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PA COMPANY WITH NY LICENSING ISSUE
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 Ken,
    I am writing from Pennsylvania . We have many employees, only 2 of which work in New Jersey and New York.  We have been complying to the fingerprint process for the last 8 years, sending 10 new employees at a time, keeping all the accurate and updated paperwork on file and it has been going very smoothly.  I received a letter last week along with my last batch of 10 fingerprinted employee paperwork stating that as of August 1, 2014 we are no longer able to send paper fingerprints. Now we have to have electronic fingerprinting in the state of New York. I guess why I am writing is to ask if there is any other way our Pennsylvania Company can comply to getting these electronic fingerprints captured. Maybe at a local police station perhaps. We have 15 employees that will never step foot in NYS that have to go to New York State to get fingerprinted. Not to mention the new hires that will come along. Is there any way around this for companies outside NY.
Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.
JB
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Answer
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    Licensing issues are generally handled by our licensing division, staffed with attorneys who spend a lot of their time researching state alarm licenses and assisting companies with compliance.  If you need assistance contact Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq. at 516 747 6700 x 302, Jesse Kirschenbaum, 516 747 6700 x 307 or Nicoletta Lakatos, 516 747 6700 x 330.  
    You could have saved some time consulting with us.  You are correct that New York no longer accepts paper fingerprint cards.  You are required to use electronic fingerprints and only one company is authorized to do the fingerprinting, Identogo.  The good news is that Identogo has offices around the country, not just New York, though none in PA.  You can check for offices here: http://www.identogo.com
    But the better news is that you don't have to fingerprint all of your employees, as it appears you have been doing.  In New York we have a Qualifier who holds the license and we have Documented Employees.  Documented means they have filed an Employee Statement and electronic fingerprints within 24 hours of being employed.  The state, DLS, will let the Qualifier know if the employee is ineligible to continue employment for any reason, usually a felony conviction.  Here is who needs to be documented.  All owners, officers, directors of the company [except the Qualifier] and all employees who will engage in sales, installation or service in New York.  You could argue that the owners, officers and directors don't need to be documented, but I would just in case.  The company should also be careful to indicate on its payroll records which employees come into New York.  As you know all, for those employees coming into New York, their employee records and all subscribers records must be maintained in New York at the company offices or Secondary Office.  My office offers Secondary Office services for out of state companies that do not have offices in New York.  Contact our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312 to find out about those services.
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COMMENT ON CONVERTING LLC TO SUB-S FROM MARCH 21, 2015 ARTICLE
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Ken,
    I am reading Anon’s message of March 21, 2015 regarding his conversion from an LLC to an S-Corp.  While Anon has good intentions, he may not be getting the best advice from his tax guy.  For Federal Tax purposes an LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a “disregarded entity,” which means that the IRS does not recognize it as a  tax entity, therefore a single member LLC is treated as a Sole Proprietorship, and a multiple member LLC is a Partnership (for tax purposes).  An LLC can be treated as a Corporation (even an S Corporation), but forms must be filed to make the election.  I am not certain what the benefit was in “converting” from an LLC to a Corporation, and the process is somewhat complicated. I am wondering if Anon’s tax guy simply elected for his LLC to be taxed as an S Corporation and didn’t explain this to him very well.  Anon also comments “I pay myself in draw.”  A shareholder of an S Corporation, who participates in the business of the corporation, must take a reasonable salary.  Otherwise the owner is in effect taking a salary without paying FICA (Social Security) taxes on that salary.  The IRS has announced that this is a hot topic and they are committing a great deal of enforcement (audit) resources to this.  It is easy for them to “audit” this.  Line 7 of the Form 1120S is for “Compensation of Officers,” if this line is zero, expect a knock on your door.  We encourage our clients to take a reasonable salary, all of them do, and we have represented several new clients whose previous tax people did not explain this to them and are now facing steep tax and penalty bills. 
    Bottom line, if you don’t completely understand what your professional is telling you, ask him/her to explain it.  If you don’t like the explanation, or you don’t think that they understand your situation, run, don’t walk, to someone who does.  This goes not only for tax people, but for bankers, insurance brokers, and lawyers.   Don’t let the guy on the corner that does speeding tickets represent you in a licensing issue.  Hire a firm like Ken’s that knows the law, but most importantly knows what you do. 
Mitch Reitman
WWW.Reitman.US - Mitch is listed on The Alarm Exchange under Financial Services
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COMMENTS ON NICET FROM MARCH 31, 2015 ARTICLE
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Ken
    While I am impressed with the comments from the FPE [fire prefessional engineer] concerning Nicet and becoming an engineer I'd like to clarify the role of Nicet.  It is not to replace an engineering degree. Nicet does not certify us as engineers but as engineering technicians. My level IV certification does not certify me to design a system. It certifies me as a person with a proficient enough skill level to install a system as it was designed by the engineer. I work as the engineers eyes and ears on the job. It takes close to 7? Years to become an FPE. Plus what, 75k? There are still some of us out there that are not going to college. Nicet provides a yardstick to measure those of us that will not seek a degree.
    How many people with an engineering degree will be willing to sweat it out on a construction project? How much will I have to pay my techs if they all have to be FPE's. What will I have to charge a customer? How long will it take to educate enough people to fill all these technician jobs?
     I say stick with Nicet!
PS, lets replace all nurses with doctors too!
Anon in FL 
Nicet IV, CFPS
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Ken,
    Not to beat a dead horse, but NICET flawed or not, has meant a great deal to my career and I thank my company for helping me to achieve the status.  As one that sells fire alarm projects in this industry, my NICET certification in a nutshell adds credence to my life safety resume in both the eyes of my industry peers and customers.  True, customers may have no idea what NICET certification is or means, but in a few short minutes a willing customer can learn that, in part through NICET, I know the codes and standards and am not just someone out on the “used car lot” looking for another quick sale.  In your last newsletter, a reader mentioned the possibility of forming another, alternate professional group to replace or counter NICET, while this may be the way to go for some, I think it would be a tremendously time consuming and confusing undertaking if as part of it, new certifications were formed.  Another mentioned four-year professional engineering programs at colleges which are without a doubt necessary for our industry, but impossible for those without the wherewithal.  I think most of us agree that for better or worse, NICET has a good handle on what they do for our industry, especially for those looking to advance. 
Regards,
Brian Weir, NICET Certified- Fire Alarm Systems, Level II
Red Hawk Fire & Security
Orange, Conn
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ALTERNATIVE TO NICET
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Ken,
    With all the recent posts regarding NICET, I wanted to let your followers know that there are alternatives to NICET.  ESA’s National Training School (NTS) has fire certifications that have been approved in some states as an equivalent to NICET II and NICET III.  The Texas Fire Marshall just approved them recently and there are other states approved as well.  I recommend folks who are fed up with NICET to reach out to the ESA/NTS staff to see what needs to be done in their state to get NTS certifications approved.
David M. Koenig
Capital Fire & Security
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