Episode 22: Streamline Your Year-End Tax Prep: Essential Tips for Business Owners

Can confusing expense categories sabotage your year-end tax preparation? On this episode of Real Buzz, join us, Melissa and Eric, as we unpack the critical year-end tax tips every business owner needs to know. We shine a light on the hidden dangers of vague bookkeeping categories like "Miscellaneous" and "Uncategorized Expenses" and share savvy strategies to ensure your financial records are IRS-ready. With insights on how to collaborate effectively with your bookkeeper, you’ll learn to tidy up your balance sheet and streamline your documentation process for a stress-free tax season.

But that's not all—We'll also also guide you through alternative tax strategies to get the most out of your business's finances. From innovative compensation plans like student loan repayments to navigating the complexities of health insurance premiums for S-corporation owners, we cover it all. We also explore the best practices for year-end financial preparations, highlighting the debate between actual vehicle expenses and mileage deductions. Plus, discover unique ways to appreciate your employees beyond the traditional cash bonus, and why consulting a trusted tax professional is crucial. Don't miss out on practical tips that could transform your approach to tax preparation. The time to plan your year end strategies is now, so let's get started!

For more information or to ask a question, visit us at https://busybeeadvisors.com/?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=gbp

Chapter Summaries:
(00:00) Year-End Tax Preparation Tips
Business expenses should be clearly defined and categorized, with annual review and collaboration with bookkeepers for efficient tax preparation.

(11:03) Tax Strategies for Business Owners
Exploring employee compensation and benefits, including student loan repayments and health insurance for S-corporation owners.

(21:36) End of Year Financial Preparations
The importance of accurate business records, choosing between actual expenses or mileage deductions, and alternatives to cash bonuses.

To learn more about Busy Bee accounting and services, or to simply connect with Eric or Melissa, find them at Busy Bee Advisors.

Transcript

00:00 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Welcome to the Real Buzz. I'm Melissa. 

00:04 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
I'm Eric. 

00:04 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
He is my husband. 

00:06 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
She is my wife. 

00:08 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Okay, so all kinds of things that we want to share topics. I mean, end of the year is always such an exciting time in the tax realm of things, so do you want to take it away? 

00:24 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Yeah, I mean, you wouldn't think that the end of the year would be so important for you know, your tax guy or your accountant, but it actually is. That's where you want to, like, you know, tie off, start to tie off the ribbon and the bow for the year. You want to get certain things done. So this is the time where you want to start taking a look and reviewing your profit and loss sheet. Start taking a look at your uncategorized expenses. There should be nothing left in there. There should be nothing in your miscellaneous category those categories. 

00:54
Oh, I hate the miscellaneous category, the IRS leaves it there, I think, as like a joke. 

00:59 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
What about reimbursements? What about that categorization? Because I find that I sometimes on the bookkeeping side of things will try to fight that with clients and really try to define for the tax side of things, really try to define with them what those reimbursements are for. Is that helpful? 

01:17 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Are we wasting our time. You need to define what reimbursements are. Reimbursements aren't a category. 

01:21 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
I do love hearing that I'm right. 

01:24 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So like, the first thing to do is to take a look at the reimbursements and find out what are these for, and then put them in the associated categories. Sure, so like, if it's a reimbursement because you know you bought, you know a thousand dollars worth of food and drink for the company party, that's a reimbursement for supplies for an event. 

01:43 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right, but usually what it'll be is it'll be a reimbursement for a variety of different things, and so you have, maybe, multiple lines. You know, maybe it's a reimbursement to your office manager for supplies for an event and postage, and you know the fuel for all those errands that he or she just ran for you. 

02:03 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So Right, because there's no reimbursement category on the IRS income, business income tax reporting forms. There's no reimbursement category and no, it shouldn't be listed as an other expense category either, because they'll want to know well, what were those reimbursements for? Right, and that kind of opens up its own can of worms. So stay away from that in its entirety. Reimbursements is not a category, Miscellaneous is not a category and uncategorized expenses also not a category. 

