Friday, June 05, 2009

I GOT A GUY

Here in Chicago, whenever you're looking for help or specifically a referral, you'll here, "Oh yeah, I got a guy." It's one of our favorite colloquialisms and is used in jest by me whenever I make a referral (sheesh at least once a day!).

Yesterday, however, I got a notice in the mail as a reminder from my guy. Because of this I wanted to remind you that now is the time to start thinking about buying calendars for your clients if you do that.

My guy has a summer special - "The Early Bird Gets the...." - and it says you can send your production-ready orders by July 1, 2009 to take advantage of their early order pricing. They'll hold your order for you and ship it free of charge.

So if you've "got a guy," be sure to contact him or her about your calendar needs now. This economy is offering all business owners opportunities to manage your funds in a way that's a little more fluid than in times past.

Happy Weekend!!

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 8:43 AM 0 comments

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Big costs to your firm hidden in the stimulus in two expensive acronyms: SBP v. ABP

More valuable information from AIPB (American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers).

It was unintended, but in helping unemployeds, the stimulus ended up adding new payroll costs. Here's one buried cost:

Currently, most states use a standard base period (SBP) to determine eligibility for unemployment benefits. Under the new law, one-third of the federal incentive funding (available through federal fiscal year-end 2011) for state benefits is available to states that use - or agree to use - the alternate base period (ABP). The remaining two-thirds of the incentive goest to states that have or will have at least 2 of 4 other provisions.

The current system: SBP. The SBP is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters (in Massachusetts, the last 4 completed calendar quarters). Every state requires that an employee earn a certain amount in wages over a certain period, generally, 1 year (4 calendar quarters), to qualify for unemployment payments.

Case Example: Your former employee Joe files a claim for unemployment benefits in February 2009 (1st q. 2009). Your state's SBP runs from 4th q. of 2007 through the 3rd q. of 2008. Thus, 4th q. 2008 (the "lag" quarter) and 1st q. 2009 are not used in the eligibility calculation.

The new system: ABP. There are incentives for states to use ABP, under which the last 4 completed calendar quarters determine eligibility for benefits. The base period for an employee terminating in February 2009 is the 4 quarters of 2008. But when the last 4 completed calendar quarters determine eligibility, claimants' most recent paid work history is included, substantially increasing the likelihood of qualifying for benefits and receiving higher payment amounts.

Bottom line: If - more likely, when - your state adopts the ABP, your company's SUI account will be charged for more unemployment payments and your SUI rate could rise in response to more charges to your account.

The administrative burden: When your state adopts the ABP, it will need your last calendar quarter wage reports much sooner to determine claimants' eligibility. For example, say that you now file 4th q. unemployment wage reports by Jan. 31. If your state adopts the ABP, it will need this data immediately. Thus, instead of using your filings to evaluate claimant eligibility, it may start asking you for data on former employees before you file. This can be time consuming.

Alternative: States adopting the ABP can accelerate due dates for wage reports and/or mandate electronic reporting - e.g., a state might require quarterly wage detail by the 15th of the month following the quarter - or set lower thresholds, such as only 25 employees - before you must report electronically. Faster wage report filing puts time pressure on employers, particularly multi-state employers.

Be certain to discuss your obligations with either your accountant or payroll company.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 12:09 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Hidden stimulus traps — how federal COBRA subsidies can choke company cash flow

This is something I received recently from AIPB (American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers).

The new law includes a 65% federally funded COBRA continuation subsidy that lasts up to 9 months for workers (and their families) involuntarily terminated from Sept. 1, 2008 - Dec. 31, 2009. The subsidy terminates when the former employee is offered employer-sponsored health care coverage by a new employer, or becomes eligible for Medicare; or has COBRA coverage that has expired.

