Medlin Software, Dennis

1 minute ago, schirallicpa said:

Lets not read into this more than it is - he's doing weddings and funerals stuff like that.  This is not an argument about whether he is independent or not.  My issue is the fact that the treasurer has been filing these no-tax 941s for it for a few years and noting that there had not been any inquiry regarding it from IRS or NYS.  I would normally just file another 1099 for him, but now I have this HSA report showing a whole $36 that prompted the treasurer to ask me about it.  

Yuck/muck. Sounds like the clergy person is doing right, and the church person (and whomever is or should be monitoring their books) has been making the same error for years.  Sadly, more common than it should be, even in the small sample size I deal with.

If not acting as an employee (assuming there is no employee activity at all), if there are any payments from the church to your client at all, why? I have seen similar before, a church has associates who never give in church service, but do things like weddings and counseling. The church lets them be an associate, but unless they do something such as fill in speaking, they are never an employee.

Similar but different. In my younger days, I would inevitably end up involved with whatever org my kids were in. Baseball, school, whatever. So many times the finances were a mess for prior volunteers. Now, those that care about me prohibit me from volunteering. Paid? Maybe, but the usual is to refer to pros who will be there through many volunteer cycles. 

No telling what, if anything, gets passed. The advice of file when ready is likely the best. If something comes later with more bene, the IRS will likely send payment. 

I have not followed it in a bit, but there was some court challenges to housing allowance - I don't remember the argument, other than it seemed logical (which does not usually apply to taxation). I don't expect HA to get negated, as the political ramifications would cause upheaval for sure, but IIRC, it was an interesting argument.

My usual first place to look is in the image. I used to have an online "friend" who was likely the most expert independent person on church payroll, but they passed a few years back. "Doing pastoral duties for the church" sounds like employee for that work. As opposed to performing a wedding for a church member as IC.

Church payroll is a highly specialized endeavor. Even some of the denomination provided advice can be suspect. Coupled with the number oif church payrolls run by volunteers, and kind at heart folks, mistakes are common.

13 minutes ago, Lee B said:

This bill was scheduled for a vote in The House this week.

Now it's been held up by Republican House members from New York who want the $10,000 SALT cap increased.

Ugh. Scratch my back at its worst. 

You can use a virtual phone service. Those services can email you any sms messages, and often can handle fax in/out. You could transfer your LL number to the service and have the voice calls forwarded to your cell or a new LL number. 

I would have agreed 40 years ago.  Expectations are different today, given the shift to "there must be somebody I can get to do what I want, at no risk to me". And as have aged, the natural consequence is to accept less BS.

One method, for the best safety, is to "wash" your incoming message through something like mailwasher.  Another is to always open messages in plain text mode, so no links can be selected, and no one pixel images can be used to track your opening of the message.  The issue is really too large for one person to handle their own filtering, yet the filters are so bad, wanted messages get trapped.  Catch-22.  For me, I have my mail server scan attachments for obvious issues, and I will setup blocks for repeated offenders, but for the most part, I let all through, filter locally, but I still have to review all messages in case one gets caught incorrectly, and I don't open anything in an email unless I asked for something.  Good old Safe Hex.

Deeper, the "managed" email providers are terrible at filtering.  Why?  Because they filter for their own reasons first (to save money), and they do not filter "for" you at all.  I get messages every single day from customers who say they did not get their receipt (although some are a farce as we also send it via SMS when they provide it).  There are still a few providers who use the block everything, unless the sender fills out a form.  The absolute worst are the "cloud" filters, as they will often not even allow you to see the blocked messages (I am talking about Loyal Order of Moose, which ran into this a year or two ago, and could not get anything from me, even though I never send spam, and I do not send from shared IP addresses.)

Ugh.  I just got a written earful, and threats of bad reviews and BBB reporting from a now former client.  All because I pointed out a possible error, which now appears to be a knowing decision to defraud (the old "protest too much" theory).  I don't worry about threats or bad reviews, and in this case, I suspect nothing will happen out of fear they will get caught. I reserve the right to be wrong, in case there is a statutory or other exception.

