A PUBL I C ATI ON OF
Rhiannon Neuharth:
providing healing to families— starting with her own
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Go Figure Accounting
F IRST QUARTER 2 02 1
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CONSULTING • BOOKKEEPING • TAX PREPARATION • QUICKBOOKS
10
The Gold Standard
How bankruptcy, health challenges, science, and CBD set Rhiannon Neuharth up to win big at BioReigns.
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6 Points of Interest
16 Taken into Account
Book Buddies promote child literacy
Profit Points The key prosperity—and Profit First— is instilling healthy habits.
This is the year to maximize small victories America’s views on financial health in 2021
The ABCs on 1099s The latest on the new stimulus package
Company Spotlight Cindy Lovan, EA, Accounting & Tax
24 From Boomers to Zoomers Healthy finances for every generation CPA Q&A Rachel answers your accounting questions.
24 For What it’s Worth Embrace the power of the pivot
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KEEPING TRUST
FIRST QUARTER 2021 VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2 A P U B L I C AT I O N O F
Rachel Siegel, CPA Owner, Small Business Development Expert Cindy Lovan, EA Accounting, Tax Kirstin Pastorick Bookkeeping Michele Dunn Accounting Marissa Siegel Admin Assistant
Strong families. Strong communities. Every child deserves a safe, stable and loving home. Together, we can make that happen.
Become a foster parent. Start your life-changing journey. To get your questions answered about becoming a foster parent, call 866-90-CHILD or visit www.embracefamilies.org/next-steps.
Northeast office: 732-374-9641 Southeast office: 407-855-6648 Go Figureaccounting.net
PRODUCED BY
Jamie Ezra Mark Publisher Heather Lee Editor __________ Rheya Tanner Art Director Josh Clark Designer Wendy Mak Designer Caleb Jensen Web Garrett Reardon Digital
407-573-6061 hello@emagency.com emagency.com @EMagencyinc Goals is published quarterly by Go Figure Accounting. Volume 1 Number 2 Copyright© 2021 Go Figure Accounting. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Go Figure Accounting.
R A C H E L’ S D E S K
Less leads to more!
Less time at work leads to more time with family. Less device time leads to more hobbies. Lower carbs leads to more protein. Less spending leads to more saving. The turn of a calendar always sparks renewal and at Go Figure, we’re no different. These are just a few of our personal goals. But lately, instead of resolutions and mantras, I’ve been thinking about habits. Specifically, how the power of healthy habits can transform our health and our wealth. Win-win, right? So in this issue of Goals — our second! — we decided to thread the idea of healthy habits throughout the issue. The key to success? Think big, but start small. Small changes lower the barrier to getting started, and if you make them small enough, you’re more likely to be successful. This means you’re more likely to actually develop a healthy habit that leads to successful change. Take Rhiannon Neuharth, for example. Growing any business can feel like chaos, but that feeling is compounded when your financials are disheveled. Pressed up against a deadline, she took a chance with our team, and discovered a new passion for financial fitness. Her goal this year, besides growing BioReigns, her incredibly successful, home-based biotech wellness company, is to manage money with confidence while building a habit of better financial practices. Elsewhere in this lively package of content, you’ll meet Cindy Lovan, a staff accountant with a quirky love of numbers and Kpop. Mike Michalowicz shares how diet science is a pillar of Profit First success. And even then, what happens when all your best laid habits and plans go awry? You pivot. On page 24, we’re sharing how six clients adapted their businesses in the wake of COVID-19 to help them survive and thrive. If you’re struggling with your accounting or bookkeeping, need to develop some healthy new financial habits, or are simply curious about how Profit First can help your business, we’d love to help. Tell us your story at info@gofigureaccounting.net or find us on Instagram or Facebook.
The key to success? Think big, but start small. Small changes lower the barrier to getting started, and if you make them small enough, you’re more likely to be successful.
Go forth!
Rachel Siegel, CPA rachel@Go Figureaccounting.net
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POINTS OF
One To Watch Don’t compare your small projects to the big goals. In her TED talk, Mehrnaz Bassiri calls this “weighing ants” — aka “taking the tiniest wins and accomplishments of our lives and throwing them on these huge scales, expecting to see the needle move.” ideas.ted.com/how-to-make-your-smallwins-work-for-you
All the Small Things 2021 is the year to maximize small victories. We love to celebrate your wins. If you paid off your start-up debt, filed that patent, got the promotion, or grew your business, we’re going to be right there cheering with you, because that’s amazing! But the small wins — the ones that typically go unnoticed, that
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you don’t see on social media? We love those even more. Because they have transformational power. Turns out , we aren’t as productive when our goals are too big. It overstimulates our brains, and we can’t deal with them as rationally. But when we narrow
our focus to solve smaller problems, we’re better able to build on their success. This is a core concept behind Profit First, but you can apply it to all aspects of your healthy new year. So, what does a small win look like? Anything really! Here are
just a few examples of tiny victories you can celebrate on the way to bigger goals: SMALL WIN
Invest monthly. That can be as small as $25 each month or maxing out your 401(k) contribution in the first quarter. BIG WIN
Live a rich life. SMALL WIN
Make a budget that works in real life. BIG WIN
Pay off debt and be prepared for surprises.
