Did you receive a notice from the IRS that your business is being audited and that they want a copy of your QuickBooks (or Peachtree) data file?
The first thing that you need to do, is reply as directed in the Audit notice.
The next thing that you need to do, is figure out HOW you are going to give them access to your QuickBooks data file. Requesting a copy of your company file is LEGAL and is also a fairly new procedure that will no doubt grow in popularity as time goes on; and is one that cannot be avoided – because if you (or your accountant) refuse they can issue a Summons for the file; and I don’t think that would be a “good thing”!
I’ve done some research, and at t his point there are not a lot of resources for what someone should do if the IRS wants a copy of their data file, so I’ve put together the following list of tips & best practices. I also haven’t found any list of things that are being checked for upon receipt of the file, but I will keep looking and keep you updated.
This list is by no means comprehensive and will probably expand as time goes on; but for now here is a start.
Don’t just hand over your entire QuickBooks file: If you are being audited, it’s for a specific year. Give them what they want – the data for the year in question, nothing more – nothing less. So let’s say that you started your company in 2006; here it is 2011 and you are being audited for 2008. The chances are very good that your current QuickBooks company file contains detailed information about your business since you started it in 2006. You’ll want to only provide the information that relates to 2008.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer; take a look at Karl Irvin’s Beginning Balance Transfer Utility AND Data Transfer Utility. Karl provides some good instructions on how to accomplish this on his website, but you have to follow them EXACTLY! – http://www.q2q.us/How%20to%20start%20a%20new%20QuickBooks%20file.htm
If you aren’t a do-it-yourselfer; you’ll need to hire someone to do this for you. Currently these fine folks will perform this service for you —- for a fee, contact:
- QuickBooksUsers.com – for QuickBooks file recreation – http://quickbooksusers.com/recreate-company.htm
- PeachtreeUsers.com – for Peachtree file creation – http://peachtreeusers.com/datarepair.htm
- The Bottom Line – http://bottomline-sb.com/home/index.php/page/home_page
- QB or not QB – http://www.qbornotqb.com/services-ld.html
Turn off online service connections: If you use on-line banking for example, be sure to turn it off!
Do NOT give out the Administrator password: rather create an External Accountant user and provide that information to the auditor. Instructions for creating an External Accountant User will be featured in Wednesday’s blog post.
When requested, the electronic files should be provided on a CD, DVD, or flash/jump drives to ensure the security of the files. Email should NEVER be used to submit files.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
If you’ve never been audited, you should do some homework. Believe it or not the Internal Revenue Service has created a video series called “Your Guide to an IRS Audit” and they can be found at http://www.irsvideos.gov/audit/. While it’s doubtful that you will find information specific to your business, the video follows 3 different businesses (a computer repair shop, an auto repair shop, and a flower shop) through the audit process so you will at least have some idea of what to expect.
An IRS webpage describing the audit process – http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=219552,00.html and another with Frequently Asked Questions – http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0%2C%2Cid=219636%2C00.html
New Resource added 6/14/2011 {thanks to Charlie Russell for mentioning this url} - Use of Electronic Accounting Software Records; Frequently Asked Questions and Answers found at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=238525,00.html
Please feel free to add your tips, comments, suggestions or your own best practices in order to develop a more in-depth set of procedures that will help us all.
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The following response came from one of the LinkedIn Groups that I posted this article to:
Hello, this is Rich Walker from Intuit. Thanks for sharing the various methods and processes that you’re using to deal with the IRS agents’ requests.
A small group of Intuit employees met with the IRS in January, and they indicated that they plan to access electronic records and data during audits from multiple commercial financial software products, including other small business accounting applications.
According to the IRS, the legal authority for requesting a taxpayer’s electronic accounting software backup files and accounting records in electronic format is based on IRC Section 6001, Regulation 1.6001-1(a) and -1(e), Revenue Ruling 71-20 and Revenue Procedure 98-25.
The approaches that you’ve proposed are helpful in complying with the IRS’ demand for information, without providing the full electronic file upon first request.
As we learn more, we’ll keep you posted.
