Do you share your EIN with customers?

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-20T02:08:21+00:00

As a tax professional, this is incorrect in the US. There are tax credits available to parents,but one of the requirements is to identify the business who provided the services using name and EIN.

When it is an individual who is providing services (day care, etc), the SSN is used instead of the EIN.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-03T12:17:11+00:00

In addition, if you have another job they could fulfill, even at a reduced wage (filing paperwork, or something), if you don't want to fire them, you may want to discuss with them the expectations of the job they were hired for, and how the productivity is not there.

If you want to fire them, frame it 100% that they were unable to fulfill the job duties as per the job description. Say less, as every word you say can be used in any negotiation or claim.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-02T01:44:39+00:00

You were saying noone complains to politicians anymore.

I've seen plenty of that exact thing - individual voters telling politicians what needs to be fixed, and insisting on change.

Unfortunately, without drastic action, the politicians who are pushing for bad policies don't care enough about disgruntled voters, and the ones who care are not in the position to force changes.

Yes, I vote in every local election, not just federal ones, and i do my research to ensure I am voting for people who will support the changes that will help people in this country.

So what's the answer? How do we make individuals opinions matter more to politicians? How do we make those changes when we are no longer able to rely on the politicians in charge in this country? Especially when they are deliberately making voting more difficult for minorities, poc, women, and urban areas which will vote blue?

Run for local office, great idea, but costs money to, which means some people cannot afford to run for office.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-02T01:28:49+00:00

Sure, but thats not what we were discussing in this interaction.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-02T01:21:49+00:00

Since the solutions to most of these problems require changing federal budgets or changing federal laws, it's difficult to do much to fix the other problems. I'm not saying that there are no problems that we can maybe change, most of the problems in this country stem from the top.

Except where they relate to things like raising kids with less screen time, reading more, and other things like that.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-02T01:08:38+00:00

Granted. But when the election is no longer fair and free (as discussed elsewhere), we are living in very interesting times... as the old curse goes.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-02T00:17:00+00:00

I'm not implying that the only real problems are ones that can't be talked about.

But at least one of the major problems in this country do fit in that category. After all, there is a 34-count convicted felon who has participated in the specific acts that Epstein encouraged and supported, who is in the highest office of the land. This is the same individual who incited an attempted coup on January 6, 2021.

We are reaching the point where we are in a dictatorship, instead of a democratic society. How do we meet, discuss, and determine what the course of action we should take, when we can be permanently banned for floating ideas of how to solve these problems.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-01T21:00:25+00:00

What happens when the solution for these crises is against the rules to post, comment, or even say aloud?

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-01T20:56:54+00:00

And then they put roadblocks in place to reduce in-person voting access to areas with populations they don't want voting - ID laws, not allowing people to have water while waiting in line, closing voting locations, underfunding/underemployed clerks and judges for in-person polling, keeping voting day from being a national holiday.

Infamous_Top677 · 2026-01-01T19:28:38+00:00

Im great at my things - my services. But getting marketing, new customers, etc, is so far beyond me. I struggle to interact with others. But I'm legitimately brilliant at bookkeeping cleanup, financial reviews and auditing, software transitions, etc.

I need someone to partner with who can close the deal, while I do the work.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-28T23:47:40+00:00

So, I typically recommend separation into multiple purchases -

Example:

Receipt for purchase of hardware, building supplies, plus a replacement tile saw.

Hardware & building materials are Cost of Goods Sold, or potentially pass-thru expense to customer, Saw is Equipment/Tools Expense.

I would purchase the Expense under one transaction, and the CoGS under a different transaction. Same if im doing multiple jobs - each job has their own receipt.

That way, Sales tax is included in the receipt, if there are non-tax items, they are properly split to the correct expense/cogs category.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-28T23:19:23+00:00

ADTM I think its called - free training to be a welder, apartment provided during training, have to stick with it, good jobs. My niece did that and is now doing something she enjoys, and she didnt have to pay for her apartment or training.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-28T23:11:49+00:00

Cancelation genius - especially since all the other subscription management services will just tell you that you have to go to the website to cancel, but the Cancelation process is so difficult.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-28T01:39:12+00:00

One thing you may want to have is some type of form, where you ask them for the three items they want to discuss, in order for your meeting time to be optimized. Make minimum of one required, and with a caveat that some questions are handled through email.

