Small business owners need a crash course in taxes

Small business owners need a crash course in taxes

Day 5: QuickBooks Setup

Many service companies can find progress invoicing very helpful in their business. Contractors especially find this helpful when requesting for draws. For our company, we expect payment in full when billed or completed, we will not use progress invoicing. Please select No.

Yes, even the best bookkeeper can lose track of bills owed, so we will select "yes" to this statement. Simply put, you want to be able to enter bills received and pay them later. Many of our bills that we will pay later on in the tutorial will be paid at the time of receipt using the "Write Checks" icon.
This tool can really come in handy if you print multiple or "batch" checks. Let's put it this way, printing 20 checks is a lot faster than hand writing 20 checks anyday of the week. In order to print check, you have to first order checks from a printing service company. The cheapest company checks I have found online is with Carousel Checks.

For many service industries in my area of expertise, they do not accept credit cards. If you would like to find out more about the costs associated with merchant accounts and credit card transactions, please look online and do your research. It may not be worth the cost if you only have a couple of clients paying via credit card.

Happy Small Business Week

I just received an email stating it was National Small Business Week. Happy Small Business Week everyone! What is one goal you have for this week?

Day 4: QuickBooks Setup

The next step will ask about sales tax. Now, depending on your state regulations, most service industries do not charge sales tax. This is unless you sale a tangible item such as a book, software or promotional items. Please check with your CPA to verify your state's tax laws.

Do you create estimates in QuickBooks? Many businesses do not need to create estimates. This feature, like all features in QuickBooks can be added later if you so choose.

Do you use statements in QuickBooks? Statements are a great tool to have in your financial system. They work directly with the invoice tool to allow you to keep track of receivables. The difference between invoices vs. statements:

1. Invoices are based on a per job basis. You do a single job, you create an invoice.

2. Statements allow you to group invoices together for a total sum. For example, you have a client that has three separate jobs (or invoices) during the month of July. Invoice #1 is for $200.00, Invoice #2 is for $595.00, Invoice #3 is for $75.00. The statement will show the invoice number, each individual amount and then a total sum due: $870.00.

Day 3 QuickBooks

Hello all! I am back and can breathe again. I can really describe how much I take for granted in my day to day living. The sense of taste and smell eluded me for a week and now they are back! Thank goodness! Surgery went well so onto more Quick Books.....

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Here we want to select the month of our fiscal year. Most companies will have January as their fiscal year. Sometimes a company will have the fiscal year on July 1. Make sure to choose correctly.

Our next step is choosing a password for Quick Books. I do recommend doing this for each set of books. It is an added layer of protection for your company.

Determining what type of product you sell...if any. Many of my clients are service only companies, thus I would select service only. For example, my business is a bookkeeping company, what selection would I choose? Depends. If I actually sold a tangible product such as software, books, etc. I would select products and services. At this time, I only provide services, so I will select services. For our real estate company, please select services only.

Now Hiring

I am seeking a bookkeeper for the Memphis, TN area. Please email me your resume to info@leeassociatesbookkeeping.com

For further details about the job, please visit our website at www.leeassociatesbookkeeping.com

Thank you

Break Time

Hello all! I had minor surgery yesterday so I will not be able to post for a couple of days. We will pick up the Quick Books setup where we left off on Monday. Take care and email me with any questions.

Crystal

Day 2: Quick Books Setup

Day 2: Choosing Your Industry and Entity Type

For the purposes of this setup, we are going to assume that our company, Real Estate Pros, LLC. is a real estate company that buys and rents property. I am going to choose RENTAL as my industry. Now, word of advice, don't fret too much over what type of business your company needs to be classified as. You can add and remove accounts as needed later on to better suit your company. And we will do this.

Our next step is to choose what is the entity type of this company. Most businesses, if not all, will have already created a business type and received a tax id number from the IRS. If you have not done this, stop here. Please go the IRS website http://www.irs.gov/ and register for a tax id number for your business. It is much easier to do this now than later. Plus you have to know what type of business you are. :)

For this tutorial, we will show our company as a multi-partner LLC.

QuickBooks 101

Today will be my first post in showing you how to setup a new real estate company in Quick Books. Now, this will take several days, even weeks, to complete so bear with me. I hope you find the information helpful in setting up your own books. Again I have many clients that I can help. Anywhere from real estate to retail to doctor's offices.