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Yes, it’s true. The IRS can *LEGALLY request a backup of your QuickBooks (or Peachtree) company data file if you are being audited. BACKGROUND: Approximately 1,100 agents were trained to utilize QuickBooks and these agents have been instructed to obtain a copy of the taxpayer’s data base for the year under examination ONLY when it is necessary. This method of examination of taxpayer records will not be used in all cases — however, it will be up to the examiner. When requested, the electronic files should be provided on a CD, DVD, or flash/jump drives to ensure the security of the files. Email should NEVER be used to submit files. Apparently business owners and tax professionals have been advocating that the IRS begin accepting taxpayer records in electronic format instead of continuing to use more traditional paper books and records for audit purposes. This is according to the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Examination Division; who is responding to the wishes expressed in tax practitioner focus group interviews conducted at the 2008 Nationwide Tax Forums as well as other stakeholders. Why on earth would anyone want the IRS to begin accepting taxpayer records in electronic format? Well, in reality it does provide advantages, such as:
Look for tomorrows article on what to do if the IRS requests your QuickBooks data file. NOTE: Thanks to Alison Ball from Intuit for taking the time to contact me and let me know that the licenses were not purchased directly from Intuit. According to Alison, Intuit is actually prohibited from selling to the government, probably because it would be a conflict of interest because Intuit relies on the IRS to provide new tax code each year. ——————————————————– *RESOURCES FOR ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES: The legal authority for requesting a taxpayer’s QuickBooks or Peachtree backup files and accounting records is based on:
It is also important to note, that Revenue Procedure 98-25 does not prevent or exempt a taxpayer from providing electronic records, if those records exist. If a taxpayer or authorized representative refuses to provide the database and the agent determines it is necessary for the audit, a Summons to obtain the information could be issues. Also see, http://www.ebaea.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive/Bulletin/20100623212855/ and http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=229050,00.html Additional online discussions regarding this topic can be found at: Tax Almanac – http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:IRS_Auditors_to_be_trained_in_Quickbooks Successful QuickBooks Consultants on LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=157449&type=member&item=23839279&qid=64ddee41-3223-43aa-a3b6-fc63f104925a&goback=.gmp_157449 On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care Reconciliation Act which added a tax credit for employee health insurance expenses of small employers for taxable years beginning in 2010 through taxable years beginning in 2013. The tax credit is available if: (1) the employer has fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) The credit is fully available to an employer with 10 FTEs and average annual wages of $25,000. The credit phases out pro rata so that an employer with 25 FTEs with average annual wages of $50,000 is not entitled. Number of Employees for the Taxable Year The number of FTEs is determined by counting employees who perform services for the employer. Generally, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, more than 2 percent shareholders of an S corporation, and more than 5 percent owners of any other business are not included in the count. In addition, seasonal workers who work fewer than 120 days in the year are not counted. Next, determine the number of hours that each worker who is included in the count works during the taxable year, but not more than 2080 hours for any employee. Generally, you count hours for which the employee is paid for working. You can also count up to 160 hours of paid time off. Determine the number of FTEs by dividing the total number of hours worked by each employee by 2080. A fraction is rounded down to the next whole number. Average Annual Wages per FTE for the Taxable Year Determine the average annual wages by dividing (1) the total wages paid by the employer to the employees counted as FTEs by For example, if the employer pays $224,000 in total wages and has 10 FTEs, it pays average annual wages per FTE of $22,000 ($224,000 divided by 10 equals $22,400, which is rounded down to the nearest $1,000). Qualifying Arrangement The credit is available only for premiums paid by the employer under a qualifying arrangement. The health plan is a qualifying arrangement if the employer pays a uniform percentage (but not less than 50%) of the premium. The amount of employer-paid premiums that can be used in calculating the credit is limited to the average premium for the small group market in the employer’s state. The average premium information is included in the instructions for Form 8941(used to compute the credit) Transition Relief for 2010. Because the credit applies to 2010, including premiums paid by the employer before the Healthcare Reform Act became law, if the employer pays at least 50 percent of the premium for single coverage, it will be deemed to satisfy the uniformity requirement. Determining the Credit For taxable employers, the maximum credit is 35 percent of the employer’s premium payments. For a tax exempt employer, the credit is 25 percent. The credit phases out if the number of FTEs is greater than 10 and/or the average wage per FTE exceeds $25,000. The reduction has two parts: a reduction if the number of FTEs is greater than 10 and a reduction if the average wage is greater than $25,000. If the number of FTEs is greater than 10, the credit is reduced by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of FTEs over 10 and the denominator of which is 15. If the average wage exceeds $25,000, the credit is reduced by a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of wages over $25,000 and the denominator of which is $25,000. If both reductions apply, each amount is subtracted from the credit. For example, if a taxable employer has 12 FTEs, average wages of $30,000, and an initial credit of $33,600, the reductions are determined as follows:
The total reduction is $11,200 ($4,480+$6,720) and the allowable credit is $22,400. Claiming the Credit Form 8941 if used to figure the credit . A taxable employer treats the credit as a general business credit and offsets its tax liability for the year by the amount of the credit. The credit can be used in some cases against the employer’s alternative minimum tax liability. We would like to invite our subscribers to write a guest blog article that we will post on our blog.? We know a lot of our subscribers are experts in their own fields and have tips and best practices that everyone could benefit from. What to Write About? How long should the blog post be? How Often Would I Have to Submit a Blog Post? How Does a Guest Blogger Benefit?
