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Frank Stitely

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Partner, Stitely & Karstetter, CPAs

60 points

Partner at Northern Virginia CPA firm specializing in small business consulting, taxation, and accounting.

WEB: http://www.screwupyourbusiness.blogspot.com/

Nov. 28, 2011

Frank Stitely and 2 other people answered this question

Are writing skills important for accounting professionals?

Writing skills are critically important for accounting professionals. I spend almost as much time communicating with clients via e-mail as I spend performing tax and accounting tasks for them. more

Business Finance

Oct. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely recommends this answer by Dan Pepper

Is it better to hire a collections agency or an attorney to collect on business debt?

It depends upon these factors:
1. Location - Is this debtor located in the same city, state/province or country?
2. Amount - Is the amount under typical Small Claims Court limitations?
3. Aging - How old is this debt and is it nearing the Statute of Limitations (SOL)?
4. ... more

Accounts Receivable

Collection Agency

Oct. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely and 4 other people answered this question

Accountants: What is the entry for receiving a post dated cheque?

I was asked for a cite earlier on why accepting a post dated check is considered immediate payment by the IRS. UCC section 4-401 states that post dated checks may be cashed immediately unless the issuer notifies the bank in advance of the post dating ... more

Oct. 5, 2011

Frank Stitely and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

How to Market to IT: Real Advice Direct From IT Experts [10/4 @ 1 pm]

Will one of you name one or two actions that turn a vendor from a possibility into a reliable, trustworthy source?

Very simple - put my interests above his / her own.

Information Technology

Oct. 5, 2011

Frank Stitely and 23 other people answered this question

Is Facebook getting too complicated?

I don't think complexity is the issue for Facebook. I wish they would work on the reliability of their applications. Business users need reliability. We can't function, if day to day, we don't know whether an application will function.
A second issue is knowing what information ... more

Information Technology

Product Usability

Social Networking

Oct. 5, 2011

Frank Stitely and 8 other people answered this question

Did we 'fail' at CRM?

CRM fails when the final objectives haven't been well defined. If you don't know what you want CRM to do, it won't do it. Buying a system and then trying to define the objectives is a sure way to experience buyer's remorse. more

Enterprise Software

Sept. 7, 2011

Frank Stitely and 1 other person answered this question

What are the most common legal mistakes startups make when hiring their first employees?

I don't know if it is the most common, but it is probably the most serious - failing to establish the employer's ownership rights in intellectual property in writing. more

General Management

Human Resources

Sept. 7, 2011

Frank Stitely and 7 other people answered this question

Is there any reason not to use QuickBooks?

If your prime concerns in buying accounting software are: 1.Choosing between free and $150 and 2. Whether someone is making money selling it, you have business problems WAY beyond selecting accounting software.
The real reason to not use QuickBooks is that it may not meet your ... more

Aug. 25, 2011

Frank Stitely answered this question

Has anyone considered how the raising of taxes by the Obama administration is going to affect them?

I would recommend thinking more about revenue when you are in startup mode and not worry as much about taxes. There are two reasons for this. First, most startups don't make a lot of money at the beginning. Taxes aren't much of a problem when ... more

Aug. 25, 2011

Frank Stitely and 1 other person answered this question

What signs show a company is growing out of their accounting system?

From a functionality standpoint, work backwards. What aren't you getting from your accounting software that you need? Some answers that would indicate a need for more robust software would be: better performance on a network, better job costing capability, better inventory tracking, better order tracking, ... more

Business Finance

Aug. 19, 2011

Frank Stitely and 6 other people answered this question

Why do many small businesses view social media as unnecessary?

We use social media extensively. However, five years from now when we all look back at this period of time, we will conclude that for most small businesses, the promise of social media was oversold. Using our perfect 20/20 hindsight, e-commerce for most small businesses ... more

Small Business Social Media

Aug. 19, 2011

Frank Stitely and 1 other person answered this question

What ROI can small business expect on an ERP implementation?

I would be upset if my payback period was longer than one year. Of course, you are looking at productivity improvements, cost reduction, and better customer service as part of the "soft" measurements that should be included in the numerator of ROI. I am not ... more

Information Technology

Aug. 19, 2011

Frank Stitely and 1 other person answered this question

How do I determine if I am providing GAAP statements?

