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How Does Project Management Software Help Drive Business Success

For most small businesses, new work often accompanies stress and anxiety regarding project delivery. And, not many manage to make a success out of it. Project management software recognises various elements involved in making your projects successful, no matter how complex or intricate the process may seem. There is always a way to nail it.

Here’s how project management dashboard software and free project management tools such as business expense tracking software, time tracking software and project budgeting software can help you achieve success:

Time and Project Management
The most important factor that defines the success of a business or an individual is how well they manage time and work at hand. Say as a small business, you undertake any work that comes your way. Now, finishing work on time would need a certain speed without compromising on the quality of work. In such situations, project management software gives you a realistic picture of what you have taken up already, and what you have the scope for in your timesheets.

The task is performed by project management dashboard software using time tracking software. The time tracking software captures each detail of the tasks you perform for a project. By doing it, it gathers enough data to assess and give you suggestions for the upcoming tasks and tips to fit them into your work routine.

Also Read: Key Benefits of Project Management Software

Estimate with a Project Budgeting Software
Every project requires a set of resources to take it to its fruition. Now, these resources are allotted by managers based on many factors. One of these factors is, of course, the overall budget of the project. Managers map out excel sheets to get the best resource allocation charts, but may still fail to manage departments within the budgets.

Project management software does not just look at the current mapping of the ongoing projects but uses a combination of two tools—project budgeting software and business expense tracking software—to complete the task.

Business expense tracking software is set up to track daily expenditure. By collecting data daily, the tool offers an intuitive understanding of the spending habits for each employee, and subsequently each department. The project budgeting software takes care of the budgets on a project-to-project basis. For every project, it identifies departments that exceed the budget limit and those that are left with funds.
A combination of these two gives the project management dashboard software enough data to estimate how much budget each department requires for an upcoming project. Further, invoicing software users can integrate it with the project management software to generate accurate estimates.

Efficient and Hassle-free Collaborations
Undertaking projects mean involving many people and that can lead to chaos. Inefficient team mapping is one of the most common reasons for project failures. Project management software helps in interlinking different departments that need to work together for a particular project. It then maps the employees in these departments accurately.

The project management dashboard software also helps in aligning projects to overall business goals and objectives, making it easy for everyone on board to have a clear perspective going into a project.

Also Read: 9 Online Task Management Software for Freelancers and Small Business Owners

Utilise Time Effectively
Knowing your priorities is the key to healthy time management. For the success of any business, it is crucial to strike a balance between project completions and project competitions. Project management software covers the ground from completion to efficiency by using dynamic time tables. Not every day has to be set in a fixed routine and not every employee works the same way. By assessing the pace and behaviour of staff, project management software helps employees utilise their time to the best of their capability.

Project management software is a must-have to ensure the success of projects without fail. There are many free project management software that can help you achieve success without burning a hole in your pocket.

A Guide for Small Businesses to File Taxes

Filing business taxes is something that many small businesses find intensely challenging. While large conglomerates set up entire teams of lawyers and accountants to get them the best deals on taxes, when the brunt of paying taxes hits small businesses, it can manifest into an anxiety-filled week at the office. So, if you are still working extra hours due to IRS woes, here is a step-wise guide on how to file business taxes for your small business.

Thoroughly Research Tax Regulations
Not all small businesses are subject to all the taxes required by either the federal government or the IRS for an industry. Even the exemptions are not uniform across an industry. Taxes are a subjective issue, and to deal with them, and avail the exemptions your business deserves, you need to dive in and research all about taxes in your field.

The most reliable sources of research are the entities in charge of taxations, like the IRS for federal income, and state secretary and/or department of revenue for business taxes. Further, local businesses’ taxes on income are also handled by the department of revenue for your state. And the local business registration office will handle all the details related to property and the rest of the taxes. So, make sure to gather all the information available on each of these portals.

One quick tip, small business owners are liable to pay self-employment taxes for social security or medicare on the profit. And only businesses earning less than or exactly $400 a year are exempt. You can calculate this based on the FICA tax (Social Security and Medicare) as applicable, when you file business taxes online.

Also Read: How to Take the Stress Out of Tax Time

When do businesses have to file taxes? Know for sure
Taxes are as stressful as they are due to the deadlines and the high chances of missing these. So, you should absolutely be sure of the due dates. Mostly, small businesses share the income tax return due date with the personal tax return due dates. This is around April 15. In 2020, this was extended, given the pandemic situation. It is also subject to hostile weather conditions, area-wise, if any.

Further, you can request an extension of six months for tax returns. However, this never includes an extension on payments.

Maintain documentation and fill out forms
The business tax return form has to be filled duly by small businesses, including sole proprietors and private single-member LLCs. This requires a lot of thorough documentation.

Most businesses will need to file, Schedule SE forms for self-employment tax, and Schedule C forms for costs of goods, revenue, tax deductions etc. Small businesses need to provide verifiable information for any business expenses included as tax deductibles. It is important to note that entertainment expenses are not included as deductibles anymore.

Also Read: Money Managing Tips for Small Businesses

Streamline filing with invoicing software
Maintaining structured reports can be cumbersome for most small businesses, and therefore, it is highly recommended that you use invoicing software that allows you to document taxes.

This is extremely helpful for filing Schedule C and Schedule SE forms, both of which require standardized information uniquely formatted. Also, since most invoicing software solutions enable users to add tax credits, and adjustments as applicable, it makes filing taxes a lot easier.

Sales tax forms in Schedule C require you to include receipts, so businesses using expense tracking software can leverage auto-generated e-receipts for the same.

File taxes through official channels
When it comes to the actual process of filing, you can do it physically by mail or file business taxes online free. Electronic filing of tax forms is also an option convenient for small businesses, as listed on Form 1040 by the IRS. However, do make a note of any additional fees when using tax preparation software.

With the right combination of software and operations, paying taxes on small businesses can become a cakewalk. Hope this guide serves you well for the next tax season.