giving those sites added SEO value and increased traffic. Why Are You Looking for Guest Bloggers? Ok, I’m Interested – How Do I Contact You? When MUST an Employer Complete an I-9 Form? I-9 TimelineEmployers are required to complete an I-9 form at the time of hire for all employees that have been hired on or after November 6, 1986. The employer must complete Section 1 prior to the end of the first day of employment. For example, if an employee starts working on a Monday, Section 1 of the form must be completed by the close of business on Monday. The employer must review the original documents and complete Section 2 within 3 business days of the first day of work. For example, if an employee starts working on a Monday, Section 2 of the form must be completed by the close of business on Thursday. Additionally, if the employer has enrolled in E-Verify, the E-Verify inquiry must be initiated before the end of the third day of work. Download our free I-9 timeline, which includes important links to the most current I-9 Form, the Handbook for Employers, and important information about the E-Verify System for Federal Contractors – get your copy of the I-9 Completion Timeline. If a worker has been hired to work for less than three business days, the entire I-9 Form must be completed before the person begins working. Some companies prefer to complete the I-9 prior to the persons first day of employment, and this is an acceptable business practice. While the form may be completed prior to the first day of work, the decision to hire must have already been made and cannot be used as a pre-screening tool for applicants. Federal contractors who have a federal contract issued on or after September 8, 2009 that contains the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause must follow special rules when completing and/or updating Forms I-9. E-Verify strengthens the employment eligibility process. By adding E-Verify to the existing process, a company benefit from knowing that it has taken constructive steps toward maintaining a legal workforce. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released an updated 69 page version of The Handbook for Employers (also known as the M-274), which was revised on 01/05/2011. The Handbook for Employers is a must-have resource for all employers because it provides assistance and a better understanding of the entire I-9 process. Improvements noted in the updated document include:
By Jim Abrams, Associated Press – Saturday February 19 WASHINGTON – The House early Saturday turned back an effort to suspend a Depression-era law, the Davis Bacon Act, that requires federal contractors to pay locally prevailing wage rates. The vote came amid heightened clashes between the two parties over labor rights. Lawmakers voted 233-189 against barring spending on Davis-Bacon wage requirements on federal work projects for the remainder of this budget year. The measure was offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, as an amendment to a massive spending bill to keep the government running through Sept. 30, Republicans have long targeted the 1931 law, saying it drives up the costs of public works projects and favors unionized companies over smaller firms that can’t pay higher wages. Davis-Bacon enjoys strong support from Democrats and the King amendment, had it passed, would have met strong resistance in the Democratic-controlled Senate and opposition from President Barack Obama. The vote came as Wisconsin’s new Republican Gov. Scott Walker has set off a firestorm of protests by seeking to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public workers and several other GOP-led states are looking to cut state worker benefits as part of budget-cutting efforts. Obama said in a radio interview that Walker’s legislation was an “assault on unions.” The House this week also rejected a GOP proposal to eliminate funds for the National Labor Relations Board. The Republican spending bill would still cut $50 million, or 18 percent, from the agency that referees disputes between workers and employers. King cited an analysis by the Heritage Foundation estimating that Davis-Bacon would add more than $10.9 billion to the deficit this year. He said locally prevailing wage rates tend to reflect the higher pay scale of union workers in the area and average some 22 percent above standard wage rates in locales. Rep. Robert Andrews of New Jersey, a senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, said there “was no basis in fact, it is more of an urban legend,” that adhering to prevailing wages drives up labor costs. He said that if accurately measured a prevailing wage doesn’t add to costs and promotes a stable local labor force. Two years ago, when Democrats controlled the House, the chamber voted 284-140 to defeat a proposal to exempt wastewater infrastructure projects from Davis-Bacon rules. Read the entire article and join the discussion here. It’s FREEBIE FRIDAY! Wow wasn’t it Friday just a couple of days ago? Feels that way to me. Where has the week gone? This weeks Freebie Friday giveaway