In celebration of Small Business Week

Smallbiztrends.com has a running list of national events slated this week and I thought I'd share them today. If you run a small business and you're looking for ways to increase your bottom line, contact Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith PLLC, a Louisville based accounting firm serving American with small business accounting, tax preparation and consulting. Our telephone number is 502-896-2999.

National Small Business Week in the United States runs May 12 – 16, 2014.  This year, like past years, is expected to kick off with a proclamation by the President affirming the country’s commitment to small businesses.

Each year the U.S. Small Business Administration holds a series of national events taking place in Washington and elsewhere, covering important issues such as financing, growth strategies and innovation.

But it’s not just the federal government getting in on the act. States, cities and companies also hold activities, educational events like webinars, and perform special activities in honor of Small Business Week.

So to help you all participate in some way — whether sitting at your computer or out in your local community — we’ve started collecting a list of activities, events, announcements and other information you need to know about Small Business Week.

THIS IS A RUNNING LIST OF SMALL BUSINESS WEEK ACTIVITIES – WE WILL BE ADDING TO IT DAILY!

Monday, May 12

A kick off at Twitter HQ. A kick off event for National Small Business Week will be held at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco from 7:30 am to 12:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The event is currently sold out, but you can get yourself on the waiting list here.

Saying Thank You to Guilford’s Small Businesses. Running May 12th through May 18th is an event organization of over 25 non profits to use National Small Business Week as an opportunity to say thank you to all the small businesses in town who support their organizations by “asking all their supporters, board members, staff, and friends to make it a point to do business locally during National Small Business week.”

Tuesday, May 13

Making Kansas City an International Hub. National Small Business Week continues with a series of seminars in Kansas City with discussion on making the city an international trade hub and more. Events will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Standard Time at Burns and McDonnell.

Small business discount day. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Discount Day with special deals and offers from participating members of the local organization.

Integrated Marketing TNT Webinar - Join Rajatish Mukherjee, Sr. Vice President of GoDaddy and Raj Nijje, Sr. Director of Product Management of GoDaddy – along with host Brent Leary. They will cover how to enhance your small business’s online presence and get found online.  From 7 to 8 pm Eastern.

Twitter chat on business signage and marketing. Small Business Trends along with sponsor FedEx is hosting an educational chat on May 13, 2014 at 8p.m. EST on Twitter.com, under the hashtag #SMBSignage. Join in and share your marketing tips about creating signs and other marketing.

Wednesday, May 14

Small Biz Success in the Mobile World. Conduit Mobile will host a special summit from 8 a.m.to 1 p.m. EST at the IAC Building in New York City. Discussions will revolve around the small business opportunities created by mobile.

100% Royalty Day.  iStock will give 100% of the sales on May 14 from cash and credit downloads of millions of files to the artists (many of them entrepreneurs) who create the content.  iStock will also pay double royalties to artists on subscription-based downloads of exclusive content.

Webinar on top U.S. cities for small business growth . As part of National Small Business Week, Biz2Credit and Small Business Trends will host a free webinar at 3:00 p.m. EDT which will delve into the best areas of the country to start and expand a company.

Wix and Infusionsoft – Small Business Breakfast.  Wix and Infusionsoft will have their monthly Small Business Breakfast during Small Business Week. Hosted by Ramon Ray, this month’s event brings together small business owners to hear from Emily Miethner, owner of FindSpark and a master of online and offline networking.

PayPal – Engage New York. PayPal and the SBA bring together small business retailers to learn best practices in selling online, online marketing, technology, finance and more. Hosted by small business pundit Gene Marks and Infusionsoft’s Ramon Ray,  this event will be informative, high energy and fun.

Small Business Success Stories.  Four small business owners will share their stories of success. May 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Research at the Hudson Library, Hudson, Ohio.

Thursday, May 15

Constant Contact chief speaks. Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman is scheduled to give a keynote address at 10 a.m. EST in Boston at the Microsoft New England R&D Center. Her topic will be how to forge enduring customer connections.

Webinar on small business follow through. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a webinar on small business follow-through with Mark Goulston, M.D, of Heartfelt Leadership from 10 to 11 a.m. EST.

