7March2010
Posted by Jerry Kidd under: Cool Freebies.
With apologies to Andy Williams and the song “It’s a most wonderful time of the year”, because this surely is not the most wonderful time of the year! Here in the US, it’s tax season, with the April 15th deadline for filing income taxes looming large on the horizon, many of us are going through our annual stress test. Normally I just waltz over to computer, click a few buttons and produce a printout that I give to my accountant and I am done.
All of that changed this year because I changed status from being an employee to starting my own business. This occurred at the beginning of November and with all I have had on my plate, I just overlooked keeping the entries up in my accounting program. Up until today, the last time I made an entry was in the beginning of October. When I logged in today to have it download all my transactions from my checking account, all of the transactions from October and November were no longer available from my bank! That meant that I had to hand enter 60 days of wild spending!
Part of my problem was that making the switch from employee to business owner means that I now get to file a Schedule C in addition to my normal Schedule A. What expenses go where? Can I deduct this? What about that? Does it go on C or A? Yikes! I think I need to see an accountant!
So, in order to mend my evil ways I have been on the hunt for something that is aimed at small businesses like mine. Something that will automatically help me with my Schedule C reporting, my Profit and Loss, and oh yeah, something that will calculate my Estimated Tax payments and remind me to send them in!
Lucky for me, I found Outright.com! It’s designed especially for the small business owner.
From their website, the following paragraphs really caught my eye:
“Automated bookkeeping software for entrepreneurs & bookkeepers. Track income and expenses from credit cards, invoices, receipts, or even merchant accounts.”
And then this one: “Know right now what you can deduct come tax time. Stay on top of tax deadlines, manage W-9s, file 1099s, and automate your Schedule C; avoid costly fines and late fees from the IRS.”
So, I signed up. The first thing I had it do was to import my business checking account info from Wells Fargo. It was smart enough to only import the 2010 transactions (Obviously, I have turned over a new leaf and will be on top of things for this year!). Next I had it import my PayPal account. And finally, my business credit card. Once I had all of the expenses in the program, I went through each item and made edits to show the purpose of the expense, and also what line item on a Schedule C it belongs in. I can also add my income items to see an instant P&L graph.
There is more to it, but this is all that I have worked with so far, so I’ll close. But, not before telling you that it is absolutely free! Again from their website “Outright is free, simple bookkeeping and will remain so. We do plan to charge a nominal fee for innovative services yet to come.”
Drop everything and go check it out! And, if you know of some other free software or websites that are designed for the sole proprietor or small business person, please do leave a comment and share the love with us all!
28February2010
Posted by Jerry Kidd under: Blogging; How to...; Social Media.
One of the questions that comes up a lot in the hands on classes that I teach has to do with Copyright. People either want to know how to protect their work, or they want to know how they can use work done by others. So, I thought that I’d share some of the resources that I use to answer those questions.
Bur first, a disclaimer. I am not an attorney. And, if I was, which I am not, I am not your attorney. This is not legal advice. You use this information at your own risk and after having thoroughly investigated every link I present here. To be on the REALLY safe side, consult an attorney. Preferably one who is conversant with Copyright Law.
Now that I have that little bit of nastiness is out of the way, let me tell you how I deal with these questions.
To start with, it would be a very good idea if you took a few minutes to check out all of the free information there is on the web. Instead of ending up a some random web site that offers questionable advice, why not go straight to the source? If you are in the US, the US Copyright Office is conveniently located at http://www.copyright.gov/. If you are a fan of multimedia learning, go straight to Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright located at http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/ which is a animation designed for teachers and students. I found it to be a good resource for a quick understanding. You can also get a plain text version of the animation at http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/text/. Another good page to check out is the FAQ page at http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
There is much more to read on the site, but as a minimum, reading the suggested pages will get you off to a good understanding.
While Copyright law covers much of what you want to do on line, there is yet another type of non-governmental protection available through something called Creative Commons. You can learn about that at http://creativecommons.org/.
Essentially, Creative Commons has created standardized licensing procedures that allow you to modify your Copyright rights. Here is the link to a page on that site which explains what it is, why it came into being and how you might benefit from Creative Commons licensing: http://creativecommons.org/about/what-is-cc. Be sure to take the time to watch the videos there and you will not only get informed, but you’ll be entertained along the way.
Finally, you could always just ask someone for permission to use their material. Novel concept, but it works. I often will purchase photos from www.istockphoto.com to use on this blog, but occasionally I have found the perfect photo on www.flickr.com. In order to use the flickr photos, I just emailed the photographer and asked for permission. When I got the ok back, I just went ahead and used the picture.
If you are publishing a blog, or laying music down with a home tour that you built (I am not talking about the third party tours that come with music), you’ll definitely want to check out the US Copyright Office and the Creative Commons websites and save yourself a load of trouble.
22February2010
Posted by Jerry Kidd under: Classes.
A live course brought to you by Jerry Kidd
Wednesday, 02/24/2010. 08:30 am-12:30 pm
In the CCAR Conference Room [Map]
Time Management
Learn why time management is essential to a real estate agent and different techniques for effectively managing your time. When you leave you will have a blueprint for a one-year time management calendar.
Business Development
Learn traditional business development techniques as well as how new media marketing techniques (email,e-newsletters, blogging, websites and social media) can help you build your business.
Agent Jump Start
Learn five simple things that you can do to get your business rolling again, right away!
Registration Instructions
Online registration is open until Wednesday, 02/24/2010 07:30 am for CCAR Members, after which please contact the association during normal business hours to register.
For additional course registration information, or to register for this course as a non-member, please contact CCAR at 925-295-9231 or by email at courses@ccartoday.com.
The class is limited to the FIRST 20 who enroll.
Investment:
$25 for Education Rewards Members
$35 for CCAR Members
$60 for Non-CCAR members
