Accountable plans are a win-win business idea

Accountable plans are a win-win business idea

Are you looking for a way to give your employees a tax-free

benefit that is also tax-deductible for your business? Consider an accountable plan. These arrangements let you reimburse your employees for expenses incurred on behalf of your company, such as driving to the post office or office supply store. With a properly administered plan, you can deduct the reimbursements on your business tax return, yet the payments are not considered income to your employees.

How can you make sure your plan qualifies? Here are three requirements.

●    The reimbursements must be for allowable business expenses. For instance, you can repay employees for hotel and other travel expenses when traveling to a trade convention.

●    Your employees need to keep records of the expenses, and provide those records to you.

●    If you pay or advance your employees more than the actual amounts spent on business items, the excess must be returned to you. Amounts not returned are income to your employee, and are subject to payroll taxes.

Contact us to discuss your policies for repaying employees' business expenses. We'll help you make your plan accountable.

Take these steps to help prevent fraud in your business

Take these steps to help prevent fraud in your business

How can you prevent employee fraud in your business? Here are four suggestions.

●    Screen job applicants. Check work references, criminal records, and professional recommendations. By instituting a screening policy, you may save a lot of cash and grief. Just remember to treat every applicant equally, and get written permission for background checks.

●    Reconcile bank accounts. A standard and simple internal control is to separate employees who pay bills and make deposits from those who reconcile accounts. As an owner, making time to personally review deposits and disbursements on a regular basis can deter fraudulent billing or cash skimming schemes.

●    Secure inventory and supplies. This can be as simple as regularly changing combinations on warehouse doors or locking supply cabinets. Laptop computers are especially vulnerable to theft, so make a priority of securing them.

●    Get a cash control review. Having a trained set of eyes inspect your books, records, and operations can pay for itself many times over. Skilled auditors can ferret out scams and help your business develop stronger controls against criminals, both inside and out.

If you'd like assistance with this or any of your business concerns, give us a call.

Good debt, bad debt: What's the difference?

Good debt, bad debt: What's the difference?

Here are two questions to ask before incurring debt.

1. What are the benefits of taking on this debt? Avoiding all debt seems like good advice. But good debt can enhance your financial situation. For instance, loans that fund a college or graduate degree may result in a higher salary. That's debt with a lasting, tangible benefit.

Likewise, a mortgage for a home or rental property can increase your wealth by providing the opportunity for growth of capital and income.

Good debt can also have secondary advantages, such as the potential for tax deductibility of interest on student loans and home mortgages.

Bad debt, on the other hand, generally strains your cash flow without providing an offsetting advantage.

2. Does the cost exceed the benefit? As a general rule, good debt provides a return greater than the total amount you'll end up paying. Caution: Remember that your total outlay will be the stated price plus finance charges. For example, suppose you need to buy a car. A moderately priced vehicle financed with a short-term loan can still have value when the payments end. That falls within the definition of good debt. But with longer terms of five to eight years, your loan might outlast the car. High interest rates and the longer payback period on "stretch" loans can bump your total outlay into bad debt territory.

Credit card debt poses the same peril. Charges you intend to pay back in full at the end of the month may not be a problem. But a restaurant meal, a vacation, or a holiday splurge can get expensive once you include the interest charged when you carry a balance on your credit card.

Good debt or bad? Recognizing the difference can lead to better money management, and a way to improve your financial situation.

For business profitability, understand the law of the vital few

For business profitability, understand the law of the vital few

How well do you know your customers? Which ones are the most profitable? Which ones take most of your time? Finding the answers to these questions can be worthwhile, because you may discover that the 80-20 rule, also known as the law of the vital few, applies to your business. The rule is a shorthand way of saying 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers.

If you can identify that top 20%, you can focus your efforts to make sure this group remains satisfied customers. Sometimes all it takes is an appreciative phone call or a little special attention. Also, by understanding what makes this group profitable, you can work to bring other customers into that category.

Keep in mind that it's not always profits alone that make a good customer. Other factors, such as frequency of orders, reliability of the business, speed of payment, and joy to deal with are important too. Ask your accounting staff and your sales staff. You'll soon come up with a list of top customers.

