Wednesday, July 12, 2017

QuickBooks Bookkeeping Services: Buy rental properties as well as properties to fix and flip

Hold your flips for 366 days and you get capital gains treatment.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

QuickBooks Bookkeeping - Accounting

Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC: located in Voorhees, New Jersey. We provide a wide variety of services such as bookkeeping, accounting, business and financial management tailored to meet the needs of each of our clients. 

Our services are designed to make our client’s job easier and to provide them with more time to focus on building their business. In doing so, we are happy to be able to refer our clients’ businesses to others.

Member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers, Intuit QuickBooks Advisor Program, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Voorhees Business Association, and Chamber of Commerce.

QuickBooks Consulting and Bookkeeping - Servicing the South Jersey area!

QUICKBOOKS & BOOKKEEPING

CONTACT INFO

Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC
Voorhees, New Jersey
Phone: 856-803-4651 


Email:Kathryn@TiffanyAccounting.com 


Web: http://www.TiffanyAccounting.com 


Intuit QuickBooks Profile: http://proadvisor.intuit.com/quickbooks-help/kathryn-tiffany


Quickbooks Set-Up and Training
Industry-specific support
Accounting System set-up and maintenance
General ledger - charts of accounts, vendor set-up, journal entries
Billing
Inventory Management
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) standards
Accounts Payable
Accounts Receivable
Bank and Credit Card Reconciliations
Financial Statements Preparation
Financial Reporting/Analysis
Payroll Processing
Payroll Tax Payments
Federal and State Quarterly and Year-End Tax Reporting
New Hire Reporting
W-2 and 1099 Forms
Sales Tax Filings
Internal controls
Job costing

An array of services available from on-site/off-site training, part-time, full-time bookkeeping, consultation, dependent on the company's needs. We service areas all throughout the South Jersey area.

We're LOW COST, AFFORDABLE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE!

Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC
Voorhees, New Jersey
Phone: 856-803-4651

Email:Kathryn@TiffanyAccounting.com
Web: http://www.TiffanyAccounting.com
Intuit QuickBooks Profile: http://proadvisor.intuit.com/quickbooks-help/kathryn-tiffany


Member of:
American Institute for Professional Bookkeepers
National Bookkeepers Association
Intuit QuickBooks program - Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Voorhees Business Association
Chamber of Commerce
Journal of Accountancy and Accounting Today

Monday, March 13, 2017

Commingling of Business & Personal Funds (And Why It Is A Bad, Bad Idea)



Most business owners know to keep their business assets separate from their personal assets. However, there are many small business owners that do not. This is a bad, bad,  idea, both legally and logistically.

If you have paid the money to an attorney or to the government to set up a business entity, whether a L.L.C. or Corporation, the last thing most people want to deal with is administrative problems and difficulties like separating bank accounts and assets. However, this is a very important step to keep the limited liability of your company in tact. In law, there is a business concept called “corporate veil,” meaning the liability shield between the business owner and the business. When you commingle your business and personal funds, creditors can “pierce the corporate veil,” and get into your personal assets through liability through your business. This the the main reason to avoid commingling your funds, although there are also tax reasons.

Today,  let’s discuss the legal reasons to not commingle your business and personal funds and the ways to avoid commingling.

How do you “commingle,” and what is “commingling?”

When you commingle your funds, you are treating your business funds as your personal money, whether buying or selling. Some of the most common ways to commingle are:

Transferring money between business and personal accounts without documentation.
Writing business checks for personal reasons/expenses, and vise versa.
Having only one bank account for personal and business needs.
Depositing business checks into your personal bank account.
Withdrawing money from your business account to pay personal expenses without documentation.

It is very important to keep your corporate veil intact. As discussed above, when you commingle, your corporate veil can be pierced. Essentially, all the work that you did when forming the L.L.C. or corporation, such as filling the Articles of Organization, paying attorney or filing fees, and perhaps drafting the Operating Agreement, will be for nothing as far as limiting liability. Creditors can reach your personal assets if you commingle, and there in lies the problem with commingling.

How to avoid commingling.

First of all, the impulse to put your business check into your personal check is understandable for a small business owner. After all, you want to pay yourself and buy more supplies for the business to grow more. However, there are several reasons why  you need to deposit the check into the business bank account, and then pay yourself, and also buy business supplies out of the business account.

The first thing you should do is create a separate bank account if you have not already and document all expenses, withdrawals, and deposits. Documenting allows you to become a better bookkeeper for your business, and/or keep better records for taxes. Having better accounting by keeping separate bank accounts and only using business funds for business expenses can help you see how your business is performing, and seeing where you need improvement. It also allows you to keep your personal funds separate and helps create a personal budget since you will not be seeing business funds in your bank account.

Reducing Taxes.

One last benefit we will mention is the benefit to your taxes (and its easier for your CPA). One big benefit is that the IRS does not allow you to deduct business expenses that you cannot document. When you have one business account for personal and business expenses, it is hard to explain to the IRS what you need to deduct and for what purpose. The IRS is a lover of documentation, and by keeping track of your business income and expenses in its own business account is crucial to help minimize taxes and maximizing your deductions.