Person asked why the W2 "I" prepared is different than the 1099 they received.

"I own my own business (S-corp).  I work under X and they do my billing, credentialing, etc. I am an independent contractor. I pay for their services and they give me a biweekly check minus their pay. Does that make sense? I bought your software to pay myself and give myself a W2 at the end of the year. "

I shared information pointing to an employer/employee relationship.  The result "Can I receive my money back for your services? I will be dealing with another company. Again, I did not ask for your opinion. Apparently I am dealing with a narcissist and as a counselor I would like to set a boundary. I will be reporting our conversations to BBB and anyone else who will listen including the referral source I was given for your software."

5 minutes ago, Margaret CPA in OH said:

Thank you for saving them!!!  I cannot believe that those markets still exist.  I don't eat any meat any longer let alone dog.  Different cultures, different values...

The elder generations still eat dog meat.  The younger generations do not, but are not inclined to cause their elders to lose face by making a new law.

We are part of a rescue group, and we are good at foster failing.  (We foster failed twice with human pups too.)

My assistants whine if I don’t cover them up with their blankets in the morning. Or if I don’t go upstairs to work on time! The traffic on the stairway can get a little intense, one likes to race by on the left, the other follows on the right. If I forget to leave space on the left, there can be a backup. Or a collision if I carry my water bottle too low on the right  

Saved from the meat market (really) in China. one has wonky front legs from being hung up for sale. 
 

Way to go! Keeps the peace a little and gives the son some relief at this most difficult time. 

Hard to argue RC is met if dist is used for day to day. So silly, the RC game. Those that play are likely served best taking wages up to the ss limit, if they have the option. 

Unless the shareholder rarely participates, the wage amount you are referring to seems a bit shy for RC. HI more than wages gets my attention too. Many shareholders neglect to consider for their employee/officer type efforts, they need to be paid at least min wage, for all hours worked, on a regular basis (not the one a year or once a quarter garbage, except in a few states with no pay freq requirement). And the HI should have been pro rated and shown on every paycheck, not just added in for end of year (constructive receipt of the HI benefit).

But, ignoring shenanigans, Box 1 = Box 1, however it came to be.

12 minutes ago, Lee B said:

$30 to $45 per hour wouldn't inspire me to sign up.

I would rather spend my time reading a good book

I was not kidding, there is no amount (which anyone would pay) which would entice me. I've had enough. It is a natural progression though, and I was so fortunate to start when all computer users were experts, and those who had a computer and my software, were at the top of the expert list. It was like chatting with a trusted colleague. A few of those originals have become close friends. How many times can one person tell someone the solution is to properly read and do what is in plain language on their receipt? How much can someone pay for that sort of hand holding? Of course, had I been paying attention, I would have seen the end was near when W3.1 came out, and I started to get questions about how to find the drive door, and why was the floppy disk in a hard case now.  And I remember all too well having to tell some to put their thumb on the label then insert the disk (so it would not be upside down).

It used to be a whole day of "fun" things like one yesterday. Looking into how IPERS contributions are to be reported on a W2. (No, NOT required to be in box 14, only a should be ignored "may". Yes, check the retirement box and alter FWH and SWH wages. And the kicker, no known requirement to include the amount in Box 12! as none of the codes apply.)

Hopefully at least one of the parties had proper representation. Sounds like no for both, or there would have been documentation to already spell this out.

To soothe a little.  Major companies get breached because they offer a better ROI for the baddies. I am not obligated to any entity to prove I am secure. I am obligated to myself. I use a top of the line physical firewall which I set to be very strict for my work machine.  Likely, it is as good as any :commercial grade" firewall, as I actually set it tight. Monitored firewall is likely OK, but I would bet some amount they use the same settings for most of their clients (a default of sorts) to keep their support simple. I suspect what you are really paying for is someone else to be in the liability chain (if they were not smart enough to waiver out).

