Businesses need to have inventory on hand. But having excess inventory is expensive, so it’s important to keep it as lean as possible. Here are some ways to trim the fat from your inventory without compromising revenue and customer service. ACCURACY FIRST Effective inventory management requires starting with an accurate physical inventory count. That allows [...]
If you hold a business-related debt that’s become worthless or uncollectible, a “bad debt” deduction may allow you to cut your losses. But there are a few hoops to jump through. BUSINESS OR NON-BUSINESS? Business bad debts generate ordinary losses: non-business bad debts are reported as short-term capital losses. The latter can be used only [...]
Setting Up Sales Tax in QuickBooks, Part 2 Now that you have your sales taxes set up, you’ll be able to use them in transactions and reports. Last month, we talked about the process of setting up sales taxes in QuickBooks. To recap a bit, you first have to go to Edit | Preferences | [...]
Any business owner who’s acquired, constructed or substantially improved a building this year – or even in previous years – should read up on the tax benefits of a cost segregation study. Undertaking one may allow you to accelerate depreciation deductions, which reduce current taxes and boost cash flow. REAL VS. TANGIBLE IRS rules generally [...]
It’s common for owners of closely held businesses to transfer money into and out of the company. But it’s critical to make such transfers properly. If you don’t, you might hear from the IRS. WHY LOANS ARE BETTER When an owner withdraws funds from the company, the transfer can be characterized as compensation, a distribution [...]
Setting Up Sales Taxes in QuickBooks, Part 1 If your business is required to collect and pay sales taxes, you can use QuickBooks’ tools to help you meet those obligations. Next to payroll, state sales taxes represent probably the most complex element of your accounting tasks. QuickBooks can help with the mechanics, but there’s a [...]