Small Business Services
Owning and operating a small business can be exciting. While we’d all like to be busy, small business start-ups are oftentimes rather slow and the owners are able to accomplish some of the tedious paperwork on their own.
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Bookkeeping
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Accounting
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Payroll
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Payroll reports
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W2’s and 1099’s at the end of the year
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Sales Tax Returns
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Local Meals Tax Returns
This is just some of the paperwork that is required for most businesses. When you don’t want to tackle these on your own, you hire professionals. We provide all of those services to allow you to do what you do best; run your business. We keep you compliant with all of the various federal, state and local government agencies. Our goal is to free you up to either have more personal time for yourself or to allow you time to focus on more important income-producing tasks.
Lisa and John are our resident experts at these services
and are available for consulting.
So you're thinking about starting a business?
One of the biggest problems we see is that the business owner doesn't take this very seriously.
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Running your own business is a serious matter. Whether you're working out of your home in a party-sales plan, or have a store front location with employees, there can be repercussions for not doing things correct.
​Recordkeeping is just as important as working the business itself. If you don't have time to keep accurate records, then don't go into business.
​The IRS would love to take the opinion that you have a hobby, not a business. A business should have a profit motive. The IRS will want to make sure that you have some experience in the new venture. They will want to make sure you're putting in the requisite amount of time into the business. The potential for profit, should far overshadow the enjoyment you get from your new business. If the IRS determines that you have a hobby, then you'll be stuck claiming all of your income, and will be very limited to writing off any expenses. Most hobbies can't deduct
ANY expenses.
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​Develop a business plan. Have an idea of where your sales/income/expenses should be at different intervals in the future. If you fall far behind the plan, then give serious consideration to finding another type of business to start.
​All income should be recorded. There is no minimum that doesn't need to be reported. Keep up with your cash sales, credit card sales, checks written to you, PayPal..everything.
​Then, at the end of the year, be prepared to produce all of your expenses. Some folks use professional software. Others use an Excel spreadsheet. And still others simply write down the amounts spent on the various expense categories. We have Excel worksheets on this website to assist you.
Here is a checklist of things to do when starting a business:
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Develop a business plan.​
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Determine which business ​​​entity is correct for you:
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Sole Proprietor
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LLC
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S Corp
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C Corp
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Partnership
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Secure a business license. Some localities may not require one.
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Start a separate bank account. Deposit some funds to get it started. Always use the business account, rather than your personal account.
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If needed, obtain a Federal ID Number. Many times, none is needed.
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Set goals for your business. Adhere to your plan.
Determine which business entity is correct for you
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​​​A sole proprietor is the simplest, and most common business entity. A federal ID number is often not needed. The tax return is completed on your personal tax return. The ONLY time a federal ID number would be needed would be if you have employees.
​Many times, taxpayers want to protect themselves against liability, and form a Limited Liability Company, or LLC. We can't offer an opinion on this, as we are NOT attorneys, and would never offer legal advice. We can however, recommend attorneys who set up business entities. We would encourage everyone to use a professional to assist with setting up any type of business entity. Remember, presumably you're setting up the LLC to protect yourself personally, from the actions of your business. Why take a chance, and find out you've done something incorrectly?
​A Subchapter S Corporation is a "tax friendly" entity. Whenever a business is really profitable, we like to consider converting your business to an SCorp. This entity is taxed differently, and provides some tax benefits.
​A Corporation is another choice, though we rarely recommend. Corporations are taxed at a higher rate, and thus we don't recommend them very often.