One Thing to Set Up in Your Office Now as a Small Business Owner or Anyone Who Pays Taxes

It is the beginning of a new year and there is one thing that you need to set up now as a small business owner or anyone who pays taxes, a tax folder. As receipts and anything tax related come in throughout the year, put it in this file. That way at the end of tax season you have everything you need in one place. I have been doing this for years and years and it is SO helpful at the end of the year. I can't tell you how many small business owners and people we help every year that can't find all of their tax info they need to file taxes so we come in and help them get organized and makes things more efficient. 

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Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

How to Organize Your Taxes for Small Business Owners

As an organizer I should be organized when it comes to my taxes. I just recently streamlined my accounting and man is it SO much better. I do have an accountant here in Houston that I have been utilizing for years, but all my prep work was done manually. Running a concierge business and doing a ton of personal assistant tasks and buying product for clients and projects, is something I am always doing, so I have to keep track of receipts, etc.

This is probably one of my least favorite things to do. It can be dreadful and stressful. BUT if you start keeping up with it at the beginning of the year it can be stress free and a breeze. As a business owner, and probably like most business owners, I absolutely hate how much we have to pay in taxes every year. I pay quarterly so I don't get the penalty fee. Below are some simple steps and there are all kinds of posts out there that go over

1. Keep Records - You can keep them in a desktop file organizer, in a file cabinet, a box, a binder, etc. Just keep everything all in one place because it will make things so much easier. 
1. Invoices
2. Expenses
3. Receipts of everything related to your job
4. Contractor info
5. Bills
6. Insurance info
7. Office expenses including mortgage/rent, utilities, etc
2. Know what deductions you can and can't have. I found this website through another blog post and thought it was super helpful. Take advantage of all of your deductions because you will want the tax break :)
3. Keep good records. This is absolutely key in order to not miss anything and stay on top of everything. Keep track of everything
4. Streamline your accounting. I just recently did this and its AWESOME!
5. Keep your email organized. For me, since I am getting more and more receipts via email so I keep things separated in a receipt folder within my email. It makes it so easy to print them and find the proper receipts.
6. Prep & review your taxes monthly or quarterly. In the business review everything that needs to  printed, entered, etc. what you need on a schedule so it isn't so daunting at the end of the year. 
7. Make quarterly IRS payments. If you want to avoid fees make quarterly IRS payments. I have been doing this for years and it saves the you the headache of having to pay taxes in one large lump sum.
8. Donate. You are helping charities PLUS getting tax deductions. It's a win-win.
9. Utilize apps. There are so many apps out there to help you streamline your business life. In January I read this article that goes over some helpful apps for small businesses. I just started using Wave to streamline my accounting systems and absolutely love it so far.
10. Contribute to a retirement fund. Contribute to a retirement fund so you are set for when you want to retire. 
11. Hire an accountant. I have an accountant that does my taxes because they are the ones that are aware of any new laws, etc. Plus, I hand everything off and it is awesome.
12. Have a beer! You are all organized, your taxes are paid and now you can relax.

Organizing Taxes

Organizing tax information can be such a draining thing for some people because there can be a TON of paper work involved, especially for self employed individuals. Here is how I like to organize taxes (pictures below), I actually have several different clients that use this exact system and I recently switched to this way as well (not really sure why I didn't do it sooner). I help others get organized all the time and by the time I get home sometimes I'm just too tired to think about what I need to do at home. 

What you need:

• Half file boxes that you can find at an office supply store
• Hanging files that you can find at an office supply store
• Label Maker
• Taxes (of course)

It's super easy to put together if your taxes are already divided up by year. 

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