Our Services
AT WM
Below is a list of the many services we provide to our clients. Please know, the list does not stop here. As long as what you’re looking for falls into the realm of professional CPA accounting services, we’ve got you covered.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES
Preparing your own income tax return can be a task that leaves you with more questions than answers. According to a study released by the US Government's General Accounting Office last year, most taxpayers (77% of 71 million taxpayers) believe they benefited from using a professional tax preparer.
Whether we like it or not, today's tax laws are so complicated that filing a relatively simple return can be confusing. It is just too easy to overlook deductions and credits to which you are entitled. Even if you use a computer software program there's no substitute for the assistance of an experienced tax professional.
Here's what your get...
- Your tax return will be checked and rechecked by our computer software identifying potential problems the IRS may look at more closely and reviewing the math to limit IRS contacts.
- Your tax return can be filed electronically so you will get a refund back quicker.
- Our staff will show you how to adjust your payroll withholding to get more money back each week. Why give the IRS an interest free loan for up to 16 months.
- We will show you potential deductions to limit your tax liability for next year. In addition, we will give you a sheet of commonly overlooked deductions to limit the following year's tax liability.
Books a Mess: No Problem!
If you own a small business and haven't kept up your bookkeeping, don't worry. We can help you. We'll prepare your bookkeeping for the year, prepare a full Schedule C, as well as your personal income tax return. Then we'll help you set up an easy system that allows you to keep your books in tip-top shape next year.
If you'd like to receive more information about our Tax Preparation Service, please CLICK HERE to request a FREE Consultation.
Planning is the key to successfully and legally reducing your tax liability. We go beyond tax compliance and proactively recommend tax saving strategies to maximize your after-tax income.
We make it a priority to enhance our mastery of the current tax law, complex tax code, and new tax regulations by attending frequent tax seminars.
Businesses and individuals pay the lowest amount of taxes allowable by law because we continually look for ways to minimize your taxes throughout the year, not just at the end of the year.
We recommend Tax Saving Strategies that help you...
- grow and preserve assets by keeping Uncle Sam out of your pockets.
- defer income so you can keep your money now and pay less taxes later.
- reduce taxes on your income so you keep more of what you make.
- reduce taxes on your estate so your family keeps more of what you've made.
- reduce taxes on your gifts so you can give more.
- reduce taxes on your investments so you can grow your wealth faster.
- reduce taxes on your retirement distributions so you can retire in style.
Here's just a few of the Tax Saving Strategies we use...
- Splitting income among several family members or legal entities in order to get more of the income taxed in lower bracket.
- Shifting income or expenses from one year to another in order to have them fall where it will be taxed at a lower rate.
- Deferring tax liabilities through certain investment choices such as pension plans, contributions and other similar plans.
- Using certain investments to produce income that is tax exempt from either federal or state or both taxing entities.
- Finding tax deductions by structuring your money to pay for things you enjoy, such as a vacation home.
Remember, we work for you not for the IRS. Many of our clients save many times the fee in reduced tax liability through careful planning and legitimate tax strategies.
If you'd like to receive more information about our Tax Planning Service, please CLICK HERE to set up a FREE Consultation.
Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of people more than receiving an IRS Audit letter in the mail. Audits take significant time away from your business and family, requiring you to gather mounds of records substantiating each and every item reported on your tax return and develop a comprehensive understanding of tax law.
The IRS leaves no stone unturned in its mission to determine the accuracy of your tax return. If you don't comply with the Auditors' wishes, the IRS will recalculate your tax and send you home with a hefty tax bill as your parting gift.
Many taxpayers decide to handle a tax audit themselves, and discover they may have been "penny wise," avoiding a representative's fee, but "pound foolish," because they received a substantial bill for a significant tax deficiency.
You see, IRS Auditors are trained to extract more information from you than you have a legal obligation to provide. IRS Auditors know that most people fear them and are ignorant of their rights. As a result, they know they can use that fear and ignorance to their advantage.
Rarely do our clients even have to talk with the IRS. We handle it all for you so that you need not take time off of your business or job to handle the bureaucracy and paperwork of the IRS. No lost wages or business. You simply forward notification of an audit to us and we handle it from A to Z.
If you've received an audit notice from the IRS, please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
BUSINESS/ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES
As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each month or quarter we'll do the following things for you...
-Reconcile your bank account
-Generate an income statement
-Generate a balance sheet
-Clean up your general ledger
-Provide unlimited consultations
These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, or any of our other services.
Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business checking account each month allow us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.
Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...
-Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
-Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
-Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
-Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
-Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
-Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
-Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.
Income Statement
An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...
- Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
- Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
- Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, fax, mail, or supply expenses.
- Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
- Determine your income tax liability.
Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...
- Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
- Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
- Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
- Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses?
- Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves?
- Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage?
Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.
Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to hunt down any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and kept in tip top shape.
Unlimited Consultations
We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information we provide. Our consultations are already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.
Want to talk more? CLICK HERE to set up a free consultation!
Why Quickbooks
QuickBooks is the ideal business accounting software for small to mid-sized business owners. Here's 10 reasons why you should be using QuickBooks.
QuickBooks Setup
Although QuickBooks is designed for the layman to understand, the initial setup and installation can be tricky. Save hours of frustration by allowing us to setup QuickBooks for you correctly.
QuickBooks Training
Once QuickBooks is setup and working properly, we can train you or your employees to properly operate QuickBooks specifically for your business.
QuickAnswers
Employees in your accounting department will find comfort in knowing that the answers to their QuickBooks questions are only an email or phone-call away. Email and telephone support prevents many wasted hours of aggravation and embarrassment.
QuickTuneup
Whether you need to prepare your books for tax time, a financial review, or you just need to clean up some problem areas, you'll get your Quickbooks running smoothly again with a complete Tune-up.
Buy QuickBooks and Save
Save up to 20% on the newest version of QuickBooks.
When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS have made the payroll function a time consuming nightmare for the small business owner.
Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.
We offer payroll solutions that meet your business's needs and enable you to spend time doing what you do best--running your company.
Why Outsource Your Payroll...
It's Cost Effective
Use your staff more efficiently by letting us handle payroll and the associated legal details. Reduce overhead by removing the need to hire specialized employees.
It's a Time Saver
Our payroll service eliminates the burden of customizing, updating and maintaining your own payroll system--no more data entry, no more researching updates or new laws, no more worries.
Worry Free Payroll Tax Filing
Eliminate the risks of calculating and filing your own payroll taxes by having professionals do it for you. Federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex. How much time do you want to spend learning all the rules and keeping your information up to date?
Allows You To Focus On Core Competencies
Our professional staff allow you to focus on the core competencies of your business. We are accounting professionals--you get the experts working for you and with you.
Comprehensive Reports
You get a wide variety of user-friendly and accurate payroll reports. For a nominal fee, we will include union reports, certified payroll, workers' compensation reports and much more.
Get the Payroll Solution That Best Fits Your Needs.
