Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays

and all the Best in the New Year!

 

From all of us at New Business Directions

 

Rhonda, Wayne, Suzy, Kendra, Britney, Trudi, Kristen, and Freckles

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Hopefully you’re having a wonderful December with all of the holidays and parties this month. And if you’ve spent too much on gifts and decorations, never fear. Here are six ways to save on your accounting and taxes.
 Hurry, you only have until year-end to cash in a few of these tips:
1. Check your profits
After adjustments, are your books going to show a profit this year?
If you are on the cash-basis for tax reporting, you may want to try to increase business spending before year-end so you won’t have to pay as much in taxes.   Consider accelerating larger expenditures into 2016 to reduce your profits and therefore, your 2016 taxes.
If you pay with a credit card, those expenses are deductible when charged, even if you don’t have to pay your credit card bill until next year.  There are many tips on business deductions, so check with us to get the full benefit.
2. Eliminate payroll headaches
If your payroll system is causing you pain and suffering, consider switching. Year-end is the best time because switching costs are lower and year-to-date amounts don’t have to be entered. You’ll still want your old system to generate January’s W-2s, but if you start writing 2017 paychecks out of a new system, it will give you a clean break.  If you’re not sure what system to move to,
we can help.
 
3. Make January smoother
January is typically a bookkeeper’s busiest month of the year. Many tasks can be done early, such as checking to make sure your W-9s are current and ordering W-2 forms if they are needed. To avoid last-minute headaches, check with us to see what can be done early. It may help keep your accounting costs lower.
You may also want to consider automating more of your accounting system. Adding an app to your existing system may save you time and money in 2017.
 
4. Give to your favorite charity
Giving to your favorite charity may reduce your personal taxes if you plan to itemize your deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040.
There are many personal deductions that can help reduce your taxes, so check with us for options to minimize your tax payment.
 
5. Get ready for tax time
Start collecting the documents you need for tax time so they’ll be handy when you need them. You may be able to upload them to your accountant’s portal, or simply set them aside in a special drawer or folder.  Go through your receipts to be sure you communicate all your possible deductions. If you’ve had a major event, such as a move, new child, new marriage, or new job, be sure to mention it to your tax preparer.
When all of the parties are over and the relatives have left, try these tips to save time and money on your taxes and your accounting in 2017.
Happy Money Saving!

Do you ever need to collect information from your customers? There are many ways to do it: a form in Microsoft Word®, a fillable PDF, and a Web form are all very common. Less common but slicker than the rest is the option of using Google Forms.

You’ll need a Google ID, and most people use their gmail account for this. Go to Google Drive from your menu, or you can access it from this URL: https://drive.google.com.

In Google Forms, you can have customers complete a line or paragraph of text, select from multiple choice, check a box, select from a dropdown, rate an item on a linear scale, or enter a date or time. To design the form, decide what questions you want to ask your customers.

Start creating your new form by clicking the button labeled New in the top left corner of the screen and select More, then Google Forms.

Title the form by typing over Untitled Form. Your first question is already formatted for you. Multiple choice is selected, and you can change the question type by clicking the arrow on the right side of the Multiple Choice option. Over on the left, you can type your first question or label. Let’s say you need to know their name, so you would enter “Name” in the field and change the question type to Short Answer.

To add a field, click the plus sign on the vertical menu to the right of the form. Repeat this until you have all your form fields entered. If you need to add instructions, choose the TT option on the vertical menu just below the plus sign. You can also add images, video, and sections to your form using this menu.

Clicking the Send button allows you to email the form, get a link (click the chain icon), or add it to a web page (click the <>).

There are dozens of options and settings for your form. You can change colors (palette icon at top right), preview your form (eye at top right), or modify your settings (gear icon). The three vertical dots at the top right provide more functions. If you need a team member to access the responses or edit the form, you can Add Collaborator from this menu. You can even turn the form into a quiz.

Once people start submitting their answers, you can review them by clicking the Responses tab at the top of the form.

Google Forms are versatile, professional-looking, and best of all, free. Give them a try next time you need to collect information from your clients.

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We are pleased to announce that Britney Schaub has joined our team as our new Office Assistant at New Business Directions, LLC.  Britney has lived in the Mount Washington Valley for past 10 years and has two wonderful children. She graduated from Kennett High School in 2012 and is currently enrolled at Granite State College pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Business and plans to gain her Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance. Britney and her husband love spending time together as a family.  She is looking forward to working with us here at New Business Directions.

Are You Looking For A Way To Simplify Your Accounts Payable Process?
How About The Accounts Receivable Process?

The New Business Directions team is proud to introduce to you a more simplified way to manage your bills. Wayne Kukuruza, Suzy Halwick, and Rhonda Rosand, CPA are currently certified BILL experts and are ready and waiting to help you simplify!

What is BILL?
With over 1,000,000 members paying and receiving payments worth over $23 billion per year, BILL is the leading Business Payments Network. Just think, you can now approve and pay your bills from anywhere, using a laptop, Tablet or Smartphone.

BILL is designed to eliminate your double-entry and data management hassles by integrating seamlessly with your QuickBooks Desktop or Online file. BILL also integrates with Xero, NetSuite, and Intacct software.

Here are a few examples of the AP (Accounts Payable) benefits that our team here at New Business Directions has noticed. We’ve slashed our time spent on bill approvals and payments by 50%. We no longer have more paperwork to shuffle, no more waiting on approvers, no more stacks of checks to sign, and our paperless office dream is becoming a reality thanks to the unlimited document storage feature where you can securely store bills, estimates, invoices, and vendor credits.

The AR (Accounts Receivable) benefits are notable as well. Collect your receivables two to three times faster via ACH, credit cards and more. You choose the payment method, BILL sends the invoices for you, and customers can see your invoices instantly online, no more phone tag when customers who have questions.

Why Our Clients Love BILL
“BILL has been a great time saver since day one. I simply click for my approval and then click again to pay. No more passing paperwork between AP and my desk, signing checks and stuffing envelopes. The ability to see what was charged to a general ledger account is as easy as a few clicks and it displays the image of the invoice, which makes explanations a breeze. Approving managers have welcomed the change as they can approve invoices from their mobile devices while out of the office. One of the best software additions for a busy business office.”
– Mark Goodwin, Business Manager at Bridgton Academy