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Accounting Basics

Depreciation made easy!

Picture this: It’s December. The weather has turned cold, and the holidays are all abuzz. You’re in the middle of checking things off your Christmas list. Your family is making plans for how they're going to spend the last few weeks of the year, and you are looking forward to some well-deserved time off. As a small business owner, you sit down and run your Profit & Loss report. Looking back over the past 11 months, you marvel at the huge profit your wildly successful business has made. 


But wait! You think. That huge profit is going to turn into a huge tax bill next April! What should I do? Is there any way to reduce that potential tax bill?


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Small BusinessWendy Kane
Checklist for your year-end financials

As we approach the end of 2023 and look forward to 2024, I know many of us will be celebrating with family and friends. If you’re a small business owner or solo entrepreneur who does your own bookkeeping, you will also be busy closing out your books for one year and preparing for the next! 

I thought I’d make the task easier by creating this checklist of year-end items you need to make sure to complete to get ready for the new year! 

To close out this year, here is what you need to do:


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Wendy Kane
What does your friendly neighborhood bookkeeper do for you?

When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you tell them? Do you share just your job title or take it a step further and explain how what you do makes a difference for your clients? 

I wanted to take this opportunity as we enter into the last quarter of the year to reintroduce myself and show you how I can help. Today I want to answer the question, "What does your business do and why should they care?"

My whole reason for starting this business was to help other small business owners keep better track of their finances. When I did tax returns in public accounting, I saw so many small business owners bringing in boxes of receipts, or worse, nothing at all, and wanting to have their taxes done. They were overwhelmed, exhausted, and completely unaware of how their business was actually doing. My heart went out to these hardworking folks.

Even my logo, an open book that resembles a bird in flight, (designed by a fellow small business owner and client, Casey Weatherford of Kind Creative Co.) represents the freedom you experience when your bookkeeping is up to date and accurate.

My primary services are:

  • Bookkeeping for startups, small businesses, and independent contractors, 

  • Payroll for all three client types, and 

  • QuickBooks installation and clean-up. 

I do these so that you can

Save time – I do all three of these services to take work off your plate, which allows you time to run your business and spend more time with your family. 

Breath easier – finances are tough no matter what type of business you have and having a professional accountant helps you know the work is not only getting done, but getting completed accurately. 

Run your business – I touched on this briefly already, but being able to outsource an often tedious and difficult task to a fellow small business owner allows you to do what you do best, which is operate your business and work with your customers. 

Trust your results – Payroll, payroll and business taxes, bookkeeping, and all the other financial aspects of running a business offers plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. With a professional doing the work for you, you can trust your results and know that you are going to be in compliance with the IRS, the state, and your stakeholders. 

Are you ready to start fresh this month and go into 2024 with a solid plan? I’d love to help you with your bookkeeping, whether you need help cleaning it up or starting fresh. Give me a call!

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Small BusinessWendy Kane
Beware the asterisk (on financial apps)

Have you ever noticed how sometimes the best examples to share in your business come from your own personal experience? I had such an experience recently when my daughter (with my blessing), used an online tax program to complete her taxes. In this example, she used Tax Act, but this warning is for any kind of financial application, especially one that you might be using to complete your taxes. 

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What to consider when starting a business

Whether it’s a new year’s resolution or something you’ve been planning for a while, starting a new business is an exciting and, often, scary adventure. As a self-employed business owner myself, I know how it feels to leave the security of being employed by someone else so I could enjoy the freedom that comes with self-employment. 


Over the years, I’ve written a lot of blogs about many aspects of owning a business, especially when it comes to finances. I thought that for my first blog in 2023, I would do a roundup of those blogs to give you a starter's guide to starting and running your own business.

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Four New Year’s Resolutions for your Business

Can you believe it’s already the end of 2022? Next week, we start a brand new year, and whether you’ve been in business for a few years or are just getting started, there are a few habits you can resolve to do this year that will help your business run well. 

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Wendy Kane
Do I have a business or a revenue stream?

Many people earn their living from a variety of sources, including combining traditional and self-employment. Sometimes it could be as simple as owning a rental property while being employed by someone else. Or, some people have multiple LLCs and varying revenue streams under each LLC.


This month, I want to discuss how to know if your income is a revenue stream or a separate business. This determination does not always have a hard and fast answer, but here are a few guidelines to go by.

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Wendy Kane
Taking Your Side Hustle Full Time - What you need to know

There has never been a better time to start a business! The gig economy is in full swing and is providing many people with opportunities to earn extra income and increase their standard of living. Some people are enjoying it so much that they wonder if they could do their side hustle full time, in place of their regular job. If that is you, read on to see some things you should consider before making the switch.

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What you need to know about sales tax

As small business owners, we all deal with a variety of taxes. From payroll taxes to sales taxes, I know it can get confusing! It can be easy to think that because you’re used to paying sales tax, that it is also easy to understand for your business. Many clients discover, however, that sometimes understanding sales tax and how it relates to their business can be one of the more complicated financial scenarios.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common questions I get about sales tax. Most of my clients are in Arkansas, so I will use our state as an example.

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Business Functions You Can Do Yourself (and a few you shouldn’t!)

Most businesses start out as an idea or dream by one person or a small group of people. Many of them also start out with very little cash. In an effort to save money, or not spend money since they don’t have any, many organizations will attempt to perform all business functions themselves rather than hiring someone to do it for them.


That could work.


It could also be disastrous.


I want to give you my suggestions for business functions you can do on your own and those that are best left to the professionals.

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5 Ways to Make Things Easier for your Tax Preparer

Once the W-2’s and 1099’s are mailed out by January 31, it is game on for tax offices. Since practically everyone needs to file a tax return, they will be working nonstop and overtime from now until April 15 to get as many tax returns filed as possible.


They do carve out time for appointments but it is sandwiched between work, work, and more work. So to make things go smoothly, here are five things you can do to make sure you have a good experience with your tax preparer.


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Wendy Kane
How to Pay for College with Cash

College is expensive. Very few families have an extra $20,000 to $50,000 lying around each year nor did that many start saving for college while their precious baby was still in the womb. Well, it may not be easy, but here are some tips on how to pay for college without using loans.

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Wendy Kane