The Upcoming Tax Planning Season and SALY

The tax planning season is just around the corner. Most small businesses are more focused on the end of summer and gearing up for the fall season. What they should focus on is getting their ducks in a row for the year end and beyond. Here's a reason why small business owners should avoid the SALY (Same As Last Year) and start planning now.

listen to ‘Why Accountants Hate "SALY"’ on Audioboo

More Bean Spilling - Importing Bank Data

So I have had a little time to play around with BeansBooks, a new cloud accounting product by System 76, that makes small business accounting a bit more manageable. In this video we look at the banking import function and how it can save time during account reconcilations.

Spilling the Beans on BeansBooks

In an already crowded cloud small business accounting market, enter another competitor. BeansBooks developed by System 76 is a new cloud accounting service that is designed for small to medium sized businesses looking to take their accounting to the clouds.

Competitively priced BeansBooks attempts to keep accounting simple and offers a clean user interface and is open source that will allow programmers to customize the product to their liking. The ultimate goal of the product is less data entry, easier reconciliations, and current information at the fingertips of the small business owner.

Let's spill the beans on BeansBooks in this short video.

Are Tablets a Game-Changer for Small Biz?

Small business owners are always looking for the ultimate game changer that will increase their productivity and competitiveness. Their search typically brings them back to technology, due to the fact that tech can improve both a small businesses' people and processes. Take your local bakery (one of my catering/bakery clients sent me these great stollen bites) business for example.

With the use of technology, employees can know in real time how much of certain ingredients they need and have on hand to provide customers with their favorite products. Technology can also help the business coordinate their catering/delivery schedules to ensure that baked goods are enjoyed at the height of freshness. Kinda like these great bake goods I'm eating.

My these are good!

So what are the tech trends that will be the game changers for tomorrow? The increase use of mobile solutions like smart-phones, tablets, and their corresponding apps will be the tech tools that will keep many firms competitive and productive. Based off feedback from surveys and client research, there also seems to be an increase in the interest of tablets and how a small business owner can use them efficiently.

Some of the key areas of concern for small business owners should be to implement a strategy for securing all these mobile devices considering the move to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in many firms and the threat of unwanted access to company information if devices get in the wrong hands.

Will tablets be the game-changer for small biz?

It will be exciting to see which tablets small business owners will be using (or adding via BYOD). With the introduction of the new iPad mini next week, along with the Microsoft Surface tablet, a small business owner's holiday wish list is sure to grow!

Are you using (or will be using) tablets in your small business?

Is your mobile device becoming the "New" desktop?

As many know I am a proponent of using cloud technologies/SaaS products and mobile applications to improve small business performance. Recently I was up loading or actually I was updating some of my mobile apps on my mobile devices (and the time it took me to do this) and this got me wondering if with the increased usage of smart phones/tablets and the corresponding usage of apps; Are we just simply turning our smart phones and tablets into desktop extensions?

                                                         

Desktop filled with software apps

One of the main reasons a small business owner would want to consider the cloud/mobile technologies is to keep the amount of software loaded on desktops to a minimum and forget about the days of updating software, dealing with file corruption issues just to name a few things that take away your time.

But,

With all this transferring of information via smart phones and tablets these days, most of it driven by app usage, now your smart phone or tablet is loaded with software that has to be constantly updated, and  you are back into a time drain.

Smart phone also filled with mobile apps

I personally did a comparison of my desktop applications versus my mobile applications and I have more mobile applications on my smart phone/tablets than my desktop. Take a look and see if you are in the same boat. Then ask yourself if those apps are saving or draining your time.

For me, it gave me a chance to do some "summer cleaning" of some mobile apps allowing my mobile devices to run more efficiently and take less time updating. 

Take a look for yourself and let me know how it turns out.

Your Business in Your Pocket - The Mobile Revolution

Everywhere a small business owner turns these days, there is always some talk about the cloud, mobile apps, and how it can improve their operations. From email systems to document management to accounting, the cloud seems to be the great equalizer allowing small firms and entrepreneurs compete with their large counterparts. But, is all this talk just a fad or trend and can it really make a difference to small business owner?

Well the cloud has been around for quite some time (even though much of what small biz owners read says otherwise) and really if you have not embraced the cloud in your small business, you could be operating at a considerable disadvantage. Most cloud offerings allow the small business owner anytime access to critical information they need to run their businesses. The cloud also is more stable and secure than trying to deploy software or save/backup information internally (I know many will disagree, but it is harder to break into a data center than your internal servers). Bottom line is if you want to stay competitive and be abreast with your peers, a venture into the cloud must be in your future.

But what is you want to stay ahead and not abreast of your peers?

If you want to be on the cutting edge then let me put the bug in your ear now about the next big trend…you ready!

It’s mobile, yes mobile.

With the introduction of smart phones, the mobile revolution is upon us and the time to get in is now (please join me it’s kinda lonely). Imagine a world where you can take a snapshot of a document with your smart phone and immediately upload it into your database, or accounting software and your team has immediate access to the information. Would that save time and money for your small business?

In the coming days we will post a few videos on the new mobile revolution and how you can embrace it now. When a small business couples mobile technology with the cloud, efficiency gains above and beyond their current processes can be realized, and you can save a little time and money.

CNBC Town Hall

I had the pleasure of sitting in on the taping of the CNBC Town Hall on small business yesterday and needless to say, it was a great experience. There were entrepreneurs from all kinds of backgrounds and we all shared knowledge with each other.

We had a great panel of speakers (as you can see from the photos) and covered a lot of topics affecting the small business sector. I guess the major takeaways I got from the town hall were to mentor or be a mentor, differentiate, network, learn from trials & blessings, and pursue freedom.



