June 2011 - Complicated To Simple

How to Record Sound on Your Computer Without Special Software

Voice recording on your PC or Mac can be done easily and without any additional software. Both platforms come with built in applications that you can use for this purpose.

Of course, as with any software (especially on the Windows side), if you want lots of features and functionality you have to buy something made specifically for the purpose. If you’re just looking for a quick recording though, these programs should do the job nicely.

These programs are also not limited to just recording your voice. They can record any sound. You don’t even need a separate microphone as most computers have one built in. However, if your computer has a microphone jack (which most do) you can plug in an external microphone. This will generally give you much better sound than the built in mic.

Recording Sound In Windows.

The Windows sound recorder is about as basic as it gets. You get sound recording and that’s it. There are no adjustments for anything. You may even have a limit on how long you can record depending on which version of Windows you have. This limit can range from 60 seconds with Windows XP to hours with Windows 7.

To record sound in Windows just click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, and Sound Recorder. A small, rectangular box will pop up with minimal controls. Simply click on Start Recording and recording begins. To stop, click on Stop Recording.

When you click on stop recording a dialogue box will pop up so you can save your file. Select a name for the file and where you want to save it, then click Save. Be sure to make a note of where you saved it so you can find it again.

You can now go to where you saved it and double click on it to listen. A small player box will pop up which allows you to listen, control the volume, pause, or stop.

This file can now be used as you would any other file except it is a Windows audio file which has certain limitations which will be discussed in a moment. It can be added to a web page, emailed, or even burned to a disc. It can also be played on an mp3 player if the player supports Windows audio files. If not, it will have to be converted to an mp3 format first, using a separate converter program.

As I said before, the windows sound recorder is very basic. There is no way to adjust anything while recording. As I look at the Windows 7 version, there isn’t even a way to pause while recording. You either keep going until you’re done, or make several small files and edit them together when finished.

Windows does not come with a sound editor built in. So whether you are editing out sound or stringing files together, you will need separate software to do this.

Recording Sound On Mac.

Macs come with much better built in software for recording sound than Windows. Their application is called Garage Band. It will either be in your Dock at the bottom of the screen, or in your Application Folder, or both.

This program includes a surprisingly extensive studio of sound recording and editing features. This is especially true considering it’s a free program.

Extolling the virtues of Garage Band is not the point of this article. However, it is very tempting to go into rants and raves about it. It’s just one example of the value that is built into Macs that you have to buy separately, or download, with Windows.

So, with my Windows vs Mac blinders on and just staying focused on voice recording, here is how you do it.

After clicking on the Garage Band icon you will see a dialogue box where you can either open a recent project or start a new one. Select New Project.

The next screen will ask you what kind of project you want. Select Voice and then click Choose at the bottom right corner of the screen.

The next screen will ask you for a name for the project and where you want to save it. If the folder you want to save it in does not exist, you can create a new one by clicking New Folder at the bottom left of this screen.

Give the project a name and make a note of where you save it so you can find it later. When finished click Create at the bottom right corner of the screen.

The next screen that comes up will be the actual Garage Band program. Again, I will resist the temptation to tell you all about how wonderful this is.

Select Male or Female Voice, depending on which you are recording. This setting does not make the voice sound like one or the other. It just changes the settings to sound best with each type. When I set it on Female Voice and recorded my guy voice, it still sounded like a male voice but just added some echo as if I was in a cave.

Now just click the red button at the bottom of the screen and recording will begin. In Garage Band, unlike in Windows Sound Recorder, you can pause and start up again without having to make a new recording. You can also replay right in the program instead of having to first save the file and then go find it to play it.

When you’re satisfied with your recording you have several options. You can click File and Save to just save the project. This will just save the Garage Band file but it will not be playable in any other program besides Garage Band.

To save and play in a format that can be used elsewhere click on Share. There are several options under share but to just get a regular file to use anywhere, click on Export Song to Disk.

Pardon me while I digress a bit again. Here is another area where Mac beats out Windows.

As I said before, the Windows Sound Recorder will only save a file in the Windows audio format. That means it will only play on a device that supports that format. To make these files playable by a device that does not support Windows audio files, they will need to be converted using some other program.

Garage band will save your sound file in either the mp3 or AAC formats which are playable on just about any device or computer in the world. Of the two sound recorders, this alone makes Garage Band much more useful than Windows Sound Recorder.

After clicking on Export Song to Disk, the next screen lets you choose which format you’d like to save it in. Select mp3 for a general use file and then click Export.

On next screen select a name for your file and where you want to save it. There is an option there for making a new folder if the one you want does not exist. Make a note of where you save it so you can find it again later. Click Save to save the file.

This file is now completely independent of Garage band and can be sent by email, included in a web page, burned to a disk, uploaded to an mp3 player, or just about anything else you can do with a sound file.

Conclusion.

So there you have it! Voice recording without needing to purchase any additional software. This feature is so handy for all kinds of things. You can record bird calls, your child’s first words, strange sounds one of your appliances is making, or anything else you desire.

Then you can send it to your friends, or the repair man, and they can hear exactly what you were hearing when the recording was made.

With a little imagination, this can save you a lot of money. One time one of my large, floor model power tools was making a strange noise. I recorded it and sent it to the repair facility in the next state. They were able to diagnose it for free without ever setting foot on my place. Since I live in the middle of nowhere, this saved a significant amount of money.

If you decide that these built in tools are not adequate for your needs, you may want to go the route of buying additional software or trying something you can download for free. There are many options available. This may be especially attractive if you have a Windows computer as the Windows Sound Recorder is pretty limited.

I use Adobe Soundbooth for all my sound editing. It is available in both PC and Mac. I’m not making a specific recommendation here. But in case you don’t want to go to all the trouble of searching, you can know that Adobe Soundbooth is a good product.

So now it’s your turn! Did you enjoy this article? Is there something else about this topic you would like to see discussed? Is there some other topic you would like me to write about? If so, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

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Have a fantastic day and thanks for visiting!

Robert Seth is a CPA in the Clark County, Washington area who has been serving individual and small business clients for the last 25 years. His business includes a growing number of remotely serviced customers throughout the United States. He’s also a writer and technology expert. He has a passion for improving the lives of others by helping them simplify the complicated stuff in their lives.

How to Remove a Program Correctly and Completely

While it seems like a perfectly simple thing, removing a program from your computer can get kind of complicated. Especially if it’s not done correctly. So this is one of those things you should try to get comfortable with because it can become necessary more often than you might think.

New computers, especially Windows systems, usually come with lots of junk software. If not removed, this junk software can really slow your system down. It also takes up space on your hard drive which, depending on its size, can also slow your system down. It also makes the drive work harder than necessary.

Most people try out new software at least once in a while. Some of us do it constantly. If you’re like me, you do a lot of 30 day free trials. I probably keep one out of every four programs I try out. All those unneeded programs can really pile up if they’re not removed. Again, they slow down the system and take up valuable hard drive space.

Both Windows and Mac have specific methods for removing programs. They should be followed carefully to avoid leaving fragments of the program hanging around on your system. Sometimes an incorrectly removed program can cause so much trouble that it will actually reduce system performance instead of improving it.

Removing a program in Windows.

When a program is installed in Windows, it writes information to several different parts of your hard drive. It’s important to remove it correctly to make sure all the pieces are removed.

To remove a program in any version of Windows, first check to see if the manufacturer of the program has included an uninstall program. You can check for this by clicking on Start and All Programs and then finding the program in the program list.

Click on the program and see if that brings up a program group. If it does, there will often be a separate uninstall program. You can also look in the actual directory on your hard drive where the program lives. To check, go to Windows Explorer and click on the hard drive where the program is installed. Programs are usually in the Program Files Directory. The uninstall program will typically be in the same directory as the application and will be called uninstall.exe. When you find the file just double click on it and it should start the uninstall process.

If you don’t find either of these then you’ll need to use the uninstall process that comes with Windows. In Windows XP, click on Start, and Control Panel. In the Control Panel click on the item Add Remove Programs.

This will bring up a list of all the programs installed on your computer. If the list takes a while to come up, please be patient. If you have many programs on your computer it could take a minute or so to populate the list.

Once the list comes up you can scroll down it to find the program you want to uninstall. Clicking on the desired program will bring up different options depending on what’s available. Some will only have an uninstall option. Others will have additional options like repair or reinstall. Click on the one you want to do.

Once the program begins to uninstall do not interrupt the process. Even if it seems to stall, let it finish up. If you interrupt this process by restarting or running out of power (with a laptop) you can cause nearly irreparable problems with your computer and it will be extremely difficult to finish removing the program.

In Windows Vista and 7 the process is almost identical but the menu items are different. Once you bring up the Control Panel click on Programs and Features. If you’re using the Classic View in Windows Vista the Control Panel will come up in groups. In the Program group click on Uninstall Programs.

Once the list populates click on the item to be removed. Uninstall will appear as an option above the list. Click on it and follow the instructions.

Something to keep in mind during this process is to not remove too many programs at one time without restarting your computer. In fact it’s best to restart after removing each one. Sometimes Windows will ask if you want to restart to complete the uninstall and sometimes it won’t. Always Restart!

