Remote Possibilities During a Tough Economy

Today the House voted on the $700B bailout and the vote turn out to be a bust. As the bailout busted, so did the stock market and add in the limited supply of gas, many individuals frustrations are running at a high level. With the limited supply of gas in our local area, many firms are finally seeing the light and looking for alternative ways to have their employees complete their work assignments. Working remotely is on the rise and for those who are looking for alternative ways to have their employees complete assignments here are a few low cost options that may be of interest to you and your firm.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace – great for managing projects and teams from virtually anywhere you have an internet connection.

Send This File – great for sending and receiving files of various sizes

LogMeIn – great for working remotely on another’s computer(s) to access software and systems not available on your computer.

These are just a few options that firms can use to work remotely and still get the job done. Many think that when individuals work remotely that productivity tends to slump, however in our existing economy the frustration associated with “getting” to work can be alleviated when individuals work remotely from their own personal locations.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Rise with Inflation

The present economy is very tough for everyone especially the small business owner. With all the business closures, mergers and buyouts by the big businesses on Wall Street, the trickle-down effect is taking its toll on Main Street businesses. Staying competitive in a very slow economy is important for a small business and devising a sound strategy will help a small business when sales slow. A recent survey conducted by The Small Business Research Board indicated that many small businesses are utilizing price increases to offset the inflationary pressures of the economy. This is certainly a way to offset one’s own expenses at the expense of your customers. Other ways to possible offset higher business costs may be to streamline your operational budget (yes you need to budget) and look for ways to cut costs by using technology. If all else fails however, an increase in your prices may be your only defense. Ultimately the small business owner needs to stay abreast of the changes in their industry and always plan ahead for slow economic times.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

IRS Form Changes for Not-For-Profits

Now that the extension deadline for corporations has passed many accountants and tax professionals can focus on those personal returns and some not-for-profits (NFP’s) with tax years ending in December. NFP’ will get a kick out of the news coming from the IRS recently for there are some changes on the horizon for the next filing season. The first change is the redesigned Form 990 that now has an 11 page core form that must be completed by all NFP’s. The major changes are in the areas of governance, and compensation of officers. Other changes are driven by IR-2008-102 which eliminated the advance rulings that gave NFP’s charity status but then required them to support their status by providing the public sources of their funding to receive a final determination letter.

The changes will definitely provide the IRS with more transparency on NFP’s and also make NFP’s information more open to the public. I guess NFP acronym will have to mean New Filing Procedures for not-for-profits.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

IRS Form Changes for Small Businesses

For those small to mid-sized businesses that are organized as corporations or partnerships, there are some changes coming for you after the 2008 tax year. According to recent information from the IRS, there are going to be some changes to the look of Form 1120’s and Form 1065’s that will increase the transparency about the ownership and relationships between entities that make up complex business structures . The main changes will be focused on the ownership issues (Sch. K for Form 1120 and Sch. B for Form 1065) and the changes will help the IRS better assess the risk on non-compliance in these areas.

What About The Sole Proprietors???

Well the IRS has created a website for you. The Self Employed Individuals Tax Center provides small business owners with a wealth of information for those starting a business, employment tax issues, filing and paying taxes and more.

For more information on how these changes will affect your business be sure to check the IRS website and speak to your tax advisor.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

IRS IT Woes

As the summer comes to a close, many taxpayers are looking forward to taking that last summer vacation trip to wrap up the warm months. Earlier in the year the IRS made an attempt to provide taxpayers with a little bump of income to help stimulate the economy and maybe even pay for their summer vacations. Well unfortunately as some received their stimulus checks, the price of gas (among other things) increased. For those of you that did not receive your stimulus check, the reason may be blamed on the IRS.

A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration indicated that the IRS may need to revise their software code to reduce the delays in reissuing undeliverable checks to taxpayers. Not all the blame can be put on the IRS however. If a taxpayer has changed their address it is important to fill out Form 8822 to ensure that your stimulus (and refund) checks make it to you on time.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Need an Accountant Hollywood??

