Buy Now, Save Later: And A Very Merry Creative Consulting Christmas (Part One)

The end of the year will be here in no time, and with only a few weeks left to spare, end of the year spending could help your upcoming tax season be much less painful! 

Hello, Summerville! Welcome back to the blog writer's desk! While we are all ensconced with holiday cheer and joy, we know many of our readers and fellow small business owners are figuring out the best steps, plans, and decisions to make their companies bigger and better in 2021. We know many of our small business peers are trying to wrap up this crazy year as best as they can, planning for what they can, and figuring out and planning for the best ways to save money on their upcoming 2020 taxes. Oh yes, we are going there already. As much as you might hate it now, we promise you'll love us for it later! With so many small businesses being passed up on small business loans and other opportunities this year to help them through what the pandemic left behind, pinching pennies and saving what you can might be the difference between getting your head far above water and doggy paddling. 

Like we said, we're going there. Tax season is going to be here much faster than we realize. We'll celebrate New Year's day, blink, and all of a sudden April 15th will be here! It will seem even closer for those who paid their taxes on the extended day of July 15th. Instead of having a whole year to prepare for 2020 taxes, it suddenly became 8 months to prepare. Four months makes a big difference when you're a business owner, you know that and we know that. So give yourself an early Christmas gift and jump on board for being prepared now.

Don't worry, you're not alone. We are already wrapping up our year, deep in planning mode for 2021, gearing up to be as prepared as possible, and ready to jump-start on whatever 2021 might bring us. So, as an early gift from us to you, we wanted to help you get organized with some tips, suggestions, and even a checklist for how to make 2021 your best year yet. In this two-part blog, we are going to be covering it all! This first part will be dedicated to how to save some nickles and dimes now to make tax season less painful, and part two will be an end of the year checklist to help wave goodbye to 2020 in the strongest way possible. 

Buy It Now, Save Later! 
Our passion is to help companies grow to their full potential and beyond, creating a powerful brand, voice, and social fingerprint. We offer website design services, graphic design services, social media management, search engine optimization services, and much more. Each of these services is beneficial for companies who wish to grow and expand, and to rise above their competitors. Each of these services is also what we are very passionate about. We continue to grow, study, and learn about the latest trends to continue to offer the best of each service. Have you or your company been considering a new website, a new logo, a new rebrand, someone to manage your social media services? Now might be the perfect time to sign on with us! Purchasing a new website or a logo design this year can be used as a business expense to help lower your 2020 taxes for next year! Up your game against your competition and begin bettering your business, all while saving money for your growing business now! 

While we are talking about saving your company money, here are some other things you and your small business could be doing right now (after signing on with us for a website or logo project, that is) that can save you some serious tax headaches come April 15th. Please remember to save all of your paperwork and receipts, and make sure everything is documented and dated properly. This will save any confusion if anyone tries to challenge you when you make these financial decisions, and they will make your tax advisor and preparer very thankful for your organizational skills! 

• Check all of your withholdings
• Look for every deduction applicable to your company 
• See if there is any pandemic tax relief that carries over from this year into the next. 
• Double-check to see if any tax law has been changed that could benefit your company, and take advantage of that. 
• Collect your tax credits, and if you have missed this in the past make sure to research what tax credits your company will be eligible for in the future! Don't let these get away from you! 
• Fund an HSA. 
• Add to retirement contributions.
• Buy business equipment and supplies. 
• Establish retirement plans if you don't have them yet for you and your employees. 
• Donate to your favorite local charities. Donating items and property can get you a bigger write off than money in some situations. 
• Sell off your losing stocks.
• Give your employees year-end gifts and bonuses.
• Look into purchasing vehicles that are energy-efficient, or look into buying property.

It might be a little different, but with so many great opportunities to save money on your upcoming taxes, this feels like digging into your couch for spare change and coming up with fist fulls of twenty-dollar bills! We hope following these suggestions not only help you save money, but also help give back to your community and employees! 

As a little sneak peek at what our next blog is going to be like and some things to start thinking about now, here are a few things you can start doing to revamp your business and save money going into 2021.

• Negotiate with your vendors. Many of you might be working with other small businesses that have been hurt by 2020. If you are seeing changes in your product billing, your shipping expenses, and even on products that your company uses every day, don't just let that go. Contact your vendors and see what can be done to get a hold of these prices and if they can do something better for you! 
• It's so easy to get into the habit of buying extra products for the office. Too many fancy pens, extra envelopes, file folders, and much more. While we wouldn't recommend cutting down on things that make your employees happy (i.e. a fancy water cooler, softer toilet paper, snacks!) make sure you are double checking what your office is actually using and what it can let go of. 
• Talk with your landlord. Through this crazy year, you've been providing them with rent and have remained a very loyal and kind tenant. Approach them to see if there is something that can be worked out about the rent itself. As a thank you maybe it doesn't go up in 2020, maybe rent goes down for the first month of 2021, or your utilities get taken care of? While some people might scoff at that, the only way to find out is to ask. You might be surprised at the results. 

There is still so much to share, so make sure you join us next time for part two of this blog. While it's so easy to let go this time of year and you just want to sit back and enjoy, please don't forget that there is still so much left to do! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about your end of the year business plan, please don't hesitate to reach out and chat with us! We are here to help make this year and every year the best year yet. We are right with all of you who are burning your 2020 business candle at both ends, believe us, but we know the work and dedication is worth it! We are dedicated to helping our company grow to help yours become the best it possibly can! Until next time Summerville, make sure to shop small and support our community. Make sure to contact us if you are looking to design a new website or a new logo, and never forget to stay extra caffeinated this holiday season!