Crazy Pig's Blog

Garmin Europe NT 2011.20 3D ALL Unlocked

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:39:47 +0000

Garmin’s latest Europe map…

Enjoy

ING Direct to offer chequing accounts

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:52:48 +0000

ING Direct — known for its high-interest savings accounts — is stepping into the world of chequing, bill payments and direct-debit payments, opening the door for customers to do all their banking at ING, an option they haven’t previously had. And it’s all being done with no fees, while still paying interest.

Until now, ING savings accounts worked in conjunction with clients’ regular accounts and money had to be transferred back to the client’s primary bank account for withdrawals and bill payments.

So not only were customers encouraged to stay with their primary financial institution when they opened an ING account, they had to if they wanted to access their money, said Peter Aceto, president and CEO of ING Direct.

Soon that will no longer be the case. Starting today, customers can preregister for the online chequing account called THRiVE Chequing. On Sept. 14, 10,000 of those customers will be given accounts so that ING can work out “any last edges that need to be tightened” before the accounts are available generally, Aceto said. Account holders will be able to pay bills online, transfer money to friends — whether those friends have accounts at ING or not — and do pretty much any banking they can do elsewhere now.

They will also receive debit cards that can be used at any of the more than 2,400 automated teller machines that are part of the Exchange Network, the same network British Columbia credit unions use.

The accounts will pay interest, although the rates will be lower than that paid on ING’s savings accounts.

And all that can be done without fees.

“Canadians pay some of the highest fees in the whole world,” Aceto said, though he is quick to point out that British Columbia, with the popularity of credit unions, is a little different from the rest of Canada.

“There is some good competition there,” he said.

ING can provide no-fee service because of its low-cost online model, without “expensive offices [or] branches,” he said.

And that’s not about to change, with ING continuing to encourage customers to do most of their banking online and relying on existing ATMs.

But ING will provide paper cheque-books for the occasional time a customer has to write a cheque.

“But we’d really rather they don’t use cheques, because there are many other much better ways to pay for things,” Aceto said.

The new account has perks such as e-mail alerts to keep track of purchases and account balances, overdraft protection up to $250, and the ability to view cheques online.

ING expects the THRiVE accounts to be available generally in early 2011.

From Vancouver Sun

What does pet insurance cover?

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:50:31 +0000

One of my friend ask me “hey, do you know what pet insurance cover?” because last weak he moved to apartment that allow to have pet. he and his GF think to have a dog, and the same time, he was thinking about to have a pet insurance to limit the risk — you know the cost for pet is not cheap when he or she illness. however, I have no idea about that, so I did some little reseach that I also willing to share with others. maybe some people will be need. but there are one thing I need to mention that most veterinary pet insurance covers the MAJOR medical expenses. your pet may incur over its lifetime from accidents and injuries, to major illnesses and hospitalization but did you know that many pet insurance plans also cover annual wellness exams, teeth cleaning, and vaccinations and even spay and neutering expenses as well. While you may think those costs are minimal in a healthy pet, over his or her lifetime, you might be surprised at how much you will spend on prescription medications, lab tests, treatments and the occasional after hours emergency visit (which even the healthiest, most mindful of pets will experience at least once during their tenure with you!)

Beyond the basic coverage that you would expect from your pet insurance policy, some veterinary pet insurance plans also offer specialist care, ranging from an Eastern approach to the treatment of your pet (including acupuncture and holistic care) to veterinary specialties including ophthalmology, neurology and dermatology. Even chiropractic therapy, administered by a licensed veterinarian, is covered under some plans!

Of course, as our pets age (and they do age more quickly than we do), they experience the same aches and pains that we do. Arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and even kidney failure can affect the quality of life of our furry family members. To diagnose these problems, CAT scans, X-rays and other diagnostic tests are generally required to determine the best treatment plan.Â Veterinary pet insurance can significantly help offset these expenses.

The most important thing to understand about insurance of any kind is that the cover you will buy from an insurer will be tailor made for your individual needs and circumstances.

However, this section will inform you about some of the things that insurers may provide as part of a pet insurance premium.

This way, you will know what is available to you; if you feel you need it.

If there is anything you feel you need from your pet insurance, which is not covered by this section, never be afraid to ask your insurer if they can provide cover to meet your individual requirements.

When you go to choose a pet insurance policy, there are a number of things you will need to consider. The policies will not only vary in the amount of cover they supply because each company will set their own additions, conditions and exclusions. This can result in massive differences between policies therefore it is important that you compare like with like across the board and choose the policy that fits your individual requirements and budget.
Cover offered by insurers

Vets’ fees resulting from injury/illness

The most basic pet insurance will have cover for vets’ fees in the event of injury, accident or illness normally with a limit on the amount of cover per condition and a limit on the number of conditions covered in a year.

