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Two Helpful Tax-Time Solutions to Implement Now
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Two Helpful Tax-Time Solutions to Implement Now

Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs, Taxes

Two Helpful Tax-Time Solutions to Implement Now

Planning ahead for tax season pays off. Whether you’re chugging along on this year’s taxes or all done, here are a couple tips you can apply to prep for tax time, any time of year.

Set Money Aside Ahead of Time

I’ve spoken with many business owners who’ve told me they regretted not setting aside money for taxes. Some also tell me they were initially surprised by the additional self employment tax. Clients often come to me after they’ve been hit with the tax bill. At this point, we have to pay off the tax debt and save for this year’s taxes. Doing both is tough, and can make a real financial mess for new business owners.

To solve this problem, I recommend two things. First, work with a tax preparer or bookkeeper who will help estimate a percentage to be held out for taxes. You can read more of my advice about working with a bookkeeper here. Putting money aside will help avoid that nasty surprise. This can also be a precursor to implementing the Profit First system, which is designed to keep your business prepared to pay its expenses, and pay you a fair wage.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can also read my article 5 Steps to Prepare for Tax Time. Although recovery from this type of situation needs to be thorough, it’s a chance to implement new and better systems and get your business organized.

Learn to Read Your Quickbooks Reports

Bookkeeping is essentially a simple process, but it requires attention to detail. Whether you DIY your bookkeeping or work with a professional, hours can be saved by learning to read your QuickBooks reports. This can help you double check whether you’re entering everything correctly, or whether there’s any mistakes. Sometimes when I work with clients, we have a big mess on our hands that can be traced back to a few minor errors. Reading your reports regularly helps prevent this! If you’re interested in learning more, I offer QuickBooks trainings and love helping small business owners understand their finances better.

If you enjoyed this article and would like more insights into your business finances, subscribe to my newsletter! You’ll receive my weekly blog posts along with a monthly tailored newsletter that includes relevant financial tips for small business owners.

By Angela Keller|2022-03-21T12:26:24-07:00March 21st, 2022|Categories: Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs, Taxes|Tags: bookkeeping, business mistakes, get organized, hiring a professional, Profit First, profit first implementation, QuickBooks, QuickBooks reports, self employment tax, solopreneur pitfalls, stay organized, tax prep, tax preparation|0 Comments

How to Invest in Your Business At Exactly The Right Time

Once you’ve gotten the ball rolling with your business, it can be difficult to chart a clear path forward. Running a business is full of constant decision making, and often it can be tempting to just stick with what works, without trying to expand. However, with a few strategic moves, your business can meet the income goals you want it to reach. But what are they? The thought of spending the money for a certain marketing plan, or hiring a coach only to find little return on your investment, often plagues business owners. How do you know when the time is right to invest in your business?

As part of my series on financial mistakes business owners have made early on in their businesses, today I’m exploring when to take the leap and spend for business success. For other posts in this series, check out the articles on tax prep, pricing, and hiring a bookkeeper. Let’s jump in:

The Mistake

When should you invest in your business? Doing so at the wrong time and not doing so at all can be equally debilitating for your business. I’ve noticed this in the business journeys of quite a few of my clients.

The Solution

Knowing when to take the leap to invest in your business, to spend on marketing or hire an employee, can be tough. These decisions can become clearer through working with an advisor to review the costs and benefits and also by using the Profit First system for guidelines around spending for operational expenses or for expansion. You can read more about the Profit First system by downloading the first 5 chapters of the book, or by exploring my page on the theory, and the allocations calculator.

I hope these thoughts have been useful! If you’re interested in investing in your business but don’t know where to start, check out my Service Packages. I offer guidance on exactly these sorts of things. I’m also offering an accounting reboot session for anyone using Quickbooks Online as an end-of-year special. It can make a huge difference and help you identify trends in your business finances.

Angela

By Angela Keller|2019-11-23T00:39:48-08:00November 23rd, 2019|Categories: Money Mindset, Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: business expenses, business mistakes, invest in your business, operating costs, operating expenses, solopreneur pitfalls|0 Comments

Don’t Let Your Taxes Sneak Up On You, Do This Instead

Taxes don’t come out of nowhere, yet somehow it’s easy for us as business owners to get caught unprepared. As both a bookkeeper and financial coach, I see this often, but it has a simple fix. This month I’m reviewing mistakes women told me they learned from early on in their solopreneur careers. Let’s unpack this one:

The Mistake

One woman I spoke with told me she regretted not setting aside money for taxes. Some women also told me they were initially surprised by the additional self employment tax. Clients often come to me after they’ve been hit with the tax bill. At this point, we have to pay off the tax debt and save for this year’s taxes. Doing both is tough, and can make a real financial mess for new business owners.

The Solution

To solve this problem, I recommend two things. First, work with a tax preparer or bookkeeper who will help estimate a percentage to be held out for taxes. You can read more of my advice about working with a bookkeeper here. Putting money aside will help avoid that nasty surprise. This can also be a precursor to implementing the Profit First system, which is designed to keep your business prepared to pay its expenses, and pay you a fair wage. If you want to go the extra mile, you can also read my article 5 Steps to Prepare for Tax Time.

Although recovery from this type of situation needs to be thorough, it’s a chance to implement new and better systems and get your business organized. I hope you appreciated these insights, stay tuned for next week’s article!

Angela

By Angela Keller|2021-05-24T10:36:42-07:00October 22nd, 2019|Categories: Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs, Taxes|Tags: business mistakes, get organized, hiring a professional, Profit First, profit first implementation, self employment tax, solopreneur pitfalls, stay organized, tax prep, tax preparation|0 Comments