"GAAP" refers to "generally accepted accounitng principles". The revised term for this is now "accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America." Having GAAP financial statements means that your financial statements follow all of the accounting rules that apply in the U.S. YOu ... more

Aug. 17, 2011

Frank Stitely and 4 other people answered this question

As my business grows, at what point do I need outside (or hire my own staff) help in accounting?

The time to hire someone for your bookkeeping is when an hour of your time is better spent doing something else - like sales. If bookkeeping time is cutting into sales time, it is past time to hire someone to do the bookkeeping. more

Aug. 17, 2011

Frank Stitely recommends this answer by M Scott Schaffernoth

What other CRM systems are available besides Salesforce.com for small companies?

Sage offers ACT!, Sage CRM and Saleslogix. Depending upon specific business needs, budget, and existing infrastructure, each one of these offers various benefits.
Further, each offers implementation either on-premise or "in the cloud". more

Customer Service

Aug. 17, 2011

Frank Stitely and 2 other people answered this question

Sage is considering acquiring MYOB. Do you think this would be a smart move?

The only reason for Sage to acquire MYOB would be to buy whatever is left of the MYOB customer base at a really cheap price. In the US, MYOB competes with Sage's Peachtree product. The main differentiators are MYOB's Mac version and multi-currency. Sage has ... more

Information Technology

Aug. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely and 6 other people commented on a brief

How Should the Business Owner Work With a CPA or CPA Practice?

Have a planning meeting once a year with your CPA and set out the services you expect over the course of the year. Clients all have different expectations and cost tolerances. The annual meeting is the place to communicate the services you require and determine ... more

Business Management

Aug. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely answered this question

What hourly rate should a business expect to pay a CPA for financial statement preparation?

Don't focus on the hourly rate. Ask instead for a dollar estimate to complete the project.
The final cost depends on the level of service required. A compilation is the lowest and least costly level of service. However, in many cases banks and bonding companies won't ... more

Aug. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely and 6 other people answered this question

Why do businesses change accounting firms so frequently?

There are three main reasons businesses change CPA firms:
1. Lack of response from the CPA firm, which includes unreturned phone calls and messages.
2. Bad fit. A very small business using a large regional CPA firm is a bad fit. The regional firm typically specializes in ... more

Aug. 15, 2011

Frank Stitely and 2 other people answered this question

What is 'segregation of duties'?

Segregation of duties is task spliting to ensure that no one person in a process can commit fraud without coluding with someone else. A good example is separating the tasks of opening customer checks from applying the payments to customer accounts in the accounting software. ... more

Aug. 11, 2011

Frank Stitely and 2 other people answered this question

Are small businesses too hurt to help us recover?

Small tech companies could help lead us out of the recession. I don't see either residential or commercial construction companies, typically the engines of recovery, leading us out of the recession. Construction industry conditions could actually lead us to the double-dip recession. more

Aug. 11, 2011

Frank Stitely and 2 other people answered this question

What's a good marketing strategy in a small town?

Networking, networking, and more networking. Find out what events the town's movers and shakers attend and get there. In some towns, scholoastic sports are important. Volunteer and sponsor teams. Find out where the bankers hang out. They depend on personal relationships to sell. They'll typically ... more

Aug. 11, 2011

Frank Stitely answered this question

What are your thoughts on offering companies tax credits to hire unemployed veterans?

This is a another wonderful intentions legislative idea, that will make politicians look good, but won't do its intended beneficiaries much good. Businesses hire based on need and qualifications. If a veteran has qualifications and good experience, he / she is probably employed already. The ... more

Human Resources

Aug. 11, 2011

Frank Stitely and 4 other people answered this question

What are the best accounting blogs?

This is naked self promotion, but take a look at mine, "How to Screw Up Your Small Business." It is a snarky look at small business nightmares. www.screwupyourbusiness.blogspot.com. more

Aug. 9, 2011

Frank Stitely and 7 other people answered this question

What accounting software do you use for your small business?

There is no one answer to your question. The proper software depends on your type of business and the size of your business. For businesses with less than $10 million in revenue, the top two choices are Peachtree and QuickBooks. QuickBooks is the most popular ... more

Accounting Software

Aug. 9, 2011

Frank Stitely and 3 other people answered this question

What legal structure can I utilize to defer 100% of my Income Taxes & put away Income?

If you are talking about wage income earned from a company, that you don't own, the only real possibility to defer major amounts of income is a deferred compensation plan offered by the employer. A deferred compensation plan allows you to have income that is ... more

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