Was Filing Your Taxes Problematic and Wearisome?
Cheryl Mucha, CPA
Business Profitability Expert | Business Panel Emcee | Author
Do you stuff receipts, donation letters and other tax-related documents in boxes and plastic bags all year long, then attempt to put your financial history in order to prepare for your tax return?
This lack of organization and preparation can lead to costly oversights on your tax return, not to mention, it’s stressful and eats up a lot of valuable time.?Also, business owners have?additional considerations when it comes to tax preparation, including accounts receivable, inventory, financial statements, and hard assets.
Let’s make filing 2024 taxes less stressful and start getting your company’s finances in order:
-?? Financial reports?must be run and reviewed.?Without these, you?lack a road map to guide your business goals and ensure your operation is on track.?Tap into your bookkeeping software and run monthly profit & loss statements,?maintain an updated balance sheet,?and review all?of these with your accountant.??
-?? Missing receipts?make it hard to document expenses.?This goes back to keeping good financial records every step of the way in your business. Scan all your receipts and attach them to each transaction in your accounting system.? If you do not have this capability, set up a folder on your computer’s desktop and save it there.
-?? Reconcile?all bank accounts and credit cards. Reconciliations provide?a clear picture of where your company is during the year. Is all your income properly recorded? Are your business expenses correctly categorized in your accounting program??Reconciling your accounts?can also help identify where?those?receipts you need are missing.?
-?? Address receivables that are past due. This affects your cash flow and profitability and must be addressed. Do you have an accounts receivables policy, such as offering a small discount for quick payment, or do you add a percentage to invoices that are not paid within 30 days? It’s never too late to implement one.?
-?? Take a physical inventory of your goods. This should be done on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, quarterly depending on your business) to make sure?your inventory levels align appropriately with your sales. Doing inventory will also reveal theft or loss which affect profits.??
· Make sure you have receipts for what you bought for the company.?
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· If you are in warehousing or manufacturing, do you have an accurate count of what is on your premises, and is this reflected on your balance sheet??
· For capitalized expenses for equipment, you cannot depreciate the assets if you don’t know what they cost and when you bought them.?
· You cannot calculate your cost of goods sold (COGS) if you don’t know?what you have and what it costs.?
-?? Use your financial story to make educated business decisions throughout the year and share them with your tax preparer. There may be some tax savings opportunities.
If trying to?update?your reports is causing you stress, CFO Your Way LLC can help. We’ll?organize your financial paperwork,?identify what’s missing,?set up your accounting software correctly, and prepare all the reports you’ll need to make filing your tax return?a smooth?transaction.?
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation?to discuss your needs—and?see how much easier it is to file your corporate taxes when you work with a fractional CFO!