After the Fiscal Cliff

by Phoebe Frankeberger-Vausher, CPA, MST

When President Barack Obama signs the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, passed by Congress Jan. 1, it will bring an end to the “fiscal cliff” tax negotiations in Washington. The bill makes significant changes to individual taxation and estate and gift taxes and extends some business tax provisions. Highlights of the new law include the following:  

Individual Income Tax Changes for 2013

• The highest rate will increase from 35 percent to 39.6 percent on income in excess of $450,000 for married taxpayers ($400,000 for individuals). The rates for all other individual taxpayers will remain unchanged and have been made permanent.
• The rate on capital gains and qualified dividends will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent for individuals subject to the 39.6 percent tax rates.
• Phase‐outs of personal exemptions and itemized deductions will apply to married individuals with adjusted gross income in excess of $300,000 ($250,000 for individuals).
• The election to deduct state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes expired after the 2011 tax year. The legislation makes the election available for the 2012 and 2013 tax years. This is a significant item for taxpayers residing in states such as Florida, Tennessee, and Texas, which do not impose individual income taxes.
• The bill provides a permanent increase in the alternative minimum tax exemption. This change applies retroactively to the 2012 tax year. 
• The 2 percent payroll tax cut expired on Dec. 31, 2012, and was not renewed.

Business Tax Provisions

• The research credit expired on Dec. 31, 2011. The bill extends the credit from Jan. 1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2013. The extension also modifies certain computational elements of the credit calculation.

• The $500,000 limitation on Section 179 expense expired after the 2011 tax year. The $500,000 threshold is retained retroactively for the 2012 tax year and extended to the 2013 tax year.
• A bonus depreciation of 50 percent is retained through 2013. The bill also retains favorable depreciation methods for qualifying leasehold improvements, retail improvements, and restaurant buildings.
• The new markets tax credit expired on Dec. 31, 2011. The bill extends the credit from Jan. 1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2013.
• The work opportunity tax credit expired on Dec. 31, 2011. The bill extends the credit from Jan. 1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2013.

Estate and Gift Tax Provisions

The maximum estate and gift tax rate will rise from 35 percent to 40 percent. The lifetime exclusion will remain at its current level ($5.12 million for 2013) and be indexed annually for inflation.

Please call Phoebe Vausher‐Frankeberger, CPA MST and NAWBO‐IE Treasurer, if you have any questions or concerns regarding the new Tax Laws.

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Phoebe Vausher-Frankeberger has a Masters in Taxation and has over thirty years of accounting and tax experience. She has diversified business experience including retail, manufacturing, dealerships, cost segregation, restaurants and various medical & service organizations.  Frankeberger Vausher + Company is a Certified Public Accounting firm which specializes in Tax, Forensics, Valuation, and Litigation Support.

3 Steps to Get Control of Your Bookkeeping

LaVonne Shields, President, Bookkeeping on Steroids

It’s around this time of year that most business owners realize that they haven’t reconciled their bank statements in months and that there are statements, receipts and other financial records piled on their desks or stuffed in drawers.  It’s an overwhelming feeling.  You promised last year that you would get this under control, but it just seemed like too much work! But now you wish you had taken the time to do it.

Here are 3 simple steps that will really help you get control and maintain control of your bookkeeping.

1.)    Use a computerized accounting system: Having an automated system is the key. Manually tracking your financial ins and outs is tiring and not inspiring.  It’s time-consuming and no one wants to do (even if you pay them, speaking as a professional bookkeeper).  So step #1 is to get and implement a system.
a.       QuickBooks (the recommended system) – this program is used by most small businesses; it’s simple to use and integrates with several other systems that are part of your operations.
b.      Back office system attached to CRM – a lot of online systems or industry specific software have an accounting system attached to them. They allow you to enter your expenses as well as track your sales.
c.       Excel – the oldie but goodie; many banks and other systems allow you to export your transactions into Excel (or other spreadsheet software) which allow you to sort and subtotal your information.

2.)    Organize records into 13 files: There is a place for everything.  When items roam around your desk they become mental distractions that begin to create clutter in your mind.  Below are the files you should have:
a.       12 monthly folders: You should have 1 file for each month of the year. At the end of the year those files are pulled and placed in a local or remote server along with your year-end financial statements and tax return.
b.      1 financial To Do file: You will place in this folder your current outstanding bills, and all receipts that have not been entered into your new automated system.  Once you’ve paid the bills and recorded the receipts you then place these items in their monthly folder.

