It's Year End Time - Prep for a Brighter 2015

By: Stan Washington

Date: December 23, 2014

 "Merry Christmas" and Happy Holiday's, but don't stop yet. Have you prepared for taxes yet? Calculating year end is a great way to plan for 2015. Here are a few tips:

Keep a record of your transactions

Always keep an accurate record of your transactions. Whether it’s for an annual tax payment, a yearly audit, or just assessing your balance sheet, keeping a record of your debit and credits can prove to be very important further on down the line.

Keep personal and business accounts separate

Separating your personal accounts from your business accounts will save you from confusion and protect your business in case of a tax audit. By keeping everything separate, you will be able to manage bills and taxes more efficiently.

Protect your personal assets

It’s important that you take action to protect your personal assets, failure to do so may give creditors access to personal assets such as your house car etc. to pay for any debts. Many entrepreneurs put all of their assets on the line, and if their business fails, they don’t recover anything. But there are a number of ways to minimize any risk; you can do this by formal a legal business entity that will provide you with liability protection.

Save as much as possible

You should try to save as much money as possible each month, whether it’s in a bank or assets to recoup any unfortunate liabilities which may arise in the future. Investing in assets that will provide a return will also make your money work for your business.

Plan your finances

Financial planning is more important than ever. It will determine how much money you will need to meet your financial goals and objectives.Accountants are your closest allies when it comes to strategically planning and managing your finances. If you don’t have the budget to hire the services of an accountant, consider using online accountancy software.

Know your financial situation

You should monitor the financial progress of your business on a weekly basis. You should also know exactly how much money you have in the bank, the amount of sales your making and how much stock you have left. At the end of every month you should review your financial position against the targets that were set in your business plan.

Find a reliable bank to partner your business

If you have a limited amount of capital, you should find a reliable bank that are able to provide you with the right financial help without paying high interest rates. It’s also recommended that you open a checking account. But only use the checking account for business purposes.

Charge what your worth

This can be tough for some businesses. Don’t try to undercut other businesses just to get extra work in, charge what you feel your products or services are worth.

Meet tax deadlines

Failure to submit tax returns and payments on time can be very costly as you’ll incur hefty fines and daily charges. These are unnecessary costs that you can avoid via forward planning. There are a number of ways that you can reduce your tax reliabilities and it’s important that you get the correct tax advice to ensure you take full advantage of them.

Chase any unpaid debts

If you have any unpaid debts, don’t just leave them. It’s your money that’s tied up in someone else’s business and it’s likely that you’re not in business to finance theirs. You can write your own first reminder and final demand letters, but if this doesn’t get you anywhere you may need to use a debt collection service.

Tabulate Your Cashflow, Payables and Income

Have you calculated your cashflow on a regular basis. In other words, how much cash do you have in the bank? For those of you who use Honor Services Office, you can run annual cashflow, income and expense reports to start the year knowing how much you have. Use the auto bookkeeping to understand where you are financially in 2015.