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During Tax Season (Feb 1 - Apr 15), our office hours are 8:00 am to 8:00 pm CST Monday through Friday and 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturdays. After Tax Season office hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm CST.
One of the first things you should do when you start a business is open a separate checking account, just for the business.
If you deposit all of your income into this account and pay all of your expenses from this account, this will serve as a foundation for your books. You should keep your business account separate from your personal checking account.
Do not comingle personal and business by paying personal expenses directly from the business account. Comingling can defeat an LLC or corporate veil. If you have a federal or state audit, you may have to provide these banking records.
Consider using a checkbook that allows enough space to identify the source of deposits as business income, personal funds, or loans. Records of checks, electronic transfers or point-of-service transactions (debit card) should identify the payee and business purpose.
Write checks payable to yourself only when making withdrawals from your business for personal use. Avoid writing checks payable to cash. If you must write a check for cash to pay a business expense, include the receipt for the cash payment in your records. If you cannot get a receipt for a cash payment, you should make an adequate explanation in your records at the time of payment.
If you are a Sole Proprietorship and have no employees, we can still obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) for you, for banking purposes only. This helps protect your Social Security number, especially if you have to fill out W-9 forms to provide your tax ID number to issuers of 1099s.