Most likely, the pet insurance policy will cover the cost of vets’ fees for anaesthetics, operations, X-rays, laboratory tests, medicines and hospital care.

Other cover you might see

Other cover provided by insurers will vary substantially. Below are the more popular additions to pet insurance policies

• Legal liability – Cover in case your dog bites someone and tries to claim compensation from you (Dangerous Dogs Act)

• Kennels/boarding if you go into hospital – handy if you are an elderly person living on your own

• Holiday cancellation – If you have to cancel your holiday because your pet is ill or injured

• Advertising/reward if your animal goes missing

• Purchase price of pet if stolen – some pets aren’t cheap and this would be much the same as buying insurance for an expensive gadget

• Animal behaviourists – some insurers will offer cover to sort out your pets’ behavioural problems

• Transport costs to and from vets

• Personal accident – if your pet bites you and it leads to you taking time off work leaving you out of pocket

• Advice and support if your pet passes away

• Cremation/burial of pet

• Accidental damage

• Help lines

• Pet minder finder service – help finding someone to look after your pet in the event of illness or if you are going on holiday

Exclusions and restrictions on pet insurance policies

Generally speaking, pet insurance does not cover:

• Pre-existing conditions

• Vaccinations – Direct Line offers free £20 towards vaccinations when you buy pet insurance with them

• Boosters – vaccinations required in later years

• Worming treatments

• Nail clipping

• Spaying – female

• Neutering – male

• Flea treatments

• Microchipping – to help if your dog is lost or stolen

• Illnesses arising within the first 10, 14 or 30 days of policy date

• Dental treatment

• Pets used for work, racing, guarding or commercial gain

• Diet food

• Treatments from pregnancy or birth

• Home visits

• Dogs restricted under Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

• Congenital or hereditary conditions

What is ‘lifelong cover’?

Understanding what ‘lifelong cover’ means in pet insurance terms is very important if you want to buy the right policy to suit your needs.

Generally speaking, there are three types of cover available:

Time-capped cover

The cheaper policies will generally only cover a condition for the first year you claim.

If, for example, your pet developed diabetes, you may be able to claim up to £2,500 towards the treatment for the first year of the condition, but, after the year is up, you will not be able to claim anymore.

You would then be responsible for covering the cost of subsequent treatment every year, for the rest of the animal’s life.

Financially-capped cover

Some providers label their financially-capped cover as ‘lifelong cover’. However, the cover may be ‘lifelong’ in terms of time but not in terms of the amount you can claim.

If you have financially-capped cover, the insurer will pay out over the years but only up to a fixed total amount per condition.

If, for example, your pet developed arthritis and your policy was financially-capped at £4,000, you may need to claim £2,500 in the first year to get the condition under control. By year two of the condition, you would only be left with £1,500 to claim for the rest of the duration of the illness. After this amount was used up, you would be left to foot the bill for the treatment for the rest of the pet’s life.

Lifelong cover

The truest form of ‘lifelong cover’ is where the insurer will pay for treatment up to a certain amount, each year, for as long as your pet needs the treatment.

Top Accounting Schools

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:37:59 +0000

everyone have different about the top accounting schoos, so some institutions are known for ranking schools, though, such as Business Week, US News, World Report and Newsweek. based on curriculum, graduation rate, academic resources, student activity, faculty resources, average grades, university connections and the financial status of the school, these publications rank the top 10 accounting schools (and top schools for other fields).

If you are thinking about attending a college to obtain an accounting degree, it’s a good idea to see which schools rank at the top of this field to help determine where you should apply. Of course, the top 10 accounting schools on any of the leading lists might not fulfill your needs regarding budget, location, scheduling or other factors. Based on the criteria listed above, the top 10 accounting schools according to Business Week are:

University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Northwestern University
Harvard University
University of Michigan
Stanford University
MIT
UC Berkeley
Duke University
Columbia University

According to the same list, the other top accounting colleges in the nation are Dartmouth, UCLA, Cornell University, NYU, University of Virginia, Carnegie Mellon, UNC, Indiana University, Yale, Texas University, University of Southern California, Georgetown University, Emory University, Purdue, University of Maryland, Notre Dame, Washington University, Rochester, Michigan State and Vanderbilt. The OnLine Education Data Base also put together a list of the top 10 accounting colleges online based on acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, years accredited, student-to-faculty ratio, scholarly citations, retention rate and peer citations. These top online colleges are:

1. Upper Iowa University
2. LeTourneau University
3. Liberty University
4. Nova Southeastern University
5. California University of Pennsylvania
6. Grand Canyon University
7. Regent University
8. Champlain College
9. Westwood College
10. Tiffin University

Whether you want to study across the country or study online, it’s important to know what the top 10 accounting schools are. This will help narrow down your options and find the school that’s right for you.

