Before you climb into the car or book a flight, think about whether a virtual meeting could save you time and deliver the same result. It’s a change in habit to get used to, but when you do, you’ll find it saves you time and money.
 
To hold a virtual meeting, you’ll need a software app that works in your browser. There are many choices available, including Zoom, UberConference and GoToMeeting to name a few popular choices. 
 
It’s easier than you might think to hold a virtual meeting. The learning curve is more psychological than any skill or equipment needed. You’ll need a computer, and you can use your phone or your computer for audio. If you use your computer for audio, you’ll need a microphone and speakers.
 
For best results, you should also have a webcam built into your computer, or you can purchase one separately and connect it. Everyone is camera-shy, or webcam-shy, but don’t let that stop you! You can always host a meeting without video.
 
If a service offers a free account, use that option to try out virtual meetings. Just be aware of the limitations (such a number of attendees, time limits, etc.) that may be attached to a free service.
 
Once you’ve set up an account, you can schedule a meeting or host a meeting on the fly. Setup choices include whether you’ll use computer or phone audio, whether you want the video to be on or off, and whether you want to record the session, which can be very handy. You can also mute and unmute participants, so that it can be used for classes as well as meetings.
 
Here are a few tips to make sure your virtual meetings go off without a hitch:

1. Treat a virtual meeting with the same importance as a face-to-face one: be on time, have an agenda, and make sure everyone is heard.
2. Audio quality is probably more important than visual quality. If you are new to the software, do a test run before you start inviting clients to meetings so you can get through any learning curve. Consider using a microphone headset for higher quality sound.
3. For good video results, face a window or light source so that your face is not in shadow. The brighter the better; everyone looks better with more lighting because the light erases wrinkles! If possible, the webcam lens should be at eye level or above. You can use books under your computer to raise it if you need to. 

 
Try virtual meetings in your business and see how they can help improve your ability to serve your clients and support your business needs. We’ve seen it in our business. We can assist clients from anywhere as needed. This allows us additional schedule flexibility to support your success.

Class, tracking codes, and other custom data may need to be added as well. Rules can be set so that the accounting application can pre-code the transactions; in this case the accountant simply approves or corrects the entry.

Invoice Fetching
 
It starts with a picture of a receipt. Invoice fetching applications can turn pixels into data using sophisticated OCR (optical character recognition). The data is then turned into a business transaction that can be imported into an accounting system.
 
Auditing
 
The books of many government agencies, nonprofits, and large businesses need to be audited on a regular basis. Auditing is an expensive process. Smart programs can review a company’s data and assess where the risks and anomalies are so that the audit program can be modified to focus on the more important parts. This reduces risk and cost for everyone involved. 
 
Accounts Payable
 
Artificial intelligence can help to speed up the matching of purchase orders, packing slips, and invoices so that accounts payable tasks are streamlined.  It can also automate approvals and look for duplicate invoices to avoid overpayments. 
 
Accounting Tasks That Are Clerical
 
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a platform that allows users to create automation without involving the IT department. Think Excel macros or Zapier on steroids. Any workflow with a mind-numbing set of clerical steps is a candidate for RPA. 
 
AI allows accountants to spend less time on routine tasks and more time on higher-level analysis work. As AI becomes more affordable for small businesses, everyone will benefit from this long-term trend.
 
For assistance with incorporating services that support efficient streamlining of accounting and payroll related services, please give us a call.

This is general information and should not be acted upon without first determining its application to your specific situation. Please contact us, your CPA or tax adviser for additional details.

Why pay more for software and services than necessary? Check out our Resources page for information on discounts available to our clients.

Why pay more for software and services than necessary? Check out our Resources page for information on discounts available to our clients.

If you either received or are expecting a tax refund, you may be feeling the temptation to splurge and enjoy the money immediately. After all, you worked hard for that money.
 
