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Wages paid in excess of $18,350 within the first two months of 2012.

January 10, 2012 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Wages paid in excess of $18,350 within the first two months of 2012.

What to do regarding wages paid in excess of $18,350 within the first two months of 2012? 
At this time, 4.2% Social Security Tax should be withheld on all wages for that period (01/01/12-02/29/12).

Under the terms negotiated by Congress, the law also includes a new “recapture” provision, which applies only to those employees who receive more than $18,350 in wages during the two-month period (the Social Security wage base for 2012 is $110,100, and $18,350 represents two months of the full-year amount). This provision imposes an additional income tax on these higher-income employees in an amount equal to 2 percent of the amount of wages they receive during the two-month period in excess of $18,350 (and not greater than $110,100).    

This additional recapture tax is an add-on to income tax liability that the employee would otherwise pay for 2012 and is not subject to reduction by credits or deductions. The recapture tax would be payable in 2013 when the employee files his or her income tax return for the 2012 tax year. With the possibility of a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut being discussed for 2012, the IRS will closely monitor the situation in case future legislation changes the recapture provision.

The IRS will issue additional guidance as needed to implement the provisions of this new two-month extension, including revised employment tax forms and instructions and information for employees who may be subject to the new “recapture” provision.

Source: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=251650,00.html

In CA Payroll Taxes, Payroll, Payroll Taxes, SD Payroll Taxes

Payroll: 2012 Social Sec/Medicare Rates & Wage Bases

January 10, 2012 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Payroll: 2012 Social Sec/Medicare Rates & Wage Bases

2011 Social Sec/Medicare Rates & Wage Bases

Social Security:
EmployEE: 4.2% on earnings up to $110,100* (see below)
EmployER: 6.2% on earnings up to $110,100

Medicare:
Employee/employer (each) 1.45% on all earnings

* Section 601 of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 reduced, for wages and salaries paid in calendar year 2011 and self-employment income in calendar year 2011, the OASDI payroll tax by 2 percentage points, applied to the portion of the tax paid by the worker and the self-employed individual. Section 101 of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 extends this reduction of the tax rate through the end of February 2012. (The reduced tax rate for earnings in 2012 applies only to the first $18,350 of a worker’s total wages and self-employment income. The limit of $18,350 is two-twelfths of the $110,100 taxable earnings limit for 2012.) Unless additional legislation is approved, the tax rate will then revert to the unreduced rate.

Source: http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/colafacts2012.pdf

What to do regarding wages paid in excess of $18,350 within the first two months of 2012? 
At this time, 4.2% Social Security Tax should be withheld on all wages for that period (01/01/12-02/29/12).

Under the terms negotiated by Congress, the law also includes a new “recapture” provision, which applies only to those employees who receive more than $18,350 in wages during the two-month period (the Social Security wage base for 2012 is $110,100, and $18,350 represents two months of the full-year amount). This provision imposes an additional income tax on these higher-income employees in an amount equal to 2 percent of the amount of wages they receive during the two-month period in excess of $18,350 (and not greater than $110,100).    

This additional recapture tax is an add-on to income tax liability that the employee would otherwise pay for 2012 and is not subject to reduction by credits or deductions. The recapture tax would be payable in 2013 when the employee files his or her income tax return for the 2012 tax year. With the possibility of a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut being discussed for 2012, the IRS will closely monitor the situation in case future legislation changes the recapture provision.

The IRS will issue additional guidance as needed to implement the provisions of this new two-month extension, including revised employment tax forms and instructions and information for employees who may be subject to the new “recapture” provision.

Source: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=251650,00.html

In CA Payroll Taxes, Payroll, Payroll Taxes, SD Payroll Taxes

CA-Payroll Tax: 2012 Rates

January 10, 2012 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on CA-Payroll Tax: 2012 Rates

2012 California Payroll Tx Rates:

http://www.edd.ca.gov/Payroll_Taxes/Rates_and_Withholding.htm#2012UIETTandSDIRates

In CA Payroll Taxes, Payroll, Payroll Taxes

Employers Required to Include Employee’s Date of Hire on New Hire Reports Starting 01/16/2012

January 10, 2012 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Employers Required to Include Employee’s Date of Hire on New Hire Reports Starting 01/16/2012

Effective January 16, 2012, employers will be required to include an employee’s date of hire when submitting a new hire report. The date of hire is the date an employee first performed services for pay. This requirement was enacted in Section 802 of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (CRA; Pub. L. No. 111-291) signed into law by President Obama on December 8, 2010.

