How to File Taxes in Under 10 Minutes
Tax time doesn’t have to be a headache — get ahead and save loads of time with our year-end tech solutions.
You’re probably re-reading the title of this article and asking yourself, “Can I really get my taxes done in only 10 minutes!?” Yes, yes you can. We do it every year! And now is the best time to prep your business for the new year.
Read on for three simple tips to turn your hours-long tax filing brigade into a simple 10-minute task.
1| Gather the troops
As a business owner, you probably already know the value of delegation. Hiring help and automating your processes can help you save precious time.
In this case, there are two hires to help you offload tax to-do’s:
Get a CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
As a business owner, you risk an audit, fines, and other repercussions if you don’t remit your dues and file taxes to Uncle Sam. Hiring a licensed professional can keep you on course, plus a good CPA will navigate opportunities for you to save money on your taxes — double win!
✓ Pro-tip: because tax filing is so sensitive, we recommend only hiring a vetted CPA who knows the regulations of your locality and passes your intuitive “gut check.” Part of what makes a good CPA is someone who promptly answers your questions, stands by their work, and is willing to edit filings (lawfully) without charging an extra fee.
Take Advantage of Bookkeeping Software
Online bookkeeping systems are so sophisticated that they can categorize your transactions for you, saving you hours. Plus, they can guide beginners through first-time bookkeeping, and they’re incredibly affordable when you consider the value of your time (picture being able to market your business, process sales, and other tasks that generate revenue.)
✓ Our go-to bookkeeping software has been Quickbooks because its interface is intuitive, the automatic expense sorting is accurate, and end of year reports can be submitted directly to our CPA. The Quickbooks app helps us automatically track mileage to help us save on taxes. Both the app and desktop versions have receipt uploading, invoicing, tax estimation, mileage sorting, and live financial tracking of your business. Quickbooks has a “Self Employed” version that works well for service-based freelancers and a fuller version for businesses with more moving parts (picture: e-commerce, real estate, etc.) Click here to save 30% Holiday Discount on QuickBooks for 6 months.
2| Make bookkeeping a habit
Prioritizing regular bookkeeping is the key to an easy tax season. Yumari Digital’s closest colleagues know that we maintain a monthly “finances day” dedicated to invoicing clients, paying vendors, running financial reports, and, you guessed it, bookkeeping. No one can book us on Finances Day because it’s the secret to our lessened time and mental load when taxes are due.
Sort your transactions regularly (or, quickly double-check what Quickbooks already sorted for you) to make end-of-year tax planning smoother.
3| Digitize & organize
If you haven’t already, ditch the messy paper stacks by neatly stashing receipts and tax docs into one single folder on your computer. Having one folder for each year will help you know exactly where to find everything so you don’t waste time looking for docs.
✓ Dropbox, a cloud-based filing solution, has awesome tools, including a mobile app to speed up the process of scanning and saving and an online-only storage option to save space on your computer.
tax time in under 10 minutes!
With the methods above, you’ll only need to send your documents (already done!) and a Quickbooks-generated summary (also done!) to your CPA.
We hope these tips have been helpful for you, and our goal with this article is to help you avoid some of the same mistakes we’ve made (you’re welcome.) If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
Do you have a helpful tax tip? Share it in the comments below!
