Author: Complete Controller

It is a mandatory requirement to work legally in the United States and pay the taxes that will grant you the benefits above. In addition, the personal credit score measures this means.

The management of insurance services is the responsibility of the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Today, we will see what the Social Security programs are. We will also talk about its benefits, application cases, and how it should perform the procedures.

How is the Social Security Number Obtained?

A common query is how to obtain a Social Security number. This process through their offices requires you to carry the relevant documentation showing you are a citizen.

If not, they need a Department of Homeland Security or DHS work permit.

It must present the documentation in original and copy.

1. Gather the requested documentation

Some of the requested documents are:

• Proof of citizenship or work permit
• Birth certificate where your age is checked
• Personal identification document, either passport, license, or state ID card

2. Fill out the form

Once you have them ready, you must print and fill out form SS-5-SP, the application that the Social Security Service makes available for it.

3. Send your documentation to the SSA

Once you have completed your form and your original documents and copied them, you must take them or send them to the nearest Social Security office.

Once you get your number, you will have to pay taxes to Social Security throughout your life.

This money is used for the payment of pensions and other citizen benefits. And of course, they will serve to pay your benefits too.

You do not need to fill out the application or do more paperwork in any of these cases:

• If you applied for your Social Security number when you applied for your immigrant visa or if you submitted it from October 2002 onwards.

In these cases, the Department of State and the Department of National Security are responsible for sending information to the Social Security Administration to assign your number. The administration will be responsible for getting your Social Security card to the address you sent your Permanent Resident Card within three weeks.

You must contact the Social Security Administration directly if it isn’t sent to you within the said period.

What are the Benefits of Social Security in the United States?

As we explained at the beginning, Social Security offers different assistance programs for citizens.

Retirement pension

The payment of taxes to the Insurance grants a pension for retirement to the elderly. This program is a great help since it provides a decent retirement to the workers after a lifetime of effort and work for their nation.

The minimum age to retire is 62 years, with a reduced benefit, or 67 to receive the full benefits.

You can check the Insurance benefits planner for more information.

Remember that to retire, you must have 40 credits accumulated, which depend on the years you have worked in the country. The worker usually receives four credits per year of work.

If you already have 40 credits, you can create a Social Security account to receive a copy of your account statement. If you still do not have them, you can use the Insurance calculator to estimate the benefits you will get.

You can apply for retirement online or by visiting Social Security offices.

Withdrawal abroad

If you have worked in the country but want to retire abroad, you can also do it, thanks to Social Security. However, there are specific rules for retirement, and there may be a reduction in benefits.

In addition, some countries accept to be able to retire. An example is Cuba and North Korea.

The Social Security Administration provides a verification tool to see if you can receive your benefits outside the United States. So, you can check the country you plan to retire.

Disability benefit

Another of the benefits of great importance is disability assistance. It grants workers who cannot work for more than 12 months due to physical, mental, or emotional illnesses.

However, it can obtain the Compassion or Compassionate Allowances Program for some conditions and exceptional cases.

Proof of income

In some cases, you need proof of income to perform specific procedures. For example:

• Moving to a new house
• Apply for a loan or bank loan
• Make a tax return
• Request help for payment of gas or electricity bills
• Access to other social assistance programs
• The social security number also helps you to obtain this voucher and carry out your
• Paperwork without delay. You can go to the SSA offices to request your coupon.

Benefits of Survival Insurance

This is when the beneficiary of the Insurance dies, and his family members get a pension. For example, if a worker dies and his wife does not work, he benefits.

In case of the death of a relative, it must report the end to the Social Security Administration. In addition, it must provide the deceased’s Social Security number in the funeral home where they perform burial services. They, in turn, report it to the Administration.

Conclusions

As you can see, the Social Security service in the United States is essential for workers. It is an entire government program financed with your taxes and provides excellent benefits and worker benefits.

It is imperative to make sure you affiliate with the insurance company and do not stop paying your taxes on time.

To process a Social Security number or replace your card, you can go to the Social Security Administration, call toll-free numbers, or consult online through their website.

