Spring is around the corner, which means that we, along with our CPA friends, are living, eating, and breathing tax season. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is our busiest time of year… compounded by the fact that COVID-19 has caused things to change wildly and quickly. Nothing like a global pandemic curveball just weeks before taxes are due (looking at you, 2020).
This time of year means that we’re endlessly organizing your important documents and financial data to ensure that when we hand it all over to your CPA in a nice, neat little package, all of our “i”s are dotted and our “t”s are crossed.
You’ve no doubt seen the memes out there about how stressed out people in our industry are at tax season. You may also notice that we don’t post them. Because YES tax season is busy, but that doesn’t mean we’re sacrificing our whole lives to get your taxes done. That’s where preparation and technology *ahem, QuickBooks* come in.
BUT, if you’re wondering why it seems so crazy… we’re covering all of the reasons tax season seems like never ending deadlines.
The Bookkeeper’s Superbowl
Let’s start with the very beginning of tax season: January. When suddenly everyone looks around and goes “Crap. Where are all of my financial documents?” Coincidentally, this happens for us at the same time as what we like to call the “Bookkeeper’s Superbowl.”
To put this in perspective, there are 17 deadlines in January alone – and they all fall on only two dates: January 17th and January 31st. Hitting all of these deadlines means that we need information from our clients ASAP. If you feel like we’re constantly bugging you in January, that’s why.
While all of this is going on, we’re also preparing year-end statements, scheduling planning meetings for the year ahead, and fielding calls between our clients and their accountants to make sure that we’re hitting deadlines for ALL types of business owners and contractors.
It’s a whirlwind – but it’s one that we love and one that’s critical for us to get right.
How We Prepare for The Tax Season Craziness
Because tax season is our busy season, we spend the months leading up to it in preparation mode.
We review all of the financial documents that you’ve already submitted, figure out what’s left to hunt down, and make sure that everything is ready to go in QuickBooks Online so that when your accountant asks for it, we can pull it up. It’s like *magic*
We also spend a lot of time researching and learning leading up to tax season. We have to know which laws have changed, what new tax breaks exist, and if any deadlines have been moved around.
As a quick aside, even if dates are moved/extended, we recommend submitting all of your documentation as early as humanly possible. Working with the IRS is a game of hurry up and wait. The faster you sprint to that finish line, the sooner you stand to get any return back, especially with how backed up the IRS is right now.
What we absolutely DON’T do is rush through tax season. Your taxes and your business are too important to us; we want to make sure that everything is correct. We love tax season here because we have processes and systems in place that allow us to be prepared to tackle everything without the additional stress.
The sad fact that there are accountants that drop dead from stress every tax season. At Hill Bookkeeping, we absolutely refuse to have anyone on our team become part of that sad statistic. So while, yes, our schedules are busy, we also protect our time off to rest and recharge as individuals and spend quality time with our families.
How You Can Help Us Help You During Tax Season
We expect to be busy this time of year and honestly, we enjoy it. It means we’re helping businesses look to the future and take care of their financial well being. BUT we can’t do it without our clients’ help.
Here’s what we need from you:
- Send over your documentation in full and on time
- Keep a close eye on your inbox for any correspondence from us
- Let us know if ANYTHING changes so we can be prepared to advise you in the best way possible!
Together, we can make tax season go MUCH more smoothly. Questions about your taxes? Reach out to us today to see how 15 years of experience can make a big difference.