Restarting resets the computer to how it should be without the program installed. It also removes any little bits of the program that may be left in memory. If you wait to restart until many programs have been removed, Windows can get confused and end up with problems you may not be able to fix.

Before we leave the Windows side of things, let me mention a couple other things. First, removing the icon for a program from your desktop does not remove the program. It only removes the shortcut and makes it more difficult to find the program later. Most uninstall programs will remove the desktop icon too. If they don’t, only remove the icon after the program is removed properly.

Secondly, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go onto your hard drive and try to remove the files from their programs directory. This only removes part of the program but does nothing to the Windows Registry which is kind of the brainy control center of Windows.

If you do this, your computer will continue to look for the program when you start Windows. You will get constant error messages that the program cannot be found. There’s also a good chance this will damage the actual uninstall program so it will be unable to remove the rest of the program. Your only recourse will be to purchase a third party program made for fixing this sort of problem or to hire a professional to remove the rest of the program.

Removing a program on Mac.

Removing a program from your Mac is much different from doing so in Windows because the operation systems are vastly different. Special removal programs are not necessary for Mac because Mac programs are not spread all over the computer. There is no such thing as the Registry like in Windows

Mac programs tend to reside more in groups all in one place. This is reminiscent of how DOS used to be. So removing a program from your Mac usually just involves dropping it in the trash. If the application is part of a group, the whole group should be dropped in the trash.

To remove a program, first locate it in the Applications folder or in Finder. Right click (or Control-Click) on the file in Finder and then click on Show Package Contents. Right clicking on the program in the Applications Folder will bring up the same information but as folders instead of a list of files. This will show you if you’re dealing with an individual file or a group.

To remove the program, close the program group if you have it open. Drag the application file, or the program icon (depending on if viewing in Finder or the Application Folder) and hover it over the Trash icon. When trash opens up, let go and drop the program in.

This removes the program but leaves behind some additional things you may, or may not, want to get rid of. The first of these are the program preferences. These are just preferences for how you wanted the program to run or how you had it set up.

Preferences don’t typically take up much space and can be useful if you decide to reinstall the program. You won’t have to set up the whole thing over again. If you’re sure you will never reinstall it, these can be removed.

Go to Finder and click on your hard drive (default is usually Macintosh HD under Devices). Click on Library and then Preferences. The files will be small and probably numerous. You can tell by their names what program they belong to. Be careful not to remove files for programs still installed. This could cause those programs to experience missing information. If in doubt, don’t delete the files!

The other category of remaining information is Application Support. These files can be small or huge. They can be things like video or audio files imported for editing. Again, you may not want to delete these for whatever reason. If you do delete them though, there is a potential for saving lots of hard drive space.

You access Application Support files by going to your hard drive and clicking on Library and Application Support. These files are a little easier to sort out as they’re separated into program directories. For example, if you removed the iWork program, just remove the iWork directory in Application Support and everything for iWork will be gone.

One other thing you should be aware of. Removing an icon from the Doc on your Mac does not remove the program. It’s the same as removing the icon from your desktop in Windows. It only removes the icon but does nothing to the program. If you accidentally remove an icon from the Doc you can open your application folder and drag the program back to the Doc. Hover the icon over the Doc where you want it and let go.

General considerations for both platforms.

Sometimes the manufacturer of a program will include an uninstall program on the original program disk or the disk image used to install the program. This can be the case for both PC and Mac programs. So you might want to check this before uninstalling in cases where there is no specific program for the task.

These uninstall programs tend to be very thorough and will usually remove all the files associated with a program including preferences and Application Support files.

As with all procedures that involve changing things on your computer, there is always potential for problems. This is especially the case if your computer is old and the same version of Windows has been installed for a long time.

So when removing programs, it might be a good idea to make a backup first. You can also set a system restore point (Windows) just in case something goes wrong.

In the event your computer does lock up while removing a program, try pressing Control, Alt, and Delete all at the same time. This will allow you to bring up the task manager and stop the removal of the program. If the computer is completely unresponsive you can hold the power button for five to ten seconds which will power off the computer. Just keep in mind that these methods should only be used as a last resort. They are the same as interrupting the process and can result in partial uninstall that can be difficult to complete.

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How to Do a Screen Capture Without Special Software

Have you ever needed to share exactly what’s on your computer screen but had no idea how to do it?

There are many situations where this is either required or desirable. Sometimes what’s on your screen is just so cool that you can’t wait to share it with someone.

Other times, you need to show the computer repair person something that’s going on with your computer. Of course that’s like bringing your car in for repair. The problem will never show up when the experts are looking!

With a screen capture however, you can capture exactly what’s going on when it’s going on. The little problem-causing gremlins will never be able to hide again!