We know that when it comes to payroll service - no one size fits all. That's why we offer the following 3 custom payroll processing options.
1. Comprehensive Payroll Services
Our Comprehensive Payroll Service takes care of all of the payroll processing for you, so that you won't have to. You get...
- Your payroll checks prepared and printed on-time, every-time.
- All of your payroll checks are laser printed on "blank" check stock to ensure maximum security and meet the micro encoding standards as set forth by the Federal Reserve System.
- Free Direct Deposits
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
2. After-the-Fact-Payroll Services
We will take your manually-prepared payroll records and other payroll information and post this information to our data files, so you get...
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
3. Online Payroll Processing
You can enter your employee's hours and earnings securely online and get...
- The ability to instantly print payroll checks on your own printer.
- Free Direct Deposits
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
Custom Payroll Reports Service
There seems to be an endless amount of special reports Government agencies require. We can prepare the following reports for you.
- Worker's Compensation Audits
- Unemployment Claims
- Social Security Audits
- Child Support Audits
- W-2 and W-3 processing
- 1099 and 1096 processing
- Preparation/assistance with Federal and State registration forms
How much do we charge?
In order to give you an accurate price for our payroll services we need to know a little more about your business and what services you're interested in. Our prices are very affordable.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation and complete pricing of our Payroll Processing Services.
Growing businesses often reach a point where they need professional financial advice, but can't afford a full-time CFO or controller.
If you're fortunate enough to be in this position then we have the perfect solution for you. Our Part-Time CFO service gives you a professional financial manager who works with you to help guide your business to success.
The cost of hiring a full-time CFO can range from $60,000 to over $100,000 per year plus bonuses and benefits. Our Part-Time CFO services provides you with experienced support at a small fraction of that cost.
Here's what you get with our Part-Time CFO services...
- More time to focus on new services, new customers and other core business issues.
- Better understanding of the financial side of your business. So you have less surprises and more control over the money.
- Improved decision-making capabilities from clearly seeing the hard and true numbers of your business.
- A readily available sounding board to help you with those tough business decisions and help you clarify your business plans.
- The comfort from knowing that a professional is overseeing, protecting and constantly improving the financial side of your business.
- A professional who establishes strong financial controls in your business to reduce employee theft and increase profits.
- Training and managing your accounting staff.
- Improved quality and timeliness of financial information.
- Budget preparation and monitoring.
- Profitability analysis by service or product line.
- Tax saving strategies.
- Trend analysis.
- Assistance in defining long-range plans and the quantification of goals.
- Cash management.
- Liaison with bankers, attorneys, vendors, insurance agents, etc.
- Assistance in obtaining financing from banks, including assistance with negotiations.
- Review/negotiation of insurance policies.
- Development of company accounting procedure manuals.
- Analysis of equipment purchases, expansions, etc.
- Mergers and acquisitions assistance
- Custom designed collection policies and procedures
A wise business owner once said, "Happiness is a positive cash flow." As a business owner, I'm sure you agree. Everything is better when your cash-in exceeds your cash-out.
A cash crisis can be emotionally devastating and it can even kill your business. If you've ever had to beg, borrow and steal to cover tomorrows payroll you know what I mean.
Our cash management service allows you to...
- know when, where, and how your cash needs will occur.
- know what the best sources are for meeting your additional cash needs.
- be prepared to meet these needs when they occur, by keeping good relationships with bankers and other creditors.
The starting point for avoiding a cash crisis is allowing us to develop a cash flow projection for you. We can help you develop both short-term (weekly, monthly) cash flow projections to help you manage daily cash, and long-term (annual, 3-5 year) cash flow projections to help you develop the necessary capital strategy to meet your business needs.
We also prepare historical cash flow statements to help you gain an understanding about where all the money went.
Creating an accurate cash flow projection is just one of the many cash management services we provide. You also get...
- Help obtaining an appropriate line of credit
- Cash collection acceleration techniques
- Proven effective collection policies
- Proven effective payment policies
- Help obtaining the maximum rate of return on your idle cash
To learn more about how we can help you avoid stressful cash shortages please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation.
Need money to grow your business?
Requesting a business loan without adequate preparation sends a clear message to the lender: High Risk! Therefore, it pays to be prepared and organized in your approach for financing.
Put your best foot forward by allowing us to prepare a winning loan proposal for you. Our proposals have a high likelihood of success because they're created from the lender's perspective.
You get the money you need because we know exactly what banks want to see. Even more importantly, we know how to prove to them that you'll be able to pay them back.
Our winning loan proposals come complete with...
- Executive Summary: Where we concisely state the purpose of the loan, the exact amount of money required, an explanation of what the loan will be used for and why it's needed.
- Pro-forma Cash Budgets and Financial Statements: We use your data and underlying assumptions to prepare information that your banker can easily read and buy in to.
- Owners Personal Financial Statements: We make copies of the last 3 years of personal tax returns for the bank as well as identify the collateral being pledged as security for the loan.
- Representation: We help substantiate your financial needs/position to your banker in person.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can obtain the money you need to grow your business please CLICK HERE to request a FREE consultation.
Few things are more important to business owners than the value of their business. The valuation you get for your business can make or break a proposition.
Whether you're negotiating a merger, considering new shareholders, attempting to resolve disputes associated with liability, shareholder equity, estate planning or marital dissolution, objective valuation can make the difference between loss or gain, success or failure.
Business valuation is not an exact science. It's based on judgment, experience and relevant information. So, you need professionals who are well qualified, with significant experience in evaluating all types of organizations.
Our approach is to intimately know your business in order to understand what constitutes its value. We work closely with you to analyze your operations and historical financial data. Our in-depth knowledge of your business enables us to provide a well-reasoned, fully documented and defensible valuation opinion.
We provide a full range of business valuation services for the following needs:
- Bankruptcy
- Business Disputes
- Buyouts
- Divorce
- Estate Planning
- Financing
- Gifting
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Other Business Valuation Scenarios
If you'd like to know how much your business is worth, please CLICK HERE to request a FREE Consultation.
A Strategic Business Plan is much more than a tool to obtain financing. If you still have all you plans and ideas locked up inside your head... preparing a strategic plan helps you clarify your company's direction, ensures your key leaders are all "on the same page", and keeps both management and staff focused on the tasks at hand.
A Strategic Plan is often needed when...
- Starting a new venture, product or service
- Expanding a current organization, product or service
- Buying a new business, product or service
- Turning around a declining business
The Strategic Plan provides a blueprint, describing your company, its products, the competitive environment, management team, financial health, and business risks.
The plan allows you to...
- Identify and describe the target customer profile, features, advantages and benefits of your new venture, product or service.
- Justify that your plans are credible by fully researching the need being filled with your new venture.
- Develop marketing plans including full descriptions of targeted promotional campaigns with implementation timelines. You also get to examine market conditions, the nature of your customers, as well as your competitors, sales potential, and projected results of your promotional campaigns.
