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The W-4 form we have been using for years and years has been revamped. Beginning in 2020, if you are a new hire to a company, you will be given the new W-4 form to fill out. If you follow the form exactly as it’s laid out, filling it out should be a fairly simple process. There are no tricks. The IRS has very clearly laid out instructions in each box for your convenience and guidance. 

If you are not a new employee in 2020 (or beyond), your W-4 form will remain the same and you will continue being taxed as you have been. Nothing will change for you. The new form is designed to work seamlessly with the previous form. However, if you decide to change how you file, you will need to fill out the updated form. Talk with whoever does your payroll to ensure you understand it and what it means for your taxes. 

Let’s make a choice not to give up on our bookkeeping this year. This is such an important practice that cannot be neglected. Starting a few simple habits now will keep your books strong, accurate, and constantly updated. Remember to remain consistent with all of these, and contact Skynar Bookkeeping for any questions regarding setting up, cleaning up, or keeping up with your bookkeeping. 

Choosing your filing status is one of the first sections you fill out when preparing your taxes. Your filing status refers to your marital status and your family situation. It’s important to choose the correct option for your specific situation so your return will reflect accordingly. Your filing status will determine which tax forms you need to complete, and which income bracket you’ll fall under. 

Something to keep in mind is the IRS looks at your marital status on the last day of Tax Year to determine your status for the entire Tax Year. In this case, it would be December 31, 2019. 

Part of running a business in 2020 is accepting multiple forms of payment and knowing how to do so. We’ll cover how to accept credit card and payment processors like PayPal or Venmo. 

Step 1. Create a new bank account in QuickBooks and name it after the payment processor (like PayPal or Google Checkout). Set up multiple accounts for your convenience - one account for each merchant that processes payments for you. 

Step 2. Once your payment is received, deposit it into the merchant account you created in Step 1. Do not deposit it directly into your checking account. 

Step 3. Once the money shows up in your checking account, transfer the funds from your merchant account to your bank account. If you regularly accumulate funds in your PayPal or other similar account, it’s better to transfer the amounts randomly when needed. 

Customer pays via CC or PayPal > Money hits Merchant Account > Money hits Checking Account

Every professional individual should have a well-rehearsed elevator pitch. This could be used at networking events, with clients, possible business partners, and more. Some tips to create the best elevator pitch for you…

To keep track of the financial ups and downs of your small business, there are three important reports to reference: balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement. Although there are countless other reports, these three will give you the best idea of where your business stands and where it is headed. Each report provides its own window to further understanding the financials of your business. We challenge you to run these reports once a month to maintain a firm understanding of where your small business stands!

An unfortunate truth in business is sometimes people don’t pay on time. What steps can you take to avoid this? Be consistent and timely with sending your invoices, and establish payment terms prior to doing work together to make sure everyone is on the same page. However, if a client fails to pay an invoice on time, there are certain steps you should take to act on this. 

The first step when dealing when a client who won’t pay is to simply send a polite remindervia email, attaching the invoice again. This is usually enough for them to remember to pay you - life gets crazy and sometimes we forget things, it happens. 

When you hire a new employee, it’s important to classify what kind of employee. Generally employees are divided into three groups: full-time, part-time, and temporary. To help you classify your employee correctly, take into consideration what their job duties will be and how many hours they will be working. Classifying employees correctly and fairly is essential when determining if the employee is able to receive benefits or not. Remaining consistent in your classifications is essential, as well as keeping up with any employment changes. 

Tax season will begin soon, which means it’s time to start issuing tax forms to employees,  independent contractors, and vendors. A 1099 is a tax form that describes wages paid to someone not by their employer, and must be issued by January 31. Who should you send a 1099 to this tax season? A basic rule of thumb is to issue a 1099  to anyone you paid over $600 throughout the year, but follow our flow chart for guidance. 

Below is a decision-making tool to help you decide if you should send a 1099. Follow the bolded questions, choose between the options given, and follow the arrows until you find your answer.

WHAT DID YOU PAY THE VENDOR FOR?

Rent → Did you pay over $600?

• No → Do not issue 1099
• Yes → How was it paid?
  • PayPal or Credit Card  (PP or CC)
    • Yes → However, you do not have to issue the 1099, PP or CC will issue it.
  • From Your Bank Account via Check, Bank Draft or Debit Card
    • Yes → Issue 1099
    • No → Is the vendor a corporation (either C corp or S corp)?
      • No → Issue 1099
      • Yes → Do not issue 1099

Services → Did you pay over $600?

