April 5, 2018 Meeting, Letters of Engagement

April 5^th Meeting Notes Bulleted Letters of Engagement

April 5, 2018

President Kim Boaz opened the meeting with introductions and shout-outs.  There were new people joining us.  Most people had nice things to say about how others in the group had helped them with an issue during the month but also praising the FaceBook page.  Good to hear how technology is benefiting people

Kim shared that Leslie Gifford, CPA is currently experiencing a health-related issue.  Besides having to deal with the issue it occurred during tax season adding extra stress.  Steve Stegemen of Davis Graves CPA stepped up, is helping Leslie’s clients, at the previous agreed upon price and not taking any of the clients.  They will remain Leslie’s clients.  An example of how the group works to support and help one another.  In that spirit, it was agreed that a donation bowl (or object) will be available at every meeting, all donations will go to either giving flowers or something for a member when they go through a hard time.   Jeff Baker, ASAP Treasurer, will look into how donations maybe made on-line as many members stated they often do not carry cash.

Letters of Engagement workshop: Three participants shared their current Letters of Engagement.  Discussion followed regarding these and some members shared that they don’t use an agreement.  Some of the items that seemed to matter to most members are:

• Spelling out when payment is expected. One member shared that her invoices go out the 1^st of the month and she auto deducts from her client’s accounts on the 5^th – the agreement letter states this.
• Have a line in the agreement stating the rate can adjust or give a new agreement every year with updated rates.
• Some have more of a Project based agreement which states what they will and won’t do for the client.

Discuss then turned to the approach people take before accepting a new client

• Most offered an hour or more free consultation where they speak with the new client and review bank and financial statements
• Some charge if they look at any of the data

Another good meeting with active, informative discussion

• May 3rd meeting will be a presentation on QBA Management tools. Presented by Alicia Pollock  There will be time for questions.   Meeting will be at Meals on Wheels locationed at 7710 SW 1^st, Portland, OR 97219.  11:30-1:00 pm and it is a bring your own lunch style meeting.

June 1 2017 Meeting Minutes - Bulleted Points

• Summer Hiett, the owner of All Seasons Bookkeeping, was today’s speaker, discussing various apps of interest to bookkeepers and accountants. Summer received her Bachelors of Science in 2013 from PSU’s School of Business and started her full charge bookkeeping business in March of 2016.  Her office is located at the border of Beaverton and Hillsboro.
• Mileage apps discussed included Mile IQ, Triplog and Everlance. Mile IQ can track each trip and category and runs $5.99 per month.  Triplog is less expensive at $1.50 per month.  The first 40 trips of Triplog are free.  Everlance drains the cell phone battery quickly.
• Time tracking apps. Tsheets is free for one person though you need to look hard in the settings for this free feature.  There is a base charge of $15 and an additional charge of $5 per employee.   Tsheets works well with QuickBooks Online.  Shift to Work, another time tracking app, has amazing customer service, runs $1 per employee and offers integration with Heartland payroll.  Renee mentioned another app, which has “Shark” in the name and was user friendly.
• Expense apps. An app called “Expense” utilized taking pictures and integrated with QuickBooks Online.  It ran $10 per month.  Expensify works for expenses outside the normal accounting process, such as when employees use their own credit cards.  Hubdoc software allows you to take a picture of the receipt, upload and works with QuickBooks Online.  The user can identify separate locations if needed.
• Finance apps. FreshBooks runs $15, $25 or $50 a month but does not feature use of balance sheets.  ProAdvisor can use the app for free.  QuickBooks Self-Employed is $10 per month but is not able to be converted to QuickBooks Online.  QBox is cloud based and works on desktops.  You can lock files and share with clients.
• There is an upcoming All-Star Accounting Professionals social on June 8 from 5 - 8 PM at the Punch Bowl Social located at 340 SW Morrison Street in Portland.
• The next All-Star Accounting Professional meeting will be held on July 6, 2017 at the Meals on Wheels location at 7710 SW 31^st Avenue, Portland 97219.

June 1 2017 Meeting Minutes - Apps of Interest

  The June 1 meeting was held at the Meals on Wheels location in SW Portland.  Diana Chung facilitated the meeting.  Guests introduced themselves and then regular members.  Summer Hiett, the owner of All Seasons Bookkeeping, was today’s speaker, discussing various apps of interest to bookkeepers and accountants.  Summer received her Bachelors of Science in 2013 from Portland State University School of Business and started her business in March of 2016.  She was a corporate accountant for nearly 6 years and has experience with full cycle bookkeeping in many different industries. Her office is located at the border of Beaverton and Hillsboro.

Summer first discussed various mileage apps, including Mile IQ, Triplog and Everlance.  Mile IQ can track each trip and category and runs $5.99 per month.  Triplog is less expensive at $1.50 per month and has been used by Summer and Renee.  Both liked this app.  The first 40 trips of Triplog are free.  Everlance drains the cell phone battery quickly.

Next, we moved to time tracking apps.  Tsheets is free for one person though you need to look hard in the settings for this free feature.  There is a base charge of $15 and an additional charge of $5 per employee.  Summer noted that it could end up costing more with this app than using a payroll company in some circumstances.  Tsheets works well with QuickBooks Online.  Shift to Work, another time tracking app, has amazing customer service and runs $1 per employee.  It offers integration with Heartland payroll.  Renee mentioned another app, which has “Shark” in the name and was user friendly.

