Category: Accounting
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Increase in calls from online searches
I’ve noticed an increase in the number of business inquires this past week coming as a result of online searches, mostly Google. I hope this is the beginning of a trend. Three calls yesterday were especially interesting: Avoid high pressure sales A sales manager in Pennsylvania called for advice about health insurance. We was dismayed…
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Rules for Tax Season
I know that I can limit stress to a manageable level and provide a better service to my clients this coming tax season if I follow a few simple rules: Filter out price-sensitive people. Don’t engage with any person who asks about price in the first two sentences of their approach. For example, an acceptable approach would be:…
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Preparing for an audit of your nonprofit organization
Most nonprofit organizations are required to present an annual audit, review or compilation report prepared by an independent accountant. The requirement might be incorporated into the organization’s bylaws or might be required by a government agency or funding organization. The cost of an accounting procedure is substantial and depends on many factors. For discussion purposes…
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Thinking about changing accountants?
The decision to change accountants often comes as the result of pain experienced. It is important to explore this experience so that we can learn from it and make improvements for the future. Author Rob Nixon suggests that we ask the following questions and then find a way to turn the negative comments into positives in…
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I cancelled pre-election tax planning offers
Tax planning has always been a larger part of my practice than tax return preparation. That means that this is my busy season. I offered a number of fixed fee tax consultations under assumptions that the 2017 tax code will be basically the same as this current year. Now that seems unlikely. There are suddenly hundreds…
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How to invite me to view your QuickBooks Online accounts
Log into QuickBooks Online as either the Master Administrator or Company Administrator. Click on the gear icon, located in the top-right corner. Within the Your Company section, click Manage Users. From within the Manage Users page, click the Invite Accountant button. In the mini interview that appears, enter email address tony@tonynovak.com into the Accountant’s email…
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Why small business taxpayers must use QuickBooks
Note: Throughout this post the term “QuickBooks” means any electronic accounting system, not specifically the brand name product. There is evidence, as cited in the story, that the market dominance of the branded product has caused the term to be used to describe a class of electronic accounting products. I am accredited with QuickBooks and several other accounting…
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Unregistered Charities
Each state has laws requiring proper registration of charitable organizations, professional fundraisers and professional solicitors. The intent is to protect citizens by requiring full public disclosure of the identity of persons who solicit contributions from the public, the purposes for which such contributions are solicited and the manner in which they are actually used. Last…
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Change to Privacy and Security Agreement
I made some changes to my privacy and security statements and will now request that new clients affirmatively acknowledge and accept the agreement before I make any other follow-up communication. Part of the reason is to emphasize my reliance of text, email, video conferences and document portals. Surprisingly, I still get calls from people who say…
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Why I switched from Google for Work to Microsoft Office 365 Premier for Business
Editorial note: After publication I was corrected and learned that Google can be used offline. The editorial is incorrect in that regard. About a month ago I dumped my Google for Work account and decided to upgrade my Microsoft from a personal account to a business account. Here are some reasons why I turned away from Google…