Running a business is all about efficiency. Without certain systems in place, you will never be able to accomplish all that you need to get done. For example, if you simply have too much work to get done, then you will need to hire employees. Of course with those employees comes a whole host of other problems that need to be resolved such as payroll, bookkeeping, and many more. You can do all of those yourself, or you can put a system in place to accomplish those tasks for you. Your payroll services specialist in Billings, Montana explains how.

 

 

Becoming More Efficient

Peter Drucker, the late business consultant and educator, once said, “Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” These words have never been truer, especially in today’s world where often business owners try to take on everything rather than delegating and simplifying.

Eliminate – There are many things that business owners simply don’t have to do. But for some reason, perhaps it’s because they want to make sure that everything gets done properly, they do them anyway. For instance, there are a lot of business owners out there that feel they need to incorporate every form of marketing available. So they stress and worry about their radio ads, billboards, TV ads, internet marketing, and social media marketing. In today’s world, they could easily eliminate three or more of those forms of marketing, and still make just as much of an impression on the community.

Delegate – If you have employees, then you are already delegating. Whenever there is a task that can be done by someone else, you can help alleviate some of the stress by delegating that task to someone else. Most of us delegate already. We ask our connections on Facebook for advice, we have employees help us, and we have our accountant run our payroll and our bookkeeping. Any time that you can have someone else do the work, it is usually better to have them do the work.

Simplify – Sometimes you just need to simplify your work. Instead of having an elaborately designed 10 page color catalog that nobody ever reads, have a 1 page flyer instead. But as we referred to above, if the work doesn’t need to be done, then simplifying isn’t going to make you more efficient. That is why we always ask first, “can this be eliminated?” and then, “can this be delegated?” and finally, “can this be simplified?”

Practical Taxes Can Help

In your quest for maximum efficiency, Practical Taxes can help alleviate the burden that you feel. If you have employees, and you are still writing paychecks every two weeks, delegate that to us. If you are slogging your way through bookkeeping every months, delegate that to us. If you are trying to file your taxes quarterly and are frustrated beyond belief, delegate that to us. As a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana, we can take a lot of the pressure off of you so that you can better run your business.

There are three types of people: those who budget every single dollar, those who have a rough idea of their spending, and those who don’t budget or track anything at all. Each method fits a different personality, and often those in their particular budgeting mindset aren’t very happy with where they are. The extreme budgeters wish to lighten up a little; the non-budgeters wish to track their spending a little better. If you fall into the second category, I have good news. Your payroll services specialist in Billings, Montana will show you how to create a simple budget in just 4 easy steps.

 

 

 

 

Gather Your Data

Before you can get started with your budget, you need to know where your money is going. Now this can be as in-depth or as loose as you want it to be, but you need to make sure to include some major expenditures. Here are some places where you likely spend to get you started thinking:

• Mortgage or Rent
• Utilities – Phone, gas, electric, water
• Food
• Oil and gas for the car
• Insurance(s)
• Entertainment – eating out, movies, concerts
• Savings/Investment

 

Your spending may look different, but you need to look back at the last month or two and see where your money goes. If most of your purchases are in cash, and you don’t have receipts, then you will have to fill in these categories as you complete the next step.

Write Down Expenses

For the next couple of months, you need to track all of your expenses. This means every single time you buy something, write down what it was and which category it falls into (the categories that you made in step one). This will get you a precise look at where your money is actually going.

The easiest way to do this is to simply keep your receipts. If you don’t get a receipt, like after getting gas, snap a picture of the pump so you know how much you spent. Then, each evening, spend 10 minutes recording where all of the money went.

Tweak the Budget as Necessary

For many people sticking to a budget is hard to do. And that is because they tend to overspend on one area of their budget. You are spending a certain amount each month, but many people need to tweak their budget to get things like savings boosted up, and cut back in other places.

One of the easiest ways to save is to negotiate certain expenses. For instance, call your internet provider and tell them you aren’t happy with the service and you will likely switch. Tell them if you can have the introductory price for the next 12 months you will stick around. This will save you about 30% off your internet service.

Earn More on the Side

If your budget is all out of whack, you have cut back as far as you can, and you still seem to be spending more than you earn, the only other option is to earn more money. That can be done easily by picking up a side job, or starting your own side hustle: you may remember reading about a side business.

Practical Taxes

When your side hustle takes off it could replace the income from your regular job. When that happens, come see us at At Practical Taxes. We are a full service accounting firm in Billings, MT; we offer payroll services, business consultation, tax preparation, and a host of other services to make your life easier. Call us to learn more 406-894-2050.

As a business owner you have a lot on your plate. You have to keep track of your business, make sure you are growing, make sure your customers are happy, manage a schedule for your employees, and a whole host of other tasks. If you are running your business properly, you know that you barely have time to sleep, and any little help that you can get with your company is valued highly. So why are you still trying to take care of your own payroll? Your accountant in Billings, MT handles payroll services so you don’t have to.

 

 

 

What is Included in Payroll Services

You would be hard pressed to find any business owners across the country that say they enjoy doing payroll. With the exception of those who specialize in that service of course. Instead, you will likely find just the opposite. Those that you contact will say one of their most dreaded tasks is sitting down to write paychecks every two weeks.

Instead of using your valuable time, and risking the fact that you could get something wrong and you would be in a heap of trouble, hire that service out. All you have to do is provide a way for your employees to keep track of their hours, and then you send them in to us. We provide everything as far as payroll services go, including keeping track of your employees, distributing paychecks, providing analytics on how much of your money is going out the door (and where it is going), and much more.

