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| 16 Ways to Make Filing Business Taxes Easier Posted: 30 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST  Tax time usually sees businesses trying to get their affairs in order so they can file on time. With the ease of online tax filing, and the ability to pay for tax consultancy and even enterprise-level accounting online, companies have a far easier time filing their taxes than in previous generations. Despite this, businesses still end up in situations where they can only manage to file taxes a few days before they're due, or miss the deadlines entirely and end up having to pay penalties. Avoiding this requires organization: Putting systems in place to aid the creation of relevant documents improves a company's ability to file taxes quickly and correctly. After all, as with all items that hinge on information, the more you know, the better prepared you are to handle the challenge. Most businesses have structures in place for preparing taxes. Some of them simply outsource the job, while others have internal auditing departments that help them get their taxes sorted out well before the deadline. To find out more about what works, we asked 16 professionals from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what a company should do to make filing taxes less of a strain for businesses. 1. Hire a bookkeeper"I can relate to first-time entrepreneurs and bootstrapped startups when it comes to saving money. However, if there is one item that you just can't cut corners, it's proper support of financial management. The key early on is to hire a part-time professional bookkeeper. A bookkeeper will make sure you have monthly financials and will be able to work with your accountant to file taxes." - Kristopher Brian Jones, LSEO.com 2. Start early"If you start taxes earlier, you're able to organize everything in time and are not rushing at the last minute. Give yourself more time by starting early this tax season so you can get all your paperwork in order without feeling rushed." - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner 3. Talk to your accountant"Develop accounting procedures with the assistance of your accountant. If you have a solid framework for your accounting, it will make filing taxes at the end of the year much easier. Your accountant should be familiar with your company and be able to provide customized advice for business needs." - Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, P.A. 4. Get organized"Don't wait until tax season to get organized. Talk with your accountant about what system would make their job easier, and then apply that system all year long. The system chosen will work because they are an expert in this area. This leaves less work in your business during tax season, and you will be able to check in on how your business finances are doing throughout the year." - Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors 5. Be intentional about bookkeeping"Be intentional about bookkeeping and keeping your books clean year-round. That way you have accurate numbers that your CPA can easily access. Try quarterly tax reviews and internal audits so you are always 'almost ready' to file. A system can help you in many ways outside of taxes, from assessing subscription services to HR. Accounting and tax preparedness should be integral to your operations." - Matthew Capala, Alphametic 6. Keep everything accessible online"For receipts, make them accessible online where your accountant can easily compute and include them on deductions. Double-check tax codes every now and then. File earlier than usual to avoid cramming and problems that might arise in the future." - Daisy Jing, Banish 7. Have a cloud-based system"If you keep all your receipts and paperwork online, in cloud-based software, you'll be able to stay much more organized. This will help make sure that you can get to the information anywhere from your phone. When selecting a cloud-based software for your accounting, make sure you test the mobile app to find the one that's the most intuitive." - Blair Williams, MemberPress 8. Organize your receipts"I've seen many small businesses that throw all of their receipts into a box and when it's time to file taxes, it's a huge mess. Take the time to organize your receipts so you can easily keep track of your deductible expenses. All you need is a simple file folder with a label for each month of the year. Every time you get a receipt, put it into the folder for the corresponding month." - Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster 9. Scan your receipts"Receipts have a tendency to fade over time, even if you store them away from the sun. Because of this, I recommend making scans of all important receipts and saving them on your computer. Believe me, the last thing you want is to be audited because of a faded number on an old receipt." - Bryce Welker, Accounting Institute of Success 10. Use accounting software"Using intuitive accounting software like FreshBooks, Xero, or Bench is incredibly helpful when tax time comes. The software keeps everything organized and minimizes the amount of time you need to spend. And you can create a login for your CPA, making it easy to share information." - Keith Shields, Designli 11. Know the type of taxes you need to pay"It's crucial to do your research about the type of business taxes you need to pay since it depends on your business specifically. There are business taxes for sole proprietors, partnerships, C-corporations and more, for example. So when filing your taxes, make sure you're filing the appropriate ones." - Jared Atchison, WPForms 12. Use tax filing software"You can avoid having to fill out tedious paperwork for your small business by using tax filing software. Of course, it depends on your expertise and complexity level. You may need to hire someone so you don't run into legal trouble down the road." - Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms 13. Create a filing system"Tax season is a stressful time of the year for business owners. If you want to make filing your taxes easy, create a system that allows you to keep track of all of your invoices, insurance information, bank deposits and any other important financial documentation. When you create an organized system, you'll have a much easier time getting your paperwork in order when it's time to file taxes." - John Turner, SeedProd LLC 14. Keep track of all deductible expenses"To make filing taxes easier, it's important to be organized and start early. This will save you a lot of time and stress and you'll be able to have everything organized to keep track of all the deductible expenses. Also, you can adopt a tax software that will save you and your company time and money in the long run." - Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME 15. Look at home office expenses"When you're filing your taxes, make sure you include your home office expenses as a deductible. Everything from your house payment, to your internet, and even home office repairs can get you a deduction. Make sure you're using the right tax software so you can take advantage of this additional deduction, which will help you save money on your taxes and grow your business." - Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights 16. Don't miss the opportunity to save"Keep business expenses on a limited number of credit cards. The more consolidated your spending is, the easier it will be to compile everything for tax purposes. When you keep everything as close together as possible you reduce the number of lost expenses that could be tax-deductible and thus could lose the opportunity to save as much on your tax bill as possible." - Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc. |
