Watch these videos on the Scan Snap 1500 to optimize the setting for QuickBooks record keeping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGMHnU-Ghes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOudU22a_yQ
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Scan Snap 1500 optimized setting for QuickBooks record keeping
April 1, 2019
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Retirement Plan required for CA Employers
March 27, 2019
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Retirement Plan required for CA Employers
Any employer with at least five employees that doesn’t already offer a workplace retirement savings vehicle will be required to either begin offering one via the private market or provide their employees access to CalSavers.
| Size of business | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 100< employees | June 30, 2020 |
| 50< employees | June 30, 2021 |
| 5+ employees | June 30, 2022 |
The CalSavers account is a Roth IRA. The default savings rate is 5% of gross pay, and employees can change their rate at any time. Employees will be auto-enrolled after 30 days and will begin saving through payroll contributions. They can opt out at any time.
Employers serve a limited role: facilitate the program and submit participating employees’ contributions via simple payroll deduction. Employees are responsible for their investment choices. Employers cannot make contributions. There are no fees for employers to facilitate the program.
Source: https://employer.calsavers.com
Source: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/scib
Usage limits in QBO QuickBooks Online
February 22, 2019
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DOL SIMPLE IRA Plans for small business publication
January 7, 2019
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DOL (Department of Labor) SIMPLE IRA Plans for small business publication:
Most of the information is the same as the IRS, however we noticed this more stringent salary deferral deposit requirement:
For plans with fewer than 100 participants employers can deposit salary eduction contributions with the plan no later than the 7th business day after withholding it to be considered in compliance with the law.
The DOL is the same as described in the IRS publications for employer contributions:
You must make your employer contributions by the due date for filing your business’s Federal income tax return for the year (including extensions, if applicable).
QuickBooks Desktop – Create and manage your Payments user ID
January 3, 2019
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We are making payments more secure than ever before. The new authentication system will require every QuickBooks Desktop Payments user to have their own user credentials to be used in QuickBooks for processing payments. Users who don’t have an Intuit ID can create one and request access from the Payments admin to access Intuit Payments.
As an additional benefit of the new authentication system, any update to your account information will be automatically updated across all Intuit products you use with your Intuit ID.
The Payments wizard will take you through the steps to get all set up. You may also choose to skip this and we’ll remind you later.
Confirm your payment User ID
We’ll show you the Intuit ID that we have identified as being used for your Payments service account. This is the one you would have used when you signed up for Payments.
- If you know the details for the Intuit ID shown, confirm by selecting Yes.
- If this login is not associated with an Intuit ID, you’ll need to verify your email.
- If it’s connected to an Intuit ID, you’ll be asked to sign in with your Intuit ID and password and you’ll be all done.
- If this identity doesn’t belong to you, select No then enter your Intuit or email address.Note: This is the email id where you receive Payments transaction details, reports, and chargeback information
- If this login is not associated with an Intuit ID, you’ll need to verify your email and request access to the Payment services account.
- If it is connected to an Intuit ID, you’ll be asked to sign in with your Intuit ID and password and you’ll be all done!
Verify email
If we have not found a user ID registered with us for your Payment service account, we will help you set up one account. As a first step you will have to verify the email ID that is registered with us.
Note: This is the email ID where you receive Payment transaction details, reports, and chargeback information. You may also choose to skip this and we will remind you later.
Confirm the email
To confirm if the email ID shown belongs to you, we will send you a One Time PIN (OTP) which will be required to verify your email ID. You can also receive the OTP on the registered phone number for your Payments account. Once you’ve entered your PIN correctly, you’ll see:
Email Verified Let’s match your email to your Payments account. If you don’t have one, we’ll set one up.
Request access to Payments services
Congratulations! You have successfully signed in with your Intuit ID. Use this identity for any Intuit application that connects to internet and want you to authenticate yourself. For your payments to work, you will need to get Payments access to the Intuit ID. Once you select OKwe will send a request to your admin to grant you permission. The admin has to approve the request. Until then, we will allow you to process payments as usu
If you are an admin, you will have received an email asking you to set up permission for the new Intuit ID. The requesting user details along with the company file information and Desktop user name is provided in the email for you to review and give permission.
