Tag Archives: Accounting

12.28 2020

Bank Reconciliation

First, what is a bank reconciliation?

When you reconcile your bank account or statement, you compare your internal financial records such as bookkeeping records against the records provided by financial institutions. A monthly reconciliation helps your business to detect discrepancies and errors as well as identify any unusual transactions that might be caused by fraud actions. In other word, this practice can help your business inefficiencies in accounting procedures.

How often to reconcile bank statements?

Many business performs monthly bank reconciliation for identifying problems. It is the best to have a regular schedule and save bank statement or other related document for avoiding time-consuming task. Some businesses with a lot of transactions, reconcile on a daily basis. If something does not match with your record against bank statement, it might be due to timing differences that items or checks have not yet cleared. However, bookkeepers and accountants should be able to explain those differences.

Once you have figured out the reasons why bank statement and records do not match up, you need to record them by making adjusting journal entries.

Best Bank Reconciliation Practice and Tips

To reconcile bank accounts, you need to compare your internal record of transactions, balances, and descriptions to your monthly bank statement. Make sure matching the amounts and stating any memo or note for differences that requires more investigation and detail.

12.18 2020

Fill out your PPP Forgiveness Application Form

SBA released the official form to fill out for applying forgiveness on PPP Loan. Now that lenders are opening up for forgiveness applications. It is time to start prepare the documents need to qualify for full foreignness.

There are some documents and information requirements are universal to prove if you used the PPP Loan to cover any of following.

– Payroll costs

To prove payroll costs, you need to prepare:

Payroll service reports documenting wages and salaries paid to employees
Federal payroll tax filing (IRS Form 941 / 943)
State quarterly Payroll, Income, and Unemployment insurance reports
Receipts* for employee contributions to employee benefits
Receipts* for any retirement plan contributions

– Owner compensation

To prove owner compensation payments, you need t prepare:

2019 Schedule C (or January to February 2020) for Sole Proprietorships
2019 Form 1099-MISC (or January to February 2020) for Independent Contractors
2019 Schedule K-1 (or January to February 2020) for Partnerships
Receipts for compensation payment

If there is more than one individual included, provide a separate document that lists the names and payments to each owner.

– Mortgage interest payments

To prove mortgage interest payments, you need to prepare:

Mortgage amortization schedule or mortgage account statements
Receipts or cleared checks

– Rent/ Lease payments

To provide rent/ lease payments, you need to prepare:

Current Lease agreement and receipts or cleared checks
Lender monthly account statements

– Utilities payments

To prove utilities payments, you need to prepare:

Monthly utilities statements or involves
Receipts, cleared checks, or account statements

*Payment receipts, cleared checks, or account statements documenting the amount that the Borrower included in the forgiveness

What is next?

Once you have prepared all documentations, it is time to fill out the application form and upload supplemental documents into your portal.

Accounting Tips: Educate Your Employees

Why is it important to have strong internal control within an organization?

A control environment is made up of a compilation of an entity’s organizational structures, policies, standards, and processes that maintain control across the organization. Having effective control environments with adequate internal control is essential for businesses to reduce the risk of asset loss and ensure reasonable assurance for stakeholders and businesses. Moreover, implementing a strong internal control, businesses establish solid protocols and procedures for their employees and partners. It allows businesses to prevent fraud and theft by separation of duties and organization of financial and management information.

Here are some best practices that should mitigate issues from happening in your business.

Segregation of Duties
Physical Controls
IT Controls
Accounting Standards and Policies
Ethical Learnings

We strongly recommend to educate and train your employees for prevention of fraud as well as errors and mistakes.

11.30 2015

Moving to Ballard

On December 11th, we will say goodbye to our office on Dexter and move to Ballard! We will be closed on Friday the 11th for the move – computers and phones will be down. Our new address is:

4055 21st Ave W, Suite 202
Seattle, WA 98199

We look forward to some new amenities in Ballard, including lots of yummy lunch options, new neighbors, and great coffee shops. Come visit us in the new year to see our new place!