It’s a difficult job, running a small business. It takes a savvy business mind to keep track of all the ins and outs and while you – the business owner – is busy looking at the bigger business picture, you can easily overlook a few things.
The thing is, forgetting certain business expenses can cause you big tax headaches. Preparing for every eventuality is the job of every business owner, and even when things get busy you need to keep on top of expenses. Keeping your expenses in check is important for tax reasons and also understanding what you can deduct with your taxes will help your long term budget. Check out our list of expenses that small business owners should never forget about:
- Paperwork can be one of the mountains a business owner gets buried under! The problem with being under a shower of paperwork is what can get lost along the way. Client and customer contracts, staff contracts, legal licenses – all these things can get forgotten about and end up costing your company money. Every time you sign a piece of paper, there is a legal implication behind it that will cost you if you haven’t accounted for it.
- Employees are vital to your business as you expand. Figuring out how much they will cost you should be a straightforward issue. The thing is, they will cost you far more than you expect. On top of their salaries, you’ll have benefits, bonuses, taxes and other additions that happen throughout the year. You also need to factor in the costs of training and replacing employees who choose to leave. The time you spend training new people will go toward time spent away from other areas of the business.
- Corporate cleaning services, catering services and other outsourced business will always have additional costs. Granted, these are things you’ll need for your business to run smoothly, but you shouldn’t forget about them when you are putting together your business plan and budget. It’s easy to lose track of contracts you pay if you aren’t organised and that is precisely why you need to keep up with all company expenses.
- Planning for emergency expenses is vital. You cannot control office flooding or fire at the best of times, but you can control how quickly it can all be fixed. If you have a back-up fund, you can prepare for all eventualities. It’s often that companies do plan ahead, but if you haven’t it’s time to start now. Emergency budgets don’t have to be huge, as you can build on them over time.
Things will often go wrong in a small business, it’s how your company learns and adapts. Sometimes these happen due to human error and can be easily solved, and sometimes these mistakes happen because of depending on human factors. There will always be expenses that you need to pay out for your company, but if you make a point of planning ahead, your company can thrive regardless.
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