Welcome to
Virtual Jeannie's January/February 2010 News
February Tax Due
Dates
If you would like a
physical copy of this calendar, please let me know
and I will get you one.
QuickBooks Anyone?
I would like to find out the interest level for a
QuickBooks class I am planning. This class would be
held in late March or early April. It would run two
to three hours and would cover beginning QuickBooks
principles. Cost will be in the $60 to $75 range.
If you would be
interested in attending such a class, please send me
an email at
Virtualj@Sonic.Net. I’m also interested in
getting feedback on what, specifically, you want to
get out of such a class. The next newsletter will
provide more details.
Business Tips of the Month
The stuff everyone wants to know:
Beginning on January 1, 2010, the standard mileage
rates for the use of a car is:
- 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
“So Why DID my
unemployment rate go up this year?”
For those of you who have employees, you may notice
that your SUTA payment (State Unemployment) may have
gone up dramatically. The reason behind this is that
since unemployment is skyrocketing, we are all
paying a little more to compensate for it (I called
the EDD and got this from the horse’s mouth). So…
yes, that means that even though you did not have
anyone file for unemployment, your rate is still
increased. I have seen a couple employer’s rates
double. Not pretty, but that’s where the state is
at.
Accounting Professional Definitions
Another question I have been asked recently, is what
is the difference between a CPA, an accountant, an
enrolled agent and a bookkeeper.
What is an enrolled agent?
An enrolled agent is a person who has earned the
privilege of practicing (that is, representing
taxpayers), before the Internal Revenue Service.
Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public
accountants (CPAs), are unrestricted as to which
taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax
matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they
can practice before.
How do you become
an enrolled agent? There are two tracks to becoming
an enrolled agent. These tracks are described in
Federal regulations contained in a pamphlet known as
Treasury Department Circular 230, Regulations
Governing the Practice of Attorneys, Certified
Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, Enrolled
Actuaries, and Appraisers Before the Internal
Revenue Service. The two tracks are:
- Written
examination. You can become an enrolled
agent by demonstrating special competence in tax
matters by taking a written examination. This
track requires that you:
- Apply to
take the Special Enrollment Examination
(SEE);
prometric.com/irs,
- Achieve
passing scores on all parts of the SEE,
- Apply for
enrollment, and
- Pass a
background check to ensure that you have not
engaged in any conduct that would justify
the suspension or disbarment of an attorney,
CPA, or enrolled agent from practice before
the IRS.
- IRS
experience. You can become an enrolled agent
by virtue of past service and technical
experience with the IRS that qualifies you for
enrollment. This track requires that you:
- Possess
the years of past service and technical
experience specified in Circular 230,
- Apply for
enrollment, and
- Pass a
background check to ensure that you have not
engaged in any conduct that would justify
the suspension or disbarment of an attorney,
CPA, or enrolled agent from practice before
the IRS.
What Is a CPA?
A CPA is a certified public accountant and is
licensed by the state. In California, to earn the
prestige associated with the CPA license,
individuals are required to demonstrate their
knowledge and competence by passing an exam, meeting
high educational standards and completing a
specified amount of general accounting experience.
The two most important goals to focus on in your
quest to become a CPA are passing the Uniform CPA
Exam and meeting licensing requirements. California
law gives CPA candidates two options for entering
the profession, depending on the direction you’d
like your career to take. The California Board of
Accountancy,
www.dca.ca.gov/cba, has outlined the following
pathways for earning a CPA license:
Pathway 1
Designed for individuals who will practice only in
California and requires:
- A bachelor’s
degree,
- 24 semester
units in accounting-related subjects,
- 24 semester
units in business-related subjects (accounting
courses beyond the 24 required units may apply
toward the business units),
- Passing the
Uniform CPA Exam,
- Two years of
general accounting experience supervised by a
CPA with an active license, and
- Passing an
ethics course.
Pathway 2
If you are licensed under this pathway, the majority
of other states will recognize your license. If you
think that someday you might want to practice in
another state, Pathway 2 may provide you the
professional mobility you desire. Requirements:
- A bachelor’s
degree,
- 24 semester
units in accounting-related subjects,
- 24 semester
units in business-related subjects,
- 150 semester
units (or 225 quarter units) of education,
- Passing the
Uniform CPA Exam,
- One year of
general accounting experience supervised by a
CPA with an active license, and
- Passing an
ethics course.
What Is an
Accountant?
An accountant is an individual who performs
accounting tasks for individuals or companies. The
exact material that an accountant handles varies
depending on the size of the company and the
accountant's specialization, but generally includes
financial records, taxes, and responsibility for the
issuing of financial reports. An accountant is one
of the primary figures in a business that he or she
works for, whether it is a multinational corporation
or a small family owned business. Requirements to
become an accountant vary upon specialization and
nation, but generally include certification through
a professional agency and a basic college degree in
accounting and finance.
