsconco.com


DEALER Northeast

The Newsletter of NoRThEAsT EquipmENT DEALERs AssociATioN, iNc.JANUARY 2015 c Vol. 17, No. 190

www.ne-equip.com

NEDA Salutes our Supporting Advertisers. It is our pleasure to list the names of those advertisers who support NE Dealer each month. We trust their advertisement will

be remembered when goods and services are required by you, our dealer members. It is good to do business with companies who are interested in doing business with

you and your industry association.

John Komarisky of Main & Pinckney Equipment Inc., Auburn, NY

has been elected to a one-year term as President of NEDA. John was

installed recently at the association’s Board Meeting in Liverpool, NY.

John is General Manager and co-owner with his wife Barbara and

son Greg who is the dealerships Sales Manager. Main & Pinckney is a

very active and busy high volume single store operation. Their ma-

jor lines are New Holland AG, Vermeer Forage, Bush Hog, Brillion,

Simplicity & Ferris and other short lines. Their market includes the

small farm, rural lifestyle, homeowner, commercial landscape and

Municipal market segments. They have a lot of competition in their

trade area and their success for many decades is a result of their excel-

lent service reputation to this diverse customer mix. Their business continues to increase every year with a focus of out-

standing service and fair, timely and efficient service to their custom-

ers. Their best advertisement comes from customer referrals! John continues to be active in his church, community at large and the local fire district.

John will lead our eleven (11) member Board of Directors, that are responsible for oversee-

ing the associations budget, service and product offerings including the excellent insurance

benefit packages the association offers all its dealer members.

New Northeast Equipment Dealers Association President for 2015

IN THIS ISSUE:3 Observations from the Field4, 6, 8 Association News9 Flat Rate Guide - NEDA10 Speakers at Annual / Regional Meetings11 TwoGreySuits – HR Policies12-13 Industry News14 Accomplishing Results16 90% of Sales Success Is . . .18 Risk Management Strategies

19 EPA Requirements20-21 Tax Tips22 Designing an Internship Program23 Network Date Security Info24 Human Resources25 Construction Equipment Guide - NEDA26-27 Equipment Industry News

ADVERTISER’S:2 Haylor, Freyer & Coon 5 New York Farm Show7 Electronic Merchant Systems15 DiversifiedFinancial17 BallastStar

17 Charter Software29 Federated Insurance30 Fastline Publications

wha

t’s

new

?

DEALER Northeast

The Newsletter of NoRThEAsT EquipmENT DEALERs AssociATioN, iNc.

FEBRUARY 2015 c Vol. 17, No. 191

www.ne-equip.com

NEDA Salutes our Supporting Advertisers. It is our pleasure to list the names of those advertisers who support NE Dealer each month. We trust their advertisement will

be remembered when goods and services are required by you, our dealer members. It is good to do business with companies who are interested in doing business with

you and your industry association.

Happy New Year...Here are a few reasons for lifestyle equipment dealer optimism in 2015.

The U.S. economy is improving and many people have disposable money to spend because of the

stronger job market and lower gas prices.

Interest rates are expected to remain low and consumer sentiments the highest it has been since

January 2007. OPE Manufacturers and most other OPE Industry leaders are saying that they are very

optimistic for about a 4% increase in sales growth for 2015.

The International October 2014 GIE-EXPO in Louisville,

KY for the OPE Industry was a real winner and drew about

11% more OPE dealers than the previous year. Tim Wentz

and Ralph Gaiss were there from our association manning a

shared booth with our partner the Ohio-Michigan Equipment

Dealers Association. Ralph said he and Tim saw and spoke

with more member dealers than in previous years.

They also spoke with many non-member dealers that stopped

at the booth and they did get three new member dealers to

join the association during the show and when they returned,

they received calls from other dealers that had an interest to

join. If you never attended this fantastic show for dealers only,

don't miss this opportunity on October 21, 22, 23, & 24, 2015

and mark it on your calendar now...so you don't forget it.

IN THIS ISSUE:3 Observations from the Field

4 Annual / Regional Meeting Speakers

6, 8, 10, 12 Industry News

7 Annual / Regional Meeting Sponsors

9 NEDA February Light Specials

11 TwoGreySuits – HR Policies

14 Accomplishing Results

15 Grounds Maintenance Equip. Blue Book

16 OSHA Updates to Recordkeeping Rule

18 Risk Management Strategies

20, 22 Veterans' Information

23 Health Care Information

25 The Family Board in a Family-Owned

Business

26 NEDA Holiday Schedule

27 Equipment Industry News

28 Marijuana in the Workplace

ADVERTISER’S:2 Haylor, Freyer & Coon

5 New York Farm Show

13 BallastStar

13 Charter Software

17 Electronic Merchant Systems

17 PartnerShip

21 SouthWestern Assoc. – Valuations

29 Federated Insurance

30 Fastline Publications

opE Dealer council The OPE Voice of NEDA

COUNCIL MEMBERS

Dale Magie, Chairman, Liberty Twp., OH

Dale Fronheiser, Bechtelsville, PA

Dan Huff, Pomfret Center, CT

OPERATING STAFF

Kim Rominger Bill Garling

Dennis Alford Dave Close

Ralph Gaiss Tim Wentz

Scott Grigor

NEDA ... Northeast Equipment Dealer Association

(CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT)

IS something newsworthy happening or HAS it happened with you, an employee or your dealership?LET US KNOW! Email us a brief note or send us a newspaper clipping (or link) to your local newspaper. A few minutes is all it takes. We welcome digital submissions, just be sure to include your company name, address, phone/fax, email and web info as well as identification of anyone included in a photo.

