Analyisis of your small business financial Ratio is Important | Brookfield Small Business Accounting

What are my business financial ratios? A regular review of your company's financial ratios can help you focus on areas that may need improvement. Liquidity, efficiency, and profitability ratios, compared with other businesses in your industry, can highlight any strengths and weaknesses you might have over your competition. It is also important to compare your ratios over time in order to identify trends.

Click here to use our handy financial ratio calculator

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small Business Loans | What Loans are Available for a Brookfield Wi Small Business

Small Business Loans are available to Brookfield and Milwaukee Small Business Owners.

To successfully obtain a loan, you must know exactly how much money you need, why you need it, and how you will pay it back. Your written proposal must convince the lender that you are a good credit risk. Terms of loans vary from lender to lender, but there are two basic types of loans: Short-term and long-term. Generally, a short-term loan has a maturity of up one year. These include working-capital loans, accounts-receivable loans and lines of credit Long-term loans have maturities greater than one year but usually less than seven years. Real estate and equipment loans may have maturities of up to 25 years. Long-term loans are used for major business expenses such as purchasing real estate and facilities, construction, durable equipment, furniture and fixtures, vehicles, etc. - See more at: http://sbasgroup.com/business-strategies.php?item=158&catid=8&cat=Financing+Questions%3A+Frequently+Asked+Questions#sthash.KMgk5mBu.dpuf

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small Business Accounting Brookfield and Milwaukee | Employee Benefits what you should knows

The employer must pay in whole or in part for certain legally mandated benefits and insurance coverage, including Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation. Funding for the Social Security program comes from mandatory contributions from employers, employees and self-employed persons into an insurance fund that provides income during retirement years. Full retirement benefits normally become available at age 66 for people born after 1943, and age 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Other aspects of Social Security deal with survivor, dependent and disability benefits, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. Unemployment insurance benefits are payable under the laws of individual states from the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program. Workers' compensation provides benefits to workers disabled by occupational illness or injury. Each state mandates coverage and provides benefits. In most states, private insurance or an employer self-insurance arrangement provides the coverage. Some states mandate short-term disability benefits as well. A comprehensive benefit plan might include the following elements health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, a retirement plan, flexible compensation, and sick, personal, and vacation leave. A benefit plan might also include bonuses, service awards, reimbursement of employee educational expenses and perquisites appropriate to employee responsibility. As an employer, before you implement any benefit plan, it's important to decide what you're willing to pay for this coverage. You may also want to seek employee input on what benefits interest them. For instance, is a good medical plan more important than a retirement plan? Furthermore, you must decide whether it is more important to protect your employees from economic hardship now or in the future. Finally, you must decide if you want to administer the plan or have the insurance carrier do it. - See more at: http://sbasgroup.com/business-strategies.php?item=140&catid=8&cat=Employee+Benefits%3A+Frequently+Asked+Questions#1 

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Brookfield Accounting | Milwaukee Accountants SBAS Group

Are you wondering if there's a hard and fast rule about what income is taxable and what income is not taxable? The quick answer is that all income is taxable unless the law specifically excludes it. But as you might have guessed, there's more to it than that.
Taxable income includes any money you receive, such as wages and tips, but it can also include non-cash income from property or services. For example, both parties in a barter exchange must include the fair market value of goods or services received as income on their tax return.

Nontaxable Income

Here are some types of income that are usually not taxable:

• Gifts and inheritances
• Child support payments
• Welfare benefits
• Damage awards for physical injury or sickness
• Cash rebates from a dealer or manufacturer for an item you buy
• Reimbursements for qualified adoption expenses

In addition, some types of income are not taxable except under certain conditions, including:

• Life insurance proceeds paid to you are usually not taxable. But if you redeem a life insurance policy for cash, any amount that is more than the cost of the policy is taxable.
• Income from a qualified scholarship is normally not taxable. This means that amounts you use for certain costs, such as tuition and required books, are not taxable. However, amounts you use for room and board are taxable.
• If you received a state or local income tax refund, the amount may be taxable. You should have received a 2013 Form 1099-G from the agency that made the payment to you. If you didn't get it by mail, the agency may have provided the form electronically. Contact them to find out how to get the form. Be sure to report any taxable refund you received even if you did not receive Form 1099-G.

Important Reminders about Tip Income
If you get tips on the job from customers, that income is subject to taxes. Here's what you should keep in mind when it comes to receiving tips on the job:

• Tips are taxable. You must pay federal income tax on any tips you receive. The value of non-cash tips, such as tickets, passes or other items of value are also subject to income tax.
• Include all tips on your income tax return. You must include the total of all tips you received during the year on your income tax return. This includes tips directly from customers, tips added to credit cards and your share of tips received under a tip-splitting agreement with other employees.
• Report tips to your employer. If you receive $20 or more in tips in any one month, from any one job, you must report your tips for that month to your employer. The report should only include cash, check, debit and credit card tips you receive. Your employer is required to withhold federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes on the reported tips. Do not report the value of any noncash tips to your employer.
• Keep a daily log of tips. Use the Employee's Daily Record of Tips and Report to Employer (IRS Publication 1244), to record your tips.

