Small Business Tax Preparation: 7 Tax Mistakes to Avoid

Tax challenges are common among small business owners and it’s more than likely that one of your biggest pain points is filing your taxes. While it may only occur once per year, it requires substantial preparation.

At this point you may be asking yourself simple questions like “Should I do them myself?”, “What will cause the IRS to audit my small business?” or even “how can I save money filing my small business taxes?”

These are all questions the kind folks at Rocket Lawyer can answer for you, so whether you’re outsourcing your small business taxes or conquering them yourself everything goes according to plan.

Mistake #1: Keeping Poor Records

Disorganized bookkeeping can cause quite the headache when it comes to filing your small business taxes. Keep your records organized so you can properly deduct business-related expenses, manage inventory, prepare accurate financial statements for the IRS, maintain employee payrolls and most important limit the potential for costly legal issues. If you’re old-school and still find efficiency in color coding folders in filing cabinets, make sure you’re documenting everything by month and year. If you prefer digital, Quickbooks is highly regarding as the most effective accounting software for Small Business Owners. Pick your poison and stay organized.

Roofing Works and Services

Roof covering installation and assembly

Roof structure is often called "roofing pie" and not without reason - indeed, any rooftop consists of several elements, which, sort of stratifying on each other, create strong safeguard for housing. Each of coating construction's layers performs its own designated role, whether that be moisture-proofing, noise insulation, or defense against heat loss. During roof's installation it is important to pay particular attention to the sequence of coats in order to ensure effectiveness of their functions. Basic elements are:

- damp-proof membrane and vapor sealing pellicle;

- warmth-keeping lagging;

- protection against wind;

- roof-boarding material;

- ventilation arrangement;

- other components.

Roof installation implies creation of such a "pie", which at the final stage is covered with cladding or thatching, and, if necessary, is painted. Material selection to obtain the desired hermeticity and durability is carried out with due regard to climate characteristics, building's designation and architectural peculiarities, roof's structure (flat or pitched). In addition, it is important to consider degree of loading imposed by snow, winding and other atmospheric phenomena.

Assembly of flat-deck and inclined roofs, other roofing activities require different approaches, equipment and appropriate knowledge of installers. Let's take a detailed look at different roofs' specificity, and focus on such important operational aspects as repairing, maintenance and mounting of rainwater systems.

Features of flat roofs installation

Flat roofs with a slope less than 2.5 degrees are arranged by means of fusion-bonded reel-fed materials or polymeric membranes. These stuffs are designed specifically for terraced-roof option, customized in light of its profile, that gives them maximum protection against weathering, ultraviolet exposure, etc. Assembling rolled materials is accomplished by welding sheets of roll composition roofing using hot air. Various mastics allow achieving waterproof membrane's perfect impermeability.

Assembly of membranous rooftops is executed by attaching the fabric to roofing's screed; membrane sheets are fastened between each other by hot-air welding method. Extruded heat retainers, mineral wool rigid insulate and expanded plastics are applied for flat-deck roofs' winterization. Installation technologies and insulation's choice is determined by roofing type and loads intensity on it.

Pitch roof installation notes

Pitched roofs with a slope of above 8-12 degrees are covered with different roofing materials, among which the most common are clay roofing shingles, metal tile, profiled sheeting, flexible bituminous shingle and cement-sand tiles. In most cases choice of suitable option id driven by customer's personal preferences and size of budget allotted for housetop arrangement.