WHAT’S NEWSWORTHY?anniversaries • awards of special recognition • expansion or remodeling • open houses • receptions • personnel changes • promotions • retirements • in memoriams • new programs, standards or services • anything else you think we’d be interested in publicizing.

EMAIL [email protected] by the 20th of the month forinclusion in the next month’s newsletter.

NortheastEquipmentDealersAssociationEstablished 1901

Committed to Building The Best BusinessEnvironment for Northeast Equipment Dealers


by: DAVID E. SHAy

Take Them Free and ClearTRADE-INS:

Trade-ins. They can make or break a deal. Whether a particular transaction is profitable turns on the re-covery on a trade-in. It is essential, therefore, to make sure that trade-ins are acquired free and clear of any other inter-ests. This article provides tips to make sure that any lien against the equipment is discovered be-fore the deal is completed.

Know the Customer The first step in any UCC lien search or other records review is determining who the owner of the trade-in equip-ment is. Even long-term customers should be asked. If you presume the customer is purchasing in his or her own name, you can miss a lien filed under the name of a corporation or LLC. You won’t know if someone you have known since the first grade decided to form an LLC unless you ask. Likewise, if you look under a name that a person uses as a d/b/a, you could miss personal lien information. Just because a truck has “Green Acres Farms” on the side does not mean that is an actual entity. After asking who the owner of the trade-in is, you should verify the existence of any entity. You will also need to know the state of incorporation for any corpo-ration or the state of formation for LLCs and LLPs. That state’s Secretary of State’s office should be consulted to verify any Corporation, LLC or LLP. Armed with the right name, you can perform an effective lien search.

Know the equipment’s history Once you determine the actual owner, you should also obtain background information regarding the equipment. How was it acquired? Is there a bill of sale? Was the equipment financed and, if so, by whom? Has the equipment been paid for? Has there been a lien release? These questions will provide you addition-al information to make sure that your lien search is accurate and complete. You should also obtain information regarding any repairs on the equipment. There may be a repair-men’s lien associated with the equipment that could apply. These liens will not show up in UCC searches, so particular caution is necessary. Some of these liens are possessory liens, so actually delivery of the trade-in will provide the necessary comfort. For repair liens

The first step in any UCC

lien search or other

records review is

determining who the

owner of the trade-in

equipment is. Even

long-term customers

should be asked.

that may be recorded, however, you may need to verify that repairs have been paid for or you may need to search other lien records that may exist at the local

court house.

Know the Customer’s business Determining whether the cus-tomer is an individual or an enti-ty will guide where UCC searches should be performed. Another fac-tor to consider is where the equip-ment will be stored. A UCC search should always include the state where the equipment is located as well as the state where: (1) an individual resides; (2) where an en-tity is incorporated or organized; or (3) the state where a general partnership operates. If the cus-tomer farms in a state other than

the state of residence/organization, then UCC searches must be performed in multiple states. Another important consideration is knowing whether the customer relies upon operating loans to do business and whether there are loans used to acquire property that might impact the title on trade-ins. Even if the equipment is “paid off”, there may be a lien against the equipment that will need to be checked. For instance, many operating loans include blanket liens that take a security interest in “all equip-ment whether now owned or acquired hereafter.” Other operating loans or acquisition loans may iden-tify “all personal property including after-acquired property.” This is generally sufficient to create a lien against the trade-in even though the specific piece of equipment is not identified in the public filings. Many lenders with blanket liens are willing to work with cus-tomer trading equipment to acquire new equipment because it will enhance their borrower’s ability to re-pay a loan. A lien release may be available, but you will have to ask.

Conclusion There is a simple rule for trade-ins: If there is a lien against the equipment, obtain a release or walk away. The only way to obtain a release is to discover the exis-tence of a lien in the first place. Don’t overlook repair liens and blanket liens. Knowing the correct identity of the customer, the history of the equipment and the borrowing practices of the customer can go a long way to making sure that you acquire good title to trade-ins.


