Don’t Skip These Business Year-Enders

Don’t Skip These Business Year-Enders

 It’s a fact, there’s only a few weeks left of the year, and they will likely be hectic for you and your business. Before you dive into the holiday season and relax, it’s important to get your business in good shape for tax season—or you’ll be feeling the pain come January. Here’s a list of business “year–enders” that you should tackle now so you can enter 2017 feeling in control and stress-free.

1. Determine employee bonus payments and withhold the required tax amounts.
If you’re rewarding your employees with bonuses, don’t forget about tax. Bonuses are subject to income tax withholding, FICA and FUTA taxes—just like regular pay.

2. Pay your vendors and contractors in full by year end.
For contractors, you may have to submit a W-9 form, and you’ll also need to give each contractor a 1099-MISC form by January 31.

3. Prepare your records for local, state and federal payroll.
Make sure you have everything up-to-date and comply with all payroll regulations, including any recent changes.

4. Review your balance sheet and profit and loss statement.
Taking a look at your assets, liabilities and equities will give you an idea of how well your business performed this year and help you identify any areas that you need to improve. In addition, your income statement will list each revenue-generating item, along with your tax-deductible expenses. This is a useful way to look at your profit and loss for the year.

5. Analyze your cash Flow.
Use cash reports to understand how much cash you have on hand. Cash flow is crucial, so if you’re having trouble controlling it, please reach out to our firm for help.

6. Tally up your estimated tax payments for the year.
If your business is like most small businesses, you’ve paid quarterly estimated tax payments throughout the year. Keep track of what you’ve paid, so that you have those numbers ready for your taxes and so you know how much you’ll owe after year end.

7. Review all of your payroll information.
Now’s the time to make sure that you have all of your employee information current and securely stored. In addition, make sure that you have the people who work for you correctly classified to avoid a payroll audit and penalties.

8. Take stock of how well you met your goals for the year.
Take some time to consider if you achieved everything you intended to last year. If so, great. If not, try to find out why. Making goals for the coming year can help keep you motivated as your business grows. Review them regularly to stay on track.

These “year-enders” are important steps to help you prepare to close out 2016 and look ahead to the coming year. Once you’ve checked off the list, enjoy some well deserved downtime.

Source: Xero.com