Business Income And Expenses Worksheet: Fill & Download for Free

Getting more likes on Facebook is very challenging for many businesses and entrepreneurs out there. The fastest way to get more is to buy Facebook likes and this is a very popular method as well. If this is not for you, then read or for some important business tips that may be beneficial for you.What do you need to do to start a business? There are dozens of websites including ours that have checklists that remind you of the many tasks you should perform when starting a business. Although such checklists are very useful because they help you remember important startup steps, they are just To Do lists. They tell you what to do, but don't provide any tips about what makes a business successful.Know yourself, your true motivational level, the amount of money you can risk, and what you're willing to do to be successful. Sure, we all want to make millions of dollars. But what are you willing to give up to reach that goal? How many hours a week will you work on an ongoing basis? How far out of your comfort zone are you willing to stretch? How far will your family stretch with you? To be successful, keep your business plans in line with your personal and family goals and resources.Choose the right business for you. The old formula – find a need and fill it – still works. It will always work. The key to success is finding needs that you can fill, that you want to fill, and that will produce enough income to build a profitable business.Be sure there really is a market for what you want to sell. One of the biggest mistakes startups make is to assume a lot of people will want to buy a particular product or service, because the business owner likes the ideas or knows one or two people who want the product or service. To minimize your risk for loss, never assume there is a market. Research the idea. Talk to real potential prospects (who aren't family and friends) to find out if what you want to sell is something they'd be interested in buying, and if so, what they'd pay for the product or service.Plan to succeed. If you're not seeking investors or putting a huge sum of money into your business, you may not need an elaborate business plan, but you still do need a plan - one that specifies your goal – your destination – and then lays out at least a skeletal roadmap for how you'll get to where you want to go. The plan will change as you progress and learn more about your customers and competition, but it will still help you stay focused and headed in the right directions. Use our business planning worksheet to help develop that basic plan.Don't procrastinate. I've heard some people advise would-be business owners to not move ahead with their business until they have investigated every last detail of the business they want to start, and are absolutely sure it's all going to work and be profitable. The problem with that approach is that it leads to procrastination. No one ever really has all the pieces in place – even after they've started their business. Yes, you need to research the market, have a rudimentary plan in place and do things like get a tax id if needed, register with local officials, if required, etc. But if you try to make everything perfect before you launch, you may never get around to starting the business at all.Start on a small scale before going all out. Some people believe that entrepreneurs are risk-takers. But for the most part, successful entrepreneurs don't like walking blindfolded on a limb. Instead, they take controlled risks. They test an idea on a small scale, then build on what works well, tweak what shows promise and discard the disasters.Don't fixate on mistakes or get demoralized by them. The difference between successful people and everyone else is that the successful people learn from their mistakes and move on. They don't dwell on failure, blame the economy, curse their bad luck, or blame other people for their fate. If the path to their goal is blocked, they look for an alternate path, or sometimes choose a different, more attainable goal.Learn from others. Find mentors, join groups with like-minded people, learn everything you can about your industry and what it takes to get from where you are to where you want to be. Attend industry conferences. Take training courses when they are available. Buy courses offered by experts. You'll save a tremendous amount of trial and error by learning from people who have been there before.Think of what you do AS a business. Keep track of income and expenses, keep business money separate from personal funds, find out what regulations your business needs to abide by.Understand the difference between working for yourself and building an ongoing business. If you want to build a business, you need to develop systems and methods that allow you to hire other people to DO the work of the business while you plan it. You limit the potential for growth if you don't bring in other people to work for you.Get to know investors. If the business you are starting will need investors to grow, do what you can to find out what investors are looking for and where to find those who might invest in your kind of business. Local angel and venture capital groups are a good place to start – attend meetings they hold or meetings that investors are speaking at.Never stop learning and trying new things. What's profitable now, won't necessarily be profitable next year or 10 years from now. So, don't let yourself fall into the "this is the way I've always done things" rut. Keep your eyes and ears open for new things. Are there newer or better ways to market your products and services? Are customers asking for something you're not offering? Is there a different type of customer you should be targeting? Get answers by reading everything you can about your industry and listening to your customers.

It is a lot more difficult to get your tax estimates exactly right when you work as an independent contractor vs employee. As an employee you pretty much know what your gross pay will be and that is the starting point to calculate taxable income. Additionally an employer for a W2 employees does all the calculations and paperwork to actually get the taxes to the state and IRS. As an independent contractor, you pay tax, both income and self employment, based on net profit or your gross pay after business expenses. Independent contractor gross pay tends to not come in set amounts each month and expenses can obviously vary greatly month to month.You have two option to avoid late payment interest:Pay in 90% of what you ultimately end up owing for this year in equal quarterly estimated payments by Jan 15 following the tax year orPay in 100% of what you owed for the previous tax year in equal quarterly installments by Jan 15 following the tax year.In both cases you also have to pay in the balance of what you owe if any by April 15.Estimated tax payments are paid in using Form 1040ES . If you want to use method 1 above, the instructions in the form have a worksheet to estimate your taxable income. For simplicity, I tell my self employed clients to figure 20 - 25% of gross revenue as what they will owe in federal taxes. State taxes will typically be an additional 4–8% if you live in a state with income tax. California for example, which will be at the higher end of the tax rate range.Estimated tax deposits are dueApril 15June 15Sept 15Jan 15The dates will vary by a day or so, depending on holidays and weekends, but don’t wait until the last minute if you are trying to make tax deposits on time.Finally, if you are overwhelmed by all the the estimated tax deposit requirements, don’t stress. The interest rate on under paid taxes is about 3% annually right now, so even if you miss, the penalty is not that terrible. You would be better off to be sure you pay your credit card on time.

If your business cost money to start up but failed to generate any income you would not have any income tax debt therefore not have to file a return. HOWEVER, if you have other sources of income that is reported to IRS or State by means of payroll check you will have obtained a taxable income and may need to file a return if you made more than $9000. Go to IRS.gov. for worksheets and accurate information.