Intuit Discontinues Quicken Products

For those out there that use Intuit’s personal financial products, here is some news that has been recently announced by Intuit:

Over the past few years, we've added new features and streamlined the Quicken product lineup to make it easier to choose the right product for your customers. Intuit is no longer offering new versions of Quicken Basic as of August 2007.
What this means is that if you are interested in upgrading to the newest Quicken 2008 products you will more than likely have to purchase Quicken Deluxe 2008. New tools that are included in Quicken Deluxe 2008 are:

• Easily migrate your existing Quicken Basic data, including bank, credit card and all online account information, transaction history, reports, and customized preference options
• Track everyday spending with the new "My Savings Plan" so you can save for the bigger things you and your family really want
• Plan for college savings with 529 support
• Track and categorize expenses to help make tax time easier
• Scan and store important documents and statements in one place

The Quicken 2008 line of products is planned to be available in August. Planned shipping will begin the week of August 27th.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Technology Can Save You Money

Many small business owners and individuals feel that investing in technology is very expensive. Some also feel that using technology in their everyday lives is complicated in addition to the high costs. When you really get down to it however, technology can really save you money. Take the example of online tax payments and filing.

I recently had to update my tag and pay the taxes for my automobile. The Georgia Department of Revenue now handles all the tag and tax filings for the state. There are two ways a person can pay for their tag/taxes, either go to the county tag office and wait in line (usually takes about 45 minutes to and hour) or simply pay for the tag/taxes online. This year I chose the online alternative. Usually when a person makes a payment online, there is a “convenience” fee that it paid to the third party that handles the transaction and it typically no more than $5. I personally felt that this fee was not to steep and once you factor in the total costs (travel time, waiting in line time, and gas), the $5 fee comes out to be considerably less than paying in person. With gas prices where they are presently, $5 would not have even paid for gas to get to the county tag office.

So the next time you need to make any kind of payments, consider making them online. It can save you time, money, and even a bit of your sanity.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

The 8 areas of Business Synergy

The word “Synergy” can loosely be defined as two or more agents working together to create a greater effect than working by themselves. When operating a small business it is important that ALL aspects of your business are on the same page working together. When this is accomplished, a small business owner can separate themselves from the rest of the pack. There are 8 major areas that a small business can focus on to ensure that their business is above the rest:

1. Management
2. Operations
3. Business Finance
4. Human Resources
5. Personal Taxes
6. Business Taxes
7. Marketing
8. Sales

By focusing on these eight areas and ensure that they are all working together toward the common strategy of the business, a small business owner can realize increase profits, better productivity, and stable work environment for their employees. It may take a little effort, but with the help of advisors, your firm can be on top.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Death of the SBA?!?!

Here is an interesting article that came to view today; many small business friendly banks feel that the SBA is NOT doing their job. The major concerns with the SBA are the doubling of loan-application fees, the toughening of loan requirements, and the halving of the SBA's budget.

The SBA supports their position with year 2006, when it backed record 100,000-plus loans under two primary small-business programs, worth $19.1 billion, also a record high. Outsiders point out that SBA bank-issued loans are responsible for about 8 percent to 10 percent of all external small-business loans.

When we recently hosted one of our Small Business Series seminars, we spoke with small business owners to get their thoughts on the SBA and if they are a viable solution for funding. Many attendees felt that they would use alternatives to the SBA due to the many hurdles one has to cross to get a SBA loan.

Now that small business friendly banks feel just as disgruntled as the small business owner, where is the SBA going to fit into the strategy of the business owner?

One critic even feels that the SBA is a relic of a different market from 30 years ago and wonders whether the SBA will even exist in 20 years.

Click here for more information on the SBA’s fall.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Tax Updates for YOUR Small Business

As the year moves closer to the end, now is a good time to start taking a look at your tax situation (if you haven’t started already). There have been quite a few advantages of the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (2007 Small Business Act) that all small business owners may want to take a look at. Here is one that will help closely owned family businesses simplify their taxes.

Prior to the 2007 Small Business Act, if an unincorporated business that was jointly owned by a married couple filed as a sole proprietorship (as opposed to a partnership), only the filing spouse would receive credit for paying Social Security and Medicare taxes. Furthermore, unless the married couple was located in a community property state, both the married couple and the business would have been subject to penalties for failing to file as a partnership. As a result, some married couples who were in business together filed a partnership return.

Under the new law, an unincorporated business that is jointly owned by a married couple in a common-law state may file as a sole proprietorship without penalty provided the business elects not to be treated as a partnership. The new law also ensures that both spouses receive credit for paying Social Security and Medicare taxes. The provision is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2006.

Be sure to speak to your tax advisor regarding this and the many other changes affecting your small business.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Hey Slacker What’s The DEAL?!?!

Here we all are as small business owners taking it to the max everyday, and now there is a book by Timothy Ferriss called “The 4-Hour Work Week” that claims that a small business owner can increase their profits and have more “me” time by working less. The book has also been on the nonfiction best-seller list since its May publication.

The book boasts a method to his madness by using the acronym DEAL which stands for, Definition, Elimination, Automation and Liberation. This may be one to put on your late summer reading list if you are a small business owner looking for a change of pace.

For the real “DEAL” and more details of the plan check out this link:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010378

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Ways and Means Votes to End IRS Private Debt Collection

Here is some mixed news regarding debt collection and the IRS from the National Society of Accountants:

The House Ways and Means Committee voted July 18 to repeal the private debt collection program used by the IRS to collect federal income taxes. The vote was 23-18, with all 17 Republicans on the committee (and one Democrat) voting against the bill, H.R. 3056, The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007. The Administration had supported the private debt collection program as a means of reducing the $345 billion tax gap. Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Jim Ramstad (R-MN) took the position that without the program, the IRS would assign workers elsewhere and the tax debt would go uncollected. Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) countered that the collection of taxes “is a core government function. It is the Internal Revenue Service’s mission.” Lewis said the program wastes tax dollars by paying a bounty up to 24 percent to the private contractors hired to collect tax debt from delinquent individuals. “The private debt collection program is an insult to the American taxpayer and our federal tax system,” Lewis said. A copy of the bill is available at the following link:

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/110/07%2018%2007/3056Description.pdf

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Technology Trends for the Small Business Owner

I had an opportunity to take part in a webinar yesterday for accountants that discuss the trends in electronic transactions and how they can impact the bottom line for a small business owner. Electronic transactions include ACH (Automatic Clearing House), EFT (Electronic Funds Transfers) and electronic checks. If you have not already implemented these functions into your small business, this may be a good time to take a look. According to data gathered from various banks, there has be a downward trend in the amount of checks that are pass at the counter, just one sign that there are additional ways to make and receive payments.

I know many of you are probably thinking “that’s okay, I’ll still make and receive payments the old fashion way and feel more secure”. Well using electronic transactions can provide you with the piece of mind that you need. Specifically, electronic transactions can provide the small business owner with speed, control, security, flexibility, and efficiency that they need to streamline cash flow, speed collections, and improve reporting capabilities.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

2007 Small Business Tax Act and Your S-Corp

Congress has passed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (2007 Small Business Act), which eliminates gains from sales or exchanges of stock or securities as an item of passive investment income. For tax years beginning after May 25, 2007 this legislation also generally defines passive investment income as gross receipts derived from royalties, rents, dividends, interest, and annuities, subject to several exceptions.

What does this mean for your S-Corp?

This change may be in your favor when planning for future investments. The change can possibly lower the portion of your income subject to the corporate-level tax at the highest corporate tax rate applicable for excessive net passive income. Be sure to speak with your tax advisor for more information regarding the tax law changes and how the will affect your small business.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Make Technology a Reality Today!!!