Bartering Income is Taxable
Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Small businesses sometimes barter to get products or services they need. For example, a plumber might trade plumbing work with a dentist for dental services. Typically, there is no exchange of cash.
If you barter, the value of products or services from bartering is taxable income. Here are four facts about bartering that you should be aware of:
1. Barter exchanges. A barter exchange is an organized marketplace where members barter products or services. Some exchanges operate out of an office and others over the Internet. All barter exchanges are required to issue Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions. The exchange must give a copy of the form to its members who barter and file a copy with the IRS.
2. Bartering income. Barter and trade dollars are the same as real dollars for tax purposes and must be reported on a tax return. Both parties must report as income the fair market value of the product or service they get.
3. Tax implications. Bartering is taxable in the year it occurs. The tax rules may vary based on the type of bartering that takes place. Barterers may owe income taxes, self-employment taxes, employment taxes or excise taxes on their bartering income.
4. Reporting rules. How you report bartering on a tax return varies. If you are in a trade or business, you normally report it on Form 1040, Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business.
If you have any questions about taxable and nontaxable income, don't hesitate to contact us.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small Business Tax and Accounting Misperceptions | Milwaukee Small business accounting

One of the biggest hurdles you'll face in running your own business is staying on top of your numerous obligations to federal, state, and local tax agencies. Tax codes seem to be in a constant state of flux making the Internal Revenue Code barely understandable to most people.
The old legal saying that "ignorance of the law is no excuse" is perhaps most often applied in tax settings and it is safe to assume that a tax auditor presenting an assessment of additional taxes, penalties, and interest will not look kindly on an "I didn't know I was required to do that" claim. On the flip side, it is surprising how many small businesses actually overpay their taxes, neglecting to take deductions they're legally entitled to that can help them lower their tax bill.
Preparing your taxes and strategizing as to how to keep more of your hard-earned dollars in your pocket becomes increasingly difficult with each passing year. Your best course of action to save time, frustration, money, and an auditor knocking on your door, is to have a professional accountant handle your taxes.
Tax professionals have years of experience with tax preparation, religiously attend tax seminars, read scores of journals, magazines, and monthly tax tips, among other things, to correctly interpret the changing tax code.
When it comes to tax planning for small businesses, the complexity of tax law generates a lot of folklore and misinformation that also leads to costly mistakes. With that in mind, here is a look at some of the more common small business tax misperceptions.

1. All Start-Up Costs Are Immediately Deductible

Business start-up costs refer to expenses incurred before you actually begin operating your business. Business start-up costs include both start up and organizational costs and vary depending on the type of business. Examples of these types of costs include advertising, travel, surveys, and training. These start up and organizational costs are generally called capital expenditures.
Costs for a particular asset (such as machinery or office equipment) are recovered through depreciation or Section 179 expensing. When you start a business, you can elect to deduct or amortize certain business start-up costs.
Business start-up and organizational costs are generally capital expenditures. However, you can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred after October 22, 2004. The $5,000 deduction is reduced (but not below zero) by the amount your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized.

2. Overpaying The IRS Makes You "Audit Proof"

The IRS doesn't care if you pay the right amount of taxes or overpay your taxes. They do care if you pay less than you owe and you can't substantiate your deductions. Even if you overpay in one area, the IRS will still hit you with interest and penalties if you underpay in another. It is never a good idea to knowingly or unknowingly overpay the IRS. The best way to "Audit Proof" yourself is to properly document your expenses and make sure you are getting good advice from your tax accountant.

3. Being incorporated enables you to take more deductions.

Self-employed individuals (sole proprietors and S Corps) qualify for many of the same deductions that incorporated businesses do, and for many small businesses, being incorporated is an unnecessary expense and burden. Start-ups can spend thousands of dollars in legal and accounting fees to set up a corporation, only to discover soon thereafter that they need to change their name or move the company in a different direction. In addition, plenty of small business owners who incorporate don't make money for the first few years and find themselves saddled with minimum corporate tax payments and no income.

4. The home office deduction is a red flag for an audit.

While it used to be a red flag, this is no longer true--as long as you keep excellent records that satisfy IRS requirements. In fact, so many people now have home-based businesses that in 2013, the IRS rolled out the new simplified home office deduction, which makes it even easier to claim the home office deduction (as long as it can be substantiated).
Because of the proliferation of home offices, tax officials cannot possibly audit all tax returns containing the home office deduction. In other words, there is no need to fear an audit just because you take the home office deduction. A high deduction-to-income ratio however, may raise a red flag and lead to an audit.

5. If you don't take the home office deduction, business expenses are not deductible.

You are still eligible to take deductions for business supplies, business-related phone bills, travel expenses, printing, wages paid to employees or contract workers, depreciation of equipment used for your business, and other expenses related to running a home-based business, whether or not you take the home office deduction.

6. Requesting an extension on your taxes is an extension to pay taxes.

Extensions enable you to extend your filing date only. Penalties and interest begin accruing from the date your taxes are due.

7. Part-time business owners cannot set up self-employed pensions.

If you start up a company while you have a salaried position complete with a 401K plan, you can still set up a SEP-IRA for your business and take the deduction.
A tax headache is only one mistake away, be it a missed payment or filing deadline, an improperly claimed deduction, or incomplete records and understanding how the tax system works is beneficial to any business owner, whether you run a small to medium sized business or are a sole proprietor.
And, even if you delegate the tax preparation to someone else, you are still liable for the accuracy of your tax returns. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call today. We're here to assist We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small Business Accounting Brookfield | Sbas Group CPA's and Accountants

Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield, and Southeastern Wisconsin.  As your Business Accountant, we take care of your books for you. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each month or quarter we'll do the following things for you...

