Setting up a data interface between your QuickBooks file and your bank can dramatically reduce the time burden created by the manual data entry of transactional activity. Downloading bank feeds directly into QuickBooks eliminates the need to post transactions individually, keeps records current, and allows more time to address more pertinent business needs.
Initiating online banking service through QuickBooks is the first step in setting up a bank feed. Depending on the bank, you may be required to download a bank statement through their online portal for security purposes. You can specify the date range on your bank’s website to be downloaded into QuickBooks, of which a maximum of 90 transaction days is available to download when you first link an account. In cases where there are more than 90 days of transactions, you may upload the files to QuickBooks online via WebConnect if your bank supports QuickBooks Online (QBO), Quicken (QFX), Comma-Separated Values (CSV), or Microsoft Money (OFX).
Transactions are added either in batch form or individually, and users have the opportunity to review all operations before the download is accepted and applied in QuickBooks. Subsequent transaction downloads will be automatically matched and posted consistently with prior postings. The risk of posting duplicate transactions is eliminated because QuickBooks only accepts transactions that were not previously downloaded. Unmatched transactions are classified as an uncategorized income or expense, at which point you can assign and approve the appropriate category before allowing them.
For more information on whether your business is a candidate for this feature and how it could be beneficial, please contact our DiSanto Priest & Co.’s Business Resource Center.
On Thursday, June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its previous 1967 and 1992 rulings on two cases, National Bellas Hess vs. Illinois and Quill vs. North Dakota, that had upheld physical presence being required in a state before it could impose sales tax on purchases made by residents in their state. In a 5 – 4 decision in Wayfair vs. South Dakota, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state authority to require online retailers to collect sales taxes without regard to physical presence in the state.
With this decision, states stand to gain much-needed tax revenues for their budget deficits. In addition, there may be even more significant cost consequences for small online retailers that do business in multiple states.
As part of the ruling in the 1992 Quill vs. North Dakota case, Congress was given ultimate power to resolve sales tax issues pertaining to interstate commerce. Discussions surrounding the concept of an “internet sales tax” is not new. Each year, since 2010, legislation has been introduced that proposed a federal tax bill; however, to date, Congress has failed to pass any such legislation that would lend a sense of uniformity to sales tax regulations.
Now that states are being given the authority to pass their own legislation to impose sales tax on purchases from out-of-state retailers regardless of physical presence, and with the inevitable increased complexity that retailers will be forced to comply with, it is possible that Congress will be spurred to provide federal guidance surrounding applicability and compliance as a result of the ruling.
One of the most rapidly growing means that companies are using to increase their sales is by offering their products through Amazon. Many businesses are selling their products through the Amazon FBA program (Fulfillment by Amazon). When a seller uses the FBA program that Amazon offers, they are typically instructed to ship inventory to an Amazon warehouse with an agreement that, as the company sells their products through Amazon, Amazon will take ownership of product shipment and order fulfillment. The seller’s products are stored in Amazon fulfillment centers where Amazon picks, packs, ships, and in some cases, provides customer service for those products.
When using FBA, a company generally sends its inventory to one Amazon warehouse location; however, depending on how the product is listed for sale, Amazon may relocate the inventory across many states where they have fulfillment centers. Owning inventory in another state creates nexus in that state for sales and income tax. If Amazon is handling a company’s customer service and delivery for their products, there is also the potential for states to take the position that those services are creating an agent relationship, allowing the company to create or maintain a marketplace in those states.
The opportunities provided to businesses through FBA to expand their customer base without having to handle much of the back-end fulfillment responsibilities, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, has proven to be advantageous for many sellers. With the expansion of business through e-commerce also comes the potential for the expansion of a company’s nexus footprint for state and local taxes.
According to the Tax Foundation’s Fiscal Fact No. 572, forty-five states and the District of Columbia collect statewide sales tax in addition to having either income, gross receipts, franchise, or business privilege tax filing requirements once nexus is established in their respective states. For all states, owning inventory that is stored or warehoused in a particular state creates nexus for sales and income tax purposes and, in many states, third-party fulfillment arrangements will create nexus for sales tax purposes.
Whether you are using FBA or other avenues of e-commerce, the challenges of state and local tax compliance requirements can be extremely daunting and challenging. Contact us to see how we can help you determine where you have left or are looking to create a nexus footprint.
One of the fastest growing industries in the United States, and around the world, is the cannabis industry. It is estimated that by 2025, the worldwide market could reach over $50 billion dollars. The United States has long been a leader in the industry, but Canadian and European markets are gaining traction quickly.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of medical or recreational marijuana, the industry is likely here to stay. Things are moving quickly as states posture themselves to reap tax revenue from both medical and recreational marijuana. It is not often that an entire industry is born.
Business challenges include raising capital, banking and insurance, strict state regulation and oversight, income taxation…oh, and the fact that the industry is in violation of federal law. Previous administrations had taken a soft approach to state legalized marijuana enforcement, but the current administration has reversed that stance, once again leaving the industry in turmoil.
For those looking to break into the industry, you will have to be well-funded, patient, ready to deal with incredible and constantly changing local and state bureaucracies, stiff competition, heavy risks, complex organizational structures, complicated recordkeeping, legal and social opposition, and, of course, taxation.
Our Experience
Not every tax professional is willing to represent clients in this industry or to learn the complex rules related to state and federal taxation. At DiSanto, Priest & Co., we understand the rules and work with other legal and business professionals to assist you in evaluating your options, consulting on organizational form, payroll and banking, and customizing recordkeeping to ensure maximum tax benefit while working through local and state regulations that are, in many cases, antiquated and unprepared to handle this new, dynamic industry. As with anything that is new and different, there are as many questions as answers.
