Quickbooks: As easy as 1-2-3

Entrepreneurs or business owners usually completes written business plans which is very needed for business presentations. Business plans always have a financial section that includes cash flow projections on a day-to-day basis, but these business owners most often confuse "cash flow" with "profit", though these two are completely different

It is very wise for every business owners to present their financial reports that can regularly be generated, with the help of accounting software’s. They will easily and quickly see their income, expenses, accounts receivable & payable, and bank & credit statements.

Cash flow projection, the confusion between profit and cash flow, and presenting financial report is not hard for Quickbooks

Quickbooks is the most ideal business accounting software for entrepreneurs. Generating reports with the information they need and whether they're making money or if they want to know where their business stands is as easy as 1-2-3 with Quickbooks

For more information about QuickBooks visit their website, http://quickbooksatlanta.com/

CHANGE

If you want to accept the concept of Company Quality, you will have to accept change. In this situation we are talking about technical revolution. You will have to examine the effectiveness of your online business methods. Efficiency plays a role in the main point here while performance is applicable to the way technology is utilized.

How many times have you heard this statement?: “Tomorrow we will become something that we aren't today.”  This statement has become a cliche  but have you ever taken this statement seriously? Either yes or no, you can’t ask people to change overnight and they can’t react to that quickly. Neither you can’t sleep and then wake up having a different personality.

But having QuickBooks for your company, change is not an issue. It’s easy to use and you won’t have a hard time adjusting to it. It’s like having a new invincible accountant. You can save a lot of time on bookkeeping and paperwork because many of simple bookkeeping tasks are handled automatically making it easier to run your business.

This kind of change is not that hard to accept isn't it?  Learn more about QuickBooks by visiting our website, http://quickbooksatlanta.com/

Small Business Accounting Software – How Do You Choose

It was once said by Bill Gates that Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. He doesn't think that anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other, and he was right especially when it comes to small business accountingsoftware. Accounting and business accounting software are completely "knitted" together.

Two inched wide extensive books and thick glasses are things of the past. We are of the age where everything is amazing. If accounting is the way businesses keep on track, then accounting software is an extremely important piece of software to get everything perfectly right.

You have to find the right company bookkeeping softwareprogram for your company's future and assurance. So how do you do that? There are so many options these days, but are those really trusted? Does it really give you the perfect results you need?

With QuickBooks you don’t have to worry about these things.

QuickBooks is the most ideal business accounting software for small entrepreneurs. You can easily generate reports with the information you need, so you always know where your business stands, and whether you’re making money or if your business is healthy.

Often small businesses just go out and buy the most popular application or buy the same software a friend recommended. You do not want to buy something just because it is popular or someone else uses it you need to evaluate your business processes first and then armed with the results of your analysis, go out and find the small business accounting software application that fits your business.

QuickBooks is best for small to mid-sized businesses and you are rest assured knowing that QuickBooks is stable, reliable and proven product. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses throughout the world have chosen QuickBooks as their accounting software. You can’t go wrong with a software program with such an extensive installed user base.

Learn more about QuickBooks by visiting our website, http://quickbooksatlanta.com/

Investing in Life Insurance

The purpose of life insurance is to provide a source of income, in case of death, for your children, dependents, or other beneficiaries. Life insurance can also serve certain estate planning purposes, which we won't go into here.

Buying life insurance is contingent upon whether anyone is depending on your income after your death. If you have a spouse, child, parent, or some other individual who depends on your income, then you probably need life insurance.

Because life insurance protects your family in the event of a death, it is important to determine the correct amount. Most people do not have the right amount of insurance.

There are two basic types of life insurance: term and permanent. Term insurance is insurance that covers a specified period. If you die within this time frame, your beneficiary receives the insurance benefit. Term policy premiums usually increase with age.

Permanent insurance such as universal life, variable life, and whole life, contains a cash value account or an investment element to the insurance.

Rules of Thumb

The younger your children, the more insurance you need. If both spouses earn income, then both spouses should be insured, with insurance amounts proportionate to salary amounts.

Tip: If the family cannot afford to insure both wage earners, the primary wage earner should be insured first, and the secondary wage earner should be insured later on. A less expensive term policy might be used to fill an insurance gap.

If one spouse does not work outside the home, insurance should be purchased to cover the absence of the services being provided by that spouse (child care, housekeeping, bookkeeping, etc.). However, if funds are limited, insurance on the non-wage earner should be secondary to insurance for the wage earner.

If there are no dependents and your spouse could live comfortably without your income, then you will still need life insurance, but you will need less than someone who has dependents.

Tip: At a minimum, you will want to provide for burial expenses and paying off your debts.

If your spouse would undergo financial hardship without your income, or if you do not have adequate savings, you may need to purchase more insurance. The amount of insurance you need depends on your salary level and that of your spouse, the amount of savings you have, and the amount of debt you both have.

If you need help figuring out the correct amount of life insurance you need, then give us a call. We're happy to help. 

Source: Fox & St. Clair 

TAX BENEFITS FOR MILITARY PERSONNELS

Military personnel and their families face unique life challenges with their duties, expenses and transitions. As such, active members of the U.S. Armed Forces should be aware of all the special tax benefits that are available to them.

1. Moving Expenses. If you are a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and you move because of a permanent change of station, you may be able to deduct some of your unreimbursed moving expenses.

2. Combat Pay. If you serve in a combat zone as an enlisted person or as a warrant officer for any part of a month, military pay you received for military service during that month is not taxable. For officers, the monthly exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted pay, plus any hostile fire or imminent danger pay received. You can also elect to include your nontaxable combat pay in your "earned income" for purposes of claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit.

3. Extension of Deadlines. The deadline for filing tax returns, paying taxes, filing claims for refund, and taking other actions with the IRS is automatically extended for qualifying members of the military.

