Go Jo Magazine

The IRS doesn’t send birthday cards. When they invite you to a party, it’s an invitation to headaches and worry. Nobody meets the news of an IRS tax audit with a smile.

Yet IRS tax audits are a reality, especially for high-income earners, the self-employed or those who claim a large number of deductions. Keep in mind that the IRS only audits 1 percent of all tax returns under $100,000, but 2 percent of all tax returns over $100,000. The IRS considers that the more money you make, the more likely they are to find discrepancies in your return that results in more money for the government.

There are things you can do from the beginning to avoid ever being audited in the first place. An income tax audit, sales tax audit is no picnic, and you’ll save yourself a lot of headache if you can avoid them in the first place.

For obvious reasons, avoid math discrepancies. The IRS will check your figures to see if they add up. The easiest way for them to look more closely at your return is fuzzy math. Making sure the numbers are right will keep your return from attracting attention.

The IRS uses a formula to see find the income tax audit, sales tax audit that may bring in the most discrepancies and get the government the most money for the cost of the audit. The IRS uses a secret equation to determine the DIF score in order to select returns with the highest probability of having discrepancies that will earn the government more money.

Therefore, if you have deductions for unusually large amounts, you’ll need to be prepared to prove it. If you make sizable contributions to a charity, claim those deductions by all means, but have the paperwork in case the government decides to ask.

It’s very important to be able to substantiate every write-off. Keep receipts for every deduction, and be specific about numbers. Avoid reporting round numbers like $500 or $200 that sound more like estimations or guesses than specific amounts. Even if you’ve lost the receipt, some tax attorneys can provide the paperwork to legally document the expense.

Unless your tax return attracts attention, you’ll probably never be audited. The best way to avoid an audit is to avoid giving the IRS any red flags. It can save you considerable stress and worry in the end.

All engineers know that hands-on design is much easier than CAD conceptualization. Building a prototype and reverse engineering is often a much smarter way to design as well, since the prototype can be seen to work and then designed retroactively. But reverse engineering requires precision that is uncommon to human faculties, and for contoured, complex, or small objects, creating a 3d representation in a CAD environment can be a challenge – to say the least. By designing prototypes to have scanned in 3 dimensions, manufacturing and design companies can drastically reduce the time from design to functional prototype by working backwards and starting with the prototype. From there, in-house engineers or engineers employed by a 3D scanning company can help to reverse engineer the product and create specs and diagrams that would otherwise require shear foresight and creativity to get right on the first try. By building a prototype that works right away, and designing it retroactively, the costly trial & error of design is practically eliminated.

Assuming a product has already been designed – conventionally or reverse engineered from a prototype – manufacturing will commence and require hawkish eyes to make sure that finished goods meet their specifications. Even for parts manufactured entirely outside of human influence, errors in production are not uncommon, but also not easily detectable to the naked eye. One way to ensure that manmade and machine-made cogs alike are compliant with specifications is to employ contract inspection services that will analyze items coming off the line. With the use of advanced laser and 3d imaging, firms can see that the goods their customers receive conform with prototypes and CAD drawings, and will function properly. This, in turn, reduces the waste of defective products, improves product quality, reduces inspection (and thus time to market), which will translate into a better customer experience and higher profit margins for the businesses that employ technology for QA rather than fallible human eyes and measurements.

For the past twenty years, production has become more automated because automation is more cost-effective, more reliable, and faster. All three of these benefits translate to design and quality assurance processes when laser and three dimensional imaging are employed in the service of reverse engineering and contract inspection of finished goods. While the cost of 3D imaging technology is prohibitive for many firms, there are 3d imaging companies that specialize in translating prototypes to CAD design and manufacturing specifications and diagrams that can drastically improve the efficiency of firms’ engineering processes.

You may be a small business, but that just means there’s all the more pressure to consistently be professional.

Most people will form their first impression of your company over the phone. That can make or break a business. Especially in those first 30 seconds, your customers begin to judge you by your telephone operating system, from how efficiently their call is handled to whether or not their call gets cut off after being on hold a few minutes. As a small business, you need to make the best initial impression possible, and that begins with your phone system.

