Tips & Advice

Tip #3: Thinking of purchasing or setting up a new bookkeeping system?

July 14, 2017 By Heidi Leave a Comment

Your instinct may be to just set up a bookkeeping system “from a box” of purchased software or to subscribe to a Cloud-based service. However, before you set up your system, contact me about purchasing software that is right for your type of business and easy to use. There are many options in the marketplace and I can help you sort it all out and find the best product to fit your needs.

I can also help you get your system set up by designing a proper chart of accounts and reports that will give you key information on your business and save you time in the long run. If you plan to manage your books in-house, making the investment in a system that works with that of your tax preparer could prove to be more strategic when seeking tax planning advice and easier when it comes to closing the year end, generating financial reports, and filing income tax returns.

Make your business #CPAPOWERED. Contact me today and let’s get started!

Tip #2: Keep an eye on your accounts receivable

October 20, 2014 By Heidi Leave a Comment

Late and unpaid customer invoices hurt your cash flow. Develop and put into place a process to regularly review the aging of your Accounts Receivable. Set specific points in time each month to contact customers and put these dates in your calendar with reminders. Follow up on unpaid invoices by sending out statements, duplicate invoice copies, and/or picking up the phone. Consider setting up payment plans with customers and instituting fees or interest with increased aging (e.g. after 30 days). When a customer payment is received, apply it against the corresponding open invoice to ensure that your Accounts Receivable balance is accurate.

Remember, every late payment is an interest-free loan to your customers that negatively impacts your cash flow.

Tip #1: 1099 Prep

June 17, 2014 By Heidi Leave a Comment

Now is a great time to ensure that you’ll be ready for preparing those year-end 1099-Misc Income forms.

Often small businesses are required to send out 1099-Misc forms to vendors who have provided services totaling $600 or more for the year. Run and review your year-to-date vendor payment report to ensure you have a complete form W-9 form on file for those vendors who will receive 1099-Misc forms so you’re not scrambling to collect information in January.

Don’t forget your landlord, as depending on the type of entity you paid, rent should also be reported on form 1099-Misc.

Ask your vendors to complete the W-9 form with their name and tax ID as it appears on their tax returns to prevent name and tax ID matching issues when the 1099s are filed with the IRS.

A great way to organize completed W-9 forms is to file them alphabetically in a binder, so you’ll have them easily available at each year-end.

Remember form 1099s are due to the vendors by January 31st and due to the IRS (along with Form 1096) by either January 31st or February 28th. For more information check out www.irs.gov or contact me

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