Good morning OWN network,

The Labor Department just recovered unpaid overtime from an Indiana parts maker over an attendance bonus, and the rule reaches any shop whose hourly people work overtime and get a bonus they can count on. We close out the year in Zionsville on Th‌u Dec‌ 10, and the details are just below.

Holiday drinks and appetizers, then a fireside with Gary Coval of CEP Sales on 45 years of a family business and who runs it next. If someone will run your company one day, bring them. Th‌u Dec‌ 10, 4:‌30 to 7:‌30‌ PM, American Legion Post 79, 9950 E 600 S, Zionsville. $15 plus fees, members free.

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $603,953 in back wages for 829 workers at an auto parts maker with plants in Mooresville. It paid its hourly employees an attendance bonus and never added it to the regular rate used to figure their overtime.

The rule, from DOL’s bonus fact sheet: a bonus promised in advance goes into the regular rate for any week with overtime in it. Attendance bonuses count, and so do production bonuses on a set formula, quality bonuses and safety bonuses.

A discretionary bonus can generally stay out, if you keep sole discretion over whether to pay it, and how much, until near the end of the period. A holiday gift not tied to hours or output can stay out too, and the law lists a few other narrow exclusions. What you call it doesn’t change the answer; the facts do.

Before the year-end bonuses run, put your bonus list beside your overtime workweeks and ask your payroll provider which ones are in the regular rate. DOL’s PAID program lets an employer self-report an underpayment; the Wage and Hour helpline is 866-487-9243. DOL’s release and fact sheet 56C

The first OWN Quarterly lands Tu‌e Nov‌ 17: the developments that mattered most to Indiana business owners from July through September, all in one place, with what they mean for running a company. We’ll post it on hub.ownindiana.org and on OWN’s LinkedIn and Instagram that morning; follow us there, and the Nov‌ 24 issue carries the link.

It takes one tap. We’ll share the results on Tu‌e Nov‌ 24, along with the results of our Oct‌ 27 poll.

If your equipment in a county is under the exemption line and you didn’t claim it on your May return, Su‌n Nov‌ 15 is your date. The limit went from $80,000 to $2 million for the Jan‌ 1 2026 assessment date, payable in 2027; the test is original cost, fully depreciated equipment on hand counts, and at $2 million or more none of it in that county is exempt.

Ask your assessor how it treats the weekend, and file by Fr‌i Nov‌ 13. You get one amended return, on Form 103 or 102 plus Form 104; the 2027 tax stays on your original return, with a credit later and no interest. After Su‌n Nov‌ 15 the credit drops 10%, and amending closes in mid-May‌ 2027. DLGF’s personal property page

They start with the 4Q2026 report, first due Su‌n Jan‌ 31 2027: job title, hours paid and a reporting unit number (one location: leave it blank). Apprenticeship and internship join the employment-type choices. DWD accepts only 2018 SOC codes, but says incorrect SOC data won’t be rejected for this first report.

Ask whoever files it whether their system is ready. Upload the new format on or after Jan‌ 1 2027 or the file may be rejected; DWD prints no weekend rollover, so file early. DWD’s wage records page

Indiana’s advisory rate level falls 4.7% overall for new and renewal policies from Fr‌i Jan‌ 1 2027, and 3.6% to 5.7% by industry group, in a filing approved by the Indiana Department of Insurance.

At renewal, ask your agent what it does to your class codes. That is an advisory level and not your premium: carriers can use it, deviate from it or add their own expenses. ICRB’s rate filings page

For-profit auto parts manufacturers headquartered in Indiana can apply for $100,000 to $1 million, with at least a 1:1 cash match in each expense category, paid as reimbursement. You can have no more than 1,500 total employees with affiliates and 500 or fewer at the Indiana facility.

Don’t order yet. Costs before the award don’t count and the project needs federal approval before it starts. Pre-screening closes before Jan‌ 8 (Th‌u Jan‌ 7 to be safe); full applications are due Fr‌i Feb‌ 12 2027, and projects run two years. IEDC’s ADAPT page

Bain’s analysis of a panel of companies, published in 2021, found the median company realized 68 cents of every $1 of list price increase; the top quartile kept 95 cents, the bottom quartile 42, and the size of the increase made no difference. Bain says the gap goes out in discounts, rebates and other leakage. Those are Bain’s companies and not a benchmark for yours, so measure your own number. Bain’s 68 cents chart

Decide who can grant a discount, at what size the owner signs off, whether payment terms count, and the date every exception expires. A 30-day notice for a Fr‌i Jan‌ 1 increase goes out by We‌d Dec‌ 2. BDC, Canada’s development bank, advises a written discount policy too. BDC on pricing

Start from your variable margin: price minus the costs that rise and fall with each sale, as a share of price. That’s contribution margin; the gross margin on your P&L can carry fixed costs, so don’t use it here.

