Precision Corporate Services

Now May Be the Best Time to Incorporate

PCS — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:33:23 +0000

If you incorporate or form an LLC in the New Year, you can make a clean break for taxes!

There are many more benefits to structuring your business – let’s cover some of them:

You can deduct losses for as long as you have them.

As a sole proprietor, you can only turn a loss for so long. Three years in a row, to be exact: you can lose the ability to deduct certain losses on your taxes if you fail to show a profit during three of the last five tax years.

A formal entity give you more tax flexibility.

You can potentially be eligible for over 300 plus different tax deductions.

A legal business entity lets you keep the business going.

A sole proprietorship or partnership terminates when an owner retires or stops working, but a corporation or an LLC keeps going.

A legal business can limit your liability.

A legal business entity can protect your personal assets against liability for business debts.

A formal business entity can make you look more “legitimate.”

Even though this is not a legal reason, many entrepreneurs find that a formal legal business entity gives credibility to a business.

Visit our support community to view the difference between the different types of entities.

To request a free consultation call us toll free at 1-888-656-1293 – Our Small Business Advisers are standing by.

Precision Corporate Services is a leading Tax and Accounting Firm providing Tax Services in all 50 states. Our firm specializes in new and existing business: Entity Formations, Tax Planning, Bookkeeping, Personal & Business Tax Preparation, Business Owner Training, Business Credit Establishment and Consulting. We also specialize in working with: Home Based Business Owners, Internet Based Businesses, Brick and Mortar Businesses, Real Estate, Stock and Forex Investors establish their Accounting and Asset Protection. If you need a Tax Professional to ensure you are keeping more of what you earn through IRS compliance, request a free 30 minute tax consultation 1-888-656-1293

Business Credit 101

PCS — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:35:57 +0000

1. Set Up a Business Entity

There’s no such thing as a business loan or business credit for a sole proprietor — that’s a personal loan. In order to receive a business loan or investment, you must separate the business from its personal owners by setting up a legal business entity — a corporation or LLC, for example. Your CPA can advise you on the best legal structure for your particular situation, as your choice in entity can have some pretty significant tax implications.

2. Get a Tax ID Number (EIN)

Every business must have a tax ID number, just like each individual has a social security number. The Tax ID number (or EIN) is a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to business entities operating in the U.S. You’ll use this number to open your business bank account and build your business credit profile. Apply for your business’ EIN online through the IRS site — and don’t worry, the process is fast and simple.

3. Establish a Business Bank Account

Your business needs at least one bank reference. Ideally, if you need to apply for a loan, your bank account will be at least two years old (of course, there’s not much you can do to change this situation other than apply for a business bank account as early as possible). More important than your account’s lifespan, your business bank account should show a cash flow capable of taking on a business debt. Of course, the optimum average daily balance of your account will depend on your type of business and the amount of financing you’ll be seeking.

4. Get Listed with the Business Credit Bureaus

Dun & Bradstreet is one of the main business credit bureaus and runs its own business credit score. D&B gives businesses a separate credit file number (known as a D&B or DUNS number) that rates your credit profile. Go to their site to find out if your business is already listed and has a score. You can also begin the process by applying for a free DUNS number once you’ve established your business entity and have your EIN. The number is how lenders will determine your business’ credit worthiness (most business credit card and lending companies will ask for your D&B number during the application process).

5. Establish Business Credit History

Check if your trade vendors are reporting your payment history to one of the major reporting companies, like D&B. Just like with your personal credit score, the more vendors that report a good payment history, the better your business credit will be. It’s common that small trade vendors won’t report your payment history to D&B. In this case, you should compile a trade reference sheet with at least three references (include their name, contact information and credit limits) to augment your official business credit report. In addition, you should open a business credit card (in the name of the business) and use it wisely — meaning keep your balance low and always pay on time.

6. Maintain a Good Personal Credit Rating

When you’re a relatively new or small company, creditors are going to be looking at the personal credit of the person who owns the business (or any shareholders with more than 20% ownership of the company). In today’s lending environment, you should expect to be asked to sign a personal guarantee on any kind of loan or credit of the business. This isn’t always mandatory, but it has recently become common practice in the lending industry. As a result, anyone with a 20% or higher share in the company should keep a close eye on his own credit rating.