- Develop staffing plans including identifying the key players, skills, attitudes and expertise needed to build the venture.
- Develop management plans including full descriptions of management systems and timelines for implementation.
- Develop financial plans including projected startup costs, operating costs, revenue, profits, and break-even analysis for the first 3 to 5 years.
- Projected financial plans allow you to effectively predict upcoming problems, or prevent them. In other words, the perspective gained through your Strategic Business Plan can make a significant contribution to your company's success, and help you get the funding you require. In fact, most lending institutions and private investors will not even talk to you without a solid financial plan.
- Identify building and equipment needs including vendors and cost estimates.
- Formulate company milestones including timelines for upcoming products and services in development.
Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Let us help you develop a powerful Strategic Business Plan that drives your business to the level of success you deserve.
Request a Free Consultation HERE.
If you own a family business, retirement isn't simply a matter of deciding not to go into the office anymore. You've got some critical questions to answer like...
"What happens to the business when you're no longer running it?" and
"Will you have enough money to retire?"
The family dynamic complicates the whole transition because of the relationships and emotions involved. Most people are not comfortable discussing topics such as aging, death, and financial affairs.
Comfortable or not, succession planning should be a priority for any family business considering that more than seven out of ten family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation, typically falling prey either to estate taxes or family discord - or both.
Developing and implementing a well-designed succession plan is essential to the survival of a family business from one generation to the next.
We help you with these key issues -
- Keeping it in the family. Are you going to pass the business on to your family or sell it to a third party? We help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options.
- Who's going to run the business when you're gone? Management and ownership are not one and the same. You may decide to transfer management of your business to just one of your children but transfer equal shares of business ownership to all your children, whether they're actively involved in the business or not.
- Minimizing the tax bite. The tax burden when transitioning a family business can be significant. The challenge is that a family business is not generally a liquid asset, but taxes are typically due when ownership is transferred.
- Making it fair. Transferring family ownership often adds a tremendous amount of stress to individual family members. We talk with each of the family members to ensure that they feel they a getting an equitable and fair share of the pie.
What we do for you...
Once we understand how you feel about the key issues above, we begin constructing your succession plan focusing on these 5 issues...
- Business Valuation
- Business Restructuring
- Tax Consequences
- Retirement Projections
- Tax Projections
Let us help you pass on what's taken a lifetime to build, CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation.
Thinking of owning your own business?
Opening your own business is exciting and thrilling. It's everything that comes after the excitement and thrill has worn off that dictates whether a small business will make it or not. It's up to you to maintain and stretch out the "thrill and excitement" period forever.
A methodical plan of action is needed to fulfill your dream or goal of being your own boss and running a successful business. Success lies in the approach you choose to take. We help you avoid the common pitfalls that many new small business owners make when starting their new venture.
We help you...
- Prepare an initial business plan to clarify your marketing, management, and financial plans.
- Determine your start-up capital needs.
- Identify sources of start-up capital and backup sources if needed.
- Evaluate and quantify your borrowing power so you know how much money you can get your hands on if needed.
- Select a business structure that best fits your needs by evaluating tax advantages, legal exposure, ease of operation and portability should you need to relocate.
- Select the right accounting software by evaluating your budget, needs and hardware.
- Prepare a Cash Flow Budget so you know exactly how much money you need to keep the business alive each month for the first few years. Unplanned cash requirements are always emotionally painful.
- Establish billing and collection procedures to maximize your cash flow.
- Establish procedures to monitor and control costs.
- Setup a home office so you can maximize your tax deductions.
- Prepare and file all required state and local licenses and permits.
- Prepare and file your application for your Federal Employer Identification Number.
- Provide payroll and payroll tax filing when you bring on your first employee.
- Comply with employment laws so you don't get hit with fines and unhappy employees.
- Identify your business insurance needs.
- Develop a solid Partnership Agreement. This is an extremely important document for all new partnerships and will help prevent a tremendous amount of financial and emotional problems down the road.
Let us help you succeed by getting your new business off to a good strong start. CLICK HERE to for a FREE consultation regarding our New Business Formation Services.
We can help you setup and maintain your non-profit organization's tax-exempt status by handling all the IRS reporting for you.
Each year the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to submit the Form 990 and its relations, which includes the following items.
Income Statement with very specific revenue and expense categories like donations, salaries, postage, rent...
Balance Sheet with specific categories like cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable...
Functional Expense Statement with all the expenses allocated to either program services, fundraising, or operations.
Individual Program Expense Statement that reports all of the expenses for each program or service like seminar programs or educational mailings.
Revenue Support Schedules that detail the organization's sources of income in specific categories like charitable donations, membership fees, investment income.
The IRS uses these very specific revenue and expense classifications to determine if your organization will retain its tax-exempt status. So it's imperative that you build your accounting system around these revenue and expense classifications.
Here's what we do for you...
- Review and compile your financial statements
- Design, install, and maintain your Accounting System
- Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payroll preparation
- Payroll Tax Preparation and Deposits
- Provide training for your accounting personnel
- Complete and file your non-profit status application
- Provide training for your board on non-profit financial statement usage and effective budgeting practices
- Prepare and file the 990 and 990T tax forms
- Prepare your initial start-up documentation, including incorporation, federal employee identification number (FEIN), and payroll setup with federal and state agencies.
Churches: We prepare the pastoral housing allowance and other required benefit documentation to meet the complex dual status of ministers.
If you're starting a new not-for-profit organization we can help you prepare your organization's 501 (c)(3) application for tax-exempt status.
Here's what's needed...
- Articles of Incorporation containing the Exempt Purpose Statement as described in IRS Code section 501(c)(3) and defined in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph d and the Dissolution Statement described in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph b subparagraph 4 ("Organizational Test").
- Employer Identification Number
- By-laws of the Organization
- Minutes of Board Meetings
- Names, Addresses, and Resumes of Board Members
- Names and addresses of all Active Members
- Inventory of Assets like cash, furniture, equipment, property, pledges...
- Inventory of Liabilities like mortgages, accounts payable, loans...
- Rent/Lease Agreements and Contracts
- Revenue and Expense Statements for the last four years or as far back as possible if your organization has been in existence for less than four years.
- Written Reason for Formation and History of the organization.
- Organization Mission Statement or Statement of Faith or Beliefs for Churches and other Religious Organizations.
- Organization Activities, Operations and Programs Documentation including your statement of purpose & operations, food programs, fundraisers, flyers/brochures/pamphlets...
- Financial Support Documentation including all sources of revenue like contributions, tithes, offerings, fundraisers...
- Fund Raising Program Descriptions
- IRS Processing/Filing Fee
We are happy to prepare any of these items if you need help.
Let us help you setup and/or maintain your non-profit tax-exempt status by CLICKING HERE to request a Free Consultation.
At times you may need a trained outside professional to evaluate your company's operations to determine if the appropriate controls are in place to ensure proper handling of resources and to protect yourself from employee theft.