By our arithmetic, the volume you can lose before your margin dollars fall is the increase divided by the sum of your variable margin and the increase. At a 35% variable margin, a 5% increase can lose 12.5% of volume, ignoring mix and fixed costs: 5 ÷ (35 + 5).

Run this test.

At 60 days, take a matched set of customers and products and use the same quantities for both numbers, so changes in volume or mix don’t read as discount leakage. Divide the extra price dollars you collected by the extra price dollars you planned. The 60-day check is ours, adapted from Bain. If you collected much less than you planned, trace the gap to discounts and exceptions first.

This month, list your top 20 accounts by gross profit dollars and mark what each contract allows and when. Indiana SBDC’s advising is no-cost, 888-472-3244; bring your numbers. Indiana SBDC

OWN membership is $50 a year through Th‌u Dec‌ 31 and $100 from Fr‌i Jan‌ 1. Members get every OWN night free, introductions when you ask and mentor matching. The full 2027 plan and the calendar come Tu‌e Nov‌ 24. Operator Notes stays free for everyone, member or not.

For owners thinking about a sale or a handoff someday, and for people buying their first company. If neither is you, the deadline list is below.

Starting We‌d Nov‌ 11, eligible veterans buying an existing business with an SBA 7(a) loan can raise the full required 10% equity contribution, which SBA figures on total project costs, from permitted outside sources. Until now, outside sources such as seller standby notes and investor capital could cover no more than half. The 10% requirement stays, and the policy runs through fiscal 2027, which ends Sept‌ 30 2027.

Ask your SBA lender how it applies before you restructure a deal. SBA’s release doesn’t define who’s eligible or spell out the conditions. SBA’s release

Announced by the Governor’s office and run by VentureVets, the program is for Indiana veterans and military spouses buying their first company; the form lists who else qualifies. It’s free to selected participants, with 15 seats, and runs eight weeks from January‌ 2027, with evening sessions in Indianapolis every other week and 90 days of mentorship after.

Applications close Mo‌n Nov‌ 30, and selected people hear by Fr‌i Dec‌ 18. The state’s release and the application form, which asks you to sign in to Google.

A Greenfield mower shop changed hands after 46 years, and the Daily Reporter’s account holds one lesson for any buyer: the new owners spent three weeks learning the ropes from the family, and all five mechanics are staying on. The Daily Reporter’s story

Th‌u Nov‌ 19. FIRE takes its last 1099 file at 3‌ PM ET. If you e-file your own 1099s through the IRS’s FIRE system, apply for IRIS now: a FIRE code won’t work in IRIS and the IRS says allow up to 45 days. W-2s go to Social Security and aren’t affected. If a payroll or tax firm files for you, ask who holds the IRIS code

Tu‌e Dec‌ 15. Last day to apply for AES Indiana’s 15% bonus on listed HVAC rebates; also the last day to enroll in a HealthCare.gov plan that starts Jan‌ 1

Th‌u Dec‌ 31. CenterPoint Indiana business rebates for this year: install qualifying equipment by this date and apply within 90 days; code MAINTENANCE doubles the gas tune-up rebate until funds run out

Mo‌n Feb‌ 1 2027. W-2s to the SSA, with new code TT, and 1099-NEC; Jan‌ 31 is a Su‌nday, so the IRS due date rolls to the next business day

Tu‌e Nov‌ 10 to Fr‌i Nov‌ 20, Around the state. IBRC Futurecast outlook tour, nine stops from Kokomo and Anderson on Tu‌e Nov‌ 10 to Northwest Indiana on Fr‌i Nov‌ 20

Th‌u Nov‌ 12, New Albany. Entrepreneurship Beyond Startups: Acquisition, Succession, and Community Wealth, IU Southeast, Hoosier Room, 9:‌30 to 4:‌30

Fr‌i Nov‌ 13, Fort Wayne. IN AI Roadshow, IN Tech Multi-Flex Theater, 9‌ AM to no‌on

Mo‌n Nov‌ 16, Indianapolis or online. Indiana Chamber 2027 Legislative Preview, 8:‌30 to 2

If you want to put on an OWN night with us, or you have news or an idea that belongs in the next Operator Notes, reply to this email.

Jared

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