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This is Episode 35 of This Old New Business weekly business podcast with Jeff Korhan.
Paying taxes is one of the unavoidable responsibilities that every small business owner shares, and it turns out that the challenges involved are often the same, regardless of the industry.
In this episode Barbara Weltman offers guidance and better practices developed from decades of work focused on helping companies manage their small business taxes, so they can maximize the profits they keep.
Our Featured Guest: Barbara Weltman
Barbara Weltman is an attorney and a nationally recognized expert in taxation for small businesses, as well as the author of many top-selling books on taxes and finance, including J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2015: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line.
Organize Your Business for Simplicity
Paying the right amount of taxes requires good record keeping. If yours is a small business, you can accomplish much of this yourself by organizing for simplicity to streamline recordkeeping and reporting for tax purposes.
Banks usually stay away from people who have bad credits. This includes those who have canceled credit cards due to the failure to repay, closed accounts due to bounced checks, unpaid debts and many others. Even if I don’t know how can i get a loan with very bad credit and no guarantor, this information is not immediately divulged during loan application, banks and lending firms still have a way to determine the credit background of the applicant.
According to the National Small Business Association (NSBA) and https://nationaldebtadvice.org.uk/, 86% of small businesses use paid tax preparers to file their returns. Barbara says, “The best tax strategy is to run your business like a business.” Your job as a small business owner is to organize your business for simplicity so that you can run it well.
In this episode we discuss recording the annual minutes and other information that communicates professionalism to the IRS should your business encounter an audit. Careless and inconsistent bookkeeping will not only attract an audit, but also increase the likelihood of paying additioanal taxes and penalties.
To pay the right amount of taxes it’s essential to be well informed for making the right decisisions when running your business, because your tax preparer doesn’t always know what you don’t know. You’ll find Barbara’s book to be both a handy planning guide and a useful reference.
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Lighting Round Tips and Advice
Barbara’s Top Tax Advice – Plan ahead to pay the right amount of estimated taxes on time. This keeps your business in good standing with the IRS and effectively manages cash flow.
Her Favorite Productivity Tip – Use one of the many mobile apps that scan receipts and integrate with accounting or tax management software.
A Quote that has Inspired Barbara’s Success – “An investment in knowledge pays the best return.” Benjamin Franklin
Key Take-Aways
- You can access free tax resources from Barbara at BarbaraWeltman.com, including here Daily Idea of the Day and Month Newsletter.
- Get a copy of J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2015 at Barbara’s website, Amazon, or wherever books are sold.
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About the Author: Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.
He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+