FA C T S & FIGURES
81 percent The number of New Year’s resolutions that aren’t kept. The most common day to give them up is January 19. SOURCE: inc.com
SMALL WIN
Sign up for a consultation with Go Figure about Profit First. BIG WIN
Pay yourself first this year and still pave the way for growth. Celebrate all the wins! Keeping a running to-do list is helpful, but keeping a running “done” list is better. Reflecting on what you’ve done each day can help you learn from your wins and keep that mood momentum going.
12 MONTHS
the length of time that workers with flexible spending accounts (FSAs) can carry over unused funds from 2020.
Read more about the power of small victories on page 16.
1 in4
Americans
TA X T I P S
Congress has enacted a 100% deduction on business meal and beverage expenses through 2022, up from 50% in 2020. It applies to delivery and takeout as well as dine-in.
The number of U.S. Adults who say they were more likely to work with a financial professional in 2021— about the same number as in 2020.
$284 billion
The amount the new stimulus package provides to small businesses to reactivate the Paycheck Protection Program.
Buddying Young Minds Go Figure has committed to the Book Buddy Program to support child literacy. And we challenge you to do the same. With your help, we can help children start kindergarten with the skills they need to thrive. Here’s how it works: Book Buddies are matched with a 3 or 4-year-old in a child care classroom in Orange County, Florida, and exchange letters and books throughout the school year. The Volunteer Book Buddy commits to purchasing three books and exchange three letters with their Book Buddy through an online portal. ELCOC coordinates all correspondence for the privacy of the volunteer and child. That’s it — three letters, three books, and a lifetime passion for reading is born! To learn more, visit elcoforangecounty.org/get-involved. gofigureaccounting.net / 7
POINTS OF INTEREST
HEALTHY FIGURES
Newsflash: Health and wellness is taking top priority for the majority of Americans in 2021. This not-so-shocking headline comes via the annual New Year’s Resolutions Study conducted by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (allainzlife.com). And while no one is surprised given 2020’s physical and mental health challenges, it may be putting longterm finances at risk as far fewer people say they plan to focus on their finances in the New Year.
13 % 60 % 13 % 88 %
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I Got 1099 Problems
Four Quick Tips About 1099s
1. As a general rule, you must issue a Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC to each person to whom you have paid at least $600 in rents, services, prizes and awards or other income payments. You said they are including financial are required to issue 1099-MISC replanning as a New Year’s resolution ports only for payments you made in for 2021—the lowest percentage the course of your trade or business, since 2009. and you'll send it to any individual, partnership, Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership or Estate. You don’t need to issue 1099s for paysaid they were more stressed this ments made for personal purposes. year than last year (doubled from 2. The penalties can vary from $30 to only 30 percent in 2019) $100 per form ($1.5 million for the year), depending on how long past the said their household incomes deadline the company issues the form. are still below the level they If a business intentionally disregards were pre-pandemic. the requirement to provide a correct SOURCE: Bankrate payee statement, it is subject to a minimum penalty of $250 per statement, said they expect their financial with no maximum. situation to improve or stay 3. One of the smartest procedures a busithe same next year, rather ness owner can implement is to request than get worse. a W-9 from any vendor you expect to pay more than $600 before you pay them. Using this as a normal business practice will give you the vendor's mailing information and Tax ID number, and it'll also require that the vendor indicate whether they are a corporation or not (saving you the headache of sending them a 1099 next year). 4. You are required to issue and essentially mail out all your Form 1099s to your vendors by January 31. Then you have to send in the transmittal Form 1096 to the IRS. For those of you that 'outsource' this service, your accountant with the proper system can actually submit the forms electronically by March 31. Don't forget! Depending on state law, you may also have to file the 1099-MISC with the state.
Stimulus U pdates
Besides th e includes m new round of stimu lu o other thin re funding to small s checks, the packa gs businesse g s among m e need to kn . As a business ow n a ow about e loans and r, here’s what you ny grants.
LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES The act provides more than $284 billion to reactivate the Paycheck Protection Program to provide low-interest-rate loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA). As before, these loans are intended to help business owners retain their employees, keep operations going, and pay themselves. They’re not only low-interest; they’re also forgivable (meaning you don’t have to pay them back!) if you use them for the stated purpose. Companies, nonprofits, self-employed people are eligible for a loan if they have 500 or fewer employees, up to a cap of $10 million. If you got a PPP loan already, you can apply for another one, but there are more restrictive
requirements: You have to have 300 or fewer employees and be able to show a 25 percent or more reduction in your gross receipts during any quarter in 2020 compared with the same quarter last year. That’s to focus money to the smallest businesses and nonprofits. Second-draw borrowers should be able to borrow up to two and a half times their average monthly payroll costs up to a cap of $2 million — or three and a half times your payroll if you’re in the food services or accommodations industry. The agreement also sets aside money for PPP lending through community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs). This is intended to address some of the shortcomings in PPP
lending to underserved communities. It also adds money to invest in and support these lenders. GRANTS New with this amendment, $15 billion in dedicated funding will go to hard-hit live venues, cultural institutions, and independent movie theaters. The SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will disburse grants of up to 45 percent of 2019 gross revenue (with a $10 million cap) to eligible organizations. The act also adds another $20 billion for grants for business owners for COVID-19 relief through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. You have to choose either a PPP or EIDL loan, so look into both to see what makes the most sense for you.
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The answer, it turns out, comes from both the garden and the lab, in the form of CBD and other plant-based supplements. Neuharth first explored cannabis products as a supplement for her husband, not realizing it could benefit her entire family. “He has some challenging neurological issues that just weren’t being effectively treated with traditional medicine. Sure, the drugs helped alleviate some of his symptoms, but the side effects were destroying his quality of life. I was tired of watching him suffer.” That sentiment compounded when the Neuharths discovered their daughter suffered from recurring illness due to missing part of her immune system. The former science teacher is a self-acknowledged geek, so it wasn’t long before her research led her down the endocannabinoid system to cannabinoid receptors and, eventually, CBD oils. “When we started using an oil-based CBD alongside our lifestyle, we began seeing improvement almost immediately,” Neuharth gushes. “It was enough to make us both decide to make CBD part of our family’s lifestyle, as well as a business.” They remained with that first company for three years. But when it quit working, they realized it was time to go back to researching. “Science and technology are constantly changing,” Neuharth says. “I discovered that oil-based CBD has a very low absorption level. Knowing this, I sought other delivery methods for not only 12 / goals / first quarter 2021
“Sure, the drugs helped alleviate some of his symptoms, but the side effects were destroying his quality of life. I was tired of watching him suffer.” —Rhiannon Neuharth BioReigns Seller
our CBD, but our entire supplement regimen.” Scientifically speaking, it all comes down to something known as bioavailability. “Bioavailability indicates how much of any given substance can be absorbed by the body,” Neuharth says. “With an oil-based product, less than 20 percent of the actual effective compound is being absorbed and utilized by the body.” And that’s how Neuharth first discovered BioReigns and its unique water-dissolvable nutrient-delivery system that increases the absorption of not only CBD molecules, but also a wide variety of other necessary vitamins and minerals. For the Neuharths, that better, faster absorption meant improved health and wellness. And if you’re entrepreneurial-minded, financial security in a workfrom-home business. Win, win. Neuharth transitioned to BioReigns at the end of last year to working to show people how this technology might be right for them—no matter what they’ve heard.
FROM CBD TO CPA
Sure, everyone can use CBD safely and effectively; from the daily walker to the occasional runner, to the true weekend warrior, to the pro-athlete. Not everyone, however, has the same luck with CPAs, accountants, and financial professionals. “I haven’t always been the poster child for best financial practices,” admits Neuharth. As a child, she experienced homelessness after moving across the country and filed bankruptcy at 25 after her first failed business
Tips for a Healthier Quaran-team “I feel like I’ve been living in Groundhog Day,” jokes Neuharth, referring to quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Those first few months took a tremendous toll on our mental health, so we had to adapt. Even though my daughter is immunocompromised, we had to find ways to connect with others, to protect our mental health.” Neuharth shared her favorite tips as a community contributor at Horizon West magazine:
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This is a first for everyone. Stress, confusion, worry, sadness, and fear are all appropriate reactions to having lost control of your sense of normalcy. Your kids, spouse, partner, and extended family may be emotional and more prone to arguments. This is their way of expressing their own feelings. Talking as a family about these feelings will do wonders for moving into the unknown together.
Your new daily routine will not look like a normal day at school or work. Finding a schedule that works for everyone will take time, patience, communication, and grace. At the beginning and end of each day, check in with each family member to see how they are feeling about the day. Keep a daily list of feelings and adjust your routine accordingly.
Everyone’s attention spans are all over the place right now. Work in chunks broken up with snacks, creative time, music, and exercise or reading. This applies to children in virtual school and work-from-home adults alike. Give plenty of breathing room to process, and extra time to focus on schoolwork or tasks. Be gentle with each other.
We are all being pulled in a million directions right now, particularly if you are working from home. Small children demand attention. Schedule one-on-one time to replace tantrums with positive interaction. Reward good behavior and offer incentives for self-entertaining so you can focus on work in between meeting their needs. Set some office hours for yourself so your children begin to learn what to expect when it’s not one-on-one time.
Read, pray, meditate, indulge in a cup of coffee while the house is quiet in the morning, go for a walk or run, make healthy meals, drink plenty of water and encourage active time with your family. Your health and well-being are vital to helping your children feel safe during this time. If you are feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope, ask for help. Vent to other grownups when you need to, and focus on being the best version of yourself as you lead your loved ones through a challenging time.
Acknowledge your feelings
Let go of expectations
Break up the day
Schedule attention
Prioritize health
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Connect
It can be tempting to spiral down the “what if” way of life, but it’s important to remember we are all in this together. You may struggle with isolation from other adults, familiar friends, and the comfort of what your life was before. Trust that everyone else is feeling a lot like you are. Reach out to them with a phone or video calls, a socially distant bike ride, or a driveway chat. Connecting with other humans, even six feet apart, makes all the difference.
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attempt. Though she contributes these two events as fuel to push her through struggles to see success, healthy finances have previously been a struggle. “I’ve never had a good experience with a CPA. Not one. It’s been one disaster after another from lying to tax fraud, so when I hear the word ‘accountant,’ my walls go up. But as a business owner, it’s a necessary
still guarded. Until she found herself up against a tax deadline, completely flustered, with nowhere to turn. “It was one day before my taxes were due, and Rachel dove right in. No questions asked, no extra fees. She didn’t judge me or chastise me, she just got the work done. I was so happy and so impressed that I immediately asked her for more help.”
business weekly. And right now, we’re brainstorming and setting new financial goals for 2021 and beyond.” While Neuharth may never be an accounting evangelist, she does sing Go Figure’s praises often. “I’m a relationship person and so is Rachel, which I believe makes all the difference. Go Figure isn’t about making a quick buck.
“Go Figure isn’t about making a quick buck. They come in, they hold your hand, and they are radically honest…It’s big picture thinking, and that’s made a profound impact on the success of my business.” —Rhiannon Neuharth, BioReigns Seller
evil. I’m a great mom and entrepreneur. I love science and helping people live their best life. I’m even a good homeschool teacher. Accounting is just not my thing,” she laughs. Enter Rachel Siegel and Go Figure Accounting. “I first met Rachel at a Horizon West Professional Networking event, back when meeting in person was still a thing,” remembers Neuharth. Though the two women bonded over shared parents’ travails, Neuharth was 14 / goals / first quarter 2021
“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” jokes Siegel. “It’s been a year since that first maddash deadline, but we finally have it under control. This is great because her business is growing incredibly fast! “Financials are one of the first areas to start slipping through the cracks when a business grows too quickly. Thankfully, with a little guidance, we’ve been able to transition Rhiannon to QuickBooks, so she can monitor the health of her
They come in, they hold your hand, they walk you through every step. They do the right thing, and they are radically honest. Like it or not, Rachel gives you the good, the bad, and the ugly, but she also gives you an achievable outcome. Something to work towards, a way to better your business. It’s big picture thinking, and that’s made a profound impact on the success of my business. I appreciate her guidance, patience, and ongoing support.”
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TAKEN INTO
Healthy Habits, Healthy Profit Mike Michalowicz’s recipe for success uses diet and exercise to leverage fat profits. This is the year. The year you get real about your financial health. Spoiler alert: it has a lot to do with your daily habits. For many of us, our daily life is set around habits, structure, and patterns. Most of us wake up around the same time each day, brush our teeth, do some form of exercise or meditation, and eat a relatively similar breakfast, be-
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fore heading off to work. We stop at the same coffee shop, park in the same spot, check our email, listen to voicemail, and start the work day. Here’s the thing: Habits can be helpful or hurtful. If you’ve ever tried to eat better, get at least seven hours of sleep each night, or floss daily, you know that habits are not easy to form or change.
