Dental Accounting Association
Here are the 10 states with the worst dental health and their scores.
1. Arkansas — 31.25
2. Mississippi — 32.97
3. West Virginia — 36.63
4. Alabama — 38.48
5. Louisiana — 38.53
6. Alaska — 41.56
7. Texas — 41.56
8. Florida — 42.34
9. Montana — 42.68
10. California — 43.01
The results were released by Wallethub on February 1, 2019. Each state was measured for 26 key indicators of dental health.
The top ten states for best dental health were also released.
In today’s world of specialization, more and more dentists are hiring specialists to help them with legal matters, financial matters, insurance, practice brokerage and even real estate.
Dental Law Firms
Dental CPA Firms
Dental Practice Insurance
Dental Practice Brokerage
Dental Practice Real Estate
Dental Practice Valuations
In each of these cases, there are local generalists to provide these services and are located close to your place of business. Typically, a local generalist handles everyone from retail businesses to construction to whatever walks in the door. However, most savvy dentists will trade off location in return for a higher level of dental industry knowledge and expertise so they make the best decision relative to their competitors and minimize risk.
Whether you are a new dental practitioner or a seasoned practitioner, there are law firms who are dedicated to the dental industry who can save you tons of time and money by focusing on the dental industry. The same is true for dental practice real estate, insurance and accounting/tax. There are huge advantages to be gained by hiring a specialist who understands the nuances of the dental industry.
For example, if you own a dental practice and suspect an employee is stealing cash, a generalist accountant would probably miss this and would not have a clue who to recommend as a forensic specialist. However, a CPA dedicated to the dental industry knows a couple experts to recommend. This kind of advice is priceless rather than letting the crime continue.
Here are several other ways a dental industry CPA can provide a higher level of service to you:
If you are looking to make the best business decisions for your dental practice, hire a specialist that understands the dental industry and has a network of experts to recommend as well. Hiring a specialist saves tons of time and money in the long run.
Dental Accounting Association
All members of the Dental Accounting Association are licensed CPA’s and have been vetted. Each firm attends at least one national dental show (e.g., ADA, AAO, AAPD, AAOMS, etc.) along with some regional dental shows. In addition, each firm is provided with advanced training in proactive tax planning which is well beyond the state requirements for being a licensed CPA. This advanced training is designed to find loopholes, credits, deductions and strategies to lower your effective tax rate. While these methods are perfectly legal, they often require extra work that a local generalist would never consider to offset the incremental time demands.
If you’d like to hear from a Dental CPA who is best suited for your practice, complete this form today.
The tax changes under President Trump have been major. In fact, the tax law changes are the most significant tax changes in more than 30 years. And given those major changes, many dentists are stepping back and re-evaluating what is best for their current needs.
Here are a series of questions that you should be asking to make sure you are in the best possible tax position.
If you are serious about your financial future, then you should be working with a Dental CPA that not only focuses on the dental industry but knows the best ways to lower your effective tax rate with proactive planning and strategies.
All members within the Dental Accounting Association attend at least one major dental conference a year, plus large regional dental shows, along with several tax planning conferences. Over the years, the Dental Accounting Association is the only Dental Accounting Association that attends the major dental shows like the American Dental Association (ADA) Annual, American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual and Amercian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) Annual. And yes, we attend more than our share of regional and state dental shows as well.
If you are tired of working with a local generalist accountant and would like to upgrade to a Dental CPA, contact us today and we’ll make the introduction.
Also recognize that we will have a few more new members joining us later this year so our coverage will be getting closer to you soon if there is not a local member already.
Are you tired of haggling over the price of your service? Have you found it difficult to charge the prices that your services deserve?
Without a differentiated service, your service becomes a commodity because you become subject to the market and vulnerable to someone else with a lower price. To command a higher price for your service and maintain superior profit margins, you must differentiate your service and provide more “perceived” value. When done properly, your value proposition becomes well known, the sale becomes easy, and your retention rates will increase.
To learn more, here are two suggestions that go into more depth on how differentiation can change your world.
Blue Ocean Strategy by W Chan Kim – This international best selling book is an interesting read on how brands and companies have effectively differentiated their offering to make their competition less relevant. In crowded categories like wine, air travel, entertainment, fitness, and music, learn how differentiation can create a huge difference.
By all means, the concept of differentiation or die is not new. In fact, Jack Trout wrote a book called “Differentiate or Die” back in 2000 and it became a #1 Best Seller.
Another example on how differentiation is impacting dental practices can be found in this article by Forbes magazine. Essentially, the article explains how becoming the “best” at one particular service enables you to increase price and attract new patients from a broader geographic area, not just five miles.