02:32 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So we're going to just put all those under other and say they just don't exist. So they need to be more clearly defined. 

02:39 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Yeah, they go to something. Every one of those should go to something. Let's say you like reimbursed a staff member for the use they. They use their cell phone all year and you're reimbursing them for the cell phone because you're a good boss and you write a check and that check comes back. Your bookkeepers aren't going to know what that check is for. So you got to note that on the check reimbursement dash, you know staff cell phone Right, something that lets the person that's looking at the check image know what that cost is for. 

03:13 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So just to go over it for our listeners, there should be nothing in a reimbursements category. There should be nothing in an other miscellaneous category. Other miscellaneous category. You should review uncategorized expenses either with your bookkeeper or, if you feel savvy enough to assign them to the appropriate account categories, go ahead and assign them to the appropriate account categories. I, however, can think of one other spot that business owners should definitely need, should definitely be looking at with their financials. 

03:43 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
And that's probably on my list of things to get to. 

03:46 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Oh, okay, okay, go ahead. 

03:46 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
You know. So just to reiterate yes, you're right, Reimbursement is not a category, uncategorized expenses also not a category, and miscellaneous is a category that should never be used. So go through all of those, Find where their new home is supposed to be. Either, if you use QuickBooks Online, convert it over to an Excel spreadsheet, write some notes in there, kick it back to your bookkeeper and you may have to pay for some data entry. It is what it is, but get it done, because your tax person may not know what to do with it and may dump it into a category that is less than attractive. 

04:25 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right, like that other category. 

04:27 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Yeah, like miscellaneous or and or other expense category where they actually type in you know this is reimbursements or something like that. You don't want that as clean and as simplified books as possible for your tax preparer to easily convert from the P&L over to your reporting form Right For your taxes. Right, and so getting reimbursements cleared up is very important. I think one of the areas that is overlooked for partnerships and corporations is the owner expense category. Yes, so the owner expense category doesn't actually live on the P&L. 

05:09
It lives on the balance sheet and this is like the dumping ground for bookkeepers that literally look at it and they say have no clue what this is for, and these expenses either are irregular or regular, and my client hasn't told me what they're for, so I'm just going to dump them into owner's expense. Well, that has to be cleared out. 

05:35 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So just for clarification, owner's expense can be listed as owner's equity. It can be listed as owner's pay and personal expenses. It can be listed as shareholder expenses shareholder draws. So it's under the equity section on your balance sheet and that's correct. 

05:53 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
You're talking about and you'll want to dig into that, because that should be zeroed out every year. 

05:58 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right, and so if you're working with a bookkeeper, one of the things that you can do to be proactive because I know all of our listeners are incredibly proactive taxpaying citizens is you can ask them to run a detailed report of the we'll call it the owner's pay and personal expenses category so you can show where you can see and review all of the items that have been kind of put into that category. 

06:26 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
 Very much and for instance, we have a client that the that on the owner's expense report it showed a lot of hair and nail appointments and makeup and stuff like that. Well, that actually is a part of her business because she does a lot of public speaking business. Because she does a lot of public speaking, she does a lot of in-person education and engagement and she gets paid for those events. Some of them are paid in promotional compensation, but others are actually cash, and so that is a legitimate business expense. But most bookkeepers aren't going to see that as a business expense Right, Because while they know the name of your company, they may not know what your company does specifically. 

07:10
So you need to review that because there's some things that will get dumped into there that are actually business expenses that then need to be moved from that portion of the balance sheet onto the profit and loss and that becomes a business deduction. In truth, If it stays in the owner's expense because it was well, maybe you went to Disneyland and it was not a business related outing and you spent money on your business card and stuff like that because it was easier or whatever, that money then needs to be listed as either officer compensation or it needs to be deducted from your corporate stakeholder basis. 

07:54 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right and your tax professional can help you with things like that. 

