rockstar CPA

It’s so close we can smell it.

At Rockstar CPA we have been discovering the value of educating artists and empowering them to take control of their financial future—not be a victim of it. Through workshops and panels, articles and presentations, we’ve honed in on the key tools creative people need to manage the business of being an artist.

Now through the “Mission Small Business” campaign, we have the chance to take $250,000 and put it to work bringing this information to artists nationwide. All it takes is a few quick clicks and your vote will send us to the next round.

So please vote now and help us expand our reach. What will only take a few seconds of your time will be so valuable to so many.

Rockstar CPA

Fan of the Week

We’ve got a new Fan of the Week at Rockstar CPA! Our Twitter follower, Sarah Brackett (@ethicalecon) is this week’s winner.

Congratulations! We’ve entered you into this month’s drawing for a free one-year subscription to our tax tracker app and Rockstar t-shirt!

Do you have what it takes to be Rockstar’s Fan of the Week?

And the Winner Is…

We’ve got a new Fan of the Week at Rockstar CPA! Our Twitter follower, Megan Lewis (@meganlewismodel), is this week’s winner.

Congratulations! We’ve entered you into this month’s drawing for a free one-year subscription to our tax tracker app and Rockstar t-shirt!

Do you have what it takes to be Rockstar’s Fan of the Week?

The Pros and Cons of Unionizing

As this article in the LA Times indicates, Sony Imageworks employees are trying to unionize in order to increase their chances at overtime protections, receive better health insurance,  and an eventual cap on working hours.  They’ll have to be careful, though, because there are pros and cons to unionizing.

The Pros

Forming a union can help workers negotiate collectively for wages and benefits better than they could as individuals, they provide levels of support against large companies, and give employees a louder voice when issues arise that employers need to address.  Unions also provide better, safer work environments and encourage cooperation.

The Cons

Sometimes, wages and benefits are raised to levels above what the market can sustain, causing a trickle-down effect where added costs are passed down to the consumers, who are often the workers who are being represented.   Unionizing takes away the individuality of the worker, which means that individual needs may not be addressed. 

Getting Paid for Pirated Music

As this article on The Wrap explains, several of the music industry’s largest trade groups recently reached an agreement on royalty rates for online music services like Apple’s iTunes Match.

iTunes Match and other services that allow you to pay to access your music collection on the go charge a yearly subscription fee, which is divided several ways.  For instance, Apple keeps 30% of their subscriptions as profit, then divides the other 70% between record labels (88%) and songwriters (12%).

One  great thing about these types of services is that artists are receiving some sort of recompense for illegally downloaded music.  If a listener originally pirated a song, but pays for the subscription to iTunes Match, the artist is being paid each time they access that song. 

Even better, labels and artists are sometimes paid twice.  If you download a CD, rip it to your computer, and load it into your iTunes Match, labels and artists are paid once for the purchase of the CD and again when you access that album from iTunes Match.

In a blog post, Tunecore’s Jeff Price stated,  “The music industry needs innovation. Services like iTunes Match, Spotify, Simfy, Deezer and others are bringing that innovation—it will take some time to learn which are the ones consumers want. But in the interim, seeing an additional $10,000+ appear out of the thin air for TuneCore Artists by people just listening to songs they already own is amazing!”

Control Your Cash Flow

This article from the New York Times Small Business section gives some great advice on how to figure out what’s going wrong in your business. They didn’t have time (or space) to address all the issues that can occur, however, and there’s one we’d like to add to the list: cash flow.

Cash drives business and the condition of your cash flow is one of the top considerations in determining your company’s financial health.  Often, businesses throw money at problems instead of focusing on creating a more efficient supply chain.

Think of your business as the proverbial boat.  You’re floating along just fine, headed for warm weather and tiki bars, and all of a sudden your boat springs a leak.  Sure, you can seal it up with duct tape (money) like those guys from MythBusters, but it’s only a temporary solution to the problem.  Eventually, the adhesive is going to get so wet that it won’t work any longer and you’re stuck bailing water (bleeding money) until either someone comes along to save you or the boat sinks. 

