Upcoming IRS Events in CA

Two events are coming up. Info on both are here.

The first is a one day event in Sacramento and there are three dates in December, the 18th through the 20th. "This introductory workshop is designed for administrators or volunteers who are responsible for an organization's tax compliance."

The second is in Los Angeles and is the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations, a big two day event for "attorneys, accountants, and executives of tax-exempt organizations, co-sponsored by Loyola Law School and IRS Exempt Organizations; early bird registration rate available until October 15."

Comments on Draft Redesigned Form 990

September 14th was the deadline for submitting comments on the update for the form 990. Want to read them all? Here is the link.

CPA & Accounting Referrals

I'm frequently asked to give recommendations for CPA's who know nonprofits. I'm happy to do so and with changing regulations changing how CPA and client will be interacting the need to shop around for services may be greater than ever.

The first recommendations I give or those folks listed on the CAN website. For referrals to QuickBooks specialists I refer them here. The California CPA Society also has a robust tool for looking up CPA's, check it out too.

Protecting Your Good Name

This link goes to an article from the Nonprofit Times' enewsletter article about domain names (www.yourcharity.org/com/net) and what happens when they expire. It illustrates the importance of making sure they DON'T expire so some other group doesn't grab the registration and take advantage of your nonprofit's good name.

How does this relate to accounting? Well, two ways, one is that in a smaller organization one person may be doing all the admin stuff, finance, HR and IT so this is important info to them. But another way it affects accounting directly is reminding us to keep track of bills that do not come monthly or even annually. Domain name registration invoices, like other bills you may have, are cheaper if you buy multiple years at a time. "Great," you think, "I'll save us some money and register us for three years." But in three years when the renewal emails come, and they are almost always emails and not paper bills, will they get paid? Do you have somewhere where you track annual or irregular payments, maybe a vendor list that is easily accessible? Some thing to think about.

e-Postcard: 990-N Questions and Answers

The IRS has updated its 990-N FAQ, click this link to read them all or download a PDF of them. Included it the FAQ's:
When will the e-Postcard (Form 990-N) be due? How often do I need to file?
How do I file Form 990-N (e-Postcard)?
Will the IRS notify affected organizations about the filing requirement?
Why do I need to provide this information?

Car Donations

A question from a recent boot camp had to do with vehicle donations:

"When providing the donor with a thank you letter for a donated car, what amount do we list?"

From the IRS website:

"If the claimed value of the donated motor vehicle, boat or plane exceeds $500 and the item is sold by the charitable organization, the taxpayer is limited to the gross proceeds from the sale.

Under the new [2004] rules, the charitable organization must provide an acknowledgment to the donor within 30 days of the sale stating the amount of gross proceeds.

Alternatively, if the charity significantly uses or materially improves the vehicles, the charity must certify this intended use and duration and provide an acknowledgment to the donor within 30 days of the contribution. If the charity significantly uses or materially improves the vehicle, generally, the donor may deduct the vehicle’s market value."

Also check below in the IRS Guides section for Publication 526, it tells all about vehicle donations. It states that if the claimed value of the donated vehicle is more than $500.00 you can deduct what the charity sells it for OR the fair market value, which ever is LOWER.

Keyboard short cut directory

In an bid for ever increasing productivity keyboard short cuts keep us from wasting all that time we spend reaching for the mouse. From the website AppScout I found out about KeyXL, a database of (reportedly) ALL keyboard short cuts for almost every program and operating system. Here is a link to the QuickBooks short cuts.

Alan

QuickBooks Help

I frequently get emails about folks who need help with QuickBooks; new installations, re-tooling their existing set-up, user questions, you name it. I'm happy to give advice and CAN is able sometimes to get out and help folks. But there are other options two that are supported by Intuit and QuickBooks:

1. Check out the Other Resources Section below for links to books and forums to ask questions and get answers.
2. Look for a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. You can select by zip code and area of expertise and then get a list of folks to interview.

Hope that helps,
Alan

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Selecting Accounting Software

Another nice piece on selecting accounting software from a GuideStar Newsletter article by Nancy Church. No new or different brands of software listed but lots of good questions to consider.