And that’s exactly the same for your financial health. To transform your business into a money-making machine, you must develop sound financial habits, just like how you need healthy dietary habits to lose weight. Which is exactly how and why Profit First makes so much sense — it’s a method of habits that grow a successful business based
loosely on four principles from dietary-science research. Coincidence? Absolutely not. Here’s a quick overview of how diet and wealth work together to achieve success Profit First Accounting. USE SMALL PLATES. In a diet,
the practice reduces your food intake. But with Profit First, you take out profit first and split the balance into small accounts. With less cash, you’ll be forced to find innovative ways to achieve more with less. CHANGE MEAL SEQUENCE. In a healthy diet, you always eat the low-calorie, nutritious food first. In finance, you take profits first and pay your bills last, so you only spend what you can afford.
BE REALISTIC. It’s
okay to have lofty goals. But to achieve them, you need to create a group of smaller goals to get there. Celebrate the small wins.
BE MINDFUL. You can be more motivated than the 10 other entrepre-
neurs in your networking group, but if you are not 100 percent clear on what your “want” looks like, then what are you really going after? Find ways to increase your awareness and be more mindful overall. For you that may be
Is Your Business Financially Fit?
REMOVE TEMPTATIONS. A healthy
diet helps you remove junk food and stock up on healthy food. In Profit First, once you’ve taken your profit, keep it out of sight, out of mind and hard to access. MAKE IT CONSISTENT. In a healthy
diet, you eat small, regular meals so you won’t get hungry and overeat. With Profit First, likewise, don’t wait for your monthly or annual statements to assess your cash position. Log in daily to check your balances. Manage your allocations and payables twice a month.
Small Changes, Big Results The good news is it’s not hard to inject healthy, positive choices into your life and business. You simply start where you are and make progress every day towards habits that will be healthy for you. Michael Michalowicz, the author of Profit First, breaks it down even further, sharing his Top 10 Tips to Create Better Habits in 2021.
Don’t mistake income and profit. Your business isn’t necessarily healthy just because you’re bringing in lots of cash. If your business is leaking money all over the place, you won’t stay afloat for long so step one is to get real with yourself about your business’ financial health. If you don’t start taking your financial security seriously, you run the risk of lulling yourself into a false sense of security and then being screwed if there’s a dip in sales. Do you have enough to cover yourself if you have a couple of bad months? Are you stuck living check-to-check because generating more revenue has also incurred more bills? Is there a way to be doing things more efficiently? These are all important questions to ask yourself. Profit First includes an assessment outline that can help bring clarity and highlight areas that need adjustment. Want to learn more? Let’s take a walk and talk.
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working out, meditation, prayer, yoga, writing — whatever it may be, practice it at the beginning of your day. Because without being mindful, it will be harder to be intentional, which is another important step in creating better habits.
Haven’t read the book? That’s ok. Michalowicz shares these four Profit First principles:
BE INTENTIONAL. Getting swept
away in your day is natural, but not productive. If you set your intentions early on in the day, whenever the static starts to bear down, you can hit that imaginary reset button and return to the intention you set for yourself.
1. Better is not better. Different is better. Seek ways to stand out from your competition instead of beating them. And by standing out, chances AVOID BAD HABITS. You’re an are you will beat them. adult, you know what they are. 2. Take your profit Avoid the actions that cause the first, always. The belief bad habits. Stop the behaviors that profit is a year-end concept is bunk. that are counterproductive. And,
stop avoiding the unavoidable.
3. The less you do the better you will be. The Not checking bank statements less variety in the types will not increase your balances. of customers you’re serving, the more you’ll be CREATE RITUALS TO FOSTER GOOD able to be on the leading HABITS. Work out clothes folded edge of the solutions that truly serve them. at the end of the bed. Sneakers 4. Book a four-week vacation to be taken within the next 18 months. If doing this feels laughable or impossible or both, then you have a business that is in trouble.
on the toilet. Gym bag packed. Automated daily accounting/ banking reminders. These are in your face reminders of the bigger picture, of the goal you set for yourself.
STAY ACCOUNTABLE. If you follow the Profit First system you know how successful your business will be when you stay accountable. To improve your habits and achieve your goals you must, must stay accountable. Do you check your bank account balance daily? Do you make it a habit to log in and monitor your account balances? That one small step can help you kick off the traction you need to create, establish or maintain just one business goal. And it’s a great way to start the domino effect to-
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ward a more profitable business. GO SLOW. Little of quality is created within minutes. Small, consistent steps garner bigger results. It takes some patience, but your results will be real and lasting. BE CONSISTENT. Following systems will help you maintain good habits because they are organized and clear cut. All you have to do is follow and apply! TRACK YOUR PROGRESS. It
could be graphs, or milestone balances. It could be as simple as crossing items off a master todo list. Track it to stack it!