We assess your internal control systems to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of your operating procedures. Then we make recommendations that help your company become stronger and more profitable by correcting any inefficient or ineffective operating procedures we find.
What we do for you...
- Implement segregation of duties so that duties are divided, or segregated, among different people to reduce risk of error or inappropriate actions. No one person has control over all aspects of any financial transaction.
- Make sure transactions are authorized by a person delegated approval authority when the transactions are consistent with policy and funds are available.
- Ensure records are routinely reviewed and reconciled, by someone other than the preparer or transactor, to determine that transactions have been properly processed.
- Make certain that equipment, inventories, cash and other property are secured physically, counted periodically, and compared with item descriptions shown on control records.
- Provide employees with appropriate training and guidance to ensure they have the knowledge necessary to carry out their job duties, are provided with an appropriate level of direction and supervision, and are aware of the proper channels for reporting suspected improprieties.
- Document policies and procedures and making them accessible to employees. The documented policies and procedures provide day-to-day guidance to your staff and continuation of duties in the event of prolonged employee absences or turnover.
- Review operations to ascertain whether results are consistent with established objectives and goals and whether the operations are being carried out as planned.
If you'd like more information about our internal control services please CLICK HERE to setup a Free Consultation.
Below is a listing of the accounting services we provide to our clients. Be advised that this list in not exhaustive- if what you need help with falls into the realm of professional CPA accounting provided services, we've got you covered.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES
Preparing your own income tax return can be a task that leaves you with more questions than answers. According to a study released by the US Government's General Accounting Office last year, most taxpayers (77% of 71 million taxpayers) believe they benefited from using a professional tax preparer.
Whether we like it or not, today's tax laws are so complicated that filing a relatively simple return can be confusing. It is just too easy to overlook deductions and credits to which you are entitled. Even if you use a computer software program there's no substitute for the assistance of an experienced tax professional.
Here's what your get...
- Your tax return will be checked and rechecked by our computer software identifying potential problems the IRS may look at more closely and reviewing the math to limit IRS contacts.
- Your tax return can be filed electronically so you will get a refund back quicker.
- Our staff will show you how to adjust your payroll withholding to get more money back each week. Why give the IRS an interest free loan for up to 16 months.
- We will show you potential deductions to limit your tax liability for next year. In addition, we will give you a sheet of commonly overlooked deductions to limit the following year's tax liability.
Books a Mess: No Problem!
If you own a small business and haven't kept up your bookkeeping, don't worry. We can help you. We'll prepare your bookkeeping for the year, prepare a full Schedule C, as well as your personal income tax return. Then we'll help you set up an easy system that allows you to keep your books in tip-top shape next year.
If you'd like to receive more information about our Tax Preparation Service, please CLICK HERE to request a FREE Consultation.
Planning is the key to successfully and legally reducing your tax liability. We go beyond tax compliance and proactively recommend tax saving strategies to maximize your after-tax income.
We make it a priority to enhance our mastery of the current tax law, complex tax code, and new tax regulations by attending frequent tax seminars.
Businesses and individuals pay the lowest amount of taxes allowable by law because we continually look for ways to minimize your taxes throughout the year, not just at the end of the year.
We recommend Tax Saving Strategies that help you...
- grow and preserve assets by keeping Uncle Sam out of your pockets.
- defer income so you can keep your money now and pay less taxes later.
- reduce taxes on your income so you keep more of what you make.
- reduce taxes on your estate so your family keeps more of what you've made.
- reduce taxes on your gifts so you can give more.
- reduce taxes on your investments so you can grow your wealth faster.
- reduce taxes on your retirement distributions so you can retire in style.
Here's just a few of the Tax Saving Strategies we use...
- Splitting income among several family members or legal entities in order to get more of the income taxed in lower bracket.
- Shifting income or expenses from one year to another in order to have them fall where it will be taxed at a lower rate.
- Deferring tax liabilities through certain investment choices such as pension plans, contributions and other similar plans.
- Using certain investments to produce income that is tax exempt from either federal or state or both taxing entities.
- Finding tax deductions by structuring your money to pay for things you enjoy, such as a vacation home.
Remember, we work for you not for the IRS. Many of our clients save many times the fee in reduced tax liability through careful planning and legitimate tax strategies.
If you'd like to receive more information about our Tax Planning Service, please CLICK HERE to set up a FREE Consultation.
Are you having problems with the IRS?
We're here to help you resolve your tax problems and put an end to the misery that the IRS can put you through. We pride ourselves on being very efficient, affordable, and of course, extremely discrete. The IRS problems will not just go away by themselves; they just keep getting worse with penalties and interest being added each day.
If you owe the IRS, you have a very serious problem. It may take the IRS several years to catch up to you, but they're relentless and have no mercy in collecting all the money that is owed. When the collection process starts, they'll make your life miserable and literally ruin all aspects of your life.
Please take a look through our complete IRS problem resolution services by clicking on the links below.
IRS Problems
- Have you received an IRS audit notification? See IRS Audit Representation.
- Haven't filed your tax returns for years? See Non-Filed Returns
- Do you owe Back Taxes?
- Do you have Payroll Tax Problems?
- Has the IRS placed tax liens on your home? See Liens.
- Is the IRS threatening to seize your bank account and take your money out of the bank. See Levies.
- Is the IRS threatening to take your paycheck, 401(k), and other retirement accounts? See Wage Garnishments.
- Is the IRS threatening to seize your personal property? See IRS Seizures.
IRS Solutions
- Owe the IRS a lot of money? - Settle for pennies on the dollar! See Offers In Compromise.
- Need more time to pay. See Payment Plan.
- Like to get out from under your tax burden completely. See Bankruptcy.
- Like to get out of a tax debt caused by misdeeds committed by your spouse? See Innocent Spouse Relief.
- Like to see what the IRS has on you. See Your IRS File.
Get a Free Consultation with our tax specialist by CLICKING HERE for a FREE Consultation.
Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of people more than receiving an IRS Audit letter in the mail. Audits take significant time away from your business and family, requiring you to gather mounds of records substantiating each and every item reported on your tax return and develop a comprehensive understanding of tax law.
The IRS leaves no stone unturned in its mission to determine the accuracy of your tax return. If you don't comply with the Auditors' wishes, the IRS will recalculate your tax and send you home with a hefty tax bill as your parting gift.
Many taxpayers decide to handle a tax audit themselves, and discover they may have been "penny wise," avoiding a representative's fee, but "pound foolish," because they received a substantial bill for a significant tax deficiency.
You see, IRS Auditors are trained to extract more information from you than you have a legal obligation to provide. IRS Auditors know that most people fear them and are ignorant of their rights. As a result, they know they can use that fear and ignorance to their advantage.
Rarely do our clients even have to talk with the IRS. We handle it all for you so that you need not take time off of your business or job to handle the bureaucracy and paperwork of the IRS. No lost wages or business. You simply forward notification of an audit to us and we handle it from A to Z.
