NextGen Accounting & Tax Solutions

06/30/2016

http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-list-top-5-reasons-new-businesses-fail-scott-arnold-cpa-cma-mba?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish

While I was on hold with the IRS today, I searched the Internet for articles related to why so many new businesses fail. I read that 8 out of 10 business startups fail within 18 months. As I

06/18/2016

It happens more than you would think; the "trustworthy" bookkeeper at a small business steals money from the company.

I'm working with a new business client that experienced this kind of theft last year, an employee - the bookkeeper - stole almost $50,000 from the company. The bookkeeper was responsible for invoicing customers and paying bills. If the thought "How could that happen?" is going through your head, then you don't understand how easy it is for a bookkeeper to steal from a company.

Typically, small companies have a "one person" accounting department and use Quickbooks or Peachtree as their accounting software. It is very easy for the "one person" accounting department (aka the bookkeeper) to steal from the company. The only thing preventing bookkeepers in this situation from stealing is their conscience. (I won't explain how to steal from a company because we don't want to educate bookkeepers with such ideas!)

Sometimes I think business owners assume that their "outside accountant" (often a CPA) is responsible for detecting any theft related to the bookkeeping function at the company. THIS IS NOT TURE. Unless the CPA is specifically engaged for this purpose, the CPA isn't auditing for theft when preparing financial statements or tax returns for the company.

If you'd like some tips to help detect theft at your company, email me at [email protected] and I'll send you some easy-to-do ideas that will help uncover any problems.

06/10/2016

Over the last few weeks, I've been working on "fixing" client financial statements so they are accurate enough to use to prepare corporate tax returns. This made me think to post a brief message about basic accounting procedures for your business.

I know these seem like basic rules but if you are not following them, you will eventually run into trouble.

1. Maintain a separate bank account for your business
2. Do not use the business account for any personal expenses
3. Record ALL financial transactions somewhere (you don't need to use accounting software but it helps)
4. Deposit all cash received to your business bank account
5. Pay bills using checks or electronically but not with cash

Feel free to call me at 419-562-6286 if you have any questions.

06/04/2016

Near the end of each year, I prepare a financial budget for my accounting firm. Then after tax season, I review and refine the budget for May 1 through December 31. So I recently revised and completed the firm's budget for 2016. The budget consists of a monthly projection of revenue and expenses. I budget for every line item or general ledger account on the firm's Income Statement. The budgeted numbers are then input in Quickbooks Online so monthly reports can be run that show the actual financial performance along side the budgeted performance (for each month andy year-to-date).

If you aren't currently using a 12 month budget for your company, I think you should consider doing so. Going through the budgeting process really makes you think about the business in detail and then provides a measuring stick to see how well your company is actually performing compared to how you expected it to perform.

If you want to learn more about budgeting or would like some help preparing a budget for your company, please feel free to call me at 419.562.6286.

05/28/2016

I attended a business seminar last week. One topic we discussed was this: Most people know what they need to do to achieve their business and personal goals, but they don't do those things.

Why?

A book written by David H Maister called "Strategy and the the Big Fat Smoker" addresses this topic.

I've included a short video of Mr. Maister. Think about this. What you need to do is obvious, so why don't you do those things?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaxLbQbKfo8

Strategy

05/20/2016

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/05/18/q-new-overtime-rule/84537486/

01/02/2016

Happy New Year!

I like to make New Year’s resolutions, but currently I’m going to encourage readers to make one of their own resolutions.

I own an accounting firm and we have been preparing for the upcoming tax season. If you are like the majority of people who put off dealing with their annual income tax return, I’d like to see you commit to getting your tax return done as soon as possible this year. If you don’t know, your income tax return is due by April 15th. Quite frankly, my firm doesn’t care if you file an extension which allows you to procrastinate and not file your return until October 15th. The firm doesn’t care because it helps spread our workload over a longer period of time. (We prepare over a thousand individual tax returns.) I encourage you to get your tax return done as early as possible this year because YOU will feel good about it.

I know you think preparing your taxes is a monumental task but it shouldn’t be. For many people, all the information they need to prepare their return will come in the mail by the end of this month. So keep an eye out for all those weird tax forms (W-2, 1099-INT, 1098, etc.), and simply keep them together in a folder marked “TAX INFO”. Then in early February drop your TAX INFO folder off at our office (1180 Lexington Avenue, Mansfield 419.529.9771or 201 W Charles Street, Bucyrus 419.562.6286). If you do this, your return will magically get done within a day or two (and for a reasonable fee). Could it be any easier?

The reason your annual tax return ritual bothers you so much is because you procrastinate. For whatever reason, you think getting your tax return done is a huge process that you don’t have the time or the energy to deal with. But again, for most people it can be really simple. Step 1: put your tax information that comes in the mail this month into a folder labeled TAX INFO. Step 2: drop that folder off at one of our offices. So simple. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

11/10/2015

Accounting and Tax Professional: A CPA firm with offices in Mansfield and Bucyrus is looking for an experienced tax preparer. The candidate’s primary job responsibilities will be preparing individual tax returns. The tax software used by the firm is UltraTax CS. Candidates should have three years or more of tax preparation experience. This is not considered an entry level position, so candidates without experience will not be considered. Additional accounting skills in payroll and bookkeeping are desired. If interested, please email a cover letter and resume to [email protected].

10/05/2015

If you own a farm or other small business and pay for your own medical insurance, you should be taking advantage of a Health Reimbursement Account. Call me at (419) 562-6286 to learn how HRAs can reduce your taxes.

10/03/2015

MILEAGE LOGS: "ABOUT THE SAME AS LAST YEAR"

Currently business owners can deduct 57.5 cents for every business related mile driven. That's a $5,750 tax deduction for every 10,000 business miles. This is a great deduction but from my experience, most business owners do not keep appropriate records to support this deduction. The IRS knows that taxpayers frequently don't have the proper mileage logs, so I encourage all my clients to keep good records to document their business miles: e.g., October 2, 2015 drove to XYZ client in Ashland to review financial statements, 42 total miles. You don't need a fancy mileage log - just a notebook or calendar you might keep in your car is fine. There are a lot of mobile apps too if you like that kind of stuff. But please don't think that "about the same as last year" is a good answer when your tax accountant asks you how my miles to use for this deduction.

Here's a link to an article with more informationhttps://www.mileiq.com/blog/mileage-log/

The IRS loves to scrutinize mileage deductions. These Mileage Logs didn't pass that scrutiny.

08/03/2015

Is your IRS tax return due April 15? Yes, and that date still holds, including the 6 month automatic extension. But many other filing deadlines were just changed by Congress. The due dates for partnership and corporate tax returns were changed, and for those important foreign account FBAR forms, also known as FinCEN Form 114. The changes came in an unlikely vehicle, H.R. 3236, the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. That non-tax law also gave the IRS an increased audit period from three to six years in many cases. Starting after December 31, 2015:
•Partnership tax returns are due March 15, NOT April 15 as in the past. If your partnership isn’t on a calendar year, the return is due on the 15th day of the third month following the close of your tax year.
•C corporation tax returns are due April 15, NOT March 15. For non-calendar years, it is due on the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the tax year.
•S corporation tax returns remain unchanged—they are still due March 15, or the third month following the close of the taxable year;
•There are other rules too. C corporations with tax years ending on June 30 will continue to have a due date of September 15 until 2025. For years beginning after 2025, the due date for these returns will be October 15.