May 9, 2024
Published by 
Catherine Belliveau on May 9, 2024
Catherine Belliveau on May 9, 2024In the ever-evolving landscape of labor laws, on April 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new overtime standard. This has the potential to significantly impact how funeral homes and funeral service businesses manage their workforce and finances. Key details of the new overtime standard are as follows: Increased Salary Thresholds Effective July 1, 2024, employees earning up to $43,888 per year and working more than 40 hours per week will be eligible for overtime pay at a rate of time-and-a-half. This threshold will rise to $58,656 per year starting January 1, 2025. Exemption Criteria Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, workers are exempt from hourly overtime requirements if they work in executive, administrative, and professional capacities, commonly referred to as the “white-collar” exemptions. To qualify for the exemptions, employees must meet a duties test and, in most cases, […]
May 30, 2022
Published by Catherine Belliveau on May 30, 2022
Catherine Belliveau on May 30, 2022While researching technology trends in the funeral and cemetery profession I came across a company that provides an application to support bereaved families, Empathy. Their goal is to help a family with every loss related task associated with handling the loss of a loved one. This support is provided online or via a downloadable app. What caught my eye while perusing their website is a report, they released in March 2022 exploring the impact of bereavement in America beyond the financial cost of disposition and any memorialization. The report is based on a survey of over 2,000 families who took part in winding down their loved one’s affairs in the last five years. In summary, this study details the expense of a death for American families not just in monetary terms, but also in time, in emotional and physical health, […]
April 13, 2021
Published by Catherine Belliveau on April 13, 2021
Catherine Belliveau on April 13, 2021If you received a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA you may be eligible to receive additional loan funds. Loans approved prior to April 7, 2021 for less than $500,000 are likely eligible for an increase based on new loan maximum amounts announced March 24, 2021. Businesses that received a loan subject to the previous loan limit can submit a request for an increase at this time. The SBA is reaching out directly to loan borrowers via email. You should expect to receive emails from @sba.gov or @updates.sba.gov with details on how to request a loan increase. If you have not received an email, follow these instructions to request a loan increase: Send email to CovidEIDLIncreaseRequests@sba.gov Use subject line “EIDL Increase Request for [insert your 10-digit application number]” Be sure to include in the body […]
July 15, 2020
Published by Catherine Belliveau on July 15, 2020
Catherine Belliveau on July 15, 2020With the focus on the PPP and EIDL options, a tax credit afforded by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) has been mostly ignored by funeral home and cemetery owners. Recently, a Foresight accounting client reached out to our team when one of their funeral directors tested positive for COVID-19. In addition to the protocols and processes well publicized by the CDC and OSHA, we recommended that this firm continue to pay this employee wages under the provisions provided by the FFCRA. The following considerations led us to this conclusion: Is the business considered a Covered Employer as defined by FFCRA – Yes Covered Employers: The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public employers, and private employers with fewer than 500 employees. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees […]
April 27, 2017
Published by Catherine Belliveau on April 27, 2017
Catherine Belliveau on April 27, 2017Let’s Talk Seriously About Accounting By Mandy M. Rohde and Daniel M. Isard This profession is largely made up of caregivers. As such, you focus on the needs of the families in your community more than the needs of your own family. We get it. Profit margins have gone down since the 1980s. The average profit for a privately-owned business has fallen by almost 60 percent from about 14 percent of revenue to 6 percent of revenue. Our studies conclude that this is due to four factors: The Federal Trade Commission’s mandated Funeral Rule and the creation of an itemized General Price List. The rise in cremation and the inability to determine how to price for it. The rise in preneed with the limited crediting rate on accounts. The lack of desire on the part of the 10,000 owners of […]
February 15, 2017
Published by Catherine Belliveau on February 15, 2017
Catherine Belliveau on February 15, 2017We’re already more than a month into 2017, so it’s too late to do any tax planning before filing 2016 returns, right? Not so. Now is the time to sit down with your accountant and consider depreciation and your 2016 tax bill. New Year’s Day has come and gone. We are rolling along in 2017 and coming upon tax season. Most businesses work to complete tax planning before year-end, when you can make deci¬sions about bonuses and expenditures that need to take place before December 31. For most business owners, tax planning ends there, but there are still decisions to be made now that can have a huge effect on your tax bill. Depreciation is a vague, nebulous concept to many. You know that it shows up as an expense on the profit and loss statement and that it will […]
January 27, 2017
Published by Catherine Belliveau on January 27, 2017
Catherine Belliveau on January 27, 2017 As Director of Accounting Services at The Foresight Companies, I’m reminding you that your 1099’s are due on Tuesday, January 31st. It’s January and many business owners are using this month to try and forget that taxes will need to be done soon. But as you immerse yourself in denial, have you forgotten that 1099’s have to be issued? 1099’s are like the neglected middle child of taxes. People have some vague idea that they exist but they aren’t sure what needs to be done for them. Let’s go through the Who, What, When, Where and Why of 1099’s. 1. Who has to file 1099’s? All businesses that pay for services to unincorporated service providers must provide a 1099 to vendors that were paid more than $600 during the year. 2. What are the requirements for 1099’s? There is […]
December 1, 2016
Published by Catherine Belliveau on December 1, 2016
Catherine Belliveau on December 1, 2016accounting-newsletter-may