A Tax Accountant Can Help Ease the Pain of the 2017 Tax Season
Preparing your own tax return can be stressful enough, but making sure your business is ready for the tax return deadline is essential. So who you gonna’ call? A tax accountant.
There are plenty of benefits of being the head honcho of a company, but it all comes with the stresses and responsibility of making sure everything important is taken care of. So as a business owner, filing your taxes correctly and punctually should always be a priority.
Some people like to keep things in-house to save what they assume is a fortune, but seeking the help of a small business bookkeeping service or a tax accountant for small businesses could prove to be a huge weight off your shoulders.
So, is your small business ready for the tax return deadline?
Are Your Books in Order?
A looming tax deadline is enough to test the organisational prowess of any business owner. If you’re lax with the orderliness of your books, you’ll find yourself under a lot of pressure to get things organised quickly.
Small business bookkeeping can be approached in some different ways these days, especially with the introduction of software to help. With that said, even if you do decide to keep the bookkeeping in-house, it’s a smart move to get a tax accountant to give it a once-over before you send.
If you — like many other small businesses — decide to seek the bookkeeping services of a qualified tax accountant, you’ll definitely have a lot less to worry about when the tax deadline approaches. Not only will your books be in order, but you’ll have someone knowledgeable to turn to for financial advice.
Don’t Rush the Submission Process
One of the few good things about the process of filing your taxes online or filling out the post form is that you’re not under any pressure to do it all at once. This isn’t an exam with a time limit, so take your time if you want to do it correctly.
The best way to prevent the form becoming an overwhelming task is to complete it in manageable sections. This means that it won’t end up being a hellish task where you find yourself flustered, sweating and making mistakes left, right and centre. Filing your tax return doesn’t need to be a taxing process.
Accounting Software Is a Worthy Investment
As a small business, you’ll be reluctant to spend money on anything that you wouldn’t consider to be a necessity, especially in the early days. Accounting software is an affordable resource that will help you to manage your accounts efficiently and keep accurate records of all of your payments and expenses.
Not only does it relieve you of the stress that comes with a lengthy and complicated ledger, but it also makes life a lot easier when the time comes to file your taxes. By linking the software to your business bank account feed and also providing the login information of your tax return form, you’ll be able to file your taxes from the software itself. This saves you the trouble of transferring it out of the software and then into a separate form.
Even if you have used accounting software to get your finances in order, it’s still worth seeking the services of a tax accountant. Not only will it give you a professional overview of your accounts, but because the accounting software has saved them the job of organising your books, they can use the allotted time you have to discuss other important aspects of your business.
Don’t Leave It until the Last Minute
Everyone has been guilty of leaving something until the last minute at one time or another, whether it was your school homework, exam revision, or a project for university. Unfortunately, as a business owner, leaving anything until the last minute can directly affect your ability to earn money, so it’s time to be proactive instead of procrastinating.
It’s easy enough to put filing your taxes on the backburner if you have more pressing matters to attend to, but a little while before the deadline, you will receive a reminder from the governing body (IRS for the USA, HMRC for the UK, etc.), as well as from your tax accountant. Give yourself enough time to find any documents needed to complete your return, or rectify any other issues or irregularities.
Preparing yourself for a tax return is never the most exciting task, even more so if you happen to be a small business owner. Today, this is made easier with the use of accounting software, or the help of a trusted tax accountant — both of which will prove to be valuable assets for any business owner. But even with this help, making sure you are prepared for your tax return is vital, unless you’re excited about the prospect of paying fines for overdue tax returns.
