ECL Consulting, LLC is dedicated to informing and educating our clients about business, accounting, QuickBooks and tax issues.
Our biweekly e-newsletter provides timely articles to help you manage
your business and finances and achieve your financial goals. Please come back and visit often.
Employers - Federal unemployment tax. File Form 940 for
2009. If your undeposited tax is $500 or less, you can either pay it with your
return or deposit it. If it is more than $500, you must deposit it. However, if
you already deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until
February 10 to file the return.
Employers - Social security, Medicare, and withheld
income tax. File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2009. Deposit any
undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in
full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the quarter in
full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.
Employers - Nonpayroll taxes. File Form 945 to report
income tax withheld for 2009 on all nonpayroll items, including backup
withholding and withholding on pensions, annuities, IRAs, gambling winnings, and
payments of Indian gaming profits to tribal members. Deposit any undeposited
tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a
timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time,
you have until February 10 to file the return.
Employers - Give your employees their copies of Form W-2
for 2009. If an employee agreed to receive Form W-2 electronically, post it on a
website accessible to the employee and notify the employee of the posting by
February 1st.
Individuals - who must make estimated tax payments. If
you did not pay your last installment of estimated tax by January 15, you may
choose (but are not required) to file your income tax return (Form 1040) for
2009. Filing your return and paying any tax due by February 1, 2010 prevents any
penalty for late payment of last installment.
Businesses - Give annual information statements to
recipients of 1099 payments made during 2009.
Certain Small Employers - File Form 944 to report social
security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2009. Deposit or pay any
undeposited tax under the accuracy of deposit rules. If your tax liability is
$2,500 or more from 2009 but less than $2,500 for the fourth quarter, deposit
any undeposited tax or pay it in full with a timely filed return.
Getting Organized
As
a small business owner you wear many hats. With all the rewards and
responsibilities of ownership, it's no wonder that paperwork often
falls to the bottom of your list, along with organizing your office,
work flow and schedule.
If
you want to eliminate misplaced paper files, know exactly where you put
that document on your computer, have a clutter-free path to your desk,
and remember important deadlines and appointments every time, contact us to put ECL's Organizing Solutions to work for you!
Better yet - call us BEFORE you get stuck to free up your time & start saving money!
Arizona Withholding Changes Effective January 1, 2010
Senate Bill 1185 amended the amounts
required to be withheld for Arizona withholding purposes. Here is the Form A-4
that is effective on January 1, 2010. Please read this Information
Sheet for a description of the changes that will occur in the future regarding withholding here in Arizona.
QuickBooks Specials
A+ Consulting, LLC is offering the following promotions:
25% off QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 10.0
Up to 40% off QuickBooks Point of Sale 9.0 software and hardware
Beginning on January 1, 2010, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car
(also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
50 cents per mile for business miles driven
16.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
The new rates for business, medical and moving purposes are slightly lower
than last year's. The mileage rates for 2010 reflect generally lower
transportation costs compared to a year ago.
The business mileage rate was 55 cents in 2009. The medical and moving rate
was 24 cents.
Dear Client/Friend of ECL Consulting,
It's a new year; time for new processes, including organizing your files and upgrading your software. See our review of the new QuickBooks 2010 below.
ECL Consulting, LLC's Accountants and QuickBooks ProAdvisors work with business owners and
managers in the areas of bookkeeping processes, monthly review, sales and payroll taxes, QuickBooks setup and training and much more!
Review of QuickBooks 2010
Every QuickBooks upgrade has something for everyone, but some releases raise
the bar more than others. QuickBooks 2010 is one of them. New features in the
Pro and Premier versions help you:
Save time
Keep a closer eye on your bottom line
Present a more polished image
Better manage documents
Stay in touch with old and new customers
So if you're using an earlier version, you should consider treating yourself
to a present that will pay for itself quickly and help you better promote and
manage your company in less time.