Corrugated sheets and metal shingles are installed by laying on lathing and fastening with special self-drilling screws. Folded covering assembly involves the use of specialized equipment, by which galvanized steel sheets are bonded in seams (single or double). Flexible bitumen tiles are laid on roof's substructure, which is preliminary necessary to be carefully prepared - cleaned and dried. Mounting versatile bitumen plates is executed overlapping or on self-adhesive tile layer (in certain cases - asphalt coating compound), or by means of nails. Species of slate are laid on prepared lathwork; shingles are attached using stating nails with rubber gasket and anticorrosion cap. Holes for nails in sheets of slate are drilled in advance. Thermal insulation of inclined roofs, implying the presence of loft (or mansard), is produced using fiberglass or mineral-based materials having density from 35 to 125 kg / cubic meter. Depending on whether attic or mansard will be arranged, heaters are attached along the slope or on ceiling slab respectively. Qualitative carrying out of works on roofing weatherization can substantially reduce electricity consumption for heating and improve reliability of the entire roof structure.

Roof repair

Despite the fact that installing carried out by professionals ensures housetop's trustability and its primary function - protection against atmospheric precipitation, nevertheless sooner or later a necessity of repair arises. Roof repair, regardless of its type, is divided into current and capital. Current repairing includes eliminating small defects in coating (cracks, bumps, depressurization of joints), and if necessary, elements' partial replacement. Major overhaul implies replacing roofing material, comprising dismantling of old covering, restoration of roof structure, installation of thermal insulation, installation of new coverage and painting (if necessary).

Timely conduction of current repairs allows to maintain the roof in excellent condition with minimal resources and efforts. Permanent maintenance performed by professionals is important to detect and correct defects.

Roofing maintenance

In order to extend roofing's service life and eliminate the need for major repairs, attendance is conducted, implying thorough inspection and elimination of existing defects. Different types of covering require individual approach and high professionalism. Examination should be done at least twice a year for timely detection of potential problems. Roofing service may also include roofing cleaning spillway chutes and pipes, sealing elements of roofing system, cleaning debris, snow and ice from the roof, painting elements that have lost their original appearance and many other things.

Drainage systems arrangement

Organization of gutters is necessary action in building any rooftop. For pitched roofs exterior drainage system is used, consisting of pipes and gutters fabricated of metal or PVC. Properly organized water disposal shields facade and basement from premature destruction upon exposure to moisture and, in addition, allows giving the house more finished attractive look.

Choice of material and shape of the drainage elements is dictated by customer's financial resources and personal aesthetic preferences. In most cases, installing PVC gutters is less expensive, but because of their properties to change under influence of temperature, plastic pipes and gutters can lead to leakages. Modern rainwater systems' manufacturers for this purpose develop special sealants delivered with PVC gutters, which can significantly prolong their lifespan.

Copper cunettes are considered to be the most durable, but other metallic watercourses also have an excellent performance and can serve for decades. "General Builder" also offers solutions for flat roofs, where internal runoff systems, including spillway funnels, pipes and connectors, are organized. Professionals' participation is necessary for optimal calculation of load, imposed on drainage system. Works should be carried out with clear correspondence to requirements specified in regulatory documents, taking into account structure's slope, dimensions, and many other factors.

How Can Customer Reviews Help Small Business?

Customer reviews are a valuable assessment when it comes to seeing how well your business is currently performing. Try not to consider a review as something that is going to give your business a bad name; a negative review from time to time can actually help your business improve its standards. Whether it’s online or in print form, reviews are going to happen, and inevitably, your business will be reviewed at some point too.

Rather than avoiding reviews like the plague, Guy Arnold, an employer expert, believes that a business should relish reviews and collect them. This is because reviews can be used as a sign post for any company looking to validate the product or service they’re trying to sell. For example, when somebody uses Amazon, they are likely to read the reviews section for advice on the product; for Arnold, this is what’s known as the ‘buying signal’ for potential customers.

Social media and Trip Advisor are both crucial when ensuring your reviews are positively recognised by the public. Generate greater interest in your business when someone Tweets about it by retweeting that tweet and liking it. By doing so, people who wouldn’t usually recognise your brand are being exposed to your good product or service. Trip Advisor is particularly good if you want your business recognised nationally or internationally if you include more than one language on your page. Keeping your profile up to date, with your most recent picture included, is a good way of appealing to new customers on a regular basis.