Paul N. Gada, tax attorney and writer has said,”Tax filing insights can come in various forms, but just about all of them can be grouped into two categories: those dealing with the mechanics of your filing method and those that should be tied to your overall tax planning for the year.”

It may only be October, but it really is time for your clients to start thinking about taxes. In fact, it should be on the agenda all year long. It’s been said that the difference between tax planning and tax filing has to do with what the date is. After December 31st the time for tax planning has come and gone. It’s time to file.

Tax Simplification is Not So Simple

In an article published on CNN:Money back on July 21, 2005, Krysten Crawford said, ” In the nearly two decades since Congress last cleaned up tax laws, more than 14,400 changes have been made to the Internal Revenue Code. Today the code and its myriad regulations take up nearly 100,000 pages – with a word length that is about 10 times the size of the standard English version of the Bible.”

Despite promises to simplyfy the tax code, we still have a very complicated tax system. As congress changes and adjusts the tax code every year, the need to make tax planning a year-round process becomes more and more important. And the need for a small businesses bookkeeper and accountant to be actively engaged in the process is even more critical.

You Can Help Your Clients Plan Now to Save Later

Most small business owners work very hard at the day to day responsibilities of operating a business. They work IN the business and never get around to working ON the business. Especially for small business, keeping sight of the big picture is really important.

Michael Gerber, in his book The E-Myth, states that as a general rule, CEO’s should focus 90% of their time on the coming year and 10% on today. They should work on issues that will improve the business in some way.

I’m convinced that this also applys to tax planning. Often, the daily decisions we make have long-term tax ramifications that need to be considered as the business moves forward. The bookkeeper and accountant are in a unique position to assist the business owner as he works in today and plans for the future.

Look to the Future and Your Clients Will Appreciate Your Value

Many organizations find it very helpful to begin each year with some dedicated time to forecast into the future. Often this envolves sales goals, customer service objectives, large equipment or other purchases, but it should also include how those decisions might impact the company’s tax obligation for the coming year.

As the bookkeeper/accountant you will want to keep up to date on basic tax issues and have a good working relaitonship with the company’s tax accountant to be informed of specific tax issues and how they affect the business. (You might also consider adding Professional Tax Preparation to your list of services to add even greater value to what you might already be doing. Click here to learn more about what Universal Accounting Center can do to help you add Professional Tax Preparation to your Bookkeeping service .)

Planning for Tax Savings in the Future Will Help the Overall Health of the Business Now

The real purpose of forecasting and planning isn’t all about a company’s taxes. (Although taxes should be a big part of it.) It’s all about improving profitability in the long term. Every business needs some sort of planning process, whether it’s a year end session for the coming year or for the next quarter, the next month, or the next week. In his book In the Black:Nine Principles to Make Your Business Profitable, Allen Bostrom gives some important planning questions that need to be asked about the company’s next fiscal year:

• What are your major objectives for next year?
• Will you need new equipment? How much will that cost? How will you pay for it? What are the tax ramifications of purchasing this equipment?
• Which profit centers are really working? Which are not? What changes need to be made?
• Will you need additional people? When? How many?
• What will be the financial and tax impact of the changes, as you are planning for the future?
• How will these plans affect your profitability next year?

Adding Tax Planning Services to You Product Mix Will Help Your Accounting and Bookkeeping Practice be Even More Profitable

The logical “next step” for many Professional Bookkeeping and Accounting Practices is to add Professional Tax Preparation Services to the mix. I feel so strongly about this, that I’d like to offer you a special bundled price if you purchase both the Professional Bookkeeper Program and the Professional Tax Preparer Certification together.

Special Bundle Pricing for Tax Preparation and Accounting/Bookkeeping Training

When you choose to purchase complete business service training, we will give you a significant discount. This includes things to get your business started such as Universal Accounting’s guide to Financing a Small Business, which shows you how to get funding for your business.

Universal Accounting’s Ironclad
100% Money Back Guarantee

You risk nothing!

Become a Full Financial Services Provider