2019 Filed – what now?
Did you swear last year that this year’s tax return would be different? You would NOT be digging into old bags and pockets digging out receipts at the 11th hour. Did you keep that promise to yourself or like most entrepreneurs I know, did you forget all about your accounts by ‘Black Friday’?
So, you have completed your tax return for 2018 what next? In order for things to change, you need to do something different.
Is it too soon to start thinking of 2019’s?
It may be the last thing you want to do but preparing for 2019 taxes now will help make the process run a lot smoother and less stressful when it comes to filing your return in 2020.
Here are a few tips on what to do to make getting your taxes in on time a lot easier:
Set up your bookkeeping systems:
While there’s more than one way to organise your expense receipts and invoices you do need some form of filing system that will help you keep everything in one place.
A very simple system could be:
- Get 12 document folders
- label each one a different month from January to December
- get out all your invoices and receipts
- put each document into the relevant month
Having all of this done will make it a lot easier to pull together at the end of the year.
Engage with your accountant
Book time with your accountant, make sure they are available to do your accounts earlier in 2020. The sooner you know how well (or badly) you have done in 2019 the better for you to plan for 2020.
Look at Management Accounting
One of the main advantages of doing your accounting monthly is that you get up todate information about your company as and when it is happening. This is vital when you are trying to move you company on to the next level. Finding out if your company has done things right 2 or 3 months after the year end can mean you have wasted the 1st quarter of new year doing the same things as you did wrong last year. Therefore, if you previously made a loss, chances are this pattern will continue unless you change something.
Make it easy
One of the main things my clients tell me is that they don’t know where to start. They are unsure of how to start. That is why I developed my online course ‘Simply Bookkeeping’. This is for the entrepreneur who wants to take 2020 head on and leave all the pain behind.
Simply Bookkeeping
For the entrepreneur that wants to get the basic’s covered before handing over to the accountant – A mini online two week course, ‘Simply Bookkeeping’ shows you how to start, what information to keep and tips on how to make it easier for you. `
Check out ‘Simply Bookkeeping’ here..
Fall in Love with Finance
Dig a little deeper with my 6 week online course ‘Fall in Love with Finance’ which starts with the recording and setting up processes as seen in ‘Simply Bookkeeping’ and then turns these numbers into your monthly accounts.
Check out ‘Fall in Love with Finance’ here..