10 Benefits of Cloud Accounting Software By Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Books & Billing

18. Feb 2023 Admin Saskatoon Bookkeepers, Trusted Tips

Books ’N’ Billing offers full-service, cloud-based, bookkeeping services to sole proprietors, limited liability partnerships, and small corporations within Saskatchewan. Are you a small business owner? Save yourself the stress and let Shelby Prescesky the owner of Books 'N' Billing help you get your business's books in order. Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist. In this article, she discusses 10 benefits of cloud accounting software for business.

10 Benefits of Cloud Accounting Software for Business

More and more business owners are turning to cloud accounting software to manage their business’s finances. If you haven’t yet tried it, here are 10 ways online accounting software can help your business.

Save time with automation

Don’t waste time posting and chasing invoices. Cloud accounting software automatically generates invoices— as well as reminders — at regular intervals, meaning you don’t have to manually keep track of debtors. If you combine your accounting software with HR and Payroll applications you can also automatically generate payslips and other HMRC documents.

Work from anywhere with an internet connection

Cloud accounting software means you no longer need to worry about maintaining spreadsheets or installing a program on one machine. The cloud allows you to log in to your business’s account anywhere with an internet connection. Once you sign up, you can get started straight away.

Value for money

Instead of paying a huge one-off fee for accounting software, with the cloud, you can spread the cost by paying monthly — helping you to manage your business’s cash flow. If you do prefer to pay upfront, you’ll benefit from a discount.

Up-to-date data

Automated bank feeds allow you to keep track of your business’s balance sheet in real-time. You can also view a variety of reports that give an up-to-date snapshot of your business finances. Online accounting software makes it easier to get closer to your business and gives you a clearer picture of your finances as a whole.

Keeps your information secure

As your data is saved on a secure cloud server and is constantly backed up, you don’t need to worry about your data being hacked or compromised. Even if your computer crashes, everything is still saved in the cloud.

Intuitive and easy to use

Cloud accounting software makes accounting easy for people who may not have much experience in managing financial accounts. The software is built with non-accountants in mind and help guides are available every step of the way.

Community of fellow business owners

A side benefit of joining the cloud accounting software revolution is joining an instant network of fellow business owners whom you can meet and chat with via community forums and business events.

Give access to multiple users and set permissions

If different people manage different elements of your business, it’s easy to add multiple users to your account and tailor permissions so that people with specific job roles only see what they need to.

Software is consistently updated and improved without you having to do anything

Rather than having to wait for a new integration of a program, cloud accounting software is constantly updated by in-house developers. This means that if things change, cloud software is agile enough to keep up-to-date in real-time. In addition, unlike desktop accounting software programs, these updates are free and included as part of your monthly subscription fee.

Collaborate easily with your accountant

In the past, it was common for business owners to chat with their accountant once a year at year-end — leading to one huge pile of work. Cloud accounting software lets you share your accounts with your accountant throughout the year and work together regularly.

Shelby's mantra and the business tagline is one most small business owners can get behind...

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

If you need a second opinion, or you are at that stage in your business where you are ready to hand over the bookkeeping to a professional contact Shelby at Book N Billing today!

Books N Billing Bookkeeping Services Include:

Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist

Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Books & Billing Tips If You Have Missing Tax Slips

18. Feb 2023 Admin Saskatoon Bookkeepers, Trusted Tips

Books ’N’ Billing offers full-service, cloud-based, bookkeeping services to sole proprietors, limited liability partnerships, and small corporations within Saskatchewan. Are you a small business owner? Save yourself the stress and let Shelby Prescesky the owner of Books 'N' Billing help you get your business's books in order. Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist. In this article, she discusses missing tax slips, how to find them, and what happens if you don't.

Missing a Tax Slip? Here's How to Find it and What Happens if You Don't

Walk into a Canadian household in April and you’ll likely find a kitchen table littered with receipts and pairs of reading glasses. Yet with all the receipts and tax slips you’re supposed to keep, it’s likely some are going to go missing – and a missing slip can mean a big swing in your tax bill. Before you go ahead and file your return, you’ll want to do your due diligence to avoid any penalties for missing or inaccurate information.

