Proactive bookkeeping means closing your books every month, not once a year. Reconcile your accounts, categorize your transactions, and review your financial statements with your CPA within 15 to 20 days after each month ends. Businesses that wait until March, just days before the March 15 S corporation and partnership deadline, lose the chance to plan. Monthly books let you set spending controls, keep personal expenses separate, and structure purchases so they legitimately qualify as write-offs.
Close Your Books Every Month
We get it. Handing your CPA a year’s worth of statements in March feels efficient. It isn’t. At that point, all anyone can do is type in data.
What changed: Once the year is over, your CPA can only record what already happened. With monthly numbers, they can help you plan while the year is still open.
Who it affects: Any business owner who waits until tax season to send in bank and credit card records.
What to do: Pick a monthly close date, such as the 15th. By that date, reconcile every account and review your profit and loss statement with your advisor.
Ohio/Columbus Note: Columbus charges a 2.5% municipal income tax on business net profits. Accurate monthly books keep your city estimated payments on target instead of leaving you with a surprise bill.
Not sure you need a full-time bookkeeper? Our Bookkeeping Services can fill that role or support the bookkeeper you already have.
Set Internal Controls Before You Hand Off the Company Card
As your business grows, you can’t personally approve every $50 postage purchase. Handing someone the company card is normal. Doing it without guardrails is risky.
What changed: Once you delegate spending, you lose direct visibility. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates organizations lose about 5% of revenue to fraud each year.
Who it affects: Owners who have given an office manager, bookkeeper, or employee authority to spend company money.
What to do: Put spending limits in writing, such as owner approval for anything over $500. Make sure the person who pays the bills isn’t the same person who reconciles the accounts, and review card statements yourself every month.
Keep Personal and Business Spending Separate
It happens all the time: a gift for your spouse lands on the company card by accident. The mistake itself isn’t the problem. Leaving it unrecorded is.
What changed: The IRS allows deductions only for expenses that are “ordinary and necessary” to your business under Section 162. Personal purchases never qualify, no matter which card paid for them.
Who it affects: Owners who run personal and business purchases through the same accounts.
What to do: Open a dedicated business checking account and credit card. When a personal charge slips through, tell your bookkeeper that month so it can be recorded as an owner draw or reimbursed.
Plan Write-Offs Before You Spend
Remember Kramer’s line on Seinfeld: “It’s a write-off”? Here’s the catch. A write-off doesn’t make a purchase free.
What changed: A deduction saves you only your tax rate. In the 22% federal bracket, spending $1,000 saves about $220, so the purchase still costs you $780.
Who it affects: Entrepreneurs who buy things mainly because they’re deductible.
What to do: Call your CPA before any large purchase. Often the same spending can be structured to qualify, such as claiming the simplified home office deduction of $5 per square foot, up to $1,500.
Ohio/Columbus Note: Ohio’s business income deduction excludes the first $250,000 of business income from state tax for most filers. For many small business owners, that makes federal planning the bigger opportunity.
Our Tax Advisory team does exactly this kind of planning before you spend.
Know Your Deadlines Year-Round
Deadlines don’t only come around in April. Missing a quarterly payment can trigger penalties even if your annual return is filed on time.
What changed: Calendar-year S corporations and partnerships file by March 15. Estimated tax payments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Who it affects: Pass-through business owners and self-employed individuals.
What to do: Put every deadline on your calendar, and base each estimated payment on your current monthly numbers, not last year’s guess.
Ohio/Columbus Note: Starting in 2025, Ohio businesses with $6 million or less in gross receipts are excluded from the Commercial Activity Tax. Tracking receipts monthly shows you exactly where you stand. For more, see our post on Ohio Tax Changes for Small Businesses.
Ready to Stop Scrambling Every March?
You take pride in delivering real value to your customers. Your business deserves the same treatment. At Harper & Co CPAs Plus, we set up your accounting system, work alongside your bookkeeper (or become your bookkeeper), and advise you all year so you know what’s working, what isn’t, and how to keep more of what you earn.
Schedule your free consultation with us today and turn your books into your best business tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a small business do bookkeeping?
Most small businesses should update their books weekly and close them monthly. A monthly close means reconciling every bank and credit card account and reviewing a profit and loss statement within about 15 days of month-end. That rhythm catches errors early and gives your CPA time to plan before year-end deadlines.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
A bookkeeper records and categorizes daily transactions and tracks down what each charge was for. An accountant or CPA reviews that work, confirms transactions are in the right accounts, prepares financial statements and tax returns, and advises on strategy. Many small businesses need both, while others can rely on a CPA firm alone.
Is everything a write-off if I own a business?
No. The IRS allows only expenses that are ordinary and necessary for your business under Section 162. Personal purchases don’t qualify, even when paid with a company card. A write-off also saves only your tax rate, so spending $1,000 in the 22% bracket still costs you about $780.
When is the tax deadline for S corporations?
Calendar-year S corporations and partnerships must file by March 15, a month before the April 15 deadline for individuals and C corporations. You can request a six-month extension to September 15. However, the extension doesn’t delay the individual tax payments owners owe on their share of business income in April.
What internal controls should a small business have?
Start with written spending limits, such as requiring owner approval for purchases over $500. Separate duties so the person paying bills isn’t also reconciling accounts, and have the owner review bank and card statements monthly. These simple steps sharply reduce fraud risk, which costs organizations an estimated 5% of revenue each year.
Do Ohio small businesses have to pay the Commercial Activity Tax?
Starting in 2025, Ohio businesses with $6 million or less in annual taxable gross receipts are excluded from the Commercial Activity Tax and don’t need to file. Businesses above that threshold pay 0.26% on receipts over $6 million. Tracking gross receipts monthly helps you know where you stand.
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