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Managing ProPay Transactions in Ascend Live
You must understand that Ascend only manages the actual money that goes in and goes out of your checking account. You also need to know that leaving your money in the ProPay account is not seen kindly by the IRS. If there is not a paper trail for the income as well as the expenses paid out it can become an auditing nightmare. Although we are not really authorized to give tax advice, we strongly encourage you to talk with your accountant about this.
We, at Ascend, highly recommend transferring the money from your ProPay account into your checking account on a weekly basis (monthly at the very least). This meets the needs of your tax reporting purposes and also allows you to track these funds in your books. Plus your funds will be ready when you are ready to place your order.
Since the fees for your ProPay account never flow through your business checking account they do not need to be recorded in Ascend Live. ProPay provides you with a Monthly Reconciliation Report. This report can be found by logging into your ProPay account through InTouch then click on “view reports” then “Reconciliation Report”. You can print a copy of each month. ProPay now allows you to go back 6 months in addition to the current month. If you have a Premium account you will have an Annual Fee Summary or Annual Tax Statement automatically e-mailed to you. If you have the previously offered “Simple Plan” and have not been printing off your monthly fee reports you can order your Annual Fee Summary from ProPay for $14.95. This report is all you need to print out and hand to your accountant to report your ProPay fees. When you use this yearend report or have printed out monthly reports you do not need to manage these fees in Ascend. You will simply enter your ProPay deposit amount as a deposit from sales transaction. It is as easy as that.
Now if you are more detailed… You have 2 additional options in reporting your ProPay deposits:
Your 1st option would be to add your ProPay account as a checking account in your Ascend Live portfolio. You can then manage this account just like your actual Checking account and reconcile against your ProPay statement each month. Since this account will be in your MK business portfolio, when you transfer funds from your ProPay account to your MK Business Checking account you can easily manage this in Ascend Live. For this method you will just want to enter any and all funds, fees, etc that go into and out of your ProPay account. You will also need to reconcile each month for accuracy. You can use the Reconciliation Report mentioned above to do this. This does add time to your money management but is a viable option if you prefer to track this account in Ascend.
Your 2nd option is as follows: For this option, you would be best served by entering the ProPay Deposit as a “Deposit from Sales” and then doing a 2nd transaction that allows you to post the ProPay fees directly to your reports. You would post the fees as instructed below:
-Select Deposit Other
-Leave the amount field in the upper left as $0.00
-Then list the fee amount in the income category field and choose (may need to create a new income category) “direct to reports” income category.
-Add a line to add an expense category for the fee amount by clicking the green plus sign at the end of the row (just make sure you enter this as a negative amount) and it will be posted to your report (you can use the ProPay fee expense category).
You can decide which envelope to select (income holding bin is a good option) or you may also want to create a ProPay envelope/category, as you will need to designate BOTH an envelope and category. No money will come in or out of this envelope when posting this transaction, but you will need to designate both an envelope and category in order to post to your reports.
This way you can utilize the default settings of the Deposit from Sales screen but still get the fees posted on your reports.
Obviously, the cleanest way to do is the best practice of funneling all income and expenses through your business checking account.
Posted in Using Ascend
Credit Card Spend Transactions in Ascend Live
Several things happen when you input a credit card spend transaction into Ascend. For instance if I spend $50 on groceries at Safeway on my American Express card I would click spend in Ascend. I would input the date, amount, choose my Am Ex card and then select my grocery envelope. When I click save three things have happened:
1. $50 was added to my balance on my Am Ex card.�
2. $50 was withdrawn OUT of my grocery envelope.�
3. $50 was deposited INTO my AM Ex payment envelope.
Any new charges you input into Ascend on a credit account are set aside into the payment envelope so you can pay off the balance of what you charged if you choose to at the end of the month. If you don’t pay off the balance you can always transfer between envelopes from the payment envelope to another envelope.
Posted in Using Ascend
Knowing Your Credit Card Consumer Rights!
We have all heard that the recession is “ending” but I know most of us are still feeling the pinch! With the Holidays coming up some will be tempted to dust off those credit cards and start using them again. For others, your credit card is what has been keeping you afloat in this uncertain financial time. Either way you need to know your rights when it comes to your credit card(s).
1st thing I want to make clear to you is that the credit card companies are depending on you NOT paying attention. I say wake up, get aware and take control! There is a ton of information I want to make you aware of… everything from identity theft to unfair credit practices… but in this article I am going to focus on your consumer rights and responsibilities. I want to give you some things you can take action on NOW to be aware and in more control of YOUR credit.
The government has made some improvements in Legislation to help protect the consumer, however it is still your responsibility to manage your credit score and pay attention to your credit cards (both business and personal). Some of this legislation is in effect now… some will not go into effect until February of 2010 or July of 2010. Knowledge is Power! Paying attention and putting that Knowledge into action is empowerment! So here are a few things you should know about your rights.
What you need to know about your rights regarding Payments: Credit card companies must apply your payment the day it arrives. Now having said that it again is YOUR responsibility to check when your due date is. Some unfair practices “trick” you into paying your credit card late. Federal law requires that credit card issuers mail you your statement at least 21 days before the due date (this is an increase from 14 days before the bill is due). Your due date can change from month to month so DON’T assume your due date is always the 10th of the month. Even a few hours late and you will be slapped with a late fee and probably a rate increase. Some companies are sneaky by moving your due date and hoping you won’t notice.
What can you do about it? If you are still getting a statement mailed to you OPEN IT IMMEDIATELY! Check the due date. If you’re credit card company offers it, get online statements e-mailed to you. Be sure you enter the credit card company’s sender address so the statement notification does not go into your spam/junk folder. Some credit card companies now offer “due date alerts” that will be e-mailed or text to you a few days before your payment is due. Once your payment is made be sure to check that the payment was in fact posted the day it was sent. If you are still mailing your payment mail your payment at least 10 days before the due date.