The discussion then moved to expense apps.  An app called “Expense” utilized taking pictures and integrated with QuickBooks Online.  It ran $10 per month.  Expensify works for expenses outside the normal accounting process, such as when employees use their own credit cards.  Hubdoc software allows you to take a picture of the receipt, upload and works with QuickBooks Online.  The user can identify separate locations if needed.  You can get into Hubdoc to reclassify expenses as well.

The last type of app mentioned were finance apps.  FreshBooks runs $15, $25 or $50 a month but does not feature use of balance sheets.  ProAdvisor can use the app for free.  QuickBooks Self-Employed is $10 per month but is not able to be converted to QuickBooks Online.  QBox is cloud based and works on desktops.  You can lock files and share with clients.

There is an upcoming All-Star Accounting Professionals social on June 8 from 5 - 8 PM at the Punch Bowl Social located at 340 SW Morrison Street in Portland.

The next All-Star Accounting Professional meeting will be held on July 6, 2017 at the Meals on Wheels location at 7710 SW 31^st Avenue, Portland 97219.

May 4th Meeting Minutes - Marketing Tips & Tricks

President Kim Boaz opened the May 4th meeting by having the board introduce themselves.  Each member present then introduced themselves and provided shout outs to group members who were helpful during the last month. Today’s speaker was Josh Willner with GNSA speaking on the topic of marketing tips and tricks.  Josh covered the importance of having a web presence, which includes a website, social media, blogs, marketing and networking.  He also discussed a social network for local business networking called Alignable.  It is a truism that first impressions count and we should start with a strong web presence.  Our websites must include the products and services we offer.  Having video content on the website is a great medium and easy to send out to prospective clients and other contacts.  Consider adding a picture or business card on your site and including referral sources.  For out-of-state clients, reaching out through linked-in or by telephone call be a great first step prior to meeting face-to-face. If you have a booth at a conference, including pictures of your activities provides helpful content on your website and shows your involvement.

Next, we discussed various marketing automation platforms.  Kim Boaz mentioned that her clients often use MailChimp instead of Constant Contact.  Josh explained that GNSA distinguishes mailings to business partners versus prospective clients.  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be used by anyone reaching out to prospective clients.

Josh’s plans for the future entail development of a case study to target an industry.  Satisfied current customers can be a helpful resource for future customers.  You may wish to collect testimonials from your best clients and use to attract future prospects.  He recommended keeping the testimonials to 2 to 3 sentences and requesting referrals from happy current clients.

Josh had our members break into small groups and discuss the following questions.

1. What has been your biggest marketing success?
2. What has been your biggest marketing flop?
3. How much time do you spent on marketing per week?
4. Have you worked with companies that help create marketing campaigns?

Josh stated that he would make his presentation available to those interested.

It was mentioned that we need a speaker for the month of October.  Karla DeSantis volunteered to be the speaker that month.

Terry Marsh has organized the next All-Star Accounting Professionals social event to be held on June 8 (Thursday) at the Punch Bowl Social from 5 to 8 PM.  The location is 340 SW Morrison Street in Portland 97204.  We look forward to seeing you there!

March 2nd Meeting Minutes, Chuck Palmer, Heartland

Melissa Barton, our vice president, started the meeting.  She had those present introduce themselves.  Today’s guest speaker was Chuck Palmer with Heartland who discussed the timely topic of professional liability.  Chuck owned a business performing outsourced CFO services.  Chuck provided a real-life example from his personal experience of a roofing company that needed bookkeeping services.  The relationship with the roofing company was positive until a general manager was later hired.  As the relationship was ending, a final bill for $6,700 was submitted by Chuck’s company but the bill went unpaid.  The roofing company filed a lawsuit against Chuck’s company alleging 26 points in a letter.  Of the 26 points, 25 were incorrect and the one correct point was already addressed.  The case went to court.  In the end, the lawsuit was dropped and the bill was written off.  In many cases, litigation has more to do with emotions than facts. Two questions were raised.  First, how do we prevent litigation from occurring?  Secondly, how do we resolve litigation?  One critical step in preventing litigation is screening clients during the client acquisition phase.  Questions you may wish to ask a potential client include:

1. Why are you looking for a new accountant?
2. Ask for a copy of the QuickBooks file to review the file for problems.
3. Use a professional services engagement letter and be as specific as possible
4. Be clear that business management is not included
5. Recommend an automated payment policy for payment of fees
6. Have a solid insurance company. Understand what is covered and what is not.  Sit down with your agent to review your insurance coverage.

Communication and documentation are key.  Email your understanding to your client.  You may also wish to run a bank reference check before acquiring the client.  Document retention is very important.

Linda Lagraff asked how to deal with liability in an engagement letter for clients that provide bank account and credit card access to bookkeepers and accountants.  One suggestion was to recommend password security in an engagement letter.  Another comment recommended use of read only access for bank and payroll for bookkeepers and accountants.

We are looking for speakers for upcoming meetings.  Kim will be the speaker for April and the topic is “What is your Super Power/Niche?”  If you don’t know, we’ll help you discover it.

Our group will continue to meet at the Meals on Wheels site until we have space on the eastside of Portland for 25 to 30 people.

