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Smith Office Solutions, Inc.

September 2011

 

In this issue
Feature: Online Banking
W-9, 1099 & Contractors Oh MY
QuickBooks Tip of the Month
Trivia
Greetings!

 

Summer is over, the kids are back in school, and now it is time to kick back and relax, right?  Not us! Smith Office Solutions is trying to stay ahead of the game by offering you some time, and money saving tips to finish out the year ahead of the rest.

In an effort to assist your business in running more efficiently, take a look at our article on Online Banking, a time-saving feature that QuickBooks offers to help you keep your bank accounts up-to-date.

We are already gearing up for the 2011 government reporting by providing you with a series of articles intended to help you prepare for the cruch that comes with the IRS manditory reporting requirements.

 

Also, because we at Smith Office Solutions want you to be comfortable working with QuickBooks, we are passing on one of our favorite tips, and look for a new tip each month.  You can also access our website by clicking on the links at the begining of this letter. Check it out!
 
Online Banking

 

Did you know that QuickBooks allows you to setup online banking for your checking, savings, and credit card accounts? Online Banking is an efficient way to manange your business accounts. With just a few clicks you can download your recent account transactions and stay on top of your expenditures.

 

Most financial instutions offer online banking these days, but before you decide if you want to setup your bank accounts for this timesaving feature, follow the steps below to look up your financial instution to see what kind of service they offer for QuickBooks.   

 

First, open up your QuickBooks file, then go to the Banking menu; choose Online Banking, followed by Participating Financial Institutions. Choose your Financial Institution from the list on the left, and click on it.  The screen displayed to the right gives you information on what your intstitution offers.

 

There are two different methods that can be used to download transactions into your QuickBooks account, Direct and Web Connect. With the Direct Method, QuickBooks will connect directly to your bank account(s) and download the most recent transactions.  This is the best method because it minimizes the risk of duplicated transactions; once downloaded, the transaction can not be downloaded a second time.  With the Web Connect Method, QuickBooks will go to your bank's website login screen, and you must download the transactions manually into a compatable file that can be uploaded.  Both methods work well, saving you time with data entry, and letting you in know exactly how much cash you have on hand.

 

Contact us for more information  

 

 
W-9, 1099, & Contractors, OH MY!
Part 1: W-9 The Begining of the Year End

 

Did you know that certain entities that you pay money to need to have a 1099 sent to them at the end of the year?

In preparation for filing 1099's, the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, or Form W-9, must be completed. This is a government form used to collect identifying information by a third party and help the payee avoid backup withholding. The W-9 requests the name, address, and taxpayer identification information of a taxpayer (usually in the form of a Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number). This form is not sent to the IRS, but is kept by the company who files the information return with the IRS, such as a Form 1099. The payor (your company) must collect withholding taxes on certain reportable payments for the IRS. However, if the payee certifies on the W-9 they are not subject to backup withholding, your company is not required to withhold taxes from payments made to the Vendor (or Contractor). This is similar to the withholding exemptions certifications found on Form W-4 for employees.

It is a good practice to have a current W-9 on file for all vendors and contractors; this will minimize errors and speed up your tax filing at the end of the year.

Get started now by using the link below to update all of your records.

  

For a printable Form W-9:

 http://www.sosnw.com/payroll/payrollresources.html

 

Coming Next Month

Part 2: 1099's: Exactly Who?

 

 
QuickBooks Tip of the Month

 

To quickly change the date on any Quickbooks form, you can use the following shortcuts:

T-today's Date

M-first day of the month

H-last day of the month

Y-first day of the year

R-Last day of the year

"+" or "-" to move forward or backwards through the days.

 
Trivia
 
In what year and version did QuickBooks first introduce the Online Banking feature?

 

Stay tuned for the answer next month

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