Home / Business Owner Planning Files
Keep franchisor charges, locations and separate legal entities visible in the planning file.
Preparation resource. Record completion does not determine eligibility, deductions or tax savings. Ask your qualified tax professional to resolve the facts and applicable rules.
An operator owns two locations with different margins and management teams.
Prepare location detail and the legal-entity map before combining results.
Collect franchise agreements; royalty reports; location statements; manager payroll; ownership register. Match each document to the relevant entity, property and reporting period. Then choose the decision below that matches the question you need to resolve.
Organize the facts behind owner duties and payments.
Prepare the records behind benefits paid for owners and staff.
Connect owner-paid spending to supporting business records.
Prepare a current operating and household input file.
Document the operating facts before evaluating an election.
Build an accurate employee and compensation file for a plan discussion.
Trace transactions between entities to agreements and counterpart entries.
Separate planned and completed purchases from the tax treatment decision.
Identify unresolved financial records before relying on the year-end figures.
Organize agreements that affect the operating and cash-flow picture.
Build a year-by-year record of suspected omissions or inconsistent reporting.
Make the source records and work responsibilities explicit during a transition.
Use the following primary guidance to frame the questions. The worksheet organizes facts; it does not replace analysis of the relevant year, ownership, elections or state treatment. Record the applicable period, confirm the source version and retain the preparer's written conclusions with the supporting documents.
Published 2026-10-09. Prepared by AE Tax Advisors as an educational record-collection resource.