All posts by Nancy McClelland

Education, IRS, POS - Point of Sale, QuickBooks Software, Site News, Software, Tips

My Three Top Accounting Tips

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I recently received the honor of being named one of the Top Accounting Influencers of 2018 by Fit Small Business. As part of the interview process, they asked me for a list of three “top accounting tips” — and they picked one for their article. I figured in announcing the award, I should share all of the tips I provided in a related post, so here you go!

1) Involving an accountant in your business should be one of the first steps a business-owner takes, well before taxes are due. (I’m not saying this just because I’m a CPA; I’m saying it because I see the results of this oversight regularly.) This doesn’t mean you can’t file your own taxes… but if you take the time to consult with an expert first, you’ll make way fewer mistakes when you do. A qualified accountant who specializes in your industry can help you with so many of the key issues that otherwise might come back to haunt you at tax-time — from entity choice to software selection to funding your business.

2) Selecting the right type of entity (sole proprietor, LLC, partnership, S-Corp, etc.) can make a huge difference in both liability and taxation issues. It’s important to understand the rules of the entity type you choose — for example, if you’re an S-Corp, pay yourself “reasonable compensation” via payroll; it’s the law. With the changes in the new tax law, this piece of the puzzle has become even more complex and more important.

3) Technology should play a role in every aspect of your business — accounting, tax and bookkeeping are no exception. Find a CPA who understands and embraces the ways in which tasks can be automated, with an eye toward improving efficiency, accuracy, and audit-proofing your company. The right technology stack can improve inventory and ordering, point of sale, collections, payroll, workflow, forecasting and cash-flow. Almost every system can be leveraged such that the books become a daily source of information for making real-time management decisions… not just a requirement for tax compliance.

Follow these three tips, and in my opinion — the rest will follow.

Source: Accounting Software Reviews You Can Trust: Top Accounting Influencers

Site News, Tips

The Dancing Accountant Named One of “Top Accounting Influencers”

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Exciting news! Yours truly was named one of the “Top Accounting Influencers of 2018” by the popular web resource for small businesses and freelancers, Fit Small Business.

I have three initial reactions to this extremely high compliment:

  1. I am humbled and honored to be in the same space as some of my most respected colleagues. Just recently at a retreat for bookkeeping professionals, Cindy Schroeder introduced one of the speakers — Geni Whitehouse — in the context of how long she had admired and respected her. Cindy shared the experience of when she once discovered she was on the same list of conference speakers as Geni… and how in that moment she felt she had really “made it”. I can now second that wonderful feeling, as Geni is listed immediately next to me on the Accounting Influencers article.
  2. I could not do what I do without the incredible support of an amazing staff. Jessie Goldbaugh takes care of the lion’s share of bookkeeping and staff accounting services in the firm, and Ali Szymanski and Heidi Jacobson provide all the administrative support (and in Heidi’s case, probably most of my emotional support as well). My husband, Mark McClelland, is my personal IT guru and help-desk. Without the dedication of these hard-working folks in my life, I could not spend nearly as much time researching, pursuing continuing education, consulting and writing up related findings.
  3. Ultimately, it all comes down to providing services for my fabulous clients. It is their needs that cause me to constantly push forward, always learning something new, continually taking continuing education webinars, attending conferences and retreats, and researching — and then synthesizing and publishing, in the form of my blog — what I have learned. Were it not for them, there would be no point in it, and I would not be able to take a passion and turn it into a living. So, thanks to all the beautiful small businesses who give us the opportunity to be on your team.

P.S. In the interview process, Fit Small Business asked me for a list of three “top accounting tips”, and they picked one for the article. I figured in announcing the award, I should share all of the tips I provided in a related post — here. Enjoy.

Source: Accounting Software Reviews You Can Trust: Influencers

Education, IRS, Tips

What Kids Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes

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Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb always does a great job of taking a complex but important subject and breaking it down into easy-to-digest components. Today she’s back with an article on What Kids And Their Parents Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes.

Her basic points:

  1. You may not owe taxes, but you may still need to fill out tax forms.
  2. You may need to file and pay taxes even if you’re paid under the table.
  3. Don’t forget about state and local taxes.
  4. You may be able to claim job-related expenses.
  5. Consider using a tax professional.
  6. Save for a rainy day.

I see a lot of folks forgetting #1 and #4 (sometimes because they’re ignoring #2). Please take a moment to read the article and perhaps consult with a tax professional — if you meet with them in the off-season, they’ll probably be open to a short consultation/ training session, so that you’re armed to file these forms yourself come tax-time. A little investment now will get you a lot of savings (and compliance with tax agencies) in the future.

Illinois, Tips

Chicago Small Business Improvement Fund Application Deadline July 9th

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From the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce:

The application period is open for the Milwaukee/Fullerton TIF Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF), a City of Chicago grant program available to commercial and industrial businesses, intended to help small business owners renovate, expand or start-up businesses along commercial and industrial corridors. Small business owners or property owners that lease to businesses in the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF district can receive reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 for commercial projects to cover the cost of eligible remodeling work. The application period is open 6/6 – 7/9/18 at 5 PM.

