Six months into 2018 and I think I speak for most of us when I say bring on the summer activities! But wait - as much as I want us all to enjoy the fun in the sun, I've got to say, this is also the perfect time to start reviewing your finances.
We talked in May about the four things you should do between tax seasons, but the six month mark is an especially good time to go over where you stand in your accounting and tax status for a few reasons that I'll outline below:
YOU HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING YET.
April 2019 comes quickly but not fast enough to keep everything that happened throughout 2018 in your head. If you haven't been tracking accurately, summer is the perfect time to round up what's happened year to date and include it in your income + expense transactions. Those Uber trips and parking charges are long forgotten by the time you're pulling info together for the IRS, and you deserve to claim every charge you're entitled to.
SUMMER VACATIONS ARE HAPPENING.
Traveling for your business? You can claim those expenses! Your travel, lodging, and even meals are cause for deduction celebration if they are related to your business. That includes business trips for meetings, conferences, and trainings as related to the products and services that you offer. Make sure to keep support documents (i.e. receipts, invoices, email confirmations of payment) to use as backup.
THERE IS STILL TIME TO GET ON TRACK.
It's never too late to get your accounting affairs in order but waiting too long can lead to headaches and stress while trying to go back to pull everything together. Summer is a good checkpoint to see where you stand in both your finances and your work system. Don't have a cloud accounting system yet? Haven't paid estimated taxes? No financial statement review this year? Now is the time to stop and take time to look into those items and put them in place to take care of you for on the back end of the year. It takes time and effort but your business will thank you for it.
Take the time to review the state of your business accounting and finances and see where changes can be made.
It may turn out you're already on track! On the other hand, this time may serve as a reminder to check into what you can do differently to add value and create growth for your business for the last half of the year. Better late than never, right?
👋🏾 We’re Little Fish Accounting, a firm that goes beyond the numbers to provide concierge-level care. Our advisory services enables our clients to make strategic decisions for their business, achieving big results with small teams. Interested in learning more? Check out our suite of service offerings.
We also have a podcast, Build to Enough, where we explore practices for sustainably building a business that is aligned with your purpose and values. Let us help you to redefine what success looks like. For more, check out our services below.
💼 Our Services | https://www.littlefishaccounting.com/services
🎙 Build to Enough Podcast | www.littlefishaccounting.com/podcast
DISCLAIMER: I am an accountant, not your accountant. Please speak with a professional about your specific accounting and tax needs before putting any of the aforementioned tips into practice.