There are lots of programs out there that you can buy for this purpose. Most of them provide more than just screen capture though. So if you’re wanting to be more creative and add conversation bubbles, circles, arrows, or other enhancements to your screen capture, you might want to check out one of these.

I’ll mention a few of these third party programs at the end of this article.

If all you need is a simple screen capture though, and you don’t want to install additional software, here’s what you can do.

How to capture in Windows.

In Windows there are two main ways to do a screen capture depending on which version of Windows you are using. If you’re using Windows XP you will need to use the PrintScreen method. This is usually done by pressing the alt key and the print screen key at the same time. A different key besides alt may be required (like Fn or Ctrl) for your computer so you might have to experiment and see which combination works for you.

To capture the screen you’re currently viewing, just press both keys at once. This will copy the image to the clipboard of your computer. After capturing open Paint by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and Paint. Once Paint opens, go to the Edit menu and click on Paste. This will paste the image from your computer’s clipboard into Paint so you can crop, edit, and save it as you wish.

In Windows Vista or 7 the Snipping Tool is used to make screen captures. You access this by clicking on Start, All Programs, Accessories, and finally, Snipping Tool.

The Snipping Tool Comes up as a small dialogue box. By clicking on the drop down arrow next to New, you can select what kind of Snip you want to do. The choices are Free Form, Rectangle, Window, or Full Screen.

Rectangle is the default option so you can select what you want to capture by simply dragging the cross hairs around on the screen. You can also select the file format you want to save it in. This is pretty handy if you want to edit or enhance the file in another program before sharing it.

By the way, regarding that little dialogue box that appears on your screen when you start the Snipping Tool. It looks like it’s going to stay there and get captured along with the rest of your screen. Don’t worry though. It disappears as soon as you start to make your selection.

How to capture with Mac.

In the Mac environment you have more options for different types of screen capture. There are also several ways to do it depending on if you prefer keyboard shortcuts or menus. If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, here are the different types available. These are for MAC OSX.

Command-Shift-3: Takes a screenshot of the screen, and saves it as a file on the desktop
Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Takes a screenshot of an area and saves it as a file on the desktop
Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Takes a screenshot of a window and saves it as a file on the desktop
Command-Control-Shift-3: Takes a screenshot of the screen, and saves it to the clipboard
Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Takes a screenshot of an area and saves it to the clipboard
Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Takes a screenshot of a window and saves it to the clipboard

This list courtesy of mac rumors at http://guides.macrumors.com/Taking_Screenshots_in_Mac_OS_X

I have never had much luck memorizing the hundreds of keyboard shortcuts for the Mac! If you’re more like me and prefer menus, here’s how you do a screen capture using menus. How you do this can differ slightly depending on what version of Mac OS X you have.

Most methods use the Grab application. To open Grab, go to Applications, Utilities, and Grab. When Grab opens, go to the Capture menu item at the top of the screen and select what type of capture you’d like to do. The options are Selection, Window, Screen, or Timed Screen.

Once you choose the type you want, a dialogue box will appear with instructions. Follow the instructions and your captured image will appear on the screen. Using the Save or Save As menu items at the top of the screen you can save the file as desired.

In later versions of Mac OS X a screen capture can be made from Preview. Click on the Preview application and the File menu. From the File menu select the Grab submenu ( OS X version 10.4) and continue as above.

In the newest versions of Mac OS X the submenu under File in the Preview application is called Take Screen Shot instead of Grab. Whichever yours has, you will achieve the same results.

Third Party Capture Software.

There are a number of choices available from third parties for screen capture. As I said above, most provide more functionality than just capturing. You do pay a price for this though.

In the case of free software, you may have a watermark or small banner that appears in each capture image that advertises the software maker. Usually you have to upgrade to the paid version to get rid of this. With the paid version, the price you pay is…well…the price you pay!

Some of the more popular software titles for screen capture are Jing, Snapz Pro X, SnapnDrag, and Snagit. I have personally used both Snagit and Jing and they both work very well. Jing has a free and a pro, paid version. Snagit has a 30 day free trial and then cost $49.

Of the two I have used, Snagit is my favorite. For your $49 you get both PC and Mac versions so you can use it on both platforms if you like. It also has many annotations like conversation bubbles, arrows, shapes, and just about anything else you would need to enhance your screen capture. You can even do a 60 second video screen capture.

Since I have not used Snapz Pro X or Snapndrag, I can’t tell you how well they work. However, all the links in this article are active so you can check them out for yourself.

Whichever one you decide to use, or if you already use one, I would love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment so we can all learn from your experience.

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Importance of Credibility in Surviving an IRS Audit

It’s an amazing thing how many Americans live in fear of an IRS audit. We battle foes at home and abroad with tremendous bravery and dedication. We go to war to defend ideals and freedom. We are even willing to give our lives to right the injustices of dictators half way around the world. Yet a single letter from the IRS can often reduce us to a quivering, fearful, bundle of nerves!