Addressing the issues that will affect your company in the long term instead of throwing money at the problem will improve your cash flow and your company’s financial health. Ask yourself how you can improve the way your company does business.  Start with sales and examine every facet of your business process to see how things happen behind the scenes.  Are there processes that could be eliminated? Does your shipping process need an overhaul?  Is inventory being kept properly? 

Going through your business with a fine-tooth comb and working diligently to correct and eliminate underlying issues will improve cash flow, making it easier for your company to navigate in rougher waters. 

How to Claim Your Home Office as a Tax Deduction

If you telecommute, freelance, or own your own home-based businesses, it’s important to understand how to deduct the portion of your home you use for business.  As this article in Bloomberg Businessweek suggests, there has been a lot of debate over who can take a home office deduction and who cannot.  Maybe we can allay some of the confusion by reviewing the criteria for claiming home office deductions.

·         Your home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business.  Whether you’re working in a corner of your dining room or have an entire room to work in, you can use only use that space for work.  If you create newsletters from your couch, you can’t claim your living room as an office.

·         Your home office has to be used for a business activity or trade.  You can’t take a deduction if you’re using your house for a profitable activity that isn’t a business or trade.  Manage your investments from the recliner?  Then you can’t take it as a deduction.

·         Your office has to be:

1.       Your principal place of business.  You can also qualify it as your principal place of business if you use it regularly for administrative purposes and have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative activities;

2.       A place to meet with clients or customers in the normal course of business.  Someone dropping by occasionally to ask a business question doesn’t qualify; or

3.       A separate structure not attached to your house but used for business or trade. So if you’re making furniture or writing the next great American novel in a shed in the backyard, you can take the deduction.

·         If you’re an employee, you have to use your office for the employer’s convenience and not your own.  If you’re working from home because your boss doesn’t want to give away office space, you can deduct your office.  If you’re working from home to be closer to your children or because sometimes you don’t feel like dealing with traffic on the interstate, you can’t take the deduction.

·         Even if you meet all these rules, there still may be limitations.  You can deduct mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and other things you could deduct even if your home wasn’t used for small business, but other things can be deducted only to the extent of gross business income, reduced by expenses unrelated to your home. 

Customer Service Best Practices

Customer service is the most vital part of any business.   Without your customers, you simply couldn’t exist. In this blog on the Huffington post, Frank Farwell discusses how customer service was integral not only to his business, but in the eventual selling of the startup he’d worked so hard to build.  Below, we’ve listed several of the things we strive to achieve so our customers are always satisfied with our efforts.

Make customers feel appreciated.  It doesn’t take much to show someone you sincerely care. Remember your customers by name. Compliment them.  Send them a birthday card.  Everyone enjoys being appreciated for who they are and what they do.  Not only does this strengthen your relationship with your customers, it fosters brand loyalty and referral business.  Tell your customers thank you as often as you can.

Genuinely listen to your customer’s needs.  Concentrate on what your customer is saying and ask questions.  Read their body language and tone of voice; don’t just assume you already know what they want.  When a customer explains an issue, repeat it back to them to make sure you understand.  If the customer knows you understand what they need, they’ll be more likely to work with you to create a solution that’s best for everyone.

Keep your promises.  We all want to be treated with respect and dignity.  Your customers will always be more likely to return and refer others to you if they feel they can trust you completely.  If you promise something to a customer, always deliver.  If you know you can’t deliver what your customer is requesting, be honest.  Tell them you don’t have the proper experience to complete a project, or refer them to someone who will be able to deliver better results. 

Ask for feedback. Always welcome suggestions for improvement, and call customers occasionally to check up on them.  If you utilize social media, ask your followers what they believe your greatest attributes are, and where you can improve. 

And the Winner is…

The winner of our Fan of the Week drawing is Kim Alpert! Congratulations, Kim! You’ve won a free one-year subscription to our app and a Rockstar CPA t-shirt!

Thanks to all our fans for participating. You’re all rockstars to us!

Fan of the Week Winner

We’ve got a new Fan of the Week at Rockstar CPA! Our Facebook fan, Kim Alpert, is this week’s winner.

Congratulations! We’ve entered you into this month’s drawing for a free one-year subscription to our tax tracker app and Rockstar t-shirt!

Do you have what it takes to be Rockstar’s Fan of the Week?