Accounting Ltd.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 |
| Need Accounting Software? |
Free Accounting Software For New Small Businesses
By Amanda M Gladden
Once your new business starts generating sales, the need to utilize some type of accounting system becomes very apparent. Many new business owners use pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets to accomplish this task. To make things a lot faster and more efficient, Microsoft has created Office Accounting Express 2007, an easy to use accounting software package. Did I mention that it is FREE?
Software features include:
Online sales integration gives you the ability to sell inventory, track activity, and download orders in online marketplaces such as eBay directly from Office Accounting Express 2007.
Equifax credit service enables you to monitor credit for your business, customers, or prospects.
PayPal integration enables you to get paid faster by offering the PayPal payment option to customers.
Microsoft Office Live integration enables businesses to more securely exchange financial information with accounting Professionals and other contacts.
Accountant Transfer Wizard helps you share data with an accounting Express and synchronizes data easily after the accountant is done updating the books.
Accountant View page provides a central location from which accountants can manage Office Accounting Express 2007 data for multiple clients independently.
Data import enables users to import accounting and financial data from additional programs and versions, including Microsoft Money, Excel, and QuickBooks.
Account and Customer Integration Wizard enables synchronized data sharing so that you can make updates to a customer’s record in one program and quickly see the results in the other program.
Journal entry is now expanded so you can be more productive by creating numerous journal entries posting on different dates and with different accounts.
Forms customization has been improved so you can tailor any form by adding, moving, creating, or renaming fields, and hiding unnecessary data element fields.
Customizable security roles have been improved and now you can add and remove employee permissions to control access to sensitive financial information.
The software is currently available in the U.S.A. and U.K. only and requires Windows 2003/XP. Unfortunately, there is no version currently available for Mac users.
Download your free copy at: www.ideawins.com/downloads
Amanda Gladden is small business owner and jewelry designer. She maintains the blog admonishing women to start a business: Woman Start Your Business Now.
Visit her blog at http://womanstartyourbusinessnow.blogspot.com for start up tips, business advice and news about grants, microloans and other funding sources.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amanda_M_Gladden
http://EzineArticles.com/?Free-Accounting-Software-For-New-Small-Businesses&id=538496 Labels: Accounting, bookkeeping, FREE |
| posted by damomo4 @ 6:27 AM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Thursday, March 01, 2007 |
| Mileage Tracker - Deduct those Business Miles |
Quick Bookkeeping Tip: The Mileage Deduction
By Kathy Swann
If you run your own company and use your personal vehicle for business trips and errands, remember to track these miles in order to take this deduction when you prepare your tax returns. Business mileage is one tax deduction you can’t afford to miss!
You can take the per-mile deduction or keep records of all expenses regarding your vehicle and compute the percentage that was business use. Either way, you will need to keep track of the miles used in your business.
For 2007, the per-mile deduction allowed by the Internal Revenue Service is 48 ½ cents per mile. Travel 100 miles that you neglect to record and this is almost $50 in a deduction that would have reduced your taxable income. Even little trips add up, so be sure to record every mile you travel.
Don’t forget the weekly errands you do for your business- that trip to the bank, the office supply store, a vendor’s warehouse to pick up inventory as well as the trip to a client’s site for your consulting business- are all valid business trips you should be recording. All miles to and from your place of business, even if that place is your house, are deductible.
While it may seem like a lot of work to maintain a record of your mileage, consider that it only takes a few seconds each trip to do so. Purchase a mileage log book at any office supply store, or you can use a small, spiral-bound notebook that you keep in your console or glove box. I’ve even papered my dashboard with sticky notes until I decided it was easier to use a log book.
I’ve used a log book or tracked my miles on a spreadsheet, but now I simply enter it in the accounting software I use for my business. At year-end, I print out the report and keep it with the other information I need to prepare my tax returns.
I always record the date, beginning and ending odometer readings, and the purpose of the trip. To save time, I use abbreviations such as PO (for post office) or BK (for bank). Business dinners, networking events and even sales calls to prospective clients are all business-related trips that you should be tracking.
If you prefer to calculate your expenses using the percentage method, you will need to keep all receipts for gas, maintenance, vehicle registration, etc. You will still need to know the number of miles traveled during the year and how much of this was business versus personal miles. Multiply that percentage by the total of your actual expenses and you have the dollar amount you can deduct- almost any tax preparation software you may use will compute this for you, but you will need to enter this information.
