Keep a file or pouch in your vehicle or in your briefcase. Throw your receipts in the pouch as you get them. Don’t stuff them into your pockets, purse, console, briefcase, or glove compartment. When it comes time to do your books, finding your receipts should not be a treasure hunt.
Every week, take 15 minutes to file your receipts. This can be as simple as stuffing them all into one file, or sorting them by category. Do what works best for you, but do it. Having all your receipts in one place means that you won’t lose them. A little bit of effort over the year will ensure that tax time is not a stressful time and you get all your deductions.
Know your deadlines!
1) GST
2) Payroll
3) Income Taxes
Take these deadlines seriously. Canada Revenue Agency does and ignorance is NOT an excuse!
Decide how frequently you need financial information. A really small business may get away with doing books at year end only, but I don’t recommend it. Many small businesses are forced to do their books quarterly because of GST. If your business is still small enough that you don’t have a GST number, do your books at least twice a year. This will show you where your money is going, and if you are missing any receipts. Larger businesses should be doing their books on an ongoing basis, with monthly financial statements.
Posted Thursday, January 19th, 2012.
You can write off 50% of your meals and entertainment if you are with someone related to your business (clients or potential clients, suppliers, or employees) – write down the names of the people that you entertained and why, and don’t forget to write in the tip amount. Make sure that the amount is reasonable in relation to your overall income. If your entertainment expenses are a huge percentage of your gross income, a red flag could be raised at CRA, and you could get audited. This is a deduction that is abused, and if you are audited, be prepared to have the names on your receipts called to verify that business took place.
Posted Tuesday, January 17th, 2012.
If your home phone is also your business phone, take the time each month to go through your phone bill with a highlighter and highlight all of your long distance business calls. You get to write off a portion of your basic phone charges if you work from home, but this is a small amount, even over the course of a year. Your long distance charges must be separated out. Highlight them and make an abbreviated note about who the call is to, if it is not obvious. Many small businesses lose this as a business write off because at the end of the year they can’t remember which calls were for business, and your bookkeeper won’t write off any of them, because there is no way for her to tell which calls were for business.
Posted Thursday, January 12th, 2012.
Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be. If you don’t have your physical energy in good shape, then your mental energy (your focus), your emotional energy (your feelings), and your spiritual energy (your purpose) will all be negatively affected. Did you know that studies conducted on people who were clinically depressed showed that consistent exercise raises happiness levels just as much as Zoloft? Not only that, but here’s the double whammy… Six months later, the people who participated in exercise were less likely to relapse because they had a higher sense of self-accomplishment and self-worth. credit: marcandangel.com
When we practice spirituality or religion, we recognize that life is bigger than us. We surrender the silly idea that we are the mightiest thing ever. It enables us to connect to the source of all creation and embrace a connectedness with everything that exists. Some of the most accomplished people I know feel that they’re here doing work they’re “called to do.” credit: marcandangel.com
Being wholeheartedly dedicated to doing something comes fully-equipped with an ineffable force. Magical things start happening when we commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes to get somewhere. When you’re fully committed to doing something, you have no choice but to do that thing. Counter-intuitively, having no option – where you can’t change your mind – subconsciously makes humans happier because they know part of their purpose. credit: marcandangel.com
Deep happiness cannot exist without slowing down to enjoy the joy. It’s easy in a world of wild stimuli and omnipresent movement to forget to embrace life’s enjoyable experiences. When we neglect to appreciate, we rob the moment of its magic. It’s the simple things in life that can be the most rewarding if we remember to fully experience them. credit: marcandangel.com
