How Can Hiring A Professional CPA Help Your Business?

Any small business that is looking to do well in the competitive world today needs to ensure that it manages its finances well. With things like taxes, customer information, cash flow, transactions and payroll to take care of there is a big need for a company to have a proper management system in place. While some companies take up this task on their own it is a better option to hire professional CPA small business services.

With a professional Arizona CPA working for you there is a lot that you can get done in an efficient and timely manner. There are also many other benefits of hiring such professionals like-

• All your financial needs are taken care of- CPA’s are well aware of the latest in business finance today and thus, they can help in ensuring that all your accounts are properly managed. From accounts to quickbooks all this and much more is handled by these professionals.

• They can also ensure that your business sees better cash flow and does not spend more than what is needed- These professionals know how much you need to spend on certain things and where you are overspending, they can thus, minimize this and help make sure that you see an increased inward cash flow as well.

• By handling most of your financial aspects they can help drive your business towards growth.

• Most importantly they handle your tax needs which is an essential aspect for any business- How much tax you are liable to pay? How to save money on taxes? and how to file for your taxes all this is taken care by these professionals so that you do not end up making a mistake.

With so many services these professionals ensure that a small business can grow better in its particular industry and see success.

This blog post originally posted on: 

https://mesaaccountant.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/how-can-hiring-a-professional-cpa-help-your-business/

Real Estate Investing for Reliable Returns and Low Risk

It’s all over the news right now, and as a local tax professional based here in Phoenix area, my team sees many clients who invest in local real estate, so we thought it might be a good time to bring this up!  

(Please note that these are just suggestions - and the only way the accountants at Sean Core CPA can give you expert advice on whether property investments are right for you is if we know your entire tax and financial situation.)

Arizona Real estate can be a reliable foundation for building long-term wealth, because with time- the real estate market always has come back up no matter how low it seemed to sink. There are many different real estate investment portfolios to choose from, involving anything from vacant lots to apartment complexes. It can be difficult to choose how to go about it if you lack real estate experience. Read on to learn how to get started.

1.     Pick Just One Thing, and Get Good At It

First of all, you need to pick the type of real estate that you want to concentrate on. Experience tells us that it's better to do one thing really well than to do a dozen different things indifferently well! This could mean that you end up missing out on some opportunities, but trying to get involved in too many different things at once is not a good way to see a return on investment. The typical types of properties that my clients tend to invest in here in Phoenix are houses for single families, multi-family houses, mobile homes, apartment complexes, and commercial properties.

If you decide to invest in rental properties, here are some helpful tips

1)     Find out the amount of rent that similar units in your area are charging before you make the offer.

2)     Also important is for you to find out in what maintenance costs those properties incurred during the last several years.

3)     In addition, thoroughly research the rental laws in that neighborhood, and in AZ. Once you have a good idea of what to expect, you can decide if you are going to earn enough of a return on your investment to make the work and associated costs worth it.

4)     If you decide to invest in properties to quickly flip, then also pay attention to the other houses or condos that recently sold.  You want to spend the time looking at the details to determine if the properties you are looking at will rise in value quickly, or in future years.

2. Do Your Math

Another helpful suggestion is to figure out how long it will take to pay off the principle. If the mortgage payments are mostly going toward paying the interest, the property may not be a good investment opportunity.  But please ask your financial planner or a licensed real estate broker about any property that you are interested in before you buy! Also  quality CPA specializing in real estate  like our firm will know right away if you can offset any of your taxes with the purchase. A good reduction in taxes might make the property a good investment for you, even if you pay higher for it at the frontend.

3. Spend Cautiously

We suggest that you do not under any circumstances, deplete your cash reserves. Its always important to have liquid funds available to deal with emergencies, and problems that will arise unexpectedly when you have renters. If you stay disciplined about this, you will have staying power. If you try to maximize your returns by investing in everything, then you may easily end up stuck with a hopeless, unprofitable mess.