Small business owners, there is no time like the present to integrate technology into your small business processes and strategies. One of our previous posts dealt with the urgency small business owners need to have to keep up the ever changing business environment. A recent study (second installment) from Intuit’s Future of Small Business Report™ states that technology will change considerably the way small businesses are started, operated and grown. The study recognizes three trends that will emerge in the next ten years that will become the norm for small businesses:

1. On My Time, On My Terms – small business management will be this way for owners
2. Global, Local, Virtual – web and technology will fuel innovation
3. From Push to Pull – Marketing approach will shift

After looking at these trends and analyzing my own personal small business experience, I can attest that these trends are already a reality for myself and many other small business owners. With the use of WiFi networks and various other technology (video/web conferencing, online training, etc.) a small business owner can operate a business on their own time and virtually everywhere. This will allow small business owners to tap into markets that are typically outside their reach. If you have not already, take a look your own small business tech strategy and see if any changes can be made to ensure your place in the future.

Get all the details regarding the future at:

http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=103727&d=883


Keeping your Business N Synergy for the future

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Windows Vista and YOU

By now many of you have heard about the new operating system being offered by Microsoft called Windows Vista. If you haven’t already upgraded, be sure to test your existing software titles to ensure that they will work in the new Windows Vista operating environment. But what if you have checked all of your software and systems and still have problems in the Vista environment? There may be a possibility that you are not running a genuine Windows Vista product. The tell tell signs that you are running a non-genuine Vista product are:

1. Constant desktop warnings
2. New features are disabled
3. Non-security updates and downloads are denied
4. Information stored on the PC may be exposed to risks
5. PC will have reduced functionality

If you are experiencing any of these problems, there is a chance that you are not using a genuine Vista product. Microsoft has setup a site(s) to ensure that users have the right software to run their businesses. You can also consult with a Microsoft Partner in your area that can assist you in the process of checking your systems. Getting your systems up to date and “genuine” will ensure that your Business is N Synergy.

www.microsoft.com/genuine

www.howtotell.com

www.thebricogroup.com

E-bay Versus Craigslist

As small business owners, we are always looking for ways to save money. Typically we find those savings by shopping and searching for goods and services on the sites like E-Bay and Craigslist. Now these two giants of the cyber world are going at each other. E-Bay has announced a new service called “Kijiji” an online classified ad service. This was quietly done last week and E-Bay feels they will bring viable competition to their rival Craigslist.

Oddly enough, E-Bay owns a 25% stake in Craigslist. The site will be part of E-Bay’s classified ad strategy for the US and has ad pages for some 220 cities. It will allow users to buy and sell items in a variety of categories. I am eager to see what happens with this battle, but I think Craig may have a jump start in this one.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Sales Taxes are coming to the Internet

Earlier this week I was speaking to a client about sales taxes and how they are very complicated since each state and smaller municipalities make up their own rules when it comes to sales tax collection. Well it appears that the federal government is getting in on the issue. Right now two bills are circulating in Congress that are looking at ways to collect sales taxes on internet purchases. Backed by the state and local governments, Congress is pushing for the ability to impose sales taxes on internet purchases and charge monthly taxes on internet connections. All parties are looking at the billions of dollars that can be gained from the taxes, but at the expense of the consumer.

In May, Senator Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) introduced a bill that would make it mandatory to collect sales taxes on internet purchases; all the while the House is considering allowing a temporary ban on internet access taxes to lapse when it expires in November of this year.

Typically sales taxes pay for state and local resources (schools, police, etc.) and most lobbyists feel that reduced sales tax revenue threatens those resources. A major hurdle to the change however is that it will be very difficult to overhaul the sales tax systems of the 7500 different tax agencies involved in sales tax collection and compliance. Will these changes affect your small business? Enzi’s bill would exempt small businesses with less than 5 million in out-of-state sales from paying the taxes, but as of now that is the only silver lining behind this dark cloud. We will keep a close watch on this situation in Congress.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

More Small Business Tax Woes

A recent study states that taxes top the list of the small business concerns as the second quarter of the year came to an end. The Small Business Research Board study says that taxes replaced healthcare costs as the leading concern. The study was co-sponsored by the International Profit Associates and polled some 770 small businesses. The second concerns for small business owners were the overall economic conditions following by fuel/energy costs.

Healthcare (which was number 1 on the list before) was moved down to fifth. The study also listed taxes as the leading concern in the Southeast and western regions and ranked second in the Midwest regions. Economic conditions were the leading cause of concern for the Northeast and Midwest regions.

It appears that it depends on which region of the country one resides in, but taxes are still a high priority on all the lists. This is for quite a few reasons. The most important are the recent tax changes and efforts by the IRS to close the tax gap at the expense of the small business owner. There have been quite a few updates regarding the small business owner and their tax situation thanks to Congress’ passing of the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007. This Act increased the minimum wage which will possibly adversely affect small business owner’s bottom line, but there are also some incentives for small business owners buried within the Act. Over the years the provision and retroactive changes within the bill should benefit the small business owner. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor to see how you can make taxes become less of a concern for your business.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Summertime Small Business Snags

With the summer season starting this past week, most people are looking for some much needed time off to take vacations and be with their friends and families. This is usually a hectic time for the small business owner that wears all the hats in their firm. Summertime can be a particularly challenging time for certain kinds of small businesses. Employees and contractors have their own plans for the summer and it makes it difficult for small business owners to support their clients when staffing is short or even non-existent. These actions can typically cause a cash flow crunch for small businesses and we all know that effective cash flow is the lifeblood for any small business.

To alleviate this problem, small businesses need to live by what I like to call the “5 P’s” of business. The five P’s are:

“Proper Planning Prohibits Poor Performance”

By planning for the shortage of workers in the summer months, small business owners can continue to serve their existing client base and even possibly gain more business. Some ideas for keeping your small business up and running are:

1. Bring on your kids to do some of the grunt work
2. Cross train your existing workers
3. Use the downtime to your advantage by planning for the future
4. Reward staffers with incentives to keep them motivated
5. Be sure to build a cash “cushion” before the summer months hit

Use these tips to keep your business up and running smoothly through the summer months and maybe you can take a vacation when everyone is back from their summer fun.

Let me also take this time to thank everyone that came to our Small Business Solutions Seminar yesterday at the College Park Library. It was a pleasure meeting everyone who attended and learning more about your businesses. Next seminar is scheduled for July 10th 2007. See our website for more details

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Protecting Your Small Business

According to research conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) suffer more fraud losses than their large counterparts with the median loss per incident at $190,000. Most large businesses however, have an internal audit department to combat fraud whereas this department is non-existent in small businesses. What is a small business to do to combat fraud? The ACFE has provided 5 steps to prevent fraud:

1. Establish internal controls
2. Setup formal employment guidelines
3. Fraud prevention training
4. Conduct random and routine checks
5. Hire a CFE Certified Fraud Examiner

Fraud is definitely more prevalent in small businesses due to their small size and budgets that do not allow them to attack the problem like larger businesses. It is important for small businesses owners to take some precautions to ensure that employees, contractors or anyone else that has access to the businesses information and/or assets has been properly screened and controls are in place so that fraud can be detected. By incorporating these small steps into your existing operation, the potential for a fraud loss can be minimized.

For more information on fraud and how to prevent it, feel free to check out the ACFE’s site and the following links:

http://www.acfe.com/documents/Fraud_Prev_Checkup_IA.pdf

http://www.acfe.com/documents/2006-rttn.pdf

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

QuickBooks is NOW OPEN/SMB’s relieve their gas

Here are the weekly updates affecting small and medium sized businesses (SMB’S).

QuickBooks takes a shot at rival Microsoft in an effort to gain market share. Recently Intuit, (makers of QuickBooks) announced that they will allow users of their QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions software access to servers running Linux open-source. In the past users of Linux had to have a separate Windows based server to house the QBE database. By allowing the QBE dbase to run on Linux, IT professionals can cut costs in their SMB’s. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft counters this punch from Intuit.

In Congressional news, Senator John Kerry and Maria Cantwell are looking for solutions for small business owners suffering from the increase in gas prices. They will introduce legislation to establish a fuel emergency program for small firms struggling to cope with rising gas costs. Kerry and Cantwell's bill, the Small Business Emergency Fuel Assistance Act, will be offered as an amendment to H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act. Their proposal would create a grant program within the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Agency that authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to issue grants to states to provide assistance for fuel-dependent small businesses in the wake of a Presidential fuel emergency declaration. Small firms and farms demonstrating need and a plan toward becoming more energy efficient would be eligible for these grants.

