Check out our review of the Inflation Reduction Act

Click the image below to download and read our breakdown of the Inflation Reduction Act. The included table is a helpful resource. As always, reach out to your CPA or tax professional with any questions!

Click here to download

Qualified Charitable Contributions from IRAs

Check out the article below written by our own Rolly Reed on Qualified Charitable Contributions from IRAs!

 

QCDs from IRAs 11-18-2022

Our IT Division now offers Vulnerability Scans!

A vulnerability scan is a tool that will assess all devices on the network for known weaknesses. Once a scan is performed, the findings can be used as a road map to patch weaknesses and make the network more secure. A study performed last year by SecurityMetrics found that it took an average of 166 days from the time an organization was vulnerable for an attacker to compromise the system. Once the system was compromised, attackers had access to sensitive data for an average of 127 days. These compromises can lead to financial and reputational loss, which are often difficult to recover from. Many compromises could have been prevented if they were identified and remediated. Vulnerability scans are the first line of defense for identifying potential problems.

Contact us today to learn how we can help!
H&S Computer Consulting
711 W Main St, Fremont, MI 49412
616.735.3040

Navigating Elder Care Virtual Seminar

Next up in our Life Transitions Virtual Seminar Series is ‘Navigating Elder Care’

This seminar will focus on helping families find assisted living, independent living, memory care, and in-home help. We’ve brought in local experts, CarePatrol. The Care Transition Managers at CarePatrol will review the care and violation histories of the communities they work with, and accompany families on tours of the communities they refer them to. They assist clients through what can be a difficult and overwhelming transition in their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Join us to learn about this valuable information. It’s never too early to consider the options available!

 

Presented by: Marta Andrews, Care Transition Manager and

Sandi Wake, CPRS, CSA, Care Transition Manager of CarePatrol West Michigan

 

When: Wednesday, June 1st at 4pm EST

This seminar is virtual, a link to join will be provided.

 

Invite a friend or family member to learn about this important topic from an industry professional. This virtual seminar is free. There is no cost or obligation to attend.

 

Please RSVP to Sydney Bollaert by Tuesday, May 31st

Email: sydneyb@hscompanies.com or call 616-456-6550 x1917

Life Transitions Virtual Event Series

Our next series of seminars will focus on life transitions. Sign up for our next seminar covering the topic of Medicare!

 

Managing Medicare in Retirement:

If you are between the ages of 58 and 65, now is a great time to start learning about the rules and deadlines related to Medicare supplements. Join us for a virtual seminar where you’ll learn the options for transitioning to Medicare. Get your questions answered and learn from industry experts.

 

Hosted by: HS&C Wealth Management, A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial

 Presented by: Allie Amine, Medicare Specialist, Giardini Medicare

When: Wednesday, May 11th at 4pm EST. This seminar is virtual, a link to join will be provided.

 

Invite a friend or family member to learn about this important topic from an industry professional. This virtual seminar is free. There is no cost or obligation to attend.

Please RSVP to Sydney Bollaert by Monday, May 9th. Email: Sydneyb@hscompanies.com or call 616-456-6550 x1917

 

Virtual Events Series

We will be hosting a series of educational, virtual events throughout 2022 and would love for you to join us. Check out our next one below:

 

Securing Your Retirement – Transforming Social Security into A Winning Retirement Strategy

Wednesday, April 20th at 4:00pm

With advances in medicine and heathier lifestyles longevity has increased, but not many people take that into consideration when taking their Social Security benefits. During this presentation we will discuss the fundamental rules of Social Security, including considerations for:

  • Individual benefits
  • Spousal and survivor benefits
  • Collection strategies
  • Next steps and how to file for benefits

Presented by Kevin J. Kelly, Market Leader with BlackRock

 

Please RSVP by contacting Sydney Bollaert at least one week prior to the seminar you’d like to attend to reserve your spot and receive your access credentials. She can be reached by email at sydneyb@hscompanies.com or by calling 616-456-6550 x1917.

 

We welcome your friends & family members who may also benefit from this information.

 

Michigan Unemployment Claimants Tax Form Delay

Did you collect jobless benefits in 2021? Then you’re going to need to sit back and wait to file your federal income tax return until you make sure you have all the right numbers in hand.

Michigan residents now are looking at an extra long delay in receiving key tax paperwork from the state Unemployment Insurance Agency.

The state UIA said Monday that 1099-G forms now will be sent toward the end of February — instead of the typical Jan. 31 deadline.

Click here to read more!

Tax Document Uploading Instructions

Click the image below for a PDF of instructions on how to upload your tax documents to us!