The most important thing to remember is that you can’t build business credit overnight. Business owners should think about their business credit from day one. Even if you’re self-funded now, you never know what challenges or growth opportunities will develop down the road. Having access to credit can only help you adapt to changing conditions and position yourself for success.

Contact us today and request a free consultation with one of our Business Credit Advisers, let us show you how to get on the right path. 1-888-656-1293

Tips For A Successful Facebook Campaign

PCS — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:21:06 +0000

Creating Facebook campaigns can be very effective business marketing.

Provoque blogger Kamila Hankiewicz came up with a list of tips for launching Facebook campaigns. She’s also the founder of Evoque, a web-based collaboration platform for PR and media members. Check it out.

Here’s how to make your Facebook page more appealing and visible to your audience:

1. Thursday is the best day of the week to get the most visibility for a Facebook post.

2. Release major stories in the early morning. If you post them between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, you risk your content getting unnoticed due to news feeds and other traffic.

3. When sharing stories, always include the full link; it’s 300 percent more likely to get clicked on than a shortened address.

4. Use both the like and send Facebook (and other social) buttons on your site.

5. The secret behind making it into your friends’ “top news” feed is based on an algorithm known as Edge Rank. Use words like “today,” “exclusive” and “limited-time only” to increase your Edge Rank.

6. According to a study from Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, Facebook is among the leading drivers of traffic to 21 news websites. When sharing a good media story, don’t forget to plug it on the leading social network.

7. Want to know which words are most “shareable” on Facebook? Try “best,” “most,” and those that explain, such as “why” and “how.”

8. Facebook may be a better platform for making a video go viral than other platform, probably because the site makes it easy to embed multimedia content into a post.

9. When posting a note, tag it. This will put your message on each of your tagged friends’ walls. However, you can only tag 30 people at a time, so limit your tagging to only those people who are interested in your announcement or they may view it as a spam.

10. If you post multiple notes, make sure to delete all posts but one from the news feed or you will look like a spammer when people see 15 identical notes on their wall. Alternatively, you can turn off your wall’s automatic feed.

11. Share a link (of high value) on your wall and ask your friends to share and like it. It’s simple but effective.

12. Encouraging interaction with your posts-likes and comments-will make them more visible in other people’s news feeds. That’s how Facebook’s EdgeRank (and Domino effect) algorithm works.

13. Facebook marketers suggest this idea: Keep AIDA in mind when posting to Facebook. That stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Your job is to stimulate desire and spark action, whether it’s increasing sells or engaging with your brand through contests, events, questions or content.

14. Engage followers in one-on-one conversation, create compelling contests, encourage check-ins and post cool status updates. All of these efforts will help boost your Facebook interactions.

7 Steps to Internet Success

PCS — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:38:28 +0000

Step One: Plan, Set Goals, Don’t Rush

Before you worry about incorporation documents, logos or website layout, take time to plan and dream. There are millions of products that can be sold online, but don’t try to sell all of them. Look at your interests. If you love baseball, is there a niche market related to America’s pastime that you could address? If you’re a designer, can you find a special focus? Have you always wanted to sell antiques online?

Once you have identified the market you want to focus on, set some real goals. Will your ecommerce business be your primary source of income or a part time effort? How much money will you need to generate? And how long can you wait for your business to ramp up? How much can you invest?

Step Two: Create a Business Plan

Whether you doodle it on a series of cocktail napkins, write it out on legal pads, or use the most cutting edge business planning software, it is vital to create a serious business plan. A business plan helps you (1) vet your business’ viability, (2) consider your market, (3) communicate your business to investors, vendors, and employees, and (4) create a road map for managing your business once it is running.

Step Three: Choose a Legal Structure

Should your ecommerce business be a corporation, a partnership, a LLC, or a sole proprietorship? Each of these legal entities has advantages and disadvantages that may impact your success. For example, operating a sole proprietorship will make your taxes a lot easier, whereas incorporating can protect your personal assets. Contact a professional for help choosing the right legal structure for your business. Be sure to follow through with all of the proper legal documents, including getting your state’s tax certification.

