Frequently Asked Questions

We can provide you with a list of standard business expenses. Basically, you can deduct the money that your business directly spends on services, rental space, equipment and other items. As long as there is no grey area, such as is with home-based businesses, an expense will usually qualify as deductible.

This is an important question if you work from home. You can deduct utility and mortgage or rent amounts that you spend on your home office, but there are certain guidelines you must follow. As your tax preparer, we will know the exact answers that pertain to your situation.

While most business-related travel expenses are tax deductible, there may be exclusions or special rules if you brought your family along or turned it into a mini-vacation for yourself.

Yes, each entity type is treated in a different way for taxes.

This is a very important question because you have more responsibilities for a true employee, such as withholding income taxes and paying a portion of the employee's employment taxes. In order to determine the answer to this, you will need to discuss your specific situation in order for us to provide you with the best way to treat those providing services to you.

If you receive an IRBM Notice:

• Contact our office immediately so we can address and resolve the issue for you.
• Don't panic.
• The IRBM notice may contain incorrect information.
• Read the notice carefully.
• DO NOT IGNORE the notice or throw it away. IRBM notices contain a reply by date and they must be followed.
• Never represent yourself.

You may not need to switch to our payroll service. We will look at the service you have and many times we recommend you stay with that service if they are providing good payroll service at a reasonable cost. However, if they are too expensive or not meeting your needs, we will explain how we can reduce your costs and provide the payroll service that is right for your needs.

We offer the following payroll services:

Pay hourly, salary and contract employees via direct deposit or paper check

Handle new employee reporting

Track paid time off (PTO) accrual and use, including vacation and sick

File accuracy-guaranteed payroll taxes

Handle various earnings and deductions, like bonuses, reimbursements, commission and etc.

We charge for services when they are performed. We charge to process the payroll, prepare and file reports as well as a subscription fee. However, our fees are competitive with other payroll services and many times less than major payroll providers. We do not charge a per employee fee.

We do not deduct your total payroll taxes from your account as like most other payroll services. We schedule your federal payments to be withdrawn from your account via EFTPS on the due date. We schedule state payments to be withdrawn from your account of the due date via E-pay. You will receive an email notifying you of the amounts and dates the funds will be withdrawn and to whom they will be paid.

The first step you should take when starting your small is business is to contact us at Chen & Co. to schedule a free initial consultation so we can explain all of your options and what would work best for you. We will then lay out a plan of what we can do for you or what you need to do to get your new small business from idea into reality.

The records needed to manage the business and the records required by the IRBM may differ. While the business owner is interested in where and how income is generated and where expenses are incurred, the IRBM requires records that will allow for the preparation and documentation of a completed tax return. There are, however, basic financial records all businesses keep: journals and ledgers, such as a checkbook register, accounts receivable, accounts payable, records of sales, inventory, cash receipts, and cash disbursements. Records must also document mileage, meal expenses, and entertainment. If the business hires employees, additional records are required. Remember that all financial records are historical documents. This includes tax returns and the documentation for those returns. Business documents such as filing of the business name, incorporation/partnership papers, sales tax permit, company number, and insurance records must be retained indefinitely. Some of these records, such as incorporation papers and tax permits, must be kept for three or more years after the business closes. For yearly tax returns, the IRBM says to keep the records for three years after the filing of that years taxes. Records involving property must be kept for the entire time the property is owned plus an additional three years minimum.

You're not the first person to say their records are a mess and you are embarrassed for anyone to see the paper mounds let alone organize them.
You should start by contacting us. We can organize your records, set you up on Accounting software and get you organized and your accounting up and running. Do not be ashamed of paperwork. We love paper!

Chen & Co. has a strong, solid foundation Accounting software knowledge which allows us to handle any kind of bookkeeping or accounting issue. Therefore we do not require any "hand-holding" by the client; we are able to jump right in, find out what needs to be done with proper assessment, then roll up our sleeves and complete the work efficiently.

We will usually provide you with a balance sheet and profit & loss as well as other reports based on your needs.

We use Millions as our basic accounting software. We also work with other outstanding software.

Check copies or check stubs, bank deposit slips, monthly bank statements, credit card statements, employee information, etc.