Author: Jennifer Brazer

Often, start-ups and small business owners prefer to get involved in every aspect of their business operations, from selecting the type of coffee machine to doing the company’s payroll taxes. Many entrepreneurs find it hard to delegate tasks to their employees or external consultants. However, if you’re an entrepreneur and spend too much time on unessential business activities, you can get assistance from financial consultants.

Partnering with financial consultants for crafting intelligent business strategies for a fraction of the cost is significant for a business’s long-term success. With the growing competition among companies worldwide, SMCs also prefer hiring a professional consultant for managing specific monetary tasks. They desire to seek specialized individuals for their consultation.

However, they mostly had scarce resources, which held them back from hiring an accountant consultant. It would be safer to say that cost-effectiveness and time are the two significant driving forces behind the motivation for hiring in-house accounting consultants.

The growing financial requirements of SMCs: From a small business to a large enterprise, every business requires someone to swiftly and efficiently manage their financial accounts, utilities, sending invoices, bank statements, and debtors. However, maintaining individual finance departments to operate financial matters isn’t only a nuisance and a costly chore. It is the primary reason why most businesses outsource their accounting matters. For them, an accounting consultant is more like a requirement than a desire.

Business accountancy services for SMCs: Many business success stories represent the commitment and dedication of the individuals involved, and it guarantees a secure future for a company. An experienced consultant offers appropriate requirements with creativity and wisdom, all the way to making sound financial decisions.

Beating the competitors motivates the entrepreneurs to get external help which means you’ll require accurate accounting tools and versatile strategies to get ahead of other business ventures. Business accounting and bookkeeping consultants’ services provide valuable insights that help your business improve its financial health.

Whether you’re starting up a new business or have an established business, the need for experienced accountants never dies. Some other concerns include qualification or expertise dilemmas that a customer doesn’t find satisfying.

Services of an accounting consultant: Many start-ups lack ideal cash flow management, which is a crucial reason they couldn’t succeed. This act kicks them out of the competition race, allowing other companies to capitalize on the vacant area. Therefore, businesses try to acquire the services of a professional consultant, which makes them comprehend various monetary operations and better decision making.

Accounting consultants can help you in the following ways:

• Financial forecasting and tactics
• Analyzes financial statements on behalf of business owners and suggests ways to solve cash flow problems.
• Calculate the profitability of your business
• Monitor cash flow both internally and externally and help you implement the strategies you see fit.
• Expands your business with significant financial insights and knowledge: Saves valuable time and money and lets you focus on important content.
• Manages payroll taxes and debt repayments.

Choosing the right accountancy consulting services for your business:

Accounting consultants certainly have better acknowledgment and understanding of financial matters than many business owners. They know the tips and tricks and can solely modify the entire fate of a company with sensible strategies and wise decision-making; precisely, they are the masters of the game. When you assign them and provide them with authority, you probably expect them to do their tasks professionally and efficiently.

If you wish to grow your business in such a competitive business industry, you must appoint the best accounting consultants in the town to ensure the business’s long-term success.

A typical small business consultant is a finance professional who can analyze your business’s problems and provide workable advice and strategies. Additionally, they can design marketing tactics for your company from social media platforms including, website/blog promotions, newspaper ads, and seminars.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Although the business entrepreneurs have always been on the border with technological and scientific developments related to this crop, it took on the task of finding solutions generated by entrepreneurs, other research centers, universities, and companies that could solve one of the most critical challenges in the sector. In total, it received 64 proposals from 15 countries around the world with solutions focused on assisted harvesting, automated harvesting, robotics, technologies, and the internet of things.

It is just one example of organizations that have used open innovation models in Latin America and the Caribbean to find solutions and develop new products. It also shows the scale that this model can reach and why it has become so striking.

Startups: An open platform to solve a business challenge

100 Open Startups is an initiative of a non-profit corporation that articulates public-private networks and promotes meeting spaces to promote innovation and transform collaboratively.

In this blog post, I share the elements behind 100 Open Startups, the platform used by the Coffee Growers Federation challenge, and explain how you can take advantage of it to promote open innovation and solve a business challenge:

Identify the challenge – What area can benefit from an open innovation process?

The process starts from identifying a business challenge or specific problem that a company wants to solve or a new product or service that it wishes to develop and introduce to the market. This transformation consists of identifying needs, opportunities for improvement, or new horizons. It defines the technical aspects examined, the impact of the expected solution, the type of relationship with the potential solver, and how to measure the effectiveness of the result with indicators is determined.

For example, Coffee PickINN defines as a challenge: making coffee harvesting more efficient in Colombia? Because this step is the most critical part of the value chain and the secret of grain quality. In the country, the process is manual, so the costs are higher, labor is scarce, and it is not accessible to technical due to the geographical conditions of the land.