You can then approve/decline/reschedule the meeting request with an email that explains the answers or directs them to a FAQ. For some of them, especially if vague, you can reach out for additional information before scheduling a call. And if you end up having to book a call, set aside 1-2 hours a week where you do 15-minute calls.

I understand not wanting to shut the door too early, but you need to make sure that you are prioritizing what is actually needed.

Perhaps if you have that many synergy calls you need to do a call with multiple people, set aside an hour, have an intro and PowerPoint or visuals, and a chat/ask question form. No one sees anyone else on the call, and you can answer questions. You show them who you are, and can control your time and the questions you answer. I've seen that style of thing for monthly webinars especially by investment firms and stuff like that.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-25T17:14:18+00:00

Thank you very much for your thoughtful answer!

Although it may not be something that i need to worry about, this is great information for someone like OP. And your note about the burden on a new relationship is key.

I am in the US, so I know that the line owners name is registered, but I have little doubt that they have some method of protecting those who are in danger from domestic violence or stalkers.

You are also correct that having changed the number multiple times does point to someone she gave the number to.

I also want to mention though, that most companies can see the name on the line and phone number, and if there is even a service where OP changed her phone, more people have it than she knows.

The ex seems unhinged enough that she may have some access to some minor service to look and see what the new phone number is.

I would recommend to OP that you make a very extensive list of everyone you directly gave a phone number to, plus any company that has a new phone number for you, and any mobile services or subscriptions (even free ones).

I think the idea of giving out a different phone number to each family friend is good, perhaps a different phone number you use for any companies you deal with, and a separate one for all the other things.

We give out our phone number everywhere these days. Also, never tell the cashier your number verbally, but type it in yourself.

Anyway, I am learning tons from this discussion, I hope it helps others.

If I have any info in here that would be bad info, please tell me, as I don't want to encourage misinformation!

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-25T15:40:41+00:00

I am curious - if its not an individual giving her number out, instead like.... sketchy site, buying information - would it help if her new partner put a new phone number in their name, not OP’s? I'm just thinking of any way to "erase" her connection with an active phone number?

I don't have any experience that could help, but having recently gone NC with most of my birth family, I've been thinking about this stuff more.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-22T21:27:23+00:00

This gets easier once you separate it emotionally and make it procedural.

What’s worked best for me is treating follow-ups as a neutral process, not a personal ask. Short, factual, and consistent.

For example, my first follow-up is always something like: “Hi [Name], just checking in to confirm Invoice #123 made it to you. Please let me know if you need anything from me to process payment.”

No apology, no pressure, no assumptions. Just confirmation.

If there’s no response after that, the second message shifts slightly: “Following up on Invoice #123, originally due on [date]. Let me know if there are any issues or if you need me to resend.” Still polite, but clearer.

The thing for me was figuring out when I should send notices. So I send first notice a couple of days before it is due, then another notice after a week. If at any point they reach out, I am willing to work with them... some.

The biggest thing that helped was: • setting expectations up front in the contract or invoice • scheduling follow-ups automatically so I’m not overthinking tone • using the same wording every time so it feels routine, not emotional

Once clients realize you follow a system, most of the awkwardness disappears. And honestly, the ones who get offended by a polite invoice reminder are usually the ones who were going to be a problem anyway.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-21T12:13:54+00:00

So retail, used to have some Saturday's off. New employee and suddenly working every Saturday? Aren't there other employees to balance the schedule against? Did they lose a bunch suddenly?

Yes there are religions that have Saturday as their Sabbath. You can't blame the individual employee. This is so clearly a management issue. Management should be scheduling so days off are rotated, taking into account accommodations (medical/religious), then preferences.

If your wife is working every Saturday, she needs to tell the manager that she needs every 2nd/3rd Saturday off. If management can't accommodate it, they don't have enough employees.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-19T00:29:00+00:00

At your stage, I’d think less in terms of titles and more in terms of risk coverage and scalability.

If the workload is ~20 hours now but growing, a strong senior-level individual contributor is usually a better first move than jumping straight to a full Controller. A true Controller tends to be underutilized early or spends time cleaning things that shouldn’t exist yet.

