Category Archives: Software

Tax Season Begins Jan 24 — IRS Says to Expect Frustration

January 16, 2022 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

In an already unprecedented year, the IRS is taking an unprecedented approach toward managing taxpayer expectations, and with good reason: with tax season officially beginning this coming January 24th, the IRS is dealing with a severe lack of staffing — facing workforce headcounts at 1970s levels — and a backlog of tax returns from the past two years. They say to expect frustration this tax season.

The IRS has been dealing with budget shortages for many years now, and Covid forced their mailrooms to close down for months at a time, creating a massive backlog from which they have not yet recovered. Add to that the unbelievable number of new demands placed upon the agency: three rounds of stimulus payments, Employee Retention Credits for both 2020 and 2021, and demands for guidance in an unbelievable number of groundbreaking areas of code… it is certainly understandable that they would not be able to meet taxpayer needs.

So what can taxpayers do to avoid additional problems? Filing electronically with direct deposit, and avoiding a paper tax return — at almost any cost — is more important than ever this year. Additionally, those who received an Economic Impact Payment or an advance Child Tax Credit last year should be especially careful to order an IRS transcript ahead-of-time to confirm these amounts before filing a return. (We are requiring all clients to submit both federal and state transcripts this year, in their own interest.)

Also, keep in mind that by law, the IRS cannot issue a refund involving the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before mid-February, though eligible people may file their returns beginning on January 24. The law provides this additional time to help the IRS stop fraudulent refunds from being issued.

Due to the Emancipation Day holiday falling on Friday, April 15th, the filing deadline to submit 2021 tax returns or an extension to file is Monday, April 18, 2022. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, to file (but not an extension to pay; make sure to pay an estimate of tax with your extension).

The IRS did note that if you are still awaiting processing of your 2020 tax return, this should not prevent you from filing a 2021 return — but as a CPA, I’d recommend against that approach, opting instead to file an extension with a payment of any estimated tax due; otherwise, changes from 2020 could affect 2021 and require an amended return.

The American Institute of CPA’s VP of Tax, Ed Karl, has repeatedly shared in AICPA Town Halls and articles that the IRS Commissioner himself testified that during busy season the IRS gets 1500 calls per second — this translates into their only being able to answer 2% of calls. “No, that is not a typo.” The AICPA strongly supports penalty relief measures that are fair, reasonable and practical, and would mitigate the negative effect of the coronavirus on taxpayers and require less contact with the IRS. Such an approach would alleviate the daily struggles that taxpayers, their advisers and the IRS face. Specifically, the AICPA urges Treasury and the IRS to:

Stop compliance actions until the IRS is prepared to devote the necessary resources for a proper and timely resolution of erroneous notices, missing refunds and other matters. At a minimum, stop automatic collections at least for 90 days after the filing deadline.
Align requests for account holds with the time it takes the IRS to process any penalty abatement requests.
Provide taxpayers with targeted relief from underpayment of estimated tax penalty and the late payment penalty.
Offer a COVID-19 reasonable cause relief, similar to the procedures of first-time abatement and generally facilitate the easier adoption of reasonable cause relief.

Those are some solid suggestions for short-term relief — long-term suggestions and more can be found in this excellent AICPA summary. On Friday, the AICPA joined a coalition seeking relief from IRS service challenges, pointing out that “though the pandemic has created unforeseen and prolonged problems for the IRS, taxpayers, and tax professionals, the IRS has not taken reasonable actions to reduce burdens that appear likely to continue into the upcoming tax filing season”.

In the meantime, here are several important dates from Tax Practice Advisor that taxpayers should keep in mind for this year’s filing season:

January 14: IRS Free File opens. Taxpayers can begin filing returns through IRS Free File partners; tax returns will be transmitted to the IRS starting January 24. Many tax software companies also are accepting tax filings in advance.
January 18: Due date for tax year 2021 fourth-quarter estimated tax payments.
January 24: IRS begins 2022 tax season. Individual 2021 tax returns begin being accepted and processing begins.
January 28: Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day to raise awareness of valuable tax credits available to many people – including the option to use prior-year income to qualify.
April 18: Due date to file 2021 tax return or request extension and pay tax owed.
April 19: Due date to file 2021 tax return or request extension and pay tax owed for those who live in MA or ME due to Patriots’ Day holiday.
October 17: Due date to file for those requesting an extension on their 2021 tax returns.

Best of luck — and please remember to be kind and patient with your tax preparer and agency representatives. We’re all human beings struggling with an imperfect system during a difficult time.

