For those of you planning to move, I don't recommend it 😅

I recently moved and while I love my new place, it has been a challenging couple of months.

First, there is the time that it takes (pro tip: it is much longer than you think) to arrange everything, pack and make sure you are ready for the day. Then, there are all the decisions that you have to make. Should you keep those pants that you haven't worn in 5 years? Are you actually ever going to make a fondue? Do you really need all those instruction manuals that you have literally never looked at?

Next comes figuring out where everything is going to be stored in the new place. If you are moving into an older home, closet space is usually at a premium. So you hack storage solutions in an effort to empty a box and hope to figure it out later. (which of course means that you can't really find anything).

I was recently invited to be on a podcast to talk about books that have had a significant influence on me and my business. Sadly, given the limited amount of time, I was only able to discuss a couple. I thought I would talk about them and some others here.

I frequently hear a similar sentiment from consultees who are also looking for accountants i.e. they want someone who can take away the friction and the stress that comes with tax obligations. This doesn’t seem like a big ask but the accountants they meet with often seem lacklustre or, worse, ghost them. The consequence? Their tax returns are late, the stress accumulates, and the overwhelm of it all leads to avoiding the problem altogether.

Many of us are in summer mode, contemplating vacations and staycations while procrastination seems to be rising at the same rate as the temperature. (insert groan here)

Finances tend to be the primary victim of summer indolence. So I've prepared a checklist (that you can also download) to help you stay on track .

Last week, I was in Boise attending the Craft + Commerce conference which brought together a variety of creators, educators, and entrepreneurs.

This kind of conference isn’t usually in my wheelhouse since it wasn’t finance-related. I quickly realized, thought, that I had more in common with many of the attendees than I often do at accounting conferences as the way we’re building our businesses, and the goals we're hoping to achieve, are much more aligned.

Many of us struggle to feel like we have control over our finances.

This can be due to a variety of reasons:

• We don’t feel like we know enough about finances

• We grew up in a household where money was scarce

• We’ve been told (or believe) that we’re not good with numbers

• We never seem to have enough money

• We’ve made financial mistakes in the past and fear repeating them

• We feel overwhelmed by the complexity of financial systems

• We didn’t learn about money in school or through formal education

As we move past tax season, many of us can breathe a collective sigh of relief (at least with respect to taxes).

Some of us may have resolved to make sure that next tax season is less stressful, but thinking about that now seems a bit premature. After all, we have many months to prepare and we can just do that "soon", once we have taken care of our other responsibilities and perhaps after we've had some time to enjoy the summer.

Of course, time passes very quickly, and the force of procrastination is strong. So, our good intentions might tend to fall by the wayside as there is always something a little more pressing to do.

We often procrastinate to avoid being overwhelmed. There are however some simple processes you can put into place now that can help make next tax season far less overwhelming and stressful. The key is to develop habits around them.

The deadline to file your taxes is speedily approaching - April 30th if you are a regular taxpayer or corporation owner that takes a salary or dividend. (Self employed/small business owners still have some breathing room until June 16th).

For those of you who have done your taxes, you can give yourself a huge pat on the back and enjoy the feeling of being stress free.

For those of us who haven’t (myself included), there’s still time. If you’re planning to file on your own, the weekend is a great opportunity. Simply gather your tax documents (T4s, T5s, RRSPs, medical expenses, donations, etc.), choose your tax software, and find a quiet place to get it done.

CRA (Revenue Canada) typically processes electronically filed returns within two weeks (and sometimes even immediately!). Your NOA confirms whether you’re getting a refund, owe taxes, or have a zero balance. It might also include adjustments or a request for more information.

You can check your NOA through CRA’s My Account, or wait for it to arrive in the mail, if you are not signed for my account.

Your NOA also includes your updated RRSP contribution room—something to keep in mind when planning current-year contributions.

In my last newsletter, we talked about getting ready for your taxes. This time, I thought it would be useful to highlight some common mistakes, made by both individuals and small business/self employed owners, so that you can try to avoid them:

Missing the 2025 Tax Filing Deadline – The personal tax deadline is April 30 (June 15 for self-employed, but taxes are still due April 30). Late filing leads to penalties if you owe money, which are a complete waste of your hard earned money, if at all avoidable.

