iPhone Apps for Entrepreneurs

You may find useful the following business apps, all of which are easy to download, and many of which are free. 

·         Intuit GoPayment Credit Card.  Lets you accept major credit card payments on an Iphone

·         Fuze Meeting.  Allows you to share data onscreen for video conferencing. 

·         Bump.  The iPhone Bump app transfers data, photos or images from one iPhone to another

·         Dragon Dictation.  Voice recognition software lets you dictate both messages and emails for as long as 30 seconds. 

·         Dropbox.  Gives you the option of retrieving key documents no matter where you are.  Allows you to drop a PDF, Word document or Powerpoint presentation into the Dropbox and reach it instantly from all of your computers and phones.

·         Omnifocus.  This is a personal assistant app that helps you organize your day.

·         Evernote.  Helps you get organized by storing reams of information in one spot.  Great for storing information you will need to recall later.

·         Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker and Receipt Reader.  Scans and archives business expense receipts, which provides a fast, easy way to create an expense report.  When used with the online Shoeboxed service, it lets you maintain and organize expense and tax records and produce financials.

·         Flightboard.  If you travel a lot, this app lets you check on the latest takeoff and arrival times.

·         CardMunch.  Take a picture of a business card and upload it to your contact list.

·         JotNot Scanner Pro.  Scan and send documents from your mobile phone.  This app converts documents, receipts, whiteboards and business cards to PDFs that you can email or put in a dropbox.

·         IPassword.  Stores your passwords in one place so you can easily access them.

Health Care Benefits on W2s

Small firms indefinitely exempt from reporting health care benefits on W2s.  The IRS recently revised its guidance for employers on the Affordable Health Care Act’s requirement that employers report on W2s the value of the coverage provided to employees.  The requirement is scheduled to being with 2012 W2s. 

The guidance affirms that this requirement does not apply to a firm that filed fewer than 250 W2s the preceding calendar year.  It also states that the small firm exemption is in effect until the IRS says otherwise.

Get more out of Quickbooks

• Repetitive transactions.  OB can automatically record recurring transactions, such as making payments either electronically or on paper, recurring entries and recording depreciation.  Access with Ctrl M.
• Loan Manager.  Set each company’s loan individual terms, automatically calculate loan payments and record the correct principle and interest.  Click Banking, then Loan Manager.
  
• Multiple reports.  To distribute multiple reports, save time by grouping the reports together and printing the group in one step.  Click the Reports menu, the Process Multiple Reports
• Batch Invoices.  Click the Customers menu, the Create Batch Invoices
• Prepare Letters and Envelopes.  For various templates and mail merges, click Company menu, then Prepare Letters and Envelopes.
• Import Credit Card Transactions.  Varies by credit card company.  Click Banking menu, Enter Credit Card Charges, Download Credit Card Charges.
• Prevent prior period changes.  Set each user’s name, password and preferences so that no user can access a date prior to the closing date. 

Payroll Firms and Client's Unpaid Taxes

Payroll Firms can be Penalized for Client's Unpaid Taxes


The IRS notified its field agents that third-party firms that handle payroll and employment tax compliance for employers can be liable for penalties for unpaid and delinquent taxes.  Payroll firms and employee leasing companies that willfully fail to remit clients' taxes can be assessed the 100% penalty, as can responsible persons of those firms.  thsi is not a change in policy, according to the IRS.  Observers say it is likely the agnecy's response to a recent incident when a payroll tax firm embezzled tax payments received from clients.


The employer still is ultimately liable for the taxes and penalties.  A payroll firm is unlikely to have any liability when the employer gives it specific diretions about the amount of taxes to pay and when to pay them.  A payroll firm can, however, be liable when it has discretion over payment.s  In either case, the employer and its responsible persons ultimately are liable for unpaid taxes and penalties.  Also, consider taking the following steps:

• To protect your firm, and yourself, from payroll service mistakes or fraud, use a service that has a fiduciary bond.
• Make absolutely sure the IRS sends to you, or copies you, on all payroll tax and payroll tax return correspondence.
• Require the service to deposit taxes electronically and then check your IRS tax account through EFTPS and your bank account each time to make sure that payments were made timely and in full.

Form W-9

Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

Companies will routinely request form W-9 as a matter of practice.  This is because companies who fail to obtain a proper tax ID number when it’s actually required can be subject to being fined by the IRS.

Many times when asked for a completed W-9, companies will state they are a corporation or exempt so there is no need to issue a Form 1099 for their services.  This may be accurate but  the Form W-9 provides the payer with the necessary information to make the determination and shows their due diligence for compliance in reporting to the IRS.  

The form W-9 serves two purposes.  It is used by businesses to file information returns with the IRS on reportable payments made to others.  The second purpose is to help the payee avoid backup withholding. 

Even though the form is never actually sent to the IRS, the business who files the information return must have it for verification purposes.  The information on the W-9 and the payment made are usually reported on a Form 1099.

In January for this year, the IRS released a new form W-9.  There are several important changes to the form and the instructions.

·         Two separate check boxes have been added to the form so that corporations can specify whether they are a C Corporation or an S Corporation.

·         A LLC must indicate whether it is a C Corp, S Corp, or Partnership.  A Disregarded Entity has been dropped from that line, so a single member LLC would check the box for an Individual/Sole Proprietor.

FSA and HSA Debit Cards

The Affordable Health Care Act essentially bars purchase or reimbursement of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs from FSAs and HSAs made after Dec. 31, 2010, unless there was a prescription for the medicine and a receipt for the purchase.  Now the IRS has issued updated guidance modifying the old rules and posted Q&A on its web site.  (www.irs.gov/newsroom, and search for care tax provisions)

Accountable Plans

Accountable plans that meet IRS requirements do not require employee expense reimbursements and allowances to be included in income on an employee's W-2 (nonaccountable plan reimbursements do; employees must file a 2106 with the IRS to claim the deductions)   An accountable plan must require employees to submit within a reasonable period of time. 

1.  an account of the expense in writing, including its business purpose; and

2.  excess reimbursements or unused allowances. 

An accountable plan requires a written policy of company procedures for expense advances and reimbursements and required employee documentation.  (Without this, a plan may be deemed nonaccountable.)

Some employers provide credit cards for specific expenses, such as travel, monitoring usage with reports from the card issuer.  For details, download IRS Pub. 463, at irs.gov