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. Ths allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.

Education, Illinois, Software, Tips

How To Make IL Dept Of Rev (IDOR) Business Tax Payments Online: Estimates & Extensions – UPDATED

December 31, 2021 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

The step-by-step instructions I painstakingly wrote up earlier this year for making business replacement income tax estimated and extension payments are now out-of-date, because IDOR revamped their MyTaxIllinois website in September (grrrrr). So here are the basic instructions (screenshots are coming soon, but this will have to do for now):

— Log into the business’s My Tax IL account
— On the ‘Summary’ tab, look for the ‘Business Income Tax’ section
— Click on the link for ‘View more account options’

There are two ways to do it from here; the first is:
— In the ‘Account Options’ section, click the link for ‘Make An Estimated Payment’
— Select the period you want to pay (which is 12/31/2021 for tax year 2021 — choose a later period if paying estimated taxes for 2022)
— Click the first ‘Add Payment’ hyperlink in the Payment Schedule table for each payment you would like to schedule.
— If your payment information is saved in MyTax Illinois, then in the ‘Choose’ tab you can select the dropdown under ‘Payment Channel’
— Otherwise, select ‘New’ and enter your company bank info.
— In either case, on the right where it says ‘Payment’, you can change the payment’s debit date and enter the amount.
— Click Submit, and re-enter your password for security purposes

Alternatively:
— In the ‘Periods and Submissions’ section, click the link for ‘View Account Periods’
— Click the 12/31/2021 link so that your payment is applied to tax year 2021 (or a later period if paying 2022 estimated quarterly taxes)
— In the upper right corner of this page, click the ‘Make A Payment’ link
— Select the ‘Bank Account Debit’ link
— Click the IL-1120-ST Payment link (ST denotes a “Small Business” payment)
— Enter the amount you want to pay in the Amount and Confirm Amount fields
— Click Submit, and re-enter your password for security purposes

Congrats, you did it!

COVID-19 Financial Relief, Education, Software, Tips

PPP2 Opens Today 1/11 – But Only To A Few: Be Patient.

January 11, 2021 Nancy McClelland 2 Comments

January 11, 2021: The next round of the popular Paycheck Protection Program technically opens today — but only for a very small number of lenders, called Community Financial Institutions. According to CPA Practice Advisor, “To promote access to capital, initially only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans on Monday, January 11, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter.”

In the finance industry, this is being referred to as the “Soft Launch” of the PPP. The reason for this tiered approach is that these institutions (CFIs), and the disadvantaged businesses they often represent — many of them from underserved communities — were mostly shut-out of the first round of PPP back in April. Brian Thompson published a great article in Forbes yesterday, explaining the details, that I encourage you to read. In short, the SBA is trying to equalize access to business ownership and support for black and brown communities. So if you’re not in one of these groups, today’s opening is not meant for you. Please be patient.

Although only this small group of lenders will be the included in the Soft Launch, unfortunately very few of them will be prepared to take full loan applications this week. These CFIs are generally only accepting applications from their existing customers, and do not have the processing capacity to receive an influx of applications, especially from those outside the communities they serve.

My recommendation is to continue with the strategy that you have already devised — whether that’s working with your existing banking relationship, or with your CPA to apply through a lending portal (I am using the CPA Business Funding Portal, a joint program between the AICPA and biz2credit — more here — you can also use the platform for free to help prepare applications to be sent to clients’ existing lenders).

See my recent blog posts for more information about the details of this round of the Paycheck Protection Program, or how to determine whether or not you qualify.

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. This allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.

COVID-19 Financial Relief, Education, IRS, Software, Tips

How To Look Up The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) In Gusto Payroll

December 29, 2020 Nancy McClelland 4 Comments

The newest Covid-19 financial relief package was finally signed, and one of the big features is that the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC or ERTC) was made available to many businesses that previously were not allowed to claim it, most notably those who accepted PPP loans.

For a wonderful in-depth explanation of the Employee Retention Tax Credit, please see Tony Nitti’s two-part Forbes article:
– Breaking Down Changes To The Employee Retention Tax Credit In The New Covid Relief Bill, Part 1
– Breaking Down The Changes To The Employee Retention Credit In The New COVID Relief Bill, Part 2
– Part 2 also links to an earlier article of his that goes thorough the details of calculating the ERC according to the 2020 rules.