***Note from Author**** Please be advised that any and all company names, addresses, assets, liabilities and other information in these books are not real. Any similarities to other entities is purely coincidental.

Day 1: Gathering Information

After installing Quick Books onto your computer you will be prompted to start a NEW COMPANY.

Select NEW COMPANY and choose to complete the step-by-step interview:

Enter in all data pertinent to your company on the first screen.

That is step one for today. Like I said, this is going to take a while. People learn at different rates so I dont want to put too much information on any one post at a time. Check back tomorrow for the next update!

Crystal

Rework

I have to share a great book I recently purchased. If you own your own business this is a must read. The book entitled, "ReWork" is a solid find. The basics of the book make you rethink the hows of running a business. For example, according to this text, creating a business plan seems to be a huge waste of time. Now, wait a minute before you bash that statement. How many "plans" or ideas have you had in your business that 1. didn't work or 2. you ended up completely reworking. I personally have had many "ideas" that I had to put aside. Spending a lot of time on a concept that may or may not work does not make sense.

The ideas behind this book go against every management theory I studied in college. Sometimes I think it is a good thing.

To read more about this book please visit the website: http://37signals.com/rework/

Thanks to 37 signals for their unique ideas about how a small business can stay small and be a huge success.

Crystal

The Beauty and the Beast of Bookkeeping

I get many clients that don't fully understand what I do and ask, "What does a bookkeeper do exactly?" Allow me to explain...
Of course each bookkeeper does his/her own services but at Lee & Associates:

• Setup your books (Quick Books, Quicken, etc.)(This includes checking/savings accounts, credit cards, asset and liability accounts)
• Enter beginning balances
• Enter all customers (people who owe you money) and outstanding invoices
• Enter vendors (people you owe money) and outstanding payables
• Enter each transaction that comes through bank and credit card accounts (yes, this includes that 3.00 trip to McDonald's-if you used the company debit card)
• Reconcile each bank/credit card/liability account (this simply means that I take what I entered in Quick Books and balance it back to what the bank states happened in the account that month-great way to check for errors on either side)
• Process reports (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows) For my Real estate investors or landlords, I have specialized reports I issue by property.
• Process year end reports for CPAs/Tax agencies. 1099 forms, w-2 forms.
• Send you an invoice for the work. Now, this is one of the least favorite parts of bookkeeping but necessary for my business to continue. And yes, payment is due upon receipt.

Now, could you do this? I am sure with a bit of training you could no problem. Now, my question for you is.."Why would you want to?" Granted money is an issue with many small businesses. Especially if you need to put in an entire years worth of data. Yikes! Start up capital is usually very low and comes directly out of the owner's pocket. Trust me, I know. Besides the minimal cost it takes to have a current set of books each month, by hiring a bookkeeper, you free yourself to promote your product/service. I say to each his/her own. Let me do what I do best. Books are my business. Let me save you hours of headache and give you peace of mind about your finances.

Of course, as bookkeepers, we can not help you sale the product or make you more money, but we can help you keep an eye on the funds you do have.

I hope this clears up what a bookkeeper does for many of you out there with that question.

Let me know what you think!

Crystal

Power of Networking

Good morning from the Midsouth!

Today I am going to my first Talk Shoppe meeting hosted by my friend Jo Garner. Talk Shoppe is a local networking organization where business men and women meet to discuss their products, services and make referral contacts. Goes hand in hand with my Campaign 2010, right?

Jo has asked my company to become the bookkeeper for this organization and we gladly accepted. So now Jo is my first Campaign 2010 referral! Congrats Jo! I don't even think she knew about this campaign, lucky for her! :)

I am excited about meeting this new group of people since it involves businesses of all kinds, not just real estate. I am going prepared to learn a thing or two. :)

My post today is about the importance of networking. In order for any business to succeed you must be involved in various (yes, more than one) networking group. Word of mouth referrals always seem to me my best source of income. But this also means that 1. you must provide a quality product or service and 2. you must stand behind that product or service.

One of the most effective ways, and FREE, is to join a social networking site. I like Facebook myself, but you might have another preference. This allows you to keep in contact with both individuals and businesses. I also put discount specials, referral specials (like my current campaign), and post information about hiring/training schedules.

I am off to enjoy this beautiful day!

Crystal

Campaign 2010 Is Underway!

