Tax Incentive for Equipment Purchases

So its been a while since our last post, I know you've missed our insightful banter.  No worries we are back!

If you've been holding off on equipment purchases or leases for a while, now might be the time to finally pull the trigger. You can expense 100% of up to $500,000 worth of purchases for 2011 - meaning that instead of slowly depreciating that purchase over several years, you can deduct the entire expense for the whole tax year if your equipment is purchased and put into service by December 31st.  

Who to thank? IRS Section 179, one of the more straightforward and beneficial tax incentives around for small business. Here's how it works: let's say you're thinking of buying $15,000 of phone equipment. If your business is taxed at 35%, then your new phone equipment will effectively cost only $9,750 if you purchase and install it before the end of the year. These purchases could include phone systems, routers, switches, servers and computers.  

Tax laws change often, and particularly in the past several years, Congress has extended and amended various elements of the tax code to help stimulate business activity. We can't be sure what the tax code will look like at the end of the next year, but we're pretty sure that 2011 is a good year to make a big purchase.  

At Taylored Systems, we're more than happy to make recommendations about how to add new equipment to your office and gain a tax write-off. But we aren't tax advisors, so be sure to consult with a professional who's familiar with your situation.  

For more information about Section 179 and recent legislative changes and extensions to the tax code, visit www.section179.org.

Is technological efficiency important to you?

I had lunch last week with a business contact. She mentioned that the owner of her company personally goes to the bank two times each day as part of his daily business activity.  He enjoys the personal experience at the bank and he knows exactly where his money is.  Peace of mind for people arrives in different ways.

Think of the conveniences we take for granted.  When your email goes down or there is a delay getting messages on your cell phone, how irritating is it for you? How about food? How frustrated do you get when your burger and fries takes 5 minutes? When I used to spend the night with my grandparents, “fast food” was grandma’s 20 minute hot dish.   

For many of us, online banking has become second nature and part of our fast paced, convenience driven life style. Anytime we want we can access our accounts via computer or phone.  As technology has changed, the banking industry has had to evolve to adjust to the expectations of consumers. Have we forgotten how things used to be?

We are quickly reminded when the inevitable happens.  You might have seen the article recently explaining that Chase.com was down in a lengthy system crash and customers were forced to conduct their banking business at a local bank branch, ATM or through the company’s phone service.  For those who are used to the efficiencies of online banking this came as a surprise.  And the ability to bank anytime, anywhere, easily and quickly was removed. 

http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/14/technology/Chase_online_service/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

In this case, it sounds like a regression was more painful than people anticipated, both for the customers and the bank. I have a feeling that upon reading this, my business contact’s business owner was laughing all the way to the bank…both times!

This was Amy Hershman’s last post.

The Laser is an Antique

In the United States typically something is considered an antique after 50 years, if it has been subject to rigorous use. Well this year marks the 50th anniversary for the Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER to those of us who are normal. It’s funny to think of something that has always seemed so futuristic to be an antique.

Lasers were first conceptually developed in the Bell Laboratory in the late 1950s. In 1958 Bell Labs retained a patent on the MASER (the Lasers older brother). In 1960 the Laser was first constructed at Hughes Research Laboratory. Today lasers are used for everything from telecommunications to surgery to laser light shows. But I imagine when someone says the word laser thoughts go to a laser as a weapon. They have been imbedded in our mind through science fiction as the ultimate projectile. Though laser development has changed significantly over the last 50 years the weapons are still only in their beginning stages of development. Sorry to anyone who thinks they need a laser gun.

Lasers are closely related to our industry of technology and telecom. Without lasers we would not have fiber optic cable. Without fiber optic cable, we would not have networking at high speeds for long distances. If we could not transfer data at the speeds fiber allows us we would not have VoIP. So see it all comes back around. The moral of the story is that even the future becomes old.

If anyone is interested in antique lasers you’re not going to find them in Indianapolis, but Silicon Valley’s Bob Hess has a huge selection. You can see them here: http://holography.ning.com/profile/BobHess

This was Michael Martin’s latest conversation with Bill Taylor

Change

It’s time to head back to school. As I watch kids climb onto the busses and see college students stock up on back to school supplies, I think about how things change. Not to get all philosophical, but let’s face it, whether the change for students going back to school, in climate from season to season, in technology or business methodology, or any number of things – one fact you can count on is that change is a constant.



There are many quotes on the topic. “The only people who like change are babies with dirty diapers – and note even them all the time.” (As a mother who had three little ones in diapers at the same time I can see the humor in that). I also like the famous, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result”…moral of the story, get with change.


Successful businesses must embrace change to keep moving forward. That’s why it continues to surprise me to engage with companies that are resistant to exploring new options for their business. The bigger surprise is those who have a compelling reason to make a change and aren’t able/willing/ready to take the leap.


When was the last time you evaluated your insurance needs and looked at your policy then shopped around to see how you could get a better rate, more coverage etc.? Most of us don’t do it without a nudge or suggestion from someone who knows the insurance industry and can make recommendations for us. If we did explore options and found significant savings or added value – would we go through the hassle of signing new paperwork and the necessary actions for a new policy? Probably only if we really trusted the person who was helping us and believed that change was best for the long term.


The same holds true for dial tone, internet, and business technology. When was the last time you looked at your phone bill – really looked at your phone bill and started to question the fees and rates? When was the last time that you asked for help to better understand if there was a better option? Are you ready to do that? Or the better question to ask is – what will you do with the information you learn? Are you in the mindset that “things are working just fine – why rock the boat?” or afraid to make changes? I ask this because I continue to see scenarios where there is a clear ROI or long term business benefit for changing service or product but the prospect is not comfortable making a change.


Thinking about change? Here is what I think…price is one thing, but it is important to evaluate total COST of the change. Ask for help:


1. Do you know who to call to facilitate an analysis?


2. Do you know who to trust to implement a solution?


3. Are you in the mindset to make a change or are you thinking, “it’s working and even though I’m paying more we’re afraid to make changes.”


Most importantly – once you’ve done your homework and are ready to make a change, work with a trusted source to ensure you’ve considered total cost, transition time, and ongoing support.

This was one of Amy Hershman's conversations with Bill Taylor.

PURE CENTREX 1985 TO HOSTED IP 2010

While talking with Bill Taylor the other day, he reminisced about how in 1985 they had a customer who used an AT&T Dimension PBX phone system at their main location and expensive OPX circuits from Indiana Bell for their remote locations. Taylored Systems replaced this with a Pure Centrex Solution with lines run from Indiana Bell to each location with direct dial numbers, three/four digit dialing between locations, and one central live switchboard operator. This saved the customer quite a sum of money on a monthly basis, and removed the need to maintain the PBX phone system and only maintain the telephone instruments. Of course at that time the lines didn’t have voicemail, it was not very flexible to make any changes to your service. You had to have the providing carrier make any changes (which took several days) and if you didn’t like the changes it took several more days to correct them.

The Hosted IP Solutions of today are similar to the old Pure Centrex although today’s solutions are extremely flexible, more convenient, and have a variety of capabilities. You can add data to your plan and you have the availability to make instant changes from your browser, or web-enabled cell phone instead of waiting several days. Also you can have your phone set to follow you wherever you go with a “follow me” call forward to your cell phone.

Technology does not change; rather it advances and molds itself into newer and more useful creations.

Compared to the age of television when you only had three channels, technology has morphed into a five hundred channel mega creation. The same goes for telephony solutions from the simple Pure Centrex Solution to the more advanced Hosted IP of today. Who knows what the future will bring us?

Mary Couch’s Conversation with Bill Taylor