If you've recently tried to purchase a video or download a free video, the shopping cart was down for maintenance and is now up and running again.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
The core philosophy of The Bottom Line Bookkeeping Service has always been dedication to your success beginning with proper record keeping. The success of our clients across many different industries, from small business start-ups to franchised businesses, is proof that our methods work, and work well.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Google Plus
Do we need another Social Media site?
It does have some very interesting features. I think the one that strikes me most is how you have the capability to compartmentalized your contacts into specific circles. If you want to send pictures to your family, your business contacts don't see them. If you have connections who's posts inspire you, you have the ability to look at just their posts, and not every post of every contact you have. Because you know we all know someone who tends to be a bit dramatic and posts every little "upset" in their lives. We still love them, but now we don't have to be swept up in their daily drama. I like it!
The Bottom Line Bookkeeping on Google Plus
It does have some very interesting features. I think the one that strikes me most is how you have the capability to compartmentalized your contacts into specific circles. If you want to send pictures to your family, your business contacts don't see them. If you have connections who's posts inspire you, you have the ability to look at just their posts, and not every post of every contact you have. Because you know we all know someone who tends to be a bit dramatic and posts every little "upset" in their lives. We still love them, but now we don't have to be swept up in their daily drama. I like it!
The Bottom Line Bookkeeping on Google Plus
Saturday, July 9, 2011
What to expect when contracting an independant bookkeeper...
When you contract the services of an independent bookkeeping professional you should expect this person to have a college education in accounting and have an expert understanding of the accounting software you are using. The bookkeeper will behave in a professional manner and offer advise and referrals to other professionals who have expertise in areas such as income tax, insurance, and legal issues. If you find you've contracted someone who's advice extends beyond bookkeeping, that should be your first "red flag". While a good professional bookkeeper may have experience in other areas of business concern, that does not make them expert in those areas.
The independent bookkeeper is not an employee. While we strive to schedule appointments allowing for sufficient time for each project, there are times when our clients have concerns that keep us longer than anticipated. If your appointment is for a partial day, be aware that schedules are subject to change. Expect to receive a phone call from your professional bookkeeper with an estimated time of arrival before your scheduled appointment. Most often they will arrive when anticipated, but on occasion will run early or later.
Expect your professional bookkeeper to dress appropriately for the surroundings. If your office is in a professional setting, expect professional attire. If your office or work space is in an automotive repair facility, or if your office is in your home and you are more comfortable with casual dress, then you can expect this. Pets are a welcome addition to any work area, but can bring challenges with professional attire.
Cell phones are vital to business today, but while the bookkeeper is in your office they should not be taking cell phone calls. They most often do not answer your company phone either. If they are in plain view of your customers, expect them to treat your customers with quality customer service directing them to another individual in your company who can assist them.
Above all, expect the professional bookkeeper to be accurate and organized. You need to know your account balances, total receivables, payables and cash flow. Your payroll taxes must be paid on time and your bookkeeping reviewed by your tax accountant at least twice a year. Once in the fall and again when the income taxes are prepared. Your tax accountant will be able to refer you to a competent bookkeeper they trust to do a good job for you at a fair price.
Depending upon the difficulty of your work, or the geographical location expect to pay $35.00 - $75.00 per hour for a professional independent bookkeeper.
The independent bookkeeper is not an employee. While we strive to schedule appointments allowing for sufficient time for each project, there are times when our clients have concerns that keep us longer than anticipated. If your appointment is for a partial day, be aware that schedules are subject to change. Expect to receive a phone call from your professional bookkeeper with an estimated time of arrival before your scheduled appointment. Most often they will arrive when anticipated, but on occasion will run early or later.
Expect your professional bookkeeper to dress appropriately for the surroundings. If your office is in a professional setting, expect professional attire. If your office or work space is in an automotive repair facility, or if your office is in your home and you are more comfortable with casual dress, then you can expect this. Pets are a welcome addition to any work area, but can bring challenges with professional attire.
Cell phones are vital to business today, but while the bookkeeper is in your office they should not be taking cell phone calls. They most often do not answer your company phone either. If they are in plain view of your customers, expect them to treat your customers with quality customer service directing them to another individual in your company who can assist them.
Above all, expect the professional bookkeeper to be accurate and organized. You need to know your account balances, total receivables, payables and cash flow. Your payroll taxes must be paid on time and your bookkeeping reviewed by your tax accountant at least twice a year. Once in the fall and again when the income taxes are prepared. Your tax accountant will be able to refer you to a competent bookkeeper they trust to do a good job for you at a fair price.
Depending upon the difficulty of your work, or the geographical location expect to pay $35.00 - $75.00 per hour for a professional independent bookkeeper.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
What you need to know about using a payroll service...
For the small business owner with less than 50 employees it may be best to keep payroll in-house using a program like QuickBooks Pro to create your paychecks and keep track of your payroll liabilities. I also recommend that you have your professional bookkeeper or accountant set this up for you and show you how to use the basic or do-it-yourself payroll that QuickBooks offers.
