3rd Party Integrations - AMH Bookkeeping, LLC

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020

Small Business & Bookkeeping – Time Tracking

Let me start with an apology. I am sorry I didn't post last week.

I want to jump right into it because with all the talk about COVID-19 and employers moving to a virtual working environment, this post is NECESSARY.

By now employees are being clocked via badges issued so that when they scan it to enter the building, they are officially "on the clock". With the move to remote offices and virtual working environments, this is not happening. I DO have a solution.

Tsheets by Intuit is your time tracking solution both remotely and in-house. It handles it all! With its geo-location tagging, you, business owner or HR Director, can see where an employee is when they clock on.
From the admin screen you can get a quick glimpse of who is currently working, who is on break, track their paid and unpaid leave hours, approve shift changes and time off requests.

Employees can clock in from their phones via the smartphone app, the website, or using a tablet set up as a kiosk. This is great for in house because that kiosk can be set to snap a photo at clock in so there will be no more clocking in for friends who are late!

Employees can choose from a list of their job duties what they were working on and give a summary in the notes section. I use Tsheets as I work on my clients and I send those reports directly to them so they know exactly what their money is getting them in terms of service AND value.

Tsheets by Intuit is this bookkeeper's COVID-19 approved time tracking software.

Schedule a call now. Let's talk!

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

Small Business and Bookkeeping – Expenses

Tracking your expenses sounds easy, right? We all know that isn't the case. It can be quite time consuming especially if using spreadsheets. If you are a high volume transaction business, finding the time to input that data can prove to be quite difficult and let's face it, that task can simply get put off for MONTHS is there is too much to be done.

I want to talk about a couple of automated methods of tracking your expenses that, once setup, require nothing more than uploading a receipt.

First up:

Receipt Bank
Optimized for web-based accounting platforms, Receipt Bank allows you to take a picture of, store, and sort your receipts for ease of use for you and your accountant or bookkeeper. There is also a mobile app, making it much easier to snap a photo of the paper receipt and upload it to you Receipt Bank folder before it gets lost or damaged so bad it can’t be read. For a demo of Receipt Bank, you can click the name above this paragraph.

Next:

Expensify
Another optimized for web-based accounting platforms, Expensify boasts itself as a simple method of tracking expenses across multiple accounts; automating the entire process from capturing the receipt to payment to creating the expense report in real time. Expensify integrates with many credit card and banks to further create the ease of use. For more about Expensify, I found a great article that discusses the software HERE.

Lastly:

Direct to Accounting Software
This method is simply taking your receipts and inputting the data directly into your accounting software, whatever that software may be. You can still get expense reports and store the receipt as an attachment should you choose to do so. This method is a bit more time consuming and requires high level input from you, business owners.

Side note: Not every application is going to handle your 100% of your needs. Some of them mention the handling of other financial documents and although having one software that CAN handle more than one piece of your financial information is wonderful, this is not always IDEAL. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with employing multiple applications for the handling of financial documents like bank and credit card statements, expenses, and bills and invoices in addition to your accounting software.

If you are looking to get a system set up that can automate your finances, schedule a consultation with AMH. I can help you choose those applications that are best for your business.

February 24, 2020March 9, 2020

Small Business & Bookkeeping – HubDoc

For small businesses, automation is a MAJOR key to succeeding. When you have to do everything on your own, having some powerful tools in your tech stack (software and apps used to run your business) to alleviate a lot of the data entry can be LIFE CHANGING.

One of the tools that should be in EVERY small business' tech stack is HubDoc.

The power of HubDoc comes from the over 700 suppliers (banks, credit card, and utility companies) you can import documents from and the way you can upload documents like receipts. You can scan them, take a photo with your smartphone, or email them.

In addition to where you can get your info from and how you can upload that info to HubDoc, are the ways your HubDoc account can be maintained.

Self-Managed is just as is it sounds. You, business owner, will manage your account including adding your own bank and utility accounts that will fetch statements and invoices. You must invite your accountant/bookkeeper to your HubDoc account in order for them to have access to the documents and be able to sync information between your cloud accounting software and your HubDoc account. The self-managed option is best if you do not want your accountant/bookkeeper to have access to your financial institutions' login information.

Next is Firm-Managed. In this instance the accounting/bookkeeping firm manages the HubDoc account for you with the login information to your banks, credit card companies, and utility company. This is the best choice in the opinion of THIS bookkeeper because it eliminates a constant barrage of emails, texts, or calls in an effort for the firm to get information or updated information especially if you have your accountant or bookkeeper pay bills for your company.

