How To Start Your Own Small Business In Nine Steps
Let’s say you’ve decided to take the leap, quit your soul-sucking office job, and turn your hobby into an actual business. Use this checklist of nine steps to get started. 1) Consult an accountant....
View ArticleMarketing Expenses – What’s Tax Deductible?
UPDATE: Please see the 2015 version of this post here. This is the fourth in a series of posts on tax deductions for small business owners. (The first post is here, which contains some important...
View ArticleThe Good and The Bad of Owning a Business
A friend confided in me recently, “I hate my job and I’d love to talk with you about starting my own business, like you’ve done. Would you be willing to share your insights?” This meme is a very...
View ArticleAvoid These Mistakes So You Can Get Paid
One of the questions I regularly receive from my clients is some variation on the theme of them getting paid by their clients. People are curious about this from both an accounting and a philosophical...
View ArticleForm 1099-K: The Looming Tax Headache for Freelancers
UPDATE: I’ve created a FAQ about Form 1099-K here. ANOTHER UPDATE: The IRS is now issuing notices based on Form 1099-K. Here’s what to do if you receive a notice from the IRS. Last week I went to my...
View ArticleShould You Publish Your Prices?
In his awesome Empire Building Kit, Chris Guillebeau talked about his frustration with service providers who don’t publish prices on their websites. If he can’t easily figure out what he’s going to pay...
View ArticleThe Art of Pricing Your Services
Last week I asked if service providers should publish their prices. There were many good answers to that question, in the comments and on Twitter. There were also many different opinions. That’s...
View ArticleWhy Your $500 Charitable Donation Is Not Tax Deductible
I mostly listen to podcasts while driving in my car. But occasionally I want to hear what’s going on in the news, so I’ll turn my radio to my local NPR affiliate. All during December, the announcers...
View ArticleAre Service Providers A Dying Breed?
NatGeo is one of my favorite TV channels, and I recently checked out the show Doomsday Preppers. I expected wild tales of fringe folks building bunkers and stockpiling MRE’s. Instead I saw (mostly)...
View ArticleFive Reasons To Hire A CPA Now
In case you haven’t already hired a professional tax preparer, or you’re on the fence about it, here are five reasons why I think you should do so. Note that by “professional” I don’t mean the good...
View ArticleForm 1099 K FAQ’s
People from around the country emailed me with questions about the IRS Form 1099-K, and “1099-K” is the single most popular search term for my site to date. I’m told that it’s difficult to figure out...
View ArticleI’ve Just Received an IRS Notice — Now What?
Did you know the IRS sends millions of notices to taxpayers every year? And starting right about now, post-tax-season, the IRS is busily verifying the accuracy of returns and taking action on...
View ArticleDo You Feel Abandoned By Your CPA?
What’s the #1 way to ensure your business grows slower than a ‘73 VW Beetle on its way to a Grateful Dead concert? By abandoning your client or customer at the end of the project or service. Why is...
View ArticleWhat Health Care Reform Means for Self-Employed People
UPDATED 10/1/13: Though this article remains true, you may now go to Healthcare.gov to learn more. The US Supreme Court concluded in a 5-4 decision on June 28th 2012 that the so-called “individual...
View ArticleSix Reasons To Try Xero Accounting Software Today
How did your tax-info-gathering process go this year? Did you spend hours (or days) scrambling to tally shoeboxed receipts for your accountant? Did you go through the assorted hoops of creating a...
View ArticleIndependent Contractor or Employee?
The first article I ever wrote for this site, way back in 2011, was about this subject — the seemingly always relevant and never easily decided matter of worker classification. A few things have...
View ArticleMarketing & Advertising — What’s Tax Deductible?
The most popular article on my site, for some reason, has always been my original post on advertising expenses. Here’s an updated version. Almost any type of business-related advertising is a tax...
View ArticleWhat Makes Travel Expenses Tax Deductible?
Here’s a little pop quiz. Which of these trips are tax deductible? Flying to Vancouver for a 3-day conference, then tacking on a side trip to Whistler for the weekend. Temporarily moving to another...
View ArticleAre Football Tickets Tax Deductible?
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved watching NFL Football. Before we in North Carolina had a home team of our own, I was always a ‘Niners fan. But for the past decade or so, I’ve become what you...
View ArticleThree Bookkeeping Mistakes — And How To Fix Them
Having worked with a variety of small business owners over the years, I’ve seen a lot of bookkeeping mistakes (and sometimes some bona fide big time messes). Many of those mistakes are quite innocent,...
View Article