This will definitely be a step in the right direction for SMB’s to relieve their costs and hopefully not pass the fuel increases on to their customers. Hopefully this bill will pass.

For more information regarding these developments visit:

www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=24503

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Keeping your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Your Entrepreneur Skills

I would like to start this post off and thank everyone for attending our first seminar in the Small Business Series yesterday at the College Park Library. It was a pleasure meeting everyone and hopefully you got some information and help tools to assist you in starting your own small business. To recap from yesterday, anyone can be an entrepreneur, people are not born with the skills; they are learned. The typical skills that an individual needs to become a successful entrepreneur are:

Persistence
Independent
Reliable
Innovative
Creativity

Starting a business venture can be a tough undertaking, but once an individual takes the necessary steps to get the skills they need to be an effective entrepreneur the rewards can be endless. Be sure to do research to understand the business you want to start. You should also understand your funding requirements and what type of technology you will need to effectively run your operation.

All this and more will be addressed at our next seminar Saturday June 23, 2007. We will begin the process of putting your ideas into action and start preparing business plans. Be sure to come out and get your business off on the right foot.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Updates from The IRS/Congress

There have been some new developments recently from our friends at the IRS and the congressional government. One has to do with a previous post regarding compliance and the tax gap, and another has to deal with new legislation that may benefit the small business owner. If you are a small business owner, both new developments will be of importance to you.

Audits Will Be Up for 2006 Returns

The IRS will launch “The National Research Program” project that will focus on individual tax returns for 2006. About 13,000 individual tax returns will be audited starting in October. The audits will focus on areas of the income tax return that can not be verified by third-party information reporting. For details see the IRS article or contact your tax advisor.

Bush Signs Bill….Small businesses get 4.8 billion

The President signed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 thus triggering retroactive and immediate changes affecting small businesses. Since the minimum wage has been increased (and is adversely affecting some small businesses), the Act provides tax incentives to help businesses absorb the cost of the higher federal minimum wage. Highlights of the Act include:

an extended and enhanced small business Code Sec. 179 expensing;
a FICA tip credit calculation that ignores the new hike in the minimum wage; and
an extended and enhanced Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

For more information regarding the new legislation passed and how it will affect you be sure to speak to your tax advisor.

Updates to keep your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Software N Synergy!?!

Businesses large and small all need to have the right software to effectively run their business operations. Typically the larger businesses have deep pockets to purchase large “enterprise” software to keep track of all of their business information and processes. What is the small business owner to do to compete with their larger counterparts? Implement your own enterprise software, but on a smaller scale. Enterprise software allows business owners to get a snapshot of their whole operation from start to finish. This allows the business owner to track the sales of goods and services from lead generation to sale completion.

Right now, there is a great deal of software titles out there geared toward the small business owner, the majority of them are integrated through small business accounting software via add-ons or software that works with the accounting software. The only problem affecting small business owners right now is if the software will work with your Microsoft operating system (Vista). Microsoft owns the market for operating system software and now small business owners can setup their own enterprise software system with their new products.

Imagine being able to track accounting processes from your MS Outlook software, or integrating online payment processing that uploads transactions directly to your accounting software, also being able to bank online and have transactions uploaded to your accounting software. All this and more can be accomplished when you implement Microsoft’s new products into your business operations.

We will discuss these new software technologies and more at our Small Business Seminar series starting next week. For more details feel free to see our website. Before you know it you can and will have your small business software working together making you and your operation more efficient.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

SBA a Little Help!!!

The SBA (Small Business Administration) is an organization that is suppose to help small business owners and entrepreneurs get the necessary tools and funding they need to successfully start and run their small business operations. Lately however, there has been a great deal of frustration felt by many small business owners that have looked toward the SBA for assistance. According to a report in the NY Times this past week, “recent policy changes and severe budget and staffing cuts in the last six years have left the agency unable to fulfill its mission to provide programs and services to the nation's 25 million small companies, which the agency defines as businesses with 500 or fewer workers. Since 2001, the agency's budget has been sliced nearly in half, to $464 million in the proposed 2008 budget. Staff cuts have been almost as deep, with the agency losing 31 percent of its work force.”

The SBA is also has seen an increase in their fees on their most common loan packages the 7(a) program and a decline in the amount of banks participating in the SBA’s loan program. These changes have all accounted for the loss in potential contracts for small business owners, and have many small business owners looking toward other sources for funding.

What is a small business owner/entrepreneur to do? Many small business owners have turned to the credit card industry and are using debt to finance operations and provide more capital for their businesses. The only problem with this strategy is that the interest rates on the credit cards are considerably higher than those on the SBA loans.

The Brico Group, Inc. will address these and other issues in our Small Business Seminar Series at the College Park Library this month. The first seminar will begin June 12th. Small business owners and entrepreneurs will get information regarding what the SBA can really do for them right now, and also what banks are entrepreneur friendly. Be sure to join us for these informative seminars.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur??

Starting a small business can be one of the most rewarding experiences that a person can have. If, the entrepreneur knows what it takes to get the business started and also making a profit. In addition to money and resources, there is a time and “sweat equity” factor that plays into the equation. What many entrepreneurs must realize is that it takes a great deal of energy to keep the wheels of your operation moving together. Entrepreneurs need to take time away from the business to regain lost energy, thus taking a vacation is an important part of your strategy.

A recent study done by Information Strategies, Inc. is stating that entrepreneurs take only 5.5 days of vacation a year, compared to 14 by the average American. Among their other findings:

·41% had not taken a vacation of more than seven days in the past two years.
·33% had not taken a vacation in two years.
·27% said they did not expect to take a vacation this year.
·31% had not been abroad in three years.
·41% said their business suffered when they were on vacation.
·44% said their families had taken vacations without them.

Rather high numbers, but just goes to show that the entrepreneur is putting in the work for their business. Let’s also think about the reasons for starting your business now. I’m sure one of them was to have more time to spend with friends and family. Might be a little confusing now…huh?

It is good to know that you are the entrepreneur type before starting a business. Once you know that you are, you then move to your business idea and starting planning your business. By properly planning to prohibit poor performance, you will have your business profitable, use less energy, and enjoy more vacations.

For more information on finding out if you are an entrepreneur, stop by for one of our seminars starting next month (June 12th) at the College Park Library Atlanta, GA. More information is on our website below.

Keeping your Business N Synergy and Using Less Energy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

USA the best place for Entrepreneurs?

I was able to read an interesting article on CNNMoney.com this week regarding the climate for small businesses in the world. I was rather shocked to find out that the USA is NOT on the top of the list. Although we are near the top, the US did not make the first spot. The major factors that make a country entrepreneurial friendly include but are not limited to bankruptcy laws, tax policies, and employment regulations. Countries that have a solid foundation of laws and regulations typically faired better than their counterparts who did not have established laws, policies, and regulations.

For a look at the detailed list of countries by their rank, and to read the article on CNNMoney.com, check out the following link:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2007/06/01/100049637/index.htm?postversion=2007052305

This article is a great read for those thinking about starting a business in the near future and/or thinking of starting an international operation. After gaining insight from the article, be sure to stop at the College Park library for the “Small Business Series” seminars, hosted by The Brico Group, Inc. These powerful seminars will provide the attendee with useful information on various topics including are you’re an entrepreneur type, business formation which entity is right for your business, taxes, and accounting, organization, filing and much more. For more information feel free to visit our website.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

FREE E-Newsletter for Small Businesses

The IRS has started a new service called “e-News for Small Businesses”. This e-Newsletter will be distributed every Wednesday (today) and will provide small business owners and the self employed with useful tax information including:


Important, upcoming tax dates
What’s new on the IRS website
Reminders and tips to assist business with tax compliance
IRS news releases and special IRS announcements

The new e-Newsletter will be an easy way for small business owners and self-employed to gain insight from the IRS regarding tax issues and how they will affect their businesses. It also give the IRS an new angle to provide information electronically to small business owners, keeping in line with their strategy of embracing technology and cutting down on sending paper information to taxpayers.

