IRS Extends 1095-C Furnishing Requirements!

The IRS has released Notice 2016-70, which extends the due dates for furnishing 1095-C’s to employees. Use the link to see the entire Notice, but we have copied below the verbiage pertaining to this extension:

“Following consultation with stakeholders, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Service have determined that a substantial number of employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage need additional time beyond the January 31, 2017, due date to gather and analyze the information and prepare the 2016 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to be furnished to individuals. Accordingly, this notice extends by 30 days the due date for furnishing the 2016 Form 1095-B and the 2016 Form 1095-C, from January 31, 2017, to March 2, 2017. In view of this automatic extension, the provisions under Treas. Reg. §§ 1.6055-1(g)(4)(i)(B)(1) and 301.6056-1(g)(1)(ii)(A) allowing the Service to grant extensions of time of up to 30 days to furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C will not apply to the extended due date. Notwithstanding the extensions provided in this notice, employers and other coverage providers are encouraged to furnish 2016 statements as soon as they are able. Treasury and the Service have determined that there is no similar need for additional time for employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage to file with the Service the 2016 Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C. Therefore, this notice does not extend the due date for filing with the Service the 2016 Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, or 1095-C, which remains February 28, 2017, if not filing electronically, or March 31, 2017, if filing electronically. However, this notice does not affect the provisions regarding automatic extensions of time for filing information returns, which remain available under the normal rules by submitting a Form 8809. See Treas. Reg. § 1.6081-1; Temp. Treas. Reg. § 1.6081-8T. It also does not affect the provisions regarding additional extensions of time to file. Id. Employers or other coverage providers that do not comply with the due dates for furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C (as extended under the rules described above) or for filing Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, or 1095-C are subject to penalties under section 6722 or 6721 for failure to timely furnish and file, respectively. However, employers and other coverage providers that do not meet the relevant due dates should still furnish and file. The Service will take such furnishing and filing into consideration when determining whether to abate penalties for reasonable cause. The extension of the due date provided by this notice applies only to section 6055 and 6056 information statements for calendar year 2016 furnished in 2017 and does not require the submission of any request or other documentation to the Service. Because the 30-day extension of the due date to furnish granted in this notice applies automatically and is as generous as the permissive 30-day extensions of time to furnish 2016 information statements under sections 6055 and 6056 that have already been requested by some reporting entities in submissions to the Service, the Service will not formally respond to such requests. Because of the extension granted under this notice, some individual taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they are ready to file their 2016 tax return. Taxpayers may rely on other information received from their employer or other coverage provider for purposes of filing their returns, including determining eligibility for the premium tax credit under section 36B and confirming that they had minimum essential coverage for purposes of sections 36B and 5000A. Taxpayers do not need to wait to receive Forms 1095-B and 1095-C before filing their returns. Individuals need not send the information relied upon to the Service when filing their returns but should keep it with their tax records.”

What does a fishy email look like?

Email messages that trick users into installing malware still seem to be working.  Some of our customers recently have been hit with cryptolocker attacks.  Even when anti-virus/anti-malware is in use, they may not catch some of the newest malware.

There are usually several easy to spot tip-offs that an email is bogus.  Here is a sample email that I received that looks suspicious with explanations of what you can look for to avoid being tricked into installing some software that will do Really Bad Things to your computer and data:

1. Notice that the domain for the “From:” email address is “wispaninterent.com”–not paypal.com.  This is an immediate tip-off that the message is not really coming from PayPal.  (If the full email address doesn’t appear, try placing the mouse pointer over the “From:” name and see if a tooltip appears with the full email address.)
2. Official messages from big companies always pay careful attention to branding.   Notice that the company name appears three different ways:  “Paypal”, “paypal” and “PayPal”.  That is just sloppy, and an official email from PayPal would never go out with these types of mistakes.
3. You can place your mouse pointer over any link in an email and see a tooltip that shows you the link address.  But don’t click on it!  Like the “From:” email address, this link is not using a PayPal domain name.  It looks like some kind of file storage site (“filemail.com”) that is obviously not linked to PayPal.Also, the link appears to be a direct link to a file, not to a web page (it doesn’t end in file extension like “.htm”, “.html”, or “.asp” that would indicate it is a web page.)  Always be suspicious of a direct link included in an email.
4. Does the email try to create a sense that you must install something?  If so, assume it is suspicious until proven otherwise (say by visiting the paypal.com site in this example to confirm that a “software upgrade” is needed).  This is social engineering at work.Ask yourself if you ever had to install software for this product before.  If you actually have used PayPal before but only in a web browser, you should never have installed any Windows software to use PayPal before.  If that is the case, why do you need to install a software upgrade now?