Step Four: Locate Suppliers

At heart, most ecommerce retailers are resellers. While some businesses operate as both manufacturer and retailer, most online stores purchase items wholesale and resell those items.

Finding the right suppliers can greatly assist your business. So look carefully and check for industry associations. Don’t forget that your suppliers are experiencing a recession, too. International entrepreneur Brad Sugars wrote in his excellent article, Top 10 Reasons to Start a Business in a Recession, “Because the credit markets have virtually shut down, the B2B [business to business] credit flows are keeping money circulating out of sheer necessity. That means a bullish outlook for companies looking for good terms on stock and/or inventories. The main advantage is that all parties have more incentive than ever for finding true win-win situations that allow for cash and stock flow. When everyone is looking to survive, great deals can be had.”

Step Five: Hire Experts

An ecommerce entrepreneur does not have to be a graphic artist, a search engine swami, a wordsmith, or a coding guru. In a recession, designers, writers, and developers—many of whom are self employed—can be hired at favorable rates.

You can place free ads on sites like FreelanceSwitch and craigslist. Browse freelance marketplaces like Guru.com, or seek recommendations from friends and associates.

Although professional freelance services are available at bargain prices in a recession, they are not free. Expect to pay $40 to $100 per hour depending on experience and the size of the project. A professional will provide you with a statement of work and a project schedule.

Finally, watch for developers that are also affiliates for particular software vendors. For example, some coders get paid by shopping cart makers to sell you a particular shopping cart. It may be that the recommended cart is the right choice for your store, but just be aware of possible affiliations.

Step Six: Market Your Store

Once your inventory is in place and your ecommerce site is operating, you will need marketing. Good online marketing could include the search engine optimization you established as your site was being developed; a pay-per-click advertising campaign with Google, Yahoo!, and MSN; and any number of other tactics. This might be another opportunity to hire a consultant or expert and actually save you money and time in the long run.

Whatever marketing you do, measure it. Find out what is working and what is nibbling away at your bottom line.

Step Seven: Provide Amazing Customer Service

Providing amazing customer service is not technically a step in starting a business, but it is vital if you want your business to succeed. Be quick to provide great customer service to help your business flourish.

PCS’s Favorite Mobile Applications for Small Business Owners

PCS — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:58:38 +0000

Mobile application downloads are estimated to reach around 50 billion across handsets worldwide in 2012. Pretty soon, mobile apps could be as common of a practice as using the internet. As a business owner, you need to make sure you are keeping up with the times so that other organizations do not advance on ahead of you. It is important to familiarize yourself with those applications that could prove to be pragmatic for you. Chances are, being an entrepreneur, that you are consistently on-the-go and have a rather hectic schedule. With mobile applications, you can get more done efficiently and in less time. Here are PCS’s favorite mobile applications for small business owners.

1) WebEx android/ipad/iphone/blackberry

Online meetings are a common practice within the work place. But, as we all know, life happens. What if something comes up and you cannot be by your desk? What if you literally need to be two places at once? This application allows you to host and attend meetings right from your cell phone, so you can be anywhere, and still attend your meeting on time. The app allows you to view presentations, applications, desktops, and much more.

Download Now!

2) Hootsuite android/ipad/iphone/blackberry/keitai

Any social media savvy individual knows you need to be constantly updating and monitoring your social content and feedback. Hootsuite provides great management of all your social media accounts on-the-go. This app allows you to pre-schedule tweets and Facebook updates check in on Foursquare, track statistics, share photos, save searches, and much more.

Download Now!

3) Iteleport iphone/ipad

Literally “teleport” right to your computer, from anywhere you may be, just as long as you have your cell phone! Have you ever needed that important file or document but you forgot to email it to yourself or print it out? Of course you have, we all have. That’s what makes this application so useful. It lets you actually access another computer remotely. You can read, copy, paste, and edit, all right from your cell phone! You never need to worry about forgetting a file anymore.

Download Now!

4) Dropbox android/ipad/iphone/blackberry

“Your files everywhere you are” as the brand motto says. Dropbox is a mobile cloud computing device where you can store documents, presentations, stream audio and visual clips, and much more. Also, the application will automatically sync the files to your computer so no effort on your part is needed!