07:59
But I would say, you know I think it's for most people that I've spoken with it's the natural inclination to be more cautious than to really push the limit right. In a lot of cases we are pushing our clients on the limit of things any way or encouraging them to break the law, but we're really pushing for them to like we're talking about now go through those owner's pay, go through those uncategorized expenses, leave kind of no stone unturned. But you know, maybe there are some things in owner's pay that are legitimate business expenses. So we had one client and I know that this may kind of cut through to one of the things you wanted to talk about but we had one client that he didn't realize it and he had set up his student loans to be paid from the company and if you want to touch on this a little bit later in the episode, we certainly can. But it just came to my mind and he thought that those should all be categorized as owner's pay. But that wasn't actually necessarily the case. 

09:05 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right. So, as we say, whenever we give tax strategy advice, always talk it over with your professional, and if you want additional information, go ahead and visit us at busybeadvisorscom or ineedbookkeepingcom. So there is a provision that was recently put on one of the federal bill packages and essentially what it boils down to is that companies can pay directly to the employee X dollars a month to go for one purpose and one purpose only, and that's to pay student loans, and that is 100% deductible as a business deduction. Student loans, and that is 100% deductible as a business deduction. 

09:50 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
The bonus to the employee is that it's a non-taxable event, right, and this is really huge. Like I know, you guys hear me and I get really excited about lots of things when it comes to the tax code, but this was one when we really talked it through is so exciting to me. And it's exciting to me for two reasons. First of all, you're able to let your employees know that you appreciate them and you're able to pay them in a way that's not tax, that's not taxable income, right. 

10:19
So, you can use it as a, you know, as a way to kind of bonus without bonusing your staff, but talk about some of the other ways that we were discussing where it can be utilized. So employee retention is huge. 

10:31 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Employee retention is huge. It helps with keeping employees satisfied with their job, because if they think their boss cares about them and you do it may not always show, but you do. You need them to make money, so of course you obviously care about them just for that. But you also could care about them on a personal level, and if you have an option of either saying OK, look, I'll give you a dollar more an hour, so that's 40 more dollars a week, that's on average one hundred and sixty dollars a month, right. And then you know that comes out to just under two thousand dollars. That's on average $160 a month, right. And then you know that comes out to just under $2,000. That's all taxed. 

11:10 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
It's a year and it's $2,000 a year. 

11:12 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So they really see. 

11:13 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
At best they see 80% of that. 

11:17 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
That's being generous. I know I would say more along the lines of like 50% is what they actually get back into their pocket after taxes. State local Social Security, medicare. 

11:28 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So it's $1,000 a year raise. 

11:31 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So it's something, but is it a lot? 

11:35 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Well, and to add to it, it also, as a business owner, adds to what you have to pay out in payroll taxes. 

11:42 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right. So you have costs that increase. You give them $1 an hour, but you're also going to be paying more on top of that dollar an hour. 

11:48 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Payroll taxes, workers' comp there's all kinds of things that increase on your side too. 

11:53 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
But if you then say, okay, look, I'm not going to increase your payroll, but I will give you money so that you can pay off your student? Now, this only applies to employees that have student loans. Now, this only applies to employees that have student loans Right. But you could say OK, look, I'm going to give you, instead of an extra $160 a month on average because I increased your pay by $1 an hour, I'm going to give you $200. Right to go towards your student loan and the company can issue them a check directly. 

12:23 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Yep. 

12:24 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
And then that person uses the money to $200 to pay off their student loans and they're not taxed on it and you as an owner get to write it all off. 

12:31 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right. 

12:32 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
It's hard to like. If we had like a whiteboard and I was talking in front of a group of people, I could actually do bullet points on how this is a very beneficial process. The big caveat is they must have a student loan. So who does this mostly apply to? Younger employees or employees that this is their second job, where they went back to school to learn how to do something and now they're back, you know, working in a second job. So it's not just going to be for people in their 20s, in their early 30s. It could also apply to someone that's in their 40s that just went back to school, did a massive career change, education, all that fun stuff and then they're sitting on a significant student loan debt. 