Share the challenge with possible solvers – the innovation network opened in Latin America and the Caribbean

Solutions to innovation challenges can come from research results of universities and their technology transfer offices or entrepreneurs, among other actors.

100 Open Startups connects, classifies, and generates business opportunities between large companies and entrepreneurs through a system of evaluation of crowdsourcing (open collaboration). In addition, it is open to the public and is accessible for solvers. To participate, you must register and report some basic information about the venture.

In the case of the CoffeePickInn challenge, it was possible to find solutions with different approaches. From entrepreneurs with business models and financing platforms to acquire tools to technological developments based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and specialized collection robots used in other industries.

Guide diverse and creative inputs with mentors and expert advice

Open innovation processes frequently require additional technical advice, including technological surveillance, evaluation of the state of intellectual property, and economic valuation of technologies, among other things.

In the case of the connection platform between entrepreneurs and companies, 100 Open Startups have evaluators of other entrepreneurs, senior executives from the region, and accelerator experts who make collective evaluations. It allows identifying the attractive proposals with the most substantial potential. Thus, both parties find opportunities and evolve the value offer that will enable them to solve a business challenge.

It would be best if you had the opinion of different areas of the organization in the process so that the solution is technically viable. From the financial point of view, you have the approval and commitment of implementation. The research team carried out technical management, innovation, representatives of the leading regional and external consultants.

Establish a strategic alliance that appropriates and finances the innovative solution

You achieve success when there is an “entrepreneur-company” or “corporate company any” alliance. The idea is to work hand in hand and bring the result of research from the laboratory to the market or make a commercial alliance between the enterprise and the company to develop or sell a product or service. Likewise, some ventures receive funding from organizations or angel investors interested in betting on an innovative project.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

It has happened to all of us. You are in your living room, sitting in your office, or in the shower (it happens a lot in the rain), and an incredible idea comes to you. “Eureka!” You think. But how do you get from a simple idea to a profitable business?

Keep reading these five steps to turn your great idea into a business.

1. Look it up

Great minds think alike. There is a possibility that such an incredible idea has already been thought of before. Not only that, but it could also be that someone else has already turned it into a business. The first step to realizing if your idea is worth being turned into a business is to find out if someone else has already done so. It will give you two options. If someone else has already done so, you will be able to know their processes and offer of service or product and validate if it is worth moving forward, considering the competition that already exists. On the other hand, it could be that your idea is original and there is no such thing in the market. It will give you the advantage of offering a unique product or service, and you can have many business opportunities.

2. Seek the opinions of others

In Mexico, we love to keep our ideas for fear of being stolen or that the business “ceases.” But talking about your idea with people you trust will help you hear their opinion about whether they would acquire or hire your product or service. When you are an entrepreneur, you usually enter what is known as a “closed idea,” this means that because it is your idea, you think it should not modify it, that it is the only way to get the business going, etc. The opinion of others can open your eyes to challenges you have not considered, or it can give you options or new points of view to improve.

3. Create an identity

If your friends and family receive your idea well, it is time to create a brand. Today’s business world moves very fast so that what today may seem like an incredible idea tomorrow could be obsolete. As we said before, you are never exempt from anyone who wants to steal it. Start by choosing a good name and ensuring the website and social networks that may belong to you. Even if you don’t think you would use social networks, it is preferable to have your brand registered to prevent another person from doing so under another concept.

4. Develop an action plan

After reviewing the first three steps, if your idea still seems viable, it is time to make an action plan. If you already have the capital to start the business, investigate the legal requirements you must comply with, quote the equipment and facilities you will need, or think about interviewing the personnel you must hire. On the other hand, if you still do not have the capital think about the available options: you can ask for a loan from a financial institution or get a group of partners or investors. If you approach your local or federal government, you can also get financing for entrepreneurs. Another good option could be to come online collection platforms such as funding. Where those users who like your idea invest a certain amount to make it a reality. The best way to get this capital is to create a sales folder where you explain your idea and how you will do business with it. If it is a product, take an example or prototype to convince your potential investors that your idea will succeed.

5. Develop a plan aimed at your customers

You have already designed how to get the capital to start your idea. Now you must think: how will you get your first customer? You may have the best business plan globally, but you don’t have a profitable business without clients. Create a strategy aimed at your clients that thinks about their needs, their location, and how you can communicate with them. Once you manage to find those who want or need your service or product, sales will begin to arrive, and you can say that you finally have a business!

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Everyone, everyone, must go through this phase of their life. Yeah, I am talking about the interview. An average person changes his job seven times in his whole life that means seven interviews and seven new interviewers. If a person is preparing for your interview, here is the list of six types of interviewers a person might encounter during your hunt for your dream job.

The Einstein: We all know giving interviews can be scary, especially when their interviewer is ready to tear them apart with his out worldly knowledge. Feel free to expect questions about the subject matter, subject matter, and subject matter.