   If you have installed and used the PayPal App, then the upgrade process should be handled directly by the app or by going to the app store where you got the app and downloading an update directly from there.  And if you have used the PayPal App on a phone or tablet, the upgrade would need to be handled on that device, not your Windows PC.

If you are ever not sure, the best thing to do is just don’t click on a link in an email message.  Check with your system administrator especially when you get a message that some software needs to be installed or updated.  Doing that can prevent a potential disaster.

 

URGENT: 1095-C Preparation & Review Webinars

As you may have heard, we have recently posted some videos and instructional information on preparing for, compiling, and reviewing your 1095-C information in anticipation of printing and distributing them to your employees.

We are pleased to announce that, in addition to these resources, we will also be holding webinars to review this information and offer an opportunity for our HRM Software customers to ask questions and get live answers. Please follow the link below to get registered to attend one of these webinars.

The first two webinars will be held Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 1:00pm, and Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 11:00am. More webinars dates and times may be added as needed.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/8220194492509434882

User interface update

Starting this month, updates to Datatech Accounting Software will get a new look.  These changes will be available via the Check for Updates option around October 13th.  Customers that have updates downloaded by our Support Department will start getting these changes before that.

Since the beginning of time, our programs have used MS Sans Serif, the default system font that originally shipped in Windows 95.  Now our software will use the current Windows system font.  Microsoft introduced a new font (Segoe UI) in Windows Vista/7/8 for applications to use that is easier to read and designed for modern LCD displays.  (If you are still using Windows XP, our software will use its system font, Tahoma.)

Besides making the application look better overall, using the current system fonts instead of MS Sans Serif also enables us to provide support for the font scaling settings provided in Windows.  This makes everything bigger and did not always work well using the older font.  Some of our customers who have found the size of the type difficult to read will now be able to run their systems at 125% font size (“Medium” fonts in Windows Vista/7/8, “Large Fonts” in Windows XP), resulting in a more readable user interface.

Making text bigger of course means you can see less information on the screen.  But as higher resolution displays with higher DPI (dots per inch) counts become more common, everything has tended to get smaller (because the actual dots on the monitors are getting smaller).  Switching to the 125% font size setting can get text back to a readable size again.  (Another solution is to buy a bigger monitor!)

Switching to the system font on Windows Vista/7/8 affects the sizing of the windows, generally they will be about 15% larger.  This is because the letters in Segoe UI are slightly larger than the old MS Sans Serif font.  If you also enable larger fonts in Windows, then the windows will be about 25% larger. Some customers may find that the new font setting will make some windows too large to fit on their monitors.  This will largely depend on the size of your monitor and the resolution that you have it set at.  If this happens, you can disable the use of the system font and everything will go back to the way it was.   (See instructions below.)

To illustrate the changes, here are a some partial screenshots showing the old and new fonts in both Windows XP and Windows 7:

Windows XP	Windows 7
Original MS Sans Serif font using the “Normal” Font size (100%).	Original MS Sans Serif font @ 100%. Compared to the Windows XP example, the window size and layout is nearly identical.
Tahoma system font also at the “Normal” font size. The size of Tahoma font is very close to MS Sans Serif, so the overall size of the window, labels and entry forms are nearly identical.	System font (Segoe UI) at 100% (normal) font size. Simply using the system font causes everything in the window to scale up about 15% (almost as big as the Windows XP with Large Fonts example below).
Original MS Sans Serif font using the “Large Fonts” setting in Display Properties. Only the window title bar is larger. The labels and entry forms are all the same size as the “Normal” font setting.  Customers that wanted to use the Large Fonts setting in Windows XP were out of luck.	Medium (125%) text size. Just as on Windows XP, using the larger font setting increases the size of the title bar, but not any of the labels and data entry forms.  Customers that wanted to use the Large Fonts setting to make text big enough for them to read were still out of luck!
Tahoma system font with the “Large Fonts” setting enabled. The overall window is about 25% bigger and all of the labels and entry forms are scaled up by the same amount.	Medium (125%) text size and the system font (Segoe UI). Everything is now scaled up in size in the window.