Greetings to everyone out there in Blog Land hope all is well. It has been a little while since our last posts, with the extension deadline for S-Corporations closely approaching. There has been a great deal of things going on in the news lately in addition to the busy season around the office. A couple of news stories did catch my attention recently one was that American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard had the IRS placed tax liens placed on him for not paying his taxes and actor Paul Hogan of Crocodile Dundee fame is being probed by Australian tax authorities for attempting to not claim a tax residence.

It always amazes me how many taxpayers attempt to fly under the radar and evade paying their fair share. Maybe these individuals can get Jackson Hewitt to prepare their taxes although there may be a problem with them bill when they receive it. The moral to the story is being honest and always look for an honest accountant to guide you along the way.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Is Your City Business Tax Friendly

Big four accounting firm KPMG recently conducted a study that names the U.S. cities (and territories) that have the most favorable tax structures for businesses and the results are interesting. The results were broken down between large cities (populations over 2 million) mid-sized cities (population between 2 million and 500,000) and small cities (populations between 100,000 and 500,000). Did your city make the list? Here are the top three from each category:

Large Cities
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Baltimore , Maryland
Atlanta, Georgia (good Job Atlanta)

Mid-Size Cities
Omaha, Nebraska
Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina
Little Rock, Arkansas

Small Cities
Saginaw, Michigan
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

One thing for sure is that if your city is not on the list, there quite possibly is a city in close proximity of you.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Cool Tax break for a Hot Summer

The summertime brings vacations, cookouts, fireworks and summer camp to the minds of many taxpayers. It is also a good time to lookout for summertime tax breaks. A recent IRS newsroom article provides tax payers with children in summer camp a potential tax credit. The cost of day camp (sorry overnight campers) will qualify taxpayers as an expense towards the child and dependent care credit. The taxpayer’s child must also be under 13 years of age and there are additional rules that also apply. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor to see if this cool tax break is for you.

All part of your mid -year tax planning for 2009. Be sharp as a tack this tax year.

Shopping for a Shopping Cart

For those small business owners that sell products (and services) online, the use technology is an important part of your business operations. It is very important for all your systems to work together especially when those systems are from different software vendors. The main component of an online sales system or e-commerce site is the shopping cart function. The shopping cart functions with all of your back office accounting and inventory systems to track revenue and goods sold.

It is important for the e-commerce business owner to have a point of sale (POS) system that fully integrates with your accounting and inventory systems for accuracy and efficiency. Tech savvy accountants can assist you with finding and deploying the correct POS system for your business. If your small business uses QuickBooks, be sure to check out their Solutions Marketplace for software that is compatible with your accounting software too.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Tax Return….Ah the Good Ole Days

Here is something that many of the taxpayers may get a little kick out of. It is a copy of the first tax return that was ever filed in the US. Take a quick look at how small the tax return is compared with the returns taxpayers file today. With all the talk about how the Congress is trying to simplify the tax code, there have been over five thousand changes in tax laws since 1986. Many changes have resulted into new tax forms and the simple 1040 tax return instructions is around ninety-two pages.

Now that it is July, many taxpayers don’t have taxes on their mind, but this is the best time to have a little mid-year tax check-up to ensure that everything is on track for year-end. There have been quite a few changes since last filing season and the AMT will have to be revisited by Congress again this year. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor so you can return your taxes to the good ole days.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Small Business Economic Worries Continue

Small businesses are still quite pessimistic about their futures in the current economic environment. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, small business optimism fell to its lowest level since the 80’s. One bright spot from the survey however is that many small business owners are still spending money and hiring employees to keep their operations going.

Check out the details at the NFIB’s website and be sure to join their site that will provide a small business owner with a wealth of information to assist in keeping your business in synergy through these tough economic times.

Time to Cut Your Extensions

According to a recent IRS news release, the due date for certain business returns will be cut from six months to five. The change is an effort by the IRS to assist personal tax payers with the burden of preparing their personal tax return by the extension deadline. The current business extension due date of October 15th is being changed to September 15th and provides individual tax payers time to receive certain schedules that are needed to prepare personal returns due a month later.

Does this affect your small business and you?

