WOLFwatch

Three Tech Solutions for Tax Season Woes
We published an agent article about tax season last week.Unfortunately we didn't realize that the day we published it was a holiday. So, we thought we'd republish the article here for brokers. I have a heavy feeling deep down inside. It’s too late to be the effects of holiday gluttony, so how do I account for this painful knot in my stomach? Oh wait – I understand now – it’s time to start thinking about tax season! If the thought of preparing your taxes fills you with dread (like me), you may want to consider some tech tools that just might make it a little less painful. 1) Easy Mile LogLike many real estate professionals, I am an independent contractor. This means that, if I don’t want to take a major hit at tax time, I have to track every work-related penny I spend so that I can write it off as a deduction. A big factor there is mileage! I keep a little notebook in the center console of my car for tracking my mileage to-and-from the office, but I’m terrible about remembering to write in it. So I’m very intrigued by a new product called Easy Mile Log. In fact, I was hoping that this handy dandy little GPS unit would end up in my Christmas stocking. I was disappointed when it didn’t. Looks like it’s going to have to be my present to myself in the new year. So, what am I going on about? What is Easy Mile Log? I talked to David Winiarczyk, President of Easy Mile Log, to get the skinny. “Everybody knows they’re supposed to keep a mileage log, but nobody does it,” says David. “Easy Mile Log makes it easy to do what you’re supposed to do.

The Two Most Important Financial Documents for Your Small Business
This post comes to us from the Kashoo blog: Whether the size of your small business is 1 or 100 employees, $25,000 in net income or $250,000 in net income, you need to pay attention to your business accounting. Your financial statements are much more valuable than helping you to prepare your taxes. They are part of your roadmap for the profitability of your company—even if your company is a business of one. There are two overall financial statements—each of which contains sub-documents. 1) Balance Sheet Your balance sheet is the up-to-date picture of your company's financial position at any point in time. It contains information about your assets (positive—"black ink") and your liabilities (negative—"red ink") and gives you the "bottom line" that your accountant always advises you to watch.

Five Steps to Setting Up Your Business Budget
This post comes to us from the Kashoo blog: The word "budget" is often a scary word to business owners, but it shouldn't be. A budget helps you to keep track of the financial goals for your business, as well as keep you updated on your monthly debt retirement activities. Always refer to your business plan for the "big picture" of your business goals, and then generate your income and expense reports from your small business accounting software. Then working with your bookkeeper and/or accountant, set up your budget in the following five easy