Your source for business and chamber news in the Greater Kingston Area FEBRUARY 12, 2014
Vol. 3 NO. 2
Keeping tax time stress to a minimum: professional bookkeepers offer up some tricks of the trade By Hollie Pratt-Campbell hpratt-campbell@perfprint.ca
Christine and Charles Salvail, the husband and wife team behind CCS Bookkeeping, admit that a lot of stressed out business owners come through their door at this time of year. “What we find in the bookkeeping industry is that clients are reactive instead of proactive [at tax time]”, Christine notes. “They’re busy building their business. They’re busy going out and making their sales. They’re out doing what they know how to do. They don’t find the bookkeeping side of it as important until they get a letter from CRA saying ‘you’re being audited’ or ‘you have a tax return that’s due’, then all of a sudden they’re in a panic. So they’re in the accountant’s office or in my office saying “what do I do?” One time, a new client showed up at CCS’s Dalton Avenue office with five bankers boxes full of crumpled receipts and records. “He said, ‘I don’t know what to do with this’”, Christine recalls. Thankfully, Christine and Charles know exactly what to do – hence their company logo, “Your books are a mess! Don’t stress, call CCS!” The couple’s advice to business owners this tax season is essentially the same as it is all year round. They emphasize that keeping organized, thorough records of your income and business expenses is important all the time, not just at tax time. Even those pesky little receipts are essential, as credit card records that don’t indicate
specific purchases just won’t cut it. “A lot of people don’t keep their receipts,” Christine says. “We’ve seen business owners over the years actually end up declaring bankruptcy because they haven’t kept good records, they got audited and they couldn’t produce the receipts for the expenses so they were all disallowed.” “And they should photocopy every receipt,” adds Charles, noting that otherwise they’re in danger of becoming crumpled and faded, often to the degree of being illegible. Keeping proper records can also help businesses save money and sort out what they are able to claim on a tax return. Christine notes that claims such as vehicle expenses can greatly benefit a business, but owners need to be careful to sort things out properly. “Many people aren’t aware of vehicle policies and end up getting in trouble with CRA about the way they expense the vehicle,” she explains. “If you have your own vehicle and you’re using it for business purposes then you can claim mileage. But if you have a vehicle that’s in the company name and you’re incorporated, the vehicle’s in the corporation’s name, and if you’re using that for personal use that’s a taxable benefit.” She adds that depending on their financial status, many business owners may find it more profitable to pay themselves through dividends as opposed to a salary, as well as to explore savings options other than RRSPs. “A lot of people contribute to RRSPs, but there are different vehicles out
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there to save. RRSPs are not always the best vehicle to use. If you have a lot of debt in the company, it might be better to pay down those debts than it is to put into an RRSP. There are different types of ways to invest the money… But if you haven’t talked to your accountant then you don’t know what the best route for you to go is.” A business owner’s financial status and the decisions that will most benefit them become much clearer, Christine
explains, when books are organized and up-to-date. Those who don’t have the time or inclination to do this work themselves are advised to hire a bookkeeper. “At the time of the year when it comes to [our clients’] taxes, all the books are up-to-date, the numbers are there, they’ve kept up to date as to the profits and losses and taxes and by the time they go to an accountant it’s all done,” Charles says, adding that the
fee clients pay for CCS’s services is far less than hiring an account. “We prepare everything and by the time we get it to an accountant, the accountant doesn’t have to spend as much time on it, so [we can actually save them] money by doing that,” he says. To learn more about CCS, visit www.ccsbookkeeping.ca, call 613549-4227 or email christine@ccsbookkeeping.ca.
Christine and Charles Salvail of CCS Bookkeeping.
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