Bullet Points:

• Melissa Barton, our vice president, started the meeting. She had those present introduce themselves.
• Today’s guest speaker was Chuck Palmer with Heartland who discussed the timely topic of professional liability. Chuck owned a business performing outsourced CFO services.  Chuck provided a real-life example from his personal experience of a roofing company that needed bookkeeping services.
• The roofing company filed a lawsuit against Chuck’s company alleging 26 points in a letter. The case went to court.  In the end, the lawsuit was dropped and the bill was written off.  In many cases, litigation has more to do with emotions than facts.
• Two questions were raised. First, how do we prevent litigation from occurring?  Secondly, how do we resolve litigation?
• One critical step in preventing litigation is screening clients during the client acquisition phase.  Questions you may wish to ask a potential client include:

1. Why are you looking for a new accountant?
2. Ask for a copy of the QuickBooks file to review the file for problems.
3. Use a professional services engagement letter and be as specific as possible
4. Be clear that business management is not included
5. Recommend an automated payment policy for payment of fees
6. Have a solid insurance company. Understand what is covered and what is not.  Sit down with your agent to review your insurance coverage.

• Communication and documentation are key.
• Linda Lagraff asked how to deal with liability in an engagement letter for clients that provide bank account and credit card access to bookkeepers and accountants. Suggestions included recommending password security in an engagement letter and use of read only access for bank and payroll.
• We are looking for speakers for upcoming meetings. Kim will be the speaker for April and the topic is “What is your Super Power/Niche?”
• Our group will continue to meet at the Meals on Wheels site until we have space on the eastside of Portland for 25 to 30 people.

February 2nd 2017 Meeting Minutes -QBO Tips and Tricks

ALL STAR ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS, INC. Meeting Minutes

February 2, 2017

Kim Boaz opened the February meeting asking each attendee to introduce themselves, provide shout outs to those members who helped them during the last month or so and allowing each member to state a goal they have for themselves for the year.

Our presenter today was Alicia Katz Pollock and she provided a slide presentation on QuickBooks Online.  Alicia is a QuickBooks trainer with Royalwise.  Training services offered include one-on-one, group, beginner, advanced and webinar classes.  She is in business with her husband, Jamie Pollock and they are Microsoft and Apple certified trainers.  She specializes in QuickBooks accounting setup and questions.

Alicia mentioned that QuickBooks Online (QBO) does many of the same functions as the desktop but in different places.  She explained that the QuickBooks Labs option, selected by clicking on the “gear” at the top right side of the screen, allows the user to turn on or off experimental features that QuickBooks is deciding whether to incorporate in future program releases.  The Audit Trail allows the user to see which prior user made changes, when the changes were made and the transaction before and after the change.  You can filter the changes as well to help locate specific information.  The Audit trail works best if each user has their own login.  You can also select the “More” button at the bottom of the computer screen to access the history of the transaction you are viewing.

The cost per month for QBO is $40 for the Plus version, $30 for Essentials and $15 for Simple Start.  Wholesale pricing for clients is available to bookkeepers and accountants, where the client pays you instead of Intuit.  Alicia provided a helpful tool for cleaning up errors in billable expenses.  Use QBO.intuit.com/app/managebillableexpense.  She also went over how to manage rules so that the software helps to classify transactions for Bank Feeds.

A common question asked is “Can QBO be backed up?”  Yes, but you must use Internet Explorer.  Select the “gear” icon, then export data.  It is also possible to convert QuickBooks Enterprise to QuickBooks Pro or Premier if none of the Enterprise features were used previously.   Use //royalwise.com/?p=9793 to help convert your file.   Alicia next explained several keyboard shortcuts including “Ctrl-Alt-?” for a shortcut list, +++ to advance the date, --- to reverse the date, “Y” to advance to beginning of Year, “R” to advance to end of Year, W/K for week and M/H for month within the date fields.  In addition, you can have the software be used as a calculator by doing a calculation in an amount field.

When working between different areas of QuickBooks, you can open multiple tabs by right clicking on the tab and duplicating a tab.  You may need to hit the refresh button if you make changes and want to see the results.  To see two different files, you would open two separate files, each one in a different browser, such as Chrome and Firefox.  Using Chrome incognito allows for a cleaner experience.  You can use your browser’s search function (Ctrl-F) to search within QBO as well.  To make a memorized transaction, select “recurring” on the bottom of the transaction.

Alicia’s contact information is as follows:  Alicia@royalwise.com; info@royalwise.com; 503-406-6550.  You may also sign up for their newsletter on the Royalwise website.  Thank you, Alicia, for a great presentation!

February 2nd 2017 Meeting Minutes -Bullet Points

ALL STAR ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS, INC. Meeting Minutes- Bullet Points

February 2, 2017

• Kim Boaz opened the February meeting asking each attendee to introduce themselves, provide shout outs to other members and allowing each member to state a goal they have for 2017.
• Alicia Katz Pollock was today’s presenter and provided a slide presentation on QuickBooks Online. Alicia is a QuickBooks trainer with Royalwise and offers QuickBooks training and classes.    She specializes in QuickBooks accounting setup and questions.
• Alicia mentioned that QuickBooks Online (QBO) does many of the same functions as the desktop but in different places. She discussed the QuickBooks Labs option and the Audit Trail.
• The cost per month for QBO is $40 for the Plus version, $30 for Essentials and $15 for Simple Start. Wholesale pricing for clients is available to bookkeepers and accountants, where the client pays you instead of Intuit.  Alicia provided a helpful tool for cleaning up errors in billable expenses  and discussed management of rules to classify transactions for Bank Feeds.
• QuickBooks Online be backed up but you must use Internet Explorer. Select the “gear” icon, then export data.
• It is also possible to convert QuickBooks Enterprise to QuickBooks Pro or Premier if none of the Enterprise features were used previously.   Use //royalwise.com/?p=9793 to help convert your file.
• Alicia next explained several keyboard shortcuts including “Ctrl-Alt-?” for a shortcut list.
• You can have the software be used as a calculator by doing a calculation in an amount field.
• When working between different areas of QuickBooks, you can open multiple tabs by right clicking on the tab and duplicating a tab. You may need to hit the refresh button if you make changes and want to see the results.
• To see two different files, you would open two separate files, each one in a different browser, such as Chrome and Firefox. Using Chrome incognito allows for a cleaner experience.
• You can use your browser’s search function (Ctrl-F) to search within QBO as well.
• Alicia’s contact information is as follows: Alicia@royalwise.com; info@royalwise.com; 503-406-6550.  You may also sign up for their newsletter on the Royalwise website.  Thank you, Alicia, for a great presentation!

