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Sometimes people want to export QuickBooks reports into Excel. There’re at least four reasons for this:

1. Consolidation Reporting. By example, there may be a parent entity that owns sub entities. There is more. The parent entity may want to see a single financial statement for itself along with all it is entities. Exporting into Excel makes this much easier than doing it manually.

2. Creating Graphs & Charts in Excel. Some times a visual presentation of numbers is easier to understand. Exporting QuickBooks reports into Excel makes it a breeze to create colorful charts & graphs.

3. Computing Totals on a QuickReport. While in the Chart of Accounts, or any of the lists, we can easily run a QuickReport. Just select the appropriate name (Auto Expenses, for example), right click, & select QuickReport. Adjust the date range, as needed. QB shows all entries for this name, both the debit entries & the credit entries.

However, QB doesn’t give a total for the entries, & sometimes it is useful to know the total. You may need to modify the report to show only the entries you want (click the Modify Report button to do this). Then, once it contains the information you need, export the report to Excel, & use the =sum feature to add the column.

4. Improving the Reports’ Appearance. There’re probably many reasons for this. Here are two:

a. The QB reports may need some cosmetic improvements in order to show them to people who have some financial power - if you’re approaching a bank for a loan, for example, you may want the balance sheet & P&L to look different. (Not the numbers, of course! Just the layout & appearance.)

b. Some times accountants, bookkeepers, managers, or CPAs do not like the appearance of the QB reports, & they export the reports into Excel to improve their look.

Final Thoughts

I see a trend here:

• Exporting because it is useful for financial or other business reasons, vs
• Exporting for strictly cosmetic reasons

My suggestion is this: If the time spent modifying reports in Excel is a good use of company resources, then do it… If it is only cosmetic, then don’t. All companies have limited resources, & these must be used wisely.

About the Author: Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to help people with QuickBooks. So… She brings completely unique insight, clear instructions, & over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer’s clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal & regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com & contact Jennifer today.

401 K plan is a retirement plan that is on offer in US & some other countries. There is more. This plan offers tax deferred savings to the employees & encourages them to save for retirement. It’s also referred to as employer sponsored retirement plan.

A 401 K plan offers many tax deduction benefits to the employees. There is more. These benefits can be availed by all citizens (except in certain cases where the employer can impose certain restrictions). In cases of people with less than 1 year of service, non US citizens or part time workers, contributions to a 401 K plan depends upon the employer. For others the rules are common.

401 K plan offers tax deductions to the contributors. Under this plan all the contributions are tax deductible, that is, tax isn’t levied on the contributions. Even though contributions are made from non taxed salary, it’s not entirely exempted from taxation. The funds (or tax deductions) are taxed at prevalent rates at the time of withdrawal. For this reason the savings are only tax deferred & not tax exempted.

401 K funds (or the tax deductions) are generally monitored by a third party. The annual contributions can be invested in a variety of stocks, funds, certificates & bonds. But it’s up to the employer to provide these options to his/her employees. He has the sole discretionary power over the management of 401 K plan. The contributions to the plan can be matched by the employer also. He/she can contribute to the 401 K plan of his/her employees. There is more. This is generally done by the employers to retain the employees. Employer contributions are not included in the maximum limit on annual contributions of employees. For this reason they’re over & above the salary of an employee.

The employer can provide the option of purchasing company stocks from these annual contributions. But investing the entire in amount in a single companies stocks, specially the one in which one is working, isn’t advisable. This would mean unnecessary risk & therefore should be avoided.

Usually this plan is offered by big companies only. This is because of the enormous costs involved in the administration of the plan. However, simpler options are available for self employed & former government entities also.

The maximum tax deductions possible are limited & set by the government. The employer can also impose his/her own limits for maximum employee contribution (or tax deductions). For example a firm may restrict the maximum contribution to ten percent of the employees income. The governmental limit on maximum contribution generally depends on the inflation rate & varies every year. For people over 50 years of age, catch up limits are allowed. This allows people over 50 years to contribute more than others. For the year 2007, the maximum contribution limit for people below 50 years of age was $15,000. For people above 50 years of age this limit was set at $15,500.

