The process of tax preparation can be a bit intimidating for small business owners. With a few simple steps you can avoid problems with your Tax Returns.
We have provided several basic check lists below that will assist you in your year-end preparation.
Save Receipts
Even small purchases should be tracked with receipts. While the government does not require you to keep receipts for expenses less than $75.00, you will have to know the circumstances of the expense. They will want to know where the expense came from and why you needed it for business reasons. Thus, it is much easier to keep a receipt than to remember this information or keep track of it in some other way. Get a file for receipts and put everything in their throughout the year.
Any business expense that is ordinary and necessary can be deducted from your business taxes.
General Year End Preparation
When you get close to the end of the year, there are several things you can do to lower your tax bill.
- Evaluate your cash flow situation and decide whether or not you can afford to make any purchases.
- If you are in a good cash flow situation, it may be to your advantage to purchase some things that you are going to need next year. You could stock up on supplies, pay any bills that you may have or buy new equipment
Remember the more expenses you can generate, the lower you tax burden is going to be.
Year-End Accounting Checklist
Sometimes it helps to have a checklist to follow in order to complete Year-End Tasks. Here are a few things to ask yourself when doing your Year-end financial statements.
- Does my general ledger bank balance reconcile to the bank statement?
- Are there any accounts receivables that are worthless and should be written off?
- Is the company’s inventory balance correctly stated?
- Are there inventory items that cost more than they’re worth and should be written down to their market value?
- Are there any prepaid items that need to be adjusted such as prepaid insurance?
- Have all assets been reviewed for accuracy?
- Have we recorded all of our payables?
- Are there other debts that have not been included on the books?
The last step of the year-end process is to check your sales, cost, and expense accounts. Compare to prior years to see if any increase or decrease is reasonable. If you run across significant changes, you may want to look at the general ledger for that account to ensure the entries are legitimate.
Financial Check List
- Has your life changed? Marriage, a baby, moving or a new job? You may need to change your budget to take these into consideration.
- Retirement Fund. It’s a good idea to contribute as much as you can to tax-advantage plans
- Taxes. Do any recent changes affect you?
- Evaluate your debt. What do you owe? Try to consolidate your bills. The first ones to pay off are those that carry high interest.
- Check your will. Is it up to date? Does it reflect your true wishes?
- Think about insurance. How is your insurance coverage for home or rental, for life and disability?
- What about the children? Talk about establishing an education savings account or taking advantage of a 529 college savings plan.
By Fran McCully
Fran McCully of Your Administrative Solutions specializes in bookkeeping/accounting, database and business-plan development, and human resources. Fran partners with small businesses, mirco companies, solo-preneurs and individuals. To receive your free report, “Know Your Cash Flow,” and discover additional resources from Fran McCully, Financial Strategist and Bookkeeper, please visit http://www.YourAdministrativeSolutions.com