- Select Set-up user permissions to sign in with your Intuit ID and set the permission you feel is appropriate for the requesting user.
- The requesting user is notified via email about the access right changes as soon as you have given them permission.
Manage your Account
Once you have logged in successfully, you can manage and edit most of the information for your Intuit account based on your role and permission. Not only that, you also have the capability to manage most of your Intuit products by selecting the icon in the upper right of your QuickBooks.
What is an Intuit Identity or Intuit ID or User ID?
An Intuit Identity (Intuit ID) is your universal user ID for Intuit sites and allows you to access multiple Intuit applications with one user ID and password. Your Intuit account information is accessible through any of them. Once you sign in with your Intuit ID, you can see your company details, download your products, and make changes to your stored information. For example:
- You can manage payment method (such as debit or credit card mode)
- Account information (such as company address, phone number, and email)
- Sign in information (such as User ID, password and security question)
Note: If you have set up users in QuickBooks Desktop company file, the username and password to access your company file are not the same as your Intuit ID and Password unless you set it up that way on purpose. The terms Intuit Identity, Identity. Intuit ID, or user ID are used interchangeably.
What’s the benefit of an Intuit account?
An Intuit account gives you the power to manage your business and/or personal finances across all of the Intuit products you use. It allows you to access all your Intuit products, including QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Mint, through a single account. This means you only need one User ID and password. When you update your Intuit account information, it will be updated across all products you use so you won’t need to update account information in each separate product. In addition (where available) you may choose to import your information from one product to another, without having to re-enter it.
Will I need to create another Intuit account when I want to use a different Intuit product?
No, you don’t need to create a new account each time you sign up for an Intuit product. You can use your existing Intuit account to sign up for any other Intuit product.
What if I only use one Intuit product?
An Intuit account works with one or multiple Intuit products. Your Intuit account information will be accessible to you through any Intuit product you use.
Can I choose to have more than one Intuit account?
Yes. You may choose to create another Intuit account. Please be aware that if you choose to create more than one account, your account information will not automatically update across all Intuit products you use.
How can I protect my Intuit account?
Start by choosing a strong password and keeping it safe. Don’t share your User ID or password with others. Learn more about how to protect your Intuit account by visiting our Online Security Center.
How do I change my Intuit Account Information or payment information?
Depending on the Intuit products and services you use, you may have to update account information such as your address in more than one place. To update account information for QuickBooks products and services:
- Go to www.quickbooks.com/account.
- Enter your User ID and password, then select Sign in.
- In the “Account Information” box, select Edit to make changes to your company address, company phone, or e-mail.
Note: You cannot change your company name, first name, or last name online. If you need to change any of these, you must contact support. - In the sign-in Information box, select Edit to change the e-mail associated with your sign-in credentials, your User ID, your password, or your security question.
Note: The E-mail address associated with your sign-in Information can be different from the E-mail address associated with your Account Information. - If you have one or more credit or debit cards on file, you can also update your payment information.
Note: If you don’t have a credit or debit card on file, please contact support.
How do I recover a forgotten User ID or password?
If you can’t remember your User ID or password:
- Go to www.quickbooks.com/account.
- Select Forgot your Password? or Forgot your User ID?
- Follow the steps to retrieve your password or User ID.
- Try to sign in again.
Source: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Payments/Create-and-manage-your-Payments-user-ID/m-p/202531
2019 Retirement Plan Limitations
January 3, 2019
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2019 Retirement Plan Limitation highlights:
The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000. The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $6,000.
The compensation amount under Section 408(k)(2)(C) regarding simplified employee pensions (SEPs) remains unchanged at $600.
The limitation under Section 408(p)(2)(E) regarding SIMPLE retirement accounts is increased from $12,500 to $13,000. If permitted by the SIMPLE IRA plan, participants who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can also make catch-up contributions. The catch-up contribution limit for SIMPLE IRA plans is $3,000 in 2015 – 2019.
The limit on annual contributions to an IRA, which last increased in 2013, is increased from $5,500 to $6,000. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $1,000.