• Reconcile your bank account
• Generate an income statement 
• Generate a balance sheet
• Clean up your general ledger
• Provide unlimited consultations

These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, or any of our other services.

Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business checking account each month allow us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.
Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...

• Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
   
• Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
   
• Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
   
• Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
   
• Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
   
• Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
   
• Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.

 
Income StatementAn income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...

• Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
   
• Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
   
• Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, fax, mail, or supply expenses.
   
• Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
   
• Determine your income tax liability.

Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...

• Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
   
• Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
   
• Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
   
• Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses?
   
• Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves?
   
• Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage?

Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.

Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to hunt down any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and kept in tip top shape.

Unlimited Consultations
We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information we provide. Our consultations are already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small Business Accounting West Allis | Sbas Group

 Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves West Allis and Southeastern Wisconsin.  As your Business Accountant, we take care of your books for you. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each month or quarter we'll do the following things for you...

• Reconcile your bank account
• Generate an income statement 
• Generate a balance sheet
• Clean up your general ledger
• Provide unlimited consultations

These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, or any of our other services.

Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business checking account each month allow us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.
Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...

• Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
   
• Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
   
• Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
   
• Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
   
• Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
   
• Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
   
• Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.

 
Income Statement An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...

• Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
   
• Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
   
• Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, fax, mail, or supply expenses.
   
• Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
   
• Determine your income tax liability.
  

Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...

• Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
   
• Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
   
• Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
   
• Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses?
   
• Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves?
   
• Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage?

Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.

Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to hunt down any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and kept in tip top shape.

Unlimited Consultations
We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information we provide. Our consultations are already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.

We also offer payroll solutions that meet your business's needs and enable you to spend time doing what you do best--running your company.
Why Outsource Your Payroll...
It's Cost Effective
Use your staff more efficiently by letting us handle payroll and the associated legal details. Reduce overhead by removing the need to hire specialized employees.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Financing for your Milwaukee Business

Need money to grow your Milwaukee business and are looking for a Small business loan?

Requesting a business loan without adequate preparation sends a clear message to the lender: High Risk! Therefore, it pays to be prepared and organized in your approach for financing.
Put your best foot forward by allowing us to prepare a winning loan proposal for you. Our proposals have a high likelihood of success because they're created from the lender's perspective.
You get the money you need because we know exactly what banks want to see. Even more importantly, we know how to prove to them that you'll be able to pay them back.

Our winning loan proposals come complete with...

• Executive Summary: Where we concisely state the purpose of the loan, the exact amount of money required, an explanation of what the loan will be used for and why it's needed.
• Pro-forma Cash Budgets and Financial Statements: We use your data and underlying assumptions to prepare information that your banker can easily read and buy in to.
• Owners Personal Financial Statements: We make copies of the last 3 years of personal tax returns for the bank as well as identify the collateral being pledged as security for the loan.
• Representation: We help substantiate your financial needs/position to your banker in person.

Click here to fill out a form for more information 

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

How To Build you business with less stress | Milwaukee Accountant SBAS

 
Michael Gerber is a business consulting "guru" whose observations concerning small businesses have had a profound impact on how his students see their businesses and their role as a business owner.
Gerber observed that most people go into business for the wrong reason. They are skilled technicians. They do a good job of what the business provides to the customer. They believe they can earn more by doing it in their own business than for someone else. They leave and open their own shop. This is what Gerber calls an "entrepreneurial seizure."
These technicians believe they will find more freedom in their business but they discover it is the hardest job in the world. There is no escape. They are the ones who are doing the work! They are the "business!" But if they are the business, they haven't really created a business at all. They have only created a job for themselves!
According to Gerber, the role of the owner is quite different. The role of the business owner is to create a business that works independently of him or herself. There is an "end point" where the business functions independently of the owner. At this point, the business owner may choose to sell it or not. By then, he or she will have created a ready-to-sell "money making machine" and may choose whether to devote effort to it or not. The business can also be duplicated from place to place.

To read more click here

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Payroll Services in Milwaukee | Small Business Accounting Group

 Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield. We offer payroll solutions to meet all of your business's needs. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS have made the payroll function a time consuming nightmare for the small business owner.
Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.
We offer payroll solutions that meet your business's needs and enable you to spend time doing what you do best--running your company.

Why Outsource Your Payroll...

• It's Cost Effective
  Use your staff more efficiently by letting us handle payroll and the associated legal details. Reduce overhead by removing the need to hire specialized employees.
   
• It's a Time Saver
  Our payroll service eliminates the burden of customizing, updating and maintaining your own payroll system--no more data entry, no more researching updates or new laws, no more worries.
   
• Worry Free Payroll Tax Filing
  Eliminate the risks of calculating and filing your own payroll taxes by having professionals do it for you. Federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex.  How much time do you want to spend  learning all the rules and keeping your information up to date?
   
• Allows You To Focus On Core Competencies
  Our professional staff allow you to focus on the core competencies of your business. We are accounting professionals--you get the experts working for you and with you.
   
