Today's Guest

Learn more about the sexy side of tax planning and how to bulletproof your taxes so you keep smiling year-round. Mike Jesowshek, CPA is the founder of JETRO and Associates a Digital Milwaukee Accounting Firm. Mike shares his tips on how to modernize your accounting practices so you can be more successful and find ways to maximize your tax deductions. 

Follow on Social:

Episode Summary

The biggest mistake we see small business owners make when it comes to taxes and accounting is failing to plan. Most people look at taxes as something you do in April. However, to truly save yourself on taxes you need to look at your activities throughout the year and create a plan to minimize your after-tax dollars where possible. If you only do taxes during tax season you are likely paying more taxes than you should.

You don’t have to be scared of an audit, keeping good records is the key to quickly resolving most IRS questions. Many of the clients we see that have received an audit inquiry from the IRS just need to provide the supporting information requested and the issue is resolved. We like to help our clients create bulletproof tax plans by following a simple record-keeping process. One trick to keep your files organized is to take a picture of receipts and put them into folders on your computer. You can organize them by a vendor, date, or whatever makes sense for your business. The key is that it is digital and organized in a way that you can find those receipts easily. 

When it comes to tax planning the primary concept you want to think about is how do I turn after-tax dollars into pre-tax dollars. Look at the ways you are spending after-tax dollars today and see if there are ways to turn any of those expenses into legitimate business deductions. 

We also help with retirement planning which generally fits into two buckets either retirement planning for the business owner or retirement savings for employees. There are a lot of options out there such as a solo 401k, SEP IRA, traditional 401k, safe harbor 401k, and many more. The main two questions you want to ask yourself are what is the goal of your retirement program and how much can you afford to save. Also, retirement accounts are a great way to get a tax deduction for you as a business owner. 

The key to being successful at bookkeeping is to do it and do it regularly. There are two primary reasons we do bookkeeping, the first is to prepare and file tax returns but the second reason is to use the information to help us become more successful. You can look at trends going on in your business and create strategies to maximize cash flow or capitalize on opportunities. 

Resources Shared

• Small Business Tax Savings Podcasts
• JETRO Small Business Accountants
• Xero Accounting Software
• Quickbooks Online
  

Listener Reviews