Personally, I use the per-mile method so I don’t have to keep all of these receipts, and I’ve found that I still have quite a deduction each year by using this method. It may sound like a lot of work, but you will be amazed at the dollar amount that accumulates during the year, and this can help reduce your tax bill on April 15th.
Copyright © 2007 Kathy Swann
Kathy Swann has over 25 years experience in office administration, payroll and Human Resources. She is the Controller of a consulting company in Baltimore, MD and also freelances as a consultant for several small businesses. Her e-book "How to Win When You're an Entrepreneur” is available at http://www.suncatcherpress.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Swann
http://EzineArticles.com/?Quick-Bookkeeping-Tip:-The-Mileage-Deduction&id=466001Labels: deductions, expenses, mileage, tax, tracker |
| posted by damomo4 @ 8:06 AM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Friday, October 13, 2006 |
| Day Care Accounting - Make it Simple |
Pro-Care Day Care Accounting Software
By Christine Groth
Pro-Care Daycare Accounting Software is a very useful software program primarily used in daycare centers. It has numerous functions that enable the owner or director of a daycare to be more efficient and organized when running their business.
I have personally used the Pro-Care day care accounting software package and have loved it. It’s so easy to use especially for those of us who don’t exactly have the greatest computer skills. I found it really beneficial when dealing with large amounts of children and families, it make my life so much easier.
With that in mind, I will discuss some of the functions regarding Pro-Care Day Care Accounting Software. It has some really neat functions that can really organize your life.
Family Data- This is an area where all your information is organized regarding children and families. It contains personal information, and immunizations. It’s really a personal phonebook for your day care center.
Family Accounting- This is where you organize and keep track of all your tuition charges and payments, co pays. You are able to record bills for parents and generate receipts.
Attendance Tracker- Now this is my favorite part. With some many children coming in and out of your childcare it was often hard to keep accurate attendance records. Someone was always forgetting to write down what time a child arrived. The attendance tracker comes with a Pro-Care Time Clock. This time clock is placed in an area where parents can log in their child’s name. This information is then transmitted to your computer and records the child’s entry and departure. Very neat function, it made my life a whole lot easier.
Employee Data and Payroll- The above mentioned Pro-Care time clock also works great for employees. The same idea relates to employees. When they arrive for work they punch in their code and they are automatically ready to start. Wondering about how to calculate paychecks? Well, Pro-Care Day Care Accounting Software has made that really easy too. Pro-Care has a quick calculate software feature that easily figures out taxes taken out of payroll. Again, Pro-Care is trying to make everything very easy on the business owner.
Those are a couple of key features with Pro-Care Day Care Accounting Software. I think it’s a great product and certainly has achieved its idea of making the day care providers life much easier.
Blessings,
Christine Groth
Christine@instantdaycareprofit.com
Feel free to pass this information provided all links remain intact.
(C) CG Groth Inc.
-----------------------------------------------
$90,000 per year running your own daycare? Find out what you don’t know about starting your
own daycare at http://www.instantdaycareprofits.com
Christine Groth author, mentor, of 6-weeks-Instant Daycare Profits Home Study Course.
Get a free 6-part newsletter on how to start a daycare. Go to http://www.instantdaycareprofits.com
------------------------------------------------
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Groth |
| posted by damomo4 @ 8:33 AM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Monday, September 04, 2006 |
| Tax Preparation: It's time to start Planning |
Are you ready to start planning for Tax Season?
Ready or not, here it comes.
The old game just keeps getting more and more serious. As we end the third quarter tax period, we begin to realize the whole spectrum of Tax Preparedness. If you haven't got your Tax Issues planned for the end of the year, you might want to get started planning.
The Tax Experts Here at Accounting Ltd. are ready for the end of the season with great suggestions for your spending pleasure.
Contact our offices for a reasonable consultation to determine your End of Season Tax Plan.
For more information - email the Tax Planner |
| posted by damomo4 @ 4:26 PM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Saturday, April 15, 2006 |
| Accounting Changes on the Horizon |
The Next Revolution in the Accounting Industry
By Amir Morani
Every industry goes through its natural phases of transformation. As time goes, new technology becomes available, and new processes are developed. Internal and external factors contribute to the transformation process of all industries. Accounting industry is not an exception.
