July Newsletter
The Hidden Cost of Being Behind
Bookkeeping is one of those tasks that can easily get pushed aside when business gets busy. A missing statement, an unanswered question, or a receipt that never gets uploaded may not seem like a big deal at first. Over time, though, falling behind can create bigger problems.
When books are not kept current, it becomes harder to know where your business really stands. Your bank balance does not always tell the full story. There may be unpaid bills, sales tax owed, payroll liabilities, loan payments, or transactions that still need to be reviewed. Being behind can also create stress when deadlines are close. Monthly reconciliations, excise tax filings, payroll reports, and tax preparation can all be delayed when important information is missing. The more time that passes, the harder it can be to remember what certain transactions were for.
Incomplete records may also lead to missed deductions or inaccurate reporting.
Receipts, statements, invoices, and clear transaction details help support your business expenses and keep your financial reports accurate. Staying current with your books gives you better information to work with. It can help you make decisions about spending, hiring, taxes, pricing, and cash flow with more confidence.
A few simple habits can make a big difference:
Save receipts as you go
Keep business and personal expenses separate
Upload requested documents on time
Respond to bookkeeping questions quickly
Review your reports regularly
Do not wait until tax time to catch up
The bottom line is that being behind can cost more than time. It can lead to stress, extra clean-up work, missed information, and filing delays.
At Simple Bookkeeping Solutions, our goal is to help business owners stay organized, informed, and prepared throughout the year.
Potential IRS Penalty and Interest Refund Opportunity
We want to make you aware of a potential IRS refund or penalty relief opportunity that may apply to some taxpayers.
The National Taxpayer Advocate recently shared information regarding taxpayers who were assessed certain IRS penalties and interest during the COVID disaster period. Based on the court’s reasoning in the Kwong case, some filing and payment deadlines that fell between January 20, 2020 and July 10, 2023 may have been postponed. Because of this, some taxpayers charged penalties or interest for late filing, late payment, or estimated tax issues during that time may have grounds to request a refund or abatement.
This does not mean everyone will qualify, and the IRS is not automatically issuing refunds. Each situation must be reviewed based on the tax year, penalty type, filing date, payment date, and IRS account activity. In many cases, taxpayers need to file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, to protect their rights to this potental refund/abatement. The deadline to file is July 10, 2026.
Please keep in mind that this is a developing issue, and relief is not guaranteed. However, because there is a deadline to protect refund rights, we encourage anyone who believes they may have been charged IRS penalties or interest during the COVID period to reach out as soon as possible.
If you would like Simple Bookkeeping Solutions to review your situation, please contact us and we will complete Form 843 for you, there will be an additional one-time $50 fee for this service.
