If you’re searching for tax and accounting services near me and aren’t finding what you need near you, a solution to your problem is available if you keep reading. For tax services San Diego and the surrounding communities can depend on, you need an experienced professional willing to provide courteous, personalized service.

So which is the bookkeeper and tax preparer San Diego businesses can trust? Which company can provide the service of a CPA San Diego can rely on without the high cost of an accountant? The answer may surprise you.

Skill, Technology And More

The right bookkeeper brings together a strong background with numbers and the best technology to provide customers a top-level experience at a price that makes sense. Expect the bookkeeper you choose for your small to mid-sized business to help you decide between single-entry and double-entry bookkeeping and use QuickBooks or a similar software package to keep track of credits, debits and provide the information necessary for tax preparation. The right choice also has references and testimonials.

Services in addition to tax services in San Diego that you can expect from your CPA alternative and bookkeeping tax preparer include:

• General accounting and bookkeeping
• Record-keeping to help prevent and deal with IRS tax problems
• Advice and consultation services
• And more.

What You Should Expect From Your San Diego Bookkeeper And Tax Preparer

When you make a smart choice of bookkeeper to handle your records and tax prep, you should expect:

An enjoyable experience. Above all else, the right person to work with you is one that’s pleasant, gets along with your team and understands your needs. You won’t have to worry or micromanage when you make the right choice.

Smart advice. In addition to efficient and effective transaction recording and tracking, expect a good bookkeeper to provide useful, honest advice in good times and bad. Your bookkeeper can help you see potentials risks and avoid them if possible.

Professional expertise. An experienced professional should know how to manage your accounts with skill and precision. And more than that, they should be experts at navigating the technology necessary to keep books in today’s world.

When you depend on your San Diego bookkeeper for your tax preparation services as well, expect an updated understanding of tax compliance and the latest tax regulations that impact your business. Regulations and expectations change every year and sometimes multiple times within a year, and you don’t want someone whose knowledge is from last year or worse.

Your bookkeeper should also provide the flexibility of handling services when and where you like, compliance with privacy laws and be open to your questions, feedback and concerns. No matter what’s happening in your business, theirs or the world, you should also expect smooth and secure communication too.

Will The Best Choice Surprise You?

So what’s the best choice for tax services San Diego businesses can afford and rely on? What’s the smartest company to choose when you need an alternative to the expensive CPAs who operate in San Diego? Which tax preparer can meet the needs of your San Diego business?

Perhaps the answer won’t surprise you at all. It’s AD Bookkeeping Services, a company founded on a decade and a half of professional experience that you can put to work for you. Affordable monthly packages are available at a flat rate so you always know what you’re paying.

When you put your business finances and tax preparation in the hands of AD Bookkeeping Services, you’re making the best choice for affordability, quality of service, professionalism, friendliness and flexibility. You’re also making the best choice for the future of your business.

For double-entry accounting, every transaction on a balance sheet and income statement needs to have at least a debit and a credit. Different types of accounts have a debit or credit balance depending on what type of account they are. Simple, right?

It’s no surprise that even people who have been in business for a while go looking for an accounting cheat sheet to help them understand – a sort of debits and credits cheat sheet to remind them which is what. You could also call it a T accounts cheat sheet since double-entry accounts are sometimes called T accounts because of how they look on the page: The title of the account is at the top with a line under it, then debits are on the left and credits are on the right, separated by a line down the middle. This method of bookkeeping is also called a ledger account.

Your Accounting Cheat Sheet

Here are some important details that can serve as your debits and credits cheat sheet:

• Debits are what you’ve gotten or what you’ve bought. They’re how you’ve used your funds.
• Credits are where you got money or your sources of income.
• Every transaction involves a debit for what you received and a credit for how you paid for it.
• Assets like a desk or computer usually have a debit balance because they’re things you have to buy. Expenses like phone service or copy paper also have a debit balance because they’re things you’ve received.
• Liabilities and equity have a credit balance in most cases because they’re where you got money to purchase things. Sales revenue also has a credit balance because you got cash for some product or service.

Let’s Say It Another Way

If you’re still a bit confused – and we can understand why you would be since this is confusing stuff – let’s try to say the same thing in a different way while adding in a little about colors. Those who have learned color accounting sometimes color code transactions, and it helps to understand how they do that. Here’s a different sort of accounting cheat sheet that you may find easier to understand:

• One type of debit is an asset where what was received increases an account and where it came from decreases an account; color accounting records the transaction in green.
• One type of credit is a liability where what was received decreases an account and where it came from increases an account; color accounting records the transaction in yellow.
• One type of credit is equity where what was received decreases an account and where it came from increases an account; color accounting records the transaction in yellow.
• One type of credit is sale revenue where what was received decreases an account and where it came from increases an account; color accounting records the transaction in yellow with a purple outline.
• One type of debit is an expense where what was received increases an account and where it came from decreases an account; color accounting records the transaction in green with a purple outline.