4. Uniform Cost and Upkeep. If military regulations prohibit you from wearing certain uniforms when off duty, you can deduct the cost and upkeep of those uniforms, but you must reduce your expenses by any allowance or reimbursement you receive.

5. Joint Returns. Generally, joint income tax returns must be signed by both spouses. However, when one spouse is unavailable due to military duty, a power of attorney may be used to file a joint return.

6. Travel to Reserve Duty. If you are a member of the US Armed Forces Reserves, you can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses for traveling more than 100 miles away from home to perform your reserve duties.

7. ROTC Students. Subsistence allowances paid to ROTC students participating in advanced training are not taxable. However, active duty pay, such as pay received during summer advanced camp, is taxable.

8. Transitioning Back to Civilian Life. You may be able to deduct some of the costs you incur while looking for a new job. Expenses may include travel, resume preparation fees, and outplacement agency fees. Moving expenses may be deductible if your move is closely related to the start of work at a new job location, and you meet certain tests.

We want to make sure you get all of the tax benefits you are entitled to as a member of the armed forces. Please call us if you need guidance or have any questions.

Source: http://www.foxandstclair.com

HELPFUL TIPS FOR NEWLY MARRIED OR DIVORCED TAXPAYERS

Newlyweds and the recently divorced should ensure the name on their tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration (SSA). A mismatch could unexpectedly increase a tax bill or reduce the size of any refund.

·         For recently married taxpayers, the tax scenario begins when the bride says "I do." If she takes her husband's last name, but doesn't tell the SSA about the name change, complications may arise. For example, if the couple files a joint tax return with the bride's new name, the IRS computers will not be able to match the new name with the Social Security number.

·         After a divorce, a woman who had taken her husband's name and made that change known to the SSA should contact the SSA if she goes back to her previous name.

If you have any questions related to your requirements to the IRS after getting married or divorced, or need help changing your name with the SSA, give us a call. We're happy to help.

Source: http://www.foxandstclair.com

Things to Know About Employee Relocation

Many companies have questions about what to do with an employee's home when he or she is moved to a new job location, especially when the real estate market is in a downturn throughout much of the country.

Typically, the employer wants to protect the employee against financial loss on a "forced" sale of the home. Outlined below are some of the most common ways to do that, and the consequences to the employee.

The employer reimburses the employee's financial loss. Here the employer has the home appraised and agrees to pay the employee the difference between the appraised fair market value and any lesser amount the employee gets on the sale. Such reimbursement would cover the employee's costs of the sale.

Note: The financial loss here is not the same as a tax loss. The financial loss is the home's value less what the employee collects under "forced sale" conditions. In the current real estate market, the value is not always clearly determined. The relocating employee might think the home is worth more, based on earlier appraisals or comparative sales. A tax loss is the property's tax basis (cost plus capital investments) less what's collected on the sale.

If the employee has a gain on the sale (the amount collected on the sale exceeds the basis), gain can be tax-exempt up to $250,000 ($500,000 on certain husband-wife sales). However, tax loss on the sale of one's residence is not deductible.

The employer's reimbursement of the employee's financial loss is considered taxable pay to the employee. Employers who want to shelter the employee from any tax burden on what is usually an employer-instigated relocation may "gross-up" the reimbursement to cover the tax. But gross-up can be costly. For example, a grossed-up income tax reimbursement for a $10,000 loss would be $15,385 for an employee in the 35% bracket - more where Social Security taxes or state taxes are also grossed-up.

Employer buys the home. Few employers directly buy and sell employees' homes. But many do this indirectly, effectively becoming the homes' owners, through use of relocation firms acting as the employers' agents. An IRS ruling shows how to do this with no tax on the employee:

Option 1. The relocation firm as employer's agent buys the home for its appraised fair market value, and later resells it. The firm collects a fee from the employer, which covers sales costs and any financial loss to the firm on resale. The IRS now says that this fee is not taxable to the employee. Also, the employee's gain on the sale to the relocation firm qualifies for the tax exemption under the limits described above ($250,000 or $500,000).

Option 2. The relocation firm offers to buy the home for its appraised value, but the employee can choose to pursue a higher price through a broker he or she chooses from a list provided by the relocation firm. If a higher offer is made, the relocation firm pays that price to the employee (whether or not the home is then sold to that bidder). Here again, the employee is not taxed on the firm's fee and the gain is tax exempt under the above limits.

Tip: Either option works for the employee, letting him or her realize full value on the sale of the home (with possibly greater value through Option 2), without an element of taxable pay.

Caution: If the deal is structured so that the relocation firm facilitates a sale from the employee to a third-party buyer (rather than to the relocation firm), the employer's payment of the relocation firm's fee is taxable to the employee.

The Employer's Side

Reimbursing the employee's loss. This is fully deductible as a business expense, as would be any additional amount paid as a gross-up.

Note: It's fully deductible, but it may be more costly, before and after taxes, than buying the home for resale through the relocation firm.

Note: Paying the relocation fee only, without buying the home, as in the "Caution" above, is also fully deductible, as would be any gross-up amount on that fee.

Buying the home. The change in the IRS rule was good news for employees, but it gave nothing to employers, whose tax treatment wasn't covered. The official IRS position is that employer costs (other than carrying costs such as mortgage interest, maintenance, and fees to a relocation management company) are deductible only as capital losses, which, for corporate employers, are deductible only against capital gains. Taxpayer advocates tend to argue that employer costs here are fully deductible ordinary costs of doing business.

Questions?

Are you an employee who is being relocated this fall? Are you wondering about the sale of your home and the tax implications for you? We can answer your questions. Just give us a call.

http://www.foxandstclair.com/