If you've received an audit notice from the IRS, please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
Every day the massive computer center at the IRS is getting more sophisticated, it's just a matter of time before they catch up with you.
This is not a situation to take lightly, failing to file your tax returns is a criminal offense. If you do not file, you can be prosecuted and punished with potential jail time, one year for each year not filed. Why risk potentially losing your freedom for failing to file your tax returns!
Let us give you the peace of mind you deserve by helping you get in compliance with the law. If you voluntarily file your delinquent returns you'll likely avoid further problems other than having to pay the interest and penalties.
If you wait for the IRS to file your returns for you, they are filed in the best interest of the government, usually with little or none of the deductions you are entitled to.
Before anything can be done to extract you from this predicament all the returns must be filed. You must be current. In most cases, you will likely owe taxes, interest, and penalties after the returns are filed. Once we see how much is owed, we'll set a course of action to get you off the hook!
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
You have filed your returns but didn't have the money to pay what was owed. You may think, "Oh well---I will catch up next year." Before you know it you find yourself several years in arrears and suddenly there is a notice from the IRS, stating that you owe three or four times the original amount.
It's truly amazing how fast tax penalties and interest add up. Now you have a choice, you can write a big fat check and pay the full amount, including interest and penalties. Or you can just keep ignoring them while the penalties and interest keep piling up.
Luckily, we offer several options when it comes to resolving unpaid taxes. Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
The IRS views failing to pay payroll taxes as the cardinal sin of tax delinquency because a large portion of the payroll taxes are your employees' withholdings. Not paying your company's payroll taxes is tantamount to stealing your employees' money in the eyes of the IRS.
As a result, penalties for failing to pay your payroll taxes and filing your payroll tax returns on time are much more severe than other types of penalties. They can drastically multiply the amount you owe in a very short time.
If you are behind on paying payroll taxes for your company, WATCH OUT!!! The IRS is extremely aggressive pursuing collection of this type of tax. They would rather seize your business assets, close you down, sell your assets at auction, and put you out of business than allow you to continue amassing additional payroll tax liabilities.
If you are behind on your payroll taxes, DO NOT meet with the IRS on your own. How you answer their initial questions can determine whether you stay in business or not. It is critical you hire a professional representative who knows how the IRS operates.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist on how to resolve your payroll tax problems.
Federal Tax Liens can really make your life miserable! When your taxes are not paid the IRS establishes a lien against all of your assets (especially real estate). This gives the IRS the legal right to collect taxes from the sale of your assets, which includes just about everything you own.
The lien can be against you, your spouse, or your company. A lien against your company would seize your accounts receivables. At this point everything you own is just one short step away from becoming the property of the United States Government.
Liens filed against you by the IRS also show up on your credit report and often prevent you from opening a checking account or borrowing against any assets, like your home. The banks don't want the extra work when the IRS comes in to take your money.
With a Federal Tax lien on your record you can't get a reasonable loan to purchase a car. Think about paying 18-22% interest on a car that is already too expensive. You definitely cannot buy or sell any Real Estate. The list is endless.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist on how to resolve your tax lien problems.
Levies can really do a lot of damage and even ruin your life. A levy is the IRS's way of getting your immediate attention. What they are saying is, we have tried to communicate with you but you have ignored us. Levies are used to seize your wages and whatever other assets you have. If you own it, they can take it. That includes checking accounts, auto's, stocks, bonds, boats, paychecks, and even Social Security checks!
Imagine waking up one morning and finding all your bank accounts have been cleaned out. They will take every dime. If this amount did not cover what is owed, they'll keep taking your money until you cover your tax liability. They know that levying your bank account will cause checks to bounce, alerting many people that you have tax problems. But they don't care! Their sole objective is to collect the taxes owed. Period.
As bad as that is, a worse method is a wage levy (or garnishment). That's when most of your pay check goes to the IRS, they don't leave you enough to pay the bills, and most of your check goes to the IRS each and every week until the debt is paid.
If that doesn't accomplish what they want, they'll pull out all the stops. They'll seize your assets, and sell them at auction. That includes everything you own; home, cars, boats, jewelry, motorcycles, insurance polices, retirement funds, anything of value.
We are often able to get those levies released and help you get out of this terrible situation. Our goal is to get you even with the IRS, with what you can afford, and let you start life anew.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
You received a notice of "intent to Levy" 30 days ago and you forgot or ignored it. Now it's Payday. Expecting a check, you open the envelope and find that the IRS has taken most of your money. What's left is not enough to pay the rent, car payment, buy groceries, or pay the rest of the bills. This action will continue on every check due you, until the tax owed is paid in full.
Now you're in big financial trouble. No matter how hard you plead with your employer they can not give you your money. Because once a wage garnishment is filed with your employer, your employer is required by law to collect a large percentage of each of your paychecks.
We are regularly retained to negotiate the release of IRS wage garnishments by arranging a payment plan. The payment plan negotiated by us is always more favorable than any IRS wage garnishment. It allows you to receive your whole paycheck without fears of future wage garnishments.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist on how to resolve your wage garnishment problems.
Unlike the levy which involves intangible assets such as your bank account, a seizure is the taking of physical assets, such as your home or car. Seizures usually happen in aggravated cases when someone ignores many requests by the IRS over a long period of time to pay their outstanding taxes.
A Seizure should not be taken lightly. The IRS will ultimately pursue seizure of your physical assets. Don't think they won't. Many a newspaper or television show has reported citizens being forced out of their homes after it was sold at an IRS auction, often for as little as half its value.
When the IRS seizes your assets they want to quickly sell them at auction. They often get less than half your assets value, so they often seize everything you own including your home, cars, boats, jewelry, motorcycles, insurance polices, and even your retirement funds.
If you've received an IRS seizure notice, it's time to act now! Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
Did you know that you can settle your debt with the IRS for just pennies on the dollar with their Offer in Compromise program? The program allows taxpayers to settle with the IRS on tax debt that has been incorrectly assessed or for liabilities they cannot afford to pay.
The IRS Code states: "We will accept an Offer in Compromise when it is unlikely that we can collect the full amount owed and the amount you offer reasonably reflects the collection potential..." (Internal Revenue Code section 7122).
Often it is possible to fully and completely eliminate the taxes you owe - including all penalties and interest - at an enormous discount. There is no preset bottom limit that the IRS will accept to settle your debt especially if your offer is done "right."
If done correctly your debt may be settled for only 5-15% of what you presently owe. The key is to determine the least amount that the IRS will accept from you before you make the offer.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free consultation with our tax specialist for the solutions to your tax problems.
If you don't qualify for the IRS Offer In Compromise program, a Payment Plan may be the way to resolve your problem. Setting up a payment plan with the IRS gives you a little more time to pay off your tax debts.
Unfortunately, penalties and interest will continue to be charged on your outstanding balance as you pay the debt off. You are required by law to pay the interest on your tax debt.
