WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT NOW?

Fall has arrived, kids are in school, taxes have been filed (or are soon to be filed). It's tempting to sit back and relax but before you know it, Holidays arrive and the new year is here. Here are a few simple things you should do now - before the end of the year.

1) Get your books caught up! Accountants are usually more available this time of year to help with bookkeeping or special cleanup projects. Many of us give discounts to help motivate new clients to get this completed because once the new year comes around, we jump into tax mode pretty quickly. If you already have someone taking care of your bookkeeping, schedue a meeting to meet with them to review your YTD activity. As the business owner, you probably have a pretty good idea how this year compares to prior years. Everything the accounant explains should make sense. If it doesn't, you have time to find the answer.

2) Work with your accountant to project your year-end tax liability. Your 2023 tax liability should not be a surprise. I hate when my clients owe a lot of money but I would rather tell them in October that they have a large balance due than to surprise them with that information on the day the return is due. The projection should also include a discussion about tax strategies that you can do before the end of the year to help reduce your taxes.

3) Get W9s from your Vendors. You may be required to prepare 1099s to vendors who provide services to your business. While there are some exceptions, your get-out-of-jail-free card is the W9. You simply email your vendors the W9 and request that they are completed and returned to you. Your accountant will have all the information needed to complete this annual requirement. We generally recommend that the W9 be sent to all new vendors before any payments are made to them.

Completing these tasks are not difficult but pay off tenfold on the stress meter in the following year. It is a win-win for you and your accountant. Any questions that come up are going to be limited to the last few months of the year which makes them easy to remember and easy to resolve. Trust me, you will be your accountant's favorite client.