Veterans in entrepreneurship. A special panel on veterans and entrepreneurship will be the highlight of an afternoon of activities in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building from 3 to 8 p.m. EST.

St. Johns County Small Business Expo. Sponsored by Vystar Credit Union, Constant Contact and Microsoft, St. Augustine, Florida’s Business Solutions Unlimited, LLC, will host a free Small Business Expo on May 15, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the St. Johns River State College. Classes on topics ranging from marketing to accounting will be conducted throughout day.

Friday, May 16

Author gives Philly keynote. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a keynote address from adjunct professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business Chris Rabb, author of the book “Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity.”  The event will be at Liberty Ball Room at the Independent Visitor Center 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m Eastern Standard Time.

Legal Zoom Small Biz Twitter Chat. Join senior USA Today small business columnist, speaker and best selling author Steve Strauss and LegalZoom for the next in a monthly series of Twitter discussions focused on start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurship. This months Twitter chat guest, during Small Business Week, is Infusionsoft’s Ramon Ray sharing insights.

Business (E)ssentials Bootcamp Atlanta. Join dozens of small business owners Friday May 16 and Saturday, May 17, 2014; 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for two power-packed days where they will develop their own customized Internet marketing and communications plans. Participants will gain essential SEO, CRM and Internet marketing skills.

All Week Long

Google Business Community.  Members who join The google Business Community between May 12 – 16 will get a promotional code from Google for $20 toward Helpouts in areas like online advertising, branding and web design.

Add Your Announcements and Events!

Everyone is welcome to share their own Small Business Week activities, events and announcements.  Email your event or announcement to our tips box:  sbtips@gmail.com.  Or just leave a comment below.  We will add it.

Also, see the Small Business Events Calendar for more.

Rates Likely to Remain Low, Fisher says

by Michael S. Derby, the Wall Street Journal

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said Friday he supports ending the central bank’s bond-buying stimulus program this year, while adding it is very likely that very low interest rates will prevail for some time to come.

“There is abundant liquidity to finance economic expansion, and the [Federal Open Market Committee] will assure that it remains affordable as long as the prospect of inflation rising above its 2% target remains in abeyance,” Mr. Fisher said in the text of a speech prepared for delivery before a local group in New Orleans.

Mr. Fisher is a voting member of the Fed’s monetary-policy setting FOMC this year. He has been a persistent critic of the recent round of Fed moves to stimulate growth, done mainly by buying longer-dated Treasury and mortgage bonds in a bid to lower borrowing costs to stimulate growth and lower unemployment. Heartened by signs of economic improvement, the Fed has been cutting the pace of its bond-buying program this year — the monthly buying rate now stands at $45 billion — and officials broadly agree the effort will be wound down this year.

“Barring some destabilizing development in the real economy that comes out of left field, I will continue to vote for the pace of reduction we have undertaken, reducing by $10 billion per meeting our purchases and eliminating them entirely at the October meeting with a final reduction of $15 billion,” Mr. Fisher said.

Positive news for your weekend from your friends at Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith PLLC, a Louisville based accounting firm serving clients across the south and midwest.

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Congress Puts $310 Billion Up For Grabs

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee approved $310 billion of tax breaks, as Republicans defeated Democratic objections to the plan’s budgetary costs. Are you keeping up with what Uncle Sam has in mind? Contact Neikirk Mahoney & Smith CPAs. They keep up with what's going on in Washington. Click $310 Billion in Tax Breaks Approved to read the entire article!

IRS Expecting Millions of Edited Returns This Year

By Michael Cohn, Accounting Today

The Internal Revenue Service anticipates that nearly 5 million taxpayers will amend their returns by filing Form 1040X this year. If you're considering doing the same thing, contact Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith CPAs at (502) 896-2999.

Nearly 46 million returns were electronically filed from home computers as of April 18, more than the total from home computers for all of 2013. The IRS said Friday that it has received more than 131 million tax returns, of which 88 percent were e-filed.

Taxpayers who need to amend their returns should file this form only after filing the original return, the IRS noted. Generally, for a tax credit or refund, taxpayers must file Form 1040X within three years, including extensions, after the date they filed their original return or within two years after the date they paid the tax, whichever is later. For most people, this means that returns for tax-year 2011 or later can still be amended. 