Notify within 60 days of Feb. 17 former employees involuntarily separated between Sept. 1, 2008 - Feb. 17, 2009. Notify those who elected COBRA that they are entitled to a lower premium starting in the first coverage period after Feb. 17. Notify those who rejected COBRA that they have have 60 days to elect COBRA and receive the subsidy. You can let former employees choose a less expensive plan. No subsidy is available to former employees whos income is over $125,000 a year or a family income over $250,000 a year, but employers are not required to monitor for the income phaseout.

The impact on small businesses: Because the new law allows employers to collect from qualified COBRA participants only 35% of the premium cost (instead of the current 102%), employers must recover the federally funded 65% by reducing their federal employment tax deposit. Result: Monthly and quarterly depositors must advance 65% of the premium cost for each COBRA enrollee for as long as it takes to offset in their tax deposits the amount due them. Problem: When the subsidies add up to more than your company's tax deposit, your company must request reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury. At this point, there is no way to know how long you will have to wait for reimbursement.

Administrative burdens: Subsidized health care premiums may be due as soon as Mar. 1, leaving you little time to compute the lower premiums and issue the required notices.

Contact your health insurer (and payroll service, if applicable) to assure the fastest possible COBRA subsidy refund. Any delay may cause you bigger cash flow problems.

The first period for reporting COBRA subsidy refund requests is 1st q. 2009, with your 941. For timely filing, make sure you are familiar with changes in Form 941 and related guidance.

Be ready for the IRS to require reports of annual COBRA participant subsides. Because of the subsidy's income phaseout, the IRS may also ask you to file an annual 1099 or W-2, Box 12 data to report total premium subsidies for COBRA participants receiving the subsidies.

Be sure to review with your accountant how this and other tax changes impact your business.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 11:43 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Ways to Twitter - I have 11, Can You Add to My List?

Because I work as a virtual assistant within real estate and bookkeeping, primarily with small businesses, I am being asked a lot about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. How should I use these platforms? Should I use them? What do you suggest?

Below are some ideas that I share with all my clients because the reality is that if you don't use these platforms on a consistent basis then you won't get anything out of them either. Like anything else in your business, consistency and clarity of information is necessary as well as a plan.

11 Ways To Twitter

1) What you're working on right now

2) Links to interesting websites or articles you've found

3) Announce a new product or service you're preparing to launch

4) Links to cool tools or services you've found helpful

5) Thanking people that have recently inspired you or helped you with something

6) Questions about something you want to know about, like an issue you're having with something

7) Send out a poll or link to a survey. The answers can be the subject of your next blog post or video

8) Mention how cool it is to be working on "x". This highlights the type of work you do, and people looking for this type of help will be able to find you

9) Announce to your tweeps that something great just happened to you.
--you just received an award or nomination
--you been asked to speak at a big seminar
--you just landed a huge client
--you just finished completing a certification course
--you been contacted to do an interview about your business

10) Schedule a series of tips as individual tweets

11) If you're at an event, tweet about the experience as it's happening

So what other suggestions do you have for your Tweeting practices? I'd love to learn more.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 7:18 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

SEO Tips from Business Wire

I wish I had thought of this information myself, but it comes to us from Business Wire. Remember that it's still early in the year and accomplishing your marketing goals starts with some of these great tips.

When it comes to getting your press release seen online, the rules for writing may be different from what you've practiced in the past.

