Accurate financial records help business owners manage cash flow, tax obligations, and strategic planning. QuickBooks® is one of the most widely used bookkeeping software solutions for small and midsize businesses, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to simplify financial management and support business growth.
Why QuickBooks stands out
QuickBooks offers several advantages over other accounting software solutions. It’s affordable and adaptable to the needs of businesses across various industries. QuickBooks offers tailored solutions whether you’re a professional services provider, contractor, manufacturer, nonprofit, retailer, wholesaler, or distributor.
QuickBooks is also user friendly and robust. It enables businesses to track income and expenses, create professional invoices and generate insightful financial reports. With its project and job costing capabilities, businesses can estimate and monitor expenses associated with specific jobs, ensuring that profitability remains on track.
For businesses dealing with payroll and tax obligations, QuickBooks simplifies the process by handling payroll, sales tax, and income tax calculations. It also includes inventory and fixed asset management, helping businesses maintain accurate records and streamline operations. Additionally, QuickBooks empowers business owners with data-driven decision-making through financial reporting and forecasting tools. By analyzing past performance and predicting future trends, companies can create more accurate budgets and adjust their strategies as needed.
Another key feature is QuickBooks’ seamless integration with other business platforms, such as e-commerce sites and payroll management platforms. QuickBooks connects with these systems to ensure smooth data synchronization. This connectivity reduces the risk of errors and minimizes the time spent on manual data entry, freeing up valuable resources for more critical business functions.
Collaboration made easy
Beyond its bookkeeping capabilities, QuickBooks serves as a valuable collaborative tool for business owners and financial professionals. The software houses real-time financial data, which your external accounting team can securely access to review your company’s latest records without constant back-and-forth communication. This real-time access enhances financial accuracy and allows accountants to provide timely advice.
By collaborating through QuickBooks, you’ll gain deeper financial insights, optimize tax planning strategies, and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. Your accountant can also review financial reports to identify potential discrepancies, errors, and areas of improvement. This helps you to focus on day-to-day operations while your accounting team manages the complexities of reporting and compliance.
Is QuickBooks right for your bookkeeping needs?
Whether you’re launching a startup or managing an established enterprise, choosing the right bookkeeping software solution is crucial for maintaining efficiency and profitability. There are many off-the-shelf options available today. Our team has extensive experience guiding business owners and managers through the selection process. We can help you choose the right solution for your situation and optimize the software’s features to maximize its benefits. Contact us for more information.
In times of economic uncertainty, dental practices, face unique challenges that require strategic planning and proactive measures. Implementing robust financial strategies can help practices not only survive but thrive during such periods. Below are key considerations and actionable steps to fortify your dental practice against economic downturns.
1. Build and Maintain a Cash Reserve
Establishing a cash reserve is crucial for navigating unforeseen financial challenges. A well-maintained reserve ensures that your practice can cover expenses during periods of reduced revenue. The ideal amount varies depending on factors like payroll, supply costs, and insurance payment cycles, but saving two to three months of expenses is a great starting goal. Regularly assess your practice’s financial needs to determine an appropriate reserve amount that reflects changes in your commitments and the broader economy.
2. Optimize Cash Flow Management
Effective cash flow management is vital during economic downturns. Consider implementing the following strategies:
Flexible Payment Plans: Provide third-party financing options to accommodate patients facing financial constraints, ensuring continued access to dental care while maintaining revenue streams. Consider offering more than one third-party financing option to capture those individuals with less-than-ideal credit scores.
Accounts Receivable Management: Evaluate your accounts receivable at least once per month and investigate outstanding insurance claims and delinquent patient accounts. Make collections calls and follow up with insurers who ask for additional information to support the claim. Ask patients to contact slow payors on their own behalf. Insurers are more receptive when patients make inquiries.
3. Evaluate and Control Expenses
Regularly reviewing and adjusting your practice’s expenses can lead to significant savings. Identify non-essential costs that can be reduced or eliminated without compromising patient care. This proactive approach helps maintain financial stability during uncertain times. For the most impact, look for savings in expense categories that are in excess of 2%-3% over the standard expense benchmarks. Also, knee-jerk reactions should be avoided during employee raises. Set a yearly employee evaluation date to consider raises, allowing you to evaluate whether the practice’s budget can sustain higher rates of pay.
4. Invest in Practice Growth
Strategic investments in your practice can yield long-term benefits, even during economic downturns. Consider upgrading technology, expanding services, or enhancing patient experience to attract and retain clientele. Before choosing this option, calculate how quickly you will reap a return on your investment and how impactful the purchase is on your cash reserves.
5. Strengthen Patient Relationships
Building strong relationships with your patients fosters loyalty and encourages repeat business. Hone your customer service skills to improve patient stickiness. Building strong relationships is free, and engaged and satisfied patients are more likely to continue seeking care, providing a stable revenue base for your practice.
6. Diversify Patient Base and Services
Expanding your patient base and diversifying services can mitigate financial risks associated with economic downturns. Consider offering in-house insurance programs to help uninsured patients complete treatment or targeting different demographics to reduce reliance on a single revenue source. This diversification can provide a buffer against economic fluctuations.
7. Engage in Community Outreach
Participating in community events and offering educational seminars can increase your practice’s visibility and attract new patients. Engaging with the local community not only enhances your reputation but also demonstrates commitment to public health, fostering trust and loyalty among residents.
8. Monitor Economic Indicators
Stay informed about local and national economic trends that could impact your practice. Regularly reviewing economic indicators allows you to anticipate challenges and adjust strategies accordingly, ensuring resilience in the face of economic uncertainty. A study reported in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that personal consumption expenditures and gross domestic product were valid indicators of short-term dental market fluctuations (Guay & Wall, 2015). The U.S. Department of Commerce publishes these economic indicators. Click here to view the current reports.
9. Leverage Technology for Increased Efficiency
In times of economic uncertainty, finding ways to increase efficiency can make a significant difference in your practice’s bottom line. Leveraging technology can streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve patient care. Consider implementing:
Automated Billing and Payment Systems: These tools reduce the time and effort spent on administrative tasks like invoicing and follow-ups. They can also help ensure faster payments, improving cash flow. Include an online bill payment option on your website so patients can pay you on the go. Even well-meaning patients can delay payment if they have to take time to write paper checks and buy stamps.
Patient Scheduling Software: Automating appointment scheduling and reminders can help optimize your practice’s daily operations and reduce no-shows, maximizing your time and revenue.
Fully automate your insurance processing cycle: Make paper a thing of the past. Manual data entry is time-consuming and prone to errors. If your practice software allows direct upload from the insurance clearinghouse to your software, utilize this feature to its fullest. It provides error-free processing and eliminates wasted time. Use the time savings to improve accounts receivable oversight and patient engagement.
Investing in the right technology helps reduce operational costs while improving the overall patient experience.
10. Strengthen Your Team with Cross-Training
Cross-training your dental team is another way to make your practice more resilient. By training staff to handle a variety of roles, you can improve efficiency and ensure smooth operations, even during periods of staffing shortages or economic strain. For example:
Front Desk Staff: Teach them more about the financial aspects of running a practice, such as billing or insurance verification.
Dental Assistants: Cross-train them in more administrative or scheduling tasks to ensure flexibility in day-to-day operations.
A well-rounded team ensures that your practice can maintain high standards even when faced with external challenges.
11. Plan for Future Growth with Financial Forecasting
Creating a financial forecast helps you anticipate challenges before they arise. By mapping out your practice’s financial future, you can better prepare for periods of economic uncertainty. A good financial forecast will take into account factors like:
Expected revenue growth or decline.
Costs associated with new equipment or services.
Any anticipated changes in patient volume or insurance reimbursements.
Regularly updating your forecast will help you make informed decisions and adjust your practice’s operations accordingly.
12. Maximize Patient Retention with Loyalty Programs
Maintaining a steady patient base is crucial during tough times. Consider implementing a patient loyalty program that rewards patients for repeat visits, referrals, or other engagements with your practice. A loyalty program can include:
Discounts for returning patients or families.
Referral incentives for patients who refer new clients.
Complimentary consultations or services after a certain number of visits.
Patient loyalty programs help ensure steady cash flow and keep your practice top-of-mind among current and prospective patients.
13. Adjust Your Marketing Strategies for Economic Conditions
During uncertain economic times, adjusting your marketing efforts is important to ensure you’re still reaching potential patients without overspending. Focus on cost-effective strategies that offer a strong ROI, such as:
Local SEO Optimization: Make sure your practice appears in local searches when people search for dental services in Columbus. This can be achieved through keyword optimization, accurate Google My Business listings, and local partnerships.
Social Media Engagement: Use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to engage with your local community. Share educational content and promotions to maintain interest in your practice.
Focusing your marketing efforts locally and ensuring you’re visible in Columbus can help you maintain a steady stream of new patients.
14. Focus on Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
In an uncertain economy, it’s more important than ever to remind your patients why they should choose your practice over others. Whether it’s your unique services, exceptional customer care, or your on-staff dentist offering advisory services like Laurie, make sure your UVP is front and center in all your communications.
Conclusion
Navigating economic uncertainty requires dental practices to remain agile, proactive, and resourceful. By implementing strategies like building cash reserves, optimizing cash flow, diversifying services, embracing technology, and focusing on patient relationships, your practice can not only weather economic downturns but emerge stronger and more resilient.
Incorporating these strategies into your daily operations will position your dental practice for success in any economic climate. As a CPA firm offering dental accounting services in Columbus, we are here to provide expert financial guidance and support every step of the way. From cash flow management to practice transitions, let us help you secure your practice’s financial future, no matter the economic challenges that lie ahead.
If you made significant gifts to your children, grandchildren, or other heirs last year, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a 2024 gift tax return. And in some cases, even if it’s not required to file one, you may want to do so anyway.
Requirements to file
The annual gift tax exclusion was $18,000 in 2024 (increased to $19,000 in 2025). Generally, you must file a gift tax return for 2024 if, during the tax year, you made gifts:
That exceeded the $18,000-per-recipient gift tax annual exclusion for 2024 (other than to your U.S. citizen spouse),
That you wish to split with your spouse to take advantage of your combined $36,000 annual exclusion for 2024,
That exceeded the $185,000 annual exclusion in 2024 for gifts to a noncitizen spouse,
To a Section 529 college savings plan and wish to accelerate up to five years’ worth of annual exclusions ($90,000) into 2024,
Of future interests — such as remainder interests in a trust — regardless of the amounts, or
Of jointly held or community property.
Important: You’ll owe gift tax only if an exclusion doesn’t apply and you’ve used up your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption ($13.61 million in 2024). As you can see, some transfers require a return even if you don’t owe tax.
Filing if it’s not required
No gift tax return is required if your gifts for 2024 consisted solely of tax-free gifts because they qualify as:
Annual exclusion gifts,
Present interest gifts to a U.S. citizen spouse,
Educational or medical expenses paid directly to a school or health care provider, or
Political or charitable contributions.
But you should consider filing a gift tax return (even if not required) if you transferred hard-to-value property, such as artwork or interests in a family-owned business. Adequate disclosure of the transfer in a return triggers the statute of limitations, generally preventing the IRS from challenging your valuation more than three years after you file.
The deadline is April 15
The gift tax return deadline is the same as the income tax filing deadline. For 2024 returns, it’s April 15, 2025. If you file for an extension, it’s October 15, 2025. But keep in mind that if you owe gift tax, the payment deadline is April 15, regardless of whether you file for an extension. Contact us if you’re unsure whether you must (or should) file a 2024 gift tax return.
Social Security plays a crucial role in retirement planning, and understanding its complexities can make a significant difference in financial security. At the third annual Social Security Workshop, hosted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), attendees explored the ins and outs of Social Security benefits, eligibility, and enrollment. Whether you’re preparing for retirement or simply looking to understand how the system works, the insights from this session offer valuable takeaways.
Making the Most of the Social Security Enrollment Process
For those approaching retirement, the importance of applying for Social Security benefits online was emphasized. The process is streamlined and efficient, allowing applicants to manage their claims without the hassle of in-person visits. The AI companion was introduced as a tool that records and summarizes discussions, making it easier to reference key points later.
To navigate the system smoothly, attendees were encouraged to set up a my Social Security account. This online tool provides easy access to benefit estimates, earnings history, and personal records. Given the shift to an appointment-only model at Social Security offices, having an online account is more important than ever.
Looking ahead, attendees were invited to the next workshop session, set for March 11th, which will focus on Medicare Parts A and B—another essential component of retirement planning.
How the Social Security System Works
One of the biggest misconceptions about Social Security is that it functions like a personal savings account, where you get back exactly what you paid in. In reality, Social Security is designed to replace a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income. The actual benefit amount is calculated based on the highest 35 years of earnings subject to Social Security taxes.
Key takeaways:
Retiring early reduces your monthly benefit, while delaying retirement increases it.
The FICA tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare, is split between employers and employees.
Some workers may be exempt from paying the full FICA tax, depending on their employment status.
Earning Social Security Benefits: What You Need to Know
To qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, individuals must accumulate 40 credits, earned by working and paying into the system. Typically, this means working at least part-time for 10 years.
Social Security benefits are calculated based on lifetime earnings, adjusted for inflation and wage trends over time. If you retire early, your monthly check will be lower, while delaying retirement past your full retirement age can result in increased benefits.
A link to an online benefit calculator was provided, allowing individuals to estimate their future payments based on their earnings history.
When Should You Retire? Key Considerations
Retirement planning isn’t just about when you stop working—it’s about maximizing your benefits. Several age-based strategies were discussed:
Age 62: The earliest you can claim Social Security, but with a reduced benefit.
Full Retirement Age (FRA): Varies based on birth year; claiming at this age ensures 100% of your benefit.
Delayed Retirement (up to Age 70): Each year you wait beyond FRA increases benefits by 8% annually.
Choosing when to retire is a personal decision, but tools like the my Social Security online calculator can help individuals determine their best path based on earnings and financial goals.
Earnings Limits: How Working Affects Your Benefits
If you plan to continue working after claiming Social Security, you’ll need to be mindful of earnings limits. For those under full retirement age, the 2024 limit is $23,400. If you earn more, your benefits will be reduced by $1 for every $2 over the limit.
However, once you reach full retirement age, these limits disappear, and you can earn as much as you want without affecting your benefits.
Other important considerations:
Earnings limits apply to both individual and spousal benefits.
If you retire mid-year, only earnings from that point forward are counted.
If you become disabled before reaching full retirement age, you may qualify for both disability and retirement benefits.
Spousal and Survivor Benefits: Understanding Eligibility
For married and divorced individuals, spousal and survivor benefits can provide additional financial security. Key points covered included:
Claiming spousal benefits early may result in a reduced payout.
Divorced spouses can receive benefits under certain conditions.
The lump sum death payment is available to eligible survivors.
Understanding these rules can help couples and individuals strategize their claims for maximum benefit.
Recent Changes to Social Security
One of the most significant updates discussed was the Social Security Fairness Act, which has eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). While this is great news for many retirees, it was noted that the changes will take time to implement due to staffing shortages, with full implementation expected within a year.