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When to call a CVA

Here are some of the events that trigger the need for a business valuation:

• Buy/Sell Agreements

• Succession Planning

• Mergers and Acquisitions

• Liquidation or Reorganization

• Estate and Gift Tax Planning

• Divorce Proceedings

To be sure you know the actual value of

your most important financial asset, contact

Southwestern Association, your equipment

and hardware specialist.

buying • selling • merging

reorganizing

CERTIFIED BUSINESS VALUATIONSPhone 816.561.5323 Fax 816.561.1249

Toll Free 800-762-5616

TAX TIPS


The IRS has released final forms and instructions for the ACA employer reporting requirement. Appli-cable large employers (ALEs, generally those with 50 or more FTEs), and small employers with self-funded group health plans, are required to report certain plan informa-tion to the IRS and to provide statements to employees, beginning in 2016 for calendar year 2015 health plan and coverage data. The final forms and instructions are simi-lar to the proposed forms previously released by the IRS, with a few minor modifications. background ALEs must report to the IRS information about the health care coverage they offered to full-time employ-ees. The IRS will use this information to administer the employer shared responsibility provisions and the premi-um tax credit. ALEs also must provide employees a state-ment (generally a 1095) that includes the same informa-tion provided to the IRS. ALEs are required to report to the IRS, as well as to their full-time employees, regardless of whether the ALE actually offers health insurance coverage. Even if an ALE with at least 50 but fewer than 100 full-time equivalents (FTE) is eligible for the transition relief for 2015 from the employer shared responsibility provision, the ALE is still required to complete the information reporting for 2015. All reporting is based on calendar year data regard-less of the employer’s plan year. ALE members must file Form 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) and Form 1094-C (Transmittal of Employ-er-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) In-formation Returns with the IRS annually, no later than February 28 (March 31 if filed electronically). This is the same filing schedule applicable to other information re-turns commonly filed by employers, such as Forms W-2 and 1099. Also, affected employers are required to furnish a statement to each full-time employee and each covered individual that includes the same information provided to the IRS, by January 31. In most cases the employer will provide employees with a copy of the Form 1095-C. Employers must file their first information returns with the IRS and furnish statements to their full-time employ-ees and covered individuals in 2016 for the 2015 calen-dar year. Thus, the first statements to employees must be furnished by January 31, 2016, and the first informa-tion returns to the IRS must be filed by February 28, 2016 (March 31, 2016, if filed electronically).

Preparing for 2016 With the release of the final forms, employers can now begin to implement the procedures necessary to complete the first required reporting early in 2016. It is likely that most employers will use a third-party admin-istrator, benefits administration system, payroll vendor, or other vendor to assist with the reporting process. In general, employers will need to know the following information to properly complete the reporting.

All ALes – Including self-funded or fully-insured •Contactnameandphonenumberfortheindividu-

al that will be responsible for fielding questions in regards to the reporting on behalf of the employer

•The employer’s status as a single employer or amember of a controlled group/affiliated service group, and a list of other member employers in the controlled group (if applicable)

•4980H transition relief and employer safe harborinformation applicable to the employer

•Totalemployeesforeachmonth•Numberoffull-timeemployeesasdefinedbyACA

for each month • Foreachfull-timeemployee: Name, SSN, Address Which months coverage was offered to the em-

ployee and/or dependents Employee contribution required for lowest

cost, minimum value, single coverage option for which that employee is eligible

All self-funded employers(including small employers who are not an ALe) •Coverage-related information required for all

covered individuals and dependents: Name SSN (in some cases DOB may be used if SSN is

not available) Whether individual had coverage in any

employer sponsored Minimum Essential Cover-age (MEC) for each calendar month

Typically, no single vendor or system currently contains all of the data necessary to complete the reporting. For example:

•Payrollproviderswillnotgenerallyknowwhetheran employer is taking advantage of one of the IRS affordability safe harbors, or of an ACA transition relief rule.


IRS Releases Final Reporting Forms and Instructions


TAX TIPS Do you own or run a small business or tax-exempt group with fewer than 25 full-time employees? If you do, you should know that the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit can help you provide insurance to your employees. You may be able to save on your taxes if you paid for at least half of their health insurance premiums. Here are several things that you should know about this important credit:

•MaximumCredit. For tax years beginning in 2014 and after, the maximum credit is 50 percent of pre-miums paid by small business employers. The limit is 35 percent of premiums paid by tax-exempt small employers, such as charities.

•Number of employees. You may qualify if you had fewer than 25 employees who work full-time, or a combination of full-time and part-time. For ex-ample, two half-time employees equal one full-time employee for purposes of the credit.

•qualified health Plan. You must have paid pre-miums for your employees enrolled in a qualified health plan offered through a Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, Marketplace. There are limited exceptions to this requirement.

•Average Annual Wages. To qualify for the credit, the average annual wages of your full-time equiva-lent employees must have been less than $51,000 in 2014. The IRS will adjust this amount for inflation each year.

•half the Premiums. You must have paid a uni-form percentage of the cost of premiums for all employees. The amount you paid must be equal to at least 50 percent of the premium cost of the insur-ance coverage for each employee.

•two year Limit. An eligible employer may claim the credit for any two-consecutive taxable years, be-ginning in or after 2014. This credit can be claimed for two consecutive years, even if you claimed the credit at any point from 2010 through 2013.