To watch the CNBC Town Hall be sure to tune in to CNBC on Wednesday June 20th 9PM EST.

The Tech Accountant

Has your SSN been exposed???

Non-profits and other foundations must provide the public with access to their tax returns. If you are a taxpayer, tax professional or a scholarship recipient there may be a chance that your social security number may be included in those returns. Being that the return is open record, there chances that you may be a victim of identity fraud are increased. Find out more:

listen to ‘Your SSN has been exposed’ on Audioboo

The Tech Accountant

9 Ways to Avoid Being a Victim of a Tax Scam

Tax scams have been on the IRS's radar for quite some time now. First we heard that refunds would be delayed due to the fraud mechanisms put in place by the IRS. Now the IRS has identified a new scam going around promising big refunds to low-income, senior and local churches' taxpayers.

The scam promises a big refund (and of course a big fee for the scam artist)a or nonexistent stimulus payment based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit, even if the victim was not enrolled in or paying for college.

What can you do to ensure that you are not a victim? Here are nine steps to ensure you don get caught in one of the scams.



The Tech Accountant

Mobile App Woes and Social Media

I love to use social media and mobile apps as much as the next guy, but recently I have been having some issues with many of the app updates on some of my mobile devices. One recent update that has me rather concerned is the Google+ (or Google Plus is you say it that way) for iOS devices. Google's apps typically work very well on iOS devices, but for me (and many people leaving review on iTunes) the new Google+ is causing a headache.

Check out my Google+ woes here: The Tech Accountant

Couples Who Filed Joint Returns Must Now File Separate Powers of Attorney

Couples Who Filed Joint Returns Must Now File Separate Powers of Attorney

Cut Your Taxes and Predict the Future

Happy New Year!

As we welcome in 2012 and wave good-bye to 2011 (so goes many of the tax provisions that a lot of taxpayers have enjoyed for quite some time). Let’s take a moment to recap the end of the year.

Congress was able to extend the payroll tax cut but, a little over 50 tax provisions expired when the clock struck 12. For a list of the more important provisions that expired and to take a look into the future:

A Look into the Future

With the start of 2012, there are a few new tax provisions taxpayers will want to pay close attention to. The major new provisions include inflation adjustments, capital gains and loss reporting, credits for hiring veterans, and bonus depreciation.

So what’s in store for 2012? Since this is an election year, there is sure to be a great deal of talk about tax reform and deficit control as many taxpayers already have been hearing. The end of the Bush tax rates (2013) is also sure to be a hot topic for 2012 campaigns.

The bottom line is to have a plan and that way a taxpayer can ensure they don’t make any mistakes most taxpayers make every year.

Give to the Right Charity

We are in the season of giving and many taxpayers would like to provide assistance to those less fortunate than they are. While charitable giving is always good, there are however some things taxpayers should know before giving their money, time, and other items to a charity. Here's a short video with the details. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Travel Receipts Got You Sour as a Lemon??? Make Lemonade

I hope everyone had a great holiday this past week. If you were one of the many people traveling this past week, I am sure you have quite a few receipts from your trip that you may want to organize to see how much you spent over the holiday.

Or maybe you are a constant business traveler that is tired of trying to keep up with all of your receipts when you travel for business.

If this describes you, I am sure that the time it takes to organize and tally up what you spent, and where has you as sour as a lemon.

Here's a quick video on a new web-based product with a corresponding smart phone app that can make lemonade out of those receipts. Let me know what you think.



The Tech Accountant

Update: Lifelock has acquired Lemon to expand in the the mobile arena. A new app to play with on Andriod and iOS.

Facebook Employees Go Nuts As Zuckerberg Tells Them The IPO Is Coming - Nicholas Carlson

Is there a Facebook IPO in the future....stay tuned.

Facebook Employees Go Nuts As Zuckerberg Tells Them The IPO Is Coming - Nicholas Carlson

The Tech Accountant

A Bonus for Small Biz

Thanks to the IRS, small businesses can deduct the cost of bonuses they pay to employees even if they don't know which employees will receive a year-end bonus. Listen here for details:



The Tech Accountant

Kids Say the Wildest Things

Here's a cool video that explains what it is like to be a tax accountant....well maybe in the "old" world of accounting. Personally I could only relate my past experiences to what the kids describe in the video. The "new" world of accounting is so much more exciting.

So check out the video, send it to your accountant and see if they can relate.



The Tech Accountant

Warren Buffet and Jay-Z preach financial literacy

Here's a coolcartoon video of rapper Jay-Z and Warren Buffet teaching kids good money management. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Summer is Over - Time for Reports Cards and Football

The summer is almost over, and school is back in session. If you have kids, you’ve probably already met the teachers. You may have even enjoyed college football and NFL starting recently.

It’s probably been a long time since you’ve sat in a classroom yourself. But school is never out if you’re looking to make the most of your money in today’s challenging economy.

Here are some classes I'm considering teaching this fall to keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. Let me know what you think:

• Math 1040: Where are tax rates headed?

• History 2010: Lessons from last year’s mistakes?

• Social Studies 463: Write off meals and entertainment

• Chemistry 162: Is there a “secret formula” for paying less?

• Anatomy 213: What’s the best strategy for healthcare benefits?

If you want to keep the most of what you make, you can’t wait ‘til finals or game day for answers. You need to study now and have a playbook ready just like the football players and coaches. Putting tax-wise ideas and strategies in place today could help avoid an ugly surprise when “Report Cards” and the "Tax Playoffs" come due April 15!

The Tech Accountant

Know the Rules For Employees and IC's

There is a difference when terminating and employee versus and independent contractor (IC). Better know the rules.

The Tech Accountant

Travelers RMplusonline