The first time a small business owner gets their tax return, they may be in for a shock: they’ll almost always have to pay taxes! Why? Because they may not have set up estimated taxes. Many small business owners, especially those that provide services, work as independent contractors at first. This means no taxes are taken out of their pay checks. Many small business failures come from not being prepared for this. The payment a small business owner takes from the business is considered an advance on earnings, and most owners don’t take social security or other taxes out of these advances. What they need to do is set up quarterly estimated payments. These payments are deposits made to a specific bank account. At the end of the year, this account is used to pay any taxes owed. If you don’t have one of these accounts set up, a CPA can assist you in estimating what your taxes will be and help you prepare for tax season. Most would agree that it’s better to pay a little bit every three months than to be hit with a large tax bill at the end of the year.

When you start-up your own business, there are a ton of things you ‘ll need to spend money on, but its surprising how many of them can be put off for at least a little while.  Sadly, some you have to pay from the get go.

• A computer. If you’re operating an online business, you’re going to have to have a computer. It is a business risk to invest in a new computer when you don’t know if you’ll succeed or not, so if without a business you’d never have a computer, consider leasing on. The write offs are better.  Go for a desktop- they’re cheaper and don’t skimp on the high speed connection.

• If you’re business is online, you’ll certainly need a url, some form of ecommerce software or if you’re working with a different type of template and/or you have a little more online skill you’ll also need an html editor like Dreamweaver.  You’ll need a hosting service as well.

• Finally, you’ll need to be sure to register your business, get a retail sales tax license if you’ll be selling online and set up a bank account

Yes, there are other things that you’ll need of course, but if you want to start a small business, get used to watching those pennies from day one.  It’s a skill that will serve you well.