A Full Screen Example

The following screen shots show the same Daily Payroll window with the old and new font.  In each case, the main program window is the same size, 1024 x 768.  Click on the images to see them full size.

Windows 7 using original MS Sans Serif font.

Windows 7 using the Segoe UI system font. The Daily Payroll window is displaying the same amount of information, but it takes up more of the screen area when using the system font.

How to disable using the System Font

To disable the System Font, go to Tools->Program Setup->Main->General and uncheck theUse Windows Font checkbox:

Restart the program for this setting to take effect.  This setting is applied on a computer by computer basis, so it is possible to use the System Font on some workstations but not others.

If your user account is restricted from opening the Program Setup window, an administrator may need to log in to the program on your workstation so that you can uncheck this box.  Once it has been unchecked, you can log out of the program and log back in with your regular user name.

You can also disable using the System Font by adding the parameter “-nowinfont” to the shortcut that you use to open the program:

Add the “-nowinfont” right after the program name (winfarm.exe, shipper.exe, etc.) and before anything else that appears after the program name.

How to change font settings in Windows

In Windows Vista/7/8, right click on the Desktop and select the Screen resolution option.  Click on the Make text and other items larger or smaller link.  Select either Smaller (100%), Medium (125%) or Larger (150%).

In Windows XP, right click on the Desktop and select Properties.  Click on the Appearance tab.  The Font size setting appears in the bottom left corner of the window.  Select from either Normal, Large Fonts, or Extra Large Fonts.

When you change the font size, you may need to restart or log off before the change can take effect.

Did You Know? – Entry options in the Program Setup

The Program Setup (accessed from the Tools menu) contains a variety of entry settings that may speed up the data entry process, allow for more detailed records, or assist in eliminating data entry mistakes.  Due to the large number of entry options, we won’t cover every one is this posting, but following are a few of the most commonly used options:

Payables
Rate Entry on Checks/Invoices – This option allows you to enter a Rate in addition to Units on invoices and checks.  This enables you to record the number of units and price of items purchased.  This may be helpful when looking back to see the cost of items such as tools, equipment and chemicals.

Repeat G/L # & Job ID – This option will repeat the G/L # and Job (Phase, Operation) on additional line items.  This eliminates the re-entry of these fields when you are entering multiple lines for different cost centers.

Payroll Entry Settings
Daily Payroll Employee Entry – A new option has been added to allow for entry of the Name Key or PIN instead of the Account # in Daily Payroll.  This may be helpful for customers that do not get Account #’s on time sheets.

Batch Check Entry – An option is available to change the Day column to a full MM/DD/YYYY date entry.  This is necessary if you often enter line items that don’t fall within the pay period.  With the full date, the program can accurately apply the date worked to the employee.

Global Entry Settings – Several options are available to add additional entry fields to both daily payroll and check entry windows, including columns for Memo entry, Production Units (to record units when paying hourly) and Days Worked (used if paying multiple days with one line item)

Check Printing Settings – Several options can be enabled to print on the check stubs including Days or Hours worked, miscellaneous deduction balances, Marital Status/Dependents and Crew #.

Farm/LC Settings – For farming operations you can set whether cost centers and jobs are required on payables and/or payroll entries.  You can change the Autofind on the Cost ID to Require Exact Match to help reduce the possibility of data entry mistakes.  On both the Farm and Labor Contractor tabs you can set the entry order for Cost ID, Job and G/L #.  The Labor Contractor tab allows you to change defaults for the invoice date, whether the Employer ID & Workers Comp information prints on the invoice and the option to allow the labor report to be finalize (and generate invoice) by Previewing the Labor Report instead of having to print it to paper.

Receivables – The Invoice Entry Settings tab allows you to select which columns you want enabled on the invoice entry and whether the line items for manual invoices default to the Cost Center or Job Description.

If you have any questions on any of the program options, feel free to call our support department at (888) 222-DATA opt. 3 or email support@datatechag.com.

Did You Know? is a series on Datatech’s blog that will highlight hidden and lesser known program features that I’ve found many customers aren’t familiar with. If you have a favorite “hidden” program feature, email it to me at Hannah@DatatechAg.com.

