HR Consulting Now Available Through H&S Companies

By: Travis Sinquefield
H&S Companies is pleased to announce that we now offer human resources (HR) consulting to our clients. We offer HR system audits, performance and talent management systems, hiring and on-board systems, record-keeping and compliance solutions and advice, retirement and benefit consulting, and general HR consulting services. We are committed to providing a solution tat solves your complex human resource problems and needs.
As an HR consultant, I receive a variety of questions from clients concerning the HR function within the organization. Most of these questions come from small business owners who are trying to understand the myriad of laws and regulations they must follow concerning record keeping and employee management. New laws and rulings come out on a daily basis, and it can be a full-time job just to keep track of the changes that occur within the HR landscape. The most common questions I am asked include: “What laws and regulations are applicable to my business? Does the Family Medical Leave Act apply to my business? What about the Equal Opportunity Employment Act? What am I required to keep in my employee files? And how long do I keep it?”
There are many questions and issues that arise when looking at the HR needs of an organization. For many of these questions, however, the answer varies based upon the business. Even a law such as FMLA may or may not apply to your company, even if you have 50 or more employees. In addition, each company has its own culture, policies and procedures that have a profound impact on the effectiveness of the organization.
A comprehensive HR system will not only fulfill your compliance and legal requirements, but also foster and develop a strong, efficient workforce that allows your business to grow. Many business owners are concerned about the complexities of HR systems but they do not need to be cumbersome as long as they are designed to meet the unique needs of your organization. If you need help navigating the world of human resources, please contact H&S Companies and we’ll develop a solution that fits your business needs.
Need help developing your HR strategy? Please contact Travis Sinquefield at 616-884-7946.

HR Consulting Now Available Through H&S Companies

By: Travis Sinquefield

H&S Companies is pleased to announce that we now offer human resources (HR) consulting to our clients. We offer HR system audits, performance and talent management systems, hiring and on-board systems, record-keeping and compliance solutions and advice, retirement and benefit consulting, and general HR consulting services. We are committed to providing a solution tat solves your complex human resource problems and needs.

As an HR consultant, I receive a variety of questions from clients concerning the HR function within the organization. Most of these questions come from small business owners who are trying to understand the myriad of laws and regulations they must follow concerning record keeping and employee management. New laws and rulings come out on a daily basis, and it can be a full-time job just to keep track of the changes that occur within the HR landscape. The most common questions I am asked include: “What laws and regulations are applicable to my business? Does the Family Medical Leave Act apply to my business? What about the Equal Opportunity Employment Act? What am I required to keep in my employee files? And how long do I keep it?”

There are many questions and issues that arise when looking at the HR needs of an organization. For many of these questions, however, the answer varies based upon the business. Even a law such as FMLA may or may not apply to your company, even if you have 50 or more employees. In addition, each company has its own culture, policies and procedures that have a profound impact on the effectiveness of the organization.

A comprehensive HR system will not only fulfill your compliance and legal requirements, but also foster and develop a strong, efficient workforce that allows your business to grow. Many business owners are concerned about the complexities of HR systems but they do not need to be cumbersome as long as they are designed to meet the unique needs of your organization. If you need help navigating the world of human resources, please contact H&S Companies and we’ll develop a solution that fits your business needs.

Need help developing your HR strategy? Please contact Travis Sinquefield at 616-884-7946.

Network Security Solutions Delivered

By: Andy Bradshaw

Is your business struggling with technology? H&S Computer Consulting is here to help! We offer many information technology (IT) and network solutions to clients, the most popular of which include: network management, network security, disaster recovery, and managed services.

H&S Computer Consulting can assist or perform all of the activities and procedures needed to administer and maintain a computer network. Such activities would include managing users and adding, replacing, or upgrading computer or network equipment.

In addition to proper network management, network security is vital, yet many businesses don’t put much though into it. Threats to a computer network can come from viruses and malware, outside hackers, or even internal users. Having proper anti-virus software, network firewalls, and monitoring procedures are vital to a network’s security. H&S can design a customized solution that will keep any business network secure.

