By the Books – Details, episodes & analysis

CPA's are usually known for their ability with numbers, not their communication skills. So how can you set yourself apart from the crowd and master some basic skills in communication that will help you stand out?

In this episode of By the Books, Jeffrey and Lindsay talk about their secrets to being able to communicate and why it has been such a huge selling point for them. They discuss why it's crucial to know your audience, how you can effectively listen, why knowing personality types can benefit you, plus so much more.

To connect with Jeffrey, visit: payrollguroo.com or call (214) 551-4650

To connect with Lindsay, visit: Sakline.com

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See a need. Fill a need. It's the ultimate rule to building a business, and it's also a great rule for continuing to expand an already successful business. In this episode of By the Books, Jeffrey and Lindsay are back to discuss lots of new changes at Sakline Bookkeeping and why they're so excited.

They also talk about the new offers they have put together that will help CPAs offer bookkeeping as a service to their clients, and how this new offering came to be. They give an inside look into the thought process of having a conversation with a company that gives them that ah-ha moment and then creating that win-win scenario that can work for multiple situations.

To connect with Jeffrey, visit: payrollguroo.com or call (214) 551-4650

To connect with Lindsay, visit: Sakline.com

Business owners often hear they should switch from a Schedule C (or Partnership) to an S-Corp, but when is the perfect time to do so?

In this episode of By the Books, Lindsay Kline is joined by Robert McBride of RAM CPA, PLLC to discuss the concept of switching from being taxed as a sole proprietorship to an S-corp for small business owners. Rob explains how his experience in the Army made him realize the importance of paying the right amount of taxes.

He reveals the key differences between being a Schedule C or S-Corp, noting that an S-Corp can avoid some payroll taxes. Lastly, he advises starting out as an LLC, filing the S election, and speaking with an attorney.

To connect with Rob and find out more information, visit: https://ramcpa76.com/

It's the dream of many to be able to buy a business and live the American Dream. Or one growth strategy for many business owners is to grow through acquisitions. However, as great as buying another business may seem, there's a lot of due diligence that must happen in order to ensure you're stepping into the right deal.

In this episode of By the Books, Lindsay is joined, once again by Alex Vantarakis, founder of The Vant Group. The Vant Group is a premier boutique investment bank for entrepreneurs. that specializes in providing Merger & Acquisition (M&A) services for both sell-side and buy-side clients, Debt Raise services (Debt financing), Valuations, Strategic Planning, and Financial Advisory services.

This time they're covering the buying side and what you need to know before you sign any dotted line for a business purchase. Alex offers great advice on what to watch out for, different ways to finance, and how to make sure you're buying the right business.

To connect with Alex, you can find out more about The Vant Group at: TheVantGroup.com or you can call him at 972.458.8989.

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

If you're thinking about selling your business, do you know what makes it attractive to buyers?

Even though you may not be thinking about selling your business, getting it seller ready should be a goal you're working towards.

In this episode of By the Books, Lindsay is joined by Alex Vantarakis, founder of The Vant Group. The Vant Group is a premier boutique investment bank for entrepreneurs. that specializes in providing Merger & Acquisition (M&A) services for both sell-side and buy-side clients, Debt Raise services (Debt financing), Valuations, Strategic Planning, and Financial Advisory services.

Alex offers a lot of amazing advice on what business owners can do to get their business ready to sell, and why it's so common for businesses to list for sale, but actually never sell. They talk about the most frequent mistakes business owners make in building a business that makes their business less attractive to business owners.

If you're making any of these mistakes you could be leaving a tremendous amount of money on the table when it comes time to walk away from your business. If you're thinking you're never going to want to sell your business, well, whether you like it or not, at some point in your life you will want to (or need to) exit it. So why not set your business up where someone could take over, and you could get a much-needed break and a much-needed large check from what you built?

To connect with Alex, you can find out more about The Vant Group at: TheVantGroup.com or you can call him at 972.458.8989.

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

Do you love handling all of the finances in your business, including filing taxes?

If you’re like most business owners, the answer is no. However, who do you hire to help handle all of the numbers? There are many options out there, but do you know the difference between a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA, and an enrolled agent?

