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End of Year Business Checklist (for Sole Proprietorships)

Sharing this article with Sole Proprietorships and Freelancers / Professionals.

It’s almost December 31 and we’re still as busy as ever. I’m personally busy also as I need to “close” some things for my Sole Proprietorship business. As you know, I am a co-founder of Taxumo, but I have my own personal business which is registered as a Sole Proprietorship. We often hear the term “closing” from business people when it’s December, but we don’t know exactly what they mean. This is especially true if you are new in running a business or not in business at all but exploring this world (might be a plan for next year).

So I decided to write this as a guide for all Sole Proprietorships and Professionals/Freelancers, because we normally need to do the same things anyway when it comes to compliance.

The things that I will share in this article are the things that I personally do.

Collect all Pending Receivables

Receivables are funds that you need to collect from clients. So in my case, I monitor all of my collections in Trello. My handler, Niña and I then go through it and we try to contact the clients that we have to ask if they can pay before the year ends.

The reason why I do this is because I need to issue official receipts and collect 2307 (Creditable Tax Withheld) forms from these clients so that I can include it for this year.

Track and Compute the Taxes that you need to pay for January

People usually forget that you need to pay for their Percentage or VAT taxes as Sole Proprietorships in January, need to Renew their Mayor’s or Business Permits and even pay the Annual Registration Fee for the tax ministry (BIR or Bureau of Internal Revenue). Since they forget it, they usually end up not having money to pay these taxes or to even renew their businesses.

I use Taxumo so I know exactly how much I should set aside for my taxes for January and even for April’s Annual Income Tax Return (Annual ITR) tax deadline as early as now. This is how I efficiently plan my finances. It’s actually good that I collect in December, because I don’t have a problem anymore when it comes to funding these. I can sleep soundly at night.

What I do is I actually set aside these funds and place it in my ING account so it earns higher interest rate. I don’t touch it, too. 4% is huge so “yey” for me!

As for Business Permit Renewal for Sole Proprietorships, I secured the services of Taxumo for this. They have limited slots though since the government process in the LGUs is still very much MANUAL. To be honest, I’m not sure if they have slots to help you process your Mayor’s Permit / Business Renewal in your LGUs. Tauxmo Can cater to Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Baguio clients. If you are interested to check if they have a slot, email customercare(at)taxumo(dot)com.

By the way, for Freelancers and Professionals, check your occupational tax receipts and professional tax receipts. Some of the LGUs require that you renew that on a yearly basis. You may need to go to your barangay to renew those. Some also require an NBI permit and a health certificate so that you can renew it (just a heads up!).

But, here is a checklist that you can use of what you need to compile. I’m proud to say that I’ve completed all of these things. I “printed” (shucks! super wasteful process 🙁 haay!) all of my tax filings and BIR confirmations that the Municipal Hall needs. They will need to know your gross sales for the year.

As for this, if you know someone from your Municipal Halls or work for Municipal halls, please let me know. For full disclosure, we at Taxumo have ways to help them really simplify all of these.

So going back, yes, you have to print all of these. Check out my complete files!

Sole proprietships Business Permit Renewal Documents

I’m so proud… I’m going to tear up. For some reason, I love that sense of accomplishment after completing this checklist. I feel like an adult! haha! Wait, I am one! haha!

It took me just a couple of hour printing since all of my filings (files and documents) are in Taxumo. I didn’t need to scramble through all of my files. I printed the form, BIR confirmation and the Payment record. I then signed all of the forms and used binder clips to distinguish the Income tax forms with SAWT attachments and confirmation, versus my VAT forms (I am VAT so for Non-VAT entities, you’ll have Percentage tax forms) versus the Annual Renewal fee or the 0605 form that I paid via Taxumo last January.

Update your Books

Sole Proprietorships books of accounts

So I finished updating all of my books, too. For those who are wondering, YES, I write them all by myself. Taxumo allows you to generate and print a report that’s formatted already so you just need to copy it per column. Check out the picture above. The papers on the right side are the reports from Taxumo and one of my books is the one on the left. These books of accounts reports come with any of the subscription plans of Taxumo.

