Are you new to owning a business or exploring new processes for your small business? Like many entrepreneurs, figuring out your taxes probably wasn’t part of your vision board. But a stress-free tax season isn’t just nice to have, as a small business owner juggling it all, it should be a must-have.
Set yourself up for success by checking out our small business tax services tips.
Record Everything: Accurately & Year-Round
Keeping comprehensive and accurate records of your small business is absolutely crucial for correctly completing your taxes. This includes logging all items of income and every business expense too. Deficiencies in this area could lead to a loss on deductions or even an audit. To make logging receipts even easier, so you don’t miss out on cash you could invest back into your business, consider utilizing tax prep and bookkeeping services like Ceterus, that offer mobile app capabilities.
Our Edge cloud-based technology delivers precise financial insights in real-time and year-round, instantaneously. This makes tax time easier for everyone.
Don’t Tempt The Audit: Keep Separate Expenses
Before you’ve even opened the doors to your small business, you should have divided your personal and business expenses into different entities.
How to separate your expenses:
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Manage individual personal and professional bank accounts and credit cards.
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Diligently avoid paying for personal things on a business card or business expenses on your personal credit card.
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Understand how your income and your business will be taxed, budget an amount for yourself and pay it out monthly from your business account.
Melding the use of personal and business bank accounts or credit cards will raise major red flags to the IRS and could be grounds for an audit. Separating the two is also vital for claiming deductions in the most opportunistic way.
Know The Basics: Net vs. Gross Income
Gross income is your business’s total income in a year, whereas net income is your gross income subtracted from all business expenses. Net income is profit after accounting for employee salaries, benefits, rents, etc.
Fully grasping the difference between the two is key to growing your business, but it will also help with your taxes. Negative net income would result in a loss, which may be deductible, while increased net income would be reportable increased taxable income.
It’s Not a Seasonal Thing: Year-Round Help
You shouldn’t just be working with an accountant in April or May. To truly take the stress out of tax season, you need someone to have an eye on your books all year round. Accountants can help with tracking:
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Cash flow
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Income
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Deductions
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Profits (gross & net)
Having an expert eye on the books will keep the sweat off your brow and focus back on your business.
Gain peace of mind and reduce your workload with a financial sensei in your corner. At Ceterus, we provide clear financial and tax insights, tech-enabled bookkeeping, and tax preparation so that you can build a stronger future as a franchise or small business owner, knowing that your returns are in trusted hands. Pairing top-of-the-line technology with a team of specialized CPAs means we can handle the tricky task of your business taxes. If you already have a trusted CPA, we can work with them to simplify your tax preparation.
Ceterus provides consistent and accurate financial insights on time – every time – so you can count on success and gain peace of mind. Ready to get your finances on track and back to concentrating on your future as a small business owner or multi-unit franchisee? Talk to an expert at Ceterus today.