Tommy Jackson owns & operates
http://www.a1retirementresources.com
Individual Retirement Account

Merchant accounts make credit card transactions & processing possible over the internet. An e-commerce business will not actually be easily able to grow much or increase its customer base without a merchant account.

Also with an offshore merchant account you can obtain complete privacy & become capable of avoiding most rules & regulations that you might otherwise have to yield to in your own country. A Panama Merchant Account offers you & your company tax free e-commerce solutions for your business. Right. With an easy & quick setup the Panama merchant account will offer you economical advantages.

Moving your business assets offshore is one of the smart ways to start up with a new business. There is more. To gain a strong customer base your internet business would require a way to accept credit card payments on line & therefore an offshore merchant account seems like the best choice for your e-commerce needs. Offshore merchant accounts are preferred due to the various offshore advantages that they offer & that is why a Panama merchant account can be a good choice for your business.

It is comparatively easier to get accepted for an offshore merchant account than getting accepted for a domestic one. The usual requirements that are important for a domestic merchant account are overlooked when it comes to an offshore merchant account.

A Panama merchant account will offer your on line business an easy access to worldwide customers owing to the modern technology. Your business becomes capable of acquiring the best possible deal from anywhere in the world with a Panama merchant account. The factor of not having your bank in the same location helps the business reduce its taxes & places you in a favorable virtual world. The Panama merchant account is a great opportunity for the high risk businesses to gain the many offshore benefits & a strong customer base.

From multiple currencies processing to becoming capable of accepting various major credit/debit cards, the Panama merchant accounts will get you all the privacy & security that your on line business desires.

Instabill gives merchant accounts in Panama. It’s a tax free location offering enormous incentives for all kinds of merchants & on line businesses.

The approach of spring often encourages homeowners to start considering home improvements & repairs. However, before you start getting out the hammer & nails or hiring a contractor consider if your home improvements may be eligible for a home improvement tax deduction.

The first thing the homeowner must understand is the difference between a home improvement & a home repair. Simply put, a home repair is classified as fixing a problem. By example, repairing a hole in the roof, fixing a leak or repainting a room would be actually considered repairs. On the other hand, remodeling a kitchen, adding a couple of rooms, building a garage or installing a swimming pool would be classed as improvements. There is more. These improvements add to the living amenity of the home’s owners & usually add value to the home.

The Internal Revenue Service sets out strict guidelines on how a homeowner can claim a home improvement tax deduction. It’s strongly recommended that before you hire a contractor or start any home improvement works that you obtain advice from you tax consultant or from the local office of the IRS

Tax deductions for home improvements can fall into any of many different categories. A medical condition that required providing disabled access to home would normally be classed as a home improvement.

There is a special home improvement tax deduction for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Consult with the IRS regarding the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act as it increases the permitted qualifying home improvement loans.

If you’re planning a home improvement to an area of your home that is in need of repair you may be easily able to include the repair as an improvement. The Tax Act states that where a repair is carried out in the same area of the home that is being remodeled then the repair can be included as part of the improvement project. OK. So, if you’re planning on remodeling your kitchen do not forget to take care of the leaking pipes at the same time & claim the entire project as a deduction.

Tax Credits vs Tax Deduction

Tax credits can also provide significant savings to the homeowner. Whilst a tax deduction for home improvement can reduce the amount of income on which tax is payable, a tax credit directly reduces the tax itself… Tax credits are available for many types of home improvements. By example, installing insulation, adding energy-efficient windows, & some types of highly efficient equipment for cooling & heating, & solar water heating may all qualify for tax credits.

The IRS has many help-ful publications to assist homeowners who are about to embark on home improvements so a visit to their website or calling into a branch office will usually provide the homeowner with a wealth of information.

And when you begin your home improvements remember to maintain accurate records of spending & save all receipts ? this will assist you enormously when the time comes to claim your home improvement tax deduction.