• tax Forms to use. All employers use the Form 8941, Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums, to calculate the credit. For-profit busi-nesses claim the credit on Form 3800, General Busi-ness Credit. Tax-exempt organizations claim it on Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return.

If you are a for-profit business and the credit is more than your tax liability for the year, you can carry the unused credit back or forward to other tax years. If you are a tax-exempt employer, you may be eligible to receive the credit as a refund. This applies so long as it does not exceed your income tax withholding and Medicare tax liability for the year.

If you found this Tax Tip helpful, please share it through your social media platforms. A great way to get tax information is to use IRS Social Media. You can also subscribe to IRS Tax Tips or any of our e-news subscrip-tions.

Additional IRs Resources:• SmallBusinessHealthCareTaxCreditforSmallEm-

ployers• Small Business Health Care Tax Credit: Questions

and Answers

Five Key Facts About Unemployment benefits If you lose your job, you may qualify for unemploy-ment benefits. The payments may serve as much needed relief. But did you know unemployment benefits are tax-able? Here are five key facts about unemployment com-pensation: 1. unemployment is taxable. You must include all unemployment compensation as income for the year. You should receive a Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments by Jan. 31 of the following year. This form will show the amount paid to you and the amount of any federal income tax withheld. 2. Paid under u.s. or state law. There are vari-ous types of unemployment compensation. Unemploy-ment includes amounts paid under U.S. or state unem-ployment compensation laws. For more information, see Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. 3. union benefits may be taxable. You must include benefits paid to you from regular union dues in your income. Other rules may apply if you contributed to a special union fund and those contributions are not deductible. In that case, you only include as income an


Employers: Don’t Overlook the Small business Health Care Tax Credit


three Key Factors continued from page 5

important. In sales and business, the most important things you do are: prospect, present, close business, and build current customer relationships. Without those, nothing else matters. You’ve heard me say it before: sales and business are numbers games. In or-der to get the number of quality customer relation-ships you need, you have to be talking to tons of people. Ultimately your success will come down to the size and loyalty of your network. John Chapin is a sales and motivational speaker and trainer. For his free newsletter, go to: www.complete-selling.com. John has over 26 years of sales experience as a number one sales rep and is the author of the 2010 sales book of the year: Sales Encyclopedia. -- 508-243-7359 – [email protected] -- www.com-pleteselling.com.

“The best executive is the one who has sense

enough to pick good men to do what he wants

done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling

with them while they do it.”

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Your business information— wherever you are!

● Accounting ● Inventory ● Rental ● Sales ● Service ● CRM

● OEM Integration ● Mobile Access● Customer Portal ● Data Mining

Smart Equipment Dealers Guide to Managing Remotely

chartersoftware.com/managing-remotely

NortheastEquipmentDealersAssociation

Established 1901

Endorsed Provider

Complete, NEDA-Endorsed Dealership Management System

Unemployment benefitscontinued from page 17

amount that you got that was more than the contri-butions you made. 4. you may have tax withheld. You can choose to have federal income tax withheld from your unem-ployment. You can have this done using Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request. If you choose not to have tax withheld, you may need to make estimated tax payments during the year. 5. Visit IRs.gov for help. If you’re facing financial difficulties, you should visit the IRS.gov page: “What Ifs” for Struggling Taxpayers. This page explains the tax effect of events such as job loss. For example, if your income decreased, you may be eligible for certain tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit. If you owe federal taxes and can’t pay your bill, contact the IRS. In many cases, the IRS can take steps to help ease your financial burden.For more details visit IRS.gov and check Publication 525. You can view, download and print Form W-4V at IRS.gov/forms anytime. If you found this Tax Tip helpful, please share it through your social media platforms. A great way to get tax information is to use IRS Social Media. You can also subscribe to IRS Tax Tips or any of our e-news subscriptions.

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Turning Profits Into Loss: ChANges IN INDUSTRY AND DEALERSHIP BUSINESS MODEL CReAte RIsKs FoR DeALeRs Turning profits into loss? Why would I do that? No dealer is in business to lose money. But what if the types of products and services you sell lead to a situation where losses from one bad transaction wipe out profits on 100+ customer transactions? The world in which you operate is rapidly changing. Are you selling precision Ag products? Are you (or are you thinking about) providing consulting services through agronomists? Are you providing repair services for customers that have grown in size tremendously over the last couple of decades? The good news is that dealers and manufacturers have been rapidly evolving their business models and product/service offerings to meet changing customer expectations and the agricultural equipment industry is on the forefront of driving technological change in our world. This focus has both pleased customers and helped the bottom lines of dealers and manufacturers. But there is a downside to these changes. The services you provide expose you to risks different than those you face when you simply sell iron. When you sell new equipment to a customer, it comes with a standard warranty and if there are issues with the equipment, the manufacturer is generally willing to stand behind its warranty and you are compensated for helping fix the problem. In addition, if someone is injured or property is damaged when using new equipment (and usually used equipment), our product liability laws typically put the liability onto the manufacturer. Unfortunately, this ability to look to your manufacturer for accountability will most likely not come into play when you face customer issues relating