Quite frankly, once the setup is done and showing you how to enter the hours and create the paychecks, that's all there is to it. From that point forward everything you have to do for a payroll server provider is nothing more or less than you must do to create the payroll checks yourself.
Paying your payroll taxes can be done online for both the Federal and State of Michigan now. All of the forms necessary are available online and QuickBooks tracks all of your expenses and liabilities. Your professional bookkeeper or accountant can show you how to make your monthly payroll tax payments, or you can contract with them for this service.
Typically we spend less than an hour per client reviewing and processing the Quarterly Payroll tax returns and payments. Many of my clients are comfortable doing their own monthly deposits, so they only need us once every 3 months. The more you can do yourself with the guidance of a professional the better you will understand the process and just exactly how much payroll really does cost you. Not to mention this will save you fees a payroll service provider charges.
The quarterly visits also gives us opportunity to review the financial statements and go over any challenges that may have come up since the last visit.
So before you are "frightened" into paying for a service that's not that scary, price this out and talk to your professional bookkeeper or accountant.
Quite frankly, once the setup is done and showing you how to enter the hours and create the paychecks, that's all there is to it. From that point forward everything you have to do for a payroll server provider is nothing more or less than you must do to create the payroll checks yourself.
Paying your payroll taxes can be done online for both the Federal and State of Michigan now. All of the forms necessary are available online and QuickBooks tracks all of your expenses and liabilities. Your professional bookkeeper or accountant can show you how to make your monthly payroll tax payments, or you can contract with them for this service.
Typically we spend less than an hour per client reviewing and processing the Quarterly Payroll tax returns and payments. Many of my clients are comfortable doing their own monthly deposits, so they only need us once every 3 months. The more you can do yourself with the guidance of a professional the better you will understand the process and just exactly how much payroll really does cost you. Not to mention this will save you fees a payroll service provider charges.
The quarterly visits also gives us opportunity to review the financial statements and go over any challenges that may have come up since the last visit.
So before you are "frightened" into paying for a service that's not that scary, price this out and talk to your professional bookkeeper or accountant.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Working from Home
I began working from home in 1992, when my son was 10 years old, and bookkeeping is such a good fit for a home based business, I thought win-win! Finally, I had a job that felt more like playing than working, a job that would fit my lifestyle and allow me to be at home before and after school, and allow me the freedom punching a time-clock couldn't.
There are some pros and cons I'd like to share with you now that my business is 19 years old and the first 14 years I worked from home. There is already a lot of negative stigma surrounding bookkeepers and embezzling. While working from home I did experience good growth and over time built a reputation with CPA's and my word-of-mouth referral work steadily increased. I've since heard recommendations to NOT hire a self-taught work from home bookkeeper, and there are plenty of us out there. I'd say however with one major distinction, I am college educated. Too many work-at-home bookkeepers have never taken college accounting courses, most are self-taught or took an extension course to learn the software. I have first hand experience of how disastrous this can be for a business owner. I've gone in after an incompetent bookkeeper to straight up the mess, and to get accurate numbers for them and their year-end tax accountant. Here the business owners are trying to do what's right, and hire an independent bookkeeper not knowing how to screen or test for competency. So, I'm just so very fortunate to have done well enough to have earned the respect and trust of area CPA's that allowed me to grow to the point that I needed to hire an employee.
All of the Pros associated with working from home in your "jammies" are lost when you hire an employee. Now you can't come to "work" before you've showered, still in your pj's. When you work at home, and enjoy it so much you tend to work much longer hours, so be careful to give yourself a break and enjoy the company of your friends and family. Make certain that your "office" is in a separate room or area of your home that works well for the type of work you're doing. You also need to set boundaries for the times when you must work and other family members are home. Office door shut means please do not disturb unless it's an emergency! This being said, try to find hours to work when you know you won't be disturbed.
If you need to meet with clients, have a comfortable professional meeting area in your home, or look to your local chamber of commerce to borrow a meeting space when necessary. Meeting for coffee at a local restaurant works well too if your home isn't conducive for a business meeting. You may also look into utilizing technology for meetings, using web cams and Skye. Just be aware of the area behind you and "dress" from the waist up.
Be aware of your township ordinances as well. In my township I could only have one employee who was not a member of the household. So when my business grew to the point where I needed to hire another person, I had to find a commercial office to move into. Now I wished I'd made that move much earlier. my business doubled the first year, by the second I had 1 full-time and 2 part-time employees.
I still maintain my home office, and work from home when I have long-term projects to work on or have remote support sessions. Once again, in my jammies, before my shower... l.ife is Good!