However, I should say there are many magizen or website ranking school, and make a list. sometime it just mix your mind and not helpful. I can not say those information offered is 100% correct, but one thing I can tell you is that your hard working is the most imporant part of your life.

Get $50 When You Sign Up For The TD Canada Trust Student Bundle

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:28:35 +0000

If you’re a student, and could use an extra $50, you might want to check out this back-to-school offer from TD Canada Trust. Sign up for a TD Canada Trust Student Bundle by October 1, and they’ll give you $50!

What’s the Student Bundle you ask? It’s made up of three parts, here’s what you’ll need to do to qualify for the free $50:

Open a Value Plus Account for Students, along with proof of full-time school enrolment
Apply for any TD Canada Trust Credit Card (I like their cash back rebeta card)
Sign up for your first Simply Save Program or complete two bill payments through EasyWeb, EasyLine, or ABM by October 31

When you have successfully completed the three steps of the Student Bundle, $50 will be deposited into your Value Plus Account by January 31, 2011. This offer is only open to new account holders, so if you already have an existing TD Canada Trust chequing account and credit card, you won’t be eligible for the bonus gift. Only one bonus will be paid out per customer or joint account, and you must be of the age of majority in your province as of October 1, 2010 in order to qualify.

New TELUS Student 55 Rate Plan

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:54:45 +0000

available as of Today (Aug 5th) on ALL Smartphones, iPhone/BlackBerry included, unlike the Student 40.
$55/mo
200 Anytime Mins
6pm Evenings/Weekends
Unlimited incoming/outgoing text/picture/video
My 10 Nationwide (Talk/Text)
1GB Data
VM3/CW/CC

$5 more than the Student 50 it’s replacing, but with 500MB more data and unlimited text. As noted below, 3yr term only.

unless it include CID, I dont think it is a hot deal. Also I dont like telus.

Cash vs. Accrual Accounting Methods

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:00:44 +0000

It’s important to understand the difference between cash and accrual accounting — and the difference it makes when computing the bottom line.

For accounting purposes, the best method, regardless of the type of business (except possibly that of a doctor) is the accrual-based accounting method. Cash-based accounting can distort the true operations of your business, and incorrectly reflect income.

Cash-based accounting recognizes income when money is received. Accrual-based accounting recognizes income when goods are shipped or services are rendered. Under the cash method, an expense is recognized when it’s paid. Under the accrual method, an expense is recognized when the business is obligated to pay it.

So, for example, if in a given period you collect little or no receivables and you pay lots of bills, under the cash-accounting method, you have expense without income — you’ve lost money. On the other hand, if you collect a lot of money and don’t pay your bills, you have big income. That’s a major distortion of what actually occurred. Accrual-based accounting doesn’t care whether you’ve collected or paid your bills. Income (received or not) is matched to an expense (paid or not), resulting in a proper match of revenue, with the expense generated to produce the revenue. This provides a truer picture of operations.

For a wider veiw of this topic, can find some infotmaion about Accounting Basics and Understanding Accounting Methods.

It’s possible to use one method for tax purposes and the other for accounting purposes. However, as usual with tax issues, nothing is that simple. Consult with a professional tax advisor for the best tax method for you. But for accounting purposes, always use the accrual-based method.

Top 10 Bookkeeping Mistakes Made by Small Businesses

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:56:41 +0000

From one-person entities to major corporations, bookkeeping is a significant part of any business endeavor. While it is typically not one of the more glamorous jobs, bookkeeping is at the heart of a company’s success, and errors can cost the company significantly. Below are 10 of the most common errors that you want to avoid.

Not saving receipts of less than $75. While such receipts may not be required by the IRS, they provide backup documentation for the many deductions you may claim. It is very simple to have a folder for such receipts, which can prove valuable at tax time.
Doing it yourself. No matter how much they hate it, many small business owners insist upon handling the books themselves. Having a competent bookkeeper coming in to handle the books can be extremely beneficial in that they have the skills to do the job quickly and efficiently and will provide a second pair of eyes to find errors and make suggestions.
Forgetting to track reimbursable expenses. Small business owners often pay for expenses out of pocket or with their own personal credit card then make the mistakes of failing to track these expenses. They then fail to submit the expenses to the company for reimbursement.
Not properly classifying employees. The proliferation of independent contractors, consultants, and freelancers has made it difficult to determine who is on staff and who is not. This results in misfiling when it comes to filing taxes since there are different rules and regulations for employees and non-employees.
Lack of communication. Having someone handling bookkeeping is only effective if they are filled in and kept up to date on all financial transactions. A frequent mistake is paying someone a bonus and not reporting it or buying supplies and not providing the bookkeeper with the information or receipts.
Not reconciling the books with the bank statement each month. One of the fundamental aspects of bookkeeping is reconciling the books and bank statements every month. Nonetheless, there are businesses that do not do this and others where errors are made by not doing it properly. Again, this is a good reason for hiring an experienced bookkeeper.
No backup. The paperless office does not exist in the real world, where audits do still exist. A paper trail, documentation or verification in the form of backup documents should be available, especially if all files are on the computer system, which could be prone to technical problems.
Not deducting sales tax. A common mistake in retail businesses is not deducting the sales tax from the total sales. This results in a higher total sales amount and does not lower the amount of taxes due.
Petty cash nonchalance. A system should be set up whereby a set amount of money is in petty cash and each time money is taken out for any purpose, a petty cash slip is filled out. When the fund is exhausted, the slips will total the original amount and a check can be written to cash to set up the full amount again. Many offices are nonchalant about using the petty cash fund without keeping accurate records.
Miscategorization or overcategorization. There are fairly standard categories for expenses. However, often expenses are entered into the wrong categories or too many categories are created. Use general bookkeeping guidelines for standard categorization and create as few new categories as possible. Try to follow generally accepted accounting practices.

What’s a CPA?

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:25:59 +0000

All the information form CSCPA

A CPA – Certified Public Accountant – is a financial professional who speaks the language of business.

What does a CPA do?

CPAs provide the advice and information businesses and people need to make important financial decisions. They help their clients make sound financial judgments by analyzing and interpreting data, projecting “what if” situations, and explaining and assisting with compliance of complex laws, rules, and regulations. CPAs help their clients to maximize their profits and make the most of their opportunities.

What skills do I need to become a successful CPA?

A successful CPA career begins while you’re still in school. You need to demonstrate superior scholastic achievement and have a well-rounded background in accounting and business education as well as have a good understanding of the humanities and other liberal arts subjects.
You must have excellent communications skills. A CPA must be able to explain complex financial information in terms that people from different expertise levels can understand. This means you need to have excellent written, verbal, and electronic communication skills. Also, in order to communicate well, you need to be a good listener so you can understand what your clients need from you.
You need to be a problem-solver. CPAs must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures. This often requires that you also be a creative thinker who can use the information you have to make sound judgments and to come up with innovative solutions.
You will need to be technologically savvy. This means you should understand business systems and computers – especially accounting software packages. Also, CPAs are often interpreters between the business and the IT world, so you must be familiar with current technology.
Although it is not necessary for you to be a math whiz, you should be comfortable working with numbers. It is important for CPAs to be accurate with their figures and to have an understanding of the numerical theories that apply to their area of expertise.
You need good people skills. Accounting is a service activity and a “people-person” job. CPAs are highly interactive with their clients and must be able to work with individuals and in a team environment. You will need to know how to effectively work with people from all backgrounds and expertise levels.
You must have high ethical standards, honesty, and integrity. CPAs help people make important life decisions as the information they provide helps individuals and businesses to make informed financial decisions. Accounting is a trusted profession and you must practice responsible behavior.

More information about careers as an accountant or auditor can be found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 Edition produced by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What is CMA

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:14:48 +0000

In Canada we have three types of accredited accountants. Accredited means “recognized as coming up to an official standard”. Accreditation means that an accountant has completed years of official courses, passed a comprehensive exam and proven to the society that he/she has sufficient practical work experience to fulfill the requirements for that certification.

The accredited accounting designations are: CMA for Certified Management Accountant, CGA for Certified General Accountant and CA for Chartered Accountant.

Each designation is awarded by an official body set up under an accounting act with the federal government such as the Society of Management Accountants of Alberta. Each accounting body requires that the accountant take and pass courses in what is known as a core body of knowledge for accounting: introductory accounting, intermediate accounting, advanced accounting, financial accounting, sometimes cost accounting, statistics, business law, interpersonal relationships. public speaking, case review, taxation, economics, possibly management and marketing and so on.

Each designation can focus on a particular area such as management accounting or audit or working in industry.

(CPA is an American designation.)

See CMA-Alberta.com for further details.

I see the Certified Management Accountant designation as being especially beneficial when dealing with self-employed business owners. My training emphasis, beyond the basic body of knowledge, was on management. Being a part of a management team. Working with business owners and managers. Talking to owners and managers. Being proactive. Being a part of a decision making process. Freeing up owners from office tasks so they can focus on selling their skill or product.

Check out these related websites:

http://cma-alberta.com
http://cica.ca
http://cga-canada.org
http://cma-canada.com
http://RPA-professionalaccountants.org
http://CRA-ARC.gc.ca
http://gov.ab.ca
http://wcb.ab.ca
http://medicine-ht.ab.ca