Only a few years ago very few accountants used software to prepare tax returns for their clients. Some even considered it a pride that they were smart enough to prepare tax returns without using software. Within a few short years, almost every accountant in the country uses some kind of tax preparation software to prepare tax returns. Now it is not a question of whether an accountant uses software to prepare tax returns, but of which software the accountant is using. Times have changed significantly in the accounting industry. Observant accountants may notice how fast things changed in their industry.
Unlike only a few years ago, it is almost unimaginable how any accounting practice could function and survive without computers and accounting software. There is probably not a single accounting practice in the country that operates without computers and software for tax and accounting. Only a few years ago, a large number of accountants did not consider computers or software as something that would be able to enter their industry. They thought nothing would replace their ability to prepare a tax return. They thought nothing could replace their ability to balance a trial balance and prepare financial statements out of it. Their denial has turned into widespread acceptance within a short time.
Accountants are now in a new phase of denial. This time they deny that it is ever possible for an accounting practice to operate without papers. They deny that it is ever going to be possible for accountants to operate without papers, period. There has been a lot of talk about paperless offices coming for years. Numerous articles have described how the world will change with paperless business operations. However, the predictions have not come true at the speed people were expecting. The topic lost its attraction over time. Thus, the denial of accountants that there could ever be a paperless office for them is justified.
The fact is that the paperless office is sneaking up on us. The technology that is required to convert business operations into paperless operations has become remarkably affordable. Small CPA practices can now go paperless with an investment of as little as $2,000, on their own. Times have changed significantly in this area but unfortunately, accountants are not noticing this trend.
The technology is available, affordable and quick. Yet there are thousands of accountants in the country, who are not even aware of this change coming in their industry. Just like it is unimaginable that an accounting practice could operate without computers and software today, within a few short years, it will be unimaginable that an accounting practice operates WITH PAPER.
The nature of this change is such that it could be devastating for many accounting practices. When accounting and tax software came about the process of adopting the change was not that difficult. You could go forward with a new way to operate very easily. You would purchase the software, train yourself and start using it, going forward.
Going paperless, however, is a culture change of a great magnitude. It brings about major changes in the way the offices work. It requires a major change in work flow processes. The conversion process also requires good planning and implementation. Conversion is not difficult but it does require special planning and attention. There is a significant revolution brewing in the accounting industry, unnoticed by many, which could damage and kill many small accounting practices, while make fortunes for others. It is the paperless revolution that could bury a few accountants under their own papers.
Amir Morani CPA CMA CFM MBA is the author of 10 Steps to A Paperless CPA Office – The Simplest Guide to Make Your Practice Paperless. Visit the blog at http://paperlessofficeforcpa.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amir_Morani |
| posted by damomo4 @ 10:59 AM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Thursday, April 06, 2006 |
| Building a Better Mouse Trap |
It's everyones greatest desire to have a better "whatever" than the next guy. I'm probably no different. My choice is usually made based on how it will effect me, pretty much the same as my neighbor.
When I build a website, or a blog, my goal is to bring traffic to the site - I obviously want to sell something. It may be artwork, it might be words, or it might be business. Whatever it is, I don't have long to do it.
My web informant says you only stay on my page 8 seconds. So, if you're still here - Thanks for riding well. |
| posted by damomo4 @ 5:37 AM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 |
| Business Bloopers: Avoid Them |
Top 7 Tips to Avoid the Top 7 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
By Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Small business owners numbered over 5.5 million in 2001 and generated over one billion in annual payroll. Sam Walton was quoted as saying "There's a lot more business out there in small town America than I ever dreamed of." and looks like Sam was right.
During the last five years as THE small business coach in the Chicago area, I have discovered 7 mistakes that small business owners consistently make. These small business help tips should guide you as the small business owner, entrepreneur or executive around these pitfalls as you work to dramatically improve your business results.
Work on your business not in your business
Mistake: Most new business owners and many experienced business owners are so busy working in their business, they fail to work on their business and demonstrate the leadership that the business demands. In the book, It’s Not the Big that Eat the Small, But It’s the Fast that Eat the Slow, the authors revealed that executives spent less than 15 minutes each day thinking about the future of their business because they were so busy dealing with yesterday and today’s events.