Download Now!

5) Easy Task Manager iphone/ipad

Get yourself organized and make sure those seemingly never-ending “To Do Lists” get done! Easy Task Manager allows you to keep track of all that you must accomplish, in a simple, easy to navigate interface. You can track by name, dates, priority, as well as many other options.

Download Now!

6) Tungle.me blackberry

Syncs your calendar with a public version where you can invite partners or clients to meetings and allow them to book appointments at pre-approved times, and it automatically adjusted the times for different time zones. Tungle.me is a breakthrough tool to schedule across organizations, calendar systems, and time zones. Other features include sorting your replies, allowing reply to meeting invitations received, and prevention of double bookings.

Download Now!

9) BusinessWeek Mobile Application iphone/blackberry

Not only does this application keep you up to date on global business news, but it also allows you to create a “watch list” of companies of your choice. You can track important issues, stock prices, and news for your selected companies. The application also allows for dashboard customization ensuring the news of your preference reaches you, and allows you to share news of interest via email and social media.

Download Now!

For all your small business needs, call PCS 1-888-656-1293

Quick Business Tip – Understanding Website Bounce Rates

PCS — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:08:25 +0000

If you are running an internet based business there is one thing you need to grasp to better understand what makes your website profitable and that is website analytics.

Do you have a Google analytics account? If so, are you confused after you have analyzed the statistics for your website, not really sure what you should pay attention to, or how to take the information and make smart changes to your site?

One of the first indicators to understand is your bounce rate. In simple terms a websites bounce rate calculates the amount of people who come to the website the first time, and who leave without clicking further into the site.

To help you decrease your website bounce rate follow these three tips…

1. Add videos and engaging elements to your site

Visitors will stay longer on your site if there is content there that keeps them engaged. Leveraging the use of movies and interactive calculators and measurement tools is one way you can keep visitors within your site longer, making them click through to other pages.

2. Make finding the best content with in your site easy

If you set up your content in a manner that fosters a fluid path through each page, it is almost guaranteed that your bounce rate will go down. One key way to structure your site to decrease your bounce rate is to look at the key pages on your site that are getting the most traffic and ask yourself the question, “What do I want the visitor to do next?” If there is no clear cut answer to that, add something on the page that will enhance the visitor experience.

3. De-clutter pages, and create less options for people to click

When your page is cluttered with too much stuff, it can be somewhat overwhelming to your visitor, and make them want to leave quickly. One way to clear the clutter of your site is to step back and look at your site as if you were a first time visitor.

Ask yourself the question “As a first time visitor, do I want to explore this site further, or get out of here quickly?” If you can’t be honest with yourself, ask someone who is in your market what they think. The feedback you get will be priceless, and will help you integrate elements that will effectively help you decrease your bounce rate.

The bounce rate is only one specific piece of data to pay attention to amid what google analytics collects each and every day for you.

IRS Marks Small Business Week by Showcasing Tools, Resources; Spotlights Tax Benefits Available in 2011

PCS — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:31:33 +0000

IR-2011-54, May 17, 2011

WASHINGTON ― During Small Business Week, May 16-20, the Internal Revenue Service encourages those who are self-employed or own a small business to take advantage of certain tax benefits and learn about IRS resources that can help them meet their federal tax obligations.

“When you’re running a business, you don’t need to be a tax expert, too. But you do need some basics to stay tax compliant so your business can thrive,” said Faris Fink, IRS Commissioner for the Small Business and Self-Employed Division. “There are many tax credits and deductions currently available. So now is a good time to learn about the tools and services the IRS offers.”

The Small Business Tax Center (www.irs.gov/smallbiz) has links to some of the most useful tools the IRS offers, including the Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop, a downloadable tax calendar, common forms and their instructions and help on everything from how to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online to how to engage with the IRS in the event of an audit.

The IRS is offering a free, 30-minute webinar called “Small Business Advantage” to show small business owners what’s available to them. The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 at 2 p.m. ET. To register and watch, visit IRS.gov and type “webinars” into the search box.

Health Care Tax Credit, Accelerated Write-Offs

The IRS today also urged small businesses to take advantage of tax-saving opportunities available when they file their 2011 returns. Two key provisions that business owners should consider are the small business health care tax credit and faster write-offs on certain capital expenditures.