IRS

IRS Releases Draft of New Form 1040 for 2019

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Big news yesterday, as the Internal Revenue Service announced it has a draft available of the new Form 1040 for the upcoming tax year. The aim is to consolidate all three previous types of the form into one, so that all individual taxpayers are using the same form. The IRS notes:

The new Form 1040 uses a “building block” approach, in which the tax return is reduced to a simple form. That form can be supplemented with additional schedules if needed. Taxpayers with straightforward tax situations would only need to file this new 1040 with no additional schedules.

The National Association of Tax Professionals predicts that about 30% of taxpayers will file the 1040 alone (with no supporting schedules), and fully 65% will file either the 1040 alone or the 1040 and only one other schedule. The remaining folks will file with more than one schedule.

The IRS is working with the tax community to get feedback on the new form by mid-July, and hopes to release a second draft in August. Tax professionals can submit comments regarding the draft to their tax preparer associations or to WI.1040.Comments@IRS.gov.

Source: IRS Working on a New Form 1040 for 2019 Tax Season | Internal Revenue Service

Education, Illinois, Tips

Starting a Food Business in Chicago

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Chicago folks who are interested in the licensing requirements needed when Starting a Food Business should consider attending the upcoming introductory course by The Hatchery, a small food business incubator.

Tickets are only $40 and the course is being held at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago, 320 N Damen Ave. 1st Floor.

If you attend and find it valuable, please share in the comments below!

QuickBooks Software, Tips

Hidden Feature: Calculator Within QuickBooks

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It feels a little odd to consider the in-app calculator within QuickBooks a “hidden feature”, but in a recent QB Power Hour with Hector Garcia, he mentioned that it’s the one feature that clients are most stunned and enthused by… so I figured I should mention it here as well so that my own clients (and maybe colleagues) can make use of it if they’re not already aware of its power or existence.

In particular, I think that folks may not know the same calculator functions that exist in QB Desktop also exist in QB Online, since that wasn’t always the case. But it does support not only simple calculations, but also order of operations punctuation, such as the ability to calculate quantities in parentheses before any other arithmetic.

Try it out!

Source: Hidden Feature: Calculator Within QuickBooks — Go Get Geek!

Software, Tips

How to Select Your Ideal Technology Stack

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I came across this short, sweet, to-the-point article this week called How to Select Your Ideal Technology Stack.

This quote in particular resonated with me:

Where you have existing processes that work well, look for an app that will complement those processes. When things aren’t working so well, look for apps that will help overcome the roadblocks you are facing and then refine the process around the new app.

I’ll be heading to the Scaling New Heights conference tomorrow and my main goal is to identify existing apps that excite my colleagues, choose a few that might work well for our firm and clients, and I’ll be keeping the pointers from this article in mind.

If you have favorite apps for your industry, for personal productivity, or for accounting and bookkeeping or tax integrations, please share in the comments below.

Illinois, Tips

Energy-Saving Solutions for Small Businesses

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Not sure how many of you are aware that a great program exists for small businesses in the Chicago area: Small Businesses Energy Assessments | ComEd.

I discovered this program from the back-end, as I have a couple of clients who participate as “trade allies” — small businesses request a free energy assessment and then ComEd pays for part of the contracting work to bring workplaces up-to-date to be more efficient in energy use. It’s a win-win-win for the small business needing the upgrades, the small business doing the contracting work, and the environment. The savings on energy costs alone make it worth the while, but the incentives certainly help with motivation.

So, just in case you weren’t already aware of the program, here it is. Sign up today for a free energy assessment, with no strings attached.

And as a reminder, I don’t accept payments for blog posts! This is a program I’ve seen many of my clients benefit from, and thought I should spread the word to others.

Education

What is a Cooperative? 6/20/18 Webinar

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As most of my blog readers know, I’m an active supporter of cooperatives as a positive force both economically and socially. I’ve worked as an educator with both NCBA (National Cooperative Business Association) and NSAC (National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives) and they each offer fantastic opportunities for education in the area of accounting for cooperatives. Especially well-suited for accountants who might be looking to expand their scope of offerings into the intricacies of cooperatives, this upcoming basic course by Bill Erlenbush promises to be worth the $56 and 60 minutes of your time.

This one-hour course is one of the modules contained in the NSAC Basic Accounting Course, taught at an introductory-basic level. The course will describe exactly what a cooperative is, definitions, etc. It will discuss the rich history of cooperatives, and will point out cooperatives in the community today, many of which most of us did not realize were cooperatives. We will discuss the several ways coops are classified, and will end with a discussion of the benefits of cooperation. — NSAC Cooperative Learning Network – What is a Cooperative?