Category Archives: Tax Planning and Consulting

Owning a small business, being the boss, making all the decisions are dreams come true for any Phoenix entrepreneur. Many people day dream about opening a business. Others make those dreams come true by following the path to business ownership.

Most businesses are started because of the driving passion and ambition of the owner. Before letting the passion take over, there are three major components of business ownership that every potential entrepreneur needs to consider before hanging an open sign on the door.

Researching and developing a business plan, determining finances and taxes, and looking at the legal side of owning a business are vital to long-term success to any size or type of business. 

1.     Researching and Developing a Business Plan 

The business plan is important to setting many of the procedures, techniques, and operations of a business. All business plans should include the following:

• Market research to determine the need for the product, pricing structures, and delivery methods
• Realizing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Risks (called a SWOT analysis)
• A marketing plan for how are the products/services are going to be promoted
• A growth plan showing what the next 3, 5, or 10 years look like
• Personnel needs at startup and as growth occurs
• Specifics of an office or brick and mortar store front that includes size, location, rents and furnishing, etc.
• Projected first year sales, expenses, and profit margins?
• Financing, investments, taxes, and other money matters
• Legal factors such as naming, type of business (corporation, Limited Liability Corporation, Partnership), and licensing needed

2.     Financing and Taxes 

After researching and developing a business plan, the next step is to detail the financing and taxes section. The following list is a starting point for determining all the money details.

• Detail all financing matters such as investors, loans, and credit cards
• Projection of cash flow details such as how customers will be billed and what billing terms will be given to customers such as net due in 15 or 30 days
• Projected monthly profits
• Projected monthly expenses
• Bookkeeping
• Tax payment schedules
• Payroll particulars such as how often to pay employees, benefits offered, and who processes payroll
• Accounting practices for the office including computer software to help manage and monitor cash in and cash out
• Weekly, Monthly and/or Yearly Tax preparation and filings

3.     Legal, Business Forms and Insurance

There are many decisions business owners have to make from the moment he or she decides to go into business for themselves until the day the business is sold, closed, or as it grows. The list below contains the legal aspects of opening a business.

• Selecting a business name that is unique and legal
• Determining business structure such as sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company, Cooperative, Corporation, Partnership, or S Corporation. Each type has its benefits and downfalls. It helps to consult an attorney to determine the best structure for a particular type of business.
• What types of insurance is needed for the business such as renter’s insurance, employee insurance, health or life insurance, consumer protection insurance, etc.
• How to file patents or copyrights
• Obtaining any all of the necessary licensing

Keep the Passion Alive

Many business owners tend to get put off by some of these details (especially the accounting and tax tasks) and would rather ignore them than to address them. Most of the details listed above are one time decisions while others have to be continually updated like the business plan.

Laying the ground work before starting the business is always the best way to approach these items. There will be time for the business owner to pursue their passions of making or providing the products and services that will always remain the foundation of any business.

We wish you much success, and if you are looking for tax advice or business accounting help from an experienced CPA in Arizona, please reach out to our Mesa office.

Monthly Accounting Services Benefits for AZ Business Owners

Are you overwhelmed with trying to run your day to day operations, manage your employees, generate new sales and also stay on top of your books? Stressing over tax laws, profit and loss statements, and learning the correct documents to file with the tax authorities is done much easier with the assistance of a quality small business accountant! A number of factors affect business taxes such as health insurance, 401K plans, payroll, depreciation, inventory, etc- and it can be confusing for the business owner!

Financial reporting is essential but most businesses prefer focusing on the growth of the business rather than concentrating on tax codes, and keeping books. However, unpaid taxes cause many problems for business owners. Therefore, having professionals manage your financials and monitor your tax situation is the best way to avoid delinquency and tax fines.

Plus, when financial information is necessary for loans, audits and inventory, accountants are skilled at knowing what information you should have organized for accurate tax assessments.

4 BENEFITS of using our monthly accounting service:

1. After we are done with our monthly work, your company’s financial health can be seen at a quick glance.
2. Year-end summaries are less difficult to acquire because they are up to date on a monthly basis.
3. Individual taxes: Besides small businesses, our local CPA firm prepares annual taxes for individuals, trusts, and estates.
4. Less stress: our knowledge, education and experience working with small business owners means that our clients are compliant with Federal and state tax law.  

As your business grows, your needs will change. New employees are hired, inventory grows, and finances increase and the need for accounting services for your small business will grow accordingly too!

Summer time means tax time…Successful Businesses invest time to develop prudent tax planning strategies in the slow season

Yes, summer in Arizona brings a sudden decrease in revenues for many retail businesses and restaurants – which can be tremendously painful to our bank accounts!  But if you have been in business for a length of time, you already know how the “AZ Summer Slowness” can actually work to our advantage long-term. Since summer is often slow, it  means that we business owners can dedicate much needed time to focus on US, and our own businesses! Besides recharging our batteries, summer  gives us time to strategize, re-organize, plan and prepare for the upcoming business season.

Summer is an excellent time to talk business tax strategies, revenue growth and tax planning with us….. before it gets busy again – when you only enough time to keep your head above water.

Meet an Arizona small business tax accountant who works with many types of Phoenix area businesses

Sean Core CPA PLLC works extensively with small businesses in many industries, and retail businesses are one of our specialties. We understand that even the most successful small businesses owners don’t always have the time or expertise to master the fine points of inventory management, and we’re here to help. We provide a full range of business tax and accounting services, new business start-up planning, business entity consultation, financial planning, payroll and tax return preparation.

Many new retailers don’t fully understand how the lifeblood of their business—buying and selling inventory—is treated by the IRS for income tax purposes. If you pay an employee, or buy an advertisement, or purchase a qualifying piece of equipment for your store, that’s usually a deductible business expense. But when you receive a shipment of inventory and write a check to your vendor, you have not incurred a deductible expense. Instead, you’ve “traded” one business asset (cash) for another asset (inventory). You don’t deduct the cost of your inventory until you sell it, when the price you paid becomes part of your Cost of Goods Sold calculation.

As the owner of a retail store or other product-based business, you probably devote most of your time and energy to marketing your business, engaging with customers, and making sure you have the right product mix and stock level to ensure a smooth—and profitable—flow of inventory. This isn’t always easy, especially if your retail business deals with seasonal fluctuations of product supply and customer demand. How do you manage your inventory so you always have just the right product mix and stock level, sourced from the best vendors at the most favorable terms possible?

Our local small business tax accountant team excel at giving retail entrepreneurs the accounting and tax-planning tools you need to be successful. Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve your business goals and dreams.  We  know… it is hard to believe it in this Arizona heat, but fall “busy-time” is right around the corner!