The good news is that there's a chance we can get your tax penalties removed. Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist to get a better understanding of how we can resolve your tax problem.
Your back taxes, interest and penalties can be wiped out by filing bankruptcy. If you qualify, bankruptcy can be the best solution to resolve your crushing tax problems.
Unfortunately, not everyone qualifies to wipe out their tax debt in bankruptcy. Certain rules have to be met first. If you file bankruptcy and don't meet the rules, the IRS will still be in hot pursuit after your bankruptcy is over. Proper pre-bankruptcy planning is key to determining if bankruptcy is or can be a viable solution.
Let us help you determine if Bankruptcy is a viable solution for you, please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
Did you know that you can get out of the tax debt due to the misdeeds or fraud committed by your spouse? Innocent Spouse Relief was designed to alleviate unjust situations where one spouse was clearly the victim of fraud perpetrated by their spouse or ex-spouse.
If you qualify for Innocent Spouse Relief, you may not owe any tax. Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist to see if you qualify for Innocent Spouse Relief.
Did you know that you can obtain a copy of your IRS file? Most people would be surprised to learn how much the IRS knows about them. Obtaining a copy of your IRS file is critical in analyzing the options available to resolve your tax problems.
Requesting copies of your IRS file is best done by a professional who understands how to obtain them without raising any red flags as well as how to interpret the information in your file.
We can help you obtain a copy of your IRS file and analyze your options. Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation with our tax specialist.
BUSINESS/ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES
As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each month or quarter we'll do the following things for you...
-Reconcile your bank account
-Generate an income statement
-Generate a balance sheet
-Clean up your general ledger
-Provide unlimited consultations
These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, or any of our other services.
Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business checking account each month allow us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.
Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...
-Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
-Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
-Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
-Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
-Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
-Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
-Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.
Income Statement
An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...
- Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
- Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
- Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, fax, mail, or supply expenses.
- Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
- Determine your income tax liability.
Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...
- Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
- Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
- Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
- Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses?
- Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves?
- Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage?
Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.
Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to hunt down any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and kept in tip top shape.
Unlimited Consultations
We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information we provide. Our consultations are already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.
Want to talk more? CLICK HERE to set up a free consultation!
Why Quickbooks
QuickBooks is the ideal business accounting software for small to mid-sized business owners. Here's 10 reasons why you should be using QuickBooks.
QuickBooks Setup
Although QuickBooks is designed for the layman to understand, the initial setup and installation can be tricky. Save hours of frustration by allowing us to setup QuickBooks for you correctly.
QuickBooks Training
Once QuickBooks is setup and working properly, we can train you or your employees to properly operate QuickBooks specifically for your business.
QuickAnswers
Employees in your accounting department will find comfort in knowing that the answers to their QuickBooks questions are only an email or phone-call away. Email and telephone support prevents many wasted hours of aggravation and embarrassment.
QuickTuneup
Whether you need to prepare your books for tax time, a financial review, or you just need to clean up some problem areas, you'll get your Quickbooks running smoothly again with a complete Tune-up.
Buy QuickBooks and Save
Save up to 20% on the newest version of QuickBooks.
When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS have made the payroll function a time consuming nightmare for the small business owner.
Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.
We offer payroll solutions that meet your business's needs and enable you to spend time doing what you do best--running your company.
Why Outsource Your Payroll...
It's Cost Effective
Use your staff more efficiently by letting us handle payroll and the associated legal details. Reduce overhead by removing the need to hire specialized employees.
It's a Time Saver
Our payroll service eliminates the burden of customizing, updating and maintaining your own payroll system--no more data entry, no more researching updates or new laws, no more worries.
Worry Free Payroll Tax Filing
Eliminate the risks of calculating and filing your own payroll taxes by having professionals do it for you. Federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex. How much time do you want to spend learning all the rules and keeping your information up to date?
Allows You To Focus On Core Competencies
Our professional staff allow you to focus on the core competencies of your business. We are accounting professionals--you get the experts working for you and with you.
Comprehensive Reports
You get a wide variety of user-friendly and accurate payroll reports. For a nominal fee, we will include union reports, certified payroll, workers' compensation reports and much more.
Get the Payroll Solution That Best Fits Your Needs.
We know that when it comes to payroll service - no one size fits all. That's why we offer the following 3 custom payroll processing options.
1. Comprehensive Payroll Services
Our Comprehensive Payroll Service takes care of all of the payroll processing for you, so that you won't have to. You get...
- Your payroll checks prepared and printed on-time, every-time.
- All of your payroll checks are laser printed on "blank" check stock to ensure maximum security and meet the micro encoding standards as set forth by the Federal Reserve System.
- Free Direct Deposits
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
2. After-the-Fact-Payroll Services
We will take your manually-prepared payroll records and other payroll information and post this information to our data files, so you get...
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
3. Online Payroll Processing
You can enter your employee's hours and earnings securely online and get...
- The ability to instantly print payroll checks on your own printer.
- Free Direct Deposits
- Worry Free IRS and State tax reporting as well as EFTPS tax deposits.
- User friendly, and easy to understand monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports, including W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms.
- Detailed reports on your employee's vacation, sick days, and personal days accruals.
- Creation and filing of the required new hire reports
- Your payroll records maintained in tip top shape.
Custom Payroll Reports Service
There seems to be an endless amount of special reports Government agencies require. We can prepare the following reports for you.
- Worker's Compensation Audits
- Unemployment Claims
- Social Security Audits
- Child Support Audits
- W-2 and W-3 processing
- 1099 and 1096 processing
- Preparation/assistance with Federal and State registration forms
How much do we charge?
In order to give you an accurate price for our payroll services we need to know a little more about your business and what services you're interested in. Our prices are very affordable.
Please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation and complete pricing of our Payroll Processing Services.
Growing businesses often reach a point where they need professional financial advice, but can't afford a full-time CFO or controller.
If you're fortunate enough to be in this position then we have the perfect solution for you. Our Part-Time CFO service gives you a professional financial manager who works with you to help guide your business to success.
The cost of hiring a full-time CFO can range from $60,000 to over $100,000 per year plus bonuses and benefits. Our Part-Time CFO services provides you with experienced support at a small fraction of that cost.
Here's what you get with our Part-Time CFO services...
- More time to focus on new services, new customers and other core business issues.
- Better understanding of the financial side of your business. So you have less surprises and more control over the money.
- Improved decision-making capabilities from clearly seeing the hard and true numbers of your business.
- A readily available sounding board to help you with those tough business decisions and help you clarify your business plans.
- The comfort from knowing that a professional is overseeing, protecting and constantly improving the financial side of your business.
- A professional who establishes strong financial controls in your business to reduce employee theft and increase profits.
- Training and managing your accounting staff.
- Improved quality and timeliness of financial information.
- Budget preparation and monitoring.
- Profitability analysis by service or product line.
- Tax saving strategies.
- Trend analysis.
- Assistance in defining long-range plans and the quantification of goals.
- Cash management.
