It’s that time of year. The time when you are finally recognizing that your financial picture may not be in order. The time when you wonder what you can do to save on taxes. The time when you want to plan your activities for next year.

In my mind, this is already late in the year. I know you think it’s timely- but you should be running your business all year long with the intent to maximize your bottom line- and that means minimizing your taxes, too. Yes, there are things you can do- but it’s hard to counteract a whole year of mixed decisions. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.

If this is your first encounter with our firm (others operate in similar fashion), then you can expect we will provide 25 to 30 minutes of free discussion. (Free, as in no charge to you.) So, that you can determine if we are the right fit for you. And, we need to know how you approach your decisions- so that our advice matches your temperament- and that we know we can help you achieve your goals. We have clients that consider driving at 100 mph the norm, others that want to travel at 5 miles under the limit. Without knowing those facts, we can’t advise you properly. So, let’s proceed…

First, you must decide what it is that you want from us. Do you want to determine what tax positions are advantageous, what you can do to save on taxes? Or, do you want to determine what activities you should be contemplating to make your future business success assured? Or, a combination of both tax and business planning?

Then, you need to prepare for our meeting- to get the most out of it. That means you need to do some homework. It’s best to have bona-fide budgets, accounting for the year (and maybe last year), and probably the last two or three years’ tax filings (personal and corporate- unless your business is a “C” corporation, when we only need the corporate information.) We may also need to see your corporate documents, in case your charter has limitations on plans we may suggest or to see any covenants you may have.

If you have partners, then it’s best that they attend the meeting, as well. Both for your needs and ours. Again, so everyone can be assured that the fit is ideal.

Feel free to ask questions. It’s critical that you feel comfortable with your choice of our firm for your needs. And, recognize that if you decide to hold back certain information (because you are worried we’ll think the worse of you), then our advice and analysis is at best compromised.And, since this is a free- and short- meeting, you should not expect any miracles from this session. We leave the miracles to the Supreme Being.

What makes us different from most other firms?  We have actually started new businesses.  We’ve managed firms (or divisions) ranging in size from start-ups to almost three commas. We have extensive experience from running manufacturing, research and development, marketing, and services organizations.  We understand tax audits- and tax fights.  No “ivory tower” (but, we’ve been there, too!) solutions!

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