Budgeting for 2014

Do you want to grow your business next year?  Do you want to add new products or services to your business next year?  Are you tired in making the same every year?

Last week I was listening to a webinar from Eric Lofholm and was challenged to create a Sales and Marketing Plan for 2014.  As I was going through the plan and seeing how I want to grow the business, what project/goals I want to accomplish in the up and coming year, I was creating a budget right along with the Sales and Marketing Plan.

It is important to create your budget if you are looking at growing your business.  It is important to create your budget if you want to add a new product or service.

Why is it important?  You need to know the cost of growing, the cost of adding new product or services.  And if you are not prepared to spend and know the real cost, then you will not be able to grow your business or add those new products or services.  You want to prepare for success!!!

Preparing your budget is just another piece of the puzzle.

The first 5 people to schedule an appointment, will get a free 1 hour session to work on your budget.  All you have to do is enter your e-mail address to the right.  Once I get your e-mail I will send you an e-mail to schedule your free 1 hour session.

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Health Insurance Penalty

With the press conference this morning from President Obama about the millions who received cancellation notices, President Obama has given the authority to the State Insurance Commissioners to extend coverage for another year.  Now, my family was one that got such letter, and I am hoping that they do extend our insurance, if not we will go uninsured and face the penalty.

So, I thought I would write about the Penalty that is supposed to be in effect on your 2014 Tax Return.

As a Tax Preparer I get a lot of question about the new "Obama Care" penalty and how it is going to effect them.

Here are two of the questions that I have gotten:

1.  What will be my penalty if I don't get Insurance?

2.  I have a child that is 23 and they don't live with me, do I have to provide Insurance for them?

After researching these two questions here are my interpretation of what I read:

1.  According to the Affordable Care Act Chapter 48 "Sec. 5000A. the penalty is $95 per person that does not have insurance over the age of 18.  If you have a dependent under the age of 18 the penalty is one-half of the penalty.  Now the fun part: The other part of the penalty is OR 1% of  the "Household Income" "Modified Gross Income".  Which ever is larger.

Household Income - This is the income of You and your spouse, plus the income of any dependent that is required to file a tax return.

Modified Gross Income - You take the your Adjusted Gross Income (which is the last number on page 1 of your tax return) subtract your Standard or Itemized Deduction add any tax exempt interest.

Adjusted Gross Income - Standard/Itemized Deduction + Tax Exempt Interest = Modified Gross Income

Still with me?

2.  According to "Section 2714 Extension of dependent coverage" -  Group health plan and a health insurance company has to allow you to continue to coverage your adult child (who is not married) until the child turns 26 years of age.

Going back to Chapter 48 "Sec. 5000A. - Family Size is equal to the allowed personal exemptions for that calendar year.

So, the way that I read the Act - if you can't claim them on your Tax Return there is no requirement for you to put them on your plan.

We will see what happens between now and January 2015 if this will change or stay the same.

Sincerely,

Gabe The Taxguy

Payroll and Sales Taxes

If you have employees or sell tangible products i.e.: clothing, food, books, internet sales and many other items. As a business owner you may be required to file tax reports with the IRS, Franchise Tax Board (FTB), and/or the Board of Equalization (BOE).

If you have employees you need to make

sure that your payroll provider (Like Myself) is filing your quarter Tax reports to the IRS and the FTB. 

If you buy materials & supplies that helps produce the product that you sell, you can get a re-sellers permit so you do not have to pay sales tax to that vendor.

If you are selling a tangible product, then you are required to report your sales tax
to the Board of Equalization (BOE) and pay sales tax to them.

Do you sell in the city of El Cajon, La Mesa, Vista or National City in San Diego County? If so, there is an additional form you need to fill out to adjust the extra sales tax.

Give us a call 619 -726-1158 for a quote on your payroll services. We can help you get set up with the IRS, Franchise Tax Board and/or the Board of Equalization (BOE).

Keeping you connected and on top of your business is another piece to the puzzle. We can help you see the bigger picture. 

Importance of staying on top of your Bookkeeping

Are you Self Employed or are you an Independent Contractor?

First, let's answer what an Independent Contractor is....this is anyone who gets paid and their employer doesn't take any taxes out of their check.  Someone who will receive a 1099 at the end of the year.  

If you answered yes to either one, you need to stay on top of your bookkeeping. You may be saying, “What bookkeeping?”  You may be saying, “I don’t have a lot of invoices or bills” or “I am just a small business owner not a large corporation”.  "I'm not a business owner!!"  

You have no idea how often I have heard these words. Well, if you are self employed or get paid without taxes being taken out, then I suggest you do something, so you don't have a big tax liability when it is time to do your tax return. 

