for questions that relate to the laws, practices, and products of accounting.
12
votes
6answers
431 views
Indie Software Developers - How do I handle taxes?
I apologize if this is the wrong site to post on, perhaps someone could point me to the proper place if it is not.
Hello,
I am 17 years old and currently develop applications/games for Android and ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Comprehensive tutorial on double-entry personal finance?
Can anyone recommend a comprehensive tutorial on using double-entry accounting to manage personal finances? I've read a few articles that make double-entry seem worth learning, but I'm struggling with ...
7
votes
3answers
913 views
What does “write-off” mean?
I've heard this term throughout my life but I've never been entirely sure exactly what it means or why you would want to write something off.
6
votes
2answers
139 views
Consider Paypal fees in accounting
I'm a freelancer. I sent an invoice to my client (using InvoiceBubble.com), which he decided to pay via Paypal. Paypal took a fee.
How do I take this fee in consideration for my accounting? I marked ...
6
votes
1answer
652 views
Starting with GnuCash. How to eliminate automatic entries ending up in the “unbalanced” account?
I just started using GnuCash and there is something I do not quite get how to get rid of (and whether I should try to get rid of).
When I start importing transactions, I have expenses, income, etc. ...
6
votes
2answers
218 views
Nit picky personal accounting question: What is the right way to record borrowing from yourself?
I keep a spreadsheet with my personal financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow) that generally follows the corporate approach. I omit considerations of depreciation, etc. ...
6
votes
2answers
135 views
How to find out if a company is legit?
I'm from Sweden and considering opening a "Internet" company on Cyprus with a (valid EU VAT number), because of better tax benefits compared to Sweden and the UK (where I have other companies).
I've ...
6
votes
1answer
64 views
Accounting for payment into wrong currency account
I deal with clients in several countries and have two bank accounts in two currencies. Recently, I sent out an invoice with the wrong bank account number, so a client invoiced in SGD made a payment ...
6
votes
1answer
102 views
I need a tax accountant, but don't know how to find one
Is there a trusted listing service for tax accountants? I'm reluctant to call the first listing I see on google or to search craigslist. I also have no idea what is a fair amount for such a person ...
5
votes
4answers
257 views
What could be the harm in sharing my American Express statements online?
I would like to store my American Express statements in Google Docs so that my virtual assistant can log the line items into my accounting spreadsheets. It is also handy so that they are in one place ...
5
votes
4answers
217 views
Payroll reimbursments
I am a salaried employee. Occasionally I use my own credit card for company business. When I am reimbursed I receive a separate check from my regular paycheck. My company does not tax the ...
5
votes
3answers
115 views
Dealing with fractions of a penny
If my car insurance was £1200.01 per year, I could end up being charged £100 + 1/12p per month. I know that's not how it works, the extra penny is kept whole and goes on a specific month instead.
...
5
votes
2answers
66 views
How does one apportion returns to multiple investors when their times and amounts of investment were different?
No accounting experience here.
The problem:
Man A invests $10 on day 1.
Man B invests $5 on day 4.
Man C invests $85 on day 5.
On day 7, the $100 returns 10%. How do you fairly distribute it?
5
votes
2answers
122 views
How should I record the changing value of an investment in accounting software?
I have the following (simplistic) structure set up in GnuCash, but this should apply to other software too:
Assets
Bank account
Pension
Income
Salary
Interest
Every month, my salary is ...
5
votes
2answers
227 views
Is there a dollar amount that, when adding Massachusetts Sales Tax, precisely equals $200?
I am confused about calculating Massachusetts Sales Tax (6.25%). Is there such an amount, that when added to its sales tax, equals $200?
The reason I ask is because my business has been charging ...
5
votes
1answer
95 views
How do I interpret these income tax numbers for Chinese public company Dangdang Inc. (DANG)?
I'd like some help with understanding the financial statements of E Commerce China Dangdang Inc (ADR).
You can see the Income Statement/Balance Sheet/Cash Flow statements on Google Finance.
If you ...