The government of the United States provides many facilities to complete your paperwork and receive your benefits.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Technology is constantly evolving. This evolution clears paths for solving problems that would otherwise require valuable staffing resources.

There are many ways technology has upgraded the quality of life for people while also providing ease and comfort. Innovation has seeped into the workplace as well, as people can now take the help of technological advancements to make their tasks easy for them.

Automation has been available to bookkeepers and accountants for some time now. However, a theme of hesitancy is seen all around, which prevents them from moving towards automation.

Before diving into the advantages of automation in the accounting and finance department, let us first analyze the reason behind this hesitancy on the part of bookkeepers.

Why are Bookkeepers Hesitant to Get an Automated System?

Bookkeepers and accountants struggle to keep up with automation and cannot get their tasks sorted through this comparatively easy system.

The reason why they avoid an automated system could be one of two reasons.

Little knowledge

It is possible that since not many people are aware of technology’s advantages, they are skeptical about it. Often, bookkeepers are not entirely aware of how much automation can change their work game completely. This lack of knowledge compels them to stay away. Companies can count on this by paying extra attention to education to give all the bookkeepers the needed understanding. This education will equip them with the information required to receive their work well in a competitive market.

Fear of being replaced

Another trend identified in bookkeepers is that they often fear being replaced by technology for their jobs. With newer technology rolling out all the time, people are worried they will lose their jobs. These bookkeepers fail to understand that technology is there to assist them, not replace them. The work of an automated system combined with the brains of a bookkeeper would create a phenomenal result within the workplace. Bookkeepers should focus on their advantages, their professional careers, and the company that employs them.

How To Introduce Automation to Bookkeepers?

Automation has a lot of advantages in the vast world of bookkeeping.

First of all, the managing staff must ensure that the bookkeepers are receptive to the idea of automation. For this purpose, they must have open conversations where the bookkeepers can speak their minds and share their concerns.

They must then have the required knowledge of automation and use it to make their tasks easier. It would help if you informed them that it would not only take away more than half the burden but also develop a momentum that would increase the workflow. These benefits add to the client’s value, which makes it a win-win situation for all.

Advantages Of Automation in Bookkeeping

You can stay in contact with your clients at all times. Communication may be challenging if you aren’t using automation, but a bookkeeper can contact you with an automated system. An automated system assists them in building a good relationship with their client, which might deteriorate if the client cannot get a hold of the bookkeeper in time.

Automation allows you to always stay in contact with the rest of the staff. Group communication promotes efficacy within the system since all the staff members can communicate when and where required.

Having an automated system gives the bookkeeper a bird’s eye view. They can see the bigger picture, allowing them to identify any issue with the plan and cater to the problem before it reaches a point of no return.

Automation holds more advantages for bookkeepers than they realize. It is high time that all bookkeepers look into how automation could potentially change their bookkeeping game forever.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Make a Financial Plan

The first step in this process is to establish a financial plan. But don’t worry, it’s not that difficult. Only by starting to save will you be able to enhance your equity. It is a basic approach that requires a lot of self-awareness regarding your financial condition and spending habits.

Essentially, it would be best to consider how much you earn and how much you spend to determine how much you can save each month. Also, if you have debt, you must first pay it off. Planning your bill payment without taking out loans or being caught off guard by an unexpected cost is a significant benefit for the vast majority. Many people lose track of their finances precisely because they have no idea how much they spend or spend more than they make. That’s why you must know your current financial situation so it’s easier to understand what you need to do to get where you want to go.

The essence of sound financial planning is this. It is possible to be disciplined and structured in a basic manner. You don’t need to be an expert or a finance enthusiast to get financially organized. Did you realize that control tools available today can make your job easier?

This conduct will follow you for the rest of your life. In addition to demonstrating that it is feasible in practice, to begin with, a small amount of money!

Make a Habit of Saving

The second stage is to save what you can from your budget once you’ve identified your financial status and defined your ability to save. It occurs when money saved can be used toward an emergency fund or invested for a medium- to long-term goal. Developing a habit of saving money is a wise method to get your ideas off the ground and, as a result, enhance your wealth.