A person can prepare for this type of interviewer from books, this type of interview requires a good command of the subject and its applied side. A person will want to become a bookworm if they want to pass one.

The Question Paper: 

This one will start asking questions after questions as soon as a person enters the room. You will not have enough time to start a conversation, and a person will find yourself preparing for the next question. A person should prepare every question that they can find online or any other source.

The Traditional one:

This type of interviewer will suck the last drop of one’s problem-solving abilities out. It will take thirty to forty-five minutes to finish with each candidate, so it is better to be ready and bombarded with every question. Some of the questions are likely to repeat, so it is beneficial to consult the interviewer.

The Friendly one:

This type of interviewer is way too friendly. This interviewer will make a person feel at home. In that case, it is better to accept this warm gesture and go with the flow. Try to start a conversation and establish a bond, yet do not forget to cast a professional expression on the interviewer. Even though this interviewer is friendly, that does not mean he does not take his job seriously. The best thing to do here is not to cross the boundaries yet answer his questions in the most professional way possible. There is no need to worry much about this type of interviewer because you will not be as nervous with him as with other interviewers.

The Grumpy Cat

As the name suggests, a person cannot impress this type of interviewer, no matter what they do. This interviewer will maintain a grumpy expression on his face or no expression at all. This person will make you feel uncertain about every answer, and an interviewee will never know whether the answers were right or wrong. Such interviewers are most challenging to deal with, so the tip is to be confident about yourself and the answers because this person will not give an appreciative smile no matter what.

The professional one

This person is the most balanced interviewer of all the above five. This person is not too rigid, nor too friendly, and knows well how to conduct professionally. An interviewee can expect a few smiles. The tip is to adjust to his mood and answer the questions carefully and appropriately.

The Busy one

This person will make it look as if he is the busiest person on the face of the earth. A candidate will find this person going through his phone and mail all the time while an interviewee is answering the questions. You can expect the least attention from him. Do not get annoyed with this behavior. This is not the way to conduct oneself, yet a person should not forget that these people have years of experience in their respective fields so they know they can have a good relationship with a bit of attention. Please do not get distracted and do not try to trick them.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

By: Jennifer Brazer

Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.

Fact Checked By: Brittany McMillen

Common Organizational Strategies for Tax Minimization

Tax minimization strategies allow businesses to legally reduce their tax burden while maintaining full compliance with IRS regulations. These approaches help companies retain more profits, reinvest in growth, and improve cash flow by strategically timing income recognition, maximizing deductions, and leveraging favorable tax code provisions.

I’ve spent over two decades helping businesses implement effective tax strategies at Complete Controller, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how proper planning can transform a company’s financial outlook. Through smart tax planning, businesses typically save 10-15% on their annual tax obligations while avoiding costly penalties and audits. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll share proven methods for reducing your business tax liability, from income deferral techniques to corporate structure optimization—all tactics our clients have successfully implemented to strengthen their bottom line.

What are common organizational strategies for tax minimization?

• Tax minimization involves income deferral, strategic deductions, entity structuring, and benefit optimization
• Businesses can legally reduce tax burdens by timing income recognition and accelerating qualified expenses
• Family employment strategies shift income to lower tax brackets while providing legitimate business services
• Corporate retention policies help avoid double taxation on distributed profits
• Proactive planning with accounting professionals prevents costly mistakes and maximizes available deductions

Strategic Income Timing and Expense Management

Tax minimization begins with controlling when you recognize income and expenses. By legally shifting income into future periods while accelerating deductible expenses, businesses can significantly reduce their current tax burden.

For service businesses using cash accounting, simply delaying December invoicing until January can push income into the next tax year. Similarly, paying January expenses in December increases current-year deductions. This timing strategy works particularly well when you expect lower income or higher tax rates in the coming year.

According to a survey from American University, 37% of small businesses experience tax-related anxiety despite 76% having college degrees. This knowledge gap costs companies thousands in missed opportunities. By implementing proper timing strategies, one of our retail clients reduced their taxable income by $85,000, saving approximately $30,000 in taxes during a particularly profitable year.

Consider these common timing strategies:

• Delay customer billing in Q4 if advantageous
• Prepay upcoming expenses like rent, insurance, and supplies
• Purchase needed equipment before year-end to capture Section 179 deductions
• Contribute to retirement accounts to reduce taxable income
• Pay employee bonuses before year-end for immediate deductions

The right approach depends on your business structure and projected income patterns. An S-Corporation might benefit from different timing strategies than a sole proprietorship, which is why customized planning is essential.

