If you are doing payroll, there are some things you'll need to do BEFORE you process your first payroll in 2007.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CHANGE
You should have received sometime in December a letter from the Oregon Dept of Unemployment or Washington Employment Security that stated your new SUTA rate for 2007.

In QuickBooks, go to List - Payroll Item List - Double-click on OR- Unemployment (or WA-Unemployment) and on the 3rd screen enter your new rate.
Remember your letter probably refers to a multiplier and QuickBooks wants a percentage. (.0090 = .9%).
Even if you're using the Assisted Payroll, you need to change the rate in your system AND send a copy of the letter to Intuit's Assisted Payroll department.

In Peachtree, even though you may have installed the new 2007 Payroll Taxes, you still need to edit your unemployment rate.
Go to File - Payroll Tax Tables - Company (User) Maintained Tables and edit the percentage and limit ($29,000 - OR, $30,900- WA).

WBF ASSESSMENT
The rate for 2007 has gone down.

In QuickBooks, Go to your Employee List, Right-Click and choose 'Employee Defaults'. Under 'Other Taxes' change the rate for both WBF Assessment Emp & Co to .014. For employee's that were set up prior to the defaults being set, you may have to edit each employee.

In Peachtree
Go to File - Payroll Tax Tables - Company (User) Maintained Tables and edit both the WBF for employee & company and change the rate to .014.

W-2's
Sometime, before Jan 31, 2007 you'll need to print and send W-2's.

In QuickBooks, you should be able to print your W-2's on plain paper. No more forms! The directions change a little depending on which version of QuickBooks you're on. So, instead of giving detailed instructions here, I will have detailed instructions for each version on my web page in the FAQ area no later than 12/31/06.

In Peachtree, you will still need to have the preprinted forms. They can be purchased at any office supply store.

1099's
These also need to be in the mail by 1/31/07 and you'll need the forms. They can be printed directly from either QuickBooks or Peachtree. If you need 20-25 you can purchase them from any office supply store. If you only need a few, I have them in bulk and will sell them in sets of 2 for $0.60/set. Let me know how many you need and they'll be in the mail by 1/5/07.

NOW is the time to take a quick look at your Profit & Loss (Income Statement) and see if anything looks out of place. Take a look at the bottom line. If you're a S-Corp or LLC you still have time (if you act quickly) to reduce your taxable income. Fax or e- mail a copy to your accountant BEFORE 12/31/06 if you have any concerns.

What should you look for?
In QuickBooks, from Reports - Sales - run a Sales by Customer Summary for the year. Compare the total to your income on the Profit & Loss. Are they the same? Can you explain the difference? If there's a large difference, you probably have items pointing to the wrong accounts.

In Peachtree, from Reports - Accounts Receivable - run an Invoice Report for the year. Do the figures match the income on the Income Statement?

In either program, the cause is fixable.

Customer Write Offs
Do the customers on your aging report that you're never going to collect? Now, is the time to write them off. In either program, you need to enter a Credit Memo to write off the balance, then match the invoice to the credit memo.

Review your Aged Payables.
Do you really owe those vendors? If not, you need to check it out.

One of the biggest errors I find, is that people don't correct their information from one year to the next. If you tell your accountant to write off a customers balance but you don't take if off your aging report, it's still there.

If you would like to have a year end review, please call soon to schedule an appointment in January. Again, there isn't much that you could have done that we can't correct.

I hope everyone enjoys a Happy Holiday and I look forward to hearing from you in 2007.

Sincerely,