Hi Friends!
And welcome! Or welcome back, to Tax Tribe.
I’m Wendy Uken, an Enrolled Agent, tax resolution specialist, and the sole proprietor of Tax Tribe.
Being an Enrolled Agent means that I am a licensed tax professional authorized to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities.
My primary area of expertise is income tax resolution.
For more than a decade, my work has included reviewing tax notices, communicating with government agencies, helping taxpayers return to compliance, and negotiating formal, binding resolutions that champion my clients’ goals; whether that means affordability, asset protection, or privacy.
Through Tax Tribe, I want to help micro-business owners keep more money in their pockets by showing you how to maximize the deductions you are legally entitled to and helping you prepare your businesses in case of an audit.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to take a moment to introduce myself to my new readers and catch up with those of you who have been here before.
Where Have I Been?
Around 2020, as my professional workload increased, content creation decreased.
Then, in 2023, I experienced a scary medical emergency.
At that point, I knew that I urgently needed to prioritize my well-being. That meant finding a more stable source of income, so at the end of 2024, I accepted a position with an accounting firm as a staff accountant.
My experience there was positive, and I learned a great deal. But I eventually realized how much I missed resolution work.
I resigned from the position, and about a year later, I was offered the opportunity to return to the same firm as a tax resolution specialist.
But alas, as life would have it, that position was eliminated in July 2026.
Losing a position is never easy, but it also created an opportunity for me to reconsider where I want to be.
Which brings us back to here and now.
Starting a business can be exciting, but accounting and taxes can feel intimidating. For many new business owners, they are among the greatest sources of confusion and some of the most common obstacles on the path toward financial freedom.
But they don't have to be.
You do not need to become an accountant overnight.
You do, however, need to understand the basics so that you can make informed decisions, protect what you are building, and avoid preventable problems.
So, as with any good adventure, let’s start at the beginning.
Why Must Small Businesses Keep Records?
If you’re anything like me, knowing what to do isn’t enough. You also need to understand why you’re doing it.
Complete and accurate records help you determine whether your business is actually improving.
For example, listenership is important for a podcast. But if your number of listeners doubled, did your income also double? What about your expenses?
Did it lead to sponsorship opportunities, product sales, subscriptions, or other measurable growth?
Audience growth is important, but records help you understand whether that growth is also improving the financial health of your business.
Records can also show you which products or services are selling.
For example, let’s say you offer merch in connection with your podcast or brand.
- Which products are popular?
- Which products are sitting unsold?
- Which items generate the strongest profit margin?
- In other words: what’s hot, and what’s not?
Without records, your money may be moving, but you won’t actually know if you're generating a profit.
Accurate records also allow you to prepare reliable financial statements, which may be important when dealing with banks, lenders, investors, business partners, or creditors.
- A bank may want to know whether your business earns enough income to repay a loan.
- A potential business partner may want to understand the company’s financial performance.
- A creditor may ask for documentation showing your ability to meet an obligation.
When your records are complete and organized, you are in a stronger position to make confident decisions.
And last, but certainly not least, good record-keeping is essential when preparing your tax returns.
You, of course, want to report all of your income accurately.
But reporting income is only half of the equation.
You also want to identify and claim all of the business expenses you are legally entitled to.
Without proper records, you may forget deductible expenses or be unable to support them if your return is audited.
At the end of the day, record-keeping is not simply busywork to be completed for the government. It is a powerful tool for understanding your business, measuring your progress, and protecting what you are building.
Now that we understand why good record-keeping matters, in the next article we will explore which records micro-business owners should keep.
Make sure to subscribe so you do not miss any upcoming articles or any deductions that could help you keep more money in your pocket.
Thank you for joining me, and welcome, or welcome back, to Tax Tribe!
