Your comprehensive tax preparation to-do list

Your comprehensive tax preparation to-do listYour comprehensive tax preparation to-do listTax season is often the most stressful time of year for businesses. Ive seen it all at the company I co-founded to match growing companies to top freelance finance professionals founders of $20+ million businesses in tears because they found out they hadnt been making estimated tax payments over the course of the year and didnt have enough cash to pay the full tax bill $10 million businesses that havent filed their tax returns for five years an owner of a middle-market company who realized $200,000 in savings by implementing a new sales tax strategy their tax accountant and golf buddy of 20 years had missed.The anxiety is already palpable (and should be, given taxes are due on March 15 for S corps and partnerships and April 17 for C corps and individuals). I reached out to several of Paros tax experts to ask what businesses large and small need to focus on to make it through the season unscathed . Heres what they saidIts time to change your bad tax season habitsEvery year, the same thing happens the closer it comes to tax-filing time Tax preparers get a bunch of last-minute, frantic clients freaking out about getting their taxes paid on time. Business owners throw tax experts every document they can find, get frustrated when the tax preparers ask follow-up questions and request additional information (which they often dont have prepared) and end up filing late because they need a new bookkeeper and accountant to fix a multi-month (or sometimes multi-year) mess - elend to mention paying out the wazoo for tight turnarounds.Its time to get ahead of this headache. How? Preparation is absolutely key to tax success. So to help you prepare, weve compiled the13 most critical pieces of information you need to provide your tax preparer with. If you know right now that you do not or will have some of these elements, talk to your finance team, understand why and come up with a plan in the coming few weeks to get these items together.13 critical items your tax preparer needs from youTrial balance that reflects balances in each of your companys general ledger accountsReconciled statements for the entire year, including bank, investment, credit card and loan accountsDocumentation for transactions within the past year that are especially unique to prior yearsFixed assets purchased in the given tax year, with information necessary for depreciation, including the year put into service, whether asset was new or used, cost and weight (if a vehicle)Fixed assets disposed of in a given tax year, with the same details as needed for asset purchasesLoan documentation that reflects principal versus interest paymentsPayroll tax returns for each quarter with form 941Sales tax returns from throughout the yearAging details for accounts receivable and accounts payableNew rental, equipment lease or utility agreements and related prepaid expensesDistributions to partners or ownersAll 1099 contractor information(1099s were due January 31Heres what you need to know.)And, finally, if youre filing taxes on a cash grund but like to analyze your business on an accrual basis, be prepared to explain any adjustments that the tax accountant needs to back out to file on a cash basis.If youre looking at this list and feeling a sense of dread, chances are your bookkeeper and accountant have some work to do before they make the handoff to your tax preparer. Reach out to them and ask for the plan. If they dont have one or take a week to respond, its probably time to move on and find someone who gives your business the time and priority it deserves. Above all, know that youre not alone in this. Theres always someone worse off from a tax standpoint than you. That I can promise.Michael Burdick is CEO ofParo, the alternative employment model for the future of finance work, which empowerspeople to do what they love.BusinessCollective, launched in partnership with Citi, is a virtua l mentorship program powered by North Americas most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.