Many, if not most, small business owners pay more in taxes than they are required to because they do not have an organized system of keeping records and recording expenses. By simply creating a separate business account, and avoid commingling funds by using business money for personal expenses, you can create a more organized and efficient way to reduce liability and taxes.

If you need help organizing and/or creating your business, please contact the office of the Kathryn C. Tiffany, LLC and see if we can help you.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Audit notes problems in way city tracks funds

An independent audit of Boulder City found six issues in the way city officials handled accounting of government funds.

The problems were noted during an Audit Review Committee meeting Nov. 30; however, the audit also stated that these issues were not serious or malicious.

Completed by Las Vegas company Piercy Bowler Taylor &Kern CPA, the audit stated a number of finical documents were not consistently turned in on time under the watch of former Boulder City Finance Director Shirley Hughes. That same audit also stated that the mistakes made by city officials were fixable and not malicious.

According to auditors, a number of finical documents were not properly filled out or complete when the city turned in its finical statements for the audit.

“We need to make sure all of these documents are in and complete because it blurs the lines of what the auditors are auditing,” Finance Director Hyun Kim said.

Kim said the best way to fix this problem is to have monthly financial closeouts as well an annual one.

“We are going to create a procedure for month-end closeouts and in addition we will also keep a paper log that either me or the chief accountant will have to sign off on.”

Kim said that this matter was an easy fix that will be completed in 60 days.

The audit also noted that three bank reconciliations were not completed in a timely manner.

A bank reconciliation is the process of balancing a cash account to the corresponding information on a bank statement.

The report noted that while reconciliations were being completed, they were 60-90 days late.

“I had noticed that three separate bank reconciliations had not been completed in a timely manner,” Kim said. “This process is going to take some time, but myself and (City Manager) Dave Fraser have already allocated staff to finish those bank reconciliations.”

Kim said he plans to fix the problem by filing the reconciliations on a monthly basis, a plan that should put the city back on track and better protect it from fraud.

The audit report also noted that the city’s process for adjusting utilities was not adequate. It stated there was no process for approving a change in a utility bill by someone in upper management.

“We noticed that there was not a proper process for adjusting and zeroing out a utility bill and that caused us to lose some very significant dollar amounts,” said Doug Honey, the city’s chief accountant.

Kim recommended fixing the problem by requiring employees to have any utility adjustments approved by someone in management and then keeping a log about what adjustment was approved and who approved it.

Kim said that this problem would be fixed in 60-90 days, but that catching up could take longer.

The final discrepancy noted in the audit also had to do with late filings.

The report states that Boulder City Municipal Airport has not been filing the proper paperwork for federal grants in time. The late reports inform the federal government of annual funds given to the airport. Kim said the reports were getting done but not nearly quick enough.

He said the problem should be fixed in 60-90 days as well.

“This grant money is important and we will make sure the reports are filed in a timely manner from here on out.”

The committee has not set up a date for its next meeting but Councilman Cam Walker said that he hopes to have another meeting in two or three months.

Monday, January 2, 2017

New Jersey laws taking effect January 1st

NOTICE SALES AND USE TAX RATE CHANGE 6.875% 
SALES AND USE TAX RATE 
(P.L. 2016, c. 57) 

AMENDMENTS TO THE SALES AND USE TAX ACT, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2017

The New Jersey Sales and Use Tax will be reduced in two phases between 2017 and 2018. P.L. 2016, c. 57 decreases the Sales and Use Tax rate from 7% to 6.875% on and after January 1, 2017. The tax rate will decrease to 6.625% on and after January 1, 2018. This Notice discusses the transition of the Sales and Use Tax to the lower rates.
Changes for Sellers

Sellers must collect and remit the tax at the rate of 6.875% on all taxable sales of tangible personal property, specified digital products, and enumerated services that occur on and after January 1, 2017. This rate will remain in effect until December 31, 2017.

The Division of Taxation has updated ST-75, Sales Tax Collection Schedule, which is effective January 1, 2017. Schedule ST-75 rounds the amount of taxes owed to the nearest full cent. All tax calculations should be rounded accordingly. (See, “How to Calculate the Sales Tax” at left.) The tax rate (6.875%) is not rounded when calculating taxes owed.

Taxable Transactions

The following rules apply to taxable transactions that begin before January 1, 2017, and are completed on or after January 1, 2017, but before January 1, 2018.
Sales Made Before January 1, 2017; Delivery on and After January 1, 2017: 

If the tangible personal property or specified digital products are sold and delivered or services are rendered before January 1, 2017, the seller must collect tax at the rate of 7%. If the tangible personal property, specified digital products, or services are sold before January 1, 2017, but the tangible personal property or specified digital products are delivered, or the services rendered on or after January 1, 2017, but before January 1, 2018, the seller must collect tax at the rate of 6.875%. 

http://www.state.nj.us

TRENTON -- New tax breaks, a slight bump in the minimum wage, and an opportunity for adopted people to obtain their original birth certificates await New Jerseyans as a plethora of high-impact laws take effect in 2017.