Leveraging Tax-Advantaged Employee Benefits

Employee benefits represent one of the most powerful tax savings opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Properly structured benefit programs create a win-win: tax deductions for your business and tax-free compensation for your employees.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have become increasingly valuable, with assets growing 38% to $64 billion in 2024 and average invested balances reaching $22,032. These accounts offer triple tax advantages: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

When implemented strategically, benefit programs can reduce both income taxes and payroll taxes. Consider these high-impact options:

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) paired with qualifying high-deductible health plans
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for healthcare and dependent care expenses
• Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) for businesses not offering group health plans
• Education assistance programs (up to $5,250 tax-free annually per employee)
• Adoption assistance benefits
• Group term life insurance

For small businesses, a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) can provide tax-free health benefits without the complexity of a traditional group plan. These arrangements allow businesses to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses up to annual limits ($5,850 for individuals and $11,800 for families in 2024).

Retirement plans like SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and 401(k)s offer additional tax savings opportunities while helping attract and retain talent. The tax benefits extend beyond deductions—they can substantially reduce your overall labor costs while providing valuable benefits to your team.

Family Employment Strategies for Tax Savings

Hiring family members creates legitimate opportunities to shift income and reduce overall family tax liability. However, these arrangements require careful structuring to withstand IRS scrutiny.

When a sole proprietor hires their children under age 18, the children’s wages are exempt from FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare), resulting in immediate savings of 15.3% on those wages. Additionally, the first $12,950 (2023 standard deduction) of each child’s income is effectively tax-free to them.

For this strategy to work, several requirements must be met:

1. The work must be legitimate and necessary for the business
2. Compensation must be reasonable for the services provided
3. Proper documentation (timesheets, job descriptions) must be maintained
4. Regular paychecks must be issued (not lump sums)
5. All required tax forms must be filed

For example, a business owner paying their 16-year-old $12,000 annually for legitimate marketing work saves approximately $1,840 in self-employment taxes while providing income that falls within the child’s standard deduction—resulting in no income tax for the child.

Hiring spouses can also create tax advantages, especially when establishing separate retirement plans or shifting income to a lower tax bracket. However, these arrangements require different considerations than hiring children:

Family Member	Tax Advantages	Required Documentation
Children under 18	Exempt from FICA in sole proprietorships	Timesheets, job descriptions
Spouse	Income splitting, additional retirement plans	Employment contract, market-rate compensation proof
Parents	Potential for additional business deductions	Documentation of legitimate services

 

The key to successful family employment is legitimacy—the family member must provide real services at reasonable compensation rates with proper documentation.

Corporate Tax Optimization Tactics

C-Corporations offer unique tax planning opportunities, particularly since the corporate tax rate dropped from 35% (2017) to a flat 21% in 2025. This substantial reduction makes corporate tax efficiency strategies more valuable than ever.

One powerful strategy involves retaining earnings within the corporation rather than distributing them as dividends. This approach avoids the “double taxation” problem where profits are taxed first at the corporate level and again when distributed to shareholders as dividends.

For example, a profitable C-Corporation can:

1. Retain earnings taxed at 21% for business expansion
2. Pay reasonable salaries to shareholder-employees (deductible to the corporation)
3. Implement shareholder-friendly fringe benefits (health insurance, disability coverage)
4. Use corporate-owned life insurance for tax-advantaged asset accumulation

Accelerated depreciation represents another significant opportunity. An industrial manufacturer saved $4.4 million in first-year taxes by reclassifying 30% of building assets for accelerated depreciation. This approach front-loads deductions, improving cash flow when businesses need it most.

Businesses can utilize:

• Section 179 expensing (up to $1.16 million in 2024)
• Bonus depreciation (100% through 2022, phasing down through 2026)
• Cost segregation studies to accelerate real estate depreciation
• Tax liability management through Net Operating Loss planning

These strategies require careful planning and documentation but deliver substantial savings when implemented correctly.

State Tax Planning and Location Strategies

State tax obligations can significantly impact your overall tax burden, with rates varying dramatically across jurisdictions. Strategic business location decisions and multi-state planning can create substantial savings.

The first step is understanding your nexus—the connection between your business and a taxing jurisdiction that creates tax obligations. Physical presence clearly establishes nexus, but many states now impose economic nexus based on sales volume or transaction counts.

Consider these state-specific planning opportunities:

• Establishing operations in low-tax states for certain business functions
• Utilizing pass-through entity tax elections in states offering them
• Taking advantage of state-specific credits and incentives
• Implementing proper sales tax collection systems for multi-state operations
• Structuring interstate transactions to minimize state tax exposure

For businesses with flexibility in location, states like Texas, Florida, Nevada, and Wyoming offer no state income tax. However, these states may impose higher taxes in other areas, such as property or sales tax.

Remote work arrangements create both opportunities and compliance challenges. Employees working across state lines can trigger unexpected tax filing requirements and potential double taxation without proper planning.

