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What is the best way to send my accounting data to my accountant so that they can prepare my tax return?

The answer is not the same for every client. Clients often send a copy of their financial statements without realizing that it's insufficient. From the accountant’s perspective, it is much more efficient to have a copy of clients' QuickBooks file so that the information needed is right at their fingertips.

Nonprofits, construction companies, or companies with external investors are all examples of companies that may be required to get audits. However, these requirements may be dependent on certain circumstances. For instance, a nonprofit that recently reached a higher level of government funding may have crossed the audit requirement threshold. That said, there are many nuances involved in determining whether a switch to or from a review to an audit would be necessary. Regardless, companies do experience this transition and the following information is aimed at determining the difference between the two.

Not everyone thinks the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year. The Huffington Post, CBS News, Harvard Medical School, HealthLine, etc. all have articles regarding the causes, and tips for coping with the holiday blues. Stress caused by finances, lack of time, and high expectations is mentioned as a frequent contributing factor. To cope a few sources recommend starting a new tradition involving volunteering and making charitable contributions. Perhaps this is because both volunteering and donating to charity have been found to increase happiness.

To do our part in spreading holiday cheer, we not only want to join the bandwagon in encouraging others to donate and volunteer, we want to help those that do, better understand the ins and outs of deductible vs. nondeductible contributions and the limitations on charitable contributions.

Congratulations you’ve decided to take the plunge and start studying for the CPA exam. Successfully completing the CPA exam can seem like a daunting task, especially with the publically posted (low) pass rates. However, the end result is well worth all the time, struggles and sleepless nights. Earning a CPA designation should result in higher earnings potential and additional career opportunities.

Edited on 1/26/19

Despite tax-exemption, nonprofit organizations are still subject to reporting requirements with taxing authorities, namely the Internal Revenue Service and various state revenue departments. For the Boards and Executive Directors of nonprofits, this means it's important to have a clear understanding of their organization and where it falls within filing requirements. 

• Which is it?
• What is it?
• Determining Who Needs One
• Recap
• Other Resources

Using QuickBooks requires the creation and maintenance of lists such as customer, vendor, chart of accounts lists. Frequently, clients come across a scenario where they find duplications within these lists. For instance, they find two slightly different versions of the same customer or vendor.

Unfortunately, this can become a data management nightmare. Applying payments to a customer's account, pulling a report to determine if a vendor should receive a 1099, or posting a transaction to a general ledger account, etc. when there are active duplications in the necessary lists will result in potentially major errors.

This issue seems to be more prevalent when more than one person has access to the QuickBooks® data. One person may not see the name already created in the list by another individual and will proceed to create another. QuickBooks has a built-in feature to prevent this. A warning message should appear indicating the name is already in use and asks would you like to merge them. However, even the slightest variable in how the names are entered will bypass this feature. It only takes one small difference in the name to create a new one. An example is putting a middle initial in a name of an individual or a comma in the name of a business.

In July 2014 the IRS released a new, easier version of Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

Businesses can make any number of transactions in a given year. A transaction being any business agreement or exchange that one makes with another person or business.  To minimize mistakes and increase efficiency business should utilize QuickBooks to memorize transactions.

QuickBooks Memorized transactions:

Instructions on memorizing QuickBooks transactions.