So there, that’s what I do at the end of the year. I got my stuff all in order, and I feel that I can enjoy celebrations now!

How about you? What’s your “end-of-year” business process? Shout out to all Sole Proprietorships and Professionals! Share it with us. Let’s help one another.

Here are other articles that you might want to check out:

A Freelancer’s and Consultant’s Guide to Using Taxumo
Business Renewal for Sole Proprietors in the Philippines

Business Renewal for Sole Proprietors in the Philippines

It’s that time of the year once again when we have to deal with thick bundles of paper. Yes, I’m talking about our business documents.

I have a sole proprietorship established here in the Philippines. Most of the businesses here (99%+) are micro-small-medium enterprises or MSMEs. And to add to that, most of them are also Sole Proprietors like me.

So I would assume that most of the people reading this post are sole proprietors. I decided to focus on this segment also so as not to make the post long.

What do I need to do every January of the Calendar Year?

DTI Permit

First of, check that your DTI permit is still valid. The Department of Trade and Industry is the government agency that we deal with when we want to create a Sole Proprietorship. The DTI approves the “trade name” that we want to use. In my case, Manila Workshops’ trade name is GPA Events Management Services.

So if it’s already expired, fret not since you can actually renew your DTI certificate from the comfort of your own home. Just go to this site: https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/renewal and renew your certificate online. I did it last 2018, and I think (I don’t remember) I used GCASH to pay for the fee.

Baranggay and Business PermitLetter of Intent to Renew your Business (3 originally signed copies)

Next, you will need to gather all these documents before going to the Municipal Hall and office of the Baranggay (usually each one is in the same building or at lease close by).

  • DTI Certificate (for sole proprietors)
  • Letter of Intent to Renew your Business (3 originally signed copies)
  • Original and photocopy of previous year’s barangay permit and official receipt
  • Previous year’s Mayor’s Permit/Business Permit and Official Receipt, original and photocopy
  • Community Tax Certificate (CTC) / Cedula from previous year
  • Contract of Lease or Certificate of Occupancy to use Premises (what I do in lieu of this is I photocopy the Real Property Tax Receipts, which are under my name. That’s the one I present)
  • Previous year’s Sanitary Permit to Operate
  • Certification list of employees as of December 2019 signed by President or HRD (if you don’t have employees, create a certification that you don’t have any employees)
  • Quarterly VAT Returns (if you are a VAT entity) or Percentage Tax Returns (if you are non-VAT) for the previous year with BIR Confirmation
  • Quarterly Income Tax Returns (1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarter); these are your 1701Q forms
  • Certificate of Gross Sales for previous year (just add up your gross sales for the entire year)
  • Previous stamped financial statements, audited or unaudited (if applicable); note that for those with Php 3 Million and below gross sales, you don’t need an audited financial statement. BTW, this is for the year before last year.
  • Comprehensive General Liability Policy Insurance (CGLP) / Local Insurance and official receipt from previous year; note that some Municipal Halls don’t require this. The CGLP fees are computed also based on the square meters of your registered address.
  • Authorization Letter (3 originally signed copies) and Special Power of Attorney (3 originally signed copies) — if you are making someone else process it for you

Once you have collated all of these, you can now go to the Municipal Hall. For the fees, it really differs from one City Hall to another.

If you need help processing your Business Permit Renewal at your Municipal Hall, you can get in touch with Taxumo. They offer this service provided you are in Metro Manila, Batangas, Laguna and Cavite. https://www.taxumo.com/blog/get-your-business-permit-renewed-this-coming-new-year-with-taxumo-until-december-30-2019-only/

They can still accommodate a few clients so please don’t mind the deadlines. Oh, Taxumo can also help you with Business Registration just in case you haven’t registered your business yet.

BIR Renewal

So we’re done with two agencies for Business Renewal for Sole Proprietorships. For BIR, it’s actually so easy. I just log in to my Taxumo account, and make sure that I have highlighted the tax types i’m supposed to pay for (check your Certificate of Registration or Form 2303 to be sure) in the settings page.