CRA will open up its efiling portal and start to allow you to file your tax return starting February 24th.

Most of you have until April 30th this year to file your tax return (unless you have business income - see below). If you owe tax and don’t file by the deadline, CRA will charge you a penalty plus interest on the amount of tax payable.

If you don’t owe tax or are expecting a refund, you won’t incur penalties, but your benefits (like the GST credit or child care benefits) could be delayed. There are a number of other reasons that every Canadian should file a return which I cover in this post.

Given that tax season is close at hand, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share (and refresh my own understanding of) the business and personal tax changes coming in 2025.

Online Mail Transition

Starting spring 2025, Revenue Canada (CRA) will make online mail the default for most business correspondence

What this means: You will need to make sure you are signed up for "my business account" and update your notifications. To do this go to “Profile” select "Manage notification preferences".

As my final newsletter for 2024, I wanted to leave you with a handful of ideas and aphorisms that resonated with me this year.

The 80/20 Rule

Also known as the Pareto Principle, the idea is simple: 80% of your results often come from just 20% of your efforts. Figuring out what these are usually requires some analysis—it could apply to your best clients, top-performing products or services, or the marketing efforts that get the most engagement. This might mean spending less time designing the perfect thumbnail or product image in Canva and leaving it at good enough. :)

As we hurtle towards the end of the year and I am in full "year-end finance/tax tips" mode (see this week’s blog post), I keenly feel (both for myself and all of you) the tedium that is associated with getting our year-end affairs in order. It can be difficult to muster the motivation to do anything when you simply want to take some time, watch mindless TV, play video games, and eat tasty food (or whatever it is that you enjoy doing during the holidays).

There are, however, some pleasures to be gleaned from administration.

As many of you might know, fixed assets such as furniture, computers, cameras, printers, large tools or something else that is specific to your business cannot be claimed all in one year as an expense. Rather you can only claim the depreciation amount based on a rate established by Revenue Canada. This is referred to as capital cost allowance or CCA.

Like so many business decisions, whether or not you should accept credit cards requires an assessment of the costs versus the benefits. The costs are easily measurable. On average, the total cost of accepting credit cards is between 1.5% and 3.5%. This means that on $1,000 of sales, you are paying between $15 and $35. Additionally, you might also be paying for equipment. This can certainly add up, depending on your sales volume.

In the context of transitioning to self-employment, whether you’re just starting out or have been doing it for a while, one of the biggest sources of uncertainty is financial. Unlike employees who receive a regular paycheck, business owners and freelancers need to be keenly aware of where their income is coming from, what their financial and tax obligations are, and how to manage their cash flow. Many promising ventures fail simply because they run out of money.

Many small business owners, understandably, don’t have finance backgrounds. That’s why they outsource their accounting and tax functions—so they can focus on growing their businesses. The problem arises when they place blind trust in their accountant/bookkeeper/ employee/ partner etc. This can lead to missed opportunities for tax savings, overlooked financial red flags, or even serious errors that could hurt the business. Not having this knowledge can also contribute to the stress that arises from uncertainty.

Having a fundamental understanding of your business’s finances is therefore essential. It enables you to ask the right questions, catch potential errors, and be more confident with your decision making.

In my experience as a small business accountant, the area that drives the most questions relates to taxes. These questions usually fall into two categories: How do I wrap my head around this? and How do I save money?

My primary goal has always been to simplify accounting, finance and tax for my clients and customers. I aim to be the kind of accountant who doesn't brush off client questions but instead attempts to explain things in plain language. You know your business better than anyone, and by working together, we can often uncover ways to reduce taxes or improve your overall financial situation.

One of the complexities of being an unincorporated small business owner is that you (or your accountant) have to compile and calculate your revenues and expenses and report the result on schedule T2125 of your personal tax return. If you are profitable, then you must pay taxes. This amount, as some of you can attest to, can be disturbingly high.