Recommended update

We are recommending that customers running the following versions of our software use the Check for Updates option on the Tools menu to get the latest available version installed on their systems:

The Farmer’s Office/The Labor Contractor’s Office:  Versions prior to 6.83.756

The Shipper’s Office/The Broker’s Office;  Versions prior to 6.98.471

Both of these updates were released in April.  This is the last planned update for the 6.x series of our software, and the updates include some changes to make sure that your system is ready for the next (7.x) major version.

To check the version that you are currently running, go to Help->About.  If you are running a newer version, the Check for Updates option will let you know.  A number of customers are actually already running the 7.x version.  If you are already on this version or a later 6.x version, you do not need to download or install any updates.

The 7.x version of our software does require that you already have the 17.1 version of the Visual DataFlex Client installed.  For most customers, this will have automatically been installed by the program.  We started releasing updates in November 2013 that did this.  In some situations however, the new client software doesn’t get installed (for instance, some customers get errors on installation of the client, don’t have rights to install the client, or don’t install the updates we send, etc.).

After making sure that you have the latest 6.x update, you can go to the Tools menu and select the 17.1 Client Check option.  This will either give you an error message (indicating you need to get the 17.1 VDF Client installed) or tell you that your computer is good to go.  If you run our software on a network, use this option on each workstation to make sure that each one is ready for the 7.x update.

We are planning to make the 7.x version available to all customers through the Check for Updates option in late July/early August.  Further details on changes included and new features in the 7.x version will be published on our blog in the coming weeks.

Welcome to Datatech’s GrapeVine!

As you may or may not have noticed, there was no Spring DataLine Newsletter.

The DataLine newsletter is being retired; we will no longer be publishing a regular ongoing quarterly newsletter in print or electronically. Newsletters are so 20th century.  Blogs are the future! (Or so we’ve read.)

In all seriousness, we were seeing two main problems with the quarterly newsletter:  timeliness and timing.  Publishing a quarterly newsletter meant that we were only sending out major communications to our customers only four times a year.  We often find there are subjects that we would like to inform our customers about immediately, without having to wait for the next quarterly newsletter.  Then by the time we are ready to publish the newsletter, we are either scratching our heads wondering “What exactly was it we wanted to put in the newsletter?” or so much time has passed that the subject is no longer relevant.

The other issue is timing; at the end of the quarter much of Hannah’s time for a couple weeks consists of a mad scramble to write, research, compile, edit and layout the newsletter, reducing the amount of time she has to train and support new customers.  I went through the same type of thing until I delegated (pawned off?) responsibility for the newsletter to my younger sister.  There must be a better way to communicate with customers instead of a frantic dash to get a newsletter out the door every three months!

Replacing the quarterly newsletter with a blog has a lot of advantages.  What should you expect?

• Timely information on a more frequent basis. We aren’t promising lots of daily updates, but every week you should find something new, helpful or interesting on our blog.
• Unlike the newsletter, you can easily respond back to posts on the GrapeVine!  In some posts we will specifically be looking for feedback from customers.  For instance, when programmers are designing new features, we may want to run ideas by our customers
• The blogging platform makes it easier for more of our personnel to contribute, so you will see articles posted by the programming, support, and IT departments in addition to features that would normally go in the newsletter.
• We still plan on sending out an email quarterly (or possibly monthly/bi-monthly) that will summarize and provide links to important posts on the blog that we feel you shouldn’t miss.
• We are ramping up production of instructional/training videos.  Each new video that introduced will be featured in a blog post.  Some videos will be focused on training for new customers, while others will be geared towards explaining new or advanced features to existing customers.
• When appropriate, we will post links to news items about the ag industry, payroll and accounting topics, and computers that we feel will be of interest to our customers.
• Guest bloggers!  From time to time we will invite others to write posts on our blog on topics that will be of interest to our customers.
• We will try to break up complex topics and lengthy articles into multiple shorter, more digestible chunks (for example, series on our new Human Resources module and the Affordable Care Act).
• And probably a few typos, as blog posts may not necessarily go through our extensive editorial process!

Going forward we plan on using email and this blog as the primary way of communicating with customers.  If you haven’t already, make sure that support@datatechag.com is added to your address book and white list (if you are using a spam filtering service) to make sure that you get our emails.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or feedback, register and leave comments below!