Bruce Egbert, CPA

If you have a software company, then there is something I need you to hear. ⬇️ Do you know if you qualify for the R&D tax credit? So often, I talk to SaaS company owners who are not aware that they qualify for this tax credit (or even know what it is for that matter). 👉 And the thing is, if you don’t know about this, then you are likely leaving money on the table. This is something that you need to be looking into and asking your accountant about! So, how do you know if you qualify? 🤔 There is a four-part test you can do with projects to find out which includes: ✅ Part 1: Permitted purpose/business component – The activity must relate to creating new or improved business components that result in improved function, performance, reliability, or quality. ✅ Part 2: Technological in nature – The activity must rely on the principles of physical or biological science, engineering or computer science. These principles can cross into many industries such as architecture and structural engineering. ✅ Part 3: Elimination of uncertainty – The activity must be intended to discover information to eliminate uncertainty regarding the capacity, method, or design for developing or improving a product or process. ✅ Part 4: Process of experimentation – The project should include the evaluation of different alternatives to resolve or eliminate technical uncertainty. This test is a great way to determine if your company can take advantage of the R&D tax credit. Do you know if you qualify? If you don’t reach out, I’d be happy to chat. #success #entrepreneurship #business #smallbusiness #construction

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What's the difference between $500 vs. $5,000 tax planning advice? In the EARLY DAYS, I would charge $500 before EOFY. THREE YEARS LATER I started selling tax planning advice ranging from $2,000 to $8,000. And it's not by accident. But where the real value discovery is.. Capital gains tax on business and personal assets. Land tax liability. Tax on retirement income streams. And GST. Next Friday; I will show you a simple process to add new and upgrade existing clients in in our brand new workshop covering: Secrets #1:The marketing system to generate 10-30 tax planning leads. Secrets #2:.The Sales Script to sign clients at $2k to $5k each. Secrets #3: The Offer Doc to collect upfront tax planning payment. So secure your seat now as tickets are strictly limited to 100 and always fill fast. Here are the details: https://buff.ly/3KdEzYM It would be great to see you there. Simon

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THIS is the most audited tax return **Starts with a Schedule C** Did you know that the Schedule C is the most audited return by the IRS? If you're running a successful business with annual revenue upwards of $250k and up to $1 million, your chances of being audited increase significantly if you're solely operating as a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC. Fortunately, there are ways to elevate your business and protect your personal assets. One key strategy is to consider transitioning your business to an S-Corporation (S-Corp). An S-Corp not only offers you legal protection by separating your personal and business assets but also tends to have a lower risk of an audit by the IRS compared to Schedule C filers. In addition to the protection offered, an S-Corp can provide tax advantages. The profits of an S-Corp are not subject to self-employment taxes, potentially saving you a significant amount of money each year. --> This separation of business and personal assets also ensures that in the event of a lawsuit, your personal assets remain protected. Feel free to schedule a free consultation with our team: https://lnkd.in/eCY8dYz Together, we can navigate these challenges and create a plan that best suits your needs and protects your hard-earned assets. Most firms take years on end and may come to an expensive resolution, but we know how to get super low rates, affordable payments, and drag it out so that eventually your IRS bill expires after 10 years. Don't let tax-debt fear plague you any longer when you have a ready team of negotiators who are ready to walk with you through this tax-debt storm. Beat Tax-Debt Fear and Claim Peace of Mind. Call my team at 443.741.4188 or click here to schedule: https://lnkd.in/eCY8dYz #tax #taxes #taxdebt #negotiatingtaxdebt

