FinanceRegs.com » Collections

Ease the year-end crunch — who to talk to NOW

Carol Katarsky — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:00:21 +0000

Who couldn’t use an extra pair of hands when you’re getting ready for year-end? Of course, needing help doesn’t always mean you get it. Still, even if you don’t have the budget to hire a temp, let alone full-time help, that doesn’t mean you can’t find someone to give your department a boost with the heavy lifting.

Use this time now — before the worst of year-end hits — to cross-train people throughout your department. All it takes is some creative thinking and a little flexibility.

Best of all: It doesn’t require learning entire new areas of tax law or IRS requirements. All it really boils down to is communication and balancing each others’ schedules.

An A/P clerk who’s already finished her 1099s can easily help Payroll double-check W-2s before they mail. Does Receivables have a little extra this week? Ask them to help out with filing last year’s invoices and POs. Even people in other departments can lend a hand. For example, maybe the receptionist can make vendor TIN follow-up calls during lulls in the day. (Just make it clear that you’re willing to offer similar aid in the future. And a “thank you” memo CC’d to your helper’s boss is a must.)

With just a little give-and-take everyone in Accounting can ease their own workload and really eliminate stress.

Bonus: Far from adding more work to your plate, the chance to stretch your mental muscles, learn something new and interact with folks you normally don’t can boost morale.

Who knows? A fresh pair of eyes observing your processes may even help you come up with some ways to streamline processes throughout the rest of the year.

IRS: Oops, those tax dollars belong to us…

Carol Katarsky — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:00:19 +0000

IRS recently admitted there are $58 billion in uncollected payroll taxes lurking in companies’ books. All those lost taxes are due to IRS’ inability to collect efficiently. Turns out, even after a company has proven to be a deliberate “deadbeat,” it can take IRS up to a year and a half before it decides to pursue active collections. Before that, companies are usually on the voluntary compliance program.

Most of the $58 billion is from companies that have failed to remit employment taxes for a year or more.

Chances are, your company’s not in that boat. But any time IRS starts to look at ways to bring in more tax dollars, we figure it can only lead to more headaches for Accounting down the road.

New resource for A/R pros

Carol Katarsky — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:30:55 +0000

Collections and Receivables can feel like a lonely job sometimes, but a new resource can ease things a bit.

A new “Web community” for A/R pros is being launched by The Accounts Receivable Network (TARN).

TARN will give A/R folks access to new trends and business tools to do their jobs better.

At $895, membership fees aren’t cheap, but if you’re interested you can get $200 discount by joining before May 31.