News of the tax cuts was likely overshadowed by the 23-cent per-gallon rise in the gasoline tax that took effect on Nov. 1 to replenish a depleted Transportation Trust Fund for sorely needed transportation projects. Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature approved the tax cuts to cushion the blow of New Jersey's first increase in the gas tax since 1988.

Those benefits, which include phasing out the estate tax and expanding tax deductions on retirement income are much more than a distraction, said Michele Siekerka, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. She called them a "game changer" for a state that is perennially labeled as one of the most hostile to business owners and affluent taxpayers.

CPAs (certified public accountants) are starting to tell their "snow bird" and wealthier clients that it is okay to retire here, Siekerka said. 

"We look at it as a start," she added. "The key now is to leverage the bipartisan momentum and carry it forward to address things that drive up the cost of doing business, like property taxes."

Lawmakers will begin considering bills to raise the gas tax on Thursday.

Liberal-leaning organizations like New Jersey Policy Perspective have criticized the decision to eliminate the estate tax because it helps so few people, but potentially could hurt many more if the loss in revenue leads to cuts in school aid and other important services.

"I don't think there there is all that much for New Jersey families to cheer about here," Policy Perspective Vice President Jon Whiten said. "Factor in a billion in lost revenue when the whole package is phased in and that is some thing families in every income bracket will feel from a lack of services and investment."

Jan. 1 also ushers in hard-fought social policy changes. Adopted people may request to information about their birth parents, and people arrested on minor offenses will spend less time awaiting trial and more reasonable bail requirements under a "seismic shift" in criminal justice practices.

Here are eight ways people who live and work in New Jersey will be affected by new laws in 2017:

1. Phasing out the estate tax

About 3,500 estates, worth at least $675,000, are subject to the estate tax each year. But starting this month, the state will impose the tax on estates worth $2 million or more. The entire tax would end after Jan. 1, 2018.

2. Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit

The Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income workers get a boost from 30 percent of the federal level to 35 percent. The expansion will benefit about 600,000 New Jerseyans, who will pocket about $200 more from the tax return, Whiten said.

Eligibility depends on income and number of qualifying children. The income limit is about $14,800 for a single, childless adult, and $53,000 for a married couple with three or more children.

3. Reducing the sales tax 

The sales tax will decrease from 7 percent to 6.875 percent on Jan. 1, and then from 6.875 percent to 6.625 percent on Jan. 1, 2018. Legislative leaders said Christie was adamant about enacting a sales tax cut when he agreed to raise the gas tax but it may not be noticed by most consumers.

"It's only noticeable if you are making a large purchase," Whiten said. "Generally those who spend that much on consumer goods need the least tax relief."

The state Treasury will feel it, however. The revenue loss would equal about $92.4 million this year, $382 million in 2018, $593 million in 2019, $614 million in 2020, $634 million in 2021 and $655 million in 2022, according to an analysis by the independent, nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

4. Expanding tax deduction for retirees

A married couple filing their taxes jointly can currently exclude their first $20,000 in retirement income from state income taxes. But beginning in 2017 and phased in over four years, that amount will ultimately increase to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married couples.

5. Tax deduction for veterans

The tax deal introduced a $3,000 tax deduction for veterans. The law defines veterans as those who are "honorable discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active duty in the Armed Forces of the United states, a reserve component thereof, or the National Guard of New Jersey in a federal active duty status."

6. Opening birth certificates sealed at adoption

The state Health Department will begin fulfilling requests from adopted people to obtain their original birth certificates containing information about their parents.

Christie signed the law in 2014, but stipulated that it would not take effect until 2017, in order for the change to be publicized for birth parents who don't want the state to release records identifying them.

Birth parents could have requested to have their named blacked-out if they filed a redaction form before Dec. 31. At any time, they may submit a contact preference form stating whether they wish to have no contact with their child, contact through an intermediary, or unfettered contact. Birth parents who request no contact must also must complete a family history form seeking medical, cultural and social history information about the birth parent.

More information about the law is available on the health department's website, or by calling 866-649-8726.

7. Eliminating bail for some non-violent offenders 

One in 12 defendants remains in jail because a bail of $2,500 is too high.

Starting in January, fewer people who commit minor offenses will be held on bail and detained. And if a person is held in jail, prosecutors will have 90 days to seek an indictment from a grand jury, and must bring a person to trial with 120 days.

The changes are based on a 2014 law Christie signed which established an alternative pre-trial release system aimed at keeping poor defendants from going to jail simply because they could not afford bail. That same year, New Jersey approved a constitutional amendment to allow judges to deny bail to offenders who pose serious threats.

The state also intends to hire 20 more judges to help carry out the provisions of the bail reforms.

8. Raising the minimum wage, nominally

New Jersey's minimum wage will go up six cents on Jan. 1 to $8.44 an hour, according to the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

It will be New Jerseyans' first increase since January 2015, when it rose from $8.25 an hour to the current $8.38. The minimum wage did not increase this year because there was no rise in the state's cost of living.

The six-cent hike reflects a small bump in the consumer price index, which by constitutional amendment is used to set the minimum wage each year.

Efforts to pass a $15 minimum wage by asking voters to amend the constitution stalled this year.

http://www.nj.com