My Estimated Tax Payment Advice
| December 3, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Southern Indiana Business, Taxes |
Income tax systems in the United States are called pay-as-you-go-systems. That means you pay your income tax throughout the year either by having your employer withhold your tax and pay the government on your behalf or if you are self-employed, by you making estimated tax payments. Small business owners, which include S-Corp shareholders, and the self-employed have historically been less compliant which leads to a greater number of penalties and higher penalty amounts than taxpayers as a whole. Estimated tax payments are required when you expect to owe at least $1,000 in the upcoming tax year after subtracting withholdings and the lesser of 90% of the tax on your upcoming tax year return or 100% of the tax on last year’s return. For example, if you owed $10,000 in last tax year and you expect to owe $10,000 this tax year, and you have a spouse with a job or second job with anticipated employer withholdings of $9,000, you would not need […] more
Potential Payroll Tax Changes
| November 29, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers, Payroll, Southern Indiana Business |
This infographic from Intuit helps explain some of the payroll tax changes that may happen in 2013. Taxes are a major expense for your small business and they should be tracked and managed by your accountant just like material purchases or payroll. via: Potential Payroll Tax Changes to be Aware of in 2013 [schema type=”person” name=”Steve Webster” jobtitle=”Accountant” city=”Jeffersonville” state=”Indiana” postalcode=”47130″ ] more
Three Ways to Get More Local Customers
| November 23, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers, Southern Indiana Business |
Most of the businesses I deal with are local to me and we all seem to have the same problem of getting more local customers. I created the following video on YouTube to give you three ideas on how to get more local customers. The first two tips I have already implemented. The third tip is a little more difficult for an accounting and bookkeeping service like mine to do but it would definitely bring in more customers. [schema type=”person” name=”Steve Webster” city=”Sellersburg” state=”Indiana” postalcode=”47172″ country=”US” ] more
New IRS Reporting Requirement for Payroll Departments
| November 13, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Payroll |
The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, requires employers to report to their employees the cost to cover their employees in the employer-provided group health plan. The cost is reported in box 12 of the employees W-2 form. Related: Donate your vacation time to Hurricane Sandy Victims Here are the key points: 1. It is important to note that the W-2 reporting is only for employee information to let them know the cost of their health care coverage. It does not mean or cause employer-provided healthcare coverage to become taxable. 2. Your company is not subject to the reporting requirement for 2012 if you filed fewer than 250 W-2 Forms for the preceding calendar year however, reporting may be made on a voluntary basis. The IRS calls this transitional relief which makes me think that it most likely will be required by all employers in the future. 3. If your company does not […] more
Your Employees can Donate Their Vacation Time to Aid Victims of Hurricane Sandy
| November 7, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Payroll, Southern Indiana Business, Taxes |
The IRS has issued Notice 2012-69 that says employees can elect to forgo vacation, sick, or personal leave in exchange for cash payments that their employer makes to qualified relief organizations described in § 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. A similar notice was issued following Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The donation will not be considered as taxable income to the employees as long as the employer makes the payment to a qualified charity before January 1, 2014. I am not sure why but the notice also states that the donation can not be claimed as a charitable contribution by the employee. You can use this link to see if a charity qualifies. [schema type=”person” name=”Steve Webster” city=”Sellersburg” state=”Indiana” postalcode=”47172″ ] more
“A Trusted Friend” Steals $103,000 from Therapy Business
| November 5, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers, Payroll, Small Business Fraud |
This news story is about a bookkeeper who stole $103,000 from her employer over a 4 year time period. Apparently she was processing the payroll and paid herself twice for a total of $76,000. The “trusted friend” also wrote company checks to herself for $27,000. The fraud wasn’t detected until after the bookkeeper was fired. The news story doesn’t explain if she wrote the checks out in her name or if she tried to hide the fraud by writing checks to a fictitious company she created. If the company checks were in her own name, this fraud should have been very easy to catch. Either way, she obviously did not have any oversight from the owners or outside accounting business. I assume she wrote the checks, signed the checks and reconciled the bank statement which is a very poor business practice. Two simple steps to avoid this fraud would have been […] more
Bookkeeper Embezzles from Building Supply Business
| November 2, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers, Small Business Fraud |
A bookkeeper working for a small building supply store business, stole over $30,000 over four years according to this news report. Having never worked in retail, I am not sure exactly how this fraud works. Based on the article, I assume the bookkeeper reported a fraudulent return of merchandise in the accounting system and then paid her credit cards for the amount of the return. Where I’ve worked, we used return authorization numbers assigned to every return of material. The return material report was reviewed at least monthly by upper management. Perhaps in retail there are too many returns to be reviewed but there must be some report to check for this type of fraud. The article doesn’t state how she was caught so I can only guess that the owner was suspicious or was tipped off. $30,000 of returns over four years is $7,500 per year and $625 per month. Without knowing […] more
Free and Easy to Use Accounting Software
| October 28, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers, Accounting Software |
If you are a small business owner looking for a free and easy to use accounting software, WaveAccounting.com could be for you. Their goal seems to be to keep small business owners record keeping as simple as possible but still providing features found in expensive accounting software packages. There are several features that make WaveAccounting.com great. 1. It is free. Totally free. They don’t have multiple pricing plans. They have no pricing plans. They appear to make their money by posting ads and money-saving offers from other companies that would interest small business owners like virtual phone systems and web hosting. 2. Wave is online so you can access your data anywhere and anytime. It is not available on the mobile phone yet but it is a planned feature. 3. You can give view or edit access to your bookkeeper or accountant as a Guest Collaborators. 4. Wave allows you […] more
Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Bookkeeper
| October 28, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accountants and Bookkeepers |
Managing a small business is no easy task and managing the finances can be a small headache. Bookkeeping is definitely not the favorite task of most small business owners, though it is an important factor in the success or failure of the business. Knowing where you stand at any instant gives you the information you need to make decisions that can help your business grow or prevent you from making a bad one that ends in failure. 1. How does a small business benefit from professional bookkeeping? An educated professional bookkeeper understands how to properly log and categorize expenses. They have enough experience to quickly turn a pile of receipts, bills stubs, and sale sheets into a detailed financial statement that lets you see exactly where you have been and focus on where you are going. The most successful business owners learn how to delegate tasks to the most qualified person. This creates efficiency. Too often they spread themselves thin and […] more
Best Online Small Business Accounting Software
| October 16, 2012 | Posted by Steve Webster under Accounting Software |
If you are a small business owner looking for an accounting or bookkeeping system to help you run your business, I recommend you read this post: 11 Best Online Accounting, Bookkeeping & Invoicing Software . It is a very detailed list of several popular online accounting systems but it is also easy to read. The author lists both the pros and cons of each system as well as the various pricing structures. The bookkeeping system you choose depends on what you need it to do for you. An online system is a very good choice for a lot of small businesses. Especially for if you are just beginning. Typically they are limited in their features but they are easy to use and don’t cost a lot upfront. Before you decide on one, talk to a few bookkeepers or other small business owners for their recommendation. more