3.)    Schedule the time to manage your finances: Many times that feeling of being overwhelmed comes from not knowing what is going on with your finances; you feel as though you are reacting to every financial situation by scheduling (actually calendaring) time to review your finances. You remain in front of all situations and can better plan how to manage your business. Think about it, you schedule when to follow up with prospects, when you meet with clients, and when you will attend networking events. As a result of these activities, you see the growth in your business. So it makes sense to schedule time to review your finances. You should block out 2 hours every 2 weeks, around the 1^st and the 15th. This is just enough time to make sure all your accounts are up to date and be able to respond to anything that is off. During this time make sure all your accounts are up to date and the balances are accurate and then pay your bills (based on due date and priority). Be sure to schedule any automatic payments or deposits around the same time period.

 

Are your books ready for 2013?

If your accounts haven’t been reconciled
If you haven’t seen a Profit & Loss Statement in months

Then the answer is NO! 

I can help!!

Call NOW for a FREE consultation (866)380-0745

or send an email to lavonne@bookkeepingonsteriods.com

 

Not your stereotypical bookkeeper. LaVonne Shields—the fun financial professional!
“I don’t just help you with your numbers. I help your numbers to help you build your business,”
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and more than 12 years of professional experience, LaVonne goes beyond maintaining the books. She educates clients on interpreting financial language and helps them to employ business strategies that make good business sense. As a certified QuickBooks specialist, she has mastered the software and knows its nuances and how to maximize its features. In fact, she uses QuickBooks as the basis of her Bookkeeping on Steroids service.

NAWBO-IE Corporate Sponsor MWD to Host Workshop

Business Owners,
Learn Strategies to Become More Successful in the Government Sector
November 28, 2012 at City of Upland (Carnegie Building)

NAWBO-IE Will Be an Exhibitor at IE Largest Mixer

Your Competition Loves Your Insanity

Shock, amazement and alarm. These are the three words that best describe my reaction to hearing CEOs say, "I've been in business for 15 years. We are more experienced than the new guys getting into our industry. New business has to keep coming in. They need us. I don't have to have my people tweet or link up."

 If you've found yourself over the last few nanosecond years saying or thinking the above, let's talk about scheduling your brain surgery. Your prescription is to start clearing the memories of days gone by when you were the only game in town. Your competition is loving you keep your head in the sand. They'll even bring an umbrella to make you more comfortable.

Doing business the same way in 2012 as you did five years ago - let alone in the 90's - qualifies as "insanity. Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. There's no such thing as "business as usual." People who've never had to market or sell before are being forced to do so. To keep your current business, as well as generate business today, a variety of alternatives to traditional marketing and sales efforts need to be aggressively embraced.

 

One of these approaches is using Social Media. In particular, I am talking about utilizing LinkedIn (LI). Why LinkedIn? Simply put, because business today is all about relationships. LI is the premier business networking site that exponentially helps people build and sustain relationships - locally and globally based on the six degrees of separation concept.

LI succeeds because you don't know who all the people you know . . . know. For example, at a neighborhood dinner party I was having a conversation about wanting to meet a particular individual. My wife overheard, and replied, "I know him!" I of course asked, "How do you know him?" She answered, "Because he's dating one of my friends." This simplistic example, under my own roof, if you will, suggests the power LinkedIn brings to you through second and third tier referrals and connections.

 

When you get the hang of LI's powerful search features, you are able to connect with thousands upon thousands of contacts through your contacts' networks. This shocking and amazing online tool enables you to build both your reach and your expertise in a way that turns into real business profits.

 

My mantra is "business people need to learn how to use LinkedIn." If you don't, you can be sure your competitors are. Don't be caught in the "insanity squared" trap -- that would be working harder at ignoring today's social media queues while expecting a different result.

 

 

Rick Itzkowich, “Rick I The LinkedIn Guy” is a genuine people connector. He bridges the two worlds of face-to-face networking and online networking. He understands and practices networking like few others do. As a successful entrepreneur, Rick creates turnkey products that meet today’s demand for tools to increase your business.

If Money Were Your Lover...Would You Still Be Having Sex?

If Money Were Your Lover...Would You Still Be Having Sex?

By Shameca Tankserson

When I heard that question posed by Rikka Zimmerman, I have to admit my first thought was "ooh now that's juicy"! And then I got real uncomfortable as I realized, "Oh crap!," if you put it that way, me and my money honey were sleeping in twin beds!

Truth be told, whenever my money situation needed some love and attention, my response ... "not tonight, honey, I have a headache!"

So how did that happen? Where did we go wrong? Even more important, what could I do to bring the romance, the sizzle and the spice back?

Want to heal your relationship with money? First, My Sultry Stiletto Sister, you must identify everywhere you've made money bad, scarce, evil and/or wrong. Uncover every judgment and subconscious motive you have for sending money away, because it's the false and limiting beliefs that make it impossible to turn up the heat and turn your financial situation around, not you!