13:16
Anytime you help someone in a way that's not standard, it is definitely perceived with a lot more care and love or attention or affection than if someone just gave you a dollar an hour raise. Absolutely stress on to clients how much of a benefit that is, especially if you are hiring people that are in their 20s or 30s or doing. They did a massive career change and now they're, you know, working for you and they got $30,000 in student loan debt. Well, $30,000 in student loan debt translates to a couple hundred dollars a month. What if you covered that? 

13:55 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Now, generally when I ask you a question, I usually have an idea of the answer. So I guess with this I do have an idea of the answer, but I'm not quite positive about the answer. So here's the question Can an owner also be an employee and can the owner reimburse themselves for student loans? 

14:14 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Yes. 

14:15 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Super awesome. 

14:17 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
The thing is, just because you own the corporation doesn't necessarily mean that you get to take advantage of the benefits that could potentially be given to your employees. You also have to be an employee of your own company. 

14:28 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
And if you do this for yourself along the same lines, you have to open this up to doing it for. Yeah, it can't be a very Right, you can't pick and choose, you can't do a very narrow policy for your company that only applies to you. 

14:45 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
You could do something that only applies to management. You could do something that only applies to line staff management or hire. But yeah, you generally want to spread the wealth. 

14:56 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Yeah, so there's different ways to separate it out, but as a good rule to follow, if you're implementing something like that, you have to know that you have to do it for everybody. 

15:05 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So that's, in regards to student loans, a little bit of a tangent. 

15:07 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
I don't know, that gets me. 

15:09 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
It's like so mind-blowing. But other things that you need to be focused on doing before the end of the year, before the Christmas holidays, is that you want to make sure that if you are getting a W-2 as the owner of the corporation that your payroll company knows that you need to do the 2% plus shareholder S-corp owner health insurance increase on your W-2. 

15:32 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Okay, let's talk about that. 

15:34 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Okay. So if you have a corporation, the corporation pays for your health insurance and you're a W-2 employee of your own corporation, that health insurance then needs to be added on to your W-2. 

15:50 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So just to clarify, if I own a company and am employed by that company, then something needs to happen on my W-2. 

15:54 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right. If you got health insurance through your company, got it and it's an S-corp. This is specifically towards S-corps and stuff like that, but it can't apply. Definitely talk to your tax person that health insurance needs to be listed as wages, not as employee benefits. On the company P&L. 

16:10 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
And how would an owner employee verify with their payroll company that that had happened? 

16:17 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
All you have to do is inform the payroll company, because the payroll companies this is not something new to them, right? So they increase your box one wages. That's the only thing that gets increased on the W-2, in that it's a direct correlation to how much was paid for your health insurance. Okay, now on your personal filing, that increase in wages actually is then deducted as a self-employed health insurance deduction. 

16:41 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Oh, awesome. 

16:43 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right. So the company does get to write it off against its profits and it's going on to your wages and your wages do increase because of it. But then you immediately take the self-employment deduction against that increase in wages and it's zeroed it out. So now you just got a W-2 that is based upon wages that you earned for working with your company for the year. 

17:04 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
That's fabulous. 

17:05 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right, definitely walk that through with whoever does your accounting and does your tax preparation is. But also make sure the payroll company is aware, because this is not something new to them. They know what to do. They know the processes. It should cost you nothing for them to do this adjustment, and if it does cost you something, then I would seriously consider changing who your payroll provider is. 

17:27 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Yeah. 

17:28 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
And so you know, being aware that that's one of the things, that you need to make sure that gets done before the Christmas holidays. The next thing is is to make sure that your mileage logs are all up to date. 

17:38 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Okay. 

17:38 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Don't wait until February, where you're trying to make sure that your P&L is cleaned up, that your balance sheet is cleaned up, that your assets listed on your balance sheet have the correct loan amounts and all that fun stuff. Don't wait to get all of this data in a two-day period when you could just be spending a little bit of time. 

18:00 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
And by February you mean February of the following year. 

18:04 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right February of the following year, which is just two months away. Right Say, do a little bit of work in advance. Make sure your mileage logs are up to date. Mileage logs for corporations are just as important as it is for a sole proprietor. 

