Taxes: Do Yours Need Tidying? by Megan Murphy
Ah, the spring…fresh flowers, warmer temperatures, picnics, and taxes. Unfortunately, spring cleaning doesn’t stop at your closet. Especially when 12 million people in the US have income tax extensions, according to Fortune Magazine.
But why are so many people filing for extensions on their tax returns?
“Common reasons for requesting an extension include a lack of organization, unanticipated events or tax planning purposes.” Says TurboTax.
Sometimes we can’t control the reasons listed, but we can control the first. “Lack of organization” is something that you can change and improve upon so there’s no scramble to pay your taxes, ever again.
If you need help working on organizing your finances, then this article from SCORE is a great place to start.
“You cannot improve what you cannot measure.” Crissy Conner says when I spoke to her in an EVA team meeting.
That means you have no way of knowing where your efforts are going – financial or otherwise – until you start tracking your progress; putting it into real, tangible numbers and data.
Until you understand what you’re working with, you won’t be able to see where your strengths and weaknesses are.
This might sound overwhelming and time-consuming. Accounting is a “moving target” as our friends at Sherrington Financial will tell you, in their 3-step financial fitness program.
But let’s think of it like this: if you’re too busy to clean your house, you hire a housekeeper. If you’re too busy to stay on top of your books, you’d hire a bookkeeper.
And that’s where we can help. If your books are in dire need of a good “spring cleaning” first, be sure to have experts like Sherry Herrington’s team help you build a solid foundation first, and then #teameva can keep them maintained and up-to-date so you always know where your business stands.
We have over 50 VAs to choose from!
Someone who can help with your day-to-day tasks or, find a VA to help with taxes, payroll, data collection, record-keeping, paying bills, balancing your household books, and more…
So, stop ignoring your financial questions and plant the seeds of growth this April. Watching your business blossom in the coming quarters will make you glad you did. Not to mention that it will keep the IRS off your back.
I know an audit wasn’t in your Easter plans!
