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How to Keep and Manage Business Records Efficiently

The most important factor responsible for running the business in a successful manner is to manage the financial records properly in an efficient manner. The failure and success of the business depends upon the financial aspect. It is very important to have a clear picture of all the financial transactions running in your organization so that you are able to take the financial decisions more confidentiality and in favor of business.

The major responsibility of keeping all the financial records in an organization is an accountant and bookkeeper. It is always advisable for the business owner to keep an eye on the financial conditions and matters of the organization himself rather than outsourcing it from accounting firms. It will even allow you to have more control on your financial consequences which will help you in moving ahead in long run. Record of all the financial matters will provide you the accurate information of all your business within the proper time frame effectively.

Benefits of Good record-keeping system to your business

There are large numbers of benefits of the Good record keeping system for the small as well as the midsized business. Some of them are discussed below so as to have a clear and well defined picture of all the benefits.

  • Good record keeping system will provide you the details of all the financial history any time and as any place.
  • It helps you to save income tax if prepared and managed by the organization properly.
  • It helps you to prepare the financial statements in a lowest turnaround time.
  • It provides the tailor made solution for your business requirements and needs whenever related with financial matters.
  • One can keep the track record of the business. It will tell you from time to time whether your business is delivering the high performance or not.
  • Good record keeping system allows you to identify the opportunities and weaknesses in the business which will motivate you to deliver high performance with maximum efficiency.
  •  Good record keeping system even ensures the proper instructions one has to follow in all the financial aspects as given by the Government for any organization.

Criteria one has to follow in the Management of Business Records

There are large numbers of the factors responsible for the management of your business records. Businesses fulfilling such criteria will not only help them to achieve immense success but will also make them reputated worldwide.

  • The record keeping system should be very much logical, simple and easy so that anyone can understand it properly.
  • It should be accurate and thorough so that you can take any financial decision for your business organization.
  • The system should be well defined and fully complete so that one never faces any problem in regard with the financial aspects.
  • Record keeping system should be integrated into daily schedules so that you can keep an eye on your business matters.
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Effective Audit preparation and planning strategy

It is extremely crucial for the auditor to carry out the process of the auditing in a successful manner. An Efficient and effective audit can only be occurred if it is properly planned as well as executed by the auditor. It is considered as one of the most vital responsibility of the auditor to carry out the work in an efficient and effective manner.

The key responsibility of the auditor is to develop the overall audit strategy with the minimum risk levels. The planning of the audit should be done keeping in mind that it should be in accordance with the International standards of Auditing for any organization. The auditor while planning the event should always remember that the planning should be in regard with the nature, time as well as the extent of work.

Main Objectives of Audit Planning:

The main objectives of audit planning are as follows:

  • To identify and have an eye on all the different areas of the audit.
  • The problems should be identified within the proper time frame.

Adequate and proper planning of the audit will only help the auditor to meet the above objectives otherwise the process carried out will not be as efficient and can involve various risk factors which are not useful in long term.

Dedicated team effort during the planning stage

The detailed audit work is carried out before the process of the audit executes and reaches its destination. At the preliminary stage, it is extremely important to allot each staff member the proper task according to his ability so that he can perform during the process with maximum efficiency. The staff members in the audits are highly efficient and competent in terms of speed, accuracy and perfectness and do the desired work allotted to them with full effort. It is also important to take a necessary decision on the co-ordination of the work so that the process completes within the proper limits.

Right approach while carrying out the process

Most of the audit firms carry out the process of the audit with the right approach and proper documentation and adopt the strategy with the aim of completing and executing it in an efficient manner.  An Audit plan should be structured in such a way that one should carry out the process of auditing without any failures and should have a clear pint of view after the process of audit gets completed. In formulating a documented plan following things should be considered:

  • There should be adequate knowledge of the organization or the business.
  • One should be aware of all the factors associated with the involvement of risks.
  • It is important to consider the timing, nature and the extent of the audit procedure.
  • Co-ordination and proper supervision plays a very important role in the process.

Therefore, Good Audit Planning is a key factor involved in the execution of the process of the audit in an efficient and successful manner.

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Accounting and bookkeeping services by dedicated Accountants Mississauga

Financing and accounting services:

Dealing with tax and sales to improve your financial state is not an easy task. Hence to make an audit controlled and tax efficient documents to ensure a stable and lucrative status of your business we arrange financing, accounting and Audit Defense in Mississauga. For business loans we arrange several facilities like developing and documenting the whole business plan, making representations for different kinds of lenders, according to their need and current status of their business are done by us. Now we have experiences in the fields of arranging loans for Accountants for several kinds of business persons and we can relate your situation best to manage, as we have a huge range of versatile experience.