Read more here

Time to Re-evaluate Your Accounting Resources

Now that tax season is over for most of us, now would be a good time to re-evaluate your resources to make sure you're getting the most bang for your accounting buck.

How do you feel about the way your 2013 taxes were done? Did your accounting firm keep you informed of changes in the tax code that could impact your business?

Did your accounting firm take the time to really understand how your business operates? Did they provide you with suggestions and ideas that would positively impact your bottom line? Were they proactive or reactive? And at the end of the day, do you feel like you were getting what you expected at the cost your expected?

If the answer to any of the questions above is anything but a resounding "yes", contact Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith today. We'll spend some time together, discussing and learning what really matters to you, not to us.

In a world of fast talkers and false guarantees, Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith stands out from the white noise. That's because we really do care about you and your business.

Here's a great article for your reference from Entepreneur.com. And after you've read it, give us a call today.

HOW TO HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT

Every dollar counts for business owners, so if you don't know where you stand on a monthly basis, you may not be around at the end of the year. And while using do-it-yourself accounting software can help monitor costs, the benefits of hiring good accountants extend far beyond crunching numbers. Potentially, they can be your company's financial partner for life, with intimate knowledge of not only how you're going to finance your next forklift, for instance, but also how you're going to finance your daughter's college education.

Before you hire one though, make sure you understand the four basic areas of expertise in a general accounting practice:

1. Business advisory services. Since an accountant should be knowledgeable about your business environment, your tax situation and your financial statements, it makes sense to ask them to pull all the pieces together and help you come up with a business plan and personal financial plan. Accountants can offer advice on everything from insurance (do you really need business interruption insurance or is it cheaper to lease a second site?) to expansion (how will additional capacity affect operating costs?). Accountants can bring a new level of insight, simply by virtue of their perspective.
2. Accounting and record-keeping. These are perhaps the most basic of accounting disciplines. While it makes sense for many business owners to manage their day-to-day records, an accountant can help set up bookkeeping and accounting systems and show you how to use them. A good system allows you to evaluate profitability and modify prices. It also lets you monitor expenses, track a budget, spot trends and reduce accounting fees required to produce financial statements and tax returns.
3. Tax advice. Accountants that provide assistance with tax-related issues usually can do so in two areas: tax compliance and tax planning. Planning refers to reducing your overall tax burden. Compliance refers to obeying the tax laws.
4. Auditing. These services are most commonly required by banks as a condition of a loan. There are many levels of auditing, ranging from simply preparing financial statements to an actual audit, where the accountant or other third party provides assurance that a company's financial information is accurate.

Choosing an Accountant
The best way to find a good accountant is to get a referral from your attorney, your banker or a business colleague. You can also check in with the Society of Certified Public Accountants in your state, which can make a referral.

While accountants usually work for large companies, CPAs (certified public accountants) work for a variety of large and small businesses. Don't underestimate the importance of a CPA. This title is only awarded to people who have passed a rigorous a two-day, nationally standardized test. Most states require CPAs to have at least a college degree or its equivalent. Several states also require post-graduate work.

Once you have come up with some good candidates, it is important to determine how much of the work your company will do and how much will be done by the accountant.

Accounting services can be divided into three broad categories: recording transactions, assembling them, and generating returns and financial statements. Although the first two categories require a lower skill level than the latter, many firms charge the same hourly rate for all three. This is why it's important to determine exactly what work you want an accountant to handle.

The next step is to interview your referrals. For each, plan on two meetings before making your decision. One meeting should be at your site. The other should be at theirs. During the interviews, your principal goal is to find out about three things: services, personality and fees. Here's what to ask in each area.

1. Services: Most accounting firms offer tax and auditing services. But what about bookkeeping? Management consulting? Estate planning? Will the accountant help you design and implement financial information systems? A CPA may offer services that include analyzing transactions for loans and financing; preparing, auditing, reviewing and compiling financial statements; managing investments; and representing you before tax authorities.
   