The South Dakota New Hire Reporting Center currently accepts and processes the date of hire when it is included on new hire reports. Employers must submit rehires with the most recent date of hire.

Source: http://dlr.sd.gov/ui/uitaxemployerupdate.aspx

Refrence: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ291/pdf/PLAW-111publ291.pdf

In CA Payroll Taxes, Payroll, Payroll Taxes, SD Payroll Taxes

Last logon date & time for a Windows user.

December 9, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Last logon date & time for a Windows user.

Open the command prompt: Start->Run->type cmd

At the C:\> prompt, type: 
net user administrator | findstr /B /C:”Last logon”

Replace administrator with any user name.

The output should look like this:
Last logon                   6/30/2010 10:02 AM
C:>

In Windows

Need to reinstall Quickbooks without CD?

December 9, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Need to reinstall Quickbooks without CD?

If you need to reinstall QuickBooks but can’t find the installation CD, here are links to download various QuickBooks software

https://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/Support/ProductUpdates.aspx

or try this link:  http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/Articles/INF12417.

Here’s some tips on registering or re-registering QuickBooks:

Register QuickBooks

 If you are having difficulties registering your product, you can contact us by phone:
  • From within the U.S. or Canada, call 800.316.1068.
  • From outside the U.S. or Canada, call +1 520.901.3220.
  • ProAdvisors who need assistance registering other versions of QuickBooks (login required to get ProAdvisor support numbers and/or chat).

Registration is free and entitles you to many benefits, including access to technical support and notification of product updates.

You can use QuickBooks up to 30 days without registering. After 30 days, you must register to continue using QuickBooks.

Important: If you have multiple copies of QuickBooks, you must register each copy installed on every computer.

Detailed instructions

Register a copy of QuickBooks that has never been registered

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Choose Help > Register QuickBooks
    Note: If you don’t see Register QuickBooks on the Help menu, you have already registered this copy of QuickBooks or you are using the QuickBooks trial version. You can verify that your copy of QuickBooks is registered by pressing F2 when QuickBooks is open. The Product Information window displays either REGISTERED or UNREGISTERED based on the registration status. You cannot register the QuickBooks Trial version. You must purchase a QuickBooks product to register it.
  3. Click Begin Registration.
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the registration process.

Register a copy of QuickBooks that was previously registered

If you install QuickBooks on a new computer, you need to register again. When you re-register, you must provide the zip code and phone number that was originally used to register the product.Note: QuickBooks will prompt you to register if it is required. Not all situations require you to re-register (such as reinstalling QuickBooks on the same computer).

QuickBooks 2007 and later:

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Choose Help > Register QuickBooks.
  3. Write down the license and product numbers that appear.
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the registration.

QuickBooks Simple Start:

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Choose Help > Register QuickBooks.
  3. In the Register QuickBooks Simple Start window, click Register and then click Begin Registration.
  4. Answer the Registration Questions and click Next.
  5. In the Product Registration window, enter your Business Phone number and Business Zip/Postal Code, and then click Continue.

Re-register a reinstalled copy of QuickBooks 2006 or earlier:

Important: Discontinued products cannot be registered for the first time now. You can only reregister discontinued products if they have been registered previously and are being reinstalled.

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Choose Help > Register QuickBooks.
  3. Select the Phone option.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Follow the prompts to complete the registration process.

 

In keeping with Intuit’s discontinuation plan for older products, discontinued products cannot be registered for the first time. You may re-register discontinued products if they have been registered previously and are being reinstalled. Assisted support for discontinued products is no longer available. If you have an older product, we recommend that you upgrade your version of QuickBooks.

If this solution does not resolve the issue, you can read discussions and post messages and questions relating to your issue on the Intuit QuickBooks Community site for free or you can contact a technical support agent for additional guidance. Fees may apply.

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/Support/Articles/SLN41390

In QuickBooks Add-ons, QuickBooks Tips & How-to's

QuickBooks 2009 support will end on 05/31/2012

December 8, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on QuickBooks 2009 support will end on 05/31/2012

QuickBooks service discontinuation policy and upgrade information

 
 

Live technical support and add-on business services such as payroll, credit card processing, QuickBooks Email, and online banking will be discontinued for QuickBooks for Windows 2009, QuickBooks 2009 for Mac, and a few other products as of May 31, 2012.