There are some pros and cons I'd like to share with you now that my business is 19 years old and the first 14 years I worked from home. There is already a lot of negative stigma surrounding bookkeepers and embezzling. While working from home I did experience good growth and over time built a reputation with CPA's and my word-of-mouth referral work steadily increased. I've since heard recommendations to NOT hire a self-taught work from home bookkeeper, and there are plenty of us out there. I'd say however with one major distinction, I am college educated. Too many work-at-home bookkeepers have never taken college accounting courses, most are self-taught or took an extension course to learn the software. I have first hand experience of how disastrous this can be for a business owner. I've gone in after an incompetent bookkeeper to straight up the mess, and to get accurate numbers for them and their year-end tax accountant. Here the business owners are trying to do what's right, and hire an independent bookkeeper not knowing how to screen or test for competency. So, I'm just so very fortunate to have done well enough to have earned the respect and trust of area CPA's that allowed me to grow to the point that I needed to hire an employee.
All of the Pros associated with working from home in your "jammies" are lost when you hire an employee. Now you can't come to "work" before you've showered, still in your pj's. When you work at home, and enjoy it so much you tend to work much longer hours, so be careful to give yourself a break and enjoy the company of your friends and family. Make certain that your "office" is in a separate room or area of your home that works well for the type of work you're doing. You also need to set boundaries for the times when you must work and other family members are home. Office door shut means please do not disturb unless it's an emergency! This being said, try to find hours to work when you know you won't be disturbed.
If you need to meet with clients, have a comfortable professional meeting area in your home, or look to your local chamber of commerce to borrow a meeting space when necessary. Meeting for coffee at a local restaurant works well too if your home isn't conducive for a business meeting. You may also look into utilizing technology for meetings, using web cams and Skye. Just be aware of the area behind you and "dress" from the waist up.
Be aware of your township ordinances as well. In my township I could only have one employee who was not a member of the household. So when my business grew to the point where I needed to hire another person, I had to find a commercial office to move into. Now I wished I'd made that move much earlier. my business doubled the first year, by the second I had 1 full-time and 2 part-time employees.
I still maintain my home office, and work from home when I have long-term projects to work on or have remote support sessions. Once again, in my jammies, before my shower... l.ife is Good!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
QuickBooks Training Videos
Previews of training videos now available:
http://www.tblbookkeeping.com/store/
We were able to make available a preview of the training videos.
Special 1/2 Off promo code - Blog
http://www.tblbookkeeping.com/store/
We were able to make available a preview of the training videos.
Special 1/2 Off promo code - Blog
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Commingling funds
One of the most common mistakes small business owners make is mixing their company and personal finances. Every company needs to have it's own bank account, all sales need to be deposited into the company account. When the small business owner is a Sole proprietor or LLC you will pay yourself a "draw" check. Take that check and cash it or deposit it into your own account, it's yours. But the money in the business account must only be spent on business expenses. If your company is a corporation S-corp or C-corp then the business owner is an employee of the company and gets paid as such with withholding taxes. These examples are very simplified and you do need to consult with your tax accountant as to the proper method for you to pay yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commingling
If you don't pay yourself, but instead use the business account to pay for personal expenses, then you are commingling funds. This is very time consuming from a bookkeeping view point to record properly. Not to mention if the IRS ever decided to audit you, they may decide to disallow legitimate business expenses because you have commingled funds.
I will guarantee you that it takes bookkeepers longer, costing you more to record all of these transactions than if you had keep your personal and business finances totally separate.
Another form of commingling we've seen is when one person owns 2 or more companies, and commingles company funds. Company "A" pays the loans for company "B" etc. Again, this takes much longer to record properly and it's just bad business. Imagine if you will McDonald's paying Burger King's bills, sounds ridiculous right?
Businesses are to be treated as the separate entities that they are. Even if you're a Sole Proprietor or LLC the business does not exist without you, but you must treat the business as a fully separate entity when it comes to managing the finances. Once you have then your bookkeeping will be much "cleaner" and straight forward. Financial statements will be easier to read and there will less stress in your life trying to figure out where you stand financially.
One of the most difficult challenges people face is living within their means, and learning to pay themselves first. I recommend all business owners read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commingling
If you don't pay yourself, but instead use the business account to pay for personal expenses, then you are commingling funds. This is very time consuming from a bookkeeping view point to record properly. Not to mention if the IRS ever decided to audit you, they may decide to disallow legitimate business expenses because you have commingled funds.
I will guarantee you that it takes bookkeepers longer, costing you more to record all of these transactions than if you had keep your personal and business finances totally separate.
Another form of commingling we've seen is when one person owns 2 or more companies, and commingles company funds. Company "A" pays the loans for company "B" etc. Again, this takes much longer to record properly and it's just bad business. Imagine if you will McDonald's paying Burger King's bills, sounds ridiculous right?
Businesses are to be treated as the separate entities that they are. Even if you're a Sole Proprietor or LLC the business does not exist without you, but you must treat the business as a fully separate entity when it comes to managing the finances. Once you have then your bookkeeping will be much "cleaner" and straight forward. Financial statements will be easier to read and there will less stress in your life trying to figure out where you stand financially.
One of the most difficult challenges people face is living within their means, and learning to pay themselves first. I recommend all business owners read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)