Luckily, through small phone systems and business VoIP solutions, small businesses can have enjoy a professional operation, often at a cheaper rate than their traditional phone service as they often don’t have to pay for long distance, extra extensions, ring groups or voice mails. You can enjoy all the conveniences of a top-tier telephone system, probably at a cheaper rate than what you are paying now.

Changes in technology mean you no longer have to pay for separate phone and Internet lines. In essence, your phone system is run on-line, which means you can call any other on-line phone system for free. Since it’s on-line, it’s as free to use as email or other features of the web, but operates like a normal phone, the only difference being the lack of a long distance bill. Calls to traditional phone systems are also usually much cheaper, costing a small fee only when monthly allotted minutes have been used up.

What’s great about many of these systems is they put you directly in control. Often, you can change and gauge your phone system on-site yourself, using a simple to use computer programs that put you fully in control. Tweaking the system no longer requires a technician from your phone operator. You can usually do it yourself, even if you have a minimal knowledge of small phone systems and business VoIP solutions.

Truly professional phone systems used to be the luxury of the big companies. With VoIp technology, small businesses can easily afford the same level of professionalism, often for cheaper than they pay for local phone service. That’s good news for the little guys and just one of the ways business is transforming through the power of technology.

After several years of using my laptop computer, I noticed that my Hewlett Packard power supply was not providing me with the battery life that it once had. I knew that batteries lost their charging capabilities over time, just as my cell phone battery did. While I could afford to go out and buy a new cell phone every two years, I could not say the same thing about my laptop. I had spent close to one thousand dollars on my laptop and had no intention of replacing it. I needed to look into options for purchasing a replacement Hewlett Packard power supply.

I inspected the cords and the adapter and they seemed to be in great condition so I rationalized that the problem with my Hewlett Packard power supply for my laptop must be my battery. I looked on-line and was pleased to find that I could purchase a new battery for my laptop model for a low price. When my new battery arrived I installed it and charged it right away. I realized that there was once again a significant difference in the life of my battery, only this time it was in my favor. Problem solved!

I was also having some problems with my desktop computer. It seemed as if my Compaq Presario memory was close to being used up because my computer was running sluggish. Finally, a warning pooped up informing me that I had used x amount of memory space and that my computer’s memory was running low. This was another instance where I depended upon my computer on a daily basis and I needed it to function properly but I did not have the money to replace the whole computer or the time to spend transferring over all of my important files. I needed to explore other options.

I scoured the internet once again looking for Compaq Presario memory upgrades. I had assumed that this fix would be more expensive and a lot more technical than replacing my battery. I almost could not believe the prices that popper up for upgraded memory chips. They were completely affordable and they also came with step by step instructions for installing the chip into my exact model. Once the memory chip arrived I installed it immediately. The Compaq Presario memory upgrade was a very simple process and I could tell that my computer was running more efficiently immediately.

Are you planning a trip to The Big Apple? No cultural experience in New York City is complete without taking in a Broadway show. The best productions in the world take place on a Broadway stage, a tradition of theatrical excellence unsurpassed anywhere else. But unless you’re a New Yorker, chances are you can’t just stroll up to the ticket booth and order what you need. Or can you? Luckily, thanks to the Internet, every Broadway theater is just around the block and as close to the nearest computer. Buying tickets for broadway on-line is convenient and puts the Big Apple right at your fingertips.

Plus, with all the selection available on the Internet, finding a price|deal on Broadway tickets isn’t hard either. By dealing with a more national, even global market, ticket sellers are more open to discounts, making a first-class Broadway theater production affordable. Theater is for the people, so why not share that culture with as many as possible? This means not only affordable tickets, but guaranteed seats to any show your heart desires.

Not everyone lives right down the street from a Musical theater. If you are visiting New York City, chances are it’s a special occasion, so you want to be sure the production you see is premium. Research the shows available, find out what the critics say and what sort of reputation a particular production might have. It’s easy to find on-line reviews of Broadway shows, so you can be sure your purchasing a ticket to a quality production that will give you that rich cultural experience of a lifetime.

Checking out what’s new on the Internet also enables you to catch the totally brand-new shows, the freshest shows off Broadway, just as if you were a New Yorker in person. If the production lives on to be a classic, you’ll have a first-rate memory of seeing it as soon as it hit the stage, experiencing it with the rest of the world for the very first time.

Get your tickets conveniently on-line. It’s like being down the street from the greatest theater productions in history.