Year End Center: QuickBooks Online Payroll Full Service
January 3, 2019
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Year End Center: QuickBooks Online Payroll Full Service
https://community.intuit.com/browse/quickbooks-online-payroll-fullservice-yearend
SIMPLE IRA Plan
December 16, 2018
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A SIMPLE IRA plan (Savings Incentive Match PLan for Employees) allows employees and employers to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees. It is ideally suited as a start-up retirement savings plan for small employers not currently sponsoring a retirement plan.
Choose a SIMPLE IRA Plan
Learn the basics of a SIMPLE IRA plan
Learn the basics of a SIMPLE IRA plan
Establish a SIMPLE IRA Plan
Set up a SIMPLE IRA plan
Set up a SIMPLE IRA plan
Participate in a SIMPLE IRA Plan
Benefits of participation, plan contributions, effects of withdrawing money from the plan
Benefits of participation, plan contributions, effects of withdrawing money from the plan
Operate and Maintain a SIMPLE IRA Plan
Periodically review the plan, update for recent law changes
Periodically review the plan, update for recent law changes
Correct SIMPLE IRA Plan Errors
Find, fix and avoid plan errors
Find, fix and avoid plan errors
Terminate a SIMPLE IRA Plan
Requirements for ending a SIMPLE plan
Requirements for ending a SIMPLE plan
Additional Resources
Forms. publications, frequently asked questions, etc. Also, see Video: Starting a SEP or SIMPLE IRA Plan.
Forms. publications, frequently asked questions, etc. Also, see Video: Starting a SEP or SIMPLE IRA Plan.
Business Gifts Considerations
December 5, 2018
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Giving is a sign of gratitude and appreciation. It’s a common saying that “giving is better than receiving”.
The giver has the benefit of feeling good about blessing someone else, and the recipient has both the benefit of feeling good that giver cares, and also that of the actual gift. Additionally, the recipient may be more helpful to the giver in the future as a result.
It’s a win-win, right? What could go wrong?
Turns out, there’s quite a few landmines and considerations that should be made, especially if you are empowering your team to distribute gifts on behalf of your company.
While we believe the information within is accurate, this is not intended to be specific legal, tax, or accounting advice, or an all-inclusive discussion of issues to consider. We think it’s simply a good starting place to have a further discussion with your attorney and/or your accountant about your specific circumstances.
The high level considerations that come to mind:
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What is the company’s policy on gift giving?
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Who are the gifts being given to?
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What types are gifts are being made?
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How are those transactions being recorded?
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Who is monitoring the compliance to the company’s policy of gift giving?
COMPANY POLICY:
A properly written policy that describes the nature and type of acceptable gifts, payments, travel and entertainment, as well as who is authorized to give on behalf of the company, an approval process, and the procedures for recording/reporting is vital. Employees should acknowledge by their signature.
WHO ARE THE GIFTS BEING GIVEN TO?
The legality of giving gifts and any regulations surrounding it should be the primary consideration. The act of giving someone a gift, such as to a government employee (gov’t contractor or someone regulated by the gov’t), may require certain reporting or have limitations depending on gift type type, value, and other factors. It may be illegal to give, and possibly could be considered a bribe to secure favorable treatment, which is a crime.
While possibility not a matter of legality, some organizations’ policies (both public and private ones) may prohibit their employees from receiving certain types of gifts or gifts all-together. Receiving one may be cause for the recipient to loose their job or to be disciplined.
The rules for tax compliance by the giver vary depending on if the recipient of the gift is a customer, vendor, or an employee.
WHAT TYPES OF GIFTS ARE BEING MADE?
Different types of gifts have different tax-deductability and reporting requirements. We relied on 2017 IRS Publication 463 for this next information.
Some gifts are considered an entertainment expense and are subject to those limitations. For tax year 2018, entertainment expenses are not tax-deductible.
Any item that might be considered either a gift or entertainment generally will be considered entertainment. However, if you give a customer packaged food or beverages you intend the customer to use at a later date, treat it as a gift. A meal that is purchased for the customer when the payer is not present is not considered a tax-deductable meals expense, but may be considered a gift or entertainment depending on the circumstances.