| Why and How to Create Video Content to Help Your Business Posted: 30 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST 
If you are looking for new ways to connect with your customers, video content could be what you need. Video marketing allows you to create informative, entertaining, educational or promotional content to attract and engage your target audience. Most video marketing campaigns begin with a strategic and coordinated effort to help build your brand identity and drive your target customers to buy your products or services. However, before jumping in, it's important to understand how to produce video content, why it's effective and what types of content get the most user engagement. How does video content marketing help your business?Video content can spread brand awareness and build your business's community by establishing a connection between your company and its audience. According to a study from WowMakers, video on a landing page can increase conversion by at least 80%. Additionally, 40% of consumers believe video increases their likelihood of purchasing a product on their mobile device, with 76% of marketers claiming video produces more conversions than any other type of content. In an age of technology where most people carry smartphones or tablets, short video content has risen in popularity to become the preferred delivery method of marketing messages, according to Ronald Humes, vice president of Southeast region operations for Post Modern Marketing. "Printed advertisements can seem one-dimensional and dull compared to the same message communicated through a video," Humes told Business News Daily. "A short video advertisement can quickly relay the same message as its conventional counterpart, but in a way that communicates images, tones, and emotions that will better grab the attention of the target audience and stay in their memory longer." Humes believes that by combining the concepts "content is king" and "a picture is worth a thousand words," we can thoroughly define video content marketing. This type of content marketing can provide information to your target audience in a visually pleasing format that increases engagement among your consumers. What types of video content on social media do consumers engage with most?A HubSpot study of more than 3,000 consumers in the U.S., Germany, Colombia, and Mexico on the type of content they want to see from a brand or business they support found that 54% preferred web videos, with 34% liking social media videos best. The research shows that YouTube is the most popular channel for video overall. If you're wondering what type of video content you should produce to receive the most engagement, it's important to answer the questions consumers have most often and to leave a lasting, emotional impression. Determining your business's audience can help you decide which types of video content will drive the most consumer engagement, according to Chris Holder, author of Tips to Success and CEO and founder of the $100 Million Run. Holder said there are three types of video content on social media that consumers generally engage with most:
Live videos are another type of social video content that engages consumers globally in real time. Each of the major social media platforms offer livestreaming and live video support.
The key to consumer engagement is not making a sales pitch, but telling a story. Your business could provide the most compelling ad ever, but if people don't connect with it, they won't fully comprehend it, and they will not buy into something they don't identify with. How do you make quality video content?The creation of quality video content requires a marketing strategy with both pre- and post-production steps. You must have a motivation for your content and an understanding of who the video is targeting. As with any form of content marketing, it's crucial to ask yourself what goals you're trying to meet, who the audience is, how you'll present the information, and whether that approach will engage your target audience, according to Kelly Waffle, head of digital strategy at Hinge Marketing. "Too many people jump right to execution," he said. "They think their content is great and everyone wants to hear it. Unfortunately, they are often wrong." You should set specific guidelines for your pre-production steps, such as creating a script or shot list, to follow as you start to create your video content. The post-production steps, such as editing and search engine optimization (SEO), add the finishing touches to a video that cause it to generate high traffic. You don't have to choose between shooting on a smartphone and springing for a full Hollywood production setup; Waffle said there lies a world of video tools in between those extremes that can help your business capture and edit high-quality videos. "Bring your video segments, photos, music and production techniques together to create something that is effective, meaningful and memorable," he said. Quality video content has become easier to create with the help of advanced cameras and user-friendly editing software, according to J.P. Scott, director of multimedia at Venta Marketing. "Before you pick up any mics or cameras, you'll need a script [and] shot list and [to] identify the video's objective," Scott said. "Without these three items, shooting and editing your video content will be extremely difficult, and your message may get lost in the production process." SEO via targeted keywords and key phrases can increase your search rankings, causing your video content to populate in the results when consumers search for your type of business or product. [Read related article: 7 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know About SEO] Why is video content so effective in marketing?Video is a good marketing format because it helps you tell your story or spin your narrative in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It also leaves less room for the audience's personal interpretation on a topic. There should be no uncertainty around the message in a video if the narrative is solid and engaging. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth billions, because there are at least 20 frames for each second of a video, according to Connor Clay, director of marketing at Rentwear Inc. "Real life is full of motion, and video is the best way to mimic that," Clay said. "Video allows for more creativity. The combination of live action, animation and motion graphics can create an extremely compelling piece that takes customers to places they never imagined your brand could go." Video content marketing requires less effort on the consumer's part. Video is so effective because it is highly engaging, doesn't require as much concentration as reading articles, and is easy to understand, according to Patsy Nearkhou, marketing manager at Talkative. "Because of this, there's a huge appetite for video content, particularly on social media," Nearkhou said. "More eyes on your content ultimately means more people engaging with your brand, which is a marketer's most important KPI." Video content is the most authentic and real-life form of content marketing you can use to connect with your target audience. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow you to share your content and create livestreaming videos that engage consumers in real time. If you're not yet creating video content for your business, 2020 is your year to start using this powerful marketing tool as a potentially lucrative revenue stream. |
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