Bookkeeping to get organized:

Not only accounting but we take care of setting up your business plans and bookkeeping irrespective of the size of your business.

  • Proper application software will be provided to you. Our staffs are there to train you and your employees about the software operations for Bookkeepers in Mississauga. Your journals and ledgers will be prepared in improved versions after you learn how to use this concept of bookkeeping.
  • Bookkeeping by traditional method is also done by our workers so that some works that can’t be resolved by application software can be directly handled by us. Monthly or quarterly payment is required for that. The journal and ledger preparation and compliance of schedules and reports are done by us in that case.

Defending tax by audit defense:

  • While doing compliance works for Bookkeepers, we also assure our customers to have the facility of setting up an affordable cost so that tax payment becomes easier to them. Audit control board is there for Audit Defense so that tax planning on behalf of you can be done within lesser time.
  •  Business owners and investors would be happy by this defense in which not only their tax would be minimized but also the risk of damage which is caused by the inadequate trails of audit would be mitigated by this scheme. Keeping the record of your each and every transaction in details, designing your whole accounting system is done. We provide literature support for saving your taxes which is a very crucial thing to be noticed.
  • Audit defense in Mississauga carried out by the Accountants, is often prepared on the basis of customer review. Tax assessment by substantial penalties and interest are also there that reduce and eliminate the risks by appealing to the appropriate department.

Benefits to improve your financial statement:

Beyond these kinds of services, we provide other crucial facilities like tax saving plans, business wind up and start up planning advises, profit enhancement technique assistance, cash flow oriented solutions and there are innumerable kinds of programs that will be very much helpful for improving your financial statements and aid in running your business smoothly. Special SPP and ELIT skills are being developed by us and our employees are well trained to produce accurate statements so that loss of records for day to day transaction cannot harm you in any case.

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How useful are the enumerable Chartered Accountants Milton to corporates?

Importantly, when it comes to maintaining tax returns, a company overtly associates with myriad auditors and accountants. Back in Milton, the need for accounts is one a high. H&T Accountants Milton has enumerable qualities which make them in demand, almost superlatively. Here we shall see how the accounts aid the processes of taxation regulations and maintenance of associated details pertaining to policies, competitively.

1.     The CAs keep proper records

The chartered accountants have a tag: they are good at keeping accurate records with goofing up things or sufficing obliteration.

I.          The accountants are good at producing reliable and trustworthy account statements. The account statements overtly aid in holistic evaluation of performances of the companies.

II.          Besides, they are associated with exclusive expense deduction for the purposes of audit defense for myriad companies.

III.          They are dedicated in providing propitious tax returns.

The myriad chartered accountants are associated with profound data handling and securing data from various competitors in regions of Milton, Canada or even Ontario. Bookkeepers are good at recording account-based data. The bookkeepers use the privileges of designing software packages on the domains of accounting. QuickBooks is one such package ideally used by chartered accountants in Milton.

2.     Keep reviewing the financial statements almost frequently

The accountants work assiduously in providing sumptuous reviews of the financial statements almost frequently. The accountants in Milton aid the owners or CEOs of the companies in providing them regularly with authentic copies of the reviews of the myriad financial statements in a clandestine vein. The need for such reviews and the necessity for implementing the accountants in such tasks are many. They are:

I.          The regular reviews help companies in keeping costs under controls.

II.          The actual results get duly compared with the efficacious objectives.

III.          The corporates are aided in recognizing culpable changes associated with the revenues. Gross profits moped up by the companies can also be procured in subtle ways by the assiduous works on tax returns, carried out by the dedicated accountants.

IV.          Moreover the jobs carried out by the accountants; they help the companies identify with the associated culminated trends in sales and costs.

As an honorary chartered accountant in Milton, it is advisable that companies should cater to reviews of the financial statements once in every quarter, at least; sooner the better!

3.     Need for separate credit cards—CA’s advice to all owners

A chartered accountant aids the companies in giving advises pertaining to taxes and related to other basics of finances. Any CA in Milton shall apprehensively abide by this directive for all and sundry, especially the CEO or the owner of a company—one should apply and thereby make habits for notching up and paying for myriad business expenses with the aid of credit cards.

However, it is not advisable to charge both the personal and business expenses prolifically on the same company credit card. This is because, given that a company shall have myriad economic overtures and thereby myriad escalating transactions, it shall be tough enough to separate the personal expenses from the business ones.

4.     How the CAs aid in maneuvering financial goals?

Financial Goals are charted and duly prepared by the accountants in Milton. Options for audit defense are catered to prolifically as the accountants deal with financial goals especially pertaining to growths in revenue, gross profits or net income and calculating the net returns on myriad assets, in continual ways.

Thus the CAs in Milton caters to myriad instances of fulfillment of financial objectives when they function in harmony with companies.