Can I become a fractional CFO if my main background is working as a CPA in a firm? Yes, but.... All CPAs are not created equal. If you are at a partner level, you probably interact with ownership of the company – and are the person they sit down with to have conversations about strategic or important business issues (or problems). In that case, I think you can make the transition If you are an auditor, manager, senior, etc., I’ve seen a bunch of folks like you make the transition to controller for a company. Depending on the projects and clients you work on, you may or may not be ready to be a fractional CFO. If you work in CAS or a specialized department like M & A support, I think you can make the transition to a fractional CFO, but I would recommend you focus on a niche where you are comfortable and knowledgeable in, based on your client-facing experience. Here are some other paths to consider: 1. Start as a fractional controller within a fractional CFO firm and let them mentor you as a fractional CFO. 2. Start as a fractional controller on your own, and as you earn the trust of your clients, they will ask you to expand into other areas typically performed by CFOs 3. Take a class on being a CFO from someone like The CFO Leadership Council, GrowCFO or Andy Burrows I am not a CPA but many, many fractional CFOs are. So if you have one, that is a great foundation on which to build toward being a fractional CFO.

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Have you heard of the R&D tax credit? 🤔 If you own a SaaS company, then this is something you should absolutely know about. The R&D tax credit is a federal tax benefit that rewards companies for performing activities related to the development, design, or improvement of products, processes, or software. If you qualify and get this tax credit, it can lead to significant savings that can help offset the cost of hiring, further research and development at your company, and more. ✅ There is one piece of advice that I give my clients who qualify for this tax credit: Be sure to hire team members who are performing the work in the U.S. Now, I know that it can be cost-effective to hire overseas, and there are some truly amazing professionals who reside internationally. But, when it comes to the R&D tax credit, qualifying research activities must be conducted within the U.S. Want to learn more about the R&D tax credit and see if you qualify? Click the link in the comments and let’s connect. #success #entrepreneurship #business #smallbusiness #construction

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Sometimes you need to go to US Tax Court to realize if you are a business owner, you NEED an accounting system! In Wright v Commissioner, a group of individuals used the "shoebox method" to prepare their S Corp and Schedule C's. They had absolutely no back up in how they calculated their deductions other than 1,800 pages of receipts. Good enough, right? Nope, the court said: "Those (1800) pages reproduce even more thousands of photocopied bills, receipts, and other claimed evidence of payments. Some of the photocopies show handwritten annotations on the copied document. Some of the Exhibits contain copies of adding machine tapes, although many of those tapes are only partially complete... it became clear that petitioners’ thousands of individual receipts and other evidence of payments were insufficient by themselves to prove that they had incurred any amount greater than the amount (if any) respondent allowed for a particular category of expenditure." Remember - the burden of proof in tax is on YOU as the business owner and not on the court to prove you are wrong. These business owners didn't even make an effort to create a summary excel file. Just sent in 1800 pages of receipts which the court essentially laughed at. Invest in accounting, if anything, it will prevent the court from laughing you off their docket!

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When: August 10-11 What: During the annual tax holiday weekend, the state will suspend collection of the 6.25 percent sales tax on most items that retail for less than $2,500. Exclusions: All sales of motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, marijuana or marijuana products, alcoholic beverages and of any single item whose price is in excess of $2,500, do not qualify for the sales tax holiday exemption and remain subject to tax. https://lnkd.in/eMyYxeBS

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The Accounting Profession is witnessing a Changing of the Guard 💂‍♂️ ♻ 💂‍♀️ Barry Melancon, the CEO of the AICPA, is retiring after ~30 years of leading the governing body of the accounting profession. 3 decades of servitude is a long time and should be applauded. Barry was 37 when he became CEO, maybe it's time for another 30 something to take the reigns? ------------------- Facts: 👉 Millennials make up the majority of the workforce 👉 Senior citizens make up the majority of CPA’s ------------------- Torches are being passed in all corners of the accounting profession. We're in the midst of a modern makeover. 💂‍♂️ I welcome the Changing of the Guard. 🤔 Anyone else excited for the new era of leadership? #Accounting #Finance #AccountingandAccountants  —------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🚀Check the No Flux Given playbook and Sketchy Business Practices course at MikeFromAccounting🚀