There is good reason for this as the IRS has tremendous power and wields a very big stick. The unfortunate taxpayer who ends up in their radar, rightly or wrongly, can have a serious battle ahead in getting untangled from their grip.

There are many things you can do to help reduce the likelihood of an IRS audit. Obvious things come to mind like making sure you have no mathematical errors in your return and following the instructions exactly! Making sure that all income you received is included in your return and not taking ridiculous size deductions that draw attention to your return.

While it’s impossible to make a 100% guarantee that you won’t be audited, these steps will greatly reduce the likelihood of your return being individually selected for an audit. To a lesser extent, these steps may reduce the chance of a random audit too. Random audits are much more difficult to prevent, though, because they’re based on things that you don’t have a lot of control over.

That brings us to the point of this article. If you are selected for an audit, what can you do to limit the damages? Damages come in the form of increased taxes as well as increased professional fees required to deal with the audit. The two taken together can be very expensive!

In my 25 years of CPA practice I have come across one secret that is both childishly simple, yet incredibly effective in limiting these damages. That secret is:

Credibility!

Credibility is to an audit what exercise and good nutrition are to a car accident victim. These things might help a little to prevent the accident, but where they really shine is in reducing the damages.

A strong, healthy person will come out of a car accident in better shape than a weak and sickly one. In the same way, a credible person will come out of an audit in better shape than one who’s credibility has been compromised.

It is my professional opinion that credibility is the single most important element in any audit situation. Here’s why.

It’s basic human nature to want to do the minimum amount of work for the maximum gain in any given situation. This is also called return on investment. So when an auditor sits down with you to look at your records, their first order of business is to plan their attack (oh sorry, I meant audit). They want to recover as much money as they can for the least amount of effort.

By first establishing your credibility they can determine what steps they can skip and how much they can trust what you say. They also can make more assumptions of consistency. If you did something right once, you probably did it right all the time.

The difference between an audit where credibility has been established compared to when it’s been compromised can be astounding!

Let’s say the auditor asks you for your mileage log. First of all, the credible person actually has one! The auditor sees they have it, flips through, looks at a few pages, and gives it back. No adjustment!

Where credibility is suspect the auditor looks at every page and checks for completeness on every entry. Then they check to see if it’s written with the same pen all the way through. Does the writing differ sometimes, or does it look like all the entries were written at the same time?

The auditor may actually add it up and make sure everything makes sense intuitively. They may ask you questions designed to catch you in a lie or ask you to prove many of the entries. They may even look at the copyright date of the log itself to see if you just bought it and filled it in the night before.

Now multiply that simple difference by all the areas an auditor could possibly look at! Even if they don’t find anything wrong, you (or your tax advisor) could end up wasting a lot of time!

(Speaking of your tax advisor, NEVER represent yourself in an IRS audit unless you prepared the return yourself. Even then I wouldn’t recommend it. IRS agents are trained to make you incriminate yourself even if you’ve done nothing wrong. Even if you know the tax law, you probably don’t know your rights well enough to know what you are required to say or not say. Hire a CPA and make sure you don’t come to the audit meeting!)

What’s of much greater concern is this. The more they look, the more likely they are to actually find a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. The name of the game though is to keep them to a minimum and then hope no damage is done by them.

In the event mistakes are found the credible person is much more likely to have them overlooked. In fact, I have seen auditors actually find a mistake but let the credible person get away with it. The non-credible person will not enjoy this luxury. They will be nickel and dimed for every little thing the auditor can find.

The credible person will almost always enjoy an assumption of innocence until proven guilty. The non-credible person will find himself constantly trying to prove his own innocence while the auditor assumes guilt.

Finally, there is an element of confidence a taxpayer and a tax advisor enjoy when credibility is established. It can actually be used as a stick against the auditor. I have had initial meetings with auditors where I have put them on notice that if they play hardball, I will make them get a subpoena for every single thing they want to see.

I would never consider saying this without absolute certainty of credibility. The auditor generally does not really need a subpoena for everything. This is more a verbal picture which says I will be as uncooperative as legally possible and make them work for everything they want to see.

The fact is, the only reason I have ever fired a client is because I felt they lost credibility because they lied to me or suggested doing something they knew was absolutely illegal! That’s how important this issue is to me!

Credibility is not something you can suddenly acquire when it’s needed. It is something you build over time. So it’s important to keep it in mind at all times. Here are some actionable steps you can take to establish your credibility as well as maintain it.

