BHB Advisors LLC, CPAs and Consultants [ stick ]

January 5th, 2012 Matt Bruun
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Based in Minnesota, BHB Advisors, LLC is a full service tax and accounting practice, offering the following services:

  1. Tax – planning and compliance work for individuals, corporations and partnerships
  2. Accounting Services and Financial Statements
  3. Consulting and Management Advisory Services

Our mission is to communicate, collaborate and cooperate with our clients to help get them where they want to be financially.

Our specialty is working with individuals and small to midsize companies in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. 

We hope that our website will offer you a glimpse of our expertise and help answer tax and accounting questions you may have.

Accounting & Bookkeeping, Tax News & Info, The Happy Accountant

Tax Season Resources-2011 [ stick ]

January 5th, 2012 Heather Reiswig
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Welcome to another tax season! To make this busy time a little easier, you can download all the necessary documents right here.

We ask all of our clients to fill out and return a signed engagement letter, a yes/no questionnaire, and an organizer.

Engagement Letter

Yes/No Questionaire

If we prepared your tax return for 2010 you have access to a detailed tax organizer that includes your prior year information on our web portal. We will also mail you a copy upon request.

If you are a new client, please download and complete the organizer listed below that pertains to you.

  • Basic- For taxpayers with no Schedule C business income or Rental property.
  • Business Income- For taxpayers with self-employment income. Please make sure to fill out this organizer AND the Basic Organizer.
  • Rental Income – For taxpayers with rental properties.  Please make sure to fill out this organizer AND the Basic Organizer.
  • Complete- This is the complete version for taxpayers with multiple activities such as Business, Rental, or Farm income.

NOTE: The tax organizers are not “fill in” PDF forms so you will need PDF editing software if you would like to enter text directly onto the forms. For instructions on how to enter text on a PDF using Adobe Standard, please see: Filling In Your 2011 Tax Organizer.

Tax News & Info

Upcoming Due Dates (January 2012)

January 7th, 2012 Matt Bruun
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January 17, 2012: 4th Quarter 2011 Estimated Tax payments are due for Individuals required to pay estimated taxes.

January 31, 2012: 1099 statements due to recipients, W-2 statements due to employees, Annual FUTA 940 payroll tax return due, Fourth quarter 941 payroll tax return for previous year.

February 5, 2012: Minnesota Sales and use Tax for annual filers

Tax News & Info

1099 Filing Requirements

January 6th, 2012 Matt Bruun
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Businesses who pay independent contractors, royalties or other non-employee workers must file 1099 forms with the IRS.

Nonemployee compensation of $600 or more is reportable in Box 7 of Form 1099-MISC.

Include fees, commissions, prizes and awards for services performed as a nonemployee, and other forms of compensation for services performed for your trade or business by an individual who is not your employee.

Businesses are generally not required to file 1099’s for payments made to an entity taxed as a corporation but this exemption from reporting payments made to corporations does not apply to payments for legal services.

What is nonemployee compensation?  If the following four conditions are met, you must generally report a payment as nonemployee compensation.

  • You made the payment to someone who is not your employee;
  • You made the payment for services in the course of your trade or business (including government agencies and nonprofit organizations);
  • You made the payment to an individual, partnership, estate, or, in some cases, a corporation; and
  • You made payments to the payee of at least $600 during the year.
Tax News & Info

Simplify Your Year End Payroll

December 6th, 2011 Heather Reiswig
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Let’s be honest, December is crazy and the last thing most business owners want to think about is payroll tax filing.  Before the holidays and the January deadline, get organized now.  Here are some things you should consider:

Calculate automobile use for W-2 reporting early

If you provide company vehicles to your employees that they can take home and use for personal travel, you are required to add this taxable fringe benefit to their W-2 wages.  To compute the taxable benefit amount, gather the vehicle’s value, model year, mileage, and a breakdown of mileage for business vs. personal.  NOTE: the IRS requires substantiation for business and personal use, so make sure your employees are keeping a log or good records. The value of driving an employer owned vehicle is based on the IRS annual lease value and the computation must be prorated for the number of months it was used.  The IRS gives companies the option of setting an October 31st or November 30th cutoff date, instead of the calendar year end.  Advice: use an optional cutoff date and compute this reportable benefit now.

Know which insurance benefits are reportable

Life insurance Premiums- reportable and taxable if the beneficiary of the policy is a shareholder, officer, or a member of their family.

Health and Disability- reportable for 2% shareholders of S Corporations, partners in a partnership, and members of an LLC.

Group Term Insurance- reportable for coverage over $2,000 on any owner or employee’s dependent. Also taxable income is added to an employee’s W-2 wages for any coverage over $50,000 based on the employer’s age and IRS premium tables.

 Many 3rd party payroll services have specific deadlines for this information, make sure to check their requirements and send them the necessary information s so they can issue correct W-2’s to your employees.

Business Consulting, Tax News & Info

Web Portal FAQ’s

December 5th, 2011 Heather Reiswig
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As part of our firm’s strategic plan to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible, we use a web portal as a primary means of delivery for documents.  Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions that will make using the portal quick and easy.

How do I get to the portal?

You can get to the portal Sign In screen from either the BHB Website at any time or by clicking here.

How do I Sign In to my account?

You Sign In by typing in your username which is usually your e-mail address, and your password.  If you type in a username or password that is incorrect you should click on the “Help! I’ve forgotten my password” link under the Sign In box.  A box will pop up allowing you to reset your password via e-mail or by answering your security question.  If you still have difficulty, you can call Carrie at 651-332-5101 to have her manually reset your password.

How do I access documents that have been uploaded to the portal?

After signing in, you will be taken to a home screen or Dashboard. 

