KIS & Tell February 2021
Last month was traumatic. I keep thinking things can’t get crazier and try to be optimistic. Well, I give up. If 2021 wants to say to 2020, “hold my beer,” then so be it.
This intro is hard to write because the riot is so huge in my mind. I cannot not address it. Our Capitol was overrun like one of our embassies in the Middle East. (I had watched Argo just a few nights before the 6th.)
I shudder to think of what it would have meant for our entire legal system, markets, and daily life if the rioters had been successful.
As a nation, are we ready to heal? It will come down to each of us individually.
At the same time, I’m in no rush to forgive. I’d be lying if I said I could. I think about the people in my life on the other side of the political spectrum and, honestly, I want nothing to do with them.
For now, I need time to get over my anger. I won’t need distance forever. My plan is to stay quiet. Even if I can’t forgive, I don’t need to inflict revenge.
In case no one has told you this lately, it’s okay to be angry and need time to forgive. We don’t have to move on right away. So if you need permission to take some time, I'm giving it to you. If the best you can do right now is not lash out at one another, that's enough. What happened was horrible and you are completely valid in how you feel.
There’s a quote I heard in a book or a movie, or maybe from Brene Brown, that seems appropriate now. “You have the right to be angry. You do not have the right to be mean.”
Fresh Content
Hot off the press & onto the blog, website, and beyond.
I’ve got two new blogs on business tax planning available for ya, plus a quick calculator. The first covered several tax deductions and planning strategies. The second zeroed in on my top strategy for saving even more on your taxes.
Businesses and individuals pay taxes completely differently. Individuals pay taxes on everything they receive. Businesses get to deduct expenses. That gives businesses more planning opportunities.
My favorite planning opportunity is electing to be taxed as an S-Corporation.
This helps to limit the self-employment tax a business owner pays, which can be thousands of dollars of savings each year. And, unlike buying equipment which you can deduct all in one year, an S-Corp helps you pay fewer taxes every year.
The deadline to elect S-Corp status for 2021 is March 15th. Making the election is simple. But, there are other requirements. Be sure to check out the blog, test the calculator, and let me know if you’re interested.
App of My Eye
I'm always on the lookout for new apps that help make running a business easier! Here are the best finds over the past month.
I’ve been toying with a new accounting app lately. This one is called Greenback. So far, it’s been very helpful in pulling transactions from typically complicated sources, like Etsy, Amazon, and Stripe.
It manipulates the data so it can sync to QBO properly and with the level of detail you’d like. These vendors and marketplaces are tricky.
Take Amazon for instance. Finding the right Amazon receipt is tedious. You can’t rely on the original purchase - because they don’t bill until the item ships. Plus, they may break it up into multiple packages and thus multiple transactions. Greenback does a beautiful
job of pulling the shipping receipt with the items listed, and the right amount. No more complicated, ever-changing email rules or having to log into Amazon directly.
But it gets better! If you sell on a third-party platform, like Etsy, Shopify, or eBay, I highly recommend this app. It handles not only the payments but their complicated expenses as well.
I’ve looked for this kind of “pre-accounting” app before, and I haven’t found anything close. It’s croakin’ awesome! 😆 🐸
Best Reads
I love to learn. Especially with business, there are always new perspectives and information we can benefit from. Here's my latest fav.
Who would have thought that by working from home, most people work **more** and not less? At first, people may be more productive working from home. But over time, it can turn ugly because it can lead to stress. When stress morphs into burn out, you likely aren’t doing your best work.
Even more importantly, it’s bad for your mental health. Anyone who’s experienced burnout or managed someone who did, knows it’s a dark hole.
So how do we prevent this burnout and the root cause? This article offers a few ideas.
My favorite point was to communicate more often. Catching the signs of stress or burnout isn’t easy over Zoom and you can’t replace a connection over email. The best you can do is check-in more often and make a point to ask if someone is okay.
Keep these tips in mind for yourself too, even if you don’t have a team. Stay in touch with a biz buddy, take care of your body, and make sure you take time off.
Practicing Simplicity
Practical tips to simplify your business.
Practice: Use a business bank account.
Rationale: Mixing personal and business funds is a recipe for stress. It can increase your tax prep fees, increase your taxes due (because you missed transactions or misreport something), and undercut any limited liability protection you may have.
Tools: Any financial institution.
Tax Tips
The world of tax is constantly changing. Here's what you need to know.
Didn’t get the Economic Impact Payments or got less than you expected? Don’t worry - there’s still hope!
On your tax return, you’ll want to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. This will cover both payments - the one in the Spring and the second late last year or early this year. In 2020, if you made under $75k for single filers or $150k for joint filers, you qualify for the full amounts.
If you got both payments for the right amounts, you don’t need to do anything.
Out & About
We're going places! Whether it's for networking, client meetings, or personal travels, I love to explore. Here's one recent stop.
Last month, I wrote an article for the Rising Tide Society on business planning. I’m stoked to be included in their January addition (#PublishingGoals).
This article focuses on leading metrics, which are like predictors of success. You reverse engineer your goal into something you can do. This planning method is proactive - it focuses on your efforts. If you can identify the right effort that leads to your goal and do the work, then you’re virtually guaranteed success.
Most financial stats and KPIs are lagging metrics. They say what’s already happened. Profit margin, sales conversion, revenue growth, and churn are all lagging metrics. You either hit your numbers or you didn’t.
Leading metrics are what you do to achieve that KPI target. They put you in control of your destiny. Check out my article for examples, plus how to come up with your own leading metrics.
Kitty Corner
It's probably impossible for me to get through a newsletter without mentioning my furbabies!
I fixed Phoenix! Well, not personally. And she wasn’t broken. She was boy-crazy though and drove us people crazy every four weeks.
Now the little one is resting and recovering from her surgery, in style! Instead of wearing a cone (of shame), she’s wearing a onesie. It looks like long-johns with the little snaps around her hind legs! She bites at the snaps, but hasn’t damaged it or hurt her stitches.
I don’t know if the US has these onesies, but they are so much better than a cone!
On the Horizon
Here's what we'll be focusing on over the next few weeks.
Tax season is gearing up. The IRS will start accepting e-filed returns on the 12th.
Partnership & S-Corp returns are due on Monday, March 15th.
Personal returns are due on Thursday, April 15th.
I’ve got my head down making some last-minute changes to my process. Admittedly, I’m a bit behind schedule. I think it will be worthwhile and I’m excited to hear what my clients think. My goal is to make filing as easy as possible!
Looking forward to calmer times and a busy tax season!