Gail in Virginia

I sometimes roll over when they make their appointment if I am trying to look it over before they come in or work on things like depreciation before they actually arrive in the office. I can always delete it if they don't show, and even re-rollover if needed. But usually I roll it over when they are walking down the hall to my office.

I am with Marilyn on the subject of when we get busy. We have been mailing out our newsletter, preparing W-2's, doing bookkeeping, and a few fiscal year-ends that are due now. There really isn't a slow time anymore, but the pressure eases from May 1 to October 1 for our office.

I have no idea which way it will go this year. We will probably leave some clients the same and raise fees on others simply due to the fact that their circumstances changed, requiring us to spend more time on their returns. Of course, that will be seen as a price hike by some of them even though our rates will probably not change. We are prepared for the possibility that we will lose some clients, but so far we have been gaining rather than losing. I am just pessimistic enough to not believe that can last. What I wasn't prepared for was losing one of our part-time, seasonal employees. She had been doing some preparation and a lot of checking returns, but she decided that with the downturn in the stock market, she could no longer afford semi-retirement and she has accepted a position full-time with another firm. But if that is the worst business set-back we face in the current economy, I will count my blessings and go on.

:bday:

I am with KC. I learned to do taxes by filling out the forms in pencil, and I am uncomfortable if I can't see the form and how it is being filled out as I go. Much as I might yell at ATX's bunny, I really love that rabbit!

:bday: and many more!

:bday: to both of you! And many more!

And I have never done RAL's so I am probably the last person that should be responding, but I have been told that it is a good idea to establish a relationship with a local bank for them to cash the RAL checks that you issue. One of the bigger RAL sellers in our area even has an ATM machine in his office for the convenience of his customer's in cashing their checks. I am not sure how that works.

Page 2 of the 1040 does not have an electronic signature in the sign here portion of the return. You would only use an electronic signature if you are electronically filing the return, in which case it would go on the 8879. So the 5 digit pin number is used on the third party designee box on page 2 of the 1040, or on the 8879 as the ERO's electronic signature pin. Entering it as the ERO pin on the E-file tab simply allows the program to automatically complete that portion of the 8879 for you. As far as these being the only places you would use it, they are the only places on the 1040 that I can think of. I also use it on the check the box section of forms 941, etc. Please don't make this so difficult - it is just your electronic signature. Use it when the IRS asks for a pin in place of a signature.

I use the same pin for everything - taxpayer signature on my return, when I complete page two of the federal return under the "check the box" representation line, and as ERO on the 8879. If I am using it in place of my signature, it seems to me it should always be the same.

If the client kept good records, then if you divide business miles by total miles, and multiply that by the total amount spent for gas for the vehicle, you should get a pretty good idea of how much was spent on gas for business. But how is the personal use being treated by the corporation? Are those miles being added to his income on his W2?

Only time will tell B)

I don't know if I would say that I like the synopsis, but I sure cannot argue with it! :scratch_head:

I always think that it is educational to try to read a foreign language! ;)

I totally agree with KC. We have a good thing going, so I am hoping that the official site doesn't get jealous and screw it up! B)

I am not IT expert, but could you not also do it by having the person use one of the software programs that lets them use a computer at your office like it was their desktop? I know there are some out there, I just can't think of any of them right now. :blush:

If I take away two, then I have two oranges. This one is older than I am!

We are planning to change software soon for our bookkeeping/payroll functions. We had been using Peachtree 2000, and Quickbooks when we had to, but Peachtree 2000 is not like current Peachtree programs at all and it is no longer supported. It hasn't been for several years now, and that is getting to be a problem. We are looking at DP Solomon. Does anyone have any experience with this program, or any other recommendations to make? Thanks for any suggestions. Gail

I am curious about the client that converts the entire year to an Excel file. Does that let you actually see the journal entries that QuickBooks is making? One of the things that I like the least about QuickBooks is trying to trace journal entries throught checkbook registers and drill downs, when I would rather just see a real, honest to God journal entry.

I believe that even if you are using a "higher" version of QuickBooks (i.e, you have Premier and he only has Pro) then the accountants copy merge will still work. However, you do both have to have the same year. So if he is still using 2007, and you buy 2009 to be able to read his data, once you have read it into your later version, you will not be able to convert it back to a for he can use on his 2007 copy - he would also have to upgrade to 2009. I am not an expert, but I use QuickBooks for clients who insist on using it and this has been my experience.

I thought this might fit in, sort of.... About those Church Hymns A minister decided to do something a little different one Sunday morning. He said 'Today, in church, I am going to say a single word and you are going to help me preach. Whatever single word I say, I want you to sing whatever hymn that comes to your mind.' The pastor shouted out 'CROSS.' Immediately the congregation started singing in unison, 'THE OLD RUGGED CROSS.' The pastor hollered out 'GRACE.' The congregation began to sing 'AMAZING GRACE, how sweet the sound.' The pastor said 'POWER.' The congregation sang 'THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD.' The Pastor said 'SEX' The congregation fell into total silence. Everyone was in shock. They all nervously began to look around at each other afraid to say anything. Then all of a sudden, way from in the back of the church, a little old 87 year old grandmother stood up and began to sing 'PRECIOUS MEMORIES.'

I got 21 correct, but I expected to do better. On the other hand, those were hard!

Thanks for the reminder, KC. I usually order some of the marketing materials, and appreciate the timely reminder.

If they were late yesterday, I am waaaay late, but anyway! And many more!

We just bought ArkWorks at the IRS forum this year, so I have only played around with it and not actually used it. The selling point for me (and Jack may know how to do this with Windows) is that I could scan a file in as PDF (or save it as PDF using ATX) and then when I am ready to email it to a client, ArkWorks will help me put a password on the file to increase security, and I can use the software to add notes to a document or to black out items like social security numbers. However, like I said, we just bought this and haven't really used it to any great extent yet so please do not consider this to be an endorsement (unless you work for ArkWorks and want to send me money.)