  1. The dashboard will have an icon that says Document Presentation.  Click on this icon.
  2. You will see a folder with your name on it; select the folder by clicking on it.
  3. This will open up to a list of folders by year. Select the year that corresponds to the document you would like to view.
  4. This should open up to a list of available documents to view.  View a document by clicking on it. 
  5. You now have the ability to save, or print your document.
  6. These documents will be permanently available for your use.

How do I upload a document/file to the portal?

  1. The dashboard will have an icon that says File Exchange.  Click on this icon.
  2. You will see a folder with your name on it; select the folder by clicking on it.
  3. Once your folder is open you should see five icons under your name. Click on the last one that says Upload.
  4. A box will open up; under the box you will see two selections: Select Files & Upload.  Choose Select Files.
  5. This will open up a list of all the files on your computer.  Choose the file you wish to upload and select Open.
  6. Repeat step 4 for as many files as you wish to upload.
  7. Once you have all the files selected that you wish to upload, select the Upload button. 
  8. Your files will begin to upload; please do not sign out of your account until all your files have finished uploading.

How do I pay an invoice online?

After signing in, you will be taken to a home screen or Dashboard. 

  1. The dashboard will have a bookkeeping icon that says My Invoices.  Click on this icon. 
  2. This will open up two tabs, one for open invoices, and another for paid invoices. If you do not see any invoices and you have both a business and personal account on the portal you should select the account you wish to view the invoices for by clicking the drop down button by the Select a Client box which is located to the left of the My Account and Sign Out options near the top left of your screen.
  3. Select the invoice you wish to pay by checking the box to the left of the invoice date.
  4. Next click on the Pay Selected option on the bottom right of the screen.
  5. Re-enter your Sign In password and select Next.
  6. Enter your credit card information, and select Continue.
  7. Review your information; if everything is correct then select Submit.
  8. Print your confirmation, if desired.

 For any other questions or help with these functions, please contact us.

Tax News & Info

Hire a Veteran!

December 5th, 2011 Heather Reiswig
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On November 21st, President Obama signed the “VOW to Hire Heroes Act” which amended the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) and increased tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans.  According to the Department of Labor, as of October 2011, 12 percent of military veterans who joined the service after the attack of 9/11 are unemployed.  During the signing of the Act, Obama predicted that with the war in Iraq winding down, many veterans will be looking for jobs in the next five years, and that their experience will be extremely valuable to private enterprise.  So if their valuable experience isn’t enough to tempt companies to hire these unemployed veterans, companies can claim credits against payroll taxes up to $5,600 for veterans that have been unemployed for six months or longer.  The credit goes up to $9,600 for veterans with service-connected disabilities.  There is another incentive to hire veterans who have been unemployed for one to six months; companies in this situation can claim a credit up to $2,400.  As an extra incentive, the government will provide some relief/ incentives to companies that provide on the job training to these veterans.  For more information about the benefits of hiring unemployed veterans go to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Business Consulting, Tax News & Info

One year down- a lifetime more to go…

November 22nd, 2011 Heather Reiswig
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As the year closes a lot of people take a minute to look back on their year, the triumphs and struggles, the joys and sorrows.  For me, 2011 was the first year of my career. After four and a half years of college sandwiching a year off for non-profit work, I finally had my big girl job (as my friends and family liked to say).   I remember coming into work on my first day, throwing my things on my new desk and hitting the ground running into a staff meeting and the beginning of tax season.  As the year progressed, so did my confidence and knowledge under my two fantastic bosses and wonderful co-workers. Each one of them invested time, patience, and compassion to help me to be successful, and will be remembered as I give thanks over turkey and mashed potatoes this Thursday.  We are quickly approaching another tax season and with a year of knowledge, and one section of the CPA Exam successfully completed I look forward to a new set of challenges and triumphs.  Steve Jobs said “the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” 

I agree with Steve.

The Happy Accountant

Got A Mess?

November 17th, 2011 Connie Hall Bruun
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We have the best intentions with our financial lives, but sometimes “life” gets in the way and the financial aspect of our lives may suffer.  Whether it is an illness, an unexpected job loss or a variety and combination of other things, it can happen.  Then, the tax reporting deadlines come upon us and we are not ready to file or the project seems too big to start.  So we don’t.  Or, we have an opportunity to refinance or start a new venture, but not having filed your tax returns can be a stumbling block.  That is where we come in.  Don’t worry about being embarrassed; we are here to help get the job done.  We will help organize the information and get the job done.  Our main goal is for you to SWAN – Sleep Well at Night.  If we can help, let us know.

Accounting & Bookkeeping

Do you know enough to be dangerous?

November 17th, 2011 Heather Reiswig
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You have a fantastic idea, product, clients, etc., you are busy doing the “critical inch” of what makes your business profitable, and you assume or blindly hope that the accounting will “fall into place” or “just happen.” The intensity and excitement of starting a new venture can be and usually is all consuming with a to-do list that is longer than the hours in a day. Does this sound familiar?

One of the major no-no’s in starting a new business is mingling personal and business funds.  Most new business owners have no choice but to use personal funds at the creation of their business.  This is understandable, however once an entity is registered, it is vital to open a business bank account and set up your accounting software.  Comingling funds can create huge headaches from not know the exact amount of money invested, spent on expenses, or accurate records for tax time.  If partners are involved, the headaches turn to migraines and undue stress is put on the budding enterprise.   If possible, involve professionals when starting a business and in maintaining financial records.  Business owners don’t start businesses so that they can be stuck tracking receipts, and rarely do they have the time to maintain perfect accounting records so they take short cuts or fall behind.  Don’t fall into this accounting pitfall, get help and get back to doing what you love. 

“You only cry once when you pay for quality.” – English Proverb

Accounting & Bookkeeping, Business Consulting
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