Learn how to become the best can set your practice on fire.
Fraud and embezzlement in dental practices is far more common than any of us want to accept. Yes, it will happen to you at some point within your practice.
Recently, we had an expert speak to the Dental Accounting Association and the myriad of ways that embezzlement occurs in a dental practice and it was alarming. All of the various ways they can steal is endless from padding payroll, petty cash, employee advances, patient refunds, insurance checks, buying office supplies at Costco and even prescriptions.
Here are several ways to minimize your risk of fraud:
In a nutshell, all dental practices will experience theft at some point within your ownership period. If you suspect embezzlement at your office, there is a process to follow before accusing any staff member.
Dental Accounting Association firms are another resource to contact if you suspect something is not quite right. Our members have a process to follow and an independent fraud risk expert to help you at the appropriate time.
Cash balance plans, also known as cash balance pension plans, are getting renewed interest from accomplished dentists and dental specialists. Essentially, they are a way to reduce tax liability and increase retirement savings for dentists, doctors, law partners and wealthy business owners.
What is a cash balance plan?
There are two general types of pension plans — defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. In general, defined benefit plans provide a specific benefit at retirement for each eligible employee, while defined contribution plans specify the amount of contributions to be made by the employer toward an employee’s retirement account. In a defined contribution plan, the actual amount of retirement benefits provided to an employee depends on the amount of the contributions as well as the gains or losses of the account.
A cash balance plan is a defined benefit plan that defines the benefit in terms that are more characteristic of a defined contribution plan. In other words, a cash balance plan defines the promised benefit in terms of a stated account balance.
How do cash balance plans work?
In a typical cash balance plan, a participant’s account is credited each year with a “pay credit” (such as 5 percent of compensation from his or her employer) and an “interest credit” (either a fixed rate or a variable rate that is linked to an index such as the one-year treasury bill rate). Increases and decreases in the value of the plan’s investments do not directly affect the benefit amounts promised to participants. Thus, the investment risks are borne solely by the employer.
When a participant becomes entitled to receive benefits under a cash balance plan, the benefits that are received are defined in terms of an account balance. For example, assume that a participant has an account balance of $100,000 when he or she reaches age 65. If the participant decides to retire at that time, he or she would have the right to an annuity based on that account balance. Such an annuity might be approximately $8500 per year for life. In many cash balance plans, however, the participant could instead choose (with consent from his or her spouse) to take a lump sum benefit equal to the $100,000 account balance.
If a participant receives a lump sum distribution, that distribution generally can be rolled over into an IRA or to another employer’s plan if that plan accepts rollovers.
The benefits in most cash balance plans, as in most traditional defined benefit plans, are protected, within certain limitations, by federal insurance provided through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
How do Cash Balance Plans differ from traditional pension plans?
While both traditional defined benefit plans and cash balance plans are required to offer payment of an employee’s benefit in the form of a series of payments for life, traditional defined benefit plans define an employee’s benefit as a series of monthly payments for life to begin at retirement, but cash balance plans define the benefit in terms of a stated account balance. These accounts are often referred to as “hypothetical accounts” because they do not reflect actual contributions to an account or actual gains and losses allocable to the account.
How do Cash Balance Plans differ from 401(k) plans?
Cash balance plans are defined benefit plans. In contrast, 401(k) plans are a type of defined contribution plan. There are four major differences between typical cash balance plans and 401(k) plans:
Is there a federal pension law that governs these plans?
Yes. Federal law, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), provides certain protections for the employee benefits of participants in private sector pension plans.
If your employer offers a pension plan, the law sets standards for fiduciary responsibility, participation, vesting (the minimum time a participant must generally be employed by the employer to earn a legal right to benefits), benefit accrual and funding. The law also requires plans to give basic information to workers and retirees. The IRC establishes additional tax qualification requirements, including rules aimed at ensuring that proportionate benefits are provided to a sufficiently broad-based employee population.
The Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the IRS/Department of the Treasury have responsibilities in overseeing and enforcing the provisions of the law. Generally, the Department of Labor focuses on the fiduciary responsibilities, employee rights, and reporting and disclosure requirements under the law, while the EEOC concentrates on the portions of the law relating to age discriminatory employment practices. The IRS/Department of the Treasury generally focuses on the standards set by the law for plans to qualify for tax preferences.
How to Learn More
Cash balance plans are one effective tactic to lower your taxes. They take a commitment and work but are effective when done properly. They are one tool among many that Dental Accounting Association members use to lower your effective tax rate.
To learn more about your specific situation, contact a Dental Accounting Association member in your area.