• Save time
• Keep a closer eye on your bottom line
• Present a more polished image
• Better manage documents
• Stay in touch with old and new customers

So if you’re using an earlier version, you should consider treating yourself to a present that will pay for it self quickly and help you better promote and manage your company in less time.

Modifiable Company Snapshot

The Company Snapshot-a one-page screen of key reports and graphs, is the best first place to look when you fire up QuickBooks in the morning.  In the past, its content has been static, but now you can choose from a myriad of reports and customize this printable page to meet your needs.

 Figure4: QuickBooks 2010 helps you build targeted email marketing campaignsbased on your customer data.

Find Reports Faster

Finally,Intuit has revamped QuickBooks’ reporting tools so they’re easier to find and open quickly.  You can choose between list, grid, and graphical carousel views, and tab quickly among memorized, favorite, and recently viewed reports.

This tweaking, along with all of the other new features listed here (and more), make QuickBooks 2010 the best small business accounting software upgrade to come down the pike in awhile.

For more information on QuickBooks 2010, click here.

As a freelance expert you can benefit from the full suite of their powerful time tracking features that will help you be more profitable right away.  Their free account gives you three invoices/month for free and the ability to track an extra team member.  Unlimited invoices add-on module is available for just $9.99/month.  It will let you turn your time tracked with Paymo into professional looking invoices that will sure to impress your clients. You can signup for a free account here.

Are you struggling to have $50 at the end of the month? Quicken Online makes it easy to see where your money is right now.

You can personalize all your bank information so you understand it; change payee names, create categories, track tax deductions all in one place with a single ID and password.

Quicken makes it easy to know where your money is going.

• Quicken instantly updates spending and banking transactions so you can see your accounts in one place.
• Instantly shows you where you’re spending your money
• Save time – see everything in ONE place, using ONE single password
• All-in-one bill management brings peace of mind that you are always on top of your bills
• Brings all your information together – view your checking, savings and credit card account details in one place.

Nothing Lasts Forever

And the Internal Revenue Code is filled with examples.

Increasingly, for budgetary and other reasons, Congress is enacting tax provisions on a temporary basis. Sometimes these provisions are extended again and again (e.g., the “above-the-line” deduction for higher education expenses) and may eventually become a permanent part of the Code (e.g., work opportunity tax credit).Other times, the provisions are merely one-shot deals (e.g., recovery rebate credit) or are extended periodically, but eventually die (e.g., Archer medical savings accounts).

In any case, with all of these comings and goings, it’s difficult for tax professionals– much less their clients–to keep track of precisely how long a given tax break is scheduled to last. Below you will find a quick rundown of provisions that are due to expire in 2009.

Since a number of these provisions may affect your clients’ tax planning this year, we have prepared a letter you can send alerting them to these last-chance opportunities.

Twenty-Two Last-Chance Opportunities for Tax Savings

1. Income. Up to $2,400 of unemployment compensation benefits are excluded from gross income by the recipient. However, the exclusion is not available for benefits received in tax years beginning after 2009 [IRC Sec. 85(c)].

2. Personal deductions. Clients can claim a deduction (whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction) for sales or excises taxes paid on the purchase of a new vehicle. The deduction (phased out at higher income levels) does not apply to purchases after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 164(b)(6)(G)].

3. Personal deductions. Clients who claim the standard deduction can take an additional deduction for state and local property taxes, up to a maximum of $500 ($1,000 for joint return filers). The deduction is not available for tax years beginning after 2009 [IRC Sec. 63(c)(7)].

4. Personal deductions. A client can elect to take an itemized deduction for state and local general sales taxes instead of an itemized deduction for state and local income taxes, but the election is available only for tax years beginning before Jan. 1, 2010 [IRC Sec. 164(b)(5)(I)].

5. Personal deductions. A client may claim an above-the-line deduction for “qualified tuition and related expenses” paid for the enrollment or attendance of the client, the client’s spouse, or a dependent at an eligible institution of higher education. The deduction cannot exceed $4,000 (phased out at higher income levels) and applies only to tax years beginning before January 1, 2010 [IRC Sec. 222(e)].

6. Personal deductions. The maximum deduction allowed annually for charitable donations is increased in the case of “qualified conservation contributions.” The increased deduction is not available for donations after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 170(b)(1)(E)].

7. Business deductions. For tax years beginning before 2010, teachers in grades K-12 and other eligible educators can claim an above-the-line deduction for up to $250 of their out-of-pocket expenses for books and supplies used in the classroom [IRC Sec. 62(d)(1)].

8. Business deductions. A client can claim an additional 50% depreciation allowance for qualifying business machinery and equipment placed in service before January 1, 2010 [IRC Sec. 168(k)(2)(A)].

