Entrepreneur Tax Tip III: 5 Quick Tips to Get Ready Now!
You may be confused as to why this post is coming out now that the tax deadline has passed. To that, we answer, 2013’s has passed, yes. But 2014’s is on its way!
That’s why we’re going to give 5 quick tips, adopted from Amrik Andhawa, Entrepreneur columnist, to help next tax season go easier (full article here).
1. Get organized
Amrik, entrepreneur and product developer himself, suggests having standardized formatting for invoices and other legal documents as well as designating a good place to keep necessary documents, more than just a shoebox or plastic bag.
2. Get reconciled
This will save a lot of headache come year end and truthfully, it’s just good business practice for cash flow planning!
3. Review quarterly payments
Amrik suggests, “This exercise can help you get budget for what you might owe or what sort of refund you might get, and it gives your accountant some useful benchmarks when it’s time to prep returns.” This will help eliminate that unpleasant surprise of owing much more tax money than expected.
4. Keep track of legal paperwork
Specifically, keep good track of the W9’s. This can get messy when needing to issue year end 1099’s to contracted work over $600. This ties into number 1, but hey, it’s important, so we can reiterate.
5. Consistently keep books
Keeping books, like keeping reconciled is important not only to your business decision making but for making tax season easier. The more prepared you are for your accountant/tax preparer, the smoother the process will go.
Can you imagine a stress free tax season? Well, here are 5 small tips to making everything much more manageable. Then, while competition is bogged down doing paperwork, you’re out making sales.
We’re here to help, so please don’t forget to include your tax professionals here at GQLaw. Good luck!