Follow the law to the best of your ability. It’s okay to use the law to your maximum advantage, but try never to break it.
Pay attention to the details. If the regulations say you should have a mileage log for example, get one and use it. Make sure you include every detail required.
Watch those personal expenses. One of the most frequent things tax preparers see is personal expense mixed in with business. If you buy a candy bar at the office supply store, either pay for it separately, or make sure you don’t deduct it with the rest of the receipt.
Keep orderly records. Don’t just throw everything in a shoebox. Even sorting them into separate envelopes for each type of expense will help. If you look like you have no idea what you’re doing, it can reflect as much on credibility as intentional misconduct.
Don’t make jokes about illegal deductions or hiding your income to your tax preparer or an auditor. This may sound like obvious advice but it’s amazing how many people make this mistake. They go to great lengths to be credible and then ruin it at the last moment with foolish speech. The more you joke about this stuff, the more people will start to wonder if you really mean it.

If you keep these simple precepts in mind, they will do a great deal to establish and maintain your credibility.

I hope I have helped you to see how important credibility is as well as what you can do to keep yours intact.

Now it’s your turn!

What do you think about this? Do you have something you’d like to share? Would you like to see more articles like this? If yes, please leave a comment.

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How Much to Save for Taxes in Your New Business

Are you trying to figure out some of the tax issues of your new online or home business? If so, you are a wise business owner. Failure to save for and pay taxes is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail.

Taxes are behind so many small business failures because of the difficulty in calculating how much money to set aside for them. In addition, the combined tax rate on sole proprietors is among the highest of any type of taxpayer. When you combine these two facts, it becomes a recipe for tax disaster if it’s not handled correctly.

So while tax law is very complicated and I can’t teach you everything in one sitting, I can give you some basic rules that should keep you safe.

First of all, there are generally two ways that businesses are taxed. One is as a percentage of gross sales. The other is on net income. Your situation will depend on what state your business is located in.

Tax on gross sales generally happens at the state level. That means that with limited exceptions, there are no deductions against this type of tax. So if you have $50,000 of sales in your business and the tax rate is 2%, you will need to set aside $1,000 for this tax.

Sales tax is another type of tax that occurs at the state level and is based on gross sales. If you sell a product (services are not usually subject to this tax but check your state law to be sure) then you are required to collect sales tax and pay it to your state. In my practice, this is the state tax that gets people in the most trouble.

It’s usually a pretty large portion of the sale price. Since it just gets mixed in with the sales, it’s very easy to lose track of and spend.

If these sales tax dollars have been spent when it comes time to pay, the business instantly becomes in debt to the state. Penalties and interest add up very fast and can quickly overwhelm a small business. So find out what’s required in your state. Then be very careful to set the money aside whenever you collect any sales tax.

Taxes on net income happen at the federal and state level. Not all states have a net income tax though so check with yours to make sure. Net income is just your total sales less your deductible expenses.

In the United States, taxes at the federal level are the same no matter where you live. They can vary a great deal though, depending on what type of entity your business is. An entity is a sole proprietorship, partnership, s-corporation, c-corporation, LLC, etc.

Since most small businesses start as sole proprietorships I will limit the discussion to them in this article. Generally you’ll know what type of entity you are by the paperwork you filed to get your business started.

Sole proprietors are subject to two main taxes at the federal level. The first is the all familiar federal income tax. The second is self-employment tax which is also called social security. Both taxes are calculated on your net income, not your gross sales. So when calculating these taxes it’s important to know your deductions so you can make an accurate estimate.

As a general rule, everything that’s necessary (within reason) to conduct your business affairs is deductible for taxes. This is a general rule though with lots of exceptions so your calculations will probably not be perfect until you actually prepare your taxes. Don’t be overly concerned about this though. This calculation is only for estimating and will not effect your actual tax liability

Let’s talk a little about some of the bigger, more common exceptions. Probably the most common, and one the IRS likes to pick on, is entertainment and meals. Even if there is a reasonable business purpose, these expenses are only 50% deductible. Without a business purpose, they’re not deductible at all.

Another IRS favorite is auto expenses. This is a complicated tax subject by itself so here’s the simple of it. You can use actual expenses or the standard mileage rate. Whichever you choose, you can only deduct the business portion.

If using actual expenses the business portion is calculated by multiplying all the auto expenses by the business use percent. If using the standard mileage rate, simply multiply the business miles by the rate allowed. In 2011 the rate is fifty cents per mile.

If you are uncertain about any business expense, it’s best to leave it out of this calculation so you don’t underestimate the amount of tax to set aside.

Now that you have an estimate of net income you can do a rough estimate of the taxes. Self-employment tax is the easiest so let’s start with that. The amount of this tax will simply be 15.3 percent of your net income. For 2011 12.4% of this tax stops after you reach $106,800 of net income from your business.

