Blog

• Have You Started Getting Ready for Tax Season?

  Posted on 10/04/2011 in Blog

  It may seem a bit early to ask this question, but trust that tax season will be upon us before you know it. October is just, well, hours away! That means that it’s officially “year end,” which is when you want to start getting things in order for the upcoming tax season.Our firm has certainly started to prepare. Let us help you do the same. The following are a few tips to get you going.Let Document Gathering Commence!—Start getting all your documents ready to go. Pull together different tax forms, receipts, invoices, etc.Get Organized—Be sure to organize your documents properly. This will help you identify any missing pieces. Practicing good recordkeeping will make tax season far less stressful.Start Scanning and Go Paperless—If you haven’t already, now is a good time to adopt a paperless process. It’s so much easier to operate in a digital environment…with invoices, receipts, and all other documents available with the click of the mouse. Going into tax season, you’ll feel a big sense of relief by having all your documents stored electronically.Use Your Portal—We developed our advanced online portals to provide you with an easy-to-use and convenient system to both send us your tax source documents…

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• September 2011

  Posted on 09/21/2011 in Newsletter

  Link Newsletter Our monthly newsletter, Link Newsletter, is full of tips, reminders, and timely advice to help you stay well informed when it comes to your business and personal finances. If you have questions about any of the articles, feel free to email Damon Yudichak at Damon@yudichakcpa.com. September 2011 Focused Information for the Small Business Owner Volume 4, Issue 6 Damon Yudichak Portrait by Charles Gupton In This Issue The Hill Damon’s Big Lesson Four Key Reasons You Should Attend a Conference About Me The Hill Last year the city of Raleigh closed the municipal garbage dump near Durant Road. As part of the plan to close it, a number of community-oriented developments were included for new uses of the land that was once the dump. A children’s playground was built with a spider web jungle gym. The city also built a mountain bike trail. Part of the trail goes up a steep hill that has become affectionately named “The Hill” in our family. Last year on each of my daughter’s birthdays, I took each one individually for their first trip to the top of The Hill. We chatted and looked at all of the surroundings. We ran around, giggled…

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• Nine Tips for Charitable Taxpayers

  Posted on 09/21/2011 in Blog

  Many taxpayers enjoy giving back to the community by donating cash or goods to their favorite charitable organizations. In addition to the warm and fuzzy feeling you get from helping others, you may also be able to take a deduction for the donation on your 2011 tax return. But before you start tallying up your good deeds, take a look at the top nine things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations:Make sure the organization qualifies. Charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations to be deductible. You can ask any organization whether it is a qualified organization, or check IRS Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations. It is available at www.IRS.gov.Itemize! Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040, Schedule A.What is deductible? You are generally able to deduct your cash contributions and the fair market value of most property you donate to a qualified organization. Special rules apply to several types of donated property, including clothing or household items, cars and boats.What if you receive something in return? If your contribution entitles you to receive merchandise, goods, or services in return—such as admission to a charity banquet or sporting event—you…

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• Getting into the Right Social Media Mindset

  Posted on 09/01/2011 in Blog

  Social media is part of business…a permanent part. It can’t be ignored; it’s just too powerful—especially when you look at the shear number of people using it, the millions of conversations taking place, and the ability to reach anyone, anywhere.For small businesses, social media is a valuable marketing tool. It can be used to promote your business, build your brand, and sell product. The biggest obstacle to implementing social media, like Facebook and Twitter, is the mindset of business owners. Many think that Twitter is a “fad” and refuse to jump on the bandwagon based on hype alone.Harnessing the power of social media can only happen after you’ve changed your mindset. Think about it this way: embrace the concept NOT the brand. For example, the brand is Twitter…but the concept is mobile. It’s not really about being a Twitter fanatic; it’s about taking advantage of mobile capabilities. The playing field has been leveled. Small businesses can now market to broad audiences like the big guys—and for free!So, get out there. Set up your social media accounts and start broadcasting what you do and how well you do it. It all starts by changing the way you think about social media.

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• August 2011

  Posted on 08/21/2011 in Newsletter

  Link Newsletter Our monthly newsletter, Link Newsletter, is full of tips, reminders, and timely advice to help you stay well informed when it comes to your business and personal finances. If you have questions about any of the articles, feel free to email Damon Yudichak at Damon@yudichakcpa.com. August 2011 Focused Information for the Small Business Owner Volume 4, Issue 5 Damon Yudichak Portrait by Charles Gupton In This Issue Purple Heart Dinner Damon’s Big Lesson Free Agent Nation About Me Purple Heart Dinner This month I had the opportunity to attend the Wake Forest Purple Heart Dinner. It was my first time attending the event. The Purple Heart is awarded to military personal that are wounded or killed during combat. The event was exceptionally well done. The highlight of the Dinner was the walk of honor where each Purple Heart recipient walked across the stage and was honored for their contribution and sacrifice. This year’s guest speaker was Captain Scotty Smiley, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Ranger, and combat-diver qualified infantryman. On April 6, 2005, while serving in Iraq, he lost use of both eyes when a suicide car bomber blew up thirty…

