This is a special week – because it’s all about YOU.
It’s National Small Business Week, and I’ve got to take a minute to say it: Running your Jersey Shore business is no small thing. You’re the one wearing every hat from CEO to janitor, doing a thousand unseen things a day. All because you had a vision, and you refused to let it stay on the shelf.
That’s worth celebrating. So, from the Shore CPA & Financial Planning team to you, well done.
The IRS has their own little tribute for you – a list of their top tips for small business owners. Yes, their version of a party looks more like a checklist (no surprise there). But hey, it’s still useful. Here’s their “greatest hits”:
1. Correctly classify your business
2. Get your employer identification number
3. Keep thorough records and have a solid system for doing so
4. Hire the RIGHT tax pro
5. Resolve your tax debt
6. Plan for next year’s taxes NOW
And if that list has you thinking, “Wait… am I actually covering all those bases?” – let’s talk. Because these aren’t optional. These are the absolute bedrock of your business’s financial health.
But if you DO have these foundations in place and you’re looking to build up and out, something to be aware of: The Small Business Administration is rolling back some of the more flexible borrower requirements that were introduced during the Biden administration for the 7(a) loan program.
Translation: Starting June 1, it’s going to be harder to qualify for SBA loans – and pricier, too, with lender fees coming back into the picture.
So, if you were planning on that SBA loan to float your business through a lean patch or kickstart a new project, you might want to re-evaluate your plan. An SBA loan isn’t the only way to inject cash into your business.
Sometimes the next step isn’t more debt, but rather, looking closer at your budget: rethinking what’s urgent and what’s just noise.
Maybe that’s renegotiating vendor contracts, revisiting your pricing structure, or finding creative financing alternatives. There’s almost always more than one path forward – you just need to know where to look. And I’m here to help you find it: calendly.com/shorefinancialplanning/the-first-step
If you’ll recall, a few weeks back I shared some tips for making your summer vacation plans more tax-smart. But today, I want to zoom out a little: let’s talk about how to be tax-smart with ALL your business travel. If your business doesn’t already have a written travel policy, it’s time to fix that…
“Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves.” – Euripides
If you and your team travel for business at all, a solid travel policy isn’t just helpful. It’s something you need to have.
Because when you put clear boundaries around things like flights, hotels, meals, and transportation, you’re protecting your bottom line. Unchecked, travel spending can spiral fast (going out for cocktails here, a spontaneous jet ski excursion there).
And on top of good financial sense, this is also your legal duty. When your people travel for business, you’re responsible for their safety. Plus, a clear travel policy makes it way simpler to document expenses for IRS purposes (AKA – travel deductions).
So, how do you actually write one of these policies?
Step 1: Outline travel booking guidelines. First, require that all bookings either go through a designated travel coordinator, your company’s travel platform, or through approved booking portals you’ve vetted (like Concur, Egencia, or negotiated corporate portals for airlines/hotels).
If you do let employees book on their own, build in a minimum window – 14 to 21 days in advance – to show you made a good-faith effort to spend wisely.
As far as fare classes go, spell it out: economy or business class, depending on flight length (6+ hours might justify a comfort upgrade, but not a lie-flat seat with a massage button). If someone wants an upgrade beyond what’s allowed, they should pay the difference personally unless it’s pre-approved.
Same with hotels and ground transportation: set clear standards (e.g., standard rooms only, business-class hotels, company cars, ride shares, or standard rental cars).
Clarify under what circumstances other arrangements are allowed (AKA, legitimate business purposes or last-minute emergencies), and require your employees to document WHY they went off script.
Step 2: Set up emergency precautions. You’ll want to specify…
Step 3: Outline allowable expenses. Your policy should list out allowable expenses, which include airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, parking, baggage fees, work-related internet access, and business phone calls.
And make sure your employees get it loud and clear: Personal expenses are not reimbursable when traveling for business.
Souvenirs, tourist attractions, personal side trips, and the like have to come out of their own pockets (even if they talk business with clients during the outing). If they want to add on a few personal days – say, staying the weekend after a Friday meeting – they can, but you’ll need a breakdown of which expenses were business-related and which were not.
If an expense is business and personal, you’ll need a documented business-use percentage.
Step 4: Detail per diem rates. A per diem policy simplifies reimbursement. Instead of you having to sort through a mountain of receipts, your employees get a fixed daily amount to cover meals and incidental expenses (think tips, small transport charges, etc.). The IRS sets these rates, and they vary by location.
If you use per diems, your travel policy should specify:
Step 5: Include expense reporting requirements. Your policy should require that all expenses be submitted within a set period after the trip ends (usually 10-30 days), with itemized receipts attached. And require that employees return any excess reimbursements within a reasonable period, typically 120 days.
ALL expenses need to have business purpose notes – describing the who, what, where, and why.
Your travel policy is just one (albeit crucial) element involved in taking business travel deductions. If you want to make sure your travel plans this year are totally tax optimized, let’s chat – so you can have full confidence you’re not missing out on any savings opportunities for your Monmouth Beach business:
calendly.com/shorefinancialplanning/the-first-step
Safe travels,
Joseph Vecchio