Equine Accounting: Getting your information for your tax return organized...

How to organize your tax return documentation for your tax return in a few easy steps:Day 1: Read this article. It's probably going to be the step that takes the greatest amount of time so it's all downhill from here.

You need to get your records organized. But you open the file/shoebox/drawer and there is just so much there, in no particular order. That looks like a whole day's worth of work and there are horses to be ridden, lessons to be taught and stalls to be cleaned. So you put away your good intentions for another day.
It doesn't have to be that way. Here's how to get organized without spending lots of precious time sitting at your desk. But first a brief review of what your records should include.
The IRS requires documentation for all expenses that you deduct. You must be able to back up deductions with documentation such as canceled checks or receipts. If you are selected by the IRS for an audit, you may not be audited for several years after you file your return. Memories fade so be sure to create a system of organization that you will remember and understand in years to come.
Generally, the law does not require any specific kind of records. You can choose any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses. For most small businesses, the business checkbook is the main source of recordkeeping. In addition, you must keep supporting documents. Purchases, sales, payroll, and other transactions you have in your business generate supporting documents. Supporting documents include sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips, and canceled checks.
Gross receipts are the income you receive from your business. You should keep supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts. Documents that show gross receipts include:
· Bank deposit slips.
· Receipt books.
· Invoices.
· Credit card charge slips and statements
· Forms 1099-MISC.
Expenses are the costs you incur to carry on your business. Your supporting documents should show the amount paid and that the amount was for a business expense. Documents for expenses include the following.
· Canceled checks.
· Credit card sales slips and statements
· Invoices.
· Petty cash slips for small cash payments.
Get started:
The trick of getting this done is to do little bits each day. Set a reasonable daily goal. If you can't accomplish the goal you set, the next day you need to finish that goal before moving on to the next one.
Day 2: Get together all of your bank statements, credit card statements, receipts and other supporting documentation (your proverbial shoebox), prior year tax return and check book .
Day 3 and for each succeeding day until done: Decide on categories of expenses for your business. If you look at the portion of your prior year tax return which reports the activity of your business, you will see the types of expenses that your tax preparer used - e.g. Utilities, Feed and Grain, Legal and Accounting, etc. Grab a manila envelope, label it with the name of one expense type and go through your pile of receipts for only that type of expense. Toss all of the Utilities bills into the Utilities envelope and pick a different category the next day. Save all of the receipts that are for miscellaneous expenses for the last day and create a Misc envelope for those. HOWEVER, if you have more than a few documents for the same category and the total for that expense is significant for your business, you should probably create an envelope just for that type of expense. If you have a category with only a few documents, do an additional category that day.
The day after all the expenses are sorted and each succeeding day until done: Take out of the manila envelope the documentation for one type of expense. Put the receipts in order by date, earliest date first. Make a list on a piece of paper for each document listing the date, the vendor (who you paid), the amount and the business purposes for the payment (e.g. hay and grain, saddle fitting, etc). When you are done with that expense, put the paper into the envelope and the next day, start with the next expense. Again, if you have a category with only a few documents, do an additional category that day.
The day after all of your expense envelopes have lists and each succeeding day until done: Pick an envelope and review your credit card statements, bank statements and check book for expenses that may be included there but for which you don't have supporting documents in your envelope. On a piece of scrap paper, put the date, vendor name, amount of the expense, toss the paper into the envelope and add the expense to your list.
Follow the same procedures for gross income. Income categories might include lesson income, board, training, sales commissions, etc.
Now you are ready to hand everything over to your tax return preparer. Going through this process has many benefits. It:

· Has saved you the cost of having your tax preparer sort through everything.
· Reduced the possibility of the preparer misclassifying an expense ("What's a gogue???")
· May show you that there are some documents missing.
· Provides a good review for you of your business finances.

Equine Accounting: NewSecurity of Information Law in MA

Does your business accept checks or credit cards?
If your business accepts checks or credit cards from Massachusetts residents, this article is definitely for you. Even if you live in a state where there are currently no requirements for this type of security, something similar may be coming to your state soon. So see what plan Massachusetts is putting into place. No matter where your business is located, safeguarding your customers' personal information just makes good business sense.
Effective March 1, 2010, every organization who collects, owns or licenses personal information about a resident of Massachusetts should be in full compliance with 201 CMR 17. This new personal data protection law establishes a standard set of regulations for businesses to protect and store Massachusetts residents' personal information. Personal information is defined under the new regulation as a resident's first name and last name, or first initial and last name, and one or more of the following:

· Social Security number· Driver's license number or state-issued ID card number· Financial account number (bank account number) or credit or debit card number (with or without any type of security or access code or password).

