Accounting News and Notes

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA on Home Mortgages…How to Best Avoid Defaulting

Selecting the Right Home Mortgage

With all the different types of mortgages and fund investment strategies it is difficult, if not impossible, for the average investor/home buyer to make a decision about what is the best type of mortgage to pursue: interest only, fixed, variable, or for what term. Care should be given in all financial matters to review a particular households short and long term needs and then ideally balancing as much of these as possible so as to gain as large a financial advantage as possible while not unnecessarily exposing your personal household’s finances.

With the spirals in the real estate continuing with no apparent end in sight, leveraging or mortgaging real estate still makes financial sense. However, just because someone is willing to give you a loan does not mean that it makes for wise financial sense for your family. Great care and due diligence should be exercised when taking out a loan. Though surely for most if not all of us the first home purchase is one in which we are apt to be the most highly leveraged. Having been fresh out of school and perhaps just starting our careers we do not possess the financial resources to place any substantive amount of down payment. However, for each and every subsequent purchase we should take great care to ensure that our wants do not exceed our ability to pay. Accordingly it is wise to be sure to add a substantive buffer between our monthly expenses and our monthly income as we can always be sure there will be bumps along the way causing minor as well as substantive financial pitfalls along the way. Therefore we should be sure to living well below the standard of living that our income allows us to do so that these downward financial turns which are certain to occur do not unduly affect our ability to keep the financial obligations we incur. Although the loss of a job or a medical illness which occurs over more than just a few months or even years is apt to derail even the best planners, we should be ready to stand up to smaller adversities by ensuring that we keep our debt load low.

Remember “Creative Financing” means that you probably cannot afford it. Although I seldom disagree with a clients decision to buy anything I do often debate the timing as to a certain financial decision so as to not unnecessarily expose your household or business financially. Prudence when agreeing to acquire a property and taking on a debt load will be critical to ensuring long term financial success. Just because a particular lender is willing to give you a loan does not mean that it is a wise decision. I suggest that for all major debt acquisitions such as homes, buildings, and cars that you consult your financial adviser/CPA well before a decision becomes emotional and your desires begin to outweigh your primary concern of protecting the family’s long term financial viability.

John Dillard CPA of His CPA PC (a Christian CPA firm) is an author and Certified Public Accountant (All Rights Reserved). To See how he takes Christ along with him to work visit http://www.hiscpa.com/ and for his latest book Overcoming Life’s 9/11′s: Job’s Journey.

“Dare to Attempt Something so Great for the Kingdom of God that it is doomed to failure, lest Christ be in it!”

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Payroll Administration, Bookkeeping.

(Proudly Serving Alpharetta & Roswell for Over Thirty Years)

Duluth/Suwanee/Lawrenceville  CPA:  IRS Just Announced the 2013 Mileage Rate

The IRS Just Announced the 2013 Mileage Rate as 56.5 cents per mile. This is up from the prior year mileage rate of 55.5 cents per mile. Please keep in mind that tax law requires all taxpayers who use an auto for business use to keep a by day mileage log to support all business miles.

John Dillard is an Christian Speaker/Author and an Atlanta CPA. To See how he takes Christ along with him to work visit http://www.hiscpa.com/ and for his latest book Overcoming Life’s 9/11′s: Job’s Journey and a Voice of One: Nehemiah’s Prayer or call John Dillard CPA today at 770.814.9304 (All Rights Reserved) Dare to Attempt Something so Great for the Kingdom of God that it is doomed to failure, lest Christ be in it!

Contact HIS CPA PC (A Christian Atlanta CPA Firm) today.

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Bookkeeping

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Dunwoody, Grayson, Alpharetta, Roswell, Sandy Springs & Tucker as a Faith Based CPA

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA Teaches Incorporating Your New Georgia Business

Determining Who Will Lead Your Georgia Business/Incorporating in Georgia

Leadership 101: Knowing who is in charge and how they are lead are essential to the running of a country, a war, a battle, a family, a church and your business. Failing to prepare for essential business planning issues will do much to impair your way to success. Great authors over the years from John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, and Lou Holz have written dynamic books and articles on how to lead with both your heart and your mind. Choosing who will lead your corporation at all levels is essential to goal congruence and obtaining your overall business mission, profits and goals.

Electing Your Board of Directors

Though Georgia law only requires one director, it might be prudent to seek additional outsiders to oversee and guide your business operations. Directors, though not required to be, are frequently outsiders who are willing to provide wise and insightful guidance. Directors are required to be of legal age but are not needed to be Georgia residents.

