Is your Home Based Business ready for Tax Time?

Is your Home Based Business ready for Tax Time?

The April deadline is coming up as if you didn’t know. If you haven’t got your taxes going, it’s getting late — especially if you plan to hand them off to a CPA.
Here is one thing to note. A lot of CPA’s will not accept your work after April 1st because of their own workload. They may already have so many clients who have waited that they know they just can’t realistically accept any more work. This can really leave you in a bind if you depend on accountants (as a lot of us home based businesses do).
Even if you hand your taxes over today, it’s kind of late. So if you are a ‘waiter’ at least make sure everything is in order. The easier you can make your Accountant’s job, the more easily they will be able to turn your work around before April 17.
What to do to get ready? The biggest thing is to make sure your QuickBooks file (or other accounting software) has everything posted for the prior year. Most accountants don’t need to see receipts or printouts, but they will rely heavily on your QuickBooks accounting records for their figures. So make sure it reflects an accurate picture of the year’s transactions.
Those paper files you do need to give to them might include things like 1099 forms and W2’s. It’s best to make copies and give those to your accountant — retaining the originals. You will need the originals to send anyway and there is no sense taking the risk of letting them get lost in the accountants office. A risk by the way, that is much higher this time year because of their workload.  Lastly, give them your cell phone number and make yourself available to answer any questions they might have.
So if you haven’t dealt with your 2007 taxes it’s time to get on the ball. If you can’t make the April 17th deadline or your accounting professional can’t take on your work at this time, speak with your accountant about filing an extension.