• Comprehensive Reports
  You get a wide variety of user-friendly and accurate payroll reports. For a nominal fee, we will include union reports, certified payroll, workers' compensation reports and much more.

Get the Payroll Solution That Best Fits Your Needs.
We know that when it comes to payroll service - no one size fits all. That's why we offer the following 3 custom payroll processing options.
1. Comprehensive Payroll Services
Our Comprehensive Payroll Service takes care of all of the payroll processing for you, so that you won't have to. You get...

• Your payroll checks prepared and printed on-time, every-time.
• All of your payroll checks are laser printed on "blank" check stock to ensure maximum security and meet the micro encoding standards as set forth by the Federal Reserve System.
• Free Direct Deposits
• Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
• User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
• Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
• Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
• Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.

2. After-the-Fact-Payroll Services
We will take your manually-prepared payroll records and other payroll information and post this information to our data files, so you get...

• Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
• User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
• Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
• Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
• Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.

3. Online Payroll Processing
You can enter your employee's hours and earnings securely online and get...

• The ability to instantly print payroll checks on your own printer.
• Free Direct Deposits
• Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
• User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
• Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
• Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
• Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.

Custom Payroll Reports Service
There seems to be an endless amount of special reports Government agencies require. We can prepare the following reports for you.

• Worker's Compensation Audits
• Unemployment Claims
• Social Security Audits
• Child Support Audits
• W-2 and W-3 processing
• 1099 and 1096 processing
• Preparation/assistance with Federal and State registration forms.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Small business Accounting Greenfield | Cash Flow

 
Many small business owners do not fully understand their cash flow statement. This is surprising, given that all businesses essentially run on cash, and cash flow is the lifeblood of your business.
Some business experts even say that a healthy cash flow is more important than your business's ability to deliver its goods and services! That's hard to swallow, but consider this: if you fail to satisfy a customer and lose that customer's business, you can always work harder to please the next customer. But if you fail to have enough cash to pay your suppliers, creditors, or employees, you're out of business!

What Is Cash Flow?

Cash flow, simply defined, is the movement of money in and out of your business; these movements are called inflow and outflow. Inflows for your business primarily come from the sale of goods or services to your customers. The inflow only occurs when you make a cash sale or collect on receivables, however. Remember, it is the cash that counts! Other examples of cash inflows are borrowed funds, income derived from sales of assets, and investment income from interest.
Outflows for your business are generally the result of paying expenses. Examples of cash outflows include paying employee wages, purchasing inventory or raw materials, purchasing fixed assets, operating costs, paying back loans, and paying taxes.

Note: An accountant is the best person to help you learn how your cash flow statement works. Please contact us and we can prepare your cash flow statement and explain where the numbers come from.

Cash Flow Versus Profit

Profit and cash flow are two entirely different concepts, each with entirely different results. The concept of profit is somewhat broad and only looks at income and expenses over a certain period, say a fiscal quarter. Profit is a useful figure for calculating your taxes and reporting to the IRS.
Cash flow, on the other hand, is a more dynamic tool focusing on the day-to-day operations of a business owner. It is concerned with the movement of money in and out of a business. But more important, it is concerned with the times at which the movement of the money takes place.
Theoretically, even profitable companies can go bankrupt. It would take a lot of negligence and total disregard for cash flow, but it is possible. Consider how the difference between profit and cash flow relate to your business.

Example: If your retail business bought a $1,000 item and turned around to sell it for $2,000, then you have made a $1,000 profit. But what if the buyer of the item is slow to pay his or her bill, and six months pass before you collect on the account? Your retail business may still show a profit, but what about the bills it has to pay during that six-month period? You may not have the cash to pay the bills despite the profits you earned on the sale. Furthermore, this cash flow gap may cause you to miss other profit opportunities, damage your credit rating, and force you to take out loans and create debt. If this mistake is repeated enough times, you may go bankrupt.

Analyzing Your Cash Flow

The sooner you learn how to manage your cash flow, the better your chances for survival. Furthermore, you will be able to protect your company's short-term reputation as well as position it for long-term success.
The first step toward taking control of your company's cash flow is to analyze the components that affect the timing of your cash inflows and outflows. A thorough analysis of these components will reveal problem areas that lead to cash flow gaps in your business. Narrowing, or even closing, these gaps is the key to cash flow management.
Some of the more important components to examine are:

• Accounts receivable. Accounts receivable represent sales that have not yet been collected in the form of cash. An accounts receivable is created when you sell something to a customer in return for his or her promise to pay at a later date. The longer it takes for your customers to pay on their accounts, the more negative the effect on your cash flow.
  
• Credit terms. Credit terms are the time limits you set for your customers' promise to pay for their purchases. Credit terms affect the timing of your cash inflows. A simple way to improve cash flow is to get customers to pay their bills more quickly.
  
• Credit policy. A credit policy is the blueprint you use when deciding to extend credit to a customer. The correct credit policy - neither too strict nor too generous - is crucial for a healthy cash flow.
  
• Inventory. Inventory describes the extra merchandise or supplies your business keeps on hand to meet the demands of customers. An excessive amount of inventory hurts your cash flow by using up money that could be used for other cash outflows. Too many business owners buy inventory based on hopes and dreams instead of what they can realistically sell. Keep your inventory as low as possible.
  
