Serapion

At tax time, many a small business owner has an imaginary sign over his or her head that simply says, “Help Wanted”. For all of their angst, the best thing any business owner can do with regard to their taxes is to help themselves throughout the year. The popular imagery of a shoe-box full of receipts is not some imaginative work of fiction; people actually still do that, and at the end of the year, they probably wish they’d thrown a bottle of aspirin in there, too.

A Little Organization Goes a Long Way

Filing cabinets have been around for a while now, as have file folders, which can hold all manner of accounting records in ways that make sense. This will eliminate the nagging feeling in the back of your mind – your inner bean counter – all year long, and your accountant will thank you besides. It is your accountant, after all, who is privy to the latest changes in the tax code, and where to find those hidden caches of tax credits. When you find an accountant who does a good job for you, stick with that one, so that he or she will always have your previous years’ tax information on file.

Be The Early Bird

Because of their specialized knowledge, the skills of accountants are in high demand, and they are sought after more at tax time than at any other, just as do snowplow drivers. So do yourself and your accountant a favor, and get in there early! If you and your accountant have a pretty good idea of what your tax burden will be, you can arrange to make quarterly payments, which will take away some of the “sticker shock” on April 15th.

Also, be careful not to make changes to your ledger that could impact the historical data. This could creates a nasty snarl for your accountant (as long as he or she is aware of it), or a nightmare for a business owner if the accountant doesn’t know about it. Being organized and staying in harmony with your accountant will help small business owners avoid those annual 1040 blues.

Keep your ledger in order and print out hard copies, just make sure you don’t run out of paper or xerox 016-1607-00 ink.

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