Sawyer Accounting & Tax

06/11/2026

The Sawyer Accounting & Tax Guide to Minimizing Credit Card Processing Fees For Small Business Owners

Credit card processing fees for small businesses are more flexible than you think. Learn how to protect your profit margins and avoid IRS audit traps.

06/11/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨?

A new idea doesn’t have to be perfect before you try it. But it does need to answer:
1. Who is this for?
2. What problem does it solve?
3. What would someone actually pay for?
4. What’s the smallest way to try it?

A business is an opportunity to fill a need, so making sure you're clear on what need is being filled and how to actually charge for it is your basis for everything.

06/10/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨’𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡?

The employer credit for family and medical leave can range from 12.5% to 25% of the wages you pay while an employee is on leave.

But before the credit applies, the policy has to meet specific regulations.

To see if your business qualifies, we’d need to review your leave plan, including:
• Who on your team qualifies based on compensation and hours
• Whether your written policy covers the right employees
• How your leave is funded
• Where your employees are physically located
• Whether your business can actually use the credit this year

Want to know whether your policy may qualify? Comment “LEAVE” and let’s look at the tax side before you try to claim the credit.

06/09/2026

Entrepreneurship is a big thing in our economy right now, especially with the major influx of content creators over the past few years.

But being an entrepreneur doesn't mean you need to wait for a big “aha” moment to start a successful business.

Sometimes a business idea simply comes from paying attention, asking better questions, and finding a need to fill.

Want help processing your business idea? Let's talk it out in the comments.

https://www.inc.com/yuvaltal/you-dont-need-a-eureka-moment-to-start-a-company/91285000

06/08/2026

𝙄𝙛 𝙄'𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧'𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩?

If every available dollar in your business is going toward a previous year's tax balance, but it makes you struggle to pay this year’s estimated payments, your debt will snowball.

And getting behind like that will make it harder to get approved for a payment plan or keep the one you already have. The IRS really likes you to stay on top of current requirements while also taking care of past due ones.

So, before you put all of your emphasis on tackling old balances, figure out what you need to set aside for the current year first.

Look at:
• Profit/income from the current year
• Federal tax you've already paid
• Estimated payments you've already made
• State estimated tax requirements
• An estimate of income you expect for the rest of the year

Those details will help you get a clearer picture of where your current obligation sits, so that you can know what amount and payment plan makes sense for the previous year's debt.

That can be overwhelming, so if you'd like some professional guidance (or handling), DM us to start that conversation.

06/05/2026

Some great low-start-up cost business ideas in here, but remember... Starting a business also means bigger tax responsibility. Let's talk about what the IRS expects of you as a business owner and how to set you up for success with the right tax structure.

Not all startups require a lot of capital to launch. These small-business ideas come with minimal startup costs.

06/04/2026

How Does The Employer Credit For Family and Medical Leave Work for Orange County Small Businesses?

Lower your 2026 taxes with the employer credit for family and medical leave. See how you can claim it using your wages or insurance premiums.

06/04/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣?
Start with what’s fair for the work and realistic for your business.

A good college intern pay rate should account for:
• What similar businesses in your area are paying
• Whether the role requires special skills or education
• How much training and oversight the intern will need
• Whether your budget can support the role well

If you’re bringing on an intern, the arrangement should focus on training, mentorship, and real learning experience, while also giving your business a better way to build future talent.

06/03/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙍𝙎 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨?

Because the IRS problem didn’t stop with the old balance.

If your business missed estimated payments this year while you were trying to catch up on last year’s tax debt, you may now have two problems at once:
1. An old balance that’s still collecting penalty and interest
2. A new balance building for the current year

Before you decide what to pay first, you need to know:
• Which tax years have balances
• Whether each balance is federal, state, or both
• How much is tax versus penalty and interest
• Whether payments were credited to the right year
• Whether this year’s estimates are already falling short

Those numbers tell you what you’re actually trying to fix.

Then you can build a payment plan that deals with the old debt without creating a new one.

If you want help setting up a payment plan, send us a DM so we can work with you.

06/02/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥?

Not every internship can be unpaid. The main question is: 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?

For an internship to be unpaid, the intern’s learning and career development needs to be the primary focus. The work should feel more like training than filling a role your business actually needs done.

A few things to think through:
• Is the training similar to what they’d get in a classroom?
• Are they learning, or mainly covering regular work?
• Are they replacing someone you’d otherwise pay?
• Is there a clear understanding that no job is promised afterward?