Tax Season Prep: What to Do in 1 Hour to Save Yourself 10+ Hours Later

Let’s be honest, most business owners don’t plan to procrastinate on taxes. But when receipts get buried, statements go unnoticed, and QuickBooks hasn’t been opened in months… tax season quickly turns stressful.

Here’s the good news: with just one focused hour, you can dramatically reduce that stress, avoid costly mistakes, and even find opportunities to lower your tax bill.

Whether you’re a solopreneur, freelancer, or managing a growing business, this small business tax prep checklist will walk you through what to do, step by step.

🧩 Step 1 (10 min): Pull Your Year-End Financial Snapshot

Start with the basics. You’ll need:

• 📊 Your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports (from QuickBooks, Xero, or Wave)
  
  

• 🧾 Final bank and credit card statements for the year
  
  

• 💰 A list of payment processors used (Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, etc.)
  
  

Tip: No accounting software? No problem. Export bank transactions to a spreadsheet and group them by category.

🧾 Step 2 (15 min): Scan for Overlooked Tax Deductions

This is where most businesses leave money on the table.

Look for:

• 💻 Home office expenses (Wi-Fi, utilities, office space portion)
  
  

• 🚗 Mileage and travel related to business
  
  

• 🍽️ Business meals and client entertainment
  
  

• 🧠 Education and coaching (courses, licenses, certifications)
  
  

• 📣 Marketing costs (ads, SEO tools, website hosting)
  
  

• 🛠️ Software subscriptions and SaaS tools
  
  

• 🤝 Contractor payments (make sure 1099s were issued)
  
  

Use tools like Keeper Tax or Expensify to surface deductions you may have missed.

🧮 Step 3 (10 min): Reconcile Your Financial Accounts

You don’t need everything to be perfect, but your numbers should reflect reality.

Make sure to:

• ✅ Confirm that account balances match your year-end statements
  
  

• ✅ Label major transactions (loans, asset purchases, refunds, debt payoff)
  
  

• ✅ Clean up uncategorized or duplicate entries
  
  

This step alone can prevent errors, or worse, an unexpected audit.

📁 Step 4 (15 min): Organize What Your CPA Will Ask For

Save your accountant time (and billable hours) by preparing the essentials:

• 1099s, W-2s, payroll reports
  
  

• Loan documents (PPP, EIDL, business lines of credit)
  
  

• Receipts or records for major purchases
  
  

• A copy of last year’s tax return
  
  

• Notes on anything unusual: asset sales, owner draws, or business changes
  
  

Drop everything into a clearly labeled Google Drive or Dropbox folder.

✅ Step 5 (10 min): Run a “Tax Health” Self-Check

Ask yourself:

• 🧾 Are your books fully updated through December 31?
  
  

• 🔍 Have you separated business vs. personal expenses?
  
  

• 📬 Did you make and track estimated tax payments?
  
  

• ⚖️ Did your business structure change (e.g., LLC, S-Corp)?
  
  

• ❓ Are you expecting a refund, or preparing for a tax bill?
  
  

If more than two answers feel uncertain, now is the time to get help.

👋 Need a Second Set of Eyes?

At Coach2Consulting, we help small businesses, freelancers, and early-stage founders clean up their books, organize their financials, and feel confident heading into tax season.

✅ No guesswork. No chaos. Just clean, accurate books and smart tax planning.

📞 Book your free “Tax Pulse Check” — in just 15 minutes, we’ll identify one way to save you time, money, or stress this season.
👉 Schedule your call now