Tax season is hell for accountants. But in Rhode Island this year, it's been a little less brutal than usual, thanks to this fun promotion by Intuit.
Intuit makes software called QuickBooks Online Accountant, which helps accountants manage and support clients in one place. To promote it, the company partnered with a local brewery to make a special beer for accountants only—CPA IPA. It then bought ads in the Rhode Island press touting happy hours across the state, where accountants enjoyed some free beer to de-stress. (Intuit chose Rhode Island because it's a smaller market and because craft beer is big in the Northeast.)
Organized financial records begin with properly set up books and well-maintained records. From the initial setup of your books to the daily tasks associated with keeping them current, Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC helps you count success on a daily, monthly and yearly basis.
Once a business reaches the growth stage, and sometimes even in the startup stage, many small business owners reach a point when they need to bring in help to manage the day-to-day operations of their businesses. One of the biggest areas to outsource is your monthly bookkeeping processes. You can select a small business accountant to facilitate your annual accounting practices, provide financial advice and oversee the overall fiscal health of your business. Often, though, you will also need a bookkeeper to manage the ongoing weekly or monthly bookkeeping processes. The tips in this article will help you select the right bookkeeper for your small business. 1. Understand Your Needs First The first part of having a successful relationship with your bookkeeper is selecting the right bookkeeper for your small business. To do this, you need to know what kind of services you want your bookkeeper to provide, how accessible he or she will need to be, and an idea of the type of personality you tend to work best with. Once you have outlined exactly what you're looking for in a bookkeeper, it will be easier to find the right bookkeeper for your business. Once you have found a bookkeeper, you will need to devise a plan for collaborating and sharing information efficiently. This might mean using online services, setting up screen-sharing tools, or even having monthly web conferences or instant message chats to stay on the same page. The key is to create a plan that clearly outlines responsibilities and gives both sides access to the information needed. 3. Be Open to Advice Delegation can be challenging, but unless you are willing to let go and trust that your bookkeeper has your best interests in mind, you will never free yourself from your bookkeeping process. Remember that you have chosen your bookkeeper because you are impressed with his or her credentials and experience, and you feel he or she can do the best possible job for your business. Commit to being open to suggestions for improvement and management in order to gain the full range of benefits of working with a qualified bookkeeper. While you will need to relinquish some of the control of your books to your bookkeeper, don't give up complete control of your business finances. Make sure you understand what's coming in, going out, and your overall financial status at all times. Review the statements your bookkeeper provides to you each month, and confirm that the data shown reflects what you know to be true. No one knows your business better than you do. 5. Don't Mix Business and Personal Finances You hired a bookkeeper to manage your business data, keep track of your finances and make sure your books are tidy when tax season approaches. The last thing you want to do is muddy the waters by mixing your business and personal finances. Keeping your business and personal finances separate is a smart move for your relationship with your bookkeeper and for the overall financial health of your business. 6. Keep a Paper Trail The word "audit" conjures up scary thoughts, but it can provide some good motivation for keeping accurate records. Avoid the temptation to skip over a transaction because you think it's unimportant, it's a hassle to track, or you assume that your bookkeeper will catch it. Every piece of financial data coming in and going out of your business should be tracked, included in your books and then kept as an archive for future access if necessary . 7. Create an Organized System You are on the hook for providing your bookkeeper with the data he or she needs to manage your books every month, and the more organized you are, the more painless it will be for both of you. Your business transactions probably occur on a rolling basis, at all different times during the month. Figure out the quickest and most thorough way to grab these transactions so they're all in one place for your bookkeeper so you streamline the process. 8. Be Consistent As you grab your transactions and other financial data during the month, consistency will also help you make it easier for your bookkeeper to classify each piece of data accurately. You can be consistent by using a standard structure for file names, providing easy-to-understand spreadsheets and submitting the same files every month. 9. Don't Withhold Information Things happen during the course of business that you don't plan for. Maybe you got hit with a late payment fee on your business credit card, or had to issue a refund to a client with extenuating circumstances. Avoid the guessing game by sharing the details with your bookkeeper as you hand off your monthly files so he or she can log the transactions appropriately. 10. Keep Communicating Your relationship with your bookkeeper should evolve over time as your business grows and your needs change. Keep your bookkeeper up-to-date with what's happening in your business, what you expect might change your financial data in the future, and what you need in order to feel secure with the relationship. The relationship will be much more effective when you're working together each step of the way. Original article can be found here: http://sbinformation.about.com
If you pay weekly or biweekly, you may have an extra pay period in 2015 ... 27 payrolls instead of 26 or 53 instead of 52. The extra payday can have both financial and legal repercussions if not handled correctly. Most calendar years have 26 biweekly or 52 weekly pay periods. For biweekly payers, this 27th payroll occurs only every 11 years; for weekly payers, the 53rd payroll occurs every 5 years. But if biweekly payers distribute only 26 biweekly paychecks in Leap Years, they are paying employees for only 364 days, instead of 365 or 366. Therefore, every 11 years, biweekly payers need an additional pay period to cover the unaccounted-for days. There is generally no problem with hourly employees because they are paid for hours worked. But if you pay exempt employees biweekly, may could end up this year with unintended extra pay because of the extra pay period. Example: John's salary is $100,000 a year, so his biweekly pay is $3,846. If you don't recalculate his pay, you will pay him $103,842 (27 x $3,846) because of the extra pay period. What to do Divide each exempt employee's annual salary by 27 or 53 (instead of 26 or 52). But let employees know ahead of time. If you do not notify employees, they may think that their pay has been cut and that can create morale problems which may lead to legal challenges that are costly even if you win. For instance, in 2015, John would be paid $3,703 each pay period ($100,000/27) instead of his usual $3,846 and may wonder why you cut his pay. Once you have informed exempt employees, you must still recalculate their biweekly pay on a case-by-case basis, especially if your firm has any employment agreements. These may contain language that prevents the recalculation of payroll period wages. To avoid potential legal problems, before making any announcements or recalculating any salaries, review employee letters, contracts or other documents that set compensation, When a specific weekly or biweekly amount is stipulated, you may want to consult a labor lawyer.
Alterations made to rental premises in order to customize it for the specific needs of a tenant. Leasehold improvements include painting, installing partitions, changing the flooring, putting in customized light fixtures and so on.
Leasehold improvements can either be undertaken by landlords, who may offer to do so to increase the marketability of their rental units, or by the tenants themselves. Temporary leasehold improvements undertaken by tenants can be removed at the end of the lease period, as long as it is stipulated in the lease agreement, and removal would not inflict any damage on the rental premises or building structure. A leasehold improvement is classified as an asset that can be depreciated by the landlord over time. While the useful economic life of most leasehold improvements is 5 to 10 years, until 2004, the Internal Revenue Code required that depreciation for such improvements occur over the economic life of the building, or 39 years. Tax legislation enacted in 2004 reduced this depreciation period to 15 years; however, the 15-year depreciation schedule is temporary in nature and must be reauthorized annually.
Due to inclement weather, Kathryn C. Tiffany LLC will be closing today, Thursday, March 5th at 3:00 PM. Thank you for your understanding. Your friends at Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC
