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Mar 17 2015

Determining if You Need an Employee or a Contractor

Hire an employee or contractor

Employees vs. Contractors: What’s the Difference?

You need help in your business – after all, you can’t possibly do everything yourself – but the added expense and headache of hiring someone just doesn’t seem worth it. And then there is the question of hiring an actual employee, or simply working with a self-employed contractor. Which you choose will depend largely on your business model, but there are some major differences you need to be aware of.

The Tax Burden Shifts

Probably the most important difference between an employee and a contractor lies in who has the responsibility for paying taxes. Employers withhold taxes from their employees’ pay and send regular payments to the government. These withholdings are then reported to the employee at the end of every year (and also on their check stubs) on IRS form W-2, which the employee uses when he or she files his or her income tax return.

Contractors, on the other hand, are responsible for their own tax bill. That means that when you pay them, you don’t withhold any money to send to the government on their behalf. You also don’t issue a W-2 at the end of the year. Instead, contractors – if they’ve earned more than $600 dollars and are not a corporation – receive a 1099-MISC.

If you pay your contractor through PayPal the income limits for a 1099-MISC vary from direct payment. According to PayPal, they will not issue a 1099-MISC unless payments exceed $20,000. So, should you choose you can pay your independent contractors via PayPal and save on the hassle of issuing a 1099-MISC at the end of the year pending you have paid them less than the PayPal limit.

Carefully Consider the Difference in Pay

Contractors – depending on where they live and work – typically make more per hour than an employee does. At first glance, it can seem like it would be smarter (or at least less expensive) to hire an employee than a contractor, but if you look carefully, you might be surprised.

First, while you might pay a US-based virtual assistant $25 or more per hour, you have to keep in mind what you are NOT paying for. You don’t have to foot the bill for:

• Office space and furniture – your VA works from his or her home.
• Computer equipment – your VA buys her own.
• Software – again, your VA supplies her own tools, with very few exceptions.
• Vacation and sick days – contractors are only paid for the hours they actually work.
• Lunch breaks (and all that other unauthorized downtime) – most contractors work with a timer system so you pay only for the hours actually worked.
• The employer portion of Social Security tax – as a self-employed individual, contractors are responsible for the entire amount.

So while it might seem like hiring $10 per hour employee is the better deal, by the time you’re done paying for all those extras, you can bet you’re paying close to what you’d pay a contractor. Plus, you don’t have to deal with payroll – simply cut a check and issue a 1099-MISC at the end of the year.

You Are Not Their Only “Employer”

When you hire an employee, you can expect that he or she will show up at the designated time and focus only on you and your business for the time he or she is working.

Not so with a contractor. Her time will likely be divided between many clients, so organizing your tasks is critical if you hope to get the most out of the relationship. She most likely schedules her client work on a first-come-first-served basis, so unlike an employee, you cannot add a rush job to her task list with a moment’s notice.

Whether you hire a true employee or just retain the services of a contractor will depend largely on the type of business you own and how much work there is for him or her to do. For small local businesses like retail stores and restaurants, employees are obviously necessary. But if your business exists online, you might just be better served by opting for contractors instead.

If you have decided that an independent contractor is the best choice for your business please contact us today. We can fulfill all of your VA task and project needs.

Written by premieradmin · Categorized: Virtual Assisting · Tagged: contractor, employee, virtual assisting

Mar 15 2015

Benefits of Hiring a Bookkeeper

Benefits of hiring a bookkeeper. Hire a virtual assistant for key outsourced tasks such as accounting. Online business education from premierexecutivemedia.com

No small business owner – even those who proudly claim the title “solopreneur” – can manage every task alone. In fact, smart, successful business owners know that trying to do it all yourself will quickly lead to overwhelm and a bad case of burnout. Health Matters Media offers a wide variety of virtual assistant services, including bookkeeping, to help you effectively grow your business into a thriving and profitable company.

When is it Time to Hire a Bookkeeper or Accountant?

In order to make this decision you need to weigh the benefits of hiring outside help against the cost – not only in dollars, but in your time and frustration level as well. Hiring an accountant or bookkeeper, as with other outsourced tasks and projects will save you time and money. Sure, you can probably do your own taxes and manage your own books, but is it worth the time? Maybe not.

The key in deciding whether to outsource a task or not is to consider three key points. Do you enjoy doing the task? Do you know how to job? Should you be doing the task? If you answer yes to any of these considerations you need to outsource the project so that you can focus on building your business and concentrate on income generating tasks.

The Differences Between a Bookkeeper and an Accountant

Simply put, a bookkeeper keeps the books. He or she manages your income and expense records, most often using a software such as Quickbooks to ensure all receipts are properly filed so that when it’s time to calculate profit and loss and quarterly or year-end taxes, all the information is available.

An accountant, on the other hand, takes this information and uses it to determine how much you owe in taxes and when, and to offer advice on potential tax savings. He or she will help you decide if it’s better to claim your new computer as an expense, or to depreciate it over several years. Your accountant’s job is to ensure you are taking advantage of all the tax benefits available to you, while avoiding the fees and penalties that can occur if you are incorrect in your calculations.

Your accountant can also help you set up a basic bookkeeping system that you can manage yourself, allowing you to avoid having to hire a bookkeeper for the job.

Accounting Do-It-Yourself Pitfalls to Avoid

Keeping your own books doesn’t have to be difficult, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind before you make a commitment. First, if you’re not organized or disciplined about it, you’ll be better off letting someone else handle the task. Letting your receipts pile up all month (or year!) is a recipe for disaster. Much better to set aside an hour or so each week to keep everything organized. It’s a lot less stressful, and you’ll have a lot less risk of missing something important.

Also, you need to be sure you fully understand how income and expenses should be classified within your accounting system. If you’re recording a business expense, is it rent, or office supplies, or capital equipment? Incorrect categorization can cause trouble at tax time, and end up costing you more at the accountant’s office. When in doubt, give your CPA a call and ask.

Finally, don’t make the mistake of trying to handle your own tax returns and quarterly tax payments. Your accountant is up-to-date on the latest changes to the tax code, and you are not, so unless you want to devote a lot of time to learning to be a CPA, you’re better off paying him for his expertise.

So do you have to have a bookkeeper and an accountant if you’re just starting out? Not necessarily. If you’re earning a few hundred dollars as a sole proprietor and don’t want the hassle of deducting your expenses, you can simply include your business income in your personal tax return and call it good. But once your business grows to the point that it’s earning a significant income, and you’re looking at different business structures like LLCs and corporations, it’s time to get serious about your accounting practices. The money you spend on a good accountant and bookkeeper will be recouped many times over in time – and maybe even taxes – saved.

If you are ready to hire a bookkeeper or an accountant please contact us today.

Written by premieradmin · Categorized: Virtual Assisting · Tagged: accountant, bookkeeping, virtual assisting

Feb 05 2015

5 Ways to Be an Organized Blogger

Whether you are a new blogger or a small business owner staying organized, efficient, and on task can be a challenge. If you are like most bloggers and business owners there are constant distractions throughout your workday that pull your concentration away from the task at hand. Your work productivity can be severely compromised if you do not set in place effective organizational systems from the beginning.

5 Ways to Be an Organized Blogger

Get Organized and Stay Organized as a Blogger

As work at home bloggers and business owners we need to make the most of our time. Time is truly money in the business world. Thankfully plenty of bloggers have gone before us so we don’t have to reinvent the organizational wheel. We need only to find the wheel that fits best for us.

In speaking with fellow bloggers and online small business owners the following 5 key steps have helped them stay organized and productive in their work from home space.

Set Office Hours

When you are ready to get serious about your blog or online business set office hours. Even if it is only part-time, it is very important that you designate specific work hours. Those that work outside of the home have office hours, the same should remain true for those that work at home. Something as simple as early morning, nap time, and evening hours will help establish a work routine thereby increasing productivity. If you are fortunate enough to be able to block out office hours during the typical workday then please do so. You have to find what works for you and your family’s schedule. When setting work hours commit to sticking to them, resist temptation to skip them instead opting for a non-business related activity. Avoid outside non-work related appointments during your set office hours. When you steer clear of the temptation to meet friends during your set office hours you will increase productivity, business profits, achieve your goals.

Dedicated work space

As you decide on your work hours you need to also prepare a dedicated work space. Productivity and organizational abilities increase exponentially when you have a specific place for all of your work related paperwork and other necessities. You will not need to shuffle papers and important business documents off of family areas when you have a specified area to work. A work area also allows for a clearer separation between personal and work time. When you are in your work zone it is time to work and focus. When you leave your desk area you have clocked out and are now on personal time. Making this distinction might sound trivial but it truly makes a huge difference in productivity and organization of your work related projects.

Online filing cabinets (Onenote, Evernote)

Blogging is largely an online industry. Bloggers write, research, create images, and network from their computers. Keeping track of your blog post ideas, images, inspiration, networking contact information, and other digital files is easier with an online filing system. Online filing cabinets such as Evernote, DropBox, and OneNote for Microsoft users work wonders for saving, organizing, and collecting everything you need to run your blogging or online business smoothly and efficiently. The beauty of these online filing cabinets is that you can access your filing system from any electronic device. Bookmarklets and the websites make working from a laptop or desktop easy while apps of the same name allow you to save additional notes, web links, and write blog posts from your smart phone or tablet. With the help of these systems there is truly no where you can not get work accomplished.

Blog Planner

Now that you have designated your office hours, setup your workspace, and created your online filing cabinet system it is time to organize the various aspects of your blogging business. A blog planner will help you transform the scattered sheets of paper, sticky notes, and to-do lists into an organized and easy to find system. Utilizing a planner might not come naturally to you. Personally, using a planner is something I struggled with for the longest time. I am not a planner-type of person at all so I just assumed I didn’t need a paper planner for my blogging business. One day as I sat staring at a blank computer screen desperately trying to type out a coherent article my thoughts were scattered all over the place. I couldn’t for a sensical paragraph to save my life because I was not organized. I had not taken the time to write down my post thoughts and ideas nor did I have the proper resources to organize my article ideas.

My frustration and lack of productivity led me on a search for the perfect blog planner. A good blog planner includes all of the forms, trackers, and organizers that you need to not only get your writing organized but every other portion of blogging business as well. Are you tracking your mileage, business expenses, contacts, link parties, meeting notes, or any of the other vital components of running your online business effectively? A good blog planner will get you so organized that you will be able to transition seamlessly from writing to managing the business side of your blog.
Blog Like a Pro Planner product

As I mentioned, I was not a planner type of person at all until I found myself over my head and overwhelmed with writing and managing my business. I just couldn’t keep it all up in my any longer, I needed to write it down so I could remember it later and focus on the task at hand. After extensive searching and various recommendations by my blogging friends, I found the Blog Like a Pro Planner and have absolutely fallen in love. I purchased the master planner package and it has every form I could possibly need to write and manage my growing blog business.

Good #blogplanner will move you from writing to managing your #business http://bit.ly/1wGo4bX

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Mind maps

Finally, mind maps are the last element you will need to get organized and focused on your blogging business.  Much like spiderwebs, thought webs, or brainstorming exercises, mind maps are graphic organizers that help you organize you thoughts around a particular blog post. Mind maps are also great if you are planning a blog series or you want to write a variety of posts on a similar topic without repeating yourself.

Mind maps are also a great way to get around writers block. Using a graphic organizer you can brain dump your ideas, thoughts, and inspiration to get your writing back on track.

The Blog Like a Pro Planner I mentioned has a wide variety of highly useful mind maps including these free ones for HMM readers.

Behind every successful blogger and online business owner is a beautiful system of organization. If you are ready to be a professional in your chosen online business field then it is time to get organized. Set office hours, a designated work space, online and easily accessible filing systems, a planner, and mind maps will all help you achieve the business goals you have set for yourself and your company.

Written by premieradmin · Categorized: Blogging · Tagged: blog planner, blogging, organization

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