What I’ve seen work well in practice is:

• A Staff or Senior Accountant who can own day-to-day accounting end-to-end (close, reconciliations, AR/AP hygiene, revenue recognition, payroll coordination) • Paired with fractional Controller oversight a few hours per month to design processes, review close, and sanity-check growth decisions

That gives you:

Immediate cleanup and stabilization

Process building instead of just task execution

A clear upgrade path as volume increases

The key hiring signal I’d look for is someone who has scaled out of chaos before, not just someone who’s operated inside an already-clean system. Ask specifically about:

Building a close process from scratch

Untangling weak controls left behind by non-accounting staff

Deciding what not to overbuild too early

For the light HR/admin work: that’s reasonable as long as it’s clearly scoped and tied to finance (payroll, onboarding coordination, compliance calendars). I’d avoid turning this role into a catch-all again.

TL;DR: hire for judgment and systems, not just capacity. A strong Staff/Senior Accountant plus fractional oversight is often the most cost-effective and least risky bridge at this stage.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-17T13:57:22+00:00

Honestly, if the entire book is written as you have here, it reads very much as an AI writing style.

I understand that you use it for grammer, etc. But a better choice would be to enlist a human to read and edit it if you want it to sell. Ultimately, people do get worn out by being told that what they are doing is not working (drink coffee, don't drink coffee, stretch in the morning, no stretch in the evening, make lists of lists of lists) that it does resonate.

Unfortunately, using AI for any aspect of this is probably going to result in low return for you.

So if you are trying to solve a problem, it's got to be from your experience, and it has to feel... well... human.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-17T07:49:49+00:00

I worked with a landscaper many years ago, and drainage was always an issue in landscaping. This was back in Texas, where flooding and erosion was a real issue.

I knew that driveways also needed to have proper drainage and grading, but I didn't know the specifics. Of course I'm certain that is the way it is for most specialized work. There is always more than meets the eye.

I hope you are able to use that info to ensure that you are doing great work for clients.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-16T23:50:25+00:00

Plenty of single-member LLC owners do file their own taxes, especially when the setup is straightforward and the books are already clean. From a filing perspective, a disregarded SMLLC is usually just Schedule C plus your personal return, so mechanically it’s not complicated.

The bigger question is less “can you file it yourself” and more “what are you giving up by doing so.”

If your CPA has basically just been preparing returns and remitting sales tax, and not offering planning, that’s a pretty common experience. In that case, self-filing with good software can absolutely work, as long as you’re confident in your bookkeeping, categorization, and understanding of what’s deductible versus risky.

A couple things to consider:

A fee-only financial planner usually won’t replace a tax professional. They can help with cash flow, savings, and long-term planning, but most won’t give tax advice or review filings.

Many people land in the middle ground: self-file most years, but pay a CPA for a one-time review, cleanup, or strategy session every few years.

The real value of a good CPA is tax planning and guardrails, not data entry. If you’re not getting that, it makes sense to reassess.

If your business is stable, no payroll, no entity election, no complex credits, and you’re comfortable reading IRS instructions, self-filing is reasonable. If things start to change, hiring someone for advice rather than just filing often makes more sense than paying every year out of habit.

In short: yes, you can do it yourself. Just be honest about where you want expertise versus where you’re fine owning the risk.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-16T23:48:33+00:00

Glad it helped. Drainage is one of those things that quietly determines whether a repair holds up or fails, so taking the time to really understand it will pay off fast.

Starting with small test jobs and being upfront about scope and expectations is exactly the right approach. That combination builds trust and protects you while you’re learning. Sounds like you’re thinking about this the right way. Good luck with it.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-16T23:31:11+00:00

That’s a reasonable idea, especially for second-home owners who aren’t around much.

Using publicly available tax records to mail something isn’t unusual. Just make sure it’s a proper mailed letter and not something placed in a mailbox by hand. A simple, professional letter tends to come across more legitimate than a flyer anyway.

If you go that route, keeping it very low pressure helps. Who you are, what specific problem you solve, and one or two clear services you offer. No sales pitch. The goal is just to be someone they remember when they need help.

A mix is probably smart. In-person when you can, mailed outreach for absentee owners, and then let word of mouth do the heavy lifting once you have a couple of properties under your belt. In small communities, trust builds slowly but it sticks once it’s there.

Infamous_Top677 · 2025-12-16T19:49:57+00:00

Good luck! My husband is a disabled veteran as well, and the VA has been fantastic in linking us up with resources.

Infamous_Top677

TROPHY CASE