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My name is Luke Boyenger. I'm a former auditor/accountant/finance guy turned fractional CFO. My focus is on helping construction companies be more profitable and increase their cashflows. I grew up working in my grandpas construction business. So, I'm a rare CPA with hands on construction experience. I do what I do to help business owners like my grandpa because I want to see them thrive. I can almost guarantee you that you've never worked with an accounting or finance professional who does what I do for businesses. You're bookkeeper isn't doing what I do. Your tax accountant isn't doing what I do. Your controller isn't doing what I do. I'm proactively helping you: 💡 Grow your company 💡 Increase your profits 💡 Improve your cashflows 💡 Run your business more strategically I'm not showing up once a year and wishing you luck. I'm there with you every month. In the trenches. Working alongside you to help you achieve your goals. Did you know that talking to me and learning more about how I can help your specific business is totally free? When you're ready to... ❗ Stop leaving money on the table at every job ❗ Start being less reactionary and more strategic in your business ❗ Have better clarity into how your business is performing ❗ Increase your profitability ❗ Improve your cashflows ...let's chat: https://lnkd.in/gU7G5sbc

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"Sneaky" passive credit rules🧐 That you might not be thinking about... Tax credits are amazing because they are basically cash you can only use to reduce your tax Think of it Costco credit, it's real money, but, you can only use in Costco (or in our instance, tax credits) (Technically you could sell your Costco voucher but that's a chat for another day...) Deductions are great but credits always take the cake They're not that easy to get though. You either: Research & Development🔬 Buy an EV🚙 Invest into Green Energy Businesses (Solar, Wind, etc) ♻️ There are many ways to get credits, but, even once you have them, there are still limitations. If you are passive in that activity, the credits can only be used offset passive income. Meaning, if you have 200,000 of taxable income but only 10,000 of passive income, then only the tax from the 10,000 can be offset with those credits! And the only to overcome passive loss rules is to materially participate, which is a lot more difficult to do than it sounds! Tax credits are complex and the passive loss rules are even more so! A lot of promoters are out there saying "You can get these to offset your business income or your doctor salary" And that's sadly very RARELY going to be the case To beat 100 hours plus more than anyone else (see 1.469-5T(a)(3) ) You've gotta put actual work into the activity Which means you work more than the manager, the promoter, etc... Which to be honest sounds like a stretch to me Maybe you can make it work or if there is a non working spouse, they can make it work But you yourself? As an attorney, doctor, entrepreneur? I'd have questions And if you want an example of material participation in a biz, read Padda, Preston, or Lamas (both talk about what it takes to be involved in your biz) In short Tax credits are amazing for tax savings But you gotta work to get the big breaks

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A few strong beliefs I hold about AI in accounting: 1) AI will drive the demand for jobs down. People will get really upset at this but it will just be the people that didn't embrace AI. I’m not saying we shouldn't be careful of what the impact of this technology will have on us. I’m just saying to help weather the storm, ride the wave or get left behind. - 2) Accounting firms that don't adopt AI in their daily practice, will ultimately become extinct. Contrary to popular belief, AI is not a fad. It's a cheap and simple to use tool as long as you spend the time to learn it. - Blockbuster vs. Netflix: Video rentals were thought to be irreplaceable, yet streaming took over. - Kodak vs. Canon/Nikon/Apple: Film was once considered superior, but digital photography prevailed. - Borders vs. Amazon: Physical stores seemed irreplaceable, but online shopping and e-readers won. Not adopting AI is a fast-track to becoming the next Blockbuster. - 3) AI is not Google. Do not type your google prompts into ChatGPT and expect the same result. 99% of the time, this is a giant mistake. Instead, deeplearning.ai has a great framework for achieving prompt success without falling into "Google trap". Here's a few examples you will learn Summarizing: Condense user reviews for brevity. Inferring: Classify sentiment or extract topics. Transforming Text: Translate or correct spelling and grammar. Expanding: Automatically write emails. Embrace these AI practices to stay ahead and avoid obsolescence. Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog: https://lnkd.in/ek3FpVCi

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If you're in the process of interviewing a VCFO, here are some interesting questions to ask them: How do you make capital allocation decisions? Have you successfully simplified an accounting process for another company? If so, how did you achieve this? How do you balance short-term profit with long-term investment goals? What are some of the biggest financial challenges you've faced, and how did you address them? Have you been involved with discovering investments for past companies? If so, how do you determine which investments are profitable? Comment below with a question you'd ask!