So, what is a Bookkeeper?
Let’s start off by saying that all accountants need
to know how to do bookkeeping. Bookkeeping, without
getting into too much of the history, is simply the
act of keeping books using the Double Entry System.
As a bookkeeper, you maintain ledger accounts in all
the different ledgers, and maintain all subsidiary
documents like the check register, etc. Sounds
similar to what an accountant might do, right? Well,
yes, it is. However, the role of a bookkeeper ends
at the Trial Balance. Once your accounting period
ends and the ledger accounts are closed to produce a
trial balance, and once the trial balance is
produced, it is ideally handed over to an accountant
to generate the statements or reports.
So, what is the difference between a Bookkeeper
and an Accountant?
An accountant is an advanced bookkeeper, who is
familiar with the typical financial statements:
i.e., Profit & Loss Account/Income Statement,
Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, etc. But keep in mind that
being an accountant does not mean that you are
familiar with the statement. The key is to know what
goes into producing such a statement. Income
Statements and Balance Sheets are relatively simple
and standard, but then the cash flow is a statement
most accountants struggle with, and its not their
fault. The typical cash flow statement isn’t exactly
designed for efficiency, and that’s where the roles
of different accountants come in.
So, to sum it up, an accountant uses the information
produced by a bookkeeper to generate meaningful
financial statements and reports. An accountant MUST
have comprehensive bookkeeping knowledge, and must
continue to practice his/her double entry/
T-Accounts skills, or really, he/she won’t make a
very good accountant.
Bookkeeping Training and Accounting Training are
Different
Bookkeepers have always held vital positions within
the companies they work for. They verify and balance
receipts, post debits and credits, and record
transactions. Some bookkeepers have offices in their
own homes and make extra money in addition to their
regular salary. Newspaper ads regularly appear for
payroll clerks, accounts receivable and payable
clerks, and bookkeepers for large and small
companies.
Bookkeeping is the language of business, and no
matter what your occupation, it is important to
learn accounting and learn bookkeeping. To
understand what type of training is necessary to
become proficient at bookkeeping, consider the
differences in accounting and bookkeeping courses.
What Will You Learn in an Accounting Training
Program?
Accounting training is instruction in setting up a
financial tracking system, monitoring the data-entry
process for financial transactions, and the
interpretation of financial statements for
management. Although the accounting process is the
same in theory, it's much different in practice when
applying it to small and large companies. For
instance, the accountant in a large company is most
often a financial analyst, reviewing the results of
operations, interpreting the results, and presenting
information to management.
Small businesses, on the other hand, need someone
that can set up a system that will fit their needs,
then ensure the data is entered correctly, and
finally consult on ideas and strategies that will
improve the bottom line.
If you have questions, or need more clarification,
please give me a call.
Organizations—Personal Tidbits
Team In Training has started again. This year, I
will be coaching. Yikes! I barely know this stuff
myself, and they want me to coach. Hmm, this should
be interesting. ut what I’ve found out is that I
kind of like being in charge of a small group and
seeing them through to success. Our first ride was
in the rain. We weren’t drenched, but I’m not a big
fan of being cold and wet. But I was truly inspired
by another mom I met through my son’s school, who is
a leukemia survivor. Long before she got sick, her
daughter told her, “Mom, you’re a beast”—meaning she
had the strength and will to handle any ordeal she
faced. Since going through chemotherapy and all the
other trials that cancer brings, she told me she
felt she had lost her “beast,” but that she’s
determined to get it back. I will most likely be her
coach this year and I am determined to help her find
her it! She is a remarkable woman and inspires me to
help her succeed.
I will be mailing out donation letter requests,
however if I have missed someone or you know someone
who would like to donate, please let me know. Every
little bit counts!
Please visit my website at
http://pages.teamintraining.org/rw/ambbr10/jdavisa63u
Updates are coming soon!
Growing My Business
Goals, Goals,
Goals…
My goal this year is to increase my business by
$50,000. This means that during the year, I am
looking for four referrals per month from you and/or
your associates. These referrals would need
bookkeeping and/or payroll services on a monthly
basis.
One of my new offerings is a set of flat rate
packages. This allows for easy budgeting for
bookkeeping services, PLUS those of you who are
current clients and refer me to a paying client will
receive a $25 gift card from one of the following:
Itunes, Best Buy, Costco, Target, or a store of your
choosing (I’m flexible). I’d love to work with you
to pool our resources to make 2010 our best year
ever!
Virtual Jeannie Virtual Spotlight
Our spotlight is taking a hiatus for this
issue…check back next time!
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