Gifts that are not considered an entertainment expense, the tax-deductability is limited to $25 per recipient during the giver’s tax year as a Gift expense deduction. There are specific guidelines about who’s considered a recipient. There are also a few exceptions to note.
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The first exception is that incidental expenses such as engraving, packaging, insuring, and mailing are generally not included in determining the cost of a gift for purposes of the $25 limit.
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The second exception is an item that costs $4 or less and has your name clearly and permanently imprinted on the gift, and is one of a number of identical items that you widely distribute. Any signs, display racks, or other promotional material to be used on the business premieres is also not considered.
Gifts to employees have additional considerations. We relied upon 2018 IRS Publication 15-B for these considerations. There are lots of rules here. But the main theme is: Any fringe benefit you provide is taxable and must be included in the recipient’s pay unless the law specifically excludes it.
There are a number of exclusion rules that exclude all or part of the value of certain benefit from recipient’s pay. Cash, cash equivalents, gift cards, gift certificates, and the like are generally are not excluded and must be included in the recipient’s pay.
The exclusions from pay that are closely related to our topic of gifts:
- Holiday or birthday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value. Also, flowers or fruit or similar items provided to employees under special circumstances (for example, on account of illness, a family crisis, or outstanding performance).
- Certain meals provided to an employee if it has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide meals to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable.
- Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests
HOW ARE THE TRANSACTIONS BEING RECORDED?
It’s very important that a set of systems, processes, and procedures be thoughtfully created so that the giver records all of the relevant information about the gifts given and provides that to the person responsible for compliance, accounting, and oversight purposes.
WHO IS MONITORING COMPLIANCE?
As you can see, there are lot of considerations and potential liability across multiple fronts with regard to giving gifts. There should be an approval process prior to disbursement that includes relevant information about the gift (ie: value, purpose, recipient, and intended date of disbursement). A periodic verification of gift disbursement records and any associated compliance should be performed to determine level of compliance to the organization’s policy as well as to various laws and regulations.
SOME PRACTICES BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS BY DELOITTE:
From accounting Today article dated 11/25/15 entitled: “Ground Rules for Corporate Gift Giving to Avoid Breaking the Law“
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Set ground rules clearly in a written policy
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Act globally for consistency and compliance.
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Keep gifts corporate: company branded items.
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Make giving inclusive by giving gifts publicly and transparently.
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Prohibit cash gifts as well as gift cards. Consider baked goods for teams to share.
Wells Fargo & QuickBooks Bank Feeds status update
September 12, 2018
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Wells Fargo Bank Feed Issues
I have news to share regarding the issues we’re seeing out of those bank connections. Wells Fargo has reported that users are currently unable to download CSV transaction files from their website if the person is aSecondary(orDelegate) user. Any files obtained are blank and contain no transactions. At this time, only thePrimary user on the bank’s website can download transnational data with success.
This might help explain the issues certain QuickBooks Desktop users are still facing. TheWebConnectprocess utilizes a set of bank credentials to obtain transactions directly from the bank’s website via CSV file. If the Primary contact isn’t used for this, no transactions can be downloaded.
For QuickBooks OnlineandSelf-Employedusers, this will result in anError 102when trying to update the bank connection. Our Engineering team is actively working with Wells Fargo to resolve the issue. They’ve provideda status pagewhere you can find more information about the error as well as a time frame for a solution. Updates will be posted directly at the link in addition to here in the thread as they become available.
What should I do in the meantime?
- For QuickBooks Online and Desktop, creating transactions manually is the best workaround. This way, as soon as the error is resolved, all you’ll need to do is match them to the downloaded transaction.
- QuickBooks Self-Employed users are best advised to wait until the issue is resolved.
Is this issue related to the Error 105/Reversed transactions I was receiving last week?
- While these errors are unrelated from each other, it’s possible that some users were impacted by both.
- For more information on the status of the previous error, please head tothe link here.
To those affected by the error, I know this time is important and we’re working tirelessly to get you back to business without any further delay. I greatly appreciate each of you that have taken time to share your concerns with the Community. Thanks everyone, stay tuned for further information.