  1. Choose and use your keywords. Think like your reader: What words are most likely to be searched for by people looking for what you want them to find in your release? Choose/use those words multiple times.
  2. Use bold, italics, headlines and subheads to make key phrases and keywords more visible. Emphasized text may help your release stand out and can positively impact search engine results.
  3. Keep your headlines short. Google recommends headlines between 2 and 22 words for optimum visibility and search results. Google results display only the first 63 characters of each headline.
  4. Keep it readable. While your goal is to appear high in search engine results, don't miss the mark by writing copy that's overly repetitive, spammy or unreadable. You want search engines to find you and for readers to click through to your text. Strike a balance.
  5. Be careful with puns, innuendo and double meanings. Search engines, spiders and robots have no sense of humor. Keep this in mind when trying to attract their attention.
  6. Write timely content that provides useful information to readers. Provide tips, advice, or analysis in your press release that is relevant to your industry or your customers' interests. Search engines are more likely to include releases that are honestly useful in their results.
  7. Utilize hyperlinks and anchor text, but don't overdo it. Too many links can flag your release as spam and get you kicked out. One link max per 100 words is recommended. Choose relevant links that direct traffic to the specific pages you are promoting rather than generic company links.
  8. Be consistent. Some words have multiple spellings— such as "t-shirt" and "tee-shirt," or "email" and "e-mail." Stick with one spelling to avoid appearing illiterate, preferably choosing the more frequently searched spelling.
  9. Keep it fresh. As releases age, they tend to drift lower in the search engine results pages. A campaign of several releases is more likely to drive results than a single press release.
  10. Publish on your own website. Be sure to publish releases sent on the wire or EON: Enhanced Online News to your own website also. Since links are like votes, link to them. Work with your web team to make sure your site is optimized.
  11. Use Business Wire for the Big Bang; EON: Enhanced Online News for the Long Tail. We've witnessed the best outcomes when press releases are sent on Business Wire and EON: Enhanced Online News. Business Wire provides the big burst of attention; EON: Enhanced Online News gives it the Long Tail and allows it to live forever online.
Below are the upcoming Feature Topic Series Copy Deadlines:
March
16 Easter & Passover
19 Sports & Hobbies II, Fantasy Sports
23 Personal Finance II, Taxes
26 Fitness & Health II
30 Family II, Men’s Focus
31 Workplace & Careers I

April
2 Going Green Consumer II, Earth Day
6 Education I, Graduation
9 Diet & Nutrition II
13 Family III, Baby
16 Technology II, Electronic Games
20 Mother’s Day
21 Arts & Entertainment II
23 Home & Garden II
27 Asian Heritage Month
30 Pets I

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 9:42 AM 0 comments

New Year, New Passwords - Look at Monster.com

I write a blog post for one of my clients all surrounding technology with tips, tricks, great free and open source stuff. I'm reprinting my post from this past Monday here because I believe it is important for as many people as possible to know what has happened over at Monster.com.

I wanted to share this important information that comes direct from Monster.com.

First of all, as a reminder, with the new year you definitely need to start changing all your passwords. It should be something unique to you with both letters and numbers. If you can remember to put in a capital letter or unique symbol all the better.

On January 23rd Monster released a letter to all subscribers about the full impact of the hack into their site. The information stolen from the Monster database were user IDs and passwords, email addresses, names, phone numbers, and some basic demographic data.

Thankfully, resumes were not hijacked. To Monster's credit they do not collect sensitive information like social security numbers or financial data.

Monster has already initiated corrective measures including changing your password. If you have not logged in recently, you should go and change your password immediately.

It's human nature and I have to admit that I use a similar login/password combination for the many sites where I need to login. I am equally guilty of this as well, so I have followed my own advice (for a change!). I would encourage you to change all your passwords on other sites especially if you use the same password for any other sites.

Remember, passwords should be unique and changed every 6 months to ensure your personal information is completely secure.

You may have several different passwords but keep it consistent and rotate among 4-5 different passwords to keep it safe. And don't forget, use something that you will remember without having to write it down.

And to quote Hill Street Blues, and "Hey, hey! Let's be careful out there!"

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 9:24 AM 0 comments

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Chicago's Snow and Ice Ordinance

Yes, I am a pedestrian for most of the year. I use our public transportation system and have to admit that it sure makes for less stress. So when I got this tidbit from one of the Alderman offices I just had to share (of course I did a little jig first).

During these cold winter months please remember to shovel your sidewalk, not only is it the neighborly thing to do, but it is also the law.

We are all pedestrians at some point in the day, whether walking to the bus, to a car, or to a neighborhood store. Without a wide, clear path, snow and ice on the sidewalk make it difficult for everyone - especially people with disabilities, seniors, and children - to walk safely.

