The best source for tax information is your accountant or tax attorney. They can help you interpret the laws and regulations and apply them to your business situation. But if you want to do some of the research yourself to improve your knowledge and to help keep costs down, check out the Internal Revenue’s website. Yes, the IRS has a great website with all the forms and publications available for downloading. No more running to the library to get the forms you need! There’s a search able database, a great site tree and tax calendars to show you what’s due when. They’ve even included information on recent tax law changes, frequently asked questions, and much more… Yes, they have an excellent, easy-to-use website… Now if they could just do something about those tax forms… more…

Any time you start something new, or make a major decision about your business, it’s worth making a quick phone call to a professional that you have established contact with, even if the relationship is new. This can sometimes save you a lot of time and/or money later, and at the very least you will receive a second opinion that you are not overlooking any major concerns.

There are so many questions that we have when starting or expanding a business, and it is difficult to know if we have asked enough or not. And in our present day society, where liability issues reign, it’s never to early to consult with a 1) a business counselor, 2) an accountant, and/or 3) an attorney to find out what the issues and risks are so you can deal with them appropriately.

If you have attended a business training course, many professionals may have been introduced to you, at least in concept, if not actually in person. And there are many ways that someone well-versed in their field can assist you, e.g., an insurance agent can help with auto, liability, fire & theft, and life insurance. Likewise, an accountant can help you with setting up your bookkeeping structure, tax planning strategy, and payroll set-up. Attorneys can help you with contracts, incorporating, lease review, etc.

Business Counselors will be able to help you with business planning, loan applications, and hopefully, referrals to other professionals. If you are already working with a Women’s Business Center, a SCORE volunteer, or a Small Business Development Center, their counselors can probably steer you to someone that is familiar with your type of business or give you several Resource Guides or choices to explore for assistance.

If you have the time and expertise to research the issues yourself, you might want to at least get some good reference materials from one of the above. I have found that even in short conversations with clients who come to me for specific assistance with one question, we often discover other issues that need to be thought more about. Professionals in these fields often become a sounding board for developing your ideas in addition to providing specific assistance.

One purpose of contacting a professional would be to find out about issues before they become a problem, especially legal or tax issues. Those of us who have chosen to be in one of these service professions have usually done formal education, and have continuing education requirements to meet every year, which is an incentive to stay updated on current developments in our fields. Our job is to inform our clients about their reporting requirements, and help in whatever other ways the client requests assistance. It is clearly to our advantage to stay on top of recent developments, and to do our jobs well, because we want to stay in business ourselves. Equally important, our business prospers and grows when your business prospers and grows, and this makes for a good working team relationship.

Points to think about when working with a professional:

• Find someone that you can talk to, and that you feel comfortable with, so you know that you are being listened to. Many women have complained about not being taken seriously, or not being treated with respect. Make sure that you give your business to someone who does respect you and takes you seriously; getting referrals from other women business owners or counselors is usually a good place to start. A professional should never be too busy to give her clients the time they need to address their business issues, or to return phone calls (or to at least have another staff person call or meet with you if she is swamped with work).
• Find out what communication method works best: phone, FAX, e-mail, or regular mail.
• Ask about billing rates and payment process up front, and what fines and/or penalties that professional is willing to take responsibility for, if they occur (will be based on services).
• Before you leave the meeting, review any points that have been agreed upon for services to be provided, or further research to be done and projected completion, including tasks that you have agreed to complete.
• Use a calendar to note these timelines, as well as approaching deadlines for tax filings.
• Ask if s/he will consult with other professionals (in other fields) as needed, and who s/he works with already. This can be important when discussion entity formation issues in particular, and who is filing what application forms. I have seen many corporations miss the filing deadline for Subchapter S status because it was not clear who was filing the Form 2553.
• If you don’t understand something, ask again. It’s our responsibility to explain an issue so that you can understand, and make a good decision.