November 3, 2016 Meeting Minutes

• The meeting was held downtown Portland. We are considering alternative meeting sites due to growth of our group.
• Design changes have been made to the All Star Accounting Professionals website. The website lists the members in our group and has space for a head shot photograph.  It is vitally important that we receive a head shot soon if you wish to be included on the website.  Speak to Kim if you need someone to take a headshot for you.
• December 1 is our next meeting and it will be a holiday luncheon at the Stock Pot restaurant from 11:30 – 1 PM.
• No meeting in January. We will resume again on the first Thursday of February.
• The All Star Accounting Professional officers were introduced and their roles explained.

President:  Kim Boaz is our President and the founder of our group.  She often runs the meetings, sends out E-vites before our meetings and keeps us organized and on track.

Treasurer:  Linda is our treasurer.  Dues are $60 per year and can be paid online or by check.  A receipt will be provided for your payment.

Speaker Coordinator:  Summer is our speaker coordinator.  It was decided to continue with internal speakers from our group at this time.  Please contact Summer if you wish to be a speaker at one of our meetings in 2017 as we need five more speakers

Event Coordinator:  Our event coordinator is Terrie Marsh.  She will help plan the holiday lunch, the “Grow our Membership” event in late October as well as other events throughout the year.

Secretary:  Diana Chung holds the office of Secretary.  She takes meeting minutes during each meeting, types them into the formats of long form and bullet points and will be posting the minutes to the blog section of the website in the near future

New Member Coordinator:  Renee is our new member coordinator.  We have All Star Accounting business cards which advertise our group and have a space for each member to include “referred by” on the back.   There are links on the ASAP website to Facebook and Linked In.

Vice President:  Melissa holds the title of Vice President.  Her role is to be the backup for the President, help run meetings and update the database for our group.  If you wish to be listed as a member on our website, we will need your photograph within 30 days of joining.  This new policy starts December 1.

• Kim lead a group discussion about how ASAP has helped members.
• The group reflected on the past couple of years regarding the meeting topics we enjoyed and the topics we would be interested in for the future.
• We compared ASAP to other similar organizations. There are groups that concentrate just on QuickBooks Online Accounting, some that are “Lunch and Learn” or social and learning meetings.

FULL TEXT:

The meeting was held downtown Portland in an effort to consider alternative meeting sites due to growth of our group.  President Kim Boaz opened the meeting and mentioned the latest updates made to the design of our All Star Accounting Professionals website.  The website lists the members in our group and has space for a head shot photograph.  It is vitally important that we receive a head shot soon if you wish to be included on the website.  Speak to Kim if you need someone to take a headshot for you.  Our group currently has 30 members.

December 1 is our next meeting and it will be a holiday luncheon at the Stock Pot restaurant from 11:30 – 1 PM.  When you check in, mention All Star Accounting to the restaurant staff.  As January is such a busy month for all, we will skip our meeting in January and resume again on the first Thursday of February.

Next, the All Star Accounting Professional officers were introduced and their roles explained.

President:  Kim Boaz is our President and the founder of our group.  She often runs the meetings, sends out E-vites before our meetings and keeps us organized and on track.

Treasurer:  Linda is our treasurer.  Dues are $60 per year and can be paid online or by check.  A receipt will be provided for your payment.  We will be formalizing our budget for the year in the near future.

Speaker Coordinator:  Summer is our speaker coordinator.  It was decided to continue with internal speakers from our group at this time.  Please contact Summer if you wish to be a speaker at one of our meetings in 2017 as we need five more speakers.  Summer will help the speakers with any equipment needed (Wi-Fi, white board, etc.) and can assist in determining a topic as well.  Being a speaker does not require that you talk in front of the group for the bulk of the meeting but may mean that you help facilitate a conversation about a subject.

Event Coordinator:  Our event coordinator is Terrie Marsh.  She will help plan the holiday lunch, the “Grow our Membership” event in late October as well as other events throughout the year.  Part of this planning will include determining the event location, date, time, refreshments, agenda, etc.  Possible events for the future include a team building exercise after tax season, charity event, community event such as talking to students about the career of accounting and bookkeeping and being a mentor for high school or college students in accounting.

Secretary:  Diana Chung holds the office of Secretary.  She takes meeting minutes during each meeting, types them into the formats of long form and bullet points and will be posting the minutes to the blog section of the website in the near future.  Scans of meeting handouts and important documents should also be available on the website.