The small business health care tax credit aims to help small employers provide health insurance coverage to their employees. It is specifically intended for those who employ low- and moderate-income workers. The credit is designed to encourage both small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. More information about the credit is available on the Affordable Care Act page on IRS.gov.

Many small businesses that invest in new property and equipment can deduct most or all of these purchases on their 2011 returns. Normally, businesses recover capital investments through annual depreciation deductions spread over several years. But many small businesses can get these deductions sooner during 2011. Claim these tax benefits on Form 4562. Special rules and limitations apply. Details can be found in the instructions to Form 4562, Publication 946 and Revenue Procedure 2011-26

5 Signs You May be Overpaying Your Taxes

PCS — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:32:24 +0000

Now that tax time is over, do you know where your CPA is?

For a lot of tax professionals, May is the month when things slow down in the office. For us, however, the opposite is true. In fact, we are just as busy in May as we have been in the past few months during peak tax time! It is scary to think that the average American loses more money to taxes each year than on food, clothing, and shelter. Now is the best time to request a Free Tax Audit to see exactly how we can help you save!

So how exactly do you know if you are overpaying in taxes?

To gauge your risk level of lost tax dollars, here are 8 signs to help you measure your risk potential:

Recordkeeping:
Bad Sign: You do not have good bookkeeping systems in place: Ever heard of the saying “What gets measured gets managed”? Having accurate and timely financial information not only helps you to manage and grow your business, but it is also the foundation for an effective tax savings plan as well. Plus, if you are not keeping track of your monthly expenses, you can easily lose out on some legitimate tax deductions!
Knowledge
Bad Sign: You have to explain your business operations to your tax preparer year after year. Not all tax advisors are created equal. Taxes are a very specialized area and there are specific strategies for specific business industries. For example, there are special tax saving opportunities for people in the real estate business. There are also special tax strategies for those in the manufacturing industry. The strategies that work for those in the services industry may not benefit those who are in the retail industry.

Make sure your tax advisor is well versed in the tax saving opportunities in your industry.
Compensation
Bad Sign: You don’t have a plan on how to tax efficiently take money out of your business. There are tons of different ways to take profits out of your business and each of them has their pros and cons. For example, if you are a C Corporation, you may save thousands of dollars in taxes by paying yourself a higher salary every year.

If you are an S Corporation, the opposite may be true where you can save thousands to tens of thousands of dollars by paying yourself the least amount of salary possible.

There are also some great ways for you to extract profits out of your business completely “Tax Free”. If you don’t have a plan in place to know “how” to extract your company profits tax efficiently, you may be over-paying your taxes.
Personal and Business Deductions:
Bad Sign: Not knowing what items you can legally shift from your personal bucket into legitimate business deductions.

In this day and age, it has become harder and harder for us to distinguish between personal vs. business items. How many of us use our personal cell phone for business? How about our cars? iPads? Laptops?

All these personal items that you use day in and day out for your business may be legitimate tax deductions. If you don’t know how to shift personal items into business deductions, you may be overpaying your taxes!
Custom Tax Plan:
Bad Sign: Not having a custom tax plan in place to ensure you and your business profits are protected from Uncle Sam. Incorporating all of the items we discussed above, the question you should be asking yourself is “What is my tax plan?”

If you don’t know it, if you can’t verbalize it, then you probably don’t have one. Not having an overall plan on “how” you will save taxes for your business and you personally is the most common mistake costing taxpayers to overpay taxes year after year.

If you have answered No to one or more of the above, then you may be part of the thousands of business owners who are overpaying on your taxes.

Make the necessary changes now to ensure you are working with a company that has your best interest in mind.

Tax records: Save them or shred them?

PCS — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:29:44 +0000

Tax day is over. Now it’s time to find the top of your desk. It’s not necessary to hang on to everything. In fact, keeping too many documents could make it difficult to find what you really need. Here’s a look at what you should save and what you can shred:

Tax returns. Save your tax returns and supporting documents for at least three years. The IRS has up to six years to audit you if you under-report your income by 25% or more. There is no statute of limitations on audits of fraudulent returns.

