We’ve all heard the saying, time is money. For business owners, this couldn’t be a truer phrase. It’s easy to get bogged down with the day-to-day mundane tasks that can’t be ignored, and ultimately keep owners from dedicating their time and energy on what matters the most: finding ways to make more money.
Need someone to prep your taxes? Do your weekly bookkeeping? Organize your cluttered inbox? Or update your social media accounts? For busy professionals with no time to spare, one company that can be the answer to your problems in the name of productivity is Dinesen Financial.
Operated by wife-and-husband team Vanessa and Wayne Dinesen, Dinesen Financial has been assisting individuals, small-to mid-sized companies, and home-based businesses in Peterborough and the Kawarthas for eight years — with everything from tax preparation to data entry, accounting services to schedule management, and website creation to social media management.
Vanessa has been doing tax preparation for 10 years, performing basic to full bookkeeping and accounting services for individuals and businesses.
Having studied Business Administration – Accounting at Fleming College and having graduated with an Honours Degree in Business Administration at Trent University, Vanessa’s knowledge of financial topics is extensive. Wayne works more on the technical side of things, including website development and updates and IT infrastructure.
“Whether you have a year’s worth of records to be sorted through and calculated into financial statements, need help jump-starting a business, creating a budget, or need a trustworthy bookkeeper to take over, we can certainly assist in those areas,” says Vanessa. “Obviously the bookkeeping and income tax services are a priority and take precedence over everything else we do.”
With tax time looming over the next two months, this can be most comforting to those looking for assistance with tax preparation and filing.
“Tax season seems to be everyone’s worst time of year, but it’s my favourite,” Vanessa says. “I like to pride myself in that I take that burden from my clients completely, whether that’s keeping track of their receipts or helping them figure out what they can and can’t claim.
“I don’t want them to worry about their financial situation. I give each client a check list that they have to complete. Once they provide me with that info, I do the rest.”
When she provides income tax support, Vanessa is always on the client’s side.
“I enjoy helping put money back in people’s pockets. My goal is for them not to pay more than they’re legally required to pay. That’s when I get really excited, when I’m working with a tax return and I get to watch that number change and get better for my client.”
But what happens if you miss filing your taxes by the deadline — or have decided to skip doing your taxes entirely? Vanessa says at that point it depends largely on whether you owe taxes or not, but it can certainly “raise a red flag” with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
“Last year, I prepared taxes for a gentleman who had not had filed his income tax for six years,” Vanessa recalls. “He ended up with a refund for each of those six years, and that surprised him because the only reason he had avoided doing his taxes all those years was because he thought he owned money.”
It’s not uncommon for business owners to simply lack awareness about the process or the deadline when doing personal or business tax returns. That’s why translating financial details into a language that clients can understand is critical to getting it done right the first time around, particularly when completing the T4 slip and T5018 slip (typically used by companies to report income paid to subcontractors).
Vanessa is there to help clients stay clear of a tax trap by keeping tabs on expenses and including all the information required, to make sure they don’t miss filling any sections out on the form, and ensuring they include all their earnings.
If you are side hustling as a freelancer, contract worker, or direct marketing salesperson while working a full-time job, the CRA still considers you to be the owner of a business. The good news, Vanessa says, is that having a business income — even if you didn’t make a profit after you deducted all your costs or register your business — makes you eligible to claim business expenses.
“I have developed a workshop for a number of direct sales leaders who have me teach a tax workshop to their sales team, so they can fully understand what they can write off because there is a large grey area around that.”
Partnering with financial planner Adam McInroy of Investors Group Financial Services, Vanessa and Adam are offering a free, five-week financial series workshop called “Six Pillars of Financial Planning” for her valued clients.
The seminars will offer insights on how to develop and implement a financial plan, reduce your taxes, and grow your wealth no matter what stage of life you are at. Seating is limited. To register, contact Vanessa at info@dinesenfinancial.com no later than Friday, April 13.
“We want to help business owners who are passionate about what they are doing to thrive. At the end of the day, I want to help them make money and give them some security. Many of my clients hire me to do the tasks that they don’t like doing because it takes them away from what they need to focus on in their business. For me, I love doing the jobs that need to get done. I’m good and I’m fast at it.”
For more information about Dinesen Financial, call 705-768-5970, email info@dinesenfinancial.com, or visit www.dinesenfinancial.com. You can also find Dinesen Financial on Facebook and Twitter.
