Keep an eye on your company's cash

Keep an eye on your company's cash

Do you regularly monitor your company's cash accounts? Being aware of where your cash is going can help prevent theft or improper expenditures, which are among the chief sources of loss for small companies.

What can you do to reduce the risk of losses? The textbook answer is to implement "internal controls." Internal controls are standard procedures for assuring the integrity of your financial processes. For example, segregation of duties, such as having more than one person involved in preparing, signing, and reconciling checks, is an internal control.

Here are suggestions for safeguarding your company's cash.

●    Make sure all invoices have an approval signature before being paid.

●    Personally verify that new vendors exist.

●    Require sign-off of employee expense reports by a higher-level employee.

●    Don't permit the person who prepares a company check to sign that check.

●    Consider requiring two signatures on checks.

●    Maintain a list of void checks and compare them to your bank statement.

●    Use a bank stamp to endorse checks immediately upon receipt.

●    Personally open bank statements and other mailings from the bank.

●    Review and reconcile your bank statement regularly.

●    Monitor online access to your business account.

Please contact our office for details or for assistance in improving controls over your company's cash.

"Everyone" is not your customer

"Everyone" is not your customer

Indiscriminately trying to sell to "everyone" can dilute your message, muddy your image, and waste your company's resources. To market effectively, you have to know your customers. Remember: Satisfied customers come back, and they generally refer others. Here's how to get started.

Think about your typical customers: ages, interests, gender, aspirations, and financial and social status. In order of importance, list what customers are looking for when they come to your business. Do they seek selection, quality, price, service, or some combination? Is efficiency, expertise, or willingness to accommodate special requests particularly important to your customers? Do they demand convenience, or are they looking for atmosphere, ambience, or status?

When creating ads or other marketing tools, emphasize what your clients value, and communicate in their manner and style. For instance, low prices may not appeal to those who are more concerned with status, and ads to sell power tools rarely feature people in suits.

Getting to know your customers is mutually beneficial. You provide products and services that customers find valuable while at the same time creating revenue opportunities for your company. And isn't that win-win dynamic the reason you started your business in the first place?

Who's on your team?

Who's on your team?

Tough financial decisions can affect both current and future tax bills, and lining up a team of professional

advisors who are ready and willing to help makes a difference. For the most benefit, make sure your advisors know each other and work well together. As you begin your year-end planning, here are three areas where coordinating tax, legal, and financial advice can pay off.

Investments. Capital gains and losses from sales of your securities affect your taxes, of course, but the kind of investments you make can also have an impact. For instance, buying municipal bonds to generate tax-free interest may result in the unintended outcome of creating income subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Insurance. The type of health insurance plan you select can have tax implications. An example: A Health Savings Account (HSA), used in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan, can save premium and tax dollars. You fund an HSA with pre-tax cash and take tax-free withdrawals to pay medical expenses.

Estate planning. Wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations provide the framework for carrying out your wishes after your death. Communication between your tax and legal advisors helps ensure that these documents offer the greatest protection for your heirs while minimizing estate tax consequences.

Please call us to schedule a comprehensive review of your goals. We're delighted to be part of your professional team.

Fight scammers the old-school way

Fight scammers the old-school way

Scam artists are relentless in finding ways to take your money. But some old-school methods are still effective for protecting yourself. Here are suggestions.

 

Fortify your computer and your phone. Install anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and update your protection regularly. Consider firewall software to prevent unauthorized access. Change the password on your computer router from the default, enable and set up the router firewall, and keep your router software up-to-date.

Clean out your wallet. Make sure you're not carrying personal identification numbers for debit or credit cards on a scrap of paper. If you do, anyone stealing your wallet will have open access to your checking account. Sign all your cards. Another old tip also bears repeating: Don't carry your social security card with you.

Delete all spam emails immediately without opening them. Never click on an attachment or follow a link to a web page unless you know the sender. List your telephone number on the national "do not call" list. If a telephone solicitor calls, ask to be put on the company's "do not call" list and then hang up.

