The Approachable Accountant

12/29/2024

ICYMI -- The latest update on the FINCEN BOI filing requirement:

"In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports...

On December 26, 2024, however, a different panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating the Court’s December 23, 2024 order granting a stay of the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, as of December 26, 2024, the injunction issued by the district court in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland is in effect and reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN."

12/24/2024

Whether you are a business owner, landlord, or wage earner, you never know when inattention to your financial affairs could cost you big! It is important to know where you stand at all times. This Chicago woman's careful recordkeeping could save her home -- would you be able to produce the same records, or do you rely on the county and/or your bank to keep track of your payments?

Robin McElroy’s home was sold at a tax auction despite proof she paid on time. A swapped property ID, identified years earlier, caused years of panic and legal battles. Here's what happened and how to prevent it from happening to you.

12/03/2024

We are rebuilding our firm to provide faster, more cost-effective and professional services to our clients. Our Cyber Week Specials are intended to bring peace of mind to your holiday season by completing the tasks that keep you up at night.

Limited availability, so book your call NOW to reserve your spot and get top notch service at very competitive prices. https://tidycal.com/kmason/cyberweekspecials

11/22/2024

Last chance to request an Identity Protection PIN from IRS before January!

The IRS encourages ALL taxpayers to sign up for an IP PIN, and I agree. Just a few minutes of your time can protect you from tax-related fraud.

When I worked in HR, I received a Notice from IRS to levy an employee's wages. When I searched for the employee, the SSN matched a name that was different than the name on the Notice.

It turns out that our employee had been using someone else's SSN for over a decade, and the rightful owner of the SSN was about to lose his home and other assets, and might have served jail time for not reporting income he never received!

And it sounds far-fetched, but every year fraudsters beat taxpayers to the punch in filing the return, collecting big refunds even if the taxpayer would not have been eligible.

IR-2024-278, Oct. 23, 2024 — As the 2025 tax season approaches, the IRS encourages all taxpayers to take an important step to safeguard their identity by signing up for an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN).

11/14/2024

Yeah, I wish!

Thieves and scammers pour it on this time of year, hoping you'll be distracted.

Don't fall for it!

08/19/2024

My VOIP phone service has blocked my ability to send text messages due to anti-spam measures implemented by the telecom industry.

In spite of the fact that I have never ONCE sent a bulk text message for my business, I am required to register an "SMS Campaign" with the carrier. That "campaign" requires a privacy policy and opt-out information on my web site.

I didn't include the words "privacy policy" in front of my privacy policy, so my campaign was rejected.

They say it will be about a week before I can text again.

Apologies for the inconvenience but honestly -- texting is far from the preferred method of communication for a professional services firm.

08/12/2024

It's time for a Master Reset.

Over the past 6+ years, I've made a lot of mistakes, suffered some growing pains and endured some very difficult times personally.

I've been in the struggle for far too long, and all that changes, starting today.

I am going to rebuild The Approachable Accountant into the firm I always intended it to be, based on an uncompromising commitment to quality and customer service. It's what I brought to the accounting profession and where I have always excelled. I have failed in that the past few years, but just as I "fixed" other companies before I became an accountant, I can fix this one.

Toward that end, my office hours through Labor Day will be as follows:

Monday - Thursday noon - 5pm
Closed Friday through Sunday

This will give me the time to toss out systems that aren't working and replace them with minimal disruption.

I'm looking forward to reaching new heights in the future, and I hope you'll be along for the ride.

07/19/2024

I am out of the office to spend time with my mother and care for her in what seems to be her last days. I apologize for any delays and inconvenience.

07/16/2024

Prime Day can be a great opportunity to save on the things you need for your small business, but it's all too easy to get caught up in the hype and forget that Prime Day deals aren't always the best deal.

In today's tough economy, it's more important than ever to make sure you avoid the temptation to SPEND money and choose instead to INVEST your money in things that add value.

07/08/2024

Catching up on emails and I almost missed this FANTASTIC deal from Monarch Money.

Monarch is a personal finance tracker that will help you pull it all together, tracking your wages, investments and side hustles all on one dashboard. You can see your net worth at a glance, create personal financial statements, and create budgets to help you meet your goals.

So many of my clients struggle to understand how the different areas of the financial lives affect each other, and an astonishing number don't know how much they're in debt and what that's costing them.

Monarch Money solves all that. In fact, properly implemented, it could be all you need to track your income and expenses for microbusinesses and real estate investments.

In the coming months, it will be an important tool in my arsenal for helping my higher income, higher net worth clients but this deal is too hot to pass by.

You get an extended free trial (30 days) + a whopping 50% off an annual subscription when you use my referral link:

https://www.monarchmoney.com/referral/14oglo8c4t

The modern way to manage your money. Monarch makes it easy to track all of your accounts, optimize your spending, analyze your investments, and create a financial plan to achieve your goals.

07/08/2024

Good morning! My name is Karen, and for the past 6 1/2 years, I've been known as The Approachable Accountant. I provide tax strategy, tax preparation and bookkeeping services for small businesses all over the US, primarily remotely.

More importantly, I'm taking steps to help small business owners who are just starting out with free, educational content via Facebook and YouTube. This content will be geared toward people who are risking a lot to start their businesses on a shoestring. I'm out to help people save money, time and their sanity on their entrepreneurial journeys.

I will provide real life case studies - talking with new business owners and even opening microbusinesses myself - to see if you really can make the the fat cash the big-time influencers say you can. I don't have a single "social media influencer" bone in my body so it will rarely be beautiful, but it will always be truthful.

At this point, it's a "stay tuned" situation. Due to a family crisis, I have some backlog to address before I begin.

But I would appreciate it if you would like/follow my page (if you haven't already) and as your friends, family and business associates to do the same, or simply share this post. It takes just seconds and it will help me help thousands (hopefully) of small business owners just trying to make it in tough times.

Thanks!

07/03/2024

In 2016 and 2017, the client made some serious bookkeeping and tax mistakes.

I discovered them and started cleaning them up in late 2018 into 2019.

We filed 2 years of amended tax returns and of course, the IRS audited them.

Just got word that, in spite of some recordkeeping deficiencies and a few taxpayer concessions, they will receive a refund of about $27,000!

THIS is why I do what I do.

04/24/2024

Also NO.

04/18/2024

Nope! Don't do it!

03/27/2024

Worth a giggle, but I disagree. It's YOURS.

With my background, I could have chosen from a wide variety of second careers, but I chose accounting because I truly want to help people pay the least possible tax, legally.

It's not fun or glittery or sexy -- but it matters.

03/24/2024

A Sunday evening is a great time to reflect on what's gone wrong, learn what you can, and let it go. New day, new way forward!

03/24/2024