9. Business deductions. A client can claim a Section 179 expensing deduction for the first $250,000 of qualifying equipment and machinery placed in service during the year, subject to a phase out if more than $800,000 of eligible property is placed in service during the year. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2009, the maximum Section 179 deduction drops to $125,000 (adjusted for inflation) with the phase-out starting at the $500,000 level [IRC Sec. 179(b)(7)].

10. Business deductions. The cost of qualified leasehold improvement property, restaurant property, and retail space improvement property can be written off over 15 years. The 15-year write-off period is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 168(e)(3)(E)].

11. Business deductions. Business clients may claim enhanced deductions for donations of food inventory to a charitable organization if the organization uses the property solely for the care of the ill, the needy, or infants. The enhanced deduction does not apply to donations after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 170(e)(3)(C)].

12. Business deductions. The maximum first-year depreciation deduction for passenger automobiles used for business purposes is increased by $8,000 for automobiles placed in service before 2010 [IRC Sec. 68(e)(3)(B)].

13. Business deductions. Certain qualifying machinery and equipment used in a farming business may be written off over a five-year cost recovery period. The original use of the property must begin with the taxpayer and the property must be placed in service before January 1, 2010 [IRC Sec. 168(e)(3)(B)].

14. Personal tax credits. A client who hasn’t owned a home during the previous three years can claim a first-time homebuyer credit of up to $8,000 (phased out at higher income levels) for the purchase of a principal residence. The credit can be claimed only for homes purchased before December 1, 2009 [IRC Sec. 36].

15. Business credits. Employers may claim a 20% income tax credit for qualifying differential pay paid to employees on active military duty. The credit expires for payments made after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 45P].

16. Business credits. An eligible contractor may claim a credit of up to $2,000 for each qualified new energy efficient home that the contractor constructs and that is acquired from the contractor for use as a residence. The credit does not apply to homes acquired after December 31, 2009 [IRC Sec. 45L].

17. Alternative minimum tax. Clients can offset nonrefundable personal tax credits, such as the child and dependent care credit and the Lifetime Learning credit, against their alternative minimum liability. The offset will not be available for tax years beginning after 2009 [IRC Sec. 26(a)(2)].

18. Alternative minimum tax. For tax years beginning in 2009, the exemption amounts used in calculating a client’s alternative minimum taxable income of $70,950 for married couples filing a joint return and $46,700 for singles and heads of households. For tax years beginning after 2009, these amounts are scheduled to drop to $45,000 and $33,750, respectively [IRC Sec. 55(d)(1)].

19. Estimated taxes. For small business owners with adjusted gross income of $500,000 or less, the “required annual payment” of 2009 estimated taxes is the lesser of (1) 90% of the current year’s tax or (2) 90% of the prior year’s tax. For 2010, the prior-year’s-tax threshold rises to 100% (or 110% for clients with adjusted gross income of $150,000 or more) [IRC Sec. 6654(d)(1)].

20. Retirement plans. The requirement that an IRA owner age 70 ½ or over must receive a minimum distribution annually is suspended for 2009, but is reinstated in 2010 [IRC Sec. 401(a)(9)(H)].

21. Retirement plans. An IRA may exclude from income distributions of up to $100,000 annually if paid directly by the IRA trustee to charitable organization. The exclusion expires in tax years beginning after 2009 [IRC Sec. 408(d)(8)].

22. Employee benefits. Clients who are covered by employer-sponsored health plans and are laid off before January 1, 2010 can qualify for subsidized plan continuation (COBRA) coverage for up to nine months. Employers can claim a credit against employment taxes for the subsidies provided to employees [IRC Sec. 6432].

Terence M. Myers, J.D. and Dorinda D. DeScherer, J.D. are nationally renowned writers on tax topics for such publications as Accountants Tax Weekly, Tax Return Preparer’s Letter, Nonprofit Tax and Financial Strategies, and Executive’s Tax and Management Report. For many years Myers was Managing Editor and DeScherer Assistant Managing Editor for many Prentice Hall tax newsletters. Myers and DeScherer have published books and other publications with Harcourt Professional Publishing, Aspen Publishers, Prentice Hall, and the AICPA.

Last Updated: 06/18/2009

The PocketMod is a small book with guides on each page.  These guides or templates, combined with a unique folding style, enable a normal piece of paper to become the ultimate note card. It is hard to describe just how incredibly useful the PocketMod is. It’s best that you just dive in and create one.  Build a PocketMod now!

A favicon (short for “favorites icon” and also known as a page icon), is an icon associated with a particular website or webpage that is displayed in the browser address bar next to a site’s URL.

Easily create your own custom favicons for free with Favicon Generator…