Simplifying Monthly Business Accounting With Tax Software

When ever tax time rolls around, our eyes glaze over with questions about business expenses and deductions: Can she write off this short sleeved shirt? What about that business lunch a couple months ago? And then there’s the question of his XXXL shirts you put the company logos on. This it the point at which the need for some good business technology becomes obvious.

Various software programs are available for download for businesses to use.  Bookkeeping and tax software makes monthly business accounting easy.  This software will aid the bookkeeper or accountant in recording the businesses various financial transactions in the correct ledger, including payments, revenues, sales, and purchases.

A company has the choice of high-cost, low-cost, or even free software for their accounting and bookkeeping management.  The software chosen needs to have all the basic functions businesses will need and should incorporate the utilities needed for accounting, business taxes, and payroll. The program should include modules to assist businesses in creating monthly budgets, follow the progress of projects or jobs, and help with scheduling recurring payments.

It should have a section to help manage the bank transactions and credit card transactions.  There needs to be a component for tracking and paying bills along with a module for payroll management that assists with federal and state tax calculations.  It might include an element devoted to accounts receivables that help in creating invoices and estimations, calculating sales taxes and automatically calculate the full amounts due.

A reporting function would disclose to the business owner all financial transactions. The program chosen by any business should support both of the two major forms of accounting that businesses can use.  There is the Cash Basis and Accrual Method.  Service businesses generally operate on the Cash Basis Method and Manufacturing or Inventory businesses usually operate on the Accrual Method.

The software should also help a business in establishing internal controls to establish procedures for tracking all income and payments to prevent fraud, waste, or carelessness.  Making the right choice in the bookkeeping and tax software is essential and can help the business to function successfully.

What to Look for in Online Tax Prep and Filing Software

What to Look for in Online Tax Prep and Filing Software

This April, you may reduce your time it takes to file your taxes by utilizing computer software designed for filing your returns online.

You are not alone. Many people file tax returns online; according to last year’s record from IRS, the total electronically filed tax returns was more than 68 million, out of which around 17 million taxpayers filed their returns online themselves.

Debra Gray said that e-filing of your returns and online tax preparation offer lot of benefits but it require some homework on the part of the … Read more at 2011 Taxes.

What to Look for in Online Tax Prep and Filing Software

This April, you may reduce your time it takes to file your taxes by utilizing computer software designed for filing your returns online.

You are not alone. Many people file tax returns online; according to last year’s record from IRS, the total electronically filed tax returns was more than 68 million, out of which around 17 million taxpayers filed their returns online themselves.

Debra Gray said that e-filing of your returns and online tax preparation offer lot of benefits but it require some homework on the part of the individual.

Gray points out certain questions worth looking asking:

Is the software secured and easy to work with?

As there is no need for downloading, it saves time to work with internet-based software. But certain things that you should make sure of in the beginning are whether the program is easy to use, whether the information can be organized properly, whether it provides complete support resources for the process, and most importantly whether it has proper security standard to encrypt your data.

Is it comfortable for you to work with it?

Normally the online tax prep sites password-protect your work. Also see whether the program can automatically check for certain minor errors and is able to provide suggestive corrections for some major mistakes.

After you’ve filed, what happens to your return?

You should also make certain that the program can maintain previous year’s record of your return filing so that you can go back there and check for some useful information.

Does it show clearly the cost of your tax preparations and filing?

Sometimes it is not so easy to navigate the pricing structure of many tax software providers; some of them offer free filing and others have a price tag mentioned, but normally they do not clearly indicate the added costs for the completion of a state tax return. As Gray points out, it’s better to find out a good do-it-yourself tax program in order to prepare your taxes yourself, and it should be available for below $40 which includes costs for both federal and state tax return preparation and filing.

Is there any payment and refund option?

There are some web sites that allow you to directly deposit the refund amount to your bank account after deducting the costs of using the software.

Is there any help and support system?

Ideally, the program needs to be straightforward; but for your own convenience, you should make sure that it provides live help and support through chatting or e-mail.

Gray said, "Taxpayers should have a look at the new features coming with the latest tax software this year as they might have become frustrated by filing their tax returns on paper or using the old online tax programs." He also added, "It’s not the way many people like to spend time by preparing for taxes, but if they are accessed to the right tools, then online return filing could be easy as well as time-saving. Moreover, they might even learn new tips for saving money on taxes."