It may not even be Halloween yet, but it’s already time to start thinking about your year-end financials and tax preparations for 2024. The better prepared you are, the easier it will be for your bookkeeper and tax preparer to do their jobs. 

Here is the general checklist I give clients, whether they are self-employed or an S-Corp.

I’m no stranger to discussing numbers on the blog, but they usually involve the expenses side of a business. This month, I want to discuss the other side of the equation—the revenue side. 

People start a business for many different reasons. Those reasons often involve serving an underserved population or providing products that people need. The entrepreneur’s reasons are usually bigger than just making a profit. 

However, if your business continually spends more money than it takes in, it won’t be a business for long. In order to be successful in business, you have to provide a product or service that people want.

Picture this: It’s December. The weather has turned cold, and the holidays are all abuzz. You’re in the middle of checking things off your Christmas list. Your family is making plans for how they're going to spend the last few weeks of the year, and you are looking forward to some well-deserved time off. As a small business owner, you sit down and run your Profit & Loss report. Looking back over the past 11 months, you marvel at the huge profit your wildly successful business has made. 

But wait! You think. That huge profit is going to turn into a huge tax bill next April! What should I do? Is there any way to reduce that potential tax bill?

When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you tell them? Do you share just your job title or take it a step further and explain how what you do makes a difference for your clients? 

I wanted to take this opportunity as we enter into the last quarter of the year to reintroduce myself and show you how I can help. Today I want to answer the question, "What does your business do and why should they care?"

My whole reason for starting this business was to help other small business owners keep better track of their finances. When I did tax returns in public accounting, I saw so many small business owners bringing in boxes of receipts, or worse, nothing at all, and wanting to have their taxes done. They were overwhelmed, exhausted, and completely unaware of how their business was actually doing. My heart went out to these hardworking folks.

Even my logo, an open book that resembles a bird in flight, (designed by a fellow small business owner and client, Casey Weatherford of Kind Creative Co.) represents the freedom you experience when your bookkeeping is up to date and accurate.

My primary services are:

• Bookkeeping for startups, small businesses, and independent contractors, 

• Payroll for all three client types, and 

• QuickBooks installation and clean-up. 

I do these so that you can

Save time – I do all three of these services to take work off your plate, which allows you time to run your business and spend more time with your family. 

Breath easier – finances are tough no matter what type of business you have and having a professional accountant helps you know the work is not only getting done, but getting completed accurately. 

Run your business – I touched on this briefly already, but being able to outsource an often tedious and difficult task to a fellow small business owner allows you to do what you do best, which is operate your business and work with your customers. 

Trust your results – Payroll, payroll and business taxes, bookkeeping, and all the other financial aspects of running a business offers plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. With a professional doing the work for you, you can trust your results and know that you are going to be in compliance with the IRS, the state, and your stakeholders. 

Are you ready to start fresh this month and go into 2024 with a solid plan? I’d love to help you with your bookkeeping, whether you need help cleaning it up or starting fresh. Give me a call!