Running a small business can be a dream come true and very daunting. If you use all of the correct tools to help you run your company efficiently, it will be the dream you've worked for. 

Starting a small business in 2020 might sound crazy, but more have popped up nationally than you might think. So many people have lost their jobs, been put on furlough, or are unable to do their jobs virtually that they had to do something. With the unemployment rate at an incredible high, many Americans have been forced to creatively do the pandemic pivot. With so many of us at home with nowhere to go, the birth of honing new or rusty skills and crafting abilities had the opportunity to flourish. People started posting their goods and wares on social media and out of the blue, they have a whole new little business operation running out of their homes.

 Some people were already deep in the process of building their small business when the pandemic hit, while others found solace in being hired by one after their corporate jobs were eliminated. Whatever the situation, small businesses have become quite the lifesavers of 2020. To keep that success and productivity as safe and possible, every small business needs the proper tools to stay productive, organized, and financially stable. What is the best tool out there for these situations? Quickbooks! 

We use Quickbooks ourselves and we offer classes to help small business owners and anyone out there grow and manage their money. One of the biggest reasons small businesses fail, according to Forbes, is because there is no business plan. Poorly managed bookkeeping can sink a business before it even had the chance to grow. Admittedly, bookkeeping is difficult, time-consuming, and very meticulous work. This is why working with a company like ours and using Quickbooks is so imperative. We both make sure that every part of your bookkeeping is done in a properly organized manner, allowing you to get back to the business of your business. 

Quickbooks pro was created specifically for small businesses, and it is very user friendly. It does so much of the work for you, that it's hard to get yourself overwhelmed. With a small-ish price tag of $300, it's a very small price to pay for the huge benefits it gives you. Tax season, after using Quickbooks, should no longer be something you dread or fear. Everything will already be taken care of. It even comes with tutorials to help you get started, and the Quickbooks team is also available to help you when you need it. There are so many benefits just waiting to be used. 

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• Everything you need to run your bookkeeping and a majority of your business is in one place in Quickbooks. It will save you time, money, and sanity. 
• It keeps you organized, and you can see your business growing and change in one place. 
• It can help you with everything from income and expense tracking to cash flow management and more. 
• It allows you to accept credit cards and bank transfers from where ever you are. It lets your business be on the go, never restricting your plans or goals. 
• It can help your employees. You can do your companies payroll in minutes. It even gives you the option to upgrade and let the QuickBooks professional bookkeeping team take care of your payroll. 
• You will no longer need to worry about manually tracking your employees. You can track their hours, overtime, and add that into payroll anytime and on any device. 
• If you need more, Quickbooks is there to help. You can connect and partner with a member of their professional bookkeeping staff if you want, and whenever you want. 

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• Money Management. Quickbooks allows you to pay bills, ask clients to pay you, and tracks all of your due dates for bills. You can print checks directly from the program, every transaction is recorded right into the program, and you can link your bank accounts to the program. You no longer need paper statements. 
• Billing. The program will record every expense, no matter the size. You can organize your billing by the client and by type of spending. You also no longer need to reconcile your books manually. 
• Invoicing and Reporting. The program tracks all of your sales automatically. It can create receipts and invoices at the touch of a button. It allows you to bill your clients individually or in large batches which helps when billing multiple clients for the same service. If you have merchant services through Quickbooks, you can accept credit card and debit charges. You can easily scan and deposit checks into your accounts. You also can create all kinds of financial reports including expenses, trends, year over year income, and more. 

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• You can use Quickbooks with other software and programs you're already using. You can import documents from Excel and export data from Quickbooks to make tax preparation and filing extremely easy. 
• Security is also an added layer of comfort that the company offers, according to The Visual Communication Guy. Quickbooks data centers are monitored 24/7 and are under constant watch to make sure all of your assets are kept safe. It also comes with its own security so no one can just log into your accounts. It is also the leading software company in safety and the adaptation of new technology. 
• It allows you to customize your business plan for each client so they know that their business is a priority to you. It allows you to nurture relationships with your clients by being able to send messages, notifications, and custom reports through Quickbooks. 