to the changes outlined above: • Repair services: All dealers repair equipment and you generally receive a pretty good profit margin for these services. But what happens if your $2,000 repair job was done incorrectly for one of your large corporate farming customers, causing your customer’s equipment to malfunction and creating yield losses of $200,000 due to the misapplication of seed, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.? • Consulting services: If you have an agronomist on staff, your agronomist will be giving advice to your customers, including “prescriptions” relating to the application of seed, fertilizer, water and other products to maximize yields. What happens if the agronomist gives the wrong advice, yield results disappoint and your customer misses out on several hundred thousand dollars of profits? • Precision Ag software malfunction: When you sell precision Ag products, the products heavily rely on software for proper operation or transmission of data. If you are selling these products, what you may not realize is that the software is often not covered by a warranty or the warranty may be very limited (either by its terms or the remedies). What happens if it turns out that a software malfunction results in significant crop loss and your purchase order form doesn’t address software warranties?

managing Risk In your Customer Contracts In each of these examples, your dealership could be exposed to damages at levels that eat up a very large percentage of your profits. The good news is that two key steps can be taken through language in your customer contracts that should

significantly reduce your risk in these areas: • Apply warranty disclaimerlanguage to software products and services that you offer. • Limitthemaximumamountof damages that you will owe to customers if there are problems with software or your services. As with all “legalese”, the words needed to put these concepts in place aren’t as simple as what I describe above. The language also might not cure all of your issues as some restrictions in consumer protection laws may limit its effectiveness. But it will help reduce your exposure and protect profits. Many of you have been rapidly evolving your businesses and business models over the last several years to keep up with customer demand and changing technology. To help keep the fruits of that evolution going your way, my recommendation for you is that it is also time for your contract language to evolve in the same way.

Lance Formwalt is a member of the Equipment Dealer Practice Group at Seigfreid Bingham, P.C. The firm also serves as legal counsel to the North American Equipment Dealers Association. Lance may be contacted at [email protected] or 816-265-4106. Also see www.seigfreidbingham.com. This article is intended to provide general recommendations and is not intended to be legal advice. You should always consult your attorney for advice unique to you and your business.

by LANCE FORMWALT


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NORTHEAST EQUIPMENT DEALERS ASSOCIATION128 Metropolitan Park Dr., Liverpool, NY 13088

Mailing address:P.O. Box 3470, Syracuse, NY 13220

Phone: 800-932-0607 • Fax: 315-451-3548

Please send me:_____ copy(ies) in book format at the member price of $336_____ copy(ies) in CD-ROM format at the member price of $336_____ copy(ies) in both book & CD-Rom format at member price of $376

First Name_____________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________

City / State / Zip ________________________________________

Phone_______________________ Fax ______________________

Signed________________________________________________

Credit Card #__________________________Type _____________

Expiration Date_________________________________________

Final Reporting Forms and Instructions continued from page 16

•Employer’s systems generally contain an employee’s enrollment data, but may not cur-rently keep track of the lowest plan cost option on an employee-by-employee basis.

•Employer’s payroll and HRIS systems may currently identify employees as full-time based on criteria other than the applicable ACA defi-nition of full-time. This data will also depend on whether an employer is using the optional IRS look-back method of defining full-time.

summary The biggest issue facing employers now is iden-tifying where required data currently resides, and figuring out the best process for meeting the report-ing requirements. Employers should not jump at the first offer from a vendor to assist with the reporting process. We have heard reports of payroll vendors “automatically” signing up and charging clients for reporting services, implying that they are ready to complete the reporting. While the payroll provider may be the right choice for some employers, the truth is that the vendor does not yet have much of the required information. The final 1095 and 1094 reporting forms and instructions can be found at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i109495c.pdf.

~ Courtesy of Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc.800-289-1503

YOU, THE CUSTOMER How many times have you visited “Five Guys burgers and fries” and seen the sign prominently displayed as you enter? You, the customer, are the most impor-tant visitor on our premises. You are not dependent on us. We are dependent on you. You are not an outsider in our business. You are part of it. We are doing you a favor by serving you. You are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so. maybe all dealers should put this sign up and/or work with your employ-ees and instill in them knowledge of dependency and opportunity is from the customer.


Northeast Equipment Dealers Association Serving Farm, Industrial & Outdoor Power Equipment Dealers Since 1901

New Spring Special! ***April***

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Order Form Item # Qty. Cost Ea. Total Dealership Name: __________________________ HDTL30B _______ $35.18 __________ Shipping Address: __________________________ LED30B-SQ ______ $53.75 __________ City, State, and Zip: ____________________________ SUB TOTAL ________ Terms: NET 30 DAYS TO APPROVED MEMBERS (If not for resale) TAX ________ Freight: PREPAID FREIGHT ON CASE QUANTITIES SHIPPING _________ TOTAL _________ Payment Method (Prepayment is required) Check Enclosed (Payable to NEDA) __________ Credit Card (VISA or MC) Acct # ____________________________________ Exp. Date: ___________ (Circle One) Cardholder Name: _____________________________ Signature: _______________________________