The federal income tax is much more difficult because it depends on many factors. It’s calculated on your total income minus your total deductions and personal exemptions. If you have other types of income, it’s quite difficult to know exactly how much will be due until you file your return.

So if you have a job besides your business, a working spouse, or significant other income, these estimates will be very rough. If you are entitled to any federal tax credits this will also affect the estimate.

Always remember that your estimate for federal income tax is in addition to self-employment tax, not in place of it.

If you are single, or married and filing separately from your spouse, and your taxable income (net income less deductions and exceptions) is less than $35,000, you should set aside 15%. Between $35,000 and $84,000 set aside approximately $5,200 plus 28% of the amount over the $35,000.Between $84,000 and $175,000 set aside approximately $19,000 plus 31% of the amount over $84,000. If it’s more than that, it’s probably best to see your tax adviser or consult a more in-depth publication.

If married filing jointly and taxable income is less than 58,000, set aside 15%. Between $58,000 and $140,000 set aside approximately $8,650 plus 28% of the amount over $58,000. If $140,000 to $212,000 set aside approximately $31,600 plus 31% of the amount over $140,000. Again, if income is more than this, you should consult your tax adviser or a more in-depth publication.

If all this seems to complicated for you, or you just don’t have time to go through this calculation, here is a much quicker method. Just set aside 50% of everything you earn. This will likely be far more than you need, but at least you won’t come up short.

I should probably mention one other thing here. When calculating total income for the beginning of this calculation, it means total income. Total income means everything you earn. Assume you are selling products from another company online and they send you your profits after deducting the cost of the product from your sales. Your total income is not the amount they send you. It’s the total sales dollars!

When you prepare your tax return, you will need to show this total income. You will also show the total cost of the products as a deduction. While the net income will be the same whichever way you do this, it’s important that the gross sales be shown correctly because of the other taxes mentioned in this article.

Please remember that these calculations are very basic and are intended to give you only a general idea of how much money to set aside.

Finally, remember that there can be many taxes and fees you may be subject to. Most will be much smaller than what we’ve discussed here. Some of these types of taxes are city and county taxes, or licensing fees. To be sure you’ve covered them all, you should contact your state agency that’s in charge of taxation or a competent tax advisor.

If you need more information or would like to see other tax and accounting issues discussed, please leave a comment and tell me what you’d like to know.

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Google Chrome or Firefox – Which is Better?

Recently during a pretty technical conversation, I was asked why I was not using Google Chrome for my browser. I have long been a die-hard Firefox fan and have seen no reason to switch as yet. However, I had no specific reasons not to switch either. So I thought I’d find something more substantial to share with you that answers this question objectively.

Following is a summary of the best and most dependable information I could find. I do use Google Chrome on one of my Windows computers. It’s more of a backup though so when some other browser chokes on a task, I can use it to complete the job

Which Should I Use on Windows: Firefox or Chrome?

There’s no short answer to this question since the general consensus is that neither is clearly better. So instead of a straight out recommendation, let’s consider the pros and cons of each.

First, in regular web browser performance tests, Chrome has regularly beaten up the competition or come in a very close second in most categories. Firefox rarely wins in these tests. This is not as significant as it might seem however, since most modern browsers perform very well. Just because Chrome beats Firefox in most performance tests doesn’t mean Firefox is extremely slow. It just means that Chrome is faster when the two are compared side-by-side.

A possibly much more important issue between the two browsers is something called browser bloat. This is the tendency for the browser program itself to get bigger and take more system resources in the process. Firefox usually does well on most memory tests. But many frustrated Firefox users blame this browser bloat for the slow-downs and general malaise they are finding with their browsing experience.

It’s not at all uncommon to see a Firefox installation using up more system resources than any other application running on the system. In this case, memory consumption is not that big a factor though because both browsers use lots of memory. But the high memory usage is often accompanied by serious browser slowdowns. That’s a much bigger problem and is heard less often from Chrome users than Firefox users.

So what causes Firefox users to remain loyal when Chrome performs better almost all the time? One of the biggest issues is extensions. If there’s anything you wish Firefox could do, or do differently, there’s almost certainly an extension that can do the job.

Chrome also has an ever-increasing extension gallery. But it doesn’t have close to the number of extensions that Firefox does. While the gap between Chrome and Firefox extensions closes more each day, chances are that you’re still going to have some difficulty finding Chrome replacements for some of the more obscure Firefox extensions. However, if you only use a few of the more popular Firefox extensions, odds are very good that your transition to Chrome from Firefox would be pretty smooth.