The definitions can get murky on who handles what, but in this episode of By the Books, Lindsay welcomes guest, Ryan Roodenburg, and they break down the difference between all of them.

Lindsay also talks about the qualifications for each one, and why it’s important to understand the education requirements when hiring these titles for certain roles (I.e. is a bookkeeper your best option to file your taxes)?

Don’t leave this up to chance and make sure you’re asking the right questions!

If you’d like to connect with Ryan or learn about more options for your health coverage, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourhealthcraftsman/

Here's a link to Ryan's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ @Your Health Craftsman 

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

In the age of the great resignation and quiet quitting, it’s important for businesses to find ways to engage employees and make them feel that they’re more part of a company than just an employee.

In this episode of By the Books, Lindsay is joined by Chris McKee, President at Venturity Financial Planners to discuss how implementing an Open Book Management System has changed his business and why other businesses should consider the same thing.

Often times companies don’t feel comfortable opening their books to those that work for them. However, by being honest, it can create an opportunity for employees to feel involved and that they can have a direct impact on the company’s bottom line. This becomes even more important as the economy takes a turn and employees become more paranoid about the status of their jobs and the company. Chris explains how Open Book Management helped his company retain employees and build trust with their team.

Chris talks about how his business took it a step further by offering an Employee Stock Ownership Program, and how this helped to drastically change the company’s profit margins.

Chris mentions the book: The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack.

If you’re interested in learning more about Chris, you can visit: venturity.net or email him at chris@venturity.net.

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

Are you leaving money on the table by not paying attention to what you've overpaid in excise taxes?

As a business owner do you even know what an excise tax is, and how it affects you?

If the answer is no, you're not alone. In fact, many business owners pay this tax and never realize there are exceptions to what should be paid to the IRS. Therefore, they end up leaving a lot of money on the table.

This is where Dell James comes in, President of TiP Excise, LLC. Dell specializes in helping companies with excise tax and helping them get refunds from the IRS. In this episode of By the Books, Dell joins Lindsay to discuss how the excise tax works and what types of businesses should be paying attention to their refunds.

He also talks about why it's so important to hire someone who is specialized in this to help. Even if you have a standard CPA, it's highly likely that they don't have in-depth knowledge on what should be reimbursed, and what to file in order to ensure the top refund. He also talks about why each state is different, and how it can affect what you receive back.

According to the Governor, there's approximately $19 BILLION paid in excise tax that's being used for off-road purposes, which means this could be reimbursed. Is any of that money potentially yours?

If you're interested in finding out if you could be eligible for this, visit: https://tipexcise.com/ to learn more or feel free to call Dell at: (214) 435-0323

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

The role of a salesperson goes far beyond an initial conversation and the actual sale of a product or service. Sales can continue far past the sale, and it can be a mix within customer service.

In today's episode of Beyond the Books, Lindsay is joined by her friend Jeffrey Gonzalez to talk about sales, and what can make or break a great sales experience. She gives an example of what not to do, and how a business/customer relationship can turn sour quickly.

They also talk about why it's important to do your due diligence during a sales process, and why you should understand that not all customers are good customers.

To connect with Jeffrey, visit him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-gonzales/ or at https://www.payentry.com/

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.

Do you keep your business and personal funds in the same account? If the answer is yes, you're making a move that may cause you many potential headaches in the future.

In this episode of By the Books, Lindsay is joined by Ryan Roodenberg again to talk about the dangers of mixing your personal and business funds. Not only does this become an issue should you be audited by the IRS, but it also can end up losing you a lot of money because you're not able to write off every true business expense.

It gets even murkier using items like Venmo for business uses because yes, you could get payments from clients, but what happens when a friend reimburses you for a trip or something else that's personal? You'll have a hard time justifying to the IRS that it's just a personal payment and shouldn't be counted as business income.

This is just some of what's covered in this episode. So before you find out the hard way, learn from the mistakes of others.

If you’d like to connect with Ryan or learn about more options for your health coverage, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourhealthcraftsman/

To reach Lindsay Kline, email info@sakline.com or visit sakline.com. You can also reach them at 866-266-5738.