Saving takes a lot of commitment and willpower, just like any new habit. Changing your thinking one step at a time might lead to a new method of managing your finances. One way to make this work more accessible is to utilize the “pay yourself first” concept, which entails separating the percentage you want to invest as soon as you receive your salary after considering your expenses.

You might begin with a lower percentage and progressively increase it. The critical thing is to take the initial step, regardless of the percentage. It is a simple shape that can help you break free from your state of lethargy.

The 52-week methodology, which advises that every new week be set aside for an entire year to save $1 more than the previous week, is another exciting method that demonstrates the strength of the saving habit. If the person started with only $1 in the first week, they would have saved $1,378 by the end of the time.

Although the accumulated amount is negligible in this example, developing the habit of saving—through the exercise of discipline, implicit in the technique—is significantly invaluable since this behavior has a positive effect throughout the rest of your life. In addition to showing in practice that it is possible to start with little!

Invest According to Your Profile

Investing your money is just as vital as saving. Knowing your investor profile is critical for this. You can figure out which apps are best for you with this information. Several investment options are accessible in the market for people seeking to expand their wealth. Among them stand out:

• Government funds (Direct Treasury)
• Private securities (CDB, LCI, and LCA)
• Investment trends
• Stock change shares

However, before investing to increase your equity, you must first examine your risk tolerance or how you deal with losses. Each application has its own set of attributes that are suggested for different investors. Not everything good for one person is also suitable for another. Conservative investors, for example, place higher importance on security, even if it entails lesser returns. On the other hand, those with bold or aggressive personalities enjoy taking risks and embracing the prospect of losses in exchange for a more significant potential reward. The investor with a moderate profile prefers to balance the possibility of losses with profitability. In other words, it would be a compromise.

Knowing your profile makes it easier to define which type of investment is most recommended for you. This way, you can increase your equity without worry and in accordance with your expectations.

People who equate investing with the chance of rapidly becoming wealthy or believe investing in the stock market is the fastest midway increase in money are not uncommon. But that’s not all; remember that increasing equity is a difficult task that takes time and effort. Many people can lose money and feel dissatisfied with their investments at this time. As a result, investing according to your profile is the most responsible strategy for enhancing your equity.

Always Try to Diversify Applications

In addition to investing according to the profile, diversification is another essential piece of advice for developing equity. It is a fantastic investing technique that tries to shield an investor’s money from market swings that might negatively influence results. Because it is impossible to win every time, spreading the money over numerous assets is a technique to offset losses in some by gaining in others.

After all, each investment entails some level of risk. Even the most secure apps might suffer losses due to market volatility, legal changes, or government intervention. As a result, instead of concentrating resources on a single investment, an optimal risk management strategy is to spread them among at least a few different assets, preferably with varied hazards.

For individuals who don’t know what they’re doing, Warren Buffet, an American billionaire, the approach of investing in numerous forms of investments makes more sense. “Diversification is a safeguard against ignorance,” an eminent investor said.

As a result, persons with less investment knowledge should be cautious when allocating funds to specific types of assets. As a result, before diversifying, it’s critical to have a well-thought-out strategy that allows for quick and precise answers when needed. On the other hand, those who are new to the financial market may not have a plan in place or may not know where to begin. Here’s why it’s critical to get the assistance of someone well-versed in the subject.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Temporary disability is a situation caused by a standard or occupational disease or an accident, whether work or not, that prevents work and requires healthcare.

You can attribute the right to a subsidy to alleviate your lack of income while receiving Social Security health care and continuing to be prevented from working for a maximum period of 12 months, extendable for another 6 when it is assumed that during them, the worker can be discharged by cure.

The work accident of the self-employed worker shall understand the one that occurred as a direct and immediate consequence of the work performed on their account and which determines its inclusion in the field of application of said Space Regime. It does not include accidents suffered by the worker when going to or from the workplace (except in the case of TRADE), those due to force majeure foreign to work, and those due to intentional recklessness or recklessness of the worker.

