Did You Feel Like You Were Crawling Through Glass This Tax Season?

Dear IRS,

I am writing to you to cancel my subscription.

Sincerely,

All Small Business Owners

Not sure that’ll get us anywhere but it’s worth a shot right?!

On a more serious note - how did tax season go? Genuinely how do you feel your systems of keeping records for your small business served you?

If tax season was less than superb and you want to make it suck less next year keep reading.

Have A System You Enjoy For Record Keeping

Do You Have A Good System? Great! Keep doing what you’re doing!

If you had a hard time figuring out your income amounts, your expenses, finding records to support both your income and expenses… you may want to consider a system that works more in your favor.

I drop some of my best secrets in my signature masterclass - Crunch Your Numbers. If this tax season had your head spinning, I invite you to check out the details for Crunch Your Numbers here.

Have a Tax Accountant You Love Working With

I have heard horror stories of people having downright nasty services from their tax accountant. If you do not have a tax accountant you love working with I encourage you to find and interview potential tax preparers until you find one you love.

There are many questions you can ask to be sure they are a good fit for your business (and I go over those in Crunch Your Numbers as well), but if you don’t have Crunch Your Numbers yet these three questions are helpful to ask the tax preparer you are interviewing:

1. Do you have a PTIN? It is a requirement of the IRS for them to have a PTIN to file taxes on behalf of someone else. If the firm or individual does not have one I don’t recommend using them.
2. Who will sign my tax return? If they will not sign your return as the preparer I do not recommend using them either. (You still need to sign your tax return, but there is a line where the preparer signs and they should sign as your preparer.)
3. What are your hours during tax season? AND what are your hours outside of tax season? Outside of tax season they may have limited hours, but it’s important they are at least available. Quarterly tax payments are due throughout the year, your business may increase in volume, you may have a large expense you are considering and wonder how it will impact your taxes - my point is tax questions don’t just come up during tax season. Make sure the person you hire to do your taxes is available outside of tax season!

And you can always ask for referrals of other small business owners they have worked with and then contact those small business owners for their opinion/review too.

Did You Reach A Point You May Want to Outsource?

You can reach a point where doing your own bookkeeping is simply below your pay grade. You want to spend your time on other income producing activities for your business and you may no longer want to do it yourself.

Outsourcing is NOT the only answer for a tax season full of headaches, but it is one to consider if your business is consistently making $75k or more per year. Or you’ve simply reached a point where paying for it is worth your peace of mind.

I am a firm believer that small business owners can keep financial records for their small businesses!  However, it’s good to do a gut check once a year and ask yourself - Am I ready to outsource or do I just need a system that works better for me?

What Now?

I hope this tax season was not full of headaches, but if it was I hope these tips give you a great starting point to making this year better!!

If you found this post helpful….

I would be so grateful if you would take a moment to pass it along to a business friend right now!