When you need to make the most out of a limited growing area, LED plant and UFO LED lights are ideal. They take a relatively small amount of space and focus light that has the optimal frequency for growing, giving you the most potential from your lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, or houseplants.

Different lights accommodate a variety of spaces, anything from 1.5 square feet to 12 square feet, depending on the size of the growing area. Simply plugged into any electrical outlet, LED plant and UFO LED lights are easily installed, reducing the risk of fires as they require no heavy gauged wiring. There is no electrical experience necessary for installation.

You can turn any area into a growing space for vegetables without having a noticeable effect on the electric bill. These lights use as little as 14 or 15 watts, depending on the size of light, but can deliver the performance you’d get from HPS system of several hundred watts. In fact, compared to HPS lights, LED lights use 85 percent less wattage. This minimizes your carbon footprint on the earth, and allows you to discreetly grow vegetables without the expensive electric bills some growing operations suffer.

Plus, they deliver high performance, utilizing frequencies that are ideal for plant growth. All light emits different frequencies, with the color of light depending on the frequency. White light is actually a compressed rainbow filled with different colors of frequency vibration. Plants, however, don’t need all the light to grow, so they discard what they don’t need. In HPS lights, this is simply wasted energy. LED lights, however, are the exact frequency the plants need to grow and so are completely absorbed into the plant. LED lights provide more nutritional sustenance to the plant as none of its frequencies are wasted.

When you have limited space, it makes sense to make the most of it. LED lights are easy to set up, safe to use, and extremely efficient. Any room can become a plant garden for peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli year round. In these difficult economic times, growing your own food just makes sense, especially when it can be done anywhere. Any room in the house can provide food and nutrition throughout the entire year.

Naperville seems to be one of the few areas that is immune to the looming recession and declining real estate market. While many Chicagoland suburbs haven’t issued a single building permit in months, Naperville continues to grow and developers are taking advantage of the city’s mass marketability and collective appeal. There are a number of Naperville condos currently under construction in order to meet the high demand for property in this city. Condos are being built in numerous locations throughout the city.

Naperville certainly has a lot to offer visitors and potential residents. It is close to downtown Chicago and is highly accessible. There is a train that provides service to the Chicago loop and Interstate 55 and Interstate 88 are also in close proximity. Naperville is centrally located and has a number of commercial and industrial developments in addition to residential.  Naperville is a great place to work or to live. There are a number of large corporations that have selected this city to establish their headquarters.

There are a lot of new Naperville condos being built. These condos also vary in size, style, and price in order to appeal to a large variety of buyers. Deciding to buy a new condo in Naperville is a smart move. It is one of the few locations where you can purchase property and rest assured that you are making a sound investment. Property in Naperville continues to appreciate in value due to the city’s dedication to providing its residents with a great place to live.

There are also a number of existing Naperville condos for sale. Many of them are located near the downtown area while some are on the quieter outskirts of the city. Regardless of your personal tastes, there are condos in Naperville that can meet and exceed your personal preferences.

Naperville aggressively attracts large corporations and commercial developments. These projects garner funds to support the top-ranking libraries and public schools. Naperville also has some of the most beautifully developed natural parks that include bridges and fountains.

There are many things to see and to do in Naperville as well. The city has a beautiful Riverwalk that is comprised of a pathway that skirts along the DuPage River. The path winds through downtown Naperville which contains many stores, restaurants, and various entertainment options. The Riverwalk is a popular Naperville hang out that is lined with cars and pedestrians all summer long.

A medal is a badge of honor, an example of valor, courage and bravery. If you are currently in the Naval or have served in the past, wearing a Navy medal shows your pride in service of protection of this great nation. More than a commendation to a single person, a Navy medal represents the sacrifices of many, a tribute to those who have lay down their lives defending our most precious freedoms.

As tributes to those who served America, medals also serve as symbolic pieces of history, precious icons of the glorious past of America’s armed forces in their struggles to preserve the life we hold dear. A World War II Victory Medal is a testament to America’s struggle against evil, a tribute to the struggles this great nation endured delivering the world from tyranny. A Vietnam Service Medal reminds us all that those who fell shall never be forgotten; indeed, they’ll be remembered and honored with the dignity they deserve. An Iraq Campaign Medal or an Afghanistan Campaign Medal serves as bold remembrances of those who continually lay down their lives in today’s struggles for freedom. 