Coming to the point where you can own your own business is a huge accompaniment and celebration. Let that celebration continue and use all the right tools to help you and your company grow and stay organized. If you are looking for the best accounting services in Goose Creek, the best tax preparation in Goose Creek, business consulting in Goose Creek, bookkeeping in Goose Creek, or payroll services in Goose Creek, we are here for you! Our phone lines and inboxes are waiting for you. Don't hesitate! Please stay safe, everyone. We will see you soon!

Tax season is stressful for a multitude of reasons. One stress, in particular, might be more dangerous than you might realize. Scammers and hackers take advantage of this busy and stressful time to attempt to steal and take your personal information by posing as IRS or other government employees. One of the biggest things they've been coming after recently? Your social security.

We are under a month now from Tax Day, and I know we are all feeling that reality. We know that this might have been a particularly stressful time of year for you, but you just have to wait it out a little bit longer. Your tax return will be in your bank account before you know it. But as we are speeding towards the official end of 2019's tax season, there might be more than getting your paperwork in on time that you need to be concerned with. Hackers and scammers use this time of the year to prey on thousands of people to steal their personal information and gain access to their social security. I'm sure many of our readers have been experiencing a huge rate of unknown phone calls recently. That's not just because it's election season. Scammers and hackers have become some of the most dangerous and frightening intelligent criminals out there.

Cybercrime that uses emails and phone calls to extract highly personal information has become one of the most expensive crimes in the world. It's costing companies billions of dollars in stolen information and damages. These criminals are becoming smarter and more in tune with how they can disguise themselves to make strangers believe that they are companies, business, and official governing bodies that you can trust. The most disturbing is that they prey on groups of individuals who are most likely to fall for these scams, individuals who rely on their social security to live on. They can, and they do, attack almost anyone they can, but they are starting to focus more and more on groups of individuals who are unaware of this type of crime and who are the most unfamiliar with technology.

One of the largest groups being attacked are the elderly and retired. Scammers go right to the source calling direct personal home or cell phone numbers. These criminals pretend to be IRS, other government, or bank employees and are looking to bait their callers into giving them what they want or backing them into a corner and threatening them until they do. So what do these scams look like? They usually come in the form of a phone call or an email. Usually, it is a pre-recorded message stating that your social security account has been compromised or frozen. They can also threaten that there has been an issue with your taxes and filing them. Which during this time of year, is very believable. They will say that you either have to pay a certain amount of money to unlock or save the account, pay to prevent legal action, or pay to prevent the police from showing up and arresting you.

If a scammer calls you in real-time, they make the same accusations. Sometimes they go as far as giving you a case number and know just enough information about you or the family member they are trying to scam, that their case seems very legitimate. They then might begin asking for very personal information, like the last digits of your social security number or the bank account number you use when filing your taxes. If you put up any kind of fight or question these claims or refuse to answer questions, that's when it could start getting ugly. Threats could be thrown out that legal action will be taken, that the police will show up, or other harm could come to you and your family. That's when the baiting starts to happen. Once they begin to make threats, they will say the only way to protect your social security account or to fix these issues is to pay them in cash, to wire cash to them, pay them in gift cards, digital currency like bitcoin, or other strange ways.

When it comes to emails, the scammers can create emails that look official. They will create logos to place within the email, write a very convincing message that looks very professional, and create an email address that looks legitimate. The message will be very similar to that of the above-mentioned phone calls, and the only way to protect or stop these actions is to pay them in similarly strange ways and provide them with very personal information. If you receive any kind of phone call or email like this, hang up immediately and pay no mind to the email. Know right now, that if the IRS or the Government needed to get in touch with you, this is not how the process would go at ALL. You can now report these phone calls and emails online to the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration. The administration is cracking down on these kinds of daily attacks, and are working hard to eliminate this threat.