To transform your business into a moneymaking machine, you must develop sound financial habits, just like how you need healthy dietary habits to lose weight.
MAKE DECISIONS THAT FEEL GOOD, NOT GUILTY.If you implemented Profit First, you know how empowering it was when you opened the five accounts. Then you had those accounts listed for you to see every day. The same is true for physical fitness. Training for that 5K and then finishing it will be empowering. Giving up sugar is torturous, but watching your A1C drop is life changing. Maybe it was daunting at first, but the good decisions, the responsible decisions, ultimately help you change your habits and achieve those business goals.
One More, For The Win Going to the gym isn’t just for athletes in training. The best business professionals understand that preparing your body physically will help prepare your mind and body to thrive within the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Don’t take our word for it. Several studies, including this one found that, “eating unhealthily is linked with a 66 percent increased risk of loss of productivity, while lack of daily exercise is linked with a 50 percent increased risk of low productivity.” So while it isn’t necessary to run five miles or bench 150 pounds, you do need to have a basic level of fitness. So in additional to Michael’s Top 10, Go Figure CEO Rachel Siegel adds this: Move your body every day. If you want to perform, you must be fit. Running, swimming, going to the gym or doing yoga, it doesn’t matter as long it’s something you enjoy, keeps you fit and becomes part of your routine. You will feel more energized and more efficient at work. Ironically some sports also provide you with a great time to think about work (usually strategy) away from emails and a screen.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE TEAM THAT PUTS THE “GO” IN GO FIGURE
Lovan Life! Cindy Lovan, EA, is an enrolled agent, number sleuth, business advisor, dog lover, Kpop enthusiast, and all around awesome human who helps keep Go Figure going.
In Cindy Lovan’s office, three things are happening: Milo, an adorable shih tzu bichon mix, is snoring. The cursor hovers on a troubling lineitem splayed at 150 percent across the screen. And the fluffy, strangely addicting harmonies of Korean pop music bop in the background. Which begs the question: Is it really K-pop if you can’t see the slick, synchronized choreography and fashion-forward teen icons? Lovan, a K-pop enthusiast and accountant, will most certainly say yes. Bilingual in English and Laotian, Cindy earned her accounting degree from Buena Vista University in the charming small town, Storm Lake, Iowa, where she grew up. Nearly four years ago, 2017, she married her high school sweetheart and started her dream job at Go Figure when Rachel Siegel opened the Florida office. “It’s easy to let accounting take a back-seat in your business. But what I wish more business owners knew is that it’s important to do it right from day one, and not just
put it in a shoebox and figure it out later,” she says. “Every day I deal with issues that were poorly documented or simply done wrong that undermine the company’s success. Numbers don’t have to be boring. But if they are, we can do it for you.” A woman so passionate about numbers — and music — can’t be wrong.
What’s the best part of your job? Working with a great
team who is always ready to help when needed. We have built a great teamwork and working environment.
Your favorite financial or accounting challenge? I
like the challenge of organizing messy books and getting them back on the right track. It’s so satisfying to get books to balance in preparation for tax returns or the financial statements crucial to securing a business loans.
last year, and it has the power to transform anyone’s finances. I wish I had thought of it sooner!
Do you have a favorite piece of advice for small businesses?
Keep your books up to date.
COVID has changed so much in our lives. How has it affected your job? I worked from home for six months. We are a paperless company and it really helped having all our work available digitally.
What should business owners and entrepreneurs know for 2021? Definitely the
newest PPP and EIDL loan options (see page 9). They are such a great tool to help manage stress and uncertainty or leverage growth like some of our other clients have done. Plus, there are valuable new tax laws that are in place to help What’s the one thing clients such as meals being 100 percent can do right now to improve deductible in 2021 versus the 50 their finances or taxes? Profit percent from prior years. First! It was the best book I read gofigureaccounting.net / 19
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Boomers to Zoomers Generational segmentation is not a marketing gimmick—there is vast evidence that the tendencies of different generations are meaningful and unique. We’ve gathered the most compelling statistics and crafted healthy recommendations for each generation to pursue in 2021.
Baby Boomers 1946-1964
TOP CONCERN: Retirement & Health Care Costs
Because of the ‘Great Recession,’ many Boomers are seeing a gap in their retirement savings and some are still recouping losses. To get back on track, or to stay on track, working one-on-one will be the most beneficial for Boomers, who appreciate more personal interactions versus technology. STATISTICS
• 79% of Boomers are still saving for retirement • 52% believe they will have to delay retirement. • 23% are delaying retirement to retain their current healthcare benefits. • Boomers are the most financially stable generation, with 6 in 10 reporting they can afford an unexpected expense of $10,000. • Average Debt: $87,438. Debt accumulations include mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans and personal loans.