For the same purposes, you shall understand professional illness as contracted due to work carried out on its account. It causes the action of the elements and substances and in the activities specified in the list of occupational diseases with the relationships of main activities capable of producing them, annexed to Royal Decree 1995/1978, of May 12, which approves the picture of occupational diseases in the Social Security System.

The requirements demand common illnesses are being registered or in a situation assimilated to discharge, having contributed a minimum of 180 days during the last five years, and being up to date with the payment of fees. No prior contribution period is required in case of an accident or occupational disease.

You can obtain the amount of the benefit by applying the following percentages to the regulatory base:

• If there is a common illness or non-occupational accident, 60% from the fourth day to the twenty-first casualty and 75% from the twenty-first.
• If an accident at work or occupational disease occurs, 75% of the regulatory base from the day following the leave, provided the interested party had opted for coverage of professional contingencies.
• The regulatory base will be the contribution base of the self-employed worker corresponding to the month before the medical leave, divided by 30.

The self-employed person has a period of 15 days to notify the Social Security of the cancellation and the situation in which the activity remains, indicating on the official form which will directly manage the business or, where appropriate, the temporary or definitive cessation of the movement.

In situations of cessation of activity after temporary disability, the self-employed person will continue to receive the IT benefit, in the same amount as the cessation of activity benefit, until it is exhausted. At that point, he will receive the economic benefit for the end of the activity that corresponds to it, discounting the time spent in the IT situation of the period of cessation of activity to which you are entitled.

The contribution for temporary disability due to common contingencies is mandatory. However, maintaining an option for self-employed persons in situations of proactivity who are listed simultaneously in another Social Security scheme and for Workers included in the Special System for Agrarian Self-Employed Workers. The contribution of the professional contingencies of occupational accidents and diseases, the RETA, however, is voluntary, except for dependent self-employed workers and those obliged to formalize said protection for performing a professional activity with a high risk of accidents. You can expand the information in our article on the bases and types of contributions.

Permanent Disability Benefit

It intends to cover the loss of salary income of those self-employed who cannot continue working because they have been affected by an illness or accident that incapacitates them from professional practice in a presumably definitive manner.

It will be necessary to have contributed to occupational accidents and diseases and have received prior or simultaneous coverage of the temporary disability benefit.

The regulatory basis for a disability derived from professional contingencies will be equivalent to the worker’s contribution based on the date of the causal event.

Without reaching the total grade, partial permanent disability causes the worker to decrease not less than 50% of his expected performance. It is only protected if it derives professional contingencies but not if it derives from common contingencies.

The total permanent disability will increase by 20% of the regulatory base for people over 55 years. It increases for those who do not exercise a paid or self-employed activity, have ownership of an agricultural or maritime-fishing operation, or a commercial or industrial establishment as owner, lessee, usufructuary, or another similar concept.

Instead of the total permanent disability pension, the self-employed person may choose to collect compensation in a single payment for 40 monthly payments of the contribution base for professional contingencies on the date of the causal event. If it derives from common contingencies, there will be 40 monthly payments from the regulatory bottom of these contingencies.

Benefit for Permanent Non-Disabling Injuries

The self-employed may opt for this benefit in case of injuries, mutilations, and deformities caused by work-related accidents or occupational diseases, which, without constituting permanent disability, entail a decrease in the physical integrity of the worker if they include the established scale to that effect.

Among the specific requirements to be met by the self-employed, they must contribute to work-related accidents and occupational diseases. They must have opted for the coverage of the economic benefit for temporary disability and be up to date in the payment of fees. The surcharge of economic benefits is not applicable due to a lack of occupational risk prevention measures. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Mistakes that can damage and affect an individual’s finances in the long term haunt the utmost; similarly, not handling your credit correctly can become a significant complication shortly. If an individual does not manage the credit correctly, it can be crucial for any financial institution to lend money to him because of his credit history. Moreover, even if an individual’s financial position seems well currently, it doesn’t mean that poor handling of credit cannot become an issue soon. Managing credit wisely can look tough, but it is essential to know its importance because your credit plays a vital role in your financial life.