All of that being said, know that your social security number cannot be suspended, revoked, blocked, or frozen. Personal information should, and would be, in front of or available to an actual government official if they needed it. They don't need it from you. If the social security offices do call or email you, you have the option of withholding answering anything until you physically call the office back and make sure that it is the social security office that you're dealing with and that there is a real issue. Call them at 800-772-1213 and go from there. Please make note that phone numbers can be spoofed to look as convincing as possible, so don't fall for any phone number. No actual government employee would ever ask you to wire money, send or pay in cash, or to buy them a gift card as a form of payment EVER. If you are ever threatened with arrest or legal action, this is not the government you are talking to, this is a scammer.

These phone calls and emails can be very scary and very convincing. Because these criminals are getting smarter by the day, they know exactly how to get just enough information and say all the right things to scare whoever they're talking to. If it does happen that you do become victim to a situation like this, do not be embarrassed and try to handle it yourself. Report it right away. Visit the website for the Office of the Inspector General (below), the IRS website, or your local police. Your local police will be able to direct you to the proper authorities to deal with these situations. Also, help your loved ones in these situations. Tell them about the possibilities of getting these types of calls and attacks. Prepare them for the situation, and walk them through how to handle it best. Keep them aware of these kinds of situations. Keep communication open about this situation, and keep your loved ones safe.

Tax season is already a stressful time. Add on some very convincing criminals, and some real damage could be done. Stay alert, stay aware, and protect yourself. We have included the website to report any phone calls or emails at the bottom of this blog. You can help stop these criminals and keep yourself safe. While tax season is coming to an end, remember that we are your premier service in Goose Creek to help you prepare and get through every tax season. You don't have anything to fear this season if you work with us. You're going to be in good hands.

Report any kind of abuse or potential scam to this website IMMEDIATELY! 
https://oig.ssa.gov/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Tired of reading self-help books to learn how to be a smart first time home buyer or how to do a DIY project? Why not step it up to the next level and discover some of the most helpful and hilarious podcasts to reach your goals? 

The end of September brought not only cooler temperatures but it also brought National Podcast Day on the 30th! Are you tired of researching ways to be a better homeowner? Are your Pinterest Boards so big that you don't even know where to begin? One of the best ways to stay up to date on the latest home trends, getting tips on how to buy a home, and how to handle your first DIY project is to listen to a podcast or two. And don't worry, when it comes to the topic of being a homeowner or working on your home, the number of podcasts out there for you to enjoy is pretty long. All you'll need to do is a little research to find exactly what you want to listen to! 

In honor of National Podcast Day, let's explore some of the top Podcasts for Homeowners in 2019! 

Young House Love

• This podcast was created with first-time homeowners in mind! 
• This podcast was created by Sherry and John Petersik. They began their journey in 2017 with a blog that shared the trials and tribulations of buying a new home and renovating it. After renovating multiple homes since then, it led to the birth of this wonderful podcast.
• It offers helpful tips on realistic remolding. 
• They talk about affordable materials, decorations, and furniture options for the home. 
• It is a very funny and honest show. 
• There are often guest speakers 
• They offer tips on purchasing your very first home. 
• They also offer tips when dealing with buyer's remorse. 

Visit their website here :  https://www.younghouselove.com/podcast-introduction/

The Money Pit

• This is not just a podcast, it is also a radio show hosted by Leslie Segret and Tom Kraeutler. 
• They are both very educated and knowledgeable on how to make repairs and installations. 
• They offer help and inspiration for the first time owner attempting a DIY project or renovation. 
• The show itself has a call-in format, so there is always a lot of interesting and unknown information that will be shared, covered, and discussed every time you listen! 

Visit their website here:  https://www.moneypit.com/

​Home: On 

• This podcast is hosted by Richard Gunther 
• The focus on the podcast is on smart and connected homes. 
• Every week Richard features a new home gadget. 
• The podcast has guest speakers on to talk about the smart home industry. 
• The podcast guest include both experts and consumers like you! 

Visit his website at:  https://www.thedigitalmediazone.com/category/podcasts/home-on/

It can be stressful to be a homeowner! But use your free resources to make the journey a fun and stress-free experience. Plug in your headphones and get started!