Assess your business both externally and internally
Mistake: Don’t presume that you know what is going on in your business. Take the time honestly and objectively to assess your business both externally and internally. Using an organizational assessment or survey based upon proven criteria such as Baldrige may help you to focus on the directionally correct actions.
Develop a strategic plan
Mistake: If you don’t have a plan, you are on someone else’s plan. A strategic plan indicates who does what by when. Remember, hope is not a strategy.
Work your plan
Mistake: Pay for a plan and leave it on a shelf or in a desk drawer. A plan’s purpose is action. Without action, the plan is useless and the dollars invested in creating the plan are wasted.
Invest in your people
Mistake: Spending dollars on things such as technology and not people. People make the business. They create the loyal customers or disloyal ones. Employees don’t come to work thinking how they can mess up the company. Invest in people development and watch your investment quickly multiply.
Pay yourself first
Mistake: Wearing all the hats and not paying yourself what you are worth. Entrepreneurs wear many hats when they establish their business. As time progresses, they continue to wear these hats because money is tight and they believe that they can do things better. The end of the year approaches and the company made a profit. By paying yourself first, you will focus on what you do really well and delegate those other activities to others at a far lower rate.
Keep balance between your personal and professional lives
Mistake: You are too busy to take the time with your family or friends. By attending to your work life balance as well as your personal and professional development, you will see incredible results happen within your business.
These 7 tips will help you catapult your small business in warp time. Of course, if you like where you are now, then ignore these tips. However, can you be sure your competition will also ignore these tips? And what would happen, if they just implemented one tip less alone all 7?
P.S. In future articles,as the small business coach, I will provide some additional coaching advice by expanding each tip so that you and your business can reach incredible heights.
Leanne helps individuals, small businesses and large organizations to double performance in real time. Click here to learn the Secret of Success and sign up for a free monthly newsletter. If you truly don't believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results.
One quick question, if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leanne_Hoagland-Smith |
| posted by damomo4 @ 5:10 PM |
|
|
|
Accounting Ltd.
|
| Investment: Pay Yourself First |
New for 2006, the Roth 401k
By Alan D Campbell
One of the new tax strategies available in 2006 is the Roth 401k. A taxpayer may place up to $15,000 ($20,000 if age 50 or older) in a Roth 401k instead of a regular 401k plan in 2006. The 401k plan needs to have the provision that allows contributions to go into a Roth 401k. Just because the tax law allows a Roth 401k plan does not mean that all employers will revise their 401k plans to allow Roth 401k contributions.
The Roth IRA has been one way to invest to generate tax-free income for retirement. A taxpayer does not receive a deduction for placing money into a Roth IRA, but the taxpayer may take the money out at retirement free of federal income tax. The new Roth 401k works in much the same way except that a taxpayer may contribute a larger amount to a Roth 401k
The problems with the Roth IRA has been that the law has not allowed many taxpayers to have Roth IRA because their incomes were too high. The new Roth 401k does not have this problem. A taxpayer may contribute to a Roth 401k no matter how high an income the taxpayer has.
Traditional IRAs, 401k plans, and other pension plans provide for tax-deferred income. The contributions made by the taxpayer are either deductible or excluded from gross income at the time of contribution. However, when the taxpayer withdraws the money, it is fully taxable. A taxpayer receives no deduction for amounts that go into a Roth IRA or a Roth 401k plan, but the taxpayer may withdraw the money at retirement completely free of federal income tax.
The Roth 401k plan is especially good for younger taxpayers. They have a longer time to invest their money wisely and generate a large amount of tax-free earnings on their contributions. Taxpayers should carefully consider the Roth 401k plan in 2006 with the assistance of a competent tax advisor.
Alan D. Campbell is a CPA in Arkansas and Florida and is self-employed primarily as an author of tax publications. He earned a Ph.D. in accounting with an emphasis in taxation from the University of North Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court. He has published numerous articles on tax topics in professional journals. He is the co-author of the book Tax Strategies for the Self-Employed and the revision editor of CCH Financial and Estate Planning Guide, 15th edition. For more tax savings strategies, please see his blog: http://taxsavingsstrategies.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_D_Campbell |
| posted by damomo4 @ 5:04 PM |
|
|
|
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
|
| Links |
|
|
| Ad Links |
|
|
| Template By |
|
|
