News
Monday, May 03, 2010
The Spanish Immersion Program
Blanca M. Lawton is the director and creator of a very unique Spanish Program. TSIP provides a positive, fun and nurturing environment for successful learning. Our commitment is to give you the tools to build the confidence to communicate and understand Spanish, appreciate the Hispanic culture and to give you the opportunity to prepare for the future Global marketplace. “Our students range from 2.5 yrs to adults, everyone learns the same way: singing, repeating, matching cards, games, role playing, talking, writing, reading and lots more. We make Spanish learning fun”
If you, or someone you know wants to learn the Spanish basics or a conversational class to communicate with prospects or current customers, need training to provide customer service etc, this program will work great for you! TSIP will customize your business needs.
“Spanish is an official language on fewer than four continents and learning it will allow you to communicate with an estimated third of a billion speakers across the globe”.
Spanish for All: Business\Adults, Youth, and Preschool Spanish classes.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
VirusMalware
BEWARE! Currently we are seeing an escalating attack from e-mail virus\malware disguising themselves as package delivery updates and UTUBE videos. Make sure that if you do not know for sure the mail is for you, DO NOT OPEN the mail.
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
Get out of My Pocket Government
The IRS Targets Independent Contractors
By Anne Field ( Businessweek Magazine)
Small companies are likely to see the greatest scrutiny as government agencies crack down on permalancers
• “It’s easier and quicker to audit smaller businesses”
For decades the IRS has played a game of find-the-freelancer at businesses where independent contractors remain on the payroll for months or even years. Companies, especially small ones, increasingly rely on such workers because they offer greater flexibility—and because they’re cheaper. Employers can save as much as 30% on wages by avoiding payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation coverage, and benefits they provide regular employees.
Now both the IRS and state agencies across the country are redoubling efforts to uncover long-term “temps.” In February the IRS launched a three-year program that will examine 6,000 companies to find permanent workers misclassified as freelancers in violation of the Tax Code. President Obama’s proposed 2011 budget includes funding for 100 additional federal staffers to pursue such cases, and it would repeal a 32-year-old rule allowing companies in industries ranging from construction to health care to legally classify long-term employees as independent contractors. What’s more, a 2008 initiative linking the computer systems of various agencies makes it easier for the IRS and states to share data on how companies classify employees.
Most of the IRS action on independent-contractor violations will target small businesses and the self-employed, the General Accountability Office reports. Over the past decade the average size of small businesses has fallen, an indication that they’re using more free¬lancers. In tough economic times, keeping independent contractors on the payroll makes sense because they’re easier to shed if the business starts to falter. Furthermore, without the legions of lawyers and tax consultants available to big corporations, small companies are less likely to understand—and therefore to follow—the complex rules covering freelancers.
The moves come amid what some researchers say is closer overall scrutiny of small and midsize businesses by the IRS. Over the past five years the agency has increased by 30% the hours spent auditing companies with less than $10 million in assets while decreasing by a third the time spent on large-company audits, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research center at Syracuse University. While the IRS disputes that study’s methodology and says it isn’t targeting small business, some tax experts say such a strategy would make sense. The IRS believes smaller businesses are more likely to evade taxes, says Dean A. Zerbe, a managing director of alliantgroup, a Houston tax consultancy. “It’s also easier and quicker to audit smaller businesses.”
When small companies are scrutinized by the IRS or other agencies, they have a hard time mounting a challenge to any penalties they might face. Last June, Paula Routly, co-owner of Seven Days, an alternative weekly in Burlington, Vt., got a $317 bill from the Vermont Labor Dept. The agency said she hadn’t paid unemployment insurance for one of the paper’s 14 freelance delivery drivers. Though Routly insists she didn’t break any rules and is appealing the assessment, her attorney told her “it might be cheaper to give in than to pay the legal fees it would cost to fight,” she says.