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• Key Information for Taxpayers Who Owe Money to the IRS

  Posted on 08/16/2011 in Blog

  While most Americans receive a refund each year from the IRS, there are those who owe and cannot pay the full amount due. For those that find themselves in this situation, the IRS offers alternatives for paying your tax bill. Named the Fresh Start initiative, the IRS developed this program to help individuals and small business meet their tax obligations without adding unnecessary burden. The following tips and general information were developed by the IRS:1.    Tax Bill Payments v. Loan—If you are unable to pay your current summer tax bill, it is often in your best interest to get a loan to pay the bill in full rather than making installment payments to the IRS.2.    Additional Time to Pay—Based on your circumstances, you may be granted a short additional time to pay your taxes in full. Additional time to pay can be requested through the Online Payment Agreement application at www.irs.gov or by calling 800-829-1040.3.    Credit Card Payments—You can pay your bill with a credit card. The interest rate on a credit card may be lower than the combination of interest and penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. To pay by credit card contact one of the following processing…

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• It’s a New Brand Day

  Posted on 07/28/2011 in Blog

  It’s a New Brand Day at Yudichak CPA PC!Yudichak CPA PC is excited to announce the recent launch of our firm’s new brand. We’ve been working very hard to enhance our website, develop helpful new client communications, create premium marketing materials, and give our firm a major facelift. We’ve also continued to research and identify the latest and greatest technologies to improve the services we provide and ensure we continue to meet your needs.Take a moment to look around our new website and review some of our advanced features, like our Client Center. The Client Center is designed to provide you with a highly secure and convenient web-based tool to access your financial documents, data, and collaborate with our firm in real time.We hope you like what you see. It’s the same great service, just with a new look and feel. We look forward to hearing your feedback.

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• July 2011

  Posted on 07/21/2011 in Newsletter

  Link Newsletter Our monthly newsletter, Link Newsletter, is full of tips, reminders, and timely advice to help you stay well informed when it comes to your business and personal finances. If you have questions about any of the articles, feel free to email Damon Yudichak at Damon@yudichakcpa.com. July 2011 Focused Information for the Small Business Owner Volume 3, Issue 4 Damon Yudichak Portrait by Charles Gupton In This Issue A Brand New Day Damon’s Big Lesson Maximo Mukelabai About Me A Brand New Day It’s a New Brand Day at Yudichak CPA PC! I’m excited to announce the recent launch of my firm’s new brand. I’ve been working very hard to enhance my website, develop helpful new client communications, and give my firm a major facelift. I’ve also continued to research and identify the latest and greatest technologies to improve the services we provide and ensure that we will continue to meet your needs. As such, the name of my company has changed from Damon K. Yudichak, CPA, P.C. to Yudichak CPA PC. My new website is now www.yudichakcpa.com and my email has been changed to damon@yudichakcpa.com. There was a lot of thought and work that went into this change…

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• May 2011

  Posted on 05/21/2011 in Newsletter

  Link Newsletter Our monthly newsletter, Link Newsletter, is full of tips, reminders, and timely advice to help you stay well informed when it comes to your business and personal finances. If you have questions about any of the articles, feel free to email Damon Yudichak at Damon@yudichakcpa.com. May 2011 Focused Information for the Small Business Owner Volume 3, Issue 4 Damon Yudichak Portrait by Charles Gupton  Quote In honor of oil-soaked birds, ‘tweets’ are now ‘gurgles.’ Stephen Colbert Recipient of First Golden Tweet Award (1964 – )  In This Issue A Fast Mile Damon’s Big Lesson The Marketer’s Mind About Me A Fast Mile This month was a pretty exciting month from a running perspective. On May 14th I timed myself on a mile. I ran as hard as I could and when I reached the mile mark I was elated at the time on my watch of 5:52. I had run a mile in 5 minutes and 52 seconds. This is the fastest I have run a mile in well over a decade so I was quite pleased. At the beginning of the month I joined the Jeff Galloway Training program which is a team training program to help…

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• March 2011

  Posted on 03/21/2011 in Newsletter

  Link Newsletter Our monthly newsletter, Link Newsletter, is full of tips, reminders, and timely advice to help you stay well informed when it comes to your business and personal finances. If you have questions about any of the articles, feel free to email Damon Yudichak at Damon@yudichakcpa.com. March 2011 Focused Information for the Small Business Owner Volume 3, Issue 3 Damon Yudichak Portrait by Charles Gupton Quote In honor of oil-soaked birds, ‘tweets’ are now ‘gurgles.’ Stephen Colbert Recipient of First Golden Tweet Award (1964 – )    In This Issue Three Years Ago Damon’s Big Lesson Reader’s Corner About Me Three Years Ago Three years ago this month, I sent out my first Orange Star Newsletter. Some of you may be wondering what’s with this goofy name Orange Star? On July 31, 2008, I incorporated my fledgling accounting practice. I had just graduated from business school and was highly ambitious about becoming a successful business owner. Having been in the accounting industry for most of my career, I noticed one thing very similar about many CPA practices. All of the CPA practices were named after the founders of the businesses. I had a little marketing moxie and wanted to…

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