If you’re still confused, perhaps you’re beginning to understand why the world has bookkeepers with specialized knowledge in double-entry accounting and other ways of keeping track of your business.

For San Diego bookkeeping services to help your business keep accurate records that allow you to always know where you stand financially and how you’re doing, reach out to AD Bookkeeping Services, providers of bookkeeping San Diego businesses can trust for accuracy. For personal service from an honest, experienced professional who doesn’t get confused by things like credits and debits, reach out now to AD Bookkeeping Services for a consultation and quote. You’ll be glad you did.

Today’s gig economy brings with it good news for independent contractors considering what’s deductible and what isn’t: Write-offs for 1099 contractors abound. If you’re a freelancer, you need to be in the know so you can get all the deductions you deserve.

An independent contractor is anyone – person or business – that offers goods or services to some other entity, either under written contract or through a verbal agreement. This category of workers includes professionals from web designers and writers to real estate agents, truck drivers and more. All these people and many others need to keep invoices and receipts to prove deductible expenses at tax time.

What Can I Deduct As A Contractor?

So what expenses can I deduct as a 1099 contractor? The list is long. It generally includes all the ordinary and necessary expenses related to doing your work. Some of the specific items an independent contractor may be able to deduct are:

• Advertising and operating expenses, including web hosting costs and other internet services, phone lines, business cards and other promotional expenses
• Materials and supplies, including electronics, cameras, printers (depreciation rules may apply to some of these) plus pens, paper, ink greeting cards sent to customers and business-related newspapers, magazines and books
• Home office expenses, as long as the room or area is not used for any other purpose and you follow the rules about what percentage of home expenses like mortgage, homeowner’s insurance, repairs and remodeling can be deducted for a home office
• Travel, including hotel, airfare and usually 50 percent of meal costs (but remember that more days must be spent for business than pleasure and that this category may be heavily scrutinized during an audit)
• Coffee and snacks provided to employees while working when there is a business reason why you need to be eating at work (and there are rules on whether food, which does not include meals, is 50 percent or 100 percent deductible)
• Limited business entertainment if food is included in the price of the ticket, but itemization of what the ticket includes is required (most business entertainment is not deductible)
• Cleaning services for a home office or rented office, and this can sometimes include paying a reasonable amount to a relative to do it
• Childcare for each employee up to $5,000, which can benefit you personally if you have children and your spouse is your employee
• Medical costs, including health insurance, which is deductible for all independent contractors, as well as out-of-pocket costs for glasses, hearing aids, medications and more
• Retirement plan contributions when you choose the right plan and contribute according to specific rules
• Car mileage using the standard deduction or itemizing actually expenses like tolls, parking fees, repairs and more (as long as you really do travel by car as part of your work).

Remember, the IRS won’t correct your return if you fail to claim a deduction to which you’re entitled. Instead, you’ll simply pay more.

A Bookkeeper Is A Great Idea

Every small business – no matter how small – can benefit from the assistance of a bookkeeper in determining what expenses you can deduct as a 1099 contractor and in keeping track of your independent contractor expense account. To make sure you’re on the right track with your deductions, be sure to do your own research or let a bookkeeper or other professional help you make smart decisions. The most important thing is to keep good records, no matter who handles them.

For San Diego bookkeeping services tailored to meet the needs of your business, reach out to AD Bookkeeping Services now. It’s the right decision to keep you well-organized and help you stay on the right side of tax intricacies.

The IRS online tax payment system is called the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System – or EFTPS. All new businesses get an EFTPS letter through the mail in a real IRS letter envelope. Your business will get this letter even if you aren’t required to make estimated tax payments or pay electronically. The letter contains valuable information you may need if you need to make payments in the future.

You will need to set up an EFTPS account if you have to pay estimated tax, corporate tax, self-employment tax, payroll tax or excise tax. Keep in mind that this system should not be confused with Direct Pay, a system that is for paying individual taxes. Both individual taxpayers and companies can use EFTPS for certain tax payments.

So what is EFTPS? It’s an electronic system for paying taxes – which is something businesses must do in many cases, including if they pay salaries or wages to the owner or any employees. If your business expects to owe $1,000 or more in federal income tax this year, you may need to make quarterly estimated payroll tax payments through this system.

Wondering if the letter or email you got is real? Keep reading. You can also visit eptps.gov to reach the EFTPS site directly or search for it at irs.gov.

The IRS And Email

As we said, a letter in the mail in a real IRS letter envelope when you first open a business is to be expected and is likely real. If you get an email, however, you have reason to be suspicious. The IRS does not make unsolicited contact with people or businesses by email, text message, social media or similar means. Any email you receive from the IRS regarding problems with your EFTPS payment is likely bogus. An EFTPS letter by email isn’t something you should expect or interact with.

In fact, the IRS has a notice on its website (although not a recent one) that warns of scam emails related to the EFTPS. These emails say that tax payments made through the system have been rejected and ask the recipient to visit a bogus link to report the problem. When you click the link, according to the IRS notice, malware may infect your computer. This malicious software sends personal information, including financial information already on your computer, to the scammer.