 

H&S Team Member Community Involvement

Did you know that H&S team members serve on over 20+ non-profit boards all across Michigan? We are so thankful to be a team made up of such amazing people!

Jack Hendon: Newaygo County Area Promise Zone & Spectrum Gerber Hospital Foundation

  • The Newaygo County Area Promise Zone provides high school graduates with a tuition-free path to an associate degree from at least one institution.  They believe every student, regardless of financial means, should have the opportunity to earn post-secondary credentials.
  • Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial has been an integral part of the Newaygo County community for more than 90 years. It is a major resource for those who need emergency medical treatments, scheduled surgeries, diagnostic procedures or labor and delivery services. It is also a comfort for those recuperating in their homes.

Jennifer Feuerstein: Gladwin Business and Professional Association

  • The Gladwin Business and Professional Association is organized exclusively to promote the business development of the City of Gladwin and the adjacent business areas and to cooperate with other businesses and civic groups in promoting the same endeavors.

Kelly Wagenmaker: True North Community Services & Camp Newaygo Advisory Board

  • TrueNorth Community Services is a private, nonprofit organization supported through individual donations, foundations and grants, and funding from the federal government and the State of Michigan. They provide a variety of programs and services throughout all of Michigan, offering more than 80 comprehensive programs and services that fall within four core areas of focus (addressing rural poverty, ensuring youth thrive, building vibrant communities, and providing innovative rural nonprofit leadership)
  • Camp Newaygo is a year-round program, conference, and retreat facility. They offer summer programs, year-round rentals, community events, and innovative family programs on our beautiful 104 acres. They believe every child should have a safe place to grow into their best self.

Michelin Scramlin: Grand Rapids Jaycees Foundation

  • The Grand Rapids Jaycees Foundation, chartered in 1983, works to contribute to the welfare of our local community working to build stronger non-profit organizations throughout the community through charitable contributions, providing non-financial resources and developing of community leaders. The Grand Rapids Jaycees Foundation is committed to strengthening the community by giving… building… leading.

Katie Hardy: The Hume Home

  • The Hume Home serves Muskegon, Roosevelt Park and Muskegon Heights with excellent, affordable senior living including assisted living, independent living and memory care services.

Brian Ross: Isabella Citizens for Health, Commemorative Bucks of Michigan, ICE Arena & Morey Courts

  • Isabella Citizens for Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit health care organization for the purpose of building a Federally Qualified Health Center in Isabella County. Their mission is to provide the highest level of health care, yielding an improved quality of life in Isabella County and surrounding areas, through assured access to team-based primary care. Isabella Citizens for Health, Inc. provides the full complement of primary health care services across all life cycles.  The center offers services to all people regardless of insurance status and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, socio-economic status, marital status, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, housing status, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental handicap or disability, age, family status, veteran status, or any other protected status.
  • Commemorative Bucks of Michigan is a non-profit organization that measures and maintains records on trophy class Whitetail Deer, Black Bear, Elk and Turkeys, taken by fair chase in the state of Michigan. The B&C system is used to score harvested animals.
  • The Martin Arena is managed by Smooth Surfaces, Ltd. We are a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a safe and pleasant facility and environment for ice activities and programs that benefit all citizens of Isabella County.
  • Morey Courts Recreation Center is a regional anomaly; while our premier function is to offer opportunities for sports and recreation, wellness, fellowship, and fitness to Mount Pleasant, and surrounding areas, we are multifaceted in our day-to-day business operations. Morey Courts has the capacity to offer a multitude of opportunities and experiences, across many diverse industries, at any given point in time. Morey Courts values the principles of inclusivity and equity, and it is an important component to our business’s mission statement to provide programs for all demographics within the community. From inviting service animals to train in our facility, to housing multiple programs that help build career skills for individuals who are differently-abled, Morey Courts is an inclusive space for everyone.

Hilary Smith: 20 Liters

  • 20 Liters is a Grand Rapids organization that is committed to helping make dirty water clean for vulnerable populations in Rwanda through innovative and sustainable solutions like rain harvest systems, community filters and empowering/training locals.

Rolly Reed: Fremont Area Community Foundation

  • The Community Foundation exists to improve the quality of life for residents in Newaygo County. They do this by connecting community needs with the passions of families, businesses, and individuals. They strive to make deep community investments by concentrating on the most pressing needs in Newaygo County. Our work is focused in three areas: Education, Community and Economic Development, and Poverty to Prosperity

Jeff Buursma: Camp Roger & Rescue One

  • Camp Roger’s ministry was founded on the same principles that we live by today. Our mission is for camp to be a place where we can encounter and celebrate God’s love for his children through relationships and experiences in Creation. It rings loud and clear through the echoes of laughter on the trails, the splash of swimmers at Little Bostwick or Lake Gordon, and in sweet voices singing together in praise to our God. We love our camps and want you to feel at homehere whether you are dropping off a student for outdoor education, picking up a child from a week at camp, or participating in a retreat with your group in our beautiful woods.
  • Rescue One in Haiti partners with Haitian Christian churches to provide education, school supplies, a daily meal, and compassionate care for vulnerable children. We seek to give these children a bright future and introduce them to a loving Lord. Connecting these poor children and their families to our church partners may keep them out of the restavec (child slavery) system.

