by cdaaccounting | Jan 15, 2022 | Business Deductions
Which CDA Business needs a sales tax permit in Idaho?
According to the Idaho State law Idaho requires retailers who are doing business in Idaho, to get a seller’s permit and collect sales tax on the sale of goods.
You’re considered to be doing business in Idaho if your business a physical presence in the state. This presence could be permanent or temporary.
This includes:
- Having an office located in Idaho
- Home office
- warehouse
- sales or sample room
- storage place
Maintaining a stock of goods
- Renting or leasing property to someone who uses the property in Idaho
- Servicing tangible personal property in Idaho
- Having a salesman, agent, or representative who comes to Idaho to sell, deliver, install, or take orders.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 13, 2022 | Business Deductions
Often the most productive and beneficial marketing techniques are the ones that are obvious, yet easily overlooked and therefore never practiced. Asking your current customers for referrals may just top the list of overlooked and under-practiced great marketing tricks. Many sales professionals have built their entire sales careers strictly on referral business, but the vast majority of retailers never ask their customers for referrals. It’s true. As an Idaho retailer, when was the last time you asked a customer for a referral? Or, as a consumer, when was the last time a retailer asked you for a referral? My guess is the answer in both cases is likely never, simply because the majority of retailers focus on advertising or special promotions to prospect for new Idaho business instead of mining their existing customer base for referrals as a method of gaining new customers and sales as a result. Asking customers for referrals will work for every retailer, regardless of the types of products that are being sold, and best for a fraction of the cost associated with attracting new customers using traditional advertising or special promotional methods.
Incentivize
If you really want to maximize your CDA Business financial results, be sure to offer incentives to customers who refer new Idaho business to you. These incentives can be in the form of product discounts, free product upgrades, gift certificates, or even a nice dinner out at a local restaurant. You decide, but nothing says “thank you” better than a handwritten note with a special gift as a token of appreciation. Here are a few ways to ask your existing customers to refer their friends, family members, and co-workers to your store.
- Get in the habit of telling all customers at the till and before they leave, “Thank you for shopping and please tell your friends about our store and products. We appreciate all new business.”
- Design and print a basic coupon that entitles the holder to a 10 percent discount on in-stock items. Give all your customers a few at the time of purchase and kindly ask that they share the coupons with friends.
- Hold an “out-to-win-your-business sale” and tell all your customers that if they bring a new customer into the store for the event both of them will get a special discount or gift.
- Register and give them a special gift for doing so. Contact
Sample Referral Form your new Idaho business prospects by way of telephone or a din mail campaign and let them know that there is a special gift or discount waiting from them when theft shop at your store.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 12, 2022 | Business Deductions
When you are a business in Coeur d’Alene Idaho you may need to understand what a Trail Balance is. A trial balance is a list of all accounts in the general ledger that have a balance other than zero. This is prepared right before the financial statements to make sure that the accounts are in balance and that all journal entries have been prepared correctly and accurately according to the reality of your Idaho business.
If the trial balance does not balance (debits do not equal credits), it indicates that there has been an error made in either the recording of the transaction, in the general journal, or in the posting of those transactions in the general ledger.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 10, 2022 | Business Deductions
Assets that are being depreciated by your CDA Idaho business are written off over a period of years, known as the “write off period” (also known “recovery period”).
Here are the write off periods for assets most used by Idaho businesses and farmers:
3 Years: Idaho web site design. Some software.
Semitrucks (not trailers). Racehorses over two years old. All horses over twelve years old. Hogs.
5 Years: office equipment and computers.
Some electronic equipment. Most equipment used for research and experimentation. Carpeting. Movable partitions. Appliance and furniture in residential rental property. Cars, trucks (other than semi-trucks), other alternative energy property. Movable gasoline storage tanks. Farm machinery and equipment. Cattle, sheep, and goats.
7 Years: machinery.
Equipment. Tools. Furniture. Store fixtures. Small signs. Railroad track. Horses other than those listed und “3 years.”
15 Years: large Idaho outdoor signs.
Gas stations, including their mini marts (with some exceptions). Intangible property such as goodwill, trademark, trade names, franchise, customer lists, and covenants not to compete. Domain names purchased from a reseller. Patents and copyrights if acquired as part of a business you purchase (see other below). Leasehold improvements. Restraint and retail renovations.
20 Years: some farm buildings.
27 ½ years: residential rental buildings.
39 years: all buildings other than residential rental property, farm buildings, restraint and retail renovations, and some gas government.
Other: patents and copyrights are depreciated over the life granted by the government.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 8, 2022 | Business Deductions
Yes. A Coeur d’Alene Idaho C-Corporation pays a flat 21% taxes on the profits at the corporate level first. The Idaho C-Corporation will file its own tax return separate from all owners/shareholders. After that, individual shareholders pay taxes on dividends paid by the corporation at a reduced qualified dividend rate.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 7, 2022 | Business Deductions
Thousands of promising sales careers have been destroyed around the water cooler or coffee machine before they even had a chance to really get going, but you don’t have to let this happen to your Coeur d’Alene Idaho business sales. The old saying “a rotten apple will spoil the entire barrel” is true, especially in sales. Whatever you want to call it, water cooler talk, a smoke breaks out back, or an informal gathering in the corner of the showroom, be careful of customer-bashing conversations as they will quickly undermine your team’s ability to be an effective persuader and producer.
Take Responsibility for Your CDA Business Sales Force
Customer bashing is common in selling because it is an easy way for poorly trained and performing salespeople to pass their inability on to customers in the form of faults, strange personalities, or general disrespect.