The most successful state tax planning approaches balance tax savings against business needs and compliance requirements. Aggressive strategies may generate short-term savings but create long-term audit and penalty risks.

Proactive Tax Planning for Long-Term Savings

Effective tax planning requires ongoing attention, not just year-end scrambling. Quarterly reviews with a tax professional help identify opportunities throughout the year while ensuring compliance with changing regulations.

One software company saved $522,200 (52% of their R&D costs) by systematically tracking and documenting qualified research activities throughout the year. This proactive approach to the R&D tax credit delivered five times more savings than their previous last-minute documentation efforts.

Regular tax planning tips include:

1. Maintaining a tax calendar with all filing deadlines
2. Scheduling quarterly planning meetings with your accountant
3. Reviewing entity structure annually to ensure it remains optimal
4. Tracking business metrics that impact tax planning decisions
5. Documenting all business expenses contemporaneously
6. Staying informed about tax law changes affecting your industry

The most successful businesses integrate tax planning into their overall financial strategy rather than treating it as a separate function. This integrated approach maximizes savings while minimizing compliance risks.

For example, when considering equipment purchases, effective planning evaluates not just the business need but also:

• Timing to maximize tax benefits
• Financing options with tax-advantageous terms
• State and local incentives for certain investments
• Trade-offs between immediate expensing and long-term depreciation
• Impact on other tax attributes like net operating losses

This comprehensive view transforms tax planning from a compliance exercise into a strategic business advantage.

Final Thoughts: Building Your Tax Minimization Strategy

After working with thousands of businesses across industries, I’ve found that successful tax minimization requires three key elements: knowledge of available strategies, disciplined implementation, and professional guidance to navigate complex regulations.

The strategies outlined in this article provide a foundation for reducing your tax burden while maintaining full compliance. However, the optimal approach for your business depends on your specific circumstances, including entity type, growth stage, industry, and long-term goals.

I encourage you to take a proactive stance toward tax planning, working with qualified professionals to develop a customized strategy. The investment in proper planning typically delivers returns far exceeding the costs.

For personalized guidance on implementing these strategies in your business, contact our team at Complete Controller. We specialize in helping businesses optimize their tax position while building sustainable financial systems that support long-term growth.

FAQ

What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?

 Tax avoidance involves legally minimizing taxes through permitted strategies like deductions, credits, and timing techniques. Tax evasion is illegally reducing taxes through concealment, misrepresentation, or fraud. The key distinction is legality—avoidance works within the law while evasion deliberately breaks it.

How can small businesses minimize taxes legally?

Small businesses can legally minimize taxes by maximizing available deductions, choosing the right business entity, hiring family members appropriately, leveraging retirement plans, timing income and expenses strategically, and utilizing available tax credits. Proper documentation and working with qualified tax professionals are essential for implementing these strategies correctly.

Which business entity structure is best for minimizing taxes?

The optimal entity structure depends on your specific situation. S-Corporations often benefit businesses with significant profits by reducing self-employment taxes. LLCs provide flexibility and pass-through taxation. C-Corporations may benefit businesses planning to reinvest profits or seeking certain fringe benefits. Entity selection should consider income levels, growth plans, and exit strategies.

Can I write off my home office as a business expense?

Yes, if you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business. Two methods are available: the simplified method ($5 per square foot up to 300 square feet) or the regular method (calculating actual expenses based on business-use percentage). Home office deductions require meticulous documentation, including photographs and usage logs, to withstand potential IRS scrutiny.

How far back can the IRS audit my business taxes?

The IRS generally has three years from the filing date to audit returns. However, this extends to six years if you underreported income by more than 25% and has no time limit for fraudulent returns or unfiled returns. Good recordkeeping practices include maintaining all tax documentation for at least seven years and permanent records for assets.

Sources

• American University. (April 18, 2023). “New Survey Shows Critical Small Business Tax Literacy Gap.” Bruckner & Robles. https://www.american.edu/media/news/20230418_carolinebrucknertaxliteracysurvey.cfm
• ASCSP. (Sept 10, 2024). “Cost Segregation Case Studies.” https://www.ascsp.org/cost-segregation-case-studies
• Bluesky WA. (April 17, 2024). “14 Proven Corporate Tax Reduction Strategies for 2024.” https://www.bluesky.wa/blog
• ChangeCaptain. (2025). “Software R&D Tax Credit Case Study.” https://www.changecaptain.co/post/software-rd-tax-credit-case-study
• Chatterton, Inc. (March 24, 2025). “10 Effective Tax Reduction Strategies for Businesses.” https://chatterton.com/blog
• Devenir Research. (April 7, 2025). “HSA Assets Reached Another Record High in 2024.” https://www.napa-net.org/news/2025/4/hsa-assets-reached-another-record-high-in-2024/
• Internal Revenue Service. “Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.” https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed
• Internal Revenue Service. “Publication 969: Health Savings Accounts.” https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969
• Merrill Lynch. (2025). “Tax Tips and Strategies for Small Business Owners.” https://www.ml.com
• Thomson Reuters. (January 9, 2024). “How C corps Can Avoid Double Taxation.” https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog
• TPI Group. (January 8, 2025). “Tax Minimization Strategies.” https://www.tpigroupinc.com
• Trading Economics. (2025). “United States Federal Corporate Tax Rate.” https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/corporate-tax-rate
• US Chamber of Commerce. (April 7, 2025). “12 Money-Saving Tax Strategies for Small Business.” https://www.uschamber.com
• Wikipedia. “Net Operating Loss.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netoperatingloss

