Tax day is coming — here’s how to reduce your SMB’s tax liability.
February 1, 2023
Today marks the start of Black History Month in the U.S., so for your reading pleasure, check out marketing advisor Lola Bakare’s article on what your Black employees wish you would and wouldn’t do for Black History Month.
Hot off the SMB press this week:
- Hot tips for saving your SMB some money this tax season.
- Advice on scaling your business in 2023 from the pros.
- Podcast wisdom in 10 minutes or less.
But first, here are some headlines that caught our attention this week.
TL; DR
This week's highlight reel
- Money doesn’t grow on trees, but… apparently, it prefers shipping. Yep, FedEx launched its small business grant contest yesterday. Up for grabs: over $300K in prize money. The time to throw your hat into the ring? Now.
- Robots killed the radio star. DALL-E. ChatGPT. MusicLM? That’s the name of Google’s latest AI. Its superpower? Generating musical pieces from text prompts. It’s not available to the public (yet), but you can listen to some of the musical compositions it’s already created. Your Spotify Unwrapped will never know what hit it.
- Don’t call it an “internship.” It’s a returnship. And it’s more than just some new business jargon you’ll be throwing around the office snack bin. Big companies are instituting these new temporary jobs (think: internships for mid-career professionals) to help those reentering the workforce after an extended period of time off. The case for returnships? They can help employers drive gender diversity — especially in the case of mothers who’ve left the workforce to care for kids.
- Your Superbowl party called. And it requested the presence of Hormel’s new chili cheese beer. And that’s all we have to say about that.
TAX DAY COMETH
7 money-saving tips for SMBs on tax day
Just a friendly reminder:
The U.S. business tax filing date is coming — and it’s coming soon. In fact, we’re talking about a matter of weeks:
- March 15 (for partnerships, S-corporations, and multi-member LLCs).
- April 18 (for sole proprietors, C-corporations, and single-member LLCs).
That means that it’s time to take a look at your business’ tax situation and figure out how much you owe the IRS.
But did you know…
You can potentially save yourself quite a bit of dough? In fact, there are a ton of ways for small business owners to reduce their tax liability every year.
The bad news: The IRS doesn’t make it easy to file taxes, especially for businesses. So, how can you save the most money without wading through piles of paperwork? Fret no more — here are seven of the best ways for small businesses to save money on their taxes:
1. Fund retirement plans.
You can get some pretty sweet tax savings by setting up and funding a retirement account through your business. The IRS recognizes several retirement savings accounts (including Simplified Employee Pension Plans and one-participant 401(k)s) that can help you maximize your retirement savings and get you some nice tax deductions.
Even if the tax year has ended, you can still make retirement account contributions and reduce your total taxes for that year. Plus, setting up an employee retirement plan can save your business money on employee payroll taxes (under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act).
2. Set money aside for healthcare needs.
Healthcare isn’t cheap — the good news is that as a business owner, you can lower your taxes by setting aside some cash for your healthcare needs.
If you’re self-employed, you may be able to deduct some — if not all — of your health insurance premiums from your tax bill. And if you set up a Health Savings Account (HSA), you get a triple tax advantage — your HSA contributions are considered pre-tax, grow tax-free, and can be withdrawn for qualified medical expenses tax-free.
👉 Read on for info on tax credits and 4 other tax-saving tips.
BUSINESS GAINZ
Top Tips for Scaling Your Business in 2023
It’s time to take the business to the moon. 🚀
So. Your business is ready to take the next steps towards growth. 2023 is THE YEAR. You can feel it.
But… what’s the best way to scale your company efficiently and effectively so that you’re ready for all of that unbridled growth heading your way? We asked our top six Trainual Certified Consultants their advice for small business owners looking to start 2023 on a strong note and hit their goals. And since these are the top six out of nearly 400 Certified Consultants, you know this advice is top-shelf.
Well, let’s get started!
First up:
1. Don’t rely on common sense when it comes to documenting your processes.
That nugget comes from our top certified consultant Connie S. Falls. “There is no such thing as common sense,” says Connie. “There is only documentation.” Meaning, when you’re documenting your company’s processes, you can’t rely on what you think is common knowledge if you want your team to execute those processes the right way. Be as specific as possible with your documentation — don’t assume anything is common knowledge when you write down the process.
2. Reduce your financial risk by standardizing your processes.
When people think of reducing financial risk, slashing expenses is typically the first response. But our number two ranked certified consultant, Chris Gwinn, suggests there are more powerful ways to do that.
“Become more lean by standardizing your operations,” says Chris. By coming up with standard processes of what you do well in your company, it’s easy to bank on getting consistent results every time. That means steadier revenue — and less financial risk. Chris also suggests documenting those standard processes in a system like Trainual that can help get your team aligned on executing those processes in the correct way.
👉 Read on for the rest of our consultants’ tips.
LOOK MA, WE MADE A PODCAST
This week on Organize Chaos
Some of the best things in life come in small packages. Like, the fun size candy bars you buy for trick-or-treaters (and end up eating yourself). The New York Times’ daily mini crossword (because the full version is a commitment). And Organize Chaos episodes (business tips and tricks in less than 10 minutes? Sold.).
Throughout the week, founder and CEO of Trainual, Chris Ronzio, offers up free entrepreneurial and small business leadership advice on the podcast, covering everything from people to processes to productivity — and how to organize your life around it all. The best part? Each bite-sized episode is less than 10 minutes.
Check out some of our most recent episodes:
