Operating a successful small business requires an innovative approach to your business, openness to change, and the ability to implement those changes. When a small business is in the “growth” stage, wearing the many hats can become difficult for the business owner leading the business. Most small business owners feel they need to be in every aspect of their business to ensure its continued success, however this thought process is not always the best course of action.

Take accounting and bookkeeping for example.

Many small business owners spend the majority of their time working in their businesses, that when it comes time to work on it (the accounting, bookkeeping stuff) they are exhausted from the work, source documents have been misplaced and other important information has been forgotten. Some business owners then chose the option of hiring a staff person to do the “grunt” work.

Accounting is the foundation of any business. There is virtually no action you can do in your business without it creating an accounting transaction. From source document to financial statements and analysis, a small business owner needs the support of a capable, consistent, compliant partner.

An outsourced accounting partner is the bridge to your small business success. Outsourcing your accounting provides you with the confidence that your financial records will be handled correctly from start to finish. You also will have a higher level of expertise for situations that require more than just “grunt” work, and your information can be processed faster with cloud technologies allowing you real-time access to your data.

If you are a small business owner still struggling to keep up with the accounting and bookkeeping tasks in your business, then maybe it’s time to build a bridge to your success with outsourced accounting.

While getting in my morning run at the local high school track, I came across a notice informing parents that  summer football camp would be starting next week with practices starting at 7am -1pm (have to start early with the hot summer days in the south). This got me thinking about how many high school football teams prepare for the upcoming season with summer practices, cardio and strength training and of course class work (except in this case it’s watching film and learning the playbook). As you can see, many high school football teams are not taking off this summer.

Another team that is not taking off for the summer is the IRS, and it seems that their playbook gets more complicated year after year. As a small business owner, you need to also “train” in the off-season so that your small business will be ready. Just like the football team, preparation before the season is a key component to success. You need to come up with tax strategies in your playbook to save your hard earned money. The summer is not the time to take off so use the “down” time and the calendar to your advantage.

The summer football camp also got me thinking about a tax strategy that can help small business owners pay for the football camp via income shifting to their kids (add this one to your tax strategy playbook). Hiring your kids in your small business will shift income to a lower tax bracket and at the same time allowing the football camp payment to be a business expense. For more details on hiring kids in your small business be sure to read the chapter, How Employing Family Can Cut Taxes in my book “Expensive Tax Mistakes That Cost Small Business Owners Thousands” on Amazon.

So use the summer to your advantage as a small business owner and hire your kids. Just be sure that their work schedule does not conflict with football camp.