5
votes
1answer
362 views
GnuCash bookkeeping for account contributions to accounts having annual contribution limits?
I'm using GnuCash, and trying to figure out how to structure a couple of accounts to track contributions to accounts like Roth IRAs and HSAs that have an annual contribution limit that I need to ...
5
votes
1answer
39 views
FAFSA implications of filing jointly?
Recently our accountant filed a tax return as married for my partner and me (we live together). She is applying for FAFSA and is not sure whether she should be reflecting her marital status from our ...
5
votes
1answer
139 views
Marriage merger of finances and continuity of records
I just got married last week. Yay!
I've been using Microsoft Money for 15 years. I have one gigantic file that has all of my transactions since early 1996 in it. I can use it to generate all kinds ...
4
votes
2answers
307 views
Are in-kind donations from my S-Corp tax-deductible in any way?
I have an S Corp that each year, sponsors a film festival by creating their website for free. In return, they print our logo in their program guide. Last year, I gave them 80 hours of work building ...
4
votes
3answers
117 views
How should I account for Social Security contributions?
I'm currently tracking all my finances with GNUCash, and splitting the various paycheck deductions into expenses. It's pretty nice to be able to correctly predict what will be on my W2, and it's even ...
4
votes
3answers
141 views
How do I add my income to my personal finance balance?
I've never understood accounting really, apart from the basic concepts. Supposing I want to keep a better track of my money, I'm using Excel at this moment. I guess I need to move to some double entry ...
4
votes
1answer
55 views
Should you work out the yield on property or shares against the purchase price, or the current market price?
In What is a good rental yield?, there's some discussion about whether you should calculate yield by dividing the original purchase price, or the current market price. Which is the correct ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
What forces cause a company to write down goodwill?
Consider TimeWarner: In 2002, $128Billion of its $209Billion in assets was Goodwill. What forced them to write down this goodwill to $37billion a few years later?
4
votes
2answers
153 views
Where do expense ratios show up on my statement?
This answer describes the lowered expense ratios of Vanguard admiral shares compared to Vanguard investor-class shares.
How do I tell from my statements that I am saving money through the lowered ...
4
votes
1answer
421 views
Can dues and subscriptions expenses be deducted 100% to calculate taxable income in an LLC company?
I'm using Quickbooks Online, "Dues & Subscriptions" is one of the expense accounts we have. I would like to know if this expense can be deducted 100% for calculating my taxable income. Our company ...
4
votes
1answer
99 views
In accounting and investment, what is the difference and relationship between balance and position
In accounting and investment, what are the difference and relation between balance and position, when talking about a checking/saving/investment account? Or are they the same concept?
Thanks and ...
4
votes
1answer
405 views
How do I track investment performance in Quicken across rollovers?
I use Quicken to track investments. I'd like to track performance. Here is a situation that feels wrong:
I buy stock S for $10/share.
I hold for 5 years.
I sell S at $20/share and buy S2 for ...
3
votes
4answers
147 views
Help in understanding a basic accounting principle
'An entry which increases an asset account is called a debit.'
So if my bank account is my asset account, when I debit money, money actually goes out so it is a 'decrease'. But the above statement ...
3
votes
1answer
214 views
Can I account for start-up costs that occur before incorporation?
I'm starting an LLC with a couple of partners. But before we incorporate we need to finalize a partnership agreement.
I would like to initiate a few time-sensitive things such as a patent search ...
3
votes
1answer
397 views
Why does the fiscal year in many countries start in April?
I was just wondering why in the UK the fiscal year starts in April. Is there any historical reason for this?
3
votes
1answer
101 views
How important is reconciling accounts for a small LLC (Quickbooks)?
We are in our first year of starting a small LLC. We are using Quickbooks Online and things are going well. The only exception is that, due to our lines of credit and bank accounts being personal ...
3
votes
2answers
127 views
Calculating Profit Ratio (Gross Margin)
When looking at a company's income statement to calculate the Profit Ratio (Gross Margin)
PM = Net Profit / Sales
Do you include "other" revenue in the equation?
Example: XYZ Ltd Income Statement ...