Alison Stevens is an on line author & maintains The Home Improvement Website to assist homeowners with home improvement tips & information

The IRS is often bashed as being unfriendly to taxpayers. In many cases, this reputation is deserved. In relation to Hurricane Katrina victims, it’s certainly not.

As is well-known by now, the federal government did its best Keystone Cops imitation following Hurricane Katrina. Frankly, the action or lack thereof was disgraceful. It’s somewhat ironic given this fact that one government agency acted swiftly, effectively & with common sense to help the victims of the tragedy. To the surprise of many, that agency was the IRS.

You might wonder how the IRS could possibly help those devastated by the hurricane? In a number of ways. There is more. The first step taken by the agency was to extend all tax deadlines out by a year or more. The agency also temporarily terminated all federal gas taxes on diesel fuel in an effort to provide relief to the fuel shortage. And so… So far so good. What many do not understand is some of these ‘dirty diesel’ taxes effectively bar the use of such fuel by trucks. By waving the tax, the IRS opened up an entirely new fuel source to help get trucks moving again.

The IRS then took the extraordinary step of trying to educate taxpayers on how they could claim their losses from the hurricane on previously filed tax returns by amending those returns. Yes, the IRS effectively taught people how to go back & pull large amounts from their previously filed tax returns & how to do so quickly. This, of course, put money in their pockets within 30 to 60 days, which compares favorably to FEMA & the rest of the federal government efforts.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina, it would be reasonable to expect the IRS to view the events as being at an end. This, of course, would lead to a situation where victims of the hurricane are required to get back on the tax horse if you will. In truth, the IRS continues to show surprising compassion & flexibility.

The agency has just announced it’s extending by one calendar year the time victims of Hurricane Katrina have to sell off vacant land & avoid paying a tax on the gains. There is more. The normal time period is two years, which is a rather lengthy period. Given the devastation & slow state of reconstruction in the Gulf region, the IRS is displaying what many did not foresee ? compassion. If it continues to take steps like this, it might just ruin its reputation!

Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - learn more about available tax deductions

As a landlord, you’ll want to make certain you take advantage of all of the tax benefits you can receive by owning a property. There’re many other deductions than just the obvious ones. Expenses incurred to cancel a lease, reimbursements to renters for expenses that they have incurred & many others exist. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all of the expenses you have.

Interest. Mortgage interest payments on the loan to purchase the rental property are a deductible cost, but make certain you also deduct interest on loans for improvements to the property, as well as credit card interest for credit card accounts you use to purchase any items or services for the property. Interest can be one of the largest deductible expenses for a landlord.

Depreciation. The cost of your property is recovered over time through depreciation. After the second year of ownership, you can claim depreciation over a 27.5 year period.

Repairs. Any repairs you make to the rental property are deductible expenses in the year the expense occurs. There is more. These include painting, replacing broken windows, hiring a plumber to fix leaks, putting new flooring down, plastering walls. There is more. To qualify, you have to make certain the expenses are ordinary expenses in the cost of running the rental property, reasonable costs & not capital improvements. Do inquire if you can also include the cost of cnc machines & tools as well.

Travel. If you have to travel to your rental property to collect rent, discuss issues with renters, attend renter association meetings or carry out repairs, you can deduct the cost of this travel. If you have to visit service providers such as plumbers or electricians, you can deduct that as well. If you’re travelling from a distance, you can deduct the cost of your hotel as well.

Home Office. If you use a room in your home as an office to conduct the business of running your rentals, that portion of your own rent or mortgage is deductible.

Losses. You can claim any losses as deductions. There is more. These include fire & weather damage or floods. If you have insurance, you can only deduct the non-reimbursed portion, of course.

Insurance. The premiums you pay on your property insurance is deductible. You’ll probably have flood, fire, theft & liability insurance on the property.

Services. Any kind of fees you pay for services related to the property are deductible, such as attorney fees, accountant fees, payments to property management companies, real estate investment advisors & other professionals who provide you services to properly manage your rental property.

Some expenses that you may have are not deductible, however. If you have a loss of rental due to vacancy are not deductible, & certain modifications that are capital in nature such as a new roof, room additions, a new fence, etc. are not deductible.

