Smooth Sailing I Your Q4 Prepar
As the year winds down, most business owners are laser-focused on hitting revenue goals and closing out projects. But lurking just around the corner is tax season. The good news is that a little preparation in Q4 can save you major headaches (and money) when filing time arrives. Think of it as giving your future self a big high-five. Here’s a checklist to help you get ahead. 1. Review your financial statements. Before January hits, take a good look at your profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow report. Do the numbers reflect where your business actually stands? Spotting discrepancies now means fewer surprises later. If you’re working with an accountant, this is the perfect time to have them review and highlight any red flags. 2. Organize receipts and records. Shoeboxes full of crumpled receipts are a nightmare waiting to happen. Use Q4 to digitize your records, categorize expenses, and reconcile accounts. Cloud-based accounting tools make this painless and ensure you won’t miss out on valuable deductions.
When it comes to sweet victories, nothing quite compares to ice cream, especially if you’re thousands of miles from home and dodging enemy fire. During the final stretch of World War II, the U.S. Army took dessert diplomacy to a new level with the launch of three massive, concrete-hulled floating freezers designed to deliver joy on a cone. These weren’t your average supply ships. Measuring nearly the length of a football field, these refrigerated barges churned out 500 gallons of ice cream a day, bringing spoonfuls of comfort to troops stationed across the Pacific. Nicknamed BRLs (short for “barge, refrigerated, large”), these floating fortresses of frozen delight also carried loads of meat, fresh produce, eggs, and cheese. But let’s be honest: Everyone came for the ice cream. Whether they were battling the tropics or homesickness, a scoop of chocolate or vanilla was the perfect morale booster for the troops. Too far from a BRL? No worries. American ingenuity didn’t stop at the shoreline. Aviators on high-altitude flights transformed their B-17 bombers into makeshift ice cream makers by stashing cans of the mixture on board. The vibrations and freezing temperatures worked like a charm, turning turbulent missions into frozen dessert production. These sweet efforts weren’t about indulgence but about reminding the troops of life back home, of simpler pleasures, and that even in war, a little scoop of normalcy could make all the difference. Ice cream may not have won the war, but it certainly made the battlefield a little more bearable. HOW AMERICA SHIPPED SWEETNESS TO THE FRONT LINES Ice Cream on Deck!
3. Maximize deductions before Dec. 31. Many expenses are only deductible in the year they occur. A new laptop, team training, or office upgrade could lower your taxable income if purchased before
APPLE UPSIDE- DOWN CAKE Inspired by IHeartEating.com INGREDIENTS
Topping •
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1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar
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1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup milk
3 Honeycrisp apples
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Cake •
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1 large egg
2
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