So You Survived Tax Season—Now What?
So you’ve finished your taxes—hooray! While it is good riddance to another stormy pandemic tax season, there is more upkeep to secure. As a business, you need to leave no stone unturned and prepare for what’s next—government compliance, making sure all your financial houses are in order, stress prevention, and ensuring you’re tax ready for next year.
Now that you have finished your taxes, here’s what to do:
Set Boundaries to Prevent Tax Burnout
Business taxpayers need to maintain their sanity—after all, their role requires minimal error and a lot of pressure. Tax burnout can be relentless, and now finance professionals are actively seeking new career opportunities due to the inconsistent pandemic-related tax regulations.
To shore up for next year, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to recover post-tax season. Running a company is hard—completing taxes quickly and accurately for your company is even more challenging. Create boundaries with colleagues and make sure you can carve out a healthy work-life balance.
Ensure All Your Financial Houses are in Order
By keeping your financial houses in order, you’re protecting your business.
After your business files its taxes, you should keep your returns for seven years. There is always the chance of an audit on returns, and the IRS has about 3-6 years to conduct an audit. Keep your bases covered by holding onto tax returns and ensuring proper documentation is ready and available.
Bills and receipts are also crucial to the audit process. Should any deductions be reviewed, you will want to have those invoices available to the IRS. To ensure that you’re audit-ready, reconciling your tax documents will save you time and potential headaches when the audit comes. Be sure to keep these documents available for seven years as well.
Compliance with the Government
With the upswing in tax regulatory changes, achieving compliance can be challenging. Be sure to have all your records for audits or any tax complications that may surface. As long as you keep all your necessary documents and accurately file your business taxes, you will avoid fines and penalties.
Annual tax filing is due in the Spring, but you may have applied for an extension like many businesses. To achieve government compliance, complete the correct forms for an extension request. Keep your finance team up-to-date on the extension to maintain efficiency and visibility in their tax workflow.
Harnessing the Power of Automation
Now that you’ve survived tax season, how can you prepare better for next year? There is no need for employees to do more work than they need to—the right software can help to ensure that you’re tax-ready.
By implementing modern technology that automates the reconciliation process, you’re preventing more errors from occurring and expediting the drudgery of maintaining a paper trail. A robust tech stack will help you jumpstart your tax process, which is especially necessary for remote workforces.
Finally, automation helps you avoid tax burnout. Taxes are a heavy burden for a company, and one error can lead to dire consequences. Technology reduces error-prone manual processes and enables your finance team to achieve compliance.
Next year, implement a solution that:
- Provides automatic updates and backups
- Provides security for essential documents and reduces fraud risk
- Utilize electronic signatures, so your suppliers can sign remotely
- Provides a self-service portal that easily guides suppliers through submitting contact information, banking details, and tax forms
Breathe—You’re Doing Great
Tax season doesn’t have to be scary, and it doesn’t have to be exhausting. We are in a world where tax regulations are constantly changing, and businesses are becoming empowered to modernize their workflows to keep up. Partnering with a software solution that streamlines all processes allows your finance team to tackle tax season while catching some much-needed shut-eye.