To avoid indulging in following mistakes, one must understand the importance of how credit should be handled and used.

Having a Maximized Credit Card Balance: Credit cards have made life easier for many. However, if not used properly, they can also create problems with finances. According to the study, it is ideal for maintaining your credit utilization ratio at around 30% of the available credit. If the balance is creeping up towards your credit limit, this could be alarming as it can badly affect your credit. Hence, the lower the credit utilization ratio, the better.

Take Partial Responsibility for Someone Else’s Loan: Taking responsibility on your head for someone else can be risky, especially when money is involved. Co-signing a loan is to bear the responsibility of someone else who took the loan but failed to repay it. That can be problematic for one’s credit score because what will happen if the other person doesn’t act?

Not Being Mindful of Your Credit Report: If someone believes that looking up to their credit report is not essential, they might have a loss. Credit reports need to be looked at regularly so that you can spot mistakes and plan expenses accordingly. If a credit score is low, one can always change spending patterns. Believing that your credit is okay just because it was in good shape the last time you checked is nothing but a betrayal for one’s self. Mistakes and errors tend to appear on the credit report most of the time, and if not solved, these mistakes can lead to massive problems later on.

Over Spending & Failing to Keep Track of Your Budget: Many people do not check and balance their spending. That is one of the most common mistakes which disturb the credit or finances. Those who overspend cannot afford to save some money that might help them during tough times. It may, as a result, end up in over-drafting frequently. Thus, in times of crisis, they have no option other than to borrow or take loans that they have to repay with high interest.

Failure to Create a Budget & Plan Early: A big part of an individual’s financial future depends on the time he spent in his youth. Scrolling through social media and doing nothing productive will lead us nowhere. Build a strategy and follow it to avoid mistakes that can hurt your credit in the future.

It takes years to work on your financial plan and build your credit; however, it can ruin in a short period if not handled correctly. It may sound intimidating initially, but to avoid these mistakes, a person must avoid any tiny possibility that might disorganize the financial plan or credit.

Monitoring every expense should be made compulsory, whether it is a substantial expense or a small expense.

• Make sure you have a solid financial plan and that you follow it duly
• Make a habit of saving a little of whatever you as an individual or your business earns monthly

Taking these safety measures will help to avoid putting a strain on the budget. Even if you are not born with good credit, you can always handle it reasonably well by developing the earlier-mentioned habits. Thus, the more promptly these habits are developed and considered, the easier it becomes to maintain good credit.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Setting up a new business could be a lot of fun. You try to get in sync with as many avenues as possible to expedite the whole process and get yourself on the market. A huge part of setting up a business is bringing accounting software to cater to the financial sorting of your company. This software potentially changes your stepping and helps you achieve your goals by making bookkeeping easy.

There is a plethora of accounting and financial software in the market that may seem like the right option for you. But what decides if the software is the one for you?

To make the right choice, it is significant that you are entirely aware of your company’s requirements. Highlighting the needs would help you filter out the software and make the right choice. Before assessing any potential options, be clear about your expectations from the software and how you wish to see it perform. This clarity will assist you in making the right choice for your business because any decision you make would directly affect the performance of your business at the end of the day.

Top Things to Consider When Choosing an Accounting Software

There are a few aspects that a business owner should look deep into before making a choice. These aspects would aid them in choosing suitable software according to their business requirements and set expectations for them.

Go through the list below to know which features you should look for in software before deciding which one to get.

Software Performance & Functionalities: Deciding whether accounting software is right for you eventually comes down to its performance. Of course, you cannot test all software on the market, but you can research. By researching, you would come across reviews and experiences from different business owners that may help you shortlist software based solely on their performance.

If the software lacks performance and does a sloppy job organizing your financial data, then it’s useless. Purchasing comparatively expensive software that works impeccably and lasts long is better than a cheap one that would do you more harm than good.

Customizations & Integrations: Your accounting software should feel like it has been curated especially for your and your business’s needs. Customizing the software would be a significant advantage that you could use to set up the perfect system for your business.

