Medlin Software, Dennis

Good old NY. Submitted sample forms (to get approve to print them from our software). All fake data except our address and name. Sent it to their forms approval person. Was approved. Was also dunned for not paying the taxes shown on the fake data submitted to their substitute forms department. Clearly they want a bite if the apple when any sort of nexus might be claimed.

Programming wise, an unexpected error (reported by Windows), means something has happened which the application itself is not designed to handle. For instance, a memory corruption. The message is actually quite accurate... Ideally, the application "hooks" all such errors and inserts its own error handling routine. There can be cases where some outside influence prevents the application from hooking and trapping all errors. Usually these errors are caused by more than one program trying to use the same memory address (which should never happen unless one program has hard coded an address or does not handle missing items).

The virtual phone system I use allows recording. Must be memorialized in some manner. Easily resolves the "You told me to...", "I thought you said...", "You never...", and so on. Always have a record of your communication. Will not save grief, since some will still argue, but it will give you the proof of what you communicated.

Sadly, it is wisest to have any communication with a customer in written or recorded form. It is one of the reasons I am letting go of a fun avocation, the need to record the event for times when things go awry. Avoids the one person's word against the other. Had a young man utter the magic word (you) in front of a few other choice words. One of the adults in charge says the young man did no such thing. Since I now have recording device on the entire time, the recording goes in my report as well...

I do not give out my cell, and it only rings if it is a number in my contact list. However, you can offer texting to clients. Personally, I use a "virtual" phone number. It allows setup to receive text messages, and sends those text messages through to me as email messages. I can respond to the "text" via normal email, and the recipient receives my replies as a text. One issue is texting will not usually include earlier messages in the replies, so you may have to manually search your messages to see with the person was writing about/replying to. There are services where you can make your business number completely virtual, so one number can be used for incoming calls and texts, and how you receive those calls and texts is up to you. The virtual services can set hours to ring, who to send directly to voicemail, who to manually block, auto junk call blocking, and so on. The calls you want to receive can be sent to any number or series of numbers, such as a cell or landline. But to stick to the theme of this thread, the number of times my email, text, or online messages get a response of "I want to talk with a REAL person" is increasing. I am a real boy... that happens to respond quickly (which some think cannot be real), and yes, most questions have been asked before, so there is likely a cut and paste response/solution I can share. I cannot make anyone follow the solution, nor can I convince all I really do know what I am doing... What I mean is it is illogical to ask an expert for help, then question the expert's advice. Some say logic is going the way of common sense

Thank goodness I do not have a camera showing me falling over laughing at that. Thanks Elrod! Exactly what I needed today (seriously).

Has evolved to "but my (computer expert, computer store, IT person) said they backed up everything, and that everything is on the CD/DVD/USB they gave me." I am not holding my breath waiting for the first time the "backup" actually has all the needed information. Seems the "experts" fix computer issues by reformatting and reinstalling the OS since it is a few minute set and forget fix for their fee. The issue is the experts do not actually restore anything, and do not seem to even tell their customer how to use the "backup".

With some exceptions, payroll is not as complicated as it might appear. Pub 15 and the state publication(s) are a good start. A basic payroll can easily be done by hand, which means it is easy to learn. I always suggest anyone with payroll duties have the ability to prepare a payroll by hand. It helps reduce errors once you reply on software and do nothing more than input hours and spit out checks and reports. What is not in the books is understanding the liability involved, based on the part one takes in the process.

There is some amount of money which will remove the PITA flag from any client. The trick is knowing what that amount is. In the extreme, one 500k per year customer might actually be easier than 500 at 1k per year. While not PITA related, I often get asked about creating a Mac version of our software. I always say I am willing, for the price it would take to at least break even. No one "bites", because it would be cheaper to buy a PC and printer every year, just for one program... With Apple not yet, in all these years, having reached 10% of desktop users, the market is too small for something other than a very specialized program which cannot be had on a PC. (Gone are the days when the publishing world all used Apple because the defacto publishing software was Apple only.)

A pen is valid to use. For a self printed form, the software has to go through an approval process, so there are likely few, if any, free options. SSA does not offer fill in forms, since no PDF can be guaranteed to print as intended (pdf software allows the end user to alter the dimensions)..

Nothing new, and not unique to tax prep. Food gathering, accounting, repairs, construction, all these things "could" be done DIY, but few do. The key is to "sell" the service, meaning saving the customer the time to learn and perform the task properly, allows the customer to spend their time warning using their own skills, or enjoying leisure time. A certain number will always prefer to DIY, like me, because we enjoy the process, enjoy learning, already have the skills, etc. There are plenty who would rather use their time for other pursuits.

Stairs. Careful if you get a new pair of work shoes (slippers). My latest pair has a slightly longer sole in front, and I tripped going UP stairs.

AFAIK, you can hold CC info, OTHER THAN the security code. The security code is not needed for a merchant to try a card, but some card issuers may decline without the security code. Less publicized is a security code of all zeroes was how one used to say a card did not have a security code, it was illegible, or it was not provided, so if you have a code of all zeroes on an actual card, it is USELESS...

Also, my preference has rubbed off on our kids. One just moved to a three minute walk from his office (he can see it from his apartment) because the 2 hours a day on a nearly free bus was wasted time for him, and the one is about ten minutes from his place of work. My parents had more than an hour each way for most of my youth... latch key was not something I wanted to continue.

