Mileage Rates and Helpful Hints for 2011

Important Information for 2011

Don't forget to change your mileage rates beginning January 1, 2011!

• 51 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 19 cents per mile for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

Upcoming January 31st deadlines:

• 1099-MISC forms to be sent to recipients
• W-2 forms due to employees
• 941 4th quarter payroll report due to IRS
• 940 annual payroll report due to IRS

Upcoming February 28th deadlines:

• 1099-MISC forms due to IRS
• W-2 copies due to SSA

If time and resources are an issue, our qualified staff can help!

Contact:

Carolyn Murray

972-378-7787

carolyn@jones-square.com

Gearing Up for Year End

The holidays will be here before you know it, and along with that comes the busiest time for accounting, year end!

In order to be prepared, make sure you:

• Reconcile all bank and credit card accounts
• Void any old outstanding checks
• Analyze bad debts and write off any receivables necessary
• Review accuracy of payroll liabilities
• Make any needed adjustments to payroll
• Verify that all employees' addresses and social security numbers are correct for W-2's
• Obtain the tax ID number and address for all 1099 vendors
• Reconcile prepaids and loan accounts
• Consider shrinking your QuickBooks file if it is too big

If time and resources are an issue, our qualified staff can help with all of the above.

Call today for a complimentary consultation!

Carolyn Murray

972-378-7787

carolyn@jones-square.com

www.jones-square.com

Complimentary Lunch and Learn - QuickBooks Enterprise 2011 Demo

Join us at Intuit's Plano office for lunch and a live product demonstration of QuickBooks Enterprise 2011! See how this software can help streamline your critical operations.

Date: Wednesday, November 3rd
Time: 11:30 to 1:00
Where : 5601 Headquarters Dr.
Plano, TX 75024
Register: www.qblunchandlearn.com

During this session, you will see how QuickBooks Enterprise 11.0 can help you:

• Prioritize customers with the new Customer Snapshot
• Track inventory in multiple locations
• Get critical company data on your PDA
• Improve collections with the new collections center
• Get improved custom reporting
• Batch invoicing and much more!

Limited seating available, so register today!

October 15th deadline almost here!

Friday, October 15th is the deadline for those who filed extensions for their personal 1040. Don't delay, get your 2009 tax return filed!

The New QuickBooks 2011 is Here!

If you were waiting to switch to QuickBooks or upgrade from an older version, the time is now! Below are some of the new features in QuickBooks 2011:

Batch invoicing
QuickBooks Search
Customer Snapshot
Send invoices from your email account
QuickBooks Attached Documents
Intuit Commissions Manager
QuickBooks Time and Billing Manager

For a free trial copy of QuickBooks 2011, contact carolyn@jones-square.com.

Benchmarking for Success

How are you doing compared to your competition?

In today's tough economy, the strongest survive. Would you like to know how you stack up against the others in the following areas?

Gross Profit
Overhead
Productivity per Employee
Pricing

A benchmarking study can give you an objective look at your business and show you which areas have room for improvement.

By comparing your company data with that of others in your industry, a business owner can assess critical issues to help grow his or her business.

With our software and expertise, we can create a simple report to help you evaluate each area of your business and show your strengths and weaknesses as well as give you suggestions for improvement.

Call today for a complimentary consultation!

Carolyn Murray
972-378-7787
carolyn@jones-square.com

QuickBooks Tip of the Day - the Find Feature

The majority (87%) of small to mid-size businesses use QuickBooks, but most don't use it to its full potential. While we recommend one on one training for our clients, we also gladly give helpful tips. Today's QuickBooks tip of the day is a very handy tool called the "find" feature.

If you are looking for a certain item, whether it be a check, invoice, estimate, or bill, simply put in the amount and hit find. All items with that amount will be pulled up on the screen. Find is found under the Edit menu. The "find" feature can also be used for a name, check, or invoice number.

Should You Convert to a Roth IRA?

Time is running out for teh 2010 elimination of the $100,000 income limitation on conversions to Roth IRA's. For the remainder of this year, you can elect to pay the tax over the tax years 2011 and 2012.

The Roth Advantages are:
Tax free growth
No required minimum distribution
Beneficiaries do not pay tax when inherited
Beneficiaries may continue to grow tax free

Things to consider before converting:
Will your tax brackets be considerably lower during retirement years?
Do you ahe ample liquid assets available to pay the tax on conversion?
Is leaving the wealth to the next generation part of your long range plan?
Should you pay all the tax in 2010?