Modifiable Company Snapshot
The Company Snapshot, a one-page screen of key reports and graphs, is the best
first place to look when you fire up QuickBooks in the morning. In the past, its
content has been static, but now you can choose from myriad reports and
customize this printable page to meet your needs..
Add/Edit Multiple List Entries
This new feature solves two common problems. First, it lets you, in just a
couple of steps, add or edit multiple customers, vendors, services, inventory
items and non-inventory items. Second, it lets you easily copy and paste Excel
list data into QuickBooks. To get started, go to Lists|Add/Edit Multiple List
Entries and follow the instructions.
Attach Documents to Forms
Good software should minimize your use of paper. A new feature in QuickBooks
2010 helps you do just that. Y ou can scan documents from within QuickBooks and
attach them to forms and records, storing them on Intuit's online servers. You
can store up to 100 MB for free; monthly subscription plans start at
$4.95/month. Of course, you can also attach files stored on your local drives.
Manage Checks Better
Paper checks can be the bane of your existence, whether you're producing them
or receiving them. QuickBooks 2010 includes tools to help with both
processes.
First, you can now add an electronic signature to checks you create and print
in QuickBooks. It's easy; you simply go into the printer setup tool and
designate the correct graphic file.
Second, Intuit Check Solutions can help you get paid faster. Instead of
ferrying incoming checks to the bank every night, you can either scan them or
take the information over the phone, and then transmit the financial data to the
bank.
You must have a merchant account to use the service, which Intuit can help
you acquire. Intuit Check Solutions costs $59.95 for setup, with a monthly fee
of $19.95. There's also a 23-cent charge for each check transmission.
Customize Forms for a More Polished Image
QuickBooks has always offered limited customization of forms, but the 2010
adds new tools to help you present a uniform, professional look to your outgoing
documents. For one thing, you can now build a design and apply it simultaneously
to multiple forms.
QuickBooks also includes several free background designs that will work with
QuickBooks forms. A layout preview window lets you see how your changes will
look as you make them, as shown in Figure 3. To find these tools, click Customize on any form screen.
Beef Up Your Marketing Efforts
QuickBooks had already made inroads into supporting your marketing efforts in
earlier versions, like its Website services and local listings. The 2010 release
offers even more tools with its Marketing Center.
The new Marketing Center pulls your data in from QuickBooks and analyzes it,
and then makes recommendations for email marketing campaigns that you could
implement. You select the design and content, and QuickBooks automatically fills
in contact information and displays your results so you can see what worked and
what didn't.
A free trial gives you up to 500 emails. After that, prices start at $15 for
up to 1,000 pieces.
Find Reports Faster
Finally, Intuit has revamped QuickBooks' reporting tools so they're easier to
find and open quickly. You can choose between list, grid and graphical carousel
views, and tab quickly among memorized, favorite and recently viewed
reports.
This tweaking, along with all of the other new features listed here (and
more), make QuickBooks 2010 the best small business accounting software upgrade
to come down the pike in awhile.
Contact
ECL Consulting, LLC
today to schedule your initial consultation with a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor and get the most out of your QuickBooks software!
Ask
An Expert
Ever have tax, QuickBooks or accounting question, but didn't know who to ask? Now you can Ask An Expert. Send us your question and we'll answer it here.
Have you enjoyed this newsletter? Have any suggestions for things you'd like to see covered? Have a question for our resident Accounting Expert? Let us know by emailing askexpert@eclconsulting.com.
Each issue will cover different topics and have different features, so watch for us every other Tuesday.
Remember, we provide accounting and cash flow solutions for successful companies -- yours!
Have any feedback about this email or our new website? Please Contact Us with your questions or comments and we'll be happy to extend a free 1 hour consultation to all new clients!
Know
anyone who could use ECL's services? When you refer someone who becomes
a client we will give you either $25 off our services or a gift card to
one of many great local businesses. *Please see Referral Rewards on our website for more information.
ECL Consulting, LLC
PO Box 57669
Tuson, AZ 85732 Phone: 1-520-843-2092Ext 1
Fax: 1-520-843-2092 info@eclconsulting.com