Check your account online

My Account for Individuals is a great place to start to check your info. Logging into your account, you should be able to find online versions of your T4 slips. You’ll also be able to check carry-forward balances like tuition credits or capital losses, as well as your RRSP contribution limits. While you’re there, you can also sign up for a direct deposit to get your refund faster and deposited directly to your bank account.

Call the CRA

Only some of your tax slips will show up in My Account, namely the slips that begin with T4. To verify all your tax slips that the CRA has on file, particularly ones that relate to investments, you can call the Individual Enquiries line at 1-800-959-8281. Before you call, make sure you’ve got your SIN and last year’s tax return handy (which you can view online). After answering a few security questions, you can ask to confirm the slips they have on file for you and compare their records to yours to see if you’ve missed anything.

How do you know if the CRA has all your slips?

The majority of T3s, T4s, and T5s will all be processed through the CRA’s system. As the processing of these slips requires a SIN, the income on the slip is then attributed to you which you can then verify when you call the CRA.

‍However, not all slips go through the CRA’s system.

‍Certain slips such as T2202As for tuition deductions, T5008s for capital gains and losses, and RRSP contributions are not always processed by the CRA. While the rules differ across the various types of tax forms, some slips can be generated independently and don’t have to go through the CRA’s system first. For these slips, you’re going to want to track them down from the source provider since the CRA won’t have them on file.

For example, if you know you’re meant to receive a tuition credit, call the school to grab your form. If you’ve made some stock trades in the year, call your bank to grab a gains and losses report. Unfortunately, there’s no fool-proof way to know that you’ve got all these types of slips – you’ll just need to remember!

What happens if you still miss a slip?

If you file your taxes with a missing slip, don't expect a collections officer at your place. If the missing slip contained only a small amount of income, you may get lucky and the CRA may just ignore it. On the other hand, if it’s a significant amount of income, you may be automatically reassessed.

When this happens, as long as you’re in a refund position, you likely won’t have the interest to pay. Unfortunately, if the swing is big enough to generate a balance owing, you may have some interest to cover. If you missed a significant slip that the CRA does not have on file such as a tuition slip, not to worry, you can file an adjustment to your return down the road if you’re able to track it down. Before you file your return, double-checking that you’ve got all your slips covered will mean a faster refund, no interest, and less stress!

Shelby's mantra and the business tagline is one most small business owners can get behind...

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

If you need a second opinion, or you are at that stage in your business where you are ready to hand over the bookkeeping to a professional contact Shelby at Book N Billing today!

Books N Billing Bookkeeping Services Include:

Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist

Your Ultimate Tax Checklist From Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Books & Billing

17. Feb 2023 Admin Saskatoon Bookkeepers, Website

Your Ultimate Tax Checklist

It is that time of year again… tax season! If you are like most people, doing taxes is something you view as a dreaded task or you procrastinate doing. Do not fear, we have a helpful Tax Season Checklist to make doing your taxes easier to organize. This list will outline all the things we could need from you in order to prepare your income tax return.

Tax Slips

T4 slips (Employment income)
T4e Employment Insurance benefits
T4A (other pensions, annuities, and certain scholarships)
T4AP (CPP benefits)
T4 RSP (RRSP income)
T4 RIF (RRIF income)
T4 A-OAS (old age security)
T3 (Mutual Funds, REITs, ETFs)
T5 (investment income – interest, dividends, certain capital gains)
RC62 (Universal Child Care benefits)
T5007 (Social assistance payments/Worker’s compensation benefits)
T2202A (Tuition/education receipts)
T5031 (partnership income)
T2200 (Condition of employment/allowable employment expenses)
All other information slips

