4 ways to reduce stress for small business owners during tax season

But there are smart and easy strategies you can embrace year round to make tax season less stressful. Clover app integrations can automate and keep track of sales and payroll taxes, keeping detailed records, so you don’t have to. Knowing your deductions and keeping them organized throughout the year can ease the burden come tax season. 

Check out these tax filing tips to help reduce tax season stress.

1. Automate sales tax with DAVO

DAVO takes the hassle out of calculating and paying sales tax by managing the whole process for you. First, DAVO connects to your Clover device to pull the tax data from your daily sales. Then your sales tax is automatically set aside and placed into DAVO’s secure holding account, separating your sales tax from your business income. DAVO then pays your sales tax in full from the reserved funds when sales tax comes due each month or quarter. 

DAVO is quick and easy to set up on Clover–it takes about five minutes. And it can save you time, late tax payment penalties, and headaches.

2. Streamline bookkeeping with QuickBooks

As many bookkeepers know, accounting can require a lot of data entry. But QuickBooks integration on your Clover POS streamlines that process, instantly and automatically pulling data from your daily transactions. 

Not having to spend time on manual data entry means you or your bookkeeper can invest time in other, more important, activities that could save or make your business money. QuickBooks automation eliminates the potential for human error, increasing accuracy and reducing liability–especially come tax season. What’s more, QuickBooks makes easy work of year-end reporting, generating reports and tax documents from your business’ data.

3. Simplify payroll with ADP

Ideal for small businesses with up to 50 employees, ADP can help you manage payroll with services customized to your specific needs. You can run ADP from your Clover POS and easily export data to QuickBooks when it’s time for year-end reporting. 

For W-9 employees, payroll taxes are calculated, deducted, and paid automatically each pay cycle. That means you save valuable time and brain power, while reducing your margin for error. ADP also comes with 24/7 support from payroll professionals and offers HR solutions from a single, unified system designed to help you manage employees. 

4. Know your deductions

Small business owners qualify for a host of tax deductions and credits. Depending on your eligibility, that could mean big savings come tax season. And keeping track of them throughout the year will reduce stress when it’s time to file. Here are few common deductions, for starters:

• Taxes – Many taxes you pay over the course of doing business can be deducted as business expenses. These include state tax on gross business income, federal and state payroll taxes, personal property tax on business assets, real estate taxes on business property, and excise tax you pay to the state. 

• Home office and travel expenses – If you run your business from home or work some portion of time from a home office, you may be able to deduct some of your living expenses. Similarly, if you use one or more vehicles for business travel or take work-related trips throughout the year, your travel expenses could be deductible. Be sure to keep track of your travel expenses to make calculating potential deductions easier come tax time. 

• Internet and other utility fees – You can usually deduct monthly charges for the internet service you use to run your business. If you have a separate phone service just for business purposes, that expense would be eligible for deduction as well. If you use one line for both personal and business purposes, you may be able to deduct some percentage of the cost. Set aside utility statements to make it easier to calculate deductions at the end of the year. 

Need a hand organizing your business finances, prepping for tax season, or simply running your business each day? Odds are you’ll find an app in Clover App Market to help. And Clover POS systems are integrated with popular accounting and CRM software to help make tax-time preparation easier.

This information is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial, or tax advice. Readers should contact their attorneys, financial advisors, or tax professionals to obtain advice with respect to any particular matter.

Editorial Team

Accounting, Insights, Money management

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