Too Many Small Business Owners Spend The Holidays Fighting Tax Anxiety

While some people are cheerfully preparing for the holidays, small business owners around the country are fighting back the anxiety brewing in the back of their minds about tax season. And much of the cheer they muster quickly fizzles as the new year and that other season approaches. The problem stems from thinking about the tax man coming once a year — like a warped version of Santa Claus.

As the eggnog is passed around, small business owners wonder where they put that receipt for the supplies they purchased in June and repeatedly remind themselves to figure out the mileage for all those trips to the post office they never got around to tracking. “Next year,” they think. “I will be better prepared for tax season next year.”

But as small businesses evolve and grow, there’s less time to organize receipts and calculate mileage. Small business owners never have more time “next year.” And all this anxiety too often leads to late filings and penalties that small businesses can ill afford.

Anxiety Over Taxes Is Real

Tax anxiety is so pervasive that Psychology Today gave this phobia a name: forosophobia, which translates from Greek to tax (foros) fear (phobia). And people respond to this fear differently. Some are quite happy to do tasks leading up to completing their taxes but can’t actually cross the finish line because of their anxiety. Others resort to endless excuses to procrastinate, finding the task so daunting they can’t face any part of it.

At Hurdlr, we help small business owners avoid forosophobia by helping them address taxes without all the hurdles and excuses — or the dread and anxiety. Our technology helps people track and plan for meeting ongoing tax requirements without having to sacrifice valuable time gathering documents and planning.

Making Taxes a Minor Ongoing Task

An essential step in overcoming tax anxiety is for all of us to think and speak of it as an ongoing business responsibility, like ordering supplies or paying the electric bill, rather than a one-time annual event.

No one wants to spend their time fearing and dreading taxes throughout the year — and especially not during the holidays.

With the right accounting and tax solution, which could easily be embedded within online banking or a fintech’s platform, small business owners could have real-time access to their current financial status anytime — including taxes owed, expenses, deductions, and more. And it doesn’t have to be difficult to provide these services.

Hurdlr Helps Banks and Fintechs Help Their Customers

The Hurdlr solution to tax anxiety is to make it a simple and frictionless process that happens almost in the background. Small business owners don’t have to think about tracking expenses, tax deductions or tax estimates. We automate the tax prep process year-round — removing the related anxiety that often comes with it.

Banks and fintechs that serve small business customers can seamlessly embed Hurdlr’s features in their platforms, on a white-label basis, simplifying ongoing bookkeeping and tax prep for their customers and helping them maximize their deductions.

If you work for or use a bank or fintech service that doesn’t provide a solution for year-round accounting, bookkeeping, and taxes, share Hurdlr Enterprise with them. Our API can make any business banking experience better by providing customers with a way to manage their business finances and track taxes without anxiety or the need for procrastination.

If we can help make 2023 a year without tax anxiety, it will indeed be a Happy New Year.