We are committed to developing easy, straightforward financial tools that help you today and grow with you tomorrow. But it’s a balancing act – making QuickBooks better and easier to use while still supporting older versions. So we offer support for the current version of QuickBooks and the two previous versions.

This article explains what service discontinuation means to your business and provides information on upgrading to the latest version of QuickBooks.

What service discontinuation means

Products affected by service discontinuation as of May 31, 2012, are listed in the table below. If you don’t make use of live technical support or any of our add-on services, and are happy with your current version of QuickBooks, you can continue to use it.

If you are using a product affected by service discontinuation and want to maintain access to live technical support and add-on services, you’ll need to upgrade to the latest version of QuickBooks as soon as possible.

Fully supported products Products for which services will be discontinued on May 31, 2012
QuickBooks Pro and Premier (Windows) 2012, 2011, and 2010
QuickBooks Simple Start (Windows) 2010		 QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Simple Start 2009
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 12, 11, 10 QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9
QuickBooks for Mac 2012, 2011, 2010 QuickBooks for Mac 2009
Point of Sale 10, 9 Point of Sale 8
Credit Card Processing Kit 2010 Credit Card Processing Kit 2009
Invoice Manager 2010 Invoice Manager 2009

As services to older versions are scheduled to be discontinued, we notify affected customers in advance by mail or email and through in-product notifications and information on this web site, such as this article. Please keep an eye out for updates on our future plans as they become available.

Pricing and upgrade information

For pricing and to learn more about QuickBooks 2012, use these links:

Or give us a call if you have concerns:

  • QuickBooks Pro or Premier (Windows): 866.676.9670
  • QuickBooks for Mac: 866.676.9670
  • QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: 800.450.7498

We want to work with you to make sure that your upgrade experience is easy, fast, and as cost-effective as possible.

Affected services

Upgrade as soon as possible to retain access to the following add-on services and live support. Click any service below to learn how it is affected by service discontinuation.

QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Simple Start 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9

QuickBooks Payroll services

Assisted Payroll: After May 31, 2012, QuickBooks no longer automatically calculates correct payroll taxes, provides payroll forms, or allows you to send your payroll data. Your subscription is inactivated and tax forms are no longer filed. 

Basic, Standard, or Enhanced Payroll: After May 31, 2012, QuickBooks no longer automatically calculates correct payroll taxes or provides payroll tax forms. Your paychecks may be inaccurate. Your subscription is inactivated and you will receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your Payroll subscription.

Employee Organizer: Employee Organizer Compliance Updates are no longer available.

Credit Card Processing

Merchant Service: You will receive a message indicating that the service is no longer available. You will not be able to process credit card transactions through QuickBooks 2009, QuickBooks Credit Card Processing Kit 2009, and QuickBooks Invoice Manager 2009. This message includes instructions for processing credit card transactions outside of QuickBooks.

Terminal Download: If you are a terminal customer, you will still be able to process credit cards through your terminal, but you will not be able to download transactions into QuickBooks.

Automatic Credit Card Billing: Your automatic credit card billing service is discontinued and you will not be able to download transactions into your QuickBooks 2009 software. Your customer profiles in the Automatic Credit Card Billing system are deleted and you do not have access to the data you entered.

Bill Pay

You will receive an error message instructing you to contact technical support, and you will no longer be able to connect to your financial institution to pay bills.

Billing Solution (formerly QuickBooks Online Billing)

You will get a message indicating that the service is no longer available. The message will include upgrade instructions.

Online Banking

You will receive an error message during an attempt to download transactions, send online payments, or send online transfers. The exact error message depends on your download method. For example, you may receive “QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution Information for this Download.”

QuickBooks Email

After May 31, 2012, you will no longer be able to use the QuickBooks Email service to send sales receipts, credit memos, purchase orders, reports, and forms. If you choose not to upgrade, you have 2 options:

  • You can email directly from QuickBooks 2009 using your Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Mail account (works with Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002, or 2000).
  • You can email forms and reports as .pdf files using your own email account, but not directly from QuickBooks.

Learn how to save forms as .pdf files.

Third-party products

We do not anticipate the discontinuation of QuickBooks 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9 to cause any problems with the QuickBooks compatible software from the Intuit Developer Network. You can see a list of this software at the Intuit Marketplace.

Enterprise Solutions Full Service Plan (FSP)

If you are using QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9 and have an active Full Service Plan, you will continue to receive support until the expiration of your plan. However, it’s important to always install the latest version of Enterprise Solutions (which you receive as a part of the Full Service Plan) to ensure uninterrupted support.