Beyond ensuring your network is secure, it’s also vital to make sure you have a disaster recover plan in place. As more and more information is stored on computers, having proper backup procedures is becoming even more important. Backups can be as simple as backing data up to a portable hard drive to a more complex off-site backup strategy. We can help ensure that all of your important data is backed up and can be recovered.

Of course, day-to-day security maintenance and troubleshooting must not be overlooked. Managed Services offer peace of mind to business owners that want their servers proactively monitored. With managed services, H&S will apply security updates, manage backups and anti-virus application, and remotely troubleshoot for one low monthly price.

Need help with your network? Please contact Andy or Tim at 231-924-6890.

ICD-10 Changes Are On The Way

By Mike Farmer & Jane Verduin

The United States will be updating the ICD codes to the ICD-10 version starting October 1, 2013. While other countries have been using ICD-10 as far back as 1994, the United States has delayed the transition until now. The new codes will increase the specificity required in reporting, by increasing the 17,000 codes currently used up to 140,000. The means that the doctors will have to be very specific in their documentation and the billers will have to understand more anatomical and medical terms in order to determine which billing code to use.

One of the first steps in the conversion to ICD-10 is updating to the 5010 HIPAA standard for submitting claims. This provides the infrastructure for the new ICD-10 codes to be submitted. Diagnosis codes in the ICD-9 are three to five characters in length, which is what the current 4010 electronic file format was designed around. In ICD-10, the length of diagnosis codes will be up to seven characters, so an upgrade to HIPAA 5010 electronic file format is necessary. Electronic claims generated in your office or by your billing company will need to accommodated this upgraded format.

Should you have any questions or need any guidance during this transition, please contact Mike Farmer at 231-798-6503.

Tax Planning 2012: Strategies to Maximize Returns

By: RIA Content

Year-end tax planning is especially challenging this year because of uncertainty over whether Congress will enact sweeping tax reform that could have a major impact in 2012 and beyond. Even if there is no major tax legislation in the immediate future, Congress will eventually need to address several lingering issues such as whether to once again “patch” the alternative minimum tax, and what to do about the expiration of favorable estate and gift rules for estates of decedents dying, gifts made, or generation-skipping transfers made after December 31, 2012.

Until a decision is made on these and several other issues, your tax planning strategy needs to help you maximize your returns based upon the current laws. There are several viable options depending upon your financial situation.

One option that may be available to you is to realize losses on stock while substantially preserving your investment position. This can be done by selling the original holding, then buying back the same securities at least 31 days later. Alternatively, deferring capital losses into the future could be more beneficial as the losses could offset future higher-taxed income (assuming capital gain rates increase as most assume they will).

You may also want to consider accelerating long-term capital gains to lock in today’s lower capital gain rates (because, again, most experts assume capital gain rates wil climb). You can sell substantially appreciated investments in 2011 and immediately repurchase them at today’s higher cost basis. this locks in the current capital gains rate and reduces the amount to be taxed later.

By postponing income until 2012 and accelerating deductions into 2011 you may be able to claim larger deductions, credits, and other tax breaks for 2011 that are phased out over varying levels of adjusted gross income.

Another option you may want to consider is converting your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. While this is not a current tax savings technique, as you will increase your 2011 income, a conversion to a Roth IRA will save taxes in the future as your initial investment and earnings come out tax free.

Additionally, if you expect to owe state and local income taxes when you file your return next year, consider asking your employer to increase withholding of state and local taxes (or pay estimated tax payments of state and local taxes) before year-end in order to deduct those taxes in 2011.

Also, if you become eligible to make health savings account contributions in December of this year, you can make a full year’s worth of deductible HSA contributions for 2012.

These are just a few tax-planning techniques; there are several options available. Tax law in complicated and a mistake could cost you a lot of money down the road. Contact your H&S advisor today to develop a strategy that will help maximize your returns this year and in the future.

For additional information, please contact your H&S Tax Advisor at 800-924-6891.