I am so excited to be able to bring a new Campaign to recharge the Midsouth! Want a bit of spending money for that Summer vacation? Need a way to make the money last longer than the end of the month? Join Lee & Associates for Campaign 2010. We are offering $50-$100 referral bonuses for new clients.

Our goal is to reach 100 new clients by December 31, 2010. You can help by reading the detailed information on our Campaign blog www.lacampaign.blogspot.com

The best news is the person or business that refers the most clients in 2010 will receive a $500 check on January 1, 2011! Not bad, especially after the Christmas rush.

Please make sure to view the details of the referral campaign on the campaign blog site.

Have a great one!

Crystal Lee
Owner

Real Estate Tax Credit

After doing a bit of research, I have discovered that I am not eligible for the home buyer tax credit. How sad. But I know many of you out there are. Not sure what I am talking about? There are currently two tax credits available:

1. First Time Home buyers-Receive up to $8000 credit (meaning you do not pay back) on your tax return the year you purchase a new home.

2. Long Time Resident-Receive up to $6500 credit for those who currently own a home but are in the market to buy. This one is a bit tricky. You must have lived in your current home five consecutive years of the last eight years in order to qualify.

For further details, here is Form 5405 that you fill out with your tax return:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf

If you do qualify, but did not know about the credit, you can simply file an amended return to get your credit.

I love this idea. It really has helped pushed market values up in real estate. More and more people are buying and my current real estate value is increasing. This is great since we took a bath with two of our properties. Yes, we were upside down....in the water so to speak. Not by much but any amount underwater is not good. This is why we do not issue or take 100% financing loans. Bad Crystal, bad! Now we are breathing again. Lesson learned.

When Nathan and I got into real estate, we listened to "advice" from a lot of flashy people that knew how to talk their way into our bank accounts. What I like to call this, thanks to my friend Joanne, "Seminar bought and paid for." Listen to yourself and do your own research. Don't rely on others, solely. It is great to have a team of advisers but always trust in yourself and your instincts. Real Estate is NOT a get rich quick industry. Yes, there are very successful people out there that flip with the best and do very well for themselves. As for me and my houses, we will move slow and steady.

Have a Great One!

Crystal

What's Up With...?

After watching a very interesting episode of the Tyra Banks show yesterday (allow me to digress, I typically am not a fan) but she had a panel of doctors on her show answering questions regarding medical ailments for women. I did learn a couple of things, of which I am always grateful. It gave me an idea, how about my own segment of What's Up With....?

So here I will pose a few questions regarding financial statements, taxes and banking that always seem to come up.
Question: Why do I need to file a 1099?
Answer: Hmmm. If I tell you because Uncle Sam says so, will that work? :) No? Okay then. You have to file a 1099 on businesses, contractors or individuals that received more than $600 in that calendar year. The exception to this rule is Corporations. Corporate entities do not receive a 1099. If you do not send out these fun forms, you could be facing penalties along with the possibility you could be responsible for the contractors taxes due. Yes, you heard me correctly. If you purposefully do not send out 1099 statements, you could pay someone else's taxes. Not worth it in my opinion. Now I have several clients that are worried that the contractor will raise rates if they are 1099'd. I say lose them and find a reputable contractor that abides by the law.
IRS Website

Question: Is my new contractor considered an independent contractor or an employee?
Answer: This is a tricky one. One where you are fighting both state and federal guidelines. Here is what Uncle Sam as to say in whether or not your "employee" is an independent contractor or employee. CLICK HERE Now that you have determined whether or not this individual is an IC or Employee you can rest easy knowing you are within the law. Having the responsibilities of employees can be both financially and mentally frustrating. The cost is significantly higher, the reports are no fun to file, and payroll can be a bear. But word of advice friends, Uncle Sam and Mr. Stateman is coming down hard on this subject.

Question: I am wanting to start a new business but I have no idea where to begin. Can you help?
Answer: Lee & Associates is more than glad to help you setup your new business books and get you started. We do not, however, provide legal or accounting services that directly concern business entity creation. I recommend you find a reputable CPA in your area. Preferably one who specializes in your industry. The larger tax service companies are good for one thing, filing taxes. Business entity strategy, financial planning, and legal services are NOT their specialties. Once you are ready to setup your business, legalzoom.com is a great website to setup your business. Also, make sure you understand how your business entity will be taxed on both state and federal sides. You do not want to get a surprise from Mr. Stateman next year.