Posts by Brenda Chase3

darkmarlin5 said:We’re spinning up a new transport business, and I’ve got some questions about the billing side of things. Say someone pays us $167 to cover moving costs—do we need to deal with sales tax registration and formal receipts, or how exactly do we book that income?

If you're taking cash payments, you'll definitely need a POS system or a receipt printer for tax compliance.
The process is pretty straightforward: you issue an invoice, and if it's a cash transaction, you run it through your receipt system. Once the bill is settled, you close it out, and at that moment, it gets logged as revenue. If it's cash, it goes into your cash receipts; if it's via check or bank transfer, it hits your accounts receivable through your business checking account.

These mugs and little espresso cups are just what I need to wrap up the week, especially with this dreary weather we've been having. They're perfect for warming things up, too. 😁

Just look at how pure greed can be. 🤣
Of course it’s possible. It absolutely is. Just be careful they don't run you right out of... well... you know exactly where I mean.

Hey everyone, time for a quick break! Are we feeling tea or coffee today? Pick your poison!



OR

Devil, I’m happy to drink whatever coffee you’re pouring, but I’m feeling just as stuffed up as a New York subway station during rush hour today... (my nose is a lost cause, haha), so maybe we should pivot to tea instead? Apis, Dubo, Lili, Gric... please, feel free to join our little tea party. Gric, go ahead and splash some of that cherry brandy in there; I'll be ready to 🙂
in a heartbeat.

Drew Thompson2 said:Good grief, this is the first I’ve ever heard that you actually have to update the retirement records when someone moves from a temp contract to a permanent one.😲😲😲
It’s even more overwhelming when I think about how many people I’ve had to process lately who just signed on for permanent positions.🙂
Do you have any advice on how to handle this mess? Should I go ahead and update everything right now, or... what? And honestly, what kind of penalties are we looking at if this isn't handled perfectly?🤦

This happened to me ages ago—back before all these digital help tools existed—so much so that I completely forgot about it. Honestly, I didn't even think it was necessary. Eventually, I couldn't stop worrying about it, so I reached out to the Social Security Administration, and they told me, "Yes, you absolutely have to." Of course, I was probably about two months late with my filing, but they processed it for me without any issues. Since then, I make it a point to always submit those changes immediately because, after all, there's a specific section for it on the employment forms. As for whether forgetting is a massive mistake, I really can't say for sure. It might be worth checking with the SSA directly; since regulations seem to shift constantly, maybe it isn't even a strict requirement anymore.
If I were in your shoes, I would just give Medicare a call, explain exactly what happened, and ask them plainly how to fix it. They’ll be helpful and guide you through it, just like they did for me.

Oh man, seriously... between all these debates over protected versus unprotected status, my brain is officially fried. I completely lost track of time! Anyway, let's take a quick breather while I enjoy this lovely one of yours. 😁

Thanks, colleague, I certainly plan to. Same here. I just need a little breather to stretch my back and let my brain go on standby for a moment. 😉
As for my folks, I'll tell them that per the new regulations effective November 1st, this is exactly how coffee is supposed to look now. Haha, there's always some new rule being passed, so nobody would ever suspect we’re just being lazy. At least we'll have something to laugh about every day. 🤣

Carol Price4, let me jump in here with my own take. Given the country we live in, I suppose that’s just the standard look for coffee these days. Hahaha

Nicole Wells38 said:Quick question regarding payroll: I have an employee whose fixed-term contract expires on October 31st. We’ve already signed a new permanent contract with her starting November 1st. Do I actually need to process a termination filing with the state, or is just submitting the change via the standard update form enough? Also, how should I handle the month codes during payroll processing—should I mark October as the final month of the old term and November as the first month of the new one, or just use the "other months" designation for everything?

You just file the status change update. There's a specific section at the bottom for transitioning from a temporary to a permanent contract.
As for the payroll processing, I would personally just use code 3. Since there isn't any actual break in her employment—it's just a shift from a temporary contract to a permanent one—she's still considered a continuous employee.

Standard procedure dictates that accounting handles everything, though I suppose if there’s a specific arrangement in place, someone else could step in. That said, in my experience, I have never actually heard of an executive assistant being tasked with payroll. I can certainly empathize with how much things have shifted over the last couple of years—even for those of us who live and breathe this stuff every day, keeping up with the constant flux can feel like trying to hit a moving target. However, my take is that when an accountant returns to their role after an absence, they really ought to make a concerted effort to get back up to speed. They should be proactive, asking questions, seeking counsel, and simply stepping back into the responsibilities they held before. I mean, what's the logic there? If tax laws change or new IRS forms are introduced, are we honestly expected to say, "Oh, I'm intimidated by these updates, so let's just hand them off to the secretary"? It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed when you've been away for a while—it can feel like the ground is shifting under your feet—but if this was the job assigned to her from the start, she needs to accept that part of the gig is continuous learning. You have to adapt and put in the work to bridge those knowledge gaps. There are endless resources available—textbooks, professional forums, seminars, or even just reaching out to colleagues for a bit of guidance—but simply saying "I don't know how to do this" and immediately passing the buck to someone else without making a genuine effort to learn... I just can't get behind that.

