Category: Bookkeeping

They say hindsight is 20/20. You can take advantage of that hindsight by holding regular project closeout meetings to find nuggets of truth about how the project went and learn from them. Not every project makes money for your firm. You can find ways to improve project and accounting management if you set a tone of openness to genuine feedback that will filter down to your project managers and other key employees. Here are some guidelines for success in this… Read more ›

When planning a trip, you probably focus on making the travel arrangements, ensuring you’ll have enough spending money and other practical issues, such as having someone cover you at the office and someone else keep an eye on your house or pets. The last thing on your mind may be putting your financial and other personal documents in order. However, if you expect to be away for any length of time — especially if your loved ones won’t be traveling… Read more ›

Click here to learn more about our tax, accounting and advisory services for attorneys and law firms. Once you get some legal experience under your belt, you may think about opening your own firm. Setting up and running a law practice can be a daunting prospect, but taking certain steps will help to ensure that your firm grows and remains profitable. Here are some guidelines to help accomplish the task successfully: Develop a strategy You really can’t proceed before you target… Read more ›

Court Determines that an Activity Was Engaged in for Profit Taxpayers who are in business to make a profit can generally deduct related expenses on their tax returns. If the IRS doubts a profit motive exists, it may deem an activity to be a hobby with a limited ability to deduct costs. The burden to prove there’s a profit motive is on the taxpayer. In one recent case, the IRS found a “green” home construction partnership was engaged in for… Read more ›

Is your not-for-profit the same organization it was three years ago? Are your stakeholders the same now as then? What about your community and its support? It’s been said that the only thing certain in life is change, so you likely answered “no” to each of these questions. Change is a key reason why your nonprofit needs to revisit and revise its strategic plan regularly. And you can make your strategic planning process as dynamic as change itself. But it… Read more ›

Undoubtedly, your dealership is aware of the challenges it faces on the front-end of the business. Competition in the marketplace is stiff. That is why the focus is increasingly being shifted to the back-end. Ask this question: Is your dealership doing everything it can to maximize profitability in your service department? For many dealers, the answer is “no.” Significantly, you can begin to rely on your service department to pick up some of the slack. In other words, it can… Read more ›

As a business owner, your auto dealership’s team must be comprised of people you trust to make the right decisions for the company. The reports derived from your accounting team are at the forefront of most major business decisions, so having a suitable controller in place will help ensure your dealership’s financial health and future. The characteristics of a good controller fall into two distinct buckets: technical skills and leadership qualities. On the one hand, at their core, a controller… Read more ›

Creating a formal debt management plan, rather than borrowing haphazardly, can save your firm thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in interest. Following certain best practices and using a structured approach to your company’s debt plan is part of an effective construction finance, accounting and tax strategy. First, create a table that lists all current debt, including working capital lines of credit, loans of any kind, any interest bearing notes or other financial obligations. Don’t include Accounts Payable…. Read more ›

Quickbooks from Intuit has been a trusted tool for business owners and accountants alike for many years. With cloud computing ‘s prevalence increasing in today’s business world, Quickbooks Online (QBO) is more popular than ever and Intuit continues to improve the software’s powerful tools. This article looks at some recommended best practices for using QBO so that it continues to help you run your business while minimizing the stress over the financial aspect of it. 1. Accounts and Settings First,… Read more ›

Unlike many accounting systems, QuickBooks does not require you to close your books at the end of an accounting period. But is that a good thing? Most accountants would argue that it is not! At a minimum, you should update the QuickBooks closing date annually to ensure that the data will continue to match the tax return prepared by your accountant. But even when using this feature, it’s often deployed way too late in the game. Generally, when you are… Read more ›