Do your best to pay even just a little MORE than the minimum due each month. As part of the new legislation credit card companies will soon need to disclose in the statement the consequences of paying only the minimum payment each month including how long it will take you to pay off the debt and an estimate of how much interest you will be paying over time if you do only pay the minimum.
Keep those confirmation numbers if you pay online! Most of us are choosing to pay many of our bills electronically. This is a great way to be sure your payment is posted on time. When you do make a payment on line you will get a confirmation number. I encourage you to copy and paste this confirmation number right into the memo line of your credit card payment within your Ascend Live portfolio. This way you will be able to easily look it up without having to print it out and dig through piles of paper if you should need to prove your scheduled payment.
What you need to know about Rate increases and late fees: Credit card companies are waiting for the slightest slip up on your part to increase your rate. But your rate can be increased even if you are not in default or late in any way. Did you know you can reject changes in your card agreement? A credit card company is required to provide you with written notice when it changes any term in your card agreement. Part of the new legislation requires the information to be written in plain English and in at least 12pt font size eliminating the “fine print”. What does this mean for you? Well if your credit card company notifies you that they intend to increase your credit limit (due to no fault of yours) you can contact them and refuse the new terms. Although calling is easier… it is a good idea to refuse in writing. Act as soon as you get the notification. There is always a time limit for refusing new terms. As of now there is no legislation or rules as to HOW they notify you… it could be written on your statement, you could get a letter or a post card… It could look like junk mail… there is no set way they must notify you. So pay attention!
A word about those nasty late and over-the-limit fees. Did you know that much of the credit company’s income is as a result of these penalty fees? $29 here and $39 there really adds up. 1st do your best to prevent your payment from being late in the 1st place. BUT you need to pay attention to your statement again and look for these penalty fees. If you do get one it does not hurt to call your credit card company to request the fee be reversed, especially if you usually pay your bill on time. You’ll want to be sure to ask if the late payment has resulted in a rate increase and ask that that be reversed as well if possible. It’s also a good idea to send a written letter in addition to the call.
Pay attention to your interest rate! It’s your responsibility to pay attention! My tip here is when you enter your interest paid/finance charge in your Ascend Live portfolio… enter the APR % right in the memo line. This way you can look back through your register easily to compare month to month. It also reminds you to be checking that month to month on each statement.
Bottom Line here… You must pay attention! It is up to you to be proactive about YOUR credit health. Don’t take these unfair practices lying down… FIGHT BACK! LOOK at your statement, reconcile your credit card accounts just like you would your checking account. Check your APR % rate. Look for late or over limit fees. Look for fraudulent charges. A credit card company cannot hold you liable for fraudulent charges and some fees can easily be reversed but there is a time limit for you to dispute them. If you find an error or fee on your statement you feel is unwarranted… Dispute it! Call to confirm the information, request reversal of fees, etc. but also send it in writing.
Remember, Credit cards fall under the same rule as the rest of your money… You need to be vigilant and pay attention. When you spend on your credit card spend intentionally. Don’t fall into the trap of spending more than you are making. Tell your money where to go so you don’t wonder where it went!
Posted in Financial Savvy
Inventory/Customer Management Program vs. BOOKS!
We all start a home based business for different reasons. Maybe you wanted a reason to get out of the house, or you needed something to supplement the family income, or maybe you have always wanted to be your own boss and a home based business seems to be a perfect fit! Being in business for yourself has many benefits. But not all of us have a degree in business finance. The moment you signed your independent consultant agreement you became a business owner! YAY! Along with that the IRS now views you as a business. Therefore you are required to follow the laws that go along with owning a business, especially when it comes to managing your business finances.
Recently I was discussing this topic with a few different individuals to see what the buzz is out there. One of the main things I heard was that most consultants and directors are depending on the reports within their Inventory and customer management programs for their tax reporting purposes. Although these reports have great information in them… and SOME of the reports are needed at tax time. These reports are merely a small part of what is required by the IRS.
I say… Use that inventory program to its fullest! The inventory programs out there make running your business and keeping track of inventory levels and customer history a breeze. But BE AWARE… you are required to be keeping proper book for your business in addition to these inventory reports. You need to keep a well kept record of every penny that comes into your business and every penny that goes out. You need to label where the money came from (income source like sales, commission, etc.) and exactly where the money went. All this information must be backed up with receipts in the case of an audit.
This is where Ascend Financials comes in. Here at Ascend we are dedicated to not only bring you the tools you need to keep proper business books… but we are also dedicated to educate you, to empower you to make better financials decisions. Call your inventory programs support department and they will tell you they do NOT have business books built into their system. Ascend Live DOES! With Ascend Live you can track every penny that goes into and out of your business in not just one of your business accounts but ALL of your accounts related to your business including checking, savings, cash accounts, credit card and loan accounts. Ascend will create a register for each of your accounts, show you in real time your spending plan, and create comprehensive and customizable reports to help you sparkle at tax time! The government just granted 5.5 billion dollars to increase the effort of enforcing laws pertaining to home based businesses (especially those with losses). This means there is more funding to crack down on those who are not treating their business like a business. Ignorance is no excuse for not following the laws. You do NOT want your business reclassified as a Hobby with the new IRS initiatives!
USE your Ascend Live portfolio(s)! Take us up on our free education! Keep proper business books and you will be able to keep your peace of mind and your deductions in the event of an audit. Remember… this is a powerful tool, but it only works if you enter the information! Let us help you get on the path to financial freedom and peace of mind when it comes to your business books! I can’t wait to see you in one of our next webinars. I just KNOW you are craving more information! Click here to see the current webinar schedule.
Posted in Your MK Biz