Be a good neighbor and offer help to those in your community who are physically unable to clear their own sidewalks.

Click here for more information.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 11:46 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 19, 2009

A Quick Reminder for All Small Business Owners

So I've been working on 1099's this past week and wanted to give everyone a reminder. January 31st is on a Saturday so you have until February 2nd as the mailing deadline for your 1099's and W-2's. The deadline for form submission to the IRS/SSA is March 31st.

Thanks to the excellent advice from Deb Howard Greenleaf of Greenleaf accounting you can also go to this website and submit your own W2 and 1099 forms electronically for under $5 per form.

Happy Accounting!!

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 8:06 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Some Breaking News from AIPB

I just received this great information from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. Be sure to speak with your financial advisor to verify if this does in fact impact your situation.

An unpleasant surprise may await
S corp and partnership owners

Under recent IRS guidelines, owners may not receive the full benefit of the 2008 Sec. 179 write-off of $250,000. The IRS says that the deduction applies separately to the entity v. individual owners. (Here, "owner" refers to both the S corp shareholder and the partner in a partnership.)

The amount of Sec. 179 pass-through an owner can deduct will depend on the maximum Sec. 179 deduction allowed in the owner's tax year—not the S corp's or partnership's tax year. This is potentially bad news for owners who have a calendar tax year who receive a pass-through Sec. 179 deduction from an S corp or partnership with a fiscal year. Here's what to tell company owners:

Entity treatment. An S corp or partnership with a tax year beginning in 2007 and ending in 2008 has a Sec. 179 ceiling of $125,000 for property placed in service in 2007. An S corp or partnership with a tax year beginning in 2008 and ending in 2009 has a Sec. 179 ceiling of $250,000 for property placed in service in 2008.

Owner Treatment. A calendar-year shareholder or partner has a Sec. 179 deduction of up to $250,000 when:
  • property is placed in service by the entity during 2008.
  • the pass-through portion of any Sec. 179 deduction(s) to the owner occurs in 2008 and that owner has a taxable year ending in 2008.

Here is the potentially bad news: Say that the entity's tax year begins in 2008 and ends in 2009, giving it a maximum Sec. 179 deduction of $250,000—but the pass-through to the owner occurs in 2009 and the owner has a calendar tax year in 2009. The maximum Sec. 179 deduction for that owner will be limited to the 2009 maximum Sec. 179 deduction of $125,000 (plus any inflation adjustment).

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 7:58 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 12, 2009

Free Download of Suze Orman's latest book

I just received this link from a friend of mine and wanted to share. This link will only last until January 14, 2009.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload

The book outlines what happened in the market and how it affected the economy today. So even if you don't have any time to read it, then be sure to download the file and then save it for later.

It looks to be a great read.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 6:33 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

How Bad Can It Get?

This is reprinted with permission from Bridget Sullivan Mermel. This really helps us to keep perspective on the current economic times.

So I revisited an article that Bert Whitehead published recently. Originally written in 2001 after 9/11, the article addresses the often unacknowledged fears that the country as a whole is experiencing. Yes, even the upbeat folks like me and my clients share the fears. Bert has been in the business since the 1970s, and his home base is outside of Detroit, which I think both contribute to his broad perspective. So, after I reread his recent article, I decided to scrap what I planned, and send along what Bert has to say in full.

It's time to get our heads out from under the covers and face our worst fears. The financial crisis is world-wide, and the U.S. is actually better off than most countries. Iceland is bankrupt, and others (including Russia) are teetering. What happens when a crisis turns into a complete collapse?

Keep in mind that the worst possible outcomes are short-term. We'll take a look at those and
then look at the reality of the long-term.

Short-term Possibilities:

Scenario #1: Complete Financial Collapse.
Likelihood = 1% - 2%.

This could rival the Great Depression scenes we see in old movies with bread lines, tent towns of
homeless, etc. You're not able to use your credit cards, or write checks. In the worst case, where
faith in US dollar evaporates, bartering or using gold becomes the basis of commerce.