Go to the Tax Dues tab and click on file now for 0605. Please make sure that it’s for 2020! 🙂 For first time users, you can attend an online onboarding session by clicking on this link: https://calendly.com/consultnow/onboarding

If you need information to be changed in your COR, you will need to go to the RDO to do that using 1905. Else, if nothing needs to be changed, you only need to file this 0605 form via Taxumo. No need to go to the RDO of the BIR.

I love that everything is easy! 🙂 If you have other questions on renewing your business permit and registrations and certificates, leave your questions in the comment section below!

Start the year right! I hope this somehow give you an idea of how to go through Business Renewal for Sole Proprietorships. Fix all of these and don’t wait for the last moment to avoid penalties!

Business Renewal with BIR -Here’s an Easier Way!

Every January 2, I usually prepare all of my current Business Documents. I’m registered as a Sole Proprietorship. This means that I have to renew my documents with both the Local Government Unit / Municipal Hall and with the Bureau of Internal Revenue or BIR. Usually, I need to go to both places, which is such a hassle!

But guess what? This year, because of Taxumo, life became easier! You can now renew your 2018 Certificate of Registration or COR (file and pay form 0605)  via Taxumo!  

What Happens If I Don’t Renew My Certificate of Registration? 

To avoid penalties, the deadline for renewing your Certificate of Registration would be January 31. Failure to renew this would incur fines ranging from PHP 5,000 to PHP 20,000.

What Is the Standard Process of Business Renewal vs. the Taxumo Way? 

The standard process for renewing your Certificate of Registration would be: 

  • Go to your RDO (Revenue District Office) and submit a fill-out BIR Form 0605
  • The officer of the day will then compute the fees that you need to pay
  •  You need to settle the payment at an Authorized Agent Bank (AAB), duly accredited by the BIR in your RDO.  

Note: For more information, check out this article: Here’s What You Need to Do to Renew Your Business in the Philippines

The standard process could take hours, because of the number of people who will have to renew. If you value your time, just do it online!

With Taxumo, you just pay your Certificate of Registration online, without the stress. 

Here are the Steps to Renew Your COR via Taxumo: 

If you already have an existing Taxumo account, all you need to do is activate the 0605 Form on your company profile. 

To do this, simply follow the steps listed below.

  1. Go to your company profile
  2. Scroll down until you see the forms that you need to file.
  3. Check on the 0605 form and click the save changes button. 
  4. Go to your account dashboard and click on the file button.
  5. Fill-up the form details (applicable date if you’re paying for 2019 is Dec. 31, 2019)
  6. Choose your preferred payment method and click pay.
  7. That’s it! You’re done. 

It’s super easy!

Note that this process is only for renewing your BIR Certificate of Registration. Again, if you are a sole proprietorship, have a partnership or corporations, you still have to renew you other business documents (baranggay clearance and business permits) in the LGU / Municipal hall.

If you have any questions, you can always message Taxumo using their chatbox at their site: https://www.taxumo.com 

Share the good news!

Business Renewal for an Affordable Price!

I’m in the middle of rebranding, restructuring my organization and a lot of “re’s” coming my way. Part of all of these things that I plan to do is to go through business registration again for the new companies that I am setting up. If you are thinking also about getting your business permits or business renewal registration, read on! vOffice Philippines can actually assist you in renewing your business registrations for a promo rate of just Php 4,000.

With this fee, vOffice will:
– Renew your business permit for the third quarter of 2015
– If eligible to renew for the entire year, vOffice can assist with this as well.

3rd Quarter_2-01

This service is open for both vOffice clients and non-clients. All you need to do is just call 2244-330.  I am happy to be a Client of vOffice. If you haven’t signed up yet and if you are looking for an office for your freelancing work or start-up business, avail of the free two months from my blog, by signing up using this link: http://voffice.com.ph/jumpstart-gingerarboleda/