taxdetective-Sandusky-Register

There's a lot to learning to use any software.  There's the look and feel, the special tips and tricks. There's the best practices to stay out of a mess.

A couple of years ago, I spent four months writing, and then two weeks delivering a ten part series on how best to keep records, and yes, it's using QuickBooks (but really, it should be any software) because in this series, I incorporated the best ways to keep records for business paperwork. Except that anyone who uses other software isn't willing to spent the time on it, because all they see is ...blah, blah, blah QuickBooks. That's sad, but it's true... maybe this winter, I'll have to create something that is software neutral on the business paperwork angle.

This is a little 'flipsnack' I created with the content descriptions for each of the ten sessions.

http://www.flipsnack.com/TaxDetective/

Then, after IPBC (www.ipbc.ca) which now has 1,100 members... and I recorded these ten sessions in March 2011, I went on to record another five hours just on working papers in March 2012, and other answers to questions posed by the live participants who attended those two series.

In October 2012, we realized how expensive all these individual pieces had become, so to make it affordable for bookkeepers, we decided to bundle 44 products, and call it a training bundle. Bookkeepers purchased the bundle (members at half price) and sent me emails telling me they were watching the videos three times with the sample data file open so they could play while they learned. They would set up a laptop with the recordings to listen while they worked on their desktop with QuickBooks open.  Pretty effective way to learn something, by doing as you listen. Stopping, starting, pausing, rewinding to hear it again...

Business owners would call and I'd say, well you could spent thousands on training one on one with me, or you could buy my training bundle for $290.00. You choose.  Sometimes they would choose to spent several thousand, and then at $125/hour, eventually, they'd get it, and ask me, didn't you have a training video series that would cost me less and I could do it on my own time?  Then later, they'd email that yes, they wished they had listened to me in the first place. You can lead a horse to watch, but you can't make him drink...

Last fall, because members were asking, IPBC and I did another three hour series, this time in November 2012 on just Inventory Parts.

In January this year, a series on using Quicken for Investment Accounting

And in February, we recorded a tax series on self-employed record keeping, another five hours.

This fall, we're half way through a series on Internal Controls. There's nothing about QuickBooks in this series.  The tax series on self-employed, it's not about QuickBooks either, though I do use it to show how to do account for tax.

You can purchase all of these products on my website. Learn at your own pace.  If you have staff turn-over in your bookkeeping and accounting department, you can pull out the videos and start over without incurring additional training expenses to send your staff off to school. You'll know exactly what they are learning, because you've already watched it.

This winter I'm thinking about doing a new series on using QuickBooks Online. And during the Internal Control series, several people expressed interest in a course just on how to keep records, for any software, to minimize the risk of audit. I may use QuickBooks Online, and maybe add in some other software, as I did a survey of what's out there (find it under Keeping Records>Productivity Tools on my website www.taxdetective.ca

Training bundle $290 (44 products, including 20 hours content included in Flipsnack above)

Inventory Parts $134.87  (3 part series)

Quicken Series $219.80  (4 part series requested by bookkeepers after September 2012 overview)

Keeping Records - self-employed $274.75 (about tax, not QuickBooks, though it does use QuickBooks to show how to do the accounting for tax)

To register for the Internal Controls workshop, to download the first two recordings, and attend the last two sessions, which are looking really interesting, visit www.ipbc.ca to register. They'll send you a link to the protected page with the downloads and the next session is December 4th at 1 pm PST.

Oh yes, I also created along the way, something you might want to share with your teens, young adults, and teachers...it's slowly being picked up and used by business education teachers who care...

Free - Student WorkBook for Canadian High School Teachers - Case studies & YouTube videos to learn how to use TurboTax Online for free / anonymously to protect student privacy

And, if you're looking to acquire more PD hours for reading before year end, my TaxLinks Pro Portal is free links to a variety of tax topics. Everything from Artists & Writers ( a very popular page) to Personal Services Businesses, or T2125 and self-employed, or Leaving Canada.

Look under the Learn About Tax button on my website (top of each page)
or go direct to http://www.taxdetective.ca/taxlinksportal.html

If you own Seg Funds, the capital gain or loss on disposition of units of the fund is calculated and included in your T3 report slip from the company.

It isn't necessary, or even possible to calculate this gain/loss yourself.

I recently read a discussion about how to calculate the gain/loss yourself, and there was no mention that this calculation is prepared for you by the Seg Fund company.

Has something changed? Or am I wrong? Can someone comment from the Seg Fund / Insurance Investment sector?

http://crowdfunding.cmf-fmc.ca/regulatory_updates/provincial-and-federal-tax-credits#!

http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x/267724/Income+Tax/Crowdfunding+Proceeds+May+Be+Taxable#!

