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Post By sdagna in General News
When we think of “Community,” each of us has a slightly different picture come to mind. For some it is their immediate neighborhood or their group of friend and co-workers. For others it might be their town or social circle. It is a somewhat elusive noun because it can be viewed in so many different ways. When we see “May’s Pond Community,” we suddenly are able to narrow or broaden our focus to some pretty easily defined boundaries. At least that is what I thought until just three short months ago.
The May’s Pond Community really isn’t as easily defined as one would think. Within that area are houses that fall within a homeowner association, houses that don’t, and houses that aren’t houses at all but are “detached condos.” So, the greater body that we call our local May’s Pond Community is really somewhat like our own body in that it’s made up of a whole lot of parts that we don’t think much about unless it is injured and starts to hurt. Then, the pain spreads and suddenly every other part is acutely aware and we know it is time to stop and think and take action to heal the hurt part and stop the pain.
It’s been that way for decades at the May’s Pond Park. That park has been known far and wide as “the drug hang out” or “drug park.” Years ago families stopped enjoying the park for the most part, and the less families went in to play there the more teenagers made it their own. The underage drinking and pot smoking grew, some neighbors became a little concerned, most turned a blind eye. From what we are told, something similar happened at Woodside Elementary School a few years back. Kids started selling and using pot and pushing the envelope. Parents there decided they were not going to tolerate that and set about making the school safe once again, and really taking a stand.
When school let out for the summer this year things went from bad to worse in the park. We started getting reports of animals being killed, squirrels (over a dozen counted so far) beheaded and hung from trees or thrown in neighbors’ yards, rabbits killed and beheaded, and finally another Canadian Goose. She had migrated here every year to have her young and then return north, but this year they shot her, cut off her head, and threw her body in the middle of Brook Blvd. Her mate and goslings fled the same day and have not been seen since.
At that point the neighborhood rallied, Sgt. O’Neill came out from the Sheriff’s office and spoke with us about what must be done to clean up the park, The Enterprise started running stories about the park and challenges we faced in stopping the crime and making the park safe once again. The Animal Defense Council in Tucson, Arizona called and offered $500 in reward money and some local homeowners offered to collect another $500 to match it.
Now, the “Greater Community” has rallied to action! Work teams of neighbors and organizations have started coming out to help us clear the overgrowth from the park so that the drug dealers and animal killers, and other predators can not lurk and do their business unseen any longer. The Journey Church, many of whose members had recently moved here from Houston all turned out to help even as Ike raged against their families back home. Starbucks is sending a group of employees to help, North Creek Presbyterian Church is organizing a large group of their membership to come help. Girl Scouts and Brownies, Eagle Scouts, High Schoolers who need to do “Community Service” (There’s that word again!) are turning out to help. Home Depot is providing us with materials, Sun Belt Rentals has offered the use of their equipment. The Journal has come out to write an article and take photos of the work being done.
Two weeks ago we had a report of a woman being molested late one night in the park by the side entrance on Palomino. We are now determined to cut away all the overgrowth there as quickly as possible and open that area up.
Foot patrols of concerned neighbors now walk through the park, others are now purposely walking their dogs through the park rather than around the block, neighbors from across 180th are coming to take their walks through the park, and the Sheriff’s officers are patrolling much more frequently down our streets. When the overgrowth is removed they will have a line-of-sight from their vehicle floodlights across the park areas most used by drug dealers, which means that they won’t be able to do their deals there any longer without great risk.
Anyone who would like to help gathers around 10:00 on Saturday mornings and starts helping. People are making friends, getting to know one another, and feeling great about what they are doing! The community’s taking a stand at the park is shaking up those who have thought of it as their own personal office for far too long! The truly great thing about what we are seeing is that it’s NOT primarily our little “community” that is making such a huge difference. It is people coming from far and wide, some who never heard of May’s Pond before, who are choosing to be part of our community, if just for a little while, in order to make it better for us. We owe that greater “Neighbor-Helping-Neighbor Because It’s The Right Thing To Do” Community a huge debt of gratitude!
Post By jdagna in General News
Intuit has announced release dates for QuickBooks 2009. They anticipate shipping as early as the end of September, which means it is time to think about upgrading. I haven't seen notes as to when QuickBooks Online users will see new features.
Should you upgrade?
The good news is that QuickBooks 2009 promises the fix many of the bugs introduced in QuickBooks 2008. The bad news is that those bugs never were fixed in the 2008 software. I don't want to be too negative about the way Intuit operates, but I think we can all agree that that's just wrong.
Normally, I recommend not upgrading to the latest QuickBooks version unless you have a specific need for it. This year, the needs are:
1) You want to use the Accountant Copy feature. New for 2009: fixes to imports and reconciliations so that they work the way they should have worked from the start. If we've been using the Accountant Copy functions with you, there are some options other than upgrading, but we're not going to use AC with any prior versions.
2) You are still using QB 2006 or earlier. While you can technically get by with these older versions (we still have them), Intuit does not update or support the older versions. 2005 won't run on Vista, for example. I recommend staying with a current version.
3) There are any other features you want. For example, you may need the new multiple currency support. There's a new dashboard reporting view. Or maybe you need to enter transactions for $99 billion; (yeah, that's been a real stumbling block for most of us).
Overall, you may get the impression that I'm not overwhelmed with Intuit's support of their products. As a Certified ProAdvisor, I certainly recognize that QuickBooks is the best solution for many small businesses, and we'll keep using it until we find a better option, but it would sure be nice to see a company fix errors and provide upgrade pricing.
Post By jdagna in Tax Tips
In Revenue Procedure 2008-48, the IRS has announced some new rules that apply to parents who support children that they cannot (or do not) claim as dependents, but still provide medical care or insurance to them.
Traditionally, the IRS position has been that if you cannot claim the dependency exemption for a child (because they don't live with you, often), you cannot claim deductions for medical expenses that you pay for the child. Many colleges and businesses used this rule when considering how their benefits apply.
The new rule changes this. A noncustodial parent can now claim payment for medical expenses. Furthermore, they can also include the dependent on company health plans and use funds from an MSA or HSA to pay for medical expenses for the noncustodial child. Furthermore, this ruling is retroactive.
What does that mean for you?
1. If you pay child support, consider making some of the payments specifically for medical services
2. If you have a company or college health plan that prevented you from covering a child in the past, talk to your HR department about this change.
3. Review your taxes for 2005, 2006 and 2007. If you paid any medical expenses for noncustodial children in those years, you can still amend them and get a refund.
Post By jdagna in Business Tips
Just to make sure we can never rest on our laurels too much, the IRS has released a new Form 990, the tax/information used to report non-profit activities to the IRS and (for many non-profits) to the public as well. From the IRS press release:
The Internal Revenue Service released the revised instructions that tax-exempt organizations will need to fill out the redesigned Form 990, which must be filed starting with tax year 2008 (filed in 2009).
Most charities and other tax-exempt organizations must file an annual informational return with the IRS to maintain their tax-exempt status. Information reported on Form 990 is made available to the public.
“These instructions are the final step in a tremendous effort to bring the Form 990 up to date and to reflect the diversity and complexity of the tax-exempt community,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "The revised form will give the IRS and the public a much better view of how exempt organizations operate. The improved transparency provided by these changes will also benefit the tax-exempt community.”
Form 990 had previously not seen major revisions since 1979.
The revised instructions feature several new tools that make it easier to answer questions line-by-line and that facilitate uniform reporting. Input from the tax-exempt community played a major role in how the new instructions were designed.
“We were gratified by the amount of help the IRS received from the tax-exempt community through public comments to redesign the Form 990 and revise its instructions,” said Steven T. Miller, Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. “This input helped us achieve our goal of improving compliance while minimizing burden. We will now begin working with the tax-exempt sector to help organizations complete the form and prepare for the 2009 filing season."
The IRS expects to release instructions to the 2008 Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, in the next few weeks.
Post By jdagna in Tax Tips
So many people associate the issue of taxes with April that they often miss out on the chance to make changes and update plans in the middle of the year. Even though it's August, you should be thinking about taxes even if you didn't file an extension. Here are some ideas to ponder:
Business Restructuring: Do you have the best business entity type for your needs? As an example, if your business will have a net income of $100,000 this year, an S Corporation might save you about $7,000 in taxes. You can't form a corporation retroactively, so if you want those savings for next year, you'd better start the process no later than December.
Qualified Benefits Plans: Benefits plans include health, retirement, child care, life insurance and other employee benefits. Some of these can provide huge tax savings even to sole proprietors. While you can sometimes put money into the plans after January 1st, you must have established the plan before the end of the year. (Example: tax-deductible HSA contributions can be made for the 2008 tax year until April 15th, 2009, but only for plans with coverage that started before December 31st, 2008.) It can take time to analyze benefit options, set up accounts and choose providers.
Capital Gains: 2008 is an unusual year. There's the possibility that capital gains might be taxed at 0%! While you should turn to your investment advisor regarding whether to sell anything now, you could save on taxes. Again, the sales must be made before the end of the year.
And More: Should you prepay property tax? What about prepaying rent? Should you have an elective surgery this year or next year? Do you have enough saved to pay your taxes in April? Could you benefit by converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? Don't ask in April. It'll be too late.
Post By sdagna in Business Tips
There are many sayings that have sprung off of the old military slogan of, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." There is so much truth in that for almost everything in life, that the real depth of the statement often eludes us. We all recognize the "woman's" version that says we all go shopping when the going gets tough, but in truth, we all tend to do what ever we feel gives us the most comfort and encouragement when life overwhelms us. At times that is finding an inspirational book, or seeking advice from our pastor or friends whom we have confidence in, or just wrapping up in our favorite robe and sitting in front of "A Knight's Tale" for the twentieth time with a bowl of chocolate ice cream and just escaping for a couple of hours.
What I have found during this first 15 months that our own business has been housed in commercial office space is that two things are absolutely true: 1) launching your business out in the world is expensive and will soak up every penny of your well-thought-out budget and then some, and 2) the first place to dedicate your advertising dollars is a solid proven organized professional networking group. Now, I have never thought of myself as a public speaker, or as gifted in promoting anything, so when we opened our doors last May and one of the first people I met told me that I HAD to get out and stand in front of people and sell my business, I about panicked! All I knew was that I did not know anything about networking, and that I had secretly hoped that our signs would go up and people would magically start pouring through the door. That was my plan, or well most of it at any rate.
So, we joined the Chamber of Commerce and met some nice people, and gained one client, and then I drummed up the courage to visit a few networking groups in our area. I joined one and gained another two clients. Oh, my one-minute commercial didn't improve right away, but I knew that if I hung in there and learned from the other men and women who were taking their time to help me grow, something wonderful was bound to happen. And, it did!
What I learned through joining serious networking groups such as eWomen, BNI, the local Chambers of Commerce, and others was confirmation that perseverance and keeping your eye on the goal were absolutely essential, and that I was no longer alone in trying to tell people about my business. I was out there meeting other business owners who cared about helping one another succeed!
Now, we're six months down the road and money is tight, gas prices are absurd, time is precious, our clients (all of whom are small business owners) feel the crunch as much as we, and business is slow. Since we do their bookkeeping and taxes they sometimes ask what expenses they might cut, and almost always they want to cut advertising first. After all, print advertising is expensive and you can't really make sure it gets in front of your targeted audience. What I tell them every time is that the more times get tough for us the more I get out and network! I invite them to visit networking groups with me and see what they can gain by moving some of their advertising dollars to networking instead of that coupon ad, or flyer that may or may not generate any business. Even in these very challenging times, our own business is steadily growing thanks in great part to getting out and meeting people face-to-face, shaking their hand and telling them about what our services can do for them.
Oprah has an article on the last page of her monthly magazine titled something like "One thing I know for sure," and all I can tell you with absolute confidence that I personally know for sure about making it through the tough times for our business is that the rougher things get, the more networking brings us through! At my office we tell our clients to look at what is working for them and what is not before deciding where to cut costs, and then I give them OUR numbers for growing solid clients through networking! After all, the reality is that people do business with people they know, like, and trust -- and the only way that people can get to know, like, and trust you is when they can look you in the eye, shake your hand, and get to know you.
Post By sdagna in General News
Over the past several years a local community park has become a hub of drug activity. Because it is falls outside the city limits and in an otherwise relatively quiet suburban neighborhood, law enforcement personnel are not able to patrol or respond to calls quickly enough to be effective. The major contributing factor that makes this park such a popular place for drug buyers and sellers is that it has been allowed to become overgrown to the point where people can park along the curb and disappear along one of the foot paths and become hidden from view very quickly.
The owners of Full Potential are dedicated to making a positive difference in the area, and have organized a park clean-up project that is taking action. Every Saturday in August and September, and later if the weather permits, we are gathering with others in the community to cut down the overgrown vegetation, take out some of the trees, and bring light and life into the park. We have invited Scout troops, church groups, and everyone we can reach through local neighborhood watch programs, newspaper articles, flyers, newsletters, and email to come participate with us in this effort. After the winter weather makes our work slow down, we will kick it back into full swing again in the Spring, and work with Scouts and others who have expressed a desire to be part of the on-going work.
The kick-off was Saturday, August 9, and had a terrific turn-out of support! Together, we as a community make the decisions about what we want to invite into our community, and what we will not tolerate. Just as apathy and neglect are decisions, so are determination and action! We are very proud of the response we have received from people all around the area who are eager and willing to stand together with us to make sure the drug dealers know we will no longer tolerate their presence.
Each of us makes a difference in the world around us, whether we know it or not!
Post By sdagna in Business Tips
Does everything pile up on, under, and around your desk space? Are you constantly juggling appointments and trying to find time for everything? I know these have been on-going challenges for me my entire career! I recently met a terrific professional organizer who gave me some excellent tips, and here are two that fall under the "Simplify" category:
1. Always (yes, always!) leave open space in your calendar and all areas of your environment. Yep, that includes under your desk!
2. Trust having less! Only bring something else into your space that is going to serve you, actually get used, and that you have room for.
It is amazing how liberating it is to get rid of anything and everything that does not serve me well!
Post By sdagna in General News
The owners and staff of Full Potential LLP are dedicated to helping our community through volunteer efforts and activities. Sally has worked with a variety of law enforcement agencies over the years, and helped organize their local block watch program. A recent newspaper article spotlights some of the challenges currently being addressed.
http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20080725/ETP03/818244465&template=ETPart
Post By jdagna in Business Tips
This tax tip comes from the IRS and provides an excellent summary of the types of records every taxpayer should keep. Business owners, in particular, need to understand the value of their records. That shoebox full of receipts probably has $10,000 in tax savings inside.
From the IRS Tax Tips 2008-05: Keeping Good Tax Records
In a tax emergency, would you be ready? Well–organized records not only help you prepare your tax return, but they also help you answer questions if your return is selected for examination or prepare a response if you are billed for additional tax.
Fortunately, you don’t have to keep all tax records around forever. Normally, tax records should be kept for three years, but some documents — such as records relating to a home purchase or sale, stock transactions, IRA and business or rental property — should be kept longer.
If you are an employer, you must keep all your employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
If you are in business, there is no particular method of bookkeeping you must use. However, you must clearly and accurately show your gross income and expenses. The records should substantiate both your income and expenses.
Publication 552, Recordkeeping for Individuals, provides more detailed information on individual record keeping requirements.
Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, and Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses, provide additional information on required documentation for taxpayers with business expenses.
These publications can be downloaded from IRS.gov or ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
One additional tip: consider digitizing your records. I have met several clients who had their receipts destroyed by flood, fire and loss while moving across country. The IRS will accept scanned images of receipts provided that they are stored in a non-editable format. A 200 dpi grayscale GIF or JPG image stored on CD-R or DVD-R is acceptable for this purpose. You can easily fit an entire decade's worth of records on a single DVD-R. Make three copies: keep one at home, one at the office, and one in a safe deposit box at the bank.
