Starlight Bookkeeping - Lafayette, IN

03/27/2026

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03/04/2023

Payment processor alert!!!! Do you use Square? Do you often have to issue customer refunds? (I'm looking at you, e-commerce people!)

IF SO - Square is NO LONGER refunding processing fees when you have to refund a customer. That's right - now you will be paying for the privilege of not making any money.

For those who prefer more visual explanations, it's like this:

Sale of widget to customer A for $25.00:

$25.00 comes from customer to Square.

-$1.03 (estimated) kept by Square

$23.97 comes to you

Customer cancels order (for whatever reason - you're out of stock, etc.)

$-25.00 leaves your Square account to Customer A

Your net from the sale?

Loss of $1.03.

There are several ways you can deal with this:

1) Run around screaming "Amok, amok, amok" and ranting about processor fees. (not recommended 😉 )

2) Update your refund policy within Square to include a cancellation or restocking fee. (Maybe - depends on your business and customer type - for some customers, especially new ones, this can be a big turn-off. But it can make sense for e-commerce where you also have to pay restocking fees to Amazon or Shipmonk or whatever fulfillment service you are utilizing.)

3) Review your past 12 months of refunds, and calculate what those would have cost you (and multiply by 6.6% CPI to account for inflation). Divide that amount by your projected sales for the next 12 months and factor that amount as a % increase in your sales prices for this year. In this way, you can absorb the cost without a noticeable change for your buyers to see.

#3 may sound daunting, but it actually front-loads the work for you. By taking an hour or two (or hiring someone to do the same) to assemble and calculate some figures, you can easily absorb the new fees without any additional work beyond the initial calculations.

#2 seems easier on the front end, changing a policy, but then going forward each and every refund is going to require extra bookkeeping work to record the fees charged and the net income between processing fees and cancellation fees. Short term gain with long term pain. (Possibly mitigated with automation, depending on how your sales are processed.)

BOTTOM LINE: The devil is in the details. If you aren't watching your metrics, you could really be missing out on necessary pivots.

01/06/2023

January is here. Did your business pay anyone for a service with a cumulative total of $600 or more?

If so, you may need to issue a 1099 to them. The deadline for filing 1099's is January 31, 2023.

Find all the details here: https://tinyurl.com/IRS1099Info

Want some help filing?

1) Get W-9's from any service providers you paid $600 or more in 2022.
2) Send those to us, along with totals paid and we can take care of the rest!
3) Book a call with us today: https://tinyurl.com/SLB1099Chat

Tax Tip 2022-05, January 10, 2022 — Some businesses and other payers take backup withholding from payments they made to certain people. These entities should remember their upcoming filing deadlines.

01/01/2023

Go snap a picture of your odometer. This prepares you for your 2023 tax records and mileage logging.

09/20/2022

Your future self in January 2023 is going to thank me.

Because today, as we are approaching the end of September, I'm going to remind you that in 3 short months you will be scrambling to get W-9's from all your service providers that you paid over $600 in 2022 so you can issue their 1099's before the end of January 2023.

But what if you didn't have to scramble?

What if you decided today to run a vendor report and check the W-9's on file for all those you've paid for services thus far?

And what if......you decided to leverage your position as payer and refuse to release a check or e-payment to any service provider until they provide you a signed W-9 first?

Because you can, you know. And if they refuse to sign it (which is their declaration under penalty of perjury that the information they provided is accurate) or provide their TIN, you have the legal right to re-issue the payment with 24% withheld and submitted to the IRS as back-up withholding. Most vendors happily and immediately comply with the W-9 request when they find this out.

And if you really wanna go pro? Get ahead of the game on your next insurance audit for both WC and Liability and require your on-site service providers to issue you a COI (Certificate of Insurance) at the same time as the W-9.

Here's that W-9 form.......you'll thank me later. ;)

08/27/2022

Are you working in Ready Mode or Crazy Busy Mode?

What if you could put your finances on auto-pilot, knowing they're busying propelling you where you want to go while you're out living your life?

Ask me how! And check out this lady's amazing TED Talk about Ready Mode vs. Crazy Busy Mode:

"We all get nervous. We all get scared, but it's what you do next that matters." Watch Darria Long's full talk here: http://t.ted.com/AmCuHrT... 354 comments on LinkedIn

08/25/2022

If you could get rid of just ONE recurring task on your daily or weekly TO DO list, what would that be? Comment below with your answers!

08/22/2022

08/16/2022

😀😀😀

07/30/2022

FDR had it absolutely right: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Have you joined our Fearless Finance group yet? Type "FEARLESS" in the comments if you want an invite to our group.

Click the link to read about Warren Buffet's advice on fear:

​When it comes to fear, Buffett advises taking President Franklin D. Roosevelt's advice to heart.