Paul Lothschutz: Grand Rapids Children Museum

  • We are an environment for play. We advocate for the value of play. We build minds through play. Play is essential for healthy development. Play has the power to transform. Play benefits all ages. Everyone has the right to play. Play benefits families.

Jake Kraley: Newaygo County Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

  • To help prevent child abuse and neglect through education, child advocacy, direct service programs and collaborative projects. NCPCA has been in operation since 1985. We have provided needs based services within the county to help fill gaps in programming. Some of the programs we offer include Kids Have Rights, Safe Kids, Safe Sleep, and Summer Programs

Katie Mason: Greater Muskegon Economic Development, a nonprofit organization in Muskegon County

  • Greater Muskegon Economic Development is a non-profit focused on supporting local businesses with coordinating grant opportunities, providing financial assistance, workforce training, and much more

Scott Hunt: Lakeshore Brewers Guild

  • The Lakeshore Brewers Guild intends to promote the local craft beer industry and the lakeshore’s natural beauty. As a supplement to the Michigan Brewers Guild, the Lakeshore Brewers Guild will only focus on counties that touch Lake Michigan. Throughout these counties, the Guild will work with its members to build the “Lakeshore Ale Trail,” a region rich in craft breweries, natural beauty, and the economic benefits that flow from successful locally-owned and oriented businesses. Joint advertisement and cooperative support will allow Guild members to grow while also establishing the region as a “beer tourism” hotspot. Through these collaborative efforts, the Lakeshore Brewers Guild hopes to become a driving force in supporting both its members and local economies.

Sydney Bollaert: 20 Liters

  • 20 Liters is a Grand Rapids organization that is committed to helping make dirty water clean for vulnerable populations in Rwanda through innovative and sustainable solutions like rain harvest systems, community filters and empowering/training locals.

Jared Bollaert: Chandler Woods Charter Academy

  • Chandler Woods is a charter school in Belmont that works to create endless opportunities, inspire students to excel academically and creatively, and to be prepared for wherever life brings them.

The Importance of Cyber Security

Effective IT security is a vital part of a business, and cannot be an afterthought. H&S Computers works to provide comprehensive solutions to decrease the risks of cyber security attacks and has measures in place for when these attacks are successful. Below is an example of that, H&S Computers was able to respond to a threat and resolve the issue without any down time at the business or loss of data,


On Saturday we received alerts from H&S Computers monitoring software regarding some problems with a client’s servers. We connected to the servers and discovered they had been infected with ransomware.  All of their data was encrypted and inaccessible.

 

The client was notified and we began reviewing the servers.  We found a port in their firewall had be inadvertently opened, exposing a server to the Internet.  The hacker was able to connect to network and began encrypting the data on the servers.

 

Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated as hackers attempt to encrypt both the data and backup, making recovery impossible.  Fortunately, the backup system H&S Computers uses is an air-gapped backup, meaning once data is backed up, it is impossible to delete or alter the backup files from the original system.

 

We began restoring the client’s servers to a spare server they use for disaster recovery.  The restoration took about 24 hours to complete.  We met at the client’s location first thing Monday morning with the recovered servers.  They booted them up and the client’s employees were able to connect to all of their systems with no loss of data and no down time at work.


This event highlights a couple important IT topics and questions that should be asked to lower your risk of a hacker attack:

  • Secure backups.  Are you backing up your data regularly? Where are the backups being stored? It is vitally important that the backup system used has offsite storage and cannot be modified from the original system.  Hackers know that if they control both a company’s data and backups, that company will be forced to pay the ransom to retrieve their data.
  • Monitoring.  Do you have a system for monitoring your servers? Without monitoring software, we would not have been alerted to the problem until the employees started working on Monday and discovered they couldn’t access their data.  This would have resulted in downtime for the client.
  • Periodic review of IT systems. When was the last time your IT system was reviewed? Do you have regular IT system checks setup? Do you have a protocol for when issues are detected? While reviewing the client’s firewall, we found other ports that were open that should not have been.  Those were closed to prevent future breaches.

Have questions or want to learn more? Reach out to us at contactus@hscompanies.com