Another reason many people shy away from Chrome is the issue of privacy. After all, Chrome is directly affiliated with Google. Many people feel that Google already has enough of their personal information. They would prefer to stick with Firefox just to limit the growing piles of information Google has already collected about them, anonymously or not. This is the main reason I have not switched to it full-time. Another reason is that I don’t like to contribute to the elimination of competition and ending up with less browser options to choose from.

At the end of the day, both Chrome and Firefox are excellent web browsers for Windows, and you can’t go wrong with either one. More and more People seem to be happily moving from Firefox to Chrome. Their changeovers have been prompted mostly by the bloat issues mentioned above.

If you’ve been frustrated with Firefox, you might want to try out Chrome to see how you like it. You can always switch back if you decide you still like Firefox better. On the other hand, if you’re perfectly happy with Firefox, why upset a good thing? If it’s not broken, why fix it? You can also do what I did and install both. That way you can test them side-by-side.

My reason for installing both was so I can have the option of using one when the other fails to do the job. I still use Firefox most of the time and only fire up Chrome when Firefox either can’t do the job or does it very slowly.

So Which One Should You Use on Your Mac?

The answer to this question is different than for Windows, and much simpler. If you didn’t read the Windows section, you probably should because much of that information also applies here. Chrome has a lot of great things going for it. It’s snappy on OS X and the same extensions that work for Chrome on Windows work in OS X. It also isolates processes so that one crashed tab won’t bring down your whole browser. It does well at lots of other things too.

Unfortunately though, in many people’s experience, Chrome for OS X is still much too young to warrant complete dependence on it. Remember, Chrome for Mac launched quite awhile after the Windows version and has been around much less time. Like Chrome for Windows, it shows lots of promise. But it’s also prone to the occasional non-responsiveness and other bugginess that really has no place in your primary browser. It would be nice to give it a full thumbs up if you’re wanting to switch from Firefox. However, in the opinion of many experts it’s just not ready for that.

So there you have it. Now it’s your turn. If you have additional information or insights, or just want to tell about your experiences with this issue, please feel to leave a comment and share with the rest of us.

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iPad vs Other e-Readers, the Verdict

In relating all the details of my Apple vs PC series, I almost forgot to tell you all about the result of my e-reader search. I actually bought several, and brought them back, as well as tried a few more that I never bought.

In the end I decided on the iPad. This device was so superior and had so many more features than anything else, it became a very easy decision.

One of the most important deciding factors was the size. I like to read a variety of things and when it came to magazines and newspapers, the other e-readers just made the experience too unpleasant. Maybe this would not be an issue for someone with younger eyes, but for me there was no question.

Another very important factor was the LCD screen. I do a great deal of my reading at night and I liked the idea of being able to read without adding any extra light to the situation. This brings up another thing that has turned out to be fantastic for me.

I tend to come up with most of my creative ideas at night; usually while sleeping. I’ll wake up at 3am with this great idea that needs to be written down or it will be gone from my mind in a matter of seconds.

In the past, I either didn’t bother writing it down, or rudely woke up my wife by turning on a light so I could jot down my idea. Now I can just reach over to the night stand, tap one button and the iPad is instantly ready for input. Tap the “Notes” icon and up comes an electronic version of a yellow legal pad. Tap anywhere on the pad and up comes an extremely easy to use keyboard to quickly enter the idea.

I have the iPad housed in a thin case that opens up like a book. Since you can rotate the iPad in any direction and the screen will stay upright, I can position the cover of the case so the light does not bother my wife. Also, the iPad screen can be dimmed down quite low.

I also chose the iPad because of it’s functionality in other areas. In this high-tech age we live in, you can really get carried away carrying around lots of gadgets. The iPad combines so many of them that not much else is needed.

It has an amazing calendar, email, notes, calculator, and the Safari web browser. Then there’s the GPS with extremely fast response time and very detailed, high-resolution maps. And finally there’s iTunes, a headphone jack, decent sounding speaker, apps for Nook and Kindle books, it’s own iBook reader, and apps for just about anything else you could want. I have Sudoku, Scrabble, and Chess and they all look and work great.

Combine all that with 10 hours of battery life (for continuous use) and you have a really nice device. 10 hours may not seem like much compared to the days and weeks of e-ink readers, but I find that I only need to charge it about once a week.

Even though I leave it on all the time, when the screen turns off the battery life is greatly extended. So if you’re using it like a Daytimer and organizer and not using it constantly all day long, I suspect one charge could last 3 or 4 weeks.

There are some additional technical reason I chose the iPad but I’ll get into those in a later post.

So now it’s your turn! If you’ve got an e-reader already, which one did you get? If not, which one do YOU think is the best? Please leave a comment and also click the “Like” button in the Facebook box in the left margin if you enjoyed the article.

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