128 Metropolitan Park Drive, Liverpool, New York 13088 • PO Box 3470, Syracuse, New York 13220 800-932-0607 / 315-457-0314 Fax: 315-451-3548 Website: www.ne-equip.com

OFFER EXPIRES April 30, 2015

use. Limited, occasional or incidental use of electronic media (sending or receiving) for personal, non-business purposes is understandable and acceptable – as is the case with personal phone calls. However, employees need to demonstrate a sense of responsibility and may not abuse the privilege.

moNItoRINg. The company routinely monitors usage patterns for both voice and data communications (e.g., number called or site accessed; call length; times of day calls). Reasons include cost analysis/allocation and the management of our gateway to the Internet. The company also reserves the right, in its discretion, to review any employee's electronic files and messages and usage to the extent necessary to ensure that electronic media and services are being used in compliance with the law and with this and other company policies. Employees should therefore not assume electronic communications are totally private and confidential and should transmit highly sensitive information in other ways.

seCuRIty. “Employees must respect the confidentiality of other people’s electronic communications and may not attempt to read, ‘hack’ into other systems or other people’s logins, or ‘crack’ passwords, or breach computer or network security measures, or monitor electronic files or communications of other employees or third parties except by explicit direction of company management. No e-mail or other electronic communications may be sent which attempt to hide the identity of the sender, or represent the sender as someone else or from another company.

CoNgestIoN. “Electronic media and services should not be used in a manner that is likely to cause network

Employees have access to one or more forms of electronic media and services (computers, e-mail, telephones, voice-mail, fax machines, external electronic bulletin boards, wire services, on-line services, the Internet and the World Wide Web). The company encourages the use of these media and associated services because information technology is our business, because they make communication more efficient and effective, and because they are valuable sources of information, e.g., about vendors, customers, new products and services. However, electronic media and services provided by the company are company property, and their purpose is to facilitate company business. With the rapidly changing nature of electronic media, this policy cannot lay down rules to cover every possible situation. Instead, it expresses the company’s philosophy and sets forth general principles to be applied to use of electronic media and services. “The following procedures apply to all electronic media and services that are accessed on or from company premises, accessed using company computer equipment, or via company-paid access methods, and/or used in a manner which identifies the individual with the company.

PRoCeDuResusAge. “Electronic media may not be used for knowingly transmitting, retrieving or storage of any communications of a discriminatory or harassing nature, or which are derogatory to any individual or group, or which are obscene or X-rated communications, or are of a defamatory or threatening nature, or for ‘chain letters,’ or for any other purpose which is illegal or against company policy or contrary to the company’s interest. “Electronic media and services are primarily for company business

congestion or significantly hamper the ability of other people to access and use the system.

CoPyRIght. Anyone obtaining electronic access to other companies’ or individuals’ materials must respect all copyrights and may not copy, retrieve, modify or forward copyrighted materials except as permitted by the copyright owner or a single copy for reference use only.

NetWoRKs. Any messages or information sent by an employee to one or more individuals via an electronic network (e.g., bulletin board, on-line service, or Internet) are statements identifiable and attributable to our company. While some users include personal ‘disclaimers’ in electronic messages, it should be noted that there would still be a connection with the company, and the statement might still be legally imputed to the company. All communications sent by employees via a network must comply with this and other company policies, and may not disclose any confidential or proprietary company information.“Network services and World Wide Web sites can and do monitor access and usage and can identify at least which company – and often which specific individual – is accessing their services. Thus accessing a particular bulletin board or Website leaves company identifiable electronic ‘tracks’ even if the employee merely reviews or downloads the material and does not post any message.

DIsCIPLINe. “Any employee found to be abusing the privilege of company-facilitated access to electronic media or services will be subject to corrective action and/or risk having the privilege removed for him/herself and possibly other employees.”

SAMPLE POLICy

COMPUTER USAGE



CREDIT CARD PROGRAMEMS (ELECTRONIC MERCHANT SySTEMS)Steven Miller866-367-1818,Direct585-285-9954F: [email protected]

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIALyour Financing ChoiceTerry boer [email protected]

FEDERATED INSURANCE COMPANyProperty & Casualty Insurance (8statesexceptVT), Health Insurance (PA only)Workers' Comp (AllstatesexceptNY)John ballardat800-241-4945,C:[email protected]•www.federatedinsurance.com

HAyLOR, FREyER & COON, INC.Health Insurance Program Mike Herrera Benefit Consultant315-703-3216•[email protected] Jim McGarvey Supervisor Benefit Consulting 3157033239•[email protected]

Physical Damage Insurance,Rental/LeasingEquipmentDarwin Allenat800-289-1503(HF&C,Inc.)[email protected]•www.haylor.com

Workers' Comp (ReturnDividendProgramforNYDealersonly)Property & Casualty Insurance for VT Darwin [email protected]•www.haylor.com

