Howdy ya'll!

Hope Fall is beautiful wherever you are. I have an exciting group coming up in January I wanted to tell you about.

The Frozen to Focused is a 4 month teleclass/coaching/consulting group for folks who are looking to move their program to the next level (or to just get unstuck!).

In the course of the four months, we meet on the phone one a week for an hour each time, discussing various aspects that every program needs to be successful and sustainable. Topics include:

• Start-up Needs (Insurance, formation, etc)
• Strategic Planning
• Finding your Ideal Client
• Message Development
• Marketing Plans, PR, Advertising
• Websites, Brochures, Newsletters
• Selecting your Ideal Herd
• Grantwriting & Funding

We have special guests each month who are experts in their fields, including Mike Sowinski CPA & CFO, Brenda Dammann (who co-wrote the book with me), who specializes in Marketing, Strategic Planning & Message Development, and Elizabeth Barbour, who knows it all about networking and finding your ideal client.

And of course you'll get MORE THAN YOUR FILL of ME!!! Cool!

In a nutshell, this program combines professional consulting, personal mentoring, inspirational experience, & educational information through powerful (but simple) technology to save you time and money & get you on the road to success.

Click here to visit the information page on the HorseSenseBusiness.com website. It's got all the info you need to join! If that doesn't work, go to Equine Assisted Business Consulting section of HorseSenseBusiness.com website, and click on From Frozen to Focused Masters Group.

There is an application process, and we are accepting applications now for January's group. Download your application by visiting this page!

Look forward to having you there!

Shannon

Shannon@HorseSenseOtc.com

Let’s face it. The number of issues facing a business owner from a legal and tax perspective can be overwhelming, and it’s sometimes the one issue that you didn’t think about that can really hurt. Here is a laundry list some of the things to consider as a business owner:

Do you have the right form of entity? (C Corporation, S Corporation, LLC, Partnership, Sole Proprietor). 

Banking relationships-Do you have a relationship, what do they charge, what are their lending policies, do they have any other services you can use?

Should you buy or lease office equipment (Furniture, Computers, Software, Etc)?

Do you have the right insurance coverages in place, and did you shop around?

Do you backup your computer systems?

Do you understand financial statements?

Do you reconcile your bank accounts monthly?

Do you have a good relationship with all of your clients?

Have you considered how you should extend credit (bill) your clients, and do you monitor what is owed to you?

Have you developed a relationship with all of your vendors?

Are there any vendors that will give you better terms? (30 day instead of prepaid for example).

Do you have the right amount of debt for your business?

Do you have the proper employment paperwork and payroll taxes set up and paid on time?

Are your “independent contractors” truly independent, and have you considered the impact on worker’s comp insurance?

Do you have background checks for your employees?

Are all of your IRS and state filings current?

A few important things to think about!

So you got your tax return back from your CPA, or your tax program filed it on time. Here are some things to do with that information:

• Make sure that the CPA firm provided your adjusting entries so that your books match the return. This becomes a big deal when you go to get a loan at the bank or you want to sell your business.

• Purge all of your old accounting and tax records. I recommend that you keep all documents for 5 years, but if it has to do with the “basis” of property it should be kept forever. I also recommend that you keep your tax returns forever. Electronic documents are considered the same as paper, so if you can get it on a CD that would save space.

• Most companies only keep 1 year of information in the office. The rest should be stored in a different location. On the personal side, all of the prior year should be stored away….most people don’t need that stuff handy.

• Lastly, get organized. I just hired a person to get my company files in order…if you can’t find things then it is probably time to get a handle on it. And don’t wait! It only gets worse.

As a timely reminder I wanted to throw down some general company tips to get your barn in order for the annual tax man.

• Purchase business assets before year end and take advantage of the (up to) $108,000 section 179 deduction.  See details at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/ch02.html#d0e2333.  I bought a computer at 11pm on December 31 once.  Good stuff.

• Defer income to next year.  If you are on the accrual basis, delay your billings.

• Prepay expenses this year.  Expenses on a credit card are deductible in the year charged (not paid), and if you are on the cash basis, paying your bills with cash early will get you a better deduction.

• Write off your client accounts that are uncollectible.  You get no tax benefit from waiting.

• If you are on the cash basis, pay out employee bonuses before year end.  If you are on the accrual basis, you will get the deduction even if you don’t actually pay them until next year

• Issue 1099 forms to your contractors.  If you paid anyone more than $600 for services, you will need to follow the instructions for issuing those forms.

• Have the company contribute to your 401k plan if you have one.

• If your company is going to have a loss as an S-Corp, LLC or Partnership, review your basis in the company with your CPA so that you can take advantage of the loss personally.

• Clean up your books for year end.  Hire a bookkeeper to clean it up, they are much less expensive than the tax accountant/CPA.

Feel free to contact me with questions, complaints go to the IRS!

Mike Sowinski, CPA

www.cfoconsultants.net