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

For some individuals, bringing in cash online would be a flat-out blessing from heaven. Suppose they could figure out how to bring in money with a site or some other online endeavor; they could leave their place of employment to concentrate on business, invest more energy with their family, and take back control of their time and lives.

Earning cash online isn’t an unrealistic fantasy. I have been doing it for about ten years now with my site Good Financial Cents. I also know many others procuring cash online in their particular manner with sites, courses, or unique promoting methodologies. If you’ve visited almost any site, you’ve seen Google advertisements. These advertisements are all over the place and are a great way to bring in money online, in addition to the fact they are anything but difficult to set up on any site. They can be worthwhile once your site begins getting a consistent measure of traffic.

Imagine earning extra money from home, in your spare time. Possibly even making enough money online that you could quit your job and achieve financial independence. I guess that’s why you’re here, and I have to tell you that you’ve come to the right place. You just found the complete guide on how to earn money.

If you continue reading, you will discover the ten best ways to earn money online, the key steps to succeed in generating income from home, and alternative ways to make extra money without investing money of your own.

How to earn money and the keys you have to keep in mind

If you are here, you wonder how to make money, and I assure you that you will find everything you need in this guide. To start, here are the four keys that you have to keep in mind to start making money.

Quick and easy money is a hoax

You are wondering how to make money, and I think it is essential to talk about the dangers of quick and easy money, which can make you end up with even less money than you have to start.

Many ads promise easy money, and they promise you that with their tricks and strategies, you can fix all your money problems, but unfortunately, on many occasions, they are nothing more than lies and scams, and it is something you should avoid at all costs.

As much as you need money now, getting money quickly and efficiently is close to impossible. If you need cash now, I’m sorry, but you will have a hard time. I understand that it may not be the answer someone would look for in this situation, but this advice will save you from losing money by getting rich quick schemes.

Even if you need money now, do not rely on those methods. Often, you will not earn money quickly, but you will end up losing it. This article is not about making easy money because I don’t think there is a way.

Maybe you thought this article would tell you how to earn money without working and how to earn money fast, but we would all be doing it if there were a way to make money quickly and efficiently. The only ones who make money with these methods are those who propose the technique and those who charge you for their services, but you will most likely lose money if you try it.

My sincere advice is that you forget to find ways to earn easy money since they do not exist. Focus on the long term, and start looking for methods to make money safely, no matter how long I might take.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Financial reporting is a diverse term that includes the whole accounting system of a business. Having an accounting system in an industry is one of the most critical aspects of a company and is essential for any business operating. The purpose of accounting is to calculate and collect financial information about the business and review it to determine the company’s financial position along with its performance and the cash flows of the business. For new startup businesses, it is better to start organizing all the aspects and departments from the very beginning as this is beneficial at the early stage and helps in the future. The main goal of accounting is to record and report a company’s financial transactions, financial performance, and cash flows. Accountants keep a record of a company’s transactions and keep financial data up to date. Having an accounting system helps the authorities to make better decisions as per the month’s analysis. Some key accounting terms an entrepreneur should know are GAAP principles, cash basis accounting, accrual basis accounting, and the concepts of accounts payable and accounts receivable. The accounting process typically starts with the bookkeeping of initial transactions. The information generated through accounting systems is vital to collect as businesses use it in the decision-making process. Business owners use this information to make decisions such as creating new plans for the company, identifying if the business needs any expansion or financing, and understanding if the company is making unnecessary expenditures.

The central aspect of financial reporting is understanding the financial statements. The four primary financial statements are The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement, The Cash Flow Statement, and The Explanatory Notes. Financial reporting is essential because it provides you with an oversight of the performance of your business. You are also required to create these documents because it is necessary for you to provide these documents to the IRS while filing taxes, banks when applying for a loan, investors when seeking investment funds, and managers and other authorities to make further decisions and plans for the business. Financial documents are also necessary for auditing. The key types of financial records for financial reporting are:

Balance Sheet: The balance sheet includes all the assets, liabilities, and capital of the business at a certain period.