For more information regarding the e-Newsletter, simply go to the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

The IRS Results Are In!!!

Now that the 2007 tax filing season is behind us (well some of us at least), the IRS has come out with their report regarding electronic filing of returns for the season. It would appear that the IRS is making good on their strategy to increase the number of e-filed returns and cut down on paper filings, a strategy that the IRS has been trying to implement for some time now. The major IRS statistics are:

The over 76.7 million e-filed returns accepted through May 4 topped the more than 73.2 million electronically filed returns received for all of 2006. That is also an 8.9 percent increase over last year at this time, with most of the increase coming in March and April.

A record 22 million taxpayers e-filed from a home computer, up 11 percent over the same time last year and eclipsing 2006’s year-long total of 20.3 million.

This filing season visits to IRS.gov, the agency’s popular Web site, climbed almost 10 percent, to more than 140 million.

More than 59 million refunds, a new record, were deposited directly into savings, checking and brokerage accounts, representing more than 61 percent of all refunds issued.

Nearly $158 billion has been directly deposited so far this year, an 11 percent jump over last year at this time, which surpasses the 2006 year-end total of $149.2 billion.

The number of balance-due returns filed electronically surged 14.2 percent to a record 9.4 million. For all of last year, almost 8.9 million balance-due returns were filed electronically.

Rather interesting information and it looks like the individual taxpayer is jumping on board of the idea of paperless tax filing. The IRS is embracing technology and many taxpayers are beginning to see the light also. It is possible that in the future ALL returns will be filed electronically. If you are one who still paper files your tax return, this may be the year for you to jump on the technology wagon. There are many resources out there to provide you with information on how to e-file your returns and you can always speak to your accountant about the benefits of e-filing.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

5 Most Important Decisions to Make When Starting a Business

ere is something I came across today in my inbox. Paul V Thompson, EA, ABA, ATA, ECS and fellow member of the National Society of Accountants wrote an article listing the 5 most important decisions potential entrepreneurs came make when starting a business:

1. Create a Business Plan
2. Choose the Right Business Formation
3. Setup a Good Recordkeeping system
4. Know Your Tax and Filing requirements
5. Acquire a Banker, Accountant, and Attorney

I really feel that the last one will greatly increase the chances of your business venture becoming successful because those individuals can assist you with the preparation of any of the other four decisions.

In an ongoing effort to assist individuals thinking of starting their own business, The Brico Group, Inc. is bringing back their Small Business Seminars. The first seminar will begin Tuesday June 12th at the College Park Library. For more information feel free to visit our website.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Keeping Your Small Business from Falling in the “Tax Gap”

The IRS has developed an equation for reducing the “tax gap” (the amount between the taxes that should be paid and the amount that is actually paid), and the equation was provided compliments of the recent SSA/IRS Reporter:

SERVICE + ENFORCEMENT = COMPLIANCE

How will this affect the small business owner?

Staying in “compliance” with the following obligations will ensure that your small business is not an audit priority for the IRS:

Business Income and the Tax Gap
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Third Party Reporting
Home Office Deductions
Car and Truck Expenses
Depreciation
Business Supply Deductions
Travel, and Entertainment and Gift Expenses

For more information regarding these issues and how the affect your small business visit the following links:

IRS Tax Gap Website:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=158619,00.html

Get the facts and keep your Business N Synergy

www.thebricogroup.com

Can You Shorten Your Work Week???

As with most small business owners and entrepreneurs, finding more time to actually “do” your business is a must. Most small business owners are always trying to find time to bring in more business, but usually get caught up doing the day to day tasks and rarely get time to plan for the growth of their operation. By delegating some of their daily tasks to a trusted advisor, a small business owner can take back some of that lost time. A small business owner can also borrow some of the techniques applied by Timothy Ferriss in his own business from the article on CNNMoney.com “The 4 Hour Work Week”. Check this article link out and see if these techniques can work for you.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/04/magazines/fsb/4_hour_week.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2007050706

Also feel free to post your opinions about some of his techniques and if you have some of your own that are not listed within the article, please post those also.

Time management techniques to keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall

http://www.thebricogroup.com/

No Tax Consequences for FSA's, HRA's and HSA's

The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 allows rollovers to be made without any tax consequences when rolling assets from flexible spending accounts (FSA's), health reimbursement accounts (HRA's) and health savings accounts (HSA's). To obtain this tax free treatment on rollovers the following conditions must be met:

1. The employer must have amended the FSA or HRA to allow for qualified HSA distributions to any qualified individual by year-end;
2. The employee must elect the rollover by year-end;
3. The year-end balance must be frozen;
4. The funds must be transferred within two-and-a-half months after the end of the plan year;
5. The transfer must result in a zero balance in the FSA or HRA; and
6. The individual must remain eligible to make HSA contributions for the month of the rollover and the next twelve months.

For more information regarding these changes, be sure to speak to your tax advisor.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall

www.thebricogroup.com

5 Productivity Killers in Your Small Business

According to Laurie Shufeldt, VP of Strategic Business Development at FileVision the following are the top five productivity killers that many small business experience. See if YOUR firm is affected by any of these:

Disorganization
Lack of automation
Inefficient internal communications
Lack of planning and workflow processes
Handling the same papers (or data) more than once

For more information on these productivity killers and ways to combat them, be sure to check out the details of her article at:

http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=103465

Using Laurie’s strategies for productivity will keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall

www.thebricogroup.com

Tax Relief is on the way for Small Business…Hopefully

The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee have come to an agreement on the tax package that would give relief to the many small businesses in the country. This bill will provide nearly 5 billion in tax relief for small businesses if passed. The major portion of the bill is a 3 ½ year extension of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit which accounts for more than 2.5 billion of the tax relief. The bill also proposes:

Tax preparer penalties for understating liabilities on income tax returns would also be raised

a new penalty on claims for refunds that are filed without any reasonable basis would raise an estimated $100 million

increase the expensing limits of Section 179 of the tax code -- which allows businesses to deduct the cost of certain types of property on their taxes as an expense -- by $17,000, to a total of $125,000, through 2008

Extending the enhanced credit for low-income housing and treating certain qualified Gulf Opportunity Zone repairs or reconstruction as “qualified rehabilitation” for purposes of bond rules;

Allowing an unincorporated business owned jointly by a married couple to file as a sole proprietorship, instead of a partnership;

Modifying the “kiddie tax” -- the point at which a child's unearned income is taxed at the parent's rate -- to increase the age from under-18 to under-19, or under-24 for students (intended to prevent parents from shifting income to children to take advantage of lower tax rates); and,

Doubling the period before which the Internal Revenue Service must stop imposing fees and penalties on taxpayers who have not been notified of a deficiency, from 18 months, to 36 months.

These changes can make a big difference in your tax planning strategy for 2007 and beyond if signed into law. Be sure to speak with your trusted advisor to ensure that your tax strategy is in line with these potential changes.

Keeping your Business N Synergy as always :-)

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Tax Season is over, but Tax Planning Isn’t

The 2007 tax filing season is over and I’m sure many accountants and tax professionals are looking forward to some vacation time. There are however, the people that filed extensions (as always), and the IRS has extended the deadline for the following groups:

Northeast storm victims have until April 26 2007 to file their returns
Virginia Tech Shooting victims have until October 15 2007 to file
Intuit customers had until April 20, 2007 to file due to a “database” problem

There is still a little work out there for everyone to focus on before these deadlines past which makes it a great time to continue tax planning for the current year. Many individuals and small business owners think that tax time is the only time for planning. When this attitude is taken, the filer along with the accountant take on a reactive role instead of a proactive role in planning for the future. It is more beneficial for the filer to work proactively with their tax advisor before making major purchase decisions and/or any changes in the strategic vision of the company. This way the accountant along with the tax filer can work out the best scenario to minimize their tax liability for the year. Typically your tax planning should be done on a quarterly basis unless there are major changes during the quarter. In the coming weeks we will address some of the tax law changes and how they will affect your 2007 tax return filing in 2008. Be sure to check in for these tips may assist you and your accountant in keeping your Business N Synergy in 2007.