This extreme outcome could be produced in our current economy if one or two extremely destructive exogenous events occur in the next year or so. These traumatic events could be anything from a huge California earthquake, Al Qaeda usurping power in Saudi Arabia and
strangling the world's oil supply, or severe weather changes brought on by global warming, etc.

We have suggested that clients who are genuinely concerned about this worst-case scenario keep 1-2% of their portfolio in gold bullion.

Scenario #2: World-wide Deflation.
Likelihood = 5-20%.

Countries try to protect their economies using tariffs, which sets off retaliation in other
countries so global commerce dries up. Shortages become a way of life. Widespread
deprivation kindles violence, terrorism escalates, and a large scale war may loom.

Even in this case, the dollar would likely be the world's safe haven. Decreasing prices enable
those who have cash or U.S. Treasury bonds to survive and prosper.

Scenario #3: Recession Reaction.
Likelihood = 15-35%.

Panic sets off contraction in consumer spending which cascades through the economy. Classic
recession response, including lay-offs, unemployment of 10-15% in US, higher in other countries. The Euro may be destabilized by conflicts in monetary policies of member nations. Cutbacks in inventories closes factories; bankruptcies increase. Portfolio Panic Reaction leads many people to take foolish risks.

We work closely with clients to manage their endogenous risks, rebalance portfolios accordingly, make sure that adequate liquidity is maintained.

Scenario #4: Volatility Eruption.
Likelihood = 25-40%.

We are likely experiencing this phase now. Market prices in securities, commodities, housing, etc. take huge swings in waves of panic trading. Investors retreat to the sidelines, so trading volumes vacillate. This is how the market finds price balance, by testing the extremes. This could be a relatively short phase followed by onset of recession which could be severe, or gradually recover as markets begin to bounce back.

This is most difficult time for investors. In today's economies this scenario usually stirs
government intervention in the markets. This brings the danger that the money supply is
increased faster than productivity gains which can trigger spiraling inflation. Having a long-
term fixed rate mortgage is the best protection against inflation. Survival in this phase requires
clients to turn off the TV.

Scenario #5: Bounce Back.
Likelihood = 15- 35%.

If governments are successful in shoring up confidence in their economies, and adequate
liquidity is available in capital markets, stable commerce will again emerge. Housing prices
will drop to the point where entrepreneurs can buy up excess inventory and rent out homes
with a positive cash flow. New business formations provide most new employment
opportunities.

The stock market is likely to start rebounding a year or so before this phase kicks in. Clients
guided by Functional Asset Allocation, which we preach, will prosper in this stage since they
will not have sold off their stock holdings. Those who have continued dollar-cost-averaging, (e.g. through their 401-k's, etc.) will enjoy rapid accumulation in their portfolios.

Long-term Outlook:

Likelihood = 98-99%.

As this downturn is relatively severe, it may take another 2-3 years to substantially recover.
Then we will enjoy approximately 5.5 years (on average) of prosperity, which we will soon take
for granted. On the next downturn, we will be again surprised. We will go through though
another down-cycle as we have for the past century. Again we will think that 'it is different
this time.' A year or so into that downturn we will again anguish about "How Bad Can It
Get?" Then I will send out this article again, as I did seven years ago in Nov. 2001…

Sleep well tonight! Bert

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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

How To Use Social Networking To Get Clients

By Biana Babinsky, online business coach, expert and author

Do any of these thoughts pop into your head when you hear online social networking mentioned?

- "People who I meet through online social networks are not interested in my services and products. I spend a significant amount of time networking and answering questions online, but have nothing to show for it. I did not gain a single client from the social networking forums in which I participate."

- "I put my profile on many social networking sites, but did not get any results."

- "I have tried it a few times, didn't see any results and don't think I will be using it again."

If you are not getting results from social networking, you need to adjust how you network. Here are five tips to help you do just that.