LEGAL ASSISTANCE – FREE LIMITED Dave Shay at816-421-4460Fax:816-474-3447•[email protected]

NEDA ON-LINE CAMPUSDave [email protected]

OSHA WORKPLACE SAFETy COMPLIANCE PROG.Dave [email protected]

PARTNERSHIP FREIGHT PROGRAMYellowFreight,UPSFreight,FedExGroundKeith [email protected]

POWER PRO ACCREDITED DEALERJoe [email protected]

REGULATORy CONSULTANTS, INC.CERTIFIED SPCC PLANDave Closeat800-932-0607x235Robb Roeschat800-888-9596x222www.rci-safety.com

SUCCESSION PLANNING - buy / SellPlanning Solutions GroupDon HannahsP:301-543-6000–888-740-3501–F:301-543-6030Dhannahs@PSG planning.com

TELEPHONE DISCOUNT PROGRAMWorldNet Solutions, Inc.866-532-7653Mention NAEDA

Ralph Gaiss,ExecutiveVP/[email protected]

Dave Close, Operations [email protected]

Kelli Neider, Administrative [email protected](BusinessForms)

Tim Wentz, Field Services DirectorC:717-576-6794,P:717-258-1450F:[email protected]

Scott Grigor,NYFarmShowManager800-932-0607,[email protected]

Art Smith, Consultant/Editor, NE Dealer717-258-8476,F:[email protected]

CHARTER SOFTWARE bUSINESS SySTEMSMelissa Amen303-932-6875-Ext.219www.chartersoftware.com

CERTIFIED bUSINESS VALUATIONSSWA Financial Consulting, P.C.Curtis A. Kleoppel / bob Charbonneau816-561-5323x116&117Fax:816-561-1249or800-762-5616

For Service / SPoNSoreD ProGrAMS,cAll Your ASSociAtioN

800-932-0607 • 315-457-0314 • Fax: 315-451-3548 • www.ne-equip.com

Legal Compliance on FMLA The amount of job-protected leave an employer must provide an employee depends on a number of factors under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The first of which is whether or not the employer is covered by the FMLA, then details about the employee and the reason for the leave must be considered. The FMLA applies to private employers that have 50 or more employees, public agencies and local education agen-cies. It allows covered employees to take certain extended or intermittent periods of leave for the reasons noted below. In order for an employee to be covered by the FMLA, he or she must have been employed by a company for at least one year and must have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months. Covered employees may take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period (26 weeks for leaves involving the injury or illness of a family member in the military). FMLA leave is job-protected, so the employee must be returned to his or her original position or an equiva-lent position with equal pay and benefits, after his or her leave has ended. If there is no explanation for the employee’s absence,

or the absence has not been approved, an employer may be able to terminate or discipline the employee according to the company’s employment policies. If an employee is absent from work due to the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, or because of a family member’s serious health condition, the employee may be protected from termination under the FMLA. The FMLA also provides leave in some instances where a family member is called to active military duty or has an injury or illness related to military service. Check to see if your state has more generous laws regarding job-protected leave, which may also apply to employers not covered by the FMLA. When the employee has used all of his or her FMLA leave and does not return to work, the leave is no longer job-protected. However, employers should be aware of other applicable laws, including the Americans with Disabili-ties Act (ADA), and consult with an attorney prior to termi-nating an employee who was out on leave.

~ Courtesy of Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc.800-289-1503


2014 most profitable Year Ever for Ethanol producers, But production Will moderate in Next Decade While the future of ethanol is facing an uncertain future as the political battles about its usefulness continue, last year most U.S. ethanol producers were swimming in profits like they have never experienced. The politics of ethanol is intensifying with the introduction of the Toomey-Feinstein “Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act” in Congress on Feb. 26. According to reports, a variety of special interests have joined forces against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), including, poultry farmers, chain restaurant operators, cattle ranchers and oil companies who insist that the RFS isn’t working. At the same time, various industry groups are criticizing Toomey for saying ethanol drives up gas and food prices and Feinstein for her argument that corn ethanol is getting in the way of advanced biofuels. “A new record weekly high profit of an astounding $1.61 per gallon was set on March 28, 2014. This dwarfs the previous record spikes in late 2011 and 2013. The record profits of 2014 are also part of the longest run of uninterrupted profits since we first began estimating margins in early 2007,” says Irwin. “The streak of positive profits began on March 15, 2013 and ended on Jan. 2, 2015, for a total of 95 conecutive weeks without a loss. The average profit during the streak was $0.43 per gallon. This is more than 10 times the average profit of $0.04 per gallon that a representative plant earned during all the weeks preceding the recent record streak (Jan. 26, 2007 – March 8, 2013),” he says.“Production is projected to decline slightly in 2015 as margins become tighter. Beyond 2015, ethanol production grows slowly as RFS requirements increase and production margins recover,” says FAPRI. “Cellulosic and non-corn production levels contribute relatively minor quantities to the total.” FAPRI expects sugarcane imports from Brazil to continue at a very low level in 2015 before resuming some growth in 2016 and remain relatively flat through the reminder of the decade. The past year saw a rebound in the exports of ethanol. The report says U.S. exports of ethanol will “continue steady growth with domestic conventional ethanol prices competitive in the global market.”