The author Vince Paxton is very interested in questions about woodworking tools. You can learn about his articles on cnc machines & tools at http://www.insidewoodworking.com & various other sources for cnc machines & tools information.

You can read all you like about the legalities & complexities, benefits & risks of going offshore but I am 99% certain that what you really want to read is the definitive answer to your most pressing question which is can I save tax by going offshore?

The fact of the matter is - it’s possible for some people to save tax by going offshore ? why else do you think all your politicians, pop stars & celebrities have offshore structures in place to protect their assets?

Sure, they’re protecting their assets from litigation maybe ? but they’re also looking after their financial butts to ensure they never overpay their tax bill by a single penny because ? did you know ? you’re under no obligation whatsoever to pay more tax that you’re legally obliged to?

That sounds obvious does not it ? but many, many people do actually over pay their taxes annually.

Now before we get on to looking at whether you can save tax by going offshore there’re a few key facts that you have to bear in mind.

First things first going offshore is 100% legal for the vast majority of people as long as they live in a free society. What confuses people is their obligation to report their offshore activities. So, while it’s probably 100% legal for you to go offshore, what isn’t legal is going offshore for criminal purposes or going offshore & failing to report your activities where there exists a legal reporting requirement.

If you’re in any doubt whatsoever assume that a legal reporting requirement does exist! And always, always take professional advice because whatever you do with your finances, their security, your security & your freedom are of paramount importance.

Now, back to the question at hand ? can you save tax by going offshore? Possibly, because whilst tax evasion is illegal, you’re still living within the letter of the law if you go offshore for tax reduction, tax deferral or even legitimate tax avoidance reasons.

Because the nation you live in, the nation you pay tax to & the nation you’re deemed domiciled in can all have a bearing on your tax status you absolutely have to take personal & professional advice about the options available & of benefit to you… And what’s more, you really should take advice as well ? because you have no moral or legal obligation to over pay your taxes by a single penny!

Rhiannon Williamson writes about going offshore & understanding the features & benefits of offshore bank accounts, offshore companies, trusts & investments. Her website http://www.ShelterOffshore.com has all the offshore information you could possibly need.

Sometimes new users of QuickBooks have questions about how credit card work in the software. Here are some help-ful bites of information about this subject.

Aren’t Credit Cards Expense Accounts?

No. In the Chart of Accounts, liability accounts represent amounts of money owed to others. Credit cards are liability accounts, because every time we use our credit cards, we owe money to the credit card company. One nice feature of QuickBooks is that it allows us to set up a special type of account for credit cards, called, not surprisingly, “Credit Card.”

But make no mistake: this type of account is a liability, & not an expense. And so… So far so good. When you buy something with a credit card, you’re paying for it with borrowed money, & the money is borrowed from the credit card company. This is why credit cards are considered liability accounts.

So When Are Expenses Recorded?

When using the credit card, the expense is recorded in the Record Credit Card Charges screen, in the lower ½ of the screen, in the Expenses tab. Let us say you went to Office Depot & bought some computer paper with your credit card. Two things happened when you did this:

1. You incurred an expense for Office Supplies
2. You went into debt to the credit card company

When using the Enter Credit Card Charges screen, both of these events are recorded on a single screen.

How Does This Relate to Double Entry Accounting?

This above transaction is an excellent example of double entry accounting. Remember this & it will often help you a lot in QuickBooks: every transaction in QuickBooks is double entry - it records two events with a single transaction. If you grasp this, & understand what those two events are in each screen, it will save you a lot of time & trouble in the long run.

Credit Card Users, Credit Card Accounts. . . How to Set Up in QuickBooks?

Even if you have multiple credit card users for a primary account, my suggestion is to have a single account set up in QuickBooks for all users. An alternative is to set up sub-accounts under a parent account, one sub-account for each credit card user. But I think the single account will be easier to manage.

The only reason to set up sub accounts is for some internal, management reason - do you really need to track the separate liability balances & expenses by credit card user? How useful will that information be? The extra work to keep track of it this way needs to be offset by the usefulness of the information.