We know customization may not feel necessary, but it is vital to understand why you need it in your accounting software. It is a known fact that each business is different and has contrasting needs and requirements. To ensure that the accounting software you will use fits your business model perfectly, you would need the option of customization to tailor it into the perfect choice for your company.

Security & Risk Protection: Your financial and accounting software should have very tight security. The software would handle all your financial affairs while analyzing, interpreting, and sorting them. If the security of your accounting software is not up to par, the information could fall into the wrong hands. Security breaches not only affect the future of your business in the market but could also be dangerous.

Always look for secure accounting software to do all your bookkeeping while keeping your data safe from any external threats and protecting you from any potential damages in the future.

Choosing the right accounting software could make or break your game in the market. The accounting software service goes beyond just rearranging your data in an organized manner. Good accounting software would keep your financial records sorted and aid you in highlighting the areas of profitability. It would prepare you for any hiccups your business may see in the future, while it also keeps track of your taxes.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Tax minimization is a controversial topic, often confused with tax avoidance. When you talk about minimizing taxes, most people think you are trying to evade taxation, which is illegal. This misconception is one of the primary reasons most businesses cannot reduce their tax burden, considering it is unlawful. Contrary to popular belief, lowering taxes is illegal and an acceptable practice within the taxation world. It is vital for any business in today’s world to have a tax minimization strategy in place using perfectly legal methods. Suppose you are looking to reduce your tax burden through legitimate means. In that case, it is essential for you first to understand the distinction between tax evasion and tax minimization to avoid any mishaps.

What Does Tax Minimization Mean?

Tax minimization refers to using various resources and means to reduce the amount of tax a business pays. Use tax depreciation effectively by planning for taxation in advance. For instance, if you have unearned income showing in your income statement for this year while the payment will be received next year, it makes sense to mention the amount under a different tab, such as account receivables, etc. You can significantly reduce your tax burden by simply renaming and managing your finances.

What are the Two Basic Ways Tax Minimization Works?

Broadly, there are two main ways tax minimization works. Many people wonder how they can legally avoid paying taxes or reduce the amount of taxes they pay. Again, we cannot stress enough the term “legally.” Two primary ways to reduce their tax burden are tax mitigation and finding loopholes in the law. The latter sounds unethical, so let’s leave that to the big fish. For now, let’s focus on tax mitigation and how you can use it to reduce the taxes you pay.

How Can You Minimize Your Tax Burden?

There are numerous ways businesses can reduce their tax burden. Most of these ways revolve around identifying presently occurring expenses and subtracting the ones that will incur later on. By doing this, you can reduce some of the burden of your taxable income from your income statement. Here are some more strategies to reduce your tax burden:

Depreciate Your Assets Regularly

Depreciation is the process of evaluating an asset’s current value and life expectancy concerning its market worth. When you depreciate your assets, you maintain your taxable depreciation expense. However, not many companies perform their depreciation yearly or during the taxation period. The best way is to use an accelerated depreciation process to calculate your assets’ depreciation before the taxation season.

Increase Your Capitalization Limit

Another way to reduce your overall taxable income is to buy assets recognized as fixed assets by the law. When you put a higher threshold for the amount reserved for purchasing fixed assets, you use a part of your income as an expense. If you reduce the overall taxable income, your income tax will diminish, too.

Reduce Your Inventory

A common practice for most businesses is reducing the overall inventory size by the end of the fiscal year. It would be best to sell all the unsold items in your inventory before the year-end. When you do this, the cost of these items will equal the cost of goods sold. This way, you reduce your overall taxable income.

Reduce Account Receivables

Again, another common practice most companies adopt is writing off their account receivables before the year-end. If you have not collected the income, showing it as income will only increase your tax amount. Why show it at all?

Most companies worldwide use these basic accounting strategies to reduce their overall taxable income, which is illegal. You can reduce your taxable income by simply managing and balancing your accounts. Why would that be considered unethical or unlawful?

