If you are a small business owner, you know that payroll can be a hassle. You have to make sure time cards are turned in, you have to calculate out taxes and withholdings, and you have to double check all of your work to make sure that you didn’t make any mistakes. In the end, you spend a lot of time doing payroll when you could have been spending all of that time building your business and increasing your bottom line. But maybe you have looked into payroll services and found that they are too expensive. It may be time to go with online payroll services from a more affordable accountant in Billings, Montana.

Payroll Services vs. Online Payroll Services

There are a lot of accountants out there that offer payroll services. You go in and meet with them, they get all of the accounts set up, and every two weeks they need a time card from each employee. They then charge a lot of money to do a simple service for you.

With online payroll services you don’t even have to live in the same state as the accountant that is preparing your employee’s paychecks. Everything can be set up over the phone, email, and paper copies through the mail, and after that all you have to remember to do is get time sheets in on time.

Submitting time sheets has never been easier. There is no need to mail in a paper copy. In fact, there is no need to even fax a paper copy. Snap a quick picture with your phone and text or email it over, scan the page and email it, or get it in via whichever method is the easiest for you.

With online payroll services you don’t have to worry about making mistakes on your taxes. Your business likely has little to do with accounting, so there is a chance you could make a small error on your payroll that has huge consequences.

Online payroll services let you relax and focus on your business instead of worrying about getting paychecks delivered on time. Sure you might not worry about getting paid a few days late, but your employees are likely counting on that check coming through at a certain time.

Unless you read books about the tax code in your spare time, you probably don’t know about all of the regulatory changes when they happen. However, as an accountant in Billings, Montana, Practical Taxes has to keep up with those things. Utilizing online payroll services means you get access to top-of-the-line knowledge.

Most importantly, to you at least, is the fact that online payroll services from Practical Taxes are incredibly affordable. After using our services you will wonder why you ever tried to do payroll on your own.

Contact Us Today

If you want to learn more about online payroll services, call A+ Accounting & Consulting at 406-894-2050. We are a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana. If you need accountant services like payroll, business consulting, tax preparation, and many others, we can handle your needs.

Did you know there is a way you can access money without paying taxes on the benefit? It is completely legal; we are not avoiding any laws here. But tapping into the cash value of a permanent life insurance policy will help you to boost your income during retirement, but not boost your tax bill. There are multiple other ways as well to keep your income high, but your tax bill low. Talk with an accountant in Billings, Montana, if you want to learn about some of the other ways to do so.

How Permanent Life Insurance Works

There are two basic types of life insurance: term and permanent. Term insurance will provide a death benefit as long as you are up-to-date on your premiums, and you die within the term specified. Permanent, on the other hand, will provide a death benefit as long as you are up-to-date on your premiums no matter when you die. But that’s not all.

Permanent insurance is a unique financial tool because it not only gives you the death benefit, but also has cash value. This cash value is like a little side fund where your money can grow, tax free, until you withdraw it or you die (if you die you don’t get both the death benefit and the cash value, but rather just the death benefit). That cash value can be tapped into at any point, but there are ways to get at it without taxes.

Using the Cash Value of Permanent Life Insurance

Suppose you own a house, and you want to utilize the equity that you have built up. Would you sell off a portion of the house? Or would you use a home equity loan? If you have a house with a lot of land, you may consider selling off a few acres from the back of the lot, but for the most part people will take out a loan. Using the cash value from your permanent insurance will work the same way.

Instead of cashing in your insurance, which would leave you with a lower death benefit, most people choose to take a loan against the cash value. They can utilize the cash, and not have to worry about losing their insurance. Even better, though, is that since it is a loan, there are no taxes that are owed on the money.

Repaying the loan can be done in a few different ways. Many people choose to repay it slowly, a few hundred dollars each month or year, but some choose a different method. Since the death benefit is still intact, and if the loan isn’t too big to risk the policy running out of cash, some people do not even bother paying off the loan. They simply wait until they die, and then the death benefit (a benefit that is almost never taxable) will repay the loan and the remainder will go to the beneficiaries.

Maximizing Your Retirement Income

Retirement takes planning. There is no way to get around that. By starting early, and setting up a Roth IRA, getting permanent insurance, relying a little bit on Social Security, and having a 401k, you can set up your retirement so that there are minimal taxes, but considerable income. If you are approaching (or in) retirement, talk with Practical Taxes to determine your best course of action.

Practical Taxes is a full service accounting firm. We can do payroll, tax preparation, business planning, online payroll, and much more.

Christmas is barely over, and the New Year is rapidly approaching. Now isn’t exactly the time you want to think about what to do about the debt that has crept up from spending on the holidays, but it is a great time to make a plan to wipe out that debt as quickly as possible. Most people end up spending more than they would like to every year. This causes them to go into debt; and if that debt isn’t taken care of it can be a huge drain on your finances. Here are some tips to get out of debt quickly, and get on track for next year’s holiday season.

Determine Your Holiday Debt

The first step to getting out of holiday debt quickly is to figure out just how much you have. This shouldn’t be difficult, since you will soon be getting statements showing what you owe. If you have more than one credit card that you owe on, create a simple spreadsheet that shows the amount and the interest rate.

Call Your Card Companies

Most people don’t understand that the interest rate they are paying is not set in stone. A five minute phone call can help to reduce that rate immensely, and help you pay off your holiday debt sooner rather than later. Keep in mind that the first person you speak to will likely say that they can’t change your interest rate. Politely ask to speak with someone who has that authority. If they push back, tell them you have a 0% interest balance transfer card ready to go, and you will be canceling your account with them if a deal can’t be reached. Be prepared to back up your statements.

Pay Extra on the Highest Interest First

Once you have negotiated the interest rates on all of your cards, it is time to make a plan to wipe them out. Your spreadsheet will tell you how much you owe and what the new interest rates are. Pay the minimum on the lowest interest cards, and put all of your extra money toward the highest interest card. When that one is paid off, move on down the line.

Slash Expenses and Earn More on the Side

Until your holiday debt is gone, no more extra expenses. Cut the cable out, stop dining at restaurants, avoid frivolous purchases, and even keep the lights off to save on your utilities. The goal is to have as much money as possible to wipe out that holiday debt. You may want to pick up some extra money by selling unneeded items, shoveling sidewalks and driveways, or starting your own side hustle.

Use Your Tax Refund

If you haven’t paid off your holiday debt by the time you get your tax refund, you can use that to wipe out the remainder of it. But then take it one step further. Anything that remains from your refund should be set aside to avoid debt when next year’s season comes around. Set up a side account at your bank (most will do this for free), and then put another $50 into it every month. Use that money for Christmas presents and avoid the fiasco in the future.

Hire an Accountant to Help

If you need help planning your holidays, an account in Billings, Montana is probably not going to help you out too much. But  here at Practical Taxes can help you get the biggest tax refund possible. You may be surprised that you have more coming back to you than you originally thought. With his services you can get your holiday savings back on track quickly.