FOCUS ON
• Prioritizing your retirement before helping loved ones; • Budgeting to reduce debt and save more to close the retirement gap; • Better managing your investments as you get closer to retirement; and • Planning for long-term care costs.
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Gen X 1965-1980
TOP CONCERN: Running Out of Money in Retirement
Gen X is caught in the middle. Many, still paying for children, are now faced with care for aging parents. Focusing on the needs of others without recognizing your own is a plan for disaster. Right now, Gen X should pay down debt, minimize expenses, and budget how much time and money you will invest in the needs of your parents and children. STATISTICS
• 26% of Gen Xers have already withdrawn money from their retirement plans to pay for other expenses. • 44% find it difficult to meet household expenses on time each month • 53% consistently carry credit card balances greater than half their available credit • Gen Xers are the best savers, setting aside 16% of their post-tax income. • Average Debt: $125,000
FOCUS ON
• Paying down debt; • Reversing the decline in money management; • Making sure they have adequate insurance and estate planning protection; and • Translating their growing retirement and investing awareness into more saving and better investing.
Millennials 1981-1996
TOP CONCERN: Meeting Current Expenses
Typical of the age, this is a spending generation. So, it’s time to reexamine your spending. What have you given up in 2020 that you can keep giving up in 2021? STATISTICS
• 46% of Millennials find it difficult to pay household expenses on time each month • 42% have student loan debt • 30% Millennials use credit cards to pay for monthly necessities • 40% of those who consistently carry balances on their cards find it difficult to make minimum monthly payments • Average Debt: $52,120
22 / goals / first quarter 2021
FOCUS ON
• Strengthening their money management skills; • Paying down credit card and student loan debt; • Setting long-term goals for retirement planning and 1995-2012 investing; and • Maximizing technologies like retirement calculators and robo-advisers to be more proactive with their They may be the youngest generation, but by 2025 investing and spending. they will make up one-fifth of the US labor force
Gen Z
“We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach.” —Gloria Steinem
so it’s not too early for Gen Zers, aka “Zoomers,” to develop healthy financial practices. When it comes to saving, the saying ‘a little goes a long way’ is a great approach. A great strategy for Gen Zers would be to make small deposits on a regular basis. Even just an extra $10 a week deposited into a savings account will add up to over $2,600 in 5 years. $25 a week and you’d have over $6,500 in 5 years. FOCUS ON
• Building savings and emergency funds; • Establishing a budget and tracking spending habits; • Minimize debt practices; and • Begin setting long-term goals for retirement planning and investing.
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CPA Q&A
New Year, New Deductions Rachel Siegel, CPA
Rachel answers your most pressing business questions.
“I’m a solopreneur. Why can’t I just run personal and business expense through the same account?” The short answer: You can’t and you shouldn’t. We’ve seen people use their company cards to cover everything from vet bills to vacations. However, you can’t write those expenses off because they aren’t qualified business expenses. A qualified business expense is anything that is ordinary and necessary to you running your business, like your phone or laptop. When it comes time to file quarterly or annual taxes, it becomes difficult to keep track of your business finances when everything is mixed together. Another thing to keep in mind: you may not always want to be a solopreneur. If your business starts to grow or scale, you might have a hard time explaining to potential investors and partners why you’re using company profits to
pay for things like dog grooming. My advice: Keep your business and personal expenses in separate accounts. If you haven’t—or if you get audited—don’t panic. Q1 is the time to revisit your financial structures and we can help.
“Is it true that claiming home office “Why doesn’t my bank deductions is a red account balance flag to the IRS and I’d match my income probably get audited?” statement?” A lot of people get confused by this, but it’s because it shouldn’t. Your net income is a statement of activity, not a statement of position. Here’s a breakdown of the difference: • Income statement: This is a summary of spending activity that covers a specific time frame. On this sheet, you’ll see how much you made in revenue and the cost of expenses. • Balance sheet: On the flip side, a balance sheet covers your current position. It shows you a
Keep your business and personal expenses in completely separate accounts. Q1 is a great time to revisit your financial structures. 24 / goals / first quarter 2021
snapshot of where your business is at a certain point in time. In other words, if you had to liquidate your business today, this is what you would have left in cash.
The IRS has very strict rules when it comes to home office deductions. Taking the home office deduction in itself is not a red flag; the red flags arise when taxpayers try to push the limits of this deduction. The best way to avoid an audit in this area is to make sure you have a separate room designated as a home office. It cannot be a shared space, such as working from your kitchen table or office that’s also a guest room. This is why most people get audited. You must list the square footage of your home office in comparison to the total square footage of your home as a whole. If you have to provide an estimate, be reasonable. Anything over 50 percent is unreasonable and definitely a red flag. As long as you truly have a dedicated home office in a separate space, taking this deduction is not anything to worry about.