Every pay period, your employees turn in their hours worked. You get those hours to us (in any method that you want; it can be a text, mail a piece of paper, or even an email with the hours typed in), and we do the rest of the work. You don’t have to worry about anything other than making sure the funds are in the bank account to pay your employees. That’s all there is to payroll services (aside from the initial appointment that sets everything up of course).

Why You Need Payroll Services

Let’s suppose you run a business, and your goal is to make $100,000 (personally, not the company) each year. That means you have to be working for at least $50 per hour in everything that you do; anything less and you are drastically cutting into your take-home pay goals.

Let’s suppose that doing your payroll for your employees takes you 4 hours per month. That means payroll costs you $200 per month to complete (money that you are not making because you’re stuck doing payroll). If it costs even $195 to have someone else do your payroll, it is completely worthwhile.

Practical Taxes

Practical Taxes is a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana. We love to help businesses succeed by taking over their payroll services and freeing up their time. If you spoke with any of our clients they would tell you that it is a huge burden off their backs. The best part: we are affordable. Give us a call at 406-894-2050 to schedule your appointment to talk about payroll services. You will be surprised at how affordable we are, and how much more time you will have to work on your business.

As a business owner, you have a lot on your mind. As a small business owner, you have even more on your mind. You have to worry about hiring and firing, setting schedules, marketing, bookkeeping, keeping track of inventory, and much more. To top it all off, you have to become a tax professional in order to make sure that your employees are paid on time and the proper amount is withheld from their paychecks. Instead of spending your valuable time on payroll services, let your accountant in Billings, Montana do that for you. But don’t let our location stop you: with online payroll services, we can manage your employee’s paychecks no matter what state you live in.

 

What Are Payroll Services?

Every pay period you have to write some checks. You have to sit down and determine how many hours your employee had, and then calculate out their withholdings based on what they indicated on their W-2. Then you have to submit the right amount to the IRS, and the right amount to your employee. If you are a little late, then your employee gets mad (and you can likely face some stiff penalties from the IRS). If you make a mistake, it is your reputation and company on the line.

Instead of taking all of that risk upon yourself, and instead of wasting your precious time, let A+ Accounting & Consulting do your payroll for you. Our payroll services are fast, accurate, and always at least double checked.

All you have to do is make sure that your employees have recorded their hours, and then you send them in to us. You can walk down and hand deliver a piece of paper that lists out their hours if you would like. The best thing is that we are affordable, prompt, and professional.

How do Online Payroll Services Differ?

With the internet helping to facilitate our lives, there is no need for physical time card or even fax machines any longer. That means you don’t even have to live in the same state as the accountant that is preparing your taxes. Instead, you can snap a picture of the hours with your cell phone and text or email the picture over to us. You could type it up in an email, or you could scan and email the hours. It doesn’t matter how you send them over, as long as we can get them, we can deposit the funds into your employee’s bank accounts accurately and on time.

Online payroll services are similar to payroll services, except it doesn’t matter where you live or where your business takes place. You can use our online payroll services in Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; New York City; or anywhere in between.

Because we are based in Billings, Montana, we can offer affordable rates that you won’t be able to find in the big city. We don’t have to spend an outrageous amount on rent, and therefore we can pass the savings along to you. So if you are looking for a full service accounting firm that can offer affordable online payroll services (as well as a whole host of other accounting services) then look no further than Practical Taxes.  Call and set an appointment today: 406-894-2050.

Wherever there is money, there are those who are looking to scam you out of that money. From telemarketing scams, to phishing scams, to everything in between, we always have to be aware of those who don’t have our best interest in mind.

While there is plenty of education out there, some people still get swindled. And with good reason: scammers are constantly making their pitch and their game better. So what happens if you get taken advantage of? Assuming you go through the proper methods and you can’t recover your lost cash, can you write off the losses on your taxes? Your accountant in Billings, Montana explains how it works.

 

Can I Write Off Lost Money?

The short answer is: yes. But there is a little more to it that just writing off the loss as a whole; there are some complicated calculations that go into it. Here’s the formula:

Fair Market Value minus Decreased in Market Value (or $100) minus 10% of your Income.

So how does that look? Let’s suppose you have an adjusted gross income of $50,000. You are swindled out of $10,000. Since the decrease in market value is 100% you use the $100 value. Therefore $10,000 – $100 – $5,000 = $4,900. You can write off $4,900 of your lost money.

Let’s look at this another way. Suppose you have a $10,000 item sitting in your driveway. The neighborhood kids come by and smash it all up leaving it with a scrap value of $2,000. Your insurance declines to cover it for whatever reason, so now you’re sitting on a loss. Fair Market Value ($10,000) – Decreased Market Value ($2,000) – 10% of your income ($5,000) leaves you with an amount of $3,000 that you can write off.

Now to take it a step further, in case you are audited you need to make sure that you have reported the theft or loss to the police. Without a police report, you have no proof that a loss actually occurred.

Have Your Accountant in Billings, Montana Figure it Out

Sound complicated? It is. The IRS likes to make things complicated to reduce fraud. Too many people would be claiming all sorts of losses if it were easier; such as “I dropped $5 while buying ice cream the other day.” You can read up on Topic 515 on the IRS website.

Instead of trying to figure it all out, just bring that information in with the rest of your taxes. As your accountant in Billings, Montana prepares your tax return, he can determine what, if any, of your loss can be written off your tax return.

Practical Taxes is a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana. If you have already filed your tax return this year, that’s great! We offer so much more than just tax preparation including a whole lineup of business services like payroll and consulting. Call us today at 406-894-2050. to learn more.