The Way To Wealth

Looking for financial advice in these challenging economic times?  Perhaps you should ask Benjamin Franklin! Have a look at this video, which features Franklin’s book The Way To Wealth (originally written in 1758) during an interview with Jack Vincent, who has updated it in today’s language. For more information, visit www.thewaytowealthbook.com.

Here’s an excerpt from the book, dealing with taxes: “We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly, and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement.”

QuickBooks QuickTip: How To Set The Closing Date In QuickBooks

Locking the Books in QuickBooks

For most businesses, closing the books occurs some time after the end of the fiscal year—usually within the first couple of months of the next fiscal year, as soon as your business tax forms have been filed. This is done to lock the books, so that users cannot add, remove, or change any transactions.

After taxes have been filed based on the information in the system, nothing should ever be changed. Closing the books in QuickBooks does nothing more than lock users out of the previous year’s transactions. At the same time, QuickBooks allows you to configure user rights to enable or disable a user’s ability to see, or even manipulate, closed transactions.

Closing the books in QuickBooks does not set the information in cement (as it does in other business accounting software); it can be changed and/or deleted by users with the appropriate permissions.

Many QuickBooks users prefer to lock the transactions for the previous year as a way to prevent changes to the data (except by users with the appropriate permissions).

If you have set up users and passwords for access to your QuickBooks data file, only the QuickBooks user named Admin can set the closing date and password. Make sure that anyone given the password understands the bookkeeping ramifications of changing a transaction in a way that might change the totals you used for tax preparation. To close the year and lock the books:

1.     Choose Edit | Preferences from the QuickBooks menu bar.

2.     Click the Accounting icon on the left pane to open the Accounting preferences, and click the Company Preferences tab.

3.     In the Closing Date section of the dialog, click the Set Date/Password button.

4.     In the Set Closing Date and Password dialog, enter the closing date (the last date of your fiscal year) and a password.

5.      If you want to keep estimates and other transactions open check the Exclude Estimates, Sales Orders And Purchase Orders From Closing Date Restrictions option.

6.     Click OK to save these changes.

Source: CPA911

10 Steps to Hiring Your First Employee, Part 1

The Small Business Administration (SBA) exists to help entrepreneurs navigate the sometimes challenging world of owning your own business. This is Part 1 of an article that was posted on their website.

The good news is that business is booming. The bad news is there’s only one of you. Perhaps it’s time to take the plunge and hire some help.

There are many good sources of information about finding the right people, writing job descriptions, interviewing candidates and managing people once they are on board. In addition, you’ll need to understand your regulatory requirements as an employer because it is crucial to the success of your business. These 10 easy steps will help you ensure you are compliant with key federal and state regulations when hiring.

QuickBooks QuickTip: How to Set Up Price Levels

Creating Price Levels in QuickBooks

QuickBooks offers a great way to apply special pricing to customers and jobs.

There are a few steps in QuickBooks that you must take to use this feature. First, you must enable Price Levels. Once Price Levels have been enabled, you must then create one or more price levels in QuickBooks.

Each price level has two components: a name and a formula. The name can be anything you wish, and the formula is a percentage of the price you entered for the items in your Item list.

For example, to give your favorite customers an excellent discount, you could name the price level something like “Special” or “StarCustomer.” Then enter a healthy percentage by which to reduce the price of items purchased by this customer.

To set up your price levels in QuickBooks:

1. Choose Lists | Price Level List from the QuickBooks menu bar.
2. Press CTRL-N to open the New Price Level dialog.
3. Give the price level a name using the Price Level Name text box.
4. Specify whether the price level is a decrease or increase against an item price.
5. Enter the percentage of increase or decrease of the price.
6. Select a rounding algorithm using the drop-down list and then click OK.

Source: CPA911

Social Security Announces 1.7 Percent Benefit Increase for 2013

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2013, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 56 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2013. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2012.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $113,700 from $110,100. Of the estimated 163 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2013, nearly 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2013, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

Click here to read the press release on the SSA website.

Small Business Lending is Improving: Tips for Finding and Securing the Right Loan

If you are looking for capital to finance your startup or business growth, many signs suggest that lending markets are showing renewed vigor.

Earlier this spring, for example, SBA Administrator Karen Mills blogged about the new signs of strength in business lending. Among the positives, Mills noted that:

• Thanks to the Recovery Act and the Small Business Jobs Act, SBA had a record year in FY2011, supporting more than $30 billion in small business lending across the country.
• The FDIC recently released data showing that banks had their biggest increase in business lending in four years.
• Financial institutions (mostly community banks) are reporting an increase in their small business lending by $3.5 billion, thanks to the Department of Treasury’s Small Business Lending Fund.

And anecdotally, Administrator Mills is hearing from small business owners that “…they are no longer telling me they’re fighting for survival; they’re talking about needing a loan to take advantage of a new opportunity, hire another worker, or buy more inventory.”

QuickBooks QuickTip: How to Turn On Price Levels

Enabling Price Levels in QuickBooks

Price levels are a nifty, easy way to apply special pricing to customers and jobs in QuickBooks.

For example, you may want to give your best customers an excellent discount, or create a discount price level for customers that are nonprofit organizations.

You could also increase your prices for certain customers (perhaps customers who don’t pay in a timely fashion).

In QuickBooks there are a few steps that must be taken to use this feature. First, you must enable Price Levels. To do this:

1. Choose “Edit | Preferences” from the QuickBooks menu bar.
2. Click the “Sales & Customers” icon on the left pane and click the “Company Preferences” tab.
3. Select the option labeled “Use Price Levels” and click OK.

To be continued…

Source: CPA 911

October 15, 2012, Tax Deadline

Did you file an extension of time to file your tax return?  If so, the deadline is right around the corner; it’s October 15th.

Also, when you do file your return, don’t forget to check if you qualify for some common credits and deductions.

For example, you could be eligible for a credit, if in 2011, you paid for college tuition, or fees, or made your home energy-efficient.  In addition, there are special tax benefits for low and moderate income families, and small businesses.

Be sure to give your tax preparer the above-mentioned, pertinent information to ensure that you receive the appropriate tax credits.  Also, if you’re getting a refund, you’ll get it faster by choosing direct deposit.

When and How to Register Your Business as a “Small Business”

Own a small business? Perhaps you’ve heard about small business certification, but do you actually need to certify your business as small?

For most small businesses, the answer is no.

But if you want to take advantage of business opportunities such as selling to the government (a.k.a. “government contracting”), then you have to obtain some form of certification. Why? The federal government sets aside a variety of contracts for competition among small businesses, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and disadvantaged small businesses. To qualify for these “set-asides,” certification is a must.

So how do you go about certifying your small business to qualify to compete for the nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services that Uncle Sam buys from small businesses each year? Read on.

QuickBooks QuickTip: How to Enable a Numbered Chart of Accounts

Using Account Numbers in QuickBooks

QuickBooks does not assign numbers to accounts as a default in your chart of accounts, and you should switch your QuickBooks configuration options to correct that oversight.

A chart of accounts with numbers is easier to design, and easier to work with, and your accountant will love you. Numbered accounts also have account names, of course, but the accounts are arranged by number, not by name.

You will appreciate how important account numbers are when you create and customize reports. To enable QuickBooks to use account numbers,

1. Choose Edit | Preferences from the QuickBooks menu bar.
2. Click the Accounting icon on the left pane to open the Accounting preferences, and click the Company Preferences tab.
3. In the Accounts section, select the Use Account Numbers check box, and click OK to save this setting.

Source: CPA911.com