Does the thought of preparing your small firm’s tax return make you queasy? Do you put it off until the deadline, hoping against hope that it will disappear? You don’t need to go through this anymore. There is now an excellent small business owner’s guide to tax preparation that can aid you to stop procrastinating any longer.

1. Clear the Calendar: Lack of time is the largest contributor for procrastination. After examining your schedule, select one day dedicated to filing your taxes. If this requires closing the business or filling in with additional employees on that day, just do it.
2. Hire a Bookkeeper: If you are overwhelmed at the thought of the work involved in filing your taxes, you may need to hire a bookkeeper. He or she can assist you to organize business concerns, so that April taxes aren’t such a daunting thought.
3. Take a Trip to the Spa: An overlooked way to increase productivity is to reward yourself when you accomplish a tough task. Rewards to consider might include a day at the spa, a massage, a family outing, or any other reasonable thing that will help motivate you.
4. Use Tax Software: Computer software helps automate some of the more routine and tedious aspects of tax preparation. There is a variety of programs available, most of which would have all the forms available that you need to prepare your return.
5. Find an Accounting Professional: The complexity of the financial issues your operation faces will increase as your business grows. Having the right help with your accounting and finances can save you hassle, frustration and mistakes. Accounting professionals can even provide more general business advice such as handling cash flow issues and tax tips.
6. Remember to Pay Yourself: Here’s an easy way to determine just how valuable you are to the company: For the fiscal year, calculate your profit after expenses, then divide the figure by the number of hours you worked. This determines your hourly pay rate. Then, determine your tax refund divided by the number of hours that are required to finish the return. If this amount works out to more than or the same amount as your hourly rate, it will likely be enough to motivate you to prepare the tax return.
7. Apply for an Extension: Most small business owners suffer from overscheduling and a lack of leisure time. Tax deadlines just add to the stress. Consider requesting time extension from the IRS – it will give you the time you need to catch up.
8. Enroll in a Tax Preparation Course: If you don’t know precisely what to do, you may put off filing. You can gain the necessary information and bolster your self-confidence by taking a one-day tax preparation class designed for small business owners. Such classes or workshops, given via the internet, are provided at no charge by the Internal Revenue Service and certain affiliated organizations. They cover such areas as revenues, expenses, e-filing, record keeping, employment taxes, etc.
9. Time for a CFO?: As the company grows, so do its financial matters.  There comes a time when a staff accountant may no longer be enough for the company. The company’s management team may be spending a great deal of time making financial decisions, taking away from their other duties. Or the company, in its quest for additional growth, may desire to offer public stock or raise additional capital. At this point you may want to consider hiring a CFO.
10. Take Baby Steps: Reflect on the start-up of the company. If you had stopped to consider every task necessary to begin the business, you probably would have never have started the business. So, start small. Begin with an easy task like organizing files and continue from that point.

Tax time is never a fun time of year, but the pain created by procrastinating the completion of your tax return is worse. Take that burden and unnecessary guilt off of your shoulders by getting it done without delay and decreasing your April stress level in the process.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.