Folsom, CA Small Business Accountants
At Cook CPA Group, we specialize in helping local businesses in Folsom, learn about our many services and get in touch with us today!
Owning and operating your own business is a challenging and rewarding endeavor. You have control over the goods and services that you provide to your community, but it often means spending lots of time and energy. If you’re a small business owner, you probably don’t want to spend too much time thinking about your taxes if your time is better spent making decisions that benefit you and your customers.
Small business owners are encouraged to get in touch with an accountant who specializes in the needs of small businesses. The Folsom small business accountants from Cook CPA Group are available to help small businesses with the tax planning and preparation services they need to reduce liabilities and increase the number of deductions and credits they claim. To learn more about Cook CPA Group’s services, call (916) 432-2218 today.
Accounting Services for Small Businesses
The accountants from Cook CPA Group are eager to help small businesses with all of their accounting needs. The following are services that we can provide to small businesses in the Folsom, California area.
Bank Reconciliation
Cook CPA Group can reconcile your business checking account to make sure that your records are accurate and up-to-date. Reconciling your bank accounts (which is done each month), allows us to identify lost checks and deposits and to check for unauthorized wire transactions, which can prevent embezzlement of funds from your company. Through bank reconciliations, we can also detect unjustified charges early on and make sure that the transactions are correctly posted to your account.
Income Statements and Balance Sheets
You can use an income statement, which is an amount of profit made or lost in a certain period, to keep track of the health of your business. An income statement allows you to: track the expenses necessary to operate your business, assess whether or not you are adhering to budgets, identify terms and conditions that are leading you to spend more than you need to, track increases and decreases in costs of goods, and to determine your company’s tax liability.
Balance sheets are similar to income statements in that they help businesses get a snapshot of their financial condition at any moment in time. Your business can use a balance sheet to reach a broader scope of the financial strengths and capabilities of your business, identify and examine trends in receivables and payables, and assess whether your business is in a financial position to expand.
Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
Allow an accountant to review your company’s general ledger (the crux of your company’s financial records) every month to identify discrepancies in billing and unrecorded payments. An accountant can reconcile any discrepancies in your general ledger to ensure accuracy for other financial needs, including tax planning and preparation.
Tax Planning and Preparation for Small Businesses
Planning and preparing for taxes are the most important of all the services an accountant can offer to small businesses. The following are tax planning and preparation services that our accountants can provide to small businesses in Folsom, California.
Tax Planning
Small business owners have options when it comes to their tax planning strategy. The one that works best for them depends on their tax situation and the industry in which they operate. Regardless of the tax planning strategy they choose, they can work with an accountant to achieve the following goals: reducing their amount of taxable income, lowering their overall tax rate, claiming credits and deductions they qualify for, controlling the ways they are affected by the Alternative Minimum Tax, and avoiding common tax planning mistakes.
To make an achievable tax plan for the future, small business owners should have projections of their sales revenue, income, and cash flow for the next few years. Small businesses can work with experienced accountants to assess the state of their current taxes, set goals for the future, and understand the limitations set by the Internal Revenue Code.
Claiming Important Expenses and Deductions
An accountant can work with your small business to save money on your taxes by maximizing expenses and claiming important deductions. One significant, commonly overlooked expense is the business entertainment expense. If you discussed business with a client, investor, or other parties relevant to your business before, during, or after a meal, you can deduct that meal. The surroundings must be conducive to a business discussion, such as a small or quiet restaurant, to qualify. Small businesses can deduct up to 50% of entertainment expenses, as long as documentation can be provided.
Small businesses often fail to claim their business automobile deduction. Your small business can deduct the miles driven to conduct business, but make sure you keep an accurate and consistent log of the miles you’ve traveled. Also, many small businesses fail to take advantage of their home office deduction, which they can qualify for if they use a designated part of their home to conduct business operations. To be eligible for the home office deduction, make sure to keep receipts of all home office supplies and equipment you purchase.
Folsom, CA Small Business Accountants
If your small business needs assistance with its taxes and other accounting needs, get in touch with the Sacramento accountants from Cook CPA Group. The accountants from Cook CPA Group can put their expertise to use to guide and assist small business owners as they pay their local, state, and federal taxes.