• Accounts payable and cash flow. Accounts payable are amounts you owe to your suppliers that are payable some time in the near future - "near" meaning 30 to 90 days. Without payables and trade credit, you'd have to pay for all goods and services at the time you purchase them. For optimum cash flow management, examine your payables schedule.
  

Some cash flow gaps are created intentionally. For example, a business may purchase extra inventory to take advantage of quantity discounts, accelerate cash outflows to take advantage of significant trade discounts, or spend extra cash to expand its line of business.
For other businesses, cash flow gaps are unavoidable. Take, for example, a company that experiences seasonal fluctuations in its line of business. This business may normally have cash flow gaps during its slow season and then later fill the gaps with cash surpluses from the peak part of its season. Cash flow gaps are often filled by external financing sources. Revolving lines of credit, bank loans, and trade credit are just a few of the external financing options available that you may want to discuss with us.
Monitoring and managing your cash flow is important for the vitality of your business. The first signs of financial woe appear in your cash flow statement, giving you time to recognize a forthcoming problem and plan a strategy to deal with it. Furthermore, with periodic cash flow analysis, you can head off those unpleasant financial glitches by recognizing which aspects of your business have the potential to cause cash flow gaps.

Click here to read more 

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Accounting for Small business in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Brookfield WI

Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield, and Southeastern Wisconsin. As your Business Accountant, we take care of your books for you. Call us today at 262-547-6000.
As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each month or quarter we'll do the following things for you...

• Reconcile your bank account
• Generate an income statement
• Generate a balance sheet
• Clean up your general ledger
• Provide unlimited consultations

These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, or any of our other services.

Bank Reconciliation

Reconciling your business checking account each month allow us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.

Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...

• Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
  
• Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
  
• Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
  
• Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
  
• Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
  
• Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
  
• Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.

Click here to find out more

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Quickbooks Milwaukee Payroll | QuickBooks Payroll Runs: Easy, Fast, Accurate

It's not just a catchy ad slogan: It's true. Unless you have dozens of employees or numerous exceptions each payday, you can literally process a payroll run in just a few minutes using the employee compensation tools in QuickBooks.
No matter which version of desktop QuickBooks you're using, payday chores are similar. Even if you've subscribed to Full Service Payroll and are having most of the work done by Intuit, you still have to enter the number and type of hours worked for each pay period.
If you're doing payroll manually or through a payroll service, you might be surprised at how quickly and easily your payroll tasks can be completed once you've finished entering information about your company and its employees, taxes and deductions.

A Simple Process

When you get a reminder that it's time to run payroll, go to Employees | Pay Employees and choose Scheduled Payroll to get to this window:

Figure 1: No matter how many payrolls you've run, it's important to verify that these dates are correct.

When you click Start Scheduled Payroll, a new screen displays your employee list in a spreadsheet grid. By default, QuickBooks displays several columns, including Employee, Regular Pay and Sick Hourly; you can opt to include others, like Employee Number. If you hide columns that contain information, that data will still be used in paycheck calculation. Then:

• Verify that the information at the top of the screen is correct (Payroll Schedule, Bank Account, etc.).
• Make sure that all employees to be paid have check marks next to their names.
• Enter the number of hours worked for each hourly employee, placing them in the correct pay type column.

Select one and click Open Paycheck Detail to see a complete breakdown of compensation and withholding -- all calculated automatically by QuickBooks based on your setup data -- within the Preview Paycheck screen. Close the window when finished.

Figure 2: The Preview Paycheck screen shows the numbers behind the check amount.

Checking Your Work

If you're satisfied that everything is correct, click Continue. In the next screen, you'll verify Payroll Information again and check a box to indicate whether checks will be printed or handwritten (you can assign a starting check number to the latter). QuickBooks displays a grid containing each employee's total gross pay, total taxes and deductions, net pay, employer taxes, contributions and total hours. The Direct Deposit field will be checked if the individual is signed up.
If you're not sure that your payroll information is correct, you can click Finish Later, otherwise, select Create Paychecks.

The Final Step

QuickBooks will then display your results:

Figure 3: Once you've previewed and approved a payroll, you can simply click to print any paper checks and pay stubs.

Check the box at the bottom of this window next to Do not advance the dates of this payroll schedule in the Payroll Center if you still have employees to process for this run. If the box isn't checked, QuickBooks will change the dates in the Pay Employees window to reflect your next pay period.
When you select Print Paychecks or Print Pay Stubs, the selection window opens. You can toggle among views of Paychecks, Direct Deposit or Both. Select the ones you want to dispatch and click Print or E-Mail. You'll have the option to reprint any checks if you need to; otherwise, click OK.

Figure 4: Click Preferences in the print selection window to customize paycheck vouchers and pay stubs.

No Room for Errors

Sounds simple, and it is -- as long as your setup was error-free. As you well know, you can't make mistakes running payroll or you'll initiate a whole series of incorrect numbers, making employees, benefits providers and government agencies unhappy.
So do not proceedWe at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Tax Planning Brookfield and Waukesha | Small Business Accounting Solutions

Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield WI, and Southeastern Wisconsin. Our Tax Planning CPA's will work one-on-one with you to achieve your financial goals. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

Planning is the key to successfully and legally reducing your tax liability. We go beyond tax compliance and proactively recommend tax saving strategies to maximize your after-tax income.
We make it a priority to enhance our mastery of the current tax law, complex tax code, and new tax regulations by attending frequent tax seminars.
Businesses and individuals pay the lowest amount of taxes allowable by law because we continually look for ways to minimize your taxes throughout the year, not just at the end of the year.

We recommend Tax Saving Strategies that help you...

• grow and preserve assets by keeping Uncle Sam out of your pockets.
   
• defer income so you can keep your money now and pay less taxes later.
   
• reduce taxes on your income so you keep more of what you make.
   
• reduce taxes on your estate so your family keeps more of what you've made.
   
• reduce taxes on your gifts so you can give more.
   
• reduce taxes on your investments so you can grow your wealth faster.
   
• reduce taxes on your retirement distributions so you can retire in style.

Here's just a few of the Tax Saving Strategies we use...

• Splitting income among several family members or legal entities in order to get more of the income taxed in lower bracket.
   
• Shifting income or expenses from one year to another in order to have them fall where it will be taxed at a lower rate.
   
• Deferring tax liabilities through certain investment choices such as pension plans, contributions and other similar plans.
   
• Using certain investments to produce income that is tax exempt from either federal or state or both taxing entities.
   
• Finding tax deductions by structuring your money to pay for things you enjoy, such as a vacation home.

Click here to learn more about our Tax Planning Services

Remember, we work for you not for the IRS. Many of our clients save many times the fee in reduced tax liability through careful planning and legitimate tax strategies.

 We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Milwaukee Accountants | Small Business Accounting Solutions

Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield WI, and Southeastern Wisconsin. Our Tax Preparation Services are done with CPA's who will work one-on-one with you to achieve your financial goals. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

Preparing your own income tax return can be a task that leaves you with more questions than answers. According to a study released by the US Government's General Accounting Office last year, most taxpayers (77% of 71 million taxpayers) believe they benefited from using a professional tax preparer.
Whether we like it or not, today's tax laws are so complicated that filing a relatively simple return can be confusing. It is just too easy to overlook deductions and credits to which you are entitled. Even if you use a computer software program there's no substitute for the assistance of an experienced tax professional.
Here's what you get...

• Your tax return will be checked and rechecked by our computer software identifying potential problems the IRS may look at more closely and reviewing the math to limit IRS contacts.
   
• Your tax return can be filed electronically so you will get a refund back quicker.
   
• Our staff will show you how to adjust your payroll withholding to get more money back each week. Why give the IRS an interest free loan for up to 16 months.
   
• We will show you potential deductions to limit your tax liability for next year. In addition, we will give you a sheet of commonly overlooked deductions to limit the following year's tax liability.

Books a Mess? No Problem!
If you own a small business and haven't kept up your bookkeeping, don't worry. We can help you. We'll prepare your bookkeeping for the year, prepare a full Schedule C, as well as your personal income tax return. Then we'll help you set up an easy system that allows you to keep your books in tip-top shape next year.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more!

Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 

1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Payroll Services Waukesha

Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield. We offer payroll solutions to meet all of your business's needs. Call us today at 262-547-6000.

When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS have made the payroll function a time consuming nightmare for the small business owner.
Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.
We offer payroll solutions that meet your business's needs and enable you to spend time doing what you do best--running your company.

Payroll Services by Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC

Why Outsource Your Payroll...

• It's Cost Effective
  Use your staff more efficiently by letting us handle payroll and the associated legal details. Reduce overhead by removing the need to hire specialized employees.
   
• It's a Time Saver
  Our payroll service eliminates the burden of customizing, updating and maintaining your own payroll system--no more data entry, no more researching updates or new laws, no more worries.
   
• Worry Free Payroll Tax Filing
  Eliminate the risks of calculating and filing your own payroll taxes by having professionals do it for you. Federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex.  How much time do you want to spend  learning all the rules and keeping your information up to date?
   
• Allows You To Focus On Core Competencies
  Our professional staff allow you to focus on the core competencies of your business. We are accounting professionals--you get the experts working for you and with you.
   
• Comprehensive Reports
  You get a wide variety of user-friendly and accurate payroll reports. For a nominal fee, we will include union reports, certified payroll, workers' compensation reports and much more.

Get the Payroll Solution That Best Fits Your Needs.
We know that when it comes to payroll service - no one size fits all. That's why we offer the following 3 custom payroll processing options.

 Click here for more information

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Milwaukee Accounting | Closing out Quickbooks

Over the past year QuickBooks has been hard at work recording and tracking and storing all of that financial data that you've entered so faithfully.
But when you turn the calendar page and make a new start January 1, your accounting software could use some closure on the year that's just passed. Here are some actions you can take to ring out the old and ring in the new. Here are some of the highlights:

• Reconcile, reconcile, reconcile. Yes, we know it's not one of your favorite chores, but we really like to see all bank and credit card accounts reconciled by the end of the year if at all possible. Void all checks necessary and enter missing transactions.

Figure 1: You can make yourself crazy looking for a nickel when you're reconciling, but it's a critical function.

• Make accrual adjustments. This is complicated, and it only applies if you accrue payroll and liabilities or prepay expenses that are then carried as assets. We'll need to create journal entries for you.


• Close your books. This is optional and depends on whether you want to lock 2012 data to everyone except those who have the password and permissions. If you don't close them, you'll have easier access to last year's transaction details. Regardless of what you choose, QuickBooks will automatically make some year-end adjustments.


• Do a physical inventory. Then compare this with what QuickBooks says. Reports | Inventory | Physical Inventory Worksheet.

Figure 2: It's good to match up your physical inventory count with QuickBooks occasionally, and the end of the year is as good a time as any.

• Run income tax reports. As you know, QuickBooks lets you assign tax lines to tax-related transactions. Use the Income Tax Preparation Report and the Income Tax Summary Report. Let us know about any errors or omissions.


• Check W-2 and 1099 data. You can't create these forms, of course, until after your final 2012 payroll, but you can get a head start. Ask employees to verify their names, addresses and Social Security numbers for accuracy. Also, make sure that your EIN and SEIN are correct, as well as the company address.


• Clean up, back up. We can monitor the health of your QuickBooks data file anytime. But year-end is a good time to scrutinize your software's performance. Has it slowed down, started crashing or returning error messages? We can troubleshoot to find the problem and clean it up. We're sure you've been backing up your file faithfully, but archive all of 2012 and store it in a very safe offsite location--or use Intuit Data Protect for online storage.

Figure 3: Frequent backups are critical, but you should be sure to have a copy of your entire 2012 data file stored somewhere safe.

• Double-check tax liabilities. If you're handling your own payroll, look back to see whether all of your payments and filings have been completed.

Again, these are suggestions. QuickBooks does not require you to do any of them. There's more you can do, and you will need assistance with some of these. So let's set up a December or early January meeting to get you started right in 2013.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for letting us serve your company in 2012. We certainly appreciate your business, and we're happy to do what we can to help your business prosper in the coming year.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Milwaukee Tax Accounting | Affects Of Fiscal Cliff Deal

By now, everyone has heard about the "fiscal cliff" bill signed into law on January 2, 2013, but what you might not understand is how it affects you. With that in mind, let's take a closer look.

What is the "Fiscal Cliff"?

The term "fiscal cliff" refers to the $503 billion in federal tax increases and $200 billion in spending cuts (according to recent Congressional Budget Office projections) that took effect at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013--before Congress passed ATRA. It is the abruptness of these measures and possible negative economic impacts such as an increase in unemployment and a recession that has resulted in the use of the metaphor "fiscal cliff".

What Could Have Happened?

According to the Tax Policy Center the arrival of the fiscal cliff would have meant that nearly 90% of all households would see their taxes rise. The top 20 percent of Americans would see their effective tax rate rise about 5.8 percentage points on average, while the bottom 20 percent of Americans would see their tax rate rise about 3.7 percentage points as a result of the Bush-era tax cuts to income, estate, and capital gains tax.
Further, in addition to a rise in tax rates, middle class and the lower-income working families are affected by the fiscal cliff in other ways--among them child-related credits and deductions for dependent care and education, and the EITC.

What Actually Happened: The "Fiscal Cliff" Deal

On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which President Obama signed into law the following day. The "fiscal cliff" bill, as it's referred to, extended a number of tax provisions that expired in 2011 and 2012, as well as increasing taxes on higher income individuals.

All Wage Earners

Personal tax rate. Marginal tax rates remained the same for most taxpayers (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%) except for those taxpayers with taxable income greater than $400,000 (single filers) or $450,000 for married filers, whose rate increased to 39.6%.
Payroll taxes. The payroll tax holiday expired at the end of 2012 and was not extended. This means that you'll see 6.2% taken out of your paycheck for Social Security for the first $113,700 in wages for 2013 instead of 4.2%. For the average family making $50,000 a year, this amounts to $1,000 less in their pocket. The self-employed tax rate reverts to 15.3% up from 13.3% in 2012.
Unemployment Insurance. Federally funded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, scheduled to end on December 29, 2012, were extended for another year, through December 29, 2013.

Middle Income Families

Child-Related Tax Credits. Child-related tax credits, used by families to offset their tax burden, have been extended under ATRA. The child tax credit remains at $1,000 and is still refundable. It is phased out for married couples who earn over $110,000 and single filers who earn more than $75,000. The dependent care tax credit is equal to 35% of the first $3,000 ($6,000 for two or more) of eligible expenses for one qualifying child.
Education. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was scheduled to revert to the Hope Credit ($1,500), has been extended through 2017. The credit is used to offset education expenses and is worth up to $2,500.
EITC. The EITC or Earned Income Tax Credit, which benefits low to middle income working families, is extended for five years through the end of 2017. In 2013 the maximum credit is $5,981.

Higher Income Earners

AMT. The AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) “patch” (exemption amounts) was made permanent and indexed for inflation for tax years beginning in 2013 and made retroactive for 2012. In addition, nonrefundable personal credits can be used to offset AMT liability. For 2012, the exemption amounts are $78,750 for married taxpayers filing jointly and $50,600 for single filers.
Marriage Penalty. The larger standard deduction for married couples filing joint tax returns is retained ($12,200 in 2013) as is the increased size of the 15% income tax bracket. Generally, each spouse would need to earn income in excess of $80,000 (with no itemized deductions) in order to be hit with the marriage penalty; however, the higher your income, the harder you get hit with the penalty. Despite this, it usually makes more sense to file joint tax returns and not married filing separately. If you're not sure which filing status to use, give us a call.