One more awesome feature of HubDoc is how it can simplify your bookkeeping. Here is what HubDoc has to say about that:

" How Will Hubdoc Simplify my Bookkeeping?
Audit-Proof Your Business: Have a source document for every business transaction, and a bank statement for every month of business activity. Hubdoc goes to each website and fetches your documents.
One Secure Hub: Store unlimited documents in a single, auto-organized hub. Never lost sight of a statement or invoice again.
Easy Collaboration with Your Advisors: Your accountant and bookkeeper will instantly have access to everything they need. No more time spent on monthly hand-offs, and no hassle over lost documents. "

HubDoc is cloud storage for your financial documents 10x'd to do MORE than just store your paperwork. When set up and used properly, HubDoc can sync with your QuickBooks Online, Bill.com, and QuickBooks Desktop and carry over bills and invoices to be paid; making both you AND your accountant/bookkeeper more efficient and effective with how the time is spent.

For more information about HubDoc, click HERE.

Already using HubDoc or want to get started, schedule your consultation TODAY!!!

February 3, 2020February 17, 2020

Recording & Reconciling 3rd Party Merchant Payments

Discrepancies occur often with bookkeeping and one of the most popular I have seen is during the reconciliation with 3rd party payments.

There is usually a 1-3 day turnaround before funds paid by a 3rd party are deposited into a business' checking account.

For example:

Company A performs Jobs for Companies 1,2,and 3, respectfully, on 3/30/XX.
March 30 is on a Monday.
Companies 1 and 2 pay via check and company 3 pays via credit card.
Checks are recorded and deposited Monday, March 30 at 4:30; the credit card payment is recorded on March 30.
Reconciliation is performed April 1 including the credit card payment which has not cleared the bank at the time the reconciliation is completed.
This results in a discrepancy in your bank reconciliation which will continue to affect all other reconciliations in the amount of the credit card payment.

It is important that you verify when deposits hit your bank by logging into the business' operating bank account and matching those deposits with payment received via 3rd party merchants that processes your credit card transactions. Doing this before you reconcile will save you or your bookkeeper countless hours in unreconciling and re-reconciling to correct the issue.

If you have found issues like this and others, contact AMH immediately and let us help you unravel it!

December 15, 2019December 16, 2019

Efficiency: ACH for Rent Payments

In part two of the Efficiency series, I am going to discuss rent payments; specifically the most efficient way to receive payments that can "kill two birds with one stone" for your rental business. First let's discuss the most common ways rent is paid.

Cash - This method is a bit antiquated but still acceptable. Lends itself to being spent before being deposited into the rental checking account and understates the income received. Aside from that, proper handling isn't always completed. When receiving cash payments for rent, AMH recommends that a receipt, signed by the property manager or landlord, be given to the tenant, that the payment gets recorded into the accounting system, and a deposit slip is immediately made for that payment listing the address and tenant the payment came from. Multiple cash payments can go on one deposit slip.
Check - Another acceptable and somewhat antiquated method of payment. There are benefits for the tenant in being able to pay rent via check not for the landlord or property manager. For tenants, particularly if they are using a checkbook with the carbon copy feature, have written proof that a check was written for their rent. For the landlord there is the risk of the check bouncing, being a fraudulent check to begin with, and that means you are out of rent. This isn't always the case but it does happen. When receiving a check, AMH recommends the same procedures for handling a check as we do cash. In addition with mobile deposit being available a most banks, you can skip the deposit slip step and deposit that check via the mobile deposit capabilities at your bank, if applicable.
Money Orders - Like checks but are more secure in terms of they do not bounce. To obtain a money order, the purchaser MUST have the money on hand for the amount of the money order they are purchasing. Money orders can be deposited via mobile deposit just like checks. Again, AMH recommends following the aforementioned handling methods aside from the deposit slip. Use the mobile deposit feature to deposit the money order just like you would with a check.

Now for some new ways rent is being paid.

Venmo
Zelle
Cozy
Cashapp
SparkRental
Tenant Cloud

All of the above are methods to pay or send money to someone effortlessly. The aps above make it so tenants don't have to leave their homes to get their rent paid. The apps are made available for smartphones and with a few simple touches to the screen, the rent is paid. AMH is not familiar with the process involved with the apps listed above and cannot give any advice other than to immediately record the payment and issue a signed receipt to the tenant.

Lastly, the method we HIGHLY recommend for receiving rent payments is ACH transfers from the tenant's bank account to the landlord's or property management company's bank account. Often run a few days before the 1st, this method all but guarantees no late fees AND acts as a great pre-screening qualifier for obtaining your ideal tenants.

Although some of the apps mentioned above can deliver funds much more quickly, ACH has more advantages for the overall performance of your business. Efficiency is key here and ACH allows for that much more so than the other payment methods discussed above.

For more information on ACH payments, schedule a consultation HERE.

AMH Bookkeeping, LLC. The Landlord's Bookkeeper.