- You Should Always Network In The Right Forums. If your networking objective is to get clients, you should network in social networking communities that your potential clients frequent. For example, if you are a career coach, you should network in the communities frequented by your target market (people who want to get jobs, switch jobs, find a new career, etc).

If you are frequenting a community created around your favorite TV show, you will have fun discussing the show, but are not likely to generate new coaching clients.

- Network On A Regular Basis. If you are only networking when you need to get clients, you are wasting your time. Networking is not a one-time action; rather, it is a process of having others get to know you and building relationships with them. You need to use online social networks continuously to raise your online visibility and develop relationships with others.

- Network, Don't Sell. A business owner told me once "I keep posting about my business on every social network every chance I get, but have no takers." This person is not really networking. Rather, he is selling his products and services instead of building relationships. Networking is about creating awareness for your products, not blatantly advertising them.

- Provide Information About Your Business. While some people try to sell their products more then they should, there are others who don't tell people anything about their business when networking online. Remember, if people you are networking with have no way of learning more about you your business, they will not be able to do business with you.

How do you let others know about your business? Use a signature at the end of every message you post when networking online. Make sure your signature contains some information about your business and a link to your web site, so that everyone reading your posts can learn more about you and your business.

- Invite Others To Subscribe To Your Newsletter. The best way to continue building relationships with people you meet on social networks is to ask them to subscribe to your newsletter.

Use your signature when you are networking online to invite people reading your message to subscribe to your newsletter. When they do, you can continue building relationships even if you or they stop networking on the forum altogether.

About The Author: Biana Babinsky is the online business coach, expert and author who teaches business owners how to create a marketing mindset that will help them get clients and make more money. Get her free report, "5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession", at http://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Reprinted with Permission

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 8:54 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

December 2008 Accounting Tip - Payroll Accruals

I just got this from one of my many newsletters and wanted to pass it along to those of you who do your own bookkeeping. It comes to us from AIPB (American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers).

The last day of 2008 is Wednesday, December 31. The first day of 2009 is Thursday, January 1. If your company is on the accrual basis, GAAP requires accruing an expense in the year it is incurred.

Thus if you pay employees for the last week in December on Friday, January 2, you must book Monday-Wednesday (Dec 29-31) as 2008 wage or salary expense and Thursday-Friday (Jan 1-2) as 2009 wage or salary expense.

Example:
Your company's workweek is Monday-Friday, your payroll is $25,000, and you distribute your payroll on Fridays. How do you book your payroll for the last week of December 2008?

On Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, record the journal entry to accrue wage expense for Monday-Wednesday (Dec 29-31, 2008). This expense will be 3/5, or 60%, of that workweek.

To compute this amount:
$25,000 weekly payroll x 60% = $15,000 accrued payroll expense for 2008.

For the journal entry, contact me and I'll send you the journal entry.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 7:27 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Social Networking - A Facebook Tip

As most businesses have found, Social Networking is truly the wave of the marketing future. There are many ways to be a part of this phenomenon. The three main networks you will hear mentioned are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. There are many others for specific industries like FOHBOH, but those three are widely known and accepted in professional circles.

I'm a user of all three platforms. I've found it a great way to keep in touch with colleagues and family. I like knowing about networking events in my area, learning some interesting technological tricks and getting support from my network when I have a huge presentation or sharing exciting news.

The reason for this post is that I came across some interesting information about the Top 13 Reasons your Facebook account will be disabled. Click here to read the entire article.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 9:18 AM 0 comments

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Getting Back Into the Swing Early

It has been over a year since I've posted to my own blog. A friend of mine just recently commented on this to me and said, "Either get something up there or take it down."

As we head into the holiday season, one thing that always comes up is how much family, friends and significant others really mean. We talk about the need to stay in touch more, the desire to start out the new year as a new you, etc.

From a business perspective, this usually means getting budgets and plans in order. My first question is always, do you have any of these completed? If you don't then it's time to consider doing these things.