Keep W-2s, 1099s, acknowledgments from charities and other supporting documents for as long as you keep your tax returns.

Real estate records. Hold on to your closing statements, purchase and sales invoices, proof of payment and insurance records for at least four years after you sell the property. You should also keep records of any major improvements made to your home, such as an addition or a new roof. When you sell, you can add the cost of these improvements to the amount you paid for your home, which will reduce taxes on capital gains.

Most homeowners don’t have to worry about paying taxes on the sale of their homes. For singles, up to $250,000 in profit on the sale of a primary home is excluded from taxes; married couples can pocket up to $500,000 tax-free.

Investments. As is the case with real estate, you should hold on to documents that show the purchase price of your stocks and mutual funds until three years after you sell. You should also keep records of dividends, reinvested dividends, loads and stock splits.

Financial institutions will be required to track the basis for stocks held by their customers starting this year, mutual funds in 2012, and bonds in 2013. They’ll also report this info to the IRS.

Bank and credit card statements. Keep credit card receipts and canceled checks that support your tax deductions on your tax return for as long as you keep the return.

The IRS allows electronic storage systems as long as they provide an accurate and accessible record of the data.

For more info about IRS record-keeping rules, see Publication 552, available at www.irs.gov.

Request a free tax consultation 1-888-656-1293 Mon- Fri 9 am – 6 pm

Five Bookkeeping Tips for Business Owners

PCS — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:29:11 +0000

When you don’t have a system and some processes in place, unpleasant surprises can pop up, goals can be easily missed and important paperwork forgotten. Getting a better handle on your money can help you to make and keep long-term goals, smooth out the seasonal ups and downs of your cash flow and maybe improve your profits. It can also help you to stay out of trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.

Here are five bookkeeping tips for entrepreneurs.

1. Plan for major expenses.

Why it’s helpful: You’re less likely to miss business opportunities or have to scramble for a loan when the expenses become unavoidable.

What to do: Put events like a major computer upgrade on the calendar a year in advance or, ideally, three to five years ahead. Acknowledge the seasonal ups and downs, something many entrepreneurs are reluctant to do.

You’ll avoid taking money out of the company during the flush periods only to find yourself short in the slower months, when costly projects like upgrading computers or replacing factory components usually happen.

2. Track expenses.

Why it’s helpful: You otherwise might some miss tax write-offs and may lose out on others.

What to do: A credit card that you use solely for business can be a basic accounting system.

Most card statements categorize expenses, so you can see which outlays relate to which business activities. If you always use your business credit card for business expenses, you’re less likely to pay cash at, say, Staples and lose the receipts, forfeiting tax-time write-offs. Pens and printer paper can add up.

3. Record deposits correctly.

Why it’s helpful: You may be less likely to pay taxes on money that isn’t income.

What to do: Adopt a system for keeping your financial activities straight, whether it’s a notebook you use consistently, an Excel spreadsheet or software such as Quickbooks. Business owners typically make a variety of deposits into their bank account through the year, including loans, revenue from sales and cash infusions from their personal savings. The trouble, Mari says, is that at the end of the year, you or your bookkeeper might erroneously record some deposits as income, and consequently pay taxes on more money than you’ve actually made.

4. Set aside money for paying taxes.

Why it’s helpful: The IRS can levy penalties and interest for not filing quarterly tax returns on time.

What to do: Systematically put a portion of money aside throughout the year for taxes. Then note tax deadlines on your calendar, along with prep time if you need it, to make sure you actually make payments when they’re due.

Payroll taxes that go unpaid can be especially problematic.

5. Keep a close eye on your invoices.

Why it’s helpful: Late and unpaid bills hurt your cash flow.

What to do: Assign someone in your organizations to track your billing. Then put a process in place for issuing a second invoice, making a phone call and perhaps levying penalties such as extra fees at certain deadlines.

If keeping up with your books seems to be an overwhelming thought not to worry Precision Corporate Services offers a full service monthly bookkeeping service. Our focus is to allow you the business owner to do what you know best and that is on running your business. We can take care of the rest. To request a free tax consultation call 1-888-656-1293 between 9am – 6pm MST Mon – Fri.