William Simi, Author at Checkbox Accounting

16Apr 2013 by William Simi

Can Real Estate Be an IRA Investment Property?

Difficult economic times have caused people to look towards methods on how to successfully invest in property and people are looking into using a self-directed IRA in order to purchase real estate. In order to make this kind of investment, the IRA funds must reside with an IRA custodian who offers real estate as an investment option. A few steps to take when investing into real estate through your IRA are: 1. Contact the custodian of your IRA funds and make sure your IRA fund custodian will permit you to invest in real estate. Even though IRA funds can be used when investing cash into real estate most banks will decline this type of investment due to real estate being a burden. 2. Make sure you discuss the options and procedures available for investing cash into…

22Mar 2013 by William Simi

Principle 7: Availability of Information to the Public

Archived Posts, Non Profit Principles: Steering You in the Right Direction

It is vital for a charitable organization to make their information about operations, governance, finances, activities, programs, all publically available. It’s also good to consider making information including the methods they use to evaluate outcomes of work and evaluations publically available. -It is important to have transparency in order to gain the trust of the public. -The board should note the difference what public information must be shared and what confidential information that needs to be guarded. -An easy way to meet the IRS public activity is to post the IRS form 990 on the internet. -A website that is accurate, professional, and clear helps promote transparency to the public and a central place of the organization’s information. LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES -The IRS Forms 990 and 990-T from the…

28Feb 2013 by William Simi

Research & Development Tax Credits: Untapped Cash for Business Owners

Tax

In our guest blog this week Smith Miller, the CEO of Strategic Tax Solutions, provides clarification about the significant tax and cash flow benefits that businesses may enjoy by taking advantage of the often misunderstood and overlooked area of Research and Development tax credits. In these tough economic times, business owners may be struggling to stay in the black. Businesses need all the help they can get to be profitable. An untapped source of revenue, oftentimes overlooked by CPAs for their clients, is the Research & Development Tax Credit, which encourages U.S. businesses to invest in improvements that increase their competitive position in the market. This is an enormous opportunity for an immediate source of cash, as well as a reduction to current and future years' federal and state tax…

26Feb 2013 by William Simi

A Period of Reengineering: Your Current Business Situation

Business Advisory, FREE Business Tools: Learn the Secrets

Welcome to our guest blogger this month, Amelya Stevenson. Amelya is president of e-VentExe, a full service Human Resource consulting company. Born from the commitment to three core concepts, “employees, Ventures, and Executives,” e-VentExe operates under the belief that without the right placement, structure, and development of people, each business venture will have a difficult time succeeding in today’s competitive environment. We all know what the economy downturn has done to our businesses. The unexpected collapse of our financial health of our country just about wiped away many dreams and plans for our business future. Those companies that stayed open, our workforce changed and took a very different shape. Employees were laid off; those that kept their jobs had to wear many hats to get the job done. Depending on…

16Feb 2012 by William Simi

IRS Eliminates the 1099 – K Line on all Business Tax Returns

Tax

The IRS has determined that businesses will not need to reconcile their gross receipts with their merchant credit card transactions reported to them on Form 1099-K. This new ruling is now in effect for the year 2012 and later tax returns. The IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, Steven T. Miller, said in a written memo to the National Federation of Independent Business that no reconciliation will be required on 2012 or future business tax returns. The IRS previously said in October of last year that no return entry would be required for 2011 tax returns, although they left a line on the returns saying “For 2011, enter 0.” We previously advised our business clients to separately track their cash receipts from merchant card payments beginning in 2012. Please…

05Oct 2011 by William Simi

How to Have Real Influence Over Your Workers’ Comp Costs

Employees

This edition of our blog deals with Workers’ Compensation Insurance and the influence you as a business owner have on the cost of your premiums. Tom Bone is our guest author for this entry. Tom is an insurance broker and the host of the radio show “Insurance matters”. His radio show airs every Tuesday at 8 a.m. and the first Saturday of every month at 9:30 a.m. on-line Small Business Talk Radio. Please let us know your thoughts on this very important topic. If employers could have influence over their cost of workers’ compensation insurance, wouldn’t they want to know how? If insurance agents would help their employer clients lower their costs, wouldn’t that be a valuable service? Most employers consider the renewal date of their workers’ comp policy to…

30Jun 2011 by William Simi

Measuring What Matters: Performance Measurement for Not-For-Profit Organizations

Business Advisory, Not For Profit

In previous blog posts and newsletter articles, we have talked about the way in which a performance measurement program can help business owners enhance the profitability and operational efficiency of a for-profit enterprise. This article will discuss how performance measurement can be of benefit to a not-for-profit organization, as well. A performance measurement process involves the design and implementation of an information feedback system by which management identifies and then monitors its key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs give a business owner the ability to measure and, as a result, better manage those activities, behaviors and processes that drive organizational success, sustainability and profit. In a typical performance measurement application, the selected KPIs are incorporated into a balance scorecard framework that allows for the evaluation of business performance in light…

Author: William Simi