While enjoyable, is the splurge you are considering as valuable as investing in your future financial security? While everyone’s needs are different, consider some optional uses of your refund that may work for you:

• Contribute your refund to your employer’s 401(k) plan. If your employer offers a matching contribution, that’s an immediate return on your money in addition to deferring taxes on your contribution. And, funds in the plan grow free of tax until withdrawal.
• Use your refund to pay down credit card balances – you’ll earn a guaranteed double-digit return.
• Consider investing your refund in your child’s education. Both Section 529 college savings plans and education savings accounts offer tax-advantaged ways to save for college costs.
• Take full advantage of your IRA options for retirement savings. Both Traditional and Roth IRAs are great ways to save for retirement.
• If you’ve maximized your retirement and education savings, and your credit cards are under control, put your refund in diversified investments that make sense for your age and financial situation.
• Ask yourself if getting a big refund every year is a smart idea. Would you rather invest your money during the year instead of making an interest-free loan to the government? If so, consider filing an updated Form W-4 with your employer.

Longer term planning generally requires a vision of where you'd like to be in the future? Do you have such a vision? 

If you'd like to review the effect of any of the above choices on your financial situation, please reach out to a trusted financial adviser for additional assistance.

This is general information and should not be acted upon without first determining its application to your specific situation. Please contact us, your CPA or tax adviser for additional details.

Owning a business can be emotionally and physically taxing. When we are tired or stressed over our business, our entire life may be negatively affected. What is a quick and easy – but effective – way to bring more positivity and less negativity into your work and life?
 
Being grateful.
 
This may sound a bit trite, but gratitude is the number one, hands down, fastest way to bring more positivity and less negativity into your work and life.
 
Acts of gratitude are selfless and done unconditionally. You can use gratitude as a private exercise of reflection, or you can express your gratefulness to show people that they are appreciated.
 
You don’t have to wait to feel gratitude; you can invoke it proactively. 
 
If you don’t have a gratitude practice, consider starting one. Science has gotten involved in studying gratitude, especially in the field of positive psychology, and the benefits to health and well-being are enormous. It can benefit your business, too, when you show appreciation for business partners, employees, customers, and vendors.  

Here are five easy ways to bring more gratitude into your work and life:

1. Think of five clients you can send thank you notes to. You can write them by hand or send a greeting card with a thank you message. 
2. On your customer service email templates, add a line before the closing that says, “We appreciate your business.” It does make a difference.  
3. Quick, right now, think of five things you are grateful for and list them off the top of your head. After you’re done, you should feel a little bit happier than you did a few minutes ago.  Use this tool after you feel a negative emotion to move you back into positivity faster.
4. Find part of your day that you don’t love, such as your commute to work. Change it to your gratitude commute, finding things along the way to be grateful for. You might be surprised how great you feel when you arrive at work. 
5.  Let one of your employees know that you’re grateful for the work they do for you. You can do this verbally, with a note, or with a gift. 

​When you practice gratitude, you can’t help but feel happy for the things you have in your life.  Try these five things on a regular basis to bring more gratitude and positivity into your work and life.  

How well do you love the way you spend your typical workday?  What would a typical workday look like if you had absolutely no constraints?  Here’s a fun exercise to get you thinking about your future and how you can make small changes in your current day to move it toward your ideal day. 
 
Get comfortable and begin jotting out what your ideal day looks like.  Start with what you do before you get to work.  How do you start your day?  With a workout or breakfast or something else?  What does breakfast consist of?  Where are you eating?  What do your surroundings look like?
 
How do you get to work? What is your commute like? List the sights, sounds, smells.  Once you get to work, what do you do first? Will you spend time on the phone?  With whom?  At the computer?  Do you go somewhere?
 
Do you get a nice break for lunch? Write it all down in detail, and continue until your post-workday routine.  Who are you with?  Where are you?  What do you do?
 
Here’s a partial sample:
 
“Lunch with my two friends at our favorite Mexican restaurant on the beach. We laugh a lot, share stories, and part with hugs and handshakes. After lunch, I work on my favorite work project, which challenges me to think about how to help my employees gain new skills. While I work, I listen to my favorite music CD.  In a few hours, I am ready for a stretch break and walk outside to water the plants. After break, I return calls, talking with my clients and catching up on how to best serve them.   …”
 
OK, now it’s your turn.  Here are some questions to consider while you do this exercise:
 

• What’s important to you to spend time on?
• What’s enjoyable that you would really like to have as part of your daily routine?
• What activities will give you a nice balance of accomplishment, relaxation, and socialization, even during work?
• What do you need to include in your ideal day to get your needs met?

 
Change One Thing
 
Getting to your ideal day can take time.  Don’t try to change your whole routine all at once.  What one or two things can you pull out of your ideal work day description that you could bring into your current work day to brighten it with happiness?  In the description above, this person might block out time to find employee training, go out for lunch instead of eating at her desk, make a new playlist, delegate tasks that are not part of her ideal day, or take more time when returning client calls.
 