- Liaison with bankers, attorneys, vendors, insurance agents, etc.
- Assistance in obtaining financing from banks, including assistance with negotiations.
- Review/negotiation of insurance policies.
- Development of company accounting procedure manuals.
- Analysis of equipment purchases, expansions, etc.
- Mergers and acquisitions assistance
- Custom designed collection policies and procedures
A wise business owner once said, "Happiness is a positive cash flow." As a business owner, I'm sure you agree. Everything is better when your cash-in exceeds your cash-out.
A cash crisis can be emotionally devastating and it can even kill your business. If you've ever had to beg, borrow and steal to cover tomorrows payroll you know what I mean.
Our cash management service allows you to...
- know when, where, and how your cash needs will occur.
- know what the best sources are for meeting your additional cash needs.
- be prepared to meet these needs when they occur, by keeping good relationships with bankers and other creditors.
The starting point for avoiding a cash crisis is allowing us to develop a cash flow projection for you. We can help you develop both short-term (weekly, monthly) cash flow projections to help you manage daily cash, and long-term (annual, 3-5 year) cash flow projections to help you develop the necessary capital strategy to meet your business needs.
We also prepare historical cash flow statements to help you gain an understanding about where all the money went.
Creating an accurate cash flow projection is just one of the many cash management services we provide. You also get...
- Help obtaining an appropriate line of credit
- Cash collection acceleration techniques
- Proven effective collection policies
- Proven effective payment policies
- Help obtaining the maximum rate of return on your idle cash
To learn more about how we can help you avoid stressful cash shortages please CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation.
Need money to grow your business?
Requesting a business loan without adequate preparation sends a clear message to the lender: High Risk! Therefore, it pays to be prepared and organized in your approach for financing.
Put your best foot forward by allowing us to prepare a winning loan proposal for you. Our proposals have a high likelihood of success because they're created from the lender's perspective.
You get the money you need because we know exactly what banks want to see. Even more importantly, we know how to prove to them that you'll be able to pay them back.
Our winning loan proposals come complete with...
- Executive Summary: Where we concisely state the purpose of the loan, the exact amount of money required, an explanation of what the loan will be used for and why it's needed.
- Pro-forma Cash Budgets and Financial Statements: We use your data and underlying assumptions to prepare information that your banker can easily read and buy in to.
- Owners Personal Financial Statements: We make copies of the last 3 years of personal tax returns for the bank as well as identify the collateral being pledged as security for the loan.
- Representation: We help substantiate your financial needs/position to your banker in person.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can obtain the money you need to grow your business please CLICK HERE to request a FREE consultation.
Few things are more important to business owners than the value of their business. The valuation you get for your business can make or break a proposition.
Whether you're negotiating a merger, considering new shareholders, attempting to resolve disputes associated with liability, shareholder equity, estate planning or marital dissolution, objective valuation can make the difference between loss or gain, success or failure.
Business valuation is not an exact science. It's based on judgment, experience and relevant information. So, you need professionals who are well qualified, with significant experience in evaluating all types of organizations.
Our approach is to intimately know your business in order to understand what constitutes its value. We work closely with you to analyze your operations and historical financial data. Our in-depth knowledge of your business enables us to provide a well-reasoned, fully documented and defensible valuation opinion.
We provide a full range of business valuation services for the following needs:
- Bankruptcy
- Business Disputes
- Buyouts
- Divorce
- Estate Planning
- Financing
- Gifting
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Other Business Valuation Scenarios
If you'd like to know how much your business is worth, please CLICK HERE to request a FREE Consultation.
A Strategic Business Plan is much more than a tool to obtain financing. If you still have all you plans and ideas locked up inside your head... preparing a strategic plan helps you clarify your company's direction, ensures your key leaders are all "on the same page", and keeps both management and staff focused on the tasks at hand.
A Strategic Plan is often needed when...
- Starting a new venture, product or service
- Expanding a current organization, product or service
- Buying a new business, product or service
- Turning around a declining business
The Strategic Plan provides a blueprint, describing your company, its products, the competitive environment, management team, financial health, and business risks.
The plan allows you to...
- Identify and describe the target customer profile, features, advantages and benefits of your new venture, product or service.
- Justify that your plans are credible by fully researching the need being filled with your new venture.
- Develop marketing plans including full descriptions of targeted promotional campaigns with implementation timelines. You also get to examine market conditions, the nature of your customers, as well as your competitors, sales potential, and projected results of your promotional campaigns.
- Develop staffing plans including identifying the key players, skills, attitudes and expertise needed to build the venture.
- Develop management plans including full descriptions of management systems and timelines for implementation.
- Develop financial plans including projected startup costs, operating costs, revenue, profits, and break-even analysis for the first 3 to 5 years.
- Projected financial plans allow you to effectively predict upcoming problems, or prevent them. In other words, the perspective gained through your Strategic Business Plan can make a significant contribution to your company's success, and help you get the funding you require. In fact, most lending institutions and private investors will not even talk to you without a solid financial plan.
- Identify building and equipment needs including vendors and cost estimates.
- Formulate company milestones including timelines for upcoming products and services in development.
Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Let us help you develop a powerful Strategic Business Plan that drives your business to the level of success you deserve.
Request a Free Consultation HERE.
If you own a family business, retirement isn't simply a matter of deciding not to go into the office anymore. You've got some critical questions to answer like...
"What happens to the business when you're no longer running it?" and
"Will you have enough money to retire?"
The family dynamic complicates the whole transition because of the relationships and emotions involved. Most people are not comfortable discussing topics such as aging, death, and financial affairs.
Comfortable or not, succession planning should be a priority for any family business considering that more than seven out of ten family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation, typically falling prey either to estate taxes or family discord - or both.
Developing and implementing a well-designed succession plan is essential to the survival of a family business from one generation to the next.
We help you with these key issues -
- Keeping it in the family. Are you going to pass the business on to your family or sell it to a third party? We help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options.
- Who's going to run the business when you're gone? Management and ownership are not one and the same. You may decide to transfer management of your business to just one of your children but transfer equal shares of business ownership to all your children, whether they're actively involved in the business or not.
- Minimizing the tax bite. The tax burden when transitioning a family business can be significant. The challenge is that a family business is not generally a liquid asset, but taxes are typically due when ownership is transferred.
- Making it fair. Transferring family ownership often adds a tremendous amount of stress to individual family members. We talk with each of the family members to ensure that they feel they a getting an equitable and fair share of the pie.
What we do for you...
Once we understand how you feel about the key issues above, we begin constructing your succession plan focusing on these 5 issues...
- Business Valuation
- Business Restructuring
- Tax Consequences
- Retirement Projections
- Tax Projections
Let us help you pass on what's taken a lifetime to build, CLICK HERE to request a Free Consultation.
Thinking of owning your own business?
Opening your own business is exciting and thrilling. It's everything that comes after the excitement and thrill has worn off that dictates whether a small business will make it or not. It's up to you to maintain and stretch out the "thrill and excitement" period forever.