They can be done very easily through a quick analysis of your business financials. Run a quick Profit & Loss statement. You'll know where you're spending your money and you'll know where you can cut just by getting that macro-level look. I always start there.

Next, look at how you are spending your business dollars. Are you tracking how the money being spent is coming back to you in new business or upgraded business from your current client base? This is another key area that will help you grow your business over the long term.

With the amount of bookkeeping for small business that we do, this is one area where we focus so we can help our clients make smarter choices on expenses. You may not be at that corporate-style budget stage in your business, but that does not mean you can keep spending like your business is a hobby.

This current economy is going to be a challenge but business will continue to be done. Those of us who are ready, have plans in place and maintain good customer service will come out as strong businesses with a great profit to show for it.

With that in mind, you can get that extravagant gift tomorrow morning if you are a Black Friday shopper. Now, click here, so you can plan your early Friday morning shopping.

Cheers,
Virtual Cathy

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Monday, June 25, 2007

Learning to Fly!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
“Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but
the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it goes on flying anyway.”
~ Mary Kay Ash

FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE!

Virtually every success is built not upon a foundation of talent or genius, but rather on the notion of persistence and hard work. The idea that achievement comes easily is, for the most part, a myth.

Consider NASA’s modern bumblebee: the space shuttle. Aerodynamically, it flies about as well as a brick. Yet, it fit a design need and re-wrote space exploration history. As a re-usable vehicle, the shuttle always made heroic space flight look, well, easy. However, without the persistence of dedicated engineers, hardware manufacturers, software programmers, mission controllers and astronauts, the shuttle would be just another badly designed flop.

After past catastrophes, the administrators at NASA are now phasing out the shuttle. While the first launch occurred April 12, 1981 and lasted only 36 hours, the shuttle today visits the manned space station regularly and still carries payloads into space. It has carried experiments that have impacted medicine, physics, chemistry and agriculture.

Its 26-year history has been one of tenacity, even in the face of tragedy. The program persisted, and we know our world and ourselves the better for it. The shuttle has become a symbol of strength and achievement.

Those who do manage to experience success without much effort face a different realization: they’re not pushing themselves hard enough. Remember the shuttle program and look for the greater challenge of how you could change the world, or at least your little slice of it.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 8:14 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Small Business Bookkeeping and the IRS

Whether you are a sole proprietor or a Limited Liability Company you are required to report all income and pay taxes on that income.

Your saving grace is your bookkeeping. Why you say?

Each of the above is asked to attach a Schedule C to their personal income taxes in order to show profit or loss from operating a business. This form believe it or not can help you become organized in your company records and help make important purchasing decisions.

Tell me, Cathy, how? On the Schedule C you are required to post all of your gross income, which if that is all you had done all year is collect fees and not had one expense or cost of goods sold you would have to pay taxes on all of that.

But here is the saving grace. Business expenses incurred that are deductible lowers the amount of tax due. Thank goodness huh?

For instance we'll take line 8 on the Schedule C which is advertising. Hmmmmm advertising? What all does that cover? What is deductible? Is placing a banner on a friend's website going to reduce my taxes? Well yes a banner is deductible! In addition if you pay someone to design, update, write and host a web site for your business, these costs are also deductible as advertising. Paying someone to proof read an advertisement is also deductible on line 8 therefore decreasing your tax due.

But did you know that postage for shipping out your flyers, post cards, and other advertisements are not added to line 8 advertising but is reported on line 48 other expenses.

Yep there other instances of advertising deductions you may not have thought of. That is why it is so important to maintain your company's books correctly or to have a good bookkeeper keep those transactions straight for you.

During tax season is not a good time to discover that you owe more tax than your business can afford to pay. At the beginning of the year as it is now is the perfect time to set your books up properly or look for that bookkeeper that can offer you assistance in an area that might not be familiar to you and show you the deductions you could be missing in order to lower your taxes.

The IRS will be looking more closely at small businesses than usual as stated here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/16265628.htm

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 1:09 AM 0 comments