By meeting with me on a regular basis, this can help you save money and stay on top of your business. This will allow me to look at your information and see what kind of self employment taxes you may owe, or see how to reinvest back into your business, or yourself to lower that self employment tax. 

Give us a call 619-726-1158 for a free consultation on how we can give you some peace of mind.

Having Peace of Mind is an important piece to your puzzle. Come and talk with me and I can help you find that piece.  

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Deductions and Credits that you may qualify for.

There are different deductions and credits that are out there that not everyone knows about. If you qualify for these deductions or credits, this could help you get more of a tax refund or it could help cut down your tax liability.

One thing that I enjoy doing during tax season:  Sitting down with my clients talking with my them and hearing about their life.  As we all know, life events happen. 

I listen to key words like: I now have a college student, I finally retired, we sold our house, we bought a house, we have a new rental, or we have a new baby. This helps me to hear key words to match up different deductions and credits that you qualify for.   This will also help me to give you advise to prepare for next year.  My goal is to get you all the deductions and credits you qualify for.

Finding the right puzzle pieces can sometimes be difficult. I am here to listen and am able to help find the right piece for you. 

Do you think you paid too much in 2012?  Do you feel that there was something missing?  Give us a call 619-726-1158 and we can look over last year's taxes and see if there was anything that was overlooked.

We appreciate your feedback, let us know what you want to read about, or what your favorite blog as been so far.

The Cloud

Why you want to use The Cloud?

I have a number of clients who have shared their folders from their “Dropbox” or “Google Drive” with me.  Let me tell you, I love it!

It is one of the best ways to share Documents, Excel Spreadsheets, PDF’s, and Word Documents.  It helps streamline the process without resending documents when you update them.  It helps to cut out on the confusion of duplicate documents: Excel Spreadsheets, PDF’s, and Word Documents.  With the cloud, you can update the document and it saves it in the cloud.  It also notifies the other person who has access to the Documents, Excel Spreadsheets, PDF’s, and Word Documents.

If you don't have a Dropbox, click on the link, sign up and get an additional 500MB of space.  Dropbox Sign up here

You will need to have a Google Account username in order to get a Google Drive account.  Click here to Google Drive Sign up here 

Both clouds have a free start-up space, if you want to expand and grow your space you can purchase some for a small fee.  Check out both sites and see what works for you.

Just another way to be organized and streamline your business with another helpful piece to the puzzle.  

It is a great way to share documents in a safe, eco friendly and easy system.

We value your busy schedule and we aim to help save you time and money.

Give us a call 619-726-1158 to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

Check out our other blog articles, and we would love for you to connect with us on our other social media sites to your right.  Be social friendly and share our blog with your friends.  

Thanks for checking us out

Gabe The Taxguy

The Right Tools

When you are trying to get organized, the first thing is to find what works best for you. Find what fits your needs, not your Bookkeepers needs. The second thing is to make it a habit.

It could be tools like an app (see our blog from yesterday The Perfect App) from your app store on your smart phone or tablet. You can also purchase file organizers, large for invoices, bills or receipts, or small file organizers for just receipts from your local office supply store. You can also purchase millage log books.  

 

Once you pick up the tools try it out for a while and see if it fits your needs.  If it doesn't seem to fit your needs give me a call (619) 726-1158. We can meet you at your local office supply store (we love office supply shopping) and help you out. The goal is to streamline and make things easier for you. 

Using Excel Spreadsheets and Word programs are another way to get organized and we will talk about that in the next blog.....stay tune.

With only 9 weeks left in 2013, start looking now so when 2014 comes you will have the system that works for you.

Having the right tools for the right job is another piece to the puzzle.  We are here to help guide you int he right direction for you and your business.

Give us a call 619-726-1158 to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

Check out our other blog articles, and we would love for you to connect with us on our other social media sites to your right.  Be social friendly and share with your friends.  

Thanks for checking us out

Gabe The Taxguy

The Perfect App

As I start my 10th tax season, the #1 Most Common Problem I have seen over the years.....

Not Being Organized. 

I have been given shoe boxes filled with receipts and invoices, paper bags filled with receipts and invoices and many other creative ways during a Bookkeeping or Tax appointment.  

www.expensify.com

With the Smart phones, there are apps that can help you get organized.  My favorite app that I use is called “Expensify” . It allows you to scan your receipts, keep track of your mileage and keep track of your time you spend on a project.  It will also allow you to run reports and share them with your Bookkeeper and Tax Preparer.

That’s what I call a Win-Win situation.