Additional updates:
Those who never applied for benefits won’t have WEP and GPO rules applied retroactively.
The SSA encourages individuals to subscribe to their website for real-time updates on policy changes.
Setting up a my Social Security account is a great starting point. Additionally, the SSA website provides essential tools and resources for estimating benefits, tracking earnings, and planning for the future.
As retirement approaches, staying informed and planning ahead can make all the difference. Whether through workshops, online tools, or speaking directly with SSA representatives, there are many resources available to help individuals make the best decisions for their financial future.
You may wonder if you can claim itemized deductions on your tax return. Perhaps you made charitable contributions and were told in the past they couldn’t be claimed because you didn’t have enough deductions to itemize. How much do you need? You can itemize deductions if the total of your allowable itemized write-offs for the year exceeds your standard deduction allowance for the year. Otherwise, you must claim the standard deduction.
Here’s how we’ll determine if you can itemize or not for 2024 when we prepare your return.
Standard deduction amounts
The basic standard deduction allowances for 2024 are:
$14,600 if you’re single or use married filing separate status,
$29,200 if you’re married and file jointly, and
$21,900 if you’re a head of household.
Additional standard deduction allowances apply if you’re age 65 or older or blind. For 2024, the extra allowances are $1,550 for a married taxpayer age 65 or older or blind and $1,950 for an unmarried taxpayer age 65 or older or blind.
For 2025, the basic standard deduction allowances are $15,000, $30,000, and $22,500, respectively. The additional allowances are $1,600 and $2,000, respectively.
Don’t assume
Suppose you think your total itemizable deductions for 2024 will be close to your standard deduction allowance. In that case, spend some extra time looking at all your expenditures to make sure you’re not missing some itemized deduction items. In other words, don’t reflexively assume you can’t itemize for 2024 just because you didn’t for 2023.
In addition to charitable contributions, consider the following key expenses:
Mortgage interest. Check the 2024 Form 1098 for the exact amount of mortgage interest expense you paid. You can generally deduct interest on up to $750,000 of home acquisition debt that’s secured by your primary residence and one other residence, such as a vacation home. If you use married filing separate status, the limit is $375,000. If you took out a home equity loan and used the proceeds to buy or improve your primary residence or a second residence, that counts as home acquisition debt as long as it doesn’t put you over the $750,000/$375,000 limit.
State and local taxes. Add up the state and local income and property taxes you paid in 2024. If you have a mortgage, property taxes will be shown on the Form 1098 you receive from the lender. The maximum amount you can deduct for all state and local taxes combined is $10,000, or $5,000 if you use married filing separate status.
Instead of deducting state and local income taxes, you can choose to deduct general state and local sales taxes. Making that choice may pay off if you paid nothing or not much for state and local income taxes. You can use one of two methods to quantify your deduction for state and local sales taxes. Assuming you have the necessary records, you can deduct the actual amount of sales taxes you paid in 2024. Alternatively, you can opt to claim a sales tax deduction based on an IRS table. The optional deduction allowance is based on the state where you reside, your filing status, your income, and the number of your dependents. If you use the IRS table, you can add actual sales tax amounts for certain big-ticket items to the amount from the table. These items include:
Cars, trucks, SUVs and vans,
Boats and aircraft,
Motorcycles and off-road vehicles,
Motor homes, mobile homes or prefab homes, and
Materials to build or renovate a home.
Medical expenses. You can deduct qualified medical expenses you paid for 2024 to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If you paid qualified expenses for a dependent relative, such as an elderly parent you support, include those expenses in your total. To deduct a dependent’s expenses, you must pay them yourself. You can’t count expenses that you simply reimburse your dependent person for. Eligible expenses also include qualified long-term care insurance premiums, subject to age-based limits.
Claim all deductions you’re eligible for
Gather all your records, and we’ll run the numbers when we prepare your tax return. Contact us if you have questions or want more information on this or any other tax subject.