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

In the recent decade, online businesses, mainly eCommerce businesses, have experienced enormous growth and change. More than that, the current COVID-19 pandemic has also pushed many traditional companies to online platforms. Whether you are selling through a website or social media platforms, you are part of the massive online business community. Unfortunately, while there is a significant emphasis on digital marketing, only a handful of people talk about financial management, which is the cornerstone of any business model. Since the flow of visitors and sales is enormous, it can be tedious to maintain accounts. However, you might not be able to evaluate and predict your business’ performance without assessing your accounts and cash flow.

If you are an online business owner struggling with your accounting, here are some of the best practices followed in the industry to keep you on the right track:

Connect Your Online Store with Your Accounting Software

First and foremost, this is probably the one practice that can revolutionize your business. You have hit gold if you have accounting software that can integrate with your online store. With this done, you will save time and effort and focus more on selling your products rather than manually entering them into another software or register. Such accounting software will record your data, such as the number of products sold, the price they were sold for, the cost of those products, and the overhead expenses, instantly giving you the ROI (return on investment). Again, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is for any online business, especially eCommerce, to connect its accounting software with its store.

Inventory Management with Overhead Expenses

Inventory management software is also crucial for your business’ success. Such tools only reduce your efforts and exhaustion, giving you time to focus more on the results. If you have inventory management software integrated within your accounting software connected with your online store, then that’s an online business owner’s dream come true. If not, that’s not an issue. You must get functional inventory management software that regularly updates your inventory and the cost of goods sold (COGS). You would also need to add the overhead expenses such as packaging, delivery, etc. With all this in one place, subtracting the cost from the revenue will be a piece of cake. Again, it will save you hours of manual work.

Account Reconciliation Management

One of the significant problems small to medium-sized businesses face is reconciling their accounts. Sure, it seems like a job for an expert accountant, but in reality, it is a manageable task for a business owner to take on as long as they stay on a schedule. When running an online business, you will face numerous decline transactions, doubling transactions, refunds, and chargebacks. Your software might record it as sales, but you would have to reconcile it manually if the transaction was refunded or declined. Do this regularly to get your analytics right. Without reconciling your cash at the bank vs. sales, you might overestimate your profit, which can have disastrous effects.

Jump on the Bandwagon – Go to Cloud Software!

Lastly, working with cloud software is one of the best ways to keep your data secure. Hackers are always on the hunt, and many businesses suffer data leakage, which leads to the loss of clients’ or clients’ financial information. With cloud software, your data is always secure on the cloud.

To conclude, if you are an online business, you have taken the first step towards joining the digital revolution. However, being ahead of your competition and adopting practices that will take your business to new heights is imperative. Managing your accounts seems boring. Most online business owners want to focus on sales and marketing. However, remember that the flow of money might be overwhelming if you don’t plan to deal with the accounting side of things.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

A startup business is a business that has just started its initial operations or is about to begin operating. An organization that is very early and in the first few stages of being functional is a startup. A startup business funds come from the person(s) who initially intended to start the company or the founder of the business. These startup businesses generally begin with high costs and limited revenue and struggle to enter the market correctly. Many startup businesses struggle initially as they have to form an image, reputation, and brand name. The people who run the business, be it the company’s founders or other partner(s), struggle to manage many tasks as they have to handle many things to make their business operational. At this stage, some business owners struggle with time management as all the tasks run simultaneously, and they get confused and mess things up.

Comparatively, new businesses face more costs than stable companies. Companies incur these costs to make the business functional, whereas regular companies are already operational; hence, they don’t require as many operational costs as startups. There are two types of startup costs, known as pre-opening startup costs and post-opening startup costs. Pre-opening startup costs are the costs required to start the business or the necessary costs for the company to function. These costs include business expenses, research expenses, borrowing costs, and expenses. Pos expenses-opening costs are the costs created when the business starts its operations, and these costs are essential as they make a business operational and stable in the future. As startups have a lot of expenses that are hard to meet or afford, they should put financial controls on their costs and fees. Financial authorities are rules a business places on its financial practices to avoid overspending and control expenditure. Here are some ways you can practice financial controls in your startup business:

Always create cash flow statements. Making a cash flow statement will identify all your cash inflows and outflows to determine if your business is overspending or if any unnecessary expenses could be cut off or eliminated easily. You can even detect fraud taking more of your money than intended. Create these cash flow statements almost monthly to keep a better eye on and look at your records.

