November CFO Consultants Newsletter

November Newsletter

Happy November, everyone!

This year seems to have flown by with everything we have going on. Fortunately, as the pace slows down a bit, we can take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of the past months.

For me, November has typically been a time of transition and gratitude- a perfect moment to acknowledge the trust you've placed in us and the collective milestones we've achieved.

With the year's end in sight, it's also crucial to ensure that your financial and tax planning aligns with the latest regulations and economic trends as the turbulence persists.

Your success is our priority, and we're committed to providing the acumen and support necessary to navigate the complexities of finance in today's world.

What’s in this month’s newsletter:

• Small Business Tips
• Tax Tips
• Small Business Spotlight

(Reading time: 5 minutes)

Small Business Tips

1. Review Your Financial Statements: Make it a monthly ritual to examine your balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. This not only helps you stay on top of your financial position but also prepares you for more informed tax planning. If something doesn't look right or if you're curious, dig in or reach out to ask more about what's going on.
2. Assess Your Cash Flow: A healthy cash flow is the lifeline of any small business. Analyzing your cash flow statements and implementing strategies to ensure a steady stream, such as adjusting payment terms with clients or suppliers. For my own businesses and those I've supported in the past, building out an Excel model to simulate your business and timing of cash receipts and payments is worth its weight in gold!
3. Consider Forecasting & Budgeting: Comparing your actual spend against your expectations is a great way to better understand your business and put guardrails in place to keep it on track. Forecasting allows you to identify areas where you can cut costs without compromising quality or efficiency. As a rule of thumb, break out totals into volume and price components: Sales = # of units sold x price. Do this for each business line to set expectations and compare to outcomes.
4. Reflect on Your Business Structure: Sometimes, a change in business structure can lead to tax savings. Many business owners start out as LLCs, but at some point, taking the S Corp election is more advantageous. From our analysis, we recommend $60-80k/yr in profits to be the point where this makes sense.
5. Explore Tax Deduction Opportunities: Don't leave money on the table before the annual cut-off. Identify all possible tax deductions available to your business, such as office expenses, travel, and certain software subscriptions. Remember, though, paying some tax isn't the worst thing to happen- it means you run a profitable business. We can help you balance tax savings and business growth.

Tax Tips

Our goal is to help make the tax return and planning process straightforward and help you maximize your tax savings. For us, the key is education and awareness- if you don't know why you pay the taxes you do, it's challenging to understand how to reduce and defer your taxes.

Between now and January, when you start sending tax documents over for 2023, we have some great tips on how to get started.

8 steps to consider to get ready for next year:

1. Review Last Year's Return: Start by looking over your previous tax return to familiarize yourself with the categories and types of income, deductions, and credits you claimed. This can serve as a guide for what to expect in the upcoming year. Identify any questions or concerns you have.
2. Organize Financial Records: Begin collecting and organizing documents related to your income and expenses. This includes pay stubs, bank and brokerage statements, mortgage interest statements, and other relevant financial records. As a rule of thumb, digital records are best- if you can request access to digital copies, this keeps your costs down.
3. Contribute to Retirement Accounts: Maximize contributions to tax-advantaged retirement accounts like IRAs, 401(k)s, or other pension plans to reduce your taxable income. Reach out to ask about the contribution limits for each Retirement Account to ensure you are maximizing your options here. The typical contribution for Roth IRAs for 2023 is $6,500 this year.
4. Estimate Your Income: Try to estimate your income for the upcoming year. This can help you plan for potential tax liabilities or refunds and adjust your withholding if necessary. You are required to estimate and pay the IRS quarterly throughout the year. Annually, you should conduct the same exercise to ensure no surprises appear later on. We can provide and explain your estimated tax payments.
5. Plan for Large Purchases or Life Events: If you anticipate making a significant purchase, such as a home, or experiencing a life event like marriage, birth of a child, or retirement, understand the potential tax implications and plan accordingly. Toward year-end, it's often wise to assess cash on hand and make a large purchase to decrease taxable income.
6. Set Aside Funds for Tax Payments: If you expect to owe taxes, start setting aside funds now to avoid a surprise bill come tax time. This is especially relevant for those who are self-employed or have other types of irregular income. It's best to err on the side of caution here.
7. Clean Up Your Books: One of the easiest ways to pay less for your tax return and get it done faster is to have your bookkeeping completed, reconciled, and reviewed before tax season comes around. We are happy to help with this- just reach out.
8. Schedule a Consultation with our Tax Professionals: Scheduling an appointment is the best way to talk through all the details of your personal and business life and ensure you are taking advantage of all options available to keep more of your hard-earned money.

We offer tax consulting through the following options:

1. $160/hr or $100/month (3 month minimum)
2. $1,500 for advanced Tax Planning ($3,3468/yr in tax savings is typical for business owners)

We utilize Tax Planner Pro software to provide small business owners with a detailed look at their upcoming tax liabilities and offer strategies for how to lower your tax bill.

This Month’s Small Business Spotlight: SimpleShot, Inc.

Mission Statement

At SimpleShot, our values don't just reflect who we are as a team, but what we stand for and aim to bring to you, our fellow slingshot enthusiast. Together, we are a global team, bringing joy, education, and excellence to the slingshot world.

Our values are:

Honesty and Integrity, Leadership, Community, Joy, and Excellence.

This month (until the 10th), SimpleShot is running an incredible giveaway!

Click here to sign up!

First, Second, and Third place:

Each prize includes a Bug Out Bag, field guides, gloves, belt pouch, canvas pouch, Grim card kit, Survival necklace, Griffin Pocket Tool, slingshots, courses, and a Monkey board. $800+ VALUE

5th - 10th place:

Runners-up win gloves, field guides, assorted pouches, survival cards, courses, coffee, survival gear and, of course, slingshots. $600+ VALUE

11th - 20th place:

Everyone wins courses, a slingshot, and a cool pouch!

Even 20th place is a $300 value.

Reminders

Be sure to check out our valuable small business/tax blog. We now have more than 185 articles!

Also, on Monday 11/6, BenjaminWann.com becomes AccountingProfessor.org . We transitioned our site from SquareSpace to WordPress.

For anyone who isn’t aware, my team at Beagle Run Publishing, LLC specializes in web design, SEO, newsletters, and content marketing for subject matter experts and business owners.

Reach out to see if we can help. I’ve taken several of our portfolio sites from 0 to 10k-100k+ traffic a month in less than a year.

Finally, we are fully staffed now and are looking for new clients. If you know of anyone who can use our help with the following, let me know. I will pay $200 cash for each referral as a thank you.

Also, if we haven’t had a chance to meet yet, let’s make that happen! Book here for free: https://calendly.com/benjamin-wann1/30min