Also, a piece of wisdom we hear from our clients is NOT to rush into buying a property because you got a hot tip about it, or because you found a rare opportunity. Do not let anyone pressure you into making a purchase decision quickly, even if another investor might grab it. If you don't take the time to do the research, you might as well be gambling away money at our local casino!

Conclusion 

Arizona Real estate investment is a long-term project, and can often bring in some tax savings. However, most often than not, it will not get you quick results.  But our suggestion is that if you put in the work and don't get greedy or make hasty decisions, then you may be able see steady, long-term rewards.

Steps to choose the right small business accountant

The growth of the business indeed brings joy but at the same time many financial responsibilities too. When you feel the need of hiring a small business CPA then it sounds very risky because you have to unveil your financial information to an outside professional. Hence it is crucial to wisely choose a small business accountant. Below are few points to consider before hiring an accountant:

What kind of services you’ll get

Accountant can help in everyday bookkeeping to representing you in tax audit. Check if they can help you in crafting business plan or preparing financial projections. You must think of long term implications of hiring an accountant, so you must look for a person with whom you can build a long-lasting relationship.

Do you really an accountant?

A certified CPA is qualified and experienced to fulfill your financial accounting demands. They hold proper license, CPAs can take more responsibility than other accountants. If you think your business require any exclusive financial service then you must hire a CPA.

Research

You must do a good research and talk to at least three accountants before hiring one. Don’t hesitate in asking the questions because he/she is going to handle a significant aspect of your business.

Don’t forget to check the reference

Ask the accountants for references particularly from the clients. It will help you in getting the authentic feedback. You can also check the online reviews as they also give you a fairly good idea.

This Blog content originally posted at - https://mesaaccountant.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/steps-to-choose-the-right-small-business-accountant/

Tax Deductions For Freelance And Work From Home Businesses

Freelance and work from home jobs allow you a great deal of control over when, where, and how you work. However, having such direct control does have its drawbacks. One of these is that you have to pay special taxes and be extra knowledgeable about business tax laws.   However on the positive side, as a small business professional you get to take advantage of great tax write offs (if you qualify) in order to increase your business profits.

Small Business Accountants Tax Write-offs for Freelance/Work From Home Business Owners:     

• Business related travel expenses.
• Use of a home office.
• Utilities used for business purposes.
• Professional training and development courses and classes.
• Association membership fees.
• Advertising, marketing, and printed materials such as business cards and mailers.
• Website expenses such as upkeep, hiring website design professionals, and hosting costs.
• The purchase of and licensing of computer software used for business purposes.
• If your work involves regular travel to and from clients gas and vehicle depreciation can be deducted.
• Unpaid invoices can be deducted as a business loss.

Conclusion:

As the above shows -as a freelance worker there are several different tax write offs you can make use of. But before you start taking them, you should talk to a business tax advisor to make sure you qualify since there are many intricacies freelancers need to know about.

A professional CPA Firm local in Phoenix metro can help the Arizona freelancer or work from home business owner to assure accuracy (and avoid IRS tax penalties) concerning your small business accounting, and business tax returns and filings. If you need assistance with your tax preparation filings or just general advice on business taxes, contact an experienced Mesa accountant who specializes in this field for help today.  

Tax & Financial Statements 101 for the Medical Industry: Understanding What they Are and Why You Need Them

As a medical or dental provider, some of the most important documents to familiarize yourself with are your company's financial statements. These documents serve a number of purposes, but their primary job is to provide you with the information you need to make smart financial decisions for your day-to-day operations. In some cases, your financial statements will also satisfy lenders' documentation requirements when you borrow money to expand staff or open a new office.

The three main types of financial statements are:

1. Balance sheet: a quick view of your business finances. The total amount of liabilities is added to the total amount of owner's equity and must balance with the total number of assets.

2. Profit and loss statement: This income statement is helpful in projecting sales and expenses.

3. Cash flow statement: This statement provides a quick look at cash inflows vs. cash outflows.

There are different financial reporting frameworks that can be used when preparing these reports; a full discussion of the choices is outside the scope of this blog post. However, your local business accountant can explain the different options to you, and can help you evaluate the pros and cons of each one.