There's another way in which the 80-20 rule applies to your business. Very likely, 80% of your problems and complaints come from 20% or fewer of your customers. If you identify those problem customers, you can change the way you do business with them to reduce the problems. Consider changing your pricing for those customers so you're being paid for the extra time and effort they require. Sometimes the only solution is to tell these customers that you no longer wish to do business with them.

The bottom line is that understanding your customers better will improve your business. Contact us if you need help analyzing customer profitability.

Don't be forced out of a 401(k) from your former job

Don't be forced out of a 401(k) from your former job

When you change jobs and abandon vested amounts in your 401(k), your former employer has to follow IRS rules and plan provisions for dealing with your account balance. Pursuant to these guidelines, the 401(k) plan may have a "force-out" provision. That means when your vested balance is less than $5,000, you can be forced to take your money out of the plan.

Your former employer is required to give you advance notice of this rule so you can decide what to do with the money. Your choices are to cash out your account and receive a check, or roll your account balance into an IRA or your new employer's plan.

What happens if you fail to respond to the notice? If your vested balance is more than $1,000, your former employer must transfer the money to an IRA. For balances under $1,000, you will either get a check or your former employer will open an IRA on your behalf.

Neither outcome is optimal, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. If you receive the money, you'll owe federal income tax. When the balance is transferred to an IRA, account fees may outpace investment returns and your balance will be eroded over time.

Protecting assets you worked for and earned is always a smart move. Call us for assistance.

Access tax details online

Access tax details online

Transcripts of your federal income tax return, tax account, wages and income, and record of account, as well as a verification of non-filing, are once again available for no charge online at the IRS website. Sign up to view, print, or download your transcript, or request that a transcript be mailed to you. Remember, transcripts only provide line-by-line information. If you need a copy of your original return, use Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, instead. Contact us if you have questions.

You can still benefit from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit

You can still benefit from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal income tax break that can reduce your business income tax when you hire workers from specified groups that typically experience high unemployment rates. Normally, you have 28 days after the worker's first day to complete the necessary paperwork for the credit. But for certain workers hired between January 1, 2015, and August 31, 2016, the 28-day rule has been extended until September 28, 2016. The extended date gives you an opportunity to review last year's personnel files for credit-eligible employees. Contact us to learn how the WOTC can help save tax dollars.

Form 5500 due date is approaching

Form 5500 due date is approaching

August 1, 2016, is the deadline for filing Form 5500 for retirement or employee benefit plans on a calendar year. (The usual due date of July 31, 2016, is a Sunday.) There are two updates to be aware of. First, Form 5500 includes new compliance questions that plan sponsors can skip when completing the form. Second, if you're required to file at least 250 returns of any type with the IRS, including information returns (for example, Form W-2 and Form 1099), you may need to electronically file Form 5500-EZ for calendar year 2015.

Get automated help to understand Affordable Care Act penalties

Get automated help to understand Affordable Care Act penalties

 The Taxpayer Advocate Service website has an automated tool to help you understand how the employer penalties put in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) apply to your business. The "estimator" will help you determine how many full-time employees you have, whether you're an applicable large employer, and what responsibilities your business has under ACA rules. Contact us for answers specific to your business.

Are you taking steps to prevent fraud in your business?

Are you taking steps to prevent fraud in your business?

The 2016 Global Fraud Study released recently by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners shows that asset misappropriation occurred in more than 83% of the cases reported. Asset misappropriation includes billing and check tampering schemes. According to the study, billing schemes were most common, comprising slightly more than 22% of the cases, and check tampering schemes were the costliest, with a median loss of $158,000. Not surprisingly, businesses with poor internal controls, or no internal controls, were the most susceptible. Contact us for tips and suggestions for keepin

g your business assets safe.

Start preparing now for new overtime rules

Start preparing now for new overtime rules

In May, the U.S. Department of Labor updated the rules for paying overtime. Under the new rules, salaried employees who earn less than $913 per week ($47,476 per year) will be eligible for overtime pay. That's double the annual exempt amount of $23,660 under current rules. The changes take effect December 1, 2016, which means you need to begin reviewing your payroll now, as penalties and fines can be assessed for noncompliance. One important step is to begin tracking hours for your salaried employees.