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F O R W H AT I T ’ S W O R T H
Of all the potential business lessons to be learned from the current health crisis, none may be greater than the importance of agility.
PI OT TO WIN IT From small startups to large corporations, no one has been spared the wrath of the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis nearly shut down entire industries and forced companies of all sizes to adapt and evolve, including many of our clients. The silver lining? As they say, when you’re backed up against a wall, break it down. Several Go Figure clients have done just that, emerging from the other side with a new outlook, a new business plan, and a success story.
Back To Better Even as the need for emergency medical care skyrocked last year, thousands of elective and non-essential medical services watched their patient practices crumble. That includes Dr. Jason Brooks, a chiropractor based in New Jersey. With urgent care and emergency rooms packed to the rafters and unable to help, Dr. Brooks decided to take action. “COVID-19 affected not only how we could care for our patients, but also how we could operate the clinic. As a healthcare
professional, it was frustrating to want to serve our neighbors and friends, but be limited by legislation. But rather than be angry, we decided to look for ways to help.” By adding a medical director and medical services to his chiropractic practice, Dr. Brooks was able to meet the needs of his community by pivoting his business into a Multi-Discipline Practice. “The whole world stopped because of a health issue, but now, more than at any time in our lifetime, health is the world’s gofigureaccounting.net / 25
number-one goal at this point, and we are in an incredible position to help people.”
Retooling
Benefit Of The Doubt Certainly COVID-19 sent businesses scrambling, from implementing work-from-home to keeping employees safe. Nearly a year later, it’s clear to several of our clients that their employees need more support than ever before. For Ron Yeh, President of Tay Yuh Feng a.k.a East Side Asian Market in Orlando, Florida, that meant establishing a retirement plan for the business so everyone is better protected in the future. Scott Levine, Founder and CEO of SDB Trucking in New Jersey, not only expanded benefits to include a retirement plan for employees, he purchased an ancillary business related to his strategic business needs to leverage growth in a crowded trucking market.
Quick Thinking No business owner wants waste in their business, whether it’s dollars, productivity or time. Right now, that’s especially true. Which made 2020 the perfect time for Don Bahr of A Lot Cleaner in Toms River, NJ to finally make the move to Quickbooks Online (QBO). He was able to use the initial coronavirus shutdown to orchestrate the move, giving his business’s recovery a major leg up by automating tasks so he could do more with less. Turns out, this QBO switch literally saved his business when Don landed in the hospital with COVID-19. Beyond cash flow benefits, QBO’s cloud-based automation kept payroll, timesheets, accounts receivable, expenses, and reporting all on track while he recovered.
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In some markets, we realized that we no longer offered solutions they needed. So we purchased a business to add new product lines that would meet those needs, as well as adding a new list of potential clients to our existing business
By now, many business leaders have recognized that their customers need to make difficult decisions about budgets and which projects they’ll invest in. That was certainly the case for Universal Tools & Manufacturing in Springfield, NJ. Although UTM has met the challenge of custom metal stamping and tool and die making since 1945 — their parts have literally gone to the moon! — COVID-19 forced them to look harder at their scope of work. “We separated each industry and created an outline of the new challenges they might be facing and the solutions they might be looking for,” says Robin McElwee. “In some markets, we realized that we no longer offered solutions they needed. So we purchased a business to add new product lines that would meet those needs, as well as adding a new list of potential clients to our existing business.”
Making Magic Happen Within the space of 72 hours, most of the employees at Walt Disney World in Orlando were furloughed. That included husband and wife bakers, Shonnel and Joey Powers. Yet, with everyone staying at home, the duo noticed that the interest in food and baking was soaring. So they took their love of colorful cakes, confections, and cookies to social media, and Shonoey Cookies was born. Full disclosure: They aren’t a Go Figure client, but their story is inspiring and, well, we love their cupcakes! At Go Figure, we are proud of the small role we played helping these extraordinary businesses survive and thrive, whether that’s with our accounting expertise or endless appetite for sweets.
It takes a local business owner to protect one.
As a small business owner in our community, I understand what it takes to protect your small business. Let me help you get insurance for your business at a great value. Stop in or give me a call.
Bryan Fifer, Agent
16106 Marsh Road, Suite 104 Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-614-2622 www.bryanfifer.com State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm General Insurance Company, Bloomington, IL State Farm Florida Insurance Company, Winter Haven, Florida State Farm Lloyds, Richardson, TX 1706446
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