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.

Feel free to ask questions or comment below.  Make sure you to sign up for latest blogs to the right and we appreciate any shares or likes on Social Media, all the links are below.  If you are not following up on Social Media, make sure you connect with us with the Social Media you use to the right.

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.  

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 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.  

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.

If you haven't seen our video blog about our services, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/user/pinabiz?feature=c4-feed-u

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

Why do I need to Hire a Bookkeeper?

A Bookkeeper will be able to produce a Profit and Loss Statement, create and maintain a Budget, project your financial situation, keep your records current and prepare you for your taxes.

I want you to ask yourself these questions:

1.     Do you have a current Profit and Loss Statement?

2.     Is your bank account reconciliation current?

3.     Do you have a Budget?

4.     Can you compare last year’s numbers to this year’s numbers?

5.     Do you know how your Profit and Loss Statement is going to affect your 2012 Taxes?

If you have answered No to any of the above questions, you need to give us a call (619-726-1158) to set up a free consultation.

Here is another question for you…for those who have a Bookkeeper…. Is your Bookkeeper a family member, or a family friend?  Although is it nice to help out a family member or a friend of the family, can they properly answer all 5 of the above questions?

Question #5 is the most important question above.  If you or your Bookkeeper cannot answer that question, then you need to give us a call (619-726-1158) for a free consultation.

At Piña Business Services, “Where Bookkeeping is like a Puzzle” we can answer that question for you.  We understand the dynamics of your Profit and Loss Statement, and how it will affect your 2012 Taxes.

We provide Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly Bookkeeping Services for Small or Medium Size Business, and those who are Self-Employed.

Here is a sample of services you will receive from Piña Business Services:

·        We will keep you up to date with New Tax Laws, and how it will affect your business. 

·        Create and analyze a budget for your company to help guide you down the right track.

·        Giving you real time numbers for quarterly tax payments, instead of the estimated numbers from last years numbers. 

·        An Up to Date Profit and Loss Statement

·        And many more services based on your business needs.

If you own a Small or Medium Size Business, or are Self-Employed, you really need to examine your situation and hire a Bookkeeper. 

Please share this blog with your Business Owner Network; you don’t want to let them go unprepared.

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

Give us a call at (619) 726-1158 to make an appointment for a free consultation. 

Have a great day!!!!

What is Piña Business Services?

Hello and Welcome to Piña Business Services Bookkeeping and Tax Blog!

My name is Gabriel J. Piña and I started a Bookkeeping and Tax business in 2007 to provide a service for small to medium size businesses.  Providing Bookkeeping and Tax Services to Self Employed, Corporations and Non-Profits alike over the last 5 years have been a great joy.

My company slogan “Bookkeeping is like a Puzzle, do you know where to put all the pieces?” this is how I look at your company: A puzzle.  Every puzzle is unique in its own way.  My goal is to show you how your company is doing on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, and to show you how it will impact your yearly tax return.

There are many facets to provide a Bookkeeping service, and a lot of it depends on you the client.  The basic of Bookkeeping is creating a Profit and Loss statement based on your receipts and Bank Statements.  This will tell you if you are profitable or not, as well as where you spent your money.  To take it to the next level we look at a yearly budget, and categorizing your income and expense to specific categories (as you can see in the example below, the Job Workshop had a net income of $1,850, while the business as a whole had a net income of $21,150), and we look at your budget on a monthly basis to see if you are spending more or less then you budgeted. 

           

                        Income

                                    Sales                                      $25,000

                                    Job Workshop                       $  2,000

                        Total Income                                      $27,000

                        Expenses

                                    Advertising                             $     500

                                    Office Supplies                      $     200

                                        Job Workshop Supplies   $     150

Rent                                        $  5,000

                                    Total Expenses                                 $  5,850

                                    Net Profit                                            $21,150

                                               

Other facets of Bookkeeping Services are but not limited to: Bank and Credit Card Reconciliation, Financial Statements, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, and Sales Tax Reporting. 

On a quarterly basis, I analyze your Profit and Loss Statement and your Balance Sheet and come up with a report of your self employment taxes and income tax for the following year.  If you pay quarterly estimated taxes, you are more than likely paying off of your last year tax return, instead of paying off of actual numbers.  Which means you can still be underpaying or overpaying, either way, wouldn’t you rather pay off of actual numbers?

 

I have an office in Santee and am mobile throughout the San Diego County. 

Piña Business Services was named Santee’s Favorite Tax Preparer by the Santee Patch in April of 2012.

Thanks for reading my blog, and when you get a chance check us out on Facebook – www.facebook.com/pinabiz , Twitter - www.twitter.com/gabe_the_taxguy and of course our website www.pinabiz.com

Give us a call at (619) 726-1158 to make an appointment for a free consultation. 

Have a great day!!!!