If you have a business, perhaps you consider bookkeeping and tax preparation among your more unsavory jobs. After all, who wouldn't? These two jobs, bookkeeping and tax preparation, can be among the most laborious of the duties you have to shoulder when you run your own business. And the problem is, it doesn't even have a lot to do with your business itself, except that you, of course, are doing your job as a citizen and making sure that you pay your taxes right and on time.

First of all, let's talk a little bit about tax preparation and what it is. You as a citizen and business owner have the obligation to your government that you must prepare and file regular tax returns; this usually happens at least once a year but may happen quarterly, depending on your specific circumstances. Doing this can be quite laborious, because you have to figure out what all of your liabilities and deductions are, any exemptions you have from taxation, and so on. You'll need to pay your taxes on time in order that you won't be held responsible for further late fees and penalties because you filed your taxes late.

Now, of course, you can do this yourself (and you can also do the bookkeeping associated with tax preparation, because you'll need those figures to properly pay taxes and keep abreast of your business financially). But the fact of the matter is, a lot of people don't have the ability to do those jobs themselves, and they surely don't enjoy them even if they can do them.

So now, I ask you: Would you rather be spending time running your business, working with customers, and doing what you really love to do? Would you like to leave the duties of tax preparation and bookkeeping to someone else?

Using someone (firm or individual) who is versed in current tax laws and tax codes seems like a reasonable solution, doesn't it? After all, this person or firm is going to know exactly what current laws are, such that you won't unwittingly overlook something you should know about so that you may have to pay fines or other expenses for improperly filed taxes, such as late fees.

Outsourcing these arduous tasks to someone who not only can do them better than you can but may actually enjoy them as well, as a livelihood, makes perfect sense, because their expertise will make your job much easier, and will make sure that your taxes are filed properly.

And by the way, you can also outsource bookkeeping duties as well. These are your day-to-day financial accountings of your business; if you have trouble keeping on top of this because the business itself takes up so much of your time (and why wouldn't it?), assigning bookkeeping duties to someone else who's an expert at doing that, too, may be a very smart choice. Which is best for you? Outsource tax preparation and/or bookkeeping, or keep them in your own task list? It's your decision.