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Quickbooks

Tax Season Made Easy: How QuickBooks Services Can Simplify Your Business Tax Preparation

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As tax season approaches in January 2024, businesses are gearing up for the annual task of organizing financial records, ensuring compliance with tax regulations, and preparing for filing. This process can be daunting and time-consuming. However, with the right tools and services, tax preparation can be streamlined and stress-free. 

QuickBooks, a popular accounting software, offers a range of services that can simplify your business tax preparation. *** The following are ways of leveraging QuickBooks that can make tax season a breeze for your business.

  1. Seamless recordkeeping. One of the primary challenges during tax season is gathering and organizing financial records. QuickBooks acts as a centralized platform for all your financial transactions, providing a seamless recordkeeping system. With features for expense tracking, income categorization, and automatic transaction updates, QuickBooks ensures that your financial data is organized and easily accessible when needed for tax preparation.
  2. Automated data entry. Manually entering data is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. QuickBooks automates the data entry process, minimizing the risk of mistakes and ensuring accuracy in your financial records. This not only saves time but also provides a reliable foundation for your tax filings.
  3. Real-time financial reporting. QuickBooks offers real-time financial reporting, allowing you to generate up-to-the-minute financial statements. This feature is particularly beneficial during tax season when accurate and current financial information is crucial. With QuickBooks, you can quickly generate profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and other reports needed for tax filings.
  4. Simplified expense tracking. Tracking business expenses is a critical aspect of tax preparation. QuickBooks simplifies expense tracking by allowing you to categorize and tag expenses as they occur. Whether it’s a business meal, office supplies, or travel expenses, QuickBooks makes it easy to track and report deductible expenses come tax season.
  5. Integration with financial institutions. QuickBooks can be seamlessly integrated with your business bank accounts and credit cards. This integration ensures that all financial transactions are automatically imported into the software, eliminating the need for manual data entry. This not only saves time but also reduces the likelihood of overlooking important transactions.
  6. Tax categories and deductions. QuickBooks comes equipped with predefined tax categories, making it easier to assign expenses to the correct deduction categories. This ensures that you take advantage of all eligible tax deductions, maximizing your potential tax savings. The software also allows you to customize categories to align with the specific needs of your business.
  7. Payroll management. QuickBooks simplifies payroll processing by automating calculations for taxes, deductions, and contributions. This reduces the risk of payroll errors and ensures that your business remains compliant with tax regulations.
  8. Easy invoicing and revenue tracking. QuickBooks facilitates easy invoicing and revenue tracking, allowing you to monitor income streams and reconcile revenue with your financial records. This functionality streamlines the process of determining your taxable income.
  9. Collaboration and accessibility. QuickBooks is designed for collaboration, allowing multiple users, including your accountant or tax professional, to access the system simultaneously. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone involved in the tax preparation process has access to the latest financial data, making the overall process more efficient and accurate.
  10. Preparation for quarterly estimates. For businesses that pay quarterly estimated taxes, QuickBooks simplifies the process of calculating and preparing these payments. The software can provide estimates based on your financial data, making it easier to plan and budget for quarterly tax obligations.
  11. Integration with tax software. QuickBooks can seamlessly integrate with popular tax preparation software, further streamlining the tax filing process. This integration allows for the direct transfer of financial data from QuickBooks to your tax software, reducing the need for manual data entry and minimizing the risk of errors.
  12. Regular updates for compliance. Tax laws and regulations are subject to change, and staying compliant requires businesses to stay informed. QuickBooks provides regular updates to ensure that the software complies with the latest tax regulations. This reduces the risk of non-compliance and potential penalties during tax season.

Tax season doesn’t have to be a source of stress for your business. By leveraging the capabilities of QuickBooks, you can simplify and streamline your tax preparation process. QuickBooks is one software that can help your business with keeping your books organized. Organized and accessible financial records help make tax season a seamless and efficient experience for your business.

AK Burton, PC specializes in preparing small business tax returns. Whether it’s tax planning, preparing tax returns, issuing financial statements, drafting a lender letter or whatever else your business needs, we can help you along the way. Call us at (301) 365-1974 for a consultation. 

We serve Bethesda, Rockville, and Montgomery County. MD area.

