Newsletter, May 2006

Dear SBBA Members,

Well, June gloom is upon us early, so maybe it will pass through and leave us a sun-filled June! I’m very happy that our last deadline for 571-L’s has passed! We had a few extended out to the last due date of May 8^th, and thankfully we had great support of another SBBA member to help us complete one very difficult one that had $2 million worth of construction and improvements last year, and she happened to be the bookkeeper. It’s nice to have good bookkeeping friends that you meet in SBBA!

We also made good friends with the Santa Barbara Assessors Office and are documenting all of the issues and items that need special consideration and attention. By doing 571-L’s properly you can really help your clients by keeping them compliant, reducing their property taxes for assets that no longer exist, and by fixing errors in the County’s computer system, which we found were quite large for one client. They had been paying tax on the prior business owner’s assets because when a business changes ownership, the property ID does not, and the county does not automatically remove these assets from their computer, even though you do not list them on the new 571-L! I know some of you like to pass these along to the CPA’s to handle, but my opinion is that by doing the 571-L’s, we continue to educate ourselves, and I like the extra billable work!

I hope to see everybody at this month’s meeting!

Karen Ziegler-Mora

Please email your RSVP for the May 16^th Monthly Meeting by Friday, May 12^th to Karen Mora at: scubaz@cox.net We will be having a social meeting in May.

SECRETARY’S MINUTES

The March meeting of the Santa Barbara Bookkeepers’ Association was held at Mullligan’s Café on Tuesday, April 18, 2006.

President Karen Mora called the meeting to order, and then welcomed new members and guests. Next she asked for any job announcement and if anyone had other comments to share.

Brenda Richter announced she will be conducting the annual bookkeeping survey for the membership. Any and all input will be welcomed.

Karen stated that the QB Users group will be meeting Monday, May 1^st at the City College conference room in the business building, BC214. The information was in the April newsletter for anyone interested.

The American Payroll Association is planning to have a meeting May 24^th at 5:30, location to be announced.

The free lunch drawing was won by Vicki St. Martin, congratulations!

April’s meeting was a social gathering. Open discussion was enjoyed at each table.

Rosemary Chidester, SBBA Secretary

We are pleased to announce that the
Santa Barbara Area Chapter of the American Payroll Association
is now an officially affiliated chapter of the
American Payroll Association
Please join us for our first networking mixer on May 24th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at
The law offices of Sheppard Mullin
800 Anacapa Street, downtown Santa Barbara
Park in public lots behind Border’s or behind Dargan’s

Save the date and join us for a great evening to kick off the new Chapter!
Meet other payroll professionals in the area
Learn about the benefits of membership in the Area Chapter
Refreshments will be served

An RSVP is requested by May 19th.
Please RSVP by email to LHarris@SBcourts.org or by calling 805-884-8070

The Officers of the
Santa Barbara Area Chapter APA

QuickBooks Consultant’s University

The Sleeter Group is offering the "QuickBooks Consultant's University" seminar for QuickBooks Consultants in Pleasanton, CA (San Francisco area) on May 24^th and in Pasadena, CA (Los Angeles area) on June 7^th. These are the last QuickBooks Consultant’s University seminars for version 2006 this year! Doug Sleeter will be teaching the seminar.

Agenda

New Features in QuickBooks 2006
·         New Database and Editions
·         Interface Changes
·         Improvements in AP, AR, Inventory, Sales Orders, Items, Bank Reconciliation, Voiding Checks is prior periods, Toggle between Accountant Edition and Other editions, Audit Trail, and Payroll Setup

Things Accountants Must Know
·         Adjustments, Journal Entries, and the Working Trial Balance
·         Protecting Prior Period Data – Working with the Closing Date
·         Voiding Checks in Prior Periods
·         Audit Trail, Passwords, Internal Controls, and Security

Remote Access, Online Accounting, and ASPs
·         Emailing Data Files
·         Desktop Sharing with WebEx Remote Access and other Technologies
·         Remote Hosted QuickBooks Solutions (ASPs)

Data File Management and Troubleshooting
·         About QuickBooks Files
·         Portable Company Files
·         Assessing the Health of the Data File
·         Troubleshooting and Repairing Corrupted Data Files
·         Recovering Lost Passwords
·         Using the Clean up Data Utility – Condensing vs. Starting Over

Configuring QuickBooks in Networked Environment
·         Installing in a Networked Environment
·         Designating the Server for data files
·         Configuring the Host and the Clients
·         Troubleshooting Multi-User configurations
·         What is a Floating Host?

Additional Troubleshooting Topics at End of Book
(Excerpts from Consultant’s Reference Guide

To register go to www.sleeter.com/seminars or call 888-484-5484.

Hope to see you in Pleasanton or in Pasadena soon!
The Sleeter Group
www.sleeter.com
Phone: 888-484-5484

Treating Your Staff and Your Business to a Retreat

by: Brenda Richter, CPA

A Member of the Principa Alliance

It may seem like a luxury or a waste of time and money, but staff retreats can be valuable energy boosters for your team. And this is good for your bottom line. To get the most from a retreat, consider these tips.

Opt for an off-site location. This reduces interruptions and sends a message to your team that this is important. After all, you have invested significant time and money to coordinate it off-site.
Have a purpose. Be sure to do your homework before the retreat. Have clear goals outlined and tasks you want to accomplish with your team. You may decide a retreat is a regular part of your visioning process and hold one annually.
Use a facilitator. Facilitation simply means to make things easier. Use an independent third party to keep the retreat on track and ensure open communication. Facilitators may also have specific expertise in customer relationship, marketing and organizational development strategies.

Brenda Richter, CPA is not your average advisory firm. Far from it. This firm does so much more than just “keep the score.” The firm will work with businesses to identify areas in the business that are not realizing their full potential and help improve them to build a stronger and more profitable future. The firm’s membership in the Principa Alliance means that customers have access to the collective knowledge and expertise of an international network made up of hundreds of professionals who specialize in consulting to small and medium-sized businesses by providing services such as facilitation of Team and Owner Retreats. As a CPA, the firm has the capabilities to serve as an independent third party. Further, the firm has the organizational and analytical skills to assist in retreat planning, converting strategies to financial terms, and creating systems to measure and monitor the progress of Action Plans developed during the retreat.

This month's Newsletter was edited by Kathy Rem. Next month will be done by Jo Rogers.