This is dangerous territory because once your staff begin to believe or think about customers in a negative way, it will spread like cancer and it won’t be long until there is something wrong with every prospect. Break the cycle and clean out your sales team to avoid loss of sales in your Idaho business.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 5, 2022 | Business Deductions
No. Investors are usually seeking a more formal business entity to invest their money. Since a Coeur d’Alene Idaho LLC is held to little requirements concerning management structure, it is easy to destroy the limited liability protection. One of the first moves a creditor or lawsuit will make, is to show that the non-working partners are involved personally. This removes the limited liability barrier and opens the investors up to personal liability.
In addition, investors in LLC’s find it difficult to determine what their money is going to, whether it’s being spent appropriately, and the value they are receiving since there is no stock.
To make matters worse, it is very possible for investors to be distributed a K-1 on profits in which they were never paid. Since a CDA Idaho LLC is still a pass-through entity, all profits on the books will trigger a total payout at the end of the year. Many times, extra profits are being used for operating cost, payrolls, expansion and so on. It may also be an internal issue concerning bad bookkeeping and accounting systems.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 3, 2022 | Business Deductions
Is a Coeur d’Alene Idaho LLC Governed by Bylaws or Operating Agreement?
Yes. An Idaho LLC’s use an operating agreement whereas corporations use bylaws. An operating agreement is similar in nature but is more specific to the flexible management style of a Coeur d’Alene Idaho LLC. The operating agreement is an important document that aids in legally separating owners from the company.
This document outlines any major aspects of the business including, company information, duties of active owners, percentage of ownership, distribution of profits and losses, buyouts, and death.
An operating agreement is required by banks to open an Idaho business checking or savings account, and to apply for lines of credit.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 1, 2022 | Business Deductions
For many CDA Idaho shoppers, shopping is not merely buying to fill a need, it is also a form of entertainment. And judging by the number of retail stores and shopping malls across the nation, it is safe to say that shopping is a very popular entertainment pastime. So, with that said you should not overlook the value of bringing in entertainers to the delight of your Idaho business customers. Of course, not all of the suggestions made below will be suitable for every retailer, but some will be, or a variation will be suitable. Along with the various entertainers listed, I have also included a few tricks on how you can get the biggest promotional bang out of each.
Idaho Music Performers
Now in terms of music performers, they could range from a complete band-rock, jazz, blues, or country-right to a soloist with a cello on a Sunday afternoon. But regardless of the type of music or number of musicians, live musical entertainment is one of the most popular ways to keep customers entertained and in your store longer and coming back more often providing that live music is a regular feature. And guess what? Both add up to the potential of your customers buying more and more often. You shouldn’t have to pay for the musicians providing that there is a benefit for them to be there entertaining, which is namely the money they can receive by selling their CDs, and other related materials such as T-shirts, hats, or whatever they use to generate revenues. However, make sure that your Coeur d’Alene Idaho business customers are not dropping coins into a guitar case, this is tacky and uncalled for. You can get the most marketing mileage from live music performances by having the musicians build your products into their songs, or by wearing the products (fashions), sitting on the products (furniture), playing the products (musical instruments), and a whole host of clever ideas.
Idaho Theatrical Performers
Another form of entertainment to feature in-store on a regular basis is theatrical performers from a local theater troupe, high school, or performing arts institution. Once again, the vast majority of performers will perform for free or in exchange for product or for cross-promoting an event they have forthcoming by hanging fliers in your windows or selling performance tickets at the sales counter. And to really increase the effectiveness of having live theatrical performances in your store, try to convince the performer to create a play to perform about your products. This could be a spoof of a popular Shakespeare play with your Coeur d’Alene Idaho business products mixed in, or a completely new play that is specifically developed around what you sell.
Idaho Magicians
Like live music, magicians are also a favorite form of entertainment especially if your Idaho business in Coeur d’Alene shop caters to children and families. Have the magician use your products in her routine to make them disappear, reappear, or solve a problem right before your customers’ eyes. In exchange for the magician coming in and entertaining your customers offer to set up a service wherein customers can book the magician’s services for parties and events right at your store; provide this service for the magician in exchange for the service she provides you.
Idaho Artists
Painters, sculptors, and craft artists who make just about anything useful from a doily also can be a great form of entertainment for customers. Perhaps one of the best to have is a caricaturist who can come in one afternoon a week and make funny, yet lifelike drawings of your customers as they shop. These drawings can be given away to the customers as an appreciation gift before they leave the store. What may seem to be just small forms of entertainment, such as bringing in artists, can actually go a long way to increase word-of-mouth advertising. This is due to the fact that if you regularly have the artist or entertainer present, your CDA Idaho store will become somewhat of a local landmark and known for the entertainment you bring, which can dramatically increase word-of-mouth advertising.
Idaho Sports Demo
Sports demonstrations are yet another fantastic form of entertainment to bring into the store for the benefit of your customers. The sports demonstrations could range from karate or other martial arts demonstrations to table tennis, to a batting cage if you have the space required. Additionally, if you sponsor little league or other community sports teams make sure to bring then in for autograph signings and picture taking with your customers, especially if they have won major championships for your Idaho community. in for autograph signings and picture taking with your customers, especially if they have won major championships.
by cdaaccounting | Jan 1, 2022 | Business Deductions
CDA Idaho Business Methods of Computing Depreciation
There are four methods of deprecation for your Coeur d’Alene Idaho business. All four methods result in the same tax write off eventually, but each method involves different amounts that can be written off in any given year.
- General deprecation system 1# (GDS #1)
- Genera; deprecation system #2 (GDS #2)
- Straight line method
- Alternative depreciation system (ADS)