Retirees

Long Term Capital Gains and Dividends. For retirees (and others) whose investment income is at or above $400,000 (single filers) or $450,000 (married filing jointly), long term capital gains and dividends are both taxed at 20%. However, taxpayers in the lower brackets (10% and 15%) however, the tax rate is zero. For middle tax brackets, long-term capital gains and dividends are taxed at 15%.
Even if that dividend income is part of an IRA or other retirement plan (and not in and of itself subject to taxes), retirees in the highest tax bracket ($400,000 for single filers) will still be affected by higher income tax rates in 2013 of 39.6%.

Wealthier Taxpayers

Estate and Gift Taxes. The exclusion for a decedent's estate remains at $5 million (adjusted for inflation) and the top tax rate increases to 40% for taxpayers with income of $400,000 ($450,000 married filing jointly). The "portability" election of exemptions between spouses remains in effect for decedents dying after 2012. The gift tax is increased to $14,000.
Pease amendment and PEP. The Pease amendment, which enabled wealthier taxpayers to get the full value of their itemized deductions, expired in 2012. As a result, taxpayers with incomes of $250,000 $300,000 married filing jointly) will see higher taxes, especially when taking into account higher personal tax rates, Medicare tax increases (see Higher Income Earners above), and the return of the personal exemption phaseout (PEP) provision in 2013 as well. Threshold amounts for PEP are $250,000 for single filers and $300,000 married filing jointly.
If you have questions or need help understanding how the fiscal cliff impacts you, don't hesitate to give us a call. We'll help you figure it out and plan ahead for the future.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000http://www.sbasgroup.com

Brookfield Wi Accounting | Spend Wisely In December

3 Ways to Spend Wisely in December

While in the mode of holiday shopping, consider these 3 tax-smart purchases.
Make Charitable Contributions
Consider making charitable contributions before year-end both to obtain the maximum tax deduction and to fulfill any charitable programs or commitments you may have established for the year.
Pay Tax-Deductible Expenses
Consider paying tax-deductible expenses prior to year-end. Some common examples are real estate taxes, quarterly state or local income taxes, investment-related expenses, and dues. These must be paid by December 31 to obtain a deduction this year. Please call us if you'd like to discuss these deductions further.
Buy a New Car
If you need a new car, now is a great time to purchase or lease one. Frequently, dealers are anxious to clear out last year's inventory prior to year-end. In making your choice, consider the federal tax (and occasional state tax) advantages for buying fuel-efficient vehicles such as plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.
Evaluate Your Spending Plan
If you're one of the rare few who are disciplined enough to create and hold yourself to a budget, December is a great time to evaluate how close your spending went compared to plan for the year. You'll learn lessons from the areas you overspent that will help you create an even better plan for 2013.
For the rest of us mere mortals, recalculate your net worth. Compare it to the value at the beginning of the year. How did you do?

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone: (262)547-6000 http://www.sbasgroup.com

Brookfield Accounting | Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC

Take Advantage of Miscellaneous Deductions

A tax deduction reduces the amount of your taxable income and generally reduces the amount of taxes you may have to pay. If you are able to itemize your deductions on your tax return instead of claiming the standard deduction, you may be able to claim certain miscellaneous deductions. Here are some things you should know about miscellaneous tax deductions:
Deductions Subject to the 2 Percent Limit. You can deduct the amount of certain miscellaneous expenses that exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. Deductions subject to the 2 percent limit include:

• Unreimbursed employee expenses such as searching for a new job in the same profession, certain work clothes and uniforms, work tools, union dues, and work-related travel and transportation.
• Tax preparation fees.
• Other expenses that you pay to:
1. Produce or collect taxable income,
2. Manage, conserve, or maintain property held to produce taxable income, or
3. Determine, contest, pay, or claim a refund of any tax.

Examples of other expenses include certain investment fees and expenses, some legal fees, hobby expenses that are not more than your hobby income and rental fees for a safe deposit box if it is not used to store jewelry and other personal effects.
Deductions Not Subject to the 2 Percent Limit. The list of deductions not subject to the 2 percent limit of adjusted gross income includes:

• Casualty and theft losses from income-producing property such as damage or theft of stocks, bonds, gold, silver, vacant lots, and works of art.
• Gambling losses up to the amount of gambling winnings.
• Impairment-related work expenses of persons with disabilities.
• Losses from Ponzi-type investment schemes.

Qualified miscellaneous deductions are reported on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Keep records of your miscellaneous deductions to make it easier for you to prepare your tax return when the filing season arrives.
There are also many expenses that you cannot deduct such as personal living or family expenses. Call us today if you have questions about miscellaneous deductions.

We at Small Business Accounting Solutions LLC, work closely with small business owners in Brookfield Wi,  Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Washington counties. As a "one-stop-shop", we provide our clients with complete Accounting services, Business and Individual Income Tax preparation, Payroll services, Quickbooks training and more! Small Business Accounting Solutions, LLC 1025 S Moorland Road Suite 500 Brookfield, WI 53005 

Phone: (262)547-6000 

 http://www.sbasgroup.com