At DiSanto, Priest & Co., we are currently working with multiple clients directly and indirectly in the industry from care-givers, growers, and cultivators to complementary industries like extraction and compounding. We understand the unique federal and state tax law related to the industry and can quickly get you started on the right foot. This is a tight-knit community that regularly shares knowledge on processes, vendors, regulations, and professional representation.
Our partner, Bill Pirolli, heads the division and has over 40 years of tax and business consulting experience. He was previously appointed to the prestigious National Conference of Lawyers and Accountants where marijuana issues were front and center on the agenda, including the study of nuanced federal and state law, providing both white papers and testimony before Federal officials. Contact us today for more information.
We receive regular checkups to monitor, maintain, and improve our health. But did you know that you should do the same for your company? Financial statements provide the vital statistics necessary to track a company’s health. Investors use financial statements to research potential investments, bankers base lending decisions on a company’s financial statements, and valuation experts utilize financial statements to determine a company’s worth. By routinely scrutinizing your financial statements, you can monitor and improve your company’s performance and, ultimately, its value.
A comprehensive financial analysis employs ratios to measure a company’s past and current operations, allowing you to compare its results to others in its industry. This type of review offers insight into the historical growth, profitability, debt capacity, and overall liquidity of the subject company in the context of its industry. All such factors can be important indicators of a company’s ultimate value and provide useful information to business owners and managers who want to more effectively and efficiently manage their operations.
You can perform your own financial checkup for your business. To begin, obtain a history of your company’s financial statements; five years’ worth is usually a good base. Next, convert the financial statements to common size. Common size financial statements are simply your company’s financials expressed in the form of percentages rather than dollars. A common size format readily identifies trends and growth patterns. Additionally, since industry benchmark data is often produced in this format, it makes it easier to compare your results with the competition. Industry benchmark information can be obtained from a commercial vendor, your accountant, or, depending upon the industry, from trade associations.
Next, financial ratios are calculated. There are a number of ratios to choose from – some of the more common ratios measure liquidity, debt coverage, leverage, and operating and profit performance. Their relevance is dependent upon your company, its operating characteristics, and the industry. Bankers and accountants can be especially useful in identifying the more pertinent ratios.
The information gathered thus far is analyzed and compiled on a trended, composite, and industry basis. The results of this analysis, when performed regularly, help you to monitor and recognize the vital statistics necessary to maintain the success and growth of your business. The benefits of this assessment include:
Competitive Advantages & Disadvantages
An industry assessment enables you to identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses and acquire valuable information on the competition.
Budgeting & Forecasting
Studying trends and growth patterns is a very effective preliminary step in preparing internal budgets and forecasts.
Strategic Planning
Recognizing specific performance measurements (company and industry) will help to set goals and objectives for the future (e.g. increasing sales, gross profit margins, and net income).
Acquisition Opportunities
Knowledge of key performance measurements assists in the evaluation of a proposed sale, merger, or acquisition.
Focus
Greater awareness of the interrelationship of the financial statements and a complete understanding of financial operations allows you to focus on the areas important to the growth and success of your business.
Regardless of whether you perform, or your accountant performs, a financial analysis is akin to your annual physical examination…it is crucial to understanding your company’s health – past, present, and future.
Our partner, Leah Szlatenyi, directs the Bentley Consulting Group, LLC and has over 25 years of tax, financial advisory, and business consulting experience. As a former member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) National Business Valuation Committee, Leah has extensive knowledge in the evaluation of an organization’s financial health, business planning and forecasting, and strategic implementation.
Is your company future ready? We are living in an incredible time of rapid change around the world. Technology, regulation, global economics, political uncertainty, business transformations, generational shifts; and there is no end in sight.
Planning for Market Shifts
We have always dealt with change but never has change come so rapidly. Your smartphone is only 10 years old. How has it changed your life and your business? Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, online commerce, blockchain, Bitcoin, driverless cars, and more. Are you ready for those changes to your business or organization? Will your organization be disrupted by the likes of Uber, Air B&B, Amazon, and others – or will you be a disruptor by creating the next big thing?
Like so many of us, we go through our business day focusing on the present and dealing with the past, but what about the future? Is your organization properly positioned to seize new opportunities and navigate upcoming threats? Have you addressed succession in ownership, management, and on the shop floor? What will your organization look like in three, five, and ten years? These are difficult questions that many simply put off.
Strategic Planning Engagements
Your financial advisor can certainly assist in projecting financials like revenue, profits, taxes, cash flow, and future capital needs, but, in some cases, they can also help you dream about the future of your organization through a formal Strategic Planning Engagement.
The process of developing a future strategy can be daunting, especially for smaller family-owned businesses or organizations with limited resources. The best way to accomplish this goal is to use an outside facilitator who understands the process of long-term planning and the business challenges that all U.S. companies face, serving as a neutral voice in building consensus.
Our partner, Bill Pirolli, has decades of just such experience. Not only has he been on the front lines with his clients for over 40 years as their trusted business advisor (as well as serving in management positions in DiSanto, Priest & Co.), he has also led dozens of strategic planning retreats for accounting and law firms, private businesses, and non-profit organizations.
About Bill Pirolli
Bill has been a volunteer to the accounting profession and business community for over 20 years. He has been the President and Chairman of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs (RISCPA), the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Private Company Practice Section. He has held many other committee positions and is currently appointed to the United States and International Board of Directors of the AICPA, an organization with over 650,000 members in 189 countries. Through these experiences, Bill has participated in many strategic organizational visioning projects and learned the best practices for developing a future-proofed strategy.
Get in Touch
Contact us to see how strategic planning can propel your business into the future.