How to prepare for tax time as a small-business owner

Each month: log income and expenses, set aside a percentage of profit for taxes in a separate account, and photograph any paper receipts. That's the whole system.

Business owners who do this monthly describe tax season as 'sending a folder'. That's the goal.

A typical file includes: totals for income by source, expenses by category, mileage if you drive for work, home-office details if applicable, last year's return, and any tax forms you've received.

Keep the list somewhere permanent and check items off as you collect them — gathering is a checklist, not a memory test.

A clean, categorized year of records is the single biggest gift you can give an accountant — it lowers their time and often their fee. Ask early what format they prefer.

If your situation changed this year — new structure, first employee, new state — ask questions early rather than at the deadline.

Open a 'Taxes — this year' folder now and drop in anything you already have. Then download the Monthly Financial Review — its five lines a month are exactly the numbers tax time asks for.