Hot topic these days, crowd-funding.

It seems there are at least two types, equity, and donation with benefits.

There's also legal controversy swirling around this topic. Here's some links from Alan Baggett who has been following this topic because it's new and interesting, of course, because it's about raising money for businesses...and who doesn't want to figure out how to do that more effectively.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11267067.htm
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/09/crowdfunding-financing-is-taxable-income-cra-says/
http://www.ctf.ca/ctfweb/EN/Newsletters/Canadian_Tax_Focus/2013/4/130407.aspx

As for the two types, donations with benefits, and equity funding, they are quite different.

Remember, donations, they have to be for charitable purposes, and can't come with strings attached. And most sources of income are taxable, especially when you're in profit making mode, and your source of funds doesn't fit any of the criteria in S. 81 of the Income Tax Act. 

S. 81, that's what I call the hero section, where if you provide extraordinary service, for example, you take in someone who isn't family, who is on welfare, or you're a foster parent, or...here's the actual section, which sets out exactly what isn't income.. and crowd-funding, well it's not on that list.

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-3.3/section-81.html

Equity funding has typically come about by the issuance of share capital. How exactly will it work when you're issuing shares on the street without going through the usual channels? That's where the controversy likely comes in. I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the next few months as our securities system attempts to come to grips with this new financing methodology.

Start-Up week is over. 

You might want to follow @Start-up_Canada on Twitter to see what all the fuss is about. Apparently there are so many young people starting businesses that Intuit Canada has partnered with Start-Up Canada to offer QuickBooks Online to start-ups for a full year for free.

If you're not a Start-up and you don't have a deal yet, you might want to consider contacting me because I can get you 30% off your QuickBooks Online subscription for a lifetime if you're my client.

Now you're not likely to want to switch accountants, and I'm great with that, as I don't want to do year ends or corporate tax.  But I love helping people master QuickBooks. That is what I want to do full time.

So I'm offering a Service Pack - and here's my thinking.  I've been working with several business owners on getting them caught up because they are a few years behind. I've been doing that pretty consistently for many years.  It takes time, and the business owner needs to build skills like how to organize their paperwork. It's about new habits, building them and maintaining them.

I've got several owners with whom I have a weekly meeting. We meet online because they live far away, and I'm not going to want to drive to them, or them to me. It's very convenient, we meet on the phone, and hook up our computers using a secure encrypted GoToMeeting hosted by Citrix. I pay the monthly subscription and can hold as many meetings with up to 25 people as I want to.  Been using it for years.  Try it out yourself, free for 30 days.  You can even hook up your webcam so you can see each other.

Anyway, that led me to thinking what if I offered a Service Pack for other business owners, just to make sure their QuickBooks data files were healthy. There's a lot to check up on. Everything from security, preferences, the chart of accounts setup, how the Items are linked, are the reports set up property, why doesn't the opening balance agree to my last S100 and S125 schedules on my T2 Corporate return, why doesn't my bank that is supposedly reconcile show me the right balances on my financial statements, that sort of thing. That's what I'm really good at, figuring out how to fix all of that stuff.

And that's what costs you big time at year end, if you haven't dealt with all that stuff, your accountant will get a headache just dealing with all those loose ends. And that's what costs you so much at year end.

So, what if, for $99 a month, you could have someone work on those things with you, to guide you to where your year end was a mere formality, and your accountant was sooooooooo happy with your bookkeeping that their bill was way less than last year end.

Don't believe me, go look at your last year end bill, and tell me whether you think it was too much, and what your accountant said was the reason.  I'm not here to replace your accountant, I want to make sure they like you because your books are complete and correct.  BTW, complete and correct record keeping, it's actually the law, it's not an optional thing  Sometimes CRA sends out auditors to blanket a town to check that everyone has books and records that are complete and correct. If they find that business owners don't have complete and correct records, they will issue demand letters with deadlines at which time they will come back to check to make sure you've caught up.  That means up to current, not just up to the end of last year end.

I can help but you'll have to work with me.  How does once a week sound? On the phone at your desk, no tidying up, just you and me, talking about your record keeping.

http://eileenreppenhagen.fullslate.com/

Electronic sales suppression devices are in CRA's sights!

If you are involved in a business where there is sales suppression software installed, you may want to check in on your sense of morality

... and your comfort with the new proposed fines and jail time for being associated with a business who suppresses sales to cheat on their taxes.

If you aren't already subscribed to my website newsletter,
http://www.taxdetective.ca/news.html

here's today's post...Orange is the new Black...

http://www.taxdetective.ca/newsletters/newsletter/1482040/91448.htm