Ensure you run a proper background check on your employees before hiring. It would be best to run adequate and thorough background checks on the employees to prevent fraud, primarily for the business’s accounting department employees. These positions include the accountant, the bookkeeper, or even the analysts, as their errors could lead to disastrous situations.

It is essential to review all the financial statements. The creation of the financial statements is only helpful if the business owner reviews them. These statements contain the information through which you can determine the economic situation of your business and make other decisions accordingly.

Don’t rush when looking for finances for your business. It is essential to plan for the finances you will be attaining to fulfill the financial needs of your business. If you make these decisions in a rush, you may get the wrong match for you; this means that fast choices could lead you to take loans from banks with very high interest rates, which will only increase your expenses.

Having analysts in your business is very useful as financial analysis can help you make better decisions, and you can quickly put financial controls on your expenses. A startup must run the business wisely and minimize its costs and fees as much as possible. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Many entrepreneurs and independent professionals use the Internet only to promote themselves. And that is the best case. However, the Internet is a powerful window and offers opportunities and advantages to those who know how to use their strategies correctly. Learn about the four secrets that will give you valid reasons to benefit your professional practice if you decide to start an online business.

Secret # 1 – Advertising 24/7 When Starting an Online Business

Calculating how much you would have to invest if you paid to advertise 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is impossible. However, your online business (and its well-configured tools) is a shop window and ready to attract customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

No matter where a potential client of your company is located and, therefore, no matter the time difference you have, an online business will leave your potential client feeling that they can benefit from your knowledge. 

Secret # 2 – Prospects Even While You Sleep

One of the biggest dreams of any entrepreneur who intends to start an online business is to feel that he gets prospects even while he sleeps. It is a well-known phrase to reinforce the concept that you do not need to be “online” constantly so that your prospects can still approach and want to work with you.

The key here is not only to have a “stained glass window” prepared for it, but what you put into them will also be vital. In other words, when your online business captures your prospect’s attention, you have hit the key with what interests and needs you, and it offers you a channel to connect with you and thus start working together. Your prospect will not wait until 8 am, or I can contact you by phone call. These tools will be vital to harnessing the enthusiasm and sense of “urgency” that your prospect showed in that “click.”

Secret # 3 – A Full-Time Seller

Imagine that you would hire a seller for your company. This person would be responsible for getting prospects and making introductory meetings, right? Tell your company’s story, show the portfolio of products, and explain their benefits and how they could transform your buyer up to references from other clients and success stories. Your strategically implemented online business achieves this. And not only once but again and again. Your history, reputation, career, services, and why they are what your client needs are all within reach of the “eyes” of your prospect.

And suppose you know how to play your cards well and get your prospect to keep in touch. In that case, it is information that will be there when your potential client feels that it is time to take a step forward and ask for an interview to speak more deeply about your services and what you could do for him if he hires you.

Secret # 4 – No More Knocking on Doors and Feeling Fear of Rejection When Selling

One of the main reasons why freelancers hate selling is because they don’t like rejection. One of the reasons they constantly suffer from disclaimers is that they live knocking on doors, and most of the time, they are doors that are not there for you. It is natural and safe has happened to you a thousand times: they call your phone and offer you something you don’t need, interrupt you in the middle of your workday, or, worse, a Saturday almost at dawn. You get mad at the seller and the company and feel that if you sell, that’s what you’ll do. But it’s not like that. You can use a different model.

When you have an online business, 50% of the way to the sale travels, prospects visit your website, and they see your story, who you are, how you can help them, and if they are interested, they contact you. You do not have to convince them that your product solves their situation but that they have already read a lot of information before contacting you. Now, you must dedicate yourself to finding the points of agreement between your client’s needs and your product to achieve the best way for them to work together. It makes the sale a much more natural, fluid, and less aggressive conversation.

 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.