KIS & Tell November 2021 — KIS Accounting

Ahh, Sweden. I'm settling into life here.

The longer I live here, the more I notice how different it is from the US. It's surprisingly subtle at first. Besides the hair, tons of roundabouts, and shorter business hours, it seemed pretty normal. There's even a bunch of big box stores in the suburbs.

But that may be because of where I live. Southern Sweden is a melting pot. Especially Malmo. Some call it the most multicultural city in Scandinavia. Malmo is home to people from 180 different countries speaking 150 languages. And the town isn't all that big. It's 0.1% the size of the US, roughly 330,000 people.

Perhaps, multiculturalism dilutes Swedish culture. Or maybe part of it is how connected the world is now. For instance, every Swede learns English in school. Some of the Swedish ways of life have fallen to the wayside. Maybe that’s why I don’t have any culture shock here.

But my Swedish experience is about to change. I was planning on buying a house, settling down, and getting a tax-hund (tax is Swedish for dachshund!!), but no. Instead, I'm moving.

Yes. I am moving. Again.

This time to what I think will be a more traditional Swedish town. It's called Skelleftea.

Try pronouncing that a few times. I'll tell you how to correctly say it later.

Yigit is on a big multi-year project up there building an electric car factory. I figure I can handle it for a year or two up there. But, no longer than that.

This won't be easy. Here's some of what I'm looking forward to:

No sunrise in the winter
No sunset in summer
Meters upon meters of snow
The whole city being dug out from under the snow every day
Moose & Reindeer
Extreme cold - like I expect to live in a full snowsuit all winter

I have no idea how I’m going to deal with the cold or the extreme variation in daylight, but I’m excited. This will be an adventure!

Skelleftea retains more of the Swedish customs from decades ago. I’m interested to see the “real Sweden” and how people survive in such a harsh environment.

There’s a chance too, if I’m lucky, to see the Northern Lights. #BucketList

Fresh Content

Hot off the press & onto the blog, website, and beyond.

Here at KIS I am focused on creating a couple of courses before the end of the year. One is complete (but not launching yet) and the next is under development and I am hoping to release it before the end of the month.

Watch my IG for a special Black Friday deal, or join my newsletter list so you don’t miss it!

Most of the content you’ll see for the rest of the year is aimed at helping you prepare for an amazing 2022. Every new year, I meet so many people who promise themselves that they will get their finances in order. If you can relate or are looking to improve your current system, stay tuned. I’ve got ya covered.

App of My Eye

I'm always on the lookout for new apps that help make running a business easier! Here are the best finds over the past month.

For the last few months, I’ve been toying with a financial analysis app called Fathom. I’m finally ready to vouch for it and roll it out in my practice.

After you get a basic grasp of business finance and the reports, the next step is working with the information in the reports - ie, analytics. Analysis like benchmarking your performance against competitors, forecasting multiple scenarios, and tracking key metrics are a few examples of what Fathom can do. All these insights help you make better decisions and prepare for any rough days on the horizon.

Knowing your numbers is like the tip of an iceberg. You get some visibility about your company. But, you need to dive in to get a real grasp of how much value is locked in that financial data. The data is powerful if you know how to use it. Fathom is like a submarine, helping you analyze all the angles.

Best Reads

I love to learn. Especially with business, there are always new perspectives and information we can benefit from. Here's my latest fav.

This will make you laugh! Adam Grant, a doctor in organizational psychology, hit the nail on the head when he identified the prevailing mood in this locked-down world. He picked up on it from his own personal experience at the start of the pandemic, turned it into a New York Times article, and then a Ted Talk.

Adam is one of my favorite writers and speakers. He’s entertaining, sharp, and oh-so-smart. He didn’t disappoint with this Ted Talk. Not only will you laugh, but he’ll also help you crawl out of any languishing funk keeping you down.

Practicing Simplicity

Practical tips to simplify your business.

Practice: Create email filters or rules to add tags, auto-forward, star, or archive. Set up the filters as you receive new types of emails you expect to see more of.

Rationale: Spend less time in your inbox processing emails. This will also improve your organization, in particular for vendors and clients with multiple email addresses.

Tools: Gmail (filters), Outlook (rules)

QuickBooks Tricks

New features & hacks to get more out of your QB subscription

Want to speed up your finance dates? Here’s my top tip: Bank Rules

You can teach QuickBooks to recognize repetitive transactions and then how to classify them. The rules are very easy to make, and QB will even suggest a rule if you add two similar transactions in the same session.

Over time, the rules add up and you’ve automated your bookkeeping! Super sweet!

Tax Tips

The world of tax is constantly changing. Here's what you need to know.

Keep your receipts for all cash donations. This year, whether you itemize or not, you can deduct cash donations. This COVID-response deduction was $300 per return last year. On 2021 tax returns, married couples can deduct up to $600.

Sharing Cents

Every month, I donate to a different cause. All thanks to my clients. 💖 Here’s who *we* gave to this month.

Have you picked up a new hobby during the pandemic? Let’s keep it going!

If you’re near New London, Connecticut, I recommend checking out the Spark Makerspace*, where hobbyists, professional artists, and all types of creators get together to make stuff and share skills.

The Makerspace is moving to a new, bigger home this month. It’s been a huge project to create a “forever home” for their makers! They bought an older building, renovated it, fundraised a ton, and are now getting settled in. Everybody is pitching in. Even the mayor stopped by!

Spark is still fundraising to make more improvements to the building and customize rooms for the various spaces. COVID has been tough for non-profits too. Their work is not done yet.

* Ethics disclosure: Spark Makerspace is my client.

Kitty Corner

It's impossible for me to get through a newsletter without mentioning my furbabies!

My cats have an attitude problem. It’s not stranger danger or insecurity. It’s more like a strong preference. Before I get into it, I will say I’m flattered but it’s also weird.

It doesn’t matter how many treats you give my furbabies. It doesn’t matter if you rescued their life! It doesn’t matter if you let them sleep in your spot and maneuver around them all night. Playtime won’t win you much goodwill either.

You are NOT the mama!

I’m their favorite human. Case closed.

Poor Yigit, jealously watching his kitty leave his big arms and cuddle-balance on top of my small frame. Nope. Both Cami and Phoenix have stern words for Yigit: “Not the mama!”

**Cue the dino family baby hitting the dad with a wooden spoon**

Heads up

Tax deadlines, events, and upcoming things you need to know!

I will be off the week of Thanksgiving. I hope you can get some downtime too, business permitting! If you need a better system in place for 2022, stay posted. I’m looking for one or two more beta testers for my new course on setting up an accounting system too. Reply if you’re interested.

P.S. /who-lef-ti-o/

That’s how to pronounce Skelleftea. If you got that right without cheating, I’m impressed! Comment below and tell me how you knew. That "sk" is one of the most bungled sounds in Swedish!

P.P.S. A client showed me this video of a Swedish woman in a small mid-Northern village. Watch. It. The views are jaw-dropping. She actually lives a couple of hours south of where I’m going, I’m so excited to see all this for myself.