*** For more information visit the QuickBooks website.   

 

 

 

 

Quickbooks, Small Business Accounting

How to Organize Your Small Business Accounting Using QuickBooks Services

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Tax Season ended at midnight on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Tax Day is such a stressful time for citizens, businesses, and accountants. This year was no different though. When the numbers come out, there will probably be an increase in filing extensions by people and businesses.

Now that the smoke has cleared, business owners may want to consider using our QuickBooks services to do their accounting and tax preparation. QuickBooks is an accounting software developed by Intuit. QuickBooks is mainly for small and medium-sized businesses. The cloud-based software can accept business payments, manage and pay bills, and do payroll.

QuickBooks can be used to organize your small business accounting. Here are some steps to get started:

  1. Set up your company: Start by setting up your company in QuickBooks. This includes entering your company information, such as your business name, address, and tax ID number.
  2. Add your bank and credit card accounts: Connect your bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks. This will allow you to automatically import transactions into QuickBooks, making it easier to keep track of your finances.
  3. Categorize your transactions: Once you have imported your transactions into QuickBooks, you will need to categorize them. This involves assigning each transaction to the appropriate account, such as income or expenses.
  4. Set up your chart of accounts: Your chart of accounts is a list of all the accounts you use in your business. This includes income accounts, expense accounts, and asset accounts. Setting up your chart of accounts is an important step in organizing your accounting.
  5. Create invoices and track payments: QuickBooks allows you to create and send invoices to your customers. You can also use QuickBooks to track payments and send reminders for overdue payments.
  6. Run financial reports: QuickBooks offers a variety of financial reports, such as profit and loss statements and balance sheets. These reports can help you understand the financial health of your business and make informed decisions.
  7. Get professional help: If you’re not familiar with accounting or QuickBooks, consider hiring a professional to help you get started. A certified accountant can help you set up QuickBooks and maintain your accounting records, so you can focus on running your business.

QuickBooks guides and assists you to organize your small business accounting. Using QuickBooks can save you time and help you make informed financial decisions for your business. Millions of business owners use QuickBooks as a daily part of their accounting. 

It takes time to learn and integrate into your business. However, with training and experience, many small and medium-sized business owners have come to depend on it. If you are considering QuickBooks to do your accounting, consult an accountant to get started. 

AK Burton, PC offers QuickBooks services for our clients. We can train you in QuickBooks and help you use it to run your business. Call us at (301) 365-1974 for a consultation. 

We serve Bethesda, Rockville, and Montgomery County. MD area.

*** For more information visit the QuickBooks website.   

 

Small Business Accounting, tax preparation

Extended business tax deadline 1065, 1120S: What information do you send your tax preparer?

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If you are reading this, chances are you are a business owner, who filed an extension, getting ready to file, but you need guidance on what to do next.

Also, you may be worried because the extension deadline is approaching, and want to be prepared.

You’ve come to the right place. 

With the extension deadline quickly approaching, it’s best to file our return as soon as possible.

The original deadline passed (March 15, 2022) for partnerships, S corporations, or LLCs taxed as partnerships. If you filed an automatic six-month extension, your deadline is September 15, 2022.

When you do meet with your tax preparer, here’s a list of items to get you started as to what you need to bring:

If you have it:

  • a copy of your books (for example accountant’s copy of QuickBooks)
  • applicable spreadsheets

Income documents including:

  • Receipts from sales and services (example: forms 1099-k, 1099)
  • Accounts receivable records
  • Business checking/savings accounts interest (forms 1099-INT)
  • Investment income documents (including form 1099-DIV)
  • Additional income (including rental income, tax credits, etc.)

