Quickbooks, Bookkeeping and Accounting Blog

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

5/2/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for payments made between April 26th and April 29th.
5/7/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll […]

[Read more →]

If you do project-based work for your customers, then you will probably want to use customer jobs. Using job tracking allows you to analyze your financial performance by job and job type. You can easily figure out both how much money you made on a specific job and how much money you make on certain […]

[Read more →]

Being able to get ahold of your accountant as you have questions is incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, many of my customers complain that they can’t get ahold of their accountant when they need them. Therefore, I recommend that if you are looking for an accountant, you specifically ask how soon you can expect to hear back […]

[Read more →]

Unincorporated businesses jointly owned by married couples are normally classified as partnerships for Federal tax purposes. However, per the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28) a “qualified joint venture,” whose only members are a married couple filing a joint return, can elect not to be treated as a partnership for Federal tax […]

[Read more →]

The recommended method for giving your accountant access to your QuickBooks company file is via an Accountant’s Copy, which allows you to continue to work in QuickBooks while your accountant makes changes to your QuickBooks file.  You can then import the changes your accountant made into your company file. For information on using the Accountant’s […]

[Read more →]

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

4/2/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for payments made between March 26th and March 28th.
4/4/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for […]

[Read more →]

In January Intuit announced Quicken for the iPhone, prompting QuickBooks Online users to ask whether or not they would be able to access their company data via the iPhone. Intuit responded. QuickBooks Online users can now access their company data from anywhere using their iPhones.
To access your company data in QuickBooks Online:

Go to https://accounting.quickbooks.com/m from your iPhone.
You […]

[Read more →]

The 2008 standard mileage rate, which is used to calculate the deductible cost per mile of driving an automobile for business purposes, is the highest it has ever been. The standard rates, which went into effect on January 1, 2008, are as follows:

business miles driven: 50.5 cents per mile
miles driven for medical and moving purposes: […]

[Read more →]

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

3/3/2008 - Fishermen & Farmers: your 2007 income tax return (Form 1040) is due, along with any taxes you owe.
3/5/2008 - If you are subject to the semiweekly deposit rule, then deposit payroll taxes for payments made between February […]

[Read more →]

Intuit just released a version of QuickBooks Online that will cost only $9.95/per month. Business owners purchasing QuickBooks Online will have two plans to choose from: QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus. Details of the two plans follows:
QuickBooks Online Basic

Basic features for simple businesses
$9.95/month (no discounts available for Accountants and Non-Profits)
1 user + accountant
Payroll: $19.95/month
Accept […]

[Read more →]

Congress is pressuring the IRS to ease the rules which currently require employees to keep detailed records of the business usage of their cell phones. In brief:
The current rules: workers are currently required to document the time and place of calls and the specific business purpose.
What’s changing: given that so many people have plans with unlimited […]

[Read more →]

QuickBooks classes enable you to classify all income and expense transactions. You can do so by department, location, type of business, partner or associate, or anything else that is useful and meaningful to you. You can then run reports in which you break your business down into the classes you have created. 
Example of Using QuickBooks Classes
Suppose […]

[Read more →]

The 2008 Economic Stimulus Act, noted mostly for the stimulus payments it provides to individuals (see Bush Signs Economic Stimulus Package; Most People Will Receive Tax Rebates), provides two important incentives to businesses:

50 Percent Special Depreciation Allowance
Businesses will be able to depreciate 50% of the adjusted basis of certain qualified assets during the year the […]

[Read more →]

If you use part of your home for business, then you might qualify for a home office deduction. For some questions designed to help you determine if you qualify, see my previous blog titled Home Office Deductions: Do You Qualify. If you do qualify, then you may deduct portions of the following home expenses:

real estate […]

[Read more →]

If you use a portion of your home for business, then you might qualify for a home office deduction. The following questions are designed to help you figure out if you qualify:

Do you use a specific area of your home exclusively or regularly for business?
If you have not designated a specific area of your home as […]

[Read more →]