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The Dirty Secrets of S-Corp Elections

business setup s-corp taxes Aug 01, 2023

The Dirty Secrets of the S-Corp Election

More & more, I see tax pro’s marketing the S-Corp election for massive tax savings but just like anything else, it’s important to do your homework before letting someone convince you that their way is the right way. It’s not a one-size fits all, and in this article I’m going to share some of the drawbacks (dirty secrets) about S-Corps plus what you can expect to pay for various services associated with electing S-Corp status.

First, though,

What’s an S-Corporation vs S-Corp Election?

An S-Corporation, or S-Corp, is a selected business structure, that one would choose at the time of forming their company. Choosing this structure allows pass-through taxation, meaning that profits and losses pass through to shareholders' personal tax returns, avoiding double taxation (i.e. the business being taxed AND you personally being taxed the income you pay yourself from the business).

On the other hand, the S-Corp...

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Navigating the Rules Around Business Gifting: A Guide

gifting irs rules Jul 01, 2023

A Guide to Business Gifts

If you’re in a business similar to mine where you have long-lasting client relationships or high ticket offers (courses, coaching, etc), you might want to think about gifting to your clients as appreciation for signing on with you, or as you close out an engagement. Of course, there’s always holiday gifting too. However, before you start shopping for presents to show your appreciation to clients, employees, or vendors, it's important to understand the IRS rules and requirements surrounding business gifting. In this blog post, we'll explore the dos and don'ts of business gifting and provide examples of what you can deduct and what you can't.

What is Considered a Business Gift?

A business gift refers to any item given to clients, employees, vendors, or business associates with the intention of promoting goodwill, strengthening relationships, or expressing gratitude. Common examples of business gifts include personalized merchandise, gift baskets,...

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Key Financial Metrics for Course Creators

kpi metrics online courses May 31, 2023
We participate in affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a commission from purchases made through the links on our blog. However, our recommendations are based on our own research and expertise, and your trust is our priority.

Tracking Success in Online Course Creation: Key Financial Metrics for Course Creators

Running a successful online course business requires more than just creating and delivering valuable content. As a course creator, you need to track and analyze various financial indicators to ensure the profitability and sustainability of your program, course, and business. In this blog post, we will break down the key financial metrics that you as an online course creator should pay attention to in order to gauge the health and success of your business.

1 - Revenue Metrics:

One of the primary financial indicators to track is revenue. Tracking your different revenue streams such as: course sales, private coaching income, affiliate income, and any other...

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Xero for Course Creators

xero Oct 12, 2022

At Of Course Bookkeeping, our select software for Online Course Creators and Ecommerce is Xero.

 

Here's why:

Here are some of the reasons it's best for course creators:

  1. Easy to understand dashboard

    When you books are up to date, you have a visually easy to understand dashboard, helping you understand where your money is and where it's going.
  2. Integrates with PayPal & Stripe without a 3rd party app

     PayPal and Stripe are the top payment processors for course creators, and Xero integrates with it seamlessly (like a bank account) so we can track each transaction easily to know which products you're selling the most of.
  3. Helps us efficiently code and categorize transactions

     Xero has this awesome tool called cash coding which enables us to code a large mass of similar transactions quickly and easily. Because of this, we offer unlimited transactions in our service packages. You aren't penalized for launching and making more money! This gives us more time to...
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How do I Know if I can Afford an Employee?

Welcome back! Last week we talked about figuring out when you have an employee vs. an independent contractor. This week we’re talking about when you will know if you can afford to hire an employee.

But first, I need to be transparent and let you know that some links are affiliate links which means if you buy, I may receive a small commission from the sale. This does not cost you anything.

KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME TO HIRE

“If you can’t fund a separate bank account, you can’t afford to hire anyone.”

You may have heard this before, but if you’re feeling like you need to hire someone to help out, you probably should have done it already. Hopefully you are finding this article before you get to that point, because there are some steps you will want to take beforehand to make sure you can afford that employee. When you start a business, you should have a vision of where you’d like to end up. And if your vision includes...

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10 Steps to Setup Your Online Business

So you are here because you want to start an online business. Maybe you have an idea already and you just need to know what to do to make it happen. Or maybe you are looking for ideas on what types of business you can do online. Let’s jump right in!

But first, I need to be transparent and let you know that some links are affiliate links which means if you buy, I may receive a small commission from the sale. This does not cost you anything.

  1. WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN?

    Decide on what you are passionate about and look for a way to either take it online or do it from home. Here are some examples:

    • Bookkeeping - if you have a great attention to detail and enjoy things with a right or wrong answer. If you have experience in bookkeeping, check out The Bookkeeping Business Accelerator®. If you need to learn bookkeeping, check out Become a Bookkeeper

    • Virtual Assistant - if you are highly organized and enjoy helping others manage their schedules,...

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Deciphering Employee vs. Independent Contractor

What an exciting time in your business, if you have gotten to the point where you need to add to your team!

Sometimes you can hire contractors (to outsource some work) but sometimes it makes better sense to hire an employee. We’ll go over the differences between ‘independent contractor’ and ‘employee’ from the IRS’s standpoint, so you have all the info you need to make the right choice for your business. Next week, we’ll talk about the money side of hiring one vs. the other.

The IRS has a 3-factor approach to determining who is an independent contractor vs. an employee. Those 3 factors are: Behavioral Control, Financial Control and Relationship of the Parties.

BEHAVIORAL CONTROL

A worker is considered an employee if the business has the right to direct and control the work performed, even if that right isn’t exercised.

These are examples of behavioral control that would indicate the worker should be an employee:

  • The...

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Profit First Basics

budgeting Aug 03, 2019

So you’ve read or maybe listened to Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz. Or you’ve heard about it, but you aren’t much of a reader and you’re looking for the cliff notes version.

The premise

The main idea is to take your profit first, instead of waiting until year end when you file taxes and your accountant tells you what your profit was. You basically budget your profit into your business and work backwards from there. Profit First is essentially the envelope method of budgeting, but for business, and using bank accounts instead of envelopes—because you can’t run a business with cash this day in age.

The 5 envelopes (bank accounts)

You will start by opening 5 bank accounts for your business:

  1. Profit - this is where you will transfer and keep your profit

  2. Owner’s Pay - this is where you will transfer the money you pay yourself

  3. Taxes - you guessed it, this is where you’ll transfer the money for the tax man.

  4. Operating Expenses (Opex)...

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DIY Bookkeeping Guide

Want to know what you should be doing each month until you're ready for a bookkeeper?