Forms related to Costs of Goods Sold (if applicable)

Expenses documents include:

  • Advertising
  • Phones (landline, fax, or cell phones related to business)
  • Computer & internet expenses
  • Transportation and travel expenses (include taxi fares, tax, tips, food, gas, and all expenses incurred to facilitate any business trips)
  • Commission and fees
  • Labor expenses paid to subcontractors and independent contractors
  • Depreciation
    • Cost and first date of business use of assets
    • Any records for using assets for personal activities
    • Documentation of prior year depreciation
    • Sales price and disposition date of any assets sold
  • Intangible assets (copyrights, etc.)
  • Business insurances
  • Interest expense (can include mortgage, business loan, or any investment expense)
  • Professional fees (lawyers, accountants, consultants, tax preparers, etc.)
  • Office supplies expenses
  • Rent expenses (if applicable)
  • In-home Office expenses (if applicable)
  • Payroll including wages, benefits, and other employee expenses
  • Repairs, maintenance of office facility, etc.
  • Total mileage 
  • Business mileage
  • Estimated taxes paid
  • Other business-related expenses

Every business is different, so it’s best to contact a tax preparer to know if there are any items not listed you may need.

Of course, if you don’t file by the extended deadline, there is a Failure to File penalty. The basic penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month a filing is late. The maximum penalty is 25%. If the return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is the lesser of $435 or 100% https://cpa-maryland.com/services/tax-preparation/of the tax required to be shown on the return.

Late filings can also be charged interest. Visit the IRS website to get an exact calculation https://www.irs.gov/payments/interest. 

Be prepared. File today.

AK Burton, PC serves small businesses with all of their tax needs. Our experienced tax preparers can file your business and personal tax returns and represent you to the IRS. Call us at (301) 365-1974 for a consultation. 

We serve the Bethesda, Rockville, and Montgomery County, MD area.

Sources:

https://www.irs.gov/payments/failure-to-file-penalty 

https://www.blockadvisors.com/tax-preparation-checklist/ 

https://www.irs.gov/payments/interest 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-planning-and-checklists/important-tax-deadlines-dates/L7Rn92V1d 

Quickbooks, Small Business Accounting

How to Use QuickBooks Services for Your Small Business Accounting

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In these days of COVID, (I’ll be so glad when I won’t have to use that term anymore!) it’s good practice for small business owners to do much of their accounting online using software designed specifically for them. It saves money, time, and protects them from exposure to others. 

QuickBooks *** is a popular and economical program for business owners and accountants. Its features, functionality, and ease of use are all strong reasons to use this program. 

If you are considering QuickBooks as a tool to manage your books, here are some ways you can use it:

  1. Invoice customers: QuickBooks lets you invoice your customers to decrease accounts receivable and increase cash flow.
  2. Manage bills and accounts payable: Keep updated on your bills to your vendors and suppliers by using the enter bills and pay bills function. Keeping your vendors and suppliers happy is important as well.  You don’t want to fall behind on your outstanding bills with vendors. You just enter the payment and due date. No longer do you have to write and print checks. QuickBooks online pay function is easy and efficient. Plus, it saves you money from having to buy checks.    
  3. Employee time management: Enter the employee time data on the home screen. It can be a one-time event or a weekly payroll period. QuickBooks measures employee productivity and job costing, if applicable.
  4. Payroll management: QuickBooks lets you process payroll directly or you can integrate a third party for it. You will record your outsourced payroll in QuickBooks. You can also import your payroll data from QuickBooks to the accounting firm. 
  5. Memorized transactions: You should use QuickBooks memorized transactions to automatically enter transactions that occur on a regular and predictable basis.  This can include invoices, bills, journal entries, and payments.  The idea is to boost efficiency and have certain items be entered automatically into QuickBooks.  One example of good use of a memorized transaction is a bill that you have set up to be automatically deducted from your checking account like the monthly internet payment.  By memorizing a check you can have the payment automatically post to your checking account a certain number of days in advance. 
  6. Online banking: Major banks are now integrated into the QuickBooks software. So, you can set up your business to do all its online banking through it. 
  7. Printed checks: If you do need to print checks, you can keep cash flow analysis updated. Then you can print from it. It is extremely efficient!
  8. Journal entries: You may need to correct bookkeeping issues and create year-end entries per with your CPA so it matches your tax return. These detailed entries may be necessary when you file your tax return. 
  9. Online payments: The QuickBooks Intuit Payment Network gives your customer a convenient way to pay your invoices online. 
  10. Financial reporting: QuickBooks allows you to run reports to help get a snapshot of where your small business is at the moment. Your bookkeeping will be enhanced by its financial reporting.

