Category Archives: Internal Controls

BOOKKEEPING MONEY SAVER TIP # 8: Dumb Down Your Filing Cabinet

  By E.T. Barton | May 9, 2012 - 2:07 am | Internal Controls, Money Saving Tips
11 Comments

In my last BOOKKEEPING MONEY-SAVING TIP # 7: Ditch the Office Filing Cabinets I suggested that you ditch the filing cabinet all together and make your filing go completely digital. However, I am now going to be more realistic about this advice. While it is absolutely 100% possible to ditch your filing cabinet and index every receipt, invoice, bill, eBill and statement that ever crosses a bookkeeper’s desk, I am not so foolish as to actually believe that everyone will embrace this advice wholeheartedly. In fact, I fully acknowledge that ditching the filing cabinet is the one piece of advice … Continue reading →

One SBO’s Tale of Bookkeeper Theft

  By Kenneth Reid | April 25, 2012 - 1:45 am | Fighting Fraud, Internal Controls, Spotlights
15 Comments

Kenneth Reid is an accountant with over 25 years experience. His blog – http://mastertype.blogspot.com – contains mostly income tax tips, but also contains some accounting and/or bookkeeping tips. During “tax season”, his blog will contain more tax tips than anything else. The rest of the year, his blog contains a combination of tax tips, accounting and bookkeeping tips, including some tips related to . _______________________________________________________________________________________ I had a client who went through a very difficult period of time a number of years ago due to a bookkeeper (and a few other employees) who were literally robbing the business blind. The … Continue reading →

Lessons Learned from an Email Hacker

  By E.T. Barton | January 17, 2012 - 10:11 pm | Fighting Fraud, Internal Controls, Money Saving Tips
37 Comments

Last week, I was the victim of an Email Hacker.  For the first time in 12 years of having my Yahoo , someone managed to get in and change my email password.  As I tried frantically for days to get control of my account back, I realized that I had made several small mistakes that – if I had known better – could have prevented the nightmare it quickly became.  You see, not only do I have a Yahoo email account, but I also have Yahoo Messenger, a Yahoo Website, a secondary Yahoo email, the customized Yahoo Page, but I … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Make Your Office Go Mobile

  By E.T. Barton | January 10, 2012 - 10:03 pm | Decreasing Expenses, Internal Controls, Virtual Bookkeeping
8 Comments

The other day, I came to a stop at a red light behind a big white sedan.  As I sat there, waiting for the light to change, I noticed a funny shape in the passenger seat of the car.  To top it off, there was a small round thing where a GPS would usually be found.  When the light turned green, the driver reached over to the passenger seat and – to my surprise – made the funny shape disappear.  In that instant, I realized exactly what I was looking at, as well as what the round thing was:  a … Continue reading →

Employee vs. Independent Contractor

  By Robin E. Davis | December 27, 2011 - 9:32 pm | Internal Controls, IRS & Taxes, Spotlights
16 Comments

Many SBO’s may not realize their decision to classify a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee can get them into serious trouble with the IRS and possibly the state. Employers pay a matching share of Social Security and Medicare, federal and state unemployment tax and worker’s compensation insurance.  In addition, employers must collect and deposit income tax withheld, and are required to file quarterly and annual payroll tax reports. That’s a lot of work and a lot of reporting.  It’s tempting to treat workers as an Independent Contractor to save the company the costs incurred as an … Continue reading →