Intuit has been advertising Quickbooks Simple Start and their online edition and promoting them as free tools. To be fair, Intuit does let you know that the free version only allows up to 20 clients and does not include payroll. However, the Software as a Service (SaaS) model gives small businesses the ability to get the tools they need without sinking a lot of money into their infrastructure.

The following are some service providers that you may consider taking advantage of for your business.

QuickBooks Online – while it only allows you to have 20 clients, it does make it easy to get your finances organized.

Jott – allows you to keep track of notes, tasks, etc.

Google Apps – a full suite of tools for everything from email to instant messaging and shared calendars.

YouSendIt – if you transfer large files, YouSendIt makes it easy for your clients to get them without bogging down their email software.

There are many more tools out there and we’ll be posting updates to this list for you to check out.

Thanks for reading!

I don’t know about you, but the current state of the economy is really troubling.  Personally, I know a number of individuals who are out of work and are looking for employment.  Trouble is, there’s little to be found here in North Carolina.  Most employers are simply not hiring or are looking to hire premium talent at discount wages.

A large part of this problem is the effect of owning a business.  If you’ve got even one employee on your payroll, you understand that the complexity of maintaining compliance with federal, state and local guidelines is no small task.  At best, it’s a time consuming effort that gets done after everything else and hopefully it’s correct.  The usual is that you’ve outsourced it to a bookkeeper or an accounting firm that gives you the end result – the forms you need to sign and file – but little else except for their invoice. 

Often, most business owners feel that accounting for their business is akin to the “black magic” of lawyers preparing contracts and legal documents: doesn’t seem like much happened, but it cost a lot.

In order to provide full disclosure, this blog is published by React Accounting Services.  We are an accounting firm.  We would like a chance to earn your business.  So, we’re going to give away information, tips, and ideas through this blog so that you can determine whether we’re the type of people you’d like to work with.  May sound crazy, but we call it “value first.”

Here’s the first tip: check your payroll processing costs.

Most small businesses only have a handful of employees; however, they are often charged the highest rate by payroll processing firms.  Based on our research, we’ve learned that the typical per-check cost for a 10-employee company is between $5 and $10.  It doesn’t sound like much, but when you examine it over the course of a payroll year, typically 26 pay periods, that amounts to $130 to $260 per employee.  And that doesn’t include setup fees or quarterly reporting fees.

Unless your business is an accounting firm or payroll processing firm, I’d recommend outsourcing this task.  Generally, changes only occur at the beginning of the year; however, this year’s stimulus package caused an adjustment to payroll taxes that affected all employees.  Keeping tabs on these changes can be time consuming. 

Many payroll processing firms justify their fees by explaining that you are not liable for any mistakes.  True – they won’t charge you to correct any mistakes they make on your reports; but what’s not true is that your business isn’t liable.  The old adage applies that ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Full disclosure: React Accounting Services offers payroll processing that is tailored to your specific needs.  While we would like to discuss your payroll requirements, our rates are typically less than $3 per paycheck, including all federal, state and local filings, as well as quarterly reports.  To learn more, contact us at 888.400.9235 or via email at info@re-actnow.com.