To summarize the ERC:
• 50% refundable payroll tax credit on qualified wages paid between 3/13/2020 and 12/31/2020
• Claimed on quarterly payroll tax Form 941
• Qualify for quarters with full or partial shutdown due to government order =OR= 50% decline in gross receipts from prior quarter
• Maximum qualified wages of $10,000 per employee during tax year 2020 period
• For employers with 100 or fewer employees, all wages paid are “qualified wages” (different rules for larger employers)
• PPP loan recipients were previously ineligible

Changes retroactive to 3/13/2020:
• PPP loan recipients can use the credit for wages not paid for with forgiven PPP loan proceeds (no overlap)
• Group health plan expenses are considered qualified wages even if no other wages were paid to employee

And the reason for this post — the employer can elect to treat newly creditable wages as paid in the quarter that includes the date of enactment of the Act (4Q 2020) if employment tax returns for prior quarters were already filed prior to the enactment of the Act.

The ERC is also being extended and expanded — but that’s beyond the scope of this blog post. A quick summary of what’s to come:
The credit availability is extended to wages paid through 6/30/2021 and the following changes will apply:
• Credit rate increases from 50% to 70%
• Maximum creditable wages increases to $10,000 per employee per quarter
• For employers with 500 or fewer employees, all wages paid are qualified wages
• Qualifying gross receipts decline from prior year quarter reduced to 20% instead of 50%
– Employer can elect to compare to immediately preceding quarter
– Employers not in existence for all or part of 2019 can use the credit

But the point here is that the old ERC is now available to any qualifying employers who had either a 50% reduction in gross revenue or were fully or partially shut down by government order — even if they received PPP funds. They just can’t double-dip on the payroll costs that were claimed for PPP forgiveness. And so for these employers, any remaining (non-PPP) payroll costs from 3/13-12/31/20 can now be claimed on the fourth-quarter payroll tax Form 941 and 50% of up to $10,000 per employee will be credited back to them. This is not small change for some employers!

The problem, of course, is that we have to act fast — the fourth-quarter 941 forms will be filed in a matter of a week or so, depending on your payroll company. They are all scrambling to find a way for us to report which wages are eligible… but in the meantime we need to get our clients ready.

The first step is to determine which clients are already taking the credit.

There are many fine payroll companies out there (actually, there aren’t), and Gusto is hands-down my favorite, and that of many of my colleagues. (And if you use my referral link you’ll get a $100 gift card when you run your first payroll by January 31. If you’re a bookkeeper or accountant wanting to switch your clients to Gusto, this referral link will get you a $500 gift card.)

So I’ve written up instructions with screen shots on how to look up which clients of yours using this system are already claiming the ERC. Once you know this, you can then 1) reach out to them to let them know they can now apply for the PPP, and 2) reach out to the ones who haven’t to let them know they might qualify.

Step One: log into your Gusto Accountant dashboard.
Step Two: click on “Clients” in the upper-left to see a list of your clients.
Step Three: you’ll need to click into each client and perform the following steps.

Click “Covid-19” in the upper-left.
Scroll past the new notice about the Consolidated Appropriations Act (see screenshot at top of blog post).
There are a bunch of blocks of info on the different programs for which the client might be eligible. Click the “Claim credit” button for the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

4. You will see one of two screens — either it will say “You’re currently receiving the employee retention tax credit” or it won’t.

This is what it looks like if your client is already receiving it:

And this is what it looks like if they’re not:

If they’re not, and you’ve determined that they qualify (50% reduction of gross revenues over the same quarter in the prior year =OR= full/partial shutdown by the government), then click the button at the bottom of the screen to claim the credit and you’ll come to this screen next.

You’ll need to know the quarter in which they became eligible and had wages that qualified for the credit.

Once gross revenues climb back up to 80% of what the same-quarter prior-year revenues were, the client ceases to qualify and must stop taking the credit.

Again, remember that this is to claim wages paid from 3/13-12/31/20 (that were not paid for with PPP funds) on your fourth-quarter payroll tax Form 941. We do not yet know how Gusto (or any of the other payroll companies) will process this information, but given how soon they will need to be filed, it’s essential that we get our clients ready as quickly as possible, and this is Step Two — finding out if they’re already claiming it or not.

(In case it’s not obvious: Step One is determining if they qualify. We’re going through all our clients’ QuickBooks files to review for a 50% drop in gross revenue and then reaching out to clients accordingly, after determining whether they have taken the ERC already or not.)

Good luck!