Having the Right Officers

The Officers of a company are those who can legally sign a contract the company. It is not unusual for many business’s to have the owner serve as the sole Officer, sole Director and Shareholder. As one could imagine, this dramatically streamlines the decision making process. Officers as well, are the duly authorize representatives to sign the corporate income/partnership return.

Determining Who Will Own the Company

In many minds the most important portion of business leadership for your business is who has the ultimate control. Though both good Directors and Officers are essential to goal obtainment, it is the shareholders/owners who have the ultimate control of who runs the business and thus ultimately their final determinations. Shareholders and owners, not only elect the Officers and Directors of a company, but they have ultimately the final work in all business decisions. Great care should be exercised when potentially adding a partner, as the right one versus the wrong one can well result in the difference between business harmony and profits to needless anxiety to losses. Your owners and shareholders as well should be of full legal age and are not required to be Georgia residents.

At His CPA, PC we strive to be much more than just tax preparers, put our partner to work for you today to see how much enlightened business leadership can mean to your business success.

To learn more about tax entities and the taxation thereof visit http://www.hiscpa.com/article2.html There you will also discover a wide host of resources for Atlanta Entrepreneurs.

www.HisCPA.com  IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Bookkeeping.

www.HisCPA.com  A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Fulton, Johns Creek, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Cumming, Hamilton Mill, Cheatu Elan, Winder, Gainesville, Hart County, Dunwoody, Grayson, Alpharetta, Roswell,  Sandy Springs and Tucker as an Award Winning CPA.

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA: Business Checklist to Ensure That Your Internal Books are Correct

Below is a list of items you might use to critique to your internal books. Each and every company should prepare one that is specifically designed to their business to ensure that their financial results are carefully monitored and operating integrity retained. Serving as an Atlanta CPA for over thirty years, I have learned that both having and referring to a “well-kept” set of internal books is a sign of all successful entrepreneurs. The attached checklist will be a good start to ensuring that your own company’s books are correct:

-Having bank reconciliations and statements agreeing/reconciling all cash balances.

-Do Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable totals agree to open reports/detail per the system.

-How much of Accounts Receivable is over sixty days.

-Do you expect to collect all of the Accounts Receivable balance. If not how much do you expect to have difficulty collecting. How does this amount compare to your Allowance for Doubtful accounts.

-Review your Fixed Asset Records detail on a book basis against your cost, accumulated depreciation, and depreciation expense amounts listed.

-Review your Fixed Asset Records detail on a tax basis against your cost, accumulated depreciation, and depreciation expense amounts.

-Determine what the net increase/decrease will be when calculating tax depreciation vs. book depreciation. To this end please be sure to consider and reflect what fixed assets you plan to buy by year end.

-Ensuring that Shareholder Distributions reflect those only of the current year and that all applicable estimated payments to the IRS and Georgia have been paid.

-Confirm if you Prepaid are correct.

-Confirm if your Accrued Vacation account is correct and applied on a consistent basis from prior years.

-Confirm that your Accounts Payable Other and Other Accrued Expenses are correct.

-Confirm if your Note Payable Accounts, Capitalized Leases, and all Financial Debts are correct.

-Confirm if Customer Deposits account is correct.

-Ensure that the Shareholder Distributions account as of the prior year is closed to Retained Earnings as the first day of the next tax year.

-Ensure that after you do the above that your internal books equals the retained earnings as of last year’s books.

-Ensure that this year’s Net Income shows as a separate line item on the Balance Sheet.

-Please take a look at your Profit & Loss accounts are correct and verify their financial integrity as all the year to date totals are higher/dramatically different than one would anticipate based upon prior year operating results, trends, changes in number of personnel, etc.

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Bookkeeping.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Dunwoody, Grayson, Alpharetta, Roswell, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs & Tucker as an Award Winning CPA

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA Teaches Bookkeeping to Metro Atlanta Entrepreneurs

Duluth Income Tax Preparation

Does my business really need a CPA?

Entrepreneurs either initially or over time become extremely proficient in their field of choice for it is by this growth of knowledge and wisdom which affords them the insight to make prudent decisions. Each and every hour of a business owner’s day, there are a series of insignificant and important thoughts and directions that directly impact the profitability of a business. Continually you are faced with making a positive impact towards bringing your business closer or further away from your goal. A company’s financial statement is the measuring stick by which you are able to gauge a company’s progress along the business continuum and are able to accurately measure the distance between where you are and where you want to be. To this end we work with Atlanta Business Owners to Ensure that their bookkeeping stays current, relevant and useful. Below is a sample of what we might sent to a business owner to work with them regarding their internal bookkeeping issues:

Below are critiques to your internal books:

-Your Inventory Asset account should be zero and not a negative balance.

-Please combine all of the Loans to Shareholder accounts and Distributions account to one account, while correctly classifying it as an asset or liability accordingly.