   Although smaller accounting firms are generally a better bet for entrepreneurs, they may not offer all these services. Make sure the firm has what you need. If it can't offer specialized services, it may have relationships with other firms to which it can refer you to handle these matters. In addition to services, make sure the firm has experience with small business and your specific industry.
2. Personality: Is the accountant's style compatible with yours? Be sure the people you are meeting are the same ones who will be handling your business. At many accounting firms, some partners handle sales and new business, then pass the actual account work on to others.
   
   When evaluating competency and compatibility, ask candidates how they would handle situations relevant to you. For example: How would you handle an IRS office audit seeking verification of automobile expenses? Listen to the answers and decide if that's how you would like your affairs to be handled.
   
   Realize, too, that having an accountant who takes a different approach can be a good thing. Just be sure that the accountant doesn't pressure you into doing things you aren't comfortable with.
3. Fees: Ask about this upfront. Most accounting firms charge by the hour with fees ranging from $100 to $275. However, others work on a monthly retainer. Get a range of quotes from different accountants. Also try to get an estimate of the total annual charges based on the services you have discussed.
   
   Don't base your decision solely on cost, however, as an accountant who charges higher hourly rate is likely to be more experienced and able to work faster than a novice who charges less.
   
   Also be sure to ask for references -- particularly from clients in your industry. Call them to find out how satisfied they were with the accountant's services, fees and availability.

Make the Most of the Relationship
After you make a choice, spell out the terms of the agreement in an engagement letter. The document should detail the returns and statements to be prepared and the fees to be charged. This ensures that you and your accountant have the same expectations.

Also, hold up your end of the agreement. Don't hand your accountant a shoebox full of receipts. Write down details of all the checks in your check register, whether they are for utilities, supplies and so on. Likewise, identify sources of income on your bank deposit slips. The better you maintain your records, the less time your accountant has to spend and the lower your fees will be.

It's a good idea to meet or at least speak with your accountant every month. Review financial statements and go over problems so you know where your money is going. Your accountant should go beyond number-crunching to suggest alternative ways of cutting costs and act as a sounding board for any ideas or questions you have.

Excerpted from Start Your Own Business, Fifth Edition by the staff ofEntrepreneur.

Social Security to Stop Seizing Tax Refunds

BY MICHAEL COHN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ACCOUNTINGTODAY.COM

A pair of senators have called on the Social Security Administration to end the policy of seizing taxpayers’ refunds to hold them accountable for decades-old errors made by the agency that led to the overpayment of benefits, and the agency has agreed to do so.

Senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., highlighted a story on the front page of the Washington Post last Friday morning that detailed the case of Mary Grice, whose tax refund was seized by the U.S. government to repay an overpayment of benefits made to an unknown member of her family in 1977. 

“While this policy of seizing tax refunds to repay decades-old Social Security overpayments might be allowed under the law, it is entirely unjust,” the senators wrote in a letter Friday to the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Carolyn Colvin. “Grice and other families like hers are unfairly being held responsible for decades-old errors at the Social Security Administration – even though many of these taxpayers were children at the time the error was made. Too many of these families are now finding themselves trapped in a mess of paperwork and red tape that is both costly and time-consuming.” 

To learn more about how this measure might affect you, contact Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith PLLC

Read more at Accounting Today

Read This If You Have A Home-based Business

The Internal Revenue Service today reminded people with home-based businesses that this year for the first time they can choose a new simplified option for claiming the deduction for business use of a home.

In tax year 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available, some 3.3 million taxpayers claimed deductions for business use of a home (commonly referred to as the home office deduction) totaling nearly $10 billion.

The new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce the paperwork and recordkeeping burden on small businesses by an estimated 1.6 million hours annually.

The new option is available starting with the 2013 return taxpayers are filing now.  Normally, home-based businesses are required to fill out a 43-line form (Form 8829) often with complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions.  Instead, taxpayers claiming the optional deduction need only complete a short worksheet in the tax instructions and enter the result on their return. Self-employed individuals claim the home office deduction onSchedule C Line 30, farmers claim it on Schedule F  Line 32 and eligible employees claim it onSchedule A Line 21. 

Though homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method.

Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to employees, are still fully deductible.

Long-standing restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived from the particular business, still apply under the new option.

For further details on the home office deduction and the new option, contact Neikirk, Mahoney & Smith PLLC, one of America's premier business accounting firms.