COVID-19 Financial Relief, Education, IRS, Site News, Software, Tips

PPP2 Is Almost Here — Be Ready Or Risk Missing Out

December 18, 2020 Nancy McClelland 13 Comments

For the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing in the news that Congress is coming closer to an agreement on another round of stimulus. It will be a more narrowly-targeted package than prior relief, but it will contain (at least the draft does) funding for the most important items: vaccine distribution; unemployment extension & federal supplement; stimulus checks; emergency food, rent & loan assistance; PPP loan forgiveness simplification; and our main topic here: another chance at PPP funding.

At this week’s AICPA Town Hall (free recording here), Lisa Simpson and Mark Peterson walked us through what is included in the current round of proposed legislation, and what it would mean for the next PPP program (popularly dubbed “PPP2”). They have encouraged us to share their slides and other resources.

Some of the notable elements are that 501(c)(6) organizations — including Chambers of Commerce — will be eligible for PPP this time, providing their lobbying efforts don’t exceed a certain threshold (10% as of now but that could change); and hospitality-industry chains will yet again be allowed to each apply for PPP as if they were independent hotels and restaurants (surprising after the negative press from the first round, but they have a loud voice in politics). Thankfully, the IRS and Congressional representatives are working together to include a provision for expenses paid for with PPP funds to be deductible — the current biggest obstacle for small businesses who receive(d) aid.

In addition, Lisa went through what we know so far about how the new PPP program will be structured and what eligibility requirements might look like. Keep in mind that this is all in draft at this point.

The idea is that if the gross revenues for any quarter in 2020 are down 30% or more over the same quarter in 2019, the business would be eligible for a second application for PPP funds, as long as they have 300 or fewer employees (per location, if in the hospitality industry). EIDL and PPP funds would not be included in this calculation, but no word yet on whether other aid, such as state, local or industry grants, would.

You do not have to apply for forgiveness for PPP1 before applying for PPP2 — in fact, we are still recommending that you hold off on your forgiveness application until Congress passes forgiveness simplification and tax deductibility of related expenses.

Nothing has been finalized yet and we don’t know all the details. But the AICPA has been meeting with politicians on both sides of the aisle and says that something is certainly going to be passed — it’s just a question of when, not if — and what the exact details will be.

It’s likely we’ll have news soon, and as such, it’s important that small business owners begin anticipating their next decision here, since time will likely be a factor — there is less capital in PPP2 than there was in the first round (which was exhausted in 6 days), so being prepared is key.

With that in mind — tips to consider if you might want to pursue additional PPP funding:

1) Have your books up-to-date and reconciled so you and your accountant can begin preparing your application the second the legislation drops.
2) There will be an eligibility hurdle for second-time PPP applicants. You will need to prove a 30% (as of now) drop in revenue — not profit, but gross revenue — in any quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019. (If you didn’t get PPP funds in the first round and you want to this time, this rule does not apply.) The first round of PPP/EIDL does not count toward income for this purpose. No word yet on whether other grants may. Otherwise the calculations will be the same as in the first round.
3) I’m asking my interested clients to reach out to me to get their file set up in my CPA Business Funding Portal now, before legislation is passed, so we can just hit “submit” when the program opens, to try to get them in the first tranche of applicants.

(Note to other CPAs and accounting colleagues: this time around I am using AICPA-developed PPP application and forgiveness software, CPALoanPortal.com, so as to make the process for getting client funding less haphazard, more reliable, and more efficient. It’s free at the basic level, which allows you to apply for funding and forgiveness all in one portal, with a client dashboard. I’ve decided to pay to upgrade so I can use the payroll company reporting and AICPA FTE-calculator integrations. Their partner, Biz2Credit, was directly approved by SBA to lend money to small businesses; it’s not a third-party (like so many of the services we used first-time around who brokered loans as a middle-man). Looking forward to same-day PPP2 loan approvals, and disbursements within days. No I am not paid a cent to say any of this.)

Sincerely hoping the process goes more smoothly this time than it did in April!

Education, IRS, Software

New 1099-NEC Form For Independent Contractors

December 3, 2020 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

The IRS has released — or technically, re-released — a new form for Non-Employee Compensation called the 1099-NEC for use starting early 2021 for Tax Year 2020.

It’s actually an old form that hasn’t been in use since 1982 that was redesigned — originally it was for reporting fees, commissions and other compensation, but in 1983 it was retired and we’ve been reporting these types of income on Form 1099-MISC ever since.

Moving forward, instead of using 1099-MISC Box 7 to report Non-Employee Compensation, we’ll all use 1099-NEC Box 1. Box 4 is to report any federal withholding in relation to the compensation. Boxes 5, 6, and 7 are for reporting state tax withheld, state ID numbers, and state income, respectively. IRS instructions can be found on their website.

To clarify: the requirements for reporting nonemployee compensation have not changed — only the form on which it is reported.

Forms 1099-NEC must be filed with the IRS by January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which the return relates. For tax year 2020, the deadline is February 1, 2021, since January 31 falls on a Sunday. The deadline applies whether filing the form electronically or on paper. Unfortunately, unlike Form 1099-MISC, the IRS will not forward data to states for Form 1099-NEC, so processes for filing these will be determined by each state.

Items such as rent payments, royalties, attorney settlements (not payments for services), and medical healthcare payments will still be reported on Form 1099-MISC, though the form has been redesigned and the boxes renumbered. For tax year 2020, the deadline for filing 1099-MISC is February 28, 2021 if filing on paper, and March 31, 2021 if filing electronically.

I recommend this interesting article for background on why the change is being made, and more information on the specifics of filing 1099-NEC can be found in this excellent summary.

COVID-19 Financial Relief, Education, Software, Tips

New AICPA FREE Searchable Index For PPP Guidance

September 3, 2020 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

Screenshot from 9/3/20 AICPA Town Hall of excerpt of new PPP rule index

The AICPA has come out with yet another amazing, free tool to help business owners administer PPP loans and accountants to advise them.

If you’ve been playing along, you know that the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s troubled and challenging Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has had a ridiculous number of clarifications, FAQs, Interim Final Rules (IFR), and other guidance. Figuring out which piece of info is hidden in which document is nearly impossible.

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) felt the same way. So the organization that brought you the [free] PPP Forgiveness Calculator and [also-free] PPP Online Forgiveness Tool, now brings you a (FREE) lovely spreadsheet with (so far) 170 searchable questions about the PPP, and indicates the date and type of guidance, and links to where to find it.

From the AICPA:

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), under Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provides small businesses with forgivable loans. Administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA), the PPP loan proceeds are to be expended on payroll, rent, mortgage payments, or utilities. The SBA, in conjunction with the Treasury, have released Interim Financial Rules (IFRs) and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to provide guidance.

This searchable index allows users to easily find guidance on the PPP loan application, eligibility, allowable use of funds, loan forgiveness, maturity date, and more.

IRS, Software, Tips

IRS Free File Program For Taxpayers With $69,000 of Income Or Less

February 2, 2020 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

The IRS has a partnership with ten leading tax preparation software companies that allows users with income of $69,000 or less to use their Free File Software program — though fees for state returns and/or e-filing will apply, and the service is not available for all tax forms.

(As a tax preparer, I feel an obligation to point out that how much money a person makes rarely correlates to their being qualified to self-prepare tax returns, and that there are many situations when working with a qualified and responsible CPA or EA will be a much better decision. However, if you are going to be preparing and filing your own taxes anyway, why not take advantage of the Free File program if you meet the requirements?)

Free File Software provides free federal tax prep and e-file for taxpayers. Select a brand-name software program, create an account, and then the software guides you through return preparation.

Use free brand-name software to prepare and print.
Software guides you through return preparation.
Need Help with an error or the software? Contact the company for free customer service.
State return preparation and e-file is available for free but fees may apply.
Available if your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is $69,000 or less.
Offers the most commonly used forms.

Source: About the Free File Program | Internal Revenue Service

IRS, QuickBooks Software, Software, Tips

For Gusto Payroll Clients – How to Distribute W-2 forms to Employees

January 9, 2020 Nancy McClelland 2 Comments

If you are a Gusto payroll client, and you have employees who need their annual W-2 payroll tax forms, then the easiest way to handle it is to make sure you have entered all of their email addresses into the Gusto system under each employee’s profile. The employee will receive an automated email from Gusto asking them to create an online account. Once they have done this, they will receive notifications each time a W-2 form or paystub is available for secure download.

If for some reason your employee does not consent to online delivery, or if they do not have an email address, you can print the W-2 and give or mail it to them.

Gusto files the required federal, state and local copies of W-2 forms to the appropriate tax agencies, so you don’t need to order special paper stock in order to print and mail copies of W-2s — you can just print them on regular paper for those employees who may need it.

Gusto provides specific instructions for each of these options here.