New Member Coordinator:  Renee is our new member coordinator.  We have All Star Accounting business cards which advertise our group and have a space for each member to include “referred by” on the back.  The cards were passed around at the meeting.  We may have a competition to see who can refer the most members to our group.  Members should feel free to use the All Star Accounting Professionals logo to their own business websites.  There are links on the ASAP website to Facebook and Linked In.  We are talking about getting T-shirts with our ASAP logo on them as well.  Part of the T-shirt sale proceeds would benefit our group.

Vice President:  Melissa holds the title of Vice President.  Her role is to be the backup for the President, help run meetings and update the database for our group.  If you wish to be listed as a member on our website, we will need your photograph within 30 days of joining.  This new policy starts December 1.

After officer introductions, Kim lead a group discussion of how ASAP has helped members.  Some mentioned having another professional to talk to who understands our business, especially when they operate as a sole proprietor.  Others liked the educational component and having members to reach out to for questions.  Interaction with group members is also helpful.  Our Facebook page is a great way to reach out to others.

We next reflected on the past couple of years regarding the meeting topics we enjoyed and the topics we would be interested in for the future.  Topics included sharing apps, technology, business entity organization, job costing, prevailing wages, billing, payroll solutions, how to evaluate accounting professionals, communication between CPAs and bookkeepers, legal issues for accounting, employee vs. independent contractors, communicating value to clients and offering advisory services. In reflecting on prior activities, we encourage members to get to know one another through one on one meetings and will consider recommending this once per quarter.  It is also good to hear testimonials from our members.

As we were wrapping up our meeting, Kim asked how ASAP compared to other similar organizations.  There are groups that concentrate just on QuickBooks Online Accounting, some that are “Lunch and Learn” or social and learning meetings.  Anita Robinson has a group that meets outside Battle Ground, Washington.  She also answers questions via a national tax hotline.  The Sleeter Group is QuickBooks focused, is nationwide, has good educational resources and offers certification.  Sherry is going to the Las Vegas convention.  Alicia mentioned the QuickBooks Connect Conference which is a several days conference in San Jose, California.  It features 8 keynote speakers.

Alicia mentioned she would be teaching a QuickBooks Online class November 17 from 2 to 5 PM and she would post this class to the website.

September 1, 2016 Meeting Minutes

Bulleted Points (full text below)

• Melissa Barton ran the meeting on the Westside of Portland.
• Kevin Minkoff was the speaker. His topic was “Advanced Reporting with QuickBooks Desktop”.
• Highlights of the presentation included customizing QuickBooks reports to allow easy review of break-even for a business and separating expenses into direct expenses, sales/marketing and general and administrative. Kevin also mentioned use of Income Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (IBITDA) to compare results from year to year.
• Don’t forget to use our All Star Accounting Professionals, Inc. business cards when encouraging a guest to join us.
• We are only using one Facebook account currently which is open to members only.
• The next meeting will be on the Eastside of Portland on October 6, 2016 from 11:30 AM – 1 PM.
• The November meeting is a planning meeting.
• December’s meeting will be a holiday luncheon.
• No January meeting but resume again in February.

Full Text:

The September meeting started with introductions.  Melissa Barton ran the meeting.  Those new to the group were asked to give Renee Trump their business cards.  It was mentioned that our group has business cards as well that can be given to a guest.  The back of the All Star Accounting, Inc. business cards have a space to print the name of the referring member.  It was mentioned that one of our Facebook accounts has closed down.  The other Facebook account is open to members only. We can post our needs for help within our group on this account.

Kevin Minkoff of Kevin R. Minkoff, CPA, PC was our speaker this month.  His subject was “Advanced Reporting with QuickBooks Desktop”.  He mentioned that this title is used in the QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions software.  QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions runs about $3,000 but has a more robust search engine that QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier.  In his presentation, he separated expenses into three categories:  1) direct expenses  2)sales/marketing and 3) general and administrative.  He mentioned that every expense can have a fixed and variable component.  His goal was to use QuickBooks as a tool for the owner to see their break-even point.  Kevin mentioned that he includes marketing and general and administrative costs as variable costs under cost of goods sold.  You may also use classes to get break even for services versus products.

Kevin next brought up the acronym IBITDA, which stands for Income Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.  This is a common measurement of a company’s operating performance. Kevin uses net ordinary income as IBITDA and also puts bad debts and depreciation below net ordinary income.  The purpose is for use in comparing operating results year by year.  You can also export the financial statements to excel to customize them more easily than within QuickBooks.

The next ASAP meeting will be on the Eastside of Portland on October 6 with Linda presenting.  The November meeting will be a planning meeting for the following year.  December’s meeting is a holiday luncheon.  No meeting will be held in January to allow for members to help close the books and prepare year-end reports for clients.  Anyone interested in presenting should communicate with Kim or Melissa.

