Year-round tax planning is for everyone. An important part of that is recordkeeping. Gathering tax documents throughout the year and having an organized recordkeeping system can make it easier when it comes to filing a tax return or understanding a letter from the IRS.

Good records help:

• Identify sources of income. Taxpayers may receive money or property from a variety of sources. The records can identify the sources of income and help separate business from nonbusiness income and taxable from nontaxable income.
• Keep track of expenses. Taxpayers can use records to identify expenses for which they can claim a deduction. This will help determine whether to itemize deductions at filing. It may also help them discover potentially overlooked deductions or credits.
• Prepare tax returns. Good records help taxpayers file their tax return quickly and accurately. Throughout the year, they should add tax records to their files as they receive them to make preparing a tax return easier.
• Support items reported on tax returns. Well-organized records make it easier to prepare a tax return and help provide answers if the return is selected for examination or if the taxpayer receives an IRS notice.

In general, the IRS suggests that taxpayers keep records for three years from the date they filed the tax return. Taxpayers should develop a system that keeps all their important information together. They can use a software program for electronic recordkeeping. They could also store paper documents in labeled folders.
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Records to keep include:

• Tax-related records. This includes wage and earning statements from all employers or payers, interest and dividend statements from banks, certain government payments like unemployment compensation, other income documents and records of virtual currency transactions. Taxpayers should also keep receipts, canceled checks, and other documents – electronic or paper - that support income, a deduction, or a credit reported on their tax return.
• IRS letters, notices and prior year tax returns. Taxpayers should keep copies of prior year tax returns and notices or letters they receive from the IRS. These include adjustment notices when an action is taken on the taxpayer’s account, Economic Impact Payment notices, and letters about advance payments of the 2021 child tax credit. Taxpayers who receive 2021 advance child tax credit payments will receive a letter early next year that provides the amount of payments they received in 2021. Taxpayers should refer to this letter when filing their 2021 tax return in 2022.
• Property records. Taxpayers should also keep records relating to property they dispose of or sell. They must keep these records to figure their basis for computing gain or loss.
• Business income and expenses. For business taxpayers, there's no particular method of bookkeeping they must use. However, taxpayers should find a method that clearly and accurately reflects their gross income and expenses. Taxpayers who have employees must keep all employment tax records for at least four years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later.
• Health insurance. Taxpayers should keep records of their own and their family members' health care insurance coverage. If they're claiming the premium tax credit, they’ll need information about any advance credit payments received through the Health Insurance Marketplace and the premiums they paid.

6. Going Alone Syndrome
Below is a summary of some of the potential hazards of handling the sale of your own business:

• Limiting the buyer universe: An owner will tend to focus on only one or two possible types of buyers, usually direct competitors or customers. Unfortunately, such an approach could very likely leave out many potential buyers not readily known by management.
• Creating bad blood: Negotiations can be a very turbulent process, causing bad feelings and bruised egos. An advisor is able to act as a buffer between the buyer and seller, playing the ‘bad guy’ or being the scapegoat, if necessary.
• Being caught off-guard: By limiting the direct contact between you and the buyer, an advisor can protect you from the pressure to respond without proper consideration. Additionally, an advisor can offer a compromise during negotiations without being committed to it, to gauge the buyer’s reaction. By negotiating directly, you would forego this advantage.
• Lacking credibility: The involvement of a business broker in managing a professional sale process sends a clear message to potential buyers that there will be competition; that delay, or similar tactics will be ineffective; and that pertinent information will be carefully prepared and presented.

7. Favoring The Fast Track
Letting one attractive buyer get on the ‘fast track’, far ahead of the buyer pack, will cause you to lose your greatest weapon: competition from other bidders. The key is to build competition, to force buyers along your schedule and not theirs. A good advisor will know when the time is right to sit down and hammer out a deal with the buyer.

8. Sparing The Bad News
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news – particularly when the news contains potentially damaging information about a company that is for sale, or reports about the company’s key players. Unfortunately, the later bad news becomes public, the greater the threat of derailing the entire deal. By addressing bad news up front, you can establish a strong case and avoid potentially damaging innuendo. Negative reports can certainly influence overall valuation, but cover-ups or omissions, which will undoubtedly be discovered during buyer due diligence, could easily result in a broken deal that no price adjustment can repair.

9. Information Leaks
More than likely, you are not going to be able to keep the fact that you are selling the business a secret. It is best to avoid conflicts and protect your credibility by being direct with employees and key customers about the news, on your own terms.
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10. Rushing To Market
If you are looking to maximize your company’s value, overcome the disruptive effects of a sale, and cash-in when it is all over, don’t expect it to happen as an overnight event. In addition, strong financial reporting systems and historical statements (preferably audited) are essential. They must support the financial data presented to potential buyers, and ensure that all the required documentation is available when it is required.
 
In Summary, selling your business is a difficult, complex and stressful process and not something you should undertake lightly. You should make every effort to prepare your business to ensure it is sold successfully the first time. Preparation and planning are the critical success factors in all business sales.

While this list is not exhaustive, just remembering these ten pitfalls will move you a long way toward achieving a successful transfer of ownership.

1. Not Minding The Store
More often than not in a sale scenario, the owner becomes preoccupied with the sale process and loses sight of the critical, day-to- day management issues. A sale can take anywhere from two months to two years. Hence, distraction from your business can be fatal to a deal - particularly during the latter stages. Late in the negotiation process, a buyer’s adverse reaction to negative reports of even a relatively minor problem could undermine the entire transaction.

2. The Unfocused Effort
Significant unfocused problems are more likely to arise the longer a transaction takes to be completed. The sale process will usually take some unexpected twists and turns, but for most situations, a good team of advisors and management will have contingency plans. The key is to be well prepared, confident and decisive, and to have clearly defined objectives.

3. Standing Up On The Roller Coaster
Selling your company can be one of life’s most stressful experiences. Besides dealing with the prospect of retirement, and with separation from a much-cared-for business, you must also face the inevitable scrutiny that your company and business activities will receive from every potential buyer. The key here is to keep your emotions in check. Being over-emotional is likely to lead to rash decisions, based on the heat of the moment, rather than on a rational agreement process.

4. ‘But-Your-Man-Got-More’ Syndrome
What another entrepreneur got for his company three years earlier, or what one large company paid for another, is irrelevant to your transaction. The market will dictate what your company is worth today. Ensure that your advisors do their homework to arrive at a preliminary valuation range, and then let the market do its work. Unrealistic price expectations are the quickest way to dampen buyer enthusiasm and ensure your disappointment. Inflated valuation expectations will impede you from recognizing reasonable bids.

5. Going With The Highest Bidder
When it comes to ownership transfer, the highest price bid may not be the best deal for you. A number of critical issues could override a decisive price difference among competing bids:

• Financial ability of the bidder to close the deal.
• Contingent liabilities that you must accept for some period after the sale, such as those related to environmental problems, pending litigation and the salability of stocks.
• Contingencies or ‘outs’ in the buyer’s offer, such as due diligence, environmental audits, financing, board or parent company approvals.
• Employment agreements for the seller and key employees, including length and level of compensation.
• Form and timing of consideration to be paid if other than cash, such as loan notes, shares and earn-out.

​Stay tuned for the rest next week!