Obtain a free copy of your credit report. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and order a free copy of your credit report from at least one of the three major agencies. Review it for mistakes, accounts you don't recognize, or unknown credit inquiries. If you find something wrong, report it immediately.

For more suggestions, please contact us.

Planning a wedding over the holidays? Plan for taxes too

Planning a wedding over the holidays? Plan for taxes too

Will wedding bells be ringing for you along with holiday sleigh bells this year? If so, add tax planning to your to-do list. Here are tax tips for soon-to-be newlyweds.

Check the effect marriage will have on your tax bill. If you both work and earn about the same income, you may need to adjust your tax withholding to avoid an unexpected tax bill next April, as well as potential penalty and interest charges for underpayment of taxes.

Notify your employer. Both you and your spouse will need to file new Forms W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with your employers to reflect your married status.

Notify the IRS. You can use Form 8822, Change of Address, to update your mailing address if you move to a new home.

Notify the insurance marketplace. If you receive advance payments of the health insurance premium tax credit, marriage may change the amount you can claim.

Update your social security information. You'll need a certified copy of your marriage certificate to accompany Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, if you change your name. Otherwise the IRS won't be able to cross-match your new name and your social security number when you file your return with your spouse.

Review your financial paperwork. Update your estate plan, making appropriate changes to wills, powers-of-attorney, and health care directives. Also review the beneficiary designations on your retirement plans and insurance policies.

Have questions? Contact us. We'll help you get the financial part of your married life off to a great start.

Asset recovery can be a do-it-yourself task

Asset recovery can be a do-it-yourself task

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority warn investors who may have lost money on a speculative security to be on the alert for "follow-on" frauds. These include being contacted by an official-sounding company promising to help you recover your lost investment, and requesting an up-front fee to do so. Be aware that in most cases, you can attempt to recover your lost investment on your own, at little to no cost.

Want a happier relationship? Discuss your finances

Want a happier relationship? Discuss your finances

According to a survey by a U.S. national bank, 78% of couples who talk at least once a week about finances are happy or extremely happy with their partners. If making time for the "money talk" could improve your relationship, why not establish a habit of discussing finances and setting financial goals? Contact us for suggestions about how to get started.

Consider leave-sharing to help Louisiana storm victims

Consider leave-sharing to help Louisiana storm victims

The IRS approves special tax treatment for leave-sharing programs in the case of donations to victims of certain disasters, such as the Louisiana storms. Under a leave-sharing program, your employees forego accrued paid time off, including vacation or sick days, and your company, as the employer, makes a donation to a charity that is helping the disaster victims. Your company deducts the donation as a business expense, and the amounts are not included on your employees' Forms W-2. Specific rules apply. Contact us for details.

Are you working overtime preparing for the new labor rules?

Are you working overtime preparing for the new labor rules?

The U.S. Department of Labor updated the rules for paying overtime, and the changes take effect December 1, 2016. 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. Begin reviewing your payroll policies now to avoid penalties and fines for noncompliance. One important step is to start tracking hours for your salaried employees.

Don't get stuck with an underpayment penalty

Don't get stuck with an underpayment penalty

Don't let penalties for underpaid taxes increase your tax bill next April. Check the total you've paid in for 2016 through withholding and/or estimated taxes. If you've underpaid, consider adjusting your withholding for the final months of the year or increasing your remaining quarterly estimate. If you employ household workers, be sure your calculations include the payroll taxes you'll owe for them. Remember to include the 3.8% tax on net investment income in your planning too.

Beware of this fake tax bill scam

Beware of this fake tax bill scam

The IRS has again issued a scam warning. The newest scam involves receiving via email a fake version of an IRS bill related to the Affordable Care Act. The bill requests payment by check or by clicking a link in the email. Remember, genuine IRS notices do not come to your email, and do not request online payment. Email safety tip: Always verify the sender before opening attachments or clicking on links. Whenever you receive communication from the IRS, contact us. We'll help you sort out what you need to do.