Income Statement or Profit and Loss Report: A business creates an income statement to calculate its cost of goods sold, gross profit, operating profit, profit before interest, and tax and net profit (or loss) over some time.

Cash Flow Statement: A cash flow statement determines all the cash inflows and outflows of a business and is one of the documents used to identify the company’s liquidity position.

Statement of changes in equity: Companies that sell equity shares have to produce this document. This document reports your company’s changes in retained earnings after paying dividends to shareholders.

Businesses create financial analysis reports which help the managers and authorities in the decision making and the budget planning processes. Many companies also provide these reports to stakeholders, especially investors. You can generate a financial analysis report by following these steps:

• Start with writing down the whole financial summary of the business period that just ended and includes your company’s overview and business style.
• Write up an investment proposal and explain why investors would want to invest in your business. You may write the benefits and disadvantages of investing in your industry.
• Through financial analysis, identify the overall value of your business. This valuation could be a key factor for investors to be interested in your industry. 
• This step should include detailed and thorough results of your calculations and analysis for investors to get a better look at them.
• Make sure that you review and recap your whole report in this step and then state why you believe your business is worthy of the investors’ investments by highlighting the critical factors about your financial system.
• Remember that you should give proper attention and time to your financial reporting and not rush into things as these calculations are very complicated and require a lot of focus.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The retail industry has been around for quite some time now. One thing that is found is the different approaches to store layout and retail design. In reality, retailers can use some basic design strategies, resulting in more sales in the business.

To assist boutique merchants in creating boutique and retail store interiors, we decided to cover this topic. Today’s merchants understand that boutique and retail store interiors are an integral part of thriving and succeeding in today’s era.

Planning your retail location’s layout is a point that we’ve been taking a gander at, with an end goal to help boutique dealers be more fruitful and flourish in today’s advanced time. In regards to recounting your company’s story, making vivid shopping encounters, arranging head-turning window showcases, and using signage basics, the fruit truly is in the subtleties.

Not sure where to begin with your store format and retail structure? Here, we’ll take a gander at the main requirements for making powerful retail layouts that pull more clients into your store, encourage them to peruse for additional items, and urge them to make a beeline for the checkout.

Retail has been around for a solid long time — and one thing we know is that there is a wide range of approaches with regards to retail structure and setting up your store design. Nonetheless, there are additionally some standard structure procedures that all retailers can utilize that lead to more sales for your business.

Boutique and retail store interiors help in narrating the brand’s story. Along with that, it also gives customers their best and ultimate shopping experience. Boutique and retail store interiors need to turn heads of the passersby. In the retail industry, it all comes down to the details.

Are you unclear on how to get started on the retail design and store layout of your boutique and retail store interiors? Let’s look at some essentials and fundamentals in providing practical retail interiors to help entice more customers to visit your store. Once you have attracted them to enter your store, they will start browsing through your products and decide to purchase more items than they were originally shopping for.

The one thing that should always be on your mind is the moment a customer walks in your store until the moment they leave, your store’s interiors will make a big difference in whether or not they make a purchase.

The Point Where a Prospective Customer Enters Your Store

The moment a prospective customer comes to your store, the customer quickly makes their judgment in the store’s first few feet of space. As soon as the customer enters your store, they experience a shift from the outer world. They will look forward to what you have. If the boutique and retail store interiors attract them, they will feel the same attraction in your products and offerings.

When customers are inside your store, they will be quick to make judgments regarding how expensive or cheap the store looks to be. They might notice how well coordinated the colors, displays, fixtures, and lighting are.

If you don’t believe us, take out your bookkeeping records. You will notice the difference in your profits.

Consumers Tend to Turn Right

In North America, about 90% of customers take the right turn instinctively when entering a retail store. Retailers need to take advantage of this fact. They should capture their customer’s attention through the products they put on their display. Whether it is seasonal or new products, high-demand or high-profit products, boutique and retail store interiors should be able to tell their product’s stories and attract their customers.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

It is true, even with consistent deals and development, if your organization has ongoing income issues because of the absence of records receivable, that can slow or stop your organization’s growth. Regardless of whether you need to purchase your organization’s structure to produce another stream of income or you need to update your organization’s operation and need money to rent equipment. Private ventures that deal with their records receivable have a formalized procedure for gathering debt claims just as systems for spotting potential income issues and tending to them before they become harmful to the business.

Undoubtedly, a company’s control of collections and payments is one of the essential aspects of business management. Collecting debts owed to your company is necessary, without a doubt. When we talk about collection and payment management, we refer to the management of payment obligations and collection rights, an entire column of our business. The trust that allows any commercial relationship is based.

Each company manages its payments and collections differently because each business has different needs from the next. It would help if you considered that there are no two companies alike, just like snowflakes, and the same system of collections and payments does not apply to all companies. However, you establish some criteria when managing the finances and controlling the activity of our company.