18:18 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Now, how do you feel about the mileage log apps? I'm a fan. Oh, you are a sole proprietor. Now, how do you feel about the mileage log apps? 

18:22 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Like we've always been a fan. Oh, you are a fan, okay, I'm a fan. But just like with anything the mileage log book that someone keeps in their vehicle, the mileage log Excel spreadsheet that they keep on their computer, the app and stuff like that it's only as good as you using it. So you feel it works in the same capacity. I feel that it works in the same capacity and in fact, like, if you see, like some of the people that use some of the mileage apps, it actually like timestamps it, yeah Right, and it also will. If you had any parking or tolls along that route, it will note it. You may pay it separately and stuff like that, but on the report it'll note that. 

19:02
It'll say okay, you went through a toll and at the time it was $5. And it'll give you a total, even though you may have already paid it through auto draw or whatever, whatnot. It's going to note that on the report, which is great. 

19:13 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So it's a backup and secondary way to kind of cross-check some other automobile expenses. 

19:18 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Cash check some other automobile expenses. That and mileage can play a pivotal role as a tax strategy for sole proprietors, for partnerships, for S-corporations, even a corporation that you own. If you're using your personal vehicle for business purposes, corporation now owes you a check for your mileage right. So make sure your mileage logs are up to date. For any company type, it's still useful data to use. Even if it doesn't result in a deduction for you, having that on hand can also make it. So you know. You know what I drove my car like. 80% of the mileage I put on my vehicle was company based. 

19:58 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So why don't? 

19:59 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
I just buy a company car. 

20:00 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
I had a speaking event a couple of weeks ago and the topic it was for a group of real estate professionals and the the topic of, you know, automobile expenses and mileage logs Cause it's one of my favorite things to talk about, Not like in all of life, but in the realm of tax strategies came up and I got pushback for the first time from somebody in the audience who was saying that he had never found it to be worth it to keep a detailed mileage log and especially because of that particular profession, where they are definitely mobile, definitely on the go, definitely driving from one location to another, I can't imagine that the standard mileage deduction would come to be more valuable than a mileage log, Do you? 

20:57 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
I would say that the vehicle he was driving had really poor gas mileage. Log do you? I would say that the vehicle he was driving had really poor gas mileage. Actual costs for a vehicle generally are going to be less unless that vehicle is used as part of the business process okay, so like tow truck company tow First off. 

21:18
Terrible gas mileage, yes, but the vehicle is used for the business exclusively. So all of the costs associated with that tow truck, if you add it up in aggregate, is probably going to have a greater deductive value than a mileage log. 

21:35 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Okay. So how does somebody decide if it makes sense to keep the records? Because my thought process is that it always makes sense to keep the records. But how do we convince that person who's maybe not sure if it's worth it? 

21:52 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Multiple layers so, first and foremost, if you have a personal vehicle being used for business purposes and the company is currently paying for the expenses of the vehicle, you add up those actual expenses and then you add up the mileage and you take the greater of the two. That's one route. The second route is that your mileage becomes a justified receipt or written record of your actual expenses. 

22:17 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Well, doesn't it also become an actual proof of your activity as being an active participant in your business? 

22:25 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
as well. That's exactly what I said right there. 

22:27 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Is that what you said, just with some different words. 

22:30 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So the mileage log or report proof of business activity, right, you can use it to prove not only did your business do this activity so that it supports your actual costs, but then it also supports the fact that you're using this vehicle for business related purposes. So it's justified for you, as the corporate owner, to reimburse this employee for use of their personal vehicle. Got it Taking the greater of the two versus actual over mileage? Now, if mileage is in the favor of the person that owns the vehicle, then you owe them money. If actual is the winner, then you take the actual expenses and you just move on. 

23:09 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
And by owe them money you mean if they're one of your employees or you yourself acting as the employee right. 

23:15 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So if your mileage comes out that it's a $10,000 deduction but actual costs were six, there's a $4,000 deficit that needs to be corrected. 

23:23 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
There you go. Right, and you would talk to your tax person about the best way to go about doing that. 

23:30 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
And this is all stuff to do before the Christmas holidays. 

