Setting Yourself Up for Success Next Tax Season
As a small business owner, the last thing on your mind might be next year’s taxes. But for those of you choosing to be your business’s bookkeeper – you are not afforded that luxury.
Bookkeeping is the backbone of any functioning company, and letting bookkeeping tasks you either don’t want to do – or don’t know HOW to do – fall to the wayside is a surefire way to stagnate any small business’s growth.
Although setting yourself up for success next tax season may sound like a daunting task for all you amateur tax professionals out there, don’t worry – I got your back! Take note of these simple steps and I promise you’ll be less stressed and feeling financially blessed in no time.
Create an Expense Logging System
I put this guy first because I do think it’s so important to have some sort of logging system that doesn’t involve a shoebox overflowing with receipts. No judgment here if that’s your favored method, but with the general disarray of such a system, it’s easy to lose track of things and miss out on high-dollar tax deductions.
If you’re acting as your own bookkeeper, software like QuickBooks Online can streamline these processes for you and make setting yourself up for success next tax season a breeze!
Consistently setting aside time each week to sit down and log all your expenses can be tedious, but next April you’ll be thanking me. If you’re missing out on money because deductions are falling through the cracks, the growth you desire is going to suffer, and no small business owner needs that!
Balance Those Books!
I know this might not seem like something important to consider when setting yourself up for success next tax season, but I can assure you it is. Balancing your books will diagnose the health and wellness of your business’s finances, and may illuminate some bad debts or other bookkeeping errors holding your business’s growth back.
By doing so, you may discover you are way in the green, and it might benefit you to purchase that expensive asset you’ve been eyeing, or finally start that IRA retirement account you’ve been putting off.
These intelligent money moves can provide you with more production, bigger deductions, and less in taxes owed to the IRS come April! This is the exciting stuff a bookkeeper loves to see.
Set Aside Money for Taxes
A good practice for any small business owner when setting yourself up for success next tax season is to set aside a percentage of your profits in a separate business savings account.
I suggest setting aside 30% of your income to make sure you’re prepared for whatever might come your way next tax season. You can choose to take that 30% from each payment you receive, or take it from your monthly, quarterly, or annual total income.
If you want to get really crazy and squirrel away a higher percentage of income in your tax savings account, you could end up with some extra money at the end of the year to reinvest into your business!
I find that the more you relate your small business owner/resident bookkeeper duties to positive outcomes, the more incentive you’ll have to get them done.
Outsource What You Have Trouble With
Scared money doesn’t make money, honey, and spending money on things that you can’t do correctly or efficiently will be paramount in setting yourself up for success next tax season (and all future tax seasons to come).
Now before you tell me to F off right into the sun, hear me out!
Even simply hiring a professional to set up your books in QuickBooks Online can set you, your taxes, and your business's growth up for success for years to come. For those of you who want even less stressful items on your to-do list, you can hire us, professional bookkeepers, to handle ALL of your bookkeeping for you. No more trying to decipher invoices, figuring out what category to book transactions to, reconciling your bank accounts… We cover it all for you.
And *drumroll please* YOU CAN WRITE THAT SHIT OFF!
So, simple, somewhat inexpensive outsourcing will save you time, make you money, and help avoid possible detrimental errors (you DO NOT want to set up QBO incorrectly, TRUST ME).
Need I say more?
Closing
I think any small business owner will agree that doing your taxes and acting as your own bookkeeper is annoying. Setting yourself up for success next tax season by following these simple steps is guaranteed to alleviate some of that annoyance, and drive growth to boot!
Luckily for you, here at Balanced Office Solutions, our passion is making your life less annoying. Whether you’re looking to fully outsource your bookkeeping, learn how to set up and navigate QuickBooks Online, or get some financial coaching – Balanced Office Solutions is here for you!
We’ve got plenty more to offer than what is listed above, so head over to our website, or any of our socials, and check out the plethora of “how to make your life and your taxes easier” options we have to choose from!
