This week marks the end of another tumultuous tax filing season.
I can’t remember anything like it. With the last minute legislative changes, software update delays, and IRS service issues -- this very well might have been the most disrupted and difficult tax season in decades.
But despite an exhausting tax season, we’re never done, and we’re always here for YOU - including for a business tax return review. More on that in a moment.
We know that it probably hasn’t been easy for your Monroe business either, and we sincerely appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us to guide you through the difficult time we’re living through.
Despite all the challenges in the world right now, we’re incredibly optimistic about the future, and look forward to continuing to work with you as you build a bigger and better business through the rest of 2021 and beyond.
4 Next Steps for Business Tax Return Review
So, let\'s talk about just that (your Monroe business), shall we?
Just because tax season is over doesn’t mean we’re not still here for you.
In fact, right now is a great time to devote yourself to a business tax return review. This means we want to help you look at your business finances and make improvements that’ll put you in a better position for the future. Here are a few “what ifs” to mull over, that we could help you with over the coming months.
Business Tax Return Review Step 1: What if you could reduce some business expenses?
It’s very rare for a business to be operating as lean as it possibly could be. There’s also a point of diminishing returns when it comes to trying to reduce your operating expenses.
But we can help you find a happy medium. Let’s discuss how to:
- Eliminate software that you’re paying for but don’t actually need.
- Identify things that you’re doing yourself that could be done better and cheaper by hiring another company to do it -- and vice versa.
- Seek out ways to reduce the cost of the administrative work that is required to run your business.
- Look at what could be automated in your business -- without sacrificing quality of work.
Some cost reductions are simpler than others. For example, switching company cell phone plans or finding a cheaper credit card processing service are the low-hanging fruit.
But with some analysis, we might be able to help you find other ways to save money without introducing any negatives.
Business Tax Return Review Step 2: What if you could streamline some business processes?
We’ve worked with businesses in a lot of different industries in Monroe over the years. In that time, it’s been interesting to see both the differences and similarities in what makes each type of business “tick.” One of the most fascinating things is that ideas from one industry can often be applied to a totally different industry to make significant improvements in the efficiency of how that business operates.
For example, we can help analyze who does what within your business to ensure you have the right people doing the right tasks. We can also take a look at how information is communicated at all levels of your business, finding ways to reduce unnecessary back-and-forth stuff and eliminating wait times for key decisions. You likely have workflows that can be digitized to make them more efficient, too. These are just basic examples of the type of process improvements we can help you out with
Around here, we like to say that Efficient Business = Profitable Business. We can help you evaluate some of your business processes to identify areas for improvement helping your business become more profitable. And all without paying the insane management consulting fees that a giant consulting firm would charge you!
Business Tax Return Review Step 3: What if you could increase your prices?
You may have noticed that the prices of everything from food to lumber to used cars has gone up lately. While Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve recently shared that these price increases are short-term as the economy reopens, I think it’s easy to see that some prices will never come back down. And many of you in Monroe are feeling this.
When was the last time you evaluated your own prices for your Ouachita business? If it’s been a while, let’s talk about it. Your supply costs have likely increased, as have your labor costs. Not to mention the fact that you need to increase your own net profits in order to maintain your own lifestyle as costs go up around you. So, let’s take a serious look at all the inputs into your business and determine whether it’s time to raise your prices and exactly how much.
Business Tax Return Review Step 4: What if you could build up some cash reserves?
A year ago, many small businesses were running really, really tight. In fact, news articles at the time showed that most small businesses had only 29 days of cash on hand. That meant when lockdowns hit, they didn’t have the cash reserves to survive.
If your business had an emergency fund, then your business could weather most short-term economic shocks. If you’ve ever seen gigantic corporations report taking multi-billion dollar losses during a quarter and wondered how on earth they can do that, it’s because they either:
- Have huge cash reserves, or
- Have access to huge lines of credit.
As an example, a little computer company you may have heard of called Apple has over $195 billion in cash on hand. That’s…wow… Yeah, that’s a LOT of money. It’s so much money that it’s hard to envision anything being able to destroy Apple as a company, short of an asteroid obliterating the entire planet.
While you may not need to hoard that much cash, wouldn’t it be nice to have a 3-6 month cushion in case something else happens? That’s definitely a conversation worth having.
So, just because your business tax return is filed and done, doesn’t mean there isn’t still work to be done. There are plenty of ways that we can help your Ouachita business going forward. Schedule a meeting here:
https://calendly.com/dgriggscpa
To getting things done,
David Griggs