As an accountant and personal finance geek there are some things that people do and say about money that drive me crazy. That’s because often times people’s actions and thoughts on money issues make absolutely no sense mathematically. Examples include being happy about getting an income tax refund, carrying a balance on their credit card,…

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In the last few years, there has been an explosion of new technology in the business application environment. I recently attended a conference where some of these software applications were on display. One speaker at this conference likened the recent “app explosion” to the Cambrian explosion of roughly a half-billion years ago when life on…

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Quick Books Online Conversion We recently did our first conversion of a client from Quick Books Desktop (QBD) to Quick Books Online (QBO).  With only a couple of hitches, it went off pretty well. Our client is a building contractor with 8 employees.  The in house bookkeeper has a low to moderate skill level.  The…

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People sometimes think that we accountants are aloof or difficult to talk to. You might even say we have our heads in the cloud. Here at Pinnacle, we have to confess that we have had our heads in the cloud lately. It’s not what you may think though. We are talking about cloud computing, or…

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Pinnacle PAC knows that leaders are readers. The Pinnacle Team endeavors to constantly nurture our minds, expand and enhance our services, and remain thought and practice leaders in the accounting industry. We have assembled an ever-growing list of books that we feel are worthy of your time and attention. 1. The Emyth Revisited – by…

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If you are a doctor, dentist, or other professional and are considering purchasing a practice, you are likely contemplating a purchase of shares. And you should read this blog. There are a number of ways to structure a purchase of shares, but in this blog I will discuss three options:  Purchase the shares of the…

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I have a Bookkeeper! Do I really need an Accountant? Two of the most frequent questions we are asked are: Explain the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant. If I have one do I need the other? (The answer is usually yes.) They are great questions. Because we work so closely together, the boundaries…

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We are often asked by clients whether they should lease or purchase their vehicles (either outright or using a loan). We have tried to distill the decision down to a few rules of thumb. In general, leasing is more expensive than buying because the leasing company accepts a portion of the depreciation risk. The advantages…

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We all spend time as kids imagining how our lives might be when we grow up.  And then we grow up and we find ourselves imagining what might happen if… In business, those daydreams can often turn into guessing games, red herrings and assumptive goose chases.   But with some imagination and calculation, business owners can…

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One of our major areas of expertise is the construction industry. Many of our clients operate successfully in this industry, and we help provide tools for them to succeed. Construction companies have some unique challenges and opportunities – from a tax perspective as well as from a general business perspective. In this industry, it is…

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