To recap, there are three methods to issuing your employees their W-2 forms —
Method 1: Enable your employees online access to their Gusto accounts so that they can obtain their W-2 forms electronically.
Method 2: Download individual W-2s, and distribute them to specific employees.
Method 3: Print the entire W-2 PDF bundle, and distribute them to all employees.

As you probably know if you are a regular reader of my blog, I am a big fan of Gusto. They have made many improvements over the past few years, and at this point they really blow away the competition, especially with their QuickBooks Online integration. (I am not being paid to say any of this — I am simply a big fan, having spent way too many years dealing with payroll company frustrations.)

And if you are a client of mine, but aren’t using Gusto payroll yet and would like to — just let me know, or sign up here! You will receive a 15% discount, since I do not accept revenue shares.

For those of you who are not clients of mine, but are interested in using Gusto for payroll, sign up here!

And for colleagues who are interested in offering Gusto as an option to your own bookkeeping and accounting clients, let me know and I’ll introduce you to my rep, Annie Arthur — who is seriously the best.

Source: Distribute W-2 forms to employees

Education, Illinois, QuickBooks Software, Software, Tips

Chicago Jan 2020 Business Education Workshops

December 30, 2019 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment

Each month the City of Chicago offers twice-weekly (Wed & Fri) FREE business education workshops presented by experts in private practice as well as representatives from various city departments. There are quite a few good ones this month — see the list below — and they’re all offered at City Hall (right downtown and near public transit). To register for any of them, email BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org or call 312.744.2086.

City Inspections – Ask Questions, Get Answers
Wed, January 8, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. – 8th Floor, Room 805

Presented by the City of Chicago

To operate a successful business in Chicago you need to know what it takes to maintain compliance. Officials from several City departments will provide insight on how to operate safely, stay compliant, help prepare for inspections and highlight the do’s and don’ts of operating a business.

Business Licensing 101
Fri, January 10, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Presented by the City of Chicago Departmentof Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP)

Attendees will learn the 3 steps to obtain a business license and access free business resources to start or expand their business.

Accounting in Quickbooks
Wed, January 15, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St – 8th Floor, Room 805

Presented by Trak Patel, ARCC Consulting

Learn how to keep your financial record-keeping books using QuickBooks. We will identify the differences between QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop and list the important features and benefits.

Credit and Your Business
Fri, January 17, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle Street – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Presented by AnnetteVega, CIBC Bank

This workshop will help the attendees understand the importance of credit,calculating their global cash flow, collateral and capitalization.

How To Really Start Your Own Business
Wed, January 22, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. – 8th Floor, Room 805

Presented by Score Chicago

Do you have what it takes to start and run a successful business? If so, what first steps should you take? This workshop will help you assess your prospects, give you the initial direction you need, and inspire you to move forward to realize your dream. Workshop topics include myths, business opportunities, assessing your journey, organization, insurance, regulations, funding and cash management, business and marketing plan.

Facebook and Instagram Posts: Take Your Posts to the Next Level
Fri, January 24, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle Street – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Presented by Francisco Ramirez, Chimbly Consultants, LLC

Have you been posting for some time, but struggling to reach or engage your audience? Are you confused by how the algorithms decide whether or not to show your posts? Participants of this workshop will examine Facebook and Instagram posts and compare what makes a post rise to the top and what knocks a post off news feeds. Participants will leave with tools to take their posts to the next level.

Resources for Women Entrepreneurs, by Women Entrepreneurs
Wed, January 29, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. – 8th Floor, Room 805

Presented by the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) and Bossy Chicago

Are you a business owner tired of trying to search through all the resources that might benefit your business growth? There’s a lot of support out there for women-owned businesses, but it can be hard to find the right resources and community for your business. Join Bossy Chicago and the Women’s Business Development Center as they discuss the vast ecosystem of support services for women entrepreneurs. Participants will leave with a plan of action to start and grow their women-owned business.

To register for a workshop, email BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org or call 312.744.2086.

Also, in case you weren’t aware, BACP offers a Business Start-Up Certificate Program, designed to give business owners the essential elements in starting and growing a business. Attend nine workshops at BACP and learn the essentials of business planning, financing, marketing, legal issues, technology and more. Complete the program workshops within six months and earn your certificate, as well as get free advice on your business plan. You can register for the Business Start-Up Certificate Program at any BACP workshop. Learn about the full set of BACP offerings here.

And visit their Business Video Library here.

Source: City of Chicago :: Business Education Workshop Calendar

The Dancing Accountant