Musings of a Burbank CPA: Tips for Planning a Stress-Free Move to The Golden State

See this article written by Suzie Wilson of Happierhome.net about tips for moving to California: 

If you want to avoid problems and headaches when moving out-of-state, you need the right information. For a long-distance move to California, these tips and resources can provide what you need so you can savor—instead of stress over—your big move.

Plan Ahead of Time

 The process of relocating to a new state can be filled with small, easy-to-miss details. Therefore, planning ahead is critical.

  • Using a checklist keeps you on track.
  • Now is also a good time to search for long-distance movers.
  • Pet parents should find pet-friendly hotels.
  • You may want to hire someone to help keep your pet safe while moving and unpacking. 

Try to Take Care of Repairs Before You Start Moving

Most people wait until they’ve settled into a new house before they start working on improvements, but certain projects should be completed beforehand. 

Cover Essentials

 The first night in a new house can be hectic, but forgetting to switch on essential utilities can make things even more stressful. 

  • Setting up utilities can include services like power, water, gas, sanitation, and internet.
  • In Burbank, you can connect your power and water using the same website.
  • You’ll have more choices when it comes to choosing an internet service provider.
  • If you’re establishing a home office or moving for work, save your receipts.
  • Those receipts might be handy at tax time. Brian T. Stoner, CPA can provide you with knowledgeable and trustworthy assistance with your tax and accounting preparation.
  • Last but not least, it’s always a good idea to do a good deep cleaning before unpacking.  

Explore Your New State & City 

Feeling at home in an unfamiliar city can take some time, which is why newcomers to California should be patient as they settle in and take steps to reduce stress in the meantime. 

A new hometown can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. The right tips and information will help you avoid headaches, so keep this guide handy as you transition to the Golden State.

 

  Dollar Pointing For financial,  accounting and tax musings,

You can count on us to count for you!

Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net  Phone: 818-317-6035  Website: www.briantstonercpa.com

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Business Musings of a Burbank CPA: Protecting Clients’ Credit Card Numbers

Does your business ask your customers for their credit card numbers at any time during the sales process? If so, it’s essential that you honor the privacy of your customers’ private data as well as stay in compliance with the Payment Card Industry rules.

 
Every business that has an account with a merchant services vendor is required to follow PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance when collecting and storing credit card data. There are many different levels of compliance depending on the technology you use to capture and store credit card data. These levels depend on whether you use a point of sale terminal, the customer hands you their card, orders are entered through an online shopping cart, or a combination.
 
In all cases, there are several no-no’s that you’ll want to share with your staff to make sure they are properly trained:
  1. Never ask a client to send a credit card number via unsecure email.
  2. Never take down a credit card number over the phone on paper before entering it into your system. If you do, you need to shred the paper immediately.
  3. Don’t ask clients to take a photo of their credit card to send to you.
If you need to use credit card authorization forms in your business, you’ll need to consider the proper collection of these forms as well as the proper storage. Storing a credit card outside any system requires you to follow further PCI compliance steps.
  1. After a client has signed and completed the credit card authorization form, you will need to provide a secure, encrypted email connection for them to send it back to you. Alternately, you can set up a private client portal for them using Box, DropBox, ShareFile, or another generic portal or file transfer app. Just sending a pdf via email is not a great idea unless the PDF is password-protected and the password is sent via secure, encrypted email.
  2. Once you’ve received the form on your end, you’ll need to keep it in a secure place. If you print or download it, you’ll need to follow physical building security protocols to stay in compliance with PCI as well as to protect the customer data.
It’s not a surprise that so many credit cards get hacked each year. It’s inconvenient to customers and vendors when their credit card gets compromised, and much of this can be prevented through proactive and safe measures. Respect your customers and help them keep their credit card data safe.

 

 

Fraud - Online Dollar Pointing For financial,  accounting and tax musings,

You can count on us to count for you!

Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net  Phone: 818-317-6035  Website: www.briantstonercpa.com

SELECTED TO THE FORBES TOP 100 MUST-FOLLOW TAX TWITTER ACCOUNTS FOR 2019 

ALSO CHOSEN AS ONE OF TOP 18 TAX SERVICES IN LOS ANGELES FOR 2019 BY EXPERTISE.COM!

 
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Tax Musings From a Burbank CPA: Do You Really Like Loaning the Government Money?

This is a reprint of a blog I wrote over three years ago, but it still makes sense today.

 So, you have filed your income tax return with the IRS and your state, and are now waiting for the refund the government(s) owe you. You are thinking of all the things you can do with that money when you get it. Here are some things to think about as you wait: 

1. These refunds are in effect interest-free loans you have made the government(s) over the year through excess withholding. They are just paying you back the money you earned over the previous year that won’t even earn interest unless you file an extension and wait even longer for your money. This is even worse than that bet that your buddy owes you because at least you know where to find him if he doesn’t pay you right away. With our government you call on the phone and wait an hour for them to tell you that the refund is being processed or go on their website and find out there is a problem and you have to call anyway!
 
2. You could be earning some income on this refund if you take it with each paycheck instead of putting it into additional withholding. Even with the low-interest rates now you could be making something on the money if you transferred it each pay period into some form of savings or maybe a retirement account. 

 

3. When you get this refund back and blow it on some splurge purchase before it burns a hole in your pocket, you should realize if you were getting this money back on each paycheck, you would probably be earmarking the smaller amounts for some goal rather than buying a new iPhone. By automatically withdrawing the additional money from your checking and stashing it in some other account, you have a better chance of allowing it to accumulate without seeing dollar signs when you get that refund. 

 

Just remember, the best tax planning advice is to pay some tax on April 15, not enough to owe a penalty, but enough so you have the most use of your money and the government has the least use of it. 

 

If you want to call or email me we can talk about it further and maybe change your withholding so you are the borrower, not the lender in this case. 

 

Uncle Sam Shaking Us Down Dollar Pointing For financial,  accounting and tax musings,

You can count on us to count for you!

Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net  Phone: 818-317-6035  Website: www.briantstonercpa.com

SELECTED TO THE FORBES TOP 100 MUST-FOLLOW TAX TWITTER ACCOUNTS FOR 2019 

ALSO CHOSEN AS ONE OF TOP 18 TAX SERVICES IN LOS ANGELES FOR 2019 BY EXPERTISE.COM!

 
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