The Biggie: The Affordable Care Act
This new
law impacts both employer insurance and taxes of small businesses. The law is complicated with many
definitions and varying effective dates.
It impacts self-employed individuals, business with fewer than 25
employees, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
You may be
eligible for tax credits, and under certain circumstances, you could be subject
to penalties if you don’t act.
It’s best to consult with a tax professional to sort out what it means
to you.
Big Data and Data Transparency
In large
businesses, big data refers to all of the data that is collected from
customer’s habits and purchases.
In small businesses, we do not collect data on the scale that large
businesses do, but we do collect customer information. It will become more important than ever
to be transparent about what data is being collected and how it is used.
If you do
not already have a privacy policy that you provide to your clients, this may be
a good first step in becoming more transparent with your clients about data
collection.
Mobile Accounting
Mobile
everything is as hot as any trend out there, and mobile accounting is certainly
keeping up. You can now do so much
on your phone: swipe credit cards
to take payments, scan receipts and upload them to your accounting system,
check credit card and bank balances, pay for things, create invoices, and pay
bills.
The days
of men with green eye shades and long paper receipts in the back office are
long gone. Accounting goes where
you and your phone go. If you have
not downloaded your mobile bank and accounting apps, let us know how we can
help you get mobile.
Government Budgets, Shutdowns, and Last Minute
Tax Laws
Last
year’s tax filing season was compressed due to laws that were enacted at the
last minute. As you might imagine,
last-minute tax law changes put the tax software companies and the IRS into a
tailspin. Once forms are finalized
and interpretations are published, the accountants then get busy figuring out
what’s changed.
Many forms
were not finalized last year until early March, but the April 15th
deadline remained fixed. This
makes tax accountants have to do a year’s worth of work in about six to eight
weeks. And it’s going to happen
again this year because the government was shut down during a key time that the
IRS needed to get their systems ready.
To help
avoid adding stress to this year’s tax season, you can help your accountant as
well as yourself by having your books up-to-date and accurate, getting as much
as you can ready early by scanning key documents into digital files, and having
a checklist of questions you want to cover at your meeting.
Nexus
As states
scramble to balance their budgets, they are constantly looking for new ways to
tax businesses, and sales tax is one of their favorite ways. Nexus means “presence.” If your business has a presence in a
state, you may need to collect and pay sales tax in that state. If you hire employees or contractors
that work from home and are located in a state other than where you are
located, you may have nexus in those states. Check with a sales tax expert who can guide you on these
issues.
Engagement and Collaboration
Products
and services in the accounting marketplace continue to experience a renaissance
in accessibility and enhanced functionality. This is exciting because small businesses can benefit most
by the increased ability to collaborate with their accountant. Gone are the days of once a year tax
consults and never hearing from your accountant. Now accountants can reach out more often, learn more about
your business, and provide valuable collaborative advice to help you reach your
financial goals.
If we can
help you monetize any of these current events, please contact us,
and let’s have a conversation.