Make gradual changes in your current day to improve it.  With each change, you’ll be moving toward the realization of your ideal day. And if your ideal day doesn’t include bookkeeping but your current day still does, we’re here for you.  Just give us a call.

This is general information and should not be acted upon without first determining its application to your specific situation. Please contact us, your CPA or tax adviser for additional details.

In this arrangement, each of you has control over some money that is all your own. The household spending will then come out of the joint account, and you both will make contributions to it on a regular basis.  

​As a couple, you’ll need to discuss who will pay for what as well as what your regular contribution will be to the joint account. This is no small discussion. The more thorough you are, the less conflict you’ll have over money.
 
One spouse or partner will normally handle the joint finances, and it’s typically the person with the most accounting knowledge. However, you both should have access to this account in case of emergency. 
 
Savings and future purchase goals
 
Do you have goals about upcoming large purchases?  These might include:

• A home purchase or improvement
• Children’s education
• Health care needs
• Saving for retirement
• A car purchase
• A second home purchase
• A vacation
• Another item such as a boat, furniture, technology gadgets, a plane, or something else
• A nest egg or cushion

 
If so, calculate how much you need and make a plan to set aside the money you need in the time frame you agree on. 
 
Spending
 
Do you like to spend more than your spouse? Or is it the other way around? When money is flowing, there is usually no problem. When money is tight, that’s when the problems come in. 
 
When there are conflicts in the area of spending, the best course is to focus on priorities. If you can agree on your priorities and goals, it can often shift spending habits.  
 
Budget
 
You may want to set a budget to stick as close as possible to expected spending limits. Start by recording current spending in these areas, and then agree on the amounts you want to spend in the future. 

• Rent or mortgage payment
• Utilities, including electric, gas, water, garbage, phone, internet, cable
• Food and supplies, including grocery, kitchen items, liquor, and eating out
• Entertainment, including travel, vacations, local events, holiday decorations, Netflix subscriptions, tech gadgets, books, etc.
• House maintenance including repairs, cleaning, lawn care, appliances, and decorating
• Automobile, including gas, insurance, licenses, and maintenance
• Clothing and accessories, including dry cleaning
• Health care, including pharmacy, doctor’s visit, and HSA contributions
• Personal care, such as haircuts, nail care, etc.
• Tuition and/or education expenses
• Contribution to retirement and savings accounts
• Charitable contributions
• Taxes, including federal, state, local, school, and property
• Paying down credit card or student loan debt

   
Retirement
 
What does retirement look like to both of you? Having this conversation will be enlightening. Know that dreams and goals can change over time as retirement approaches.
 
You’ll want to have an idea about what you’d like to spend during your final years so that you can make plans to start accumulating that wealth now. The sooner you start, the more years you have to build up your retirement assets. 
 
Monitoring your progress
 
Keep an eye on your account balances to make sure everything is as it should be. Review bank and brokerage account statements and/or your budget once a month or at least once a quarter so there are no surprises or trends that sneak up on you.  
 
When you reach your goals, reward yourself. Managing money is hard work, and you deserve to pat yourself on the back when a goal is achieved. If there is anything we can do to help you make your financial dreams come true, please reach out any time.   

This is general information and should not be acted upon without first determining its application to your specific situation. Please contact us, your CPA or tax adviser for additional details.

This is general information and should not be acted upon without first determining its application to your specific situation. Please contact us, your CPA or tax advisor for additional details.

As we get through the craziness of tax season, a few reminders are always a good thing. Check out this article for a good overview of common tax subjects that you may deal with both personally and as a business owner. And if you have questions, please contact us for tax review and preparation services as well as tax planning for the upcoming year.

​Remember: You don't need to pay full price for your accounting software and services! For special discounts on QuickBooks products and services not available when buying directly from Intuit, click the button below or contact us to discuss your business needs. 

The information presented is of a general nature and should not be acted upon without further details and/or professional guidance. For assistance in identifying and utilizing all the tax deductions to which you are entitled, please contact us, your CPA or tax preparer.

Many facets of a business can trigger the IRS' interest. Identify five key areas where your business could be at risk in an audit by watching this video.

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