It all depends on your business organization. For S-Corp owners there is no change as the six month extension deadline already falls on September 15th. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor to see if the change affects you.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Gotta Hate Mondays

Interesting news today as Microsoft stops selling their XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers. The main option now is Windows Vista for those interesting in purchasing a computer. If there happens to be a small business computer retailer in your area, there may still be an option to purchase a system through the end of January. Another option is to focus on new ultra low cost PC’s that not only will have XP, can also save you money. Guess the major decision for many is to buy now or wait till Microsoft releases Windows 7 in 2009. Feel free to post your thoughts.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Is Your Cash Coming or Going?

If the slowdown in the economy is affecting your small business, improving your cash management may help when sales are slow. I quick review of a small business’ cash collections policies will reveal if changes (such as interest on late payments, or requiring deposits for jobs) will speed up cash coming into the business.





On the cash disbursements side of the equation, reviewing the costs that vendors charge for goods and services and possibly renogiotiating your rate will keep more cash in your pocket. Small business owners should also consider investing excess cash in the bank in a interest bearing account and have their money working just as hard as hard as the owner.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

IRS Indigestion helps Taxpayers

The IRS has gas on their mind and this is great for the individual and small business taxpayer. According to a recent newsroom article the standard mileage rate will increase through December 31st 2008. The new 6-month increase is a direct result of the economy and high fuel prices. The new rates go into effect on July 1 2008 are as follows:

Business - 58.5 cent per mile

Medical Moving – 27 cents per mile




The mileage rate for charitable contributions (14 cents per mile) remains unchanged. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor regarding this change and taking the standard mileage rate for this year.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Paperless Ideas for Small Businesses

Many small businesses have mountains of paperwork to file and the task of organizing, filing, and archiving can take away from growing the business. Coupled with the costs of off-site storage, managing the information can become a job within itself. One way a small business can cut down on the costs and time managing their data is to embrace technology and go to a paperless filing system.





The first step is to stop receiving paper statements from your bank and credit card companies. The statements can typically be downloaded and saved as a PDF file. For archiving and sharing those files (with your accountant) and others be sure to check out Microsoft Office Live Workspace and Windows Live SkyDrive. The tools are free and may help small businesses cut down on the time it takes to organize their important information.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Mixing Business and Social

The talk of “networking” is always on the lips of many small business entrepreneurs to meet and possibly generate new business. The more traditional methods of networking usually mix business with socializing to reach out to small businesses in a particular area. The web has brought about a new avenue of networking that is still able to integrate business and socializing with the introduction of social networks. These social networks have been the craze for many individuals to meet and socialize, but now small businesses are also using them to promote their businesses.

It does not stop there. A quick search of the internet produces a wealth of information about how social networks are being used by small and large businesses alike. Here is a special site that may be of interest from Dell. It is a free online course on how to use social networks to promote your business. Enjoy!

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Running a “Lean” small business

Recently there have been quite a few networking meetings in our area. Many of the themes of those meeting were how small businesses could operate in the slow economy. The majority of the solutions included increased time and effort in seeking out new businesses. The solutions also leveraged technology to improve the flow of the small business operations.

Technology driven workflow solutions should be an integral part of a small business owner’s plan for the future. These solutions can improve small business operations in the areas of business development, marketing, finance and accounting. Technology may be the key to operating a lean small business during these rough economic times.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Employee or Independent Contractor….IRS knows

For many small business owners the mistake of misclassifying employees as independent contractors (IC) can be a costly one. When one factors the interest and penalties for not withholding taxes, it can cost some small business owners the business itself. The IRS is focusing more efforts on ensuring compliance with the laws regarding employees and IC’s including partnering with states to share payroll tax data, better matching programs that will match Form 1099’s with payments, and increased audits of payroll data.

From the employee/IC side of things, any taxpayer that may think that an employer is misclassifying them as an IC can file Form 8919 with their tax return. This will allow the taxpayer to avoid paying self employment tax on their earnings. Check with your tax advisor for details of who an employee is versus and IC.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Planning in Economic Downturns

It has been about a month since the last tax return was filed for tax year 2007 (excluding those that filed extensions) and many taxpayers are relieved that the stress is over. Now is a great time to consider mapping out a strategy for 2008. Economic downturns coupled with rising consumers prices, make tax planning an important part of your over all savings and investment plans.

For small business owners , Microsoft’s Small Business Center provides a short but informative article on ways to survive during…dare I say the “R” word recession. Feel free to post any additional ideas that you would like to share.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy