11Sep 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Are You Paying Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefits in Cash?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Are you a contractor working on prevailing wage projects and paying the fringe benefit portion of the prevailing wage in cash to your employee's? What if told you that you could reduce your payroll tax contributions by at least*$14,784.00 a year and receive additional savings on your general liability insurance (if you live in a state where liability insurance is based on gross payroll instead of sales)? Would that kind of savings help you lower your bids and still make money? Impossible you say! What would you say if I also told you that your employees would also be happy? Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that…
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30May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Getting Paid – Improving Credit & Collection Policies

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Let's face it….better collections mean more cash….more cash means a greater ability to fund future growth…..more growth equals more profit (most of the time). When a business owner seeks to expand his company one of the most important steps that can be taken is to review the company's current collection process. Instead of looking at collections as just another financial operation, it should be viewed more creatively and seen as a means to acquire financial gain. Improving your collection processes leads to fewer outstanding account balances, fewer bad-debt write-offs, and, therefore, better working capital that you can put to good use----the growth of your business. This article discusses: Credit worthiness The importance of having a written, signed contract Organizing contract information Recordkeeping Eliminating barriers to payments Maintaining an aggressive approach…
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29May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Bounced Checks-Everybody Hates Them – but, How Do You Handle Them in QuickBooks?

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds
  Bounced Checks..Everybody Hates Them.. Handling bounced checks in QuickBooks can be confusing and many people are looking for a quick and efficient way to handle bounced checks so the bank reconciliation can show both the money in and the money out…. But not affecting income in a prior period. There are three different ways in which you can handle a customer’s bounced check. Try each of these methods in a test file to see which one you like the best. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that we can notify you if this article is updated. [purchase_link id="1158" style="button" color="green" text="Request your copy of Bounced Checks-How…
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26May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Do You Barter? Trading Services between Customers and/or Vendors

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds
  If you buy services or product from your customer – or if your vendors buy services or products from you, you might want to “trade” services instead of paying each other - especially in this economy. Exchanging “credits” with each other is a good way to offset your cash flow without actually exchanging money.  You will, however, need to add a few new records to QuickBooks and do a few “special” transactions to make sure that all of your reports come out accurately. This article provides you with detailed, step-by-step instructions for recording barter transactions in your QuickBooks company data file. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address…
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31Mar 2006 by Nancy Smyth

4 Ways Businesses Fail/10 Steps to Succeed

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Ever wonder why it seems that you are struggling to make your business grow and be more successful while others seem to be doing so well?  Or are you just looking for some suggestions to help make your business run smoother? Learn the 4 most common reasons that businesses fail - or F- L- O - P and how to overcome them: Financial Leadership Operations Planning We'll also discuss 10 steps to enure your business will succeed, including: Estimate for profit Manage job productions for profit Account for profit Analyze for profit Understand the profit cycle Define goals and set expections Create performance rewards Train a GOOD staff Create written procedures Communicate Increasing profitability is a continuous cycle.  You need to be able to analyze jobs and refine your processes…
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30Mar 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Are You Ready to File Your Taxes?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
  April 15th is literally just around the corner --- are you ready to file your taxes? Here are a few  tips to help you get ready for this years taxes or better yet help you to prepare for next year! These tips include: How to handle transactions that you don't know what account that you should post them to Sharing your QuickBooks file with your accountant Reviewing key reports The importance of reconciling Entering a closing date Here's to a less stressful tax season! Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that we can notify you if this article is updated. [purchase_link id="1108" style="button" color="green" text="Request your…
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04Jan 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Year End Tasks

Business Productivity Tips & Training
The end of the year always adds even more tasks to your already busy schedule, and sometimes it's simply overwhelming! Intuit has build a very good "QuickBooks Year-End Guide/Checklist" and it's included right in your QuickBooks program by going to the Help Menu and choosing Year-End Guide. In this article, we'll cover each topic listed in the Year-End Guide, and offer some additional tips on each of the sections: Tasks to prepare for filing taxes Tasks to do if you have subcontractors Tasks to do if you have employees Tips for the upcoming year Wishing you success in the upcoming year! Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so…
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02Jan 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Tracking Use Tax

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds
  Many states impose Use (or Usage) Taxes on purchases that are shipped to you from a different state than the one in which you have your business, this is becoming more common as we purchase more items on the internet, and generally the purpose of Use Tax is to equalize the tax burden when buying from in-state and out of state vendors. While QuickBooks does an excellent job of tracking Sales Tax, even when you have to collect Sales Tax from multiple jurisdictions, it does not automatically calculate Use Tax for you - - - but it is possible to track Use Tax using these instructions. This article provides you with step-by-step instructions for tracking use tax on goods or services that you purchase which are subject to use…
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26Oct 2005 by Nancy Smyth

Is Your Data Safe?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Is your data safe in the event of an emergency? Disasters come in various forms, from the terrible hurricane's that have been experienced by those living along the Gulf Coast, to a computer crash due to a virus, or hard drive failure. Business Data Transfer Service (BDTS) offers a reasonably priced annual service that allows you to automatically backup your QuickBooks data file, as well as two other very handy features. Business Data Access (BDA) provides a simple way for you to transfer and backup your QuickBooks® data. With a click of a button, BDA can send your company data to your accountant or another workstation. No more hunting for the most recent Quickbooks® data file or running out of space on the USB drives. NOTE:  Business Data Transfer Service…
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07Oct 2005 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Group Items

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds
  QuickBooks provides you with a powerful tool within your Item List, which is often under used, the Group Item. Creating and using Group Items will allow you to quickly and easily enter several items at a time on Estimates, Invoices, Purchase Orders; reduce the risk of "leaving something out" when you are creating an Estimate; and best of all, allows you to bridge the difference in units of measure to buy and sell products or materials. QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2012 and older versions allow you to have 20 items within a group.  QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2013 has increased that limit to 50 items, read more about QuickBooks 2013 - Group Item Limit increase on the QuickBooks for contractors blog. Learn about the benefits of using Group Items. Request your copy of…
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