April 15th IS NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT... Year after year, the month of April brings to us not only the deadline for tax reporting, but also it signals the arrival of "Tax Freedom Day", the day when the average American will finally have earned enough money to pay his/her total tax bill for the year. This year, Tax Freedom Day fell on April 21, three days later than last year (Source: The Tax Foundation). To easiest way to be ready for tax time is to have a handle on your financial records throughout the year; this way, the completion of the tax reporting becomes merely a formality. What's the smartest and best way to do this? Use the proper financial management software -- for instance, Intuit QuickBooks. As the most widely used financial software today (more than 90 percent of the market), QuickBooks is even more useful for managing a business better. However, to properly use QuickBooks, you must have a clear understanding of its features and functionality. As a CPA and a technology professional, I understand the need for proper setup and use of QuickBooks to guarantee the integrity of a business' financial reports and management decisions. Using this business management tool properly helps you know where you stand -- all the time. Many feel that QuickBooks is so easy that they do not need any help using it. While true in many aspects, QuickBooks advisors exist for a reason. No user is an island and no one should set up QuickBooks alone. At the very least, they should seek the help of an experienced professional for the setup of the system, to get going right from the beginning. About 80 percent of issues in QuickBooks can be traced to a problem in the initial setup or the setting of preferences. Given the 30 percent of our working time that we give to Uncle Sam (in the form of income taxes), it behooves everyone to keep accurate financial records -- use the appropriate available tools and seek the right help in using them. As if by careful planning, the tax filing deadline is around the same date as when we stop working for the government and start working for ourselves. So we can safely say that April 15th is not what we thought it was! ...MARIO __________________________________________________ | 
- QuickBooks Da