Receipts

RRSP contribution slips
Medical expenses
Support for a child, spouse, or common-law partner
Transit pass receipts
Charitable donations
Office-in-home expenses
Moving expenses (including realtor’s commissions)
Exams for professional certification
Carrying charges and interest expenses
Other interest expenses
Political contributions
Childcare expenses
Adoption expenses
Children’s arts and sports expenses
Tool expenses (tradesperson)
Interest paid on your student loans
Professional or union dues
Attendant Expenses for the disabled person
Other Documentation
Notice of Assessment/Reassessment
CRA Correspondence
Amounts you have paid in tax installments
Rental income and expenses
Sale or deemed sale of stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.
Disability tax credit certificate
Business, farm, or fishing income or expenses
Northern resident’s deduction receipts
Commission employee expenses
Automobile/Travel logbook and expenses (self-employed and commissioned employees)
Volunteer firefighter’s certification
Graduate Retention Certificate
Search and rescue volunteer certificate
Legal expenses to collect alimony, pension, or retiring allowances

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

If you need a second opinion, or you are at that stage in your business where you are ready to hand over the bookkeeping to a professional contact Shelby at Book N Billing today!

Books N Billing Bookkeeping Services Include:

Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist

Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Books & Billing Explains Dividends Vs Salaries

15. Mar 2022 Admin Saskatoon Financial Services, Trusted Tips

Books ’N’ Billing offers full-service, cloud-based, bookkeeping services to sole proprietors, limited liability partnerships, and small corporations within Saskatchewan. Are you a small business owner? Save yourself the stress and let Shelby Prescesky the owner of Books 'N' Billing help you get your business's books in order. Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist. In this article, she shares the difference between dividends and salary.

Dividends Vs Salary?

If you own an incorporated business in Canada, you have the option to pay yourself through dividends, a salary, or a combination of both. In this article, we will look at the difference between these methods of payment and the main advantages and disadvantages associated with each. We will also see some common scenarios for when a business owner may choose one method over the other.

Salary/Wages

If you are paying yourself a salary or wage, the payments become an expense of the corporation and then employment income for you personally – at the end of the year, you’ll get a T4 slip outlining your taxable earnings and deductions. The expense reduces the corporation’s taxable income, which in turn reduces corporate taxes owing.

To pay yourself a wage, the corporation will need to register a payroll account with the CRA, and then the corporation will need to withhold source deductions from each of your paychecks to later remit to the federal government. Additionally, the corporation will have to prepare T4 slips at the end of each calendar year to record your work for the year.

Why Choose Salary

Paying yourself a wage can be a way for you to earn a steady and predictable personal income. Some additional advantages of using this method would include:

RRSP Contribution Room; Paying yourself a wage will allow you to build an RRSP contribution room while dividend payments will not create this.
CPP Contributions; this is a double-edged sword, while wages will allow you to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan, as the owner of the corporation you will also be responsible for the employer’s portion of this contribution.
Fewer Surprise Tax Bills; Income tax is withheld from each payment and remitted to the Receiver General. When you file your personal tax return you will have already paid income tax and will avoid a surprise personal tax bill. When paying dividends, income tax isn’t withheld and remitted which often creates personal taxes owing in April.
When Applying for a Mortgage; When you are attempting to qualify for a mortgage, banks like to see steady, predictable income. Earning employment income like this will help show that steady income, whereas dividend income may not be looked at as favourably.

Dividends

Type of Transaction

Dividends are payments to shareholders of a corporation that are paid from the other tax earnings of the company. This means that dividends are not a corporate expense and do not reduce the corporate taxes paid. The flip side is that dividends carry less personal tax liability than wages because they come with a dividend tax credit.

In practice, paying dividends to shareholders of a corporation is fairly easy. Dividends are declared and cash is transferred from the corporate account to a shareholder’s personal account. Each year, the corporation must prepare and file T5s for any shareholder who received dividends.

Where it gets tricky with dividends is that they are issued and paid based on share ownership. As an example, of Terry’s Tulips :td. Want to issue $100,000 in dividends to the owners of its Class A common shares, it must do so based on the percentage of ownership of these shares. So, if Terry owns 40% of Terry’s Tulips class A shares and Teagen own the other 60%, then Terry would receive $40,000 and Teagen would receive $60,000. This can make it difficult to allocate different amounts of income to multiple shareholders of they all own the same class of shares.