We are already in the 2nd quarter of 2007 so tax planning should be an integral role in your overall strategy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Senate’s Reaction to the Recent Tax Problems

Congress is now putting together a plan to close the tax gap and clamp down on the many fraudulent returns being filed by taxpayers. The Senate Finance Committee meeting hearing “Filing Your Taxes: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure” is focusing on the filing of fraudulent returns similar to the ones filed by many Jackson Hewitt franchises in the past years. Oddly enough the IRS and the Senate are at war with who to blame. Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) feels that the IRS is not doing their job and the IRS Commissioner Mark Everson feels that there needs to be more funds allocated to the IRS for enforcement.

The ultimate goal of the Senate is to introduce another bill similar to S. 832 filed last year which would make tax preparers required to take an exam to prove they are competent in preparing tax returns and that they are also registered with an independent administrative entity. It appears that changes to the tax and accounting industry are coming soon. This will benefit everyone as a whole in the long run. Be sure that your tax returns are prepared by a professional and you can lower your risk of a fraudulent return being filed on your behalf.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Hewitt’s Rotten Egg/Small Business Lay More Eggs

With the Easter season upon us, I was somewhat surprised (but not really) by the news of Jackson Hewitt’s run in with the Justice Department. If you haven’t heard the news yet, Hewitt is accused of defrauding the government out of more than 70 million dollars by filing fraudulent tax returns using phony W-2’s and claiming bogus deductions and tax credits. The franchises affected are in Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, and Raleigh and it even alleges that managers and employees were in on the scam. For many individuals, it may be a better idea to go to a trusted advisor or purchase software and file your taxes yourself. You will definitely come out better, and you will also stay away from those refund anticipation loans that typically take a majority of your hard earned dollars. I wonder how business is doing at Hewitt offices these days. Hewitt officials have launched an internal probe into the allegations. We’ll see what happens.

There was however good news this week from the small business/self employed front. According to an article in USA Today, the Labor Department saw the number of self employed individuals rise by 132,000 from February to March of this year. The self employment rate also edged up to 8.6% of all private sector employment. This is great news for the small business sector (see last weeks post). Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and with the sector growing, everyone will benefit.

Just may want to seek tax assistance from someone other than Hewitt. Happy Easter everyone and continue to keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Mixed Small Business News

With tax season almost over, many small business owners scramble to finalize the all their records to ensure a smooth tax filing process. In actuality, many small business owners are not aware that for corporations, the tax deadline is March 15th not April 15th. Hopefully small business owners filed extensions 6months using Form 7004. A recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports LLC for Discover Small Business Watch states that a quarter of small business owners feel that tax season is a distraction from growing their business. With the proposed changes to the tax code (see previous blog post) for small business in the next few years, this burden could increase substantially.

Not all the news from the survey was bad however; almost 50% of small business owners feel that the economy was getting better. This is up from 44% of respondents in February. The small business owner feels better about the economy than their larger Wall Street counterparts. This in turn means that the small business owner feels better about their cash flow situation in the coming quarters of the year. It will be interesting to see how things pan out as the year progresses.

The survey also stated that almost 75% of small business owners used a tax pro to prepare their taxes and handle all the paperwork that comes with filing. Hiring a tax pro may be a good idea for a small business owner. By passing their tax information to a professional, the small business owner can focus on bringing in more business, thus keeping their Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Small Businesses Will Feel the Bite

Recently the Treasury Department has issued proposals to close the “tax gap” and unfortunately the small business owner and sole proprietor are going to feel the blow. The proposal would include more paperwork to be filed, and possibly more audits of small businesses and the self-employed. Specifically the proposals require:

Businesses to file Form 1099 for payments of $600 or more to corporations that provide services,

Businesses to check the Taxpayer Identification Number of their contractors with the IRS and withhold taxes if the TIN is not verifiable,

Credit card companies to report their annual payments to small businesses and sole proprietors.

Meanwhile the IRS Taxpayer Advocate feels that audits targeted at specific groups would close the tax gap. The main groups focused for audits would be the small business/self-employed that are paid in cash. Audits focused on Schedule C filers are proposed to be on the rise in the future also according to USA Today.

It is important for a small business owner and/or self employed individual to have the right controls in place to ensure that you financial records are kept in compliance with IRS regulations. Look out “Main Street” businesses; it appears we will be used as the bridge to close the tax gap.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

The Entrepreneur Friendly Bank

One of the most important factors that keep a small business afloat is adequate cash flow and financing for the future. Recent small business surveys have listed these two factors as the most important concerns for small business owners in the new year. Maybe this year, there may be a friend of the small business owner than can assist with cash flow and financing needs….the community bank.

A community bank is typically a bank with local ties that have between 15 million to 30 million in capital and operates under a federal and state charter. These banks service the small end of the market, typically those companies with 100or fewer employees with annual revenues ranging from 3 – 50 million. These banks are a bit friendlier to the small business owner than their larger counterparts, so this may be an opportunity for a small business owner to improve their financial situation with a small community bank.

Be sure to search for community banks in your area to keep you Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Intuit’s Take on Technology and the Future

Recently there was an article in the New Your Times that featured Stephen Bennett, CEO of Intuit and his views of the future of business and technology. Bennett’s comments reveal some interesting assumptions regarding technology and how it will impact the way business is conducted in the future. Intuit purchased an online bank in an attempt to enter the bill pay market recently and this is definitely a sign that technology is an important part of the small business market’s growth. Bennett feels the online banking suite will create a “service suite that integrates all the data flow that makes it one place for small businesses to do online banking, bill payment and customer management.”

This is just one of the many changes taking place in the small business market. Intuit has taken the lead currently by introducing products that small business owners can use to make them more efficient and to have the information they need readily available. Other software makers are sure to follow. The time is now for your small businesses to at least test drive some of the new technologies. The new age of small business will be online, and NOT pen and paper. Be sure that your Business is N Synergy in the new age.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

2007 Tax Filing Season, Off To a Good Start???

The 2007 tax filing season is in high gear! If you haven’t already, you too will soon be testing the efficiency of the IRS this year. According to the IRS, the season is off to a good start, with no glitches during the first month of the e-filing season. The IRS however believes that it will not reach the 80% e-filing goal set for 2007.

The IRS continues to move toward a paperless filing process and from the most recent results; this may be the most efficient way for taxpayers to file their returns. Whether you are an individual or a business, use software or take your information to a professional, e-filing returns will be the filing procedure of the future. Software vendors have incorporated it into their tax preparation software for not only individuals, but accounting professionals too. And the IRS continues their push with the MeF program. The MeF (Modernized E-File) program also business owners to e-file their returns through the internet.

E-filing is here to stay it appears, so if you have not considered e-fling as part of your tax strategy, there is no better time than the present. Keeping your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

The Ever Changing Small Business Arena!?!?

Recently a study was conducted by Intuit and the Institute for the Future says that the next decade will introduce an “era of economic decentralization” and the small business owner will look quite different than the current. By the year 2017, the study states that the small business owner will be more diversified than ever before. In particular the small business owner will include:

Professional Women tired of hitting the glass ceiling
Immigrants
“Mompreneurs”
Baby Boomers not ready to retire, and
Generation Y-ers

This comes as little to no surprise to me. In the current small business arena, these trends have already begun. With the introduction of technology, a small business owner can reach customers worldwide and this entices many diverse groups into owning their own business. I currently speak to numerous individuals that are planning on starting a business and many of them do fit in the previous categories. Diversity in the small business community will be an exciting event in the next coming years, and it will be exciting to see how these new entrants keep their Business N Synergy.

