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Mariette Knoblauch

Tax Accountant, Ballard Beancounters

80 points

Tax preparation and consulting for individuals and small business. Member of the Washington Association of Accountants and ASWA.

July 25, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch is now following Gary Honig and 1 other person

July 22, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 7 other people answered this question

Is there any reason not to use QuickBooks?

John, if anybody had actually been keeping track of the basis over the years it wouldn't have been a mess ;) more

Finance

Accounting

Intuit

Quickbooks

July 21, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 5 other people answered this question

Independent contractors: When and why does a company need to convert a contractor to a FTE?

They do it all the time, and it's still against the law. The relationship is either an employer-employee relationship in substance, or it is an independent contractor-client relationship. This is determined by many factors, mainly to do with who has control over the time, place ... more

July 21, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch answered this question

How do you determine what your contractor rate would be?

Freelance Switch has a calculator.
http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/
Taxes are going to be around 25-30% on average. Advice used to be to charge at least half again what you were making as an employee, but things may have changed depending on what field you're in. more

July 21, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch answered this question

How do you know when you've outgrown QuickBooks? What's the next step?

Sage would be one to look at.

July 9, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 2 other people answered this question

What are good web-based invoicing services for small businesses?

FreshBooks and Harvest are both good.

July 1, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 1 other person answered this question

Looking for software/cloud product for a SMALL business to do inventory management, commissions, ect

Xero cloud accounting software with the Unleashed Inventory module added should be able to do what you are talking about. I've been using the global edition for my clients, but they are launching a US version later this summer.
www.xero.com
http://www.unleashedsoftware.com/xero.html more

Finance

Information Technology

Sales

Small Business

3 more topics

June 28, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch recommends this answer by Jeff Moskovitz

Why are asests bigger than liabilities?

Actually, Paolo, although it's not desirable, Erik alluded to negative equity, which means that assets can indeed be less than liabilities.
The basic accounting equation, which most attribute to an Italian mathematician named Luca Pacioli, hasn't changed since the 15th century. In equation form, it reads ... more

Finance

May 23, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 4 other people answered this question

Which is better, online or desktop accounting systems?

It depends on the nature of your business, how many people are using it, Mac or PC, and personal preference. For a traditional brick and mortar business that operates from one location and uses a PC, QuickBooks desktop is what people use. For Mac users, ... more

March 12, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 18 other people answered this question

What is your favorite software for small business accounting?

For the specific niche of Mac users who travel and do business internationally, Xero is excellent. It's full accounting software with balance sheet and journal entry and does a great job with VAT and GST and multi-currency. Very easy to use, even if I'm here ... more

March 8, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 3 other people answered this question

What are the 3-4 most common mistakes that SMBs make when filing their taxes?

Some common mistakes I see on self-prepared returns are not taking depreciation or not depreciating correctly, doing home office incorrectly, forgetting to take carry-overs from previous years, and trying to deduct an amount for their own labor (treating draws as if they were wages paid ... more

Feb. 1, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 2 other people answered this question

What are your favorite scams?

There's always the classic strategy of making up your own fictitious vendor account, used by less-than-honest bookkeepers everywhere. It's easy to set up a company, get a bank account, and pay invoices from "My Boyfriend's Shell Company", usually for nebulous expenses like "computer consulting" or ... more

Finance

Fraud

Scams

Jan. 25, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 3 other people answered this question

What are the top features that SMBs should look for in accounting software?

- Bank downloads to minimize data entry, and good bank and credit card reconciliation capability.
- Ability to split transactions
- Full double entry and journal entry functionality. Many of the inexpensive online products are lacking in this area
- Full balance sheet accounts, with asset, loan and ... more

Jan. 25, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 4 other people answered this question

What's the best all-time Super Bowl ad?

Apple's 1984. Iconic and brilliant at visually delivering the message.

Advertising

Television

Jan. 5, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 6 other people answered this question

Tax Preparation Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for selecting a SMB tax preparation service?

- Ask other people in your line of business who they recommend. You want someone who is familiar with tax laws that affect your field of business. Someone who is great with manufacturers might not be an expert on restaurants.
- Schedule an initial no-charge meeting ... more

Jan. 5, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 11 other people answered this question

Small Business Taxes Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for filing end-of-year taxes?

-Have your chart of accounts set up with categories useful to your tax person. Things like separating out meals from travel, owner health insurance from employee and penalties from state tax payments will make the tax process faster for the preparer. Have your tax person ... more

Jan. 5, 2011

Mariette Knoblauch and 6 other people answered this question

Accounts Payable Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for managing accounts payable?

- Have someone who is not a check preparer or signer approve all new vendors. Don't let the AP clerk just add whatever vendors they want. Have someone outside the process verify that any new vendors are legitimate (and not the clerk's boyfriend ;)
- Always ... more

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