Let that history live in its honorary place on your own Naval uniform whenever you wear it with pride. Medals add prestige and glory to the honor of wearing a US armed services uniform, shining like gold medallions to be respected and treasured. ‘

Unlike antique medals, medals made today are conveniently light, giving your uniform that same glorified shine without weighing it down. Another major advantage to brand new medals is the mounting options. They can conveniently be attached to the uniform with simple magnets, so you don’t need to puncture or damage the thread of the uniform. Using the traditional pins can cause extra wear to the uniform, tearing threads and fabric that deteriorates faster over time.

To proudly wear a medal, it deserves to be polished. A polished medal suggests a drive to succeed, an eye for perfection in the name of service. It shows you put pride and honor into every facet of your appearance, right down to the proud glimmer your medal displays.

Wear your medals proudly, not so much as a matter of self-recognition, but as a tribute to those who have fallen for the freedoms we all hold so very dear. Bestow the pride that service to this country deserves with medals that honor the sacrifices of so many.

Every firm reaches a point where it considers doing things a little differently. This is particularly true if it is a growing firm, or one that wants to reach the next level. It’s at this point that many measures are put on the table, eg, how do we get where we want to be? Sales outsourcing can be one way to get there. But, how do you know if it’s right for your firm? Following are some guidelines to help you decide is sales outsourcing right for your business.

Overworked Employees: One of the first signs that it may be time to consider sales outsourcing is if your current sales force is overworked. If they’re putting in 80 hour workweeks, are falling behind on processing necessary paper work and are barely able to sustain their current book of business, it may be time to outsource some sale functions.Actually, this can be a sign that your organization is primed for growth. To achieve greater growth, you have to invest in your infrastructure. This includes your employees as well as any technology involved.

Customer Complaints on the Rise: This is one of the code red signs that it’s time to consider sales outsourcing. If your current customers aren’t being properly serviced by your existing sales force, then something’s broken. It usually means that you either have an existing overworked sales force, or too small of a sales force, eg, there aren’t enough salespeople to keep up with customer demands. Sales outsourcing can provide the reinforcements you need.

New Product Introduction: If you’re considering bringing a new product or service to market, sales outsourcing allows you to hit the ground running, so to speak. With trained manpower, they can bring a new product or service to market with a speed and professionalism that will allow you to gain precious market share.

Sales outsourcing is an ideal way to provide much needed help to an existing sales force, keep current customers happy, and gain market share with new products and services.

You’d be surprised how cheap it is to convert a factory to complete automation. In fact, considering the costs it saves on labor, the ability to manufacture a 24-hour production line, and the added speed robotics provides, you really can’t afford not to make the conversion. Recent technological and scientific achievements have made robots automation friendly, adding to the versatility of the machines as they are applied to the mechanics of production.

Switching to robots automation improves safety on the workplace. Some jobs on the assembly line really shouldn’t be done through traditional human labor. Some jobs are too dirty, too dangerous, or too monotonous, resulting in too many mistakes and inconsistencies in the production line that are only naturally a part of human error. By utilizing robots at many steps of the assembly process, quality is consistently guaranteed. Not only do robotics produce a better product, but they are more cost efficient, faster and more effective than traditional manual labor.

We are stepping into the future. Routine assembly line tasks are best left to machines, leaving the humans to design, program and enjoy their industrial benefits. It’s a myth that automation means fewer jobs. In reality, the job sector is merely changing as robotics require computer programmers and robotics engineers to continue operation. Instead of grunt manual labor, robotics provides careers based on science, computers and engineering. It’s a new world of the future, and it’s certainly an exciting one.

Robotics makes it possible for a company to achieve a more substantial form on its investment. Productivity is maximized, costs are minimized, and quality and consistency are optimized. Although robotic automation can virtually revolutionize an assembly line, the conversion is relatively cheap. As the science of robotics has matured, the technology has become more affordable to install. The cost of conversion is easily made up by the savings that result.

The faster an assembly line is put on automation, the sooner the cost effective savings begin. If you are still relying on traditional labor, those costs are literally going out the window. Switching to a fully automated line will not only allow you to produce more, but at a higher quality with more consistent results. The money the switch will make to your production line will continually accrue.