So let's get in the sandbox and Play!

Pretend your money is in the room, right next to you. What are some of the ways you think and feel about money that makes it not want to stick around and procreate with you? Because, honey, that's what money is... Your luscious partner in procreation.

Take for instance the thought that money is the root of all evil. If money were your lover do you think it would want to stay if you loathed its very existence? Right... Not for long!

Do you feel like money always lets you down? And your empty purse is one big fat reminder that money is "just not that into you!"

Do you feel that your money honey needs so much attention, that it's "too high maintenance" and that you'd rather have less of it than deal with the demands of having it around?

Do you trust yourself around it? Fearing if you had it, you'd lose all self-respect and go completely wild out of control with it?

Do you feel like you don't deserve it, or that money pays way more attention to everyone else but you?

Do you get jealous of others for having more money?

Do you feel like you're a teen again with all the angst and relationship drama, but this time its with your money?

Here's a Sexy Possibility!

When I began to stay open to possibility with no judgments or conclusions limiting my receiving and having money in my life. When I became willing to pay attention to, respect, honor, and bless my money I was blown away by how quickly money and other resources showed up in my world to support the life that I truly desired.

What if you didn't judge yourself for your financial situation? What if you began to live into the question of "What else is possible?" and "What can I be, do, have, create, generate, choose or change today if my money and I were madly and passionately in love?"

Shameca Tankerson, is a Speaker, Trainer, Author, and Courageous Income Acceleration Authority. Using a proven system, she opens a candid dialogue about money that teaches her clients how to breakthrough to their next income level and expand into a cash flowing business with a new collaborative business model that is liberating, Inspiring and Powerful.  To Get your F.R.E.E. “Spark Your Cash Flow Financial Success Kit”  - Making Room For Money: 5 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Sabotage Their Cash Flow (And How To Avoid Them). Visit: http://www.MakingRoomForMoney.com

What’s Keeping You From Your Next Level of Success?
By Doreen Van Leeuwen

Last year I decided that I was tired of doing the same thing over and over with no new results. Small surprise my business wasn’t growing, huh?

I had to let go of the belief that “this is just how it is always going to be” and develop a more powerful, positive and prayerful perspective. It dawned on me – if I  believe in a power greater than myself, why am I deciding the outcome? Such a negative one, at that! This little earthquake jolted me, and helped move me into action…NEW action.

First, I hired a coach who worked specifically with people in my trade.  She understood the mindset of the marriage and family therapist, which is not typically like the one of an entrepreneur. Therapists are trained to be good listeners, and to let their patients do the talking.

I’ll tell you straight up, I did NOT like the medicine she prescribed for my business. Can you guess what it is? Start Speaking in Public.  Then, in a small voice and with my stomach in my throat, I asked, “But what am I going to say? And to whom will I say it?”

What she told me began to bring things down into a size I could manage.

“Talk about what you love to do. Tell specific success stories about where you are the solution to somebody’s dilemma.”  (Sound familiar? We learned this from Ursula Mentjes at our last meeting!)

Next, I followed her advice to research and list 20 groups, clubs, forums, or events where the people who are my target audience attend, or those who serve my target audience are present. My goal was to contact those persons in charge of program- planning, and get on the calendar.

Finally, I needed to prepare something fun to say, something so engaging and unique that it would leave my audience hungering for more. I focused  on interacting in ways that my audience would like themselves better, and at the same time would raise the “know-like-trust” factor.

And I will let you in on a little secret. While I planned, prepared and delivered, with my coach
cheering me on,  I discussed things with my Other Coach. “What if I make a fool of myself? What if I don’t think I have anything worthwhile to say? Or most terrifying of all, “What if I’m standing in front of the audience and I forget what I have to say?”

Reassurances began to surface in my mind: “Focus on those you are with and you will forget yourself.”  “Prepare well ahead of time; trust yourself in the moment.”  “If you stumble, breathe, and then go on.”  “You are a manifestation of love. Go and share the love I’ve packaged into you.”

Business is very good. I have a steady stream of referrals. Patients stick around for more sessions than ever before.  Are the challenges of constant change ever daunting for this business owner? You bet!  But I am doing what I love, where I love doing it. And that is really the point of it all, isn’t it?



Doreen began her current business, A Better Way Center for Wellness in January 2000 (A Better Way Counseling at the time). Located conveniently near the 91 and 15 fwys, her office is a welcome, secure haven for anyone that needs some emotional T.L.C. As a licensed marriage and family therapist for 30 years, Doreen knows how to apply the healing salve of T.herapeutic L.istening, and also offers C.hange-producing recommendations that move you rapidly to better health and happiness.

Doreen can be reached at 951-847-7742      www.abetterwaycounseling.com