-You had several debit balances in Credit Card amounts on the Balance Sheet. These should either be a zero or should be a credit balance reflecting the amount owed.

-Please be sure that the credit card balance and all liability accounts are correct and reflect the year-end amounts owed.

-The Opening Balance Equity account should be zero.

-The Retained Earnings account should equal the prior year’s corporate income tax return.

-Please re-class the Other Automobile Expenses account to what it paid for.

-Your are showing both mileage and actual expenses for cars. As you owned a business car for the first part of the year, for that portion you should use actual. For the rest of the year, then you should use mileage. For any excess amounts please charge the difference to the Due to Shareholder account described above and re-class as necessary.

If you have any questions as you are posting these please do not hesitate to call. After you make the above changes please re-send your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss.

Bookkeeping for Atlanta Small Business
Unleash the power of information by learning the ABC’s of accounting for the business and financial operations of your business. To learn the nuances of Small Business Bookkeeping http://www.hiscpa.com/keeping-books.html

Preparing and Reviewing Financial Statements for Atlanta Business Owners
As your financial results of your business are like a doctors chart of their patient, this will help enable you to understand financials and their use. To learn more visit http://www.hiscpa.com/financial-statements.html

Contact HIS CPA PC (A Christian CPA Firm) today.

To learn more about tax entities and the taxation thereof visit http://www.hiscpa.com/article2.html  There you will also discover a wide host of resources for Atlanta Entrepreneurs.

www.HisCPA.com  We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Bookkeeping.

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA on Determining Worker Classification

Worker vs. Independent Contractor…How to Properly Classify Your Employees

Being sure to classify your workers correctly is critical for failure to classify your employees correctly can do much to unnecessarily expose you to IRS and state of GA tax penalties and interest for late payment.

Working with a CPA who is well versed with worker classification is essential as well as using a Gwinnett/Metro Atlanta payroll service is essential.

Regardless of how you pay your workers neither the IRS or your state will respect your method of enumeration unless it is well versed in fact. The IRS has long gauged this section of tax code as one of the most aligned sections whereby workers who should be classified as employees are incorrectly classified as independent contractors. On our web site at http://www.hiscpa.com/independent-contratctor.html  we have a detailed recap of how workers and their status are determined so that you might properly classify your workers and avoid unnecessary attention and penalties later. The predominant classification issue centers around control, but there are approximately twenty other issues to be considered.

www.HisCPA.com  A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Offering Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns,  Offer in Compromise, Tax Advocacy, Tax Mitigation and Tax Compliance, Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Statements and Accounting, QuickBooks Guidance, Business Set-up and advice on Incorporating in Georgia, Management Reporting, Virtual Chief Financial Officer, Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions, Profit Maximization, Growth Management, Business Start-up, Back Taxes, IRS Representation, IRS Appeals, IRS Collections, IRS Installment Plans & IRS Wage Levies

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA on Home Office Deduction…Determining if You Qualify

Should Your Business Take a Home Office Deduction?

For business owners who might run their business out of their home, tax law allows for you to deduct the prorated business use portion of the home which is being used exclusively for business. Thus, your dining room where you entertain guests will not qualify unless of course you take the dining room table out and put your office in there, using it solely for that purpose.

However, due to tax law allowing only to deduct the building and not the land, the building being depreciated over an extended time period, and that you are only able to deduct the business portion of the home, I find it generally not advantageous to take the deduction. Given the limitation of the deduction that tax law requires, I have generally found that the burden of the record-keeping for both the client and myself to be unduly burdensome for the limited amount of tax savings afforded. Accordingly I advise my clients not to take a home office deduction.

In evaluating all potential deductions I try to keep my client’s pocketbook in mind as spending roughly the same amount in professional fees as the tax savings allowed seems not be a primary benefit of those I serve, the client.

Being an expert at running your business does not make you one at the responsibility of accounting for your business. By applying our decades of experience we are well suited to guide you to track the financial and operational affairs of your business.

www.HisCPA.com  A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Offering Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns,  Offer in Compromise, Tax Advocacy, Tax Mitigation and Tax Compliance, Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Statements and Accounting, QuickBooks Guidance, Business Set-up and advice on Incorporating in Georgia, Management Reporting, Virtual Chief Financial Officer, Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions, Profit Maximization, Growth Management, Business Start-up, Back Taxes, IRS Representation, IRS Appeals, IRS Collections, IRS Installment Plans & IRS Wage Levies

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA: Incorporating in Georgia

So you have opted to get a new business going and have gone to the Secretary of State’s web-site and it all seems to be a fill in the blank so you think everyone can do it. All you have to do is to know your business name and address. Right? Well, not just no; definitely no.