For more information regarding Intuit’s small business study, check out the following link:

www.intuit.com/futureofsmallbusiness/

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Accounting Systems

For the past few posts I have been introducing simple ways for small business owners to automate their daily tasks to make more time for revenue producing activities. This week’s post deals with choosing and using an accounting software package to automate your daily accounting processes. There are a lot of different accounting software titles out their and each one will help the small business owner get a grasp on their businesses performance. Specifically small business accounting software will allow the business owner the following:

Accurate data entry of sales and expenses (money in and money out)
Accurate accounting for new assets and loans used with your business
Better financial reporting and management reporting for decision making
Smoother transition of data to your accountant at tax time

Many small businesses accounting software can help the owner quickly and easily enter sales data and expenses so that the owner has all this information in one place. When new assets are purchased, accounting software can also keep track of depreciation and make the necessary entries directly into the accounting software with less confusion. Accounting software can also integrate with other services such as payroll modules that can upload payroll information directly into the accounting software. Accounting software also makes it easier for an accountant to collaborate will the small business owners and less time is needed to prepare the businesses’ tax return.

There are many small businesses out there that use pen and paper, and or spreadsheets to track their accounting processes. By using an accounting software package, more time can be directed to building the business and /or spending time with loved ones instead of number crunching.

Accounting software will keep your small Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Payroll Processes

Automating your payroll processing is one of the easier tasks that a small business owner can do. If a small business owner is using paper files to keep track of employee information, this process can be streamlined by purchasing small business accounting software and/or the payroll add on for the software. All the major accounting software packages have a payroll add on that can make the payroll process easier for you to manage. There are also payroll processing firms (ADP, Paychex, and Paycycle) that can assist in the payroll processing and can also import transactions directly into your accounting software.

To reap the whole benefit of automating your payroll processes, a small business owner will need to embrace paperless filing systems. Online filing of various payroll tax returns, W-2 and 1099 online filing, and direct deposit of employees’ paychecks is a good way to make your payroll operation run a bit smoother. By promoting these changes to your system, a small business owner can cut costs, save time and even prevent any fraudulent activity. With automation and paperless filing of payroll, small business owners can get back to growing their business.

Automation will always keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall

www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Processes

With the tax season off and running, many small business owners may be in a haste to get things ready for their tax professional. With the use of technology, this task can be easily accomplished. Many tax professionals have a paperless filing option to receive your source documents (w-2’s, 1099,s etc.) and transfer that information directly on the tax return cutting down processing time and you getting your refund.

The IRS also embraces automation, allowing businesses to e-file tax returns, wage data, and payroll tax payments. A small business can save thousands (paper, postage, etc) not to mention the time you will gain. The beginning of the year is a great time to start automating some of your processes, to keep your desk clear and time in your favor.

We will take a look at some other ways a small business owner can streamline these daily tasks in the coming weeks and also go into greater detail about the one’s mention in this post. Until next time keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Throwing S.A.L.T. in Your Game

There is an article in the January 2007 issue of CFO magazine that caught my attention this week. It deals with State And Local Taxation (S.A.L.T.) departments making an attempt to get money back from businesses that are drawn to their state by generous tax breaks offered by another governmental department, economic development. In most cases, when and individual begins research on starting a new business, they look for a state that offers tax breaks, economic development funds to start the business in underdeveloped areas, or both. What seems to be happening these days is the state revenue departments are finding other ways to take back the incentives given by the economic development departments.

Many of the states strategies include, beefing up their audits of businesses, passing new “creative” tax laws, and stricter enforcement of the laws surrounding the economic incentives. These actions however contradict the efforts of the economic development departments of the states so there is a conflict within the state. The goal seems to be that states want businesses to open up shop in their state but at the same time they want the tax revenue they will bring. Once the revenue department and the economic development department reach a compromise, the gap between the two can be shorten. By proactively working together on economic development projects, each side can benefit. This way less SALT will be thrown into the strategy of the business looking to move into a state.

For more information regarding the best states to open a business in be sure to check out the following website:

www.cfo.com/statetax


Keeping your Business N Synergy (will less salt)

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Tax and Legislative Updates

The IRS is raising the standard mileage rates for the year 2007 for automobile usage. The new rates are used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an auto for business use, charitable use and/or medical or moving purposes. Beginning with the start of this year, the mileage rates will be as follows:

48.5 cents per mile for business miles driven

20 cents per mile for medical or moving purposes

14 cents per mile for service to a charity

See IR-2006-168 and Rev. Proc. 2006-49 for more information

From the legislative forefront, the Senate is backing legislation that would provide around 8.3 billion in tax cuts for small businesses over the next 10 years. The details of the bill include increasing the minimum wage, and extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for five years. The bill would also provide favorable expensing provisions for small businesses allowing them to more quickly deduct costs associated with growing their business.

These are some of the many issues that will affect your small business in the year 2007 and beyond.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

What The RAL is Going On?!?!?

Greetings everyone out there in cyber land. I am writing (and posting) this week’s blog on the road from Maryland as I am out of the office working with clients. On the flight up from Atlanta, I was able to get in some reading and found an interesting article in the January 2007 issue of Practical Accountant (a Source Media Publication). It deals with our good friends at H&R Block and their better disclosure to their clients of all the fees associated with Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL’s). What caught my attention is that they are reducing the costs associated with these loans.

For those who do not know how RAL’s work, let me walk you thru them. The loan is based on your anticipated refund amount and the time frame to receive your money can be a fast as a day to 11 days. The catch with these loans is that the interest rates can be as much 35 to 40 percent, not including the additional costs for forms and processing. This is a great way for tax prep firms as well as banks to make an additional bounty of money.

Smarter ways of filing your taxes and keeping more of your hard earned money is to simply E-file your return, and have the refund direct deposited into your account. This process typically takes about the same amount of time as a RAL and you save your money.

This is just a thought. Feel free to respond to this post and let me know your thoughts.

As always keeping your Business N Synergy (even on the road) :-0

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Hey IRS, What’s New?

So the tax season has started and it may appear that the IRS was caught a bit off guard this year. With all the recent tax law enactments that were passed, the IRS has not had time to update the form 1040 and additional schedules. Individuals claiming deductions on Schedule A will need to lookout for a special mailing of Publication 600 outlining how to claim the sales tax deduction.

For more information visit this IRS link

New Form 1040EZ-T

For those who don’t need to file a regular tax return, the IRS has developed this short form so that taxpayers can request a telephone refund. Taxpayers can use the standard amount on the form or attach Form 8913 for actual expenses.

And now the bad news….

Because of all the “changes” this year, the IRS expects return processing to be slower than usual, thus delaying your precious tax refund. The IRS recommends that you E-file your tax return for faster processing. For the best estimate of when you will receive your refund, the IRS has provided Publication 2043.

Happy Tax Season to ALL!!!

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Jumpstarting Your New Year

As the year 2006 comes to an end let’s take this time to review the year in regards to small businesses. In an earlier post, we looked at the outlook for small businesses and for the most part the outlook looks rather promising. In the recent weeks, I have reviewed a few “offerings” for small businesses that can save you money, and increase your reach and profits for 2007.

New Phone Tax Formula

The IRS has finally announced the formula allowing businesses to estimate their federal excise tax refund. To request a refund, businesses must fill out Form 8913. The actual amount of the refund is determined either by the actual amount (from March 2003 thru July 2006) of excise taxes paid or by the formula the IRS provided. For more information regarding the tax formula, check the IRS website and or speak to your tax advisor.

Increase Your Profits

Here is a FREE 18 page report for those interested in generating more leads, maximizing your marketing opportunities and build on last year’s profits. Simply go to the following link to get the report.

http://www.acorncreative.com/gonutsin2007/

Wish everyone a Happy New Year keeping your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

QuickBooks and Windows Vista

The new Microsoft Windows Vista software is available for small businesses to use, but before you do, you may want to know that QuickBooks 2006 and earlier versions will not be supported by the new Vista operating system. Due to the Windows Vista compatibility “shims”, QB 2006 versions will however run many functions normally but the users will be alerted that they are running an unsupported configuration with the following wording:

“When running QuickBooks 2006 or earlier versions on Windows Vista, you will likely experience instability and unreliable behavior, even though these problems may not appear right away.”