Nicole Long28 said:I could really use some help here. I’m feeling a bit lost because we don't have much turnover, but things seem to be changing constantly. 🙂

I'm a small business owner—just three of us in total—and we handle all our filings manually at the local office. One of my employees is moving on to a new gig; he’s set to sign his new contract on Monday, October 20th, and his new employers are insisting he show up with proof from Medicare that he's been deregistered. We’re planning to sign a severance agreement, which works fine, BUT I’m stuck on what date to actually put as his final day of employment.

Should I go with October 17th? That’s Friday, so I could head down to the office then to manually file his de-registration using the M-2P with the Social Security Administration and the standard paperwork with Medicare. But honestly, I don't want to screw him over. Ideally, I'd love for his employment to officially end on October 19th so he doesn't lose those two days of seniority over the weekend. I'm just worried about the logistics since October 19th is a Sunday, and I only have a 24-hour window to notify the Social Security Administration. Plus, he needs to show up at the new job already cleared by Monday the 20th.

It would be amazing if I could end his employment on the 19th but file the paperwork on the 17th, basically filing in advance for the 19th.

Or maybe I should just not overcomplicate things and deregister him on October 17th? He’d lose those two days leading up to the 19th, but at least I wouldn't risk getting hit with a penalty.

Why not just head in first thing Monday morning, process his termination effective October 19th, and immediately fax the confirmation over to the new company? They could then go ahead and enroll him starting Tuesday, October 21st. In reality, they likely only need that proof to verify he isn't double-covered, so simply coordinating with them to send a faxed receipt should suffice. Besides, they surely understand that you only have a 24-hour window to comply; you aren't breaking any rules if you follow the standard timeframe.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid the headache entirely, just process the termination on October 17th. You wouldn't face any penalties regardless, because even if you wait until Monday, October 20th, to file a termination effective the 17th, the weekend doesn't count against your 24-hour window since the Social Security Administration is closed. The deadline applies to business days. Anything filed on a Friday can effectively be handled on Monday.

amberbadger17 said:I don't even know how many times I've said this, but thanks, Brenda Chase3!!!!

Honestly, I fully expected that if I actually did this, someone would just burst through my door and start screaming about tax evasion and all that legal nonsense.

But nope, no drama. Total relief! <3

Look, those IRS agents aren't exactly out here playing cowboy. Most of the time, they don't even have a clue what they're doing themselves; you just have to lay everything out clearly enough so their math adds up, and then they leave you alone. 🙂

amberbadger17 said:I've run into a bit of a snag.

I accidentally paid the exact same invoice twice—it’s crystal clear on my bank statements since the invoice number is identical for both. I gave the vendor a call, and after checking their books, they assured me they would issue a refund directly to my account for the overpayment.

But here’s the thing...
When I check my bank activity, I don't see a "refund" entry at all; instead, it just shows up listed as another "payment."

What am I supposed to do with this? Do I need to explain the discrepancy to the IRS by filing some sort of amended report or something?

I'm honestly at a loss here. It isn't even a huge amount of money, but I still have to make sure everything balances out perfectly when I reconcile my accounts and justify these random transactions.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!!

When you go to file your taxes, just pull the bank statements showing the double payment alongside the statement showing the reversal. Just include a brief note explaining that the transaction was a refund for the duplicate payment. That should clear everything right up with the IRS.😉

Nathan Thomas41 said:Nah, we didn't just set up the digital health portal now, I'm just asking because nothing is hitting our inbox. No confirmations, no T2 forms, no sign-up or opt-out notices... even though we submitted everything for the Silicon Valley stuff and the health insurance at the same time. All we got was that one automated email I mentioned earlier for every single business we registered. But the actual confirmed paperwork? Nothing. And we’ve had people joining and leaving for months. Some lady at the office told me everything syncs automatically with the health system, and honestly, I didn't even know we were supposed to get emails until some woman in line mentioned she got a confirmation. So, I guess I'm just confused...
Anyway, thanks for the detailed answer! I guess we just have to wait for the paperwork to show up... maybe there's always a long wait?

It is true that there is a waiting period, but several months seems quite unusual to me. Personally, I usually receive my processed documentation via email within two weeks, so it strikes me as odd that you haven't received anything after several months of processing through the digital Medicare portal. Your best bet would be to send an inquiry to registration@medicare.gov, as they might simply have an incorrect email address on file.

Nathan Thomas41 said:So... I don't really get what you mean by "first time" vs. automatic. Are we talking about someone's first job ever, or just the first time a company registers them with Medicare? Like, standard hiring and firing wouldn't count because they've been on the system before? I guess... maybe?
Wait, so we just get these confirmed hires and terminations via email? Not through the app? Because honestly, we've had people joining and leaving Medicare for months now and nothing has shown up in our inbox... Oh, I see... it says up there that there's a long wait for them to send it over? Man, that's kind of confusing...
So basically, once we hand the paperwork for a small business or firm over to Medicare, they just automatically pop up in the app? No extra steps needed on our end to "add" them manually 🙂? And that PIN everyone’s mentioning... I don't actually need a PIN? Ugh, sorry for being such a pain... and thanks a million for the help!!!!!