A methodical plan of action is needed to fulfill your dream or goal of being your own boss and running a successful business. Success lies in the approach you choose to take. We help you avoid the common pitfalls that many new small business owners make when starting their new venture.
We help you...
- Prepare an initial business plan to clarify your marketing, management, and financial plans.
- Determine your start-up capital needs.
- Identify sources of start-up capital and backup sources if needed.
- Evaluate and quantify your borrowing power so you know how much money you can get your hands on if needed.
- Select a business structure that best fits your needs by evaluating tax advantages, legal exposure, ease of operation and portability should you need to relocate.
- Select the right accounting software by evaluating your budget, needs and hardware.
- Prepare a Cash Flow Budget so you know exactly how much money you need to keep the business alive each month for the first few years. Unplanned cash requirements are always emotionally painful.
- Establish billing and collection procedures to maximize your cash flow.
- Establish procedures to monitor and control costs.
- Setup a home office so you can maximize your tax deductions.
- Prepare and file all required state and local licenses and permits.
- Prepare and file your application for your Federal Employer Identification Number.
- Provide payroll and payroll tax filing when you bring on your first employee.
- Comply with employment laws so you don't get hit with fines and unhappy employees.
- Identify your business insurance needs.
- Develop a solid Partnership Agreement. This is an extremely important document for all new partnerships and will help prevent a tremendous amount of financial and emotional problems down the road.
Let us help you succeed by getting your new business off to a good strong start. CLICK HERE to for a FREE consultation regarding our New Business Formation Services.
We can help you setup and maintain your non-profit organization's tax-exempt status by handling all the IRS reporting for you.
Each year the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to submit the Form 990 and its relations, which includes the following items.
Income Statement with very specific revenue and expense categories like donations, salaries, postage, rent...
Balance Sheet with specific categories like cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable...
Functional Expense Statement with all the expenses allocated to either program services, fundraising, or operations.
Individual Program Expense Statement that reports all of the expenses for each program or service like seminar programs or educational mailings.
Revenue Support Schedules that detail the organization's sources of income in specific categories like charitable donations, membership fees, investment income.
The IRS uses these very specific revenue and expense classifications to determine if your organization will retain its tax-exempt status. So it's imperative that you build your accounting system around these revenue and expense classifications.
Here's what we do for you...
- Review and compile your financial statements
- Design, install, and maintain your Accounting System
- Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payroll preparation
- Payroll Tax Preparation and Deposits
- Provide training for your accounting personnel
- Complete and file your non-profit status application
- Provide training for your board on non-profit financial statement usage and effective budgeting practices
- Prepare and file the 990 and 990T tax forms
- Prepare your initial start-up documentation, including incorporation, federal employee identification number (FEIN), and payroll setup with federal and state agencies.
Churches: We prepare the pastoral housing allowance and other required benefit documentation to meet the complex dual status of ministers.
If you're starting a new not-for-profit organization we can help you prepare your organization's 501 (c)(3) application for tax-exempt status.
Here's what's needed...
- Articles of Incorporation containing the Exempt Purpose Statement as described in IRS Code section 501(c)(3) and defined in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph d and the Dissolution Statement described in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph b subparagraph 4 ("Organizational Test").
- Employer Identification Number
- By-laws of the Organization
- Minutes of Board Meetings
- Names, Addresses, and Resumes of Board Members
- Names and addresses of all Active Members
- Inventory of Assets like cash, furniture, equipment, property, pledges...
- Inventory of Liabilities like mortgages, accounts payable, loans...
- Rent/Lease Agreements and Contracts
- Revenue and Expense Statements for the last four years or as far back as possible if your organization has been in existence for less than four years.
- Written Reason for Formation and History of the organization.
- Organization Mission Statement or Statement of Faith or Beliefs for Churches and other Religious Organizations.
- Organization Activities, Operations and Programs Documentation including your statement of purpose & operations, food programs, fundraisers, flyers/brochures/pamphlets...
- Financial Support Documentation including all sources of revenue like contributions, tithes, offerings, fundraisers...
- Fund Raising Program Descriptions
- IRS Processing/Filing Fee
We are happy to prepare any of these items if you need help.
Let us help you setup and/or maintain your non-profit tax-exempt status by CLICKING HERE to request a Free Consultation.
At times you may need a trained outside professional to evaluate your company's operations to determine if the appropriate controls are in place to ensure proper handling of resources and to protect yourself from employee theft.
We assess your internal control systems to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of your operating procedures. Then we make recommendations that help your company become stronger and more profitable by correcting any inefficient or ineffective operating procedures we find.
What we do for you...
- Implement segregation of duties so that duties are divided, or segregated, among different people to reduce risk of error or inappropriate actions. No one person has control over all aspects of any financial transaction.
- Make sure transactions are authorized by a person delegated approval authority when the transactions are consistent with policy and funds are available.
- Ensure records are routinely reviewed and reconciled, by someone other than the preparer or transactor, to determine that transactions have been properly processed.
- Make certain that equipment, inventories, cash and other property are secured physically, counted periodically, and compared with item descriptions shown on control records.
- Provide employees with appropriate training and guidance to ensure they have the knowledge necessary to carry out their job duties, are provided with an appropriate level of direction and supervision, and are aware of the proper channels for reporting suspected improprieties.
- Document policies and procedures and making them accessible to employees. The documented policies and procedures provide day-to-day guidance to your staff and continuation of duties in the event of prolonged employee absences or turnover.
- Review operations to ascertain whether results are consistent with established objectives and goals and whether the operations are being carried out as planned.
If you'd like more information about our internal control services please CLICK HERE to setup a Free Consultation.
Oh, no....what's that you just got in the mail? A notice from the IRS that your business is going to get a visit from Uncle Sam's tax agents for an audit? Fear not. We take IRS tax audits from nail-biting drama and turn them into a smooth financial symphony. Our client services are the guardians of your fiscal peace of mind, ensuring that facing an audit is more like a structured chess match than a chaotic game of chance.
Picture this: your financial records are the protagonists, and the IRS auditor is the meticulous detective. Our team steps in as the strategic scriptwriters, guiding your numbers through a well-crafted narrative that meets the IRS's scrutiny with grace.
We offer comprehensive document analysis, meticulous record-keeping assistance, and strategic audit preparation, transforming your financial data into a harmonious composition that resonates with IRS standards.
Facing an IRS audit alone is like navigating a labyrinth without a map. With our dedicated client services, consider us your financial GPS, leading you through the complex audit maze with precision. Our experienced professionals translate tax codes into clear language, offering guidance that feels more like a consultative conversation than a legal lecture.
If you have received notice of a tax audit for your business, CLICK HERE, or better yet, CALL US. Let's take the fear out of the process and turn your audit into just another day at the office.
Interested in joining the Watson Mowry, PC team? Click the button below to visit our Careers website.
Williamsburg, VA 23188