August 4, 2016 Meeting Minutes

MEETING MINUTES – Bullet Points (full text below)

• Kim opened the meeting, which was held on the eastside of Portland at Kevin Minkoff’s new office.
• Dan Yedinak from Eclat Technologically was the guest speaker and discussed google apps.  He has been the business owner of Eclat Technologically for 5 years and has over 24 years of experience in IT.  His email address is Dan@eclat.com.  His experience includes security, servers, data backup, and QuickBooks.  He is also familiar with both Macintosh and Windows environments.
• Dan’s presentation discussed Google apps for business, which comes in both free and paid versions. You receive 15 gigabytes of free storage and can receive 1 terabyte for $30.  The paid version is HIPPA compliant.
• The discussion included goggle drive, google docs, google sheets, slides, forms, gmail, calendar, hangouts and voice/talk.
• One of the many benefits of google applications is real time collaboration. Google applications are also very accessible in multiple formats using any browser.  The learning curve for google drive sync is high.  It takes about 6 months of daily use to feel comfortable.
• To use google hangouts, all you need is a browser. Google sheets uses zero data and saves information automatically.  You can share folders and sheets and can also lock down ranges or cells so only you have access to changes
• Paid versions of google are available at $5 per user per month. Dropbox, Google Drive and Skydrive are ways to send files. Dan has noticed some downsides to use of dropbox.
• If anyone is interested in having Dan assist them as a consultant, he is available for a five hour limit for a fee of $250.
• The next meeting will be on the Westside of Portland at Tim Hess’ conference room on September 1, 2016 from 11:30 AM – 1 PM. The address is 9600 SW Oak Street, Portland 97223 and the conference room is on the 2nd floor.

FULL TEXT:

Kim opened the meeting, which was held on the eastside of Portland at Kevin Minkoff’s new office.  Introductions included stating our names, business and experience with Google apps.  Dan Yedinak from Eclat Technologically was the guest speaker.  He has been the business owner of Eclat Technologically for 5 years and has over 24 years of experience in IT.  His email address is Dan@eclat.com.  His experience includes security, servers, data backup, and QuickBooks.  He is also familiar with both Macintosh and Windows environments.

Dan’s presentation discussed Google apps for business, which comes in both free and paid versions.  You receive 15 gigabytes of free storage and can receive 1 terabyte for $30.  The paid version is HIPPA compliant.  The discussion then moved to discuss goggle drive, google docs, google sheets, slides, forms, gmail, calendar, hangouts and voice/talk.  A question came up as to whether multiple google accounts could be merged.  Dan stated this was possible.  One of the many benefits of google applications is real time collaboration.  Google applications are also very accessible in multiple formats using any browser.  You should use Google Chrome if you want to edit a document.  The learning curve for google drive sync is high.  It takes about 6 months of daily use to feel comfortable.  To use google hangouts, all you need is a browser.  Many schools and clubs use google sites.  Google sheets uses zero data and saves information automatically.  You can share folders and sheets and can also lock down ranges or cells so only you have access to changes.  One example of use of a google calendar is color coding business appointments one color and personal appointments another color.  Another nice feature is the ability to invite someone to an appointment through the google calendar.  An email can be sent to alert the user in advance as a reminder.  Permissions will allow customization of details.  Calendars have particular email addresses and each conference room can have a separate email.

Paid versions of google are available at $5 per user per month. Dropbox, Google Drive and Skydrive are ways to send files.  Dan has noticed some downsides to use of dropbox.

If anyone is interested in having Dan assist them as a consultant, he is available for a five hour limit for a fee of $250.

The meeting adjourned slightly after 1 PM.  The next meeting will be on the Westside of Portland at Tim Hess’ conference room on September 1, 2016 from 11:30 AM – 1 PM.  The address is 9600 SW Oak Street, Portland 97223 and the conference room is on the 2^nd floor.

Meeting Minutes July 7, 2016

Meeting Minutes – Bullet Points July 7, 2016

• Melissa Barton opened the meeting today and was the facilitator.
• ADP provided representatives from their office, including Megan Johnson, to present an overview of the recently enacted Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rules.
• In general, employees who meet the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions must be paid a minimum weekly salary of $913 in order to be exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements. This is an increase of $458 from the previous minimum salary requirement.  The new rules become effective on December 1, 2016.
• For those employees affected, there are two options – either increase wages to meet the salary minimum or classify the employee as nonexempt and start paying overtime when applicable.
• You may visit ADP’s website for more information on FSLA matters. You may also wish to contact Megan Johnson at a.johnson@adp.com
• Kim Boaz shared the results of the most recent ASAP board meeting. The website is in process and we have a fillable membership application for new members.
• November will be our traditional planning meeting.
• We are officially an IRS 501(c)(6) organization.
• Everyone who wants to be listed in the directory on our website should provide a headshot for the directory. Kevin Minkoff will reach out to those who have yet to provide a headshot and you will not be included on the directory until we receive the headshot. The directory will breakout members by category – CPAs, bookkeepers, payroll specialists and consultants.
• We currently have an All Star Accounting presence on Linked-In and Facebook.
• We have meetings once a month on the first Thursday of the month. The Eastside location will be changing very soon to 12508 Halsey Street, Portland. Our next meeting will be August 4 from 11:30 – 1:00 PM.

FULL TEXT

Melissa Barton opened the meeting today and was the facilitator.  Each participant introduced themselves and mentioned whether they were a member or guest.  ADP provided a couple of representatives from their office, including Megan Johnson, to present an overview of the recently enacted Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rules.  Handouts were provided by ADP on the new rules as well.  In general, employees who meet the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions must be paid a minimum weekly salary of $913 in order to be exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements.  This is an increase of $458 from the previous minimum salary requirement.  The new rules become effective on December 1, 2016 and an estimated 4.2 million workers are affected.  For those employees affected, there are two options – either increase wages to meet the salary minimum or classify the employee as nonexempt and start paying overtime when applicable.  The restaurant and retail industries are impacted more than most other industries.  Per the presentation, approximately 70% of employers are not in compliance with current FLSA laws and 90% of wage and hour cases result in payment of back wages and overtime.  Members and guests were invited to visit ADP’s website for more information on FSLA matters.  You may also wish to contact Megan Johnson at megan.a.johnson@adp.com.  A question was asked about the ADP revenue sharing program.  ADP will share 50% of the revenues when 5 clients are referred, then 10% for several years thereafter.  ADP also offers human resource services with three levels of service.  At the self-service portal level, you have access to an ADP representative, forms, a manual, document vault and interview questions.  At the middle level, an ADP representative comes on site to help set up HR systems.  At the high level, the employees come under the employer identification number of ADP which allows access to employee benefits at a discount due to the purchasing power of a larger employer.  There is also a telephone number to call for help in resolving payroll related questions 1-800-ADP-4CPA.