Why Choose Dividends

Paying dividends can be a simple way for business owners to withdraw money from their corporation. Some key advantages include:

Lower Cost; Paying dividends removes the need to contribute to CPP, which reduces corporate and personal costs. The downside is that it does not allow you to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan program.
Simplicity; if you own 100% of your corporation, you can just declare a dividend and transfer cash from the company to your personal account without the need for payroll or remittance of source deductions.
Less Chance for Payroll Penalties; Payroll remittances are relentless. Usually, they have to be paid each month and late payments come with high penalties. Paying dividends eliminates the chance of late or missed payroll remittances. That being said, filling of T5s still must be completed on time once per year when paying dividends.

Which Method Creates Less Tax?

So, the main question becomes “which method allows me to pay less Tax?”. While this is a very important question to ask, changes to the legislation beginning in 2018 have made it more difficult to reduce taxes by cheesing one method over the other. Often, the results of calculations show a fairly minimal tax saving one way or another, and there is a reason for that.

Integration

There is a tax concept called integration that legislation aims to implement. The main idea behind this is that there should be little to no difference in the overall income tax paid (personal + corporate) when comparing dividend payments and wage payments of the same amount. This works by;

Wages reduce corporate taxes, but in turn create higher personal taxes than dividends.
Dividends do not reduce corporate taxes but create less personal taxes than wages.

Dividend Sprinkling

In the past, corporate shareholders could skirt the issue of integration and tip the scales of tax savings in their direction by using a technique called dividend sprinkling. This was accomplished by spreading out dividend payments to a lower income earning spouse or adult family member. Because the spouse or adult family member are in a lower tax bracket than the person operating the business, there would be less personal tax to pay on their dividend income.

Now that it is more difficult to implement dividend sprinkling, it is especially important to consider the qualitative factors discussed earlier when deciding which method of payment to use.

Common Scenarios

Lastly, let’s look at a few common scenarios that we see and discuss what you might consider as a business owner in each case.

Bad at Administrative Tasks; If making payments on time is a weakness that you have, then it may be easier and less costly to pay yourself using dividends. Wages require the regular, on-time payment of source deductions. If source deduction payments are missed or late, the penalties can add up quickly.

Qualifying for Financing; If you plan on purchasing a home in the near future and know that you will need to qualify for a mortgage, it may be better to pay yourself as an employee (wages/salary). Banks like to see steady income more than sporadic dividend payments.

Having Children / Parental Leave; If you plan on having children sometime soon and you would like to earn Maternity or Parental Benefits, then it may be better to earn income through wages. This is because withholding and remitting employment insurance premiums can enable the employee to collect maternity or parental benefits.

Working Income Tax Benefit; The working income tax benefit is a refundable tax credit intended to provide tax relief for eligible working low-income individuals and families. It may be beneficial to pay yourself a small salary from your business to trigger this tax credit on your personal taxes. Consider this if you have low personal or family net income for the year.

Shelby's mantra and the business tagline is one most small business owners can get behind...

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

If you need a second opinion, or you are at that stage in your business where you are ready to hand over the bookkeeping to a professional contact Shelby at Book N Billing today!

Books N Billing Bookkeeping Services Include:

Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist

The Trusted Saskatoon team brag about Books N Billing Bookkeeping & Tax Services

28. Feb 2022 Trusted Saskatoon Saskatoon Bookkeepers, Saskatoon Financial Services, Trusted Brag Blogs, Trusted Tips

Books ’N’ Billing offers full-service, cloud-based, bookkeeping services to sole proprietors, limited liability partnerships, and small corporations within Saskatchewan. Are you a small business owner? Save yourself the stress and let Shelby Prescesky the owner of Books 'N' Billing help you get your business's books in order.Books N Billing is a Trusted Saskatoon Bookkeeping & Tax Services Specialist

Meet Shelby Prescesky Of Books N'Billing

Whether you sell handmade soap, own a coffee shop, or drive a truck for a living, there are two things we can guarantee about your business: you earn money and you spend it. Bookkeepers are the ones who help you keep track of all that. We sat down with Shelby, the owner of Books N Billing, to find out why she decided to be a bookkeeper, what she enjoys about the job and who would be an ideal client for her.

