Hire a Tax Professional or Do it Yourself?
monthly sales tax, and monthly bank reconciliations. I only need help from accountants for year-end corporate taxes, W-2 processing and filing. This saves me well over four figures a year.” —Jeff West, Benchmark Audio, Springfield, Ill.
DO Farm It Out: “It’s worth the money to get a good bookkeep- er. We do a lot of dealership work, and our person helps us keep track of spending as well as sending out invoices every month. This lets me concentrate
on running the business.” —Michael Thomas, Audio Video Extremes, Waite Park, Minn.
DON’T Waste the Money: “As of September, I’m processing my own quarterly payroll taxes,
DO It Yourself, With a Little Help: “Use software like Quick- books to the maximum poten- tial of your accounting abilities. Have an experienced person help you get it set up and then follow their guidelines. This way, at year end, you can pretty much just give your accountant a copy of the file and she has less work to do. This can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.” —Chris Corwith, CC Electronic Installations, Southampton, N.Y.
Planning a Weekend Sale?
sure-fire attracters, so work them into your budget and your advertising.” —Matthew Meisenbach, MCOR Automotive, Lutz, Fla.
DON’T Be Shy: “Call your reps and vendors to tell them about your upcoming sale. Make it a big thing. Ask them to come out and participate. See if they’ll consign extra product to you. In
most cases they will be happy to help you sell and educate your customers. Also, adver- tise heavily in whatever works best in your market base. Giveaways, prizes and food are
DO the Two P’s: “Plan and prepare. It’s important to have a peer group of other owners whom have engaged in similar sales. Why go it alone when others have the experience it takes to make a sale success- ful? In my opinion, you simply can’t promote it enough and if you are attempting to promote it strictly via email, Facebook, etc., you’re missing the boat. Cross-channel marketing and multiple platforms are key to any promotions success and
ultimately your marketing plan in general.” —Joe Cassity
DON’T Do Too Many: “Two years ago we planned and held three events over the summer months. For the first sale, we had a ton of momentum and the sale went well. It diminished by the second sale, and by the third it totally lost steam. So last year we changed the plan and did one big show and sale. It was a huge event with food, cars and lots of fun. Several of our vendors also came out to support it and participate. Needless to say, we killed it!” —Jeff Meece, Meece Car Audio, Lancaster, Calif.
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DON’T Hire on a Whim: “Think of this as no different than hiring any other staff mem- ber. Interview them! Ask the tough questions. Do they have experience with automotive retail businesses? If they’ve dealt with others in our indus- try, that’s a huge plus. But just remember: You, as the owner, are responsible for all of these tasks, and it’s your money, reputation and livelihood on the line. Ensure you are constantly engaging in oversights and take a proactive role. Learn the tax laws. Learn the software. Never allow yourself to be kept in the dark about what’s going on in your business.” —Joe Cassity
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