~ A.E.I.

equIPmeNt INDustRy NeWs

Drop in Ag Equipment sales continues North American large Ag equipment sales continued to decline in February, but did see a slight improvement in some categories compared to the previous month, according to the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers. Sales of 4WD tractor were down 39.5% year-over-year vs. down 65.1% last month and combine sales were down 24.1% (down 53.4% last month). Row-crop tractor sales declined further, decreasing 19.3% vs. down 5.4% in January. “Perhaps more concerning, mid-range tractor sales fell by 10.8% year-over-year after an 8.5% increase in January and bears watching given the expectation for relative strength in this category due to stronger livestock farmer fundamental,” says Mircea (Mig) Dobre, analyst with RW Baird.

~ A.E.I.

mitas starts phase out of continental Ag Tire Brand Czech tire maker Mitas has started to phase out the Continental brand on its agricultural products. Starting in January, the higher-spec products coming out of Mitas factories in Europe and the U.S. will be supplied to OEMs carrying “Mitas Premium” identification. Tires produced for the replacement market will change over progressively ahead of the 2019 expiry of the license to use the Continental brand. “Our ability to manufacture one of the world’s largest agricultural tires proves our ability to produce the most demanding and complex off-road products,” says Andrew Mabin, Mitas group marketing and sales director.

~ A.E.I.

8 Ag Equipment Intelligence/March/2015

record $0.54 per gallon in 2014. “A new record weekly high profit

of an astounding $1.61 per gallon was set on March 28, 2014. This dwarfs the previous record spikes in late 2011 and 2013. The record profits of 2014 are also part of the longest run of uninterrupted profits since we first began estimating margins in early 2007,” says Irwin.

“The streak of positive profits began on March 15, 2013 and ended on Jan. 2, 2015, for a total of 95 con-secutive weeks without a loss. The average profit during the streak was $0.43 per gallon. This is more than 10 times the average profit of $0.04 per gallon that a representative plant earned during all the weeks preced-ing the recent record streak (Jan. 26, 2007 – March 8, 2013),” he says.

Soaring Profits. Irwin goes on to say that the 2014 net profit of $54.4 million is more than twice the profits of the next highest year (2007, $25 million). “Even more impressive, the 2014 net profit exceeds the sum of all profits — $49 million — earned cumulatively over 2007-13. Averages for the 8-year period of 2007-14 are $13 million and 10.3%, respectively. The total cumulative (pre-tax) return to equity holders for the period was $104 million.”

Using the model developed around an Iowa ethanol plant, Irwin says, “It was indeed a very good year for ethanol producers. Using the average net profit for the representative plant to make a rough estimate of profit for the entire U.S. ethanol industry in 2014, and assuming all plants in the industry earned a net profit of $0.54 per gallon, then, total ethanol production for the U.S. in 2014 of 14.3 billion gallon of ethanol implies aggregate industry (pre-tax) profits of $7.8 billion.”

Looking ahead, Irwin says, “The large profits of 2014 and 2013 will provide a much needed financial cushion as the industry faces a sub-stantially changed profit outlook in 2015. The recent crash in crude oil prices ended the record streak of eth-anol production profits that began in March 2013. The key question moving forward is whether 2013-14 profits were a temporary blip dueto a unique

set of circumstances or reflected a new normal driven by a robust etha-nol export market.”

Moderate Growth. At least a par-tial answer to Irwin’s question may have come from the latest Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri. The “U.S. Baseline Briefing Book,” which focuses on projections for agri-cultural and biofuel markets, released earlier this month, says the record margins in 2014 lead to a recovery in ethanol production compared with 2012 and 2013.

“Production is projected to decline slightly in 2015 as margins become

tighter. Beyond 2015, ethanol produc-tion grows slowly as RFS requirements increase and production margins recover,” says FAPRI. “Cellulosic and non-corn production levels contribute relatively minor quantities to the total.”

FAPRI expects sugarcane imports from Brazil to continue at a very low level in 2015 before resuming some growth in 2016 and remain relatively flat through the reminder of the decade.

The past year saw a rebound in the exports of ethanol. The report says U.S. exports of ethanol will “continue steady growth with domestic conven-tional ethanol prices competitive in the global market.”

Annual Pre-Tax Net Profit for a Representative Iowa Ethanol Plant, 2007-14 Calendar Years

Further perspective on the record profits for 2014 is provided in this chart from the University of Illinois, where the profit margins are aggregated over an annual horizon for 2007-14. Profits are presented in terms of both total pre-tax net returns and percent return to equity.

Ethanol Production in Next Decade

The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri expects etha-nol production to decline in 2015 and then grow at a moderate pace through 2024.

2014 Most Profitable Year for Ethanol Producers, But Production Will Moderate in Next Decade...Continued from page 1

equIPmeNt INDustRy NeWs

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