Other softwares that are used in conjunction with your QB 2006 software may also experience problems. If your small business falls within this category, be sure that you upgrade your QuickBooks software to version 2007 if you plan to use Windows Vista. Another “thought” is to switch to Microsoft Office Accounting Express or Professional. Office Accounting Express is FREE so there is no expense incurred to switch. I can’t help but wonder if these incompatibility issues are simply part of Microsoft’s strategy to bring their small business accounting package to the forefront of the small business industry. Can’t wait to see what happens in 2007 and beyond.

Keeping your Business N Synergy

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Tax and Technology Updates

Now that Congress has closed out the year and gone home for the holidays, it is good that they were able to pass and extend many of the much needed tax breaks for taxpayers. Just to recap, check out my previous blog post “Tax Breaks Still Looming” for details of the bills that were on the table. Now that these measures have been passed, this is still a good time to add the tax breaks into your tax planning for this year. Be sure to speak with your tax advisor regarding these changes and how they may affect your tax return.

In technology news, I have been able to take a look at the new Microsoft Office Accounting Express and must say that it is quite impressive. Files from “other” small business accounting software import seamlessly into the software and the ability to merge with other Microsoft products makes it all the more easier to run your business. I can’t wait to get the Professional version of the product. To top it off, the Express version is available FREE right now. Check out my previous blog “Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 is Here” for details on how to download the Express version for free.

Those are the updates this week people. Just some ideas to get you on the right track for tax season and keep your business N synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Tax Breaks Still Looming?!?!

Well Congress is suppose to wrap up business for the 2006 year next week and there still are some tax measures that expire at year end. There are a few bills in the session that would benefit the small business owner and individuals, but this is only if they are extended. The major bills for “the little guy” are:

Research and Development Credit
reward for employers who hire former welfare recipients,
a personal deduction for state and local sales taxes paid by people who live in states without income taxes,
and a personal deduction for elementary and high school teachers who spend at least $250 of their own money on classroom supplies

Look out for the results for these changes may have an effect on your tax liability in April. Keeping you and your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Health Reimbursement Agreements (HRA) Revisited

The other week I posted some information on how S-Corp owners could provide health insurance for their owner/employees (see S-Corp Owners and Health Insurance post). Well here is more detail on how this can be done.

If you are looking for a way to reduce your employee benefit costs, you may wish to consider using a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA). An HRA is an employer-funded health benefit account for individual employees, which may be used to pay their medical expenses and health insurance premiums. This type of plan is generally more economical, more flexible, and has additional features that a traditional health benefit plan does not have and at the same time provides favorable treatment for federal income tax purposes.

Under an HRA, the contributions you make and the amounts received by your employees are generally excluded from the employee's income. In addition, any excess amounts to the end of the year can be carried over to future years without being lost.

In order to receive favorable tax treatment, an HRA must meet the following requirements:
1. The plan is paid for only by you and is not provided by an employee salary reduction election or under an employee benefit cafeteria plan;
2. The plan reimburses the covered person for medical care expenses of the person, the person's spouse and the person's dependents; and
The plan reimburses a covered person up to a maximum dollar amount for any period of coverage and any unused portion of the maximum dollar amount at the end of that period is carried forward to increase the maximum reimbursement amount in subsequent coverage periods.

Ask your financial advisor if an HRA will work for your small business.

As always…tips to keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Claiming the Child for 2007? Which taxpayer WILL?

With my “Get Sharp as a Tack on Taxes” seminar coming up this week, I thought that I would post a comment regarding tax basics for the 2007 season. This tip is in regards to who can claim a qualifying child when two taxpayers are trying to claim the dependency exemption.

The IRS has issued guidance for taxpayers that may have a "qualifying child" in common with another taxpayer for purposes of claiming certain tax benefits. A conflict arises when two or more taxpayers wish to claim a dependency exemption, the child care credit, earned income credit, or child tax credit based on the same child. Similarly, a single, divorced, or separated parent may wish to claim the head of household filing status based on providing a home for a qualifying child, or taxpayers may seek to exclude dependent care assistance payments for a qualifying child from their income.

The IRS considers that the determination of who is allowed to claim the qualifying child in each of the above situations applies to all of these situations as a group. Two or more taxpayers may not claim the same child for different purposes on their respective tax returns, with one exception. This exception allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child for purposes of the dependency exemption and the child tax credit only, and permits the custodial parent to claim the child for all other purposes listed above.

For more tips like these and if you are also in the Atlanta area this up coming Wednesday November 29th, stop by the College Park Library for the seminar. Start time is 6PM.

Be there to get more information on keeping your Business N Synergy!

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 is Here

New for 2007 Microsoft has updated their small business accounting software to make a run at the industry leader QuickBooks. The name has changed from “Small Business Accounting” to just “Office Accounting 2007”. There will be two versions offered to the public to meet all the needs of small business owners. The two versions are:

Microsoft® Office Accounting Express 2007 – immediately available as a FREE download. Visit http://www.ideawins.com/ to download a free license.
Microsoft® Office Accounting Professional 2007 – available for purchase through retail or online early next year.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express is similar to QuickBooks Simple Start software in that it is designed for small businesses with one owner and home based businesses. It allows these users to immediately get up and running with a computerized accounting system to replace their shoebox system.

Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007 offers additional features to small business owners that will allow them to work more efficiently. Some advancements are the ability to work with different currencies, integration with PayPal/Ebay, and payroll services for those with employees. It also has additional features that allow accountants faster more accurate accounting.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express will be offered as part of the Microsoft Office Professional 2007 suite, and Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007 will be offered with Microsoft Office Small Business and Office Ultimate 2007 suites.

For more information on how these two new accounting offerings can make your business work smarter visit these websites:

http://www.oaisbetter.com/
http://www.ideawins.com/

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

S-Corp Owners and Health Insurance

For the majority of business formations, the IRS has provisions that allow the business owner to acquire health insurance in their own name and treat that health insurance as a business expense (Internal Revenue Code 162[1]). But what if the business is operating as an S-Corporation? There is a different tax consequence if the individual is the sole shareholder and sole employee and purchases health insurance in their own name.

According to Internal Revenue Code 1372(a) an S-Corp that pays for health insurance and other fringe benefits for an owner who owns more than 2% of the corporation’s stock (2% shareholder) will be treated as a partnership. Now that the S-Corp is considered a partnership, the rules can get a little tricky. In a partnership health insurance is consider a guaranteed payment (IRC 707(c)) and those payments are deductible and included in the partner’s gross income.

With an S-Corp however, insurance paid by the S-Corp would NOT be deductible by the S-Corporation as a fringe benefit but would be deductible by the S-Corp as compensation to the 2% shareholder. The insurance amounts would be included on the shareholder’s W-2. Certain conditions must be met by the S-Corp for this deduction to be allowed. If the shareholder is eligible to participate in any other health plan whether from another employer and/or spouse’s employer, the deduction is not allowed.

With that said, the S-Corp would have to purchase the health insurance for any deductions to be allowed. But what if the shareholder purchases a health plan in their own name? Since some states do not allow corporations to purchase group health plans with only one participant, many S-Corp owners must purchase health plans on their own. If this occurs, everything stated above does not apply to the situation. The shareholder however, is still able to deduct the health insurance as an itemized deduction which will be subject to the 7.5% AGI (adjusted gross income) limitation.

Next time we will look at additional strategies for S-Corp owners to use to provide themselves with health insurance in particular Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA). Until next time keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

2007 Small Business Outlook Results Are In!!!

Adminstaff, the nations leading professional employer organization has conducted another survey in late October regarding small business owner’s confidence for the future. Again the year 2007 looks pretty optimistic for small business owners with 70% saying they expect their companies to exceed this year’s growth levels in 2007. The breakdown of small business growth will be reflected in the following ways:

70% plan to add employees
5% expected a drop-off in their workforce
59% expect to see an increase in employee compensation
33% plan to maintain their current compensation levels
64% expect to pay employees overtime
44% plan to increase capital spending

There were also a few challenges noted in the survey that small business owners will have to overcome. The majority of these challenges are the same ones that our larger counterparts must overcome in 2007, including:

Controlling costs
Retaining their best employees
The economic outlook
Increased business competition

As a whole, the small business outlook looks pretty good for the small business owner. It will take a collaborative effort by small business owners, employees, and their advisors to ensure that 2007 is a prosperous year for all. With effective planning now, the small business owner will be able to keep their Business N Synergy in 2007.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Let New Technology Help Your Small Business in 2007

Recently I was able to sit in on a webinar regarding technology and how it affects the accounting profession. Although it was directed to the accounting profession, the core values and principals of the webinar could be applied to any business. The topic was OCR or Optical Character Recognition a way of producing readable files from hard copies and /or scanned documents. I have had an opportunity to use this technology and must say that it can really streamline the process of data tracking, data warehousing, audit and compliance.