Live technical support and Online Backup

QuickBooks for Mac 2009

Online Banking

You will see an error message when you try to download transactions, send online payments, or send online transfers. The error message you see depends on your download method. For example, you may see the message “QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution Information for this Download.”

Live technical support

Credit Card Processing Kit 2009

Online Banking

You will see an error message when you try to download transactions, send online payments, or send online transfers. The error message you see depends on your download method. For example, you may see the message “QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution Information for this Download.”

Billing Solution

You will get a message indicating that the service is no longer available. The message will include upgrade instructions.

Live technical support

Invoice Manager 2009

Merchant Service

You will get a message indicating that the service is no longer available, and you will not be able to process credit card transactions through QuickBooks 2009, QuickBooks Credit Card Processing Kit 2009, and QuickBooks Invoice Manager 2009. This message will include instructions for processing credit card transactions outside of QuickBooks. If you are a terminal customer, you will still be able to process credit cards through your terminal, but you will not be able to download transactions into QuickBooks.

Billing Solution

You will get a message indicating that the service is no longer available. The message will include upgrade instructions.

Live technical support

Point of Sale 8.0

Live technical support

Technical support plans—All QuickBooks products

Support for installation, upgrades, error messages, and product defects

Support for installation, upgrades, error messages, and product defects is available only for currently supported versions of QuickBooks.

Replacement CDs, manuals, and live support are no longer available. If you are still using an unsupported product and you see a message that you need to reinstall your product, you can access the software download online.

Active QuickBooks Care Protection Plan with automatic renewal

Monthly renewal: If you have an active QuickBooks Care Protection Plan that automatically renews monthly (such as the QuickBooks Care Protection Plan with Monthly Billing), your plan will be automatically canceled on the next renewal date after May 31, 2012, unless you upgrade to QuickBooks 2012. In addition, any included services, such as data recovery and free Online Backup, will be canceled unless you upgrade.

Annual renewal: If you have an active QuickBooks Care Protection Plan that automatically renews each year (such as the QuickBooks Care Protection Plan with Annual Billing), you will continue to receive live support and any service included in your QuickBooks Care Protection Plan until the plan’s expiration date. At that time, if you are still using QuickBooks 2009, your QuickBooks Care Protection Plan will be automatically canceled and will not renew. In addition, any included services, such as data recovery and free Online Backup, will be canceled as well.

Live telephone support on a pay-per-use basis

If you want to receive live support on a pay-per-use basis (One-Time Support) after May 31, 2012, you will need to have a currently supported version of QuickBooks (2012, 2011, or 2010). You can still get answers to common questions by searching the QuickBooks Support web site if you chose not to upgrade, but we do not provide live support for products affected by service discontinuation.

 

Registration and downloads of older, non-supported products

We make every effort to provide customer support for registration and licensing for older versions of QuickBooks under Intuit’s standard terms and conditions, if that data is available. Unfortunately, we cannot assure that we will be able to register, provide keycodes, or offer data and password recovery for older versions of QuickBooks.

Similarly, although we are not able to provide replacement CDs, disks, or manuals for unsupported versions of QuickBooks, we do provide download files back to QuickBooks 2005.

Upgrade considerations
  • System requirements. Check the system requirements to learn whether your current system will support the latest version of QuickBooks:
  • Difference between the 2009 and 2012 products. QuickBooks 2012 has new tools and features that give you faster access to the information you need and make your everyday tasks more efficient. Find out what’s new since your version on the What’s New page for QuickBooks 2012 for Windows or Mac. You can also watch videos about QuickBooks 2012 and find out more about how it can help your business. Watch the What’s new in QuickBooks 2012 demos.
  • Learning QuickBooks 2012. You will notice a few changes in appearance, but the basic tasks and methods are still the same. You can take advantage of the Learning Center Tutorials in QuickBooks 2012 to learn features that are new to you.
  • Company file conversion. When you upgrade, you are prompted to convert your company file so it will work with your new product. We take great precautions during this process to protect your data. For example, QuickBooks verifies the integrity of your data file and helps you perform a backup before the upgrade process begins.
  • Upgrade process and assistance. After you complete your order for QuickBooks 2012, you will receive an email with a download link and instructions. You can also refer to step-by-step instructions on the Install Center. You can always call 866.676.9670 for help if you need assistance getting started. Frequently Asked Questions about Installing QuickBooks may also be helpful.
  • Time required. In most cases, you can update QuickBooks and your company file in less than an hour. The larger your company file, the longer it takes. After you install QuickBooks 2012 or QuickBooks for Mac 2012, you will be prompted to register.
Premium installation service

If you already have a QuickBooks Care Protection Plan for QuickBooks 2009, when you upgrade to QuickBooks 2012 you can take advantage of our QuickBooks Premium installation service at no charge. With this service, an expert will install QuickBooks 2012 for you, back up your data, and give you a guided tour of the product. Call 866.676.9670 to upgrade to QuickBooks 2012 and access this service.