Likewise, you ought to guarantee that you’re making it as simple as workable for your customer to pay solicitations. For instance, make sure your solicitations are understood and complete, with no missing data that may make your customer’s bookkeeping division show it out of the framework for additional consideration. Whoever you decide to oversee sales records must comprehend that they should contact the customer on a principal day that an installment is late.

What to consider for the management of collections and payments in your business

On the one hand, each company has a series of costs or obligations acquired with its usual suppliers, and on the other hand, a series of customers pay them. In treasury management, you divide these two groups into documents of invoices issued and invoices received, conveniently documenting your company’s finances. This simple process allows for a clear understanding of your finances. 

By documenting collections and payments, you can control them more efficiently, and adjustments can be made according to your current situation, directing the operations you want/need to perform.

One of the critical elements we will have to set for good collection and payment management is the expiration date. The ideal system for charging and paying is to have an alert system that alerts you when the collections and payments have not occurred on the corresponding date.

It is essential to keep reasonable control of expenses to ensure you are managing your cash flow efficiently. Imagine that you must pay suppliers $10,000 in the next 60 days, but you expect to receive $19,000 in the next 30 days. At a minimum, they should have paid you another $10,000 so that you could pay on time.

Management of collections and internal payments of the company

In addition to collecting and paying invoices issued and received, consider other factors that invoices don’t track. We refer to the payment of payrolls, tax settlements, loans, or Social Security, among others.

Although these collections and payments don’t always reflect in the online management software, they must be appropriately budgeted and evaluated in advance to meet the needs of our treasury.

In this way, the ideal would be to have a tool that allows us to control the evolution of collections and payments to meet our treasury needs, successfully facing difficult situations and providing for collections and payments appropriately.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility Plan?

A corporate social responsibility plan is a management and evaluation document that defines the framework and general guidelines to be followed by an organization in CSR.

What defines a socially responsible corporation?

When organizations practice corporate social duty, they are acting in a way that contributes decidedly to society. CSR frequently incorporates a financial, social, or natural segment, wherein organizations measure, screen, and improve their effect on society overall. It’s a comparative way of thinking to the fourfold primary concern, which means organizations consider their activities dependent on their impact on individuals, planet, benefit, and motivation.

A socially responsible company seeks the integration of social and environmental concerns in its commercial operations and its relationships with its stakeholders and the various stakeholders or stakeholders with a long-term vision. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) extends the scope of corporate social responsibility to incorporate government agencies and other organizations.

Integrating into an organization, a Corporate Social Responsibility Plan requires the involvement of all areas or departments and the commitment to carry out the necessary modifications in the management system. It is essential to design a viable plan adapted to the organization’s specific needs and aspirations and follow it closely.

How to design a Corporate Social Responsibility Plan step by step

Step 1 – Write a code of conduct

The first phase to implement a CSR plan is to establish the ethical code that will define the organization’s philosophy on preserving the environment and general social welfare. You should make this code through a dialogue with each of the corporation’s stakeholders to maintain it in the long term.

Step 2 – Identify objectives

Set strategic objectives achievable in the short, medium, and long term that adjust to the peculiarities of the organization. To choose the goals, one must consider their production, values, the type of clients, or the profile of the workers, among other aspects.

Step 3 – Dialogue with stakeholders

It is critical to establish relationships with community members through a dialogue with stakeholders, review relationships with these groups, and evaluate how they affect the company and vice versa, seeking solutions to the problems detected and trying to respond to the expectations of all groups of interest within the strategy of the organization.

Step 4 – Select indicators

The next step is to assess whether the actions are adequate to meet that objective through indicators such as satisfaction surveys, number of complaints, and resolution time, to verify the achievement of the goals.

Step 5 – Develop a sustainability memory

After this, prepare a Sustainability Report that reflects the company’s economic, environmental, and social performance and includes all the actions mentioned above. To this end, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) prepared the “Guide for the preparation of sustainability reports” that establishes the most accepted and widely used standardized methodology worldwide.

Estimating the accomplishment of a CSR program will vary dependent on the program you execute. Note that a few advantages will be unmistakable, for example, income or development from accessing another market. Others will be similarly significant, however immaterial, such as building up another colleague’s capacity or upgrading worker assurance. You may encounter momentary outcomes, yet CSR is, to a great extent, a drawn-out technique.

For the effect of our business and the network, it’s as straightforward as following what number of accomplices we work with, the families we acquaint with our program, and explicitly the kids affected by the work we’re doing. Contingent upon the program, you’ll have the option to build up measurements like how every other division in your association does.

Implementation of a route like the one described guarantees the excellent preparation of a Corporate Social Responsibility Plan to allow the organization to integrate social and environmental concerns in its operation form, responding to the needs and specific requirements of the groups of interest.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.