• No → Do not issue 1099
• Yes → How was it paid?
  • PayPal or Credit Card  (PP or CC)
    • Yes → However,

It’s a new year and it’s time to stop messing around. Your bookkeeping is being pushed to the side while you focus on other aspects of your business. Or maybe you don’t have enough work for your current bookkeeper, or you don’t have the funds to pay an employee to do your books. Whatever the reason, it’s time to act on this with a suitable solution: outsource. Why? Let’s discuss why outsourcing could be the best option for your bookkeeping. 

Soon the ball will drop and we’ll be ringing in 2020, another year of opportunities, goals, and challenges. Before we celebrate this blank slate of possibility, let’s wrap up this past year nicely, typing up any loose ends. Some things to review when looking back on the past year: 

Review Your Goals

Pull out your goals from the beginning of the year and review one-by-one. This includes both financial and otherwise. What steps have you made toward them? Have any been accomplished? Now look at the future year ahead of us. What would you like to rollover and continue? What are some new dreams?

Your company’s payroll is not something you should take lightly. There are rules and regulations that you and your payroll solution must follow to avoid getting into trouble. The new year is a perfect time to change up your payroll solution if you’re unhappy. Contact Skynar Bookkeeping for our advice on the best payroll solutions out there, and we’ll set you up free if you start a new payroll subscription in January, a fee that would otherwise cost $500. 

Tax season is just around the corner! If you pass off your taxes to your tax preparer, whoever it may be, then you may not be aware of all the information your W-2 holds. Since this information pertains entirely to you, we encourage you to become familiar with the basics. Grab an old W-2 from past years (yes, you need to save these) to use as a reference. It may look intimidating, but everything is broken down very particularly and you’ll have a basic understanding of it by the time you’re finished. 

Tax Season comes around every year, yet people still always scramble come mid-February when filing has taken way like they had no idea it was coming. This tax season, that won’t be you. Follow our simple steps for preparing to file taxes - what to do before you file for an easier experience while filing. 

First and foremost, you’ll want to schedule an appointment with your tax preparer, whoever it may be. If you don’t have a tax preparer, reference our blog on how to find a reputable tax preparer you can trust. Once your appointment is scheduled, it’s time to turn to your important documents. This includes any documents that track your income, personal information, banking information, and records of any purchases. 

Part of running a small business is making, sending, and receiving invoices. It’s like a paper trail of exchanged goods and/or services during a set period of time, almost like a receipt. The invoice lists the services completed or goods sold (or in the works), and how much is owed by the person who purchased from you, a.k.a. the buyer.

Your invoice should contain some basic components like the word INVOICE at the top; personal information,including your name/company name, address, email address, and phone number so the buyer can reach you; an invoice number to keep accurate records of invoices and when goods or services were exchanged; the date of the sold good or service; a description of the good(s) or service(s); andother helpful informationlike quantity ordered and the grand total of their order (including any taxes or discounts specified). 

QuickBooks Online and Desktop both offer their own payment center that helps you better navigate that portion of your business. Here you can track your income and expenses, organize receipts, send invoices and accept payments, track sales and sales tax, and run basic reports. If you have both a QB account and a Payments account, you can sync the two for added ease. Let’s discuss what kind of features you’re going to benefit from by using this software. 

Adding information into QuickBooks Desktop doesn’t have to be monotonous and time consuming. Sometimes it can really be as easy as copy and paste! We put together the simple steps it takes to add many customer jobs at one time on QB Desktop, or watch these steps in our tutorial.

To begin, open your Customers tab. Look in the top left for the dropdown menu that says “New Customer & Job” and select “Add Multiple Customer Jobs.” Now you’ll see a grid that matches the QuickBooks grid to the left in your Customers tab, both listing your customers. In the top right of the grid, you can “Customize Columns” so you’re seeing the information that is most important to you. For example, you can choose not to see the customer’s address or fax number because that information isn’t important for you to see. To do what we’re doing, we want to see the columns Name, Company Name, and Job Of. 

It’s important that whatever way you choose to customize your columns, they are identical in the Excel file you are using to record this information. In the Excel file, copy the grid (CTRL + C) and paste into the bottom of your “Add Multiple Customer Jobs” entries (CTRL + V). You just added all customer jobs simultaneously! Remember to save your changes before closing the window. Now, in your QuickBooks Customers tab to the left, you’ll see your entries have been added. 

When you first start doing this, add only a few jobs at a time and double-check to make

There are certain questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to your business. It may be your heart and soul, but will the IRS consider it a real business, or just a hobby? The difference between the two isn’t merely a label, but they both are affected differently by taxes. If the IRS considers you a business, then you fall into a type of business, whether it be LLC or corporation, and there are different tax implications for each.