Ann M Hartz, CPA and Associates

06/05/2026

How Does The Employer Credit For Family and Medical Leave Work for Des Moines Metro Small Businesses?

Lower your 2026 taxes with the employer credit for family and medical leave. See how you can claim it using your wages or insurance premiums.

06/04/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣?
Start with what’s fair for the work and realistic for your business.

A good college intern pay rate should account for:
• What similar businesses in your area are paying
• Whether the role requires special skills or education
• How much training and oversight the intern will need
• Whether your budget can support the role well

If you’re bringing on an intern, the arrangement should focus on training, mentorship, and real learning experience, while also giving your business a better way to build future talent.

06/03/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚?

We'd love to hear more about your experience, and we bet other business owners would too.

06/02/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥?

Not every internship can be unpaid. The main question is: 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?

For an internship to be unpaid, the intern’s learning and career development needs to be the primary focus. The work should feel more like training than filling a role your business actually needs done.

A few things to think through:
• Is the training similar to what they’d get in a classroom?
• Are they learning, or mainly covering regular work?
• Are they replacing someone you’d otherwise pay?
• Is there a clear understanding that no job is promised afterward?

06/01/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?

Some people appreciate a quick note. Others value a private conversation, a public shoutout, or clear next steps they can act on.

The same goes for recognition.

A simple “thank you” can mean a lot, but it means even more when it’s given in a way the other person actually receives well.

So here’s a good question to ask your team, your clients, or even yourself:

When someone wants to acknowledge your work, what feels most encouraging to you?

05/29/2026

𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙧?

If so, be careful with CAPE refund filings.

The CAPE tab in ACE doesn’t let different brokers see each other’s filing history. That can create a duplicate filing problem if two brokers claim the same entry.

And duplicate claims can do more than slow things down.

They can trigger a global hold on your Importer of Record account for manual review.

One way to reduce that risk is to centralize the refund strategy under one designated lead filer.

The goal is simple: 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦.

Not twice, not missed and not frozen because brokers weren’t working from the same list.

Before your brokers file, talk with your advisor or bookkeeper about who’s keeping the master list and checking for duplicate claims.

05/29/2026

How To Hire An Intern For The Summer For Your Des Moines Metro Business

Ready to hire an intern for the summer? Learn how to correctly classify and pay your interns to stay 100% compliant with IRS rules.

05/28/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙮 𝘾𝘼𝙋𝙀 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩?

Maybe... but this is not one of those “file it now and clean it up later” situations.

If ACE finds file-level problems, the whole declaration may get rejected. Then you’re correcting and resubmitting.

If only certain entries fail validation, ACE may kick those out and keep processing the rest.

That can leave you with corrected or missing entries that need to be submitted separately (and that can mean a separate review and refund timeline too).

Before you submit, it’s worth looking at what a delay or partial rejection could mean for the business.

We can help you think through refund timing, cash flow expectations, and whether the filing details line up with the records you’re relying on.

05/27/2026

Google's updates to its search bar are really interesting: https://www.techbrew.com/stories/google-it-while-you-still-can

And if you own a business, you might be tempted to ask Gemini something like:

“How do I know if my business is profitable?”

It will give you an answer curated from thousands of online results. Maybe even one that sounds convincing.

Look at revenue, expenses, profit margins, and cash flow.

But Gemini can’t see your books or track the financial history of your business.

It can’t find the leaks. Or the opportunities.

It can’t tell if your expenses are coded right, if your reports are current, or if the profit you’re looking at is actually money you can use.

That part takes an experienced advisor looking at your actual business.

That’s what we’re here for.

05/26/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝘾𝙃 𝙮𝙚𝙩?

Don’t assume that because your business pays duties by ACH, your refund will automatically come back the same way.

CBP requires a separate ACH refund enrollment.

That means you need to manually verify your bank details in the ACH Refund Authorization tab inside your ACE Portal.

If that isn’t active and linked to your Form 5106, your refund can sit in a non-interest-bearing suspense account.

That can freeze your capital and stop any additional interest from accruing until the paperwork is fixed.

Before you count on the refund timeline, make sure the ACH refund setup is complete.