If you are a business owner, you have a lot on your mind. You have to make sure that your business is up and running. You have to make sure that you are getting bills paid, inventory ordered, invoices sent, all while overseeing everything else that occurs on a day-to-day basis. Trying to do your own payroll in an attempt to save money is just one more thing on your plate; something that is very easily delegated to someone else. If you are trying to do your own payroll, read these three key points on why it would behoove you to hire an accountant in Billings, Montana to take care of that for you.

 

 

 

 

You Are Able to Stay Compliant with Payroll Services

The IRS has a lot of deadlines, forms, and other compliance issues that need to be taken into account. If you are trying to do payroll on your own, without the help of a payroll service in Billings, Montana, then you are trying to learn an entirely new business. Why would you spend the time to learn another business, all while trying to keep your own business up and running?

We go through continuing education all year long. We understand payroll services, and we know what needs to be done to stay compliant with the IRS. You have one less thing to worry about when hiring out your payroll services.

You Actually Save Money with Payroll Services

The average small business owner spends about 10 hours each month doing their payroll. That is sitting down and calculating out hours, figuring in taxes and withholdings, and writing checks. If you value your time at $50 per hour (as a business owner you should be valuing it at least that much, and likely double that), then you are spending over $500 every month just to write checks to your employees.

If you hire an accountant to do your payroll services, you save 10 hours and a lot of stress. Instead of doing payroll, you can now grow your business and make sure everything else is running properly.

Your Employees are Happier with Payroll Services

With a professional payroll service company helping with your payroll, your employees don’t have to worry about late paychecks, inaccurate paychecks, or anything of the sort. They know that they can send in their hours, and on payday they will have a check in their hands.

Even more, you can add some perks to help retain employees. When trying to do payroll yourself, retirement plans like a SIMPLE IRA were out of the question. Now that tax reporting and payroll is easier, you can offer those perks.

Using a payroll service in Billings, Montana doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, if you are spending a lot of money to cut paychecks to your employees, then you are doing it wrong. Payroll services should not be expensive; here at Practical Taxes they are not. Call us today at 406-894-2050 to find out more about how we can help you.

Practical Taxes is a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana. We do payroll services (including online payroll services for those who don’t live close by), tax preparation, business consulting, and much more.

Interest rates are currently still very low, and that means a lot of people are trying to hurry and buy a house to keep the payments down. If that is your main motivation behind buying a house, you may want to reconsider the decision. But if you have been kicking around the idea already, then now might be a good time to dive a little deeper. Understanding how much house you can afford is the first step to making sure that you don’t get in over your head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use a Mortgage Calculator

Mortgage calculators are great for helping determine what the payments will be on your new home. All you have to do is plug in the cost of the house, the current interest rates, and the length of the loan, and you can get your monthly payments. Keep in mind that mortgage interest is tax deductible, so if you have a loan with 4% interest, it’s actually going to be closer to 3% after you write the amount off on your taxes.

Taxes and Insurance

Just figuring out the principal and interest payment is not enough. There are also taxes and insurance that will be owed each month. These are very easy to estimate, and if you live in Yellowstone County you can just hop onto the county’s website to find out the current taxes on the property. Insurance is as easy as calling up an insurance agent to get a quote.

Utilities and Maintenance

But principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI) is not all you will have to pay for. There will also be ongoing utility fees (you can get an estimate of these from the current owner), and then those pesky maintenance fees. Keep in mind that you will likely want to keep a bit of a slush fund handy in case the water heater goes out, or you need major servicing on the dishwasher.

Determining how much of a house you can afford isn’t too hard to do. But keep in mind that the costs add up rather quickly, and just basing your estimate on the monthly repayment of the loan could leave you barely scraping by every month after all of the other bills are paid. But there is a way that you can afford the size and style of house you want.

As long as interest rates stay low, the way to afford your house is to simply mortgage less of the cost. Since you can’t negotiate the price as low as you probably would like, you must pay a larger down payment to get the financed portion down as low as possible.

Of course, to pay a larger down payment, you need more cash on hand. That can be accomplished in a few different ways. First, you could earn more money on the side; something that thousands of people across the country do. Or you could apply more of your tax refund to your down payment. Tax season is upon us, and after working with an accountant in Billings, Montana, you should be able to save that money toward your house.

Practical Taxes is a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana. We have the expertise and the knowledge to get your taxes done quickly, and get you the largest refund possible. Throughout the year we provide business consulting services, nationwide online payroll services, and anything else accounting related that you could need.

There are thousands of people who would like to make more money or save more money. It would allow them to afford the lifestyle that they truly want. But they run into problems, such as they are at the top of where they can get to at work, or they have scrimped and saved and really cannot cut costs anywhere else. They wonder where they should turn. In today’s society, packed with internet bills, cell phone bills, high utility fees, and many other things that cost a lot of money, many people need to pick up some sort of side income. Depending on how you earn the money, there could be tax consequences that you want to address (also where an accountant in Billings, Montana could help you out).

 

Getting a Second Job

To bring in extra cash, most people will get a second job. This could be serving at a bar or a restaurant in the evenings, or working part-time as a cashier at a retail store. There are the goods and the bads that come with this choice.

The benefits of a second job are that you will have regular hours. That means a steady second paycheck. Also, you will get another paycheck where taxes have been taken out; there will be less to worry about come tax season (on top of that, the employer will pay half of your FICA taxes).

The downsides, however, are that you are stuck working for someone else. You have to follow their hours, their guidelines, and you are likely to be stuck making close to minimum wage (being a server, however, you could make substantially more because of tips).

Working on the Side

Because of the lack of flexibility and the low pay of working a side job, many people choose to follow their passions, and monetize their hobbies or interests. This method takes a little more planning, but the benefits in the long run are a lot better.

The best part about starting your own side business is that you get to set your hours. You work when you want to, and as much as you want to. So if you only have a few hours per week, you don’t have to rearrange your entire schedule just to bring in some extra money. Another positive aspect is that you get to set your own rates. With proper marketing, and if you have the skills, you can make substantially more than minimum wage.

The biggest drawback of earning income on the side like this is that you will have to pay all of the taxes. Next tax season you will have a bigger tax bill that may drop your tax refund into the negatives. This is especially true because you will be paying ALL of the 15.3% into your FICA taxes (working for someone else, half of this is covered). Combine that with the fact that you have to find all of your own clients, and many people are deterred from this option (even though you can make a lot more, it is quite a bit harder).

Using an Accountant in Billings, Montana

If you hire an accountant in Billings, Montana, you will be able to take a lot of the worry away from your side business. Here at Practical Taxes, we know the tax laws, and if you are starting your own side business we can work with you to get the most deductions possible (and help to offset those taxes that you have to pay).

If you are interested in making more money on the side, consider starting a little side business (often called a side hustle). You will be happy that you did, and the extra income can go a long ways.

Practical Taxes knows all the current tax laws and can help you with your business needs including business planning, accounting, tax preparation, and more.