By Steven Aldrich, CEO of Outright.com
Take a Photo of Your Home Office
If you were planning on taking the home office deduction, you’ll need a photo of it for your records. IRS Publication 587 is the document that describes this deduction.
Take Note of Inventory & Donate Old Stuff
Get an accurate picture of your current inventory by years end so you have it come tax time. Doing it now will only make it less painful later. Stagnant inventory takes up space and can get ruined. Can you donate it? If so, you can write off the cost which in turn equals tax savings!
Spend More Money
After December 31st and the fiscal cliff, expense amounts drop from $139,000 to $25,000. But things now what your business may need come next year.
Prepare the Books Now
Look for a way to automate keeping track of income and expenses. Start being more organized come January 1st so that you are consistent for the full year.
Learn From 2013 to Ace 2013
Can you ask for a discount from your biggest vendors? Don’t be afraid to. Understand what your strengths and weaknesses were in 2012 so you can improve in 2013.
About Steven Aldrich: Steven loves small businesses. He had a paper route as a kid. Later he and 2 friends ran a small business in college picking up and storing other kids’ stuff for the summer. After grad school he founded a web company to simplify the process for shopping for insurance. Steven’s Dad, who researches what makes entrepreneurs successful, warned Allison – at the time Steven’s fiancé – that the likelihood of success for any start-up was low. Steven started the business anyway (and Allison married him). After that business was acquired, he spent over a decade at Intuit building solutions to help small businesses get paid, use the web to grow their businesses, and run their stores more easily. Outside of Outright, Steven is President of the Board of the Bay Area Glass Institute (www.BAGI.org), a non-profit glass studio, and enjoys spending time with Allison and their son, Jackson, at many sports and arts events.
Visit : http://www.outright.com
Category: Features
