Quickbooks, Bookkeeping and Accounting Blog

A list of upcoming dates and actions that accountants, bookkeepers and small business owners should be aware of follows:

2/1/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for payments made between January 26th and January 29th.
2/6/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for […]

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Many small businesses (large businesses, too) struggle with the question of whether an individual can be treated as an independent contractor or needs to be treated as an employee. The general rule is that if the employer has the right (whether or not they exercise such right) to control and direct the individual, both with respect […]

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There are many things to consider before hiring an accountant. Would you rather hire an independent accountant or a large accounting firm? Will you ask your accountant for business advice or just ask them to file your taxes? Will you ask them to help you clean up your QuickBooks file or is it not important to you […]

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One of the first things I do when I get involved with a business is to figure out what their major sources of revenue and expenses are. I do this in two ways.  First, I talk to management to find out what things they consider to be important to the business. Second, I spend a […]

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QuickBooks makes it easy to note which vendors are eligible for 1099s. Taking the time to do so will save you a lot of time at year end. To mark a vendor as being eligible for a 1099 in QuickBooks, simply:

Go to the Vendor Center (Vendors:Vendor Center)
Select a vendor
Click on “Edit Vendor”
Select “Additional Info” tab
Check “Vendor […]

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January 31st is the deadline to give annual information statements (Form 1099) to recipients of certian types of payments you made during 2007. Payments covered include:

Abandonment (1099-A)
Accelerated death benefits (1099-LTC)
Agriculture payments (1099-G)
Annuities (1099-R)
Attorneys, fees and gross proceeds (1099-MISC)
Auto reimbursements: Nonemployee (1099-MISC)
Awards: Nonemployee (1099-MISC)
Barter exchange income (1099-B)
Bonuses: Nonemployee (1099-MISC)
Broker transactions (1099-B)
Cancellation of debt (1099-C)
Capital gain distributions (1099-DIV)
Car […]

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Closing the books in QuickBooks is easy and worth doing. To do so: 

From the Edit menu, select Preferences
Select Accounting, Company Preferences
Fill in the Closing Date (see Remember to Close Your Books in QuickBooks for a blog about when to do so)
Set Password
OK

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I always recommend to clients that they close their books in QuickBooks as soon as they have finished entering regular bills and invoices from the prior year. Many clients are resistant to doing so claiming that they trust their bookkeeper and therefore don’t have any reason to do so. The primary reason to set a closing date in […]

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