Disregard the past IRS rules LLC’s

There will be some reporting changes for single member/single owner LLC’s (also known as disregarded entities) in 2009. According to a recent email notice received from the IRS, LLC’s that are considered disregarded entities will have to report employment taxes in the name and EIN of the LLC instead of the single member/owner. The change makes IRS Notice 99-6 obsolete whereas a single member/owner had a choice to use the either the name or EIN of the owner of the LLC. The changes only affect the employment taxes and not income tax reporting for LLC’s. Small business LLC’s that are affected by this change may want to seek the assistance of their tax professional for details on applying for a new EIN.

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2009 Small Business Accounting Software

Earlier in A Tale of Two Software Freebies we took a look at the free versions of small business accounting software titles Microsoft Office Accounting Express and QuickBooks Simple Start. Well both software vendors have recently undated their paid software titles for 2009. Small business owners that are looking for a change or just starting out may want to take a look at some of the new features that both titles have included.

Microsoft Office Accounting Professional (MOAP)

MOAP has updated their offering to include income tax integration with major tax preparation software that will surely bring a smile to your tax professional’s face. MOAP has also added 20 plus new custom reports to give a small business owner more information about their business. Third party add on’s allow small business owners to accept credit cards online and integrate with E-bay.

QuickBooks Products

QB has two has two products (QB Pro, and Premier) for the small business owner depending on the market and size of your business. The Premier version has more features and provides more reports for small businesses. A major enhancement that caught my attention is the software now has Microsoft Vista certification as there were problems loading previous versions on Vista machines.

Both software is priced right for the small business owner so be sure to test drive them for your business.

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The IRS Audit Results

In a previous post (see IRS IT Woes), we looked at some of the problems that have been occurring at the IRS. Well it appears that the IRS has a couple more issue that need to be ironed out regarding their operations. An audit report from the Government Accountability Office reveals internal control problems and financial management inefficiencies within the IRS. The main areas that need improvement are controls dealing with information security and the utilization of obsolete financial management systems.

The IRS contends that measures have been taken to improve internal controls and improve processes within the financial management systems. Will be interesting to see how these improvements work out in the coming year. Stay tuned.

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Banking on Small Business

As the economic bailout continues to make its way through the U.S. economy, banks are “banking” on small business to give out the new loans. The only problem is banks are having difficulty finding borrowers. Part of the reason is many small business owners are feeling the bite of the slow economy and have cut back their borrowing needs. SBA loans dropped 30% this year as banks scramble to find creditworthy customers.

Creditworthiness is an important part of the issue when a small business owner considers a loan as a way to finance growth. Small business owners that already have loan or credit lines with banks (and they more than likely have been cut back) should keep an eye on their budgets so that loan payments can be made in the future. If you are a small business owner looking for a loan, lookout in your e-mail/mail box for deals from banks banking on you.

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A Tale of Two Software Freebies

Last month at the accounting panel discussion, I gave the audience links to a couple of small business software titles that would give a small business owner a jump into the realm of accounting and reporting. Both titles are free and can be downloaded from the internet for use. Microsoft Office Accounting Express and QuickBooks Simple Start were the titles and we will take a look at each to see which one is the best for your business.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express (MOAE)

MOAE has the same look and feel as the current Office programs making the learning curve less steep (To me it looks similar to Outlook). A small business owner can track income and expenses, manage employees, customers and vendors and the owner can setup the business using wizards. MOAE also allows importing of data from QuickBooks, Excel or MS Money.

QuickBooks Simple Start (QBSS)

QBSS similar to MOAE in that it can also track income and expenses, organize employees, customers and vendors, manage payroll, and utilizes wizards in the setup. QBSS does not allow a small business owner to import data from MS Excel, Quicken, or MOAE.

MOAE and QBSS Technology

Both MOAE and QBSS have integrated technology into their offerings. MOAE includes seamless integration into other Office software (Word, Excel, and Outlook) and the software allows small business owners to reach online via EBay and PayPal integration. QBSS allows users to accept credit cards payments into the software, and create a website for online services.

Which is right for you?

That will depend on your needs as a small business owner in the start up phase of your business and the market that you serve. Accounting software should be viewed as a tool that can grow with your business so be sure that the future is taken into account in your needs assessment.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy