This may seem like an unusual time for this post, but really it is spot on. I have been wrapping up the year and part of that is prepping for our tax filing. As a small business owner, this can be a very daunting task. And if you aren’t careful you can make mistakes that cost you a lot of money and possibly even lead to an audit later. So today, I am sharing three things that helped me streamline our tax prep! Be sure to take advantage now so that you can start 2018 off on the right foot!!
1. MILE IQ-
The biggest tax write-off that most people mess up is their mileage! I failed with mileage for a long time. I would either forget to keep track of it and struggle to remember what I drove, or I would forget to take an odometer read at the beginning of each year and remember in APRIL! It was bad. And it messed me up a few times. And then I found MILE IQ!! I have never looked back! This tool is so easy and it does all the work for me. ON January First, it prompts me first thing to update my odometer read. You can even set it up for multiple vehicles if needed! And then it tracks EVERY drive I make and allows me to file it as business or personal. You can leave notes and even track car maintenance and other things if you want within the app. But for me, just having my drives logged correctly made all the difference. And then at the end of the year I get a yearly mileage report that I put with my earrings for our tax meeting. Easy and DONE! GO SIGN UP TODAY using this link!
2. MINT-
I was so hesitant about this one for a long time. Mostly because I didn’t want to put all my stuff online in one place, but after reading rave reviews and having lots of friends endorse it, we signed up for MINT. I love having the ability to have ALL our accounts (student loans, credit cards, bank accounts, and even mortgage) easily accesible in one spot. I can see what we have and what we owe. What does this have to do with my business? We linked our business accounts too and each time I make a deposit, I can classify it (weddings, portraits, print sales, album sales, etc) and each time we make an expense I can categorize it too (office supplies, fees, education, travel, marketing, etc) to match up the tax filing categories we use. And at anytime I can pull up a pie chart of where my income comes from and see the break down. We can also see where we spend the most money. It is awesome! And makes tax filing super easy too! It took me a while to get everything set-up and logged in but it is so worthwhile! One of my favorite features is the tracking of fees paid. That is one tax item I missed for the first few years of my business. But you can deduct fees (bank fees, credit card processing fees, paypal fees, etc) on your taxes too and Mint automatically logs them in the system!
3. SEPERATE BUSINESS ACCOUNTS
The moment I started my business, I opened a business checking account. I wanted a way to keep everything separate. All income goes into there and all business expenses come out of there. We have a business savings as well that we use to save for gear, put aside money for big expense, etc. Having it all separate from my personal account is just another way to show my accountant all the info easily and also serves as great documentation in case of an audit. Instead of digging through receipts from multiple places, it is all in one spot.
BONUS TIP- USE A CPA!
And lastly, if you own a business. PLEASE USE A PROFESSIONAL TO HELP YOU! They can save you tons of money in the long run and help you make good decisions that will keep your business thriving.
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