Shelby has always enjoyed numbers, in high school she earned University credits for pre-calculus, a subject that makes most people shudder. Shelby however, enjoyed the challenge and she elected to take an additional accounting class, it didn't take her long to decide that this is what she wanted to do for a living!

Shelby gained her Bachelor of Commerce ( B.Com), which is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The course is designed to provide students with a wide range of managerial skills and understanding in streams like finance, accounting, taxation and management. After finishing school, her first job on her chosen career path was with The City of Saskatoon. Shelby really enjoyed the job and the people she worked with. The role was a great experience, and she was able to learn about many different industries and see how a huge organization operates. Shelby started off doing payroll for the Police Department, and later moved into the Planning and Building departments, where she learned about the construction process and dealt with everything from books to permits!

What Does a Bookkeeper Do?

A bookkeeper is someone who prepares your business accounts, documenting daily financial transactions. Bookkeepers have been around as far back as 2600 BC—when records were tracked with a stylus on slabs of clay—making bookkeeping, not the oldest profession, but pretty darn close. Today any bookkeeper worth their beans uses some kind of software platform to track finances, and Shelby takes pride in always being up to date with the latest industry news and technology.

Shelby comes from a family of female entrepreneurs, both her Mother and Grandmother operated restaurants and catering businesses, so she knows what it takes to be her own boss. Shelby is not afraid of hard work, and she decided to start her own business in 2021, just after the birth of her 2nd child. As she said, motherhood is great preparation for entrepreneurship, and she enjoys the flexibility of setting her own work schedule at home, around the needs of her young family.

We asked Shelby what the benefits are of hiring a bookkeeper if you have a small business. She shared that her clients tell her that the peace of mind knowing that their books are in order and that filing isn't an annual scramble, cannot be overrated! Shelby makes sure to bring her expertise to the table for her clients. She prides herself on her expertise and she wants to be seen as a valuable part of her client's team. Her biggest driver is helping people, and her enthusiasm for that is infectious!

We asked Shelby what being trusted means to her.

" Trust means reliability - giving your business details and accounts to someone who’s a total stranger is a risk, so it is important to operate with integrity and have ethics at the centre of all I do. I strive to be a valuable resource for clients. " - Shelby , owner Books N Billing

As one of her clients said so well when we spoke to them as part of the unique Trusted verification process ...

" Shelby is wonderful to deal with, she answers all my questions and breaks things down in real speak. if she is not 100% sure of the answer she will go off and find the information before committing. I highly recommend Books n Billing if you are small business in need of a trustworthy bookkeeper!"

When asked who would be an ideal client for Books N' Billing. Shelby shared that her ideal niche is small to medium businesses with less than 20 employees. She really wants to focus on serving local businesses in Saskatoon, Warman, Martensville and surrounding areas. Shelby has a wealth of experience to offer, and in particular, she has done a lot of work for clients in the trucking industry, she knows the industry well as many family members are truckers!

Shelby's mantra and the business tagline is one most small business owners can get behind...

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

If you need a second opinion, or you are at that stage in your business where you are ready to hand over the bookkeeping to a professional contact Shelby at Book N Billing today!

Books N Billing Bookkeeping Services Include:

Trusted Tips & Resources

10 Benefits of Cloud Accounting Software for Business

Save time with automation

Work from anywhere with an internet connection

Value for money

Up-to-date data

Keeps your information secure

Intuitive and easy to use

Community of fellow business owners

Give access to multiple users and set permissions

Software is consistently updated and improved without you having to do anything

Collaborate easily with your accountant

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

Missing a Tax Slip? Here's How to Find it and What Happens if You Don't

Check your account online

Call the CRA

How do you know if the CRA has all your slips?

What happens if you still miss a slip?

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

Your Ultimate Tax Checklist

Tax Slips

Receipts

Other Documents

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

Dividends Vs Salary?

Salary/Wages

Why Choose Salary

Dividends

Type of Transaction

Why Choose Dividends

Which Method Creates Less Tax?

Integration

Dividend Sprinkling

Common Scenarios

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

Meet Shelby Prescesky Of Books N'Billing

What Does a Bookkeeper Do?

Running your own business can be exciting… managing your own books can steal your joy.

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