Go on to the app store on your phone or tablet and try out "Expensify", which is a "free" app and  give it a couple of weeks and see if it works for you.  Or check out the many other apps that could fit your needs and help you get organized. 

With only 9 weeks till 2014, it is a good idea to find out what works best for you now, so when January 1, 2014 comes along you are ready to start the new year organized.

It can be a puzzle to find that method that is tailored to your needs, we are here to help guide you in the right direction.

Give us a call 619-726-1158 to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

Check out our other blog articles, and we would love for you to connect with us on our other social media sites to your right.  Be social friendly and share with your friends.  

Thanks for checking us out

Gabe The Taxguy

Getting Organized

There are so many tools out there that will help you get organized. And, the first thing that we need to do is to find that tool that will help you to succeed. The second thing we will do is create the habit.

Here at Piña Business Services we are going to help you create that habit and keep you accountable to getting more organized to help you succeed.

Give us a call to set up a free consultation 619-726-1158

The benefits of using a Local Payroll Provider

Do you ever call your payroll provider and get a random person on the phone? 

As a former Payroll Manager that was one of my biggest complaints with the larger payroll companies out there.    

At Piña Business Services, you will be greeted by the same person every time.  You will be treated with the utmost respect   We see you as a valued client with real needs and we respect your time and availability.  That is why all of our services are tailored to fit your needs.

Being a member of a Payroll Association, allows me to get the current up to date laws, and law proposals. I make sure my clients get these notifications also. 

  

Payroll can be puzzling, we can help put the puzzle pieces together one piece at a time.

Give us a call 619-726-1158 to get a quote for your Payroll needs.

Be sure to check out our social media links to the right.  Also to the right you can check out our past blogs.  

Thank you for taking the time to read, share and/or liking our blog.  

How to have your taxes benefit your pocket

Are you living paycheck to paycheck, and yet every tax season you get this big refund?  

There are many credits, deductions, and write-offs that are there for our benefit. Knowing how to use these credits, deductions and write-offs, can give you more money in your pocket throughout the year, instead of using the government as your savings account.

Talking to your tax professional (Like Myself) about adjusting your withholdings is something you should be doing about 1 or 2 times a year. We need to make sure we are not over paying and learn how to add more money in your paycheck.

Knowing all the credits, deductions and write-offs are important, but communicating with your tax preparer is where you need to start.

It can be puzzling but, we are here to help put all the pieces together. 

To set up an appointment to have us look over your taxes and see how to put more money in your paycheck, call 619-726-1158

Feel free to ask questions or comment below.  Also, we appreciate any shares or likes on Social Media, all the links are below.

Why you want to outsource your Bookkeeping instead of using your family friend.

Paying someone to do your Bookkeeping vs. having a friend do it CAN save you money. 

The key elements that you want to look for are:

• Communication
• Financial Reports
• Financial Advice
• Up to Date on New Laws

Are you looking for someone who can just data entry your expenses and your income or are you looking for someone to evaluate the health of the business and give you advice on your next steps? 

Outsourcing a Local Bookkeeper (Like Myself) who can guide you through a budget, your Financial Reports and your taxes can really help you and save you money in the long run.

Having a Local Bookkeeper (Like Myself) who belongs to a Bookkeeping and Payroll organization, who will get the up to date changes to the laws can really help look out for you and the health of your business.

 

Bookkeeping is not just producing a Profit and Loss Statement, it’s another piece of the puzzle that helps show your tax refund or balance due.  If done right, it will be a refund or break even.  


Give us a call 619-726-1158 for a free consultation.

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Welcome to Pina Business Services

Going to college and taxes

Do you have kids going to college?  Or, are you a College Student?

You are lucking to have a double whammy this time of year, not only do you have to get your taxes done by April 15th, but you also have to file your FAFSA by March 2nd.  Oh but wait, you need to have your taxes completed and filed before you finish up with your FAFSA paperwork.

If you don’t know what FAFSA is it is Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  FAFSA website Every college student or High School senior should be filling this free application out just to see if they qualify for any free government money.  The application is quite simple; you just need to have your current tax return available when you are ready to file the free application. 

Things you will need besides your tax return for you, your spouse and your college student:

            1.   Social Security Numbers

            2.   Driver License Numbers

            3.   High School Information

            4.   Name of College (if you have the college code it will be better) that you want to attend (up to 10 colleges)

If you need any help, give us a call to set up an appointment.  619-726-1158 or 619-726-1716

Thank you for reading my blog, and when you get a chance check us out on Facebook – Pina Business Services, Twitter - Gabe the Taxguy and of course our website - Pina Business Services Webpage