23:33 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right. 

23:33 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right, this is stuff that you want to be aware of and start doing now Understanding the cleanup of your profit and loss statement, your balance sheet, the categories where things may be misplaced, making sure that your payroll company is aware of a 2% or greater ownership, making sure that the mileage logs are up to date for the first, you know, 10 or 11 months of the year, and then this kind of gives you an idea of what you could be doing in regards to bonuses. Now, bonuses if you watch Christmas Vacation. It was supposed to be in the form of a check. 

24:06 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Yes for a swimming pool. 

24:07 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
For a swimming pool. 

24:08 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Didn't he get a set of like meat? 

24:10 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Yeah, he got a gift certificate of something to write. 

24:14 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Sausages or something. 

24:15 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Right, that's an alternative. In regards to a cash bonus, you can do other things other than giving a cash bonus to show employees appreciation. Talk to your tax person or reach out to us Busyadvisorscom, ineedbookkeepingcom, those are, you know. Those are excellent questions. How can I do something in alternative and that's more of a one-on-one conversation than just having out on the open podcast airways. 

24:48 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
And so let's dive into that just for a second. Why does it become and I know the answer to this question, but I'm leading you a little bit why does that become a one-on-one conversation? Why do people hear so often that's something you want to discuss with your tax professional and we, you know when we're on the air on the podcast like why don't we just tell the information? 

25:12 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
In part it has to do with what your business is and what would fall in the realm of something that is acceptable to do. Okay, so, without giving examples, it's kind of hard to say, but I'm just going to fall back on. If you're looking for alternatives to cash bonuses, talk to your accountant or tax professional. 

25:35 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Right, and so so the reason what I was leading you towards that you you kind of didn't catch. I guess what I was leading you towards was this is that everybody's tax situation is so unique. I mean your, your tax situation is truly almost as unique as your fingerprint. There is not another person that is going to have exactly the same tax situation as you and there's different things that can have impact on your taxes and your tax situation. You know, if you're at a certain income level, there may be things that you can't write off, things along those lines, and so it really does become a personal relationship, and that's kind of the biggest reason why I stress that the most important relationship you have in your if we call it financial toolbox is having that close relationship with your tax professional where you feel like, if you have a question or if you have a thought or an idea or something you'd like to accomplish, you should really view that tax professional as kind of your partner in accomplishing your goals, and working together can go an incredibly long way. 

26:46 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
So that is that you have things to do before the Christmas holidays. So this is end of the year, part one. 

26:52 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
So wait, let's recap really fast, just go down the list. I won't even interrupt you with my questions. 

26:58 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Review your profit and loss statement for certain categories that need to get emptied out. Balance sheet. You need to check on anything that is considered to be owner's pay and get that cleared out. Any reimbursements need to be put into categories, not just listed as a reimbursement. If something is going to be considered an owner's expense, talk to your tax professional on whether or not that's going to be compensation or basis reduction. Notify your payroll company if you're a 2% or a greater stakeholder in your company and you are on payroll and that goes to anybody that's on payroll that's greater than a 2% owner. Okay, mileage, log up to date and alternatives to cash bonuses. 

27:41 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Love it. 

27:41 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
That's the list. Now we've talked about a couple of different things. One of the things I want to make everyone aware of that's listening is that Melissa has a book that is out and it's available on Amazon. It is the four hour bookkeeper. It is, and it is available for purchase on Amazon. It can either be in the form of paper printed, or a PDF. You can download it to any device that you have so you can read it that way, or you can get the old-fashioned paper copy so that you can highlight and make notes in the margins to your heart's content. Please go to Amazon and look up For Our Bookkeeper and of course it will pop right up. And if you get a book or you've already gotten a book, please leave us a review on Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. 

28:27 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Thank you so much. 

28:29 - Eric Broughton (Co-host)
Well, I think that about covers it for Part 1. Part 2 is going to be out very shortly and we'll be talking about some other good stuff for that. Until then, be safe and have a great day. 

28:41 - Melissa Broughton (Host)
Have a great day.