3
votes
1answer
198 views
Meaning of “Non-trading Item” and “Capital Item”
I'm reading the income statement of a company, and the column describing profit is titled Profit from operations before non-trading and capital items. So, my question is a two-parter:
What is a ...
3
votes
1answer
442 views
Accounting treatment for store credit
I just got store credit when I returned some bad juice. This left me wondering. Which accounts receive the entries when a store issues store credit?
For example, when I made the payment for the ...
3
votes
2answers
35 views
How to account for Capital Gains (Losses) in double-entry accounting?
After taking an introductory financial accounting class, I decided to use GnuCash to keep track of my personal finances. I have 5 major accounts in my general ledger:
Equity
Currently only used to ...
3
votes
1answer
62 views
What happens during the windup of a bank?
When a bank is wound up....depositors are usually protected up to a certain amount.
Let's say this certain amount is 100K.
If a depositor had 150K in the bank, the 50K will be 'frozen' or even ...
3
votes
2answers
155 views
What can a CPA do that an EA cannot, and vice versa?
A lot of the responsibilities of CPAs and Enrolled Agents appear to overlap, but could someone outline the key differences? When would I choose to hire one versus the other?
3
votes
1answer
100 views
How should I document mandatory furlough in GNUCash?
My union contract requires a certain number of furlough hours be taken over the next year and a half. Furloughs are basically unpaid vacation--I don't show up, and don't get paid. How should I ...
3
votes
2answers
257 views
How to transfer personal auto lease to business auto lease?
What is involved in transferring a personal auto lease to a business auto lease? We have a car for our business that was leased prior to establishing our LLC, therefore it is under our names, ...
3
votes
1answer
385 views
How is Net Present Value (NPV) superior to Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC)?
Although EAC presents advantages by taking into account the lifetime of the project, my professor recommends using NPV instead of EAC. Can anyone explain why NPV is considered superior to EAC?
3
votes
3answers
234 views
How to account for a shared mortgage in QuickBooks Online?
I co-own a house with two unrelated friends. We have a single mortgage that we're each responsible for our fraction of. We've been keeping track of our payments in a spreadsheet but for a variety of ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
How do you account for a cash payment by a customer in which some is used for payment to a vendor?
I am using Quickbooks Pro 2011. I received a $750 cash payment from a customer, then used $150 of it to pay a vendor's invoice, creating a bank deposit of $600.
I can't figure out how to credit the ...
2
votes
2answers
55 views
Accounts Receivable included in Gross Sales?
I am trying to determine my sales tax.
In a given quarter, let's say I close a deal for $2000 and collect $500 as a deposit. Which number is considered in my "Gross Sales", the $2000 or the $500? ...
2
votes
1answer
436 views
Quickbook Balance Sheet showing strange numbers (to me at least)
I have been using quickbooks for some time (less than a year) and today when I was looking at my balance sheet I noticed something that seems really strange to me.
My Total Assets number is $300,000. ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Why were numbers on these income statements recorded differently from year to year?
Below are two different income statements for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. I am wondering how can their net income and other line items be recorded so differently across two consecutive financial ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Accounting: Should a fee on an amount payable be applied in AR or AP account?
An application I'm building has a simplistic double-entry accounting component to it to keep track of funds passed owed to various parties. I'm unclear on how certain entries should be applied. Take ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How to record expense sheet as journal entries in Quickbooks Online?
Let's say I own a business and I make 3 business-related purchases on my personal credit card in August. Given the following example expense report:
08/01/2011 - $20 - Web Hosting
08/05/2011 - $130 ...
2
votes
2answers
128 views
How to consider stock splits with respect to ETFs? Any different than for regular shares?
"Splits are used to increase the availability of shares on the market." I am unsure about this statement because you can increase the availability of shares through third-party funds like with ...
2
votes
1answer
63 views
What does it mean when a business reports its costs on a “fully loaded basis”?
What does it mean to ask a private business to report their costs "on a fully loaded basis"?
And then to ask them to "please indicate the fully loaded basis for which the costs are reported"?
