Paying Cash for Business Expenses

This is not necessarily a good idea, unless you have a Petty Cash account set up.  

As a small business owner, if you withdraw cash from your bank through the ATM, or inside the bank with a check and then pay for business expenses with the cash it may be impossible to prove that the money you withdrew was not a draw.  

I definitely have to advise against paying for anything major with cash.  Paying for improvements, equipment, rent, etc with cash is a good way for the person you paid to either come back and say that you didn't pay them (since there is no paper trail), or for you to claim it on your taxes as a business expense (since you most likely do not have a W-9 from them and cannot file a 1099).

Just a few things to think about before paying for your purchase with cash.

You can check out my website for more information or to contact me for additional topics.

www.kdhbookkeeping.com

How long should I keep my records?

This is a question each business owner eventually asks themselves.  Usually when their storage area is overflowing and they are not sure what they can shred and what they have to keep.

I've put together this list of the most common records and when/if they can be destroyed.

If you have questions or require additional information please feel free to contact me at info@kdhbookkeeping.com

 

Document	How long to Keep
Accounts Payable ledgers and schedules	7 years
Accounts Receivable ledgers and schedules	7 years
Articles of Incorporation	Permanently
Audit Reports	Permanently
Bank Deposit Slips	3 years
Bank Reconciliations	1 year
Bank Statements	Permanently
Bills from Vendors	8 years
Bills of Lading	6 years
Brokerage Statements (Annual)	Permanently
Budgets	2 years
Cancelled Checks	Permanently
Cancelled Checks for important payments (taxes, purchase of property, special contracts)	Permanently
Capital Stock and Bond Records	Permanently
Cash Books	Permanently
Cash Projections	2 years
Contracts, mortgages, notes and leases (expired)	7 years
Copyright Registration	Permanently
Correspondence (General)	3 years
Correspondence (Legal and important matters)	Permanently
Correspondence with customers or vendors	1 year
Credit Memos	3 years
Deeds, Mortgages and bills of Sale	Permanently
Depreciation Schedules	Permanently
Duplicate Deposit Slips	2 years
Employee Expense Reports	3 years
Employee Payroll Records (w-2, w-4, etc)	6 years
Employee Personnel Records (After termination)	6 years
Employment Applications	3 years
End of the Year Trial Balance	Permanently
Expense Analysis and expense distribution schedules	7 years
Expired Insurance Policies	6 years
Financial statements (end of year)	Permanently
Freight Bills	4 years
Garnishments	7 years
Insurance Records	Permanently
Internal Audit Reports	3 years
Internal Reports	3 years
Internal Work Orders	3 years
Inventory Records	7 years
Invoices to Customers	8 years
Journals	Permanently
Minutes of Board of Directors Meetings	Permanently
Notes Receivables	7 years
Option Records (expired)	7 years
Patents and Related Papers	Permanently
Payroll Records	8 years
Petty Cash Vouchers	3 years
Physical Inventory Tags	3 years
Productions and sales reports	7 years
Property appraisals by outside appraisers	Permanently
Property Records (depreciation schedules, blueprints and plans)	Permanently
Purchase Journals	Permanently
Purchase Orders (all others)	1 year
Purchase Orders (purchasing dept copy)	7 years
Receiving Sheets	1 year
Requisitions	1 year
Retirement and Pension Records	Permanently
Sales Commission Reports	3 years
Sales Records	7 years
Scrap and Salvage Records	7 years
Subsidiary Ledgers	7 years
Tax Returns and worksheets	Permanently
Telephone logs/message books	7 years
Timecards	7 years
Trade mark Registrations	Permanently
Training Manuals	Permanently
Voucher for payments to vendors, employees, etc	7 years
Voucher Register and Schedules	7 years
Withholding Tax Statements	7 years

Year End Craziness

Happy January 24th, 2010

Less than one week left to file all of your year end reports.  All of the following must be mailed no later than January 31st!

If you have employees you should be filing or have filed the following reports/forms:

W-2's
Employment Security (Unemployment)
Labor and Industries (L&I)
941 (Federal Withholding, Social Security and Medicare)
940 (FUTA)

If you had contracted help that you paid over $600 to, any payments to an attorney, or any of the other payments that would require you to file:

You need to file 1099 forms

Annual B&O filers must have 2010's B&O Report filed by the 31st of January as well.

If you do not know what all of these are, or just need help getting them filled out and filed give me a call.  I can help and make it as painless as possible for you.

I can e-file your W-2's and W-3 - one less thing for you to do.

Whew - that's a lot of stuff for one little company to have to deal with.  That is why KDH Business Services is in business.  It is my job, and my passion, to help YOU succeed in your Business!

Call Kelli @ 360.480.3284 and get on the schedule before it's too late.  You shouldn't have to pay penalties and interest to the IRS or the State.

Sunday Evening Insights

Happy Sunday.  Monday morning is just around the corner.  Another work week to get ready for.  This week is a good time to work on staying optimistic and believing in you.  If you are a small business owner it is even more important to believe in yourself.  As we all know, but sometimes decide to forget, is that our attitudes steer our direction.  A bad attitude and you're off to the start of a bad day.  It's not always easy, but when those tough moments hit I hope you take a moment and think about how the attitude and actions will affect your day.


On another note - do you have your 1099 and W-2 Forms?  You have until the end of the month to get these to your employees and contractor/contract workers. 
If you need help, or just need someone to take care of this for you We can help. 

Just remember, KDH is YOUR accounting solutions company.  We come to you and take care of your needs.

Make it a Great Week!

Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to. ~Author Unknown

Welcome to the 1st Monday of the New Year

Happy Monday!  Are we excited to be up and at 'em on this fine day in Washington state?  If not, you should be.  Just the act of waking up and knowing you are alive should be enough to put a slight smile on your face.  As my Grandmother always told me any day above the dirt is a good day.  Must be where I get my optimistic nature from.  I like to carry on that thought throughout my days.  It isn't always easy and it doesn't always work, but as I figure as long as I hit that mark at least 1/2 of the time I am doing better than most.

What is there to be thankful for, you ask?  Well, to begin with are able to communicate and interact with others.  I can't imagine how mundane life would be without these interactions.  Granted, it wouldn't be all that much fun if everyone we interacted with had a bad attitude, but this is where YOU have the choice to choose with whom you interact.  Sure, we don't have a say about everyone in our life, but we do have the say regarding how much time we spend around that person and/or how much we are going to let that person affect us.

I am grateful for that.  I have had quite a life so far and have learned that I can make my own decisions and be my own leader without worrying about what the people around me think.  It is quite refreshing to be able to get to that point with my own life.  I wish the same for everyone I know. 

Take one day at a time, look for the 'silver lining' and be thankful for the ability to make your own decisions and choose happiness!

Welcome to 2011

What an exciting time to be in business.  A new year has just begun and with it another opportunity to flourish.

My plan with this blog is to let you know more about me, learn about my business and to give you tips and information that will help you with your business.

I hope you enjoy this information and have a great 2011!