 

 

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Why Hire Accountants and Bookkeepers?

You have excellent knowledge about the business you are doing. You also have the best state of the art machinery at your workplace to get things done. But still you are not earning as much as you expected at the start of the business. If this situation sounds familiar to you or you are one among them. It is quite likely you must be surrounded by many questions.

How do you keep track of how much expenses you incur and how much you earn? How can you file correct tax return papers every time? How can you save on taxes? There had been many incidences in the past where businesses failed just because they were not able to manage their finances.

Plan Ahead of Time:

Many of us seek cure when we are already trapped. For instance, we go to bookkeepers only when we have to file for taxes the other day. If we had been taking services of accountants in time, then we do not have to rush in the last hour. It is a normal human tendency that when everything is going fine. We start assuming that nothing will ever go wrong. When our business is making profit more than our expectations we never think that we need to manage our finances. It is only when our business goes into red that we seek the assistance of accountants Brampton. It is during this time we try to find out what all are unnecessary cost and where can we improve.

By availing the services of knowledgeable and experienced accountants we can know where we are making unnecessary expenditure and can take appropriate steps to eliminate such things.

Ignorance is Bliss:

If you are master craftsman or reputed designer it is not necessary that you can handle other fields at equal expertise. If you are ignorant about something there is nothing to be ashamed of. There are certain tasks which are best left for others. Keeping track of every day financial ins and outs is not an easy task. Hire accountants Brampton to get the task done for you.

It is always better to be safe than sorry. If you try to act smart in something which is out of the world for you? It is quite likely that you will falter sooner or later. H&T Accountants in Oakville is in this business for years and they know how to manage your finances.

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Never Delay Filing Returns!

Whatever business we’re in, we’ve usually got our hands so full that’s it’s easy to overlook or delay important government filing requirements. Don’t make that mistake; it can be costly… in many ways! It’s easier to have a professional make sure everything is being done properly so that you don’t have to worry about it.

Maple resident fined $2,000 for failing to file GST/HST returns

Newmarket, Ontario, September 7, 2012 … The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that on September 5, 2012, Bernardino Ianeiro of Maple, Ontario, was fined $2,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ontario, after pleading guilty to two counts of failing to file GST/HST returns. He was fined $1,000 per count, for a total of $2,000. He has 60 days to pay the fine.

Mr. Ianeiro failed to file two annual GST/HST returns for the periods ending December 31, 1998 and December 31, 2000. All outstanding returns have since been filed.

The preceding information was obtained from the court records.

In addition to the fines imposed by the courts, individuals or corporations convicted of failing to file tax returns are still obligated to file the tax returns and pay the full amount of taxes owing, plus interest, as well as any civil penalties that may be assessed by the CRA.

Taxpayers who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs. They may not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a valid disclosure before they become aware of any compliance action being initiated by the CRA against them. These taxpayers may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest.

 

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Improper Reporting of Commission Income

Secret commissions and tax evasion result in jail and $150,000 fine

Barrie, Ontario, March 26, 2012…The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that on March 21, 2012,  Darwin Whitton, of Stayner, pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie to one count of tax evasion and two counts of receiving secret commissions. Whitton was sentenced to six months in jail, 17 months of house

Whitton, a former employee of Honda of Canada Mfg. in Alliston, Ontario, requested money and goods from Barry Thompson in exchange for his recommendation to Honda to hire Barry R. Thompson Enterprises Ltd. to perform electrical contracting work at Honda’s Alliston facility. Whitton did not report a total of $622,797 of money and goods provided by Thompson Enterprises on his 2003 to 2008 personal income tax returns. As a result, Whitton evaded paying $177,305of federal income tax during those years.

Whitton informed Thompson of Honda budget limits for electrical contracts as well as the bids of other suppliers. He encouraged Thompson to submit inflated bids approaching Honda’s budget limits and competitive to the bids of other suppliers. In exchange for using his influence to ensure that Thompson Ltd. was the successful bidder, Whitton received 90% of the inflated portion of these bids as a kickback.

In addition to money, Whitton requested and received a sports utility vehicle, two snowmobiles, tractor and accessories, a travel trailer, swimming pool plus related accessories, two all terrain vehicles and trailer, a large screen television, kitchen renovations and fencing.

The preceding information was obtained from the court records.

“Paying taxes is the law,” said Darrell Mahoney, Assistant Commissioner, Ontario Region, CRA. “The vast majority of Canadians accept their tax obligations. In fairness to those law-abiding citizens, the CRA will continue to conduct audit, prosecution, and other enforcement activities on the small minority of individuals who try to evade their obligations,” he added.