On the other hand, there is at least one locality who has legislated "security" (likely for their own political perceived gain) where data is required to be in the physical control of the person, and stored within the jurisdiction.  No online backups for those folks, and in the real world, worse security.

Customer support, over the phone, is not something you could pay me for ever again. 30 years was enough. It was great fun the first 10, since I was chatting with people just like me. The second 10 was OK, as many still knew what they were doing (computer, software, and profession wise). The latter 10 was miserable. Since computers have become an appliance (think toaster), the skill level of those using them varies, and the expectation of the computer and the software allowing anyone to be an expert is almost universal.

The most recent 10 has been written support only. Works well, 90% are relatively automated, using stock replies I have tweaked over the years. 9% require manual reply. 1%, the magic 1%, are actually interesting. Had one of the elusive ones - similar to decades ago - where both parties learned something in a professional manner - and it was absolutely an interesting outlier situation.

Maybe what Drake is offering is pre filtered, but even then, those who have been waiting to reach you will be peeved at best. Look back at some of the posts here, from ourselves, and imagine you were answering us over the phone after queuing to wait.

Any case of shared custody, advice is likely to always be first to file since you cannot control the other party, and who wants to have to argue if done incorrectly?

To me, you are already going above and beyond by not walking away from work today. A SHORT note about tech cost increases is more than enough, and may weed out some who are only cost shopping. You and yours have to come first, always.

Can you hire out some of your returns? Maybe even someone here could take a few? Just a random thought. 

Ah labels.  We have photos of our "label" days.  All kids present sticking 5160 labels on postcards or mailers, then dealing with the postal employee who does not understand permit mail does not cost more than stamped mail.

Last season I used an online service which mailed the art I sent to the list I sent. They charge a little more than the materials and postage used to cost me, but less than I had to pay the kids. It does take about three weeks, but they likely bundle things with other mailings to get better rates.

I remember burning through more than one LJII cart printing the mailers, and using the printer outside to avoid the smell of the paper heating/cooling. It was a big deal to upgrade from the LJII 6ppm to a newer model at about 15ppm!

Now, I have a dymo 550 for the few labels I print. A return label (to cover the old address and logo on about 1/2 box of pre printed envelopes, and one for the to address. Also use it for labeling file folder tabs.  The label printer is rarely on, i have it on a strip for the things I don't want to vampire (draw power when off).

Here is part of my reply. "If you are making some sort of implication I have to give you something, you are on your own. You and your client are more than able to find another option. What is your FEIN and PTIN? Would you want the message you sent, with the ultimatum, shared?  Say with the public, or your licensing entity?  I mean really, what did you expect to get with such a threat?  If you cannot make heads and tails out of printed reports a client sends you, or you are not making enough or able to charge enough to cover the software you need, why are you expecting something free (which you are going to use to make money) from us?  Do you work for free?"

I am omitting a screen image of their online ad (as an accountant/EA).

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Received this back today "I am sorry I did not mean to be rude or threatening at all."

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blah blah. I don't buy it. I don't have a great way to figure out which customer, nor am I going to ask the 5 possibilities - although I thought about it -I wish I knew, as I would ask them why they retain someone who tried to bully me.

Received a message worthy of AITA posting, although I did not. Threats don't work well for me, especially from someone wanting something for free to use to make money themselves.

"I have a client that uses Medlin and he wants me to access his books! I have tried through the free trial, but it says I have to purchase Medlin. If this is the case then, you will lose him as a client. Please let me know how to access his books one time to try to help him balance and print out reports for his taxes, without me having to purchase Medlin

I did ask if they wanted to share their FEIN as part of my response, but turns out it is moot as it took only seconds to get their EA license information. The truth is, they downloaded a month ago, their free trial ran out today, likely why they are asking for a free license.