If you are not using QuickBooks services, you may want to consider it. For the reasons listed above it may benefit your business to look into purchasing and using a software such as QuickBooks.

At A.K. Burton, PC, we help our small business clients with their taxes. We are familiar with QuickBooks as it is one of the many software that we use to serve our clients. Call us at (301) 365-1974 for a consultation. Our office is open! We serve the Bethesda, Rockville, and Montgomery County. MD area.

*** For more about QuickBooks Small Business Services, click here.  

Small Business Accounting

How QuickBooks Can Change Your Small Business Accounting

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Online accounting has been around awhile. In fact, most accounting is done online now in a cryptic, password-protected program.  

 One of the most popular programs is Quickbooks. It is used by millions of subscribers for business, small and big. Quickbooks accounting programs have led the way in innovative bookkeeping and easy functionality. 

 If you are feeling overwhelmed trying to organize your books, consider using Quickbooks. Here are some ways Quickbooks can change your small business accounting:

1.    Invoicing: You can create and send your own invoices. You can now increase your cash flow and decrease your accounts receivable.

2.    Cash flow control: By keeping your Quickbooks file updated, you can use it then to manage your cash flow. You have to enter your financial transactions regularly and do daily reconciliations. It is done by sorting the Quickbooks bank accounts by sing cleared status.

3.    Manage employee time: On the home screen, employee time can be entered (either a single time event or a weekly timesheet). This tracking system measures employee productivity. 

4.     Memorized Transactions: Regular transactions can be automatically entered on a regular basis. Quickbooks memorized transactions may include invoices, bills, journal entries, and payments.  Thus, your accounting should be much more efficient. 

5.    Accept Online Payments – The “Intuit payment network services” allows customers to pay your invoices online. It costs only $0.50 per transaction with no percentage of the invoice being charged as a fee.  

6.    Payroll Management – Payroll can be processed directly in QuickBooks. Your outsourced payroll can be recorded directly in Quickbooks. All payroll companies can import your outsourced payroll data into QuickBooks.  

7.    Financial Reporting: Small business financial reporting is a critical part of your small business bookkeeping.  

8.    Email Invoices and Statements – All of your small business invoices and statements can be emailed directly from Quickbooks. It reduces the time it takes for your customers to pay you. 

9.    Accounting questions listed: There may be some transactions that you may not know how to handle and could keep you from reconciling and closing out your financials.  The “Quickbooks Ask My Accountant” code on your chart of accounts lets you enter the transaction in question then reconcile all of them while keeping your questions organized in one spot.  

Quickbooks can become an essential part of your small business accounting and bookkeeping. The software can help organize your business and centralize multiple business functions. However, just understanding where to begin with Quickbooks can seem impossible. At A.K. Burton, PC we use QuickBooks as a tool to help our small business clients manage their businesses. If you don’t know where to begin with your small business accounting, we are here to help. We specialize in small business accounting services. 

A.K. Burton, PC, has Quickbooks accountants experts on staff who can help you set up and use this exciting accounting program for your business. Contact our friendly and experienced staff at (301) 365-1974 or email info@cpa-maryland.com. A.K. Burton, PC serves the Bethesda, Rockville, and Montgomery County areas.

Accounting, Small Business Accounting

Wake up and smell the coffee!: Small business accounting services that your accountant has-and you should be using

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“Shoot, if I had only known!”

How many times have you said that to yourself. If you had only known that your favorite restaurant had a free dessert Wednesday night or that suit you wanted was half price, yesterday, or that the radio station was giving away tickets to your favorite singer’s concert.

Oh, if only…

It’s a familiar lament but, sometimes, there are second chances to great opportunities. Those opportunities missed are aggravating because you realize that you’ve lost out on something beneficial to your life. However, there is a much more important opportunity that exceeds any dessert, suit or concert ticket. We are speaking of small business accounting, of course.

Your business pays the bills and may even be the main source of income for your employees. It is crucial to your life. Don’t take the accounting and bookkeeping services your accountant has to offer for granted.

As any accountant will tell you, you may understand a lot about bookkeeping, but no one knows everything. Leave that to the professionals.   