In this case and as always, you should not click on any links or open any attachments in emails that claim to be from the IRS, EFTPS or the Financial Management Service, which is the U.S. Treasury department that operates EFTPS. You should also resist the temptation to reply to this or any unsolicited email since this simply verifies to the scammer, who may have sent millions of emails, that your email address is active. That might open you up to more fake emails or other scams.

Get A Professional On Your Side

If you get an email from the IRS, your best bet is to ignore it. If you get a real letter in a real IRS envelope, you’d better take a look. It might be your EFTPS letter, which is something you should expect.

If you’re still wondering “What is EFTPS?” or are confused about any aspect of your company’s financial or tax situation, you need expert help from a bookkeeper who knows about these things. For bookkeeping San Diego small and mid-sized businesses can depend on, contact AD Bookkeeping Services. You’ll speak with an experienced professional who can provide unmatched skill in bookkeeping services and advice that can help you grow and track your business.

Here’s the thing: Handling your own bookkeeping is a risky, tricky idea unless you have training in how to deal with numbers. But don’t let potential bookkeeping mistakes or snafus hold you back. Instead, get someone on your side who knows bookkeeping so you can spend your time focusing on the things you’re good at.

Don’t believe bookkeeping is really all that complicated? Here are 5 common bookkeeping mistakes that serve as examples of how difficult dealing with business numbers can be – along with tips on how to resolve those errors if you decide to tackle them yourself:

1. Labeling payments to the owner as an expense.

If your company is a sole proprietorship or one-person LLC, it’s crucial that you don’t categorize payments that you make to yourself as a business expense. This simple but incorrect act lowers your profit and muddies the waters about how much tax you need to pay. You should instead record payments to yourself to an equity account that you label “Owner’s Draw” or something similar.

If your company is an S-corporation, then you do indeed report wages that you pay yourself for salary as an expense.

2. Failing to reconcile your accounts every month.

Just like not reconciling your personal checkbook, failing to reconciling business accounts is a really bad idea. Done properly, the process involves going line by line through each transaction to ensure that the data in your bookkeeping software matches precisely what your bank statement says. If there’s a discrepancy, you have to figure out the reason. It could be a data entry mistake, an import error or many other things.

Today, bookkeeping software and cloud-based solutions include tools to make reconciliation easy. You can also print out your bank statement and go through your accounts by hand. Simply look at the screen, then mark off each transaction you see on the paper statement. If you see that something on the screen and on the paper don’t match, it’s time for some investigation.

3. Considering transfers as income.

Let’s say that your business has both a PayPal account and a checking account. Sometimes, you may transfer funds from PayPal into your checking account. Your accounting software may record this transfer as income. It looks like you made a deposit since your checking account ends up with more money than it had before. But all you did was move the money, not make it.

Accurate bookkeeping means you will need to see if this error is happening in your software, then manually correct it so that it’s categorized as a transfer – something that doesn’t impact your overall business income or have any impact on taxes you owe. While bookkeeping software is the way to go, it’s not perfect, and the choices it makes need to be carefully considered and verified.

4. Not bothering to save receipts.

No matter whether a purchase costs a couple dollars or thousands, if it could qualify as a business deduction, you need to keep the receipt. If you purchase online, the digital version of a receipt is fine. There’s no reason to print it out. You can also take photos of paper receipts and save them digitally.

In fact, many modern bookkeeping software choices allow you to capture an image of a receipt with your phone and link it to the expense. While it doesn’t get any easier than that, many people still fail to store receipts. However you choose to do it, you need those receipts stored in an organized fashion so you can access them easily if you happen to be audited. Although advice varies on how long to keep receipts, if you use a paper system aim for at least 3 years and preferably 7 years.

5. Making personal purchases from your business account.

This is an easy mistake to make, especially if your business bank card looks just like your personal one. If you accidentally use your business account for a personal purchase, you can deal with the error in one of two ways: Either reimburse your business account for the purchase and properly record this – or record the purchase as an Owner’s Draw.

Using your business card for personal purchases may seem like a good way to avoid the hassle of having to make a transfer, but all those small personal transactions make for messy and bad bookkeeping and can cause you to begin blurring the line between your business and personal assets – a very bad business decision.

A Bookkeeper Can Help

If you find that you’re making one or more of these mistakes, please keep in mind this top 5 list includes only some of the most obvious business bookkeeping errors. Instead of worrying or stressing out about mistakes you may be making, you have two choices: Study and learn proper bookkeeping procedures and correct your business books – or put your business finances in the hands of a professional bookkeeper.

A bookkeeping service costs less than you might think and is responsible for recording all transactions, reconciling all accounts and providing you reports about where you stand. The best bookkeepers also offer advice and information to help you plan for the future. And when tax time comes, there are no worries when you have a bookkeeping service handling your books because the numbers are mostly prepared and ready to plug into your taxes.

You could say that not having a bookkeeper is actually the most frequent business bookkeeping error.