Breakfast can be a mess... Sometimes the dogs head out the same time I step across the hall. If there is a jam in the hallway, I work remotely from bed until it clears. My lovely wife of 31 years delivers breakfast, after the dogs are fed..

With some tax agencies requiring unmasked ID numbers (MT recently put out a bulletin reminding they must have fill numbers), if one believes their SSN is secure or wants to try to keep it unknown, they should obtain an EIN or other allowable ID to use for tax forms. Personally, while I do not want my information in the wild, the number of things requiring divulging a SSN make it impossible to consider secure. For instance, anyone volunteering with a youth sports group has to divulge their SSN for an annual background check. The person who can see your SSN (assuming they follow the rules) is another volunteer who is NOT required to pass any background checks... (One of many reasons I no longer volunteer with such groups.)

Requiring frequent pwd changes defeats the purpose. With frequent changes, many fall back to sticky notes... A proper password should not have to be changed, unless the data has been compromised.

If you are reading this topic, you probably have a backup system in place. Remember, your backup very well could be worthless unless you try it and prove it can be restored from... (Just had two customers, within minutes say they cannot find data and asked if we had a copy to send them... One was relying on some sort of network backup some long ago IT person setup for them, which apparently failed or was not setup properly, the other assumed all programs sent backups somewhere on the cloud "for them".)

General Delivery at a zip code still works. Has to be to a post office which processes it (I think if there is more than one office in a certain area, one is designated for GD). I also remember something about a postmaster being able to refuse GD. I have at least two customers who use GD. I remember speaking to one several years back. IIRC, they use GD instead of paying for a box. The other, I am not sure, since they have a street address listed online.

The IRS published it 1/9/17, if that helps you out.

Sounds like a profitable client.

Careful, my SWMBO would object. Just because she does not have taxable earnings does not mean she works or earns less than I do Back in the last century, when SWMBO was getting taxable pay, we set her to withhold nothing. It was for appearance, as it irritated her to get such a small net check for her part time gig. I raised my WH to make up the difference. I hear often the employee says their (insert name here, could be tax person, friend, neighbor, person next to them on the bus) said to withhold a flat %. Makes me cringe, since there is no proper way for the employer to comply, so it puts the employee, employer, and advice giver at odds, and sometimes involves a fourth party (me!). IMO the flat % advice is worthless as the employee has to translate the flat % to some allowable combination on a W4. My suggestion would be to calculate an actual liability amount for the year, plus some % cushion over, plus let the client choose their hoped for refund. With the projected liability, and cushion amount, the chances of being at under withhold penalty are nil. Divide that amount by their pay frequency, and give them that number as the amount to watch for. Then they have something they can compare apples to apples on their stub, and can adjust easily, via W4. Have them check in 1/2 way and 3/4 through the year by sending an image of their current stubs. Seconds to review and suggest changes.

The employer has several ways to pay a bonus (Per Pub 15). Some are easier for the employer (adding it to the next regular check, what most will do) and some are more accurate for the employee. Sounds like the employer did what most do, and the employee did not recognize the consequences. Employer did nothing wrong. Employee has to be aware that the proper deposit amount through the year (via withholding or other means) is their personal responsibility. The calculation which is likely best for the employee is too complicated for most to figure out... and employees HATE it when they get a bonus with any withholding... Get many who ask how to give a bonus with no withholding. This means employers will always take the easy way, and not use the annual; method, or the maximum method. Your situation is something I hear OFTEN from employers. They get a complaint form an employee that the employer did not withhold enough. I have to point out the employer has a simple (but complicated) requirement, and it is not to make sure the employee does not owe, or get a refund... Sounds like a good way to increase off season business, offer a mid or 3/4 year withholding review. Roll it into the prior year fee so it appears "free" the next year? Not too far back, the withholding tables were overly :"heavy". Employees who claimed the obvious would get relatively large refunds every year. One of the Bush presidents took advantage, and lowered the withholding to something close to accurate (at least for single earning households), and called it tax relief. I remember having to claim double dependents to get close to even, then having to claim one less than actual to get even. (Now I self manage, and withhold zero until December, but not many have that option.)

<Payroll hat> PUB 15 is what employers MUST follow, for the last valid W4 the employee provides. Whether or not it meets the needs of the employee is up to the employee to determine. Employers have enough to worry about and have no business delving into or discussing whether or not the withheld amount will accomplish what the employee is hoping to accomplish. </Payroll hat> If someone ends up owing, the preparer likely can offer advice as to the estimated total liability based on estimated earnings for the next year. If the person is not making any other tax deposits besides withholding, it is easy to divide liability by paydays per year. That amount, if not what is withheld already, can be achieved by creating and submitting a new valid W4, with an amount in the additional withholding area. While not proper, many will set their W4 as married and a high number of allowances, and try to get their employer to essentially withhold a fixed amount via the "additional" withholding field on the W4. Some will use a W4 which results in zero withholding, and make regular deposits on their own. Some will do a combination, where they check their liability before the end of year, and make a deposit just before end of year (me) if needed. (I am not fond of loaning money to anyone for free, so I seek no refund, and want to owe just below the under withholding threshold.)

For me, it is soon to be 24 years... Still have not seen or heard "it all". Learned plenty though. Some I can share. Oldest son has a job installing/repairing a certain thing. When installed/repaired, they tell their clients not to do a certain SIMPLE thing. They do not listen, and have to pay for late night and holiday repairs. Son said something about people not listening. I pointed out those people had money they want to give to him, so smile, give the advice again, and cash the checks (and get those checks up front). Happy customer, happy wallet for son, win-win.