How bookkeeping help can make business filing and tax preparation easier

As your business grows, it inherently gets more complex – and so do your bookkeeping and tax responsibilities. This begs the question: what exactly goes into ensuring your small business stays compliant with the appropriate bookkeeping and tax tasks throughout the year?

Follow us as we outline the details and synergies of bookkeeping and tax services.

Bookkeeping and tax services: How they go hand in hand

Do bookkeeping and taxes relate to one another? The short answer is “absolutely.” Below we’ll walk through what each is responsible for, but first, let’s outline where the overlap has its payoff:

1. Uncovering potential deductions based on knowledge of all of your expenses.
2. Making tax filing easier by carrying over bookkeeping financial records into the forms you’ll need at tax time.
3. Receiving year-round support from your bookkeeping and tax team to keep you on track and up to date.

Questions about any of these bookkeeping tasks for your business? Schedule a free bookkeeping consultation with a Block Advisor pro.

To see up close how bookkeeping and tax duties come to life, read on. 

What is a bookkeeper?

If you’re questioning, “What does a bookkeeper do for a small business?” We’ll detail the answer here. Bookkeeping entails detailed record-keeping of your small business’ transactions and helps assess its financial vitality by tracking expenses and revenue. So, “what services do bookkeepers provide? The answer is the following services:

• Asset records
• Bank transactions
• Bills
• Credit card purchases
• Financial transaction reports
• Payroll records
• Purchase orders
• Receipts
• Sales invoices

What do tax professionals do?

Like a bookkeeper, many tax pros perform tasks that involve financial records. But, as the name implies, they focus on taxes. If you’re questioning, “What are the main steps to take for small business taxes?” Responsibilities often include:

• Guiding clients through the tax preparation process
• Collecting relevant financial records to produce an accurate tax return
• Making sure clients pay the right amount of local, state, and federal taxes 
• Identifying small business tax deductions related to home office expenses, business travel expenses, and more.
• Filing small business tax forms 
• Representing clients before local, state, and federal tax agencies as necessary

How can a bookkeeper assist in doing your taxes – the bottom line

The bullet points above give you an idea about the benefits of a bookkeeper, but the main takeaway is that when you’ve got the same team doing your books and preparing your taxes, they’ll have the full picture of your business’ financials.

Bookkeeping and taxes all in one

So, when asking, “Do bookkeepers do taxes?” The answer varies as it depends on the person or professional service you choose. While you may want to do it all on your own, reality may set in. Do you really have the time and desire to accurately complete your small business’ taxes and bookkeeping tasks? In fact, there are indirect costs associated with spending hours of your day on these tasks instead of focusing on what you love about your business. 

If you’re looking to outsource bookkeeping and taxes to complete the complete financial picture, consider using Block Advisors. Learn more about Block Advisor bookkeeping. Schedule a free bookkeeping consultation.

Need to get your documents in order now? Learn more about our year-end filing readiness service. Our pros can help you tidy up your small business tax documents, log your expenses, create an income summary report, and find available tax credits and deductions.