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Blake Oliver, CPA makes all sorts of fantastic points here... But I feel like the takeaway should not necessarily be whether more accountants should be in leadership positions, but rather: shouldn't our own education go a step further? Especially given that we're required to get 150 credit hours -- which I agree is a stupid rule, but for now let's set that aside -- what about taking those extra hours and studying the long-term impacts of investing in long-term intangible assets, marketing, HR, and leadership? When I think back to the difference my Masters made in the work that I do with my clients, a lot of it is related to forward-thinking strategy... and not closing my problem solving skills into the shape of a T-chart.

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Full-time CFO's and controllers are a thing of the past. The future is Fractional. 👇 Traditional, full-time CFOs & Controllers come with a hefty price tag—salaries, benefits, bonuses, and the cost of recruitment. For many 7-figure businesses, this isn’t justifiable. Here's why outsourcing to a fractional CFO/Controller might be a smarter choice for your business. 🆙 Scalability: As your business scales, so do your financial needs. A fractional firm can scale their services up or down depending on your current requirements. 💰 Cost-Efficiency: Fractional professionals provide top-tier financial advisory without the full-time costs. This means you get a similar value for a fraction of the price. Freeing up cash flow for growth or other important areas. 🤝 Diverse Expertise: Fractional CFOs often work with multiple clients accross various industries giving them a breadth of experience to bring to the table. They often can leverage insights from other successful companies to assist with your financial situation. ✈️ Flight risk: In-house employees could quit at any time and leave you stranded. Typically, an outsourced CFO/Controller firm will stick around and will have someone (or a team) as a backup to the individual you're working with so you're never stuck without somebody in that role. The future of financial management is here, and it’s flexible, efficient, and cheaper. It’s time to rethink traditional roles and embrace the fractional CFO model.

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Tesla’s pre-tax book income in 2023 was ~$10 billion. Yet, their net income was ~$15 billion. The difference? An income tax BENEFIT of $5 billion. 🤯 That’s right – the tax provision contributed to over one-third of Tesla’s net profit in 2023. You may be thinking to yourself – “I thought taxes were supposed to reduce profit, not increase it.” And you’d generally be right. But in ASC 740 land, it’s never that simple. So, how did Tesla do it? How did they pull off a $5 billion tax benefit? The answer: They released the valuation allowance on their deferred tax assets. Now, let’s break down what that actually means. First, we have to define “deferred tax assets”, or DTAs. Simply put, these represent a future tax benefit. They are comprised of things like net operating loss carryforwards, tax credit carryforwards, and expenses that have been taken for accounting but not yet for tax purposes. But what happens if a company will not be able to ever realize the benefit of these assets? Maybe they just keep generating losses, and, therefore, don't have any tax liability now nor expect to have any in the future. Enter the valuation allowance. This is the mechanism to reduce that DTA on the balance sheet to a value the company will actually benefit from in the future. Okay, now with that aside, let’s get back to our favorite EV maker. Many moons ago, Tesla was a young, growing company who was investing heavily in R&D and running pretty significant losses. Given this was the case, the company was not able to show a DTA on their balance sheet – they had to reduce this balance with a valuation allowance. This resulted in more overall tax expense at that point. Boy, how times have changed. Tesla is now a cash cow, spitting out significant profits for the last several years. Ultimately, it got to the point where the company determined it was no longer appropriate to have a valuation allowance reducing their DTA, and they released it. When they pulled the trigger on the release, they essentially reversed all of the additional tax expense they recorded in the past related to that valuation allowance. And, as such, they triggered a $5 billion income tax benefit. -- If you want to see me break down companies' tax provisions and learn more about the fascinating world of ASC 740, follow along. Need a hand with your company's tax provision? Just drop me a message!

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