Basic tax and financial statements are prepared based on the information you provide to your Arizona CPA firm; therefore, they are not audited or independently verified. If your lender needs some assurance of the information, your CPA may prepare a "compilation" report, which provides a statement saying that the CPA believes the financial statements are free from material misstatements and appear appropriate in form.

There are some nuances to preparing and reading business financial statements, so having a small business CPA who specializes in medical to rely on can be both helpful and reassuring, so you know you're relying on the information you need to run your business.

To learn more about the business tax, accounting and bookkeeping services Arizona CPA, Sean Core CPA PLLC, provides, contact us online today, or call (480) 626-5043.

Dealing with Past-Due Receivables: Try to Collect, or Write them Off?

For business owners, having past-due accounts receivable can be extremely frustrating!This is especially true in the early stages of a real estate business or construction business when cash flow may be tighter and you may be relying on those customers' payments to meet your other obligations. At some point, every small business owner has likely asked themselves whether it makes more sense to continue spending time and money trying to collect the money owed, or if instead, it would be smarter just to write it off.

Most of the time, it makes sense to try to collect for a reasonable period of time. Many business owners have found success with the following tactics and tips:

1. Communicate with your clients. It's OK to place a friendly reminder call or to send a letter reminding the client of the outstanding debt. And, the sooner you do this after the debt is past due, the more likely you are to collect.

2. Be willing to work with clients. Understand that your clients may be experiencing a temporary hardship; be open to working out a payment arrangement with them. Any payment arrangements should always be in writing, to protect both you and the client.

3. Hire a collection agency. If the amount owed is large enough and your efforts to collect have been unsuccessful, you may want to consider hiring a collection agency to help you collect. However, this is generally a last resort, as it means you are agreeing to accept just a portion of the total amount collected by the collection agency.

At some point, you may be faced with a decision about writing off bad debt. In that scenario, keep in mind that there are accounting principles that must be followed, so have a discussion with your Phoenix small business CPA about the best way to accomplish writing off the amount owed.

Contact Sean Core CPA PLLC today online, or by calling (480) 626-5043, to learn more about the CPA small business services we offer, including tax, accounting and bookkeeping.

Four Common Payroll Mistakes that can End Up Costing Small Business Owners

Just about every Arizona small business will, at some point, have to think about payroll. Even if you are a solo practitioner today, odds are good that you have plans to grow and add staff in the future. And, dealing with payroll means complying with a multitude of federal, state and sometimes local tax and reporting requirements. Because of the complexity involved, it is no surprise that local businesses sometimes make mistakes when it comes to payroll.

Here are four of the most common (and potentially costly) payroll errors we see small businesses make:

1. Not paying payroll taxes. The IRS uses the term "payroll tax" to refer to both the taxes that employers have to withhold from their employees' paychecks, and the amount of taxes an employer owes when paying employees' wages. Both are mandatory, and failing to withhold and remit the proper amount can lead to hefty penalties from the IRS.

2. Failing to properly classify employees. The people who work for you should be classified either as employees, who earn W-2 wages, or independent contractors for whom you need to issue 1099 forms at the end of the year. Treating an employee as a contractor for payroll purposes can be a costly error for the business owner.

3. Not making payroll tax payments on time. Businesses that fail to make their payroll tax payments on time risk late deposit penalties from 2% - 15% plus interest.

4. Paperwork errors. Business owners are responsible for ensuring payroll records are calculated appropriately, that forms are completed correctly and submitted in a timely manner, and that required records are maintained.

While these are the most common errors, there are many other potential traps for small business owners when it comes to business bookkeeping and accounting. Consulting with a Phoenix area  small business accountantcan save businesses time, money and can help ease the frustration that can come with handling payroll.

To learn more about the business tax, accounting and bookkeeping services we offer, contact the CPA firm Arizona business owners have come to know and trust, Sean Core CPA PLLC, today at (480) 626-5043, or contact us online.