The Botkeeper Blog

Bookkeeping…we’ve all heard of it, but what exactly is it? In simple terms, bookkeeping is defined as creating and maintaining the financial records and reports of a business. In short, bookkeepers take care of all the mundane tasks that are required to keep a business’ financial information in order. This includes making entries of financial transactions like accounts payables and receivables, payroll amounts, and petty expenditures. But it doesn’t end there.

Whether you run a startup company or manage a billion-dollar enterprise, bookkeeping is one of the most important tasks for any business. Business owners want (and need) to focus on their products and services as well as growing their company. But they also need to stay on top of bookkeeping tasks, which are tedious and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are lots of bookkeeping services available today that can help business owners streamline their bookkeeping tasks so they can focus on what matters.

When Your Needs Outgrow Your Tools

Ovia Health is doing big things for women and families, and they need support that enables them the ability to grow at any pace, anytime. As a health and tech company, Ovia Health is committed to transforming the way employers support working women and families along their parenthood journey, improving outcomes by providing daily personalized engagement, proactively identifying potential health risks, and supporting a successful return to work.

But in 2018, the small finance team at Ovia Health needed an upgrade. They were dealing with some common accounting shortcomings related to their accounting software, in particular limited automation capabilities. This meant that they were still having to do a lot of manual bookkeeping on a regular basis, leading to human errors and inconsistencies. 

If you’re putting off planning for your 2018 tax return, you’re running out of time.

The opening of each new tax season starts toward the end of January. Last year’s tax season began on January 29th, and while we’re still waiting to hear on this year’s timeline, it’s never too early to start planning.

Of course, most businesses leave their tax filing to their in-house accountants or outsourced CPAs, but whether you’re having a professional do it, or you’re taking the DIY approach, it’s good to get a jump start on the process.

Just like there’s a really, really big difference between tax avoidance (lessening tax liability and legal) and tax evasion (the deliberate under- or nonpayment of taxes and criminal), there’s a big distinction between tax planning and tax filing. Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, it’s a distinction you’re not all that familiar with.

The short version goes something like this:

• Tax filing is when you prepare and submit your tax return to the IRS by a determined deadline.

• Tax planning is working with a financial professional to make sure you use the tax code to your greatest advantage.