Keep in mind, too, that three separate payments will need to be paid for each of the separate sub-accounts - this will ensure that the liability balances in QB will stay correct. My suggestion is to keep life simple & only use a single credit card liability account in this situation.

About the Author: Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to write about QuickBooks issues. So… She brings completely unique insight, clear instructions, & over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer’s clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal & regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com & contact Jennifer today.

It’s April 15th & taxes are due once again. Each year millions of small business owners go about their business without thinking about getting a system in place for tax time. Are you organized or are you sweating bullets as the deadline nears?

Usually small business owners myself included have a file stuffed with receipts. There is more. They are usually all mixed together not categorized at all. Sure we have the best intentions when we start the year off, but then things get busy & who has time to keep making new folders to file things in the right category?

The biggest problem with this is you’re not going to get the best tax deductions if you’re unable to report to the IRS or you preparer how your business expenses are defined. It’s one thing to have an accountant simply keep you legal. It’s a whole new level of business ownership when you start leveraging you tax advantages by getting organized for deductions. Right. Who could not use more money in their pocket?

Now their is a tax organizer designed especially for the small business owner.

The Taxing Matters Organizing System is the first system on the market designed to be complete & inexpensive. And so… So far so good. With plenty of folders already setup with the proper dividing tab headings in place you can not mess this up. In addition is a free Taxing Matters small business owner guide. This 41 page guide is chock full of information for the small business owner. It’s written in a down to earth way that anyone can understand & even includes worksheets to make your life even easier!

The entire system comes in a handsome green tote that has a handle on the top. When the year is up just take a trip to your accountant & hand it over. It’s that simple.

Mike Gelb specializes in writing about solutions to common problems. After a busy year & having to file for an extension he thought it was time to write upon a solution many small business owners face. For lots more information on the Taxing Matters Organizer System visit
http://www.MyTaxingMatters.com

If you do not file your back taxes within a certain period of time, IRS will either prepare a substitute return for you & charge you a late filing penalty, a late payment (if you owe) & possibly a 75 percent fraud penalty. Or, they may issue a summons for you to appear with your tax information, so that they can prepare a more accurate return.

For those who end up with a calculated refund, IRS, in the past, has issued a press release to notify the general public that millions of people are due a tax refund for a certain tax year & only have until April 15, of that year, to file a tax return & claim the refund.

Example: Earlier in 2007, IRS release a notice that over 1.6 million people were owed refunds amounting to billions of dollars $ for 2003. IRS went on to explain, in this same press release, that in order to receive the tax refund, a taxpayer had to file by April 15, 2007. Needless to say, millions of people did not meet the deadline & lost the refund.

This same process is repeating itself for the April 15, 2008 deadline & back tax refunds for tax year 2004. Year after year billions of dollars $ in refunds are not claimed.

How did IRS know that there was over 1.6 million people owed refunds? Substitute Returns.

Substitute returns are calculated based upon W-2s, 1099s & other income that is reported to IRS by your employer, clients & other sources.

Once IRS has completed a substitute return for a taxpayer; usually, the only way you can change the tax liability is file an actual tax return for that tax year.

We have found that Americans usually want to pay their fair share of taxes. People regardless of race, creed, color or religious background, understand that taxes enable us to live in a civilized society. Taxpayers understand this, yet, sometimes, they’re too frighten to contact IRS. (After all, IRS has put some famous people in jail)

Not everybody can keep up with the year to year tax cycle. There may be illness or death in the family, a divorce, depression or other reasons why a taxpayer may experience a delay in filing taxes. Some people need more time, & IRS appears to be willing to give you more time. Just remember, penalties & interest compounds daily.

Cassandra Ingraham is a Tax Accountant & Instructor for Basic Tax Classes in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the balance of the year she can be easily found at http://www.taxeswilltravel.com providing Formal Introductions to Lenders for Accounts Receivable Funding (Factoring), training Factoring Specialist & new Tax preparers through her e-bay store