Small Business Advisors

10/09/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁?

Your 2026 schedule is based on the payroll tax liability your business reported during an earlier four-quarter period, called the 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥. For businesses that file Form 941, it runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

To check which schedule applies to you in 2026, add up Line 12 on your Forms 941 for:
• Q3 and Q4 of 2024
• Q1 and Q2 of 2025

If the total is $50,000 or less, you’re generally a monthly depositor. If it’s over $50,000, you’re a semiweekly depositor.

If your schedule changed and you kept depositing on the old one, you may have incurred failure-to-deposit penalties.

Unsure which schedule applies, or already facing a penalty? Message us. We can check your filings and deposits, then review whether penalty relief is available.

10/08/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀?

Yes, we can review a return you’ve already filed, even if someone else prepared it, to check for deductions or credits you may have missed.

If we find something, we can amend your return to claim what was missed.

It won’t apply in every situation. But if something looks off on one of your past returns, schedule an appointment and we can review it with you.

10/07/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀?

Pull a year-to-date payroll summary and your general ledger report.

Then compare:
• Gross wages: Make sure total gross pay on your payroll summary equals the wage expense accounts in your GL.
• Payroll liabilities: Check that unpaid employee tax withholdings and deductions on your balance sheet match the outstanding balances on your payroll report.
• Employer payroll expenses: Verify that employer-paid taxes (F**A, FUTA, SUTA) and company contributions on your GL match your payroll summary totals.

Also watch for manual checks, voided paychecks, third-party sick pay, or unrecorded fringe benefits. (These are common culprits behind unexpected mismatches.)

If the numbers don’t line up, investigate now. Waiting until year-end leaves you digging through 12 months of historical data right when W-2 deadlines hit.

10/06/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹?

Turns out, some entrepreneurs are building pretty big businesses with very small teams.

𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭?

Inc. 5000 CEOs and workforce experts explain why the fastest-growing companies view AI as a tool to support employees, not cut payroll.

10/05/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻?

Yes. Contributing pre-tax earnings to a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA directly reduces your taxable income for the year.

Here's how those options compare:
• A Solo 401(k) lets you contribute as both employee 𝘢𝘯𝘥 employer. You can save a lot more, even if your profit is under $100,000.
• A SEP IRA is employer-funded only. It offers less contribution flexibility at lower income levels, but is easy to set up without much ongoing paperwork.

𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: pre-tax retirement contributions can lower your federal and state income tax liability, but they don't reduce your 15.3% self-employment tax.

Unsure which plan gives you the biggest tax savings? Send us a message and we can help you calculate the best fit.

10/02/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲?

You can deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses, which reduce your taxable net income dollar-for-dollar.

Some of the bigger deductions to check for include:
• Home office expenses
• Business mileage
• Self-employed health insurance premiums
• The business portion of your phone and internet
• Software, web hosting, cloud storage, and other business tools

But having the expense isn't always enough. You also need the records to back it up.

Vehicle mileage is a good example. An end-of-year estimate can put your entire mileage deduction at risk if you don't have a detailed log showing the dates, miles driven, and business purpose.

𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?

10/01/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

If cash feels tight in your business, start by collecting money that's already owed to you.

Here are three places you can start:
1. Audit monthly software and vendor subscriptions, and cancel whatever isn't bringing in revenue or saving time.
2. Send follow-ups on overdue invoices past 15 days (uncollected money is an interest-free loan you're giving away).
3. Offer an add-on service to active clients, which takes less effort than landing a new customer.

Cash flow problems are usually a system issue, not a personal failure.

Send us a DM if you want another set of eyes on your expenses and unpaid invoices.

09/30/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗲𝗻𝗱?

You should start reviewing your payroll records before Q3 closes so that you have time to catch problems while you can still address them.

A few things to check now:
1. Do your payroll reports match your general ledger?
2. Are any manual or voided checks creating discrepancies?
3. Do you have the right information on file for your contractors?
4. Are your payroll wage categories recorded correctly?

You have a three-month buffer to get those records cleaned up before December 31.

And if you want help reviewing the numbers, don’t hesitate to reach out (especially before Q4 gets too far along).

09/29/2026

It's easy to look at AI as the solution to your problems. But what it really does is magnify the problem areas that exist in your company already.

There are some key questions mentioned here that would be good for you to consider for your own business when incorporating AI.

Technology cannot compensate for unclear processes, weak accountability, or a team that does not know what good performance looks like.

09/28/2026

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Yes, how you transfer the down payment matters because the IRS and mortgage underwriters may want a clear paper trail showing where the funds came from. Informal transfers can create red flags and even stall the mortgage process while the source of the money is verified.

That means the gift amount you report to the lender should match the amount that actually leaves your account and reaches your child.

For a cleaner paper trail:
• Use a traceable wire transfer or cashier's check
• Save the bank statement or transfer record that shows the money leaving your account
• Make sure the gift amount listed on the lender paperwork matches the amount you actually transferred
• Avoid unverified cash or unstructured peer-to-peer transfers