The current push could lead federal agencies to standardize the employee classification system so it’s clearer just where to draw the line between temps and full-time employees. “No one has ever been able to come up with a universal test,” says GJ Stillson MacDonnell, an attorney at employment law firm Littler Mendelson in San Francisco. “So we end up being whipsawed between different state and federal definitions.”
Representative Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) has introduced a bill that would help clarify the definition of a contractor and increase penalties for companies that misclassify employees. “Far too many workers aren’t receiving the benefits and protections they deserve,” McDermott says. “This will level the field for companies playing by the rules.”
The bottom line: The government is stepping up scrutiny of companies using contractors and is working to clarify the definition of a freelancer.
Link to Businessweek Magazine Article
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb20100421_463331.htm
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Quickbooks Users Be Aware
Quickbooks R9 and R10 Update
Quickbooks has released a new upgrade\Update that has caught business by surprise. This update is not your normal click update on all the user stations and carry on like normal. R9 is the update that started the ball running and R10 has been released to fix some issues with R9. Enterprise users must update the server, and then all company data files must have a conversion routine ran on each of them. Be prepared for the time needed to complete this and make sure you have your Administrator login and password for Quickbooks available. We can do this upgrade for you if you are not ready to tackle this project, we are.
Quickbooks has also released 2010 Quickbooks and we have already started installing this version for customers already.
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Monday, November 16, 2009
Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 7
Should or Can you upgrade ?
By: Greg Lawton
Windows 7 has been released and many users have been waiting for it instead of using Microsoft Vista. It is very much like Vista, but as you dig deeper into compatibility with most of the business office’s day to day applications, it is not like Vista or XP. Not to get into the technical mumbo jumbo, it is written different then its previous versions. What this means to allot of office’s is that you will need to do a little homework before making the step forward. An example would be that Intuit has stated that they will only support Quick Books 2010, even though older version will install properly. Customers using Sage Timeslips will not be able to upgrade at all since they do not support Windows 7 as of yet. So as you think of your budgeting dollars and your in need of new workstation, just follow these suggestions I have written to make sure you are not going to be left with computers you cannot use. Most of the distributors like Dell and HP, etc. are making new PC purchases available with XP or Vista with a Windows 7 upgrade disk included (XP will be unavailable soon though)
This is why you need a company like Lawton Networks, Inc, to do the homework. If we do not already know the answer to your questions, we will find the answer.
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Tape Backups VS. OnlineOffsite Backups
Why revisit the online backup option? As you make the choice to either purchase a new server, or your current server is aging, the tape backup options are becoming obsolete. Let me give you an example of a new purchase: Your cost involved of a new backup system will consist of the tape drive or other device backup, the software to perform the backup (Usually requires yearly renewal for support and updates), and then multiple device cartridges in order to remove them offsite for security, and fulfilling disaster recovery of data.(Tape options recommend replacing tapes yearly). Depending on how much data is to be backed up, the cost of hardware will fluctuate. This option can add anywhere from $1000.00 to 3 or 4 thousand dollars and up, and not counting reoccurring costs. This leads into the older backup scenario example: Backup drives have a life span that is mainly ruled by how long your warranty replacement is, and how long will the manufacturer produce the drive. If you have a server that is damaged (fire, water, natural disaster) or stolen, and have tapes but no tape drive replacement to restore data! What good are they now? Attempt to locate a recovery site for existing tapes cost money and time. That means loss of $$$$$!
Technology is always changing and the online backup scenario is a change for the better. No Hardware necessary (unless wanting to take advantage of the duel use portion of client that can do an online and onsite backup) Install the client to the Server, PC, or Laptop and as long as you have internet connectivity, your worries are behind you. We support Windows Servers (SBS, Std\Enterprise, Exchange, SQL, Mac, and more). You can get a file restored over the web. Be relaxed in knowing that you will receive an email when your backups have been completed, and if there have been any issues, you will be notified also. Call or email us, so we can talk about the affordable peace of mind of LNI can offer you. ****FIRST MONTH FREE***
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