here on the QuickBooks for Contractors blog is an Employee New Hire Checklist. One of the hardest things about being a bookkeeper or payroll clerk, is that we seldom receive any information about new employees – other than the information that comes from their Federal W-4, State W-4, and their I-9 form. As a bookkeeper in the construction industry, a lot of times the ONLY information that I ever received was a scrawled note with the employees name on it – and I’d spend the rest of my week trying to chase down the rest of the information that I needed, because of course that employee needed a paycheck come Friday! Does that sound familiar? I bet it does! Do yourself a favor and put together New Hire Packets so that you can get the information you need! What should a “New Hire Packet” contain? Federal W-4, State W-4, and Form I-9 at a minimum. Additionally, you may want to utilize our free “New Hire Checklist” to provide your bookkeeper with additional information about the employee. Our New Hire Checklist is a 5-page Word document, which you can further customize to meet your needs. Click here, for instant access. Enjoy, and Happy Friday to everyone! There is a power struggle going on in the world we work in; and it’s between Windows 7/Vista, QuickBooks and QuickBooks 3rd party applications. You can tell if your computer is caught in up in this struggle if you receive an 80040408 – Could not start QuickBooks error when a 3rd party app tries to access your QuickBooks company data file. This article will discuss best practices to help YOU prevent or put an end to this power struggle; and explain why it happened in the first place. Your New Computer Any new computer that you buy comes pre-configured with an Administrator Account, which is great – BUT few people, including IT people, ever take the time to research the Microsoft website to learn that it is recommended that you create a Standard User Account for each person who accesses the computer–including yourself AND EVEN if you are the only person who used the computer.
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Right click on the image to enlarge it Into the picture comes QuickBooks and Intuit Support Reps We all know that Intuit offers to install QuickBooks on your computer for you; and many people take advantage of this service – which is fine……BUT I know from talking with customers who have taken advantage of this service – that the Support Rep {9 times out of 10} installs QuickBooks under the Administrator account and NOT the Standard User Account and to my knowledge they never ask the user if they use a 3rd party app. This is where the trouble begins. Enter the QuickBooks 3rd Party App, the Intuit Developer Network & the SDK Developers who utilize the QuickBooks SDK to create their 3rd party applications must follow rules established not only by Microsoft, but also the rules created by the Intuit Developer Network (IDN) regarding how a 3rd party app must or can access the QuickBooks file when they are run on a Windows Vista or 7 computer. These rules include:
Right click on the image to enlarge it The Struggle is caused by lack of communication! And the result is an 80040408 – Could not start QuickBooks error when the 3rd party app tries to access your QuickBooks company data file. RESOLVING AN 80040408 – COULD NOT START QUICKBOOKS ERROR: First you should try some basic troubleshooting/problem solving excercies:
The worst case scenario is that you will need to:
Yes, unfortunately this is all a lot of work and aggravation, but it must be done. For additional information on resolving an 80040408 error and other QuickBooks Connection errors, please visit our support area. Employee record keeping requirements must include proper time and payroll records for it’s workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as most state wage and hour laws, are the ones who determine what is or is not “proper”. In January, the USDOL (United States Department of Labor) announced that it had recovered $1 million in unpaid overtime from federal defense contracts in California. This recovered money was based, in part, on the DOL’s findings that the contractors had violated the record keeping requirements, which are part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, the DOL found that the contractors in question had failed to maintain proper time and payroll records for it’s workers. Read the entire article by clicking here. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage, overtime, record keeping, and youth employment standards. Unless exempt, covered employees must be paid at least the current minimum wage and not less than one and one-half times their regular rate for overtime hours worked. Employers are also required to display an official poster outlining the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Posters are available free of charge from the DOL website at http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/osdbu/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker. The Act requires no particular form for the records, but does require that the records include certain identifying information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the .wages earned. The law requires this information to be accurate. The following is a listing of the basic records that an employer must maintain:
The U. S. Department of Labor indicates that an employer must keep payroll records and collective bargaining agreements for a period of three (3) years. Additionally, records on which wage computations are based, time cards, wage rate tables, records of additions to or deductions from wages, and work and time schedules need to be retained for two (2) years. These records must be available for inspection by a DOL Auditor, who may the employer provide extensions, computations, or transcripts of the records. Employers may use any timekeeping method that they choose, as long as those records are complete and accurate; acceptable methods include the use of a time clock, appoint a single employee to be a “timekeeper” and record the hours worked by all other employees, or tell their the employees that they are responsible for documenting the hours that they work. For employees who work a fixed schedule that seldom varies, the employer may keep a record showing the exact hours worked on a daily and weekly hours and indicate that the specific worker did follow the schedule as shown. If, however, the employee works a shorter or longer period that the schedule shows, these hours must be documented as an exception. From my own past experiences, a contractor who performs work on Federal or State funded construction project subject to prevailing wage/Davis Bacon laws should keep records for 3 years after the project is complete. |
7 Responses to An IRS Audit and They Want Your QuickBooks File-Best Practices
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Hi, I'm Nancy Smyth from Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. I've been using and supporting QuickBooks products since the early 1990's. QuickBooks is a powerful product, but learning how to use it in your construction business can be difficult. I hope you find resources available here to be helpful.
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Learn how to get the MAXIMUM possible results from QuickBooks in your construction business! Visit our new QuickBooks training website, Learn to use QuickBooks in your construction business.
Charlie, thanks for pointing that out. At the time of the original article, using Karl’s tools seemed to be a viable option. After the information from the letter from the IRS to AICPA in April became available I forgot to come back and make that notation here.
Actually, I need to get in touch with with the others and see if their procedures leave the audit trail intact.
Nancy, your article references uses Karl Irvin’s tools (very excellent products) – using his procedure you would be creating a new file, not just a file that has condensed prior year records, and the internal QuickBooks audit trail would not be intact. So, using that approach would not be the “records of original entry”. At least by my interpretation, and again I am NOT a tax lawyer or CPA.
See the article in my blog at http://www.sleeter.com/blog/2011/06/irs-audits-and-your-quickbooks-data-file/ for the opinion’s of one CPA – and the point that you make about condensing only the prior year wasn’t addressed there (at this time).
Charlie, I agree, it’s a tough call to offer up an opinion – there seems to be some information that is open to personal interpretation. The following paragraph was taken from a letter that the IRS sent to the AICPA in April. See “IRS Responds to AICPA Accounting Software Examination Letter.”
From what I am interpreting from this letter from the IRS to AICPA, is that while prior years data may be condensed the Audit trail must be intact.
Looking at the date on the IRS website and the date the letter was received by AICPA, it’s difficult to determine which is the more “current” information.
Some of this is covered in Q13. Can a taxpayer or representative condense or “clean up” the electronic accounting software data file before submission?
All in all very confusing times lie ahead.
I’m not a CPA or tax lawyer, so I can’t offer an informed opinion. However, I’m wondering about the recommendation to modify your file before giving it to the IRS. See IRS info at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=238525,00.html – Q9. “The new or modified company file is not a copy of the books and records of original entry.” And this could be a violation.
Thanks so much for giving everyone such a remarkable opportunity to read from this blog. It really is so awesome and also jam-packed with fun for me and my office colleagues to search your blog not less than 3 times in 7 days to learn the latest things you have. And indeed, I’m so at all times motivated for the wonderful points served by you. Selected 4 tips in this posting are absolutely the very best we’ve had.
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Thanks for this useful information.