As we head into tax season I thought I would publish the notes from Ogden Lilly‘s Visit in July 2007
Quickbooks is a great way to get started when setting up your company
- as the business grows, most people move up the Intuit product line
- it is very user friendly and looks like real accounting documents
- it tracks and records all the necessary financial statements
- it does payroll, both full and partial
- the software costs between $250 – $3,000
- the Apple version is about 4-5 releases behind
Quicken doesn’t support a balance sheet approach: it is really for individuals not companies.
Ogden’s firm: Boitano, Sargent & Lilly, LLP http://www.bslcpa.com/
- Is ranked number three in the bay area in tax preparation by the San Jose Business Journal
- The firm helps business owners become more independent in managing their finances
- Most client engagements begin with an initial setup and we show them how to design their own standard reports.
- It usually takes two hours a month to manage. So our clients only contact us with support needs.
Common Accounting Mistakes
- not watching the balance sheet
- trying to write off certain items as an expense
- not watching the transactions of the bank statement: if you are the owner then you need to check this, do not let anyone else be responsible
Incorporation Facts.
- If you file as an CA Corp you will spend a minimum of 800 dollars a year just for being in business
- There is a special California tax on LLC’s that is based on gross sales (note that sub-S and C corp are taxed on profit).
Three additional blog posts on CA LLC vs. CA Sub-S