After the presentation, Kim Boaz shared the results of the most recent ASAP board meeting.  The website is in process and we have a fillable membership application for new members.  Once a new member application is submitted, Renee Trump is the first contact.  Diana and Melinda also are copied on the new applications.  Renee approves the application and Linda Lagraff will email an invoice for the annual dues.  Our group also has All Star Accounting Professionals business cards with space on the back for inclusion of the person who referred the guest.  November will be our traditional planning meeting.  We are officially an IRS 501(c)(6) organization and have been averaging 2 new members a month.  Interestingly, half of the current members are bookkeepers and half CPAs.

Kim met with a graphic designer for the website.  It was mentioned that everyone who wants to be listed in the directory on the website should provide a headshot for the directory.  Kevin Minkoff will reach out to those who have yet to provide a headshot and you will not be included on the directory until we receive the headshot. The directory will breakout members by category – CPAs, bookkeepers, payroll specialists and consultants.

We currently have an All Star Accounting presence on Linked-In and Facebook.  The ASAPPDX Facebook is a closed group while the All Star Bookkeeping Group is an open group.  We plan to have a forum for discussion of various topics within the ASAPPDX.com site.

Meeting Minutes June 2, 2016

• The meeting this month was held at Kevin Minkoff’s office on the east side of Portland.
• Annual dues are $60 per year and meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month.
• Meetings are usually rotated between the east side and west side of Portland.
• Kevin recently purchased a building so the meeting site on the east side will change in the near future.
• Diana Chung facilitated the meeting. Diana’s topic for discussion was “How does each of us set our pricing so that it is fair in the marketplace?”.  Many in our group were using both fixed pricing and hourly rates to price their services.  Some found that they were billing lower than the rest of the group with their hourly bookkeeping rates.
• Current board members: President Kim Boaz, Vice President Melissa Barton, Treasurer Linda Lagraff, Membership coordinator Renee Trump, Secretary Diana Chung and Website coordinator Kevin Minkoff.
• We need a speaker coordinator and event coordinator. If anyone is interested, please contact Kim Boaz.
• Our website is allstaraccountingprofessionals.com.
• The next All Star Accounting Professional meeting will be held on June 7, 2016 at Tim Hess’s office located at 9600 SW Oak Street, Suite 505 on the west side of Portland. Megan Johnson will facilitate the meeting and discuss the new overtime laws.

FULL TEXT:

The meeting this month was held at Kevin Minkoff’s office on the eastside of Portland.  Kim opened the meeting.   She mentioned that our group has dues of $60 per year and meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month.  Meetings are usually rotated between the eastside and west side of Portland. Kevin recently purchased a building so the meeting site on the eastside will change in the near future.  Diana Chung facilitated the meeting.  Diana’s topic for discussion was “How does each of us set our pricing so that it is fair in the marketplace?”  Our pricing of our services speaks volumes about your value proposition more than any other component of a company’s marketing.  In referencing an article called “Pricing on Purpose: The Eight Steps to Implementing Value Pricing in Your Firm” written by Ron Baker, a study by McKinsey & Co. in Cleveland, Ohio found that a 1% increase in price, at a constant sales volume would produce an 11% average increase in profitability – far greater than decreasing fixed costs, increasing volume or reducing variable costs by 1%.  Many in our group were using both fixed pricing and hourly rates to price their services.  Some found that they were billing lower than the rest of the group with their hourly bookkeeping rates.  A question arose as to whether some were billing training at a different rate than regular bookkeeping and some agreed that they were.  Diana mentioned that best practices for billing should include communication with the client for change orders if the scope of the job changes from that originally expected.  Not bringing this up with the client can result in not realizing the extra time spent on a project or a surprised or unhappy client.  It is also a good idea to have a signed and dated engagement letter to document the services to be performed.

Kim introduced the board members who are as follows:  President Kim Boaz, Vice President Melissa Barton, Treasurer Linda Lagraff, Membership coordinator Renee Trump, Secretary Diana Chung and Website coordinator Kevin Minkoff.  We are in need of filling the speaker coordinator and event coordinator positions.  If anyone is interested, please contact Kim Boaz.

Meeting Minutes May 5, 2016

The meeting this month was held at the WeWork Offices in downtown Portland.  Kim introduced our group.  Renee Trump facilitated the meeting.  Renee’s first question for the group was “What has been your strategy to keep up with apps and technology?” Melissa mentioned that she reads “Leader Report”.  Other sources included Charlie Russell, Linked-In Groups, QBO Power Hour and Sleeter Group.  Kevin Minkoff reads the Technology Today Magazine.  Renee uses HubDoc – a bank feed version.  HubDoc doesn’t work with On Point but integrates with QuickBooks online. Receipt bank software was discussed.  The client helps describe the transaction and take a picture of the receipt with their phone.  Alicia stated that she uses T-Sheets.  It is an app that can assist classifying timesheets including employee’s time and phone calls.  It integrates with your desktop computer. Next Renee mentioned a quote from Mike Michalowicz’s book “Profit First”.  The theme of the quote related to the fact that software is changing so quickly that to survive, the accounting industry will need to be more consultative and less transactional.  Although it is true that software enables consumers more tools to do things previously relegated only to bookkeepers and accountants, proper use of the software requires skills and understanding not held by many consumers.