My initial question was actually about dependents (children, spouses, etc.), rather than the employee's own employment status. If someone wants to add a newborn under their own coverage, that's handled through the online portal, and then it shows up in the app.

How were you handling enrollments and terminations with Medicare before you started using the app? You were probably doing everything manually. In that case, they wouldn't be sending you emails. But once you're fully integrated into the digital system, they will send processed notifications to your email, and then you'll be able to print out the official forms.

That’s correct; once you submit the paperwork, they add the business or LLC to your profile and that's it—there's no manual entry needed on your end.

You will need a PIN to actually use the system. I'm not sure which version of the Medicare portal you're accessing, but for example, I have my fiancée's digital ID which has its own PIN, and that's what I use to log in.

Nathan Thomas41 said:Need some help here.. so we signed up for the Social Security online portal and everything seems fine. But for all our companies, we also sent over the filings to Medicare via the e-health portal... The folks at the Medicare office said everything gets automatically updated and synced with Medicare. But I guess, do they actually send us some kind of electronic confirmation so we know for sure if someone’s been deregistered or enrolled?
The people at the Medicare desk told me when we handed in the paperwork for e-health that a PIN would show up in my email, but nothing came. Just this random email saying:
The e-health service has been activated for the following individuals (then lists names and IDs). To start using our services, go to the Medicare website www.medicare.gov click on the e-health link, and download these:
-Medicare e-health app installation package
-Medicare e-health user instructions

Once the app is installed, authorized users with digital ID cards can start using the service immediately using those cards...

...etc..

I'm not really sure, does Medicare send confirmations about automatic enrollment/deregistration through this app so we just print them out or something? Where do those notices even go?
What's even the point of the app if everything happens automatically once you file with the Social Security Administration? I guess I'm just a bit confused about how this whole thing works... maybe someone could give me a quick breakdown😢,
Thanks!!!!!

The primary reason that application exists is so you can manually register or de-register employees if, for instance, they are being signed up for the very first time rather than through the automated sync. It also serves as the channel for them to send you processed enrollment and termination notices. If you are just handling standard, routine employee updates, you won't necessarily need to do anything extra within the app because those updates now flow automatically from the Social Security Administration over to Medicare. However, if you haven't registered for the application, they wouldn't have a way to send those processed notifications to you since they wouldn't know which email address to use. With the setup you've done, once the Social Security Administration processes the paperwork, you will receive the completed forms via the email address you provided during the activation process.

David Green642 said:And what if there’s an actual deposit or withdrawal showing up on the statements? Do we just ignore those too?

I assume we’re talking about expenses like payroll taxes or contributions, because you’ve already accounted for standard business expenses by closing everything out against the final day of operations, just like you did with the revenue from outgoing invoices... Personally, I didn't book those kinds of expenses (like tax contributions) after the official closing date because once the small business is shuttered, it can't legally recognize any further outflows. Anything happening after the closing date simply cannot be attributed to the business's books, since all income and expenses must strictly pertain to the entity itself. It’s much like if a business owner decided to pay off a debt to the IRS a year after their LLC was dissolved... they’re paying it as a private citizen, not through the business, so you don't record it under the company's ledger. Besides, how could they even make a payment through a business checking account after the closing date? They would need a corporate seal, and a seal isn't valid for a defunct entity once the business is closed, so... That’s exactly what the agent at the IRS told me, and honestly, it makes perfect sense.

David Green642 said:One more thing—do you guys actually book bank statements that show up after the closing date? Or do you just write them off entirely?

Technically, they shouldn't be recorded, which is precisely why everything needs to be finalized by the official closing date. If there are outstanding invoices that were paid, you would settle those against the closing date of the business. The bank account itself can remain open specifically to handle any subsequent payments that you've already accounted for in your previous closing.

David Green642 said:How are you guys handling the column entries when closing out open accounts because a small business just liquidated? Are we talking cash, bank transfer, or an in-kind distribution?

It makes zero sense to list cash or wire transfers—those accounts weren't actually paid, they're just being cleared to shut down the entity. Shouldn't it be recorded as an in-kind distribution? Thanks for the help.

Since there's a three-month window for the final sales tax filings during a shutdown (which I assume is why you're grinding through all this right now), I had access to my bank statements even after everything was officially closed. So, I checked to see what had actually been settled via wire transfer; if it was paid, I marked it as a bank transfer, and if it remained unpaid, I listed it as an in-kind settlement. I used the closing date for all of them. I wonder if I should have just labeled everything as in-kind, but honestly, I don't think it's a huge deal since I could still verify the bank activity after the business ceased operations.