Category: Best Practices

There are many options available for preparing, sending and filing 1099 forms. They range from Do-It-Yourself to complete outsourcing options. However, all options have a common starting point: your QuickBooks file needs to be up-to-date through the end of 2011…

Let’s assume that you decided to hire an independent bookkeeper as opposed to a bookkeeping firm like ProLedge (the arguments for such a decision can be hotly debated of course!). How should you interview and select such a bookkeeper…

If at the end of the year, you offer to your CPA to send him your QuickBooks file to prepare your taxes and he replies “No, just send me reports”, this is a huge red flag. You need to expect more from your CPA.Luckily, most CPAs are comfortable…

Bookkeepers and accountants are not interchangeable. There are tasks that clearly belong to your bookkeeper and others that belong to your CPA. In many people’s mind, the demarcation line is blurry and this is because, historically, both professions have had…

Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, recently entered the 401k market and is getting some good traction. Why is it worth noting? After all, there are hundreds of 401k providers out there and most are investment institutions with much better financial pedigrees…

The bookkeeping profession is as unregulated as it gets. There are no official certifications like they have for CPAs, financial planners and many other white collar service professions. It’s a good thing as I’ll explain below, but it leaves many small business owners wondering how…

Keeping good financial records is a common nightmare for most small business. What should you keep? How long? Is electronic OK? How to organize all these documents? Here are some high level guidelines, but bear in mind that the law around bookkeeping…

A few years ago, the QuickBooks Audit Trail feature could be turned on and off. However, in the most recent versions of QuickBooks, the feature is always on. Even the administrator can’t turn it off. It has its drawbacks, but for the most part, it is a very useful…

In late December and early January, bookkeepers’ phones tend to ring quite a bit. Why is that? A lot of is driven by tax deadlines, but a surprising number of these calls seem to be driven by New Year resolutions. Isn’t this a bit odd? Aren’t there more…