These are questions that should be answered before you decide whether a conversion is right for you. Please call us for help with that analysis.

Are you taking Advantage of the HIRE Act?

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act offers employers tax incentives for hiring unemployed workers.

Under this act, an employer is exempt from paying the employer portion of 2010 Social Security taxes on wages paid to qualified employees between March 19 and December 31, 2010. (For more information about the HIRE Act exemption, check this IRS website.

Who Quailifies for the HIRE Act exemption?

An employee is qualified under the HIRE Act exemption if he or she:

• Started working for you after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011
• Is not employed by you to replace another employee, unless the other employee left voluntarily or for cause.
• Is not a family member or relative.
• Has signed IRS Form W-11 (or similar statement) certifying, under penalties of perjury, that he or she has not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period before starting to work for you.

If you are uncertain whether your business or employee qualifies for the HIRE Act exemption, check this IRS website.

Any employer other than the United States, a state, or a local government or a household employer qualifies for the HIRE Act exemption. Qualified employers include tax-exempt organizations and public institutions of higher education.


To make sure you are getting all of the available tax credits and that the appropriate adjustments are being made to your payroll, please contact us.

What You Need to Know About the HIRE Act

The Hriing Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRe) Act offers employers tax incentives for hiring unemployed workers.

Under this act, an employer is exempt from paying the employer portion of 2010 Social Security taxes on wages paid to qualified employees between March 19 and December 31, 2010.

Using Your Point of Sale Software for Success in Retail

A good point of sale (POS) software is critical for the success of any retail operation. Not only should your POS system be able to ring up customers, but it should provide you with valuable information about what's selling and what's in stock, as well as who your best customers are and their purchase history. QuickBooks POS is a great tool for independent retailers.

Not only does QuickBooks POS give you all of that information, it also syncs seamlessly with QuickBooks accounting software giving you complete financial information without any double data entry. For a free trial copy of QuickBooks Point of Sale, contact carolyn@jones-square.com or 972-378-7787.

Make your p&l a useful management tool

A monthly profit and loss statement should be a very useful tool. However, most small businesses either don't get the report on a timely basis, or the information is not in a format that is easy to read. A profit and loss statement should be available to a business owner by the 10th of the following month for the previous month.

Creating classes in QuickBooks for each of the business divisions allows the business owner to see how profitable each of his business segments is. Seeing the gross margin by class or division can help an owner to decide where to focus his efforts and determine if pricing is in line.

QuickBooks Timetracker is a great tool for professional services firms to track and bill time. We have several clients who have successfully migrated to this flexible and cost effective system. QuickBooks Timetracker is ideal for attorneys' offices.

Jones Square honored with Comerica Collin 60!

Jones Square Financial Services is pleased to announce that the firm is a recipient for the second year in a row of the Comerica Collin 60. This award recognizes the top 60 companies in Collin County as measured by growth and profitability.

10 Steps to Financial Health in 2010

Are the upcoming tax filing deadlines making you panic?
Would you like to be proactive this year instead of scrambling at the last minute to make deadlines?
In order to take control of your financial situation this year, follow our "Top 10 List" to get you and your business in strong financial shape:

1. Make sure last year's books and records are in order. Catch up on any bookkeeping that has fallen behind including bank and credit card account reconciliations.
   
2. If your accounting software is outdated, the beginning of the year is the best time to make a switch and migrate to a new accounting system. Most accounting packages can be easily converted to QuickBooks®. A conversion would include bringing over balances, customer & vendor lists, etc.
   
3. Create a budget or forecast for 2010 with projected sales and expenses and monitor that forecast against actual results monthly.
   
4. Ensure that 1099's have been sent to applicable vendors.
   
5. Verify that all employees received W-2's and that quarterly and annual payroll reports were filed.
   
6. Make sure any adjustments from your CPA from last year have been booked.
   Have your CPA review your 2009 balance sheet and income statement to make any necessary adjustments prior to your tax return being completed.
   
7. If you are manually entering credit card and bank transactions, look at the option of downloading transactions online directly into your QuickBooks® file to save time and increase accuracy.
   
8. To encourage separation of duties and prevent fraud, consider outsourcing your bank reconciliation process if one person has sole responsibility for making deposits and writing checks.
   
9. Schedule time with your tax advisor during 2010 to discuss how your business is doing and make sure your tax strategy is up to date.
   
10. At Jones Square Financial Services, we have staff ready to help you with all of these items to get your business in shape. From CPA's to bookkeepers, we can be your complete accounting solution.