Post By jdagna in Tax Tips
Apparently, this is what passes for humor among accountants. You might appreciate this 1040 DOG Canine Tax Return as well.
Post By jdagna in Business Tips
The IRS web site has a section of their Examiner's Guide specific to the direct seller industry, such as commissioned salespeople and multi-level marketers of all types.
While the article does include tax information (some of it fairly technical), you'll also find statistics and demographic information including the number of direct sellers, total income, growth in the industry, methods of selling and much more. For example, did you know that a typical direct seller spends 20% of their time on administrative and paperwork tasks?
Normally I try to avoid shameless plugs for our services in our blog, but think about that number. For a full-time seller, that's 8 hours per week - one whole day per week - on administration and paperwork. What could you do differently if you had a whole extra day each week?
Post By jdagna in Tax Tips
The IRS periodically adjusts the standard mileage rate for deducting business use of vehicles. These rates reflect cost of vehicles, insurance, repairs, maintenance and - most importantly - gas.
To adjust for the higher gas prices, the rate has been raised from 50.5 cents/mile to 58.5 cents/mile, effective July 1, 2008. It is also worth noting that the deduction for medical miles is now 27 cents/mile. For the full article, see: IRS Increases Mileage Rates through Dec 1, 2008.
While this is good news for those who count on the standard mileage rate deduction to reduce their taxes, it further emphasizes the importance of proper record-keeping. You will have to know how many miles (business and personal) were driven between January 1 and June 30th and how many between July 1 and Dec 31st.
Post By jdagna in Tax Tips
OK, tracking mileage is probably not something you would do for fun, but it is an important aspect of reducing your tax liabilities.
What mileage counts
Mileage may be deducted if driven between one place of work and another, or when driving to a temporary work location if you have a permanent work location. For example, driving from your office to the store to pick up supplies is a deductible expense. For those with home offices, your home is also a place of work, but for most people driving from home to a place of work is considered nondeductible commuting mileage.
Did you know that you can also claim a deduction for medical and charitable miles? Medical miles include driving required to doctor's appointments or to pick up prescriptions. Charitable miles only count when done for the benefit of the charity, so you can deduct driving while volunteering, but should not claim mileage to church services every week.
What's the deduction?
The standard deduction established by the IRS is 50.5 cents per mile in 2008 (up from 48.5 cents last year) for business miles. Medical and charitable miles are only worth 19 and 14 cents respectively.
How do you take it?
The answer is "It depends." (That's the answer to almost all tax questions). In this case, it depends on whether you are a(n):
- Employee: use Form 2106, which generally flows to Schedule A. The deduction is taken only if it exceeds 2% of AGI so people with limited business mileage often don't benefit.
- Sole Proprietor: use Schedule C, which deducts mileage directly from business income with no limits.
- Partner: if you are a partner, mileage can be reimbursed by the partnership or claimed on Schedule E as an unreimbursed partner expense.
- Corporate Officer: if your company is a corporation, it cannot deduct your mileage. You need to get a reimbursement from the company or report it as if you were an employee. Reimbursements are much better.
What are accountable reimbursement plans?For corporate officers, an accountable reimbursement plan permits the company to deduct the expense of the reimbursement, but the reimbursement is not income to the officer/employee. Accountable means that you must provide documentation to the company proving your mileage. The reimbursement can be made up to the IRS standard rate, but can be less. How do you track mileage?Both the IRS and accountable reimbursement plans require documentation of mileage. While many people try to use percentages or estimates for mileage, the IRS is going to require proof or the deduction can be reduced or denied altogether under audit. In some cases, well-kept appointment books or calendars have sufficed, but the best evidence is a mileage log maintained on a daily basis. I recommend keeping a written log in your car; once you get into the habit of writing everything down, you'll find that it doesn't take much time at all. You can download a good mileage log template for Microsoft Excel from Microsoft Office Online. The same log can be used to track charitable, medical and business miles.
Post By jdagna in Our News
We are planning to attend the Mill Creek Festival again this year. The dates are July 12-13. For more information see their web site at http://millcreekfestival.com/
Hopefully, we'll have some more updates when we learn exactly where we'll be.
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