So, here is a list of small business accounting services your accountant has and you should be using:

  1. Quickbooks Advice: Quickbooks is always updating, changing and upping its game. It is still the premiere business accounting program. Sometimes, keeping up with those changes can be a chore, if not impossible, during your long work weeks. Your accountant must keep up with the updates as they are probably using it themselves! Utilize their knowledge and expertise on this program and all you have to do is call.
  2. Setting up an Accounting System and Structure: Starting a business is a huge challenge and getting the correct accounting system for your business can be agonizing. There are many choices and many different fees. Do you know which accounting system is best? Most business owners and managers are not accountants plus they have too much on their plate, already. So, contact your accountant. They will analyze your business according to volume of business, number of employees and other factors to help you figure out which accounting system is best for your business. Then, your accountant can help you install it and set it up.

  3. Startup/New Business Consultation: You’ve got a great idea for a new business. You’ve done the research and even chosen a storefront. But, how do you get the financing? Hire employees? Set up payroll? Purchase inventory? Those and many important questions need to be answered. Your accountant can help you make all of these crucial, business startup decisions and get the launch of your dream off right.

  4. Record-keeping techniques: It is imperative that your business keep accurate accounting records. You have to deal with suppliers, employees, vendors, landlords, travel agents, garages, the IRS. That’s no small list of people and agencies who depend on your company to pay them. So, use the best accounting record-keeping methods you can find. Your accountant can advise you on what you can use that will be efficient, affordable and can be used by everyone in your company.

  5. Assistance with registering your company with all the appropriate tax authorities: What is an LLC and should your company be one? Which tax authorities do I register with in Washington, D.C., Maryland or Virginia? Or, should I register with all three? Do I need any licenses and permits to run my business? All good questions and they need to be answered. Your accountant can help you register, apply for the correct permits and licenses.

Did you know that these are just some of the services that your local accountant can provide for you and your company, no matter what its size or if it hasn’t even opened its doors, yet?! Like most business owners, you probably didn’t know it.

Running a business is hard work. Don’t make it even harder. Contact your accountant and have them be a partner in your success.      

A.K. Burton, PC, which serves the Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, MD area, provides all these services and more. Contact us at (301) 365-1974 for more information or email us at info@cpa-maryland.com.

 

Accounting

New Quickbooks Services Upgrades in 2018

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Just when you thought it was safe to figure that you have Quickbooks down, they change it again. Changes, however, can be a good thing and Quickbooks upgrades for 2018 are more than good-they are stellar.

In fact, the Quickbooks upgrades will make your accounting life for your business a bit easier, even for those erstwhile accountants who begrudgingly do it on a monthly basis (or less).

Here are a number of the Quickbooks Services Upgrades in 2018:

  1. Cash accurate toggle on reports: You will be able to get quicker assessment and management using the 1-clickthat changes from cash based accounting and accrual based accounting on a per-report basis. All in just one click!
  2. Merge vendors: This is so much easier now as you can go from manual duplicate vendor look-up, to leveraging QB search. Then, sort sort tools to identify vendors that need to be merged. You now can merge four vendors at a timeinstead of just You can also move account information from duplicate vendors under the master vendor account option.
  3. Portable bar code scanner: It enables the choosing process which improves accuracy. It also allows users to track thestatus of inventory movements. You have three options: Sent for Pick, Pick in progress, and Picked/Partially Picked. The efficiency of this upgrade is quite incredible, too.
  4. Payroll liability reminder: Penalties are a killer. You can void them by identifying alerts on QBDT home page. Then you can create an automated reminder display on the payroll setup. This version also has new alerts displayed on the homepagea week before the
  5. Past due stamp/payroll badge reminder: Payments arrive faster when you use the past due stamp tool to tag past due open invoices.Past due stamp labels are added on the PDF This option can be turned off.
  6. Secure web mail: Yes, your work is even more secure now! Oauth 2.0, the new security standard in emails, is now available.

These are just a few of the upgrades to the Quickbooks accounting and bookkeeping system, but we are impressed. We highly recommend if for your small business. It truly has all the tools you need to do your work efficiently.

A.K. Burton, PC, which serves the Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, MD area, works with Quickbooks every day and can provide all the Quickbooks Services you and your small business needs. Contact us at (301) 365-1974 for more information or email us at info@cpa-maryland.com.