Individuals who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs. They may not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a valid disclosure before they become aware of any compliance action being initiated by the CRA against them. These individuals may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest. More information on the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) can be found on the CRA’s website at www.cra.gc.ca/voluntarydisclosures.

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Claiming Business Expenses

As a rule, you can deduct any reasonable current expense you paid or will have to pay to earn business income. The expenses you can deduct include any GST/HST you incur on these expenses less the amount of any input tax credit claimed.

You cannot deduct personal expenses. Deduct only the business part of expenses from business income. In addition, you cannot claim expenses you incur to buy capital property.

For more information, see the List of expenses below.

Note
When you claim the GST/HST you paid on your business expenses as an input tax credit, reduce the amounts of the business expenses you show on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, by the amount of the input tax credit. Do this when the GST/HST for which you are claiming the input tax credit was paid or became payable.

Similarly, subtract any other rebate, grant, or assistance from the expense to which it applies. Enter the net figure on the proper line. Any such assistance you claim for the purchase of depreciable property used in your business will affect your claim for capital cost allowance.

If you cannot apply the rebate, grant, or assistance you received to reduce a particular expense, or to reduce an asset’s capital cost, include the total on line 8230 in Part 3 of Form T2125.

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Professionalism and your tax professional

Everyone wants to minimize the taxes they pay, but at what cost? If you’re dealing with a “professional” who lacks professionalism, you’re taking your chances. There is no amount of savings that is worth dealing with a company that doesn’t insist on doing things the right way.

Toronto tax preparer guilty of over million dollar tax fraud scheme

Toronto, Ontario, March 21, 2012…The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Christopher Paterson of Toronto pleaded guilty on March 19, 2012, in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, to one count of fraud over $5,000. Paterson received an 18 month conditional sentence and 200 hours of community service. In addition, Paterson cannot prepare or file any tax returns or tax appeals on behalf of any person other than himself. Paterson must maintain employment and comply with other statutory conditions.

A CRA investigation revealed that Paterson prepared 144 false income tax returns for the 2004 to 2008 tax years on behalf of himself and 87 clients. He claimed a total of $1,094,559 in false charitable donation deductions on these fraudulent returns, reducing the amount of federal taxes owed. As a result, refunds totalling $313,992 were issued to Paterson’s clients to which they were not entitled. In addition, Paterson also attempted to claim another $154,148 in false charitable donations claims on 16 of his clients’ income tax returns, resulting in those clients attempting to understate federal taxes by $44,255.

Paterson operated a tax preparation business called TaxTips1. Paterson sold false charitable donations receipts of various amounts to his clients for a fee. He then used these charitable donation receipts to prepare his clients income tax returns, and submitted the false receipts along with the returns to the CRA.

The information in this news release was obtained from the court records.

Taxpayers who claim false expenses, credits or rebates from the government are subject to serious consequences. They are liable not only for corrections to their tax returns and payment of the full amount of tax owing, but also to penalties and interest. In addition, if convicted of tax evasion, the court may fine them up to 200% of the tax evaded and sentence them for up to a five-year jail term.

Individuals who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs. They may not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a valid disclosure before they become aware of any compliance action being initiated by the CRA against them. These individuals may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest. More information on the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) can be found on the CRA’s website at www.cra.gc.ca/voluntarydisclosures.

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Back to school? Save your receipts.

Did you know?

If you’re moving for school this year you may be able to claim a tax deduction for moving expenses when you file your income tax and benefit return. You may also be able to claim a non-refundable tax credit based on the cost of your transit passes. So don’t forget to keep your receipts!

In addition, there are other benefits and non-refundable tax credits that students may be eligible to claim. Non-refundable tax credits reduce your federal tax; however, if the total of these credits is more than your federal tax, you will not get a refund for the difference.

  • Education amount: You may be able to claim a full-time education amount of $400, or part-time amount of $120, for each month or part of a month in the year in which you were enrolled in a qualifying program at the post-secondary level.
  • Textbook amount: You may be able to claim a textbook amount for each month that you qualify for the education amount.
  • Tuition amount: You may be able to claim the fees you pay for the courses taken at the post-secondary level or at an educational institution certified by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. To qualify you must have paid more than $100 in tuition fees for the year.
  • Goods and services tax/ harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit: The GST/HST credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low or modest incomes offset all or part of the GST or HST that they pay.

 

Interest on student loans: You may be eligible to claim an amount for the interest paid in 2012 or the preceding five years on your student loan if you received it under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, or a similar provincial or territorial government laws.

 

Keep your receipts!

It is important for Canadians to keep all their records and receipts after filing their income tax and benefit return in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks to see them later. Each year, the CRA looks at income tax returns to review deductions and credits and ensure that various income amounts have been correctly reported. Keep your receipts and supporting documents for six years.

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