There are quite a few low cost vendors out there for a small business owner to use for OCR and other document management services. One I came across was alldocuments.com where their web based document management system for $35 a month. Microsoft’s Office software also has a document image writer (Microsoft Document Imaging) that allows users to review documents and edit text from documents. Other low cost ideas are to use a company intranet/extranets to store documents instead of paper files. Either way “thinking outside the box” may be the way to make your business run more efficiently.

As the year 2007 approaches, try to think of ways to streamline your small business processes and make your business more efficient. A small monthly investment can make your internal processes much more efficient and bring more dollars to your bottom line.

Use these tips to keep your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/

Final Baby Boomer Tax Tips

Here are some additional baby boomer tax tips for portfolio income in your retirement years. These tips are regarding IRA’s and how to withdraw money from them in the most tax advantage manner.

IRA’s

Boomers that have a substantial amount of appreciated securities should withdraw money from their IRA’s before taking the gains from those securities in taxable accounts. As long as the stocks produce small dividends, the tax burden will be minimal. The exception to this rule is when taxable accounts consist of mutual funds that generate capital gains distributions. When this occurs, the mutual funds need to be sold before withdrawing money from the IRA.

Typically a boomer should take IRA distributions after the age of 70 (70 and one half to be exact). The benefits of waiting are:

The IRA will continue to compound on a tax-deferred basis
There will be no change in the clients AGI (adjusted gross income)
The boomer can leave greater amounts of the IRA to heirs

IRA’s a great way to save money for retirement and tapping into them at the right time will produce benefits that won’t strain your budget at tax time. As always check with your financial advisor to see if these tips can work for you.

Until next time, keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Baby Boomer Tips Continued

As tax season approaches, here are more tips for baby boomers to enjoy their retirement years at the same time minimizing their tax bill. This week’s tips deal with how to take income in those retirement years from CD’s and savings bonds.

Using CD’s for income

Using income producing assets such as CD’s is a great way to produce income in retirement years. Boomers can reduce their tax bill from the interest income that the CD’s generate at the same time allowing other tax advantaged investments to remain.

Savings Bonds

Boomers redeeming their savings bonds set off all the deferred income tax due on the bonds at redemption. Boomers should wait to redeem savings bonds as long as possible to benefit from the continuous tax-deferred interest accumulation.

More tips to come next week until then as always keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovallwww.thebricogroup.com

Interesting Statistics Regarding Small Businesses

Here is some interesting news regarding the state of small businesses in the U.S. SurePayroll, the nation’s largest online payroll processing provider for small businesses recently conducted a survey asking small business owners what are some of the top challenges of owing a small business. Here are some of the results:

Around 19% said finding and keeping qualified employees
Around 18% said balancing business development and current workload
Over 14% said managing work time and priorities
Almost 12% said managing employees
Another 12% said generating expected revenues
Almost 12 % said cresting a work/life balance
7% said meeting income goals
Almost 6% said acquiring capital for growth

Another survey by SurePayroll revealed that the accountant is the most trusted advisor for small business owners contributing more to the success of the business than an attorney or banker.

With the threat of rising interest rates, health care costs, and inflation, it is rather difficult for a small business to operate in the current economy. By partnering with a small business accountant, small business owners can alleviate some of the challenges mention above; at the same time have someone by their side to ensure the success of their business.

Use a small business accountant to keep your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Tax Tips for Baby Boomers

As many of our baby boomers get ready for the “good life” of retirement, many will begin to start drawing income from their retirement plans that they have spent years building. There are a few tax implications that may affect many boomers when they begin to withdraw funds from retirement plans and/or cash out of stocks. In the next few weeks, I will post a tip for boomers to ensure that their retirement years are spent enjoying life instead of paying a bundle in taxes.

Early Retirees

Many retirees will elect to receive Social Security benefits at age 62 (the earliest possible age to receive benefits) at the same time they may have stocks and other securities in their portfolios. If this is this case these retiree should not sell any stocks that have appreciated in value in any of their taxable accounts. This will ensure that any capital gains are avoided thus lowering the AGI (adjusted gross income) and the taxes owed on Social Security benefits. Additionally if the boomer passes away, the heirs will not have to pay any income tax on the investments appreciation during the boomer’s lifetime.

For more information on these tax savings strategies, review Internal Revenue Code Section 1022 (d) (2) or stop by our tax seminar coming later this fall. See our website for more information.

More tax tips to come…in the meantime keep your Business N Synergy!!!

Brian N. Stovallwww.thebricogroup.com

Branding Your Small Business Niche

Many small businesses are started to fill a particular need that larger organizations either feel are not profitable or have not devised a viable strategy to penetrate that market. It is very important for a small business to “brand” their service or goods to ensure that the market knows what particular niche they fill. This way a small business can create a lasting impression in the marketplace that can increase their reach and possibly profits.

Following are a few questions a small business owner needs to address to ensure that their goods or services are branded effectively in the marketplace:

What are your clients buying and who are your competitors? Know what your brand means to your clients and customers and who in the marketplace have similar products.

What is your short phrase sentence? This is your one sentence description that describes completely what your firm does.

What is your catch phrase? This is basically your tagline that supports your brand.

Has your brand been in the news lately? This is important for getting your brand out to the public. Make sure the publicity is not negative though.

Do you have a strategy for building your brand up? Brand building should be an integral part of a small businesses overall strategy. Always make this a part of your business and operational plans.

For more on branding your small business check out our free small business seminars at the College Park Library in the Atlanta area. New schedule can be found on our “Firm Notes” page of our website
www.thebricogroup.com.

As always keep your Business N Synergy

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Small Business Planning Assistance

With the upcoming fall Small Business Seminars that I will be doing, I thought this would be a good time to provide viewers with some resources. If you are out there in cyberland and are thinking about starting a business or if you have started a business in the past year the Bplans.com site may assist you in constructing a concise business plan for SBA funding or bank loan. Bplans.com is part of Palo Alto Software who also developed the Business Plan Pro software. Their website is a one-click stop for information on how to write a business plan, start and grow a business, and manage your advertising/marketing campaigns.

Specifically the business plan website has calculators for cash flow, currency conversion rates, starting costs estimators, and investments. The site also has industry reports and FREE business plans for the budding entrepreneur. This is a great way to gain valuable insight and prepare a business plan that will get results and keep you new business in synergy from the start.

Brian N. Stovallwww.thebricogroup.com

Excel = (SEAMLESS:INTEGRATION)

In the September 2006 issue of Accounting Technology (a Source Media publication), the article “Living with =SUM” presents an interesting take on how Microsoft Excel has become the norm for integration with accounting and financial software for businesses and accountants. Many software vendors are embracing MS Excel to provide their end users with more flexible modeling capabilities, but at the same time putting a hurdle in front of the end user that may hinder expanding. Although MS Excel is good for the smaller operations, as a company grows it is imperative to have a more controlled accounting system in place to track the companies operations.

This is food for thought for the MS Excel only users (accountants included) that want to stick only with MS Excel for their business. The majority of the software vendors have some kind of interface within their software that gives the end user the feel of MS Excel. Another point made in the article is that Google is experimenting with a free service on Google Labs for spreadsheet users, all the more reason to consider Excel and additional software for your operations.

Look for more information regarding integrating your business with MS Excel at the next small business seminar brought to you by The Brico Group, Inc. Free seminars at your local library in the Atlanta area. Check our website for more details.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com