Archive for July, 2009
Keeping Good Books. Why Bother?
July 26th, 2009
Maintaining good books is essential to a strong business.
Bookkeeping. Let’s face it, bookkeeping is not glamorous and the people and departments that handle the bookkeeping are, more often than not, seen only as a cost center. Small businesses often neglect their books because of the time and the effort required to setup and maintain a good bookkeeping system. Business owners would rather be out generating sales and increasing revenue than making journal entries and entering debits and credits in their general ledgers.
Here’s the rub, though. Small businesses can’t afford to ignore bookkeeping. This article will help you understand why by providing some enlightenment as to what bookkeeping is and how it affects your business.
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Posted in Accounting Tips & Tricks | 
Tags: accounting, bookkeeping, deductions, income, IRS, small business
Ten Most Common Bookkeeping Mistakes by Small Businesses
July 24th, 2009
Stay on top your bookkeeping and you'll stay on top your busineess.
It may not one of the more glamorous jobs, but bookkeeping is part and parcel of a company’s success. Mistakes and inefficiencies can cost a company both time and money.
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Posted in Accounting Tips & Tricks |
Tags: bookkeeping, common mistakes, deductions, IRS, sales tax, small business
Qualifying for the New Sales Tax Deduction for Automobiles
July 10th, 2009
A new deduction for qualifying motor vehicles taxes.
The recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) provides a new deduction for qualifying motor vehicles taxes.
1. Who can claim the deduction for motor vehicle taxes?
The Recovery Act makes the deduction available to purchasers of “qualified motor vehicles” after February 18, 2009, and before January 1, 2010 [IRC Sec. 164(a)(6) and Sec. 164(b)(6)(G)]. A qualified motor vehicle is a new passenger vehicle, light truck, or motorcycle that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less, or a motor home of any gross vehicle weight [IRC Sec. 164(b)(6)(D)(i)].
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Four Absolute Basics of Small Business Bookkeeping
July 8th, 2009
These Four Things are Critical to Running Your Business.
Many small business owners treat bookkeeping as as task they hire an accountant to do just before the final tax deadline.
In actuality, keeping up-to-date books is essential to helping small business owners run their operations more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Whether you do your own books or use a professional service, these four (4) simple tips can help keep you on track.
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Reduce College Costs through Tax Savings
July 5th, 2009
You can utilize tax savings to reduce college costs.
This is the time of the year that colleges send out their acceptances to next year’s freshmen class. But getting accepted is, of course, only half the battle—parents have to figure out how to pay the tuition bills.
Parents who had the foresight and means to save over the years through Sec. 529 qualified tuition plans or Coverdell education savings accounts may be in relatively good shape. But for other parents, it may be a mad scramble to find the dollars for college.
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