The next All Star Accounting Professional meeting will be held on June 2, 2016 at Kevin Minkoff’s office on the Eastside of Portland.  Diana Chung will facilitate the meeting.

Meeting Minutes March 3, 2016

Meeting Location: Tim Hess's Office Kim opened the meeting and we passed business cards.  Those present introduced ourselves and shared one thing that makes us happy.   Anyone interested in facilitating a future meeting should contact Renee Trump. Melissa Barton facilitated today’s meeting.  Her question to the group was “How to find the right clients?”  Melissa shared her background with us.  She stated that she has learned a lot about personalities by running a small business.  As a group we shared stories of client’s personalities.  When asked what traits we wanted in a client, we stated trust, patience, communication, flexibility, appreciation, respectful, open minded, willing to pay for services and responsive.  In deciding whether to accept a client, we many times use our intuition.

The next meeting will be on April 7, 2016 on the Eastside of Portland at Kevin Minkoff’s office

Meeting Minutes February 4 2016

Kim Boaz opened the meeting with member introductions and each person describing a goal for the New Year.  She also asked who was accepting new clients, with nearly all attendants raising their hands.  We discussed that on Facebook, it would be helpful to have information about our businesses including the types of software we use, client industries, etc.   It was mentioned that if we used Facebook for members to check in for a meeting, it would help our profile. Kevin Minkoff mentioned that there are rumors QuickBooks desktop might be terminated in the future with only online QuickBooks service available.

Kim passed a goal setting paper to each member attending for their use.  Melissa mentioned we should have deadlines for the goal setting for our group to help us stay on task.  One of our group goals is to come up with a mission statement.  Sandy recommended having 3 mission statements and allowing the group to vote on their favorite one.  We also need an introduction letter for those who show interest in our group.  We will also need to create a registration packet to send to those interested in registering with our group.

Kim had a bowl filled with goal setting questions and asked several members to select a slip from the bowl, read and then answer the question.

Next, Kim asked us to think of a “wow goal”.  She explained that a “wow goal” is something that scares you but that you really want to do.

The next meeting will be at Tim Hess’ Westside conference room near Washington Square.  We will have an open discussion about how each member can contribute to the group.  The meeting will be on Thursday March 3, 2016 from 11:30 – 1 PM.

At the close of the meeting, Melissa mentioned that QuickBooks no longer allows syncs unless you are logged in as administrator.  Forms 1099 require this before efiling.  Kevin discussed his QuickBooks hosting program.

Meeting Minutes October 1 2015

Kim Boaz opened the meeting with member introductions and each person describing what they had received as a member of the group.    From noon until 12:45 we viewed a webinar of Hubdoc narrated by Bridget.  Hubdoc is a software program that allows quick entry of documents that are captured using your cell phone.  The software reads the vendor, date and dollar amount and allows for quick entry into Online QuickBooks, Xero or Freshbooks software.  It does not currently work with the desktop versions of QuickBooks.  The invoice is saved within the program for easy viewing.  Every night Hubdoc searches for new documents available to save such as bank statements and credit card statements.  The price is $20 per month per client and there are discounts after the 5^th, 45 and 100^th client.  Bridget has generously offered each member of our group a free Hubdoc account.  It saves multi-year data.  The company started in March 2014 and the servers are located in Canada.  Kevin mentioned that US social security numbers and HIPAA information may not be stored outside the US. For our November meeting, we will do a recap of the year and we’ll have our second annual Christmas lunch in December.

Before adjournment, Darren Gray reminded us of important considerations to discuss with our clients including health insurance plans, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), retirement plan elections and contributions and consideration of harvesting investment losses to offset investment gains.

Meeting Minutes September 3, 2015

Kim Boaz opened the meeting and had each person select a name from the group.  She encouraged everyone to acquire the contact information of the person’s name they drew and meet to get to know each other better. Kim briefly recapped some highlights from the August meeting.  She mentioned that E & O and liability insurance for bookkeepers averages $875 per year.  Kim recommends calling Colleen Byers of Pacific Benefit Consultants at 1-800-588-8688 or emailing at cbyers@pbeins.com to discuss insurance needs.  If you mention that Kim Boaz is the daughter of Donna Corwin you may receive a better rate.

Our group is officially registered with the Oregon Secretary of State and we have a fiscal year ending June 30 so the IRS Form 990-N will be due November 15.  Kevin provided Web Title software for $76 that could assist with our website.

Diana Chung volunteered to be secretary for the group and Sandy is co-secretary.  Dues will be $50 for the first fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 and $60 per year thereafter.  Starting October 1, you may send Linda Lagraff your dues.

Our group will meet on the East Side at Kevin Minkoff’s office for a Hubdoc webinar.  Kevin’s office is located at 11618 NE Halsey St., Portland, OR 97220.   Hubdoc allows scanning receipts and connects with our phones and banking.  For our November meeting, we will do a recap of the year and we’ll have our second annual Christmas lunch in December.