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Just curious about how you all do your accounting and bookkeeping. Do you hire an accountant (pay him or her lots of money) or just DIY? By talking to my accountant, it sounds like it is not that difficult to do the forms. Any input is welcome.
-------------------- Peter Xing peter@wonderfulgraphics.com Wonderful Signs & Graphics 55 Chrystie Street New York NY 212 431 5957 Posts: 43 | From: New York NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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EXACTLY WHAT DAVID SAID!!! I do what I do for a living and I pay others to do what THEY do for a living.
In my limited experience (about 35 years self-employed) a good accountant will save you more in income tax than he charges.
I tried the "do it yourself book keeping" thing once...too much trouble. Easier to just sort stuff out of the envelopes and dump it on the accountant..he and his skilled crew unscramble the stuff, align it right for any possible audit and then prepare the income tax return.
How easy can it be???
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I do my own. Course, I have the piece of paper on the wall from college that says I know what I'm doing. I also have an accounting/tax business.
If your accountant is just filling in the forms, get a new accountant!!!!
If you want to take care of your own books, that's 1 thing. However, you should have your accountant set it up and guide you through the basics and be there an answer any questions throughout the year. Insist on beginning balances for equipment accounts, A/D, etc. so you have accurate statements anytime you need them. If he/she won't do this, fire him!
As far as the actual return, your return isn't a 1040EZ, go to a professional. Your tax professional SHOULD know the current tax laws, deductions, etc and should be a benefit to you. In the long run, it should be cheaper and more beneficial to pay a professional to do your return than to spend hours teaching yourself only to have to go through it all again next year.
You're accountant really needs to be an "extended business partner". They should understand your business and be able to guide you throughout the year, not just talk to you for 5 minutes at tax time. If they can't or won't do this, Fire him!
Maybe I'm just cynical cause I've seen too many business returns these last couple years where the old accountant just let things go status quo, either missing huge deductions or just totally blew it. (Sorry, there is no way in hell a manufacturing business grossing 75k a year can have 35k in office supplies expense and NO payments to the owner.)
Peter, if ya want to yak, give me a call at the shop.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Sheila..I hope you take this as a positive comment..
If you mean "H&R" as in H&R Block..and you use them for doing business income tax returns, you might be doing yourself a disservice.
As Chris has mentioned a couple of times, a good accountant is a good business partner. I might be wrong, but my impression of H&R Block is that they are geared to "filling in the blanks on forms".
It is easy to look at the economical way to go but I am happy to pay top dollar to my accountant, who knows my business, to get me every possible legal deduction available to me.
Heck..I'd rather pay my accountant $1500 than pay the government $1500!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Our business is limited and fairly complex. Janis handles the day to day accounting chores and does year end. Once that is done it goes to an accountant for review and he does the tax stuff... depreciations, final salaries, bonus, divedends, and all that type of stuff.
While I review certain aspects of the financial stuff and am not exactly in the dark... I dwell totally in the creative world.
It's been many. many years since I have even written a check.
And that's a good thing.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8741 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Works a lot like that here too Dan... I have one full time employee who is Bookkeeper/Secretary. Because of the nature of our business, particularly the printing side, we issue a lot of invoices. Year ends are prepared in the shop and then sent off to accountant for review, depreciations, final adjustments and tax preparations...
And yep ... I trust my employees completely, my secretary has full cheque signing authority as well as access to the company credit card.
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Peter, long ago in a far away land.... i "hired" 2 different CPA's-overpaid & non-beneficial. ( Doctors have a Phd-Post Hole Digger). Luckily for me, my wife is an Accountant with the local Power Plant,and is always being "re-trained" by them, so i'm up to speed-thanks to her. Advice / Suggestion- Peachtree Software (Staples had a great rebate offer 2 months back, we upgraded from the older one) Organize all business Activities, Overhead,Equipm.,Office stuff,Advertising,Comm, etc. And , this is the part that sucks, all income !
print it out & shop around for services,while getting "solid" referrals from other "successful" business people in your community. All advice above is good 2 ! Remember, in 75' a successful customer/friend said..." it ain't what you make that counts...it's what you show!"
-------------------- mark zilliox mark z signs 8425 pushaw station rd. owings md. 20736 301-855-5407 thezs@earthlink.net http://www.markzsigns.com Posts: 348 | From: maryland | Registered: May 2003
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Pay them. they keep the books, and keep your butt out of the IRS too. But the biggerst factor is if/when you need money for a major purchase. They will keep your books in such a way that you will be in the best possible position. Years ago I needed 80 grand. Went to the bank. They said no but goto your CPA and get your books taken care of.
I did it and got my loan. They are worth it. All you have to do is sign the returns and send them in. It saves me hours of work that I do not need to be doing.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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Thanks for all the information. The tax codes are overwhelmingly complex, and I think I might as well hire a good accountant.
-------------------- Peter Xing peter@wonderfulgraphics.com Wonderful Signs & Graphics 55 Chrystie Street New York NY 212 431 5957 Posts: 43 | From: New York NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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We are a "small" company,about 400K per year in sales, and when we first started 8 years ago, my wife and I did all of our daily bookeeping ourselves. We are lucky enough to have a CPA in the family who takes care of the annual and corporate taxes, so we always wer up to date with tax law cahnges. Once the business started to grow, it became harder and harder to sit down and do paperwork. We'd put it off for a week or two, and then were faced with needing a whole day to catch up. One of the best things we ever did was hire a payroll service and a bookeeper to come in about 3-4 hours a week to enter and pay the bills, run reports of accounts payable and receivable. Since then, we've not paid any credit card interest, our vendors are all paid early or on time and we get a weekly report on our financial status. So the extra $100 a week those services cost us save us at least that much, plus free us up to earn more. Even if you don't have a CPA in the family, having a professional bookeeper prepare the info for an accountant, keeps their fees down because they don't have to spend as much time on your taxes.
-------------------- Tom & Sharon Giampia Creative Image Design Port Chester, NY Posts: 285 | From: Port Chester | Registered: Mar 2001
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I also have an accounting/tax business.![[Applause]](graemlins/applause.gif)
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