Most all, who go it alone fail to consider some and many all of the below issues:

Authorized Shares. How many initial shares to initially authorize leaving no room for flexibility to add future shareholders later.

Registered Agent. Naming a individual who will be the point of reference for all legal filings.

By-Laws. The rules and regulations under which a business will make decisions and the functional capacity of its owners.

Election of Officers. This will be those who are duly authorized to sign contracts on behalf of the company.

Election of Directors. All S and C Corporations should have a duly authorized and elected Board of Directors, even if you are the only one on it.

Stock Issuance. All corporation should have and record the issuance of stock evidencing their ownership in the company.

Board of Directors Meetings. Meeting should occur on a substantive and periodic basis documenting substantive decisions reached and determined.

Shareholders Meetings. Meeting should occur on a substantive and periodic basis documenting substantive decisions reached and determined.

Just as you would not want to perform your own major surgery so will you not want to incorporate yourself.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Cumming, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Tucker as a Faith Based CPA Firm

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Offering Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns,  Offer in Compromise, Tax Advocacy, Tax Mitigation and Tax Compliance, Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Statements and Accounting, QuickBooks Guidance, Business Set-up and advice on Incorporating in Georgia, Management Reporting, Virtual Chief Financial Officer, Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions, Profit Maximization, Growth Management, Business Start-up, Back Taxes, IRS Representation, IRS Appeals, IRS Collections, IRS Installment Plans & IRS Wage Levies

His CPA PC: A Full Service Duluth CPA firm Serving Gwinnett & Metro Atlanta Taxpayers

We have helped thousands of business owners with their returns and getting their business underway. The below is a sample letter we might receive off of our web site from a Gwinnett business owner looking for a CPA to help them with their new business.

I am looking to take over a new business in Duluth. I need to know how much do you charge for bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns etc, I am looking to set up LLC online. I need to know the costs so I am aware of them. Basically I want everything done, filed etc.

Below is my response:

Thanks for visiting www.HisCPA.com about your taxes for your new business.

If you qualify I would suggest you be an S Corporation as there will be less overall taxes due than if you are an LLC.

To help keep your CPA fees low I encourage all of clients use a bookkeeper as their rates are much less as well as entering much of the data/information in-house.

For all of your payroll Needs I suggest you contact Mr. Kris Hudson at ADP at 678 358 3535 as a payroll service will be your most efficient option.

A typical small business to do their corporate and personal returns is approximately $900 to $1400 annually.

I look forward to working with you.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Cumming, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Tucker as a Faith Based CPA Firm

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Offering Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns,  Offer in Compromise, Tax Advocacy, Tax Mitigation and Tax Compliance, Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Statements and Accounting, QuickBooks Guidance, Business Set-up and advice on Incorporating in Georgia, Management Reporting, Virtual Chief Financial Officer, Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions, Profit Maximization, Growth Management, Business Start-up, Back Taxes, IRS Representation, IRS Appeals, IRS Collections, IRS Installment Plans & IRS Wage Levies

Duluth Income Tax Preparation

Duluth Corporate & Personal Income Taxes

Duluth Financial Statements

Duluth IRS Representation, Back Taxes & Offer in Compromise

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA Says…Addressing IRS Tax Advocacy Issues

Putting the Stepping Stones in Place for Your Business Success

Going it alone to an IRS audit is akin to going on a long an protracted journey without a plan. Hiring a CPA is your first best bet before you respond to that IRS notice. A CPA who has a proven track record of success with IRS tax issues will do much to ensure that you are fully informed, well advised and better represented.

Internal Revenue Service, Small Business and Self-Employed, Atlanta GA 30339

Enclosures: Power of Attorney, regarding the 2010 through 2012 tax years.

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing you in a good faith attempt to come to terms over the above taxpayers’ present predicament with the IRS and to address their tax issues/IRS audit. I am willing/eager to supply you with any information that you might need in order to process their file. Since I have assumed the role as their financial advisor, I have consulted with them, and in good faith I am working with the client to pull together all of the financial documentation, receipts, logs, etc. you have requested for the above tax years.

Please mark your files forward for thirty days while I work with the client to pull all of the requested information together so that we might set up a meeting to address you have requested. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to working with you to close their file.

Sincerely, John C. Dillard, CPA, PC, Partner in Charge

HisCPA PC Offers Free Initial Consultations/Interviews. Find a CPA in your area that will match this challenge to get a good start on your CPA/tax needs.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Offering Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Offer in Compromise, Tax Advocacy, Tax Mitigation and Tax Compliance, Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Statements and Accounting, QuickBooks Guidance, Business Set-up and advice on Incorporating in Georgia & IRS Wage Levies