Intuit: Tax Savings Calculator (1/08 – 2/08)
Designed a calculator for MyCorporation and Intuit partners (e.g., preferred CPAs and related businesses). The calculator will help business owners understand the tax benefits of incorporation, offering one data point in the business entity decision process. I spoke to several friends and colleagues (mostly CPAs, business owners, and lawyers) before deciding on an entity. I hope this calculator will help other startups make the right decision the first time to avoid unnecessary expenses or problems. After all, the last thing a startup needs is unnecessary expenses when the precious capital available could be spent on more important things.
The calculations involved are fairly simple, but (like so many things tax related) require a fair amount of domain knowledge to understand. Unfortunately, accounting tends to be rife with jargon–jargon that is very specific and unforgiving. For example, confusing net revenue (revenue after expenses have been removed) and gross revenue (revenue before expenses have been removed) will generate two very different numbers.
This calculator needed to guide people through the jargon (and avoid it whenever possible), require the minimum information possible, and provide a reasonably useful answer. Of course, it had to do all of this very simply, because the calculator is primarily a marketing piece.
I will include screenshots and a link to the calculator in action as soon as possible. It should be released sometime early Q2 of 2008.