So this law applies to ANY BUSINESS, regardless of size, who accepts checks or credit cards.

The law requires companies to develop and implement several security safeguards, including:

· A comprehensive written information security plan (WISP) creating effective administrative, technical and physical safeguards of personal information.· Protection against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of personal information (such as restricted physical access, computer passwords).· Policies regulating employees' ability to access and transport records outside work.· Disciplinary measures for violations of these new safeguards. MGL Chapter 93A, section 4 specifically "authorizes the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief against the organization involved in the unauthorized act or practice and allows a court to impose a $5,000 civil penalty for each violation". If "violation "is interpreted to mean the unauthorized access to a single individual's personal information, potential damages could be enormous.
It's not as daunting a task as it sounds. Most of the procedures are fairly simple to implement. Here are links to the law and WISP guidelines.If you would like more information or assistance, you can contact a private company who specialize in helping you implement an acceptable plan.

Thank you to David Javaheri at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=zlc7kgdab.0.0.tnz777cab.0&ts=S0464&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.compliancehelp.net%2F&id=preview for his help with this article.

Equine Accounting: Seven tips for getting paid by your clients on a more timely basis...

You've got a barn full of boarders and lots of lessons scheduled. Everyone's happy with your services. But you are having trouble collecting from those clients. What can you do to make collection easier and faster?

1. Bill your clients on a timely basis. Your invoices for board should reach your clients at least one week before their payment is due. Take the time to create an actual invoice - even if the amount due stays the same from month to month. If you don't have the time to bill your clients, hire someone to do it for you. You know that the reason that you don't have time to do the billing is because you are too busy cleaning stalls, turning out and doing all the other things it takes to make your clients and their horses happy. But the message they get when you don't bill on time is that the money isn't that important to you. So why should it be to them? 2. Have new boarders sign a contract that specifies when board is due and have current boarders initial the contract yearly. It may not have a lot of legal clout but it reminds your clients that you are first and foremost a business and operate as such. If you use this procedure with everyone, you aren't likely to get objections to doing so.
3. Ask for a security deposit from new boarders. This is standard procedure when you rent an apartment so why should it be any different when someone rents a stall from you? Having the security deposit gives you a little cushion should someone get behind. But never offer the client the option to apply the security deposit to an arrears balance unless it is their last month of boarding with you. If you increase your board, then the client must increase the amount of the security deposit. Your state may have regulations relating to maintaining security deposits so check with them before setting up any policy.
4. Have clients prepay your boarding or lesson fees. Offer them the option to "buy in bulk". This is especially effective for lessons. Offer a package of ten lessons with a discount for prepayment. Boarding barns can offer a discount when payment is made in advance on a quarterly basis.
5. Offer clients the opportunity to pay by credit card. PayPal and Intuit offer affordable credit card services that you can access from a smartphone or computer. There are fees involved but accepting credit cards can save you the time you spend chasing clients for payment. But I would not suggest maintaining credit card information on file. Massachusetts is in the process of implementing a new privacy of information law that includes security of credit card information and your state may have a similar law in place. Instead, explain to clients that they will need to provide their credit card for each charge. Some barns currently will only accept credit cards as a form of payment. This eliminates the need to make bank deposits and the problem of a check returned for insufficient funds.
6. For invoices for board, consider e-mailing the invoices rather than handing them out or leaving them in tack trunks. Clients are more likely to forget the invoice at the barn, in the car, etc than an invoice delivered directly to their computer. Checkbooks are usually kept close to the computer so it's easy to write out the check right then and there. For lessons, you should not have to be sending invoices, unless it is for a prepayment package. If the client does not prepay, then payment should be made at the time of the lesson. 7. Some barns charge extra fees for time spent holding the horse for the farrier, administering meds, etc. You may get distracted during the day and forget to make a note that the client needs to be billed for those extras. So consider either increasing the monthly board to cover all of the extras or offering an annual charge (to be paid at the beginning of each year) to cover all of the extras. The fee wouldn't be mandatory for all clients but by discounting it, you can make it attractive enough that many of your boarders will sign on.

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