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In This Edition of The Rodman Report
New Tax Law Just Enacted
More QuickBooks Shortcuts
Your Business "Culture"
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Fall Seminar Series!
invite 
We're putting the final touches on our fall seminar series but here are the dates:
  • September 18th
  • October 16th
  • November 15th
  • December 13th

We have an exciting lineup of topics and speakers. These seminars are complimentary for our clients and friends and will run from 7:30 a.m. - 9a.m. and also include breakfast. More details to come soon!

 
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The Rodman Report

New Tax Law Highlights
1040The President just signed into law the Small Business & Work Opportunity Act of 2007. Though not as expansive as recent tax laws, there are some key provisions that we'd like our clients and friends to be aware of:
  • The most publicized change is the increase to the federal minimum wage, which will gradually increase from $5.15 to $7.25 over the next three years.
  • The Section 179 election that permits small businesses to expense up to $100,000 of purchases of qualifying property has been increased to $125,000 effective for 2007. The phaseout level has also been increased, from $450,000 to $500,000.
  • The 2006 law that taxes children under 18 who have more than $1,700 in unearned income at the parent's tax rate has been expanded further to include all children under 19, and under 24 if a full-time student. This provision seriously curtails the movement of income producing assets to children as a tax minimization strategy.
  • Other changes include the expansion of certain work opportunity tax credits, simplification of taxation of unincorporated family businesses and the extension of many Gulf Opportunity Zone relief provisions.

Please give us a call if you have questions about the possible impact of these changes on your income tax situation.

More QuickBooks Shortcuts
by Kathy Parker
Last month I shared some keyboard shortcuts for entering and working with dates in QuickBooks.Using date shortcuts is an easy way to save time, especially when you have a lot of data to enter at one time. This month, I will give you some other keyboard shortcuts that I think you will find to be most helpful. I find these shortcuts to be particularly helpful for those who work with QuickBooks on a laptop computer.
 
The first two I'd like to share are for when you are working in any of the various registers that exist in QuickBooks. I find that often I need to get to the first or last entry in a given register. To do this quickly press:
Home, Home, Home  and you will go the first entry in the register. As you might have guessed:
End, End, End  will take you to the last entry in the register
 
If you want to edit a transaction  already entered:
<ctl> + e  and you are in edit mode for the selected transaction
 
Often when I am entering transactions, I realize I made a mistake of some sort in a previous field. To move backward without having to use the mouse:
<shift> + <tab>  and you will move back one field. Keep tapping the tab key to continue moving back one field.
 
The last keyboard shortcut can quickly give you important information about your company file:
<ctl> + 1  and you will get a lot of useful information about your QuickBooks version, the software license and number of licenses, status of audit trail, and other useful information.
 
For those who like to use the keyboard, I have found that the functions above along with the date shortcuts I gave you last month are the shortcuts that are easiest and more effective. See you next month with more QuickBooks tricks and tips!
 
 
 
 
 
Having A Great Business Culture by Larry Rice 
culture
Perhaps the toughest part of building a sensational business is creating and maintaining a great business culture. What do I mean by that? Your "culture" is what it feels like to be a customer of, or an employee of your business. You may be able to tell me the steps a customer goes through to buy your product or service, but can you tell me what the customer "experiences" when they buy? Do they feel good about it? Are they impressed by how they were dealt with? It is the culture of your business that gets the raving fans who shop again and again with you. It is the culture of your business that gets you the most referrals.
 
First an analogy, then an example.  Think about a particular dance. The steps to the dance are the processes in your business. You have to get them right, obviously to succeed. They need to be the right steps done in the right sequence. But what makes a great dancer? It isn't repeating the correct steps over and over. It is the flair, the movement the dancer puts into those steps that makes you want to watch them more. It is how they make you feel that causes you to tell others about them. In business, your culture is that flair, that feeling that your business emits that draws people to it in wonderful ways. It works the same way with obtaining and retaining good employees. If you create a positive, fun, challenging, competitive and dynamic workplace, you will keep the employees around that you want. When your workplace culture is great, the work done by those people is...great.
 
Sadly, there aren't a lot of companies that are easily identified as having a wonderful culture. The one that comes to mind is Nordstrom. If you have shopped in a Nordstrom, you undoubtedly saw a culture different, and better than any large retail store you've been to. The culture of Nordstrom is focused entirely on exceeding the needs of the customer.
 
In smaller businesses the culture is likely going to be a reflection of the owner, especially if the owner is on site most of the time. If you are that owner, it is up to you to define what sort of culture your business has. Put yourself in your customers' and your employees' shoes and ask yourself: "Is this a great place to buy from? Is this a wonderful place to work?" If the answer is anything but a resounding "Yes!" you my friend have work to do. Your business will never reach its true potential unless your culture is outstanding.  Start today!
That wraps up this month's edition of The Rodman Report. We appreciate any feedback or ideas that you may have for future articles. We would also greatly appreciate it if you would pass on The Rodman Report to those whom you think may benefit from it. Click the link at the bottom of the newsletter to do so. Until next month...
 
Regards,
 

The Team at Rodman & Rodman