If you do not have a QuickBooks Care Protection Plan for QuickBooks 2009, you can still take advantage of the QuickBooks Premium installation service when you upgrade to 2012. To do so, you can purchase either a monthly or an annual QuickBooks Care Protection Plan for QuickBooks 2012 (which includes the service) or you can pay a one-time fee of $24.95 to use the Premium installation service. Call 866.676.9670 to upgrade and ask the agent about this service. Learn more about the QuickBooks Premium installation service online.

Purchase options

We hope this page answers any questions you have about our service discontinuation plan. Consider all your upgrade options before making a decision:

Source: http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/articles/INF12842

In QuickBooks Add-ons, QuickBooks Tips & How-to's

Manual QuickBooks Server Updates

November 30, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • Comments Off on Manual QuickBooks Server Updates

Updates to the QuickBooks Server can be downloaded from the Internet. Because the QuickBooks Server is not a full QuickBooks application, updates must be downloaded and installed manually.

The installation steps are done on the server. You can print this topic for reference by clicking the print icon in the top right corner.

To do this task

  1. Use the following link to access QuickBooks Server updates:
    http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/ProductUpdates.aspx.
  2. Click Download the update file to your computer.
  3. In the File Download window, click Save.
  4. In the Save As window, choose the location to save the update file:
    • If you are using the server, save the update file to a location on the server that you can easily find again.
    • If you are using another computer to download the update file and want to save the update file directly to the server, browse in the Save As window to a location on the server to be updated. Make a note of the location you choose.
    • If you are using another computer to download the update file and want to manually copy the update file to the server, save the file to a location on that computer that you can easily find again.
  5. Once the update file has been downloaded:
    • If you saved the update file to the server, proceed to step 6.
    • If you saved the update file to a different computer (not the server), copy the file to the server computer.
  6. Ask all users to close QuickBooks.
  7. On the server computer, right-click the QB Database Server Manager icon located in the system tray and then click Exit QuickBooks Database Server Manager. Click Yes when you’re asked to confirm that you want to exit.
  8. Double-click the update file.
  9. In the QuickBooks Update Utility window, click the drop-down arrow and then click the server version of QuickBooks you’re updating.
  10. Click Install to start the update installation.
In QuickBooks Tips & How-to's

Message – “Windows Mail Can Compact the Message Store occurs when navigating the Vendor or Customer Center”

November 28, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • No comments

When accessing records, emailing or navigating around Customer or Vendor Centers while using Windows Vista, the following message is displayed: Windows Mail Can Compact the Message Store

 Why this is happening:

This is a Microsoft error in Windows Mail and only occurs in Windows Vista.

How to fix it

 Follow the detailed steps after consulting your IT person.

  1. Close QuickBooks
  2. Launch Windows Mail (Start > All Programs > Windows Mail)
  3. Go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Maintenance
  4. Deselect Compact the database on shutdown every…
  5. Close Windows Mail
  6. Reopen QuickBooks

Source: http://support20.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/articles/sln41309

In QuickBooks Tips & How-to's

Intuit to discontinue BOTH Time Tracker and Time & Billing on 12/01/11

October 21, 2011 • Jeff Cecchini • No comments
 
What I need to know:
• Your data is protected.

• You will continue to have access to QuickBooks Time Tracker and QuickBooks Time & Billing until December 1, 2011.

• You will no longer be billed. From October 6 until December 1, 2011, QuickBooks Time Tracker and QuickBooks Time & Billing services will be provided free of charge.
 
What do I need to do?

• Select an alternate time tracking solution. eBillity, a global time tracking solution provider since 2007, has launched a new product, eBillity Time Tracker and Billing Manager, with comparable features to your current offering.
• Communicate changes to employees and ensure final time submissions prior to December 1.
Approve/download all final entries prior to December 1.
In QuickBooks Add-ons