Taking Care of the Numbers

December is upon us so it’s time to think about wrapping up your bookkeeping. If you’re already organized and up-to-date, this is a good time to check in with your CPA (or other professional tax preparer). They can do a quick review and give you an estimate of what your tax obligations will be along with any possible tax saving ideas.

If you need some help getting (or staying) organized, here are some things to help you.

1. Reconcile bank statements. This helps make sure you have recorded all of your income and expenses. Include all of your checking and savings accounts along with any credit cards your business uses. I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that your business should have its own credit card.

2. Have you invoiced your customers for all of the goods and services you have provided to them? You want to make sure you get paid what you are owed.

3. If you have invoiced your cutomers, make sure thay have paid on time. Implement a system for following up with them if they haven’t paid. You want to keep the cash flowing in!

4. Review your expenses and the categories they’re in. You want to make sure you have everything in the right place since different items can have a different tax treatment. For example, Meals recorded under Office Supplies will cause a problem since only half of what you spend on meals is tax-deductible.

5. Don’t forget mileage. You have been keeping a log all year recording your business miles, haven’t you? If not, start now and you’ll be in the habit come January.

This should give you a good starting point to make sure you’re bookkeeping is organized and complete when it’s time to wrap everything up on December 31.